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Royal Rumble XXXVI - 1/28/2022


Dolfan in NYC

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4 minutes ago, Dolfan in NYC said:

A couple of things:

1) HHH is still in the position where he needs to make an impression on the rest of the pro wrestling world, because when big free agent names come up -- MJF, Okada, Britt Baker, etc. -- they will want to know that the WWE values them as performers and they won't be "just another wrestler."  That's why Cody has to win. 

2) All this talk about Sami not being a credible threat to Roman.  I agree -- 9 months ago when this started.  The goofball is the side of the character that got all the way into the top dog's inner circle. He got the guy who was most suspicious of him to love him, to call him his brother. (With his literal brother standing next to him!) What you've been witnessing for the last 9 months is the build up of Sami. If he wasn't a threat to Roman, if he wasn't in line to break the Bloodline... then none of what you saw on Saturday would have been over with the crowd.  They know Sami's got a shot.  It may be a long shot, but it's a shot nonetheless.  Everything in the story has been pointing to him breaking the Bloodline and having an overconfident Roman take the threat that he poses for granted.  That's why Sami has to win.  

 

This story is a very unique mix of meta and storytelling.  I'm fucking stoked about this whole thing.  There are a hundred different ways to do this, but one thing's absolutely certain... Roman Reigns is facing, far and away, the biggest threat to his position as Head of the Table.  Where they go from here?  We'll see.  But remember this is Hunter's WWE now.  What happened before last summer doesn't matter any more.  

In Vince's WWE, we know both of them fall short in embarrassing fashion for Brock to end up winning at SummerSlam.

 

That's why I'm more inclined to think that Sami is the one to break Roman's unpinned streak and end up showing Cody the key to taking the title off him.  There's a way to accomplish both without throwing out out just because we like one guy better.

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To me I get it if they decide that this is a chapter moreso than an ending and don’t pull the trigger on Sami. That’s rational and defendable.

However, if it’s NOT Sami, then to me the one to dethrone Roman hasn’t revealed itself yet. At this particular point in time, 90 days out, Cody doesn’t feel like that guy to me in the narrative nor in the meta (and it’s crazy how closely those two things align these days).

“Guy returning from injury to win at WM” is a good story. We’ve seen it before. It was the HHH 2002 story, part of the Austin 2001 story, and others. But that alone doesn’t feel up to the extremely high standard required of the “guy who finally beats Roman” story. Not to me anyway, not right now. 

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1 hour ago, odessasteps said:

I wonder if fans in New York used to think "I wonder when Bruno is going to lose the belt", especially after years 4 or 5 of his Reign. 

I think its a little different because fans will always fantasy book a heel champion getting his comeuppance. That didn't happen much for Bruno but it happened all the time to Flair in the 80s.

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The cracks begin to show and the fall of the Roman Empire begins.  Paul will be the final nail.  The wise man betrays his client, because thw wise man only cares for gold.

Sami will probably show that Roman can be beat, even if he doesn't pin/submit him.  Jey will either turn at EC, or find his self respect soon after and bring his brothers with him to leave Roman with his Brutus (Heyman) until Cody gets what is his empire be damned.  I'm excited to see the next steps and how we get the fall.

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42 minutes ago, EVA said:

im-afraid-ive-got-some-bad-news-bad-news
 

Unfortunately, the WWE Board agreed with your last sentence.

Everything is obviously on a razor's edge (no pun intended) over there, but all reports are Vince is not interfering with creative.  So, take it for whatever it's worth.

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Just now, Dolfan in NYC said:

Everything is obviously on a razor's edge (no pun intended) over there, but all reports are Vince is not interfering with creative.  So, take it for whatever it's worth.

He isn't until he is, would be my statement. 

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1 minute ago, just drew said:

Despite wreddit insisting that triple h is a genius, several of his hand picked guys came out to silence at the Rumble. Kross and Johnny Gargano come immediately to mind.

And a number of guys he brought back weren’t on the card at all.  Lumis, Hit Row, Jonah Rook.

 

28 minutes ago, odessasteps said:

I may be just a simple country bird lawyer... 

I had to drop out of law school after a year when the faculty discovered I couldn’t do a convincing Foghorn Leghorn impression.  True(-ish) story.

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6 minutes ago, Doc Townsend said:

And a number of guys he brought back weren’t on the card at all.  Lumis, Hit Row, Jonah Rook.

 

I had to drop out of law school after a year when the faculty discovered I couldn’t do a convincing Foghorn Leghorn impression.  True(-ish) story.

They trained us at the DA’s office to speak with a southern accent. Made us practice. Supposed to make us talk slower. Mine’s terrible

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37 minutes ago, just drew said:

Despite wreddit insisting that triple h is a genius, several of his hand picked guys came out to silence at the Rumble. Kross and Johnny Gargano come immediately to mind.

Not everyone is going to bat 1.000. Triple H has shown that he knows what he's doing. He had a pretty killer few years with NXT. He's gotten off to a strong start on the main roster. 

That said, I have no idea what he sees in Kross. He's going to max out at the Baron Corbin level of things, and be nowhere near as fun as Baron Corbin.

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15 minutes ago, Greggulator said:

Not everyone is going to bat 1.000. Triple H has shown that he knows what he's doing. He had a pretty killer few years with NXT. He's gotten off to a strong start on the main roster. 

That said, I have no idea what he sees in Kross. He's going to max out at the Baron Corbin level of things, and be nowhere near as fun as Baron Corbin.

Has he? The one compelling storyline involving the male superstars is one he inherited. The womens division has stagnated if not regressed. And his nXt run was so killer it got blown off his night by an upstart. Adam Cole & Johnny Gargano kicking out for 45 minutes has a short shelf life. So far he’s elevated exactly one (1) star; Gunther. Granted, that’s gone even better than anyone though.

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19 minutes ago, just drew said:

 So far he’s elevated exactly one (1) star; Gunther. Granted, that’s gone even better than anyone though.

Io and Dakota? Legado? Raquel?

It's weird, because I've enjoyed the Bloodline/Sami story generally, and the Rumble ending was really well done. But if AEW ever tried to do something like this, I'd be fucking furious.

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1 minute ago, Dog said:

Io and Dakota? Legado? Raquel?

It's weird, because I've enjoyed the Bloodline/Sami story generally, and the Rumble ending was really well done. But if AEW ever tried to do something like this, I'd be fucking furious.

I’m on the fence about Dmg Ctl. They haven’t been booked well and should be much more over than they are, but they are better off than before, so you aren’t wrong. Except Bayley. She should be looking for the quickest way out. Legado is in that dismal tag team scene w the Viking Whatever’s and Shit Row. I need to see a bit more of Raquel. My first impression is “female Braun Strowman.”

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1 hour ago, Doc Townsend said:

And a number of guys he brought back weren’t on the card at all.  Lumis, Hit Row, Jonah Rook.

The card was small and the rumble was more on the top heavy side. I think Gargano, Escobar, Elias, Gable, and Otis were the lowest tier guys around.

1 hour ago, Lawful Metal said:

They trained us at the DA’s office to speak with a southern accent. Made us practice. Supposed to make us talk slower. Mine’s terrible

So I rarely leave Houston, but heard from one of my older sisters that some don't even believe she is from the South, let alone Texas, when hearing her accent. Do we sound that different from other Texans?

50 minutes ago, Greggulator said:

Not everyone is going to bat 1.000. Triple H has shown that he knows what he's doing. He had a pretty killer few years with NXT. He's gotten off to a strong start on the main roster. 

That said, I have no idea what he sees in Kross. He's going to max out at the Baron Corbin level of things, and be nowhere near as fun as Baron Corbin.

 

31 minutes ago, just drew said:

Has he? The one compelling storyline involving the male superstars is one he inherited. The womens division has stagnated if not regressed. And his nXt run was so killer it got blown off his night by an upstart. Adam Cole & Johnny Gargano kicking out for 45 minutes has a short shelf life. So far he’s elevated exactly one (1) star; Gunther. Granted, that’s gone even better than anyone though.

Not sure I would say things are going strong beyond The Bloodline and Sami story, but Judgement Day, Ricochet, Gunther, & Theory have all done well under HHH. Drew, Lashley, & Seth have continued on a solid path. Baron has found a solid midcard gimmick. Braun has done well enough in his return. Viking Raiders feel like they are in a better spot as more serious threats. Hit Row are slowly course correcting with the heel turn. There are others in similar situations. I think HHH is doing a mostly decent job with the men. Biggest issue at this point is honestly where things are going so right with the Bloodline and maybe even Gunther has also kind of made pushes for others stagnate. Roman, the Usos, and Gunther are all enjoying decently long reigns, but it also means acts who should be going for their belts aren't because they try to avoid heel vs. heel matches on the main roster. Or in cases like the tag division, acts who should have been champs like the Street Profits or Vikign Raiders are not right now.

Oddly enough I think the weakest part of HHH's current run is the women. Damage Ctrl was not a bad idea, but it feels like he messed up with them along the way by having them lose more than they should have. Wargames in particular should have ended with them winning (moreso Rhea than DC admittedly). Liv's feud with Rousey was done poorly and made her look bad. They had a decent follow up character wise, but didn't really do anything with the momentum. 

5 minutes ago, just drew said:

I need to see a bit more of Raquel. My first impression is “female Braun Strowman.”

Not far off though this is amusing considering the two are a couple.  

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50 minutes ago, Greggulator said:

Not everyone is going to bat 1.000. Triple H has shown that he knows what he's doing. He had a pretty killer few years with NXT. He's gotten off to a strong start on the main roster. 

That said, I have no idea what he sees in Kross. He's going to max out at the Baron Corbin level of things, and be nowhere near as fun as Baron Corbin.

I can nearly 100% guarantee that he sees a lot of himself in Kross.

It's like a manager in baseball. Sometimes they just get overly fixated on one specific individual for whatever reason.

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1 hour ago, Lawful Metal said:

They trained us at the DA’s office to speak with a southern accent. Made us practice. Supposed to make us talk slower. Mine’s terrible

Runs contrary to the old adage that no landmark legal decision ever came out of a courtroom with a ceiling fan in it.

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1 hour ago, just drew said:

@eivion I mean, you're right. A lot of acts are at the same level they were before he took over. But "just as good as when Vince was booking" is a pretty low bar. 

Pretty sure this wasn't what I said or was implying. What I was trying to say was most are doing better under HHH with the ones who were already doing well under Vince not really slipping any. The only ones who are doing about as bad as they were under Vince are arguably the women which is weird because NXT is doing better with an arguably less talented division considering how many are developmental. 

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