Cena is over, sells a ton of merch, makes the company millions, brought in a ton of kids & women as fans, and is the consummate ambassador for the company. So, not really "shoved down our throats."
Originally posted by StaggerLeeHe may wrestle for the belt on occasion, but when's the last time he had a run with the gold?
April. But his tag team matches are still pushed as co-main events and inexplicably put in HIACs and whatnot. If anything DX gets more TV time and more of a push when they're together and out of the world title scene. It's not like he's not good, and I think most of the Legacy and Jerishow matches were good, but those teams left those feuds decimated. It's not hard to see why people get sick of him, especially in overbearing DX mode. He hasn't exactly taken a backseat.
Originally posted by Spaceman SpiffCena is over, sells a ton of merch, makes the company millions, brought in a ton of kids & women as fans, and is the consummate ambassador for the company. So, not really "shoved down our throats."
Those must be John Cena glow sticks in every kids hands then. If Merch is the way you decide who's in the main event hunt, then there's no denying HHH in that regard. DX sells a metric assload of merch. They make the company millions, and it's not exactly crickets chirping when HHH or HBK's music hits.
As far as being an ambassador for the company, John Cena is probably the best person they've ever had. No denying that at all.
All I'm saying is, people, well IWC people, hate on HHH all the time because they know he's on the booking committee and who he's married to. But when "are you ready" blares over the speakers, he's getting bigger pops than almost every man on the roster.
The problem I have with HHH is that he got over using other people. He is a good wrestler and when he wants to be, a great wrestler. Having said that, he used HBK to get on the booking committe in the mid-90s. He used Chyna and HBK to get DX over. When HBK left, he went to the Outlaws and Syxx to keep it alive. Then after the chaos of that break-up, he used Steph's interest in him to get pushes. Then he dates Steph behind Chyna's back to get the biggest push of his career. Then marries her while other more talented and over stars are de-pushed in order to keep him strong when he came back from injury.
When people stopped caring for his heel character, he rejoins DX and continues to use HBK along with the fans' past memories of something cool to get over. He gets good pops due to the fact that most of the casual fans have accepted he is going nowhere and he is going to be the main focus of the show. The other thing too, he is a face now, faces tend to get good pops and sell more merchandise then heels. That is the sole reason Cena hasn't turned heel. Its not the 90s anymore where heel merchandise sells as well as face. The IWC hates HHH, for a variety of reasons. He represents everything bad about family members getting involved their own wrestling companies. Even when he is away from the title, he is still a focus of the show which to be fair he should be, but not as much as he has been. IWC constantly wants change, HHH's presence is a rejection of that. Besides the number of people he has fucked over and he has, the IWC hate for him is more of an ideological one then anything else.
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Originally posted by BigDaddyLocoSo, any Rumble geeks out there how this Rumble's time compared to other Rumbles? I know the original Rumble only had 20 men, but the times were spaced a lot further apart. I remember one that they breezed through, so I know there are at least one or two that were shorter. I'm guessing this was the 4th shortest Rumble ever.
Close...3rd shortest ever. Lords of Pain says a user named "Greg" sent them that info.
Originally posted by Reverend J ShaftBut I'm curious, when you say "theatre" are you talking like a movie theater or some concert theater? Because I'm really curious how fans react in a place where the only reason to be there is to see the event (i.e. not a bar or similar place where some people might just be there to hang out or other reasons). I've seen several Canadians talk about seeing WWE events at "theaters" so I'm just curious what the fan reaction is to these events since it seems serious fans would make up the majority of those audiences.
My crew and I watched at The Bar on Lime Kiln Rd. (shillshillshill) here in Titletown, USA. Everybody popped HARD when Edge won.
Especially me...since for the 1st time ever, I won my own Royal Rumble pool! Thanks for the $69, folks!
So HHH pinned Swagger last night, anyone have any idea why since he apparently threw Punk out for a random thing that happened over three years ago? Did Swagger get a crowd reaction larger than HHH at a house show in 2009?
I finally did watch this show and did enjoy it - the undercard was fine and the Rumble was quick moving and entertaining. A legit question to all you conspiracy theorists though - Do you really think a Rumble full of Punk trying to convert people would have been entertaining? Yeah, it was fine for a bit, but then the main eventers like HHH started coming in. That shtick wouldn't work on HHH, HBK, Cena, Batista, etc. for very long and would detract from the action in the ring. He needed to go when he did, and while HHH may not have been the best idea, SOMEONE had to and no one really cares who eliminates who unless they start a feud off it. We seem to go down this road every year, only now it's with people thinking wrestlers are being buried on random RAWs now. The WWE can rebuild people to the point you won't remember their past, much less the average fan. Luke Gallows, for example.
Originally posted by lotjxThe problem I have with HHH is that he got over using other people. He is a good wrestler and when he wants to be, a great wrestler. Having said that, he used HBK to get on the booking committe in the mid-90s. He used Chyna and HBK to get DX over. When HBK left, he went to the Outlaws and Syxx to keep it alive. Then after the chaos of that break-up, he used Steph's interest in him to get pushes. Then he dates Steph behind Chyna's back to get the biggest push of his career. Then marries her while other more talented and over stars are de-pushed in order to keep him strong when he came back from injury.
But the thing is, he was busting his ass, and putting over the Nation of Domination, putting over the Rock, making Foley look like great, etc. He was with people who the WWE decided to push to the moon. Is that really his fault? He carried them through a lot of down time when Austin was out. And, say what you will about his relationship with Steph, but he's still able to do the job in the ring, and able to help others. Remember when the Hardy Boyz were on the way up and fueding with Edge and Christian? or the Dudleys? Nobody took them seriously until HHH sold for them on Raw. After that, they could finally win singles matches and have it seem legit. But when it all boils down to it, he always does what's right for business when asked.
Originally posted by lotjxI loath HHH and his politics as much as the next smark, but someone was going to shut up Punk, it just happened to be him. Mania is $60, we are getting out of recession and he is adding another $10 to the PPV. I do what I usually do get everyone to pop $11 for food, PPV and a dollar for the Wrestlemania pool, I went perfect with WM 21 and walked out with $20.
Everytime I see a post like this, I get a little sad. I have not a single friend that cares about wrestling outside of "he's our buddy, so let's humor him."
I wish I had just two other people that liked wrestling during those rare times I get the urge to order a PPV. Hell, I'd take a sportsbar that's not on the other side of the county line.
I can't even pull the let's have a party but charge 5 bucks" thing because nobody I know period parties on a Sunday and they'd be pissed to pay to go to a party where the host is marking out like a ten year old to fake fighting.
Cena can't be beat because he's some unholy genetic recombinate of superstars past. I mean, you might as well call him John "Realest of the Real, Sargent Rock - Cold - A - Mania" Cena.
Was it just me or did Cena seem completely out of the match at some point, rattled cage maybe? After his initial entrance run, it seemed like he spent the majority of the rumble lying on the mat, stand up, take a finisher or attempt an FU, lie back down on the mat again. Even the final sequence with him, Batista, and Edge seemed rather sparse. Just something I noticed, especially since I thought he'd be a somewhat bigger presence in the outcome of the match.
Originally posted by Jericholic53Was it just me or did Cena seem completely out of the match at some point, rattled cage maybe? After his initial entrance run, it seemed like he spent the majority of the rumble lying on the mat, stand up, take a finisher or attempt an FU, lie back down on the mat again. Even the final sequence with him, Batista, and Edge seemed rather sparse. Just something I noticed, especially since I thought he'd be a somewhat bigger presence in the outcome of the match.
I'd guess it's related to his neck. It's been bothering him lately, so he hasn't been doing any high-intensity matches (that's why Orton got the Rumble match against Sheamus, not Cena). Meltzer notes that Cena's MRI in the past week was favorable, so he'll likely be able to be more active in the future. Of course, he celebrated his clean bill of health with being powerbombed onto the steps after Raw ended, so hopefully he hasn't undone his recovery.
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I completely agree with you on this. Ideally, I'd like to have seen them wrestle a year from now. But we didn't get that. And now it just seems like they're completely blowing their load until there's nothing left.