Smackdown is I'VE MADE A HUGE MISTAKE 8/15

[MORELOCK]

16 minutes ago, Brysynner said:

Corbin is better at getting heat and is able to talk better than Braun. He has more long-term upside when he's not being protected like Braun has been since Mania working pretty much with the top guy on the roster the entire time.

I'm going to need you to show your work here - all of Corbin's promos dating all the way back to NXT are basically the same sort of "I'm not an indie guy" stuff, and none of them were ever particularly strong. His mic work against Cena was so poor that it's being pointed to as a potential reason for his punishment. And "more long-term upside when he's not being protected" also doesn't really mean anything - you're just kind of fantasy booking in the future. Basically anyone can look like either a worldbeater or a jobber depending on how protected they are.

[FluffSnackwell]

Braun and Corbin really should've debuted on the main roster together as some big ugly monster wreck shit tag team; just so I could now refer to Corbin as the Dan Spivey to Braun's Sid Vicious. No, Sid wasn't quite a giant, but like Braun he was an over the top cartoonish behemoth born with the look and mannerisms to be a pro wrestler and nothing else. That's not Corbin at all though. I don't care how legit tall he is. Razor Ramon was legit tall compared to the faces of his era but that didn't mean he automatically came off as a monster. They got Corbin's role right; bully who gives hell to normal sized faces but who in a pinch could also be turned to challenge brutes like Braun or Brock.

Also comparing Spivey to Corbin is probably unfair since Waylon Mercy's Pentecostal psycho preacher was leaps and bounds better and more distinct during his limited run than whatever the fuck swamp hustler/cult leader/grubby mystic Bray Wyatt's character is even supposed to be. If Corbin had ever been part of the Wyatt Family, at best he would be tied for least distinct and least threatening family member. Meanwhile, Corbin sure isn't living the gimmick he ended up with. What the hell is a self-proclaimed Lone Wolf doing on Twitter whining about breaking out in severe butthurt because of a couple of lukewarm reviews from a dirt sheet writer?

Corbin's just another biggish, tallish (but not monstrously huge) guy like Jack Swagger and Sheamus before him. With one getting disposed of in the garbage compacter and the other recycled in the tag team division, there was room for another big athletic generic bully to take up space in the upper midcard; even though they already had Luke Harper who's way more menacing looking than Choke Wolf. Whatever separates one big burly shitkicker from the next, Corbin doesn't have it. That doesn't necessarily mean he shouldn't get a run with the B brand title but that's only because the whole concept of B brand titles means far too many guys (who have no business being champions) are going to sooner than later. Come to think of it, while I thought Corbin cashing in on Nakamura would've been way too predictable, it would've been an epic troll job for him to cash in on Reigns for the Universal Title instead. But mainly I would've liked to have seen that scenario play out just so Reigns could earn some special asshole badge where that's the third time he was the hapless victim of such shenanigans.  

[Victator]

I actually thought Corbin would have done well as a replacement for Harper in the Wyatt Family. 

[sevendaughters]

I'm no fan of Strowman but he is a lot better than Corbin. The latter will have a podcast slamming the biz within a year.

[JCM]

6 hours ago, Brysynner said:

I'd go Becky, Charlotte, Sasha............Bayley

Charlotte, Becky, and Bayley all have one thing in common. Their best matches are against Sasha Banks.

[Marty Sugar]

2 hours ago, FluffSnackwell said:

Braun and Corbin really should've debuted on the main roster together as some big ugly monster wreck shit tag team; just so I could now refer to Corbin as the Dan Spivey to Braun's Sid Vicious.

It's a pretty good analogy. I feel Corbin has needed to be in a tag team for a while, as he's never really seemed to be totally comfortable as a singles star.

[Burgundy LaRue]

Strowman is a great physical presence, and he understands how to use his physicality to project an even bigger persona.  He's improved tremendously since arriving on the main roster two years ago. His in-ring work is good and he's shown he can follow others' leads and have really good matches. His promos are OK.  Braun does better when they give him 1-2 lines instead of a monologue, which they sometimes do.

Strowman has been protected a lot.  That in a vacuum isn't bad. But what becomes of him once they move him away from Reigns?  Make no mistake, working with Reigns has helped Braun a ton.  The attempt to creative a narrative that Roman hasn't given Braun heat simply isn't true. 

That is not to say Strowman wasn't getting heat on his own.  He was, absolutely.  But being in what is easily the WWE feud of the year with Reigns has made Braun look like a main eventer.  It elevated him. Only Lesnar and Cena could have possibly done more for him in that regard.  Strowman got a major rub with this rivalry. To suggest otherwise is just another means to discredit Roman because someone doesn't like him.  Roman has plenty of heat, he's one of a few guys on the roster that can give heat and then replenish himself.

I do think they've booked Strowman a bit too strong, though.  They've made him into their own Jason Voorhees, the guy just doesn't stay down for long. Reigns pinned him at Fastlane, and that's going to factor into Lesnar pinning him eventually.  They'll be the only two with pins on Braun, similar to them being the only two guys with victories over Undertaker at WM.  I see where they're going with this.  The question becomes what to do with Braun after that.  Of course, this is contingent on Lesnar/Reigns still happening at WM 34.

While I think Stowman's current abilities have been overstated by many, he's clearly on the right track.  But he's going to get fed to Lesnar, Reigns again, and possibly Cena in pretty short order. And as they say, that's when the rubber meets the road.  We'll know then if Braun can elevate beyond that.

 

I like the idea of Baron Corbin.  Big brooding guy, hates the so-called geeks and indie nerds, mocks others endlessly. An overgrown bully who thinks he's cooler than he is and eventually gets his ass handed to him. It's a good gimmick. Corbin's problem is that he got to a certain level of decent, then hasn't looked to improve beyond that. And he doesn't have enough star power to get away with that mindset. He and Big Cass are two peas in a pod in that sense.  Tall, reasonably athletic, monotone on the mic, don't understand how to project their physical advantages.  And of the two, I'd take Corbin.  He has the stronger gimmick and he's got a couple of legitimately good moves.  But why bother with either when Strowman is around and Lars Sullivan is in the NXT system.

 

If anything, this shows that WWE has an embarrassment of riches with all their talent. 

 

[MORELOCK]

10 minutes ago, Burgundy LaRue said:

Strowman has been protected a lot.  That in a vacuum isn't bad. But what becomes of him once they move him away from Reigns?  Make no mistake, working with Reigns has helped Braun a ton.  The attempt to creative a narrative that Roman hasn't given Braun heat simply isn't true. 

That is not to say Strowman wasn't getting heat on his own.  He was, absolutely.  But being in what is easily the WWE feud of the year with Reigns has made Braun look like a main eventer.  It elevated him. Only Lesnar and Cena could have possibly done more for him in that regard.  Strowman got a major rub with this rivalry. To suggest otherwise is just another means to discredit Roman because someone doesn't like him.  Roman has plenty of heat, he's one of a few guys on the roster that can give heat and then replenish himself.

I don't think anyone is actually denying that the feud with Reigns has helped Braun tremendously (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). It's just that Brysynner is saying that it is the only reason that Braun is on the level he is. This unfairly overlooks Braun's improvement both on the mic and in the ring as well as Creative actually pushing someone in a manner that effectively gets them over for once. If Corbin had been plugged into the spot Braun is in this entire time, I think we would be able to clearly see the vast difference between the two.

[Burgundy LaRue]

I'm going by Victator continually suggesting that Reigns inspires apathy.  To each their own, but I don't see how that's so.  Roman may inspire lots of things, but I've yet to hear anything resembling neutrality with him. Working with Reigns has absolutely helped Braun on every level.

I agree that Strowman is better than Corbin.  I'm not nearly keen on Braun as many here, but the guy has improved by leaps and bounds. Coupled with good booking, and Braun is in a good spot.

Braun has a better foundation than Corbin to be good, but a lot of this comes down to one guy putting in the work to improve and the other coasting by. And it's catching up with Corbin.

[Curt McGirt]

After scrolling through this and the photos thread I think you all deserve a Big Cass/Corbin feud that lasts a zillion matches. 

[Burgundy LaRue]

You're really sick, you know that Curt?

Though to be fair, Cass on SDL makes sense.  Get him involved with Carmellsworth to break up that duo and go from there.

[OSJ]

For a guy that inspires apathy, Roman certainly gets discussed a great deal around these parts. ;-) My initial responses to Corbin and Strowmam really haven't changed a great deal, I got to see Corbin's whole run and development in NXT and was pre-disposed to like the guy. The lone wolf was a perfectly okay gimmick for him in that it let him play to his strengths and minimize his weaknesses. (Stone ass-kicker, man of few words, etc.) He was pushed on a very questionable way as a tweener, probably the hardest character to get over, people like being told who to cheer for, they may take an opposing stance just to be contrary, (as they have with Roman), but at the end of the day they want to know if a guy is perceived as a heel or face.  From the get go they tried to push Corbin as a cool heel by telling you that's what he was, as opposed to letting him show you that's what he was. It seems like a small point, but it's actually  a huge one. Showing rather than telling requires a bit more nuance and a bit more time, but isn't that the point of a developmental Fed, to develop workers? 

My main objection to Strowman hasn't changed either,  it's unfortunate, but sometimes physical characteristics go so far to define someone that it doesn't matter how they're booked, the perception won't change. Braun Strowman looks like a nice guy who will invite the whole neighborhood to his place for a barbecue and shovels snow out of the driveways for his elderly neighbors. Dude can't help it, he has a kind face. Just like you could never completely buy Barry Windham as a total babyface because there was just this streak of arrogance in the way he carried himself that said he was better than everyone else and knew it. Right now Strowman is getting the monster push, but we all know how this plays out; sooner or later he loses the big one and is no longer special. He becomes Kane or Sheamus, a credible big guy that hovers around the title picture, but is really nothing more than a gatekeeper or litmus test for a new guy that's getting pushed.  It's unfortunate, but pushing a big guy as a babyface is hard to do, just refer to Hogan's run...

[Sky Blue Sam]

6 hours ago, JCM said:

Charlotte, Becky, and Bayley all have one thing in common. Their best matches are against Sasha Banks.

I know opinions are like arseholes - everyone has one - but I'd take Becky vs Charlotte from last year's Rumble over their respective Sasha matches.

As far as the Fashion Files goes, does anyone actually have any ideas who the team that attacked them are going to be? Can't think of any NXT teams due a call up, and I get the impression that even the writers aren't sure who it's going to be. Which means it'll be Rowan and Harper

[Burgundy LaRue]

I heard the possibility of Sanity being called up and being the attackers, but not sure how concrete that rumor is.

[RIPPA]

The only names floated have been either Sanity or Rowan/Harper

[DreamBroken]

I had forgot until this conversation how Corbin eliminated Braun in the Rumble and came off like a world beater at the time. Looked like he'd be a bigger player in the mix. Reports started saying around then it that WWE had bigger plans for Corbin than Braun but it didn't end up that way.

[Nice Guy Eddie]

5 hours ago, DreamBroken said:

I had forgot until this conversation how Corbin eliminated Braun in the Rumble and came off like a world beater at the time. Looked like he'd be a bigger player in the mix. Reports started saying around then it that WWE had bigger plans for Corbin than Braun but it didn't end up that way.

The only person that didn't forget about that was Baron Corbin.

[Victator]

11 hours ago, Burgundy LaRue said:

But what becomes of him once they move him away from Reigns?

That is more a problem for Reigns. Without Braun, boos become apathy. 

 

9 hours ago, OSJ said:

For a guy that inspires apathy, Roman certainly gets discussed a great deal around these parts.

I think Reigns is a great wrestler now and in ring work is my wrestler of the year. But outside of feuding with Braun, the booking has been terrible. 

[Nice Guy Eddie]

7 hours ago, RIPPA said:

The only names floated have been either Sanity or Rowan/Harper

Breezango are one of the highlights of SD, so I'd be ok with it being Harper and Rowan, which I think it is. Breezango are a nice step up from doing nothing.

[Rehabilitated Rick]

According to the replays Jinder's feet were under the ropes which could offer Corbin a reprieve of the failed cash-in. Lol @ all these rumors though, if you listened to Corbin on Jericho's podcast he and Vince have a good relationship it seems, Corbin cashing in & losing (yet getting the reprieve) to draw heat for his mini-feud with Cena doesn't sound too far-fetched. I figure Corbin dismantles Cena, Cena goes off to do whatever project he has scheduled in the fall and Corbin gets his briefcase back next week.

[Victator]

11 minutes ago, Rick said:

Lol @ all these rumors though, if you listened to Corbin on Jericho's podcast he and Vince have a good relationship it seems

I don't know what is going to happen. But if Vince hated Corbin, Vince would not tell him and Corbin would not say it on a podcast. 

I think for Corbin the briefcase is a albatross around his neck. I think winning the title would be bad for him in the long run at this early stage. I don't think Jack Swagger ever recovered from the MITB run he had even after a promising start. 

[The Natural]

On Thursday, August 17, 2017 at 5:13 AM, Brysynner said:

I'd go Becky, Charlotte, Sasha............Bayley

Mine: Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair, Bayley and Becky Lynch. Banks is the best.

[The Natural]

On Thursday, August 17, 2017 at 7:24 AM, Niners Fan in CT said:

What's Becky and Charlotte's resume looking like when they aren't in there with Sasha?  

 

I'll wait....  

 

On Thursday, August 17, 2017 at 7:37 AM, Niners Fan in CT said:

That's easy.  The past two times Sasha has faced Nia Jax both matches were VERY GOOD. And Sasha easily had Alexa's best match on the main roster.  Becky's matches with Alexa were not good at all.  They were clumsy and sloppy and had no flow to them at all.  

Sasha (outside of Bayley in NXT) is the only female to make Nia look like a monster.  

Sasha easily has Charlotte's best work.  

Sasha easily has Becky's best match (down in NXT). 

In fact,  Naomi had a better match with Alexa than Becky did.  Becky is a great wrestler but at some point you have to deliver the goods and her matches have been often disappointing.  

Great work, @Niners Fan in CT! Nailed it.

[The Natural]

22 hours ago, JCM said:

Charlotte, Becky, and Bayley all have one thing in common. Their best matches are against Sasha Banks.

This by @JCM

Have to disagree with my friend, @Sky Blue Sam. He's a good lad ; ).

[Rehabilitated Rick]

9 hours ago, Victator said:

I don't know what is going to happen. But if Vince hated Corbin, Vince would not tell him and Corbin would not say it on a podcast. 

I think for Corbin the briefcase is a albatross around his neck. I think winning the title would be bad for him in the long run at this early stage. I don't think Jack Swagger ever recovered from the MITB run he had even after a promising start. 

Most of the talent go out of their way to actively avoid Vince. Corbin on the other hand apparently has a healthy relationship with him, even going as far as pulling light hearted ribs on each other backstage, the fact Vince has apparently given Corbin bullet point promo privileges, given him the money in the bank case and has been inserted into a program with the biggest star in the business suggests Vince has taken a shine to him. But hey, Vince is definitely punishing him or something.