Greggulator

One thing I'd like to ask is if we've had a demographic shift since 1998. When there are less casual fans does that mean that the ones who remain are less working class? More working class? Are more middle class? Are less middle class? Is it that we have some of the kids who got into things in the late 90s, early 00s (and there were tons of kids wearing Austin shirts and what not and even the early Cena kids are probably in their late teenage years now) who stayed fans and grew up with the internet and became smarky? Have some of the older fans who are the ones we more stereotypically associate with pro wrestling fandom died off? Can you be a fan and avoid the internet mentality now? It's a way more middle-of-the-road audience these days, at least as to who they're marketing towards. It's PG-13. There's no more cathartic release for people who get cathartic releases seeing women get beaten. Wrestling will never attract a truly highbrow audience but it can attract an audience a little bit more mainstream than people who emulated the monster truck skull t-shirt part of Austin (while maybe skipping over the absurd work ethic part of the character). I think the fans now are largely nerds. The adult audience are people who got hooked with this when we were kids and stayed with it through maturity. I think most wrestling fans (especially in the post-Internet age) are willing to admit they're nerds. Most of the kids of the Cena Generation are seemingly middle-of-the-road types whose parents buy T-Shirts as gifts. When did Cena's rise start? Ten years ago or so? His initial fan-base are now kids in college or late in high school who have grown more cynical -- they're the Internet kids discovering snark in wrestling and pop culture and, without probably realizing it, have grown up being told Everything's Possible and realizing that it's not at a younger age than we did. That's why Bryan became what he became. That's why AJ became a star -- she's the obtainable pretty girl (who became a lunatic, and we all had girls like that in our lives at some point). Punk's a little too cool for school compared to most of us but every good group of dorks in high school was friends with the skater kid who threw his board into the toolbag linebacker's car windshield that time.

Exactly.

The theme of Austin/Punk/Bryan feuds are the same -- it's how a unique individual has to deal with the agendas of corporate America. But all three have completely different appeals. Austin was a heel everyone liked because he drank beer, cursed, cagey and would never quit. But he was like The Terminator in his obsessive will. He was essentially a bad guy from the comics who went after an even worse bad guy and was beloved for it. I rooted for Austin but didn't always have the most sympathy for him -- if you're Stunning everyone in sight, people are going to want to get theirs. Punk was the dude at work who felt like he had absolutely nothing to lose because he had enough in savings to quit. But he's a natural sh-t stirrer and couldn't resist poking a stick in a hornet's nest just because there was an abusive power structure. He's like the token punk in a high school populated by cool kid jocks who doesn't give one crap. But the only thing, those people have a martyr complex that can get old. That's Punk's fatal flaw -- he has a total martyr complex. It's actually great he has that in both his tell-it-like-it-is face persona as well as his Straightedge Savior persona. Bryan's the most everyman of the three. He's one of us. He looks like us. He's an admitted nerd. I wrote in the August Discussion about my travails in the workplace and how much I see and feel that in Bryan -- I've gotten passed over for not going to a pedigree college or having a messy desk as opposed to being judged on my merits, talent and personality. I had to sell out (bye bye Weezer T-shirt, hello Jos. A. Bank sportscoat) a little bit because the real world doesn't doesn't work like that and I've got a family, debt and various wants and needs that a raise can provide for. But in the exaggerated world of professional wrestling -- the ultimate form of storytelling for the American Common Man -- I get to root for a dude who was given a chance to sell out, held his ground, attempted to become a star on his own merits without any patron pulling strings for him, and now has an entire corporate board scheming against him despite his division turning in the best quarterly profits the company has seen in years. It's how it is for dudes who discovered Pavement in high school or became vegans in college who are faced with the adult fact that you have to work for the man.As Matt D. put it -- Bryan's the Steve Austin for the post-2008 world of young, middle-class (and below) people sold on a failed American Dream, kids who were told their whole lives they can be anything they wanted, did the right things and worked hard and went to college, but now find themselves mired in a mountain of student debt and are forced to take a job working for the man. And when they're there, they quickly see that the system in place treats them like a number essentially there to help a stock price when making layoff announcements during an earnings call with Wall Street advisers, whereas the anointed few (the old guard who hire their children like the McMahon's, the people who look and talk the part and like Randy Orton) have all of the managerial power. Those of us who fit into the first category who have a lot of talent to shine face a huge amount of hurdles (executive vice-presidents scheming to protect their spots with the help of people they know from top 15 MBA programs, allegedly independent corporate boards stocked with the CEOs buddies from the country club) trying to make it to that spot. Bryan dealing with all of the odds stacked against him is the most I've ever related to a wrestling character. When he wins, we all do.

I always liked that, too. I always read that as a justification for being an amoral person. "See! It's OKAY being awful to others! Welcome aboard to the land of cheap shots and using salts as a weapon!"

Okay, let's take a face on the roster on the ramp. Say, Christian. He sees what's happening and decides to fight.1) He has no idea of knowing if anyone else will be joining him. 2) He's throwing himself into fighting with The Shield, who have wrecked shop since Day 1 and took out two of your peers tonight AND you're also already hurt. 3) You're leaving yourself vulnerable to getting jumped from behind by any number of worms behind you like ADR, who know doubt would love to snap your arm and prevent you from ever being a rival again. Or even some random heel might want to step up to take you out just to win favor with The Corporate Evolution. 4) Even if somehow you DO even the odds for Bryan, what's the best case scenario for him? He gets his ass beat by Randy, HHH or Vince.5) What's your best case scenario? You'll likely take a beating and now will also draw the ire of this ruthless faction led by people you've seen make lives miserable for decades. And also joining them is a guy in Randy Orton who is a ten-time champion who kicked the owner of the company in the temple and kissed his unconscious daughter in front of his handcuffed son-in-law. And they have three near unstoppable mercenaries at their behest. You're better off being fired instead but are you willing to hit the armories and sell T-Shirts out of your car like Daniel Bryan, especially when you're nearing the end of your career?There's absolutely NO reason if you're a face to do that. You can be the best person in the world but live to fight another day.

It would be great if that was self-aware and a joke. Steph does think she's this self-made woman who has achieved her rank and stature on her own merits and not because of her last name or her husband.But we know it's not that.

They had their job security threatened. Everyone just saw what HHH did at SummerSlam. Dolph and Big Show lipped off and got rolled by The Shield. Why risk your livelihood for a dude who has to stand tall? Especially when there's a chance the guy standing behind you is in cahoots with this whole thing and can take you out as well. Next week (or the week after) is when the rallying cry begins.

The whole point of watching weekly wrestling is to want to see what happens the next week. I want to see Daniel Bryan put one of The Corporate Evolution into the Yes Lock. I want to see him blast someone with a running knee. I want to see the other faces crushed by the McMahon's tonight rally with him and go after them like Sting's Squadron.The angle took the first step tonight. There's a lot more to go.

I really liked what I saw on the show. I missed the first hour or so but saw the Bryan/Steph stuff on replay. Good stuff. Steph talking in her corporate lingo was great with her "valued member" HR trope. I liked the end segment, too. HHH as corporate overlord is perfect. He's such an unlikable, awful person. The same with Vince. Steph hugging Randy was amazing heeling. They built it up perfectly.I think they always have to sort of "recast" what happened the night before, especially after a big angle that happens on a PPV. Not everyone saw SummerSlam. Not everyone knows what happened. But the show ended on the same dark note from Sunday night -- even darker, now that we know The Shield are there to do the bidding of HHH. Now the whole WWE Universe gets to feel that way and it's an even worse feeling. Bryan's going to come out of his as a gigantic star. It's Week 1 -- he's still new to this role and he has to figure out a way to get even. Also:* That Usos finishing segment was a really cool spot to end a really forgettable match. Clever. * Brad Maddox is a great syncophant. * The Shield/Big Show match was really well done. (I didn't see Dolph yet.)* It's too bad Miz and Wade are completely dead in terms of how the crowd takes them seriously. That was a pretty competent match. Wade had the advantage when he could strike. Miz was cagey throughout with his sunset flips and finally found a way to clip the knee and get on the Figure Four before Fandango got his revenge.

Miz was decent enough on the stick for a while. That interview he did when feuding against MVP where he went from the backstage to the ring was an all-time great promo. I also liked his brawl against Alex Riley. And his stuff w/ Morrison was also pretty good. He's had his moments. I think Barrett's good enough to get over after losing as much as he has. The dude was main eventing for half a year right out of the gate. They obviously have a lot of faith in him but have wanted to run with other guys. I think Barrett would be a great conniving scumbag in an alliance of some sort. He's the perfect guy to try and stage a power play/political coup down the line. He'd also be a perfect suck-up to Vince, especially for everyone who remembers how he debuted leading an evil Communist faction. That's great heel hypocrisy.

Essentially, HHH is JJ. Orton is Flair. Fill in the blanks from there.

That might be a little too complex to explain to the WWE audience right now. But Titus as the new Batista I could see having a lot of legs. Darren Young is the new anti-bullying babyface. Titus wants "millions of dollars" above all else and has no interest in being a good guy. Titus already has the marketing stuff down since he's wearing suits and going to all the corporate events. He's also a legit huge dude, super charismatic. Working with great wrestlers will only help him figure out how to put it all together. I think The Shield, though, is the best bet. It's not Evolution 2.0 but more of a Horseman group. The Shield already showed themselves as hypocrites against injustice when they took Heyman's money to save Punk. Them doing the same and protecting Randy at all costs while also having all of the titles while in the pocket of the corporation -- that's a nasty alignment. It gives Bryan a ton of guys to work with, etc.

Getting a post liked from Matt D is the ultimate sign that you made a good post and something we should all strive for.

This captured it perfectly. The ONE thing they could have done to cement Austin as the uber-heel they wanted was for him to publicly grovel. I always thought they should have had Austin come out in a suit and willingly join the Kiss My Ass Club the night after that WrestleMania. That would have destroyed their 3:16 sales, though.

But that's been kept separate from the wrestling part of it. I know he's part of the machine. But in terms of his stuff within the context of the actual wrestling/storytelling component of the machine -- he's clearly not in that role, and I love it since I relate to it more than I have any other character.

Also, Daniel Bryan could not be a better proxy for the WWE audience. He's the nerdish weirdo outsider who is unbelievable talented and did it on his own terms. But he's now within corporate America and dismissed by the power brokers for someone who looks the traditional part. (As JBL says, if you were creating a WWE wrestler from scratch, you'd make Randy Orton.)I mean, personally speaking -- I'm a weirdo and have come to terms with it long ago. I was a weirdo nerd in high school. I was into punk and indie and the typical brainy outsider. I've got a strange sense of humor. I think I'm very good at my line of work (writing about finance and economics). I tried making it as a freelance writer (like being in the indies) but decided I needed a stable income, so I sacrificed independence for a 9-5 gig. When I started, I was told pretty quickly that I was a "polarizing" hire. I didn't fit the template of their typical hire. I didn't come from a pedigree college or live abroad or anything of that sort. I worked with a lot of Ivy League grads, some of whom came from some privileged backgrounds. I had to work my ass off to get to that spot (I made less than $20K a year at my first journalism jobs) and had to bust my ass even more to prove I belonged.I became really well-liked in the workplace. That's a strength of mine -- I make my quirkiness work for me and try to make the workplace as fun as possible. My co-workers were really impressed with how much I busted my ass but kept it fun. But respect from peers doesn't mean a promotion or raise.I'm a lot more comfortable wearing a band T-shirt and frayed khaki slacks and sneakers to the workplace, with a messy desk (since that means I'm actually working) with a Wayne's World hat and picture of my dog as cubicle decorations. I had a solid review after my first year with a decent but sorta token raise. The main thing I had strikes about was appearance, which was somehow a category I was judged on. I mean, appearance really doesn't have anything to do with writing articles about refinery profit margins but it mattered to the people who controlled my paycheck. I also got passed over for a promotion by someone I was better than but who went to an Ivy League school and could talk knowledgeably about country club memberships.So I ended up playing that game. I bought a lot of clothing from Jos. A. Bank and started to dress like the president of the company, as much as I could afford to -- a lot of blazers and ties and dress shoes. If this guy sat in on our conference calls or weekly meetings, I stopped being funny and started speaking in corporate lingo.I absolutely HATED doing this (and my co-workers made fun of me for it, as they should have). I sold out in my own little way. But I live in the real world. I have a mortgage and student loans and my wife needed a new car for work.It sucked. I thought I was good enough to eventually be able to make it to a more prominent role in the company without turning into a bit of a drone. But I couldn't trust that would happen in a time frame that would help my family. And my second review? I got close to a 10% raise and was told a promotion was in line at the next opportunity. I did nothing differently but dressed and talked the part.So, that's why I love Daniel Bryan. I absolutely wished I could have stayed true to who I am in order to make it to the top. The real world doesn't work like that. Thankfully, wrestling's storytelling that I can live vicariously through. He's not going to do dickish things like Austin or be a pain in the ass like Punk. But he's going to be himself and end up on top at some point. And I'll feel like I've won a little bit, too.

I could not have loved either of those matches (or ADR/Christian) more.HUGE Kudos to Michael Cole last night. He had the best performance of his lifetime. He made Punk/Lesnar sound completely epic. Straight out of the "JR Calling Foley" playbook.I think this has been the most I've ever enjoyed the WWE. A buddy of mine described the WWE right now as "Pixar with men in tights." They tell really simple stories very well -- perfect to get across to the PG audience they're marketing towards. They pretty much figured out the formula this year. I also can't remember a time when they've been so consistently good in-ring. All of this talk about MOTYCs today -- NONE of those have included any of The Shield six-man stuff or the random great Main Event stuff or the Daniel Bryan Owns The Last 60 Minutes of Raw or Dolph/ADR after WrestleMania (albeit short, was absolutely fantastic). On top of it -- and more importantly -- they don't have terrible things like babyfaces punching women or awful cursing or lesbians for the sake of catering to deviants. Even the divas stuff has been presented with some dignity lately.

The WWE screwed up w/ the Summer of Punk thing by making it go too fast and making it too complicated.I hope they learned their lesson. Just keep it super simple. Bryan vs. The World. Super excited for Kane to start wearing a sheep mask.

Punk going after Heyman wasn't just because he hates Heyman. If Punk didn't kill Heyman, he'd keep interfering. Also, I thought Michael Cole was abnormally good.

Bryan is absolutely amazing as the guy who has to overcome every odd imaginable. The WWE has a great plot device w/ The Money In The Bank. It lets Bryan continue as the underdog chasing for the title who has to overcome everything in his way to get what he deserves.Cena/Bryan was awesome. Punk/Lesnar felt like I was watching Rocky. Christian/ADR was awesome.I didn't watch Wyatt/Kane yet or The Shield stuff.Great PPV, though. I legit think the WWE is at its absolute peak right now. So many great workers who get it.

I'm so into Power Grid that I briefly planned The Ultimate Power Gird Tournament.There would be 25 contestants. $10 entrance fee. Each table would have five players. The winners go on to the Final 5. Second place winners go on to that 5. And so on and so forth. Then you can rank everyone 1-25. The ultimate champion gets $250 of prize money.

That's awful about your dog. I can tell though from her bed that she had an awesome life. This is my beloved Zelda. She's six. A friend of a friend works for the parks department here in Philly. They find a lot of stray/abandoned dogs. The friend of a friend found her. Protocol was that you have to take a dog to the pound if you find a stray. However, she had to work on a Sunday for some reason and there was no one at the pound. She took her home. She wanted to keep her but she already has two dogs and lives in an apartment. Our mutual friend called me since I was going to hang out w/ her. My wife and I talked about getting a dog for years but never went through with it -- my wife said she'd be too sad to go to adopt a dog because she'd want to adopt every one. I went to my friend's house and met Zelda for the first time. She jumped up on my chest and kissed me a bunch. I knew that she was immediately my best friend. This was five years ago. I worked from home most of our first year with her. I was going through a really rough time of things. She kept me sane and healthy. I love her so much. She sleeps in our bed with us and always uses my legs as a pillow. The only thing she loves more than us is peanut butter.

I think taking a dangerous gimmick match and treating it like nothing is no selling. I think you also need to go to an improv class or show. Bray's acting (and pretty much everyone in the WWE) is Lawrence Olivier compared to improv students.

The dude thinks he's the second coming of Christ and we've entered the end days of revelation. He's fighting the devil's proxy in the Lake of Fire. He's not afraid of fire. The fire's afraid of him.Or, in other words, he's a total lunatic. I think you need to learn what "no selling" is.

You know what, I take back my comments. Who the hell cares? It's a great moment.To add on -- What do I care if how it got dropped was worked? It happened and a lot of good, positive stuff is seemingly coming out of it.