Originally posted by Dr Unlikelyit's literally the only thing worth watching Raw for now (minus the potential of seeing Brock Lesnar hit a gas tank with a fire axe and blow up a car, himself, and 50 audience members).
As if a simple exploding car could stop Brock Lesnar.
I was so waiting for the axe to bounce back and nail him, it was horrifying. :D
I think the main thing wrong with the Rusev v Ziggler angle is it's been done before. We've seen this Macho Man and Elizabeth, Macho and Gorgeous George (the slut not the wrestler) Tajiri with Torrie Wilson, Daniel Bryan and AJ, etc. Heel gets jealous of his woman's rise in admiration the crowd is giving her, designated face plays the white knight to save her. Two guys fight over her. It's a story older than time and has been done to death.
The worst part about this is that it doesn't fit the narrative of ANY of the characters involved. Ziggler is a self-absorbed womanizer who will use women to further his opportunities in the company of to make his enemies jealous, and is quick to cut off said women when they become a burden to him. Lana originally was just implied to be Rusev's manager for his matches, translator and handler so he didn't break people's neck without her say so. Them dating wasn't even implied until it was decided they should split the two. Summer Rae shouldn't factor into this at all unless Rusev demands she comes out hair pinned up and wearing short tight business skirts.
The angle foundation is tired and old. The characters involved have become generic archtypes to fit this uninspired story. Shrewd businesswoman becomes damsel in distress, cool prettyboy becomes sappy white knight, monster becomes insecure ex-boyfriend, and then there's Summer Rae. The story should be thusly:
DZ: Hey you lost your woman cause you lost your edge and blamed her for all your shortcomings. Rusev: I hate her and everything associated with her. I denounce Russia and will burn everything down that makes her happy until she gets back on a plane back to her Motherland. DZ: Well flame on motherfucker cause I put her in complete ecstacy! Lana: I'll tell you Rusev's weakness, and I managed making the match a No-DQ match where the winner becomes number one contender to Intercontinental title, now go get 'em Tiger!
This current angle is Vince stuck in a black hole moving at inhumanly slow speed while the rest of us watch him play years of catchup a few minutes at a time. More news at 11.
Cole: "Yeah, thanks to Kane. You should buy Kane a Rolex watch for what he did for you."
Rollins: "Oh don't be silly, Kane doesn't wear watches."
Originally posted by CruelAngel777Heel gets jealous of his woman's rise in admiration the crowd is giving her, designated face plays the white knight to save her. Two guys fight over her. It's a story older than time and has been done to death.
If WWE had ever shown competence at pioneering new, satisfying and modern stories I might agree with this, but since all of the examples you gave got over to varying degrees, and almost anything they do now doesn't, I'm not sure what you're arguing exactly.
We still have corrupt authority figures making matches, which is way more hackneyed and dated to me than jealous heel wrestlers, so I guess we can all pick our own battles :)
I was speaking in the context of why the Dolph/Rusev/Lana/Summer quadrangle was a floating turd so far, but evil authority angle which has been going on since the mid-90's is a much greater evil by comparison.
Cole: "Yeah, thanks to Kane. You should buy Kane a Rolex watch for what he did for you."
Rollins: "Oh don't be silly, Kane doesn't wear watches."
I'm surprised that more isn't being said about the stunning and stellar job that Titus did on commentary. It was surreal, and the best possible example of how to Be A Star. Like a true bully, JBL got real quiet when confronted by a younger, stronger, bigger, and smarter man. Titus O'Neil said what we have been saying for months (years?) and has completely won me over.
You know net hack slasher, you can't really rate Benoit as a SD wrestler, b/c as you said he's never appeared on SD since the split started, and Vince moved him to raw, he's a raw wrestler.