DECEMBER WRESTLING DISCUSSION THREAD

[caley]

I know we're not supposed to be discussing ongoing Raws (but this isn't Spoiler-worthy just something to watch out for) but I LOVED Seth Rollins doing a dive to the outside and two young girls in the front row reach up and pat him on the back, then you can see the first girl wiping her hand on the barricade, and trying to wipe the oil off her hands for the next 30 seconds or so.

[cool arrow]

Can't wait to make the case for Nikki Bella to have the best right hand in the company. Tbh

 

I could make a crude sexist joke here but instead I'll just say she should teach Cena how to throw a punch.

[ebbie]

It's the WWE. Divas only throw punches when they mean that shit. Other than that, it's some kind of move that just gets done for the hell of it.

[Matt D]

 

Can't wait to make the case for Nikki Bella to have the best right hand in the company. Tbh

 

I could make a crude sexist joke here but instead I'll just say she should teach Cena how to throw a punch.

 

There's a Globetotters joke in there.

[Nice Guy Eddie]

Can't wait to make the case for Nikki Bella to have the best right hand in the company. Tbh

I could make a crude sexist joke here but instead I'll just say she should teach Cena how to throw a punch.

I'll be that guy and make the crude sexist joke. Nikki Bella has the best right hand job in the company.

[thee Reverend Axl Future]

Pro Wrestling is more analogous to an episodic, scripted television show than the Harlem Globetrotters. I honestly think that kayfabe is the biggest enemy of pro wrestling. You don't see pro wrestlers openly discussing the business on mainstream media outlets. Whenever Jim Parsons appears on late night TV, he's on there as "Jim Parsons" and not as "Sheldon Cooper." He also talks about his current projects, maybe drops some behind the scenes info. You never see a pro wrestler on mainstream TV saying "it was really fun to work with wrestler x, we should have a good performance on Sunday....etc." 

 

I disagree but kayfabe in the modern media era does inhibit publicity for pro wrestling. I do think that even if all pretense of out of the ring kayfabe was halted, business would not increase at all. It might as well be live "Power Rangers" then. Kayfabe is the beauty of the whole thing. Without it, it is just "fake fighting". Kayfabe is what I miss most about rasslin'.

- RAF

[The Nature Boy]

 

Pro Wrestling is more analogous to an episodic, scripted television show than the Harlem Globetrotters. I honestly think that kayfabe is the biggest enemy of pro wrestling. You don't see pro wrestlers openly discussing the business on mainstream media outlets. Whenever Jim Parsons appears on late night TV, he's on there as "Jim Parsons" and not as "Sheldon Cooper." He also talks about his current projects, maybe drops some behind the scenes info. You never see a pro wrestler on mainstream TV saying "it was really fun to work with wrestler x, we should have a good performance on Sunday....etc." 

 

I disagree but kayfabe in the modern media era does inhibit publicity for pro wrestling. I do think that even if all pretense of out of the ring kayfabe was halted, business would not increase at all. It might as well be live "Power Rangers" then. Kayfabe is the beauty of the whole thing. Without it, it is just "fake fighting". Kayfabe is what I miss most about rasslin'.

- RAF

 

 

See, I don't know. I feel like most people think that wrestling fans actually think that wrestling is real. Kayfabe just kind of furthers that. I don't think that business would increase if you had John Cena appearing on (say) Jimmy Fallon breaking kayfabe on the same level that Bradley Cooper would if he were discussing a movie, but it might lessen the public stigma a bit. 

 

As nice as kayfabe was, we're also in an era where everyone wants every last detail about their favorite TV show and its stars.  

[Patrick B.]

Per Rumblingz:

"Reports are that the WWE is planning on having Cena pin Lesnar clean at the Rumble followed by Lesnar destroying Cena after the match. Rollins then runs down and cashes it in to become WWE World Champion. The next night on RAW, Cena demands a rematch, but Rollins says he will only grant a rematch if The Authority are re-instated.

The WWE is anxious to bring back HHH and Stephanie because RAW's sagging ratings are being directly attributed to them not being on TV."

[JCM]

ebbie, on 22 Dec 2014 - 9:03 PM, said:

It's the WWE. Divas only throw punches when they mean that shit. Other than that, it's some kind of move that just gets done for the hell of it.

Yeah but the women in NXT have been the recipients of some of the best match layouts of the year.

[Patrick B.]

Honestly, I'm fine with most of that storyline except for the end of it.  They've obviously been building up the deal with Rollins pushing Cena to bring back The Authority.  WWE literally can't function without their pet evil-boss storyline and turn it into a self-fulfilling prophecy when the ratings decline.

[The Nature Boy]

Per Rumblingz:

"Reports are that the WWE is planning on having Cena pin Lesnar clean at the Rumble followed by Lesnar destroying Cena after the match. Rollins then runs down and cashes it in to become WWE World Champion. The next night on RAW, Cena demands a rematch, but Rollins says he will only grant a rematch if The Authority are re-instated.

The WWE is anxious to bring back HHH and Stephanie because RAW's sagging ratings are being directly attributed to them not being on TV."

 

Well..........that's an anticlimatic way to have Cena tie Flair's reign total. 

[goc]

Yea let's blow our wad on Lesnar so we can bring back HHH & Stephanie! Just have Bryan come out and lie and say he's ready to come back, Cena can come out and say how concerned he is for Bryan's health, he knows Bryan shouldn't come back yet so he's gonna bring back The Authority who tell Bryan he's not allowed to return yet until he is cleared by THEIR doctor.

[Brysynner]

 

Per Rumblingz:

"Reports are that the WWE is planning on having Cena pin Lesnar clean at the Rumble followed by Lesnar destroying Cena after the match. Rollins then runs down and cashes it in to become WWE World Champion. The next night on RAW, Cena demands a rematch, but Rollins says he will only grant a rematch if The Authority are re-instated.

The WWE is anxious to bring back HHH and Stephanie because RAW's sagging ratings are being directly attributed to them not being on TV."

 

Well..........that's an anticlimatic way to have Cena tie Flair's reign total. 

 

 

To be fair Flair's reign total means he won the belt a lot and lost it a lot too. In all honesty Punk's 434 day reign means more than Flair/Cena winning and losing the title 16 times. As a wrestler give me one long reign over a bunch of quick reigns to make my number high. Now as a performer, I'd take the 16 times because that means I've been main eventing for almost two decades.

[Cobra Commander]

When it comes to kayfabe. We gotta figure out definitions. Because obviously an actor discussing his upcoming movie won't reveal the ending. So a pro wrestler shouldn't tip his hand for how an upcoming match ends. Also, there's common sense ways to acknowledge that it's a competition more than some sort of consistent personal struggle with every opponent.

There could be a logical way to explain most of the storyline BS in a way that would sound realistic

[The Nature Boy]

When it comes to kayfabe. We gotta figure out definitions. Because obviously an actor discussing his upcoming movie won't reveal the ending. So a pro wrestler shouldn't tip his hand for how an upcoming match ends. Also, there's common sense ways to acknowledge that it's a competition more than some sort of consistent personal struggle with every opponent.

There could be a logical way to explain most of the storyline BS in a way that would sound realistic

 

I just imagine it'd go like:

 

"Working with Dolph was a lot of fun, he's a fantastic performer and I look forward to working with him on Sunday. It's always fun to work with him to put a match together because he always cares about entertaining the fans."

 

An actor would frame his answers in terms of working with his co-workers to frame a performance, wrestlers rarely do this. It might make some difference as to how wrestling is perceived if wrestlers just discussed it like it were an acting job. 

[Nice Guy Eddie]

Per Rumblingz:

"Reports are that the WWE is planning on having Cena pin Lesnar clean at the Rumble followed by Lesnar destroying Cena after the match. Rollins then runs down and cashes it in to become WWE World Champion. The next night on RAW, Cena demands a rematch, but Rollins says he will only grant a rematch if The Authority are re-instated.

The WWE is anxious to bring back HHH and Stephanie because RAW's sagging ratings are being directly attributed to them not being on TV."

Ignore the other problems of this company and bring HHH and Stephanie back. That will fix everything. I am a fan of quite a bit of the roster, but I don't want to support this company when they do shit like this. The majority of the product is the drizzling shits. Even-steven booking, start/stop pushes, jobbing guys that fans want to get behind. It's all bullshit.

[SirSmUgly]

Eh, the WWEN has backlogs of awesome wrestling AND NXT. Plus, streaming is the way of the future. I'm glad to support them on that part of their business. As soon as people with Nielsens stop watching RAW, maybe they'll fix things over there. As for me, I don't watch anything RAW related that gets put on the Network that is post-2000, so with their analytics, they know at least one first-day subscriber has little interest in RAW as it is currently.

 

Maybe I should stop watching their PPVs as well. 

[JonnyLaw]

Per Rumblingz:

"Reports are that the WWE is planning on having Cena pin Lesnar clean at the Rumble followed by Lesnar destroying Cena after the match. Rollins then runs down and cashes it in to become WWE World Champion. The next night on RAW, Cena demands a rematch, but Rollins says he will only grant a rematch if The Authority are re-instated.

The WWE is anxious to bring back HHH and Stephanie because RAW's sagging ratings are being directly attributed to them not being on TV."

 

[cool arrow]

It's really no wonder they always refer to the "WWE Universe." They're certainly not living in the same universe I inhabit.

[Technico Support]

The WWE is anxious to bring back HHH and Stephanie because RAW's sagging ratings are being directly attributed to them not being on TV."

 

That's amazing.  Reason #9384 why the people in power should never also be talent.  This company is so fucked it's not even funny.  Their creative problems have a major list of very complex reasons and the answer is definitely not as simple as "more McMahons on TV."

 

Count me in with the people who pay for WWE Network just for old stuff and NXT. 

[nate]

Yeah, because that NXT show was fucking awesome because of the evil boss angle. Shut up, rumblingz!!!

[Web Conn]

Yeah I don't like Cena breaking Flairs record. Cena is good has had some classic matches, done some cool shit and is the dude right now but he's no Ric Flair.

[Raziel]

Per Rumblingz:

"Reports are that the WWE is planning on having Cena pin Lesnar clean at the Rumble followed by Lesnar destroying Cena after the match. Rollins then runs down and cashes it in to become WWE World Champion. The next night on RAW, Cena demands a rematch, but Rollins says he will only grant a rematch if The Authority are re-instated.

The WWE is anxious to bring back HHH and Stephanie because RAW's sagging ratings are being directly attributed to them not being on TV."

No no no Vince, ratings aren't down because we want Trip back on TV running the show, its because we want him running the show PERIOD instead of you.

[Zakk_Sabbath]

Remember when everyone was all: "Hunter is just going to fantasy book himself to break Flair's record. What a selfish prick. It wont mean as much because Flair had to be voted in by the NWA owners etc."

We are now weeks away from John Cena drawing level with said record and doing so in less than half the time it took Flair.

I honestly dont know how to feel about it.

On the one hand I dismiss it due to the 2 world titles era padding everyone's stats but on the flip side I cant help but feel a little annoyed that the record is going to be matched and eventually broken.

It's one of those things that, as a kid, I thought would last forever.

 

I remember when Flair had it for the 11th or 12th time around the time I started watching WCW as a kid, and I honestly thought the guy had been wrestling since like 1940 or something to reach that number. They should just start counting the unofficial Puerto Rico/Japan wins/losses so he can say he had it 25 times or whatever it was. Shit, now I wish crazy ass TNA would've put theirs on him at least three times, though I doubt they'd ever mention it on WWE TV (then again, they did count Sting's at Survivor Series, except it was the NWA title in 2007 when he had it, so there's some gray area).

 

 

I can't believe the news about HHH/Stephanie coming back. I actually am one of the few who enjoy HHH as a wrestler and I'm looking forward to him doing something at Mania, but GOD enough with the authority figure angles. It was fresh in 1997 with Bischoff and Vince doing it because prior to that, you'd see Jack Tunney like twice a year. The only time it's been remotely intriguing since then were when HHH and Lauranitis happened in the VERY infancy of the 2011 Summer of Punk thing, and more recently, with Lucha Underground (but that's more the presentation making it SEEM fresher, in my opinion). Someone wrote here recently (may have been elsewhere, and if you're reading this, please take credit) that WWE has become a show about running a wrestling company rather than a wrestling show. (That Muppet Show comparison in that video we were discussing yesterday is spot on, in that regard). It seems like it's such an obvious fix to just let the wrestling show be a wrestling show.

[Nice Guy Eddie]

Does anyone know the actual number of reigns Flair has had? Weren't some of his opponents reigns not recognized therefore he never lost the title? Wasn't 16 just kinda the number WWE settled on?