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Post by Spankymac is sick of the swiss on May 30, 2011 22:02:46 GMT -5
I'm cautiously optimistic. I just can't fight that nagging feeling that they're building Riley up just to have Miz tear him back down.
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Post by anonymousdonor on May 30, 2011 22:05:05 GMT -5
I like Swagger and I'm sure he's the better wrestler, but Riley knows how to connect with the crowd which is something Swagger has never been great at. And, for better or worse, that's really the most important thing.
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Post by Kevin Hamilton on May 30, 2011 22:09:23 GMT -5
Lovin it, this is how you build a guy. Keep going with it.
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Post by fizzeewater on May 30, 2011 22:12:45 GMT -5
I've been trumpeting the talent of Riley for months now.
His new theme is atrocious though.
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Post by lewis1711 on May 30, 2011 22:14:05 GMT -5
I like Swagger and I'm sure he's the better wrestler, but Riley knows how to connect with the crowd which is something Swagger has never been great at. And, for better or worse, that's really the most important thing. I'm really not sure how he used his skills to connect with the crowd more. It was the miz who made us sympathetic to him by treating him like crap for months, and this sort of storyline (downtrodden storyline snapping and beating up his boss) will get anyone over. What exactly did A-Ri do except get an awesome story?
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Post by YAKMAN is ICHIBAN on May 30, 2011 22:14:34 GMT -5
What was the theme a rip off of? Linkin Park?
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2011 22:16:01 GMT -5
I can't wait!!!
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Cronant
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Posts: 17,556
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Post by Cronant on May 30, 2011 22:17:08 GMT -5
I like Swagger and I'm sure he's the better wrestler, but Riley knows how to connect with the crowd which is something Swagger has never been great at. And, for better or worse, that's really the most important thing. I'm really not sure how he used his skills to connect with the crowd more. It was the miz who made us sympathetic to him by treating him like crap for months, and this sort of storyline (downtrodden storyline snapping and beating up his boss) will get anyone over. What exactly did A-Ri do except get an awesome story? Doesn't matter.Currently he is getting bigger pops than most of the roster. Batista got a good story. We'll just have to see what Riley does. Its not like beating a heel automatically makes you over.
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percymania
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Percymania will live forever! Oh yeah!
Posts: 17,296
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Post by percymania on May 30, 2011 22:18:47 GMT -5
I've known Riley would be a big star since first seeing him on NXT2. From day 1, he looked and talked like a WWE superstar. I'm surprised his push is starting already. I didn't like the theme song tonight, but sometimes first impressions aren't the lasting one...
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Cronant
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Posts: 17,556
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Post by Cronant on May 30, 2011 22:20:05 GMT -5
Riley is the true NXT season 2 winner. Sorry Kaval.
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BigWill
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Posts: 16,619
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Post by BigWill on May 30, 2011 22:21:15 GMT -5
Excuse me? Swaggers been around for years and accomplished less than Riley in two segments. How is that due to Alex Rileys ability? He was handed a golden storyline that would've gotten anyone over. Jack Swagger is pretty damn impressive in the ring, Alex Riley is good but not at his level. Alex got over with the story because it made sense for him. Shoe horning someone like Swagger into it would make no sense, and the crowd would most likely be dead for it. I like Swagger as much as the next guy, but now's Riley's time.
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Post by avenger on May 30, 2011 22:21:23 GMT -5
This storyline is wasted on him IMO. This could've easily been the part played by the much more talented Jack Swagger. Anyway, expect this to fizzle out after a couple of months. How could this have been played by Swagger? Riley's been partnered with Miz ever since Riley arrived on NXT Season 2, and has stayed alongside him ever since. Riley has been one of the factors of the Miz retaining his World title for six months. It's not a case of one guy just turning against another, it's something that's built over months and months, with dissention coming since Extreme Rules. The only way you could have had Swagger in this role is to either make him Miz's lackey for months, or have them tag for a bit and fall out. But if you have them tag for a bit and fall out, it wouldn't have anywhere near the heat that Riley has right now. Randy Orton's thighs are amazing. This is Riley's Virgil moment. It could fizz out after a month or two - it's not just Creative that have to stay on the ball, Riley needs to up his game too, because the WWF tried to push Virgil after the DiBiase feud ended, but people didn't care about Virgil - they only cared about him against DiBiase, and Virgil ended up being jobbed out in virtual silence.
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Post by Friday Night SmackSown on May 30, 2011 22:23:11 GMT -5
Kaval wishes he had the crowd support A-Ri has.
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Post by Spankymac is sick of the swiss on May 30, 2011 22:25:01 GMT -5
Kaval wishes he had the crowd support A-Ri has. Well, ya know, if he'd been booked so that the crowd could have a chance to care about him.....
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Cronant
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Posts: 17,556
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Post by Cronant on May 30, 2011 22:26:06 GMT -5
Kaval wishes he had the crowd support A-Ri has. Well, ya know, if he'd been booked so that the crowd could have a chance to care about him..... A-Ri was the biggest jobber on the roster for his career minus 2 weeks. Either way, Kaval quit. Alex Riley is the true NXT winner. Let him shine.
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Post by anonymousdonor on May 30, 2011 22:42:28 GMT -5
I like Swagger and I'm sure he's the better wrestler, but Riley knows how to connect with the crowd which is something Swagger has never been great at. And, for better or worse, that's really the most important thing. I'm really not sure how he used his skills to connect with the crowd more. It was the miz who made us sympathetic to him by treating him like crap for months, and this sort of storyline (downtrodden storyline snapping and beating up his boss) will get anyone over. What exactly did A-Ri do except get an awesome story? Well, I guess only time can tell on this one. Personally, I think Riley has the personality and charisma to make this last. He's just a total natural on the mic and with his facial reactions. I don't think that any random wrestler would have necessarily sold those moments as well as Riley did.
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randomranter
Dennis Stamp
When you grow up....... YOU'RE GONNA BE WROOOOOONG!!!!
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Post by randomranter on May 30, 2011 22:55:29 GMT -5
Excuse me? Swaggers been around for years and accomplished less than Riley in two segments. How is that due to Alex Rileys ability? He was handed a golden storyline that would've gotten anyone over. Jack Swagger is pretty damn impressive in the ring, Alex Riley is good but not at his level. I think the point he was trying to make is that there are plenty of people like Swagger who have been handed just about everything the WWE can hand to them up to and including the title and years later still wish they could get 20% of the reaction Alex Riley got in the past two weeks. As for the storyline...yeah, it's a pretty simple but effective storyline. But Alex poured his heart and soul into delivering that beating, and miz sold it like hell on earth. *That* is what got A-Ri over. Had someone half-assed their way through delivering that beating, the angle could easily have flopped dead in the water.
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randomranter
Dennis Stamp
When you grow up....... YOU'RE GONNA BE WROOOOOONG!!!!
Posts: 4,804
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Post by randomranter on May 30, 2011 23:02:47 GMT -5
Well, ya know, if he'd been booked so that the crowd could have a chance to care about him..... A-Ri was the biggest jobber on the roster for his career minus 2 weeks. But at least he was paired up with the Miz, working with people that the fans actually cared about, involved in storylines, etc. Fans were given a reason to boo him. They branded Kaval to be a jobber virtually from day one, and all-but-told the fans that there's no reason to care about Kaval at all. The fans reacted accordingly. As I understand it, Kaval was pretty much told that his role in the WWE would not be anything other than a jobber for the foresseable future. He saw the writing on the wall, and decided that the indy scene was a better fit for him. Quite frankly, all things considered, I think I'd have made the same choice. (Keep in mind the low pay that the lower card guys get, heavy touring schedule, expenses, etc. He's probably making almost as much on the indies with a much lighter tour schedule and better control of his character than he was touring with the WWE and jobbing, once you factor in expenses, etc.) A-Ri may have spent 99.9% of his time up to now jobbing, but jobbing while being a part of main event angles and giving the fans a reason to care about you is still far better than jobbing for the sake of jobbing and being told that that's all you'd likely ever do. Comparing A-Ri's situation to Kaval's is apples and oranges.
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Post by rrm15 on May 30, 2011 23:05:18 GMT -5
They're doing a great job so far. I never really pictured Riley as a face but damnit, they're doing it so far. Hopefully he can keep it up.
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Post by funkycoldmadina on May 30, 2011 23:13:30 GMT -5
I just hope that when he faces Miz, he doesn't spell victory, "A-R-I!"
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