Didn’t pay a lot of attention either. Main event was actually reasonably good in that both men worked together to bury Lesnar, who was tearing them both apart.
Then of course we get the typical ReignsWinsLol, setting up yet another attempt by Vince to get this man over.
Just not seeing people being very interested in that ME for Wrestlemania, but I’m sure Vince will work very hard to make us think he’s this great whopping DBD style underdog. :smack:
So Dean and Reigns didn’t turn on each other? Did they even fake it like they did the last couple programs?
They did a few times, but reunited to do the old Shield powerbomb through the announcer table on Brock. They even had a second empty announcer table so they could do it again. Dean smacked the both of them with chairs at the end, but the Spear of Doom prevailed.
So it wasn’t just my faulty viewing portal? The PPV really was boring as watching paint dry? Good, I thought I might have missed something interesting.
The February PPV is inherently a space-filler; nothing is going to happen there that changes the status quo from Royal Rumble to WrestleMania.
Predictability aside, this was a decent show. Ziggler/Owens was good. AJ/Jericho was even gooder. Kalisto vs. Alberto on the pre-show was mainly just a showcase of how much better Mauro Ranallo is at play-by-play than Maggle.
The big question now, of course, is who will win the First Annual Vincent J. McMahon Award For Outstanding Achievement In the Field of Excellence?
PS: The Godfather, a.k.a. Papa Shango, has been announced as one of this year’s Hall of Fame inductees.
Ehhhhhhhhhhh.
Scooped as usual. I literally don’t know who this is other than casual references, you kind of answered my question with your response but…is he worth it at all?
Wish they’d have given it to Dean.
I have a feeling it’s going to be involved with Undertaker’s WM match somehow.
Just as much as Koko B. Ware.
Snarkiness aside, he tried out 5 or so gimmicks before he finally got over as the Godfather. He dressed up in shades, tigerskins/white silk and carried a diamond cane. Before his matches, he would cut a promo that ended with with “So light a fatty for big daddy and join me in saying PIMPIN’ AIN’T EASY!”
He was at the only RAW show I ever attended. I made a poster of Bubba Ray Duddley as Uncle Sam saying “Ah don’t like yew!” (He had more of a Deliverance-type redneck angle back then) We were too far back for the cameras to see it. Anyhoo, I found myself joining in on the Godfather’s promo just like everybody else. He was pretty much a solid midcarder, but he was fun to watch.
HERE COMES THE MONEY!
Just when I think I’m out, they pull me back in…
So it’s the Undertaker… In Hell in a Cell… At Wrestle Mania… Against *Shane McMahon *?
This is a swerve, right? They can’t possibly actually be doing that match. There’s going to be an angle where Shane isn’t cleared to wrestle and he gets to send in Cena/Austin/HBK/Brown Strongman as his substitute.
I hope.
When all else fails, use nepotism.
They are truly desperate. Their solution to sagging ratings is to bring in more MacMahons??? Don’t they remember how sick audiences got of MacMahons? Granted, Shane turned out to be surprisingly talented in the ring, but not Undertaker level. UT doesn’t deserve to take on a figurehead for his potential retirement match, much less in his home state WM. I don’t know why the audience was popping so much for somebody who was last seen around 15 years ago. Did they get in free if they promised to cheer for Shane?
Plus, Vince’s walk is retarded. It looks like he’s trying to prevent a turd from squibbing out.
I couldn’t bring myself to watch any more RAW after that. I completely lost interest.
Heh. Didn’t watch last night even though I was home. I’ve just lost all interest in the WWE Main Roster product because VINCE.
I’ll stick to watching NXT on the network, but fuck Vince, I’m not watching RAW or Smackdown anymore.
“And I’d like to think that maybe things will be better after Vince McMahon dies, but the truth is, it’ll just get passed down to his idiot daughter, and his doofus son-in-law, and the rest of his stupid family!”
I don’t know why I bother having RAW set to record on the DVR; I haven’t watched a full episode in months.
Man, everyone is so negative about this. Not at all the reaction I was expecting.
Shane and Undertaker is genius to me because, I mean, who the hell else is he going to face? Brock again? Wyatt again? There’s no one left. And with Shane not being a regular for the company he can just live in Texas and practice with Taker 24/7 and they can have that match down to a damn science.
Is there a chance one of you guys can give me a cliffsnotes version of the history of Shane and Vince? IIRC Shane was a regular for a while, and then just stopped wrestling because he didn’t like it? Or he had some sort of real life falling out with Vince? Apparently they’re ok now, but what’s the deal with them?
Also, how is a 'Taker match with a half-dead Austin/Shawn or a too-soon-from-injury Cena any better?
Shane isn’t an active wrestler and hasn’t been one in a decade. How are we supposed to accept this as ‘deserved’ or even 'competitive?"
If I recall correctly, Shane led a stable called the “Mean Street Posse.” Their gimmick was that they were entitled trust fundees who could get away with anything because their daddies’ lawyers got them out of trouble, kind of like the “Affluenza” guy. They had some kind of angle that implied that they had gang-raped Stephanie and got away with it. Eventually, Shane parted ways and feuded with them, and then they faded into obscurity.
Shane then had some angles where he teamed with his dad, then Vince had public arguments with his wife, but they cut that angle when she decided to run for Congress. By that time, the audiences were sick of all the MacMahon drama, and Shane became Vince’s adversary. When WWE bought out WCW, they made it look like Shane was the one responsible, as it was his face that appeared on the final Nitro, announcing the takeover.
Shane then irl went into other business ventures, indicating he wasn’t really interested in being the new MacMahon in charge, so that role went to Stephanie. Her marriage to HHH cemented the Power Couple aspect. I think Shane went to China for a few years, but I’m not sure for what. It must have went belly-up if he’s returning.
I’m with you Chimera. I’m taking RAW off my DVR and just going to stick with NXT. There’s better stuff of Monday nights like Better Call Saul anyway. Looks like WM is going to be a complete dud.
We aren’t, that’s part of the story.
Shane basically came in to perform a hostile takeover and Vince obviously doesn’t want him to. Instead of just saying “nope I own it and you’re not getting it see ya” (which I’ll admit is a bit of a plot hole) Vince sees an opportunity and makes a bet with Shane about the match.
From Vince’s point of view he thinks “Shane hasn’t wrestled in a decade, Undertaker is one of the best ever, I’ll make Shane think he’s getting what he wants by making this bet thingy, but he’s obviously going to lose so I win in the end”.
From an outside of kayfabe perspective…is Shane going to win? I don’t know, I tend to doubt it because it gives Taker a win in his home state, a good retirement, I doubt Shane WANT’S to be on the road full-time blah blah and stuff.
But from a storyline perspective this makes perfect sense
Shane looks like he’s in good shape. They have something in mind, maybe he won’t wrestle, maybe it’s just a short term gimmick, but any change of pace is welcome.
Decent women’s matches at Fastlane, Charlotte is showing more range, Brie is a decent performer but not that good at storyline stuff. Weak ending to her match. The tag match showed the potential they have, women have always worked better in tag teams.
The main event was too predictable. Too too predictable, embarrassing really. Smapti has it right, the February show is just a filler on the way to Mania. Without any well developed storylines this year there wasn’t anything they could do to shake things up. Not including Shane in Fastlane indicates to me they don’t have a long term plan for him, not yet anyway.
And once again, their best performer, Dean Ambrose, gets the short end of the stick.
I didn’t watch the show, I reacted to what I saw on my Twitter feed. I agree that Shane will not be in the match, instead having a member of the roster take his place. It would be interesting if Undertaker turned on Vince, saying he’s earned the right to not be Vince’s muscle, and instead team up with Shane. That way Taker gets his victory and Shane gets Raw.
Roman did not get busted open last night. There’s video showing Byron Saxton handing Roman something, probably a blood capsule, after Triple HHH rammed Roman’s head into the announce table. It’s video taken by a fan sitting behind the announcers.
The only way I see this working is something along the lines of, have a match between Stephanie and (insert diva name here) either on the previous week’s Raw or in the WM pre-show, where if Stephanie loses, Shane gets to be replaced. Didn’t WCCW do something similar with Kerry von Erich getting a NWA World Title shot vs. Ric Flair?
I realize this is the WWE markiverse we’re talking about, but I don’t see, “Sorry, but Shane can’t wrestle; UT has to wrestle somebody else, and the original stipulation about Shane owning Raw is still in effect” working.
Here’s another idea, although I don’t see how it plays out for UT: have UT pretty much manhandle Shane, then, after a tombstone, pin him for one, two…and then UT gets up, grabs a mic, says, “I quit” (or better: I quit…boss"), and leaves. This really works if it’s the final match, which I can see happening if the plan is to put the main belt back on Reigns, as the last thing Triple H wants to do is to job in the final match at a WM.