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Post by EoE: Well There's Your Problem on Dec 24, 2020 8:35:23 GMT -5
Man, how did Big Show squander that iron clad contract? IIRC, there was a smackdown segment where Otunga examined the case and said Show had grounds to sue The Authority, so they straight up violated the contract's terms to fire him. And he dropped any and all potential kayfabe litigation... In exchange for a bog-standard world title match... That he lost because of outside distraction. Literally a week or two later they had him doing ads in a nappy. Possibly the single dumbest babyface decision of all time.
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Post by Sparvid on Dec 24, 2020 9:20:12 GMT -5
Stephanie was pretty awful in this angle. She got one over on just about everyone again and again. All to set herself up as the heel in the potential big deal celebrity match they were trying to get off the ground with Rousey. I remember Stephanie talking down to AJ Lee, which made no sense since not only did they make the champion look bad by just standing there and taking it from a non-wrestler, but AJ was also a heel at the time!
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Post by EvenBaldobombHasAJob on Dec 24, 2020 9:24:26 GMT -5
IIRC, there was a smackdown segment where Otunga examined the case and said Show had grounds to sue The Authority, so they straight up violated the contract's terms to fire him. And he dropped any and all potential kayfabe litigation... In exchange for a bog-standard world title match... That he lost because of outside distraction. Literally a week or two later they had him doing ads in a nappy. Possibly the single dumbest babyface decision of all time. It was never canonical but I choose to believe the New Year's Baby ad was forced on Show by Steph and Trips to humiliate him further.
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Post by eJm on Dec 24, 2020 9:29:06 GMT -5
The biggest flaw with the Authority, the more I think about it (outside the amount of heat getting, Hunter and Steph rarely looking bad etc) was the fact that the company that created the finest example of the Authority figure vs. wrestler trope forgot the key thing that made it work;
Vince McMahon was a promoter and wanted to make money.
The thing not as much talked about concerning McMahon/Austin was that to start with, McMahon knew Austin was a star. He heard the crowd reactions, he saw the march sales, he saw the mainstream buzz. He wasn't dumb. But what Austin wasn't was his idea of a mainstream star. He didn't tell kids to say their prayers and eat their vitamins, he ambushed people, stunned them, put up middle fingers, drank on the job. So to start with, McMahon wanted to slowly craft him into the guy he wanted to be and try to keep the fan support at the same time. The ultimate "have your cake and eat it".
Austin, however, also wasn't dumb. He wasn't the typical superstar and he didn't care to be and it was pretty clear what he wanted to do. So when the chance came up, he lured Vince into a trap and went from his dream guy to his worst nightmare. In response, Vince set out to not only have the fans tune into see the guy but to see who Vince wanted to be his guy and, in his own head, if that guy beat Austin, HE'd be seen as better in their eyes and then Vince would be happy. Some of that got lost with the 'Higher power' stuff and whatever but on the other hand, you could argue that was how far Vince was willing to go to change the guard and how much he snapped as a result.
Hell, some of Vince's feuds after that never had that. Why was he feuding with Lashley? He didn't do anything out of the norm. Why did he feud with Cena? Cena was a PR dream and was, if anything, more on the side of WWE than against it. "How dare you do the charity work we allowed you to go on that makes us look good as a company"?
The Authority...well, they were already in charge and had their plans. People knew HHH and Steph were married in real life, hell, they knew they had power back in 2000, just not in the way that was coming afterwards. And as Zane mentioned, they didn't have an end goal when they already succeeded without lifting a finger. The roster already was already seen as inadequate years before when HHH said he could wrestle a better match with a broomstick than most of the roster could. There wasn't an Austin moment where someone was going against values, there was Daniel Bryan who was...smaller than the average guy. Hell, that Survivor Series team was full of big men Vince loved and people knew Vince loved from watching the show so...what was the outcome?
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thehottag
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Post by thehottag on Dec 24, 2020 10:38:48 GMT -5
The thing which struck me about The Authority was just how long it went on for. I recall the Survivor Series match with Sting's debut being in November 2014 (which was supposedtobethe end of the angle), but I can also remember going to a house show in November 2017 & the ring announcer mocking the audience for booing The Authority when they were giving the crowd such a great main-event.
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stealthamo
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Post by stealthamo on Dec 24, 2020 11:09:59 GMT -5
IIRC, there was a smackdown segment where Otunga examined the case and said Show had grounds to sue The Authority, so they straight up violated the contract's terms to fire him. And he dropped any and all potential kayfabe litigation... In exchange for a bog-standard world title match... That he lost because of outside distraction. Literally a week or two later they had him doing ads in a nappy. Possibly the single dumbest babyface decision of all time. Never forget.
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Jonathan Michaels
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Post by Jonathan Michaels on Dec 24, 2020 11:16:28 GMT -5
I admit I didn't watch the video yet but can someone answer a question for me? I remember that Survivor Series match where Ziggler defeated the Authority and put them out of power, but then the next time I watched a couple weeks later the Authority was still in charge. What was the kayfabe explanation? Seth Rollins forced Cena to bring them back by threatening to kill Edge. Which is why I really want Edge/Rollins for Wrestlemania. It’s insane for Edge not to want revenge on the guy who threatened to literally murder him.
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Post by Dave the Dave on Dec 24, 2020 11:57:15 GMT -5
Stephanie was pretty awful in this angle. She got one over on just about everyone again and again. All to set herself up as the heel in the potential big deal celebrity match they were trying to get off the ground with Rousey. I remember Stephanie talking down to AJ Lee, which made no sense since not only did they make the champion look bad by just standing there and taking it from a non-wrestler, but AJ was also a heel at the time! AND one segment where she shit on AJ, she walked up the ramp and shit on Kaitlyn. There was no escaping her
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Post by EvenBaldobombHasAJob on Dec 24, 2020 12:57:48 GMT -5
I remember Stephanie talking down to AJ Lee, which made no sense since not only did they make the champion look bad by just standing there and taking it from a non-wrestler, but AJ was also a heel at the time! AND one segment where she shit on AJ, she walked up the ramp and shit on Kaitlyn. There was no escaping her It might be unpopular but I've always found Steph to be a lousy performer in general no matter what she's doing.
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chrom
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Post by chrom on Dec 24, 2020 13:10:17 GMT -5
AND one segment where she shit on AJ, she walked up the ramp and shit on Kaitlyn. There was no escaping her It might be unpopular but I've always found Steph to be a lousy performer in general no matter what she's doing. Don't think that's an unpopular opinion
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y4j1981
Dennis Stamp
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Post by y4j1981 on Dec 24, 2020 15:56:49 GMT -5
Stephanie was pretty awful in this angle. She got one over on just about everyone again and again. All to set herself up as the heel in the potential big deal celebrity match they were trying to get off the ground with Rousey. Not good. Not fun to watch either. And I was there for H’s Rumble win so I didn’t hear the commentary actually putting him over. Oh goodness. Didn't Dusty get in trouble for his promo against the Authority? Or with Stephanie in particular? Yea, irs brought up quickly in the video
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Post by eJm on Dec 24, 2020 17:16:10 GMT -5
Also, and I forgot to mention this previously...that ratings drop is kind of insane to look at in the context of everything going on now.
Around 4s by the time the storyline started to 2s by the time it ended? And nobody course corrected during that whole time? That’s madness to think about.
Like, I know ratings dropped when Austin turned because, well, he turned heel and it was dumb to do but it felt like at least they were able to keep something for a good bit before it dropping that rapidly.
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"Magic" Mark Hurr
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Post by "Magic" Mark Hurr on Dec 24, 2020 18:22:53 GMT -5
AND one segment where she shit on AJ, she walked up the ramp and shit on Kaitlyn. There was no escaping her It might be unpopular but I've always found Steph to be a lousy performer in general no matter what she's doing. Oh we shitting on The Authority, and in particular the shitty booking of HHH and Stephanie. And how they missed the whole point of heels having to get their asses handed to them rightfully from who they've feuded against without completely undermining all the progress gained which they immediately did. And not be complete jackwagons who tried to syphon heat from people that were over.
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Mozenrath
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Post by Mozenrath on Dec 24, 2020 18:33:44 GMT -5
And then HHH spent weeks not saying why he turned on Seth in the first place and then it was revealed he did it because he hurt himself? Outside of that one NXT segment, that whole thing made both guys look like total goobers. Boy I wonder why Rollins’ face run took a year and crazy heavy lifting booking wise to finally take. Highlights of this amazing face turn: -Seth saying he might show up at Hunter and Steph's house to attack Hunter and, what if their daughters answered the door? Which the crowd got silent hearing because, what the actual f*** -Seth showing contrition for turning on Shield weeks into his face turn, as if it had somehow just occurred to him that he had done anything wrong at all. Triple H comes out and makes fun of him for limping to this conclusion finally.
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Post by romanstylesiii on Dec 24, 2020 18:39:28 GMT -5
Dusty getting heat for being in character and giving Steph the hand is the dumbest thing i have ever heard
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Post by Bang Bang Bart on Dec 24, 2020 18:45:03 GMT -5
Was the Authority “patient zero” in WWE’s obsession with endless heat?
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Post by EoE: Well There's Your Problem on Dec 24, 2020 18:59:18 GMT -5
Was the Authority “patient zero” in WWE’s obsession with endless heat? Depends on what you’d consider the heel Michael Cole stuff from a couple of years previous. But we also have to note that a lot of it is judged by its entertainment value, for which it ran out with this angle rather quickly. Take the Roman Reigns stuff from this year, for example. Dude’s been having great matches and doing the best character and promo work of his career, but he’s also yet to suffer any real significant lumps in the last four months. Does it still count as “endless heat” if we’re enjoying it?
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Cranjis McBasketball
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Post by Cranjis McBasketball on Dec 24, 2020 18:59:38 GMT -5
Also, and I forgot to mention this previously...that ratings drop is kind of insane to look at in the context of everything going on now. Around 4s by the time the storyline started to 2s by the time it ended? And nobody course corrected during that whole time? That’s madness to think about. Like, I know ratings dropped when Austin turned because, well, he turned heel and it was dumb to do but it felt like at least they were able to keep something for a good bit before it dropping that rapidly. As long as if aggrandizes Triple H in his never ending quest to be considered an all time great, WWE doesn’t care.
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Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby
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Post by Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby on Dec 24, 2020 19:02:58 GMT -5
Was the Authority “patient zero” in WWE’s obsession with endless heat? I think the Reign of Terror is the patient zero for that. It changed the complexion of the show and the default of how it was booked. Cena's run on top was simultaneously a reversion to normal (white meat babyface as unbeatable top champ)...and a continuation of the same booking issues as the Reign of Terror, since, drawing-wise, Cena was a heel to a significant portion of the audience.
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Post by eJm on Dec 24, 2020 19:04:07 GMT -5
Was the Authority “patient zero” in WWE’s obsession with endless heat? Depends on what you’d consider the heel Michael Cole stuff from a couple of years previous. But we also have to note that a lot of it is judged by its entertainment value, for which it ran out with this angle rather quickly. Take the Roman Reigns stuff from this year, for example. Dude’s been having great matches and doing the best character and promo work of his career, but he’s also yet to suffer any real significant lumps in the last four months. Does it still count as “endless heat” if we’re enjoying it? I mean, if we reach a couple of years in and he still hasn’t taken a lump and everyone he faces either can’t win the big one or looks like a tool next to him, I’d say so. The big thing in comparison, from what I’ve seen, is that they’re building up people below to potentially unseat him like Big E etc. Anyone who was even breathing the same air as The Authority usually earned a Stephanie McMahon brow beating so it stopped before it even could start.
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