The Machine won't let the Wrestling Thread Win

[Wheels]

WWE still has good things but they refuse to give people what they want unless it fits their plan. That's what all comes down to. I'm growing weary of the song and dance. I'm tired of WWE's criteria and their boxes that need to be checked.

 

[Herolee10]

It's battered wife syndrome, at some point you just lose hope that anything will change. I've been watching a long time and I've never seen a guy get as over as Bryan and then deliberately have the rug pulled out from under him. If you look back any other guy that has gotten that hot gets the full force of the promotion put behind him, they don't stall and hesitate and constantly sidestep.

Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, and Zack Ryder....three guys that I can think of at the moment who worked their asses off at different points in their careers to have gotten over with the crowd at one point or another, only to have the rugs pulled out from under them because they weren't "made" by the WWE.

Heck, RVD and Booker T had the same crap happen to them 12 years ago because Triple H didn't see any value in them and didn't want to give up being in the spotlight then as well.

 

[Herolee10]

Wrestlemania is coming up and everybody wants in for a piece of the pie which means guys who have carrying the company this whole time have to take a step back just to get some of the crust. Something Punk practically cried foul about almost two years ago.

Unfortunately, in Bryan's case, WWE gave him a chance at redemption and all his supporters weren't there. He didn't draw the numbers they wanted for SummerSlam (because almost everybody was illegal streaming it I bet) and Vince lost faith in him. Not Bryan's fault, but shame on his fanbase for not coming through for him on ordering when he needed it the most.

So when you got proven draws like Lesnar and Batista coming back. In a way, I can't blame WWE for playing it safe. Best for business unfortunately.

If I'm not mistaken, the only reason why the August, September, and October PPV's didn't draw big numbers were primarily due to the fact that those shows largely had a very crappy line up next to a great main event booking, along with how two of those shows had bad finishes that left a bad taste in people's mouths.

Frankly, Vince and company are putting the blame on the wrong person. No one could have saved those shows with the way things were booked.

 

[OnTheAir]

TNA taped two of their One Night Only pay-per-views the last two nights.

Hardcore Justice, taped 12/29 in Lowell, MA:

Spoiler

• Bobby Roode defeated Samoa Joe via DQ in a match that would determine what team has the advantage in Lethal Lockdown. Roode pretended he had been hit with a trash can to cause the DQ.

• There was a promo with TNA Tag Team champions the Bro Mans with Dewey.

• Ethan Carter III defeated Tommy Dreamer in a Tables Match. Carter got lots of heat. Dreamer looked older but was really over and did everything the crowd would expect from him.

• Joseph Park and Eric Young defeated Bad Influence in a Full Metal Mayhem match. Young dropped an elbow off the ladder on Chris Daniels for the pin.

• Bully Ray defeated Mr. Anderson in a Stretcher Match, which turned into something of a Last Man Standing bout.

• Lei'd Tapa defeated Velvet Sky in a Street Fight.

• In an X-Division Escape match, Austin Aries defeated Chris Sabin.

• In a Lethal Lockdown match, Team Angle (Kurt Angle & Abyss & Samoa Joe & James Storm) defeated Team Roode (Bobby Roode & Bromans & Magnus) after Abyss gave Robbie E. a Black Hole Slam on a barbed wire board.

TNA #OldSchool, taped 12/30 in Poughkeepsie, NY:

Spoiler

• Austin Aries defeated Chris Sabin and Sonjay Dutt in a good match in 8:50 minutes.

• Ethan Carter III defeated Dewey Barnes in under 2 minutes.

• Bad Influence & Velvet Sky defeated The Bro-Mans & Lei'd Tapa in 10:55. Eric Young was the guest referee.

• TNA champion Magnus defeated Samoa Joe in 14:39 after hitting him with the TNA title belt. Joe had Magnus pinned after a Muscle Buster but EC3 yanked the referee out of the ring. They will have to edit the ending as Carter apparently missed his cue and time stood still for a second.

• Kurt Angle defeated Mr. Anderson with the Olympic Slam in 12 minutes. OK, but nothing special.

• Bobby Roode defeated James Storm in 16:50 in a Last Man Standing match. Roode nailed a suplex across two chairs on a handcuffed Storm, then nailed him with a beer bottle.

• Jeff Hardy defeated Abyss in a Monster's Ball in 16:17 after nailing a swanton onto Abyss, who was trapped between two barbed wire board. Hardy took a backdrop on thumbtacks. Hardy was bleeding hardway from the side of his head. Some sick spots.

Match results courtesy of pwinsider.com.

 

[TX85]

Even IF these rumored WM matches actually happen would anybody else still watch?,I'd be very disappointed at the card and direction of the company but I can never go cold turkey,I have quit for a few months but never completely and never for years.

I'm someone who likes to find positives in every thing than just stop cause I don't agree with certain backstage politics/pushes/storylines,I never fully quit with all of these years with Cena on top and so I wouldn't now.

 

[TheNextNolan22]

I'd ****ing pissed because I paid $430+ for a ticket alone. Oh well, IF that card turns out to be true there's other wrestling I can see live that weekend. ROH always delivers on Mania Weekend so that would be enough right there.

 

[Dr. Evil]

Even IF these rumored WM matches actually happen would anybody else still watch?,I'd be very disappointed at the card and direction of the company but I can never go cold turkey,I have quit for a few months but never completely and never for years.

I'm someone who likes to find positives in every thing than just stop cause I don't agree with certain backstage politics/pushes/storylines,I never fully quit with all of these years with Cena on top and so I wouldn't now.

I almost left for good when the s-storm occurred after the death of "He who Shall Not be Named" that resulted in a major steroids scandal. I call it "WWE's Summer of Hell 2007." The fact that the WWE has gone Scandal free since then is a positive. But it almost doomed the company.

 

[Darkness Falls]

oh wwe universe

Which side of Batista would you like to see when he returns?

65%The noble hero
35%The ruthless villain

 

[Mrs. Sawyer]

65% of fans hate duct tape

 

[Hunter Rider]

http://www.wwe.com/videos/playlists/raw-december-30-2013-exclusives

Punk reacts to the Bryan/Wyatt's ending, looks like they got him to cut this promo directly after the dark match. Interesting that Punk calls Bryan a Dragon.....

 

[NDX]

WWE still has good things but they refuse to give people what they want unless it fits their plan. That's what all comes down to. I'm growing weary of the song and dance. I'm tired of WWE's criteria and their boxes that need to be checked.

And **** like this is why I focus mainly on just the matches now instead of the storylines. At least those have, for the most part, been worth sitting through RAW/SD/ME.

 

[The Sage]

Sorry to say this, but I hope the crowd doesn't cheer Batista as loud as CM Punk and Daniel Bryan when he returns. Heck, I almost want them to be totally apathetic.

Wrestlemania is coming up and everybody wants in for a piece of the pie which means guys who have carrying the company this whole time have to take a step back just to get some of the crust. Something Punk practically cried foul about almost two years ago.

Unfortunately, in Bryan's case, WWE gave him a chance at redemption and all his supporters weren't there. He didn't draw the numbers they wanted for SummerSlam (because almost everybody was illegal streaming it I bet) and Vince lost faith in him. Not Bryan's fault, but shame on his fanbase for not coming through for him on ordering when he needed it the most.

So when you got proven draws like Lesnar and Batista coming back. In a way, I can't blame WWE for playing it safe. Best for business unfortunately.

They expected Bryan to become an immediate draw the first time they put him in a PPV main-event? That doesn't make sense. I doubt Batista and Brock were immediate draws when they became main-eventers.

Bryan wasn't at fault, the booking was. Like Herolee10, the months after Summerslam had some weak booking and dumb finishes.

And really again, gave up on his push after one attempt? Ryback never produced huge numbers, yet they kept pushing him for a year, and barely anyone cared about him. Bryan's so over it's flat out stupid he isn't in the spotlight.

http://www.wwe.com/videos/playlists/raw-december-30-2013-exclusives

Punk reacts to the Bryan/Wyatt's ending, looks like they got him to cut this promo directly after the dark match. Interesting that Punk calls Bryan a Dragon.....

Alright Punk, you've put me back in optimistic mode slightly. We'll see if this Dragon is breathing fire and is going to burn the Wyatts from the inside out.

As for the suggestions about Bryan throwing Bray out and leading Harper and Rowan, aren't the Wyatts supposed to be the new 3 guy team to be featured in the six man main-events after the Shield break up? If so, it doesn't make sense to split them.

 

[Mrs. Sawyer]

http://www.wwe.com/videos/playlists/raw-december-30-2013-exclusives

Punk reacts to the Bryan/Wyatt's ending, looks like they got him to cut this promo directly after the dark match. Interesting that Punk calls Bryan a Dragon.....

Something tells me there's still a chance Punk or Bryan will win the rumble. The optimistic side in me does not believe WWE would be stupid enough to let guy who would have been back for literally less than a week win the rumble.

 

[Slushy]

@ Sage

That's pretty much it. It makes sense if you go by Vince's warped way of thinking. Either that or he never fully got behind him to begin with because of his size and gave him the half assed push as a place holder until Cena recovered.

I hope Punk or Bryan will be the guy carrying the company following Wrestlemania, but I'm probably hoping for nothing.

 

[Herolee10]

@ Sage

That's pretty much it. It makes sense if you go by Vince's warped way of thinking. Either that or he never fully got behind him to begin with because of his size and gave him the half assed push as a place holder until Cena recovered.

I hope Punk or Bryan will be the guy carrying the company following Wrestlemania, but I'm probably hoping for nothing.

As much as it'd be nice to think that Bryan and Punk would be allowed to carry the company at some point, I really doubt it given that they'll have Batista around, especially when he's getting ready to promote his film during summer...not to mention, they'll likely want to start pushing Reigns and Langston as bigger faces as well.

Honestly, Triple H/Stephanie/Vince are to the WWE what the NWO was in the long run to WCW.

What sucks for wrestlers today is that they don't have another major promotion that they could go to and get better treatment from like back in the good old Monday Night Wars' days.

 

[bullets]

Wrestlemania is coming up and everybody wants in for a piece of the pie which means guys who have carrying the company this whole time have to take a step back just to get some of the crust. Something Punk practically cried foul about almost two years ago.

Unfortunately, in Bryan's case, WWE gave him a chance at redemption and all his supporters weren't there. He didn't draw the numbers they wanted for SummerSlam (because almost everybody was illegal streaming it I bet) and Vince lost faith in him. Not Bryan's fault, but shame on his fanbase for not coming through for him on ordering when he needed it the most.

So when you got proven draws like Lesnar and Batista coming back. In a way, I can't blame WWE for playing it safe. Best for business unfortunately.

Well I can't even begin to tell you how much I've spent on tickets and DVDs over the years. I simply can't afford to order every ppv. I don't feel bad because every year they only produce 3 or 4 good ones , tops. So they can kiss my ass. Cena has been the play it safe option for years but at least he can be used properly on occasion. I don't mind big stars returning. However we should be entitled to five star matches at wrestle mania and not mediocre bs . How is it that a guy who can only wrestle once a year if he's lucky is the saving grace of the company. Wwe needs to get it right before they start expecting fans to buy every program.

 

[Herolee10]

I actually wonder on how everyone would react backstage if people started walking out of PPV's more frequently, let alone for this coming Wrestlemania due to either the matches or results being bad.

 

[Dugath]

Well I can't even begin to tell you how much I've spent on tickets and DVDs over the years. I simply can't afford to order every ppv. I don't feel bad because every year they only produce 3 or 4 good ones , tops. So they can kiss my ass. Cena has been the play it safe option for years but at least he can be used properly on occasion. I don't mind big stars returning. However we should be entitled to five star matches at wrestle mania and not mediocre bs . How is it that a guy who can only wrestle once a year if he's lucky is the saving grace of the company. Wwe needs to get it right before they start expecting fans to buy every program.

Sounds like the Undertaker

Speaking of which, I almost expected last night on Raw at the end for Takers "bells/gongs" to sound, the lights go out and then back on and Daniel would be gone from the ring.

 

[Dr. Evil]

I actually wonder on how everyone would react backstage if people started walking out of PPV's more frequently, let alone for this coming Wrestlemania due to either the matches or results being bad.

Vince McMahon would be at a point where he has to be hospitalized because he will be in such a rage, it may induce cardiac arrest.

 

[Dr. Evil]

Something tells me there's still a chance Punk or Bryan will win the rumble. The optimistic side in me does not believe WWE would be stupid enough to let guy who would have been back for literally less than a week win the rumble.

Well, they are stupid and that is exactly what will happen.

 

[bullets]

Sounds like the Undertaker

Speaking of which, I almost expected last night on Raw at the end for Takers "bells/gongs" to sound, the lights go out and then back on and Daniel would be gone from the ring.

That would of been awesome. I thought Undertaker was about to interrupt Brock for a second there

 

[Dr. Evil]

Although I like Langston and Reigns, I think it's too soon for either to win the Rumble, but if either wins, I wouldn't be too upset by it. Hell, I'd rather either of them than Batista, who I don't think wins anyways.

I have a winner of the Rumble already in mind.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Alright Punk, you've put me back in optimistic mode slightly. We'll see if this Dragon is breathing fire and is going to burn the Wyatts from the inside out.

As for the suggestions about Bryan throwing Bray out and leading Harper and Rowan, aren't the Wyatts supposed to be the new 3 guy team to be featured in the six man main-events after the Shield break up? If so, it doesn't make sense to split them.

It almost felt like WWE had Punk rush to cut that promo to stem some of the negative response, apparently the areena was left very angry post-Raw.

To clarify, in my scenario Bryan simply swerves Bray and throws him out, he doesn't lead Harper and Rowan afterwards.

Something tells me there's still a chance Punk or Bryan will win the rumble. The optimistic side in me does not believe WWE would be stupid enough to let guy who would have been back for literally less than a week win the rumble.

I hope you're right, it's frustrating though to go into the Rumble with nervous trepidation instead of anticipation.

 

[Hunter Rider]

WWE announced the following names for next week's "Old School" edition of Raw:


-Ric Flair
-Diamond Dallas Page
-Bob Backlund
-Ted DiBiase Sr.
-Irwin R. Schyster
-Gene Okerlund
-Booker T
-The New Age Outlaws
-Scotty 2 Hotty
-Rikishi
-Roddy Piper

I'd love to see The Shield on Piper's Pit, or maybe Bryan with Hot Rod trying to talk some sense into him.

 

[Dr. Evil]

The news on Mae Young isn't good.