Paid Members Jazzy G Posted March 7, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted March 7, 2017  Really good show.  Agree, I thought Fast Lane was terrible but they did a good job with this episode. Owens/Jericho is the feud that has had the best build going into mania and I am really excited about their match.  It was good to see Brock getting one back on Goldberg. Neville had a cracking match and I am glad they addressed Bayley not wanting to cheat to win.  I can take or leave Reigns/Undertaker but the setup was as good as post-streak Taker matches could be expected. It is going to be interesting when Reigns beats Taker and Brock on back to back nights though!  They address it after two instances of Bayley winning as a result of interference, though. Charlotte still comes off as the wronged babyface in this situation, surely? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boytoy Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 It's a tightrope for sure. I think it would work better if Sasha was a heel as well but as long as Bayley isn't doing it I think they will get away with it. I don't see Charlotte as the babyface but it is more confusing than it needs to be. Charlotte isn't quite in Rusev territory yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members tiger_rick Posted March 7, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted March 7, 2017 They address it after two instances of Bayley winning as a result of interference, though. Charlotte still comes off as the wronged babyface in this situation, surely? Charlotte has Dana running interference all the time. As much as this had hurt Bayley, they've never strayed from Charlotte just getting what she deserves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Jazzy G Posted March 7, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted March 7, 2017  They address it after two instances of Bayley winning as a result of interference, though. Charlotte still comes off as the wronged babyface in this situation, surely? Charlotte has Dana running interference all the time. As much as this had hurt Bayley, they've never strayed from Charlotte just getting what she deserves.  To me Dana's involvement always feels more like the little touches a heel's manager at ringside would have: Hop up on the apron to interrupt a pinfall/take attention away from a submission, pop a foot on the rope to break a fall, distract the babyface to let the heel get the cheap shot in from behind. Even grabbing Bayley's eyes to break up the figure 4 while the ref wasn't properly paying attention. Sasha's interjection into the match on Raw and involvement at Fastlane should have drawn DQs but have been casually dismissed by Bayley "I don;t care how I won, all that matters is that I won" isn't how a role model for "the kids" should be behaving. She was conflicted over it for about 30 seconds when it was initially mentioned on Raw then swept it aside and got on with things.  There's so much more they could do with the characters in this situation. Have Bayley looking confused when the bell rings and Sasha is immediately there to help her celebrate her victory, sow some seeds of tension where Bayley's truly conflicted and having a crisis of character over what's going on. I thought they were hiring TV writers with no experience of wrestling so they could explore these things more, but it doesn't happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Arn Anderson's Darb Posted March 7, 2017 Members Share Posted March 7, 2017 "You're not the boss Mick, I'm the boss" Â Well what the fuck is he doing there? Why are you employing him? Why do we need to be presented with this complex management infrastructure with ever changing rules? Â Struggling to see where Strowman fits in at mania at the minute which is a shame. I'd hate to have him reduced to the battle royal. Him retiring Kane or Menry would be my vote. Â The cruiserweight division is weird right now. There's some proper stars there but then there are some that are lower than jobbers. Really doesn't need as many guys as they have. There's a ton of Alicia Foxes that are just there to put people over or have half matches to set up run ins and it doesn't need it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Arn Anderson's Darb Posted March 7, 2017 Members Share Posted March 7, 2017 (edited) Double post Edited March 7, 2017 by Arn Anderson's Darb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love-Wilcox Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 I saw it as Strowman backing away out of respect as opposed to fear, I really didn't mind it.  "He took his knife and he stabbed it into the back of Jericho ... and he twist it in man" was excellent stuff from Jericho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zep81 Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 (edited) Unbelievable how fragile Goldberg looked after the F5. Completely different to how he came across upon his return. Can see the Universal Title match lasting DB short at 'Mania unless there's a guest ref or something. He just took an F5. I'm pretty sure he was selling it rather than just popping straight up. Edited March 7, 2017 by zep81 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 Great show, hot start with the Owens Jericho stuff. I'm so pleased Jericho is face now with all his new catchphrases. The Joe and Zayn involvement was fun but I'd have booked a tag rather than singles matches. Owens/Zayn v.6892 did not need to happen  The Aries thing was superb. Only way it could've been improved is if Aries' first shot was a thumb to the eye. Guy's obviously a natural heel but the fans have been chanting for him and he looked great here  Goldberg took a bump! And they shoved Heyman out there before Punk-wankers ruined the segment. Good shit.  The Taker and Roman bit was great, though aye Braun looked a bit of a chump there. This feud will be the most intriguing Roman's been since the Lesnar one easily.  Even the stale tag and women's stuff was pretty decent.  New Day was the only proper shit bit. They're just dreck now, it's a pity as they were regularly the best bit of the shows in 2015. I hope Big E takes Kofi & Xavier's heads off at Mania Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyattSheepMask Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 (edited) The fact that we've (for now) ended up with another Women's title Triple Threat, featuring two of the same combatants as last year, shows that RAW either needs more women to break up the cycle or stick all of the women on the same brand. And Bayley is a fucking terrible promo. Watching Fast Lane yesterday and the promo package had the bit were Steph tells Bayley to hand over the title, but Bayley refuses. Why didn't Steph just strip her of the title? And just giving away Bayley v Sasha for free on RAW, madness. Â Don't think it was ever in doubt that Undertaker v Reigns is what they're going with for Wrestlemania, but it did plant the seed nicely for Undertaker V Strowman at some other time, preferably by the end of the year assuming Taker is capable after Wrestlemania Edited March 7, 2017 by WyattSheepMask Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FUM Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 I don't mind giving things away for free now that all shows are on the Network. WWE isn't trying to sell PPV anymore and I can't see them attracting many subscribers to the Network just because Bayley is facing Sasha. Most fans that are going to pay for the Network do so already. Business has changed and the giving things away for free rule no longer applies when it comes to making money, we're at a stage where TV ratings are more important than PPV buys. Â If any idiot thinks Roman isn't a star after watching that final segment they're kidding themselves on. No matter how much shite material the guy is given, he just looks like the fucking man every time he gets a well booked segment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members ColinBollocks Posted March 7, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted March 7, 2017 The Lesnar/Goldberg segment was perfect. A lot of folk were crapping on the idea of their 'Mania match, because some didn't think Goldberg could take a bump and survive, but here he is taking a perfect F5 and selling it's effects like Shawn Michaels. Goldberg showing some vulnerability, albeit after a bit of a cheap shot, also goes someway into enhancing the idea that the match is still competitive. Heyman was decent too. You're being a bit of harsh if you moan about what they did here. It was exactly what needed to happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ambulance Chaser Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 I got chills for the first time in forever with that closing segment, captivating stuff. For me, the way Roman carried himself, from the timing of his music - that fucking chorus of boo's!!! To the slow walk to the ring, his look, he just dripped with charisma without doing much of anything, if this is what a heel Roman is, sign me up. Brilliant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The King of Old School Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 He'll never be heel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Dead Mike Posted March 7, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted March 7, 2017 He'll never be heel. Â For the reasoning that you can't be turned heel if you're not over as a face to begin with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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