_MJ_

Exactly. It's why the world title scene with Punk/Drew/Seth, and now Priest has some spice to it. Anyone one of them could credibly win that title, and keep the audience interested (well, maybe Priest plus Judgement Day). They should do the same with Cody, especially if Roman and Rock are gone for a bit. This is one reason why I think they might turn Seth on him eventually.

Sami's story was better than Cody's imo, but I get why the people in charge would pick Cody to be the one to dethrone Roman. Cody is now a polish interview, and generally good at PR. It would have been fun to see a short Sami reign during that time though. I'm not a big Cody guy but considering the old school babyface he's playing, I think a lot his run is going to be determined by the quality of his rogues' gallery of heels during his run. If they aren't interesting and doing interesting things to him, his act could get stale. I wonder who they have lined up (minus the Rock).

I think Seth will eventually turn on Cody, especially if Roman really is taking some time off after Mania, but this could be the first step in planting the seeds.

Rock It's more than just "luck" though. He really could have just come back and did the face stuff even though I would have found it boring. He's been booed before at WrestleMania against bigger stars than Cody. Austin couldn't do this in the same way. Nor Hogan. I think Cena could if he wanted to but not sure. Storyline wise - they've done the "you can't your partner" device (Rock/Reigns and Rhodes/Rollins) now that we've talked about in these threads the past couple of weeks so we can check that one off. Good narrative checkmark there. I heard some people guessed that the Rock would play it safe and help Cody win the title against Roman early on in this his turn, but I wasn't convinced and recent segments from Rock/Cody makes me believe it even less so now. If Rock vs Reigns is still on the cards in the distant future, I can see them keeping Rock heel for it....not sure if they would go full face turn for Roman, but I don't think a turn (or partial turn) is out of the question especially if Rock wins the tag match, but Roman loses the title.

https://youtu.be/9cP4xQKhPtI?feature=shared&t=971 Randomly just watched this moment. Haha.

The Randy Orton cocktail. Yeah, they obviously hinted at distrust with Rock/Roman but if they want to do parallel storylines, they could easily do it with Cody/Seth as well with their history and Seth's Authority background/untrustworthy history. Sets up potential matches with them in the long run too if they go with Cody winning. Unless they are setting up some out of left field surprise Seth turn at Mania, they probably should at least hint at some tension between the those two too in the buildup to Mania.

The Black Adams shots might be worth mentioning since it's so recent (Hurricane pretty much did what you guys are talking about with the Scorpion King shots and it worked well), but I think Cody is the better option to deliver it rather than the other dude with a Sharknado sequel and Armed Response 2017 on his resume. Or maybe that's just plays into the back and forth. I do like the idea of this new heel Rock going to city to city and finding verified awful facts about whatever town they are in for next couple of weeks. I think Smackdown is in Dallas. Layup on the nightlight scene there.

Slight chance that "Fuck your story" becomes a 2024 motto/chant.

I think Austin in 1998-20001 could have played Connor McGregor's role in the Road House reboot but yeah, I agree with your point that the roles he might excel in are in less mainstream movies now.

It's fine not to like his movies, which him and his team likely picked more based on an algorithm for mainstream popularity than quality (see: Will Smith's 90s blockbuster strategy) or even the man himself, but is there really a debate on whether The Rock, of all wrestlers, has been successful outside of wrestling? I think Austin has found a nice niche for himself with the wrestling podcast/beer/and playing himself in various television roles now, but like it or not, the "they haven't been more successful than their wrestling character" description far more fits with Hogan and Austin than the Rock. Hogan is an example of it being bad thing and I think Austin might have found a sweet spot for now.

In ring-wise, I can agree with this statement, but even if they do not do a one on one with those two at Mania this year, Roman/Rock will still get them a lot press even if the match is awful and/or if they do at another PPV, if the Rock really wants to do it.

It doesn't matter if this was the original plan or not, that was pulled off surprisingly well outside of making Seth look like an afterthought at the end. Fans though they knew exactly where this was headed, but honestly, we're all still guessing at this point, which is a good thing at the moment. I said in the last thread that going the heel route with the Rock here would be a fun way to go because the "Cody is getting hosed" movement is easy to make fun of, and even kayfabe wise has holes in it, but I didn't think The Rock and his team would be go for it. It still looks like shades of gray for now but the slap was definitely not a "good guy" move. I don't think the Rock was thrown off by the crowd reaction since it was obvious it was going this way beforehand, which is why he was shit talking on Pat's show. I actually was surprise it wasn't louder from the Cody contingent there for most of it until Rock made the definitive heel move with the slap to Cody. They might manufacture the "good man is being held down by the Powers That Be" audience support level for Cody, but it ain't getting to Daniel Bryan levels....at least not yet. We'll see.

He won't do it because his team and himself are too worry about his image these days, but the Rock embracing the heel role (if they make it a three way) and trashing this lame "Poor Cody" movement would be a fun way to go here. So many ways you could go with it.

Looking at it cold, I obviously don't know if they are going to Rock vs Roman instead Cody vs Roman, but if they do, I would have less of issue with it if they booked it better. I definitely get why they want to do it, especially with the Vince news hanging out there for awhile. However, if you going to do it, why would you have Cody win the Rumble again? The Punk injury probably ruined plans, but if Cody now has to step aside after winning the Rumble, it's just weird way to go about it even if they do a Cody vs Roman afterwards. There were better ways to go about it, and Rock Vs Roman doesn't need the title in the background of it either. I'm not invested in this as use to be so maybe that why I don't think Cody is getting a big raw end of deal as others seem to do (won 2 rumbles in a row, main eventing a few WrestleManias,now, could probably parlay this part timer takes my "spot" movement into becoming some type of "People's Champ" coincidentally with the audience, and he'll eventually get a title run barring something weird happening....not bad for an AEW original). Honestly they should just let him win last year anyway. People arguing that this was grand plan for him last year should have known things can always change and I don't know if him losing actually improve the story between the two anyway. It does make me think if a WrestleMania rematch (meaning ones that happen in consecutive Manias) has ever been as successful as the first feud/match.

Oh, just seeing this now. I would have messed up on Oppenheimer box office. Barbie deserves some credit for its success, imo.

https://twitter.com/JimmyTraina/status/1642883760696770562 Interpret that as you like...

You're a writer from the LOST tv series. Admit it. Caught you. Tell Lindelof, I'll never forgive him.

The next time they get rid of a performer due to character issues or whatever puts them in a bad light, I can't wait to see PR jargon if they actually comment on the release. Especially if it's in the, " World Wrestling Entertainment employees/individuals to high standards" tone. See: the statement they released after they fired Hogan in 2015. Parody.

Paragraph worth of settlements. And only the ones we know about. WWE can't comment on character issues. Remember.

So... are we getting a Stephanie McMahon tribute video on Friday or nah? ...I'm freeee. I'm careless. I believe.

The title of this thread is about the nicest way you can describe Vince.

I don't have much to contribute, but back when DVDVR was green and on a different server, my first profile picture was this: It's still my favorite. Random, but it's the small things that can bring joy sometimes.

Spider-Man still the G.O.A.T superhero. Sorry Batman fans. Yes, I'm still an 8 year old inside arguing about dumb shit.

Best case scenario is that this adaptation can serve as an update to this early 2000s comic (hopefully with some Vaughan suggestions) and not a 100 percent scene for scene/word-for word adaptation yet still keep the same high points and spirit of the comic. Easier said than done, obviously.

If they did this show right, it could be a popular one, but there are a lot of potential pitfalls and the actor portraying Yorick has to have a strong likeability quality because the character is flawed. Some streaming service/cable channel should have done the show years ago, but we'll see.