Snitsky's back acne Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 I think one of the issues is there are no locker room politicians telling Ronda 'this is not good for you, don't do this. Rousey would certainly have the power to veto anything she did not want to do as they need her way more than she needs them but I understand she is naive to the business and also doesnt want to ruffle any feathers so is happy just to go along with things but they have turned her into 'just another WWE superstar' and currently that means 'mediocre'. NO WAY would anyone with any stroke have allowed themselves to just sit there and take Stephanie being a cow to them like that previously. Is it the writers? Yes, because they are writing the stuff. Is it Stephanie? Absolutely, because you know she is agreeing to do it and no doubt pushing how great it will be. 'McMahon' = money and all that. Is it Ronda? Yes because she has the power to say no but for the reasons above, wont. It gets me so frustrated that these things happen andit used to be 'If this person goes to WWE/WWF they will make them a star' and now it seems to be 'If this person goes to WWE they will ruin them and make them less of a star than they were before [bar a few exceptions]' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Fatty Facesitter Posted May 24, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted May 24, 2018 On 5/23/2018 at 9:06 PM, Supremo said: They're fucking it up beyond belief because, as good as WrestleMania was, they clearly had no plan for Ronda beyond that. The very reason she felt like such a big deal earlier this year was because they had a clear, focused direction for her and they were willing to portray her differently than everyone else in regards to Steph. Unlike the rest of the roster, who are forever booked as subservient and inferior to Stephanie, Ronda was allowed to be on Steph's level. For the first time in ages, they had someone Stephanie was willing to play straight heel and show arse for, and it worked a treat. Honestly, that mixed tag is still my match of the year. Ronda felt like their biggest star in years. Since then though? The booking of her has fallen into the same lazy patterns that makes everyone else on the roster so meaningless. She's just aimlessly meandered without any substantial storyline, losing momentum by the week. It looked like they were starting something with Mickie James, but that went nowhere, then they sort of did this thing where Natalya is going to eventually turn on her, but it's been so lazily done that it hasn't felt like it's clicking at all, and now the awful "we're all mates, really!" Title match challenge that came out of nowhere. Imagine if they had Austin flounder like this after Wrestlemania 14. It'd have killed his momentum dead, just like it has Ronda's. If this is all they could come up with, they'd have been far better off just taking her off TV after Wrestlemania. At least she would've still felt like a big deal when she returned. Then, to top it off, you had this week's bullshit. Steph is back in full smug-tweener-who's-above-it-all mode, shrugging off the arm injury, being portrayed as the grand manipulator playing with her puppets and getting snide, shooty~! remarks in at Ronda about quitting the UFC when things got tough. I was blown away that they scripted Ronda to just take that on the chin. If you really want to book Ronda properly then the moment Steph mentioned that she should have knocked her out. And then as a receipt for calling her lazy, Nia should've given Steph a leg drop or something, before doing the eventual staredown with Ronda. At least that way they both would've looked like more than goofs who Steph was riling up for her own amusement. That she was left standing in the background, grinning like a dickhead, with no comeuppance for what she'd said to both Champion and Challenger, the whole thing made it clear who the real star is, and that's Stephanie. Don't get me wrong, I know that heels need to get heat on babyfaces and it can't just be Ronda breaking Stephanie's arm every week, but this isn't a heel getting heat. This is the same shit we've seen scripted for Stephanie's character for years. She's above it all. She gets to talk down to both babyfaces and heels and everyone has to be portrayed as a notch below her. There was hope this wouldn't be the case for Ronda, but this week seems to indicate that it's business as usual now. She'll be just another roster member in six months and they'll wonder why. "Night and fucking day," is a bit much. They were both complete shit, just in different ways. Singing from the same hymn sheet there with the first two paragraphs, which is mainly where I was coming from in relation to them getting Ronda back on track after her initial burst on the scene. The main crux of my argument with my initial thoughts were about the Ronda/Nia dynamic as opposed to the Ronda/Steph dynamic. On balance I'd still say Ronda's still had her fair share of rub, but if this is going to be an on-running thing in the background that plays out over several years ala Austin/Vince, then they still have plenty of time to keep putting Rousey over at Steph's expense. Definitely could've been less overbearing on the shooty bollocks from Steph's viewpoint though, agree there. Again though, back to the initial point, it's the Rousey/Nia dynamic that's changed immensely from the previous week. Still night and day to me. You said yourself they had zero direction for Rousey which is why I thought it was great that they positioned her again as someone threatening to break arms and take titles. Steph entering the picture perhaps wasn;t ideal but it needed some sort of catalyst to turn the storyline around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted May 24, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted May 24, 2018 (edited) Personally, I'd have much rather they just turned Nia heel and had her pair up with Stephanie against Ronda. That's far more Austin/Vince than this shit. Ronda breaks Steph's arm, so Steph enlists the toughest person she can find to destroy Ronda. Simple and straight forward story-telling. That's how they would've done it with Vince. He wouldn't have spent show after show ripping the piss out of both heels and babyfaces alike. Plus, Nia is badly miscast as a babyface now. It worked for the storyline and Title win against Alexa, but now it's just stupid. The giant woman throwing around tiny girls shouldn't be the babyface. I understand they wanted to tell that, "Don't Let the Bullies Win! Be a Star!" storyline with her, but the negative reaction she got for that awful speech at Backlash should be all they need to know this isn't working at all. Oh well, not to worry. Once Money in the Bank rolls around we won't have to worry about any of this anymore. By then, it'll just be a case of how long Ronda will take to recover from whatever injury she ends up getting when in there with Nia. Honestly, as bad the booking is, deciding to put such a hot commodity in the clumsy hands of Nia might be the worst decision of all. She's fucking terrible. Edited May 24, 2018 by Supremo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FourtyTwo Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 12 hours ago, Supremo said: Personally, I'd have much rather they just turned Nia heel and had her pair up with Stephanie against Ronda. That's far more Austin/Vince than this shit. Ronda breaks Steph's arm, so Steph enlists the toughest person she can find to destroy Ronda. Simple and straight forward story-telling. That's how they would've done it with Vince. He wouldn't have spent show after show ripping the piss out of both heels and babyfaces alike. Plus, Nia is badly miscast as a babyface now. It worked for the storyline and Title win against Alexa, but now it's just stupid. The giant woman throwing around tiny girls shouldn't be the babyface. I understand they wanted to tell that, "Don't Let the Bullies Win! Be a Star!" storyline with her, but the negative reaction she got for that awful speech at Backlash should be all they need to know this isn't working at all. Oh well, not to worry. Once Money in the Bank rolls around we won't have to worry about any of this anymore. By then, it'll just be a case of how long Ronda will take to recover from whatever injury she ends up getting when in there with Nia. Honestly, as bad the booking is, deciding to put such a hot commodity in the clumsy hands of Nia might be the worst decision of all. She's fucking terrible. Have they booked themselves into a bit of a corner here, or could they run with a storyline that Nia is actually aligned with Steph, but they are hiding it in the build up and then have it play out at the PPV - potentially like when Austin turned and aligned with Vince, except protect Ronda's record with a DQ win, which also means you don't have to worry about her having hit the top with the title so early on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The King of Old School Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 (edited) Raw thoughts... Braun/Finn was great. But why must these matches always end in a "show of respect" at the end? Love the B-Team with there naff tshirts, 2 months time they will be forgotten about though. I personally think they have missed a trick with not having Roman win the MITB match, with how over Rollins is, him being the man to finally beat Brock at Summerslam only for Reigns to cash in straight away would have been mega. Heel Reigns vs face Rollins for the title is your Mania main event made then. Chad Gable is the absolute worst, after Lashley. Edited May 26, 2018 by The King of Old School Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members TheBurningRed Posted May 26, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted May 26, 2018 4 hours ago, The King of Old School said: Chad Gable is the absolute worst, after Lashley. In what aspect? Because he definitely isn’t in ring wise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The King of Old School Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 45 minutes ago, TheBurningRed said: In what aspect? Because he definitely isn’t in ring wise. That backstage bit with him, Angle and Ziggler was horrible. He has the charisma of a spoon. The crowd only reacted in the match when Ziggler did anything, he's just so dull. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted May 27, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted May 27, 2018 I was never particularly impressed by them, and never expected them to amount to much, but still, they gave up on AOP pretty quickly didn’t they? I think even The Revival has a better start on the main roster! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Pitcos Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 They’ve not been beaten yet, have they? Given the gimmick and the type of team they are, and the lack of other credible teams on Raw, there isn’t a great deal that can be done with them other than squash matches. I’d say they’re still set for a run at Hardy and Wyatt in a few months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted May 27, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted May 27, 2018 The haven’t been beaten, but it also feels like the haven’t been on Raw in months. I know they always want to debut guys the night after Mania, but why bother if you’ve got nothing planned for them? Honestly, I’m far more interested in a Title shot for the B Team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briefcase Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 It's typical WWE. As there is nothing for them they are just left in no mans land almost forgotten. Then they will be on the shows again when they get the push. They could of done something more with them though, even if it was as bodyguards for someone on the roster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merzbow Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 A heel wank pheasant with those two by his side would have been a lovely sight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awards Moderator Onyx2 Posted May 29, 2018 Awards Moderator Share Posted May 29, 2018 (edited) A proper trainwreck of a show for the women's division this week. "Forget about the Nia Jax bullying thing please while she humiliates a jobber because we've realised this title match was booked by mistake. If it helps, we've forgotten how to book a gauntlet match that so half the entrants don't look like dirt. Oh Sasha and Bayley are feuding you say? I don't recall that." On the plus side, Mr Monster in the Bank t shirt please. Edited May 29, 2018 by Onyx2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted May 29, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted May 29, 2018 (edited) What a fucking mess this Nia vs. Ronda feud is. Best chums the first week, Stephanie's chump puppets the second week, then by the third week Nia is inexplicably playing arrogant heel as if everyone has quantum leaped into a completely different feud than they were doing previously. Absolute shambles. These dickheads would squander Stone Cold Steve Austin if he came around today. Has Bobby Lashley always been this creepy? His weird voice, that awkward smile, those dead eyes. He's horrible to watch. Edited May 29, 2018 by Supremo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members FLips Posted May 29, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted May 29, 2018 On 5/22/2018 at 7:47 PM, FelatioLips said: I don't remember Bobby Lashley looking or acting so creepy. He genuinely looks like he has Numskulls for a brain. Completely hollow behind the eyes. 1 hour ago, Supremo said: Has Bobby Lashley always been this creepy? His weird voice, that awkward smile, those dead eyes. He's horrible to watch. I said as much the same last week. He's a very odd, offputting person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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