The Green Meanie Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Today is the 8 year anniversary of The Nexus' debut. I'm still not over it. Still haven't forgiven how they ruined one of the most amazing debuts and factions ever, and I don't think I ever will. This is what I originally wrote that night: " What happened tonight was one of the most revolutionary things to happen to wrestling in at least 15 years. I've watched wrestling since as far back as I can remember, seen every kind of match, every kind of angle, and not even yours truly could not have predicted what happened tonight. This is why I watch pro wrestling, because it has the power to amaze and suspend belief in even myself. " For the most part, it's not an anniversary I like to celebrate because it just upsets me too much to think what could have been. 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(BP) Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 For someone that's had an uneventful career otherwise, Michael Tarver standing at ringside with the face mask on is one of the most indelible images in wrestling from the last decade for me. 10 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikoBaltimore Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Damn, we all were freaking out pretty hard over that Nexus debut. It was so, so well-done and it would have taken a helluva lot to screw it up. But they did and that's just a damn shame. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victator Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Well they did it right with the Shield. Which might be with three guys, they could veto things because it would be hard to replace them. While with seven nexus members they could replace guys at will. The worst thing was they would not let Nexus win but would not let them lose. The low point being the night they attacked the legends and the laptop said if anyone helped they would be fired and THE FACES LISTENED!!! If I saw an old man getting beat up and my employer said if I helped I would be fired. I would still help and I think anyone reading this would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 The current talk is that they're waiting til Summerslam to have Reigns beat Brock so that they can have Brock break Punk's record. That's silly because if you look at actual number of title defenses, I'm pretty sure that even @Marty Sugar has defended the WWE World Heavyweight Title more times than Brock. 3 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 5 minutes ago, Matt D said: The current talk is that they're waiting til Summerslam to have Reigns beat Brock so that they can have Brock break Punk's record. That's silly because if you look at actual number of title defenses, I'm pretty sure that even @Marty Sugar has defended the WWE World Heavyweight Title more times than Brock. This is what I said before, like months ago probably, but others pointed out it's not the same title. To me, I don't think they give a fuck about what title as long as they don't have to mention CM Punk ever again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BurningBeard Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 I like how we've gone full circle with this petty bullshit. Orton beats Benoit to undercut Brock being the youngest WWE champion, then Brock sits on the belt forever to overtake Punk for longest modern reign 2 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 8 minutes ago, CreativeControl said: I like how we've gone full circle with this petty bullshit. Orton beats Benoit to undercut Brock being the youngest WWE champion, then Brock sits on the belt forever to overtake Punk for longest modern reign That's Vince McMahon for you. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphman 3000 Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victator Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Well for one thing Punk does not hold a record. He is significantly behind Bruno, Backlund and Hogan. For another thing, Brock holds a different title altogether. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beech27 Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 WWE's narrative is whatever they want it to be. At the time, Punk's "modern era" record was emphasized (and thus real), so now they will, it seems, break it. Sure it's an illusion, but this is wrestling, and fidelity to agreed upon fiction is what the whole thing rests on. "It's not the same belt" is a not-too-distant relative to "it's not real fighting". 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SorceressKnight Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 9 hours ago, CreativeControl said: Judging from his podcast and the fact he seems to be turning into Billy Jack Haynes 2K18, I'm guessing Ryback behind the scenes was a liability hence them cooling him off. But I agree with you, they were on the verge of having something special with him but rather than let him be his own thing they tried to shape him and ruined anything unique Even then, there was cooling off, and there was what they did with Ryback. The WWE doesn't do too many true burials (not "My favorite wrestler lost a match! BAWWWW!" or "My favorite isn't the champion! BAWWWWWW") anymore, but it's hard not to call the Ryback situation of "turn him heel for no apparent reason when Ryback was clearly a better face than heel", "take away everything remotely interesting about Ryback", and "job him out to little guys and kill his aura before he left" as anything but a textbook burial. Considering WWE even left the door open for ENZO when he was fired, when no one would have blamed them if they suddenly said "Enzo Amore had totally handed the Cruiserweight Title back to us, because he was crying his eyes out and saying Cedric Alexander is so much better than him he knew he was going to get killed in that match...uh...and he wet his pants when he heard he had to fight Cedric, too!...so he handed the title to us and ran off, crying, like a little coward because he was so afraid of the talent in the Cruiserweight Division that he knew he wouldn't have a prayer against because he's so terrible a wrestler he could never compare"...that SAYS something. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(BP) Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 It seemed pretty clear they got Ryback over by accident in the first place. Cena getting hurt didn't help, but they definitely booked themselves into a corner with him and Punk because they didn't see it coming. It was like they did all the simple, old school things to get him over and then were surprised when it actually worked. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victator Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 3 hours ago, Beech27 said: WWE's narrative is whatever they want it to be. At the time, Punk's "modern era" record was emphasized, so now they will, it seems, break it. Sure it's an illusion, but this is wrestling, and fidelity to that fiction is what the whole thing rests on. "It's not the same belt" is a not-too-distant relative to "it's not real fighting". WWE shows no fidelity to their fiction. They try to shape things based on fans not remembering or knowing things and it doesn't work. The title Punk held still exist and is held by AJ Styles. They want it both ways and get neither. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beech27 Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Totally. I don’t mean to imply that WWE inspires a great degree of narrative immersion in general, just that they assert plenty of hand-wavey authority over canon all the time (yes, for better and often for worse), and this particular case doesn’t bother me. I mean, it bothers me insofar as Brock is unwatchable and the whole thing is beyond petty; but the belts are treated as equivalent. It’s an American/National League distinction for me, and so I can go along with a combined Major League records approach. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikoBaltimore Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 You know, if they're going to be petty and have somebody eclipse whatever Punk's record was I wouldn't be terribly mad if they did this for AJ instead of Brock (which would be technically correct) If anything the backlash to it wouldn't be nearly as bad as it'll be when they announce this for Brock. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victator Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 1 hour ago, Beech27 said: Totally. I don’t mean to imply that WWE inspires a great degree of narrative immersion in general, just that they assert plenty of hand-wavey authority over canon all the time (yes, for better and often for worse), and this particular case doesn’t bother me. I mean, it bothers me insofar as Brock is unwatchable and the whole thing is beyond petty; but the belts are treated as equivalent. It’s an American/National League distinction for me, and so I can go along with a combined Major League records approach. It would be easier if the WWE belt was not still active. The Universal Belt has the worst lineage, it has only had one champion who defended it regularly and its inaugural champion had to vacate immediately. This would be easier to buy if the belt was older or Brock defended it regularly. I wonder who it is who is so concerned with records. Is it Hunter, I can't imagine Vince gives a shit about this stuff. Its going to be interesting as more of Hunter's enemies get older and he needs to make peace. I get the impression Punk hates Hunter and Steph more than he does Vince. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyld Samurai Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 I don't think Punk hates Vince. He clearly does not care for Hunter, which is understandable... And for all the love we give HHH these days because of NXT and the recruiting he still bored us for 10-15 years and clearly played favorites. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetrolCB Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 41 minutes ago, Wyld Samurai said: I don't think Punk hates Vince. He clearly does not care for Hunter, which is understandable... And for all the love we give HHH these days because of NXT and the recruiting he still bored us for 10-15 years and clearly played favorites. Well, that is an element of climbing the ladder. Good or bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Web Conn Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 I thought for certain it was going to be Rollins who broke Punks record with his run, then he got hurt. If not break Punks run I thought they were gonna do something along the lines of Roman winning the Rumble a second year in a row and faced Rollins for the WWE Championship at Mania, with Reigns going over ending Rollins year plus Reign. I mean we wouldn't have gotten Triple H's "historic" 14th title reign or Triple H main eventing a Wrestlemania ... again. Thats the one draw back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Is there any actual reporting that's confirmed this whole "get rid of Punk's record" deal, or is it just speculation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FluffSnackwell Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Punk's modern era record reign was lamer duck than even JBL's bullshit year-long reign. Plus Punk probably lost more televised non-title matches cleanly to Cena during his reign than Brock has had title defenses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyJ Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 Punks record meant something because Punk was doing it. That's the beauty of being a master of connecting with the audience. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spritenaut 32 Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 12 hours ago, The Natural said: When catching a wrestler results in injury: ....and then two guys kinda half-catch Dolph and accidentally shovel-pass him face-first into the announce table. That looked painful. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Cincinnati Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 1 hour ago, FluffSnackwell said: Punk probably lost more televised non-title matches cleanly to Cena during his reign than Brock has had title defenses. Unless there's a plethora of tag losses I'm forgetting, my gut says there's no way this is close to true. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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