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Raw, 19/11/12


NEWM

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Yeah, you're not wrong. Sometimes, when my mind wanders, I end up wondering why anyone bothers with wrestling, and it's mostly reasons like the above that bother me. I have no doubt that WWE will carry on regardless, Wrestlemania will still look and feel huge every year, and there'll be the odd thing that does well (Battle of the Billionaires, Mayweather, Lesnar), but the prospects of any measurable mainstream success are pretty bleak. I'm just trying to enjoy the ride for what it is, for the time being.

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Wrestlemania will still look and feel huge every year

 

Whilst I sincerely hope that is the case, I wouldn't stake any significant money on it. I actually find a reasonable amount to enjoy in the current product, and like watching quite a lot of people on the roster, but the way ratings and attendances are going, I'm really beginning to think we may be headed back to an era of Raw tapings in front of a couple of thousand and Wrestlemanias in front of 12k max.

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They pulled a legit 60,000ish for Wrestlemania this year, and I can't see that slipping a whole lot. There's plenty of people who want to go to a Wrestlemania (any Wrestlemania) who haven't yet, and that'll always guarantee a decent gate, I reckon. There are NFL stadiums smaller than the ones they've been doing that they could near-fill with one end cut out for the stage. The buyrate is, of course, another matter entirely, and one I'm much less confident about. But I'd bank on them being able to make Wrestlemania seem like a huge deal to the people that give a toss for a good while yet.

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I've never heard of Seth Rollins, and only know about Dean Ambrose through talk of him on here, but after a bit of googling I realised that I actually saw them wrestle each other at Wrestlmania 28 Axxess earlier this year. From what I remember, the guy that stood out the most for me was Seth Rollins. He played up to his character really really well, and was provoking a reaction from the crowd with ease.

 

Really looking forward to seeing him on the mic.

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I've never heard of Seth Rollins, and only know about Dean Ambrose through talk of him on here, but after a bit of googling I realised that I actually saw them wrestle each other at Wrestlmania 28 Axxess earlier this year. From what I remember, the guy that stood out the most for me was Seth Rollins. He played up to his character really really well, and was provoking a reaction from the crowd with ease.

 

Really looking forward to seeing him on the mic.

 

Seth Rollins is Tyler Black of RoH fame, if that rings anymore bells.

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I've never heard of Seth Rollins, and only know about Dean Ambrose through talk of him on here, but after a bit of googling I realised that I actually saw them wrestle each other at Wrestlmania 28 Axxess earlier this year. From what I remember, the guy that stood out the most for me was Seth Rollins. He played up to his character really really well, and was provoking a reaction from the crowd with ease.

 

Really looking forward to seeing him on the mic.

 

Seth Rollins is Tyler Black of RoH fame, if that rings anymore bells.

Wow, I feel like such a tool. I kept thinking Dean Ambrose was Seth Rollins, and vice versa! :/

 

Scrap my original statement, it was Dean Ambrose that was great at Axxess :blush:

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I've never heard of Seth Rollins, and only know about Dean Ambrose through talk of him on here, but after a bit of googling I realised that I actually saw them wrestle each other at Wrestlmania 28 Axxess earlier this year. From what I remember, the guy that stood out the most for me was Seth Rollins. He played up to his character really really well, and was provoking a reaction from the crowd with ease.

 

Really looking forward to seeing him on the mic.

 

Seth Rollins is Tyler Black of RoH fame, if that rings anymore bells.

Wow, I feel like such a tool. I kept thinking Dean Ambrose was Seth Rollins, and vice versa! :/

 

Scrap my original statement, it was Dean Ambrose that was great at Axxess :blush:

 

I was genuinely going to say I think you must have it the wrong way round. I didn't go to Axxess, but knew Ambrose would shine more.

 

In CM Punk's celebration video, that was a remix of the Champions League theme, wasn't it?

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I thought Raw was largely great. Punk completely failed with his celebration speech and was completely overshadowed by Heyman. I think Punk's been utter crap on the mic since his turn, which is absolutely bizarre considering how excellent he was during his Smackdown / SES days as a heel. I think he could do with a few months off, to be honest, even as a fan of his I'm bloody tired of him.

 

Barrett v Kingston was one of the best Raw matches of the year. Really superb stuff. The same could be said of Del Rio v Orton. I know most people hate the feud and at least Del Rio, but I think he's great and this was a quality match.

 

The Vickie / AJ stuff was crap until Cena turned up and inevitably turned it into something good. I thought the reason he hobbled up the ramp was because he was trying to shake off a stiffy from his snogs. Great stuff by Ziggler in the brawl and that berating of AJ, too.

 

The highlight, though, was Titus on commentary. He was FANTASTIC. A complete natural, great ad-libbing with Cole and Lawler, and really fucking funny. That can't have gone unnoticed with Vince and everyone.

 

Even Kaitlyn v Aksana was only slightly rubbish. Not a bad show. Don't really care about the attacks on Ryback for some reason, though, I just wish they had let Ambrose debut on his own.

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Ambrose really reminds me of Chris Sabin looks wise. Not sure he has THE look to debut by himself. This might be the best option for him.

 

Roman on the other hand, looks standout straight away. He's like the love child of Al Snow and Diesel.

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The thing is, wrestling is just (from every which angle) anachronistic in 2012. It doesn't tick any of the boxes for what the mass market looks for in an entertainment product.

 

Every medium is chasing 'gritty', 'realism' an 'edgy' and there is a reaction against feeling lied to or 'worked' and a clamour to have stars brought to the level of punter through TV and social media. WWE have tried half-heartedly to acknowledge the latter, but still throw out gimmicked tweets (Cena asking for tips on how to beat Ryback for example).

 

I don't know about that. I don't watch wrestling because I want anything gritty or realistic. I watch it because I enjoy the storytelling, the character interaction, the over-exaggerated theatricality. Where WWE has been going wrong is that it's not doing these things very well. The characters are largely dull and the stories are pants. If you want gritty realism, you're really, really pissing on the wrong lamp post.

 

In terms of the former wrestling is still a slab of eighties camp with oiled up geezers nobbing about in sparkly pants.

 

Of course it is, if you're going to be cold and analytical about it. So what? If that's not something you can get past, then pro wrestling isn't your cup of tea. Stone Cold, biggest star of the attitude era, wore a leather waistcoat with nothing underneath and denim hot pants or trunks. It sounds pretty gay when you describe it like that, but he was a total bad ass.

 

Having said that, though, when it comes to scantily clad blokes getting their hands on each other, the general public are more into UFC at the mo. But there will always be people (like me) who aren't going to dig people genuinely trying to hurt each other. You can perceive it however you like, but to me it's just violence and I'm never going to see it any other way. That's your gritty realism, I'm not interested.

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