HHH makes a speech that is just as illogical as passing it on the half yard line with the championship on the line. Bryan and Seth have a chance to face Reigns if one of them wins the match tonight. Why? Who the hell knows? Bryan wins thanks to Reigns who seems to be a bit of a dick. So, will Bryan go to Mania? Probably not.
Stardust seems to be heading for hopefully a very good 10 minute match at Mania. Ambrose/BNB are going to feud. Wyatt is apparently unstoppable after no selling Ziggler at the end of their match. The Bellas spray tanning is a poor NWO attempt. Cena says hi to the guys he got fired. They should have destroyed him instead of once again fighting his battles for him. Big Show finally won a match against Reigns.
Y'know, if WWE wants to be friends with me again, Bryan/Rollins is a good start. And I'll take Bryan/Reigns as a follow-up. Bryan ain't winning, that's for sure at this point, but I'll be happy with a good match, as long as there's a clean finish and it tells a good story. Reigns was good last night, too. Much more like the Roman Reigns we all initially liked 10 months ago. I'm really not opposed to Reigns, I just want them to use him better.
So, are they purposely trolling us, before in the end still just giving us #DBvsDZ at WrestleMania (in a 10 minutes opener)? Or is this for real, and we'll be getting Brock vs. Bryan? I can't tell anymore. #realityera
Not sure if we're being trolled or not, but give them some credit for trying to build intrigue about whether they're changing the Mania main event.
Could they have Reigns turn heel after losing at Fast Lane and move him to another opponent altogether? Honestly, I think Reigns beating Cena in a good match would do more to pass the torch to Roman than having him beat Lesnar would. If Reigns wins as a heel, Bryan has a 3 month PPV program waiting for him after Mania where Reigns can go over in the end.
My only concern with Bryan/Brock is that Brock is a killing machine and could accidentally hurt Bryan again putting him back on the shelf. Speaking from experience, it doesn't take a lot to re-injure a neck or spine once it has been hurt badly.
I think Cena read my comment last week about him looking road haggard. Hi, John! Stop lurking!
I hope Goldust gets his Mania match against his brother. He deserves it. Oh, wiat, HHH doesn't give a shit about anyone "deserving" anything, but, this guy does.
They almost kinda turned DB heel a bit with his comments to Reigns last night.
Loved Steph's Queen Bee wave. Batista would be proud.
Originally posted by JimBob SkeeterI think Cena read my comment last week about him looking road haggard. Hi, John! Stop lurking!
I hope Goldust gets his Mania match against his brother. He deserves it. Oh, wiat, HHH doesn't give a shit about anyone "deserving" anything, but, this guy does.
They almost kinda turned DB heel a bit with his comments to Reigns last night.
Loved Steph's Queen Bee wave. Batista would be proud.
Second week in a row with quasi-dickish comments. Third time will be confirmation, IMHO.
Well that was unexpected. A weird amount of emphasis on a guy ostensibly going into the 6th biggest match at Wrestlemania. I do remember last year they had Batista lose to Del Rio on TV because he was turning heel. But Reigns getting beat by Big Show also felt like part of the psychology of A New Day discussed on the Stonecast where winning too much gets you resented.
Beats him. Beats me.
Rusev and Lana's reaction to the flag malfunction was like acing the greatest OrigiNXT improvisation challenge ever.
Originally posted by JustinShapiroWell that was unexpected. A weird amount of emphasis on a guy ostensibly going into the 6th biggest match at Wrestlemania. I do remember last year they had Batista lose to Del Rio on TV because he was turning heel. But Reigns getting beat by Big Show also felt like part of the psychology of A New Day discussed on the Stonecast where winning too much gets you resented.
In their defence, Reigns losing to Big Show via Seth Rollins was the catalyst to set up Reigns to take care of Show and Rollins at the end so a) Bryan goes on to Fastlane (which was foreshadowed by Bryan in the opening segment) and b) The Authority gets screwed by not having their man in the match.
Originally posted by JustinShapiroWell that was unexpected. A weird amount of emphasis on a guy ostensibly going into the 6th biggest match at Wrestlemania.
But he's in the 1st (2nd?) biggest match of Fast Lane!
They're really trying to set Reigns up as vulnerable now, which is what he's needed to some extent. The guy isn't Goldberg, and even if he was, that character always had a limited shelf life. And he isn't Warrior where his character is just so insane people buy into it. Reigns needs to meet some resistance.
I think they're making the right move here. I was hoping they'd do this, but didn't think they had the balls to. Bryan probably isn't going to win, and it's almost torture to put the fans through this, but at the very least, Reigns gets to prove his worth in a singles match against someone who he shouldn't fail to have a good match with.
Originally posted by SKLOKAZOID I think they're making the right move here. I was hoping they'd do this, but didn't think they had the balls to. Bryan probably isn't going to win, and it's almost torture to put the fans through this, but at the very least, Reigns gets to prove his worth in a singles match against someone who he shouldn't fail to have a good match with.
I think you're right in that Bryan isn't going to win. To me, the question going into this is if Bryan is going to give the good-guy-handshake-of-approval after losing or if this is going to be the payoff to the dickish remarks and he's going to turn.
Originally posted by SKLOKAZOID I think they're making the right move here. I was hoping they'd do this, but didn't think they had the balls to. Bryan probably isn't going to win, and it's almost torture to put the fans through this, but at the very least, Reigns gets to prove his worth in a singles match against someone who he shouldn't fail to have a good match with.
I think you're right in that Bryan isn't going to win. To me, the question going into this is if Bryan is going to give the good-guy-handshake-of-approval after losing or if this is going to be the payoff to the dickish remarks and he's going to turn.
Turning Bryan heel is the biggest middle finger they can give the fans. If people think Reigns is going to be helped by beating Bryan, they are out of their minds. All its going to do is piss people off more.
Originally posted by SKLOKAZOID I think they're making the right move here. I was hoping they'd do this, but didn't think they had the balls to. Bryan probably isn't going to win, and it's almost torture to put the fans through this, but at the very least, Reigns gets to prove his worth in a singles match against someone who he shouldn't fail to have a good match with.
I think you're right in that Bryan isn't going to win. To me, the question going into this is if Bryan is going to give the good-guy-handshake-of-approval after losing or if this is going to be the payoff to the dickish remarks and he's going to turn.
Turning Bryan heel is the biggest middle finger they can give the fans. If people think Reigns is going to be helped by beating Bryan, they are out of their minds. All its going to do is piss people off more.
I will venture a guess that @HeelZiggler will have an effect on that match as the Authority's new golden boy.
Originally posted by JustinShapiroBryan probably isn't going to win, and it's almost torture to put the fans through this, but at the very least, Reigns gets to prove his worth in a singles match against someone who he shouldn't fail to have a good match with.
Originally posted by steven87gillErr, so what's the point then?
I have to preface this: I'm not saying it's right for Reigns to beat Bryan and go into WrestleMania, BUT...
If Roman Reigns is going to main event WrestleMania against Brock F'N Lesnar, if they're really actually doing this, the Rumble win wasn't convincing enough. He needs a trial by fire and he needs to earn some respect.
Even if Bryan loses, it's not likely that he'll be tossed like garbage like he was in the Rumble. He'll either lose after interference after a competitive match (which would help both) or he'll lose clean after a competitive match. The interference option is the best bet because it protects everybody while also giving the audience faith that Reigns can put on an entertaining, competitive match.
Orton kind of has already done this, but SummerSlam was so long ago and also his stock fell post-WrestleMania 30, so Reigns now needs to beat someone of the Cena/HHH/Bryan like to show that he can give Brock a fight.
Of course WWE's thinking process is messed up. They're trying to reverse everything on the audience, by giving Bryan preferential treatment in kayfabe and making the fans look like the bad guys, because Bryan needs us to rescue him again for the second year in a row (while Reigns is in constant need of rescuing by management).
Of course, this line of thinking is wrong when people are rejecting Reigns because he just isn't a well developed character that fans have taken a liking to. But don't tell them that.
It's still going to help Reigns, because they need to confront the Daniel Bryan problem directly. They can't shove Bryan out of the picture entirely like they tried to at the Rumble.
Originally posted by steven87gillErr, so what's the point then?
I have to preface this: I'm not saying it's right for Reigns to beat Bryan and go into WrestleMania, BUT...
If Roman Reigns is going to main event WrestleMania against Brock F'N Lesnar, if they're really actually doing this, the Rumble win wasn't convincing enough. He needs a trial by fire and he needs to earn some respect.
Even if Bryan loses, it's not likely that he'll be tossed like garbage like he was in the Rumble. He'll either lose after interference after a competitive match (which would help both) or he'll lose clean after a competitive match. The interference option is the best bet because it protects everybody while also giving the audience faith that Reigns can put on an entertaining, competitive match.
Orton kind of has already done this, but SummerSlam was so long ago and also his stock fell post-WrestleMania 30, so Reigns now needs to beat someone of the Cena/HHH/Bryan like to show that he can give Brock a fight.
Of course WWE's thinking process is messed up. They're trying to reverse everything on the audience, by giving Bryan preferential treatment in kayfabe and making the fans look like the bad guys, because Bryan needs us to rescue him again for the second year in a row (while Reigns is in constant need of rescuing by management).
Of course, this line of thinking is wrong when people are rejecting Reigns because he just isn't a well developed character that fans have taken a liking to. But don't tell them that.
It's still going to help Reigns, because they need to confront the Daniel Bryan problem directly. They can't shove Bryan out of the picture entirely like they tried to at the Rumble.
(edited by SKLOKAZOID on 3.2.15 1208)
Oh, don't get me wrong, I completely understand the logic behind this line of thinking. But the crux of the matter is that Reigns going over Bryan clean is the absolute worst thing they can do right now.
Look, if they want another Cena, unique crowd dynamic & all, then by all means, have Reigns go over & on their head be it for the next ten years.
My problem is that apart from that brief hot run in 2006 where he was getting nuclear heat, Cena hasn't actually moved the needle a whole hell of a lot since then, so why the hell do they want to clone him?
Reigns could've been so much more for the WWE than what he's probably going to end up being, & it's a damn shame.
So in the First Guy to Beat Roman Reigns pool, which one of you sharks had "Big Show, pinfall, chokeslam, under 3 minutes, some random Raw, hour 1"?
Problem with authority figures: When they announce the huge matches themselves, all the resulting heat goes to them, and not the wrestlers who really need it. Reigns looks so much better if he just challenges Bryan on his own terms. Win clean, and he's the world beater who knew how good he was, and bring on Lesnar. Lose, and he's the honorable hotshot who believed his own hype (undefeated!) and got burned. Win dirty, probably the worst outcome unless Rock interferes, and at least he was playing Bryan and his fans for total suckers. But this way, no matter what happens, he's just a pawn.
Originally posted by HeimsSo in the First Guy to Beat Roman Reigns pool, which one of you sharks had "Big Show, pinfall, chokeslam, under 3 minutes, some random Raw, hour 1"?
You know, it's actually somewhat appropriate considering Big Show also handed Brock Lesnar his first loss, not counting the double disqualification against Undertaker. Granted, it was at Survivor Series, so not quite as much of a throwaway, but still a waste once you look at the overall arch of the storyline.
Originally posted by JustinShapiroRusev and Lana's reaction to the flag malfunction was like acing the greatest OrigiNXT improvisation challenge ever.
There isn't enough love being given to this segment. That, more than anything, tells me that Rusev's almost ready for the big time. He rolled with that botch like a champ with the kind of classic improv that a lot of guys on the roster should make note of.
Originally posted by HeimsSo in the First Guy to Beat Roman Reigns pool, which one of you sharks had "Big Show, pinfall, chokeslam, under 3 minutes, some random Raw, hour 1"?
Pretty sure that should have "J&J Security", "Seth Rollins", and "Briefcase in the spine" added before that.