Post by GuyOfOwnage on Aug 19, 2013 19:00:34 GMT -5
Shortly after last year's SummerSlam, I ended up taking some time off from watching WWE (and most other programming) to handle some personal business. In 23 years of being a fan, it was the longest period I've ever went without watching. Last night could not have been a better show for me to come back to, as it was absolutely off the hook and reminded me why I'm still a fan after nearly two and a half decades. I thought it'd be interesting to post some thoughts (and questions) from the perspective of a longtime fan who hasn't watched in a little while.
- Glad to see RVD back with his working boots on. That TNA run was awful.
- I remember hearing a lot about Ambrose and Rollins during their time in developmental, so I was pleasantly surprised to see them on WWE TV. Is Reigns any good? I don't think I've heard of or seen him up until now. The three of them seem to mesh pretty well as a stable. When did that come about?
- When the hell did Johnny Curtis become a ballroom dancer? And when did Miz suddenly transform into a vanilla babyface? Right out of the gate, I thought I was in bizarro world.
- I remember hearing last year about Husky Harris being repackaged as Bray Wyatt down in FCW, but I didn't know they'd brought him up to the main roster until recently. When did this happen? And it's awesome to see Brodie Lee in a WWE ring. I remember when I was part of the ring crew for a local indy circa 2007 or 2008, they brought him in for a match and he was an absolute beast. Also, I must say, the Wyatts' entrance is incredibly creepy and atmospheric. Best I've seen in WWE in years.
- It was nice to see the Inferno match back, but I should've expected that it'd be revised for modern day WWE. Regardless, I've always loved the visual of the flames shooting up whenever there's a high impact move.
- I'm surprised they put the briefcase on Sandow. The last real memory I had of him before last night was being pedigreed at Raw 1000. How has he progressed in the last year? Is he ready for the main event? Or is this yet another classic case of a guy being jobbed out for months and winning MITB out of nowhere? Either way, I'm happy to see the return of the custom MITB case. It's been too long.
- Sandow and Cody sounds like the most random pairing ever. Was it anything memorable?
- I don't know how I feel about Cody being a face again. I'm having nightmare visions of CAWdy circa 2007.
- Always happy to see Christian in a World title match, even if it seems like the poor guy will never get the strap again. On a side note, what the hell did they do to Del Rio's entrance theme? It sounds terrible now. And where's Ricardo?
- For years, a Divas match, whether on TV or PPV, is my piss break. I couldn't help but overhear them whoring out some new show called Total Divas. How often am I going to have to hear about this on WWE TV, and is it as bad as it sounds?
- Lesnar/Punk was f***ing incredible. I don't know how many matches Lesnar has had since I last watched, but this is easily the best I've seen since his WWE return. It even trumps the Cena match IMO. What a f***ing match. Even though I haven't seen anything from WWE in 2013 up until now, in any year, this is a definite MOTY candidate.
- Punk seemed to be in the midst of a slow burn heel turn right around the time I was tuning out. Whatever became of that?
- What on earth happened to Ryback? Last I saw him, he was a monster babyface plowing through everyone, and now he's...bullying catering? Is he going to ask for their lunch money next? What the hell, WWE?
- It must not've taken long for Ziggler to fall back down the card after cashing in MITB, seeing as he's already relegated to mixed tag duty. Sad. It was awkward to see him as a babyface. I guess he's so good at playing an arrogant dick, it's hard to buy him as anything else. And now AJ's a heel and holding the Divas title? What happened to her being the GM? And I was shocked to see Big E Langston on the main roster. The last I remember, he was a running joke on here for his perfectly symmetric facial features.
- When did Daniel Bryan get the face turn and megapush? As you can tell by my (now outdated) sig and avatar, I'm a huge fan, and I was afraid that after they didn't turn him last year, they'd just push him down the card and pretend that his main event run never happened (ala Swagger). He seems more over now than post-WM28, which is really something. And a clean win over John Cena in the main event for the WWE title? That was a starmaking performance right there, and I couldn't be more pleased.
- On a side note, Triple H with short hair was jarring. It doesn't...look right. I get that with him getting more and more into the business side of things, it makes sense, but it looks all wrong to me. It's like when Jericho started wearing tights out of nowhere. I'm sure I'll get used to it, but damn.
- Speaking of jarring, but more pleasantly so, I could not be more happy to see that they finally did away with that ghastly spinner abomination. The replacement isn't what I'd call the best (I personally would've gone for something akin to the Winged Eagle or Undisputed designs), but it's still a step up.
- Was Orton a heel prior to last night, or was last night the turn? Not having watched, I wasn't sure.
I'm absolutely amped up for Raw tonight. It seems like I picked the best possible time to come back into the fold. Oh, and last but not least, are there any memorable matches or segments from the past year I should be YouTubing? Thanks.
- Glad to see RVD back with his working boots on. That TNA run was awful.
- I remember hearing a lot about Ambrose and Rollins during their time in developmental, so I was pleasantly surprised to see them on WWE TV. Is Reigns any good? I don't think I've heard of or seen him up until now. The three of them seem to mesh pretty well as a stable. When did that come about?
- When the hell did Johnny Curtis become a ballroom dancer? And when did Miz suddenly transform into a vanilla babyface? Right out of the gate, I thought I was in bizarro world.
- I remember hearing last year about Husky Harris being repackaged as Bray Wyatt down in FCW, but I didn't know they'd brought him up to the main roster until recently. When did this happen? And it's awesome to see Brodie Lee in a WWE ring. I remember when I was part of the ring crew for a local indy circa 2007 or 2008, they brought him in for a match and he was an absolute beast. Also, I must say, the Wyatts' entrance is incredibly creepy and atmospheric. Best I've seen in WWE in years.
- It was nice to see the Inferno match back, but I should've expected that it'd be revised for modern day WWE. Regardless, I've always loved the visual of the flames shooting up whenever there's a high impact move.
- I'm surprised they put the briefcase on Sandow. The last real memory I had of him before last night was being pedigreed at Raw 1000. How has he progressed in the last year? Is he ready for the main event? Or is this yet another classic case of a guy being jobbed out for months and winning MITB out of nowhere? Either way, I'm happy to see the return of the custom MITB case. It's been too long.
- Sandow and Cody sounds like the most random pairing ever. Was it anything memorable?
- I don't know how I feel about Cody being a face again. I'm having nightmare visions of CAWdy circa 2007.
- Always happy to see Christian in a World title match, even if it seems like the poor guy will never get the strap again. On a side note, what the hell did they do to Del Rio's entrance theme? It sounds terrible now. And where's Ricardo?
- For years, a Divas match, whether on TV or PPV, is my piss break. I couldn't help but overhear them whoring out some new show called Total Divas. How often am I going to have to hear about this on WWE TV, and is it as bad as it sounds?
- Lesnar/Punk was f***ing incredible. I don't know how many matches Lesnar has had since I last watched, but this is easily the best I've seen since his WWE return. It even trumps the Cena match IMO. What a f***ing match. Even though I haven't seen anything from WWE in 2013 up until now, in any year, this is a definite MOTY candidate.
- Punk seemed to be in the midst of a slow burn heel turn right around the time I was tuning out. Whatever became of that?
- What on earth happened to Ryback? Last I saw him, he was a monster babyface plowing through everyone, and now he's...bullying catering? Is he going to ask for their lunch money next? What the hell, WWE?
- It must not've taken long for Ziggler to fall back down the card after cashing in MITB, seeing as he's already relegated to mixed tag duty. Sad. It was awkward to see him as a babyface. I guess he's so good at playing an arrogant dick, it's hard to buy him as anything else. And now AJ's a heel and holding the Divas title? What happened to her being the GM? And I was shocked to see Big E Langston on the main roster. The last I remember, he was a running joke on here for his perfectly symmetric facial features.
- When did Daniel Bryan get the face turn and megapush? As you can tell by my (now outdated) sig and avatar, I'm a huge fan, and I was afraid that after they didn't turn him last year, they'd just push him down the card and pretend that his main event run never happened (ala Swagger). He seems more over now than post-WM28, which is really something. And a clean win over John Cena in the main event for the WWE title? That was a starmaking performance right there, and I couldn't be more pleased.
- On a side note, Triple H with short hair was jarring. It doesn't...look right. I get that with him getting more and more into the business side of things, it makes sense, but it looks all wrong to me. It's like when Jericho started wearing tights out of nowhere. I'm sure I'll get used to it, but damn.
- Speaking of jarring, but more pleasantly so, I could not be more happy to see that they finally did away with that ghastly spinner abomination. The replacement isn't what I'd call the best (I personally would've gone for something akin to the Winged Eagle or Undisputed designs), but it's still a step up.
- Was Orton a heel prior to last night, or was last night the turn? Not having watched, I wasn't sure.
I'm absolutely amped up for Raw tonight. It seems like I picked the best possible time to come back into the fold. Oh, and last but not least, are there any memorable matches or segments from the past year I should be YouTubing? Thanks.
