goodhelmet Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 The Fast Lane talk is now moving from the PPV to discussion on the Mania card. We talked about it briefly on the post-game show but this is what Mania is shaping up to be so far... Lesnar vs. Reigns Cena vs. Rusev Rollins vs. Orton HHH vs. Sting Undertaker vs. Wyatt Divas match Battle Royal? (If not, what wacky multi-man match do you do?) I am guessing they do some sor tof tag title match even if it is another multi-man on the pre-show That still leaves DB out in the cold... your hottest babyface in the company and best worker in some thrown together meaningless match. No singles match for Dolph Ziggler who is currently like your 2nd or 3rd most over guy. Do they do the Dean Ambrose-Bad News Barrett payoff even though the match sucked last night? Do Stardust and Goldust get to do their dream Mania match that nobody cares about? Is Sheamus stuck in Battle Royal mode again like last year? Looking at the card so far, what a shitty looking card. Cena-Rusev should be hot. Lesnar-Reigns could go either way... the HHH boring as piss route or does it go Lesnar-Cena where they just bomb the hell out of each other? Rollins vs. Orton could be hot but I don't really care about the match. HHH... Sting... Taker... Yuck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 The best use of Bryan now is Bryan/Dolph/Stewart vs Kane/Show/Harper or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted February 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 That sounds incredibly horrible and would be a horrible use of Bryan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chief Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 Kane and Big Show win a tag team turmoil match to become number one contenders. They go over Cesaro and Kidd at the PPV. Hey, if they're gonna go all out... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 First, YES. Rusev vs Bryan is the best thing they could do with Bryan at this stage. they won't. This is second best. Let me break it down: I'm on the side that thinks Stewart is Trump-level celebrity. He is HUGE. I know he's hugely popular with almost every single person I know from every aspect of my life. Having Dolph in there to take bumps and Bryan in there to hold the match together with both of them together to make sure the hardcores don't shit on something that could bring the WWE a ton of mainstream publicity in a more positive way than usual is worth something to the company. Show/Kane/Harper are all physically imposing and will work with casuals and Stewart can play off of them. They've also been built up and protected (at least Show and Kane). So best to get some fucking value for that. Other than that, really, what the hell are you going to do with Bryan? There's nothing you can do with him that has any meaning. Yeah, vs Dolph or Harper or Sheamus or someone would be a workrate match to get the crowd going at the start, maybe, but it wouldn't mean anything. You can't even do a #1 Contender's match because they just had Bryan lose one. So put one of your best workers and most popular guys in the match with a shit ton of publicity. Actually, you're right. I did mess up one thing: Bryan/Dolph/Orton/Stewart vs Rollins/Kane/Show/Harper makes more sense. That way you get rid of one more singles match anyway and loop Rollins back in because he's the one the feud is over. Everyone can hit their spots. It can be a big feel good celebrity match, the kind of thing WWE wants on a Mania card. More people will know who Daniel Bryan is the day after it than they did the day before and that's worth something. I think DDP was a bigger deal on a national level after the Malone and Leno matches. WCW didn't do anything meaningful with that because they're WCW and because Goldberg was ascendant at the same time, but it's not innately a flawed idea. I think the only problem is that the match is a little crowded. Dolph and Harper could probably get shifted to the Battle Royal in that case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 I still wouldn't be surprised to see Daniel Bryan face Big Show. It's not like Show has another more obvious path. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted February 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 Having Stewart back Bryan would theoretically be fine except it is as likely as Bryan vs. Rusev. If anything, I see them attaching Stewart to Orton and Rollins exclusively. Also, where has it been reported that Stewart was going to get in the ring? I think he would be an outside guy like Trump was, if anything. With that said, still a horrible use of your most over babyface (which is diminishing by the day) and the one guy guaranteed to have a good match with nearly every single person on the roster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peachchaos Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 Seems likely Stewart will be in Orton's corner against Rollins. Has there been any real indication that Undertaker will work this event? I guess we'll find out tonight. Bryan and Dolph in a singles match or teaming against Kane/Show seems as likely as anything at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(BP) Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 With all of the window dressing, Wyatt/Taker and HHH/Sting will take up well over an hour of the show. I wish they had just pulled the trigger on Sting/Taker so there was one sad, slow match instead of two. Also, the best use of Jon Stewart would be Orton/Stewart/Jason Jones vs Rollins/J&J Security. Never happen, but I'd be stoked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chief Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 Uggh, I honestly feel Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt is the worst "on paper" match they have ever booked for one of these things. I don't see a single positive that comes out of either result. Bryan really doesn't fit anywhere unfortunately and that's just sad. I'm guessing Sheamus turns on him tonight to set that up. Maybe he's jealous that Bryan didn't call him in the hospital or some other rush-job nonsense. Meh. You also have the anti-authority trio of Ziggler/Ryback/Rowan where all three of them have been aimless since getting reinstated. It really sucks that all of the heat from that Survivor Series match went towards building HHH vs. Sting. Ziggler winning that match was mentioned for maybe two weeks after that PPV, now all three are back down in the aimless midcard. I'm guessing they get some combination of Big Show, Kane and someone else. If you look at all the roster as a whole, there's really nobody left who's over enough to even do a battle royal. This is shaping up to be a pretty weak card. They need to build stars on their active roster, there was so much momentum coming out of last year's event and they pissed it all away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffey Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 I feel like WWE really dropped the ball on the return of Randy Orton last night. Why do it in the first match? Orton was red hot when he left and that felt very lackluster, like it was an afterthought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantastic Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 Sting vs. Triple H in regards to how the card currently looks, is pretty much the only match that's going to have universal fan interest in the "right" guy. I don't think the result is in doubt (Sting is winning), even Triple H's ego isn't that big. It would be a huge booking fuck up to have Sting lose his first WWE match. It would significantly diminish what they could do with him going forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 Also my argument isn't that you necessarily need Bryan involved in the Stewart stuff, but that there's nothing good to be done with him at all given how they've booked, so why not give him the celebrity rub and give the celebrity match the Bryan rub and utilize his skill as a great wrestler. Put him in the most visible spot possible, basically. Unless they're going to run Sting/BABYFACE vs Hunter/Heel instead of just Sting vs Hunter (which is a far superior idea btw, but oh well), there's no more visible spot than Bryan than holding together a celebrity match. I think that's better than some meaningless workrate match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbo Slice Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 God, people really forget Taker faced A-Train and Big Show in a handicap match and that the match almost had Nathan Jones in it and they're complaining about Wyatt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonsault Marvin Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 Uggh, I honestly feel Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt is the worst "on paper" match they have ever booked for one of these things. I don't see a single positive that comes out of either result. Hopefully, if Undertaker can get through the match without a concussion, it will be decent. He could retire on a high note after looking bad in the Lesnar match. Then, they could put him in the Hall of Fame next year in Texas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantastic Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 God, people really forget Taker faced A-Train and Big Show in a handicap match and that the match almost had Nathan Jones in it and they're complaining about Wyatt? To be fair, Matt Bloom had a hell of a run in NJPW. But yeah, how can people complain about Bray Wyatt? He's a really good wrestler with great character potential that has only suffered due to shitty stop/start booking. All that asides, I can't help feeling that the Taker/Wyatt match is going to be a casket affair given Bray's segment from Fast Lane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chief Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 Uggh, I honestly feel Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt is the worst "on paper" match they have ever booked for one of these things. I don't see a single positive that comes out of either result. Hopefully, if Undertaker can get through the match without a concussion, it will be decent. He could retire on a high note after looking bad in the Lesnar match. Then, they could put him in the Hall of Fame next year in Texas. I don't have any faith in the match being anything more than ok, which isn't what you want from the all-time legend status Taker Mania matches are supposed to command. Plus Bray Wyatt isn't even 30 years old yet, he's presumably going to be around for a few more years. I don't buy the notion that he gets a rub just by being in the same vicinity as Taker. That's WWE BS that they've touted for years now and it's a big reason why there's no stars on the April to February portion of the roster. Why does Taker need to redeem his loss? Why would he need to beat Bray instead of the guy who beat him? Wrestlers are supposed to go out on their backs, I don't understand what he needs to redeem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrisZ Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonsault Marvin Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 I doubt Undertaker cares about the win or loss as much as not wanting his looking injured and pathetic in the Lesnar match being the final memory of his Wrestlemania career. At this point, Wyatt has lost all momentum and the recent wins haven't helped him. It will take a rededication to the character like new cult members to improve him and a new purpose, so you're right that he won't gain anything from the match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russellmania Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 that card looks like absolute shit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 Looking at the matches that are more or less set in stone: Lesnar/Reigns-The quality of Lesnar matches is directly correlated with the other guy's willingness to let Lesnar manhandle him, so I guess it depends on whether Reigns is willing to man up. I just hope to God we don't get a Rollins cash-in. Reigns feuding with Planet Jarrett 2.0 is pretty much my idea of wrestling Hell. Orton/Rollins-Best-case scenario, this is on the same level as Orton/Punk at WM27. It'll probably be slightly worse. HHH/Sting-The best we can hope for is enough overbooking to make this a decent Wrestlemania spectacle. There's zero chance of this being a decent wrestling match. Taker/Wyatt-This is by far the weakest Taker Mania match since The Streak became a major selling point. Bray needs to be carried, and Taker was never much of a carrier even in his prime. All in all, this is shaping up to be the worst Mania in over a decade. Our only hope is that Bryan is given enough time to save the show, but the chances of that seem pretty slim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodear Posted February 24, 2015 Report Share Posted February 24, 2015 Looking at the card right now, Daniel just doesn't have an opponent worthy to tie up with in terms of booking. Even guys he would have good matches against (Harper, Cesaro, Kidd) are much lower on the food chain than he is. Sheamus isn't a compelling figure to me unless Bryan knocks him out in 8 seconds which would be another waste of your most over babyface. Unfortunately every thing I'm coming up for him to do (including special refereeing the main) seems like such a step down from where he should be. If we had another heel on the rise like Russev, that would be a place to go but no one is ready to be in that spot. I've even considered guys in NXT and none of them would be a good fit here. Sami and Adrian are just too close to Bryan stylistically to make a compelling match and Owens would need more than a month's build to get over to that point. They are in a corner right now with Bryan and there's no way I see of getting out. Fuck it, special referee it is. No I don't know who would name him special referee or why. Cena vs. Russev could go a couple of directions and could benefit from a stipulation like 'I quit' or Last Man Standing. I could see it second from the top again due to the success of the first match up and the likelyhood of being the match of the night. Cena has been killing it this year. Rollins vs. Orton doesn't excite me and doesn't really have long-term implications either because both are bullet-proof at the current time. Rollins doesn't need to win if he still has the briefcase to wave around and he's the number one heel in the company week-to-week. Sting vs. Triple H will be short (under ten minutes bell-to-bell, maybe that long in entrances) Taker vs. Bray is a complete mystery to me considering Taker being a complete question mark at this point in terms of health. I would like to see Bray bring the Family back together because separating them has killed Rowan and done nothing for Harper. I think that might eat up some minutes as Bray working control segments on Taker just is a recipe for a bad time. This also gets Rowan and Harper involved in the show without putting them in a multi-man thing. Dust Brothers, Bad News Barrett and Dean have all lost any chance of major spots due to the failures of Fastlane. They can be cycled to the Battle Royal with Kidd, Cesaro, Usos, Miz and Mizdow and less significant guys. I would like to work a Virgil-slugs-DiBiase moment into the thing for Mizdow to wrap that whole mess up and move on but putting that singles match here seems like a waste. Book Dean to win to put some momentum behind him (finally). I would do Ryback/Dolph against Big Show/Kane in a kick off match. I think Ryback really deserves something meaningful based off his last year and letting him shellshock one of the other jabrones would be a good step in that direction. Dolph can work the heat segment this time. Divas can be ... Bellas versus Paige and Charlotte (as a mystery partner?) in a cool down match Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steenalized Posted February 24, 2015 Report Share Posted February 24, 2015 God, people really forget Taker faced A-Train and Big Show in a handicap match and that the match almost had Nathan Jones in it and they're complaining about Wyatt? To be fair, Matt Bloom had a hell of a run in NJPW. But yeah, how can people complain about Bray Wyatt? He's a really good wrestler with great character potential that has only suffered due to shitty stop/start booking. All that asides, I can't help feeling that the Taker/Wyatt match is going to be a casket affair given Bray's segment from Fast Lane. And his complete inability to cut a coherent, non-rambling promo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffey Posted February 24, 2015 Report Share Posted February 24, 2015 I would argue that Bray is not "a really good wrestler" either. His matches are pretty damn boring, actually. He doesn't work like a hoss, but maybe he shouldn't. He's always just kind of there. I think the character itself could have some legs & I sort of like what I think they're trying to go for...but he just comes off as long-winded & boring, whereas I wish in matches he either played the masochist that wants to be beaten to make his opponent go to the darkside (sort of like Raven in WCW I guess) or was just merciless & totally annihilated people. Instead he works his matches about 50/50, gets his shit in & you can't really differentiate him from anyone else on the roster, like an Epico or Erick Rowan. I don't know if they want him to be like a Louisiana cult leader, like a character out of True Blood, or a Papa Shango esque leader or if he's supposed to be supernatural or what. Up to this point, any potential has been squandered by him incoherent, rambling promos that don't have a point & his matches being cut-and-paste snooze fests. I want to like him but they have yet to give me a reason why I should. I mean, I get he's a heel right now but you know what I mean. I actually think he could be a pretty over babyface if they turned him. The crowd wants to chant along. They want to light up their cellphones during his entrance. He really needs some direction. I have no idea what losing to The Undertaker at Wrestlemania is supposed to do for him? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exposer Posted February 24, 2015 Report Share Posted February 24, 2015 It's real early but they teased an Ambrose/Barrett/Dolph/Truth four way for the IC belt somewhere down the line on Raw tonight. It could be Mania I guess... Not that that's any good, but it's a possible route now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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