WWE Battleground

[SirEdger]

I heard they may also be switching Naomi & Sasha during that shakeup. Gallows & Anderson could also be Smackdown-bound

[ZThomas]

According to PWI they are doing another "Superstar Shakeup" post Summerslam. Just 4 months after the first one. Sounds like they had buyers remorse on some of the moves they made. My guess is Charlotte is a lock to go back to Raw as she has been a pretty big flop as a babyface on SD and they accordingly have plans with her with Ronda

I dont think Charlotte was a flop as a face, she just hasnt been featured as the main women of SD like she was on RAW on NXT and on top of that they're testing out people like Carmella and Lena with pushes which is affecting the flow of the division, I really feel sorry for Noami because she's had the belt for a minute but she hasnt had the time to really have good one on one matches with Becky and Flair. Raws women division is nice right now so as long as they dont have Sasha and Charlotte on the same brand.

[Superstar Sleeze]

It's weird to think Mike's defining heel trait is "guy who loves his wife".

It is weird to think Internet wrestling fans suck at understanding wrestling.

 

There are plenty of people that get annoyed about excessive PDA or couples that are incredibly involved in themselves. This is an incredibly common trope in Sitcoms and common thing for people to BITCH about. Thus it is an easy way to get heat. This is NOT difficult to get

[Superstar Sleeze]

Randy Orton reinventing himself as the King of gimmick matches nobody wants to see

I popped for this!

[Superstar Sleeze]

I thought what confused me was how dead the Philly crowd. I know that they were having trouble selling tickets but it felt like they were out West with these reactions.

 

New Day/USOS were great! I really liked the first AJ/Owens match in May but this one was tepid. What was up with the finish? Nattie winning was sad! Cenas first PPV match against Rusev was a waste should have been the main event of Independence Day SD!

 

Orton vs Indian Midgets continues to be amazing. I thought Orton has been great in this feud. Mahal is a black hole of suck. Great Khali eye roll.

[The Thread Killer]

 

It's weird to think Mike's defining heel trait is "guy who loves his wife".

It is weird to think Internet wrestling fans suck at understanding wrestling.

 

There are plenty of people that get annoyed about excessive PDA or couples that are incredibly involved in themselves. This is an incredibly common trope in Sitcoms and common thing for people to BITCH about. Thus it is an easy way to get heat. This is NOT difficult to get

 

 

There are two problems with your theory.

 

Firstly, we all know there are two different kinds of "heat" in Pro Wrestling. There is the intended heat, kind of like New Day have with me. I hate them with a passion, and live to see them get beat up. They annoy the hell out of me with their stupid outfits and their butt shaking and their catch phrases and their 3 on 2 advantage and their stupid trombone, etc. etc. etc. However, I can readily admit that they are talented, good performers, and objectively admit when they have a good match - like they did at Battleground against the Usos. Plus I'd be an idiot to deny that they are popular with a large segment of the WWE audience. Most importantly, they seem to be popular with the demographic that the WWE is aiming for...the part that chants things and buys lots of merchandise. That's good heat.

 

Mike Bennett and Maria have shitty heat, in my opinion. They weren't any good in ROH, I can only assume they weren't any good in TNA, and they really aren't any good in WWE. Yes, they are annoying as hell, but Mike Bennett has never shown me the ability to follow that up in the ring to any significant degree. They're annoying at best, and they have "change the channel" heat. When Bennett's match came on at Battleground, I got up to take my dog out into the yard so he could pee, I went to the washroom myself, and I got myself a refreshing beverage from the fridge. When I returned, I was happy to see the match was over. I really like Sami Zayn but not enough to watch Mike Bennett. Judging from what crowd reaction I heard, I am not alone in my feelings.

 

Just because something is annoying on a sitcom or even in real life, doesn't mean it will work as a wrestling gimmick. Shane Douglas is very talented on the mic, and there is nothing more annoying than a know-it-all, but there is a reason Dean Douglas tanked.

 

The second problem with your theory is that even if Mike and Maria do get over as heels, there is even more reason to hate this gimmick, because heels in this particular era of WWE never seem to get what they have coming to them. Yes, Mike Bennett smashed Sami Zayn over the head with a bottle and then beat him in a match on Smackdown, and Sami got a win back here...but I don't consider winning a wrestling match to be adequate payback for being knocked out and humiliated. If I was a betting man, I'd bet that in the long run Sami Zayn comes out on the losing end of this rivalry. The only way he doesn't is if WWE realizes that this gimmick is stupid and either changes it or decides not to get behind Bennett and Maria based on their crowd reactions. In the long run, I am worried we are going to have to look forward to lots of annoying bullshit from Bennett and Maria on TV with no face ever truly getting the better of them or humiliating them, which should be the payoff to this kind of gimmick, in my opinion. Unless they end up in there with Cena or somebody of his stature.

 

Miz and Maryse managed to get a similar type of "power couple" gimmick over to a huge degree, but they were a lot more multi-faceted than Bennett and Maria. Miz had his whole "A-List" gimmick and the faux movie star thing going on, it wasn't just "I love you baby" all the time. If it had been, I am hoping the fans would have reacted to it with disinterest as well. And as I said, Miz can do a hell of a lot more on the mic to get the fans to hate him than Mike Bennett has ever been able to do.

 

So I don't think Mike Bennett getting over as a heel just by swooning over his wife is a particularly good idea, nor do I think it will work in the long run.

[TonyPulis'Cap]

One of the problems I see with the presentation of Mike and Maria, is that in ROH, especially when she first showed up and you didn't know it was going to be a regular thing, was that it seemed a pretty big deal that this hot, former WWE diva that was on the cover of Playboy was on shows in front of 400 people for a company that had always presented itself as 'serious wrestling'. Her character was essentially, someone with my CV/looks etc doesn't need to turn up for a non WWE company and me being here is bringing glamour and attention. Back in WWE, she obviously doesn't stand out like she did, as that part of her appeal/character doesn't work.

 

For a large part of his run in ROH, Mike Bennett's character was essentially, hey, I'm a guy that looks/talks/works like a WWE guy in a workrate promotion which got heat - again, that doesn't work now he's actually in WWE.

 

I quite liked their act together in ROH - as they did stand out when compared to the people around them - but so far in WWE, they have not stood out at all, and I think they've got their work cut out for them to make them meaningful.

[The Chief]

 

It's weird to think Mike's defining heel trait is "guy who loves his wife".

It is weird to think Internet wrestling fans suck at understanding wrestling.

 

There are plenty of people that get annoyed about excessive PDA or couples that are incredibly involved in themselves. This is an incredibly common trope in Sitcoms and common thing for people to BITCH about. Thus it is an easy way to get heat. This is NOT difficult to get

 

 

Plus a million. This isn't complicated. They're like the couple that has a joint Facebook account. Who doesn't hate those people?

[Strummer]

I think a lot of people understand the gimmick but it's just not getting over. Yet. Way Way too early to give up on it but so far it hasn't worked. And of course their booking hasn't helped

[sek69]

Yeah that was quite the sussing I got that completely missed what I was saying. I totally understand the point of the gimmick, it just completely sucks.

[Mad Dog]

Yeah that was quite the sussing I got that completely missed what I was saying. I totally understand the point of the gimmick, it just completely sucks.

It's fun for about 5 seconds and then it's played out.

[Coffey]

Regardless of the gimmick, my issue is that Mike Bennett sucks. He has always sucked. He will always suck. He wasn't good enough for WWE to bring in & I still have no idea why they did. Did they want Maria back that bad? It's like when TNA brought in Jeff Hardy but it meant they had to bring Shannon Moore too: he brings nothing to the table.He's boring, not a good promo & not a very good worker. He's also super bland & looks like your basic run-of-the-mill Indy Create-A-Wrestler. I just don't get it. WWE has released people, or let people leave or not brought in a lot of other people that are a helluva lot better than Bennett.

 

What does Mike Bennett do that they couldn't get from Roderick Strong in NXT? And I don't think Roderick Strong is someone exactly lighting the world on fire either but he's better than Mike Bennett.

 

Bennett just isn't entertaining. I don't want to watch him. I sure as fuck wouldn't pay money to watch him. He's not worth the time investment.

[Mad Dog]

That's why the Maria's husband thing is a bad gimmick for him because there's too much truth in it. No one has ever hired Mike Bennett because they wanted to hire Mike Bennett. They hire him because he's a package deal with Maria.

[The Thread Killer]

Yeah that was quite the sussing I got that completely missed what I was saying. I totally understand the point of the gimmick, it just completely sucks.

 

Boy you said that a hell of a lot more succinctly than I did. Brevity really is the soul of wit.

[The Thread Killer]

 

Yeah that was quite the sussing I got that completely missed what I was saying. I totally understand the point of the gimmick, it just completely sucks.

It's fun for about 5 seconds and then it's played out.

 

 

The sussing, or the gimmick?

[Mad Dog]

 

 

Yeah that was quite the sussing I got that completely missed what I was saying. I totally understand the point of the gimmick, it just completely sucks.

It's fun for about 5 seconds and then it's played out.

 

 

The sussing, or the gimmick?

 

 

Can it be both?

[The Thread Killer]

Works for me

[C.S.]

Mike and Maria Kanellis were DOA the second they debuted at Money in the Bank - they flatlined instantly - and with Mike losing his first PPV match, WWE obviously realizes it too.

[DMJ]

I really liked the debut at MITB, but I agree that him losing his first PPV match is a bad, bad sign...which is kind of a shame because I always thought Maria was good in her various roles and that there is place on the SD roster for their gimmick (especially if you have them built up just to get them slopped by a pig farmer or forced to eat worms by a guy in Darth Maul make-up with a clock in his mouth).

 

I wrote this earlier in this very thread but I'll extrapolate a bit - even if I hate an act, even if I think someone is talentless, it is bad planning/management/booking to debut someone just to lose. Case in point (for me): Umaga. Man, in 2005 (I think) when he debuted, I thought he was terrible, one-note, a stereotype, a blatant "repackage" of a guy that hadn't done anything good in his previous run. I didn't care about his pedigree - I just felt like he sucked and then they had him pretty much taking out guys I respected like Flair and HBK and it felt like they were just forcing him down our throats.

 

Then he had some pretty good matches against Jeff Hardy and, later, Cena. I grew to really like Armando Estrada as his hype man. The act, which I originally believed was some sort of anti-Samoa Joe rib (it was a dumb belief in retrospect, but it was one that had some traction on the internet at that time), ended up delivering. Umaga never became my favorite worker, but I'm sorta glad the company got behind him and, despite general indifference at first, stuck to their obvious plan to push him as a relevant character.

 

For every Umaga, there's a Tensai who flops hard, but at least Tensai can't blame his initial win/loss record. Bennett, on the other hand, wasn't even given a token cheap win in his first major match.

[Alucard]

I'm one of the very few fans of Mike here, loved their TNA run and thought he had plenty of good matches against different guys.. Moose, EC3, Edwards, etc. But I definitely agree it feels like WWE is already giving up on them being anything special here. Losing on the PPV *and* taking the fall 2 days later teaming with Aiden English... like damn.

[sek69]

Mike didn't really do much in their TNA run though. Maria was the star and she played Discount Steph until the final blowoff with the wedding angle that ended up being one of the best things the company ever did.

[fakeplastictrees]

Hate to pile on here, but I agree with the MB talk. I NEVER got it. His WHOLE act is tied to Maria being present and its honestly the only reason took him into the fold. Its an excellent con as they probably come as a package deal with Maria taking the bulk of it. He has always been channel changing stuff for me, so it should be a surprise to no one that I have missed his entire Smackdown run post debut.