I'm okay with it, but not super excited or anything.
I think most of us have been watching wrestling for long enough to know that every once in a while, a "Hoss" will come along that is hand-picked by WWE brass to be "The Next Whatever" and now they're doing it with Reigns. Either it'll work or it won't. He's either going to be the next Diesel or the next Batista. I don't see a Rock-like quality to him yet, or even a Cena-like quality. Maybe that's a good thing.
I'm more than open to Reigns developing as a character and finding a way to blow my mind by WrestleMania and trying to make it work. I think we've all had enough Cena and we got Bryan's championship quest fulfilled to where there's an open spot for another guy to walk out of WrestleMania as champion. Might as well be Reigns.
Still, I think Dean Ambrose - assuming he stays healthy - is the guy from The Shield that they could do the most with long term. Once the Reigns experiment is over, hopefully he gets a chance.
Regarding Lesnar, I think they have to go all in with him after beating the Undertaker at WrestleMania, including a title run. I have no idea how things play out between SummerSlam and WrestleMania. I have a hard time imagining Brock being the champion that whole time, and they're really going to have to rely on Paul Heyman to carry those belts (or that one belt with the new logo that we all know is coming) every week on TV.
My guess is that there's a healthy compromise between Brock being undefeated going into WrestleMania 31 and Brock being champion going into WrestleMania 31, and that Brock gets stripped or screwed or briefcased out of the belt for a couple of months, then wins it back at the Rumble. He can still be dominant, just not champion that whole time.
But, even with all that, again we've all been watching wrestling long enough to know that whatever their WrestleMania plans are now, they're likely to change by then. Just like Bret/HBK at WM13 changed. Just like Cena/HHH at WM23 changed. Just like all the numerous times Rock/Brock was rumored to happen in recent years and didn't.
The idea of Brock/Reigns is primarily being planted because Brock is getting the SummerSlam title shot and Reigns is getting a major push, and people are just doing the math. It's not set in stone and is just an idea of where things look like they're going in July 2014.
Originally posted by StaggerLeeNobody complained about "part timers" when Jericoh's music hit Monday night.
True that, and while Lesnar isn't a hundredth of the talker that Y2J is, it's hard to deny his dynamic athleticism and ability to put on a stellar match. At the same time, nobody's really talking about giving Jericho the belt for eight months until it's, say, Bray Wyatt's time.
What IS Lesnar doing during his downtime, anyway? Does he still do MMA? Does he just sit around and train non-stop? I haven't heard of him doing any movies or TV ...
I'm not sure what he's up to when he's not on the card, I would hope it's working out and getting into slightly better shape and working on his in ring skills. He nearly killed UT by being a bit out of shape and sloppy.
YOUR 2012 NCCA Tournament Bracket Challenge Winner
My guess is that there's a healthy compromise between Brock being undefeated going into WrestleMania 31 and Brock being champion going into WrestleMania 31, and that Brock gets stripped or screwed or briefcased out of the belt for a couple of months, then wins it back at the Rumble. He can still be dominant, just not champion that whole time.
Right. When WWE decided to take the belts from Daniel Bryan, it was because he was going to miss a couple of PPVs and they didn't want to go that long without a title defense. Brock is going to miss a couple of PPVs between Night of Champions and whenever he appears again, so WWE would have the same issue.
From reading the sourced WON article in context, this appears to be the situation
a) there's a definite plan for Lesnar to win the title at SummerSlam (with both MitB and Battleground booked with that plan in mind) b) there's a definite plan to have Lesnar be in a big title match (and probably lose at Night of Champions. Something like 3/4 of the subs will be up by then, that's their renew pitch. c) they would really like Reigns to be the new lead babyface and know WrestleMania is the time to do it. (Cena's not turning, but they want to slightly demote him before injuries/age make him incapable of being on top.) d) they have no particular set idea how they're getting from b to c
aside!: My educated guess was the original sketched out plan went Bryan->Lesnar(SS)->Cena(NoC)->Reigns(WM), which would've produced a fantastic internet freakout when Cena beat Lesnar again. Meltzer did let it drop that Cena was meant to be a 15x champion as a tie in with him being on the cover of WWE2K15, but it would've been more towards the fall, which probably means him beating Lesnar.
I wonder if that conversely means Cena is not getting another reign before that game is coming out so he doesn't go to 16 yet. Which would mean he now couldn't be the guy beating Lesnar to win the title at Night of Champions, but it's totally unclear who would be - Bryan if he's healthy? If Reigns got hot the next couple months, it's not out of the question he'd win it right then and there, forget WrestleMania. There's really no one else you can justify getting a direct win over Lesnar at this point. I don't know - but I don't think WWE really knows at this point and probably won't make a definite until they get thru SummerSlam and see where everyone's at.
What IS Lesnar doing during his downtime, anyway?
Hunting and watching shows about hunting. No desire to do much else.
You will find no bigger Roman Reigns Fanboy and Fangirl than myself and IJ, but I really, really, REALLY don't want to see Roman Reigns be the WWE World Heavyweight Champion any time soon. Yes, he's super hot. But he's Goldberg During the Streak-hot. Everything he does good (and there is a LOT) works so much better in tag matches right now. Could he have a match with Ziggler as good as the one Barrett (sadface) had on Raw last week? I'd doubt it.
The seemingly obvious thing (to me) would be to have Cesaro with the IC title at Battleground, then have Reigns win it from Cesaro the next night on Raw (which is only necessary because Reigns is already booked in the main event at Battleground otherwise I'd just have him win the IC title there), and then have a Cesaro/Reigns feud for matches on TV while Reigns feuds with Orton and HHH on the (not) PPVs.
Stone Cold and the Rock feuded for the IC title for like 48 years before they transitioned to WWE champions. Reigns could use the same treatment.
Holy fuck shit motherfucker shit. Read comics. Fuck shit shit fuck shit I sold out when I did my job. Fuck fuck fuck shit fuck. Sorry had to do it....
*snip*
Revenge of the Sith = one thumb up from me. Fuck shit. I want to tittie fuck your ass. -- The Guinness. to Cerebus
"I have enough people telling me I suck online" -- lotjx
If the plan is to have Lesnar as champ from Summerslam-Night of Champions, then give the belt back to him at the Rumble to set up the match with Reigns, we might find ourselves with Rollins as a champion before Reigns gets it.
A heel vs heel feud might not generate a ton of heat, but with Rollins holding the briefcase they can hotshot the title to him anytime they wish. I would certainly prefer Bryan to return and win at NoC, but that's dependent on the man's health and recovery. Instead we might see Cena/Lesnar or even Reigns/Lesnar 1 on NoC, with Lesnar retaining only to be immediately beat by a briefcase cash-in. Rollins could then feud with Ambrose and Reigns until dropping it to Brock again at the Rumble and Reigns finally winning the title at WMXXXI. That would elevate all 3 members of the Shield to main event status, though more Rollins and Reigns than Ambrose. OTOH, if Ambrose turned heel at some point during all this, he'd be a good first challenger to the newly crowned Reigns.
Or Creative could drink a gallon of tequila and we end up with Santino pinning Lesnar at NoC. Who knows? Between all the injuries we've already had this year and Lesnar apparently wanting to spend most of his time hunting things (I hope he goes caveman sometimes and hunts with nothing but a spear and a club), all of this is pretty strictly speculation.
Originally posted by JayJayDeanYou will find no bigger Roman Reigns Fanboy and Fangirl than myself and IJ, but I really, really, REALLY don't want to see Roman Reigns be the WWE World Heavyweight Champion any time soon. Yes, he's super hot. But he's Goldberg During the Streak-hot. Everything he does good (and there is a LOT) works so much better in tag matches right now.
I agree and personally I think they should hold up on all the NXT era guys. I'm not convinced Reigns is a singles wrestler. I'm not convinced Bray Wyatt is a singles wrestler. Cesaro could use some work on the character. Big E has taken a backseat, etc.
But if you hold back on these guys, you're tired of Orton and Cena as champion, Bryan is injured, Lesnar is part-time and CM Punk never returns, who is are your championship candidates? Ziggler is the obvious candidate to me but not the WWE. Sheamus? One last Jericho run? A Cody Rhodes push? So while I don't think the young guys are ready there are pretty uninspiring choices unless Bryan, Lesnar or Punk are around permanently.
As much as I loved Bryan winning the title, breaking their promise to Batista put a big wrench in the plans in my opinion. Once he was heel I think Batista would have been a good, refreshing legitimate World Champion.
Sidenote: Steve Austin throwing scuba gear and The Rock's IC title into the river is still one of my all-time favorite moments.
Hunting and watching shows about hunting. No desire to do much else.
If you haven't listened to the Jericho/Heyman/Edge 2-part Talk Is Jericho podcast, Paul tells an amazing story about the lengths that Brock has gone to in avoiding any interaction with civilization when he's not working. His family lived on an isolated plot of land where he had a drive a mile to use the only landline...and it STILL wasn't remote enough for him, so he moved to the wilds of Canada! (obviously Paul tells it better...)
Originally posted by Quezzy I agree and personally I think they should hold up on all the NXT era guys. I'm not convinced Reigns is a singles wrestler. I'm not convinced Bray Wyatt is a singles wrestler. Cesaro could use some work on the character. Big E has taken a backseat, etc.
Bray Wyatt's not a singles wrestler? ... Have you been watching for the past half-year or so? Bray Wyatt is a tremendously entertaining wrestler and most of his feuds have been in one-on-one matches. Yeah, he has his stable to interfere, but he's still pulling 99% of the match himself. He's put on good shows in the cage as well. The Shield almost always stayed together as a unit, while Bray is a singles wrestler who has a couple of minions and sometimes does 6-man tags. You might as well say Yokozuna or Vader weren't singles competitors because they had managers or stablemates who'd often interfere in their matches. Wyatt doesn't need a mouthpiece and could do just as well without Harper and Rowan to serve as backup, as he's established himself as one insanely tough SoB.
Plus, as you pointed out, there's not really anyone else who's healthy and active on the roster to hotshot the title to right now. Shaemus could maybe take that next step up as a former champion himself. While a Ziggler run would be awesome, Creative has pretty much buried him to the point that he'd always be an underdog in his title defenses. Right now, it seems apparent that at least a few of the NXT guys are going to have to be brought up to the next level, because eight months of Orton/Cena matches would bore the audience to death.
Originally posted by QuezzySidenote: Steve Austin throwing scuba gear and The Rock's IC title into the river is still one of my all-time favorite moments.
Not terribly related, but yes, that was an awesome moment. One of Austin's best.
Cesaro should be the guy that gets plugged into these place holder feuds at the top, but for whatever reason they have a hard time sustaining his momentum. It always feels like two steps forward one step back with this guy. I think he's better off playing the dickhead face role where we cheer because he does really cool stuff, not boo because he is a Paul Heyman Guy.
Which would free Sheamus up to be a prick heel. Move over Demon Kane we are sick of you and that tombstone where you gently lay somebody on the mat. The Authority is sending out Helmsley's jerkoff buddy to punish whoever crosses them now.
We've mentioned Reigns as champ and Rollins as champ....so how about Ambrose as champ? Say Dean beats Seth at NOC in a match for the briefcase itself, and then Dean cashes in on a victorious/tired Lesnar that same evening.
It seems too soon to have Ambrose holding the top title but, as noted, who else does WWE have right now? Dean has been getting great reactions as a face and if he keeps it up, he'd be a decent short-term champ until Brock returns at the Rumble to kill him and regain the title. Then you have another setup for WM31 as Reigns is gunning for both the belt and the guy who injured his best friend.
Or hell, maybe Ambrose really catches fire as champion and you extend his title reign beyond just four months to ride the wave.
"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." --- Bart Giamatti, on baseball
Try 1996. Some guy named Stone Cold Steve Austin won. In his "coronation speech," he used the following phrase for the first time: "Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass."
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