Originally Posted by Cool King (Post 4450679)

Originally Posted by SlickyTrickyDamon (Post 4451148)

I thought Heidenreich was the biggest disgrace to the LOD name until now.

Originally Posted by Cool King (Post 4451018)

Originally Posted by Tom Guycott (Post 4451149)

That's a problem that seems to persist with most people making the jump to the main roster: their gimmick doesn't come with them. Half the time, they treat NXT as its own entity. At times, this is a good thing... but it is inconsistent. Both of IRS's kids made the jump doing what they were doing to begin with, but then they pull stuff like stripping Paige and Big E Langston* of their respective gimmicks (Anti-Diva and the 5 count) and just make them generic roster filler. If it's working, they should keep it. If it isn't, THEN they should try something else. For example, Emma needs something more to her on the main roster than the dancing and the bubbles, because the smaller, more intimate crowd at NXT "got" the gimmick, while the mass of humanity on the larger stage of WWE doesn't really.

Speaking of generic roster filler: Rusev. Jesus. I'd rather see that broom HHH wanted to wrestle have a hardcore title match against La Parka's chair than keep suffering through this shit. Lana having nice legs, making him a "Russian" Kurt Angle/Iron Shiek/Yokozuna/Samoa Joe/Nikoli Volkoff hybrid, and flashing pics of Putin on the titantron doesn't translate into the need to be eating up so much TV time trying to shoehorn such an over-the-top old school heel (and not ironically either- they're playing it straight) into a world that doesn't want to see it and would only make some sort of sense if they made Swagger turn face from and go back to being an American American American American again. Like Bandit Keith.

Originally Posted by Seth82 (Post 4451163)

hard to believe he's been gone five years now.

RIP Mitsuharu Misawa

He was imho one of the all time greats. He gave everything he had and that there was to give for the business.

I would hope he winds up in the WWE HOF someday.

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Originally Posted by Seth82 (Post 4451162)

you put into words what I was thinking.

seeing that pic makes me wanna puke.

Originally Posted by Tazz Dan (Post 4451250)

Some Indy wrestler, Jaxson James started following me on twitter. Has anybody heard of him?

Originally Posted by Tom Guycott (Post 4451149)

Speaking of generic roster filler: Rusev. Jesus. I'd rather see that broom HHH wanted to wrestle have a hardcore title match against La Parka's chair than keep suffering through this shit. Lana having nice legs, making him a "Russian" Kurt Angle/Iron Shiek/Yokozuna/Samoa Joe/Nikoli Volkoff hybrid, and flashing pics of Putin on the titantron doesn't translate into the need to be eating up so much TV time trying to shoehorn such an over-the-top old school heel (and not ironically either- they're playing it straight) into a world that doesn't want to see it and would only make some sort of sense if they made Swagger turn face from and go back to being an American American American American again. Like Bandit Keith.

Originally Posted by AJ lee's (Post 4451300)

This joke of a company just needs to give up.

Originally Posted by Bad News Gertner (Post 4451305)

Love Rusev. He's quite impressive in the ring.

Regarding NXT, I made this post a while ago : NXT is a glorified Indy show with the same douchebag fans like TNA's Asylum. The gimmicks don't translate well at all. They HAVE to start taking NXT on the road to get a better gauge of the talent. It's made to fail.

Originally Posted by F4W

A casting agency caused a stir when they sent out a notice for a Sting body double and an orchestra in Sting face paint, specifically identified as being for WWE. Somehow they didn't think it would get out. Really. Anyway, it's for WWE 2K15, as he's going to be this year's Brock Lesnar/Mike Tyson/Ultimate Warrior guest legend as a pre-order bonus.

Originally Posted by F4W

Paige and Emma were used at the NXT tapings so the "WWE Universe" could see the "NXT Universe" treating them like big stars. It didn't occur to anyone that they could just book both women the same way they were used on NXT.

Originally Posted by F4W

They turned Cameron/Ariane heel during Paige's "press conference" segment on the Payback post-game show. The next night, she was a babyface again. Nobody noticed.

Originally Posted by F4W

Seth Rollins is getting new entrance music, so if you hated what he used on Raw, it's a placeholder and you should stop kvetching. They're being careful to avoid saying he's joined Evolution, as "officially," he hasn't.

Originally Posted by F4W

Randy Savage seems closer to going into the Hall of Fame than ever, with a new DVD being worked on with a full documentary and participation from Lanny Poffo. The best guess for next year's class right now is The Rock, Savage, Kevin Nash, Victoria or Mickie James for the now-annual women's slot, and Rikishi.

Originally Posted by CSL (Post 4451345)

Originally Posted by CSL (Post 4451345)

Originally Posted by Bad News Gertner (Post 4451453)

Watched the ICP Youshoot. Way more entertaining and interesting than it had any right to be.

Actually one of the best KC releases I've seen.

Originally Posted by Asmo (Post 4451607)

"kvetching".
What's that supposed to mean?

Originally Posted by SlickyTrickyDamon (Post 4451148)

I thought Heidenreich was the biggest disgrace to the LOD name until now.

Originally Posted by Seth82 (Post 4451162)

seeing that pic makes me wanna puke.

Originally Posted by Asmo (Post 4451607)

"kvetching".
What's that supposed to mean?

Originally Posted by Bad News Gertner (Post 4451484)

Lol it's really tremendous. They told a couple Chris Benoit and Buff Bagwell stories that were fucking hilarious.

Originally Posted by whiteyford (Post 4451710)

I may be overselling that somewhat.

Originally Posted by Juan (Post 4451631)

lol come on. Really???

Originally Posted by SlickyTrickyDamon (Post 4451711)

Fuck that. WWE doesn't want ICP's lowlife fans attending anything WWE related.

Originally Posted by whiteyford (Post 4451709)

It's kinda funny that they've worked for every major promotion in the last 20 years, pretty sure if 'Manias ever held in Detroit they'd be a lock for the HOF.

Originally Posted by Vito Cruz (Post 4451724)

<font color=goldenrod>I think it would be delightfully twisted if Bo Dallas got a submission move as one of his signatures, and once he applies the hold he yells at his opponent to NOT give up.</font>

Originally Posted by SlickyTrickyDamon (Post 4451711)

Fuck that. WWE doesn't want ICP's lowlife fans attending anything WWE related.

Originally Posted by #1-wwf-fan (Post 4451713)

Are you surprised that women dressed in skimpy clothing makes Seth wanna puke?

Originally Posted by loopydate (Post 4451763)

I assumed he was making a Drozdov joke.

Originally Posted by Seth82 (Post 4451162)

you put into words what I was thinking.

seeing that pic makes me wanna puke.

Originally Posted by Tom Guycott (Post 4450473)

All of this, and the fact that they "like the look" of somebody like Ryback, and then want him to instantly go from being fed jobbers to jumping to the top of the card in the span of eight weeks (as opposed to climbing up the card gradually) and wondering why people don't buy him as a main event talent, then just giving up on him.

Its like they get bored with ideas quicker than the fans do. They don't let people get behind anyone anymore. Most of the time, their thought process seems to be if the person isn't somehow over instantly, it isn't worth doing.

Originally Posted by Cool King (Post 4451870)

Originally Posted by #1-wwf-fan (Post 4450409)

Instead of having a new gimmick debut and "cooling off" on them within a month, Vince should probably just... ya know... watch NXT.

Seriously, just fucking have some writers who specifically take care of the midcard scene. The reason it's been shit for years is because no one is gaining any momentum because they all get pushed for a month, de-pushed, then expected to be taken seriously again for a month, then forgotten and de-pushed again, and so on. It's not that hard to fix. It's just an issue of laziness.

Originally Posted by #1-wwf-fan (Post 4450454)

And that's exactly why. If they had actually put effort into keeping midcarders relevant by giving them shit to do to keep people interested instead of seemingly spending 5 minutes a week saying "Okay, this guy's gonna face this guy and this guy's gonna win because we're pushing him this month. Booking done." then there would be a ton of guys ready to move up the card. Instead they've gotta depend on bringing in guys and instantly trying to make them main eventers because the rest of the roster has been made to look too inconsistent to buy into as a star.

Originally Posted by Tom Guycott (Post 4450473)

All of this, and the fact that they "like the look" of somebody like Ryback, and then want him to instantly go from being fed jobbers to jumping to the top of the card in the span of eight weeks (as opposed to climbing up the card gradually) and wondering why people don't buy him as a main event talent, then just giving up on him.

Its like they get bored with ideas quicker than the fans do. They don't let people get behind anyone anymore. Most of the time, their thought process seems to be if the person isn't somehow over instantly, it isn't worth doing.

Originally Posted by MatthewAllenHanso (Post 4451907)

Revisionist history.

People got behind Ryback jumping to the main event, he got huge pops. Then 500 screw job finishes and then disappearing from the main event, and losing to Henry at Wrestlemania killed alot of his momentum.

Then he started getting good heat as a heel against Cena only to be ultimately misused, buried and forgotten.

Originally Posted by Tom Guycott (Post 4452126)

Requoted from the beginng for context:










The last 5 words you said there was the entire point.

It's not "revisionist history" that they tried to do too much too soon for Ryback. Yes, he was over, but not "carry the company" over. The heel turn didn't help, but people wanted him because he was the new hot thing. It wasn't going to be Cena vs. Orton for the 800th time, so we'll get on board with just about anything. AS HE WAS, without any character development, he would have fizzled out anyway. There was a reason for the Goldberg chants, and it wasn't just because of the bald look. Squashing countless local nobodies was going to get old, but the mishandling of how he was booked faded his star faster. You don't just become better than people you never faced... and there were a bunch of tiers of the card he was bypassing with that rocket up his ass. It didn't work. And when that happened, it was somehow "his" fault for not being able to connect with fans as opposed to WWE's fault for trying to rush a new marketable superstar.

That's not revisionist history.

Getting huge pops and gaining momentum isn't the same as becoming an iconic, credible threat almost overnight. Lesnar wasn't pushed that fast. Hell, even Goldberg won the US title first during his steak, and that was like six or seven months after he debuted... not six or seven weeks to WHC contention. Even Daniel Bryan's constant snubbing was actually a blessing- they bult a milkable angle in getting screwed out of title shots and made him into a badass workhorse with an unbreakable spirit who can beat anyone on any given night with even odds and needs unfair handicaps and prematch beatdowns to lose. Add to that, at this point, he has history with Kane and (pre Mania) was a world champion, and you have a character... which the WWE puts a premium on. By not wanting to make him one, they seem to have unintentionally MADE HIM ONE!

I say again that I hope they don't make that mistake with Reigns. As tempting as it is to slingshot him to be "the man", and as much as people "say" they want to see this happen, it is too soon. They need to build him up first, and I don't mean the instant, early pomp and circumstance. They're on a nice path, but they need to take their time. They need to build a lot of people up first, over time. They need to better define tiers on the card. They debut new people and seem to have an unrealistic expectation that it's going to be the biggest thing ever- the next "Hulkamainia"- right out of the gate. A lot of people on the roster right now all had promising starts, and then WWE goes nowhere with it.

It's kind of like baking a cake. You stick the batter in the oven at about 350 and let it bake for like 30 minutes... what you CAN'T do is blast the oven to 600 and expect delicious results in 5 minutes, then blame the cake for not looking like it does on the box. [note: cake baking time not 100% accurate]

Back on Ryback, he and Henning* vs Goldust and ? is one of my favorite angles going on right now, because of what it's doing for everyone involved. These mystery partners picked by Cody is doing nothing but furthering the rift between he and his brother, it gives whoever Goldie's partner is some TV/ring time, and RybAxel not only keep rolling with wins over these makeshift teams which :gasp: builds them up as a credible threat tag team that can one day (now sooner than later) go up against the Usos for the titles without looking like some random, thrown together tandem, but them taking credit for breaking up tag teams (hillariously including The Rockers) gives them a nice arrogant dick heel edge. Henning* isn't made to look like a jackass like during his singles run. Ryback isn't pinning people who aren't even on the WWE roster like during his. They're being made to look legit. And all of this is being accomplished by ONE FREAKIN' ANGLE.

They can do things like that for lower card people to push them up the ladder over time. I once wrote a long time ago that Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler- one of my favorite modern matchups- could have been a PPV headline and possibly even a WWEWHC title match by now, and no one would have batted an eye because they would have been established main eventers after a series of angles, builds, and pushes over time. If you tried to make this happen RIGHT NOW by Summer Slam, though, you'd have a tougher time selling that same match as legit. Hell, you have a hard time arguing at this point that it would even belong on a PPV card simply because of how hard they've been jobbing Dolph out and letting Kofi languish doing nothing of note.

Originally Posted by MatthewAllenHanso (Post 4451905)

This is why no one takes you serious.

Originally Posted by Lock Jaw (Post 4452345)

"Screw it, we cant think of what he should wear, or come up with any music.... let's just put him back with The Shield"

Originally Posted by Sescoops.com

Last week, WWE released 11 people (Brodus Clay, Drew McIntyre, Jinder Mahal, Evan Bourne and others) in an effort to reduce company spending. Now, we can confirm that NXT is the next target of these cost cutting measures.

A well-placed source at NXT has confirmed to us that NXT’s budget has already been cut in terms of production and post-production. The talent roster is about to be evaluated, with a number of cuts set to take place in the next month.

WWE is “staggering” the widespread budget cuts so the company appears to be fiscally responsible to Wall Street and doesn’t set off a widespread panic internally.

Originally Posted by Poit (Post 4453245)

OK, seriously, why is Seth Rollins still wearing a vest?

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BqRU2I5CcAAxfaa.jpg

Originally Posted by ron the dial (Post 4453249)

we just need all 3 of those guys out of vests

Originally Posted by Poit (Post 4453245)

OK, seriously, why is Seth Rollins still wearing a vest?

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BqRU2I5CcAAxfaa.jpg

Originally Posted by Poit (Post 4453245)

OK, seriously, why is Seth Rollins still wearing a vest?

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BqRU2I5CcAAxfaa.jpg