I thought the same thing. Either way Saturday Morning Slam should be Ryder's show even if he's only a top wrestler there. It could be a place where he can be one of the top stars if they won't give him a chance on Raw and Smackdown. SMS's style suits Zacks character. He fits well on there.
So just finished Raw...
Great match! Cena learned a few new moves and Punk with a Pile Driver and countering Cena's moves.
Man, I had a smile on my face throughout the match even though the end result wasn't what I wanted.
Yup. Its work like that that makes one happy to be a fan. If the rest of Raw could even be half as good it wouldn't feel like such a chore to watch.
Originally Posted by Lobo
Punk has had two amazing Raw matches this year. The one with Jericho that the fans voted for and the classic with Cena last night. Punk is probably in my all time top 10 favorites already.
As far as I'm concerned Punk is one of the best workers of this era of wrestling. I mean beyond WWE as well. He's certainly one of the best of his generation. He's got little bits of similarities to many of the greats but he does it all his own way.
Originally Posted by bullets
Ziggler is bound to cash in , but for some reason they like to give rising stars a losing streak and curb their momentum. WWE is lucky there is no WCW. The only reason we don't see more people jump ship to TNA is because of the money.
Its probably one of McMahon's infamously stupid, petty little "tests."
Tear him down then suddenly build him up then tear him down again to see how he responds. Break his spirit and make him easly controllable and if need be disposable. Its an almost cultish atmosphere in WWE mentally speaking. Its no surprise so many people seem to be relieved when they leave or get released.
Younger talents and rising stars SHOULD be tested but not in the stupid bizarro world mind game way WWE and Vince McMahon like to do it. Their way can damage a wrestlers image and credibility with the audience before they even get a chance to show what they have.
A few people have had enough and jumped to TNA. Some went back to WWE but some stayed. I can't really blame either side. The money in the E is far better but the opportunities in TNA seem to be more fairly put out there to be earned.
For example Aries didn't get jerked around nearly as badly as Bryan has been.
I think last night was designed to get Cena more over with the naysayers about his ability to wrestle. It reminded me of last year when Rock had to scribble on his arm so Cena would have some fuel to his fire. Not a bad idea heading into Wrestlemania. Punk really is a rebel though and maybe some of that is rubbing off onto Cena.
You're probably right. But the die hard Cena haters will still say he can't wrestle.
Punk and Cena are two of the few guys who can defy Vince McMahon or break the rules and get away with it. I'm not really surprised they did what they did and for the betterment of the product I can't really blame them. Anyone who is skilled enough to handle certain things should be allowed to do them. That goes for everyone though not just the top stars. Everyone should have a fair chance to show what they can do. They are all getting paid to entertain. Allow them all to do that, WWE.
It really is the best match going today. How anyone would give that one a low rating is beyond me. Vince must be tired of these two wrestling because it goes against his agenda and proves him wrong. It's interesting because you can usually point to two people who define an era in WWE , whether it be Bret/Shawn or Rock/Austin. They wanted to force Orton/Cena ,but of course this blows it completely out of the water and can't be denied.
Once again you are probably right. The greatness of the Punk vs Cena rivalry doesn't fit the narrative Vince is trying to create. Primarily because Punk isn't one of his guys, or what he prefers in a star, or a WWE creation. Can't let him get too over by praising him too much right, Vinne?
That might be a good way to get Undertaker in a match with a Daniel Bryan or Dolph Ziggler. You could have him appear at SS one last time , but I don't think he would retire there. If Undertaker loses the streak it has to be the end of his career. It would be the proper sendoff. I really want for it to be Punk , but something tells me Undertaker wouldn't miss WM 30.
I agree. As far as WM30...maybe Taker has tried to hang on as long as he can to make it there? Its going to be a big WWE milestone. Going out on a special show like that would make his retirement even more special.
I thought it was awful when Swagger won the EC match and I've seen nothing to change my mind since then. Swagger sleepwalks through Zeb's promos and seems to have a hard enough time spouting his one line "we the people".
Cole showing up to Glenn Beck's office begging for an interview is just cringe worthy. They thought this would be a hot angle , but it's just a "b show" filler feud.
Like others have said anybody could be in Swaggers role. He's a body. Mantel/Colter brings the interesting part of in this gimmick.
If WWE keeps on giving Beck attention they are fools. Its just Vince being petty. I enjoy seeing Becks stupidity being made fun of but he needs WWE and the attention
HE gets from all this more than WWE needs Beck. WWE is still very sucessful and popular. Becks sucess has peaked and he may never be as popular as he once was again.
By giving him, his name, and his opinions airtime WWE is just giving Beck press I'm sure he enjoys and can twist around to get people to watch/listen to his shows.
This is all now a waste of time. WWE's looking desperate for any mainstream attention they can get.
Originally Posted by TheFuture
The thing is, the idea does have potential, but everyone involved bar Zeb (that includes creative) are fluffing it.
I really thought it was horrible watching Zeb walk all over Del Rio last night. I mean whoever's idea it was to let Zeb say all that relatively without response from Del Rio must have got a hook up from Swagger.
Honestly...even though what Colter is saying is one sided, close minded, and somewhat offensive...and he's supposed to be the heel in this...I find Mantel/Colter so talented a wordsmith/character worker/mind for the business that he's far more entertaining to me than Del Rio.
Del Rio's in a bad spot in this. He's the face but he's not talented enough on the mic to make the strong babyface responses he needs to to make his side and the whole feud
REALLY work the way it should. Mantel chews him up on the stick. Thats the advantage more years and broader experience will bring.
I don't think Del Rio could have delivered a stronger repsonse even if he wanted to. He didn't have the right material or strong enough comebacks of his own creation. Maybe if creative had given him better material and WWE had playing it out so he looked stronger...but I still think he would come up short and Mantel would be better.
Originally Posted by E-Man
It's hard for me to say if Punk will be a legend once he has retired. He's got the skill to pull it off, but I'm worried about the state of wrestling that may hinder him big time. That's based on how they took his "shoot" promo just to have him lose to Triple H, or when they tried to make his character more of a fan friendly face instead of letting him be a Stone Cold like face, or just the general feeling I get that everything in the WWE eventually revolves back to Cena rising above the odds and winning yet again. His entire title run for over a year seems like just a set up for Cena regaining the title at Wrestlemania instead of being a big moment in wrestling history. I hope they give let him shine, but my wrestling cynicism keeps telling me that Punk is going to be an exhibit of how wrestling has really declined since Vince got complacent and even more ego driven to tell us what we want.
I see what you're saying. You have a point. I don't think anyone can fault Punks talent or his own work but the current WWE creative environment he's operating in and the product they are putting out is so mediocre that he's not getting the strongest platform to showcase what he can do.
The fanbase can be kind of "meh" because its so used to WWE's so so programming right now. The booking is often crap. The stars and storylines are being held back because of so many restrictions. Most of Punks co-workers aren't being built up strong enough so there aren't enough top level talents for him to create classic matches and moments with.
He's not getting the creative freedom to perform at his highest level unlike stars of past generations. They weren't nearly as handcuffed creatively or told what they had to say or couldn't say or what they could and could not do in the ring. If Punk had come along in an earlier era with better support and a more creatively superior WWE world stage to perform on he would have had a better shot at carving a high place for himself among the all time greats.
Originally Posted by Pink Ranger
When this Swagger thing has run its course, I'd like to see Zeb stick around as an onscreen character. Not necessarily as the anti-immigrant racist, but in a similar capacity to Paul Heyman: a manager who reflects a certain approach to wrestling from its past.
While Paul is very much a symbol of the East Coast wrestling scene and the extremities of the 1990s and early 2000s, Zeb is like a symbol of the old territory days of the 1970s and 1980s, particularly many of the promotions based in the Deep South.
Imagine him leading a face stable of wrestlers who take an old-school approach to their work. Heck, even Punk would be a good fit with Zeb in that context.
Agree with all this. Especially the bold part. Great insight. Great post.
Don't worry Vince, you'll get over it when you realize you just got the best match WWE has produced in 2 and a half years.
