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Post by Lizuka #BLM on Apr 3, 2023 3:06:14 GMT -5
Okay, got to thinking about this a minute and holy damn the entire idea that, "Cody didn't have a story, now he does," is absolutely detached from reality in every way imaginable.
He came back a year ago, immediately said he wanted to win the WWE title in honor of Dusty. Got injured soon afterward, toughed it out to win a Hell in a Cell anyway, then came back from injury to win the Rumble. Afterward Roman immediately started calling him a lifelong failure and saying his dad never loved him but did love Roman. The story was there. The struggle to get there had been overcome. Reigns had already made it personal. Cody already had something to prove. The crowd investment was there. And they completely f***ing wasted it for an imaginary payoff that will never, ever happen.
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Post by Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] on Apr 3, 2023 3:14:37 GMT -5
I do honestly think they've probably utterly killed Cody's chances of being a major draw for them with this. There were reports just the other day that his merch sales are getting better and better, he's been a consistent ratings draw, and now, so what, doesn't matter, best he can hope for is to maybe beat Theory but probably not even that, who gives a f***. He isn't going to amount to anything so why believe in him? And even if they do split the belts and give him one, whatever, he got a pity belt because he can't win the real one, who cares? This is where I think people are severely underestimating the damage done to Cody. I said weeks ago if he lost he'd be damaged, maybe not beyond repair, but have you seen Drew McIntyre sniff the main event title since he lost at Clash? Just because someone is "fine" doesn't actually mean they're fine, they basically get put in their place. Much like how Kofi got destroyed by Brock and also never sniffed the world title again. Okay, got to thinking about this a minute and holy damn the entire idea that, "Cody didn't have a story, now he does," is absolutely detached from reality in every way imaginable. He came back a year ago, immediately said he wanted to win the WWE title in honor of Dusty. Got injured soon afterward, toughed it out to win a Hell in a Cell anyway, then came back from injury to win the Rumble. Afterward Roman immediately started calling him a lifelong failure and saying his dad never loved him but did love Roman. The story was there. The struggle to get there had been overcome. Reigns had already made it personal. Cody already had something to prove. The crowd investment was there. And they completely f***ing wasted it for an imaginary payoff that will never, ever happen. Which brings me to my next point. Cody could maybe challenge for the belt again, but it's a complete diminished return now. This was the Mania Main Event, and he lost, and Roman won, that was the event to make a new star, that was the event everyone watches, even lapsed fans, and he f***ing LOST, it doesn't matter how or in what way, Roman Reigns won again. If he won it at Summerslam, it doesn't matter nearly as much, not even close to what the Mania Main event is supposed to mean for someone, and even then, it does not excuse the absolute f***ing bullshit it was that he didn't win at Mania, and saying there was no storyline or not enough build or "it wasn't the time" to justify it feels like a very flimsy defense because... all of those things were there, everything was in place, the crowd told you and showed you with their MONEY how much they were ready for Cody Rhodes, top guy The one person who didn't seem ready, despite how fullproof it was, was HHH in the end, and maybe some other bookers, maybe Vince, who knows. What I do know is this is one of the biggest whiffs in pro wrestling history, and there isn't a scenario currently presented that to me justifies this going a minute further let alone potentially months further, especially if this shit ends with The Rock or Jey/Solo, because there's one, no way that's a better endgame than Sami or Cody, and two, feuds that DON'T NEED THE TITLES AT ALL. It's just exhausting, this Bloodline story felt like it had hit its peak at the Rumble, and was supposed to each an amazing climax at Mania... now? It feels like an Epilogue, for the villains, who won instead of the hero.
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Post by Feargus McReddit on Apr 3, 2023 3:27:48 GMT -5
Okay, got to thinking about this a minute and holy damn the entire idea that, "Cody didn't have a story, now he does," is absolutely detached from reality in every way imaginable. He came back a year ago, immediately said he wanted to win the WWE title in honor of Dusty. Got injured soon afterward, toughed it out to win a Hell in a Cell anyway, then came back from injury to win the Rumble. Afterward Roman immediately started calling him a lifelong failure and saying his dad never loved him but did love Roman. The story was there. The struggle to get there had been overcome. Reigns had already made it personal. Cody already had something to prove. The crowd investment was there. And they completely f***ing wasted it for an imaginary payoff that will never, ever happen. This is the absolute crux of how weird it is. If the crowd buys into it and is doing stuff like buying merch and breaking house show attendance records like he did in Denver, what more do you need as a creative to do the thing? HHH tore his quad as a heel, came back to a massive babyface pop after building him as such, won the Rumble and then won the world title, like, 21 years ago. And he was booking this show. If you are reading that and thinking “Well, the match wasn’t great, Hogan/Rock should have headlined, the build to it sucked because it was barely about Jericho, the champion etc” then, if anything, that just proves my entire point. If that can happen at a time period when business was not as strong, what excuse is there here? And the argument of “Oh, you can’t build tension that isn’t there between the bloodline”, write that in. Have Roman shout at the Usos for losing and Jey responds back by asking “Where were you yesterday? Where were you when Cody beat Solo?” and boom, you put into the audience that tension might boil over in the main. All Solo did was…basically proved he liked being shouted at by Roman, I guess.
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Post by dablueboy on Apr 3, 2023 3:29:58 GMT -5
I’m wondering just how much the news about the Endeavour sale had an impact on the booking, leaking out hours before the show, and the old man getting in H’s head that Roman and Bianca are more marketable for the sale than Asuka and Cody. Had it broke today, we probably see two title changes last night
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Post by Lizuka #BLM on Apr 3, 2023 3:33:16 GMT -5
I’m wondering just how much the news about the Endeavour sale had an impact on the booking, leaking out hours before the show, and the old man getting in H’s head that Roman and Bianca are more marketable for the sale than Asuka and Cody. Had it broke today, we probably see two title changes last night I feel like if a billions of dollars deal were make or break on who the champions were then Endeavor's run by absolute morons. Triple H just loves shit that lasts an absolute f***ing eternity and makes everyone watching it miserable because that's what the NWA did and he ignores that it died for a reason.
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Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]
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Post by Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] on Apr 3, 2023 3:35:13 GMT -5
I’m wondering just how much the news about the Endeavour sale had an impact on the booking, leaking out hours before the show, and the old man getting in H’s head that Roman and Bianca are more marketable for the sale than Asuka and Cody. Had it broke today, we probably see two title changes last night I'd sooner believe HHH didn't put the belt on Cody because he was still salty about the Throne Smash entrance than I would believe Endeavor would give a f*** who was champion when they bought a company, cause I don't think Roman and Bianca made any sort of difference in a deal already worth nine billion dollars lol
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Post by dablueboy on Apr 3, 2023 3:37:26 GMT -5
I’m wondering just how much the news about the Endeavour sale had an impact on the booking, leaking out hours before the show, and the old man getting in H’s head that Roman and Bianca are more marketable for the sale than Asuka and Cody. Had it broke today, we probably see two title changes last night I feel like if a billions of dollars deal were make or break on who the champions were then Endeavor's run by absolute morons. Triple H just loves shit that lasts an absolute f***ing eternity and makes everyone watching it miserable because that's what the NWA did and he ignores that it died for a reason. I don’t mean it from Endeavour’s perspective, they probably don’t care, I meant from McSexpest’s viewpoint
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Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]
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Post by Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] on Apr 3, 2023 3:39:19 GMT -5
I feel like if a billions of dollars deal were make or break on who the champions were then Endeavor's run by absolute morons. Triple H just loves shit that lasts an absolute f***ing eternity and makes everyone watching it miserable because that's what the NWA did and he ignores that it died for a reason. I don’t mean it from Endeavour’s perspective, they probably don’t care, I meant from McSexpest’s viewpoint I would really hope that Vince doesn't view Roman as a make or break for a 9 billion dollar deal because if he does he's crazier than anyone thought lol
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Post by dablueboy on Apr 3, 2023 3:48:38 GMT -5
I don’t mean it from Endeavour’s perspective, they probably don’t care, I meant from McSexpest’s viewpoint I would really hope that Vince doesn't view Roman as a make or break for a 9 billion dollar deal because if he does he's crazier than anyone thought lol I think we’ve pretty much established he is with the whole moustache and dye job
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Post by Ash Kingston on Apr 3, 2023 4:01:07 GMT -5
I also really don't understand this "well if Cody wins, who does he feud with?" mindset, because there's an entire goddamn roster to draw from.
How about… Seth Rollins? Bobby Lashley? Gunther? Finn Balor? Damien Priest? Bray Wyatt? Karrion Kross? LA Knight? Jey Uso? Braun Strowman? Solo Sikoa? Sheamus? Drew McIntyre?
Why does Roman get to run roughshod over the entire main event division for three years, crushing any and all potential new stars and challengers, but finding something for a new champion to do - who doesn't have all of that baggage - is just too much to ask for?
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Post by EoE: Well There's Your Problem on Apr 3, 2023 4:06:06 GMT -5
This is where I think people are severely underestimating the damage done to Cody. I said weeks ago if he lost he'd be damaged, maybe not beyond repair, but have you seen Drew McIntyre sniff the main event title since he lost at Clash? Just because someone is "fine" doesn't actually mean they're fine, they basically get put in their place. Much like how Kofi got destroyed by Brock and also never sniffed the world title again. My issue is that without a world title in regular play, all the guys that could generally pass as main eventers (Rollins, Lashley, Rhodes, McIntyre’s barely hanging on but he might still count… I’d probably even put Zayn and Owens in this category now) just float nebulously in the upper midcard, and because they’re too important to not challenge for belts, they take up the spots in the IC/US/Tag mix and bump the guys that should be challenging Theory and Gunther and (before WM) The Usos down the card, where they just end up not doing anything.
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Post by government mule on Apr 3, 2023 4:22:56 GMT -5
I just don't get the booking. Who else is there for the main event now that is credible as a challenger for the next year? Is he going to do a Brock and f*** off for a year until they convince Dwayne to come back? Why leave all that business money on the table? I don't get it.
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Post by carp (SPC, Itoh Respect Army) on Apr 3, 2023 4:43:15 GMT -5
I just don't get the booking. Who else is there for the main event now that is credible as a challenger for the next year? Is he going to do a Brock and f*** off for a year until they convince Dwayne to come back? Why leave all that business money on the table? I don't get it. It's Dwayne at some Wrestlemania some year or Reigns dies with the belts. That is exclusively what all this is for. We just have to wait for him to have a hole in his schedule around March. I'm personally guessing... eh, let's say 2026.
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Post by Lizuka #BLM on Apr 3, 2023 4:44:58 GMT -5
I just don't get the booking. Who else is there for the main event now that is credible as a challenger for the next year? Is he going to do a Brock and f*** off for a year until they convince Dwayne to come back? Why leave all that business money on the table? I don't get it. It's Dwayne at some Wrestlemania some year or Reigns dies with the belts. That is exclusively what all this is for. We just have to wait for him to have a hole in his schedule around March. I'm personally guessing... eh, let's say 2026. I'm fully convinced it's Rock, it's Solo, or it's Breakker and every one of those sounds absolutely abysmal.
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Totorob101
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Post by Totorob101 on Apr 3, 2023 5:01:45 GMT -5
He has been awful and just as bad,if not at times,worse then Vinces booking.
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gritizen
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Post by gritizen on Apr 3, 2023 5:31:20 GMT -5
I don't doubt that Cody is going to win the title eventually, but I'll never get why it wasn't last night. Triple H seemed pretty defensive when somebody used the phrase "drag out" in a question about the booking. But it seems like they are dragging it out.
Like, I saw that the Smackdown after Money in The Bank is in the Garden. I really hope they didn't have Cody lose tonight so they can get super cute and having the same thing happen to Cody that happened to Dusty. Just strike while the iron is hot.
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Famous Rocking Chimes
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Post by Famous Rocking Chimes on Apr 3, 2023 5:48:04 GMT -5
So I’ve had time to sleep on it after last night as I wanted to make sure I wasn’t giving thoughts in the heat of the moment.
Personally, I thought it was a terrible decision for Cody to lose. Everything was built up perfectly for him to win and have the big moment and they fumbled it again. Hell I defended Sami not winning in Montreal because Cody was going to get his moment at WrestleMania.
It’s eerily similar to Drew losing in Cardiff without the random singing of American Pie as we go off the air lol.
Now is Cody irreparably damaged? That depends on what happens going forward. There is every chance he wins at SummerSlam instead, and cool if that happens. The same thing happened with Reigns and Brock five years ago. But in terms of the crowd being proper JACKED to see someone win, I don’t think they’ll come close to it.
I honestly don’t know what Reigns does going forward. I see the argument people are making that him losing would kill the Bloodline stone dead but I would disagree. The ongoing tension and the Bloodline actually having some egg on its face would be interesting. But there’s nobody on the roster aside from Gunther and maybe Seth who could be considered a realistic contender to beat Reigns.
Maybe this does lead to Jey winning the title, but then there’s every chance the Usos beat KO and Sami on Raw tonight and we’re back to square one.
That or maybe Rock finally answered the damn phone and committed to a match but at this point, a Reigns/Rock match doesn’t need the titles and the result would be predictable if it was (unless the big climax of the last three years is putting over a guy who hasn’t wrestled for 10 years and is getting older each time the can keeps getting kicked down the road).
Also it’s been almost three years of this title reign, I think folk were justified in believing that THIS would be the end of the run. By the way there is something in audiences eventually getting tired of the misery writing in other stuff as well. Quite a few of my friends stopped watching Walking Dead after Negan came in because they got tired of seeing their favourite characters get stomped on with seemingly no hope of getting a win.
I’m not even angry like others are and I totally understand if they are, I’m just baffled more than anything. Sometimes the predictable ending is the best ending.
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Post by Lizuka #BLM on Apr 3, 2023 5:48:40 GMT -5
Here's another thing, I realize the show's already sold out so it kind of doesn't really matter, but just from a viewing perspective, why on earth would anyone care about Money in the Bank right now? The women's briefcase will be cashed in within 1 day, because it literally always is, and the men's will either be a blown cash in or it'll be cashed in on the US title again. Either way it's a waste of everyone's time.
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Post by Mid-Carder on Apr 3, 2023 5:48:54 GMT -5
I'm so glad I have AEW. Pre-AEW I would have been devastated about the main event, now I'm just deflated.
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Post by Sephiroth on Apr 3, 2023 5:49:12 GMT -5
Remember a long time ago when raw suffered a big drop in ratings while he wasn’t there-and there was actually a theory floating that he had somehow sabotaged tv’s across the country to manipulate the ratings? It’s true-our tears give him his supper powers.
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