I was foolishly tempted, temporarily, to order the PPV, let's call it a mark moment. I was curious what "surprise" entrant(s) there might be, and drawn in, perhaps bamboozled by the promo work of Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt on Raw. Then I realized that I don't give a shit about Batista and that yet another match between Paul Heyman's client Brock Lesnar and the Big Show is a complete and total waste of...well, everything. By the way, what in the utter fuck was Batista wearing? Suddenly he's Eurotrash?
"A man who is 'sound of mind' is one who keeps the inner madman under lock and key." - Paul Valéry
I was foolishly tempted, temporarily, to order the PPV, let's call it a mark moment. I was curious what "surprise" entrant(s) there might be, and drawn in, perhaps bamboozled by the promo work of Overrated-Guy-With-Beard-That-Produces-Pheromones-Because-There's-No-Other-Way-In-Hell-He-Should-Be-That-Over-And-Make-A-Chant-As-Stupid-As-"Yes"-Popular and Guy-With-An-Annoying-Gimmick-That-Should-Have-Been-Trashcanned-As-Soon-As-It-Was-Conceived on Raw. Then I realized that I don't give a shit about Boring-Big-Guy-#1 and that yet another match between Guy-Who-Supposedly-Has-A-Great-Mind-But-You-Can't-Tell-Anymore-Because-All-of-His-"Clients"-Are-Basically-the-Same-Character-and-His-Voice-is-Almost-as Grating-as-Vicky-Guerrero's clientBoring-Big-Guy-#2 and the Boring-Big-Guy-#3 is a complete and total waste of...well, everything. By the way, what in the utter fuck was Boring-Big-Guy-#1 wearing? Suddenly he's Eurotrash? He's just trash. Let's leave it at that.
Fixed.
First Female World Champ (4x) First Female Grand Slam Champ Massive Melee winner 2013/14 High Roller's winner 2014 Cooperative Champ w/Zane Scott Cooperative Champ w/Gabriel Baal Cooperative Champ w/ Jet Somers Cooperative Champ w/ Donovan Hastings Cross-Hemisphere Champ, IYH 2016 Chaos Champ, BG 2017
Post by T-Robosaurus Rex on Jan 21, 2014 18:14:34 GMT -5
Batista apparently wants to look like Pitbull. And Jeggings are the new thing for big men apparently?!?!?
And I still don't get why anyone would care about Batista, not as this big star he's hyped to be, I just don't see it.
I'm enjoying Daniel Bryan at the moment, whether you like him or not he is a phenomenon, and thats what WWE needs right now. Remember this PPV is being headlined by Orton vs Cena #46, they've not made any new stars in years, for whatever reason the fans are reacting to Bryan in ways we haven't seen since the likes of Stone Cold, the reaction the RAW before last sent chills down my spine. Don't begrudge him the shot at the push, cause in the end he's a lot more likely to make your boy Roman Reigns look like a fucking star than Cena, Orton or Batista. If the public support for Daniels continues, and the WWE won't be able to ignore it, it opens the doors for a lot of other people. And the Main Event scene in WWE needs a shot in the arm.
I was also intrigued by the fact Triple H didn't mention Bryan or Punk as being potential title contenders, and they played so heavily on Batista and the championship. I hope it is a case of misdirection. My hopes increased when Kane announced CM Punk is the Number 1 entrant. Making a big deal over it, with a guy of Punks standing could suggest they're ready to have their third ever winner from Number 1, and given Benoit was the second and they like to ignore him it might be nice to have a new name to say alongside Shawn Michaels.
But yeah, I wouldn't buy it, the Rumble would be worth a watch, it usually is, but the rest of the card is underwhelming.
I'd be interested to hear Steves thoughts on the Rumble winner, the few times I've asked him in the past his prediction has nailed it. No pressure bud!
Anyone see that The New Age Outlaws are getting a Tag Title shot? Looks like it's on the pre-show.
Hanson: "May Roberts' soul go to a better place, free of chunky Asians, who do flips."
Post by Lord Hastings on Jan 24, 2014 10:32:42 GMT -5
That new T-Rob sig pic is pretty dope. Looks like one of Brit's.
Given the reactions Daniel Bryan is getting recently, NOT having him win the Rumble and challenge for the title at Mania feels ridiculous, and I say that with a completely neutral opinion...these type of consistent crowd reactions simply don't happen. It was comical to listen to the commentators try to put over the reaction Batista got as overwhelming and phenomenal when Bryan's reaction made it sound like crickets in comparison.
Rob complained about WWE not making new stars, to that I suggest the longest WWE Championship reign since 1988 says hello. If you've been watching Raw at all over the past month or so, Orton and Cena have at times been treated almost as an afterthought. There was one episode that neither was even on. The focus has been on CM Punk's feud with The Shield and the Authority as a whole, and Bryan's feud with the Wyatts.
Furthermore in reference to new stars, I think WWE has done a pretty good job of creating them, they just haven't been able to sustain them. The Miz of all people was over pretty huge during his WWE Title reign until he got overshadowed by the Rock/Cena stuff. Sheamus was getting over pretty big as a face, and Big E is on his way up.
Regardless of what you think of him, Daniel Bryan should with the Rumble, and I think he will. I also would not be surprised by wins from Batista, Lesnar, Punk, or Sheamus (and if you think that feels out of left field, I would point you at 2008 and 2010). Don't forget that it also isn't even confirmed if Bryan will be IN the match (Lesnar too).
Post by T-Robosaurus Rex on Jan 24, 2014 11:14:10 GMT -5
I'd argue that WWE have had very little to do with 'creating' a lot of the stars they have, a lot of that is down to the performers getting themselves over whilst the WWE focus on the same handful of people year in year out. Like you say Miz was over, real big, they then focused on Cena & Rock. And that was YEARS ago, what they've done with Miz is basically work hard to ensure their is NOTHING left in the husk of a man to cheer for. hell does anyone even know if they're meant to like or hate Miz anymore? Does anyone even care?
It's pretty clear that WWE take the 'throw shit at the wall and see what sticks' attitude to booking characters often times.
And in regards to using Punk's title reign as an example of the WWE creating 'new' stars, I would argue they merely let him create his own 'star power' rather than actively encouraging it. When it hit big they ran with it, but that doesn't mean we have to give them credit for doing the obvious thing. 9Plus that whol Summer of Punk angle could have been booked SO much better) They certainly didn't write the 'pipebomb', just let him do it. Not sure they deserve credit.
It's like they've forgotten what to do with popular wrestlers that weren't created 10 years + ago, as soon as they start to get reactions it's like they feel the need to bury them in a lot of cases. It's not greatly dissimilar to WCW towards the end, the younger talented guys (Jericho, Benoit, Guerrero, Mysterio, even Austin and Helmsley going back further)were ignored despite putting on the ebst matches for the like of Nash and Hall and Hogan and their friends, the 'proven draws', to stay at the top. We all know how that worked out. Who knows, maybe we'll see a shift from valuing part timers like Brock, Batista and The Rock over the guys that bust their ass week in week out like Rhodes, and Bryan, (especially with the WWE Network coming in a PPV Buy rates maybe not being the biggest judging fact on 'success' anymore) but I won't hold my breath.
D-Bry is more over than I've seen anyone in years, and they COULD screw that up, but we'll see what happens, and depending how it all pans out they could take some credit for getting him this over, the continual screw-jobs of the summer have not done anything to lower his appeal.
They, supposedly, buried Ziggler after his concussion because he made some comments about being able to beat Orton is a real fight in an interview (Which actually fits the Ziegler character and the story at the time), yet they'll rush Cena back to the top of the card when he's clearly not 100% recovered from mutado-elbow rather than take any risks.
You even said it yourself, they tried to sell Batista's ovation as something special, when it wasn't a touch on what Bryan has been getting week in week out for MONTHS. My only hope is the hype on Batista, and leaving Bryan out of the Rumble, is misdirection on WWE's part. Because if Batista DOES win, I think it's pretty clear the WWE aren't good at creating stars, just regurgitating the same old same old. Cause I certainly agree the focus has been on Punk/the Shield/Authority and Bryan/Wyatt, I just can't be confident they'll use all the potential correctly. If it ends up batista vs Orton at WMXXX they have well and truly shat the bed.
As for the Sheamus prediction, whilst you point to 08 and 10, the biggest difference is you had two World Championships, the Big and Little as it were. If Sheamus was to win this time round their would be a lot of overbooking down to either make him lose his shot or relegate the WWE Title Match to half way down the card. Because surely that much is certain, Sheamus WON'T be headlining WMXXX. Also calling Sheamus a 'new' star when he won his first WWE World Title in 2009 is a bit of a stretch.
And also in regards to them not being able to create new stars Los Matadores & El Torito say hello.
(Can anyone guess it's the last 30 mins of work and this was an ideal way to look busy and fill time.)
What I will say is as Steve is saying Bryan should win, and I'll take that as a prediction, given past form of his predictions I feel a little better about reading the results on Monday.
And finally it is a Brit banner, and it is very dope.
Post by Lord Hastings on Jan 24, 2014 11:29:38 GMT -5
Sheamus was booked back then as a very weak champion. He didn't really get over big until 2011-2012. Even if you want to count 2009 as him becoming a star, that certainly is new compared to 2004.
Your argument about Punk creating himself as opposed to WWE could also be applied to Austin, Rock, Jericho, hell any number of people. You can't get over by yourself and the company can't get you over without you bringing something to the table.
Post by T-Robosaurus Rex on Jan 24, 2014 12:16:11 GMT -5
And with the examples above the WWE did run with it, but we're almost talking about people they couldn't ignore (Like Bryan now).
The real weakness is in those guys that need their support not being given it, when you then see Big Show get fairly major pushes every few months when he's pretty much as established as they come. I love the fact in December they had him dressed as a big baby and now he's the immovable object in Lesnar's way.
I think my point is this, the UGWC roster would make a better booking committee than WWE's.
Hanson: "May Roberts' soul go to a better place, free of chunky Asians, who do flips."
Post by Ezekiel Pax on Jan 24, 2014 18:10:55 GMT -5
So far, it seems like anyone in a set match outside of the Rumble isn't in the Rumble itself. So that most likely means that Daniel Bryan is not even in the Rumble. If he is, I'll be pleasantly surprised because he should win and go on to Mania. If he isn't, then I see him getting into the main event through other means.
Another guy I'd like to see win the Rumble is Dolph Ziggler but last I knew, he was out with an injury Ryback gave him. That's unfortunate. I see Sheamus returning at the Rumble but not winning it. With Punk getting entered at #1, it'd be awesome to see him go the whole way and take the win.
Post by Lord Hastings on Jan 26, 2014 14:13:43 GMT -5
Bryan should win, Batista will win, Punk is #1, Rollins is #2, Sheamus will be #30, Reigns records the most eliminations.
But that is all based on the assumption that everyone is making that either Orton or Cena is the champ at Mania. I could see the title moving to either Batista or Lesnar at Elimination Chamber. Given that one of the biggest feuds of the past year was Punk/Heyman and Punk/Lesnar was such an epic match with Lesnar winning, I could see Lesnar defending against Rumble winner CM Punk as the Mania main event.
Post by Travis Pierce on Jan 26, 2014 14:16:18 GMT -5
Number 30 will be Hogan, who wins the whole thing. Then Ultimate Warrior returns at Elimination Chamber to win the title, to drop it to Hogan at 30, cuz Hogan still needs his win back from all those years ago.
It's okay because Hogan told Vince it'll be a good idea.
Post by Lord Hastings on Jan 26, 2014 23:50:34 GMT -5
Good lord, what a disaster.
I've never seen a crowd so summarily dismiss an event like tonight.
Fans were white hot for Daniel Bryan in the opening match, as expected. Bryan actually got a pretty good match out of Bray Wyatt, and while I think the ending caught people by surprise, they were okay with it because of what they expected for later.
Brock/Big Show was a complete abortion of a "match" and it sounded like it sucked the wind out of everything. Post-"match" beatdown went on FOREVER.
The last time I remember a crowd crapping on a match like they did Orton/Cena, it was Brock/Goldberg. After booing both men and chanting for Daniel Bryan, I heard what sounded like chants for Kurt Angle, Randy Savage, You Both Suck, We Want Divas, and This is Awful. The fact that the match itself grinded to a halt during all this didn't help. Actually had a hot finish sequence, despite the actual ending making Cena look like a complete moron (I've never understood why you would release a submission hold or give up on a pin because the lights went out or somebody's music hit). Looks like Donovan might end up eating his hat after all.
In a vacuum, I thought the Rumble match itself was pretty good. Too bad for WWE, it wasn't in a vacuum. The crowd started anticipating Daniel Bryan in the mid-20s, and when 30 came and it wasn't Bryan, all you heard was boos. Lots of "NO! NO!" chants in there too. Once it got down to Reigns and Batista, the crowd got huge behind Roman Reigns (who really did look like a star in this match), and back to the boos when Batista won.
On the heels of this Royal Rumble, looks like Mania will consists of Orton/Batista, Lesnar/Taker, Punk/HHH, Cena/Wyatt, Cody/Dustin. There is no obvious slot for Daniel Bryan, although recent rumors have him facing Sheamus in a "Who Gives a Shit" Match.