d-d-d-dAz Posted July 20, 2017 Author Share Posted July 20, 2017 (edited) For what it's worth, I think 'the rub' is an archaic term in wrestling. I don't think anyone really has the power to 'make' another star, in the same way they used to. Fans, by and large, pick stars outside of the booking structure and wins and losses are largely irrelevant, a tool 'the man' uses to keep internet favourites down (I'm advocating, obviously). I just think the return of Kurt Angle to a WWE ring, should it happen, should be against someone who owns the second half of the poster as well as he does the first. You'd do a young guy much more favours if you feature him in a showcase match on a card with a million eyes on it because of a 5* main event then you would having a small percentage of that audience watch him in the main event himself. Edited July 20, 2017 by d-d-d-dAz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted July 20, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted July 20, 2017 Just now, d-d-d-dAz said: For what it's worth, I think 'the rub' is an archaic term in wrestling. I don't think anyone really has the power to 'make' another star, in the same way they used to. Fans, by and large, pick stars outside of the booking structure and wins and losses are largely irrelevant, a tool 'the man' uses to keep internet favourites down. I think people do still buy into a win over some stars, even if they don't realise they're doing it. If someone holds their own against Brock Lesnar, and especially if someone wins against Brock Lesnar, the audience come away thinking that guy is the real deal, even though they know it was all predetermined. Similarly, a win over The Undertaker still mattered. When Daniel Bryan beat John Cena clean, that mattered. A lot of fans like to think that they're not influenced by wins and losses, and make their minds up on what they think of as a wrestler's objective in-ring ability, but they don't - we're always conditioned to think that the guys winning more often deserve the main even spotlight more than the people losing all the time, with very few exceptions. There are still matches out there that can make a star, the problem is never the match, the problem is that WWE are useless at capitalising on what by rights should have been star-making performances. That said, I don't necessarily think a young guy going over Kurt Angle would be a huge deal, or give that guy any particular rub, but it would give them more of a rub than it would give Triple H. So it comes down to whether WWE are invested in the future, or more focused on consciously "epic" matches so they can stick familiar Attitude Era faces in the highlight reel. You only have to watch the last few Wrestlemanias to guess the answer to that question. Â Ultimately, there are ways to give someone a "rub" that aren't just "go over a star from the past". If they can put together the biggest match available to them with Kurt Angle, they absolutely should, and then the young guys they want to build for the future can have their own big matches and moments earlier in the card, to put them over to the audience that have tuned in to see Kurt vs. Whoever. Come for the old, stay for the new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CavemanLynn Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 (edited) I'd argue that any attempt at "the rub" is pointless unless the recipient is already either really, really good or already a megastar in the fans' eyes. The two best examples of the rub that spring to my mind are Bret Vs Austin and Sting Vs Flair, both of which feature guys who weren't expected to win, but were still well beyond needing to be carried. Plus both had clear face/heel dynamics (even if they did switch mid-match *spoilers?*), whereas Angle is getting cheers regardless of who he's up against, and the veteran loser raising the young victor's hand is never as impactful or long-lasting as it needs to be. HHH fancied himself as a star maker for years, but the closest he got was Batista, who arguably was a star due to booking and charisma before he faced finally Hunter. In fact, by the time they did meet, it was pretty much a formality. Edited July 20, 2017 by CavemanLynn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members WeeAl Posted July 20, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted July 20, 2017 (edited) Partly I think it comes down to them trusting HHH with Kurt's body. As well as that, if you believe Kurt, he hasn't had a medical yet for working a match. That could be part of why they have went with the 'Kurt's son' storyline. Should Angle not pass a medical or just happen to break down sometime in the future when building a match, he can still second Jordan against somebody else without having to vacate the storyline. As well as having the tag team scenario to help cover for his physical limitations, if need be. Edited July 20, 2017 by WeeAl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philjax Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 I don't know how it would work, because they've clearly pigeon-holed the mum into being black/mixed race (or maybe they think we'll ignore that because WWE), but i'd somehow like to think this will end up as a case of mistaken identity/test mix-up and Gable, not Jordan turns out to be the biological son. Eitherway I'm up for however this pans out because it should be fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zep81 Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 I don't know if WWE will clear Angle, but I'd like him to have one last, big match in the company at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MFrV1 Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 If Kurt Angle were to have one more match against a younger talent, I would go for an inter-brand match vs Chad Gable: Two former Olympic wrestlers going one on one. What the hell, have Jason Jordan as special guest ref too, for the "Will he call it down the middle?" Element too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Duke Posted July 20, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted July 20, 2017 5 hours ago, WeeAl said: Partly I think it comes down to them trusting HHH with Kurt's body. As well as that, if you believe Kurt, he hasn't had a medical yet for working a match. That could be part of why they have went with the 'Kurt's son' storyline. Should Angle not pass a medical or just happen to break down sometime in the future when building a match, he can still second Jordan against somebody else without having to vacate the storyline. As well as having the tag team scenario to help cover for his physical limitations, if need be. It's definitely this. I'm certain Vince doesn't sign off on a match unless it's against HHH who he trusts to protect him, or against himself. Angle would go over the top and hurt himself in a match against anyone in their prime. Vince didn't hire him back as a wrestler for all those years because he was concerned he'd die in the ring. He's gonna put him in there with someone like Brock or Joe because they're too hard hitting, and not AJ because he'll try and athletically compete with him. Maybe Cena, but even then that's a push. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members tiger_rick Posted July 20, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted July 20, 2017 WWE should have said Kurt Angle made a baby when he was 6 years old. WWE should say Jason Jordan's adopted parents actually meant to tell him Chad Gable is really adopted and HIS Dad is Kurt Angle. WWE should have Kurt Angle's big match in the company, if there'll even be one, be against Chad Gable. We're on fire this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted July 20, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted July 20, 2017 The Shelton one was the best. Even for C-Rock, fuck me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonworden Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 I'd even accept a 6 man of American alpha and Kurt vs any 3 on the roster. Perhaps Triple/owens/Joe at Survivor series Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d-d-d-dAz Posted July 25, 2017 Author Share Posted July 25, 2017 Raw wasn't great. Though it was worth my time just to see Braun lobbing the security about. Wish they hadn't bothered with the roster though. They've pulled that trick so often recently that I swear some of those jobbers deserve a second wage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members TheBurningRed Posted July 25, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted July 25, 2017 An okay Raw. Elias vs Finn was good with the same finish with anyone about to feud with Bray. Bayley vs Banks was the best match tonight. With Bayley vs Bliss at Summerslam and a Sasha Banks heel turn bound to be happening, WWE really should've held off Bayley's first title win until Summerslam. And given Raw MITB, have Sasha win that and screw over her best friend and her special moment at Summerslam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Dem Wanz Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 39 minutes ago, TheBurningRed said: An okay Raw. Elias vs Finn was good with the same finish with anyone about to feud with Bray. Bayley vs Banks was the best match tonight. With Bayley vs Bliss at Summerslam and a Sasha Banks heel turn bound to be happening, WWE really should've held off Bayley's first title win until Summerslam. And given Raw MITB, have Sasha win that and screw over her best friend and her special moment at Summerslam. That angle is so played out by now I'm quite glad that they won't be doing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members ColinBollocks Posted July 25, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted July 25, 2017 The opening part was alright. I like Roman trolling for boos, always. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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