Raw 03/12/12 - Talking,music,more talking,more music,movie trailer,wrestling maybe

[marq]

[Bacon Vortex]

Quote: Originally Posted by rangerrick012

I don't buy that for a second. When SCSA has returned (the few times he has) he's basically done the same stuff he did during the AE and people have loved it. Maybe b/c he's around less often and was overall more over than Rock was, but he's still beloved. Someone pointed out how his return in 04 was good and even when he did a promo at the SD 10th anniversary in 09 it was good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJ5coqRiRWM I don't know why he's pandering so much to the fans now. The Rock never pandered this much to the fans, and was an egotistical narcissist whether he was a face or a heel. I don't know if WWE is afraid that having him do that now would turn too many people against him or what, but it's killing the feud right now for him not to be that guy.

It's cheap heat. He is just not comfortable out there for whatever reason. He really can't do any better than Cena, so he sticks to his three things that got over, (fruity pebbles, lady parts, etc) and then does the ol' Mickey Foley, "right here in Cleveland, Ohio" gimmick. Sad thing is, Foley knows it's a joke and Rock really has to rely on it. I agree, this Rock is soft. Who cares if he is the heel or not? The fans turned on him against Hogan, too. As long as there is a reaction one way or the other, things are good. He can play either role effectively. Say what you want about Cena, his five moves or whatever, but he has delivered some incredible television during this feud, which is a heck of a lot more that WWE as a whole can boast leading up to the WEAKEST WRESTLEMANIA SINCE WRESTLEMANIA 11. There I said it.

[Doormat]

Well I liked Cena's rap bringing back old school, as for the Rock's his intro was WAY too long that after it hit 11pm I went right away to watch Conan so I guess I'll Youtube it later.

Not really a good show and the GM story line here is getting old (though I hope John Laurinaitis "wins" this)
I loved the little Chris vs CM Punk feud here but after yesterday I was like "Wtf"

Undertaker in the ring with HBK was interesting, but looking forward to next week's show with them 2 and Triple H.

All in all it was a bad show, last week's was better.

P.S Loved it when Randy got scared once the flames in the ring came up.

[55]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bacon Vortex

WEAKEST WRESTLEMANIA SINCE WRESTLEMANIA 11.

No way.

Both title matches are going to be great and Taker/HHH in HiaC isn't going to suck.

Plus, Cena proved that he can step it up and have a great match in a big spot when he needs to. Watch MitB if you don't believe me. 95% of the crowd was booing him mercilessly and he had the best match of his career that night. Sure, he was in there with one of the best in-ring competitors today, but he worked his ****ing *** off in that match and that's not even debatable.

[rangerrick012]

Quote: Originally Posted by TheMatrix31

They're asking him to create substance when there's no substance. That's why it sucks. Cena didn't cost Rock the title, Rock didn't win the Royal Rumble to become the #1 contender, Cena didn't get caught porking Rock's wife. There is NOTHING behind this. Rock has nothing to work with. Ever realize how the best feuds are the ones that have something to work on? CM Punk v. Jeff Hardy, Cena, or Jericho. The Nexus angle. HBK/Taker, etc. You can't just throw **** together and have people care about it. That's why there are so many duds in recent memory. Things are just tossed to the wall. There is no real rhyme or reason to so much that happens. It kills the product.

I don't agree that there's nothing there. There is stuff there, like Cena (kayfabe or not) calling out Rock a few years back for not coming back, then Rock making fun of Cena at the HOF a few years back....there's stuff there that they could build on, like having Rock get more at Cena about how it eats him up despite all the money he's making and t-shirts he's selling that he's still booed - build off of the 'embrace the hate' stuff they started with Kane. Could have had Rock talk about how Cena will never be as good as he and Austin were...I don't buy that there's nothing for them to go to between these two.

Even bring up how Cena reached out to him at Survivor Series to try and get the fans to cheer him...and proceeded to get booed out of MSG. They could have really had Rock mentally go at Cena like what Kane was doing and make it personal about how much Cena hates that he'll never be The Rock, but instead they've relied on boring jokes about lady parts and Star Trek nerds.

In that regard I think the year long build has hurt because they've blown through so much that it's all redundant now. No matter how many Cena's lady parts or Kung Pow Bitches Dwayne drops it's nothing new. We already know that you don't like Cena and think he's a lady, what else do you have?

They just haven't done a good job at all of building onto it. They have not taken enough risks in this feud, it's all been paint by the numbers stuff and that's why it's falling flat right now. It's been entirely too predictable on every single level.

The Punk-Jericho feud was going the same direction before that curveball last night and now could become truly great. Heck even HHH-Taker has had it's fair share of intrigue added to it w/ the HIAC and HBK as ref. But this match just seems like they're blowing through it to get to the match and thinking Cena-Rock will sell itself, which I thought it would but so far it's just fallen so short on every level that the buyrate may suffer.

[DonkeyJote]

Quote: Originally Posted by 55

No way. Both title matches are going to be great and Taker/HHH in HiaC isn't going to suck. Plus, Cena proved that he can step it up and have a great match in a big spot when he needs to. Watch MitB if you don't believe me. 95% of the crowd was booing him mercilessly and he had the best match of his career that night. Sure, he was in there with one of the best in-ring competitors today, but he worked his ****ing *** off in that match and that's not even debatable.

As far as match quality, it will be okay. The WWE Title match should be pretty good, HIAC will be good, and Rock/Cena will be good. I'm not sold on the WHC match, but I personally don't find Daniel Bryan's matches remotely entertaining at all. The GM match could be a cool spotfest if they do it right. Kane and Orton won't be very good.

As far as the buildup, it's been terrible. As far as The Rock and John Cena, I think it's been okay. The story is simple. They don't like each other. But it's been a feud for a year that's been almost all talk. It's going to be a fight, and they're putting over that it's personal and that these guys don't like each other, but they aren't putting over that they'll both do something about it. It's like the old writing rule, show, don't tell. The WWE is having these guys say they don't like each other, but they aren't showing it.

Triple H and Taker will be a cool match, but the buildup has been pretty boring to me. Even HBK's involvement. It seems interesting because of his past history, but nothing interesting (besides it being made HIAC) has happened in this feud yet.

CM Punk and Jericho was doing okay, but throwing the alcohol thing in there is just weird, to me. CM Punk losing is going to drive him to drink? Really? Because he's never lost the title before?

The WHC match has been a dud to me. It doesn't feel like a title match. It seems to me like it's about the 7th match on the card right now, and the #3 match on SD. Orton is the top guy on SD. And neither Bryan or Sheamus had to go through him. Hell, Bryan didn't even beat the guy that beat Orton - he beat Big Show, who beat the guy that beat Orton. I think this match needs more star power, but it won't get it.

The only match that's had real interesting buildup is Cody and Big Show.

[DonkeyJote]

Quote: Originally Posted by rangerrick012

I don't agree that there's nothing there. There is stuff there, like Cena (kayfabe or not) calling out Rock a few years back for not coming back, then Rock making fun of Cena at the HOF a few years back....there's stuff there that they could build on, like having Rock get more at Cena about how it eats him up despite all the money he's making and t-shirts he's selling that he's still booed - build off of the 'embrace the hate' stuff they started with Kane. Could have had Rock talk about how Cena will never be as good as he and Austin were...I don't buy that there's nothing for them to go to between these two. They just haven't done a good job at all of building onto it. They have not taken enough risks in this feud, it's all been paint by the numbers stuff and that's why it's falling flat right now. It's been entirely too predictable on every single level. The Punk-Jericho feud was going the same direction before that curveball last night and now could become truly great. Heck even HHH-Taker has had it's fair share of intrigue added to it w/ the HIAC and HBK as ref. But this match just seems like they're blowing through it to get to the match and thinking Cena-Rock will sell itself, which I thought it would but so far it's just fallen so short on every level that the buyrate may suffer.

There's plenty of material for Rock-Cena. Everything you mentioned. Why isn't The Rock pointing out that Cena would leave too if it wasn't for the fact that all his movies were giant steaming piles of monkey crap? And it almost seems to me like The Rock is trying to stay away from the catchphrases. He says "Finally", "the millions", and "If Ya Smell...", but look at his old promos - every third sentence or so is a catchphrase. And it was awesome.

[simgamer0005]

Quote: Originally Posted by DonkeyJote

CM Punk and Jericho was doing okay, but throwing the alcohol thing in there is just weird, to me. CM Punk losing is going to drive him to drink? Really? Because he's never lost the title before?

I thought Jericho has been great. His promo yesterday was top notch. It was very funny, too. The way he said after you lose you're gunna have to drink. With all the SES stuff I thought going there with Punk really worked. I thought the best in the world vs best in the world thing was kinda weak, but i thought last night added some much needed substance to the fued. Can't wait till next week to see how Punk responds. I hope this match is really good too. It's been years since Y2J has really been in a knock down drag out match. (even before Y2J hiatus, most of his matches didn't last very long in 2009) The thing I like about Punk is he doesn't get pinned very often. He seems to be a throwback wrestler and doesn't seem to mind going 20 or 30+ minutes if that's what it takes.

Quote: Originally Posted by DonkeyJote

The WHC match has been a dud to me. It doesn't feel like a title match. It seems to me like it's about the 7th match on the card right now, and the #3 match on SD. Orton is the top guy on SD. And neither Bryan or Sheamus had to go through him. Hell, Bryan didn't even beat the guy that beat Orton - he beat Big Show, who beat the guy that beat Orton. I think this match needs more star power, but it won't get it.

Yeah correct me if I'm wrong, but since Daniel Bryan cashed in his money in the bank, I do not believe he has actually retained the title via pinfall or submission. I think all of his title matches so far have been DQ, countout and escape from the cage in the triple threat WHC match. I think this might actually be a good match. I just hope the match has an actual legit conclusion. It's hard to see Sheamus taping out, but you never know. All I ask WWE is keep A.J. out of this one. Please! The buildup to this match is a bit awkward, Sheamus and Bryan don't have much chemistry but they just might put on a good match.

Quote: Originally Posted by DonkeyJote

The only match that's had real interesting buildup is Cody and Big Show.

I agree I am looking forward to this too. I doubt they'll give Big Show the IC title but it should be entertaining seeing Cody run loops around the Big Show. Wouldn't be surprised if this ended via countout or by DQ or something. If Cody pins or submits the Big Show i'll be impressed.

I think matches like Rock Cena, Taker HHH, Jericho Punk all deserve to be at least 20 or 30 minutes. Rock Cena and Y2J Punk are possibly once in a lifetime matches and I hope they really go all out and tell a story, and have many twists and turns along the way like the old days.

Taker HHH HIAC should be a long match too, and I don't know how many more matches will be added to the card.

Anyone know if this year's wrestlemania will be 4 hours like last year starting at 7 P.M. EST or only 3 hours starting at 8 P.M. EST? It would be really nice if they gave the wrestlers ample time to work the matches.