King Pitcos Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 Yeah, that makes me think it wasn't the camera guys or production truck that screwed up. The wrestlers were in the wrong position, when for it to work they needed to be spot on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinc Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 Show was okay, main event was brilliant. I was watching in a room full of people so didn't notice the crowd dying at the finish. Actually thought it was very cleverly booked. You can draw buys/subscriptions with the rubber match while Lesnar stays strong. I've been avoiding speculation for the last few weeks, but I had presumed the rubber match would come at Survivor Series rather than Mania. For some reason I just think they'd rather move both men on to other things by the time Mania season comes around. I suppose we'll see. Â Stewart turning on Cena was one of the stranger pieces of booking I've ever seen. I know they want 'JON STEWART INTERFERES IN WWE TITLE MATCH' headlines, but you could get that with him hitting Rollins too. Now they have to book Jon Stewart - genuinely one of the most beloved men in America - as a heel against their top babyface (who everyone hates). It's like they're trying to make it difficult for themselves. It didn't bother me, I just can't imagine how that conversation went in the writers' room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members CleetusVanDamme Posted August 24, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted August 24, 2015 Even looking beyond the stupid positioning. The finish could have been a really clever one if they'd thought it through a bit better. It could have done with more exaggerated tapping from Undertaker, so one side of the audience could see it and react to it, while the other side and the ref remain oblivious to what happened. Genuine controversy and split opinion, rather than seemingly everyone in the world other than Heyman and the timekeeeper needing replays to realise what happened. Undertaker actively telling the referee to "CHECK HIS SHOULDERS!" then tapping out with a wry smile on his face as soon as he gets out of his line-of-sight to check would have made for a great cunty veteran move. Â Loved everything beforehand, though. Their best match together by a mile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Bellenda Carlisle Posted August 25, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted August 25, 2015 Their best match together by a mile. I loved it but their Hell in a Cell match is my all time favourite match. Â Every time I see Brock on TV I'm so happy he's having another run, he's my all time favourite and he's been better than ever since he came back. They've booked him so strongly and it's paid off so well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
textonly Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Stewart turning on Cena was one of the stranger pieces of booking I've ever seen. I know they want 'JON STEWART INTERFERES IN WWE TITLE MATCH' headlines, but you could get that with him hitting Rollins too. Now they have to book Jon Stewart - genuinely one of the most beloved men in America - as a heel against their top babyface (who everyone hates). It's like they're trying to make it difficult for themselves. It didn't bother me, I just can't imagine how that conversation went in the writers' room. Â I don't know. America's a deeply divided country and he's a liberal icon. He's probably a pretty natural enemy to most red state crowds. It's a shame they're not in the South right now. They could have had him come out to put over Rollins by telling the crowd that supporting Cena is just further proof that they're stuck in the past and refuse to embrace progress. I can imagine a Mississippi crowd booing the fuck out of him for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members GlennCullen Posted August 25, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted August 25, 2015 I think Stewart's gearing more towards the 'smart' fan (hence his comments to Heyman about the streak) and so it fits that he'd side with Rollins over Cena, they just need to articulate that well going forward if he's sticking around for a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted August 25, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted August 25, 2015 Undertaker actively telling the referee to "CHECK HIS SHOULDERS!" then tapping out with a wry smile on his face as soon as he gets out of his line-of-sight to check would have made for a great cunty veteran move. Â Â I see what you're saying, but that's an even tougher thing to get across to the audience, and it was would just make the shoulder lock look useless. Â The Undertaker tapping had nothing to do with cheating, he tapped because he was beaten. He just got lucky, thats how they are gonna spin it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Whos Next Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Putting the two shows side by side, I preferred the NXT one overall, but the match of the weekend was Taker/Lesnar  As has been said earlier, it felt like a proper throwback to the Attitude Era, and not because of Ho's, sexual predators or toilet humour, but it was a Austin/Rock Main event that kept you on the edge of your seat.   Sure there were repeated kick outs, but the visuals told a story - the sit up stuff, the bit where Taker's breathing heavy and lures Lesnar into the Hells Gate - for half a second, Lesnar and Taker made me into a Mark again.  Then there was the defiant middle finger as Lesnar passed out.   Great stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Au Posted August 25, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted August 25, 2015 I've been thinking about the end to the main event since I rewatched it again yesterday and I've come to this conclusion that would make perfect sense if not for the positioning of the two men - Taker tapped on Brock's leg, signalling him to release the move but Brock didn't. In MMA, you tap on the guy to let him know you're giving up before they break your arm or whatever. So the timekeeper rang the bell to signal Brock to release the hold because the ref hadn't seen the tap and Taker was in trouble. Â If there had been better storytelling around that spot and the commentators had been in on it to explain it then I don't think it would have felt so flat. As it is, it just felt convoluted and shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinc Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 I don't know what yiz are on about to be honest. I thought the finish worked fine. Â There was obviously meant to be some ambiguity about what had happened until we saw the replay showing the tap. But even before then it was clear that Undertaker was supposed to benefit from a moment of confusion between the ref and the time keeper, and Charles Robinson got right in the camera to make sure the viewer knew it. I can see how it might've been hard for the live audience to follow, but if you were left baffled watching at home then I can only presume this was your first wrestling show. It was a creative twist on a conventional Dusty finish. Â Also - officials make calls on things they can't see perfectly in real sports all the time, so it's immaterial whether the timekeeper had a perfect line of sight to Undertaker's tapping hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Au Posted August 25, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted August 25, 2015 I wasn't confused by it, I just thought it was shit. Not really helped by Alvarez repeatedly calling it "interesting" and "creative" either when it was none of those things. Â It's like they did the Dusty finish as some sort of tribute but we really needed a clean win after Rollins/Cena. Â Also, I'm pretty sure the timekeeper has never called the end of a match before. Anyone remember another time this has happened? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyattSheepMask Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Could they not have used that replay thing they did the other year? Or is that only there for when the storyline dictates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members tiger_rick Posted August 25, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted August 25, 2015 I wasn't confused by it, I just thought it was shit. Not really helped by Alvarez repeatedly calling it "interesting" and "creative" either when it was none of those things. Â It's like they did the Dusty finish as some sort of tribute but we really needed a clean win after Rollins/Cena. Â Also, I'm pretty sure the timekeeper has never called the end of a match before. Anyone remember another time this has happened? Â Not creative? Have you seen it before then? Genuine question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshC Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Watching it in the pub where you couldn't hear much of the commentary, the consensus seemed to be that this was a 'who's raising the briefcase?!' (at King of the Ring 1999) kind of finish, as no, I can't recall a timekeeper ever making the call before. But you know, in hindsight, the controversial ending they delivered wasn't out of place with the big fight atmosphere; I can remember numerous big boxing matches ending with that kind of confusion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Kaz Hayashi Posted August 25, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted August 25, 2015 On the finishes, I have no probs with the concept, just the execution. I don't care that Stewart sided with Seth, he just made it look shit. If he had been a timekeeper or guest commentary and there were more spots with him and Cena in the build up of the show, it might have come across better. When he came down, it just seemed a bit deflating. Â Also with taker, I think the one thing they could have done differently was to have had the cam on taker tapping,Iit would have been more interesting for Paul's protests from the get go, cemented that taker cheated and lucked out and that the ref was in the wrong position (to make the call), the bell didn't even need to ring, just a visual of him giving up but hiding the fact. Paul the kicks off at the ref, lesnar gets up to discuss, taker gets cheap shot etc. Â I'd love him to come back as an old nutter, preferably on his bike as the psycho bad ass. Thedead man gimmick is a bit pointless now anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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