Raw before the Rumble thread...

[d-d-d-dAz]

Well, that was a bit shit.

 

It was strange to end the show with an advert for how short on star power the show is. Once you got past Cena, Orton and Sheamus you were really feeding on scraps. 'oh look, it's...erm...'

 

In other news, CM Punk is very good. In fact given that his only full time peer was sent out to flatten the crowd talking, mostly, about Sunday afternoons And Taylor Swift, Punk had to try and carry this show single handedly. He did alright.

 

He wasn't helped by the logic killing storyline about Rock circumventing his arena ban by buying a ticket....then entering via the entrance way with his music playing without Vickie so much as screeching 'fuuuuuuuuuck offffff...'

 

And, oh yeah, apparently Rock toppling CM Punk is the same as black people overcoming slavery. Jesus.

 

Every inch of me wants to see Punk win, maybe thanks to Lesnar or something. But the reaction in the arena would be priceless, and the Internet would likely be fun too.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

Every inch of me wants to see Punk win, maybe thanks to Lesnar or something. But the reaction in the arena would be priceless, and the Internet would likely be fun too.

Why? I doubt "homeless person beats movie star who is 50 times the star than him. Internet explodes" will be the reaction on the internet.

 

Rock should beat him anyway. Any other result would make no sense.

[d-d-d-dAz]

I just have no interest in anything The Rock does.

 

He's really, really rubbish.

 

There's no nuance to his shtick anymore, it's not even a parody of himself a his peak, it's a parody of a particular part of his own act. It drives me to distraction. And up the wall.

 

Why was he shouting so loud at those three police officers?

 

I'd have far more interest in CM Punk laying down for Cena at Wrestlemania in a conclusion to their stuff than in The Rock acting as a middle man between Punk and Cena, the two biggest and brightest acts of the past twelve months, then fucking off for another 9 months..

 

Stick Rock in a showpiece match with Lesnar, Triple H, Undertaker....anyone. Just have him leave quickly.

[FLips]

I'd like to see Punk win, if only because I think Wrestlemania is a much better stage to end his streak. The Shield or Cena or anyone could easily stop The Rock from winning at the Rumble. CM Punk, regardless of looking like a drug addict is by far the best heel in either company right now and I think it'd be a shame if it came to and end at anywhere but Wrestlemania.

 

Unless, by some chance The Undertaker costs Punk the match at Rumble, as then you can have Rock vs Cena (rumble winner) and Punk vs Undertaker.

[Dirty Eddie]

Most of last night seemed like it fell flat, with just a few bright moments.

 

The Graduation stuff started silly and mildly amusing, but the attempt to get the whole arena hugging in unison failed and came across as rather desperate. Hopefully they can move on a bit with this whole thing now. No Rhodes-Scholars run-in seemed odd.

 

The show-long angle with the beat the clock stuff ended up being all for a super lame pay off. So Vickie is still fucking Dolph over, but why should we care at all? Both of them are prick heels so what's the point! A complete waste of time then really. Also continues WWE's plan to make Dolph seem like the biggest fucking loser on television.

 

Punk's in ring promo was superb. He's become a fantastic top line heel over the last 6 months and I really hope he gets a Mania match he deserves. Heyman's in-ring promo was also excellent, as usual. Rock's rebuttal was weird. Bringing up MLK and slavery was a strange choice, but at least he kept the intensity up. They sound like two people who want to fight - which makes it better than the Rock/Cena feud already.

 

I wish I had turned off at the point that Cena came out at the end. What an unbelievably boring and pointless promo. Fuck me, was he actually trying to bore the shit out of everyone. After saying nothing for about 15 minutes, we get the routine "I'm gonna win the Rumble..." stuff from half the roster, followed by standard pre-Rumble brawl. dull.

 

They should have had the Rock promo and Shield attack go last, that was far, far better than the awful way it did end.

 

Oh yeah, Brad Maddox is great.

[King Pitcos]

There's no nuance to his shtick anymore

There never was. He's exactly the same as he was in 1999, he just smiles more. Which is great for nostalgia, but if you've well and truly grown out of his act, it's awful. Still, I'm looking forward to him winning the title again. With The Shield banned from ringside, either something big (Lesnar?) is costing Rock the title or Punk's losing it. Can't wait.

 

Who are the possible Rumble winners? Cena, Sheamus, Ryback, maybe Orton. Anyone else?

[Mr Butternut Squash]

So Cena's just trolling at this point ain't he or is he really capable of being that bad? Don't get me wrong, I found this 'bizarre' (well said Sheamus) pseudo heel (or pseudo face?) Cena quite amusing, certainly more fun to watch than the fucking Rock, but it's not really what I want on a closing segment leading into a big PPV.

[SpursRiot2012]

Hm. I downloaded this Raw thinking it'd be a good idea to watch the go home show given a bunch of us are meeting at a mates to watch the PPV and drink beer. Now I don't know if I want to watch. That'll teach me to read the internet.

[PunkStep]

Who are the possible Rumble winners? Cena, Sheamus, Ryback, maybe Orton. Anyone else?

Ziggler could be another possible winner I suppose, he has more momentum than Orton following Cena feud, plus they could make it interesting with him still having the briefcase as well as the Mania title match. He won't win it though, I still say it's either Cena or Ryback.

 

How many are announced so far? According to Wiki 23- though only 9 are named. I haven't seen Raw yet and I know we still have Smackdown to announce some more, but I hope quite a few are left as surprises. I'd happily fuckseveral of the current lot off from the Rumble match just to see some one night only novelty and nostalgia returns.

[Snitsky's back acne]

Have to go with Lesnar costing Rock the match.

 

Lesnar is 'a Heyman guy'. Mainstream media wise you'll then have the movie star vs the MMA star at Mania.

 

Rock doesnt need to be the champion. Punk's run is a great heat magnet and the bragging he could do about him beating the 'Peoples Champion' etc would be great.

 

It would then give Rock a logical reason to 'seek revenge' in the Elimination Chamber match (if, indeed, he is set to work the EC show) and allow Punk to escape with a screwy victory, again with Lesnar's help.

 

Punk could then lose the strap at Mania, probably to Cena (as much as I'd rather it be someone else who could be elevated by beating Punk and ending his streak).

[IANdrewDiceClay]

Why would Lesnar costs Rock the match? That would mean Rock vs Lesnar. And that's not happening. Rock vs Cena for the belt with Cena getting the belt for the first time in 18 months and getting his win back on the Rock is the only thing that's getting close to last years number.

 

Also, Lesnar isn't a "Heyman Guy". Heyman is a "Lesnar Guy". Lesnar's whole character is that he comes back if it benefits him. He doesn't do anyone any favours. He'll come back when Triple H forces his hand.

[DJM]

Why would Lesnar costs Rock the match? That would mean Rock vs Lesnar. And that's not happening. Rock vs Cena for the belt with Cena getting the belt for the first time in 18 months and getting his win back on the Rock is the only thing that's getting close to last years number.

Does anyone really want to see Rock/Cena again though?

 

 

Also, Lesnar isn't a "Heyman Guy". Heyman is a "Lesnar Guy". Lesnar's whole character is that he comes back if it benefits him. He doesn't do anyone any favours. He'll come back when Triple H forces his hand.

I am not sure that WWE can come up with a good reason why Lesnar would agree to fight HHH again. I can see why HHH would want to fight Lesnar again, but I see no reason for Lesnar wanting to fight HHH.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

Does anyone really want to see Rock/Cena again though?

I'd say over a million people are willing to pay to see it. Sequals usually do well if the first one was massive.

 

I am not sure that WWE can come up with a good reason why Lesnar would agree to fight HHH again. I can see why HHH would want to fight Lesnar again, but I see no reason for Lesnar wanting to fight HHH.

The fact Triple H has a good reason means it doesn't matter if Brock Lesnar has a good reason. Triple H needs his win back. People can say "why? Triple H is selfish, Brock shouldn't be losing etc" all they want, but the fact is you dont break a babyfaces arm and send him into retirement without the babyface getting his revenge. Doesn't matter if its Triple H or Luke Bushwhacker. Triple H has to beat Lesnar at WrestleMania. You have to retain the credibility of your feuds and of your characters.

 

Same with Cena as well. Cena needs his win back against the Rock. He just does. The only logic in him losing last year was to build to him winning the belt against the Rock this year. Big stars and more attractive matches to the mainstream audience take precedence over what would be fun anyday of the week.

[d-d-d-dAz]

You're right.

 

It does make sense.

 

The problem is, I genuinely couldn't give a toss about finding sensible conclusions to old stories, I just want to watch something I might enjoy. In terms of numbers, too, I figure that Lesnar/Rock would do as many buys (if not more) than Cena/Rock.

 

Personally, a 'Mania with Cena/Punk and Lesnar/Rock (and maybe Triple H lumped in with Orton/The Shield in some way) on the ticket interests me far more than another Cena/Rock match with an even more telegraphed finish than last time.

[CTXRussomark]

For what its worth the feeling amongst our group (comprised of lapsed fans who only really watch Wrestlemania thesedays) is a general lack of interest in seeing Rock/Cena again. The "Once in a Lifetime" tagline last year was a massive selling point and the fact Rock actually won means everyone got the result they were looking for and any rematch would be purely to give Cena his win back which nobody is really fussed about seeing. I imagine a lot of fans in our position (which will be a significant proportion of the extra buys they rely on WM pulling in each year) might feel the same way. Not to say it won't draw huge, I just don't think the interest level would be quite as high as last year.

 

Lesnar/Triple H as the other main event doesn't even come close to Taker/Triple H in the Cell with a 3 year backstory to it either, so that's not helping matters. If the card stays as Cena/Rock and Triple H/Lesnar we'll probably give it a miss.