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Post by sportatorium on Feb 14, 2023 13:41:11 GMT -5
Sami's getting protected at the Chamber, but I don't think there's any chance of playing hot potato with the titles before Mania. The moment of Roman losing the belts needs to be a singular moment that doesn't get walked back. He's been the worst person using anything including his family to stay on top. He's even managed to gaslight the fans into cheering him. When that guy finally loses and can't control everything, it needs to stick.
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Post by Friday Night SmackOwn on Feb 14, 2023 14:19:22 GMT -5
I said it in the live thread. Really really ballsy decision to do this segment. They really could have kept them separated to make sure things didn’t go sideways. Instead, they faced it head on and trusted both guys to knock it out of the park. A segment like that is an example of the change in booking philosophy since Vince left creative, it’s not all perfect but they’re willing to trust the talent more out there. The fans trust the story now too. Compared to like a decade ago when they had babyface Roman and Bryan in the ring together prior to Wrestlemania and the crowd was shitting all over it. Fans seem to understand that Sami isn't going to be pushed aside into the equivalent of a nothing midcard match with Sheamus or a multi-man ladder match with no build. They know he's part of a bigger story and he's going to have an amazing moment at Wrestlemania. It's why I think the PPV will end with the crowd wildly cheering KO and Sami re-uniting and leaving the arena buzzing with excitement rather than feeling depressed or like it's a huge demotion for Sami. Royal Rumble was the last PPV in this story to have a “downer” ending, and I trust people will treat KO’s first true babyface moment in saving Sami from the Bloodline will get a great reaction.
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Moppy
Samurai Cop
Posts: 2,235
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Post by Moppy on Feb 14, 2023 16:04:11 GMT -5
Honestly, just chills at the prospect of Sami/KO/Cody vs Bloodline trios on the go-home Raw before Mania. Chills.
Genuine Attitude Era vibes.
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Post by Rudy Gobert Weather Machine on Feb 14, 2023 16:43:21 GMT -5
Dr. Zaius and The Unabomber my dream team
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Jonathan Michaels
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
The Archduke of Levity
Here since TNA was still kinda okay
Posts: 18,552
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Post by Jonathan Michaels on Feb 14, 2023 16:47:38 GMT -5
I love Sami as much as anyone, but between the HIAC and, more vitally, the masterful promos the last two weeks, how do you not give Cody his flowers?
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krozor
Don Corleone
Posts: 1,425
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Post by krozor on Feb 14, 2023 17:41:45 GMT -5
I really liked it from the practical perspective of actually addressing the usual "filler" match. Usually the challenger ignores the person getting the match before them, but having Cody and Sami both talk about it puts that seed of doubt in there that maybe, just maybe Sami can win by setting up a relationship between the two competitors who would be facing each other if the thing you know can't happen actually happens and the main event changes because of the Elimination Chamber match.
I liked it even more because of what it did for Cody and Sami as characters, though. Cody offered Sami the one thing that you never get in wrestling: dignity. WWE faces are usually weirdly cruel, but instead, Cody paused and said "What you want matters, too." I don't know if I can remember that kind of human decency in a wrestling character in a long time. Roman's arc has kind of been about stripping dignity away from everyone to feed his own ego, and Sami getting steamrolled and losing his dignity has been his WWE character arc in a lot of ways (he gets Neville to maintain his integrity, but then Owens makes a fool of him, he eventually turns heel and becomes a clown down to doing an admittedly GREAT comedy match at Wrestlemania last year, and Roman himself, right before Sami finally turned, was telling him fall in line or go back to doing "Jackass shit").
It would have been very easy to do that segment and have the undercurrent of "I hope you win, you're easier to beat" sneak in and I have to credit Cody for bringing that human element back into it. He took a chance on himself and got to a place where he feels like he earned it, and he's asking Sami what's stopping him from having that breakthrough and believing in himself now. It lets Sami be a real person who can show genuine vulnerability (another thing WWE faces never get to do) and humanizes Cody amidst the superhero wrestling gear and the big entrances.
It's not going to be Cody vs. Sami, but just pausing, asking "but what if it was?" and then having Cody ask "and why couldn't it be?" did a ton for both characters and feels like Cody finally getting a handle on the kind of face his dad was, that he has wanted to be himself, and the company has needed for a long time. Will it last? Maybe, maybe not, but they're still hitting all the right beats on the way right now.
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thehottag
Don Corleone
We're here for one reason only: fame, fortune, & the World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Champions!
Posts: 1,668
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Post by thehottag on Feb 14, 2023 18:26:00 GMT -5
There's so much to love about this.
I love how two full-time babyfaces are so over with the audience.
I love how both wrestlers were allowed to shine in the spotlight. No accusations of 'leeching off his heat', no forcing the crowd to choose between them, no casting one aside to focus on the other.
I love how Cody was able to build Sami up in his promo & not come across as condescending in any way. He came across as a decent man genuinely wanting the best for someone.
I love how Elimination Chamber is suddenly this huge show. Normally the February PPV/PLE is just a filler show, but now people are hyped for a possible world title change. For far too long people have said matches & moments should be 'saved for Royal Rumble/Wrestlemania/Summerslam', when in reality, you should always strike whilst the iron is hot. B shows are only B shows because they are treated as such - give people something to get excited about, & they become a big deal.
Do I think Sami will win in Montreal? No, I think Reigns will lose both belts to Rhodes at Wrestlemania. But the fact people are questioning this, the fact it isn't totally a forgone conclusion, shows what a great job they've done.
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Post by deviljatt86 on Feb 14, 2023 19:45:33 GMT -5
My takeaway from this promo from Sami's character was that he feels like he bit off a tad too much by challenging Roman for the titles. So, at Royal Rumble, Sami was pushed to his breaking point and snapped, finally seeing how evil Roman truly is. Sami only wanted to be accepted, and Roman used that to manipulate him. So, in a hasty decision, Sami decided to take from Roman, the thing he values most: the championship. He doesn't believe he can do it, but if he doesn't try, that means Roman gets away with his behavior, so Sami is going to try his damnest. Along the way, he is going to help Jey stand up for himself too, not to break the Bloodline and harm Roman, but instead to help the only man who accepted him on his own (you can argue that Jimmy and Solo only accepted Sami because of Roman, not because they genuinely liked the man). Unlike Roman, he isn't using Jey for his own advantage, but instead helping Jey for Jey's benefit. Anyways, coming to this week's RAW, Sami, not believing in himself that he can win the titles, hears that Cody believes he can, and Sami has to find out if Cody's words are genuine or not. Sami is looking for support to help him believe in himself, and Cody gave that to him in spades.
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Post by Jindrak Mark on Feb 14, 2023 20:16:10 GMT -5
I love how Elimination Chamber is suddenly this huge show. Normally the February PPV/PLE is just a filler show This is one of the most noticeable differences for me since HHH took over. Every PPV feels important and like you could be missing out on something big if you don't watch. Wrestlemania and Royal Rumble take care of themselves and will always be major but for years I didn't even have the desire to watch most B PPVs and would just read the results but in the past 6 months I've went out of my way to see them all. Roman/Drew at CATC was a mega match. Bray's return and the excitement around that for ER. War Games for SS. And Roman/Sami at EC is going to be huge too.
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Post by Some Baritone guy IS REDEEMED! on Feb 14, 2023 20:47:07 GMT -5
I think this proves something about Cody: He is a legitimately great babyface, but his talents are best served in a company like WWE where these kind of promos are what drives the programming.
Weird as it is AEW even though he built it wasn't the place for him.
My move here is simple. Bloodline beats down Sami causing a DQ when he has Roman beat. Jey beats him down too. Kevin Owens hits the ring to make the save, but he too is beaten down. Just when it looks like we're in for a repeat of the Royal Rumble, Cody hits the ring and together the three clear the ring and for the first time in forever, the babyfaces stand tall over the Bloodline.
Then you build Sami, Owens and Cody as having an alliance with the three of them uniting forces against their common enemies of the Usos and Roman Reigns. The three of them start to show consistently that they are more than a match for the bloodline. For the first time now Roman Reigns begins to show a twinge of fear. For the first time his unshakable confidence is shaking.
Night 1 you have Zayn and Owens Vs. the Usos headline. Zayn and Owen win clean to end the first night on a positive note. For the first time ever there is a chink in the armor of the Bloodline.
Night 2 main event Roman is desperate. Cody has the match won, the usual Bloodline interference happens, but this time he's facing an opponent who has back up too. Zayn and Owens clear the ring, with Zayn perhaps getting a little bit of extra in. With the odds evened and the match one on one, Roman is no match for Cody. Wrestlemania ends with the babyfaces standing tall, and the Bloodline laying there in abject defeat.
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Post by Friday Night SmackOwn on Feb 14, 2023 21:48:21 GMT -5
I think this proves something about Cody: He is a legitimately great babyface, but his talents are best served in a company like WWE where these kind of promos are what drives the programming. Weird as it is AEW even though he built it wasn't the place for him. My move here is simple. Bloodline beats down Sami causing a DQ when he has Roman beat. Jey beats him down too. Kevin Owens hits the ring to make the save, but he too is beaten down. Just when it looks like we're in for a repeat of the Royal Rumble, Cody hits the ring and together the three clear the ring and for the first time in forever, the babyfaces stand tall over the Bloodline. Then you build Sami, Owens and Cody as having an alliance with the three of them uniting forces against their common enemies of the Usos and Roman Reigns. The three of them start to show consistently that they are more than a match for the bloodline. For the first time now Roman Reigns begins to show a twinge of fear. For the first time his unshakable confidence is shaking. Night 1 you have Zayn and Owens Vs. the Usos headline. Zayn and Owen win clean to end the first night on a positive note. For the first time ever there is a chink in the armor of the Bloodline. Night 2 main event Roman is desperate. Cody has the match won, the usual Bloodline interference happens, but this time he's facing an opponent who has back up too. Zayn and Owens clear the ring, with Zayn perhaps getting a little bit of extra in. With the odds evened and the match one on one, Roman is no match for Cody. Wrestlemania ends with the babyfaces standing tall, and the Bloodline laying there in abject defeat. I think with this build, you could do a crazy go-home segment for Raw where the anti-Bloodline alliance brawl with Roman and the Usos. The important thing is that the brawl ends the show with nobody standing tall and intensifying more as the show goes off the air (of course, the dark segment after the show would end with Cody/Sami/KO standing tall).
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Post by Lizuka #BLM on Feb 14, 2023 21:58:21 GMT -5
I feel like at this juncture the logical end to the story at Mania wouldn't be KO and Sami neutralizing the Bloodline, at least on their own, but rather Jey - and possibly also Jimmy - having the chance to bail Roman out and opting not to do it. Feels like Jey needs his moment for the narrative to this point to make sense and feel conclusive.
But y'know, would be far from the first time a part of this title reign made no sense if that didn't happen.
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Post by EoE: Well There's Your Problem on Feb 14, 2023 22:25:32 GMT -5
I think this proves something about Cody: He is a legitimately great babyface, but his talents are best served in a company like WWE where these kind of promos are what drives the programming. Weird as it is AEW even though he built it wasn't the place for him. My move here is simple. Bloodline beats down Sami causing a DQ when he has Roman beat. Jey beats him down too. Kevin Owens hits the ring to make the save, but he too is beaten down. Just when it looks like we're in for a repeat of the Royal Rumble, Cody hits the ring and together the three clear the ring and for the first time in forever, the babyfaces stand tall over the Bloodline. Then you build Sami, Owens and Cody as having an alliance with the three of them uniting forces against their common enemies of the Usos and Roman Reigns. The three of them start to show consistently that they are more than a match for the bloodline. For the first time now Roman Reigns begins to show a twinge of fear. For the first time his unshakable confidence is shaking. Night 1 you have Zayn and Owens Vs. the Usos headline. Zayn and Owen win clean to end the first night on a positive note. For the first time ever there is a chink in the armor of the Bloodline. Night 2 main event Roman is desperate. Cody has the match won, the usual Bloodline interference happens, but this time he's facing an opponent who has back up too. Zayn and Owens clear the ring, with Zayn perhaps getting a little bit of extra in. With the odds evened and the match one on one, Roman is no match for Cody. Wrestlemania ends with the babyfaces standing tall, and the Bloodline laying there in abject defeat. I think with this build, you could do a crazy go-home segment for Raw where the anti-Bloodline alliance brawl with Roman and the Usos. The important thing is that the brawl ends the show with nobody standing tall and intensifying more as the show goes off the air (of course, the dark segment after the show would end with Cody/Sami/KO standing tall). I'm not a massive fantasy booker these days, but ideally I wouldn't do the six man tag (Rhodes/Owens/Zayn v Reigns/Usos) until the RAW after WrestleMania. Use that match and that crowd to have Zayn pin Reigns clean to get his win, and then on the SmackDown afterwards have Jey be the catalyst for the rest of the Bloodline abandoning Reigns, leading to Reigns taking time off for a few months. After that, split the Usos in the draft and see what happens with Sikoa, Jimmy and a now babyface Jey from there.
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Post by Friday Night SmackOwn on Feb 14, 2023 22:30:42 GMT -5
I think with this build, you could do a crazy go-home segment for Raw where the anti-Bloodline alliance brawl with Roman and the Usos. The important thing is that the brawl ends the show with nobody standing tall and intensifying more as the show goes off the air (of course, the dark segment after the show would end with Cody/Sami/KO standing tall). I'm not a massive fantasy booker these days, but ideally I wouldn't do the six man tag (Rhodes/Owens/Zayn v Reigns/Usos) until the RAW after WrestleMania. Use that match and that crowd to have Zayn pin Reigns clean to get his win, and then on the SmackDown afterwards have Jey be the catalyst for the rest of the Bloodline abandoning Reigns, leading to Reigns taking time off for a few months. After that, split the Usos in the draft and see what happens with Sikoa, Jimmy and a now babyface Jey from there. the scenario I'm proposing isn't really a match. Just maybe something like Cody vs. Solo that devolves into the brawl scenario I described.
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Post by CubsFan71 on Feb 14, 2023 22:34:32 GMT -5
Something tells me the fans are going to shit all over the result of Saturdays match and Cody will be the innocent victim of the hatred and will be nearly booed out of the building at Mania
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Post by Friday Night SmackOwn on Feb 14, 2023 23:05:21 GMT -5
Something tells me the fans are going to shit all over the result of Saturdays match and Cody will be the innocent victim of the hatred and will be nearly booed out of the building at Mania the boos will more than likely be offset by a returning Kevin Owens saving Sami from the Bloodline.
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Post by Stu on Feb 15, 2023 0:20:28 GMT -5
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Post by yokohamacpfc on Feb 15, 2023 3:29:15 GMT -5
If not for Cody's injury and them booking themselves into not wanting Reigns' er reign to be broken at all this would have probably ended up like the WWE title picture from SS98 to WMXV with Sami getting the short Foley runs with the title. Maybe they'll hot-shot the belt(s) a bit more in the summer and that's when Sami can "put butts in seats."
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clifford
King Koopa
Shingo Takagi stan
Posts: 10,692
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Post by clifford on Feb 15, 2023 9:16:09 GMT -5
Apologies if this has been suggested already but what if it ended up a triple threat at Mania and both Sami and Cody pin Roman, and take a title each and celebrate to end the show; Roman keeps his aura as it took two men to beat him, it would be a cool call back to him pinning Edge and Danielson together at Mania two years ago, and you split the top titles in a silly but still believable way. It seems the best outcome for everyone.
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schma
El Dandy
Who are you to doubt me?
Posts: 7,548
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Post by schma on Feb 15, 2023 9:40:59 GMT -5
I feel like Cody not getting his big moment at Mania wouldn't be the end of the world. All he has to do is go on Raw the next night and say, every hero has their stumbling blocks. It doesn't mean the story is done, he will finish the story. Or something like that and he keeps his heat.
That said, I haven't been watching closely for some time but I would love to see Zayn win. They could also pull a stunt where he wins but on Raw or Smackdown Pearce clarifies that it was only for the Universal title and that Reigns is still WWE champ or something. Not sure if it would take away from Cody winning the WWE title but it might be a way to please both camps. Either way, I'm genuinely interested in things but I do hope that Sami gets his win over Roman at some point even if he doesn't get the title (maybe backlash to really put the nail in the coffin on the bloodline).
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