Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

haaa


wait, no, end of Raw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYvMOf3 ... e&t=13m11s

haaa

I heard there was a good chance they'd be doing Taker/Sting, so we may still see a bait and switch.

I heard there was a good chance they'd be doing Taker/Sting, so we may still see a bait and switch.

Probably a "I get to swap someone in" match on the go-home edition of Raw, Shane-O-Mac goes over HHH to name Sting as his replacement. (Given that Sting has had enough time to recover from whatever the hell happened to him)

Unfortunately the return got spoiled for me right when I opened my web browser, but it kept me from skipping over it which probably would have happened. Either way, I still marked out.

I think Shane smoked a little too much crack one day and walked into Vince's office yelling "WHERES MY PUSH, DAMMIT!" "I WILL HAVE MY 'MANIA MOMENT!"

Its the only way I could really see all of this happening but I'm glad its happening.

I heard there was a good chance they'd be doing Taker/Sting, so we may still see a bait and switch.

Probably a "I get to swap someone in" match on the go-home edition of Raw, Shane-O-Mac goes over HHH to name Sting as his replacement. (Given that Sting has had enough time to recover from whatever the hell happened to him)

Unfortunately the return got spoiled for me right when I opened my web browser, but it kept me from skipping over it which probably would have happened. Either way, I still marked out.

Yeah, I expect it would go down something like that. Also remember that in kayfabe, Shane was the one who purchased WCW all those years ago. That'd be a good callback, and better than last year's overbooked nWo vs DX showdown (though I admit, I did kind of like that for what it was).

I don't know, maybe like most older guys he's gotten to that age where he wants his kids to see him wrestle like Goldberg has been wanting. If that's the case, he's going through with the match and tbh a hell in a cell match seems like a perfect one time match for him to have

LOL Byron Saxton handed Roman Reigns "something" right before he stared bleeding outta nowhere

I saw that. Still, nice that they're pushing the limits of PG for a change.

I saw that. Still, nice that they're pushing the limits of PG for a change.

They're really dying to get Reigns over. You've gotta at least somehow empathize with Vince. Train of thought being that he really needs a mega-face to sell merch to fill that Cena void. If he ever gets that, we may finally see the Cena heel turn people have been looking for for the better part of a decade. I do think Vince underestimates how much merch Cena would still move as a heel, but there's no way he'll ever make the move until he has another cash cow face, which they're really hoping Reigns can be. As much as I love Ambrose, and think he should be pushed to the moon, I don't think he's that type of merch moving guy that they're looking for in their top face spot (not that Daniel Bryan was, either, and he moved a ton of t-shirts from what I understand); but on some level I sort of "get it". Ultimately though, I think it will be a colossal failure, because the fans just don't like Reigns. He was booed during the Triple Threat match he was supposed to be the mega-face in. He was booed when in the ring with Triple H. You can't force these things on the fans. It's gotta be, on some level, organic, and can catapult from there. It can't be 100% manufactured.

I've read that Cena's merch sales have slipped, so I think it'd be a perfect time to experiment with tweaking his character, or go full-blown heel. You wouldn't have to change much, either. He can still do his Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect slogan: all he needs to do is be a jerk about it, and accuse the fans/his opponents of lacking it in a brash manner. It might even lead to him developing a better version of his character for a future face run.

Similar situation with Reigns, I feel. I reckon he's someone they'll need to turn heel to eventually turn face. It certainly worked for his cousin, The Rock, back in the day.

Agree whole heartedly on both fronts. Think both would make real good heels.

Meanwhile, Ambrose has become very over as a face quite organically. As such, he seems to be banging his head on the glass ceiling. I really hope they don't just feed him to Lesnar at Wrestlemania.

He's got real potential to be the badass face type that Stone Cold Steve Austin was, in my opinion. Just gotta shape and tweak him to make him a hair more marketable, especially in the PG era, but that's what he emits, and emits well, in his persona.

Agreed, that's the direction I think they should go in with him. While it might have been a little predictable, I think having Reigns join The Authority at Survivor Series and having him feud with Ambrose would've been a good idea. Predictable is better than nonsensical, or characters and storylines that simply don't resonate.

Big Boss Man is being posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Sting, The Godfather, and The Fabulous Freebirds are also being inducted this year.

New Day vs Y2AJ was one of the best matches in a very long time
The results and what happened after the match were very predictable, but still fun to watch nevertheless

Meanwhile, doesn't look like they're going to pull a bait and switch with Taker and Shane.

If Shane doesn't win, I don't understand having him come face Undertaker at all, to be honest. Just to drum up more hype for WrestleMania?

I like AJ Styles more and more each week I see him. Very entertaining to watch. Hope they put on a great show at WM.

Just to drum up more hype for WrestleMania?

That's the point of everything right now

Yeah I did not like AJ in tna at all but he's actually growing on me. I appreciate that he's one of the best I the world and its nice having a new face on the show

Taker/Shane seems to be a third option behind Taker/Sting and Taker/Cena, neither of which could happen as those guys are ready to go following their respective injuries. I've also read that there's some drama behind the scenes with HHH not being a fan of Shane's return, and Vince trying to send him a message that he and Stephanie being the heirs to the WWE throne is not necessarily a done deal. It seems there's definitely some shoot elements to the work.

Yeah there seems to be a lot of truth to his promos... IE "Losing touch with fans", "recent string of injuries" etc

Not to mention "low ratings". I get the feeling Shane's enjoying himself with that stuff, especially if HHH was so against him returning.

Meanwhile, in a Q&A, JR threw out an interesting booking scenario:

Let’s talk WWE for a minute. With WrestleMania around the corner, there has been a lot of conversation about the main event between Triple H and Roman Reigns. If you were still with the company, how would you suggest they book the match?

JR: I’d do a double turn like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Bret Hart had at WrestleMania 13. I would have Vince McMahon in the corner of Triple H. I would have The Rock, Roman’s cousin, in his corner. I’d have Roman Reigns cheat to win and The Rock would come in to say ‘what the hell is going on?’ and Reigns would drop The Rock with a Superman punch. Vince McMahon would align with Reigns and screw over his son-in-law that got too big for his britches. Reigns would be champ, Triple H would be pissed at his father-in-law and Reigns would go over as a huge heel.

That makes sense, and would be a good way to turn Reigns heel, which is how the crowds tend to react to him. It would let him get over as a heel, setting up an eventual organic face turn at some point. It also sets up a feud with Ambrose. As such, there's absolutely no chance we'll see it or anything that good happen with the booking of HHH/Reigns.

I'd actually love this scenario. It makes way too much sense for them to go with.

helluva wrestling show tonight, but Wrestlemania is still just going to be entertaining to see how much of a trainwreck it might be