Bizarre how WM has gone from low-wattage rebuilding matches to one of the biggest in recent memory. The addition of Trish and Rock plus the UT/HHH match has provided the perfect back-up for the two title matches.
So I missed Raw and went to the Observer to read the report, and was greeted by a picture of Cena FUing Edge with the caption "Headling WrestleMania. Seriously". And for a horrible moment I thought something had happened on Raw to change two fresh title bouts into yet another round of Cena/Edge. Damn you, Meltzer!
The Lawler's mother stuff is in poor taste, but come on guys, for this business it doesn't crack the top fifty-seven most tasteless things they've done. After the Eddie stuff, you just have to assume some person or persons in WWE are complete immoral pieces of shit and alter your expectations accordingly.
Decent show, enjoyed Cena's promo early though it was a little heavy on the homophobia. Any rap fan knows you don't go to that well too often. You've got various tenets you can go to during a rap diss. Cena hit point A/ "You are not homosexual but I am going to say you are anyway", and also incorporated "You are not genuine in how you present yourself" (a 'wankster', 'wigger', or a sell-out). Obviously he could not use "Your demeanor is that of a Caucasian" in this case, but he could have done well with "I have sex with your mother on a regular basis and she reaches climax regularly" and a sprinkling of "My understanding is that your genitals are smaller than the statistical average for an adult male". That one can dovetail into "The number of females with whom you copulate is less than the number of females with whom I copulate, and therefore you are not as good as I am in our shared profession, though it is unrelated to copulation. Also this makes you homosexual". Calls back to the first point, see? Failing that, you've got "I own more property, business assets, and material goods than you own", and "The region of the country where you reside is more affluent than the region from which I hail, and therefore you are homosexual", which ties in nicely with the first tenet (again). Finally, we have "My social circle can dominate yours in a combat situation", "Recent misfortunes that have befallen me were likely your doing, which suggests you are homosexual", and "You are a likely government informer". These would have made for an incoherent rant in the context of wrestling but would have nonetheless been hilarious to see play out.
-All that tag-team goofiness was bad TV. -I also have my doubts that Orton and Punk's styles will blend well. But God Bless Punk for saying Randall and exposing Orton's middle name (or maybe he made it up). -While Morrison deserves a reward for the last several months of fantastic performances, I still see him having less upside ultimately than Kofi, who's Orton-imposed exile ought, I think, to be undone. So with MITB (if it happens as we all say), I'd rather see Kofi go over. I simply can't see Vince putting the belt on Morrison.
Originally posted by TorchslasherGreat Raw after a great pay per view. We get the beginning of several intriguing and possibly money-drawing matches (yes, that includes a sports entertainment match featuring Michael Cole), and it didn't really feel rushed. It should speak to the nature of having so many ppvs where we don't always get these slower builds. But I digress.
I was a bit miffed at them making John Morrison look like a dork with that pretty quick loss. It looks like Morrison's reward for shining at EC is that he will get to be relegated to the MitB match (if they have one at WM this year).
Looks like they'll be doing it with Sheamus, Morrison and Bryan, maybe Henry so far.
It was nice that Rock's promo finally energized Cena to do the rap battle thing. Unfortunately, according to Cena, it was a one time only thing. I thought he did a great job countering Rock's promo, but I still think the idea of WWE universe destroying Attidue era is stupid. If it wasn't for Rock cutting one of the best promos in the last few years, we don't get Cena's promo. So, again its Attitude era pushing WWE Universe to be interesting. As far as I am concerned, Rock's promo buried the PG era. I know Mattel is pushing WWE around and is one of the few profitable lanes WWE has open, but the Danie Bryan firing blew up in their faces. He was also back a few months later, so whatever pull Mattel has is not that great. I would also think that the ratings and PPV buys are where the real money is for Vince anyway. Plus, the Mattel figures look alike, Jakks did a way better job with them. We got the old school hard plastic figures from Jakks and that is going outshine anything Mattel is going to do.
I am more disappointed that I got to miss McClain vs. Karl for the first time in HD just to see Taker and HHH mime their way to a Wrestlemania match. Their X-7 match was amazing, so ten years later I am skeptical. However, its a good money match-up, so you can't argue against it. There was no need for Morrison and Punk to wrestle if all Punk was going to do was cut a promo on Orton. I do believe they have small plans for Morrison who is pretty much on fire right now. Sheamus vs. Bryan is a match I would want to see.
They really didn't need to use Lawler's mom to get some cheap heat. Jerry probably said it was ok, but it once again proved my theory that Vince has no morality or sense of common decency. It also sounds like they are laying the ground work for Rock vs. the mysterious Raw GM who will probably be Vince. I do hope we get to see more of the Rock minus this one appearance since him being there is what is selling this PPV.
Originally posted by It's False I'll be happy to jump into the minority on this one. How dare they get me all amped up for the return of Rapping John Cena and give me THAT! I expected the Doctor of Thuganomics, but I feel like I wound up with Dr. Seuss. The lyrics were great, but Cena's dopey facials and smiley mannerisms absolutely ruined it. The delivery's every bit as important as the material, you know. But I will admit that I loved the Brokeback line.
Someone else mentioned it above, but that was the worst line. C'mon, offensive unnecessarily-homophobic jokes are Triple H's department (see: "that better not be a fannypack" in The Chaperone trailer)! It was a clue! Seriously though...totally unnecessary.
Originally posted by It's FalseAnd yes, I guess we ARE totally skipping the Sheamus feud and the Undertaker Revenge Tour...for now. It's not like anyone cares, anyway. That was a tremendous segment!
I think they can start on those storylines in April... Triple H/Taker for a month...I don't think HBK needs to even be involved. They "said" it all (in an amazing Silent Promo). Trips wants "his shot" at ending the streak, Taker thinks "Boy, you're crazy." That's all you need. Then post-Mania, Hunter goes after Sheamus and Taker focuses on Barrett or Kane...
"RANDALL KEITH ORTON!!"
Why switch the titles at all? Why not just have a 15 min match instead of two short ones?
"You’ve got the crazy eyes." - RAW GM Laptop, 9/27/10
Originally posted by JustinShapiroTriple H and Undertaker had a silent movie. It was pretty awesome when Undertaker was like "bitch please I beat you already." Is ::throat-slash gesture:: wrestler-play semiology for "will you put your career on the line"?
I wondered the same thing. Seems like Taker has accepted the match without Triple H having to put more on the line.
It is the policy of the documentary crew to remain true observers and not interfere with its subjects. "Well. Shit." -hansen9j Go Pack Go! (Champs!) Let's Go Riders!
I think enough time has passed that not doing Hunter/Sheamus as an immediate "you put me on the shelf" program is okay. Not sure why everyone sees it as sacrilege that they've skipped it for now, to be honest.
Lawler is so old-school and carny that the mother namedrop was practically restrained. Again, a non-issue - one mention from Cole feels like addressing the elephant in the room. The line has been crossed, Lawler made it clear what would happen if it were crossed again, and that's that. Now, to get Cole in the match Lawler should offer his retirement from the booth, with JR coming back if Cole loses.
I don't see how you don't do a Money In The Bank match for Morrison this year. The past six weeks of him playing Spider-Man seems like a push towards it already.
The end of the second tag titles match confused me because I thought Miz and Cena were hitting a new team finisher. And it looked sharp. Then the replays clarified.
I had to visit the WWE site to find out about Taker/Triple H. I only saw the show starting from Cole standing in the ring. As soon as I told the Lovely Mrs. Tracker about Lawler's mom, Cole used her in the interview. She did not approve (TLMT, I mean).
Regarding Taker/HHH, I approve of clean-shaven Taker so we avoid the awkward shoe-polish dye jobs of the past. And I really like HHH's new Thor-style shirt.
My first pick for Rey's WM outfit: Iron Man. He can find most of the costume at any Target or Wal-Mart.
"To be the man, you gotta beat demands." -- The Lovely Mrs. Tracker
Next week is going to be awesome when Michael Cole goes sledding on Lawler's mom's coffin. (Too bad HHH returned as a face, it would be awesome if after Lawler pulled Cole off of the coffin, HHH crawled out, zipping up his pants.)
Everybody is also missing out on an important fact. When they cut to The Miz and Alex Riley walking through the halls, Michael Carver was cowering from Miz. This is clearly foreshadowing to Tarver costing Miz the title at Wrestlemania, setting up a feud between them that will culminate at Summerfest.
Originally posted by Hogan's My DadDecent show, enjoyed Cena's promo early though it was a little heavy on the homophobia. Any rap fan knows you don't go to that well too often.
So most rap fans don't like a majority of the most popular rappers?
Edit: I should add that while I don't approve of homophobia, I think in this case it was eluding to the long time suspicion that The Rock is deeply closeted.
But God Bless Punk for saying Randall and exposing Orton's middle name (or maybe he made it up).
Nope, RKO does equal Randall Keith Orton as it is Orton's real life full name. Still interesting segment with Punk calling out Orton by his full name as they are setting up an Orton and Punk WM match.
For the second week in a row, there was a segment which pushed the PG WWE product into the TV-14 as it was Cena's best promo since the WWE went to a more "polite" PG product.
The good news is that Jerry "The King" Lawler will have his Wrestlemania moment; the bad news is that it is shaping up so that Michael Cole will also have his Wrestlemania moment but there is 6 weeks till 'Mania so stipulations and other changes are bound to happen.
I could be wrong on this assumption, but I have heard that the shareholders of the WWE are losing a bit of confidence in the WWE product so it may explain why the WWE has been pushing the envelope from the PG product to parts where it is TV-14 (the last time the WWE was good on a consistent basis). The Rock threw the last 7 years out the window with his promo last week and Cena's promo last night was a bit far from PG.
Good overall Raw but when is the WWE going to have Sheamus back in the realm of relevance again (and speaking of which, where is Swagger in terms of relevance besides wrestling on Superstars?)
Originally posted by InVerseNext week is going to be awesome when Michael Cole goes sledding on Lawler's mom's coffin. (Too bad HHH returned as a face, it would be awesome if after Lawler pulled Cole off of the coffin, HHH crawled out, zipping up his pants.)
I'm not gonna lie, this made me chuckle quite a bit.
Originally posted by The GameI could be wrong on this assumption, but I have heard that the shareholders of the WWE are losing a bit of confidence in the WWE product so it may explain why the WWE has been pushing the envelope from the PG product to parts where it is TV-14
You'd be wrong. The shareholders hold a minority stake of the company. If all of them got together and unanimously demanded that the WWE do something, Vince McMahon could politely tell them to go fuck themselves and they'd have absolutely no ability to do anything about it.
-I would rather see Lawler Vs. Cole than Lawler Vs Riley/Cole. Sadly, I think that is going to have to be the catch for Lawler to convince Cole to participate.
-If they do MITB, I REALLY hope they don't put 800 guys in it like they are apt to do. 5 is the perfect number. Just enough to make it chaotic, but not so many that you can't follow what is going on. Also, don't stick Kane and Mark Henry in there out of loyalty sake.
-Still think anything short of straight up Cena Vs Rock is gonna disappoint fans. But I am beginning to really wonder if they are going to do a year long build for it at next Mania.
Originally posted by The GameI could be wrong on this assumption, but I have heard that the shareholders of the WWE are losing a bit of confidence in the WWE product so it may explain why the WWE has been pushing the envelope from the PG product to parts where it is TV-14
You'd be wrong. The shareholders hold a minority stake of the company. If all of them got together and unanimously demanded that the WWE do something, Vince McMahon could politely tell them to go fuck themselves and they'd have absolutely no ability to do anything about it.
Which is one of the reasons, the stocks have been dropping as well as the bad financial numbers. People probably should have realized earlier on that the McMahons were not going to give any type of control of their company to strangers which is probably the right move. I think anyone who buys WWE stock for anything more then a novelty is deluding themselves that they will seen more then a few dollars from it.
So RAW has a big return on 02/21/11 and now the big payoff is that on the biggest show of the year they stick an old, broken down, out of shape, injury prone star who's reputation is bigger than his talent... and they expect him to have a good match with The Undertaker?
(Rimshot)
I will say, that I'm surprised that with Wade Barrett/NEXUS in the building, Undertaker seemed pretty cool with the whole "Those guys ganged up and buried me alive" thing. I guess time does heal all wounds.
And Cena didn't 'rap'. He recited lines that rhymed. He's like an edgy Lanny Poffo.
Kevin Kelly: "Mr. Austin, would you like to comment on Wade Keller's Take that endorsing the XFL hurts your anti-authority character?"
Steve Austin: "Oh shit, he actually said that? I thought the boys in the back were ribbing me!"
Kelly: "No, he really said that. Did they tell you the part about you sitting in the stands, looking all skeptical?"
Austin: "AHAHAHAHAHAHA. Yeah... oh man that was too much."
I am not a fan of Cena, but that rap was awesome. Not on the level of his stuff from 2003-04, but still the best thing he has done in YEARS. Let the haters hate, I suppose. I don’t know where this thing with Rock is going, but I am more than happy to go along for the ride. Ditto Taker/HHH.
"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
I vote for Rey dressing up as Rango. Or if he wants to fuck with people, Sting.
Originally posted by DirtyMikeSeaver And Cena didn't 'rap'. He recited lines that rhymed. He's like an edgy Lanny Poffo.
Pretty sure it was reported years ago that the company required Cena to slow his flow because the average fan was unable to keep up with him and understand what he was saying.
Thread ahead: Where's Randy Savage Next thread: NWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood #23 - 2/18/11 Previous thread: Howard Finkel cuts a heel promo on Harvey Wippleman.