Liam O'Rourke Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 Is it right that this was the second straight week with no Big E? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members mim731 Posted January 25, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted January 25, 2022 10 minutes ago, Liam O'Rourke said: Is it right that this was the second straight week with no Big E? He was on Smackdown on Friday, but doesn't seem to be involved in anything on Raw currently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 Seeing as it's the first time Lesnar and Lashley will square off, they should've kept it for WrestleMania. Even the die hard fans wouldn't want Lesnar v Reigns again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Fatty Facesitter Posted January 25, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted January 25, 2022 (edited) 51 minutes ago, Perry said: Seeing as it's the first time Lesnar and Lashley will square off, they should've kept it for WrestleMania. Even the die hard fans wouldn't want Lesnar v Reigns again. I really don't think that's the case at all - Lesnar/Reigns is still the money match and the one to go with at Wrestlemania. The Paul Heyman factor offers a unique perspective on it with questions still remaining unanswered, and it'll be a certified banger regardless of that. They're arguably the two of biggest stars they have going - it doesn't matter if they've headlined multiple PPVs and 'Manias together. That's not to say Lesnar/Lashley couldn't have been booked at Wrestlemania. But to suggest die hard fans wouldn't want to see Brock/Roman again I think is a bold assessment. Edited January 25, 2022 by Fatty Facesitter Typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB6937 Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 Brock's having the time of his life. Reigns is finally delivering what he's always been capable of. There is absolutely interest in those two squaring off again in their current guises plus the Heyman factor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted January 25, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted January 25, 2022 Yeah, it’s a completely different proposition to the 12 matches or so that Lesnar had giving our never-say-die hero Reigns an infinite number of German suplexes and letting him kick out of five F5s but still beating him while they spent 3 years plus Lugering the fuck out of the poor git. Why they would commit to one guy being THE guy then spend so long putting off pulling the trigger is beyond me. At the end of their second Mania match I actually erupted in manic laughter because I wasn’t sure if the company had lost their minds or I was losing mine. This year? Could be good. Could be a wash out. Hope not. Hope not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam O'Rourke Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, air_raid said: Why they would commit to one guy being THE guy then spend so long putting off pulling the trigger is beyond me. At the end of their second Mania match I actually erupted in manic laughter because I wasn’t sure if the company had lost their minds or I was losing mine. Wouldn't it be CRAZY if they spent two years building up Roman like this, all just to put over Brock? Man, that would be CRAZY. Edited January 25, 2022 by Liam O'Rourke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted January 25, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted January 25, 2022 1 hour ago, Liam O'Rourke said: Wouldn't it be CRAZY if they spent two years building up Roman like this, all just to put over Brock? Man, that would be CRAZY. That’s exactly what’s happening isn’t it? Reigns will cost Lesnar against Lashley, he already beat him at the blood money show and big heel reigns get terminated at Mania. On the bright side maybe Big E wins the Rumble to go against Lashley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Fatty Facesitter Posted January 25, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted January 25, 2022 Chad Gable is in really, really good form at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIDDUM_N_STYLE Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 2 hours ago, Fatty Facesitter said: Chad Gable is in really, really good form at the moment. Page out the RVD selling book, he was gold in the spelling bee segment as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members bbabba Posted January 25, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted January 25, 2022 9 hours ago, mim731 said: He was on Smackdown on Friday, but doesn't seem to be involved in anything on Raw currently. I only watch the PPVs these days so lose track easily, but have WWE essentially given up on the brand split having any integrity again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted January 26, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted January 26, 2022 (edited) 7 hours ago, bbabba said: I only watch the PPVs these days so lose track easily, but have WWE essentially given up on the brand split having any integrity again? It’s Rumble-Mania season. It’s what happens. In theory it makes perfect sense as the top stars from both shows, the absolute cream of the crop, can start moving towards each other and the absolute best card imaginable with the roster available can form and be promoted for WrestleMania. In practice it doesn’t work because of the amount of cross-contamination they allow to happen throughout the year, the Survivor Series bullshit, the fact a draft has usually happened recently anyway and most damning of all, due to the amount of content produced and the fact the roster is so stale that apart from a handful on their way up rather than AT the top, everyone has already worked everyone. I don’t think the brand split has effectively produced a Mania card with real interest since Mania XXI where each show had a title match with interest (in storyline terms at least), two genuine first time interbrand matches with HBK/Angle and Taker/Orton, and still enough star power to support with Rey vs Eddy and a loaded first Money In The Bank. Edited January 26, 2022 by air_raid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted January 26, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted January 26, 2022 I love how it’s been going on for decades and they still feel the need to have the commentators mumble some excuse for why guys appear on different shows. It’s Survivor Series season, it’s Royal Rumble season, it’s Wrestlemania season, it’s the brand-to-brand invitational rule, it’s a Supershow, etc. It’s fascinating that they still even bother when it always falls apart and they eventually give up. I doubt the split lasts the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted January 26, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted January 26, 2022 11 minutes ago, Supremo said: I love how it’s been going on for decades and they still feel the need to have the commentators mumble some excuse for why guys appear on different shows. It’s a vehicle to justify two touring rosters and two champions. When it was at its loosest and both champions were running around on both shows it became totally pointless, the 2016 draft had me optimistic they’d start doing it properly again but it was a false dawn. I’d say you need two champions because of the myth that these days when it’s the brand that draws rather than a talent you need a champion or title match for every house show to avoid fans feeling short changed, but even that doesn’t hold up given how long one of the two belts has spent on Lesnar in the last 5 years. Lesnar is the biggest missed opportunity to do, long term, a true return to the original format of the split with two rosters but one champion. Both shows have their own top stars with Brock Lesnar omnipotent, showing up on limited dates to fight whoever’s on top of their show, until someone is actually ready to supplant him. But they still meander along, building Roman well but ultimately along the way everyone else being afterthoughts, placeholders, transitions, to the point where as Lesnar prepares for Lashley I can almost forget that Drew has been champion twice and went on last at a Mania. One roster and one belt would be the best creatively but they think they can’t do it because reasons. Reasons that are bullshit or contradictory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted January 26, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted January 26, 2022 Two rosters with one champion was my favourite aspect of the early brand split - I'm sure touring reasons and needing viable house show headliners presented all sorts of complications, but I loved that you could have a champion building up a pay-per-view feud on one brand while having a separate feud on the other. So while The Undertaker was building up to a forgettable PPV match with Hulk Hogan, he was also setting up that brilliant ladder match with Jeff Hardy. It allowed the champion to potentially elevate challengers further down the card that they would never have given a shot on pay-per-view, but could get a bit of a shine on TV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.