I think Triple H really does get 'THIS BUSINESS'

[JTG Fan]

Obviously we have no idea what his exact backstage involvement with this storyline is, but it seems totally unlike anything we've seen in years and it seems natural to assume a lot of it has his fingerprints on it. Trips gets that 'good vs. bad' with NWA booking and an attitude twist = $$$.

[Sparkybob]

Triple H sure knows how to play a dick on stage.

[Marvelously Mediocre]

It's really exciting. It feels like the entire landscape of WWE's main event scene has been revamped and revitalised in a day. John Cena's gone, Bryan is the top face and Orton the top heel with the Corporation backing him. It's fantastic so far.

[BRV]

I loved the end of Raw because I hated it so much. I literally wanted to crawl through the television and start strangling Triple H when he was taunting Daniel Bryan while he was trying to climb into the ring. When Triple H, Randy Orton and the McMahons get their comeuppance at the hands of Daniel Bryan, it's going to be a thing of beauty.

I don't mean to sound condescending or rude, but I have no idea how or why anyone didn't love the end of Raw.

[Brother Nero....Wolfe]

I'm hesitating, because on one hand I'm actually hating the villains for exactly the reasons the WWE wants me to as opposed to poor booking. Yet, this shadowy figure of Triple H's shovel looms over the angle and I cannot help but remember it can come down any second--as it has before. The angle is perfect writing-wise so far(save for the mysteriously nonchalant roster) and yet...and yet I just can't help but worry about it going off the rails.

But know what? Screw it, I'll deal with it when it comes. Until then, I'll enjoy the ride because regardless of whether Triple H goes Mr. Shovel at the end or not, if I keep worrying about the possibility I won't enjoy this.

And I want to enjoy this - because it's fun as hell and strangely well written so far. So I'll take it.

[Deleted]

Aug 19, 2013 22:18:56 GMT -5 BRV said:

I loved the end of Raw because I hated it so much. I literally wanted to crawl through the television and start strangling Triple H when he was taunting Daniel Bryan while he was trying to climb into the ring. When Triple H, Randy Orton and the McMahons get their comeuppance at the hands of Daniel Bryan, it's going to be a thing of beauty.

I don't mean to sound condescending or rude, but I have no idea how or why anyone didn't love the end of Raw.

I don't know that WWE has ever had two more captivating angles going on at the same time between Punk/Heyman and Bryan/The Man.

[Lazy peon]

I can't wait to see Daniel Bryan beat the crap out of all of them, god they were so freaking evil I love it

[The Portable Stove]

It's as I said, with him saying "buried" about ten times in five seconds, him undermining Bryan's career and him saying "this isn't about me" despite rambling on about things that pertain to him for five minutes, he's become so self-aware that it's almost Deadpool-like.

That said, hell. I'm on board. Let's see what you've got, WWE.

[BayleyTiffyCodyCenaJudyHopps]

This is so far beautiful stuff. For once, no one can really complain about "the corporation being made out to be the heroes"- Orton, HHH and Steph were clear cut smarmy heels, and Bryan is obviously the sympathetic hero.

And shit, all Bryan has to do to win the feud is regain the title at some point. He's not a Hogan/Cena style muscleman hero, so no one should be asking him to plow through the Shield and swarms of goons before bench pressing HHH and pounding VInce into goo.

[Deleted]

I'd love to see a Corporation vs Rebels, War Games match at Battleground.

[BRV]

I also came to the realization that (WARNING - sacrilege ahead) Daniel Bryan tonight was way, way, WAAAAY better at playing the spunky, anti-authority, Corporation-fighting, Stone Cold-esque face than CM Punk ever was in 2011.

[Mr Captain Falcon]

This was the first time in a long time that a heel has made me angry. I'm like a kid mark again. Kudos.

[Crimson]

Someone else mentioned it earlier today, but when Cena returns, it be cool if he got "Taker booking" of being a special attraction main eventer instead of the sole focus, because this current booking with Bryan is phenomenal.

[Allie Kitsune]

Aug 19, 2013 22:26:04 GMT -5 BRV said:

I also came to the realization that (WARNING - sacrilege ahead) Daniel Bryan tonight was way, way, WAAAAY better at playing the spunky, anti-authority, Corporation-fighting, Stone Cold-esque face than CM Punk ever was in 2011.

Punk came off as a little too snarky and meta to do it right.

Bryan has a higher level of sincerity.

[kidtamagotchi]

Eh, seems like Daniel Bryan is the 'Stone Cold Steve Austin' to HHH's 'Vince McMahon'.

[cabbageboy]

Well, if Bryan comes off better it's because he has actively been screwed while Punk was the guy threatening to leave with the belt and generally being a dick. That said, this storyline makes positively zero sense on any level. First, I couldn't help but think of the various HHH/Orton feuds from the past, and even though they mentioned it as well I couldn't help but think "If this guy attacked my wife and basically tried to molest her on national TV I don't think I'd ever give him a world title." The entire basis for this storyline hinges on two rather bizarre points:

1) Daniel Bryan as WWE champion would be a financial fiasco along the lines of Ronnie Garvin in 1987.
2) Randy Orton as WWE champion will mean 6.0 ratings and 1.50 buyrates on every PPV.

Think about the sheer stupidity of this angle. We're supposed to believe that HHH is willing to put aside nearly a decade of animosity between Orton and himself because Bryan is such a catastrophic non draw that HHH is willing to move heaven and earth to keep the belt off him. Well, whatever. It's tough to prove a hypothetical, except Bryan WAS the World Champ on Smackdown and it didn't harm business or anything. Second, and this is more important, Randy Orton has always proven to be a lousy draw whenever he's on top. How many times has he gotten the title only to see ratings tank? It's laughable to think that after so many marginal title runs that somehow Orton is going to be 1985 Hogan and 1998 Austin rolled into one.

[angryfan]

Either D-Bry is being molded into Stone Cold or he'll wind up being Booker T'ed. I can hope for the former, but dollars to doughnuts it can easily be the latter.

Shame since I love watching him work, but Orton and "all promo all the time" Trips are automatic channel changers for me.

[BRV]

Aug 19, 2013 22:45:34 GMT -5 cabbageboy said:

Well, if Bryan comes off better it's because he has actively been screwed while Punk was the guy threatening to leave with the belt and generally being a dick. That said, this storyline makes positively zero sense on any level. First, I couldn't help but think of the various HHH/Orton feuds from the past, and even though they mentioned it as well I couldn't help but think "If this guy attacked my wife and basically tried to molest her on national TV I don't think I'd ever give him a world title." The entire basis for this storyline hinges on two rather bizarre points:

1) Daniel Bryan as WWE champion would be a financial fiasco along the lines of Ronnie Garvin in 1987.
2) Randy Orton as WWE champion will mean 6.0 ratings and 1.50 buyrates on every PPV.

Think about the sheer stupidity of this angle. We're supposed to believe that HHH is willing to put aside nearly a decade of animosity between Orton and himself because Bryan is such a catastrophic non draw that HHH is willing to move heaven and earth to keep the belt off him. Well, whatever. It's tough to prove a hypothetical, except Bryan WAS the World Champ on Smackdown and it didn't harm business or anything. Second, and this is more important, Randy Orton has always proven to be a lousy draw whenever he's on top. How many times has he gotten the title only to see ratings tank? It's laughable to think that after so many marginal title runs that somehow Orton is going to be 1985 Hogan and 1998 Austin rolled into one.

That's why they are the heels in this scenario. They're not operating from a sensible standpoint, they are collectively working with a built-in delusion, that the vanilla midget isn't going to cut the mustard as the face of the company, whereas Orton, a 10-time former world champion, is the safer option as champion. Obviously the guy who has had tens of thousands of fans chanting his name and his catchphrase around the country for the last 16 months is capable of becoming the face of the company, but the Corporation is so locked into their own beliefs that they're willing to put blinders on and ignore the noise.

That's why we want to see Bryan beat Orton and Triple H, because they are so obviously wrong, but they're operating from a position of power and as of the last 24 hours, there's nothing he can do about it.

This storyline has hit every note perfectly since Triple H pedigreed Bryan last night. Let's hope it continues down the right path.

[Shark]

Aug 19, 2013 22:45:34 GMT -5 cabbageboy said:

Well, if Bryan comes off better it's because he has actively been screwed while Punk was the guy threatening to leave with the belt and generally being a dick. That said, this storyline makes positively zero sense on any level. First, I couldn't help but think of the various HHH/Orton feuds from the past, and even though they mentioned it as well I couldn't help but think "If this guy attacked my wife and basically tried to molest her on national TV I don't think I'd ever give him a world title." The entire basis for this storyline hinges on two rather bizarre points:

1) Daniel Bryan as WWE champion would be a financial fiasco along the lines of Ronnie Garvin in 1987.
2) Randy Orton as WWE champion will mean 6.0 ratings and 1.50 buyrates on every PPV.

Think about the sheer stupidity of this angle. We're supposed to believe that HHH is willing to put aside nearly a decade of animosity between Orton and himself because Bryan is such a catastrophic non draw that HHH is willing to move heaven and earth to keep the belt off him. Well, whatever. It's tough to prove a hypothetical, except Bryan WAS the World Champ on Smackdown and it didn't harm business or anything. Second, and this is more important, Randy Orton has always proven to be a lousy draw whenever he's on top. How many times has he gotten the title only to see ratings tank? It's laughable to think that after so many marginal title runs that somehow Orton is going to be 1985 Hogan and 1998 Austin rolled into one.

While I understand your point, I will counter with a real life example. As we know back in 2005, Edge and Lita had an affair behind Matt Hardy's back. Matt made it public and was fired. Months later, after Edge and Lita were paired up on screen in an angle mirroring what happened in real life, Matt came back to WWE and he and Edge out their issues aside for the business. It is possible for 2 guys to hate each other, but be able to put that aside and work together and put their lives in each others hands. It's not as outside the realm of possibility as it may seem.

[rnrk supports BLM]

Aug 19, 2013 22:51:09 GMT -5 angryfan said:

Either D-Bry is being molded into Stone Cold or he'll wind up being Booker T'ed.

I think we could be moving into a third scenario, where Bryan is the Mick Foley here; the sympathetic, unconventional, underdog babyface in the main event scene who gets brief moments in the spotlight but who loses in the end, in order to build up hatred for the heels who beat him.

Of course, that means the Austin in this scenario is most likely Cena, which I imagine lots of people around here would be less than happy with.