Strummer Posted May 4, 2016 Report Share Posted May 4, 2016 Yup "top" merch seller through me off I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted May 4, 2016 Report Share Posted May 4, 2016 this sounds *fantastic* Bob Backlund returns on Smackdown to become Darren Young's "life coach" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomethingSavage Posted May 4, 2016 Report Share Posted May 4, 2016 Whenever Darren and Titus appeared on Jericho's podcast, he mentioned that he'd pitched that idea (with Backlund) before, and it was shot down. Pretty cool to see them running with it and giving it a shot now, I guess. I mean, at least it's something. After we got the whole "Demon" Kane deal last year, I've got to wonder how they handle the "Demon" element of Balor's character at the main roster level now. I mean, I could absolutely see them using the grandiose entrance for SummerSlam or Mania. But beyond that? I don't know. The split personality aspect seems a little silly. It worked alright for Corporate Kane - for comedy's sake - but I'm not sure I have faith in them putting a more serious, Muta-esque edge on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJRogers Posted May 4, 2016 Report Share Posted May 4, 2016 Shane doing a podcast on 23rd this month hosted by Mick Foley!?!? Austin on the outs with WWE again? Love the automatic reaction is "is X on the outs?" Could easily be scheduling conflict, Mick testing the "guest interviewing" podcast waters, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Jackson Posted May 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2016 this sounds *fantastic* Bob Backlund returns on Smackdown to become Darren Young's "life coach" Damn right that's fantastic. It's going to make me watch Smackdown for the first time in years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted May 4, 2016 Report Share Posted May 4, 2016 Shane doing a podcast on 23rd this month hosted by Mick Foley!?!? Austin on the outs with WWE again? Love the automatic reaction is "is X on the outs?" Could easily be scheduling conflict, Mick testing the "guest interviewing" podcast waters, etc. Mick also has the Holy Foley series coming up. I could see that playing a role as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anarchistxx Posted May 4, 2016 Report Share Posted May 4, 2016 The AJ Styles vs Roman Reigns feud has been booked beautifully. So nice to see some ambiguity for once, instead of everything running in predictable straight lines. Reigns looks like such a star, has an aura beyond that of anyone else on that show. Absolutely amazes me that people think Dean Ambrose should be in his spot. It is amusing that the criticism is that Ambrose is 'authentic' whereas Reigns is a 'fake product', because in practice it works the other way round - Ambrose is really forced and doesn't sell his unhinged 'loose cannon' character at all, where Reigns has this natural charisma and is much more believable. The IC title scene has been booked quite nicely as well, as bad as Kevin Owens and The Miz are. Enjoyed the way it played out at Payback, with the matches crossing over into one another, a good example of the cross pollination this product so badly needs that I was arguing for a couple of months back. The main event scene has also rectified this a bit with The Usos and Bullet Club involvement, it opens up far more possibility than the complete separation of feuds which leads to predictable one dimensional booking. I had planned to take a break from the product but Payback was much better than expected. In the ring it was poor, and there are still too many people that don't give you a reason to get invested, but as a show itself it was put together nicely. Loved all the run ins in the main event, added to the drama. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.S. Posted May 4, 2016 Report Share Posted May 4, 2016 Absolutely amazes me that people think Dean Ambrose should be in his spot. It is amusing that the criticism is that Ambrose is 'authentic' whereas Reigns is a 'fake product', because in practice it works the other way round - Ambrose is really forced and doesn't sell his unhinged 'loose cannon' character at all, where Reigns has this natural charisma and is much more believable. IMO, Ambrose has been unintentionally sabotaged just as much as Reigns (if you don't buy the "political hit" theory, and I don't). He's terrible at his current persona because he's been turned into a goof with a bad talk show, bad lines, etc. He'd be fine again if he got more freedom. Remember, he supposedly had a bunch of ideas for the Brock WrestleMania match and they got shot down, leading to what was easily the most disappointing match on the show and the most disappointing match I've seen all year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anarchistxx Posted May 4, 2016 Report Share Posted May 4, 2016 Absolutely amazes me that people think Dean Ambrose should be in his spot. It is amusing that the criticism is that Ambrose is 'authentic' whereas Reigns is a 'fake product', because in practice it works the other way round - Ambrose is really forced and doesn't sell his unhinged 'loose cannon' character at all, where Reigns has this natural charisma and is much more believable. IMO, Ambrose has been unintentionally sabotaged just as much as Reigns (if you don't buy the "political hit" theory, and I don't). He's terrible at his current persona because he's been turned into a goof with a bad talk show, bad lines, etc. He'd be fine again if he got more freedom. Remember, he supposedly had a bunch of ideas for the Brock WrestleMania match and they got shot down, leading to what was easily the most disappointing match on the show and the most disappointing match I've seen all year. I do agree with all of this. He must die a little inside every time they make him tell some lame joke or cringe inducing line. You can hear the nervous deflation in the crowd as well, this stuff isn't even over and yet the writers have been dishing out these embarrassing gags to their 'happy go lucky' faces for years. Whether it is intentional sabotage is questionable, since they have such a long, esteemed history with incompetent booking. Doesn't even feel original either, they seem to want to reincarnate him as a combination of Mankind and Steve Austin and it is all so obvious and lacking in subtlety. WWE can't do quirky or crazy characters without overplaying everything to the point where it looks like a badly written cartoon. Just let him run with it and be himself. Don't think he is good enough in ring to ever be in the top tier, but he definitely has a place in and around the main event scene. He should be protected in tags and weapon filled brawls and put in as few regular singles matches as possible, since he is very unconvincing as a conventional worker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goc Posted May 4, 2016 Report Share Posted May 4, 2016 Ambrose has issues beyond his booking that are totally on him. I don't feel like him having a goofy character is all that bad considering the way he wrestles. He might as well just go all the way and be the new Santino comedy wrestler as laughable as his offense is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gutenberger Posted May 4, 2016 Report Share Posted May 4, 2016 So Titus is back and even gets an own entrance for the Battle Royal. Good for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eegah Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 this sounds *fantastic* Bob Backlund returns on Smackdown to become Darren Young's "life coach" Damn right that's fantastic. It's going to make me watch Smackdown for the first time in years This has me so fired up, any time Backlund can be brought in Im going to watch. It could definitely be entertaining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirEdger Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 Glad to see I'm not the only one looking forward to have Mr. Bob Backlund back on TV. Really hoping for Darren Young this gains traction quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotJayTabb Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 Ambrose has definitely regressed as a worker in the past 2 years. I was watching an old Main Event from 2014 last night, and there's an Ambrose/Henry match which is terrific. Ambrose does all sort of stuff he wouldn't do nowadays, like this nuts rolling senton from the apron whilst Henry is down, and the whole match is based around Ambrose destroying Henry's leg so he can't get up, them pummeling him on the mat. Nowadays, his offence looks so bad I'd struggle to buy him fighting Kalisto, but here he's diving from the second rope to punch Henry in the knee and working painful looking leglocks. Now obviously Mark Henry's superior selling helps, but I was watching Ambrose and wondering where on earth that guy had gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCS1988 Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 Also, Sandow hasn't gotten a TV win since a November 2015 episode of Main Event over Heath Slater. He's in the mold of Alex Riley, Yoshi Tatsu, Chris Masters, Vladimir Kozlov, Mike Knox, Paul Burchill, & Snitsky, going months without a win on TV. #GiveSandowaTVwin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alucard Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 Also, Sandow hasn't gotten a TV win since a November 2015 episode of Main Event over Heath Slater. He's in the mold of Alex Riley, Yoshi Tatsu, Chris Masters, Vladimir Kozlov, Mike Knox, Paul Burchill, & Snitsky, going months without a win on TV. #GiveSandowaTVwin. Tyler Breeze was also in that boat prior to this past Monday, having not won a match - televised or otherwise - since an early January episode of Main Event over Zack Ryder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 Interesting how Manias that aren't well-received are usually followed by good periods, while Wrestlemanias people love are usually followed by bad periods. Compare 2013 and WWE right now to 2014 and 2015 post-Wrestlemania. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anarchistxx Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 That might be just perception though. When Wrestlemania is bad, expectations are lowered so any improvement in the product seems marked. When Wrestlemania delivers, it feels like they have some momentum and it is deflating to watch them lose it again and again and the product return to the usual levels of inconsistency and mediocrity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoS Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 If someone had told me 3 years ago that out of the Shield members, one day Roman Reigns would be the best worker, I would have laughed and made that joke that Americans do about selling some seashore property in a desert area. This will sound smug, but the day they had Dean Ambrose running in with a hot dog stand, in an attenpt to give him a memorable segmet on the lines of the beer bath, I was pretty sure that they were going to turn his character into a complete joke. That segment was neither funny nor edgy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anarchistxx Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 Even the talk show is ridiculous. What kind of unhinged crazy lunatic hosts a fucking talk show? Other than Piers Morgan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Machine Love Barr Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 I can't imagine it played well on TV, but live the crowd was really shitting on the Jericho/plant angle. Main event chants were at least 50/50 for Reigns over Styles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 Even the talk show is ridiculous. What kind of unhinged crazy lunatic hosts a fucking talk show? Other than Piers Morgan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted May 6, 2016 Report Share Posted May 6, 2016 That might be just perception though. When Wrestlemania is bad, expectations are lowered so any improvement in the product seems marked. When Wrestlemania delivers, it feels like they have some momentum and it is deflating to watch them lose it again and again and the product return to the usual levels of inconsistency and mediocrity. Big fan of this notion. Expectations play a huge part in the reaction to what is actually delivered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCS1988 Posted May 6, 2016 Report Share Posted May 6, 2016 Also, Sandow hasn't gotten a TV win since a November 2015 episode of Main Event over Heath Slater. He's in the mold of Alex Riley, Yoshi Tatsu, Chris Masters, Vladimir Kozlov, Mike Knox, Paul Burchill, & Snitsky, going months without a win on TV. #GiveSandowaTVwin. Tyler Breeze was also in that boat prior to this past Monday, having not won a match - televised or otherwise - since an early January episode of Main Event over Zack Ryder. I know Sandow got wins at house shows in some 6 man tags and he did get a dark match TV taping win at a Smackdown taping in March, but no TV wins since November 2015. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirEdger Posted May 6, 2016 Report Share Posted May 6, 2016 I'm still trying to figure out how could WWE drop the ball on Sandow after he split from The Miz at Wrestlemania last year. Sandow literally was one of the most over guys on the roster and they did absolutely NOTHING to follow up on that. So frustrating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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