Corbin/Aries kinda killed the crowd.

[mrbananagrabber]

So that was weird. The crowd were hyper for every single match but were seriously muted for Corbin and Aries. It was like a different crowd. I thought they had tired themselves out after the amazing Tag Title match but they were re-energised for the next match and stayed hyped, for want of a better term, for the rest of the night.

Corbin/Aries = buzzkill.

[Deleted]

They tried to clap for Aries but Corbin told them it wouldn't help.

[Deleted]

It was that damned nervehold followed by 5 minutes of nothingness, including Corbin just holding Aries hand slightly twisted and talking to the crowd. It made them both look ridiculous. The beginning and end were kinda good though.

[Deleted]

It just wasn't really a crowd-popping kind of the match really. The whole point of it was basically that Corbin completely outclassed Aries and was whipping him like a dog but lost due to being less experienced. Not too easy to keep people invested in that.

[Deleted]

Apr 2, 2016 9:29:59 GMT -5 @bootytime said:

They tried to clap for Aries but Corbin told them it wouldn't help.

In a way that was good heeling, but it did make me think of Stephanie McMahon style heat where it's way too on the nose, basically calling out the face for not being that over. Later in the match he said something like "see they don't even want you!" or something.

That kind of sentiment in wrestling needs to be done in a cartoony way, so the fans get it and start cheering harder to piss the heel off, which makes the heel angrier and they feed off of each other. Brock Lesnar was great at that as a heel in his first run. If they had started cheering more, Corbin would've been like "so? who cares?" and killed it dead. Of course, this also stems from the fact that the crowd wasn't into Aries.

[Bo Rida]

I'll never get the idea behind them saying "Here's an exciting new wrestler! Wait to you see what he can do!" then have him get beat down for the majority of the match before an underwhelming win at the end.

[Abdullah]

'Scrappy underdog' isn't much of a good fit for a prick like Aries. I don't mean that in a bad way, but as presented, he left no impression.

I think it's kinda like TEW where they booked a meh segment to allow the crowd to ready for Nakamura.

[Deleted]

Yeah, underdog face Austin Aries, not his bag at all. He's at his best when he's punishing people with tons of offense and acting cocky as f*** about it. He could do this as a face, mind you. But he's not your Zayn or Bryan type face at all.

[saintpat]

Aries has never done anything for me, even when I saw him live on an indie show.

[Hanzo]

Apr 2, 2016 9:58:02 GMT -5 @lovehater said:

That kind of sentiment in wrestling needs to be done in a cartoony way, so the fans get it and start cheering harder to piss the heel off, which makes the heel angrier and they feed off of each other. Brock Lesnar was great at that as a heel in his first run.

You know who else was really good at that? The Big Bossman. He'd cover his ears or jump up and down because they were getting on his nerves and wanted the crowd to shut up. Or he'd get a laugh from the crowd at his own expense. I remember reading one of Mick Foley's books ages ago and the story that I remember most was when someone got on the mic and said something along the lines of Bossman got nauseous from riding some kiddie ride and Bossman grabbed the mic and said, "I was sick before I even got on that ride!" Good stuff!

[Deleted]

Apr 2, 2016 10:17:58 GMT -5 Hanzo said:

Apr 2, 2016 9:58:02 GMT -5 @lovehater said:

That kind of sentiment in wrestling needs to be done in a cartoony way, so the fans get it and start cheering harder to piss the heel off, which makes the heel angrier and they feed off of each other. Brock Lesnar was great at that as a heel in his first run.

You know who else was really good at that? The Big Bossman. He'd cover his ears or jump up and down because they were getting on his nerves and wanted the crowd to shut up. Or he'd get a laugh from the crowd at his own expense. I remember reading one of Mick Foley's books ages ago and the story that I remember most was when someone got on the mic and said something along the lines of Bossman got nauseous from riding some kiddie ride and Bossman grabbed the mic and said, "I was sick before I even got on that ride!" Good stuff!

Yes, great example. Or I was thinking, how would Hollywood Hogan have handled it? He was so good at acting the fool and getting heat on himself AND the face. Corbin's got being a dismissive prick down to a tee, but that aloof too cool for everything heel, not sure if that's a good thing overall.

[RIHT]

They should have had the guts to have Aries display his abilities but Corbin beats him anyway. Basically switch their roles, with Corbin getting more offense than Aries, but getting a cheap win. The match was intended at making Corbin look good, which it sort of did, but I really felt Takeover needed a huge surprise or twist at some point.

[Deleted]

It was the only point in the show where I sorta lost interest. Even the main event kept my attention because I thought Joe was about to kill the ref.

[Deleted]

Apr 2, 2016 11:46:20 GMT -5 RIHT said:

They should have had the guts to have Aries display his abilities but Corbin beats him anyway. Basically switch their roles, with Corbin getting more offense than Aries, but getting a cheap win. The match was intended at making Corbin look good, which it sort of did, but I really felt Takeover needed a huge surprise or twist at some point.

Yeah, the show would've benefited from some surprises. There wasn't any result I didn't see coming, when there should usually be at least one thing that catches you offguard.

[Crappler El 0 M]

Yeah, I didn't hear a peep out of the crowd after Aries/Corbin. They were really silent for the match that followed it.

[corndog]

Apr 2, 2016 10:07:58 GMT -5 @lovehater said:

Yeah, underdog face Austin Aries, not his bag at all. He's at his best when he's punishing people with tons of offense and acting cocky as f*** about it. He could do this as a face, mind you. But he's not your Zayn or Bryan type face at all.

I think he's a guy you have to introduce as a heel and then let the crowd turn him.

[Deleted]

Imagine Baron Corbin's great face turn though, when we get "Corbin's top 10 indy matches of the week" on the network.

[Perfect Timing]

The Greatest Man That Ever Tanked.

[Deleted]

Apr 2, 2016 12:02:08 GMT -5 corndog said:

Apr 2, 2016 10:07:58 GMT -5 @lovehater said:

Yeah, underdog face Austin Aries, not his bag at all. He's at his best when he's punishing people with tons of offense and acting cocky as f*** about it. He could do this as a face, mind you. But he's not your Zayn or Bryan type face at all.

I think he's a guy you have to introduce as a heel and then let the crowd turn him.

It makes sense they debuted him as a face, considering his status and NXT's audience. I think you're right though. He's a lot better as a heel and that eventually gets crowds into him.

Last night also made me wonder how much the steroids were doing for him, not just for his look but his overall athleticism and energy. He looked good but didn't have that extra snap to everything that always made him stand out to me.

[mrbananagrabber]

Apr 2, 2016 11:58:56 GMT -5 Crappler El 0 M said:

Yeah, I didn't hear a peep out of the crowd after Aries/Corbin. They were really silent for the match that followed it.

Congratulations on obviously not bothering to read my original comment before writing your own.