Candyman

The Hulk Hogan/Mr. America storyline was nothing more than comedic relief...there's no way they're going to put Juan Cena on TV. Like others said, they just need a way to get him on house shows.

Yeah, Royal Rumble is always a popular place for somebody to get their first crack at a title. Guys like Umaga, Kennedy, Mark Henry, and Hardcore Holly come to mind. On a card with Kane vs. Edge, Cena vs. Barrett, and the Royal Rumble match, Miz vs. Morrison would have no pressure on it.

This is excellent. The Juan Cena thing is awesome, it's obviously NOT going to play a part in the storyline, but it's cool that the WWE is going to make sure he's still at house shows even though he's "fired" on TV. And it's cool that he has tickets, I was worried that him being fired was going to mean he was taking time off, but it'd be stupid for them not to continue the storyline while it's hot. I have a feeling Cena is going to keep bothering Barrett until Barrett gets so pissed he demands a match with Cena, with the stipulation that if Cena wins he gets his job back.

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Self" data-cite="Self" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Taz and Goldberg don't weigh into my issue. I'm talking about bringing in pre-existing stars from another sport, into the world on pro-wrestling. Taz and Goldberg were brand new guys, given typical 'bad ass' gimmicks, with slight MMA flavouring. That's awesome. You can do that until the cows come home. Rock on.<p> </p><p> Kurt Angle's a good guy to bring up. A star from another combat sport, whose past success was used to draw money. The difference there is that Amateur Wrestling fits really well in the kayfabe Pro Wrestling world. If you took Pro-Wrestling, made strikes illegal and fought to 1-counts, that's Amateur Wrestling. A unique sport with it's own rules. It's perfectly logical that Kurt excelled at that sport, then graduated to this one. MMA doesn't fit quite so well.</p><p> </p><p> I didn't like how they portrayed Shamrock, Severn or Blackman. There was always the element of "these are <em>real</em> tough guys" that clashes with what WWF claimed to be. With Blackman at least they ventured into him being a weapon specialist (a skill most wrasslers wouldn't have) and having him kick ass in the Hardcore division. </p><p> </p><p> I'm not saying it can't be done. I'm just saying I can't think of a way to bring in Nelson/Chael/Ramage etc that I'd be comfortable with. If you ignore his past, there's less point bringing in a star. If you showcase his past, you risk exposing your product. I guess you could treat UFC like WCW back in the day. It's a "different fighting promotion". I doubt Vince would go that route though. He wouldn't want anyone to think he and Dana are in competition, seeing as he's getting his ass kicked in buyrates.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> If you have an MMA guy that specializes in one area (punching, submissions, groundwork, etc) or has a specific style (boxing, jui-jitsu, etc), you could make it work by hyping him as a guy that's dangerous because he can knock you out or he can make you tap. You can emphasize aspects of a guy's past without exposing your product.</p>

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="juggaloninjalee" data-cite="juggaloninjalee" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I know they won't do it but Detroit needs a tourist attraction.<p> </p><p> Realistic possibilities... NO IDEA! Vegas maybe?</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> It would be nice to have the Hall be somewhere that's significant to the history of WWE, and the Hulk/Andre slam (and all-time attendance record) alone makes Detroit significant. New York is the most logical location, as far as ties to the promotion go.</p><p> </p><p> From what I've heard, they're more concerned with finding a city that will help pay to build and maintain it. Orlando was mentioned as a candidate, which is interesting given their ties to TNA. I would say Florida or California are both likely.</p>

I really doubt the WWE has anybody in mind for the anonymous Raw GM right now, and I doubt they have any plans to reveal who it is or end the angle any time soon. And nor should they. It's working incredibly well, it gives Cole a purpose...why change? If it's not broke, don't fix it.

This kind of thinking always confuses me, maybe you can help me out. What makes the WWE different than CSI or The Office or General Hospital? They're all TV shows, aren't they? Why do people expect realism from Raw? It's not a "work," it's FICTION. How is seeing Steph's dreams worse than any other backstage segment where the workers act like the cameras aren't there? Do you expect Steve Carroll to admit The Office is a work? They're not pretending it's real. Everybody knows it's fiction. It makes no sense. Exactly. Contary to popular belief, few (if any) of their decisions are due to Linda's run for office. They'll change from PG when it'll make them more money, and that is definitively not the case today. But...didn't we finally accept that Daniel Bryan being fired was a work?

You missed something. Undertaker was supposedly going to WIN the match, but that plan was scrapped due to his injury. So the injury is, indeed, very poorly timed. Also, I didn't see this mentioned in the report quoted, but other sites are saying they're not sure if Undertaker will even be available to wrestle at Wrestlemania due to this injury. At this point, you really have to start wondering if we've seen the last of the Undertaker. Lol, shouldn't you make sure you're actually right before you determine how you feel about how you think the program will end?

I was thinking the same thing. Barrett said he had to win the match, not win the title.

The flaw in this logic is the fact that WWE - regardless of what Linda does, mind you - has every right to defend themselves. And that's exactly what they're doing. Like I said, the WWE wouldn't be doing this if they weren't being attacked. Whether they'd be getting attacked if Linda wasn't running is completely irrelevant, because that's her OPPONENT making the connection between Linda and WWE, not the WWE. They're not attacking themselves. The funny thing about your last statement there is the fact that nowhere in the entire "Stand Up" campaign does the WWE tell you to vote. I don't mean it doesn't tell you to vote for Linda, I mean it doesn't tell you to vote period. There's no mention of voting anywhere in the video or on their website. They even have a list of ten ways you can Stand Up for the WWE, and not one of those ten is voting. Well said. There was absolutely nothing stopping Vince from endorsing one candidate, if he wanted to do...problem is, he didn't want to. I don't see what that has to do with the "Stand Up" thing anyway. That was direct coverage of a political race, "Stand Up" is about as far from that as you can get. Aside from saying "politicans" (without giving names) are attacking them at the very beginning of it, there's no mention whatsoever of politics anywhere in Stand Up. It's kind of funny how flawed that argument is. Not only does the "equal time" crap not apply to Vince and WWE in the least, even if it did they would STILL not be in violation of it, because "Stand Up" is not giving time to any party or politican. They're giving time to themselve. You can say it's not truly independent or it's propoganda or whatever nonsense you can come up with, but at the end of the day there is NO MENTION of Linda, her opponent, politics in general, voting, or anything else related to that ANYWHERE. Nothing in "Stand Up" is anywhere close to outside their rights to defend themselves.

And it really makes you wonder where pro wrestling will be in ten years. The scary thing for wrestling is MMA is just going to keep growing. I think wrestling will survive, but the quality won't be the same. Interesting interview with Undertaker...kinda weird seeing him be all normal(looked like his BikerTaker days). Kinda funny that he was talking about a fighter named Cain(Kane).

I'm glad you responded first, because you said it a lot nicer than I would have. That really makes no sense whatsoever. If I steal an idea from you, who cares where you got it? I still stole it from you. Sure, WCW stole the nWo idea from Japan. But TNA is doing it because WCW did it, not because they did it in Japan.

The problem with your argument is the fact that her opponent is the one bringing up the WWE. Richard Blumenthal, and his supporters, are attacking the WWE. It'd be absolutely ridiculous for the WWE to NOT do what they did. Frankly, it's ridiculous that it's taken them this long. Ask yourself this...if the democrats weren't attacking the WWE, would they be doing this? Of course not. It's easy to laugh and say of course it's not done independently...but at the end of the day, it basically is. If there was an election that didn't involve somebody affiliated with the WWE, and one of the parties was attacking them, they'd still be doing this. And if her opponent wasn't attacking them, they wouldn't be doing this. They're doing this because they're being attacked, not because Linda is in an election. Also, when did the WWE become media? They're entertainment. And beyond that, there was absolutely no mention of Linda or her opponent. The equal time rule doesn't come close to being applicable here. And, again, they're defending themselves, which they have every right to do. As easy as it is to say oh they're promoting Linda and this and that, there's no mention of her at all. No mention of what she's done for the company or what she'd do if elected, and there's no political attack on her opponent whatsoever. As funny as it sounds, this really is as absolutely independent and correct as you can get in this situation. Obviously some people out there are going to refuse to see it for what it really is and think it's shady, but it's actually not.

You know, those rumors seemed really strange to me at the time they came out, and I still haven't seen anything to justify them. It's just sad that so many people (not saying you're one of them, I'm sure you're not) read something on a dirt sheet and take it as fact that it came straight from the WWE. Like a couple weeks ago when it was reported that they had a "huge angle" planned for Raw, and when it didn't happen, there were posts on other boards saying "what happened to the huge angle WWE promised us???" It's possible they'll unify the titles, but it seems unlikely at best and laughable at worst. For all the talk about how the brand split is being phased out, the brands are still completely seperate entities for about 9 months out of the year - the only exceptions being the two months between the Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania, the couple weeks before Bragging Rights, and every couple months when they have a special Raw or SD with both brands on. Are you familiar with American politics? This is pretty standard stuff. Frankly, I'm shocked and more than alittle ashamed that they didn't start doing something like this months ago.

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="The Celt" data-cite="The Celt" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><em><span style="font-family:'Century Gothic';">Walks into the GDS WWE Discussion thread</span></em><p><em><span style="font-family:'Century Gothic';"> </span></em></p><p><em><span style="font-family:'Century Gothic';"> No-one is talking about the brillance of the "Cena joins the Nexus" angle</span></em></p><p><em><span style="font-family:'Century Gothic';"> </span></em></p><p><em><span style="font-family:'Century Gothic';"> Head Explodes, then reforms, I type this paragraph</span></em></p><p><em><span style="font-family:'Century Gothic';"> </span></em></p><p><em><span style="font-family:'Century Gothic';"> Head about to explode again and again until people begin complement WWE on making RAW must watch episodic television again</span></em></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> But it's so sooo much more fun to complain when it's bad than compliment when it's good! I swear, if armchair writing was banned from wrestling message boards, they wouldn't exist.</p>

And the only true one, to boot.

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="brashleyholland" data-cite="brashleyholland" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I'm not even that much of a wrestling fan, but the thought of The Undertaker losing to John Cena in his last match (I assume he'll be losing his WM streak to put somebody over in his last match) kinda makes me do a little sick in my mouth. <p> </p><p> I always assumed he'd lose to 'the next big thing' when he finally gives up the WM streak. Being 'that guy' would be worth more than any title belt, surely.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Well the thing is, if he does lose it, it has to be to Cena. There's nobody else you could consider, honestly.</p><p> </p><p> It can't be a next big thing type, because who knows if they're going to fizzle out or go to MMA or anything like that. There's no reason to give it to anybody you know won't bomb afterwards...those guys don't gain enough from it. The one and only exception to that, however, is Cena. Cena is the only guy that has a chance to go beyond just a main eventer. He has a chance to be the next Hogan/Austin/Rock. But it takes something special to get you there.</p><p> </p><p> I laugh at the people who say Cena has nothing to gain. Did Hogan have nothing to gain when he bodyslammed and pinned Andre? Did Rock have nothing to gain when he wrestled Hogan and beat him? That's what Cena would gain. That moment...the moment when Cena gives Undertaker the Attitude Adjustment and pins him at Wrestlemania, ending his streak...would stick with Cena for the rest of his career. It'd be celebrated and talked about for as long as the WWE is open. That'd take him from Triple H main eventer to Hulk Hogan main eventer. That's why it has to be him, if anybody does it.</p>

Regardless of how much love he's lost, Brian Kendrick's statements about Orton change nothing about him. It's the way he treated the divas and the way he treats the fans that's the problem, not the way he treats the other boys in the back. I don't know why they would say anything different about Orton, they don't fit into either group of people he abuses. Not to mention the one thing that's not rumors - the way he acts on camera when somebody screws up(Kofi, Miz, the Roddy Piper incident). That's there for everybody to see and judge what kind of person he is. And it's not pretty. Yeah, I was surprised by that statement as well. I've never heard anything like that about Cena. He seems to go make his way around the roster and help as many of the lower guys get a rub off him as possible. Even if you believe the rumor he had a hand in Kennedy getting fired...I think that just tells you that Kennedy really was dangerous and really did need to be fired.

Yeah, it's clearly Lita. It said she's doing it to get booked at a club...what would Ashley be trying to get booked at clubs? Lita's doing it to get her band bookings.

Otunga's the guy that gets the mic second IIRC, but Sheffield definitely gets to talk too along with Tarver. But Sheffield was always made to look strong in the beatdowns too...I think it's safe to say he was second overall to Barrett, both in terms of how they were booked and the potential they have. If it's indeed a broken ankle, that really sucks for him. I don't know how I feel about replacing him...it really depends on the long term plans for the group, which we don't know obviously. But if they do decide a replacement is necessary. I wouldn't complain about Husky Harris being the guy.

I believe it's taped right before SD and airs a couple hours later. Could be wrong. Watson and Harris were the right guys to go home. I've made no secret of my love for McGillicutty and Riley and Kaval are both clearly ahead of the other two. How about Kaval's promo? If you missed it, he cut a little rap about the other NXT guys and end it with "...find out what I'm packin, cause I'm the only reason for some Total Nonstop Action."

At least we can FINALLY put the rest the rumors that Daniel Bryan's firing was in any way legitimate or real and not a complete work. I didn't love the PPV, but that was a good moment for those of us that saw through the facade that was his "release" the entire time.

Why would he be??? There was no reports of him doing anything wrong, let alone getting arrested.

Yeah, I have no doubt that someone from team WWE is going to turn. There's nothing else you can do. It's either Team WWE wins clean and the fued ends, and it's way too early for that, or Nexus gets some help and wins. The most logical help is somebody on Team WWE turning, although there are other possibilities. It's not going to be Morrison or Truth, obviously. It could be Jericho or Edge...but both would be extremely predictable. John Cena? I do see a Cena heel turn in the not too distant future, but not yet. I cannot see him aligning with Nexus. Then there's Bret Hart. From a storyline perspective, this makes so much sense it hurts. Especially with them taking out Vince. It would be very believable for Bret to be a bitter veteran who has this giant axe to grind against the WWE. But could he be a good heel? Does he have the mic skills? Can he committ to the full time schedule that would be required as a leader of Nexus? I think the answer to all of these questions is no. Of the guys currently on Team WWE, I think he makes the most sense. But then again, there's still an opening on Team WWE, isn't there? I think something is going to happen there. I don't think that teaser with The Miz was just thrown in on Raw as filler. Will he join? Will he turn? He's had absolutely no interactions with Nexus. Is it a coincidence that he also hated the only guy that got kicked out of Nexus? (unless you're still buying Daniel Bryan's release was legit, lol) And then there's the giant elephant in the room....Triple H. Is it true that he's still hurt and won't be back until November? If it is, can he do a non-wrestling role until then? He might be good to wrestle just in time to be in a Survivor Series match, which is when I'm assuming this angle will end...unless it ends at Bragging Rights, which is only a couple weeks earlier. If it is him, it's fair to wonder why they would call a truce with the guy that took out Triple H, but maybe they could say Triple H wanted Sheamus for himself. But that would still leave them both as heels, and I don't know how they would continue their rivalry like that. Will something really crazy happen? Will The Rock come back as the leader of Nexus? Stone Cold Steve Austin? Barrett keeps saying this is part of a much, much bigger picture - and I believe him. This is just getting started. Say what you want about their storylines of late, but the whole Nexus angle continues to be very interesting.

A ripoff recap version of a show from months ago that you know the results to that got minimal advertising...got bad ratings? I'm shocked.