Paid Members Lion_of_the_Midlands Posted February 18, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted February 18, 2023 That was an Austin level pop, and I mean Stone Cold not Theory. The question has to be will Sami get the Punk in Chicago moment or will he get Flair in Charlotte during WCW's later years. They've done such a good job of the build barring the "You look at Roman funny" line that pulling the trigger on this has to a massive consideration. I am a betting man and I still think they will still stick with "The Plan" but it wouldn't be a big bet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddymagic Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 The appeal of Sami is in his wide eyed, innocent, doesn't quite believe in himself. As soon as we saw confident Sami last week it felt off, putting the belts on him would have to trigger confident Sami unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyattSheepMask Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 (edited) We all know deep down that Reigns isn’t dropping the belt tonight. He’s not dropping the belt on a show that isn’t Wrestlemania, or at a push Summerslam. But by god if they haven’t cultivated a “what if he does though?” feeling in all of us, which is exactly how things should be. Masterful work. I couldn’t even tell you what else is on the card tonight because none of it is anywhere near as exciting as what that title match is going to be. Edited February 18, 2023 by WyattSheepMask Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poetofthedeed Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 The fact that that crowd had to sit through a match with Natalya and Shotzi, a Madcap Moss title shot and the tease of Bo Dallas vs Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania and still cared enough about their boy to make THAT sound..... Rip up the script and put the belt on Sami, unforgiven 2001 foot under the rope tapout job resolved on raw, Dusty finish, however they get there, just get there. They can fix it on raw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gaffer Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 I wouldn't be averse to a bit of Attitude Era hotshotting, to be honest. Give him the belt tonight and have Roman mow him down again on Raw to pick it back up. Sami comes up short on night 1 due to the uceys going full heel united front, Cody sends them home happy on night 2? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FUM Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 Yeah, this is the moment. They can’t drag this out till Mania. Make Sami tonight - do what you want from there, he can’t be beaten for the good of humankind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d-d-d-dAz Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 Jey Uso is currently at the Canadian embassy in New York begging them to take back his acceptance letter, I imagine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uklaw Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 (edited) I wasn’t going to jump in at the risk of being repetitive. But I have a sense of excitement/dread about all of this in all ways. I’ll detail some of the permutations and assume the hyperbolic voices for and against in a stream… Scenario 1: Sami wins (no questions asked) and going into Wrestlemania as champion possibly won’t have the same pull or engagement as this story does. A large chunk of current wrestling fans no longer look to wrestlers as superheroes, instead as representations of their own selves. People they can identify with. Hence why whenever Adam Page and Sami Zayn have strayed from their insecurities and anxieties on screen, they aren’t seen as rootable in some quarters. It’s been stated within this very thread. Imagine him getting his big moment tonight, both belts in the air, tears in his eyes, his beard trimmed, his hair shortened, whipping up the hometown crowd, Kevin Owens in the vicinity… then comes RAW, he’s beaming, undisputed champion, another standing ovation (especially if RAW is in Montreal, I’m not sure), bigger TV audience because Roman has finally been dethroned… But the big, showpiece Wrestlemania is still to come… and the big blowoff in the mind of many has already occurred. Cody has his title shot, so does he assume the role of heel? (and ‘heeling’ Dusty Rhodes in the process). Roman can’t be shoved aside, he’s the man, he’s the franchise, so we get a 3 way? Unless people would quite like Cody to ‘do the decent thing’ and step aside, giving Sami and Roman the Night 2 main event? But Sami won (no questions asked) because tonight was the right time to do it. This rematch won’t have the same heat and emotion as the Montreal match already achieved optimum catharsis. Another option would then be… Option 2: Roman leaves Elimination Chamber as champion through means foul. Meaning the clamour for a rematch is there and Sami ends up in the Mania main event, 3 way surely, unless people would quite like Cody to ‘do the decent thing’ and step aside? But why would he do that? He won the Royal Rumble, or are we advocating that Roman defends twice, once on each night of Wrestlemania? Option 3: Roman beats Sami Zayn, who ends up partnering with Kevin Owens to challenge the Uso’s for the tag titles, while Roman defends against Cody Rhodes. The Plan (a term usually invoked in wrestling fandom as a pejorative when some feel WWE isn’t listening to what they want or what they feel is a better option there for the taking). Until recently, that seemed to be the locked in plan, and enough of the booking put those pieces into place. But the Sami-sized fly in the ointment means anything other than Sami challenging Roman at Mania (if not winning tonight) means a growing ‘Not My Main Event’ sentiment will grow. Up until last night’s Smackdown, I would have said that WWE did a good job of playing the competing interests very well in a way that didn’t cast a shadow over Cody Rhodes’ journey, or telegraph punting Sami into the midcard, but yesterday felt like the first time some of the online feeling spilled onto the screen. After Smackdown and tonight’s show, I feel a ‘Sami or nothing’ sentiment will ‘Brood Blood Bath’ into the live crowds leading into Wrestlemania. For the record, I’m not advocating one over the other anymore, but the options are there. Is it a triumph of a new, disciplined unpredictability of the creative now? Or have they stumbled upon something that turned into a runaway train that they can no longer control? Edited February 18, 2023 by uklaw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members mim731 Posted February 18, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted February 18, 2023 They wouldn't dare do a Dusty finish would they? Sami wins, they get the big hometown pop but Roman gets the belt back on a technicality on Raw. I guess you could have the belt held up and then use that to get to the 3-way or Roman defending a belt per night that way. Not sure it's a good plan though, definitely not advocating screwy finishes etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB6937 Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 I'm hoping for as clean a finish as possible. Perhaps a little Bloodline interference or something like that. But nothing screwy. I just want a finish that makes sense. Sami giving it his all but Roman having to absolutely destroy him in the end and Solo helping and Sami passes out or something. I just want something that gives the same feeling as Wargames. That was a perfect ending that made sense and furthered the story in such an emotional and sensible way. Same with what happened at the Rumble. They NEED to land whatever happens between Sami and Roman. Its a fucking tough call because they've done so insanely well again and again and again. Sami needs to get into Roman's head. Roman needs to be off his game for a lot of it because he's just so overrun with rage. Or perhaps he even underestimates Sami. That's how we get to the potential near falls and believability in Sami maybe winning. Its how we get to him losing.. and I wouldn't want to be the one making that decision. Good luck to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d-d-d-dAz Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 On the Sami segment, about 2’45” in there’s a wide shot of the arena and you can see Wade Barrett with a shit-eating grin on his face just looking happy for him. Really nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 4 hours ago, mim731 said: They wouldn't dare do a Dusty finish would they? Sami wins, they get the big hometown pop but Roman gets the belt back on a technicality on Raw. I guess you could have the belt held up and then use that to get to the 3-way or Roman defending a belt per night that way. Not sure it's a good plan though, definitely not advocating screwy finishes etc. kills a market to give them a fake result and then correct it a few days later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FUM Posted February 25, 2023 Share Posted February 25, 2023 It’s funny we all clamour for a slow build feud then you’re desperate for something to happen when they do one. None the less, great build for The Bloodline story this week with Jey not getting in to help Jimmy and Sami starting to plant the seeds with Jimmy. I like they brought it back to their own friendship as it did bug me how quickly Jimmy turned on Sami. Not sure why LA Knight is taking falls to Kofi at this stage if you want to build him at all. Dominik is utterly brilliant in this role. I’ve probably not been that big a Rey fan for a long time but I cannot wait till this boils over and he snaps. Not much else I can remember. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d-d-d-dAz Posted February 25, 2023 Share Posted February 25, 2023 BT didn’t even put this in the 75min cut down of Smackdown they uploaded this morning. Definitely the right decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members mim731 Posted February 25, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted February 25, 2023 What even is Bray Wyatt at this stage? If I tried to explain his character to someone, what is it? Even with the cult leader and the Firefly Funhouse/Fiend characters it was relatively straightforward to explain it, even with all the spooky bollocks. I don't know what this iteration is supposed to be, which feels like a pretty significant barrier to the audience investing in his in-ring encounters if it's wildly confusing as to who or what he's meant to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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