Raw Is I Don't Fear That Bitch - 2/26/2018

[evilwaldo]

2 hours ago, Niners Fan in CT said:

I feel anything below "world title match"  is beneath Braun at this point. I could have seen Braun/Cena working but Cena has been losing fairly often. It's amazing that 5 weeks out Braun has no direction..  

They have spent so long building up Braun that he has to be on the top level by now.  IC is beneath him and stalls his build.

[Burgundy LaRue]

They're running into a problem with belting Braun in any way. Who's strong enough to take it off him right now beyond Roman and Brock?

[Matt D]

2 minutes ago, Burgundy LaRue said:

They're running into a problem with belting Braun in any way. Who's strong enough to take it off him right now beyond Roman and Brock?

Take a year. Build someone up. Pay it off. That's only a problem if you decide it's a problem.

[JonnyLaw]

2 hours ago, RolandTHTG said:

I wish we'd got a D-Lo Brown vs Roman Reigns chest protector vs chest protector feud at some point.

I keep waiting for someone to cal AOP “a couple of jacked up D-Los.”

[Craig H]

35 minutes ago, Matt D said:

Take a year. Build someone up. Pay it off. That's only a problem if you decide it's a problem.

Yeah. This shit isn't complicated. That would be like saying that any top star was built up too much so why put the belt on them if no one is strong enough to take it off.

[Burgundy LaRue]

37 minutes ago, Matt D said:

Take a year. Build someone up. Pay it off. That's only a problem if you decide it's a problem.

Maybe. But do you actually expect it to go that way? I'm enjoying Raw more than most around here, and even I don't see that happening.

And when it winds up being Roman just the same, 99% of you will crap a termite-covered log.

[Craig H]

CM Punk held the title for over a year. Anything is possible. Never doubt the pettiness of a McMahon to erase that record.

[Matt D]

7 minutes ago, Burgundy LaRue said:

Maybe. But do you actually expect it to go that way? I'm enjoying Raw more than most around here, and even I don't see that happening.

And when it winds up being Roman just the same, 99% of you will crap a termite-covered log.

I never expect them to do the right thing anymore.

Actually, that's a lie. I expect them to do the right thing once every ten years. Wrestlemania X, XX, XXX. Even then it's usually them dragged there kicking and screaming. 

But in THEORY, it's not rocket science.

[FluffSnackwell]

Shit, Braun's already been pinned way too many times, mostly in the newest most recent effort (way too many instances) to cram Roman Reigns back up everybody's ass until they have no choice but to like it. Besides the manner which they're going to pay off the end to Brock's current prolonged title reign is way worse than any way they could hypothetically botch a Braun title reign and eventual loss; by going back to square one and capping something (three years in the making) that they never should've dicked around pulling the trigger on in the first place. I mean I always thought Reigns should've lost at WrestleMania XXXI then took the belt off Brock at Summerslam because it would've seemed like far less of a contrived coronation and a title win that felt much more earned. Failing that, Reigns should've went ahead and taken the belt at WrestleMania sparing us Rollins' seven month run as an utterly impotent, ineffectual wuss of a champion. Damn Vince and his wacky whims.

Taking the title off eventual Champion Braun won't be nearly as big of a deal as if he'd been kept an undefeated monster that dethroned Brock. Even if they got lost up their own asses and just hotshotted the title off Braun onto last hurrah Cena (precisely because they couldn't think of anything better) would that really ruin whatever his reign had amounted to up until that point?

[evilwaldo]

You could always do a Tyson/Douglas where the champ gets lazy and his opponent pulls out a surprise win.  Wait, that requires effort from the booking committee.

[Hamhock]

Or just have the champion not factor into the finish of a triple-threat match. Lose the belt, never get beaten.

[RIPPA]

They have built to Brock/Reigns for 3 years and everyone is bitching about it

But sure - build for a year for an opponent for Braun and it is okay because it is for the new internet darling

[Matt D]

10 minutes ago, RIPPA said:

They have built to Brock/Reigns for 3 years and everyone is bitching about it

But sure - build for a year for an opponent for Braun and it is okay because it is for the new internet darling

Execution matters? This isn’t exactly “Mega-Powers Explode” here. I get that long term build is tougher with so much weekly TV and PPVs but what are the actual plot touchstones of this three-year build? 

It’s not like they presented Reigns beating Taker as him showing he could do exactly what Brock did. 

[RIPPA]

You and I care about execution but most people don't. It is all about who they like.

I look at it this way but if Mason Ryan (I am just picking a random meathead name) was getting the same exact push Braun was, folks would be pissed.

If they had build Jinder up for 6 months/1 year before his world title run - folks would have still been bitter (I mean there are people on here who clearly want Jinder to die in a fire)

But hey - I am gonna boo dreamy Roman Reigns because that is the cool thing to do.

And side note - it should have been a 2 year build but then Goldberg happened.

[Matt D]

58 minutes ago, RIPPA said:

You and I care about execution but most people don't. It is all about who they like.

I look at it this way but if Mason Ryan (I am just picking a random meathead name) was getting the same exact push Braun was, folks would be pissed.

If they had build Jinder up for 6 months/1 year before his world title run - folks would have still been bitter (I mean there are people on here who clearly want Jinder to die in a fire)

But hey - I am gonna boo dreamy Roman Reigns because that is the cool thing to do.

And side note - it should have been a 2 year build but then Goldberg happened.

I don't leave our shores often. Is, I don't know, reddit/squaredcircle , on board with Braun? If so, are they on board with him just because he's another choice different from Reigns? Or do they get pissy he doesn't have enough moves/move fast enough when Rollins/Finn are right there?

[BubblegumRogue]

10 hours ago, JonnyLaw said:

I keep waiting for someone to cal AOP “a couple of jacked up D-Los.”

AOP should be so lucky, D Lo ruled.

[Spritenaut 32]

1 hour ago, RIPPA said:

They have built to Brock/Reigns for 3 years and everyone is bitching about it

But sure - build for a year for an opponent for Braun and it is okay because it is for the new internet darling

A large part of the problem is that WWE creative can't figure out how to keep people invested in a program for three months, much less three years.

I like Braun, but I'm not all in on him like a lot of folks.  I suspect time will make him out to be the best big man in an era short on big men.

It's also hard to build compelling angles around around babyface giants, and I don't have a lot of faith WWE is up to the task.

[Beech27]

40 minutes ago, Matt D said:

I don't leave our shores often. Is, I don't know, reddit/squaredcircle , on board with Braun? If so, are they on board with him just because he's another choice different from Reigns? Or do they get pissy he doesn't have enough moves/move fast enough when Rollins/Finn are right there?

I visit way more than I post there, but so far as I can tell, wreddit loves Braun, and mostly thinks Reigns is very good. (They like Finn and Rollins as well; but then, so do I, so DVDR isn't without sin.) I think the Roman "backlash"--it no longer has the organic, kinetic sensibility that that word deserves--exists elsewhere, maybe even mostly apart from hyper-involved message boards, in the larger and more crowd driven arenas like twitter, and... literal arenas, with literal crowds. 

[Wyld Samurai]

28 minutes ago, BubblegumRogue said:

AOP should be so lucky, D Lo ruled.

D-Lo was the real deal.

[Matt D]

21 minutes ago, Beech27 said:

I visit way more than I post there, but so far as I can tell, wreddit loves Braun, and mostly thinks Reigns is very good. (They like Finn and Rollins as well; but then, so do I, so DVDR isn't without sin.) I think the Roman "backlash"--it no longer has the organic, kinetic sensibility that that word deserves--exists elsewhere, maybe even mostly apart from hyper-involved message boards, in the larger and more crowd driven arenas like twitter, and... literal arenas, with literal crowds. 

I guess I don't understand who in 2018 cares enough to buy a ticket and is engaged enough to know that they're supposed to resent and boo Reigns but doesn't engage with this stuff online? Doesn't everyone engage with almost all of their hobbies that they follow that closely in 2018?

[Casey]

16 hours ago, FluffSnackwell said:

Then again, just taking Steph's bitch slap like it was merely a patronizing caress is still less undermining than Asuka having to sell that stupid midget runt knockout punch.

Asuka is an inch taller than Alexa Bliss, dude. So, Asuka must be a midget too.

[Beech27]

20 minutes ago, Matt D said:

I guess I don't understand who in 2018 cares enough to buy a ticket and is engaged enough to know that they're supposed to resent and boo Reigns but doesn't engage with this stuff online? Doesn't everyone engage with almost all of their hobbies that they follow that closely in 2018?

It's hard for me to relate to, because... I'm the kind of person who ends up here, basically. Tiny sample size, but I know when I went to Smackdown in Kansas City, nearly everyone sitting around me had no idea who Roderick Strong or Hideo Itami were--they were loudly, vocally confused and angry about this--and the same people booed Reigns' fleeing video package appearances. There are a lot of people who only watch the TV, and spend a really superficial amount of time browsing news and opinions sites. I mean, some of the top threads on wreddit right now concern a Lance Storm twitter joke and a Golden Lovers history video; it's still largely a niche audience within a niche audience. The Smackdown discussion does have just over 800 comments, but it's probably(?) the most active wrestling message board there is, and that's still a tiny slice of the overall fandom. Maybe there's a difference between lurkers and posters, "engaging with" and "engaging with", but I don't know or understand either.

[HumanChessgame]

Reigns was a case of someone being pushed beyond their means but who eventually got good enough to warrant their station on the card.  However unlike The Rock, he doesn't have the magnetic personality and as good booking for most of the fans who were initially bitter about his overpush to get on board with it.  No matter what happens there's going to be a sizeable portion of the crowd who just doesn't want to see him in the top position because he's been crammed down our throats the past few years regardless of how much his skills have improved.  On the same note there are also going to be plenty of people who don't want to see a predictable and safe storyline play out no matter how long it's been built for or how much sense it makes.  Personally I just want Lesnar gone and don't really care that Roman's the one who does it.  The match will probably be decent and there's always the slim chance whatever post-Mania program Roman gets in could be entertaining.

[FluffSnackwell]

1 hour ago, Casey said:

Asuka is an inch taller than Alexa Bliss, dude. So, Asuka must be a midget too.

Presence matters or else we could pretend Matt Sydal could be working a similar style with a similar offensive arsenal to Taz and it would come off just as well. (Come to think of it, that hits on some of the Young Bucks' worst tendencies; pulling Road Warriors style double team power moves out of their asses in between super kick parties.)  Never mind character consistency, physical build, presence or demeanor, Taz and Sydal are the same height. Sasha Banks is three inches taller than Asuka and nobody would look at the two and have the first thing pop in their head that Sasha is so much larger than Asuka. 

The DDT works great for Bliss precisely because of the low hang she executes it with due to her stature. It should be the move she catches prone opponents with.  Bliss is the only female with a knockout punch while Reigns and Big Show are the male workers with the same killshot capabilities. See the disconnect there? Smallest worker with the most manipulative weaselly conniving character also just happens to have the only instant knockout strike in the division. Why exactly? To stack the deck in favor of somebody whose character at all other times is a smart ass clever little coward that is already given a dominant trait by constantly outwitting everybody? Straight up Mary Sue dogshit where not only is Bliss smarter than everybody else. She just happens to hit harder too. Even a short knee strike where Bliss was clutching her bent over opponent by the head would work better and look less random or tacked on. Bliss easily dropping much bulkier wrestlers like Asuka with a standing strike looks like shit. I can't wait for Rhonda to interact with Bliss and just smile at the punch which would be an admission of how absurd and silly it is as one of her signature moves. To me, giving Bliss that kind of offense one would typically relate to dangerous badasses is a much worse fit than even heel Seth Rollins' flashy repertoire.

[odessasteps]

Maybe she is just loading her glove.