The Official UKFF RAW thread (part 2)...

[air_raid]

Fuck it, maybe Uncle Paul had to promise beating Reigns to Punk in order to get him back in the door, and Cody's just nice enough to be OK with that. Maybe I'd be OK with that too.

I'm kidding. I love Punk unashamedly but Christ on a cross, it's Cody's time.

[Hannibal Scorch]

46 minutes ago, DavidB6937 said:

Or people just appreciate things differently? I mean to say it's 'insane' that someone enjoyed it is a bit OTT. We all have different preferences and I think it's okay if people enjoyed the Cody/Punk stuff. It wasn't awful.

I said the praise is getting is insane, not that people couldn't enjoy it. But the discourse on X is like it was the second coming of promos when both Punk and Cody (especially with Roman last year) already have had better ones. That's completely twisting what I said which seems to be something you like to do a lot with my posts in particular. 

 

[Dr. Alan Grant]

42 minutes ago, BomberPat said:

But then that didn't happen either, and Roman Reigns has only defended the title twice on TV or PPV since then. 

 

I had to look that up cause I didn’t think that could possibly be true. Crazy. 

As much as I like Roman, he needs to lose at Mania. Dragging this out for another year or so with sporadic appearances doesn’t help anyone. 

[Factotum]

12 minutes ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

I said the praise is getting is insane, not that people couldn't enjoy it. But the discourse on X is like it was the second coming of promos when both Punk and Cody (especially with Roman last year) already have had better ones

Yeah I don't know if people are just starved off stuff when they think that's great. I also think it's been overhyped due to the tribal nonsense on social media. Already seen the inevitable AEW WASTED THESE TWO. I didn't hate the segment but both can do better. Absolutely nothing was original in that segment.  Heyman did the Dusty stuff 100 times better.

[Hannibal Scorch]

1 minute ago, Factotum said:

I also think it's been overhyped due to the tribal nonsense on social media. Already seen the inevitable AEW WASTED THESE TWO.

I saw this said a lot as well. They were in the same company for just shy of 5 months. I don't think when Punk came in Cody was even expected to leave and he was already in his own programs anyway. I do think the inevitable proper feud will be great, but this is just ignoring the elephant in the room of who is going to finish their story first.

[Loki]

It was just boring.  Nothing new was said, no revelations came from it, no storyline was advanced.  It was just two faces saying how much they admired each other, and may the best man win in the Rumble.  But it took 7 HOURS.

Perhaps its the seed for heel Punk v Cody at Summerslam or something.  That would make for an interesting feud, but right at this moment it's just not.. it's not even really a storyline!  The other 28 people in the Rumble are also trying to rain on Cody's parade, but we don't see a long promo battle between Rhodes and Otis.

I dunno.  The Rock gets no 30 at the Rumble, eliminates a bunch of people without having to take a bump, challenges Reigns at WM, loses.  That seems a straightforward plan.  CM Punk gets Austin, Rollins gets Rhodes anyway somehow so Cody can finish his story with the 2nd tier title.

This is the best time of year in WWE but if we're completely honest it's because of the possibility of some crazy Rumble returns.  Hulk Hogan!  Bossman!  Kevin Nash and his new knees!  Bo Dallas!  Sasha Banks!  AJ Lee!  Goldberg!  I have a little faith nowadays there'll be something unmissable to catch up with illegally on Sunday morning.

[Vamp]

My problem with the segment was that it started off with Punk talking about 2007 and then Cody talked about the pipe bomb from over 10 years ago. It's no surprise that the promo didn't get heated until Punk talked about being the bigger star that came in and derailed Cody's momentum.

It's so weird how the pipe bomb is the most carefully protected bit of kayfabe left. People do all this half arsed shooty bollocks but make up history (Punk leaving soon after the pipe bomb) rather than shoot on the pipe bomb being an example of a fake rebellion while Cody actually did something to rebel against the system. I don't like shooty bollocks, I'm not advocating for it, but it's weird to me that the pipe bomb is the last bit of kayfabe to be so well protected. 

 

[The Gaffer]

Death, taxes and Scorchers splitting the atom on WWE fans being excited for WWE content. 

[air_raid]

I've watched the Cody/Punk face to face. I thought it was fine for two babyfaces squaring up to make people go "Ooooh!" without pushing them too hard to choose. There were never going to be real fireworks, I think we've been conditioned into expecting too much reality, and the bits they used were fine until they have a proper feud.

Cody admitting he was a "nepotism hire" was bold. Punk suggesting he can separate business from personal was funny. Cody did a really nice "trying not to show that he's pissed off, but failing" face. I don't think Cody's line of picking the torch up when Punk left really flies in WWE canon, but I suppose Cody's development away from WWE is part of his story anyway so it doesn't matter. Their final handbags got me just excited enough to want to watch their eventual match, even though I already did, and the live crowd reacted well. It was fine.

There's another timeline where there's only one World title and I think the build to these two fighting over it would be stellar. In reality, I expect Cody and the real belt to be on top on Raw, Punk and the Rolly's Special Prize Sailboat Championship to be moved to SmackDown after Mania. Hell, Punk vs Roman would be a nice big marquee match to do over the summer.

Edited January 23, 2024 by air_raid

[Chest Rockwell]

All netflix chat moved to the other thread so this thread can get back to being about Raw (hopefully. Apologies if I've missed a post or two).

[I Bent My Wookie]

Last night just made me want to see Gunther absolutely destroy Rollins in a few minutes at WrestleMania for the title. Huge chop, lariat, powerbomb, win. Have Seth go in still "unable to fully walk healed" and take the challenge because he won't back down, then go off recuperate some more and come back around SummerSlam fully healed for revenge.

Last night also made Damian Priest look like an idiot and the momentum is gone with him.

The world champion you've been trying to take the title from at every opportunity for the last 2 months, hobbles to the ring, looking like a fluorescent hipster tellytubby (and yes I have to admit I both loved the suit and hate that I want it) to tell people he's injured and vulnerable and currently unable to compete and instead of legging it down to the ring or even just finding him backstage, giving him a hiding and dragging him back, he's hanging out in his club house with "two guys, a girl and dont Google me".

It's like they've either panicked writing wise or just not even bothered, you could try to play the line of him expecting Drew to turn up again, but at this stage it just feels like they've given him the briefcase off the back of Puerto Rico and the Bad Bunny match and hype but never had any plans to pull the trigger. 

[BomberPat]

1 hour ago, air_raid said:

I don't think Cody's line of picking the torch up when Punk left really flies in WWE canon, but I suppose Cody's development away from WWE is part of his story anyway so it doesn't matter.

yeah, I think it works in terms of how they referenced the Pipebomb - Punk was saying that he'd leave WWE, go wrestle in ROH and NJPW, be this independent wrestling sensation, when in reality he got fed up and went home for seven years, whereas when Cody was frustrated with WWE, he actually left to wrestle everywhere else and proved himself so invaluable that WWE brought him back and gave him a hero's welcome. 

[mim731]

26 minutes ago, Shy Dad said:

Last night also made Damian Priest look like an idiot and the momentum is gone with him.

The world champion you've been trying to take the title from at every opportunity for the last 2 months, hobbles to the ring, looking like a fluorescent hipster tellytubby (and yes I have to admit I both loved the suit and hate that I want it) to tell people he's injured and vulnerable and currently unable to compete and instead of legging it down to the ring or even just finding him backstage, giving him a hiding and dragging him back, he's hanging out in his club house with "two guys, a girl and dont Google me".

It's like they've either panicked writing wise or just not even bothered, you could try to play the line of him expecting Drew to turn up again, but at this stage it just feels like they've given him the briefcase off the back of Puerto Rico and the Bad Bunny match and hype but never had any plans to pull the trigger. 

I wonder if they have too many possible challengers for the WHC at the moment with Punk, Cody, Gunther, Drew etc and Priest is just in a holding pattern until after Mania now. They could definitely reheat him, but at the moment it's hard to see where he fits in with plans and as he technically has the briefcase to use until July, I wonder if he may just be circling the runway for a few more months. 

[I Bent My Wookie]

47 minutes ago, mim731 said:

I wonder if they have too many possible challengers for the WHC at the moment with Punk, Cody, Gunther, Drew etc and Priest is just in a holding pattern until after Mania now. They could definitely reheat him, but at the moment it's hard to see where he fits in with plans and as he technically has the briefcase to use until July, I wonder if he may just be circling the runway for a few more months. 

I expect them to pad out WrestleMania with him vs Finn, but at that stage you're turning one of those two face and having yet another face turn who has no mates because of how horrible they were as a heel, I can't see too many of the Raw face side coming to his aid in beat downs after he was the leader of his group of troubled goths the last few months.

Finn costs him at the Rumble, maybe taking a chance thinking he's more likely to win late on, he costs them the tag belts in return the following RAW and then it all implodes.

[DavidB6937]

Priest hasn't had any momentum in ages. So I'm fine with him not cashing in properly. Him as champion at the moment would be disappointing.

It's a shame though as working with Bad Bunny should've given him something going forward. But they never really capitalised on that. Hazard of being in a group where he's mostly overshadowed by Rhea, Tom and Nick.

Oh and definitely R Truth now.