d-d-d-dAz Posted March 24, 2016 Author Share Posted March 24, 2016 (edited) I was gonna say, let's not get carried away here. Nakamura is great but amongst a casual audience, guns to their heads, they're probably naming Zack Ryder before they are Shinsuke Nakamura when asked 'name a wrestler you couldn't give much of a shit about.' Edited March 24, 2016 by d-d-d-dAz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Linus Posted March 24, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted March 24, 2016 I don't think for a minute that Nakamura should be used cold at Wrestlemania but the idea that the fans there won't know who he is might be a bit of a stretch - the fans at Wrestlemania (and the subsequent Raw) are the smartest WWE fans there are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slapnut Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Plus, I find it hard to believe that anybody would be disappointed if Zack Ryder is pulled from the match, regardless of how well known the person he is replaced with is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkchopcash Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 I don't think for a minute that Nakamura should be used cold at Wrestlemania but the idea that the fans there won't know who he is might be a bit of a stretch - the fans at Wrestlemania (and the subsequent Raw) are the smartest WWE fans there are. I think you over estimate the amount of Smart fans. Where would they know him from? Vocal fans who boo goodies and cheer baddies does not make them Smart fans as such. It just makes them think they are rebels who are going against the grain. I don't think for a minute that Nakamura should be used cold at Wrestlemania but the idea that the fans there won't know who he is might be a bit of a stretch - the fans at Wrestlemania (and the subsequent Raw) are the smartest WWE fans there are. I think you over estimate the amount of Smart fans. Where would they know him from? Vocal fans who boo goodies and cheer baddies does not make them Smart fans as such. It just makes them think they are rebels who are going against the grain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gaffer Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 I don't think Nakamura will be getting a samurai sword and tattoos. WWE seem past this for the most part. You can pretty much take your pre established character to the dance with you. Â What will kill him on Raw won't be a gimmick. It'll be the same thing that kills everyone on Raw. He'll just have matches. Every week. For no reason. The special shows will have rematches of those matches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dopper Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016  They should have hosted one of the early debates, back when there were about 20 GoP candidates  Even better if they'd have booked them all in a gimmick Battle Royal. Ted Cruz reenacting Pillman's got a gun, Jeb Bush and Rand Paul as Ted Dibiase Jnr and Cody Rhodes in the legacy and Marco Rubio as original Sin Cara. Naturally, The Donald buys off Chris Christie and Ben Carson at the end with a big suitcase of cash for the win before ordering Christie to put Hillary through a table like year 2000 Bubba Ray Dudley.    (No offence boytoy. My ignorance of US politics and recent binge watching of Father Ted bought this .gif to mind when I read your post). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awards Moderator Onyx2 Posted March 24, 2016 Awards Moderator Share Posted March 24, 2016 From next month, Nielsen will be publishing streaming ratings in the US. Â Network viewing figures should be interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members ColinBollocks Posted March 24, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted March 24, 2016 Doesn't Vince have a hard on for folk strutting about and dancing? I imagine Vince will probably get a kick out of Nakamura walking like a boss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Pitcos Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 He seems way more up Vince's street than the likes of Hideo Itami and Sami Zayn. The question is whether it connects. Bayley's a massive question mark on the main roster, because the NXT audience followed her journey to that character via the Eugene thing she used to do. Just throwing her out there as is for the TV audience who weren't along for the original ride might not work. And trying to retrace the steps or change the character might fuck it up completely. Nakamura seems a safer bet than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Linus Posted March 24, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted March 24, 2016 Just a note on Bayley: I didn't see any of her backstory - I came in when she was on the fringes of the main event scene - and I took right to her. So did my 6yr old daughter. And my wife who hates wrestling. So, you know... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted March 24, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted March 24, 2016 So did my 6yr old daughter. Same here, completely. My daughter is the same age and although she's watched the odd bit of wrestling with me, it's never gripped her. That changed after she sat with me and watched Bayley VS Sasha Banks (Brooklyn) a couple of months ago. She was so into it. She watched her match against Carmella not long ago and told me tonight she wants to watch more of her matches tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The King Of Swing Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Just a note on Bayley: I didn't see any of her backstory You dodged a bullet. She was dreadful at one point, the type of character I would fast foward in front of friends. Â Thankfully over time she started acting like an actual person and evolved into a great babyface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB6937 Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 Bayley should be the easiest of the women's call ups to get right. There's far more reason to like her than Becky Lynch and she managed to get the crowd behind her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted March 25, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted March 25, 2016 The good thing with Bayley is that she has, incredibly, managed to get the smart marks behind her. Straight away that should help her cause as that type of crowd only seems to be growing. The young fans will take to her straight away, so hopefully she'll be over. They just need to book her as they have done in NXT over the past year or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awards Moderator Onyx2 Posted March 25, 2016 Awards Moderator Share Posted March 25, 2016 Bayley should be the easiest of the women's call ups to get right. There's far more reason to like her than Becky Lynch and she managed to get the crowd behind her. Thing is Zayn should be easy for the same reason, but you have to put them in the underdog position. They're at the best fighting from underneath. Yet... I don't have faith they'll book it right. Â Echoing the 6 year old girl appeal - mine loved Bayley immediately from watching NXT Brooklyn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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