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Post by A Platypus Rave on Feb 25, 2020 10:50:26 GMT -5
We seem to get into a WM pattern where it seems like it'll be utter shit, but then ends up just being kind of bland and mediocre, but the lowered expectations lead to people praising the final product...well, outside of that one in Dallas, that didn't go so well on any level. Personally I'm just blown away by how a multi-billion dollar promotion can have all year to plan its absolute biggest card and weekend of the year, yet instead it flies into it by the seat of its pants and can just barely scrape together something passable with the insane amount of talent the company has under contract. Makes me wish it WOULD just be utter chaos each year, it'd at least be more fun to sit back and laugh at, but it's hard to settle in for a show that goes on so long that you experience continental shifts while it's airing. Its either seat of their pants booking or completely rigid booking that they aren't changing regardless of any circumstance. Which I'd argue is just as bad. They seemingly lost their ability to make a loose plan.
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Post by HMARK Center on Feb 25, 2020 11:07:57 GMT -5
We seem to get into a WM pattern where it seems like it'll be utter shit, but then ends up just being kind of bland and mediocre, but the lowered expectations lead to people praising the final product...well, outside of that one in Dallas, that didn't go so well on any level. Personally I'm just blown away by how a multi-billion dollar promotion can have all year to plan its absolute biggest card and weekend of the year, yet instead it flies into it by the seat of its pants and can just barely scrape together something passable with the insane amount of talent the company has under contract. Makes me wish it WOULD just be utter chaos each year, it'd at least be more fun to sit back and laugh at, but it's hard to settle in for a show that goes on so long that you experience continental shifts while it's airing. Its either seat of their pants booking or completely rigid booking that they aren't changing regardless of any circumstance. Which I'd argue is just as bad. They seemingly lost their ability to make a loose plan. I'd even be ok with rigidity in the plans if there was any kind of coherent vision behind it. I'm as big a NJPW fanboy as there is on this board, so I'm totally fine with watching a long-term plan come together ala Gedo's classic "I've been building to this Wrestle Kingdom main event for two years now, so stop whining!" maneuvers, but that takes very, very serious booking chops and dedication to a plan, which won't happen so long as Vince is like the dog in Up whenever he notices a squirrel. But then, like you say, there's just the random "EVERYTHING ELSE is in chaos, but this one thing MUST happen at the show!" decisions, like needing Roman to main event a bunch of them despite what they did to his character and crowd reception. It's insanity.
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Post by EoE: Well There's Your Problem on Feb 25, 2020 11:21:47 GMT -5
OK, so... To bundle up all the rumour and innuendo and such, this is what we're looking at in terms of the WrestleMania card...
*WWE Championship: Lesnar v McIntyre *Universal Championship: Wyatt/Goldberg v Reigns *RAW Women's Championship: Lynch v Baszler *SD Women's Championship (Bayley (c), possible contenders are Banks, Naomi, Evans) *NXT Women's Championship: Ripley v Flair *Something with Cena (probably whoever loses Wyatt v Goldberg) *Edge v Orton *Undertaker v Styles *IC Championship? (Strowman (c), possible contenders are Sheamus, Bryan, Elias, Nakamura, Cesaro) *US Championship? (Andrade (c), possible contenders are Mysterio, Carrillo, Garza, Black, Ricochet, Lashley, Rusev, R-Truth) *Women's Tag Team Championship? (Kabuki Warriors (c), likely contenders are Divas Of Doom) *Match based around the Rollins/Murphy/AoP v Owens/Joe (pending injury)/Viking Raiders/Street Profits feud (probably involving the RAW Tag Team Championship) *SmackDown Tag Team Championship? (New Day (c), likely contenders are Miz/Morrison and Usos) *Something for Corbin, because Corbin *Possible match based around the Otis/Mandy angle (possible because of Meltzer reporting there could be SIX women's matches on the card) *NXT Championship, to match the women's belt being featured? (Cole (c), possible contenders are Balor, Velveteen) *Men's Battle Royal *Women's Battle Royal
Bloody nora, pack a lunch AND a dinner, we'll be going all night.
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Post by eJm on Feb 25, 2020 11:24:59 GMT -5
We seem to get into a WM pattern where it seems like it'll be utter shit, but then ends up just being kind of bland and mediocre, but the lowered expectations lead to people praising the final product...well, outside of that one in Dallas, that didn't go so well on any level. Personally I'm just blown away by how a multi-billion dollar promotion can have all year to plan its absolute biggest card and weekend of the year, yet instead it flies into it by the seat of its pants and can just barely scrape together something passable with the insane amount of talent the company has under contract. Makes me wish it WOULD just be utter chaos each year, it'd at least be more fun to sit back and laugh at, but it's hard to settle in for a show that goes on so long that you experience continental shifts while it's airing. Honestly, the last WrestleMania build I was excited about was 30 and that was literally because of the week by week waiting before the company just pulled the damn trigger to get Daniel Bryan in the main event. Seriously. Book needs to be written. Somebody has to know how it was like backstage.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 25, 2020 11:41:11 GMT -5
I think this year's Mania is going to firmly be something I'm dipping in and out of throughout the night instead of watching continuously through. Last year was just goddamn exhausting even with getting some sleep beforehand and really no part of me can claim to be dying to watch the shambling remains of Undertaker versus the shambling remains of AJ Styles when I could be doing literally anything else with my time, especially since by that point I'll have Persona 5 Royal.
As for NXT title though, I could maybe see them doing Gargano / Ciampa as the Takeover main event with the winner facing Cole at Mania. Granted that'd be another thing I'd put firmly in the, "I'm skipping this," pile because I disliked Cole's matches with both of them.
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Post by KofiMania on Feb 26, 2020 9:32:48 GMT -5
We seem to get into a WM pattern where it seems like it'll be utter shit, but then ends up just being kind of bland and mediocre, but the lowered expectations lead to people praising the final product...well, outside of that one in Dallas, that didn't go so well on any level. Personally I'm just blown away by how a multi-billion dollar promotion can have all year to plan its absolute biggest card and weekend of the year, yet instead it flies into it by the seat of its pants and can just barely scrape together something passable with the insane amount of talent the company has under contract. Makes me wish it WOULD just be utter chaos each year, it'd at least be more fun to sit back and laugh at, but it's hard to settle in for a show that goes on so long that you experience continental shifts while it's airing. I think this is the first year that I remember hearing that the plans for Mania have been in such flux. And I’d disagree about the quality of Mania. The recent Manias have been very good shows, they’re just overly long so the ending of the show is usually a down note.
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Post by KofiMania on Feb 26, 2020 9:34:46 GMT -5
OK, so... To bundle up all the rumour and innuendo and such, this is what we're looking at in terms of the WrestleMania card... *WWE Championship: Lesnar v McIntyre *Universal Championship: Wyatt/Goldberg v Reigns *RAW Women's Championship: Lynch v Baszler *SD Women's Championship (Bayley (c), possible contenders are Banks, Naomi, Evans) *NXT Women's Championship: Ripley v Flair *Something with Cena (probably whoever loses Wyatt v Goldberg) *Edge v Orton *Undertaker v Styles *IC Championship? (Strowman (c), possible contenders are Sheamus, Bryan, Elias, Nakamura, Cesaro) *US Championship? (Andrade (c), possible contenders are Mysterio, Carrillo, Garza, Black, Ricochet, Lashley, Rusev, R-Truth) *Women's Tag Team Championship? (Kabuki Warriors (c), likely contenders are Divas Of Doom) *Match based around the Rollins/Murphy/AoP v Owens/Joe (pending injury)/Viking Raiders/Street Profits feud (probably involving the RAW Tag Team Championship) *SmackDown Tag Team Championship? (New Day (c), likely contenders are Miz/Morrison and Usos) *Something for Corbin, because Corbin *Possible match based around the Otis/Mandy angle (possible because of Meltzer reporting there could be SIX women's matches on the card) *NXT Championship, to match the women's belt being featured? (Cole (c), possible contenders are Balor, Velveteen) *Men's Battle Royal *Women's Battle Royal Bloody nora, pack a lunch AND a dinner, we'll be going all night. I haven’t heard about the NXT men’s title being defended. Meltzer said 14 matches currently planned so probably scrap the NXT men’s, a separate Corbin match (he’ll be shoehorned somewhere else), and the Otis/Mandy. That leaves 15 matches but I can’t see any of the others being cut.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2020 9:38:54 GMT -5
Bryan vs. Strowman could be a huge IC match with great build, but it's gonna be Sheamus.
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Post by HMARK Center on Feb 26, 2020 9:42:21 GMT -5
We seem to get into a WM pattern where it seems like it'll be utter shit, but then ends up just being kind of bland and mediocre, but the lowered expectations lead to people praising the final product...well, outside of that one in Dallas, that didn't go so well on any level. Personally I'm just blown away by how a multi-billion dollar promotion can have all year to plan its absolute biggest card and weekend of the year, yet instead it flies into it by the seat of its pants and can just barely scrape together something passable with the insane amount of talent the company has under contract. Makes me wish it WOULD just be utter chaos each year, it'd at least be more fun to sit back and laugh at, but it's hard to settle in for a show that goes on so long that you experience continental shifts while it's airing. I think this is the first year that I remember hearing that the plans for Mania have been in such flux. And I’d disagree about the quality of Mania. The recent Manias have been very good shows, they’re just overly long so the ending of the show is usually a down note. The odds that previous WMs haven't had similar stories behind them are slim, given Vince's proclivity toward rewriting shows at the last minute. Like I said above I think "Roman WILL be in the main event" has been inked in a bunch of recent ones or whatever, but otherwise a lot of stuff comes down to who's available to come in for guest spots while the mid and undercards are just hodge podges. As for the quality, I disagree, but that's why I'm not a WWE fan, I just find their match output consistently underwhelming.
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Post by mistery on Feb 26, 2020 10:12:32 GMT -5
Yeah. Dave mentioned the only NXT presence on the main card will be Rhea. She's going to be the only star from that brand on the card. Which shows how high WWE is on her, although I don't think its going to sit well with the audience afterwards. She's already starting to lose a lot of steam, so I kinda hope that while she should retain at Mania, she should drop it soon after, maybe as soon as the next Takeover. She's a B tier wrestler being pushed as an A+ level character despite being pretty green still, and pretty one dimensional.
As for the women's tag titles, I think Kabuki Warriors vs Divas of Doom feels like a fair shout. I can see the Kabukis (or at least Asuka if Kairi isn't back from her honeymoon) crashing Beth's segment next week to start planting the seeds. Although the match itself would probably be pretty predictable. I can't see them putting the titles on Beth/Nattie just due to the fact that Beth still has obligations in NXT as a commentator and would be a part timer at the absolute best.
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Post by KofiMania on Feb 26, 2020 12:20:41 GMT -5
Yeah. Dave mentioned the only NXT presence on the main card will be Rhea. She's going to be the only star from that brand on the card. Which shows how high WWE is on her, although I don't think its going to sit well with the audience afterwards. She's already starting to lose a lot of steam, so I kinda hope that while she should retain at Mania, she should drop it soon after, maybe as soon as the next Takeover. She's a B tier wrestler being pushed as an A+ level character despite being pretty green still, and pretty one dimensional. As for the women's tag titles, I think Kabuki Warriors vs Divas of Doom feels like a fair shout. I can see the Kabukis (or at least Asuka if Kairi isn't back from her honeymoon) crashing Beth's segment next week to start planting the seeds. Although the match itself would probably be pretty predictable. I can't see them putting the titles on Beth/Nattie just due to the fact that Beth still has obligations in NXT as a commentator and would be a part timer at the absolute best. Her obligations in NXT are pretty much contained to Wednesdays with the occasional Saturday or Sunday for Takeovers. Nothing that would preclude her from being a weekly competitor on Raw.
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Post by thechase on Feb 27, 2020 11:46:01 GMT -5
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Chiral
Salacious Crumb
Posts: 73,791
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Post by Chiral on Feb 27, 2020 11:59:30 GMT -5
Can't wait for Cena to just break the fourth wall every promo again but about Bray this time. Looooove when he does that...
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Fade
Patti Mayonnaise
Posts: 38,294
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Post by Fade on Feb 27, 2020 12:13:43 GMT -5
Think that’s the most ideal approach with what they’ve got honestly.
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Bub (BLM)
Patti Mayonnaise
advocates duck on rodent violence
Fed. Up.
Posts: 37,742
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Post by Bub (BLM) on Feb 27, 2020 14:02:29 GMT -5
I hate this Fiend crap so much I actually want Cena to beat him.
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