The Steve Austin Show

[Niners Fan in CT]

Yeah but Rollins, Ambrose, Reigns, Wyatt... those are all HHH's "guys" and are the same guys McMahon brought up as having big time potential. I really don't think Vince steps on Hunter's shoes all that much. Sure, Vince has the final say in everything like when they were discussing how Taker's streak ended but when it comes to a talent decision.. I bet Vince wanted to get Punk back and Hunter/Steph basically said "fine, you go do it because we don't want him" and that's where it ended.

[JCM]

WWE does a fine job of making sure it's audience can follow it's storylines(usually it's one storyline) it's crafting a story that's worth following that they have problems with.

 

When they do stumble on to a personal feud between two great young performers they muck it up with Double Dare slime briefcases, hot dog stands, and holograms to blow off a 6 month angle.

 

It's also pretty telling that if in fact the ex Shield guys and Bray are Vince's favorite young stars he had them in a meaningless 3 minute squash and jobbing to Cena at Mania.

[rzombie1988]

 

 

If I'm a WWE wrestler, I'm in Vince's office ASAP pitching my ideas. 

 

Grab that brass ring, you know. 

 

I love contrasting this to Punk's interview where he's basically like 'I hope you like having your ideas stolen for other guys'

 

When you pitch Chris Hero as the third man in The Shield, you deserve to have your idea stolen and altered.

 

I think 75% of the people in WWE or NXT could have taken Reign's spot in the Shield and the quality of their matches would have been equal or better.

[Skeeball Wizard]

If I'm a WWE wrestler, I'm in Vince's office ASAP pitching my ideas.

Grab that brass ring, you know.

I love contrasting this to Punk's interview where he's basically like 'I hope you like having your ideas stolen for other guys'

When you pitch Chris Hero as the third man in The Shield, you deserve to have your idea stolen and altered.

I think 75% of the people in WWE or NXT could have taken Reign's spot in the Shield and the quality of their matches would have been equal or better.

This is the truth. Ambrose and Rollins were the blood and guts of the Shield. Reigns is the hairstyle.

[Rev Ray]

I will throw this out there:

 

Work wise, I'd say Rollins and Cesaro are probably on the same level on delivering in a match.

 

Mic wise, I'd say they are probably on the same level.  Seth isn't setting world on fire in the promo department.  I think he asked us to truly, truly, truly (3 times), ask ourselves something on Monday night.

 

I think the big difference is that Seth was protected for a year in a hot gimmick and Cesaro has floundered where they can't seem to find anything for him.  When they put Cesaro in with Cena and Orton, he's delivered the goods.  While he might not be great on the mic, I think he definitely has a physical charisma to him.

[Ziggy]

 I really don't think Vince steps on Hunter's shoes all that much. Sure, Vince has the final say in everything like when they were discussing how Taker's streak ended but when it comes to a talent decision.. I bet Vince wanted to get Punk back and Hunter/Steph basically said "fine, you go do it because we don't want him" and that's where it ended.

 

now I believe when they Hunter and Vince like to take credit for others ideas especially the on air talent. You got 30 writers and agents and Vince takes the credit still. I wonder how much different WWE would be if it was just 3 or 4 main guys in charge of creative like back in the day.

[rzombie1988]

I will throw this out there:

 

Work wise, I'd say Rollins and Cesaro are probably on the same level on delivering in a match.

 

Mic wise, I'd say they are probably on the same level.  Seth isn't setting world on fire in the promo department.  I think he asked us to truly, truly, truly (3 times), ask ourselves something on Monday night.

 

I think the big difference is that Seth was protected for a year in a hot gimmick and Cesaro has floundered where they can't seem to find anything for him.  When they put Cesaro in with Cena and Orton, he's delivered the goods.  While he might not be great on the mic, I think he definitely has a physical charisma to him.

I disagree on the work. Cesaro was my wrestler of the year in 2013. He brought the goods with everyone on the roster like DB, Kofi, Kane, Cena, Orton and Sami Zayn. He also made Jack Swagger relevant, which was no small feat AND he got a good match out of KHALI. KHALI! 

[Niners Fan in CT]

Reigns has a great look and physical charisma. He also has a few moves that are massively over like the Superman punch and the running dropkick on the apron. That shit is not easily replaceable.

[OSJ]

I was going to chastise rzombie1988 for posting foolishness, and then you went and upped the ante...

 

 

 

 

 

If I'm a WWE wrestler, I'm in Vince's office ASAP pitching my ideas.

Grab that brass ring, you know.

I love contrasting this to Punk's interview where he's basically like 'I hope you like having your ideas stolen for other guys'

When you pitch Chris Hero as the third man in The Shield, you deserve to have your idea stolen and altered.

I think 75% of the people in WWE or NXT could have taken Reign's spot in the Shield and the quality of their matches would have been equal or better.

This is the truth. Ambrose and Rollins were the blood and guts of the Shield. Reigns is the hairstyle.

 

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

Cesaro didn't make Swagger relevant, if anything Zeb made them both relevant. But right now, Swagger is the more compelling character. He'll have to stop hurting people if he wants a push, but I think he's been pretty good in the babyface role and I think it's a pity he was replaced by "the arrival of Erick Rowan" at Survivor Series.

[ebbie]

Hey, hair is very important.

[Cristobal]

Rusev made Swagger relevant.

And Reigns was an excellent contributor in his role in the Shield.

The problem is that outside of the confines of playing that role, his weaknesses have been exposed.

[Overly Critical Man]

Rusev made Swagger relevant.

And Reigns was an excellent contributor in his role in the Shield.

The problem is that outside of the confines of playing that role, his weaknesses have been exposed.

His hair is still as long and flowing as it was last year, so his weaknesses mean nothing.

[JonnyLaw]

It will be interesting to see how Cesaro reacts to this. Does he go CM Punk and mope about it or does he use this to light a fire under him?

[The Nature Boy]

I don't get why they never went for a generic jet-setting rich snob gimmick when Aksana was with him. Just have Cesaro come out in a suit, talk about educated he is, how he grew up rich, had all of the advantages in life, speaks multiple languages, skis the French Alps, has a hot girlfriend..........etc.

 

American wrestling fans hate Europeans, especially handsome ones with hot girlfriends. 

[JonnyLaw]

Vince did have a strange childhood, but his dad had money, connections and power. Vince wouldn't be where he is without his dad being who he was. Maybe he would have been a wrestler if he wasn't a McMahon, but who even knows. Vince had a head start that others would dream of having.

No self awareness, born on third and tells everybody he hit a triple. Zero concept of what privilege is.

I think you're underestimating the conditions he grew up in. Rural NC mobile home parks? ECU? Not exactly a life of privilege.

[The Nature Boy]

 

 

Vince did have a strange childhood, but his dad had money, connections and power. Vince wouldn't be where he is without his dad being who he was. Maybe he would have been a wrestler if he wasn't a McMahon, but who even knows. Vince had a head start that others would dream of having.

No self awareness, born on third and tells everybody he hit a triple. Zero concept of what privilege is.

I think you're underestimating the conditions he grew up in. Rural NC mobile home parks? ECU? Not exactly a life of privilege.

 

 

Vince didn't meet his dad until he was 12 and that was only because his stepmother asked his dad to visit his children from his first marriage. If you listen to the interview, you can tell that Vince really admired his dad but I'm not sure if the feeling was reciprocated in the way that Vince would've wanted it to be. Certainly though, being the son of an influential wrestling promoter DID help him not only get into the business but be seen as legitimate. 

[rzombie1988]

Reigns has a great look and physical charisma. He also has a few moves that are massively over like the Superman punch and the running dropkick on the apron. That shit is not easily replaceable.

I'll still stick with my original claim that 75% of the WWE/NXT roster could have been put in there instead and have been equal or better. It's not super hard to look good when you're the 3rd man on a 3 person team that already has two great workers and you work the least.

 

We'll see how good Reigns is soon when he has to do 20+ minute 1 on 1 matches.

[Greggulator]

The Shield was awesome. All three of those guys worked so amazingly well together. Reigns played his role to absolute perfection. He was such an awesome shit-talking heel in their initial run and became an awesome powerhouse. How is there anyone who could possibly think differently? He was also awesome in the tag team with Seth.

Reigns is fine! He hasn't had any singles classics but he hasn't been in anything that objectionably bad. His interviews aren't anything great but there have been far worse. People hate just to hate.
 

[Zakk_Sabbath]

 

Every show you mentioned other than TNA is a lot more popular than Raw.

So who is doing what wrong?

 

 

They're also for a mainstream audience. Raw's for a niche crowd. Wrestling has, and always have, a stigma for it. My parents and a lot of my friends will absolutely never, ever watch wrestling. But they'll try out Breaking Bad, Mad Men, other serials, etc.

Wrestling's more like General Hospital or other soap operas. And they almost always have a recap at the beginning of the show to catch you up on what happened previously in case you don't know who Luke and Laura or The Quartermaines are. It's done differently, obviously, but soap operas aren't live, quasi-athletic events.

 

 

 

I agree with the General Hospital remark because my mom has been following that show for 40 of its 50 year run. I was home awhile back, and she was disgusted with the direction the writers were taking. I asked why she still watched, and she said "I'm not sure. Luke and Laura were so huge in the 80s..." It's like looking in a fucking mirror, man. Freaked me right out.

 

Also, I remember watching with her when I was a kid, and they ran an AIDS angle-- I guess that must have been their Attitude era. Too bad I was still watching smilin' Diesel every Sunday morning.

 

 

I also have to say, The Shield probably was Hero's best opportunity there if what Punk said about them being HIS guys is to be true. They would have gotten tons of mileage out of them being his little indy NWO. That being said, since they didn't go that route, Reigns probably was a good choice in retrospect.

[Big Fresh]

Vince did hint however that Punk had communication skills issues so maybe Punk didn't go to Vince directly with constructive ideas but just complained about his lot in the company. 

 

See, I took that to mean Punk would often walk up to him and say, "Use my idea, you stupid old fuck!"

[IHFP]

Reigns is fine! He hasn't had any singles classics but he hasn't been in anything that objectionably bad. His interviews aren't anything great but there have been far worse. People hate just to hate.

 

So he hasn't had any singles classics, his interviews aren't anything great, but somehow that's enough to get a super push? I thought you had to reach for the brass ring before you got the push? Apparently 99% of reaching for the brass ring is having a good look.

[Big Fresh]

Vince looked like he wanted to cry when Austin brought up CM Punk.

 

I might be way off base here, but I believe Vince is actually sad that Punk is gone. I think he likes the guy.

[E.J.]

I don't get why they never went for a generic jet-setting rich snob gimmick when Aksana was with him. Just have Cesaro come out in a suit, talk about educated he is, how he grew up rich, had all of the advantages in life, speaks multiple languages, skis the French Alps, has a hot girlfriend..........etc.

 

American wrestling fans hate Europeans, especially handsome ones with hot girlfriends. 

 

I've said it before, but I think that gimmick has been done to death. Plus, I don't think it would get Cesaro over. If they would have ran with the "Pound for pound strongest man in the WWE" and not decided to bury him, I think he would have been at better place than he is now.

[Niners Fan in CT]

He said a Punk return would be "best for business" but I still think Vince is just letting Hunter/Steph make the call on it. I mean, why else wouldn't Vince just go talk to Punk himself. He said he doesn't have a JR (who's fault is that?) to go talk to Punk like JR did with Austin. That right there tells me that Hunter and Steph couldn't give a crap.