The Wrestling Thread

[hellpop]

Apparently, the WWE finally realized just how over the guy is when they saw people doing YES! chants at sporting events, particularly the Rose Bowl (Sportscenter even mentioned it and Bryan). So, yeah, maybe taking the most popular guy in the company and burying him in a midcard group wasn't a good idea. It's funny how relatively quiet the main event was (though the Usos are clearly getting over, and should probably carry the tag team division when they break up the Rhodes Bros.) until Bryan blocked Sister Abigail. From that point on, the crowd was crazy. I think Bryan has probably worked his way into a bigger WM match. My dream: Punk wins the Rumble, Bryan wins the title at Elimination Chamber, Daniel Bryan vs CM Punk for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania.

[hellpop]

Speaking of Bryan Danielson, I just watched this match, thanks to a link from Dave Meltzer:

http://youtu.be/zk_677GBTgg

I've never seen Tanahashi wrestle before, but people that know a lot more then I do say he's the best in the world right now. Watching Japanese wrestling is always so weird, though, because the crowd is so quiet. I wonder if American wrestlers ever get used to that.

[MiniFiend UK]

Very Quick Royal Rumble Predications

Cody An Goldust V NAO. I'm really liking Goldust at the minute but they need to start setting up for Cody V Goldust at WM30 so I'm saying NAO with a miscue between the Rhodes boys to set up the split.

Bray Wyatt V Daniel Bryan. Hard to say I think they will slip Bryan in the Rumble so I may have to go with Bray Wyatt

Show V Lesner. Gotta go Lesner here again its all about the set up for WM30 and they need to make Lesner look like a beast for maybe his match against UT

Orton V Cena. Not interested...Pass.

The Rumble itself. Always hard to say going by the wrestling sites there are around 10 slots not had names to them so I expect a few older legends types (plz Jake Roberts an DDP) maybe Shamus and AJ Styles

As for the winner my gut wants Daniel Bryan but I expect Roman Reigns to have a strong showing. CM punk to do a long haul from the one 1 spot but not win maybe last 4 places and Batista to make an impact Punk, Bryan, Reigns and Batista are my strong 4 but I would prob be happy with anyone and I mean anyone except Batista to win.

[karamazov80]

Good calls so far! I've also got a tough time guessing who the winner of the Rumble might be. Batista is too obvious on one level (they keep talking about it and promoting him), and on another level is too much of an unknown quantity at this point for HHH et al. to put the WM main event in his hands IMO. He's been gone way too long, and the crowd may not care much about him at this point.

I'm assuming Cena wins tonight, because that makes the bigger WM main event draw, no matter what. So, that leaves the door open for a heel to win. Can't see a heel vs. heel main event if Orton kept the title. Face vs. face is a distinct possibility, though, so Cena winning means it's more wide open. Roman Reigns is the dark horse in my mind. If WWE really wants to push him, this would be a great time to do it. Bryan seems incredibly obvious, except that McMahon threw a lot of blame on his shoulders for their low ratings last summer. Punk, I can't see. Even though it would be great if he got in the WWE main event. A returning Seamus, maybe? I heard he was really injured, but I don't know his status now. WWE loves him, so if he's healthy, I can see that (unfortunately). Hard for me to see anyone else really doing it, but I don't have faith that any of the guys I mentioned will win either, so. . .who knows? Maybe Austin comes in at number 30 and wins!

[karamazov80]

"This is awful" chants are awesome. Now "we want divas"

--edit:

Well, it's over. . .sucks. How they didn't even put Bryan in the match is mind boggling. For a few seconds, I thought they were mad geniuses, using that disappointment to build up Reigns at the end, but once again, we just see the same old predictable crap. No one is going to buy Wrestlemania to watch Orton and Batista, so something's gonna have to happen between now and then.

Edited January 27, 2014 by karamazov80

[hellpop]

OMG, that has to go down as one of the WORST nights in WWE history. Just a company that is completely out of touch with it's audience. Fans HATED the title match, got bored during the Rumble (can't blame them, it was not very good), and totally turned on the match by the end. The crowd SO wanted Daniel Bryan, and when they didn't deliver, they took it out on the men in the ring. Sheamus did get a nice pop, but he was getting booed by the end. Batista... not a smark favorite. After Punk was eliminated, and it was clear it would be Batista (Reigns and Sheamus were left, but I don't think anyone really believed in them winning), the crowd had no one to root for. Reigns briefly got the crowd back into it, but they were NOT happy with Batista. Wow. These guys had better figure out that the fans do not like what they are offering, and course correct, or WrestleMania will be a disaster.

[JeffBohn]

Sooo disappointing. Crowd would've gone nuts for Bryan in the Rumble. No really good surprises for the Rumble. Batista didn't do anything for me, thought he didn't look good at all. Good build for Reigns though.

[hellpop]

BTW, Bryan and Vinnie show live and free F4W right now:

http://www.f4wonline.com/more/more-top-stories/96-wwe/35135-wwe-royal-rumble-livc-coverage-from-pittsburgh

[karamazov80]

Can't get that radio channel to open. Too bad, as I would love to hear what those guys have to say.

OMG, that has to go down as one of the WORST nights in WWE history. Just a company that is completely out of touch with it's audience. Fans HATED the title match, got bored during the Rumble (can't blame them, it was not very good), and totally turned on the match by the end. The crowd SO wanted Daniel Bryan, and when they didn't deliver, they took it out on the men in the ring. Sheamus did get a nice pop, but he was getting booed by the end. Batista... not a smark favorite. After Punk was eliminated, and it was clear it would be Batista (Reigns and Sheamus were left, but I don't think anyone really believed in them winning), the crowd had no one to root for. Reigns briefly got the crowd back into it, but they were NOT happy with Batista. Wow. These guys had better figure out that the fans do not like what they are offering, and course correct, or WrestleMania will be a disaster.

It's hard for me to figure all that out. Clearly, Bryan is and has been super popular with live audiences, yet apparently the PPV numbers were disappointing when he fought Cena and Orton. That fact is surprising to me. Maybe how the crowd behaves isn't a great predictor of PPV buys anymore? I don't know. But I totally could have told them what would happen tonight with the fans.

--edit: just heard on the earlier Wrestling Observer Live show that the matches planned for WM before tonight were:

-Cena/Bray Wyatt

-Orton/Batista

-Bryan/Sheamus

*SNOOOOOOOOOOOORE*

Edited January 27, 2014 by karamazov80

[hellpop]

Yeah, they hit their max on the stream. I was able to slip in somehow. It's an entertaining show. Better then the Rumble itself, that's for sure.

[karamazov80]

Went to www.wwe.com, and saw something pretty dang hilarious. Notice the news story at the top. It's probably a video of the Bushwackers flying right out of the ring or whatever. But, seems totally fitting.

[hellpop]

It's been a fascinating day, for sure. I just keep coming back to thinking that what we have here is a complete disconnect between what the fanbase wants, and what the WWE wants us to want. It's not just that people are behind Daniel Bryan, it's also that people are just plain sick of the guys on top. We don't want John Cena. We don't want Randy Orton. We don't HHH. In that way, the Authority storyline has backfired on them, in that they've put into storyline the long-held belief that certain guys reach (or don't reach) certain spots on the card because of the way they look. Bryan is the immediate beneficiary, but the problem has much deeper roots.

If I were the WWE I would turn Batista heel tonight by having him complain about the fans booing him last night. I would position Orton and Batista as being different sides of the same coin, but begin to set Bryan back up as the alternative. Then, I would put the title on Bryan at Elimination Chamber and have him defend against Batista (and maybe even Orton in a Triple Threat) at WrestleMania. I think there's a good chance they go that way. Tonight should be an interesting show, that's for sure.

[Zombie Shakespeare]

It would have been funny if Wade Barrett was number 30 and announced that he "had some bad news. Daniel Bryan is not in the rumble" as he was walking in.

[karamazov80]

HP. . .I think that's some wishful thinking to be honest, but I sure hope you're right

Of course, all of this isn't new. Benoit and Guerrero both worked their asses off back in the day, had huge crowd support (particularly Guerrero), but neither was given more than token championship runs where they never felt like "the man." HHH compared Bryan to Jericho, and I think that's another adequate comparison. I think at this point, it will take a very special, charismatic guy like Shawn Michaels, or even Stone Cold seriously taking that position. Frankly, I don't think Bryan is at either of their levels, but neither was Jericho, or Edge.

[MiniFiend UK]

It's been a fascinating day, for sure. I just keep coming back to thinking that what we have here is a complete disconnect between what the fanbase wants, and what the WWE wants us to want. It's not just that people are behind Daniel Bryan, it's also that people are just plain sick of the guys on top. We don't want John Cena. We don't want Randy Orton. We don't HHH. In that way, the Authority storyline has backfired on them, in that they've put into storyline the long-held belief that certain guys reach (or don't reach) certain spots on the card because of the way they look. Bryan is the immediate beneficiary, but the problem has much deeper roots.

If I were the WWE I would turn Batista heel tonight by having him complain about the fans booing him last night. I would position Orton and Batista as being different sides of the same coin, but begin to set Bryan back up as the alternative. Then, I would put the title on Bryan at Elimination Chamber and have him defend against Batista (and maybe even Orton in a Triple Threat) at WrestleMania. I think there's a good chance they go that way. Tonight should be an interesting show, that's for sure.

HP. . .I think that's some wishful thinking to be honest, but I sure hope you're right

Of course, all of this isn't new. Benoit and Guerrero both worked their asses off back in the day, had huge crowd support (particularly Guerrero), but neither was given more than token championship runs where they never felt like "the man." HHH compared Bryan to Jericho, and I think that's another adequate comparison. I think at this point, it will take a very special, charismatic guy like Shawn Michaels, or even Stone Cold seriously taking that position. Frankly, I don't think Bryan is at either of their levels, but neither was Jericho, or Edge.

I havent watched it yet but from what I read the ppl there shit al over the end. Vince and the rest have always had a viagra for muscles. I would for a heel batista as the fans cheering as the WWE want to be in on the movie hype. WWE fans dont care he crapped out on UFC so he aint Lesner. but last night could make his character. They wanted a hero but they got a big heel.

[hellpop]

Breaking news: Punk's gone. Told Vince he's going home, and is off all shows. Wrestling Observer has a show I haven't listened to yet with more details; once I do, I'll update you all.

This sucks.

[MiniFiend UK]

yea its suposed to be legit quit. Thats one way for DB to get a better spot.

First thought TNA must now be wetting themselves with anticpation of getting Punk. That said I can see Punk going a more Indy route with AJ Styles. This could be a big boost for RoH if it lands right.

Second I expect AJ Lee to now get majorly squashed in the WWE as she is I think again Punks bit on the side. With him gone she has no one to go to bat for her and I quite expect from over the years Vince is very vindictive so if he cant take it out on Punk she's going to get it in the neck

[hellpop]

I thought the same thing about AJ. I guess it depends on if they are going to try an woo Punk back (in which case, punishing his girlfriend is not the way to go about that) or they consider him a lost cause (in which case, look for AJ to eat Naomi's Rear View soon... that didn't come out right ).

So, not much is known yet, other then that Punk told Vince shortly before Raw that he was going home, and he did. Meltzer said that, on the one hand, it's not that surprising, because most people expected him to leave when his contract was up this summer, and that he was burned out and unhappy. But it is surprising that he would do so now, before WrestleMania, when you'd probably get your biggest payday of the year. But Punk's not a guy that needs the money. I think it's obvious that he's not happy with his spot for WM. He wasn't happy last year, when he had the Undertaker match (and, frankly, I thought he deserved to carry the title into WM), and I can't imagine he was happy with his proposed HHH match. We know it bothered him that Rock came in and was given the WM main event spot two years in a row, but it had to really get under his skin that Batista (arguably not even as big a star as Punk) walked in off the street and was handed the Royal Rumble and main event spot over himself and/or Daniel Bryan.

Personally, this makes me very sad. CM Punk single handedly saved my interest in wrestling. Back in 2011, after the post-WM PPV, I was very down on the product. Cena had just taken the title from Miz. Christian, after an emotional WHC win, dropped the belt almost immediately to Randy Orton. Punk at the time was still stuck with the New Nexus anchor. And so I quit. Stopped watching for a few weeks, a month, whatever it was. And then I heard about this promo CM Punk cut....

If this is the end, I will miss him. Fortunately, WWE is in better shape then it was a few years ago, and there are a lot more guys I like to watch (some of whom occasionally get pushed!). I'll at least hang around to see how they screw up what happens with Daniel Bryan. I know a lot of people will be critical of Punk for quitting, but I say: good for him. You've earned the right to go out your own way.

I highly doubt we'll see him go to TNA, but I could see him going back to his roots in ROH and other indie promotions. Lord knows he doesn't need the money, and he loves the business. I guess it depends on just how burned out he is.

[karamazov80]

Yeah, I can't imagine him going to the idiotic circus sideshow that is TNA. Sucks to hear. He's also one of the few things that I liked about WWE. Now, I've got Bryan of course, and guys like Cesaro and Rollins who make matches worth watching and could have a bright future. But there's not a whole heck of a lot that keeps me coming back, and with him gone, there's one less thing. I don't blame him at all, though. He's been stuck in mediocrity for the better part of the last year, stuck in pointless feuds that never went anywhere.

[hellpop]

I heard that a lot- that Punk hasn't done anything in the last year- but I don't think that's true. If you look at his last calendar year, he:

-Carried the WWE title for a modern record of 454 days;

-Dropped the title to the Rock at the Rumble and challenged him at Elimination Chamber, becoming the only man besides John Cena to have a singles match with the Rock in the past decade;

-Had the best match at WrestleMania in the coveted Undertaker spot;

-Had the best match at SummerSlam vs Brock Lesnar (which was also probably the WWE Match of the Year, Slammys be damned);

-Had the best tv match of the year (vs Cena, in the pre-WM #1 contenders match);

-Had the WWE feud of the year vs Paul Heyman (which would have been even stronger if they'd done a better job selecting his post-Brock opponents);

-Was the Iron Man in the Royal Rumble.

Now, granted... he lost most of those matches. And, I would not be surprised if he was going to loose to HHH at 'Mania. But Punk had a great year, by any standard. People might be taking him for granted a bit.

[karamazov80]

I guess I was using a bit of hyperbole, since he was more than other mid-carders. But he only fought Rock out of necessity, to get him out of the match with Cena, and signaled his fall from the main event picture. He fought Lesnar, but it didn't lead to anything, and Lesnar isn't the huge attraction he was two years ago. I thought the Heyman feud was pretty lame, particularly toward the tail end when it just fizzled out, so it seems a shame if that really was the best feud of the year. He was in the Rumble for an extended time, but so was Rollins, and I don't know if that means much to him. Fighting Undertaker was a pretty big deal, but I would say that's the real highlight he's had, and it was a consolation prize for losing the title to Rock. Bottom line is, he hasn't been a contender, and I'm sure that's what he feels he deserves. To at least be in consideration. And the biggest problem isn't looking at highlights, it's the trend. Now what's he doing? Feuding with Kane? That feels like a big road to nowhere.

Edited January 29, 2014 by karamazov80

[hellpop]

There's definitely a lot of truth in what you say. The Observer had a big writeup about the whole thing, and while they don't know what was the last straw, it's been well known that he's been unhappy for quite awhile. I'm speculating, but it seems likely that WWE decided to give Bryan the match against HHH that had been planned for Punk, based on the Royal Rumble reaction. And Punk, already unhappy to not be in the main event, decided that it wasn't worth it to hang around for an even lesser match. Punk's certainly not a guy to accept being marginalized.

[Webhead]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MiniFiend UK]

Just been reading that Mark Crozer is scheduled to do the Wyatt Family theme live at WM30 should be cool.

[karamazov80]

I just googled him, and saw that he is a touring band member of the Jesus and Mary Chain. Pretty cool. WM has had a history of this, with the crappy DX song being done live, I believe Limp Bizkit doing Undertaker's former theme, and Motorhead doing HHH's song.