King Pitcos Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 People always talk about WWE's thin roster...they themselves talk about it. But really WWE have no fucking excuse. There's probably more great free agent talent out there right now than at any point in history, there's loads of ex-WWE guys who can still go that they could bring in part time and I'm sure they could poach a few blokes from TNA if they wanted. But instead they're spending money on wank like The Ascension, Adam Rose, Bull Dempsey etc. They need to sort it out. Â While there's a lot of truth in that for padding out a roster in general, there's very little out there that you could hire in to pop a subscriptionrate for a main event. Bunch of names that could make the forums happy by having a cracker with Sami Zayn on an NXT special, but probably none that are going to make the network a profit by being booked against John Cena or Daniel Bryan at Payback. Â It's that top level where they're struggling. And I think a lot of that is down to there being nobody to beat. Cena had Triple H, Edge and Shawn Michaels for the first couple of years of his run to help him get better and put him over. Roman Reigns has boring DQ matches with Big Show. The top guys besides Cena and Bryan are all on the same level. How much of a rub does Bray Wyatt get from beating Dean Ambrose, or vice versa? How much does Roman Reigns gain from beating Seth Rollins, or even Rollins from beating Cena when they have the same match every week? Orton sitting in the backseat for his title reign did far more damage to him than it did to Daniel Bryan, though the face turn is a nice reset. Â The attitude era was similar in the sense of wrestlers having to get themselves and other guys on their level over, but they had loads of crutches that the current crop don't. I don't know if that rise of Rock vs Triple H from 97-2000 is possible anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Undefeated Steak Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 It also doesn't help that WWE only push one new star at a time. They need to do what they did back in the day and strap a rocket to four a five guys at once. Even if only two of them succeed, it's better than having one new star break through in a decade.  You also wouldn't run the risk of having the fans turn on them because they're only given one person to care about. Having three or four other guys pushed alongside Reigns wouldn't leave him so exposed and would lower the risk of any backlash from the fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Pitcos Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 (edited) That's what the thin roster prevents, though. They haven't all got a hundred wrestlers to smash through. If Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins (as well as Bryan, Orton, Cena) all have 50/50 records against each other, nobody wins. The quality of the writing and performances isn't there to get them all over trading wins. The scary thing is that Wyatt fairly decisively beat Ambrose in their feud and everything was so poor that he still won't benefit much from it anyway. Â The one star philosophy has always been the case in WWE. Bruno, Backlund, Hogan, various fuck-ups, Austin. Rock managed to muscle his way into the picture, but they haven't got a Rock there now who can do that. Rock and Triple H weren't getting the push Austin was getting in 1998, but WWE don't seem to do the midcard push at all anymore (I'm hoping Barrett and Ziggler prove me wrong on this). The key difference now is that the company is just very half-arsed or ill-equipped in building not only the one star, but the supporting cast as well. Edited January 9, 2015 by King Pitcos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallicks Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Of course. Bryan could well have beaten a heel Cena at Extreme Rules while the Shield had a rematch with the Wyatts and Evolution stood around with their thumbs up their bums, but it'd take a massive brain injury to think that would've made more sense or been more feasible than the matches that were booked. Â In reality, Cena would never be turning heel as month-one fodder for a new babyface champion. If Cena turned heel to face Bryan at Extreme Rules, Cena's going home with the belt. That means even more tears from the same ones who bawled over Bryan fighting Kane. Â Steve Austin's first feud after winning the belt was against Mick Foley, a bloke who had just come from losing the tag belts. They clearly had it in for Austin as well. Â I'm a bit surprised you didn't mention the 2nd hottest act coming out of WM, your own personal darling, Cesaro. Regardless of your personal feelings towards the Swiss mister, it's symptomatic of their "safe" booking to put Bryan with the 47 year old Libertarian Glen, rather than anyone else. Â Extra points for comparing 1998 Mick Foley to 2014 Kane. For someone who is so constantly negative about everything anyone posts, you sure love WWE's booking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bono Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 (edited) . Edited January 10, 2015 by bono Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Pitcos Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 I'm a bit surprised you didn't mention the 2nd hottest act coming out of WM, your own personal darling, Cesaro. Regardless of your personal feelings towards the Swiss mister, it's symptomatic of their "safe" booking to put Bryan with the 47 year old Libertarian Glen, rather than anyone else. Â Yeah, booking Daniel Bryan against Cesaro for his first feud as the man would have been a surefire sign that they had big plans for him as champion, wouldn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators PowerButchi Posted January 10, 2015 Moderators Share Posted January 10, 2015 Come Dine With Me in Germany has the awesome Jillian Hall music that sounds like an insrumental to a Bobby Brown song as it's title theme. Not the Sliced Bread one she sings, the awesome one she had as a babyface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Benno Posted January 10, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted January 10, 2015 (edited) I dont love/loathe Cesaro as much as most seem to do, but I always thought he could have fit the Director Of Operations role they gave Kane. When they first put the authority together I remember hoping it would mean a role for him and people like Barrett in something of a new Corporation but nope, we got Republican Kane (and then eventually Seth Rollins to be fair). Â Their over reliance on him does him a huge disservice. There's a role he can play but at the top of the card isn't it. They love trotting him and Show out for House Show main events though, so there's obviously still something to having the big lads around for the live events. Â Him being the "only" reasonable option to face Bryan at Extreme Rules was all their own doing. Edited January 10, 2015 by Benno Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Pitcos Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 (edited) Of course it was. All of their creative problems are their own doing. But that doesn't make it some kind of anti-Bryan conspiracy, they've just got a roster thin of top opposition for a babyface champion. Â The only time Cesaro's ever been any use was in the Real Americans, and that had pretty much just started when Kane became Director of Operations. Considering the role was someone to make matches instead of Stephanie and Triple H doing it all the time, it involved talking -- so he'd have been screwed there, and the overlap would have meant he never even had the one run where he wasn't shit. Plus, it would have robbed us of the novelty of Kane walking down to the ring in a suit that first time, which was the highlight of WWE in late 2013 unless you were the sort of weirdo who got a kick out of laughing at fifteen year olds crying that Daniel Bryan doesn't win every match. Â Big Show and Kane still have their value as they're massive and they were around before everyone moaned about everything so they've got name value, but their TV booking usually contradicts the role on the card they fill. WWE must think they're bulletproof when it comes to being protected on TV, because not only did they think putting Kane's mask back on made him a credible threat to the new champion who had spent February destroying him multiple times, they also decided that a hundred matches with Kane and Big Show (and a couple with Orton) is the rub that's getting Roman Reigns from the Shield to the Rumble. Â The likes of Barrett and Sheamus could've been great boons to a larger Authority stable, it's a shame they never did it. They still could, though. I'm hoping Sheamus' return involves a turn and aligning with them. Edited January 10, 2015 by King Pitcos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abe_Knuckleball_Schwartz Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Been watching a few WWE Events from the 1980's and early 90's and its reminded me how bland and boring I think Tito Santana is. Dont get me wrong he was a steady wrestler, but I just cannot see anything else him. Also the Strike Force tights he wore for years after they broke up gives me the impression that he is tighter than Mick Foley! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelMush Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Been watching a few WWE Events from the 1980's and early 90's and its reminded me how bland and boring I think Tito Santana is. Dont get me wrong he was a steady wrestler, but I just cannot see anything else him. Also the Strike Force tights he wore for years after they broke up gives me the impression that he is tighter than Mick Foley!  Might have taken him a few years to save up for that matador costume Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syl Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 This may have been happening for years, but I've only just noticed it, and it is starting to irritate me. People working for WWE struggle to pronounce 'W W E' clearly, so that it almost sounds like 'W E'. Even Vinny Mac on the recent 'UK getting the network' announcement video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GavinSAFC Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 I wish they'd do something better with Titus O'Neil. The bloke is naturally quite funny and charismatic and is a believable big man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane O' Mac Version 2 Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 He's funny and charismatic, but he's really quite bad between the ropes. They tried giving him the old "Tyson Kidd" NXT resurgence push, and he wrestled against Zayn and Neville to basically silence from the normally hot Full Sail crowds. Â The more I think about it, Tyson Kidd deserves a shit ton of credit for really being the only main roster guy to use their NXT time effectively. Guys like Gabriel, O'Neill, and Axel stop down there and appear to give zero fucks, and Kidd is like a man reborn and starting to get much more time on Raw as a result. What a great man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinc Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 I've never watched NXT so it's disappointing to hear he's struggled for traction there, but I echo the Titus O'Neill shouts. A big, extroverted lad who looks and acts like Terry Crews' younger brother. I could see him doing well for WWE on the chat shows if they could ever get him to that level, and they wouldn't have to worry about baseball commentators and the like giving him the verbal eye-rolls that CM Punk used to get. Â He's got genuine cross over potential if they could imbue his act with a bit of in-ring credibility. I'd start by giving him a good showing in the Rumble, and then try to get a video of him working out with The Rock to go viral or something. He's a charismatic gym freak, that's never been a better fit for the culture than right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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