WWE: WWE TV - Raw & Smackdown
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GKJ
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- Feb 27, 2002
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I kind of preferred that Uce would be kind of reluctant to be on Roman's side, kind of like Shawn Michaels and JBL years ago. But Uce ain't Shawn, so it ultimately doesn't matter, it's not like they're trying to make Uce a star.
With that said, I gotta say Uce did deliver in this feud. Went way beyond expectations. Roman being so great helped, but a feud that should've been too ridiculous worked out great.
GindyDraws
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I think we are all united in saying that Lana not being put through a table is a cardinal sin.
Shame on Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke.
Shame on Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke.
GindyDraws
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I don't really care if Nia wins or loses. All I want is Nia to put Lana through that table.
GindyDraws
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GindyDraws
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It aint often Nia Jax makes anyone happy
They are supposedly trying to make Lana a sympathetic babyface, or pushing her towards finally getting revenge on Nia, but I have two major problems with that:
1. Lana has, by and large, never been sympathetic to me. Whether it was as Rusev's assistant when she played the phony Russian, or the would-be suitor to other wrestlers such as Dolph Ziggler or Bobby Lashley, or even during the Rusev Day run, I never liked her. Besides her shtick where she might as well have been ranting about that moose and squirrel, Lana doesn't bring anything to the table (and, as a manager, she often helped cost her wrestlers matches, so she wasn't even good at that). Her abilities in the ring are extremely limited, putting her more towards Rosa Mendes or Cameron, so having a competent match is out of the question. Her abilities on the microphone (again, besides having an accent) are infamously bad, particularly during Rusev (Miro's) last stint in the company, so cutting an impassioned speech is likely out of the question. And, lastly, acting is very suspect, given that some of the most dire segments of WWE TV in the past 5 years involved Lana flopping around like a fish. Compare this to a more seasoned veteran like Zelina Vega, who barely appears on television.
2. Even in a company that loves to push the "David vs. Goliath" narrative, how is Lana, a woman who is best remembered as a wrestler for losing her Royal Rumble spot to Becky Lynch cause of a bum leg, going to be able to get someone three times her size through a table without lots and lots of shenanigans? They could likely do a Tables Match at the most forgettable PPV of the year; TLC, in which Lana pushes Nia Jax through a table, but it won't have the impact. It will have the same feel as Ricochet getting the Hurt Business to leave him alone after months of them punking him repeatedly; a token accomplishment after weeks of humiliation. But, the company will push it as the greatest thing ever.
So, I think it'll be better if Nia wins the feud outright, as what value is there to have Lana go over?
ColePens
RIP Fugu Buffaloed & parabola
You see heres your problem: you paid attention. NEVER pay attention to wwe because the people in charge sure don't. Yes Lana is a bad wrestler and has almost always been heel on tv. Wwe ignores that because... I dunno, Vince work up and decided he liked he that day so she is a face now. I'm still glad that Nia didn't give her a grisly injury or something.
GindyDraws
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8 years of 3 hour raws. Holy shit.
And they still struggle with content.
I think Drew should still be champ the guy has been improving and he deserved a better way to go out after taking down Brock. Now hes stuck in these lame duck challenger situations. Maybe wwe wants Orton to get to 16 and 17 champioships now instead of Cena because he ditched them for Hollywood?
Nemesis Prime
Registered User
That promo Cena cut against the Rock during their buildup to WM28 has now aged like milk.
True and tbh I would live for a table with Hollywood Rock and Hollywood Cena coming in and blistering the wwe roster and wwe company with promos.
WingsMJN2965
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- Oct 13, 2017
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Nemesis Prime
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Jussi
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Sheppy
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"Ohh"
You could tell MVP was taken back by that, which was hilarious. It legitimately stopped him in his train of thought.
You could tell MVP was taken back by that, which was hilarious. It legitimately stopped him in his train of thought.
dahrougem2
Registered User
Vince didn't even see it.
Almost all mega stars begin as heels and then eventually turn when the crowd wants to see it happen.
Vince all along thought he could just do whatever he wanted and fans would enjoy it. It's like he forgot what worked for his own company.
BruinDust
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- Aug 2, 2005
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Came across a report that Vince is in panic mode with Raw ratings in the toilet.
Seriously what did they expect? They basically took the bulk of the Raw roster minus Orton/McIntyre, shifted it to SD, then took the bulk of the SD roster, minus Reigns, and put them on Raw. A TV show taking it's entire supporting cast minus the main character and swapping them out for a bunch of new supporting characters. You would never see that on a TV show but somehow WWE creative thinks it will work. News to WWE, not every fan watches both Raw and SD. Leave the rosters alone for a few years, let the shows gain some chemistry and traction with the same characters. When guys go off TV due to injury or other commitments, then consider having them swap shows. But this annual roster shake-up stuff has got to stop or ratings will continue to suffer, it's that simple.
Or better yet, end the entire brand extension. Collapse the titles into one world champ, one mid-card champ, one tag champ, etc.
They've now done it twice, and can we really say either time has been a success? At least the first time in the beginning both rosters were very deep with well-established stars who were over. You can't say that now, the rosters are pretty shallow IMO.
Seriously what did they expect? They basically took the bulk of the Raw roster minus Orton/McIntyre, shifted it to SD, then took the bulk of the SD roster, minus Reigns, and put them on Raw. A TV show taking it's entire supporting cast minus the main character and swapping them out for a bunch of new supporting characters. You would never see that on a TV show but somehow WWE creative thinks it will work. News to WWE, not every fan watches both Raw and SD. Leave the rosters alone for a few years, let the shows gain some chemistry and traction with the same characters. When guys go off TV due to injury or other commitments, then consider having them swap shows. But this annual roster shake-up stuff has got to stop or ratings will continue to suffer, it's that simple.
Or better yet, end the entire brand extension. Collapse the titles into one world champ, one mid-card champ, one tag champ, etc.
They've now done it twice, and can we really say either time has been a success? At least the first time in the beginning both rosters were very deep with well-established stars who were over. You can't say that now, the rosters are pretty shallow IMO.
GindyDraws
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That's what happens when you decide the brand itself is more important than building talent.
It's not that the roster is "shallow", but rather they have spent years treating so much of the roster like losers and geeks that it's impossible to take them as legitimate. There's no reason to think someone is going to go places in the company besides anyone who is already established.
I also agree there shouldn't be an annual "draft" or "superstar shakeup" or whatever it is they call it. Besides the silliness of "brand loyalty", it's no longer meaningful to expect talent to stay on a show for longer than one year, and the whole purpose of the shakeup is meant to hype an event that's long since lost relevancy.
Anyway, with RAW in the toilet, I expect more panic moves. They aren't going to do things that emphasize long-term commitment and build trust in the audience; no, they want that quick fix, which has been their M.O. for the past 20 years.
BruinDust
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- Aug 2, 2005
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100%. When I mean shallow, it's not that I don't think there are talented performers (there are,, quite a few in fact) but none of them are over. Like you said, they paint the characters in such a poor light. Instead of a Hogan or Austin presented as the face of the franchise, it's now the WWE brand that is at the forefront.
When I look back at the high of Raw and SD, it really was the Steve Austin Show starring Steve Austin as the main character. Vince as the main antagonist. And a great supporting case featuring the Rock, DX, Undertaker, Kane,Foley etc. Once Austin got hurt, Rock took over as the main character, Triple H as the main antagonist, and the supporting case evolved into Jericho, Angle, Edge & Christian, Dudleys, etc.
Shortly after WWE goes public and slowly over time the focus began to shift more and more on the WWF/WWE brand, not the stars who people are paying to see. They, as a publically traded company, want to see steady increment growth, and try to avoid the boom-bust that they saw as kids began to age out of the cartoonish Hogan era, forcing them to adopt a more adult-oriented product to get those now teenagers/young adults back as consumers of the product. Especially now in more Politically Correct environment.
Nor do they want to see a boom-bust by losing the guys they've built up. Seeing them go to Hollywood (Rock, and now Cena) or lost to injury (Austin). So focus on promoting the brand, not the performers. They feel it's a safer investment of their money and a better long-term outcome for their shareholders.
No different than any great TV show, think Tony Soprano and the supporting cast of the Sopranos. Or Walter White and the supporting cast of Breaking Bad. Can you imagine if either of those shows started a new season with just Tony Soprano or Walter White remaining but an entire new cast of supporting characters? It would be absurd. But WWE is so focused on their brand that they think the characters aren't what they should be promoting, hench they all mostly get painted in the same shade of grey where no one really gets over.
I will admit they are doing good stuff with Reigns now. But as a heel he can't be that main character in the same role as Austin or Rock were. Maybe he naturally morphs back into a face and someone else becomes his long-term foil. But still doesn't solve the problem of having two shows and having to develop essentially two main characters and two main antagonists. Then they shoot themselves in the foot rotating 2/3rds of their supporting cast every 8-12 months.
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