|
Post by Widow's Peak on Aug 22, 2014 19:51:53 GMT -5
I think I am mainly annoyed with the feeling of inevitability. I want wrestling to surprise me. I want to not know what is coming next. I feel like this is so easy to telegraph. We all feel it coming. It seems automatic. I just want to feel like there are multiple guys who could dethrone Lesnar and that just does not feel the case. Of course things could change, but I just want this to not already be set in stone by WWE. Predictability is fine as long as you tell the story in a way that is compelling. If they can tell a good story between now and Mania that sets up Reigns and Lesnar, then I'm all for it even if I know what the outcome is going to be. Of course, there is that rumor that the guy who Vince wants to face Lesnar is actually The Rock...
|
|
kerda
Trap-Jaw
Posts: 351
|
Post by kerda on Aug 22, 2014 20:01:43 GMT -5
It's funny that Ambrose is the only guy who seems to have actually gotten better since the breakup of the Shield.
Rollins is still one hell of a worker, but he just doesn't have the voice, presence or physicality to come across as a real, genuinely threatening mega-heel. He reminds me a lot of heel AJ Styles, where you take a guy who's a really dynamic performer and put him in a position that doesn't take advantage of that. It's hard to be a heel when you do cool looking acrobatics, unless you're an absolute whirling dervish of charisma, which Seth quite obviously isn't.
Reigns has been...very boring. I don't hate him, I think there's a lot there to like, but at this point he just isn't a compelling personality. The whole glowering, "ice water in the veins" tough guy shtick worked great in a team setting, but as a singles guy he just feels flat. I know absolutely nothing about who Roman Reigns the person is, and it's hard to care about a guy and invest in his ascent when he feels like such a cipher.
Ambrose, on the other hand, is kind of the guy with the least who makes the most of it through sheer force of will. He doesn't have the raw athleticism or fluidity of Seth, and he doesn't have the look, size or presence of Reigns, but goddamn if the guy isn't a captivating son of a bitch. There's an honesty in Ambrose's performance that the other 2 guys just lack, and that's why people connect with him. Yeah, he's "crazy", he's "unstable", but he's not a cartoon, or a superhero. He's a tangible human being that has texture, something for fans to grip onto. He's rough and jagged in a company full of guys who are slick and obvious.
Do I think Ambrose should be headlining the next Wrestlemania? I don't know, but I CAN say that Brock the Beast vs. Dean the Madman sure sounds like one hell of a fun brawl.
|
|
|
Post by xxshoyuweeniexx on Aug 22, 2014 20:02:26 GMT -5
My goodness, the negativity is getting stronger. To be the optimist here, I still think Reigns is a work in progress. He'll improve, it's not like his talent level currently is what will be set in stone. I just hope he doesn't end up like Sheamus. We had reports in 2012 that they were really high on him and thought he could be their next Cena...but they forced it, bungled it, and now he's just some non-entity where it if he wasn't the US Champion that he could be fired tomorrow and it wouldn't matter in the slightest. I really like Roman, but this time table of 7 or 8 months to become THE GUY that they want him to be...it's very tough. I could see him being like Warrior and Goldberg, where they had a freakish level of charisma and bad assery respectively that made up for their lack of ring skills, but even then that might take more time than they would hope.
|
|
sfvega
Grimlock
Posts: 13,668
Member is Online
|
Post by sfvega on Aug 22, 2014 20:32:40 GMT -5
Reigns will be fine. The internet hated Cena for a good while before the crowd was truly 50/50 on him. The live crowds still support Reigns. That's what matters. His Summerslam match got a good rating from Meltzer and the crowd liked it, and he gets more hate now than ever. It's funny.
|
|
tenshi
Patti Mayonnaise
Probably more memorable than a Charlotte title reign
Posts: 34,037
|
Post by tenshi on Aug 22, 2014 20:43:26 GMT -5
The problem is here lies with how Reigns will be booked from now on because he's "inexperienced" in singles competition. He has a lot of time to improve and to develop into a serious threat to Brock Lesnar, someone that could stand in front of Brock and look like he can beat him to the punch and, in my opinion, that could be done by making him less of a talker and more of a fighter. Put him with Cesaro, Rusev or even Rollins and have him just fight them instead of trying to come up with something witty as a way to learn something from his opponents that could help him in eventually becoming a big deal. There's still time for Reigns to "get good", to evolve and fight his way to the main event without looking contrived. No need to panic.
|
|
Johnny Flamingo
Hank Scorpio
Killing the business one post at a time
Posts: 6,506
|
Post by Johnny Flamingo on Aug 22, 2014 20:58:01 GMT -5
I'm starting to think I'm the only one perfectly fine with Reigns. I feel the same way. I like the guy, enjoy his matches, and find that he has a really good future.
|
|
|
Post by CATCH_US IS the Conversation on Aug 23, 2014 2:09:09 GMT -5
Really hoping Reigns fails a few drug tests between now and 'Mania. That's seemingly the only way to avoid the inevitable crowning of the chosen one. Take your medication Roman take a short vacation Roman You'll be okaaaayyyyyyy...
|
|
Mozenrath
FANatic
Foppery and Whim
Speedy Speed Boy
Posts: 121,126
|
Post by Mozenrath on Aug 23, 2014 2:11:17 GMT -5
Lesnar/Goldberg coulda been awesome. Right move on Reigns part; continue to 'season' him over the next 8 months, then big coronation at mania. It's wrestling 101, really. Sting, Cena, Luger, and others were given this same treatment, and I am sure people were jaded with them, too, but it is still pretty much what companies do with a young guy they see potential in.
|
|
|
Post by Adam Black on Aug 23, 2014 2:47:55 GMT -5
I really have no problem with Reigns other than the fact that he's really bland in the ring. Like holy s*** if Orton had to f***ing carry you to a servicable then that's HUGE ass problem.I mean if he can't work long matches why not let him just own the s*** out of everyone you know quick matches where he just destroys his opponent using his pragmatic moves instead of half ass selling before the predictable moves of doom .
|
|
Allie Kitsune
Crow T. Robot
Always Feelin' Foxy.
HaHa U FaLL 4 LaVa TriK
Posts: 46,162
|
Post by Allie Kitsune on Aug 23, 2014 2:52:15 GMT -5
I don't get it...I know WWE forces pretty much everything, but why does this Reigns push feel so much more forced? Is it just because it's obvious they picked him to be a main eventer since 2012? I guess if WWE has decided it absolutely has to happen, they should focus on helping Reigns improve with the time they have. Mainly because Reigns doesn't have the credentials of recent champions like Punk or Bryan, and because the rise of Corporate HHH (plus Kevin Dunn's ascension as WWE's Boogeyman (the one who isn't Marty Wright)) has lead people to think that the company has shifted to only allowing high-workrate superstars who have years of seasoning in the indies (or in a worst-case fallback, long-time, experienced WWE vets like Orton or Cena) to get the belt. Even talented "home-grown" guys like Ziggler or Swagger get cut off at the knees whenever they're considered for a title push. So of course people are going to balk and retch at a guy who has only been at it for 2 years (at most) getting fast tracked because he has a good look and a crowd-popping signature move. He has no outside credibility, and WWE doesn't seem to care about working him with people who can teach him about pacing, psychology, and transitions. Honestly, since Bryan is going to be out for another few months, if WWE is serious about giving Reigns a title push, I'd have Bryan spend the time when he's not rehabbing trying to show Reigns everything he knows about psychology and transitions. At least as much as he can without actually getting in the ring.
|
|
DIIV
ALF
Sigs/Avatars cannot exceed 1MB
Posts: 1,017
|
Post by DIIV on Aug 23, 2014 3:50:15 GMT -5
|
|
Jonathan Michaels
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
The Archduke of Levity
Here since TNA was still kinda okay
Posts: 18,183
|
Post by Jonathan Michaels on Aug 23, 2014 3:53:58 GMT -5
My only complaint is how people keep saying that Reigns is the least of the three Shield members in all categories when Seth Rollins is actually kinda shitty on the mic.
|
|
Steveweiser
Dalek
Mickie Mickie You're So Fine... Hey Mickie!
THE GRAPS
Posts: 50,249
|
Post by Steveweiser on Aug 23, 2014 4:15:35 GMT -5
My problem's not with Reigns at all, I like him, and he has the potential to be very good and capable in singles matches. The closing stretch of the Orton match showed that (even though I wasn't high on the first half of the match). It's just that it's blatantly obvious that WWE are shooting him right to the top, and telegraphing that he'll be the one to beat Lesnar at Mania 31.
As already said here, fans don't like being told who to like. Heck, I can't recall any point in history where the guy WWE have hyped up, from Reigns' current position, has taken the way they intended. The original intention was for Randy Orton to be the top guy, and it seemed to be going great when he beat Chris Benoit at SummerSlam 2004. But then they had the Evolution breakup, and Trips beating him right away, which led to fans gravitating towards Batista, who ended up becoming bigger than Orton. Cena was intended to be the SmackDown top guy, but below Orton and Batista on the pecking order. It was just that something happened after Mania 21 that sort of led to Cena becoming the overall top guy, which I don't think WWE originally intended.
The last one I could recall was The Rock. The WWF obviously wanted him to be the top guy for the future in his Rocky Maivia persona, but it took several detours and a repackaging before he eventually got there, and even then, he had to share the spotlight with a previously talented WCW mid-card guy who somehow exploded into the most popular wrestler of all time for that several year period. The lesson is, when WWE has plans for you to be the top guy, prepare for a hell of a lot of resistance, and perhaps challenges from unexpected sources for the position.
|
|
nisidhe
Hank Scorpio
O Superman....O judge....O Mom and Dad....
Posts: 5,725
|
Post by nisidhe on Aug 23, 2014 5:58:38 GMT -5
The last one I could recall was The Rock. The WWF obviously wanted him to be the top guy for the future in his Rocky Maivia persona, but it took several detours and a repackaging before he eventually got there, and even then, he had to share the spotlight with a previously talented WCW mid-card guy who somehow exploded into the most popular wrestler of all time for that several year period. The lesson is, when WWE has plans for you to be the top guy, prepare for a hell of a lot of resistance, and perhaps challenges from unexpected sources for the position. With the Rock, though, it was absolutely obvious that he was going to be huge no matter what. The Rocky Maivia gimmick was, perhaps, a case of WWE trying too hard to pass him off as the Blue Chipper - it's no coincidence that he debuted around the time that Tiger Woods rose to prominence. The result of that effort was "Die, Rocky, die."
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2014 6:01:06 GMT -5
As long as Reigns is the face getting cheered the most by fans who pay for tickets in the arenas, great.
If Reigns is not that guy, whoever is getting cheered as THE main event babyface should be in that spot.
Simple, rewarding the most popular guy shouldn't be half as hard as the WWE makes it, whether it's Reigns or anyone else.
|
|
Psychoblue
Don Corleone
WrestleCrap #1 Kona Crush mark (probably)
Posts: 1,664
|
Post by Psychoblue on Aug 23, 2014 6:28:40 GMT -5
Reigns is fine to be WWE's new Cena. He's a got a great presense, a badass aura, and they could play into his Spear being the one thing that Lesnar worries about due to Lesnar's stomach injuries causing him to retire from UFC.
|
|
|
Post by bearned on Aug 23, 2014 8:04:09 GMT -5
He needs to improve a lot before they can even consider puting him up against Lesnar. I'm not sure I buy him as a credible threat to Lesnar at all but if they book him correctly...
|
|
The Ichi
Patti Mayonnaise
AGGRESSIVE Executive Janitor of the Third Floor Manager's Bathroom
Posts: 37,304
|
Post by The Ichi on Aug 23, 2014 8:05:01 GMT -5
Calling him the next Cena or even saying he'll main event WM is a bit premature to me. Lest we forget Sheamus and Ryback.
|
|
riseofsetian1981
King Koopa
"I met him fifteen years ago. I was told there was nothing left."
Posts: 10,323
|
Post by riseofsetian1981 on Aug 23, 2014 8:05:22 GMT -5
My only complaint is how people keep saying that Reigns is the least of the three Shield members in all categories when Seth Rollins is actually kinda shitty on the mic. I think Rollins is pretty good on the mic myself. Reigns works better when he does less talking and more destroying. I actually like Reigns myself and believe he will improve in a massive way, they just shouldn't force his rise to the top.
|
|
Ben Wyatt
Crow T. Robot
Are You Gonna Go My Way?
I don't get it. At all. It's kind of a small horse, I mean what am I missing? Am I crazy?
Posts: 41,515
|
Post by Ben Wyatt on Aug 23, 2014 8:23:38 GMT -5
Really hoping Reigns fails a few drug tests between now and 'Mania. That's seemingly the only way to avoid the inevitable crowning of the chosen one. Stay classy.
|
|