Awards Moderator HarmonicGenerator Posted March 27, 2018 Awards Moderator Share Posted March 27, 2018 If Undertaker carries on ignoring John Cena, he should probably go and help his brother-in-law(-to-be?) on SmackDown and be Bryan’s tag partner against Owens and Zayn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members ColinBollocks Posted March 27, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted March 27, 2018 40 minutes ago, tiger_rick said: At this point, I'm hoping for a Heyman turn and a heel Reigns coming out ala Austin at 17. Otherwise the next few months are going to suck. Spot on, mate. Reigns is just such a dull character. Genuinely, if Bryan wasn't cleared I probably would have knocked wrestling on the head after 'Mania. Reigns as a heel is easily the most compelling thing they can do with him. I hope they do so to clear way for Braun to become their shiny new top babyface next year, or later this year. Anyway, Raw was good this week. Ronda is a great example of what a bit of star power and charisma can do for you, because as dAz rightly pointed out, she looks miles away from being any good at wrestling - whether that be promos or ring mechanics. Thankfully Ronda has those two important ingredients so it's easy to get invested in her story, more so if you've been following most of her career like this old chunk of coal. The video package was indeed excellent, and I'm sure they're having Stephanie pretend she's well hard to heel her up a bit more. Although part of me kind of hopes Vince has her booked as Holly Holm because "she's a McMahon, dammit". Triple H is the true MVP of this 'Mania - he has been ever since Punk told him he'd rather sit at home than wrestle him. Reigns v Lesnar is rubbish but hilarious. They tried like with all the "Lesnar isn't here, but I'm full-time", but all it did for me was highlight what a baller Lesnar is, the fact he gets paid so much for so little work. They've now went back to trying to get sympathy for Reigns, but most of us are just finding it really entertaining seeing Lesnar smash him every week, particularly after his arse "Ama shooting, brother" comments when Lesnar wasn't in the room - nowt makes a fella look more like a chump than talking smack about a boy that isn't there, then gets a hiding every time he does show up. It's incredible thinking that Cena has been carrying this entire 'Mania feud himself. One great promo after the other. I didn't mind that 'Taker didn't show up because it ramps up the importance next week. They can tease the shit out of it too, because fans know it's the last chance for 'Taker to show up on Raw. I think it's worked out better this way, because I find 'Taker to be boring anytime he's not just looking at the sign or wrestling for his Streak. After a few years of dull and exposing matches, this is a proper test of that Big Match John superpower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TildeGuy~! Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 2 hours ago, d-d-d-dAz said: Also, I’m guessing Bayley/Sasha will happen. They showed Sasha in the women’s battle royal match graphic so it’ll probably come down to her and Bayley as the final 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thevestofdeanambrose Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 Maggle has really been grinding on me the last couple of weeks of Raw. I got used to him for a while but now im back to hoping they replace him soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEGABUCKS Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 I think Undertaker won't even answer the challenge next week on Raw. They will have Cena be amongst the audience all night at Wrestlemania and then at some point Undertaker's theme will hit and they will have a spontaneous match. That would be their "wrestlemania moment". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted March 27, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted March 27, 2018 Not a bad shout to be fair. Not a million miles away from the Wyatt build-up either, where Taker didn't even show up on Raw did he? He did display a message on the titantron accepting the challenge though, I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Dingo Capitano Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 35 minutes ago, MEGABUCKS said: I think Undertaker won't even answer the challenge next week on Raw. They will have Cena be amongst the audience all night at Wrestlemania and then at some point Undertaker's theme will hit and they will have a spontaneous match. That would be their "wrestlemania moment". wont be having that one in my skybet acca then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members tiger_rick Posted March 27, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted March 27, 2018 (edited) Their business model hasn't change to the point that you don't tell the potential buyers/subscribers that the fucking Undertaker is definitely wrestling. You only leave it open-ending if you know he isn't. That said, to do this build if he isn't would be ludicrous. Edited March 27, 2018 by tiger_rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d-d-d-dAz Posted March 27, 2018 Author Share Posted March 27, 2018 Also, you don't run a show with a 2018 Wrestlemania crowd and have John Cena in the audience. The minute there was the slightest sniff of a chinlock in the ring, their attention would turn to Big John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members ColinBollocks Posted March 27, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted March 27, 2018 (edited) Not promising a Taker v Cena match before the event would be a mental decision. We all expect it to happen, but you surely want to promote hard that this mega dream match is happening, rather than "Cena is there to challenge the Undertaker! Buy the show to see if Undertaker can be arsed". Edited March 27, 2018 by ColinBollocks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thevestofdeanambrose Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 I'm convinced we are getting ABA Undertaker now. Probably bust out on his motorbike at the end of the go home Raw and drop a last ride on Cena. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted March 27, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted March 27, 2018 I'm not convinced we'll see Undertaker go "full" American Bad Ass, but a more humanised version of the character is long overdue if they're playing up the "has he still got what it takes?" card. That said, I'd definitely mark out the closing segment of next week's RAW being Cena in the ring, lights out, followed by the same "Are you scared? He's here..." intro from his old ABA theme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members CleetusVanDamme Posted March 27, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted March 27, 2018 (edited) I fucking hated BikerTaker but it feels right for this run. The next Raw should end with Cena fannying about in the hat and coat 'Taker left behind, tongue out, eyes rolled back etc then "You're Gonna Pay/ABA (ugh)" hits... Edited March 27, 2018 by CleetusVanDamme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted March 27, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted March 27, 2018 4 minutes ago, CleetusVanDamme said: I fucking hated BikerTaker but it feels right for this run. The next Raw should end with Cena fannying about in the hat and coat, tongue out eyes rolled back etc then "You're Gonna Pay/ABA (ugh)" hits... Same here exactly. Hated the gimmick at the time and longed for the 'deadman' gimmick to come back. But I'm a bit bored of him turning up every year doing the same shit and would be well up for him rocking up on his Harley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted March 27, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted March 27, 2018 I wasn't really a fan of biker 'Taker at the time - still thought he was kind of cool, but I'd only just got back into wrestling and I couldn't understand why he wasn't the guy I remembered him being from when I was a kid. I wasn't even sure it was the same guy. Post-9/11, when he was coming out waving American flags and whatnot, I actively disliked him. Short haired heel biker 'Taker having brilliant matches with guys like Rob Van Dam, Jeff Hardy and Tajiri, though? Give me that bloke all day. Â Now, whether it's explicitly the biker gimmick again or just The Undertaker without all the pageantry, there needs to be some difference to illustrate that there's been a change since he lost to Reigns, that there's some kind of narrative significance to him having left his gear in the ring last year. If he just walks out slowly with smoke and spooky music, then we'll all be left wondering why we made such a fuss over a hat in the first place. Any other year, I'd say there's no way they'd bring him back as the biker because they're not going to sacrifice the spectacle of an "epic" Undertaker entrance at Wrestlemania. But with Kid Rock in the building? Maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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