I wish I knew to tell you, loopy.

There it is. You accused me of Triple H hate, but there's the truth of where your argument comes from on this. "Sting is just a guy." I'm not even the dude's biggest fan, but I've the two points I'd like to raise are this:

1) No, he's not.

2) Even if he were, wouldn't it be a good idea to try and present him like he was more than that?

I wonder if they pay Sting "just a guy" money? That'd be interesting. I wonder if Spike TV fronted TNA's paychecks to the man because he was "just a guy?" I think the evidence against Sting being "just a guy" is pretty overwhelming.

Except it's not going down that way. If you remember back to late 2004, it was a sharply worded promo from Batista that made people go "Hang on -- this guy might be on to something." In the weeks leading up to his turn, Batista was made to look crafty, cunning and like a killer. Hell, he won the 2005 Royal Rumble. And when the turn came, he was a step ahead of Triple H and Ric Flair, who were trying to get Big Dave out of the picture.

What you have in Seth Rollins at the moment is a chickenshit who doesn't even care if he wins or loses matches (unless the title is on the line, of course), hides behind The Authority, and when they turn on him is suddenly going to become a ruthless killer again. OK. Let's see who buys it.

It's looking more like the Randy Orton/Triple H program of 2004, with Orton being a wormy deer in the headlights for most of it than the Badass Dave vs. Hunter feud of 2005, which was actually designed to get Batista over.

And, furthermore: Why are they trying to make Seth Rollins AFTER HE IS ALREADY THE MOTHERFUCKIN' WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION?!?! The shit makes no sense! For Triple H to bring a ruthless killer out in him after he's climbed to the top of the mountain? There's something else in common with the original Triple H vs. Randy Orton feud there.

The key to the success of the Triple H vs. Batista program was heat. The crowd was rabid for it because they were rabid for Big Dave, and they wanted to see someone finally get one over Triple H and Ric Flair. I can't see much heat coming from the guy in the suit with all the power kicking his chosen chickenshit heel while he's down amounting to much "YAY! Go...someone!" momentum. And I don't have too much faith in the company to get it right, because they just spent months having two heels do a story-time rivalry in the back, bickering like school children, which ultimately went nowhere (to this point in time, anyway).

Triple H and Seth Rollins are both great performers. The match itself will be good-to-great. Triple H also isn't going to let much he touches as an active wrestler in this day and age be the drizzling shits. I'm sure they'll save it to the point where people go "Hey, this is actually not bad." That being said, it won't make Seth as hot as he could be.

Sting is just a "guy" might one of the most daft statements I've seen in a while. Legitimate superstar in the 90s. At one point one of, arguably the hottest wrestler on the planet. Just a guy.

If Sting is just a guy, why did the WWE still sign him 14 years later and why do they make the biggest fucking deal when he's around?

Really? When? Like during the Attitude era? Because that's debatable. I mean, there wasn't an official storyline being worked between the two. I think you could make a claim that the biggest faces on each side were the "babyfaces" of the war. Triple H was very over for a long time, but at the demise of WCW he was a heel. Austin, The Rock and Mankind are the three babyfaces that spring to mind when I think about the Attitude era. The Undertaker also seems more like the "lifeblood" of the WWE.

If you mean the Invasion angle, then Triple H was on the shelf. The big babyface of WWE was...well, I guess either Vince McMahon or The Rock when he was there. I guess Kurt Angle was around there for a while too.

Maybe I'm not remembering correctly though, because it was a FUCKING DECADE AND A HALF AGO!!!!!

And that links me to my next point -- and with all the problems with the Invasion angle, I've never thought specifically of this link before:

It's all about the HEAT! The emotional investment people put in to wanting to see two guys fight and the outcome of said fight. During the Invasion, you didn't really have any hot babyfaces once you turned Austin. Angle got some steam around the late summer/fall, but he wasn't really built as a face. It would be like if Seth Rollins came out tomorrow night and started acting like a bad-ass that won't back down or pick his spots.

And you're right when you imply that Sting losing doesn't change the matches on the table. But you're damn wrong that it doesn't change the emotional investment people have in them. New fans? The John Cena ones? With their taste-buds, they might not know who Sting is. The older and more historically in-tune fans? They need to know that they can count on Sting. If they place the house on him, he's not going to put them on the streets. A hero needs to be a hero sometimes.

But you're right -- the WWE is doing their best to turn him into "just a guy." Watch the money roll in for that one.

And let me flip the question on you: What harm would have come out of Triple H, the guy that has acknowledged his full-time in-ring career is over and is now in a management role, putting over the legend and a man that they do want to put on some posters, t-shirts and DVD covers; and in some video games and high-profile matches? How will emotional investment be in the Triple H character if they actually think the big, bad evil is somewhat beatable?

Fuck.

Sorry to get so snappy about it. CyNick is a great poster, and I'm glad he's back; but I really didn't like the "some people don't see the big picture" remark. Some people can't see a plate of money in front of their fucking face.

This. This all night long.

https://38.media.tumblr.com/43d36b19...7fgso1_500.gif

Okay, I'm sold.

By the way, I ordered that EVOLVE 45 show I was going to.

* Heading into the show, there were apparently a lot of injuries, and Gabe Sapolsky said they were going to hot-shot some stuff.

* I'll say that I do like the way there isn't much (well, any) fluff and filler for the EVOLVE presentation. It's match-to-match, and that has a very old-school, sports-based presentation to it. SoCal Val talks in the ring, which is good, but it could use an interview or two to try and hook me on these guys more.

* Caleb Konley vs. Gary Jay was first up. There are too many people out here, in my opinion. The idea is that The Premier Athlete Brand are going to be showcased, but you've got three guys and two girls out here, and one of the girls doesn't even do anything.

* Konley impressed me. There were times he really summoned up a wrestler's presence. He seems like quite a solid worker too. Gary Jay can work and do movez, there's no doubt about it, but I didn't believe him. He's kind of got this "dirty Sami Zayn" vibe to him, and there's definite talent there, but he's sort of working outside his frame. I would have liked to have seen Konley destroy him with a few hope spots, some select moves to show off that Jay can do shit to try and get him over enough to bring back; but there were times this felt like it should have been done but it wasn't.

* Gary Jay would be a GREAT jobber if you are running a promotion. The dude looks crazy enough to get in the ring with an intended Superstar, and he's a good enough worker to take it and make the guy look good. Maybe in time he can find the connection for a few upset wins.

* Next up is Trent Beretta vs. Rich Swann. Mr. All Night Long has a cool entrance and gets people pumped. He's apparently got an intriguing and inspiring life story too. It's no wonder the WWE signed him. He says some stuff on the mic, which I liked, because it sounds thought up on the spot and organic. The dude could get quite over in the WWE, I feel. Beretta knows the little tricks to be a piece of shit heel. He'll be back in the WWE one day, unless he's burnt his bridges or doesn't want to go back.

* I know they're making up for injuries keeping guys out and changing the show, but this is another match where less would have been more. Beretta does like a half-and-half suplex on the ring apron to Swann, and it leads to the Roman Reigns "gets back in the ring at 9" countout spot. Fuck me, just sell a Deathplex occasionally and get people invested in you. Great work from both men though although they sort of lost me after it got turned up to 11 for no reason.

* Andrew Everett came out to challenge Anthony Nese next. It occurs to me at this point that the performers with the best names of the evening so far have been "SoCal Val" and "Caleb Konley." And "Caleb" isn't a tough name for a wrestler...

* This was my first time seeing these guys. Everett is sort of like a less ripped, straighter-haired Adrian Neville from Charlotte, North Carolina. I wasn't too impressed by him, to be honest. I've heard good things, but this wasn't really a great showcase. I sort of turned on the match after Everett did something to make it look like he fucked up his leg on a leap-frog, but then alleged veteran, Nese, didn't do anything to go after it and they stayed on their shit.

* By the way, Anthony Nese looks like he should have been a big star in WCW's Cruiserweight Division. He reminded me of what could happen if Buff Bagwell was a gymnast. He did some really crisp athletic stuff that made me legitimately go "Whoa," but the story of the match was kind of forced. Everett even uses a Shooting Star Press, which makes me think that this guy is really doing his low-rent Neville impersonation. That being said, he's really young and is only going to get better and better.

* Chris Hero vs. Trevor Lee next. This is my first time seeing Lee, who was trained by The Hardy Boyz. I didn't expect Lee to stand out as much as he did. I've read about him in PWG reports and such, but the name is sort of bland and didn't capture my imagination. The dude is tiny, but is kind of like a tiny Luke Harper in black trunks, and actually comes off as savage. The guy is only 21 and can tear it up, has presence and seems to be putting together a lot of what works at such a ripe young age. He'll be a star one day. Apparently he's (in the TV paradigm) one-half of the current TNA World Tag Team Champions with Curt Hawkins. I didn't know that. Good for him. WWE will sign him.

* A lot has been said about Chris Hero, and I was iffy on his NXT run. Something was there, but something was missing too. On the independents, he carries himself like a veteran though. This isn't his first rodeo, he knows his place, and although a lot of people critique his physique -- he makes it believable -- like Kevin Owens in the WWE. I wouldn't put my company's title on him, but if I had a promotion, I'd be using him. He has his own custom theme music which goes a long way to his presentation too. And I like that he wears trunks like he doesn't give a fuck what he looks like.

* Hero and Lee has been my favorite match so far, because it's been based around simple shit, told a story, and a house hasn't been dropped on the other guy to beat him. Kind of wonder if there was more to the story about Hero being dropped from the WWE -- like a personality clash with Triple H or something -- because the dude could be SO valuable working with younger guys and even on house shows.

* Hero cuts a good promo after the match. Like he's just had an epic and cut a good promo that even had crowd interaction. Fucking love Hero after that.

* I've started watching Sabre, Jr. vs. Strong, but I've had to stop because I'm now exhausted from the flow of the show. Every match is being worked like the WrestleMania main event, so I need to go and have a Coke.

Stars so far:

* Chris Hero - I know people don't like his look, but the dude is entering this stage of good where it really doesn't matter. If he looks like a bum, he's really Rassling Jesus in disguise.

* Trevor Lee - Little Luke Harper. I think they called him "The Caveman of Cameron" or something. Simple look, small frame, but comes off like a beast somehow. Has some sort of "legit" vibe to him that makes you believe. Not really what I expected from a Hardys find. A Daniel Bryan/Trevor Lee tag team would be a dream. I also see him either being paired with Luke Harper one day.

* Rich Swann has got something to craft.

I don't think you can really compare Hero and Owens. Owens is a big guy and apparently cut weight and got in better shape when he came in. I think he just has the type of body that is husky, but the way he moves in the ring, he is clearly in good shape. Again, I didn't see him previously, but fans have commented on his weight loss since his indie days.

Hero on the other hand is a slim guy who just looks sloppy, like his gut hanging and it gives the impression of a guy who got his opportunity and just didn't have the commitment to take advantage of it. I think that is what irked people. You work and work for this and then show up like he did. Same idea with Braden Walker.

Fair point, but I just think that there's something to Hero that isn't defeated by it.

Yeah, he obviously has talent and am glad he can still make a living, but by all accounts, it was his lack of dedication that led to him missing out on his biggest opportunity...seems like there are a few guys on that show that will get opportunities before he ever does again

I'm not expecting him back. He'd just have something to offer if they did bring him back.

Dirtsheets sponsored by Tony Atlus' little ducky buddies:
https://33.media.tumblr.com/3b2ac64f...focqo1_400.gif

Want to say its been in a serious decline ever since Bryan no longer made appearances but might be even longer than that considering how long the WWE's been half-assing the effort on Syfy. Same's probably going to happen with USA Network after a while once they get Smackdown.

Basically confirms he signed a deal with the WWE.

Part of a longer interview by Bruce Hart on a recent guest on Main Event Madness Radio episode. Whole story ended up being debunked by Tyson Kidd later.


Some other sheet news includes:

• If legal issues arise, WWE might have to change the name of Stardust's "Comic Wasteland" stable since a musical band already owns it.
• WWE released the official commercial for Night of Champions ppv. https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=18&v=appwczkN3oY
• In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, Cesaro has just 1 clean singles win since the start of June in regards to RAW, Samckdown, and ppvs. All other wins have been either DQ results or tag matches. http://officialfan.proboards.com/thr...n-ppv-win-june
• WWE could face some new bad PR in the near future based on an upcoming Will Smith movie called "Concussion." Has to do with ties the WWE has with Dr. Maroon who is their medical director, Maroon's past of downplaying concussions for the NFL, and Sony Pictures being leaked trying to get the negativity of the film toned down. Article on r/SquaredCircle goes into way more details. https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCirc...oversial_will/

Tyson Kidd posted recently on his Twitter about not talking to Bruce Hart in over a decade.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Just for the record I haven't had contact with Bruce Hart in over a decade. End of story, rumor mill over!</p>&mdash; TJ Wilson (@KiddWWE) <a href="https://twitter.com/KiddWWE/status/639944156689887233">September 4, 2015</a></blockquote>
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More on the injury Cena suffered during yesterday's house show.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Move that may have injured Cena <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWEHampton?src=hash">#WWEHampton</a> <a href="http://t.co/Hdp6jJHvKo">pic.twitter.com/Hdp6jJHvKo</a></p>&mdash; chris (@c_hawk1994) <a href="https://twitter.com/c_hawk1994/status/640000490013650944">September 5, 2015</a></blockquote>
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NOT SEEING A PROBLEM SO FAR...

In all honesty, Cena needs to stop trying to impress the IWC by introducing "cool moves" into his moveset. He's the biggest "wrestling" star of this generation because he's the best "sports entertainer" in the world. Fuck the haters who want you to be more like Cesaro or Daniel Bryan or some other guy who's adored by many wrestling nerds and unknown by a large majority of human beings who have cable TV/the USA network. Just keep making that money, money. (Yeah, yeah.)

Cena wants to improve himself and actually prove his detractors wrong, something no other "face of the company" has ever really done. I fail to see why he should stop doing so. If he can win over a few of the IWC fans like myself and still keep his legion of children behind him why not do it? It's not like becoming a better and more entertaining wrestler is going to make his old fans stop liking him.

It may cause him to break his neck and end his career. But fuck it. Gotta impress some uppity internet fans who don't think he does enough cool rasslin' moves.

If he could actually pull off the moves correctly and it made sense then I'm with him

Him doing sloppy cruiser weight moves is stupid

Always cringed when he'd try a hurricanranna. He doesn't need to do all these fancy moves. He can go when he needs to and has more than enough stellar matches without flashy moves. I'd also like to see him ditch the top rope leg drop. Unnecessary.

Nope. Owens took it perfectly on two straight ppvs. It's Cena's fault.

At least his springboard stunner looks nice maybe 2/10 times. The sunset flip bomb thing always looked like ass, especially since Goldust was around doing the same move and looked crisp as hell doing it.

Nah, man. He always rushes back from injuries that would keep other guys out for way longer. Don't think they've EVER "played up" any of his legit injuries. Why would they?

I may not care for his character at all but I've always been fine with him being himself move-set wise. Only thing is I don't get it when they decide he needs to do a "Super" AA from the top or second rope. As it is, just in the ring normally it puts his opponents down for the 3 like 9.7 times out of 10.

Completely agree.

1 out of 10 the first time he hits it

I don't like that he used to always say he doesn't care that people boo him or don't like him yet he's acknowledged it many times in the past in not only his promos but in his entrances as well and also tries to add new moves. He should just ignore the haters and focus on doing promos that aren't goofy which I feel that he's improved on. The problem originally wasn't about him adding new moves it's about his selling of moves and the fluidity/execution of his moves. Now instead of doing that he's just adding moves to impress his haters which creates a different problem in itself.
I'm usually one to say something that isn't in favor of Cena but I think his past execution of that move looks pretty decent, well at least the part where he's in motion and not the set-up to it.
Unless I see it from another angle it doesn't look like he landed on his head or anything. Looks like either he was flipping and his head and neck jammed up against Owens' right leg or Cena just got the wind knocked out of him from Kevin's fat ass falling right on top of him.

Cena's problem is he's too big mass-wise and not flexible enough to pull off those flips correctly. Every time he ends up compensating by jumping awkwardly get the momentum needed and screws up the normal flow/catch process for the other guy. Majority of the time it looks bad because the other guy had no time to readjust to it.

Same goes for the flying stunner since he's almost blind jumping into the spot most of the time.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">There was an error on <a href="http://t.co/WS3M4yZwsI">http://t.co/WS3M4yZwsI</a> that showed Baron Corbin as the mystery partner but it has been removed <a href="http://t.co/i446LzpBpb">pic.twitter.com/i446LzpBpb</a></p>&mdash; KD Sweets! (@ProjectKenny) <a href="https://twitter.com/ProjectKenny/status/640213399826141184">September 5, 2015</a></blockquote>
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:lol: if that is the actual plan. No offense to Corbin but that would be a huge disappointment in terms of reveals. Also a bit odd since he just recently started a heel run on NXT.

http://41.media.tumblr.com/fa40e3dd1...v9vyo1_500.jpg

Shield v2.0 aka the Lone Wolf Fringe

Would have been a good combination I think.

Please tell me that's your attempt at being funny?

How on earth was that Owen's fault? Taken the move tons of times without a hitch. You can plainly see Cena fucking it up.

Fuck me, Corbin is nowhere near ready. That's an awful idea.

He's not "just a guy" in the sense that say Fandango is "just a guy". But what I'm trying to say is if you were to rank all the guys who are part time performers who appear basically only at Mania, Sting would be on the same level to me as a Chris Jericho. A big name, who can come in and work a program that means something, but not a Rock/HHH/Taker who can actually carry a long term program.

Plus, in a lot of ways HHH is more important than all those guys because he's a regular character on TV, and one who should command authority. Pardon the pun. Therefore, when I look at it long term, HHH winning was best because the long term money program is Rollins finally on upping HHH.

If you think Sting, would mean more for WWE business long term by beating HHH, thats cool, I just think you're way off base and letting some hatred for HHH get in the way.

First, dont cloud the debate. At the end of the day we're just talking about whether or not it was the right call for HHH to go over Sting. I'm laying out reasons why it made sense - #1 it was the logical end to the Monday Night Wars storyline and #2 HHH needs to be kept strong he can give a meaningful rub to Rollins.

My comparison to Big Dave was just that he was a heel in Evolution for a long time, and only until just before they were ready to pull the trigger on a HHH-Bats feud did he start to do babyface things. The same could easily happen with Rollins, but we dont know the timeline of the program. Will HHH-Rollins happen at 32? Will it be later in 2016? Is it a Mania 33 fight? The timing will dictate when and if Rollins needs to change what he does in the ring (ie winning matches clean, standing up to HHH, etc). At some point though, I would assume Rollins will start becoming more of a babyface champion, at which point he will get screwed and plant the seeds for the fight with Hunter.

Because WWE is amazing at promotion. They wont sign a guy and put him in a fight at Mania, and say "here's a mediocre performer, come pay to see him". But when comparing his star power to that of Hunter, its not even close, Hunter wins hands down.

i'm sure it's been reported on here, but rasslemania 33 is gonna be in minnesota WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

anyone going is welcome to stay at my house. we can go together. no homo
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I don't think you can argue against Stings star power like that CyNick. He was the face of WCW when it was drawing 5 and 6 in the ratings at the peak of the Monday night wars. HHH wasn't the face and was probably like 6 or 7th in the pecking order really when WWE was experiencing similar popularity.

Sure, right now, HHH is a bigger star. But in the grand scheme of things? No.

Hey now, if you can blame Swagger for Barrett's injury when it was Barrett's fault, then I can blame Owens when it's Cena's fault. ;)

In future, you should chill and wait for the people to answer to your questions before you neg rep them.

When was the last time Triple H was legit the hottest act in the business? The answer is never. He's not a bigger star than Sting no matter how CyNick tries to argue, and he's never been on the level Sting was. Guy's going into his 4th decade in the business and he's still a big deal.

If he was "just a guy" why would WWE promote him or fall over themselves to sign him? You're contradicting yourself. He's not this huge draw or big star, but he's gonna be treated as such to sell a match? Huh? If he wasn't a big deal, what's the point in paying top dollar for his likeness and putting him in a high profile match? That makes zero sense and honestly you're being pretty daft saying Hunter, who was, what, the number 4 guy in the company behind Rock, Austin and Taker. Arguably number three at best, is a bigger star than the top babyface in the history o WCW and one of the most popular superstars of all time.

It's not even fucking close.

Lies Triple H was the MAN from 2002-2005.

Sting was a bust as a World Champion every time he had it. If Sting was the man then WCW wouldn't have needed Hulk Hogan.

by default isn't the same thing.

He was super over in the march to SummerSlam 99 also. He was the face of the new "Rock N' Wrestling Connection" with Chyna in that time frame too.

He was never the face of anything. Raw was the inferior brand through 2005, and by that time they handed the reigns to Cena and Hunter was once again second fiddle. Then they moved him to Smackdown where he was a big fish in a little point


Sting's runs as champion was a reflection of the creative team behind him, not the status not drawing power of the man himself.

How are people trying to argue this?

I'd also like to point out Brock Lesnar was THE MAN from 2002-2004, main eventing shows with the likes of Kurt Angle and the Undertaker while Triple H was wrestling old WCW wash outs and burying Booker T in the mid card.

I don't think STD is being serious, Rey. :p

I need a breakdown of Raw Vs. Smackdown PPVs buys.

I think people have already addressed the "Sting as a star" point effectively already. You can see Sting at that level, but you'd saying that subjectively in the face of a fair amount of objective evidence; and I'd still argue that even if Sting weren't on the level of a Rock/Triple H/Undertaker (not sure all three of those parts are equal, but whatever), then it'd be smart business to at least present him as being on that level.

But some people just don't like money.

Sure, Triple H is probably going to be running around more regularly on WWE TV. That doesn't mean Sting's appearances can't be special on their own, or make a shit-tonne of money in the immediate future. You also don't know the schedule of Sting. The guy is only a few years removed from being a fairly "regular" part-timer. Some people seem to have this idea that the guy only has one or two matches left. That might be the case, but the idea that Sting can't be a regular, or at least make enough appearances to justify a huge WrestleMania win isn't substantiated yet. Also, I'd argue that it might have even been worth giving Sting the one win against Triple H, even if it was his only match.

You also have to keep in mind that -- star-power aside -- Triple H is the heel. Keeping your heels strong is definitely a good idea, but at the end of the day the pay-off is in the babyface getting some vengeance. Generally speaking, people weren't buying WrestleMania to see Triple H beat Sting. It's like going into McDonald's, ordering a burger and getting punched in the face. Long-term maybe the punch is better for you, but it's not what you asked for and you won't be back.

But some people don't like money.

There is some money in Rollins upping Triple H, you are right. But you need to get to the point where there is a conflict that people can really bite into. It's not dirtying the discussion to point out that Seth Rollins has been heeling it up as much as anyone in his position is allowed to, whilst Triple H has been painted as the rightful hero and the true man. This is despite the fact that Rollins holds the World Heavyweight Championship and Triple H is practically retired.

If you want Rollins to start doing face things after the turn, that's cool -- but does it make sense for it to happen that way? Doesn't that go completely against who Rollins has become since selling out and joining The Authority? And we don't really have a reason to hate Triple H within the context of this story. If Triple H turned on Rollins on RAW, he'd probably get cheered for it. So maybe the plan is for Rollins to be the heel in the program? Okay, but why not build him up as a credible heel right now, instead of having him dance around active stars in order to get to the part-timer? And if the idea is to have Rollins come out of the Triple H program a more credible performer, isn't that a move towards the face end of the spectrum anyway?

Again, it's not Triple H hate. I've wanted to see Triple H vs. Dean Ambrose and Triple H vs. Bray Wyatt for AGES. I don't want to see Triple H win either of those matches, and I don't think he needs to win them to have his heat as the guy with all the corporate power in the world. Vince McMahon didn't need to win a bunch to still draw money with Austin.

I've already explained about the build to Triple H/Batista and how it's different. The way they are going about a potential face turn for Rollins is more like what they did with Randy Orton or Alberto Del Rio. Those were great, weren't they?

I'm not against Cena expanding his moveset if he can do stuff safely, but the dude certainly doesn't need to bust out eight moves that should be finishers every match. No one needs to do that.

* The WWE puts no effort into SmackDown, which is a shame. I guess their thinking is probably that they know where it is ending up, so why put energy into the rest of 2015 for the brand? I hope they have stuff planned for 2016 though. SmackDown has needed its own identity since the end of the brand split. Yes, the show was already starting to slip, but they started pooling talent all together on RAW before it ended and, unless my memory is failing me, wasn't that to pad out RAW so it could go three hours? Treat a split seriously and it could work. Or don't even make the split official, but just have guys work programs almost exclusively on one show.

* I know people say that talent rises to the top and that you can't keep real stars down, but Cesaro's talent is what earned him the shots he has been getting. Bad booking is what sullied his original push last year. How can the WWE expect people to get behind the guy if he can't beat anyone?

* Los Matadores and Lucha Dragons are being wasted and Vince McMahon is worried about finding Hispanic stars. Righto.

* Baron Corbin would be a HORRIBLE choice to team with Ambrose & Reigns. I can only assume it is a joke by someone. First of all, Corbin is not ready. Secondly, he's a heel and has no charisma as a babyface. Thirdly, he's the LONE Wolf! How the fuck do you debut a LONE Wolf with people? Fourthly, he's not ready. The WWE are in a spot of bother with this, because you need to put The Wyatt Family over so that they can be taken seriously, but you're going to make whoever agrees to team with Ambrose & Reigns take a hit, as they will fail. It seems to fit Cesaro's gimmick of losing to join them, but the best choice is probably The Rock. Jimmy Uso would be unoffensive, but might be a let-down. Erick Rowan would work, but I don't know how over Rowan is going to get as a face. Might be better to have him turn on Ambrose & Reigns, but doesn't that make them look shit? Big Show or Mark Henry can be slipped in there, they can take the fall, then you can have Erick Rowan re-join The Family.

Pretty proud of myself: I just booked the Divas Division out to WrestleMania in my brain. I know that's not something to be "proud" of...

I'd have had them go 2-on-3 against the Wyatts; they know they're in over their heads but damn it, and will more than likely go down... But they're going down swinging. End it in a brawl and have somebody come out and help them in the post-match beat down. That way you're not setting yourself up for a letdown with the "surprise" partner. Unless they do have somebody lined up that will live up to billing.

Jericho?

Hey! It would be something to be proud of for, say, the WWE Creative Team.

That was probably the best way to do it, XL -- I agree. Reigns & Ambrose can lose in the handicap setting, but still look good fighting. Jericho would also make a great third man if they can't find anyone else.

Would love to see either Jericho vs. Ambrose or Jericho vs. Reigns down the line, by the way.

Lawl. I've got nothing to really add to that. Too depressed.

You're right, we DO need to petition Vince to fire Dunn and hire Noid. :shifty:

Noid should've been hired years ago.

I think maybe one reason SmackDown doesn't really have it's own identity could be due to the fact that it shares the same stage with Raw.

Since the WWE went HD, everything has had the same stage, whereas back in the day, they both had different stages, so when you watched SmackDown and saw the giant fist or the Ovaltron, you knew you were watching SmackDown and it felt like you were watching SmackDown and not just "The Raw Recap Show", which is what it feels like today.

I'm such a big fan of The Lucha Dragons and hearing the news that Los Matadores could be coming to an end is a positive sign for me.

I've always thought that the gimmick was a bit corny, but enjoyable at times, and wasn't going to go anywhere. Epico and Primo were so much better as Epico and Primo. Since getting the gimmick, nobody seems to have taken them seriously, which is understandable. Back when Epico and Primo didn't have a gimmick and had Rosa by their side, they came across as a legitimate threat and more of a legitimate tag team than they currently are as Los Matadores.

For me, I say scrap the gimmick, and have Epico and Primo again. Possibly add Rosa too and they can be your Hispanic heels while The Lucha Dragons can be your Hispanic faces.

Both teams are so worthy of being Tag Team Champions and hopefully it does happen soon.

I'm really enjoying the Tag Team Division right now and to me, it's the best thing going in the WWE at the moment. Usually when I watch Raw these days, I skip pretty much everything apart from the Tag Team matches. The division is probably at it's strongest since around 2008. The division has around eight teams right now, and not one of them is a team that's just been randomly thrown together. They're all legitimate tag teams.

A New Day
The Primetime Players
The Dudley Boyz
Los Matadores
The Usos
The Lucha Dragons
The Ascension
The Wyatt Family (Harper & Strowman I'm assuming could compete in the division)

I really hope this keeps up.

Definition of a squash match

But all that matters is today, and what will be best for business. HHH looking strong, and transferring that heat he got for beating Sting onto Rollins is the cerebral game plan.

You're losing it dude and grasping at straws now.

"Some people dont like money"

Classic stuff you probably read from one of the Newsletters. Of course WWE doesnt want to make money. Of course WWE hasnt already built the industry leader and a billion dollar + business. But no, you and the IWC know how to book better and you think WWE doesn't like money. Jokes.

You still haven't illustrated how Sting winning at Mania would lead to more Network subs long term. I laid out how HHH helps, please hit the ball back over the fence so I can lay another winner down the line.

Don't blame her

She acts like that's how women greet each other instead of shaking hands.

God bless her for that.

If the dirtsheets are correct, WWE's starting to get more hands-on with NXT's booking. Management wants Eva to get the Women's title as soon as possible and probably fast track her push into the rumored top star for the Divas division instead of letting it develop gradually/naturally.

Damn straight. Well, I couldn't run a production team. But I'd gladly take the money for three weeks before Vince defenestrates me.

<font color=goldenrod>god...please don't have Vince fuck around with NXT's booking</font>

I fucking told you!!!!!!!!!!! :mad:

I will be done with NXT if that no talent Caitlyn Jenner looking bitch gets the title!

lol

Haha, nah, you're the one getting desperate with the IWC slander stuff and talking up your own non-argument.

How does Sting winning translate to money/more Network subs?

* A big draw of the Network is being able to re-live the PPVs of yesteryear. Sting was a huge part of the story WCW told over its entire PPV history. If you want to get people to take more of a bite of the WWE Network, and stay hooked on it for longer, promoting WCW is a freakin' great idea.

CONVERSELY: Triple H beating Sting implies that WWE was always better, so those WWE PPVs you've joined us watching are the only things that matter.

* The plan is clearly for Sting to wrestle more than one PPV match, as it always probably should have been. This is now evident and not debatable as Sting is booked for Night of Champions. He's going into the PPV with zero momentum and no one thinking he's really got a chance, and worse, many not caring since he lost his last clusterfuck.

CONVERSELY: If Sting had beaten Triple H, he'd be 1-0 in the WWE, with that win being over a former 13-time World Champion that beat Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania. The title might actually be in jeopardy. This anticipation could lead to more people signing up to the Network, especially if they're...

* An older WCW fan who stopped watching at the death of the Attitude era. I think it's a bit of a fool's errand to go and try recruiting these people back, but Sting is a well-known commodity that might make people go "Hang on, I might check this out..." With a 0-1 record, he not only provides a sad reminder that his era is gone, but he also makes a completely nonsensical choice as a title challenger.

CONVERSELY: If Sting had won the match, he'd be 1-0 in the WWE, with that win being over a former 13-time World Champion that beat Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania. The title might actually be in jeopardy. This anticipation could lead to more people signing up to the Network...you get it...

It's amazing you don't get how Sting losing every match is pissing away money. Oh well. I don't think it's one of those things you can explain to people if they don't get it.

I forgot to touch on merchandising, DVD/Network specials, documentaries, the potential torch-passing loss, etc. I could have gotten another half-dozen bullet points out of those.

Triple H didn't need the win to have heat or credibility in the WWE. The loss hurts Sting more than it helps Triple H. It's really that simple. And you can say that I'm a nobody that thinks I know better than the WWE, but I'm not the only one saying it. A lot of really successful people in the industry have come out and said they thought it sucked a giant donkey dick and made no sense from a business or creative standpoint. I'm not appealing to authority like you are with the WWE, but rather pointing out that there are a lot of people who aren't nobodies that would agree with me -- rendering your ad hominem assault pretty pointless.

Your only point other than "The WWE are giant and therefore know what they are doing," like they haven't made a bad decision in their existence, is "Triple H beating Sting is good because he can now get Seth Rollins, the World Champion, to beat him and make him look great." Except Seth Rollins is about to beat the guy that Triple H himself beat, which renders it all a little redundant, doesn't it? Why get A to beat B to give the rub to C if C is going to beat B anyway?

And if Sting can't beat a dude just ten years younger than him, what chance does he have against someone thirty years younger than him?

I'll try to explain it mathematically for you. Let's attribute values to these wrestlers. Triple H has 1300 points. That's 100 points for every World Title he's won in the WWE. Seth Rollins is therefore on 100 points. Sting has won World Titles, but not in the WWE, so let's include the International World Title and call him a 9-time champ and give him 75% of those 900 points, bringing him to 675. Let's say that a win is worth 10% of what your opponent is worth. If Sting beats Triple H at WrestleMania, his score jumps to 805 points. It's arguable that you could even increase this because of WrestleMania season, but let's call it all even. Triple H beating Sting increases his worth to 1368 points. Now, let's say that Seth Rollins beats Sting AND Triple H in the scenario that we actually have in real-life. He beats Sting for 68 points and he beats Triple H for 137. That's a total of 205 points. But if he beats Sting AND Triple H after Sting beats Triple H? That's 81 points from Sting and 130 from Triple H. That's 211 points -- a whole six points difference. But there you go -- Sting beating Triple H is far more important to increasing Sting's stock than increasing Triple H's.

Great post, and I'm on board with you.

The one thing I disagree with is Epico & Primo seeming like a threat. From memory, the WWE did their best to make it seem like they didn't matter. I recall Big Show squashing them in a Handicap Match whilst they were the Tag Team Champions. Los Matadores are silly, but at least it's given them a chance to recharge their real personalities from that sort of damage. And now they might try to push them seriously as a tag team, instead of simply seeing them as bumpers for the name talent.

I've wanted to see Lucha Dragons vs. Los Matadores for the longest time. The matches would be good, given their styles and the history between Primo, Epico and Hunico. Plus you can eventually build to Mask vs. Mask, put the Dragons over, and have Epico y Primo reveal themselves as the men behind the gimmick, then attack the Dragons in a rage and transition things into a Mexico vs. Puerto Rico feud.

After the faces go over in that one, you could consider splitting up Epico and Primo by having one turn on the other, the face sitting at home for a while to gain sympathy, whilst the heel gets a bit of a singles push, only for the other to eventually return looking for blood. I bet Primo could lead Epico through some hot matches.

You don't really need a whole bunch of teams to have a fun tag division. I think it more comes down to the quality of the teams, how they're connecting and how they clash with the other teams. The New Day are firing on all cylinders at the moment, and the feud with The Dudleyz will be over. If you have a feud between Epico/Primo and the Dragons, that's another team building on the side. Eventually you're going to have The Usos back, and can slip The Wyatt Family back into the scene too. That's really all you need, I feel.

Imagining this as the scott steiner math promo

<blockquote class="twitter-video" lang="en"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/CedricAlexander">@CedricAlexander</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PWXwrestling">@PWXwrestling</a> <a href="http://t.co/b5wyCe89cw">pic.twitter.com/b5wyCe89cw</a></p>&mdash; Tessa Blanchard (@teamTblanchard) <a href="https://twitter.com/teamTblanchard/status/640406443938721792">September 6, 2015</a></blockquote>
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I think Cornette said if someone took the Metzler Driver in his promotion and left the ring under his own power, he'd have fired the guys giving the move AND the guy taking it. I am standing by that thought.

Can't this same logic be turned around?

Cena executed it perfectly on two straight PPVs. It's Owens's fault.

WWE has another Monday Night War themed dvd arriving soon. One of the biggest features to this one is new Eric Bischoff related stuff instead of WWE just reusing the same old interviews from the early to mid 2000s.

New stuff is mostly him reacting to the things said about him on the first Monday Night War dvd and Network series.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QN1HvndgiZc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I'm pretty bored of all the Attitude/Monday Night War dvd's, they've done it to death.

Yep, time for WWE to

STOP LIVING IN THE PAST!!!

but goofing on russo never gets old

No more catfighting for four months?!!

I guess this just became a potential WrestleMania feud.

So now Summer joins Dolph and Rusev has to find a new Lana again. 4 months Lana returns and we have a love pentagon.

It should be Dolph and Rusev, Bros before....Divas

Molly Holly added to the Supermega fest I'm going to.

She can't go to the ring with a splint or cast? You could easily have a backstage interview interrupted by a brawl between two and have them be pulled apart without having them actually touching each other. Then write in Lana injured her wrist in the scuffle.

Even better, get some heat on Rusev by cutting to the locker room with Rusev standing over a fallen Dolph, foreign object, like a lead pipe, chair, or wretch in hand, with Lana lying over him clutching her wrist. Never actually have anyone come out and blatantly say Rusev hit Lana, but instead insinuate she was hurt trying to protect Dolph. Rusev can cut promos saying Lana's injuries are a result of her getting in the way and she has paid the price.

or they could just acknowledge that she hurt herself training in the ring to kick Summer's ass.....