The Official WWE / NXT Discussion Thread *May Contain Spoilers*

[Teh_Showtime]

It was a clear double turn and she lost doing the same thing she did to AJ to beat her the first time

[bigtplaystew]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="RKOwnage" data-cite="RKOwnage" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I've gotta say, I loved RAW last night. The opening segment with Cena and HHH was actually pretty good. Swagger/Rusev was awesome, I'm surprised to see both guys pretty over. Although I'm not sure if Rusev just has X-Pac heat/it's still mostly just Lana, but I actually like him a lot, thought his match with Big E was good last night.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I despise the term XPac heat as I always disagreed with the origin anyway. Xpac got booed with Kane and all but like... I'm sorry that whole storyline was lame. Maybe my memory is playing with me and is tainted by the Network's selective editing or something but Kane with the crappy talking and Tori and the for-no-good-reason silly face turn... Xpac took the blame for crappy attitude era writing that the increasingly smarter fans saw through.</p><p> </p><p> I just never think people booed Xpac because they hated him as much as the internet thinks they did. He DID get booed despite being a babyface for awhile, no doubt. But Kane became a weaker character with Xpac and he took the heat when it was the dumb writing's fault. There were many performers who got booed for sucking back then. X-Pac really wasn't the worst offender and I wish history didn't remember him that way as he WAS, at one point anyway, a brilliant in ring performer with good versatility and impressive ring psychology.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> OK I'm off my soapbox. To your point, RKO, I think Rusev is being booed for the RIGHT reasons. It's a well built heel run and flat out designed from the ground up to get thunderous boos. I too think he's pretty good in the ring. I was marking out big time as I always liked Swagger and I'd love to see a face run with the patriotic gimmick. BigE just wasn't pulling that angle off very well. And on a separate tangent I follow Big E on twitter and instagram and stuff and the dude IS a funny guy. I wonder why he isn't really getting that side of him across on TV. Are they booking him to be too serious or is he not skilled enough to make a looser, more fun version of himself work?</p>

[dpoolez]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Mootinie" data-cite="Mootinie" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I think that was probably their intention.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I know but i think that it made her look like a rookie in a bad, she sucks kind of way, not in any way that makes her look good. Paige needed the win more than AJ did IMO.</p><p> </p><p> I also agree with an earlier post that Miz is irrelevant but IMO, if the plan is to make him relevant again, then WWE made a mistake doing what they did with him. He couldve had a great back and forth spat with Jericho, then lose in a brawl with Jericho before Jericho gets ambushed by the Wyatts. The way that they did things makes you care more about Jericho than you do The Miz and if your job is to make him a star then thats not what you want.</p>

[The Swanton825]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="RKOwnage" data-cite="RKOwnage" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I've gotta say, I loved RAW last night. The opening segment with Cena and HHH was actually pretty good. Swagger/Rusev was awesome, I'm surprised to see both guys pretty over. Although I'm not sure if Rusev just has X-Pac heat/it's still mostly just Lana, but I actually like him a lot, thought his match with Big E was good last night.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Then could you explain to me what people love (to hate) about this guy? Every time he comes out I just see the Bulgarian version of Vladimir Kozlov. And the "Russia number one" crap makes me feel like I'm stuck in the 80's.</p><p> </p><p> EDIT: For that matter, why is a man from Bulgaria, a nation that was only communist for the first four years of his life and doesn't even border Russia, playing a Russian nationalist? Do we want to get a Bahamian in the ring and have him play an All-American?</p>

[bigtplaystew]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="The Swanton825" data-cite="The Swanton825" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Then could you explain to me what people love (to hate) about this guy? Every time he comes out I just see the Bulgarian version of Vladimir Kozlov. And the "Russia number one" crap makes me feel like I'm stuck in the 80's.<p> </p><p> EDIT: For that matter, why is a man from Bulgaria, a nation that was only communist for the first four years of his life and doesn't even border Russia, playing a Russian nationalist? Do we want to get a Bahamian in the ring and have him play an All-American?</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Well he's a big, mean heel whose manager is ripping america at every turn. What needs explaining as far as where he's getting his heat?</p>

[Rickymex]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="The Swanton825" data-cite="The Swanton825" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><p> EDIT: For that matter, why is a man from Bulgaria, a nation that was only communist for the first four years of his life and doesn't even border Russia, playing a Russian nationalist? Do we want to get a Bahamian in the ring and have him play an All-American?</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Like a Ghanan playing a Jamaican?</p>

[Kitarzu]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Rickymex" data-cite="Rickymex" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Like a Ghanan playing a Jamaican?</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Or a Canadian playing an Italian?</p>

[Big Roguey]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Rickymex" data-cite="Rickymex" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Like a Ghanan playing a Jamaican?</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Kitarzu" data-cite="Kitarzu" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Or a Canadian playing an Italian?</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Or a Canadian playing a Scot?</p>

[Kitarzu]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="MichiganHero" data-cite="MichiganHero" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Or a Canadian playing a Scot?</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Or a Canadian playing a Russian?</p><p> </p><p> Guess all the references!</p>

[Jaysin]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Rickymex" data-cite="Rickymex" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Like a Ghanan playing a Jamaican?</div></blockquote><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Kitarzu" data-cite="Kitarzu" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Or a Canadian playing an Italian?</div></blockquote><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="MichiganHero" data-cite="MichiganHero" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Or a Canadian playing a Scot?</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Or a Canadian playing a Russian?</p><p> Or an American playing a Russian?</p><p> Or an American playing a German?</p><p> Or a Tongan playing a Mexican?</p><p> Or an American playing a Parts Unknownian?</p><p> </p><p> The list could seriously go on for days. If you begin to complain about people's nationality compared to their character's, than you are watching the wrong form of entertainment. <img alt=":p" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"></p>

[Teh_Showtime]

There were literally hundreds of Americans playing Russian in the 80s, I see no problem with this especially since he's not claiming to be Russian. Just like last year Cesaro being a "real" American

[The Swanton825]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Jaysin" data-cite="Jaysin" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Or a Canadian playing a Russian?<p> Or an American playing a Russian?</p><p> Or an American playing a German?</p><p> Or a Tongan playing a Mexican?</p><p> Or an American playing a Parts Unknownian?</p><p> </p><p> The list could seriously go on for days. If you begin to complain about people's nationality compared to their character's, than you are watching the wrong form of entertainment. <img alt=":p" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> That's not my problem, Lana is from Florida and I don't give a damn about that. My problem is that they acknowledge him on-screen as the "Bulgarian Brute", ergo, he is Bulgarian even in kayfabe. Which brings me back to my question of why a Bulgarian would care about Russia, much less be a nationalist.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Teh_Showtime" data-cite="Teh_Showtime" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>There were literally hundreds of Americans playing Russian in the 80s, I see no problem with this especially since he's not claiming to be Russian. Just like last year Cesaro being a "real" American</div></blockquote><p> No it's really not the same, Cesaro was treated as a hypocrite and a traitor for being a "real" American, Rusev is just another man from an Eastern Bloc nation that the WWE looked at and went "Eh, good enough".</p>

[lazorbeak]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="bigtplaystew" data-cite="bigtplaystew" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I despise the term XPac heat as I always disagreed with the origin anyway. Xpac got booed with Kane and all but like... I'm sorry that whole storyline was lame. Maybe my memory is playing with me and is tainted by the Network's selective editing or something but Kane with the crappy talking and Tori and the for-no-good-reason silly face turn... Xpac took the blame for crappy attitude era writing that the increasingly smarter fans saw through.<p> </p><p> I just never think people booed Xpac because they hated him as much as the internet thinks they did. He DID get booed despite being a babyface for awhile, no doubt. But Kane became a weaker character with Xpac and he took the heat when it was the dumb writing's fault. There were many performers who got booed for sucking back then. X-Pac really wasn't the worst offender and I wish history didn't remember him that way as he WAS, at one point anyway, a brilliant in ring performer with good versatility and impressive ring psychology.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> OK I'm off my soapbox. To your point, RKO, I think Rusev is being booed for the RIGHT reasons. It's a well built heel run and flat out designed from the ground up to get thunderous boos. I too think he's pretty good in the ring. I was marking out big time as I always liked Swagger and I'd love to see a face run with the patriotic gimmick. BigE just wasn't pulling that angle off very well. And on a separate tangent I follow Big E on twitter and instagram and stuff and the dude IS a funny guy. I wonder why he isn't really getting that side of him across on TV. Are they booking him to be too serious or is he not skilled enough to make a looser, more fun version of himself work?</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I've been on my soapbox for years about that term, it's dumb and always has been. I think it's better to picture face/heel on a sort of spectrum. On one end of the spectrum you've got guys like Austin (biggest pop when Sandow mentioned him), who everyone loved. Then you've got guys that will get booed if they get in the way of guys more babyface than them: Rey Mysterio for the past few years (remember when the fans cheered Batista killing him?), John Cena since forever, even the Rock when he was in there with the wrong guys. The same way, there's levels of heels, and X-Pac was booed even compared to other heels, mostly because he spent months beating up Kane's girlfriend and then stole her from Kane, then proceeded to beat Kane repeatedly, with the announcers constantly talking about how he was Triple H's buddy. And X-Pac didn't even really get "booed as a face," they never really tried to turn him, and they immediately paired him up with Kidman, a guy that just can't really work heel but is a great sympathetic babyface. Anyway, it's a dumb term that gets used to mean about three different things.</p>

[Jaysin]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="The Swanton825" data-cite="The Swanton825" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>That's not my problem, Lana is from Florida and I don't give a damn about that. My problem is that they acknowledge him on-screen as the "Bulgarian Brute", ergo, he is Bulgarian even in kayfabe. Which brings me back to my question of why a Bulgarian would care about Russia, much less be a nationalist.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Lana was born in the USA, but spent the first 17 years of her life in the Soviet Union(Latvian SSR/Latvia). He cares about Russia, because he's with Lana, who is "Russian". I think you're thinking way too hard about this.</p>

[Rickymex]

Plus they explained how Rusev became a Russian citizen weeks ago.

[Kitarzu]

<p>I preferred to call it Go Away Heat, but in this case it's not. Rusev it's a well prepared anti USA '80 monster heel updated to these times. </p><p> </p><p> The average fan maybe thinks Bulgaria it's a Russian region. The flags are similar... I'm sarcastic!</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><span>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Flag_of_Bulgaria.svg/250px-Flag_of_Bulgaria.svg.png</span><span>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f3/Flag_of_Russia.svg/225px-Flag_of_Russia.svg.png</span></div></blockquote>

[The Swanton825]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Jaysin" data-cite="Jaysin" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Lana was born in the USA, but spent the first 17 years of her life in the Soviet Union(Latvian SSR/Latvia). He cares about Russia, because he's with Lana, who is "Russian". I think you're thinking way too hard about this.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> No, I'm sick and tired of the same overdone anti-American gimmick with no variance. Why should I give a damn if someone dislikes America? You can't take two steps on the internet without running into someone who hates the US. There's no reason to care or even be annoyed by what some over-tanned blonde and her mediocre gorilla that looks like he's about to void his bowels think of the country. It's just cheap, pointless heat only there to fill time because they don't actually have enough material for three hours.</p><p> </p><p> And all the while everyone else just goes, "It's just wrestling". There will never be another boom until people realize that you need to actually care about what you write and book to get an audience to care about it. Look at Muhammad Hassan, that's how you do a ****ing anti-American gimmick, a heel like that needs some actual points to make in order to really matter to the audience. Is it really so much to ask for some depth to these stories and gimmicks?</p><p> </p><p> I don't need Machiavellian schemes or constant motive rants, I just want to watch a wrestling show from start to finish just once without feeling like the bookers think I'm an idiot.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Rickymex" data-cite="Rickymex" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Plus they explained how Rusev became a Russian citizen weeks ago.</div></blockquote><p> Must have missed it amidst my apathy for this idiotic (and frankly borderline prejudiced) gimmick.</p>

[Rickymex]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="The Swanton825" data-cite="The Swanton825" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>No, I'm sick and tired of the same overdone anti-American gimmick with no variance. Why should I give a damn if someone dislikes America? <strong>You can't take two steps on the internet without running into someone who hates the US.</strong> There's no reason to care or even be annoyed by what some over-tanned blonde and her mediocre gorilla that looks like he's about to void his bowels think of the country. It's just cheap, pointless heat only there to fill time because they don't actually have enough material for three hours.</div></blockquote><p> You don't have to care about Lana or Rusev but those people you mentioned will and that is an audience.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="The Swanton825" data-cite="The Swanton825" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>And all the while everyone else just goes, "It's just wrestling". There will never be another boom until people realize that you need to actually care about what you write and book to get an audience to care about it. Look at Muhammad Hassan, that's how you do a ****ing anti-American gimmick, a <strong>heel like that needs some actual points to make in order to really matter to the audience.</strong> Is it really so much to ask for some depth to these stories and gimmicks?</div></blockquote><p> If you give too much power to the heel can he be a heel? The Authority had every right to take the title from a champion who couldn't wrestle yet had Bryan refuse to vacate the title. In the end he ends up looking bad. It's the same problem people have with Cena being hypocritical and that's because they give the heel too much legitimate points that the typical babyface response doesn't work. Rusev gimmick is basically being a "anti-american" for the sake of being anti american making the babyfaces not look bad for immediately jumping to defend their country.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="The Swanton825" data-cite="The Swanton825" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I don't need Machiavellian schemes or constant motive rants, I just want to watch a wrestling show from start to finish just once without feeling like the bookers think I'm an idiot.</div></blockquote><p> Then there's no show in the USA that will work for you.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="The Swanton825" data-cite="The Swanton825" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><p> Must have missed it amidst my apathy for this idiotic (and frankly borderline prejudiced) gimmick.</p></div></blockquote><p> It's a stereotype that works. As Jaysin said you're thinking too hard and when a fan thinks too hard very few shows can hold up.</p>

[Stennick]

I dig the Russev gimmick. I think the guy has a unique look, he's got a manager that gets heat and the gimmick is in its infancy. We have't really even had a Russev story yet aside from a very short, filler Big E feud. Its way too early to tell where they will go with this but as someone else pointed out its PRO WRESTLING. Every single storyline from Austin/Taker, to the nWo to everything else is stupid if you stop and think about it for ten minutes but its pro wrestling. You're very worked up over this Russev guy which means he's doing his job. You already hate him.

[Jaysin]

Lol @ the spoiler below...

 

Sheamus issues a Fourth of July Independence Day challenge or something along those lines and Del Rio accepted it. Nothing says 'Murica like an Irishman facing a Mexican over the US Title!

[RKOwnage]

<p>So I went to Main Event/SmackDown tonight in Newark, some thoughts and notes (SmackDown stuff will be in white since it hasn't aired yet)</p><p> </p><p>

Dark match was GoldStar beating The Ascension, I walked in as it was ending and didn't see much of it. Crowd LOVED Heyman and RVD, and Ziggler got the biggest pop of all of Main Event. During the six-man tag, the crowd gave a deafening "We Want Ziggler" as he waited for the hot tag from Van Dam, who also got an "RVD" chant....poor Big E. Cesaro in the eyepatch was great.</p><p> </p><p>

SmackDown:</p><p>

<span style="color:#FFFFFF;">- Bryan came out for the pre-show and said he owes the NJ area more than just about anywhere else for his success and said he'd be back soon just for us. It was a surprise to see him and he seems like a really genuinely cool guy.</span></p><p><span style="color:#FFFFFF;">

- Initial Rollins/Ambrose/Orton/Reigns segment was fun, Ambrose got a super pop. Orton got more cheers than boos.</span></p><p><span style="color:#FFFFFF;">

- For the second time tonight, no one cared about Big E, but his preacher stuff is funny to me.</span></p><p><span style="color:#FFFFFF;">

- Sheamus vs. Del Rio was a decent match, there was a split second where I thought ADR might win but it was foiled and he was Brogue Kicked. The crowd was split on Sheamus at first, but eventually cheered his win. CM Punk chant during this match annoyed me.</span></p><p><span style="color:#FFFFFF;">

- Bo Dallas military press-slamming El Torito made my night. Crowd seemed to be into him.</span></p><p><span style="color:#FFFFFF;">

- Jericho got a great pop as well. I wish they weren't burying the Miz.</span></p><p><span style="color:#FFFFFF;">

- AJ got a huge reaction because she's a hometown (sorta) girl, and the divas match was okay but I wasn't really paying attention. Paige seems to have not quite turned full heel as she slapped the hands of the fans on her way out and to the back. Lots of "You Can't Wrestle" at Eva Marie. Another Punk chant during this match.</span></p><p><span style="color:#FFFFFF;">

- Sandow as Springsteen was gold. He is a trooper. I'm just glad I was able to see him before he gets canned.</span></p><p><span style="color:#FFFFFF;">

- Biggest televised pop of the night: JACK SWAGGER. Appropriate since he interrupted Rusev and it's the 4th of July episode, but I never thought I'd see the day. Every single person in the crowd stood up for "We the People."</span></p><p><span style="color:#FFFFFF;">

- Main event was fine, Ambrose took a nice spill when Rollins blasted him with the briefcase. Reigns came out and saved the day; there was no dark match after, they just kept beating the hell out of Orton and Rollins. Dean and Roman put their hands together with the Shield music in the background and then celebrated with the fans. Pretty cool sight.</span></p><p> </p><p>

Biggest pops: 1. Bryan 2. Swagger & Zeb 3. Jericho 4. Ziggler/AJ/Ambrose</p><p>

Biggest heat: 1. Rollins 2. Rusev 3. Eva Marie/Sandow</p>

[dpoolez]

<p>As for the Rusev argument, I think characters like him are fine. His act as a whole is over, so there should be no real problem IMO.</p><p> </p><p>

There is a tendency to overthink with pro wrestling, especially when you're not exactly enjoying the product, hell I did it with my posts, fantasy booking my own version of AJ/Paige and Jericho/Miz lol. But I think most will agree with me when I say that they are using Rusev to the best of his and their ability. If you take the Anti-America gimmick and Lana away from him then I dont think he has enough to offer to where he can stand on his own two feet and get fans to give a damn about him, however I haven't seen too much of Rusev in NXT so anybody familiar with their shows can feel free to correct me. Booking big men in 2014, especially when they're no Samoa Joe, is hard to do because not everybody catches lightning in a bottle like Goldberg, Ryback, and Brock did at one point in time. There should be a more unique approach to booking each big man worker but if they aren't particularly talented then there's only so much you can do with them.</p>

[The Swanton825]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Rickymex" data-cite="Rickymex" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>If you give too much power to the heel can he be a heel? The Authority had every right to take the title from a champion who couldn't wrestle yet had Bryan refuse to vacate the title. In the end he ends up looking bad. It's the same problem people have with Cena being hypocritical and that's because they give the heel too much legitimate points that the typical babyface response doesn't work. Rusev gimmick is basically being a "anti-american" for the sake of being anti american making the babyfaces not look bad for immediately jumping to defend their country.</div></blockquote><p> I didn't say give him no weak points. But as it stands, he and Lana have all the depth of a kiddie pool and the uniqueness of a standardized test. Which doesn't exactly help them when you compare them with the likes of Bray Wyatt, Stardust and the Shield (pre and post-breakup).</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Rickymex" data-cite="Rickymex" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Then there's no show in the USA that will work for you.</div></blockquote><p> Tell me about it, I nearly threw my TV out the window the last time I watched Finisher...2.9 Kickout (repeat 30 times), I mean Ring of Honor.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Rickymex" data-cite="Rickymex" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>It's a stereotype that works. As Jaysin said you're thinking too hard and when a fan thinks too hard very few shows can hold up.</div></blockquote><p> If had a nickel for every time someone told me I overthink things... So should I just watch wrestling shows like I'm a drooling idiot? Just lie back and think of England? I enjoy action movies, but that doesn't mean I'm just going to shut off my brain and ignore missed potential when I see it. People want wrestling to be seen as more than stupid redneck entertainment, at least I do, but then are perfectly fine with promotions baiting stupid rednecks for cheap heat.</p><p> </p><p> There's actually entertaining things going on in WWE, but then Rusev comes out and all I care to do is change the channel. I don't want to see him lose, I don't want to see him get his comeuppance, I want him to go away and let me enjoy my wrestling show. I also want them to realize that Big E deserves better than jobbing to Kozlov 2.0.</p>

[milamber]

<p><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Raw Review:</span></strong></p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Cena & The Authority</strong> - Fun segment.</p><p>

<strong>Rollins vs RVD</strong> - Good match. I like how they played up the damage the ladders did to their bodies. Blackout is one of my favorite finishers. I love this Rollins/Ambrose feud.</p><p>

<strong>Rusev vs Swagger</strong> - About time this happened. Funny that the week after he injures BNB, Swagger turns face and gets the biggest pop of his career.</p><p>

<strong>Sheamus & The Usos vs The Wyatt Family</strong> - Good match.</p><p>

<strong>Bo Dallas</strong> - The Creative team have nailed his transition to the main roster so far.</p><p>

<strong>Cesaro vs Kofi</strong> - Solid match, good beat-down, stupid commercial break. I was wondering why Cesaro does the Giant Swing when he's a heel and he finally refused to do it!</p><p>

<strong>Damian McMandow</strong> - One of the better characters he's played. Oh no, not Khali <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/frown.png.e6b571745a30fe6a6f2e918994141a47.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p>

<strong>Miz, Jericho & The Wyatt Family</strong> - Jericho said he wasn't in a hurry to return. The chance to work with Bray must have swayed him. Should be a good feud.</p><p>

<strong>Fandango vs Ziggler</strong> - Silly fun and I'm always happy when Ziggler wins.</p><p>

<strong>Rybaxel vs Goldstar</strong> - Solid match. Rybaxel should have won. For an ongoing feud it's completely one-sided. I like how Stardust has won with 3 different finishers.</p><p>

<strong>Paige vs AJ</strong> - Crazy Baby is back! Quick match to mirror the way Paige won the title. So thumbs up for continuity, but thumbs down for not giving us a proper match. I hope Paige turns heel now and they feud through to Summerslam. Meanwhile, I hope they build up the BFFs (Summer, Sasha and Charlotte) as a threat to AJ. Then we get a Paige and Emma feud. Wishful thinking, probably.</p><p>

<strong>Orton & Kane vs Cena & Reigns</strong> - Solid match. Fun ending.</p><p> </p><p>

<span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>Verdict:</strong></span> One of the best Raws all year.</p><p> </p><p>

<span>http://fat.gfycat.com/FlippantDearGrunion.gif</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/9V1dpSk.gif</span></p>

[Mootinie]

<p>The biggest issue I have with Rusev isn't the whole Bulgaria-Russia thing, it's the fact that it's an act we've all seen numerous times before. Iron Sheik was doing it before I was born, it's just a gimmick that's outdated and old fashioned. American audiences aren't as patriotic anymore as they once were, so when Big E marched to the ring waving the stars and stripes shouting USA, it was just a little awkward. I felt sorry for him.</p><p> </p><p>

Another small problem I have with Rusev is that I don't see a long-term plan for him. Obviously he'll remain undefeated for a while and gradually gain heat, but where will be next year? I could realistically see them build up Rusev's undefeated streak only for it to be ended by WWE Champion Roman Reigns or something, but part of me is a little concerned that he's going to go the way of Big E or Brodus Clay. He'll go nowhere and get lost in the shuffle.</p>