MJKostka Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Jesus, Bryan wrestled AGAIN in the post show dark match in a six man tag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRGoldman Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I love Cesaro, but let's not pencil him in as world champ just quite yet. He is a guy that wasn't even all that over as a singles guy on the indies, where stuff like work rate matters a ton more. I think his ceiling is basically what we saw last night: bringing out the absolute best in an established main event guy who draws way more heat than Cesaro does. I think we may see him in a couple PPV programs for one of the big belts, but I would be pretty surprised if he was on the winning end consistently. I had to laugh last night. I stepped outside for a minute when they showed RVD walking to the ring before the commercial break, and when I got back, Barrett was already bleeding from the mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ultimoDANK Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Echoing the love for that main event segment. I knew we were in for a treat when it was starting with 40+ minutes left in the show. Gonna be real interesting to see the ratings. One spot I loved was Bryan cutting off Cesaro's offense with that headbutt to the face. Then that finish. Cesaro is maybe the greatest base of all time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Fresh Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Having no idea what a "grognard" is, I'm worried I might be one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bustronaut Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Having no idea what a "grognard" is, I'm worried I might be one. "old soldier" Nerds have co-opted it to mean long-time fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.T. Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I slept through the first hour of RAW and haven't watched Smackdurn in over two months. Is Dean Ambrose gulaged to Syfy now? Why isn't he wrestling epics with Daniel Bryan, too? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.T. Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 "old soldier" Nerds have co-opted it to mean long-time fan. With a slight negative connotation. We are smarks, BF, not grognards..... which means we may be worse than grognards depending on who you talk to.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I wish the announcers would start playing up how deadly DB is with the small package finish. Anyway, one thing that sticks out to me is that we're getting a real life issue, one that I think HHH denied involved DB, turned into an angle. Wasn't it something like a month ago that HHH supposedly said that a certain wrestler could be the centerpiece of the promotion, with Vince disagreeing saying that he didn't think that wrestler would make any money? With this angle, it really seems like that it actually was Bryan was the wrestler HHH was referring to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzalez Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Having no idea what a "grognard" is, I'm worried I might be one. It's the new villains for Avengers 2, but Whedon hasn't it revealed officially to the public for fear that it might be even more obscure than the last Avengers villains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Jim Ross on D-Bryan: Daniel Bryan was the star of Monday Night RAW and his in ring work the last 40 minutes are so was the most memorable piece of business on the three hour broadcast. Bryan has gotten over with the fan base the most natural way possible akin to a dark horse candidate winning a major election while running as an independent. Grass roots all the way for 'Fear the Beard.' Bryan's in ring action with Antonio Cesaro was brilliant. Cesaro may be the most underrated talent on the WWE roster and had his 2nd bout that I've jaw dropped on in the past few weeks as his 2X3 fall match in NXT vs. Sami Zayn was off the page too. That match, I think airs after Summer Slam. For any one to armchair book and think that Daniel Bryan cannot or will not beat John Cena for the WWE Title because of Bryan's physical stature or his 'look' I'd advise you to think again. I'd also suggest that John Cena will have one of the best matches of his entire career come Summer Slam in LA. Credit: jrsbarbq.com 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.T. Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 They are the new villains for Avengers 2, but Whedon hasn't revealed them officially to the public for fear that they might be even more obscure than the last Avengers villains. All fixed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaedmc Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I watched more minutes of last night's RAW because of Daniel Bryan than I have in years. I'm also pretty excited about them seemingly planting the seeds for a long terms story with Bryan after Summerslam, with him as the People's Champion, and someone in the office not like it. It makes me feel like they actually have a bigger picture than just DB vs. Cena at Summerslam and then the end. I dig Brad Maddox as this "what if Vince went back in time, plucked up a young Eric Bischoff and then brought him to the future to train him?" character. I wonder what would happen if he sent him back in time with all this knowledge. Maybe that is the bigger picture. What if Vince just wants to play Monday Night Wars again, but now he's trying to tweak the difficulty settings... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJKostka Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Jim Ross on D-Bryan:Cena/Bryan is going to be outstanding. There's no way around it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I found it hysterical that Swagger had zero idea how to react to being over as a heel simply based on being a Sooner. I keep waiting for them to go to Oklahoma and ask everyone to rise for the state song... and then play "Texas Fight." Tell me that isn't Godzilla-level heat waiting to happen. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Part of me, strangely, could see them having Randy cash in on Bryan and immediately becoming the corporate champion, with the storyline culminating with Bryan winning the belt back at Mania. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaedmc Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I would think the entire impetus behind this gauntlet was to create this concept that Daniel Bryan can defeat multiple opponents back to back, so that when Randy cashes in there will be some tension. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I wonder if they're clever enough to play up on the resentment fans had when Christian won the belt only to almost immediately lose it to Orton. I know they were very aware of it at the time. JR blogged about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w. josh Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I honestly wonder what WWE folk think of Cesaro at this point. We get stories about the higher-ups thinking he's "boring," and the crowd admittedly hasn't taken to him fully yet, but the guy's had lights-out matches for months now. The "Real Americans" was probably an attempt to get him over, but the crowd reacts weirdly to them, in part because a lot of them probably agree with some of Colter's schtick and in part because people just love shout-along catchphrases regardless of face/heel alignments. I'd imagine at this point he's earned himself a position in the company for a few years regardless, but I really wonder if last night's performance (and the "This is Awesome" chants proving that the fans weren't just in it because of Bryan) will prompt another attempt to get him higher up the card or if at this pooint they're content with him filling the Malenko/Regal role of "guy who can get a good match out of whomever we're trying to push this month." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRGoldman Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I have fallen in love with this idea of Daniel Bryan as the modern day Stone Cold going up against Vince and his cronies. He can come to the ring and chug almond milk, and fill Vince's new convertible with vegan ice cream. All the buys. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzalez Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I would think the entire impetus behind this gauntlet was to create this concept that Daniel Bryan can defeat multiple opponents back to back, so that when Randy cashes in there will be some tension. I think it was more to see if he can lose an audience, or keep an audience through 30 minutes of wrestling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I honestly wonder what WWE folk think of Cesaro at this point. We get stories about the higher-ups thinking he's "boring," and the crowd admittedly hasn't taken to him fully yet, but the guy's had lights-out matches for months now. The "Real Americans" was probably an attempt to get him over, but the crowd reacts weirdly to them, in part because a lot of them probably agree with some of Colter's schtick and in part because people just love shout-along catchphrases regardless of face/heel alignments. I'd imagine at this point he's earned himself a position in the company for a few years regardless, but I really wonder if last night's performance (and the "This is Awesome" chants proving that the fans weren't just in it because of Bryan) will prompt another attempt to get him higher up the card or if at this pooint they're content with him filling the Malenko/Regal role of "guy who can get a good match out of whomever we're trying to push this month." Here's hoping. Shame to see Antonio Cesaro's fortunes change as he was protected for quite a bit. Cesaro should be getting a sustained protected push, he's great. Cesaro had his best WWE match with Bryan, the best WWE match this year and gave Kofi Kingston his best ever match on WWE Main Event in May. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skelemania Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 RAW is pretty good lately. I'm really digging the rise of Daniel Bryan. Plus with Cesaro getting ringtime, the Usos getting a push, Dolph turning babyface, The Shield, Punk/Heyman/Lesnar, The Wyatt Family, even Maddox...I'm digging WWE a lot right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sydneybrown Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I think it was more to see if he can lose an audience, or keep an audience through 30 minutes of wrestling. I absolutely agree with this. Watching those segments I couldn't help but feel that the SummerSlam finish may hinge on what the ratings turn out to be today. And while not as business-exposing as all those Bubba Ray gifs were, I loved the bit where Fandago realized he was too far away to take Cody's moonsault and had to leap into position at the last possible moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.T. Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 As much as I want to see this match happen, the fact that Cena / Bryan is turning out to be a Respeck Match bothers me. I think I would enjoy this a lot more if Cena would just humor me and turn heel like I want him to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaedmc Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I think it was more to see if he can lose an audience, or keep an audience through 30 minutes of wrestling. Probably that too. Really the gauntlet covered a lot of bases. Bryan got to go long, face down guys bigger than him, look like a world beater in prep for Summerslam, and showed he can beat multiple guys a night while keeping the audiences attention the whole time. It was a great booking decision and I think it helped legitimize him as a fighter and not just a Eugene. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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