But will anyone still care by the time that rolls around? I’ve seen a lot more “I turned it on to see how the new regime was going to handle things and that’ll be the last time as well because it sucked” than I have positive reactions.
Of all the storylines they could rip off from WWE, how in the world do they end up greenlighting a rehash of Heel Michael Cole? And now we have the problem of taping so far in advance–nobody wants to see this feud, nobody cares about this feud, it’s actually turning people off of the product, but we have 5 or 6 more weeks of it because its already been taped.
Supposedly after the first day of taping Eli Drake got into a heated discussion with Jeff Jarrett about all of the “Boy, did Impact suck for the past couple years, or what?” promos, so hopefully we’ll see less of that, and maybe they’ll actually start mentioning their own name more than WWE’s.
The Hardys have just retained the ROH tag titles in a hell of a match against the Young Bucks and Roppongi Vice, with Brother Nero giving an elbow drop off the top of a ladder into a table covered with thumbtacks to pin Matt Jackson for the win.
The commentary team didn’t make any mention of the “Broken” gimmick the entirety of the match, though they were obviously working it and the crowd was yelling “DELETE!” most of the match.
Yeah, apparently Anthem served ROH and all PPV providers with a Cease-and-Desist claiming full ownership of anything related to the “Broken” universe.
This strikes me as something they may have a legal right to do, but would be better off not doing–there’s no way Impact will successfully use it without the Hardys, and stopping the Hardys from using it just makes them look bad.
Not to mention RoH’s weekly show is only an hour long, and doesn’t leave much room for Broken Hardy epic segments. Maybe they’ll they’ll keep it up on their YouTube channel, but stupid legal situations might prevent that.
See here’s the problem with Raw. There was a time not too long ago that the powers in charge weren’t afraid to take their medicine. Think back to Stone Cold and Mr. McMahon. How many times did Austin have Vince’s number? There was the beer bath, the Zamboni, the hospital stay with the enema, the cement filled Corvette, Bang 3:16. Vince knows that eventually the faces have to get over on the heels. As a student of the game you would think Triple HHH would know this. Instead he takes a beating from Rollins and then gets his revenge immediately. Would it have been so bad to end the show with Triple HHH outside the ring staring down Rollins? Next week they start the show with Trips in the ring where he can cut a promo on Rollins. But no, Triple HHH can’t look weak! He’s the Cerebral Assassin! The Game! The King of Kings! It’s almost like he’s over compensating for banging the boss’s daughter.
As for Steph, I don’t think there’s any chance of saving her. She’s pulling down X-Pac heat. And stop chanting “CM Punk” at her! Try “Randy Savage” instead.
And three weeks out from the biggest event of the year and the Universal Camp is nowhere to be found. You’ve got the Undertaker, Brock, Oldberg and Triple HHH figuring in the big matches. Your women’s champ gets destroyed by someone who at this time doesn’t figure in the title picture. Charlotte appears to kick off a pointless feud with someone who should be in developmental. Three out of the four tag teams in the division are doing a triple threat for the belts. Samoa Joe is in the battle royal? And where the hell is Finn Balor?
To say nothing of the fact that Big Show is also in the Battle Royal, which apparently means the Shaq match Vince has been shitting himself in anticipation of for a year now isn’t happening after all.
At least I have Davey Richards vs. Pentagon Jr. to look forward to on 'Mania week.
If WWE keeps messing up Wrestlemania, the one event of the year that you could always rely on them getting it right(well, almost always, and never two failures in a row), then they are going to have some problems.
Last year’s show was weak and this year’s show looks weak as well. If they really wanted to save it they’d have booked Goldberg vs. Trump. That’s a 30 second main event I think people would pay a lot of money to see.
I’ve nothing but respect for Finn Balor, but the best thing is to keep him off TV until after Wrestlemania. At most, have him in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Best use scenario - he eliminates Samoa Joe and the two can feud for a few months.
Wrestlemania is looking to be a mountain of suck right now. Wrestlemania should be used (mostly) to end feuds, not kick them off. Every single angle and match from January forward should be building to Wreslemania. Jericho/Owens should be the rubber match, with some special stipulation - not the initial match or even a one-and-done. While I understand wanting ‘marquee’ names headlining, two part-timers battling for the title should be seen by everyone else in the locker room as a slap in the face. It’s WCW Champion David Arquette levels of insulting. Only marginally better is AJ Styles vs Shane McMahon.
WWE seems to progressively get worse at planning. Yes, injuries suck, but good plans have contingencies. McMahon and Dunn really need to retire and rest on their laurels while there are still laurels.
The last few years, it’s seemed to me like the month before 'Mania is when the weekly shows go to hell. There’s this slapdash booking where Vince & Co. have decided what the 'Mania matches were going to be months ago, but the writers have only been given a few weeks to come up with the reason why the matches are happening. You’ve got endless talky segments. You have champions jobbing in non-title matches 2-3 times per night. The people who’re gonna be on 'Mania are in matches on every show, but they’re all forced to work like they’re covered in bubble wrap because we can’t allow them to get hurt.
Vince McMahon 2017 really needs to take some advice from Vince McMahon 1987 when it comes to booking the build for your biggest show of the year.
Shane McMahon has only one emotion setting - calmly bemused.
Gets his head thrown through a car window, blood running down side of face - “I’m not going to the emergency room.” - calmly bemused.
Fit Finley and Jamie Noble fret and worry if he has a concussion and try to handle him gingerly on the way to the doctor - calmly bemused.
Goes out to stage with the mic and says “If AJ Styles wants a match at Wrestlemania, he’s got one.” - calmly bemused.
Ziggler, Bryan, or any babyface would have been grunting and gasping in pain, flopping around in agony, raging and screaming revenge - Shane just walks around with the same facial expression and never raises his voice. Vince and Stephanie would have been chewing the scenery and making the sound guys control the sudden volume gain, and Shane just says “eh, whatever.”
I didn’t see it this way. I saw it as he’s stunned/dazed/concussed from the beating and is still in shock about it. Although you’re right that he doesn’t have much of an emotional range overall.
How many people want to bet that they make it some kind of no-holds-barred street fight kind of thing and they use pre-taped segments like TNA did with the Delete or Decay angle?
While the Orton/Wyatt seeds were planted a while back, the finish is still being rushed. Sister Abigail’s place should have been torched a month ago, having Wyatt flounder (but still retain the belt) for at least a month before being ‘reborn’.
Maybe I’m too old and have been watching too long…
The rushed finish isn’t the problem with this feud, the problem is the inclusion of the belt.
It infuriates me that the belts mean absolutely nothing now. This feud doesn’t need the belt, nor does it even ever reference it hardly. They include it as an afterthought “I’ll take everything from you! I’ll destroy your family! Oh, and take the belt too”.
This shouldn’t have the belt in it at all. The belt should be around John Cena’s waist with the Miz fighting for it, saying that he wants the belt because it’s the ultimate price and Cena doesn’t deserve it because he doesn’t care about wrestling anymore like the Miz does.