Monthly News Thread (February 2018)

[Kimi]

I always liked Elias and had no idea why so many people hated on him while he was in NXT.

He's not good at wrestling, which is usually a requirement for being liked on a wrestling show.

 

[Engebretson]

The key reason to bringing Ronda Rousey in was to turn Stephanie McMahon into a big mainstream star the same way Austin helped turn Vince into one.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

I can't really agree with that.

Good is good, bad is bad. PG or non-PG is mostly meaningless as good is still good and bad is still bad.

Besides, it's wrestling. It's not your generic "high production value popular TV show where they have boobs and say ****". It's fake sports. Your drama should come from the fact that it's a sports and everyone is competitive, and there really isn't anything adult-only about it.

But you don't lock out any mature themes by staying PG. Vulgarity and explicit sexual content is really the only limit I think? And I don't think either of those would add anything positive to a wrestling show.

Your commentary on popular tv is coming off very elitist

Austin McMahon feud 100% was better because it wasn’t PG IMO.

You forgot blood, which I always found as a nice touch and would say that’s non PG.

Different preferences I guess but like I said all things being equal writing and storytelling wise I’d prefer a little more ruthless aggression than PG most of the time I wager.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

He's not good at wrestling, which is usually a requirement for being liked on a wrestling show.

Maybe to you, but with how over he's gotten and the praise he's been receiving on the main roster, obviously it doesn't mean much as long as he's not outrageously bad.

 

[Bubba Thudd]

A little blood -- fake or not -- adds a little realism when a guy is getting his face stomped, or is being driven face-first into the mat.
can't do that much with a PG rating.

 

[tp71]

Maybe to you, but with how over he's gotten and the praise he's been receiving on the main roster, obviously it doesn't mean much as long as he's not outrageously bad.

Different crowds. If you can't wrestle in front of the NXT crowd, you're generally not going to be too liked.

We've seen great wrestlers get completely ignored on the Main Roster because they have the personality of wall paper while being a good wrestler.

 

[Kimi]

Your commentary on popular tv is coming off very elitist

Austin McMahon feud 100% was better because it wasn’t PG IMO.

You forgot blood, which I always found as a nice touch and would say that’s non PG.

Different preferences I guess but like I said all things being equal writing and storytelling wise I’d prefer a little more ruthless aggression than PG most of the time I wager.

I'll try harder on the elitism, I was aiming for extremely elitist lol. I'm really not a fan of the current shows...


I'm not sure about blood. They've used fake blood recently, so that's apparently fine. I think it's a WWE decision more than a PG rules issue. Obviously you can't go full WCW with the blood, as that was ridiculous, but some shouldn't be out of the question.

And I do agree that it can add something in the right situation, but I thought the Bálor vs Joe match at a Takeover was better due to blood where a lot of people disliked it. So I'm probably not the correct person to really say.


But yeah, preferences are a thing. I get like a more 'adult' more, I just think quality is vastly more important than a rating.

 

[Kimi]

Different crowds. If you can't wrestle in front of the NXT crowd, you're generally not going to be too liked.

We've seen great wrestlers get completely ignored on the Main Roster because they have the personality of wall paper while being a good wrestler.

Indeed. He's very much a 'main roster act' if there ever was one.

 

[Disclose]

i didnt like him then, i still dont like him now.

 

[UnrealMachine]

I always liked Elias and had no idea why so many people hated on him while he was in NXT.

I was rather vocal and precisely detailed on why I didn't like the Drifter at the time.

1. He was a much worse singer and guitar player back then. Add to that, he didn't have a good feel for the audience. His delivery was too scripted and his timing was bad.
2. His outfit was awful and looked nothing like an actual drifter. He looked like he shopped exclusively at Hot Topic, buying outfits that were made to LOOK like they were purchased 2nd hand.
3. His wrestling was okay, I guess. Certainly a pro style, but nothing of note.
4. Corey Graves constantly mocking him didn't help. His character certainly wasn't over with him.
5. Seeing him live put an exclamation point on all of the above. He was actually worse in person.

Yet, he came into WWE and has killed it so far. Drifting into Raw, while dropping the Drifter moniker was especially slick. Redefining his character, learning to actually sing and play guitar went a long way, too.

 

[xtra]

Elias is moving close to full on honky Tonk man character/Heat, the funny thing though is that he might also get over as a face cause we live in bizzaro world sometimes as I heard a few big pops for him.

He could be excellent in the IC title area, a feud between him and Rusev day could be entertaining for sure. Want to get Rusev over even more; have aiden English turn on Rusev to go “touring” with Elias

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

Elias is moving close to full on honky Tonk man character/Heat, the funny thing though is that he might also get over as a face cause we live in bizzaro world sometimes as I heard a few big pops for him.

He could be excellent in the IC title area, a feud between him and Rusev day could be entertaining for sure. Want to get Rusev over even more; have aiden English turn on Rusev to go “touring” with Elias

I love that idea! I'm dying for more creative feuds rather than "I am going to show you im the best, no i am!" type of feud.

 

[JackSlater]

Removing the PG requirement guarantees nothing but it creates more opportunity. Remove the PG requirement and you can do absolutely everything that you could do under a PG requirement, plus more. It's pretty simple. It doesn't mean a return to birthing a hand or buckets of JBL's blood, but there are simply more options to tell a decent story.

Elias is pretty good. I really enjoy his character as a mid card act, a somewhat old fashioned goofy heel. He does a good job playing the part. His in ring work is weak, which is almost inevitable given WWE development, but that doesn't preclude him from being a successful mid level guy.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

Thing is Elias is a heel, so being a shit singer and guitar player still works for him in getting heat. I always loved the act. I’m happy he got over on the main roster like he has and wasn’t relegated to a lower midcard bit player.

 

[GKJ]

Thing is Elias is a heel, so being a **** singer and guitar player still works for him in getting heat. I always loved the act. I’m happy he got over on the main roster like he has and wasn’t relegated to a lower midcard bit player.

He's not over like you want him to be. His gimmick is good, and the singing bit is over. Then the match starts and the crowd becomes silent and he doesn't get heat or reactions. That's not over. That's why they boo when he gets interrupted.

 

[Emperoreddy]

He isn’t a bad worker either. He has worked some decent main roster matches.

 

[Kimi]

He falls somewhere between not-terrible and ok/fine. Far bellow average for WWE.

 

[ColePens]

Thing is Elias is a heel, so being a **** singer and guitar player still works for him in getting heat. I always loved the act. I’m happy he got over on the main roster like he has and wasn’t relegated to a lower midcard bit player.

Wrong. Being a lousy singer/guitar player is bad for that gimmick. It makes you less interesting. But kudos to Elias as he's really worked on it and now his songs are funny and get major heat.

If you suck, and you get getting booed because you suck, that isn't good heat. You know that and I know that. But I think he's done an amazing job turning that around.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

Wrong. Being a lousy singer/guitar player is bad for that gimmick. It makes you less interesting. But kudos to Elias as he's really worked on it and now his songs are funny and get major heat.

If you suck, and you get getting booed because you suck, that isn't good heat. You know that and I know that. But I think he's done an amazing job turning that around.

He has more freedom to be bad. I'm not the only one who thinks so either, Steve Austin himself has said as such. As a heel, you're allowed to be a shit singer or shit guitar player to get a reaction. There's more freedom in doing so, whereas a babyface doesn't have that leeway.

Elias has the benefit of actually playing guitar and being good, and intentionally being bad for the character if he needs to be too. He's great.

 

[KaseMeOutside]

can you make a good PG show yes, but the rigid scripted nature of trying to keep things PG has been awful the promos are mostly bad now and it plays a role.

also tell me how it's logcial to have TLC matches, Elimination chamber, hell in a cell without ANY blood? it's absurd and insulting

 

[TNT87]

I want to walk with Elias.

 

[Megahab]

can you make a good PG show yes, but the rigid scripted nature of trying to keep things PG has been awful the promos are mostly bad now and it plays a role.

also tell me how it's logcial to have TLC matches, Elimination chamber, hell in a cell without ANY blood? it's absurd and insulting

I agree it can add drama but real blood in a fake sport is what is absurd. Blading your forehead? I think it's just trashy.

Is there some plausible way to introduce fake blood?

 

[Loosie]

blood is about the only thing I miss that I think can enhance some feuds. However in the early to mid 2000s it was overused. HBK and HHH bled on pretty much every PPV match they were in. JBL bled alot too. McMahon as well. It's a careful balance between making it effective and not over using it.

The Street Fight between HHH and Cactus Jack at Royal Rumble 2000 would not been as effective if HHH doesn't bleed, but the also didn't have Foley bleed which really enhance the story.

 

[KaseMeOutside]

I am not an Elias fan, not because I don't see future star qualities but because he is supposedly a heel, but he has the crowd chant a catch phase which is babyfacing and it's too early in his career for him to be trying to get face pops if he wants to be a bigger star down the road. Walk With Elias, then again the heels today don't really want to be heels, which is bad for the product

 

[Emperoreddy]

Don’t miss blood at all. A little hard way color is fine, but product is better off without blading.