Monthly News Thread (August 2017) -- Cena and Lesnar scheduled for Raw's No Mercy

Status
Not open for further replies.

M.C.G. 31

Damn, he brave!
Oct 6, 2008
96,268
18,936
Ottawa
Reigns is a babyface. The fans don't accept him as that, and his character is a jerk, but Cole still pumps his tires so he's automatically a babyface. The only time they blurred that was when Reigns tried to murder Braun Strowman.

Although, like I said, he's probably a heel in the sense that people will pay money to see him get his ass kicked. I mentioned it before but it was something a former creative writer talked to me about but regarding Cena. He's a heel (this was in 2012 or something) in the sense that people will pay money to see him get his ass kicked. The moment he actually turned heel in regards to his character, those same people would start cheering him and not pay to see him get his ass kicked.

In that sense, Roman Reigns is 100% a heel and with his shifting character -- which is also working tremendously, by the way -- people will continue to pay to see him get his ass kicked weekly. So in that sense, he's a heel. Younger fans and females who just see a good looking guy with long hair will keep cheering him and buying his merchandise, though. Not as much as they did John Cena, but a decent enough amount to make him a top-3 merch mover (I think #1 among full-time guys).

He's not the first of his kind at all. He literally just has to look across the ring from him in his current program and see a guy who was in the same spot for a decade until Reigns started getting his push and people started appreciating John more.
 

NewAgeOutlaw

Belie Dat!
Jul 15, 2011
30,102
7,899
412/724
It's not remotely impressive that Reigns is #1 amongst full time wrestlers in terms of selling merch. Of course he is, everbody else on the full time roster is either terribly booked or a joke. It's kind of sad that Reigns is being out-sold by 2 guys who are barely ever on tv.

That's just part of the WWE's self-fulfilling prophecy. None of the other full time faces are actually credible so WWE can point out that Reigns is selling more merch than any other full timer.

I just don't consider it a big deal that he is selling more t-shirts than Sami Zayn and Heath Slater.
 

M.C.G. 31

Damn, he brave!
Oct 6, 2008
96,268
18,936
Ottawa
- Batista is being rumoured to headline the 2018 Hall of Fame class. The spot could go to The Undertaker if he decides on it. The Rock will headline his class whenever he decides he wants to go into the Hall of Fame.

- The WON reports the Corbin push being pulled back and losing his briefcase has nothing to do with John Cena saying so or his twitter rants (which didn't help his case with co-workers), but something that happened outside the ring a few weeks ago that's being dealt with. It's also considered bad form to go on blocking sprees of fellow wrestlers. Also, WWEShop released a MITB plaque for Corbin's victory on the site but photostopped a full head of hair on the top of his head lol.

- The only thing that wasn't scripted in the Reigns/Cena segment from Monday was Reigns forgetting his line and Cena calling him out on it. Everything else was scripted. Vince went over the segment with both of them earlier in the week about what he wanted and it was designed with Cena going in as a face, Reigns going in as the heel and the ending leaving it open-ended on how fans determined it.

- Braun was kept off Raw by design. It's been determined that Strowman/Lesnar can't be on the same show without some form of physical interaction. The next time they're scheduled for the same show is September 11.

- Asuka was brought up after relinquishing the title rather than losing it before coming up so she can bring the undefeated streak to the main roster. The idea is that the winner of the Mae Young Classic will be the new champion.

- The WWE UK show is rumoured to start at the end of 2017. WWE has a lot of logistics issues to work out because the UK Title Tournament was a money loser.

- Dalton Castle is dealing with a back issue that's been getting worse and worse. They shot an injury angle to allow him time to heal up and resume his program with Cody when he returns to ROH.

- AAA's Triplemania's main event of Dr. Wagner vs. Psycho Clown on Saturday did an incredible 22.8 rating and was the most watched wrestling match in North America in the last 30 years.

- Sasha Banks did an interview with Sam Roberts talking about frustration with the lack of character direction on the main roster, wrestlers being confused on why/how they're supposed to approach certain angles, and the overall stress of not being able to prepare for a segment. She also said she's still afraid to talk to Vince. [My note: considering how talking and standing up to Vince worked out for The Shield and The New Day, she should get over it. She's one of the most popular females on the roster and is one of Triple H's favourites.]
 

M.C.G. 31

Damn, he brave!
Oct 6, 2008
96,268
18,936
Ottawa
It's not remotely impressive that Reigns is #1 amongst full time wrestlers in terms of selling merch. Of course he is, everbody else on the full time roster is either terribly booked or a joke. It's kind of sad that Reigns is being out-sold by 2 guys who are barely ever on tv.

That's just part of the WWE's self-fulfilling prophecy. None of the other full time faces are actually credible so WWE can point out that Reigns is selling more merch than any other full timer.

I just don't consider it a big deal that he is selling more t-shirts than Sami Zayn and Heath Slater.

Dean Ambrose was a huge merch pusher in 2014 post-Shield split until the Wyatt program and his feet got cut out from under him. If Ambrose were legitimately pushed I believe he'd be #1. No doubt in my mind. Unfortunately they view him as a mid-card guy who can float up and down the card.
 

NewAgeOutlaw

Belie Dat!
Jul 15, 2011
30,102
7,899
412/724
I also want to make it clear that my previous post was not a criticism of Reigns so much as it was a criticism of the creative direction of the company. I'd guess at this point Seth is his closest competition on the full time roster but Seth still hasn't recovered from the company messing up his return from injury.

You look at Roman and Jinder and you see how hard the company will try to get somebody over. What I just don't get is why they don't try just as hard to get other guys over. I look at the likes of Cesaro, Rusev and Dean and I see guys who could all be big merch movers but they are all in midcard hell.
 

scrubadam

Registered User
Apr 10, 2016
12,438
1,904
It's not remotely impressive that Reigns is #1 amongst full time wrestlers in terms of selling merch. Of course he is, everbody else on the full time roster is either terribly booked or a joke. It's kind of sad that Reigns is being out-sold by 2 guys who are barely ever on tv.

That's just part of the WWE's self-fulfilling prophecy. None of the other full time faces are actually credible so WWE can point out that Reigns is selling more merch than any other full timer.

I just don't consider it a big deal that he is selling more t-shirts than Sami Zayn and Heath Slater.

I think there is a bit more to moving merch to take into account, especially how much is available how much WWE pushes it and how its promoted on Shopzone and in B&M stores like WM/Target (I mean if they send 1000 RR shirts and 10 KO shirts duh RR will sell more).

But for a guy who is supposdly so hated by the fan base, and all though you might say he is booked strong RR has lost more than he has won over the past year it is surprising.

I know that myself I am not going to by a shirt for something I dislike. I hate the Bruins and Leafs I would never go buy a Bruins or Leafs shirt.

So either people are trying to be ironic in buying all this RR merch or there is something else there.
 

scrubadam

Registered User
Apr 10, 2016
12,438
1,904
I also want to make it clear that my previous post was not a criticism of Reigns so much as it was a criticism of the creative direction of the company. I'd guess at this point Seth is his closest competition on the full time roster but Seth still hasn't recovered from the company messing up his return from injury.

You look at Roman and Jinder and you see how hard the company will try to get somebody over. What I just don't get is why they don't try just as hard to get other guys over. I look at the likes of Cesaro, Rusev and Dean and I see guys who could all be big merch movers but they are all in midcard hell.

A bit ironic last year when Dean was champ most fans were going nuts about how boring he was and how much he sucked and wanted him to drop the belt.

Rusev when he debut in NXT it was oh no another hoss for Vince to push.

Its interesting how perspectives change. I bet if Cesaro was WWE champ for a few months fan base would turn on him and demand he lose the title.

BTW I like all 3 guys and want all 3 of them to get pushed.
 

Sheppy

Registered User
Nov 23, 2011
55,689
57,329
The Arctic
- Batista is being rumoured to headline the 2018 Hall of Fame class. The spot could go to The Undertaker if he decides on it. The Rock will headline his class whenever he decides he wants to go into the Hall of Fame.

- The WON reports the Corbin push being pulled back and losing his briefcase has nothing to do with John Cena saying so or his twitter rants (which didn't help his case with co-workers), but something that happened outside the ring a few weeks ago that's being dealt with. It's also considered bad form to go on blocking sprees of fellow wrestlers. Also, WWEShop released a MITB plaque for Corbin's victory on the site but photostopped a full head of hair on the top of his head lol.

- The only thing that wasn't scripted in the Reigns/Cena segment from Monday was Reigns forgetting his line and Cena calling him out on it. Everything else was scripted. Vince went over the segment with both of them earlier in the week about what he wanted and it was designed with Cena going in as a face, Reigns going in as the heel and the ending leaving it open-ended on how fans determined it.

- Braun was kept off Raw by design. It's been determined that Strowman/Lesnar can't be on the same show without some form of physical interaction. The next time they're scheduled for the same show is September 11.

- Asuka was brought up after relinquishing the title rather than losing it before coming up so she can bring the undefeated streak to the main roster. The idea is that the winner of the Mae Young Classic will be the new champion.

- The WWE UK show is rumoured to start at the end of 2017. WWE has a lot of logistics issues to work out because the UK Title Tournament was a money loser.

- Dalton Castle is dealing with a back issue that's been getting worse and worse. They shot an injury angle to allow him time to heal up and resume his program with Cody when he returns to ROH.

- AAA's Triplemania's main event of Dr. Wagner vs. Psycho Clown on Saturday did an incredible 22.8 rating and was the most watched wrestling match in North America in the last 30 years.

- Sasha Banks did an interview with Sam Roberts talking about frustration with the lack of character direction on the main roster, wrestlers being confused on why/how they're supposed to approach certain angles, and the overall stress of not being able to prepare for a segment. She also said she's still afraid to talk to Vince. [My note: considering how talking and standing up to Vince worked out for The Shield and The New Day, she should get over it. She's one of the most popular females on the roster and is one of Triple H's favourites.]

:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:
 

GKJ

Global Moderator
Feb 27, 2002
185,685
37,479
- Batista is being rumoured to headline the 2018 Hall of Fame class. The spot could go to The Undertaker if he decides on it. The Rock will headline his class whenever he decides he wants to go into the Hall of Fame.

- The WON reports the Corbin push being pulled back and losing his briefcase has nothing to do with John Cena saying so or his twitter rants (which didn't help his case with co-workers), but something that happened outside the ring a few weeks ago that's being dealt with. It's also considered bad form to go on blocking sprees of fellow wrestlers. Also, WWEShop released a MITB plaque for Corbin's victory on the site but photostopped a full head of hair on the top of his head lol.

- The only thing that wasn't scripted in the Reigns/Cena segment from Monday was Reigns forgetting his line and Cena calling him out on it. Everything else was scripted. Vince went over the segment with both of them earlier in the week about what he wanted and it was designed with Cena going in as a face, Reigns going in as the heel and the ending leaving it open-ended on how fans determined it.

- Braun was kept off Raw by design. It's been determined that Strowman/Lesnar can't be on the same show without some form of physical interaction. The next time they're scheduled for the same show is September 11.

- Asuka was brought up after relinquishing the title rather than losing it before coming up so she can bring the undefeated streak to the main roster. The idea is that the winner of the Mae Young Classic will be the new champion.

- The WWE UK show is rumoured to start at the end of 2017. WWE has a lot of logistics issues to work out because the UK Title Tournament was a money loser.

- Dalton Castle is dealing with a back issue that's been getting worse and worse. They shot an injury angle to allow him time to heal up and resume his program with Cody when he returns to ROH.

- AAA's Triplemania's main event of Dr. Wagner vs. Psycho Clown on Saturday did an incredible 22.8 rating and was the most watched wrestling match in North America in the last 30 years.

- Sasha Banks did an interview with Sam Roberts talking about frustration with the lack of character direction on the main roster, wrestlers being confused on why/how they're supposed to approach certain angles, and the overall stress of not being able to prepare for a segment. She also said she's still afraid to talk to Vince. [My note: considering how talking and standing up to Vince worked out for The Shield and The New Day, she should get over it. She's one of the most popular females on the roster and is one of Triple H's favourites.]

It's not easy to just 'go up to Vince.' People talk all the time about how they're petrified. Jericho just came out and said something about how he knows never to pitch an idea to Vince while he's hungry. It works for the Shield because Vince has something to lose, and for the New Day who at the time had nothing to lose. These girls have way more to lose if they go to Vince and say the wrong thing at the wrong time, he is notorious for that. For the women, there's always another good looking girl right behind you. And right now he's clearly more concerned with pushing all the total divas girls, all 4 of them are stuck biding their time right now until Vince gets over it. Way different animal than it is with the guys.

Bayley said the same thing to Austin, she feels directionless and her character is lost. Where is Becky right now? Could have to do with them having no idea how to book faces, wait for the same thing to happen to Alexa, who when she drops the title to Nia Jax and Asuka takes her place, will then become useless since the girls are lucky to get more than one segment on Raw, and when they get two, they're just squashing Emma.
 

Del Preston

Registered User
Mar 8, 2013
63,171
78,954
- Batista is being rumoured to headline the 2018 Hall of Fame class. The spot could go to The Undertaker if he decides on it. The Rock will headline his class whenever he decides he wants to go into the Hall of Fame.
I'd like to see Taker be in his own class and the ceremony held the night before Survivor Series, to officially end his career where it started.
 

The Gongshow

Fire JBB
Jul 17, 2014
25,356
7,913
Toronto
You gotta think HHH is gonna convince to give Asuka a decent push and keep her undefeated streak for at least a little bit ... right... RIGHT!??!
 

GKJ

Global Moderator
Feb 27, 2002
185,685
37,479
He did have to beg Vince not to take Asuka from NXT earlier, so that has to account for something.
 

GarbageGoal

Courage
Dec 1, 2005
22,353
2,377
RI
Too much TV time to fill with many of the same matches over and over means even steven booking for weeks on end building to the PPVs.

NXT avoids all that by being a shorter show and guys/gals not being on every week.
 

sabremike

Friend To All Giraffes
Aug 30, 2010
22,548
33,793
Brewster, NY
Wagner got a payoff of 4.5 million pesos (apx. $250,000 US) for dropping his mask. Now you know why he did so. Also the match was shown on national TV directly after the Floyd-Conor fight (which also aired on the same station). Ahead of time Meltzer said it would be one of the most watched wrestling matches ever in North America in part because of that.
 

tp71

Enjoy every sandwich
Feb 10, 2009
10,322
474
London
Wagner got a payoff of 4.5 million pesos (apx. $250,000 US) for dropping his mask. Now you know why he did so. Also the match was shown on national TV directly after the Floyd-Conor fight (which also aired on the same station). Ahead of time Meltzer said it would be one of the most watched wrestling matches ever in North America in part because of that.

Was listening to the Wrestling Observer today and I believe Meltzer said it was watched by something like 22 million people. I can't remember exactly what it was, but it was a very big number.
 

Sacha Baron Corbin

Registered User
Jan 19, 2011
12,544
481
Was listening to the Wrestling Observer today and I believe Meltzer said it was watched by something like 22 million people. I can't remember exactly what it was, but it was a very big number.

I think he meant the match got a 22.8 rating in North America, which is still incredible
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->