That was a pretty cool opening segment. I MUCH prefer seeing talents like Punk and The Shield in big roles than guys I've seen over and over again like Cena and Show.
Punk and Rollins did really well there. They can really bring it between the ropes. I hope Punk doesn't go away anytime soon and The Shield have bright futures.
I mostly liked the authority figure segment. I usually feel like Brad and Vickie aren't necessary with Kane as DOO, but they're running with something of a skeleton crew tonight. That could be a big match for Bryan tonight.
I enjoyed Stephanie's segment. Pure arrogance. Cena and Orton in the main event means neither can win the Rumble (right?). I hope it comes down to Batista vs. Bryan in a star-making moment for Bryan.
It will be interesting to see what HHH comes up with to try to top that.
Thank you, WWE, for giving us pre-match interviews for Axel vs. Ziggler so it doesn't feel like the match was just put together in five minutes.
Not a bad match from Axel and Ziggler. MAYBE this will lead to Ziggler having some sort of story going forward.
Please no Damien vs. Khali. WWE Universe, I beg of you.
That was a better match than I expected from Fandango and Big E. Fandango's really impressing me lately. Props to WWE for giving that match enough time to mean something.
My body is ready for Punk vs. Reigns next week. Should be something to watch. I like when WWE announces matches in advance.
Unless Booker's getting back in the ring, I don't see much reason to use him on TV.
That was a better promo than we've gotten lately from the Bad News Barrett gimmick.
Sandow quitting might actually be a good thing to give him some time off before coming back refreshed. He's really spinning his tires right now.
Phew. I think I would have thrown my computer if Sandow jobbed to Khali (which wouldn't have necessarily been a burial, since I don't think Sandow's in the doghouse).
Nice of WWE to build tonight's gauntlet match with Bryan vs. the Wyatts.
Fine match with Truth and Clay to keep their thing going on. At least Woods has a consistent TV role. That's important this early in his career.
WOW. That was a big segment. I was initially shocked that they'd write off Brock vs. HHH like that, but I guess it can be excused that them making up was "best for business". Brock vs. Henry could be pretty cool. It's a shame Brock doesn't wrestle on Raw every once in a while so they could have a singles match and Brock could work the Rumble. That said, it means more to save Brock for PPVs.
More Divas stuff. Not a bad match at all, though it was obvious AJ and Natalya weren't there. This feud's not really going anywhere...
Flair tease? Could be fun. He's enjoyable for select appearances.
Bryan vs. Harper was really amazing. I hope this show gets a nice rating and WWE becomes more confident in performers who haven't already headlined dozens of PPVs.
I wasn't as crazy about the second stage of the match, since it was so short. It was going to be hard to top Bryan vs. Harper, but I wanted a little more than that. Maybe there were some timing issues...
What? Seriously? That's kind of a letdown. I wanted to see Bryan and Bray tear it up, or at least a little more than that. But, hey, we got something truly magical from Bryan and Harper, so that's good.
HOLY #*$& that ending. Before everyone complains about Bryan "turning heel", "being buried", etc. and how "stupid" Creative is, they've got several weeks before the Rumble for this to play out. It's pretty common in successful stories for there to be an "all is lost" section followed by what screenwriter Blake Snyder referred to as the "dark night of the soul" where they question everything, because it looks hopeless. This is Bruce Wayne struggling to get out of the pit before the big battle with Bane. This COULD be disastrous, or it could be pretty genius if we don't jump to conclusions.
More wrestling coming up.
I think you make a good point in that fans shouldn't jump to any conclusions regarding Bryan joining the Wyatt Family. I mean, it's definitely easy for all of his fans to be a bit disappointed about it, but it may end up making Bryan stronger as a character. That being said and though I do agree I also understand the fans' being upset. It is a bit disappointing of a result for a guy who is arguably the most over of any member of the roster who gives exemplary matches week after week. For him to constantly get attacked 3-on-1 and have 3-on-1 matches with the Wyatt Family is a bit much to have him overcome the odds. I would have liked/will like to see Triple H and his Authority behind the justification for him having to constantly fight 3-on-1 to build up heat for Bryan Vs. Orton eventually.
ReplyDeleteHowever, with Batista's return and Brock wanting a shot, it's more opake with regards to who will take the title from Orton eventually. I still hope it's Bryan and think he deserves it, though. Batista will be 45 and Brock is a part-time member of the roster. Bryan definitely has proved his worth in and out of the ring in that he is still fairly young and is with the company full-time, which is more than Batista and Brock can say.
It's weird to me how when Cena overcomes the odds, the sentiment was that the goal of a babyface is to sell a bunch of beatdowns before coming back to win. WWE does that with Bryan and people say it's a terrible idea and that he's being buried.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly looks like at one point HHH was going to behind the Wyatts. Wyatt mentioned something about a greater cause or something at some point. They can still do something like that.
WWE Creative generally doesn't look at things like that. If anything, they see Bryan being young and a full-time guy as a reason they can put him in the title picture at any time. Brock and Batista bring fans in who haven't watched WWE in a while, and/or might not even know who Bryan is (or why they should care about him). Brock and Batista matter outside the WWE "bubble" in a way Bryan doesn't (other than Total Divas). I wouldn't blame them for trying to get the MMA fan dollar with Brock or play off Batista being in a major movie. They see WrestleMania as a chance to reach out to the entertainment world as a whole. Orton vs. Batista or Orton vs. Brock (which doesn't seem as likely) is ultimately almost definitely a bigger draw than Orton vs. Bryan.
I do think Bryan should be WWE Champion and get his revenge on The Authority. Him beating Triple H and/or Shawn Michaels during Mania season (which would reach out to some of those "lapsed fans" who just tune in for some of the big names) could be even bigger than winning the title then, since those two only have so many matches left.
I can definitely understand from a corporate standpoint how they view Orton vs Lesnar or Orton vs Batista as a big draw. However, I personally, along with many fans, feel that there has to be some congruence with the mission of the WWE in that guys like Bryan who are self-made and have built their own fan base deserve it more and should get that main event spot. Bryan is first-generation, has arguably the strongest fan base in the company, has put in more effort and time than probably anyone else on the roster, and has worked through the "big guy" bias to become a success story. Guys like Lesnar or Batista, who are either part-time or are over the age of 40, have less shelf life and lack many of these traits Bryan brings to the table. I understand the importance of pay-per-view draws, but it just seems like selling out to me in favor of doing what's right. Besides, I'm sure many fans would line up to see Bryan vs. Orton at WrestleMania.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, this summed up my response to the ridiculously watered-down match that is The Usos vs. Primetime Players that happened yet again this week:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vxiQ9JCKvE
It should be noted Bryan didn't become a sensation out of thin air. WWE put him in the right spots (heel World Title run, run against Punk for WWE Title, headlining four straight PPVs this year) and that counts for some of it. Obviously his talents played a role (a big role at that), but it wasn't exclusively his work that did it. WWE does appreciate all his hard work and big matches. Otherwise they wouldn't keep using him in a featured role. I'm being kind of reactionary here, because the old saying is how the wrestlers get all the credit when something goes right, and management gets all the blame when it goes wrong. It might not be a 50/50 relationship, but it's not as slanted as it feels like it's portrayed a lot.
ReplyDeleteWWE is almost always in the position of doing the thing that draws money as an entertainment company -- using celebrities and "special attractions" like Brock and Batista falls right into that. I definitely think Bryan vs. Orton's a big deal, but I don't think it's as big as using the names who are just around for a little while. We've gotten Bryan vs. Orton quite a bit already and both men are presumably sticking around for a while. Bryan's only 32 - he's probably got dozens of big PPV matches ahead of him (including a number of Manias). WWE only has a few dates with Batista and Brock, and they want to use them to get as many buys as possible (especially from people who don't watch WWE as regularly, as they can be harder to get). I've heard the argument that they've earned big Mania matches due to their name power, etc.. If Bryan makes as big of a name for himself as Batista and Brock did (with WWE's help of course), he could get the same treatment as them.
Seeing the same matches over and over is one of the reasons I do my best to have a lot of things to occupy my time that have nothing to do with wrestling. It can get really tiring at times to see all the repetition (no telling how many Big Show matches I've seen since '99).