Punk is great in general as long as he isn't on a leash. His intial WWE face run was boring promo wise.
Exactly. Whenever he's allowed to cut loose creatively he knocks it out of the park. Instead of forcing Punk to be what they want they should just let him be what he is more often. Call him an anti hero or a tweener or whatever but a lot of those crowds don't want to boo him right now.
He's always best when there's at least a kernel of truth in what he says in the mic. It adds to his work and makes his character more compelling instead of him just playing the usual vanilla babyface or cowardly heel.
The WHC may well be a Fatal 4-way match to get more guys on the card.
I could see it happening that way too. It solves problems the match might have with star power and lets face it a match with Jericho, Ziggler, Del Rio, and either Big Show or Henry is more interesting than just Del Rio vs one of those guys.
As tired as I get of multiman title matches at Mania WWE has loved doing them for years.
Rosa looks way better without so much garish makeup on. The makeup people back stage need to use primarily a natural earth-tone look for her, not so much with the blue eyeshadow and bright red lips.
I think that applies to many women in wrestling. The natural make up looks more appealing than the overdone ****e make up WWE and TNA put on many women. Brooke Adams and AJ look great when theirs is toned down. Couldn't imagine AJ sporting the full on streetwalker look. Skin tone is a big factor. I also think that it depends on if it fits the character.
But even when you have someone it fits like Angelina Love (whose face has taken a real hit in recent years) the hooker make up only makes her looks worse. Ditto for Melina
Also I think the xenophobe gimmick for Swagger will get heat but it could turn into another Muhammad Hassan situation. Political and religious gimmicks usually cause problems for WWE. Still, they're pushing envelope and that's good.
I think it could be a great gimmick during the right period...just not for Swagger. Reminds me of when they tried to make Regal the "Real Mans Man" like he stepped off the Bounty paper towel packaging. Regals tough but what they gave him was the wrong kind of tough guy gimmick.
Swagger hasn't shown the fire or the ability to talk to sell a gimmick like this. Guess thats why they gave him Mantel as a manager. Smart move
If they let someone really go for this gimmick the way Hassan (who wasn't even all that great) did or even they way Slaughter did in 91 instead of a hokey cartoony character ala The New Generation midcard it could be something interesting. But right now I rank it right next to Cesaros cartoonish gimmick.
There's also the risk that--depending on where in the US they go--a character like Swaggers might get cheered. Anyone else remember the West Texas Rednecks vs The No Limit Soldiers?
Sometimes it just takes superstars a while to find their niche rather than having the full package when they're young. I never thought Bradshaw would become JBL. I never thought Eddie G would do much either beyond his Latino Heat gimmick and his comedic coupling with Chyna.
Similarly, Henry never struck me as someone who had potential to be a main eventer.
Henry started to turn it around sometime around 2006 in my eyes. I enjoyed his run as ECW champion too. Thats when I REALLY started to notice that he was finally improving.
Bradshaws a guy I didn't see anything in at first. I remember the Hawk Bradshaw stuff and The New Blackjacks. I couldn't have cared less. When he formed the Acolytes with Farooq my opinion on him changed. Then I really became a fan with the APA. I wasn't sure he was main event material but when he really got into the swing of it with JBL I could buy him as an upper midcard/occasional main event guy because he was so good on the mic.
I always knew Eddie had it. Especially after he left WCW. They never really gave him the best characters or material. Hell I knew he had it before he started gaining mass in WCW. He was a solid face and heel and in the ring he was incredible. I was more sure of him than I ever was of Mysterio making it in the main event scene.
Because it can't be posted enough:
Look at that magnificent b*st*rd Cesaro going all "Jason Voorhees" on the mizcarder.
- There was a backstage feeling at RAW last night that The Rock did not get the job done during his final promo going into the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. The pay-per-view is expected to do good business just because it's the Rock vs. CM Punk rematch.
Partial source: F4Wonline.com
I had the same feeling. For your typical promo it was ok but to sell a rematch for the last PPV before Mania it was weak.
- Chris Jericho explained to ESPN why his return has been so successful. Here is an excerpt from their article.
"Doing new things, changing your look, changing your personality in the ring, the way that you do interviews and promos
I've been doing this a long time," said Jericho. "I can come and go and when I come back, I'm always at the highest level just because I know what I'm doing. But more important than that, this is show business, and you always need to change things up in order to keep people interested. If you do the same thing for too long, it becomes boring, and I never want to be boring."
He's absolutely right. Sometimes you have to evolve to keep things fresh or at the very least mix old with new.
Early viewership information for this week's episode of WWE Monday Night Raw have the show dropping for the second week in a row. Despite the advertised appearance of WWE Champion, Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson, Raw only brought in about 4.26 million viewers across all three hours.
This is down from last week's episode without the Rock. We will have the official rating as it becomes available.
People like the ChairShot Reality guys and Madden get a reality check of their own. This outcome was common sense. Of course Rock drew for the post Rumble Raw but he didnt do it alone. It was the Raw after a major PPV with a unique match for a guy who isnt around much. Of course it was going to draw big numbers. It wasn't ONLY because of Rock though. If it was all about Rock his return to Raw monday would have drawn bigger but it didn't.
I think most people knew even with him there nothing big would happen. This show apparently drew less than last weeks show. All three of the most recet Raw shows highlight that if you put together a quality show with great action and compelling angles its going to draw more interest no matter what.
　
I agree on both Henry and Eddie. I never saw Eddie as a main-eventer because I doubted they'd ever consider him as one due to his size. He was obviously talented enough. Though once they started pushing him and giving him serious feuds to be in, and he stepped it up, I bought it totally.
Henry wasn't good enough in the ring IMO until the last few years. I still can't believe I'm marking out for him now.
I originally thought Edge didn't look right as a main-eventer until at some point it just clicked in my mind. He was doing everything right, it just took some time to process.
I felt Edge had it in him for a long time. He and WWE just couldn't figure out how to put the pieces together. It was around the time all the Kane/Lita/Hardy/Edge story and Edge/Lita affair happened that I thought Edge really found his creative voice as a character. They'd finally caught that spark inside that drove everything else.
The fans were a big part of tuning WWE in on that. Edge was a rogue. A cheater. A liar. But he was so sly in doing it that you couldn't help but watch him. He was such a magnificent b*stard who pushed the envelope in the ring and in his promos. He was the anti estableshment to Cenas estableshment. He was every dirty little obscene thing WWE was trying to PG away from but he still found a way to be naughty on screen.
They should have let Reigns just be a mute for a while and not talk and just give him that beast-like persona until he worked up to be better at the mic.
I feel the same way with Big E. Langston too. Sometimes, when someone has other people that can do the talking, they should just be a powerful presence just standing there and doing the action and not the talking.
Langston has the same problem Lashley did: As soon as they open their mouths they kill the mystique. Theyre both big men but they don't have the same kind of intimidating look a Nash or Sid or Goldberg do. They have babyfaces and maybe thats what they should be.
Reigns isn't a great talker but he doesn't need to be. Even less so than Langston. Reigns has a much more fierce look to him than Big E. He could easily be a man of few words type and still come across as a beast.
I reckon Reigns is guaranteed to be pushed and made a star, if anything, because he fits the blueprint that Vince and the E seem to love.
Of the three though I see Ambrose being the one with the most potential and highest ceiling, and can see him eventually breaking out on his own a la Punk and Austin if he isn't given a push by the company with their backing.
Rollins looks to have a lot about him to, and as others have said I could see him making a tremendous face in the long run.
Yeah. If Reigns can end up being even halfway competent on the mic he'll get a strong push at least for a little while. He's already got good intensity. If we thought the days of VInce's big man preferences might be softening Ryback came along and proved those thoughts wrong. I think all three Shield members will do well though.
Reigns look might get him to the big dance but itll take a little more to stay there. Punk's shown that when you have the other gifts you got a chance of sticking around longer even if its harder to get to the top. Good news for Rollins and Ambrose
　
Iron Sheik Talks About The IOC Removing Wrestling From The Olympics
WWE Hall of Famer The Iron Sheik, who competed for Iran in the 1968 Olympics and then became an assistant coach for Team USA in the 1970′s, is not pleased about the International Olympic Committees decision to remove wrestling from the Olympics starting in 2020. The Sheik told TMZ.com today:
"After 1000 years they take away the best sport in the world? This is the first time the dumb motherf**kers have no balls for they make the walking an Olympic sport."
"If I see anybody on the street that work from the IOC I swear to the Jesus I suplex them put them in camel clutch break their back make them humble."
"The #TEAMSHEIKIE respect the Olympic now they can all go f*** themselves and make the Curling Olympic sport because they all the biggest piece of no good s*** and I never watch the Olympic again. Also buy my t shirt [on my website] or go f*** yourself."
Source: sescoops.com
Shiek has also provided some colorful tweets about the subject.
LOL Leave it to Shiek to make even this story hilarious.
　
I agree on the risk, certain places will actually treat him as a face. I'd do the tried and tested thing and put him against Rey as a test run before booking him with Berto.
Yup. In the deep south Swagger WILL get a lot of cheers. Up in the northeast he'll get more boos. Not sure how WWE is going to play this if they want him to be a heel. A lot of people are like his character. He's going to have to go for some really cheap heat in some places but its hard to see how he stays true to his character in some instances.
Guess they better have their Smackdown dubbing team ready.
The interesting thing about The Shield is that unlike other groups they all dress exactly the same, yet have managed to stand out as individuals, so if they added another he'd require a quality to allow him to stand out as opposed to simply trying to use their heat to get another guy over. Kassius Ohno would be the best fit IMO.
I love the Shields gear. Very Corporate Bossman. You nailed it though. They all have such distinctive looks. A welcome concept when for years WWE seemed to roll Orton clones out of their tanks at developmental.
The Shields look also has an outsider edgy style to it the way the NWO's did because unlike everyone else they aint wearing tights. They arent there to wrestle they are there to fight.
　
I reckon Vickie is actually one of the best heels they have. Amazing that she can garner more heat with two little words than any of the roster.
Vickie has earned her spot.
Absolutely. She's become a good character in her own right. Forget that she was ever married to Eddie. She's a good manager for the right kind of guy but she's even better as a heel authority figure because she gets such heat and is so believble in her role.
Ziggler needed her more than Edge. He's the perfect example of the new stars Vickie should be put with. Guys bland on their own personality wise. Ziggler has finally grown into his character though and doesn't need Vickie. The trick is not to let Vickie manage anyone for too long because after a while their character begins to stagnant and then regress in the sense that she's the one getting all the heat instead of transferring it to her star. Dolphs on his own now and can get his own heat and do his own talking.
A list of names creative came up for The Walls of Jericho.
Jesus. Most of those are...terrible. If I didnt believe the stories on WWF ptching Austin new names after ditching the Ringmaster gimmick I do now.
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