If The Wrestling Thread Keeps Changing Titles, Thread Manager Gets A Brogue Kick

[Metallo]

The sink would have to get tested even if Kelly just washed her hands in it.

She's probably had a few hands under her while she dripped so I'm sure she's sympathetic.

OMG Kofi knocked the coffee out of Otunga's hand! FINALLY!!!!

That was coffee? I was starting to think the guy was drinking baby oil and sweating it out of his pores.

 

[LOBO3315a]

That was coffee? I was starting to think the guy was drinking baby oil and sweating it out of his pores.

Only when he has a match. I'm still waiting for someone to call him a roided up Carlton.

 

[Wheels]

The sinks usually don't have to get tested afterwards. usually.




WWE jobbed their entire Cruiserweight concept to Hornswoggle thats why

That's true lol. However, they could easily have a match like that involving a midcard title with all the smaller athletic guys they have.

 

[Keyser Soze]

As far as The Miz goes, I put him on that list because when he had the belt, he elevated himself as far as I was concerned. I actually tuned in to see what shenanigans he was going to get involved in. It was constantly funny, and kept me tuning in. Lately, they haven't given him **** to work with, and he hasn't really done much with what he's been given, so I'm tuning in for him less and less. We'll see what happens at Wrestlemania, if he's actually got something good in store.

You know, I disagree with a lot of your points, but I won't join in on the Miz-bashing others have engaged in, as I agree with you that The Miz HAS elevated himself. He is an immensely improved performer. When you look at how terrible he was at first, then through hard work and dedication, he made himself passable in the ring, then with even more hard work and dedication, he made himself good. I don't think The Miz had innate wrestling ability, this didn't come naturally to him, so I have a lot of respect for his passion, in the face of naysayers, for elevating himself the way he did.

But though he's good in the ring, he's not the best. Though he's good on the mic, he's not the best. So my point is, why is it that you see him as a star over superior contemporaries. Why, in turn, do you suddenly find him less compelling now? Which brings me back to my point: you thought The Miz was a star, because he was presented as a star. He had an extended run, on Raw - the show you watch - where he was WWE Heavyweight Champion for a long time, got a lot of mic time and a lot of interaction with top stars like Cena. He was presented as a top guy, and you bought into that.

But WWE's problem from time to time is that they don't have long-term commitment to such pushes. Someone is a top guy for a while, then once Cena beats them, there's nowhere else for them to go but down the card, and they flounder while someone else gets pushed up and is top guy for a while. There's not enough depth on the top of the card to keep people on top. And that's the problem with the lack of stars comes from.

Is someone like Daniel Bryan going to be The Guy, the top babyface who moves merchandise and sells out arenas with his name on the marquee like Cena? Sadly, I doubt it, even though he's probably my favourite wrestler. But he could very easily be The Other Guy, a dependable top-tier heel who can be set against your top babyfaces who move the merchandise and sell out the arenas. That's the kind of role that made Jericho, Edge, Kurt Angle, even HHH into stars. But the key is continued commitment. It's not an interchangable role. If you depush Bryan after he drops the title, he only gave the rub to Sheamus or whoever. If you keep him in top-level programs, and keep him credible for a second title reign in the future, that's an investment, and he becomes a guy who you can continue to use to elevate others in future, while he in turn is elevated through a consistent commitment.

 

[Keyser Soze]

The comparison to Triple H before he became the Triple H that I know and love today is irrelevant, because the guys in questions (Mark Henry, Christian, and Daniel Bryan) are all built. These aren't new, young guys stuck with lame gimmicks to see how they handle it. These are all guys now who have been built and are pretty much what they are going to be. Not that there won't be character shifts, of course there will be, but these guys are built. And I don't like them as main eventers as they are now, as they are being portrayed in the main event.

This point, however, is wrong. To return to my earlier analogy, I think Randy Orton was on his 3rd title reign before his character actually started to get serious traction, and probably later than that before he was able to get over as a top babyface.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Another good Smackdown, Bryan's promo or should I say AJ's, was gold, she is very good in her part and they play off each other well, her facial reactions to Sheamus insulting Bryan were excellent, like Vickie she gets it.

She's also a decent worker and it was funny seeing Bryan get some sugar off her while his real girlfriend was standing right in front of them. I think Van could be right, they are brewing a little something here as Brie did Bryan's signature "YES!" when she took AJ down.

Match-wise the show was good as always with Swagger vs Ryder and the tag team main event being the stand-outs. Ziggler showed his quality again by making Khali, the second worst worker I've ever see, at least watchable.

I really didn't even bother to watch most of it. Hogan coming back in a major role is awful. Sting continues to be the most naive babyface in wrestling history. He was a fine authority figure and should also be winding down as a wrestler. The new role was a good fit for that.

Putting Hogan back in that spot is ridiculous because you just know he's going to hog airtime. Hopefully Prichard comes back to work soon because he's the only guy there besides Bischoff that has a long history of working with Hogan behind the scenes. He's the only guy that can do the political maneuvering that isn't necessarily on Hogans side. Dixies clueless to that stuff.

I don't get why Sting allows himself to be portrayed as such an irritating suck up to Hogan, and I also don't get why he's going back to wrestle, I honestly thought he was one of the smart ones that would know when to hang it up, sadly that's not the case.

The Hogan effect is already in play, note that Roode wasn't even on the show and Storm's segment was shoehorned into the second half somewhere, while Sting, Dixie and Hogan's angle dominated the opening and closing segments.

I understand how wrestling works just fine. I know plenty of people who are involved in the business in one way or another on various levels. I have a pretty good grasp of how things work.

Most of these people in the business that I know also tend to agree with how I look at wrestling. They understand the importance of the booking aspect obviously, but they also don't nit pick every little minute detail like some people in this thread do. I know people who are in indy circuits out in California, I know people who have had ties to WWE directly (the production aspect of it, not just some guy in an office somewhere, or some janitor), so yea, I understand just fine. Even when these people don't necessarily agree with me (for instance, the people I know out in California are huge Daniel Bryan fans where I'm not), they totally at least understand where I'm coming from, instead of twisting my words to suit their own argument. They agree with me when ultimately I say wrestling is about putting on a good show, not "putting guys over", and these are people in the business on different levels who would stress the importance of "putting people over", but also understand that's not the purpose of watching the show, and overanalyzing every detail of who gets put over when and how.

Oh God I was going to reply to this with sarcasm about my Dad being friends with Vince and my cousin being on a roller derby team with Steph in college as the whole "I know someone in the business" crap is the worst "I'm losing badly so I'll make stuff up" argument in the history of the net.

For all those people supposedly telling you that (Nice job on ignoring the facts that shot you down when it comes to development btw), there are shoots, biographies and interviews from guys who actually made it into the top end of the WWE that will tell you you don't understand the business and the process of making new stars.

 

[Keyser Soze]

Daniel Bryan has been on TV for around 18 months, he's 3 years younger than Punk and younger than Triple H was by the time anyone gave 2 ****s about him and H had been in the WWE 5 years before he got really over, so there's no logic from you there. Christian's time has passed because the booking didn't put him over properly, he was way more over than Miz, Sheamus or Del Rio, but Vince didn't like him and thus he's been used as an enhancement guy. Mark Henry is a monster who was booked as a goof for a decade, they then booked him as a monster and he got over huge, gee who'd of thunk it!

I feel sorry for Christian, as a career as a top star likely has passed him by now. His time was in 2005, during his Captain Charisma run. Can you remember when he started that feud with John Cena, cutting raps on him? He was doing his heel shtick so well that people were starting to cheer for him. The key turning point was that Raw episode where Christian had the bulk of backstage segments, and it really seemed like a trial run to see how he'd handle the transition from upper midcard to main event. And he handled it really well.

But, for whatever reason, Vince mulled it over and decided to pull the plug on the push. So Chris Jericho hijacks the Cena feud and Christian is phased out, then Christian gets shunted over to Smackdown and depushed. And there were reports at the time of people having "Captain Charisma" signs confiscated, and the Captain Charisma T-shirt was removed from sale at WWE.com, where at the time it was the highest-selling piece of merchandise available. It truly was a sabotaged push.

And then an understandably frustrated Christian went to TNA, where he proved he had the chops to be a strong main event babyface and a brilliant main event heel. He did some of his best ever work over there, but it was on the smaller stage of TNA. And because the bookers over there are total idiots, they soon ran out of ideas for what to do with him. And it's better being misused and directionless in WWE than in TNA, so he went back.

After a couple more directionless years, it was last year when WWE finally decided to try letting him be World Champion for a bit. Far too late, but still, in spite of it all, Christian made the absolute best of it. Here's a guy that no, was never a true headline top guy, but it was clearly through no fault of his own.

 

[MMMMM...Pancakes]

I agree with you 100% about Christain. It was total BS what happened to him back in 05. As a Christain fan, I was pissed about this, still am.

I thought they'd make up for it with his first title run last year, but once again they dropped the ball. They could at least gave a run longer than 5 days.

 

[Hunter Rider]

You know, I disagree with a lot of your points, but I won't join in on the Miz-bashing others have engaged in, as I agree with you that The Miz HAS elevated himself. He is an immensely improved performer. When you look at how terrible he was at first, then through hard work and dedication, he made himself passable in the ring, then with even more hard work and dedication, he made himself good. I don't think The Miz had innate wrestling ability, this didn't come naturally to him, so I have a lot of respect for his passion, in the face of naysayers, for elevating himself the way he did.

What Miz bashing? The only point being made on Miz is that the bulk of us don't see him as a top guy. Most of us praised his tag work with JoMo and his US title run, most were happy when he won the belt of a stale Orton, most have said how well he did to get where he has given the big dogs in the locker room wanted him out. I think his level is a a utility heel, him going into Mania as champ was weak IMO as I think he was just a company man patsy who'd accept being piggy in the middle where as guys like Punk and Orton wouldn't.

One thing I will say about Miz, look at him in the tag tonight, in there with 3 of the best workers in the company, he held his own, but why oh why does he not use that short stop DDT as his finisher? his current move has a stupid name and it never looks like he can actually hook it on, most guys just look like the flop forward, it's awkward and unconvincing.

Is someone like Daniel Bryan going to be The Guy, the top babyface who moves merchandise and sells out arenas with his name on the marquee like Cena? Sadly, I doubt it, even though he's probably my favourite wrestler. But he could very easily be The Other Guy, a dependable top-tier heel who can be set against your top babyfaces who move the merchandise and sell out the arenas. That's the kind of role that made Jericho, Edge, Kurt Angle, even HHH into stars. But the key is continued commitment. It's not an interchangable role. If you depush Bryan after he drops the title, he only gave the rub to Sheamus or whoever. If you keep him in top-level programs, and keep him credible for a second title reign in the future, that's an investment, and he becomes a guy who you can continue to use to elevate others in future, while he in turn is elevated through a consistent commitment.

For the longest time I thought Bryan's best hope was to be a mechanic like Benoit, who floated between the main event and the upper mid-card, making the guys Vince actually wanted to push look good. However this heel turn has made me think the point you make above is accurate, he can be more akin to an Angle or even Edge, who I'd rate as the heel of the last decade.

 

[Van Petrol]

Another good Smackdown, Bryan's promo or should I say AJ's, was gold, she is very good in her part and they play off each other well, her facial reactions to Sheamus insulting Bryan were excellent, like Vickie she gets it.

She's also a decent worker and it was funny seeing Bryan get some sugar off her while his real girlfriend was standing right in front of them. I think Van could be right, they are brewing a little something here as Brie did Bryan's signature "YES!" when she took AJ down.

Agreed, on all counts.

I'm wondering if the little spat the Bellas had at the end could be brewing into something related to Bryan and AJ. Or it might just be a bit of promotional stuff for the Funkhouser-Teddy match, with a cheerleader in each corner, for example.

Btw, D-Bry's gimmick is starting to warm up to me now, you'll probably be glad to know.

 

[Metallo]

I don't get why Sting allows himself to be portrayed as such an irritating suck up to Hogan, and I also don't get why he's going back to wrestle, I honestly thought he was one of the smart ones that would know when to hang it up, sadly that's not the case.

The Hogan effect is already in play, note that Roode wasn't even on the show and Storm's segment was shoehorned into the second half somewhere, while Sting, Dixie and Hogan's angle dominated the opening and closing segments.

Sadly Stings been willing to play second banana to Hogan for the last 18 years. I think he's just not that confrontational a guy or a player of "the game."

Speaking from a kayfabe perspective you'd think Sting would be wary of Hogan by this point. But then Sting is the guy who trusted the Horsemen more than once.

Speaking from a real world perspective I'd love to know his real unfiltered feelings on Hogan one day. I think he cares about TNA but if he REALLY cared you'd think he would raise some concerns over Hogan coming back in such a prominent way. He's seen what Hogan has done to TNA when he was there and what he did to WCW.

I'll just add this: Ric Flair should be managing Robert Roode. The fact that he's managing some nobody like Gunner is mind numbingly stupid. I like Flair as a manager but he's being used all wrong. He should be used with Roode the way he was with HHH or the way Race was with Vader: legitimizing and mentoring the guy who is similar in some way but "better."

 

[Wheels]

Miz needs to use the snapmare driver as his finisher.

 

[Hunter Rider]

I feel sorry for Christian, as a career as a top star likely has passed him by now. His time was in 2005, during his Captain Charisma run. Can you remember when he started that feud with John Cena, cutting raps on him? He was doing his heel shtick so well that people were starting to cheer for him. The key turning point was that Raw episode where Christian had the bulk of backstage segments, and it really seemed like a trial run to see how he'd handle the transition from upper midcard to main event. And he handled it really well.

But, for whatever reason, Vince mulled it over and decided to pull the plug on the push. So Chris Jericho hijacks the Cena feud and Christian is phased out, then Christian gets shunted over to Smackdown and depushed. And there were reports at the time of people having "Captain Charisma" signs confiscated, and the Captain Charisma T-shirt was removed from sale at WWE.com, where at the time it was the highest-selling piece of merchandise available. It truly was a sabotaged push.

And then an understandably frustrated Christian went to TNA, where he proved he had the chops to be a strong main event babyface and a brilliant main event heel. He did some of his best ever work over there, but it was on the smaller stage of TNA. And because the bookers over there are total idiots, they soon ran out of ideas for what to do with him. And it's better being misused and directionless in WWE than in TNA, so he went back.

After a couple more directionless years, it was last year when WWE finally decided to try letting him be World Champion for a bit. Far too late, but still, in spite of it all, Christian made the absolute best of it. Here's a guy that no, was never a true headline top guy, but it was clearly through no fault of his own.

I agree, I recall the MSG segment he did with Vince where Vince asked him if he thought he belonged in the main event and he said "yes!" to a massive roar of approval from the Garden crowd, long seen as the ultimate stamp of approval by Vince as they are the toughest crowd to win over.

Yet as you say he was blatantly sabotaged, whether it was Vince's ego in not wanting to give the fans what they wanted because he didn't see it in Christian, or whether they felt the feud they were running with him and Cena was not going to get the desired reaction they wanted and thus buried him, I don't know. The stupid part about that in hindsight is just over 6 months later people were cheering for Masters against Cena, people hated him that much.

Last summer I thought they were going to finally give him a proper run and push with the belt, but they gave it to him to give Edge a send off moment and then the second win was from spitting in Orton's face. Essentially he was used to make a struggling Randy Orton more interesting, giving him a heel who could carry the mic work and have excellent matches with him. Instead he should have had a decent run with Orton chasing him to Summerslam, but alas again he was screwed, well paid for it I am sure, but he deserved more.

 

[Van Petrol]

I'll just add this: Ric Flair should be managing Robert Roode. The fact that he's managing some nobody like Gunner is mind numbingly stupid. I like Flair as a manager but he's being used all wrong. He should be used with Roode the way he was with HHH or the way Race was with Vader: legitimizing and mentoring the guy who is similar in some way but "better."

Yes! I couldn't agree with this more.

 

[Metallo]

What Miz bashing? The only point being made on Miz is that the bulk of us don't see him as a top guy. Most of us praised his tag work with JoMo and his US title run, most were happy when he won the belt of a stale Orton, most have said how well he did to get where he has given the big dogs in the locker room wanted him out. I think his level is a a utility heel, him going into Mania as champ was weak IMO as I think he was just a company man patsy who'd accept being piggy in the middle where as guys like Punk and Orton wouldn't.

One thing I will say about Miz, look at him in the tag tonight, in there with 3 of the best workers in the company, he held his own, but why oh why does he not use that short stop DDT as his finisher? his current move has a stupid name and it never looks like he can actually hook it on, most guys just look like the flop forward, it's awkward and unconvincing.

Miz as he is now can have his place in the company but he's not a top guy. Nothing he did to elevate himself was good enough to justify that. He's a good talker but he's not a Rock/Piper/Michaels/Roberts/Punk level promo guy.

And he certainly doesn't have it in the ring to be mentioned among the greats. You look at the Mania card this year and just wonder what the hell he was doing there on top last year.

For the longest time I thought Bryan's best hope was to be a mechanic like Benoit, who floated between the main event and the upper mid-card, making the guys Vince actually wanted to push look good. However this heel turn has made me think the point you make above is accurate, he can be more akin to an Angle or even Edge, who I'd rate as the heel of the last decade.

Bryan has a lighter more nuanced touch character wise than Benoit. He doesn't have Benoits physique or intensity but that broader range in the character department could take him a long way. Much like Angle indeed. People seem to forget he started out silly and grew from there.

I feel sorry for Christian, as a career as a top star likely has passed him by now. His time was in 2005, during his Captain Charisma run. Can you remember when he started that feud with John Cena, cutting raps on him? He was doing his heel shtick so well that people were starting to cheer for him. The key turning point was that Raw episode where Christian had the bulk of backstage segments, and it really seemed like a trial run to see how he'd handle the transition from upper midcard to main event. And he handled it really well.

But, for whatever reason, Vince mulled it over and decided to pull the plug on the push. So Chris Jericho hijacks the Cena feud and Christian is phased out, then Christian gets shunted over to Smackdown and depushed. And there were reports at the time of people having "Captain Charisma" signs confiscated, and the Captain Charisma T-shirt was removed from sale at WWE.com, where at the time it was the highest-selling piece of merchandise available. It truly was a sabotaged push.

And then an understandably frustrated Christian went to TNA, where he proved he had the chops to be a strong main event babyface and a brilliant main event heel. He did some of his best ever work over there, but it was on the smaller stage of TNA. And because the bookers over there are total idiots, they soon ran out of ideas for what to do with him. And it's better being misused and directionless in WWE than in TNA, so he went back.

After a couple more directionless years, it was last year when WWE finally decided to try letting him be World Champion for a bit. Far too late, but still, in spite of it all, Christian made the absolute best of it. Here's a guy that no, was never a true headline top guy, but it was clearly through no fault of his own.

What happened to Christian was criminal. If they'd struck while the iron was hot he could have been a solid heel champion. Not one of THE top guys but close to Jericho's level.

He's better on the mic than most and plays an annoying little b*stard perfectly.

It was pretty cool that he and Edge held the WWE and NWA titles the same year. Last time something like that happened was when Sting and Warrior did it in 1990.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Agreed, on all counts.

I'm wondering if the little spat the Bellas had at the end could be brewing into something related to Bryan and AJ. Or it might just be a bit of promotional stuff for the Funkhouser-Teddy match, with a cheerleader in each corner, for example.

Btw, D-Bry's gimmick is starting to warm up to me now, you'll probably be glad to know.

It could go either way, I mean Vince is a fan of the Bellas so chances are they'll be getting a payday come Mania, so I can see one in each corner, although that might cramp things with Aksana and Vickie around.

Heh! Always glad to hear of fans getting more out of the show! I think Bryan and Sheamus will put on a great match as well if they are given a good 12 minutes.

Sadly Stings been willing to play second banana to Hogan for the last 18 years. I think he's just not that confrontational a guy or a player of "the game."

Speaking from a kayfabe perspective you'd think Sting would be wary of Hogan by this point. But then Sting is the guy who trusted the Horsemen more than once.

Speaking from a real world perspective I'd love to know his real unfiltered feelings on Hogan one day. I think he cares about TNA but if he REALLY cared you'd think he would raise some concerns over Hogan coming back in such a prominent way. He's seen what Hogan has done to TNA when he was there and what he did to WCW.

I'll just add this: Ric Flair should be managing Robert Roode. The fact that he's managing some nobody like Gunner is mind numbingly stupid. I like Flair as a manager but he's being used all wrong. He should be used with Roode the way he was with HHH or the way Race was with Vader: legitimizing and mentoring the guy who is similar in some way but "better."

Even if Sting isn't confrontational I don't get why he goes to the other extreme of being captain suck up, he could just step back from it. I get the feeling Sting's real life feelings will be all forgiveness because he's big on that these days, so nothing juicy would come out.

I agree he surely must have voiced concerns to Dixie over bringing in the two guys the rode WCW into the dirt, but in truth all I saw at Victory Road and on Impact is another old guy who is draining as much spotlight as he can while he can.

Roode and Flair is such a natural fit, much more so than AJ was with Flair, and Gunner? A guy that looks like a background heavy from a Steven Seagal movier being managed by Flair? the only thing I can think of is Roode doesn't need a mouthpiece, but then neither did H and it worked very well with those two, I'm surrpised no one has picked up on this especially given they were in Fortune together.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Miz as he is now can have his place in the company but he's not a top guy. Nothing he did to elevate himself was good enough to justify that. He's a good talker but he's not a Rock/Piper/Michaels/Roberts/Punk level promo guy.

And he certainly doesn't have it in the ring to be mentioned among the greats. You look at the Mania card this year and just wonder what the hell he was doing there on top last year.

I think Miz in 2010 and the second half of 2011 is exactly what he needs to be, hell I could even see another title win if it was transitional, but last years overeaching with him I think was politically savvy in that they needed someone that wouldn't make waves as the focus became Rock and Cena, plus Miz set up all that TV stuff that got him in good with Vince.

Bryan has a lighter more nuanced touch character wise than Benoit. He doesn't have Benoits physique or intensity but that broader range in the character department could take him a long way. Much like Angle indeed. People seem to forget he started out silly and grew from there.

Yeah Benoit looked like a warrior and was basically one speed, but Bryan has shown he can carry an actual angle with his mic work and ability to play off others using the classic Dusty advice of the heel always finding a way to justify their actions to themselves. Good point on Angle, I fondly remember the 3 I's and his banjo playing.

 

[Wheels]

Bryan's character is definitely similar to Kurt Angle's with his over the top celebrations and claiming to be a role model while acting like an obnoxious tool. I was rolling during the opening segment tonight.

 

[Metallo]

Even if Sting isn't confrontational I don't get why he goes to the other extreme of being captain suck up, he could just step back from it. I get the feeling Sting's real life feelings will be all forgiveness because he's big on that these days, so nothing juicy would come out.

I agree he surely must have voiced concerns to Dixie over bringing in the two guys the rode WCW into the dirt, but in truth all I saw at Victory Road and on Impact is another old guy who is draining as much spotlight as he can while he can.

Roode and Flair is such a natural fit, much more so than AJ was with Flair, and Gunner? A guy that looks like a background heavy from a Steven Seagal movier being managed by Flair? the only thing I can think of is Roode doesn't need a mouthpiece, but then neither did H and it worked very well with those two, I'm surrpised no one has picked up on this especially given they were in Fortune together.

I think he's just a team player and he respects Hogan as a star (even if its dim and fading fast). He's never seemed to be overly protective of his top spot as long as he was making money. Even in WCW he says he was glad Hogan came in and basically became top babyface. Remember Sting said the one wrestler he recognized before he broke in was Hogan. He'd see him coming into his gym in California and be awed by the reaction Hogan got.

Its still strange that Stings character seems to have to suck up to Hogan on screen more than anyone else. Even Flair. He probably still appreciates all the money he made when the NWO angle took off (not that Hogan deserves most of the credit for that either). He never shies away from giving credit where its due even if its misguided. Part of the reason he even came to TNA was the Jarretts. Stings naive to a fault but at least he's not throwing anyone who elevated him under the bus the way HHH is with Foley.

Being a christian doesn't mean he has to be a doormat though. Michaels gladly aired his feelings on Hogan out.

Roode and Flair is such a natural fit, much more so than AJ was with Flair, and Gunner? A guy that looks like a background heavy from a Steven Seagal movier being managed by Flair? the only thing I can think of is Roode doesn't need a mouthpiece, but then neither did H and it worked very well with those two, I'm surprised no one has picked up on this especially given they were in Fortune together.

He doesn't need Flair as a mouthpiece but I can see Flair serving a similar function with Roode the way Heenan and Dillon did with him. Flair didn't need a mouthpiece either but those two guys worked as sort of assistants/employees/managers handling Flairs affairs (business and otherwise ). It made Flair seem more important.

 

[Wheels]

Is their anyone more useless than Hornswoggle in WWE? You have guys who actually can work who do comedy, so Hornswoggle is not needed at all.

 

[Metallo]

I think Miz in 2010 and the second half of 2011 is exactly what he needs to be, hell I could even see another title win if it was transitional, but last years overeaching with him I think was politically savvy in that they needed someone that wouldn't make waves as the focus became Rock and Cena, plus Miz set up all that TV stuff that got him in good with Vince.

I think thats it. Anyone else would have taken attention away from Rock vs Cena.

I could easily see Miz as a hated upper midcard heel. There are certain guys he would work well with. I think he and Bryan had a good thing going. Hes the kind of guy that would be perfect picking on Zack Ryder because he's such a *****e.

Bryan's character is definitely similar to Kurt Angle's with his over the top celebrations and claiming to be a role model while acting like an obnoxious tool. I was rolling during the opening segment tonight.

Now I want to see Angle vs Bryan. Hopefully Kurt will come back to WWE before he retires.

 

[Metallo]

Is their anyone more useless than Hornswoggle in WWE? You have guys who actually can work who do comedy, so Hornswoggle is not needed at all.

There have been much better comedy acts. Hornswoggle is like career kryptonite to a lot of midcarders. At least he couldn't hurt DX.

Sometimes I wish Hornswoggle would get written off tv in a tragic falling King Kong Bundy accident.

If Earthquake were alive Hornswoggle would make for a great crashpad for him.

 

[Wheels]

Hornswoggle is so pointless. You have Santino, Ryder, Funkasaurus, Kofi, Rey, and Cena who appeal to children. Hornswoggle brings nothing to the show and he is working WrestleMania.

 

[Hunter Rider]

I think he's just a team player and he respects Hogan as a star (even if its dim and fading fast). He's never seemed to be overly protective of his top spot as long as he was making money. Even in WCW he says he was glad Hogan came in and basically became top babyface. Remember Sting said the one wrestler he recognized before he broke in was Hogan. He'd see him coming into his gym in California and be awed by the reaction Hogan got.

Its still strange that Stings character seems to have to suck up to Hogan on screen more than anyone else. Even Flair. He probably still appreciates all the money he made when the NWO angle took off (not that Hogan deserves most of the credit for that either). He never shies away from giving credit where its due even if its misguided. Part of the reason he even came to TNA was the Jarretts. Stings naive to a fault but at least he's not throwing anyone who elevated him under the bus the way HHH is with Foley.

Being a christian doesn't mean he has to be a doormat though. Michaels gladly aired his feelings on Hogan out.

Even taking all that into consideration he knows Hogan is a shark, I mean this is a guy that ruined an 18 month angle and stalled the biggest push of Sting's career because he didn't want to do the job, just baffling to me.

The difference with HBK though is that he had that streak in him, it may lay dormant these days but it's still there, where as Sting was always the nice guy.

He doesn't need Flair as a mouthpiece but I can see Flair serving a similar function with Roode the way Heenan and Dillon did with him. Flair didn't need a mouthpiece either but those two guys worked as sort of assistants/employees/managers handling Flairs affairs (business and otherwise ). It made Flair seem more important.

Good point, Flair as his manager would add an extra bit of sheen to his character and presentation.

I think thats it. Anyone else would have taken attention away from Rock vs Cena.

I could easily see Miz as a hated upper midcard heel. There are certain guys he would work well with. I think he and Bryan had a good thing going. Hes the kind of guy that would be perfect picking on Zack Ryder because he's such a *****e.

I wouldn't be surprised if Miz and Bryan ended up teaming after Mania, they've teased the possibility a couple of times now. I just hope they don't use it as a catalyst to either turning face.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

I wonder if Punk hitting on AJ during the tag match on Smackdown tonight is going to lead somewhere.