How Good/Bad/Profitable is this Fantasy Booking

[KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!!]

Inspired by all the discussion of whether Rock will wrestle Roman at EC or WrestleMania.

So let’s get into it:

Rock beats Roman at EC for the title. Roman cashes in his rematch clause at WrestleMania.

Meanwhile Damian Priest plays up his role as Mr. Money in the Bank and says he’s going to leave Seth Rollins alone so he can pursue another goal. Priest wants to cash it in to send Rock back to Hollywood. Cody Rhodes tells Priest one night on Raw that he won’t allow Priest to spoil WrestleMania. In fact Cody hates the concept of Money in the Bank and challenges Priest to a match at WrestleMania. If Cody wins he gets the Money in the Bank and promises to abolish it. If Cody loses he has to join Judgment Day.

At WrestleMania Cody beats Priest and throws the Money in the Bank briefcase down. In the main event there is a bunch of crap to help hide Rock’s weaknesses. Solo and Jimmy interfere at different points for Roman, and Jey and Cody come out at different points to even the playing field. At the end The Rock pins Roman decisively as everyone else is laid out.

Rock is barely standing with the ref raising his hand when Cody nails him from the back with the Money in the Bank briefcase. Cody picks him up and delivers the Cross Rhodes and defeats Rock.

The next night on Raw, Cody cuts a promo about how people never understood what the American Dream setting the stage for the American Nightmare really meant. He talks about how when Dusty was held down he found a way to take what he deserved. And now the American Nightmare has too.

So there you have it. 2 big money Rock matches and Cody gets to finish his story at WrestleMania in a less predictable way. It gives Rock an out, allows a possible face turn for Roman when he comes back (Cody never beat him), and a strong list of potential face challengers in Randy Orton, CM Punk, LA Knight, and Seth Rollins (What’s the Smackdown champion doing on Raw anyway?).

It may be a shitty puzzle (YMMV), but all the pieces fit.

[EoE: Well There's Your Problem]

With all due respect, so much of this reads like what people would misery book as a joke about how cynical they are about WWE. Rock beating Reigns twice (the first time getting the rub of the massive-ass reign)? Rhodes turning heel?

Like, how many things were you trying to kill off at once here?

[Finish Uncle Muffin’s Story]

Yeah, I appreciate the time and effort but I don't know I'd want to see it. Cody's got the potential to turn into those one in a generation top babyfaces and turning him heel in this very moment would be catastrophic for both the company's week-to-week storytelling and their business. Nope.

I'm kind of stubborn when it comes to this one but Cody really just needs to beat Roman clean as a sheet at Mania.

[KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!!]

Jan 8, 2024 10:19:54 GMT -5 EoE: Well There's Your Problem said:

With all due respect, so much of this reads like what people would misery book as a joke about how cynical they are about WWE. Rock beating Reigns twice (the first time getting the rub of the massive-ass reign)? Rhodes turning heel?

Like, how many things were you trying to kill off at once here?

All of them?

As for the rub off Roman’s Reign at this point I fear it’s going to be a Brock/Undertaker situation. No matter who ends it, it’s going to feel like a letdown to what we could have had. Giving it to Rock at a massive 70,000 seat show in Australia and possibly creating another hot International market is hardly the worst way to use it.

Also, Rhodes was a great heel as the Disfigured Cody Rhodes. He’s a hot face now, but in AEW there were plenty of times people said it felt forced (check the old AEW threads). Remember heel turns don’t have to happen when everyone expects them because the crowd turned on the face.

I’m not saying it’s great booking but between the multiple Rock matches and new direction for Cody, I could see it being profitable.

[clc]

The Rock return really does make a difficult situation to make everyone happy. My thoughts in the red:

Jan 8, 2024 9:57:46 GMT -5 KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!! said:

Inspired by all the discussion of whether Rock will wrestle Roman at EC or WrestleMania.

So let’s get into it:

Rock beats Roman at EC for the title. Roman cashes in his rematch clause at WrestleMania. - You just ended Roman's HIStoric title reign at a PLE that will air at like 6:00AM for the majority of fans. Rematch clauses were done away with. More on that later. 

Meanwhile Damian Priest plays up his role as Mr. Money in the Bank and says he’s going to leave Seth Rollins alone so he can pursue another goal. Priest wants to cash it in to send Rock back to Hollywood. Cody Rhodes tells Priest one night on Raw that he won’t allow Priest to spoil WrestleMania. In fact Cody hates the concept of Money in the Bank and challenges Priest to a match at WrestleMania. If Cody wins he gets the Money in the Bank and promises to abolish it. If Cody loses he has to join Judgment Day. - Why would Priest accept this? There is nothing in it for him. Does R-Truth acting as Judgement Day rep sign this?

At WrestleMania Cody beats Priest and throws the Money in the Bank briefcase down. In the main event there is a bunch of crap to help hide Rock’s weaknesses. Solo and Jimmy interfere at different points for Roman, and Jey and Cody come out at different points to even the playing field. At the end The Rock pins Roman decisively as everyone else is laid out. - We already saw this match at EC, was the match so good that the rematch can main event Wrestlemania? Probably not since the premise admits a need to hide Rock's weakness.

Rock is barely standing with the ref raising his hand when Cody nails him from the back with the Money in the Bank briefcase. Cody picks him up and delivers the Cross Rhodes and defeats Rock. - This goes against the condition he set forth, but I guess that is sufficiently heel-like.

The next night on Raw, Cody cuts a promo about how people never understood what the American Dream setting the stage for the American Nightmare really meant. He talks about how when Dusty was held down he found a way to take what he deserved. And now the American Nightmare has too. - Cody as a face is still pretty popular. This wastes his big heel turn. Also, Dusty did not find a way. Cody's entire story is based on Dusty not finding a way. If he's going heel, might as well have the promo be, "I'm not a loser like my dad was. I found a way when he couldn't".

So there you have it. 2 big money Rock matches and Cody gets to finish his story at WrestleMania in a less predictable way. It gives Rock an out, allows a possible face turn for Roman when he comes back (Cody never beat him), and a strong list of potential face challengers in Randy Orton, CM Punk, LA Knight, and Seth Rollins (What’s the Smackdown champion doing on Raw anyway?). - If we have 2 Big Rock matches, why waste them both on Roman Reigns? Just have Rock beat Roman at EC, then you could have Cody beat the Rock. (Or even have the Rock beat Cody) This leaves Priest with MitB as the wildcard to make a little bit less predictable who leaves as champ. Also, since Roman used a rematch clause, this means Rock has one too, no? Also has more of a gripe to use it since his loss was so cheap. If he doesn't use it, it lowers the prestige of being the champ. He simply does not want it because being an actor is cooler than being the champ? If we got 2 Rock matches, can we get 3?

It may be a shitty puzzle (YMMV), but all the pieces fit.

[KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!!]

Jan 8, 2024 11:05:18 GMT -5 clc said:

The Rock return really does make a difficult situation to make everyone happy. My thoughts in the red:

Jan 8, 2024 9:57:46 GMT -5 KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!! said:

Inspired by all the discussion of whether Rock will wrestle Roman at EC or WrestleMania.

So let’s get into it:

Rock beats Roman at EC for the title. Roman cashes in his rematch clause at WrestleMania. - You just ended Roman's HIStoric title reign at a PLE that will air at like 6:00AM for the majority of fans. Rematch clauses were done away with. More on that later. 

Meanwhile Damian Priest plays up his role as Mr. Money in the Bank and says he’s going to leave Seth Rollins alone so he can pursue another goal. Priest wants to cash it in to send Rock back to Hollywood. Cody Rhodes tells Priest one night on Raw that he won’t allow Priest to spoil WrestleMania. In fact Cody hates the concept of Money in the Bank and challenges Priest to a match at WrestleMania. If Cody wins he gets the Money in the Bank and promises to abolish it. If Cody loses he has to join Judgment Day. - Why would Priest accept this? There is nothing in it for him. Does R-Truth acting as Judgement Day rep sign this?

At WrestleMania Cody beats Priest and throws the Money in the Bank briefcase down. In the main event there is a bunch of crap to help hide Rock’s weaknesses. Solo and Jimmy interfere at different points for Roman, and Jey and Cody come out at different points to even the playing field. At the end The Rock pins Roman decisively as everyone else is laid out. - We already saw this match at EC, was the match so good that the rematch can main event Wrestlemania? Probably not since the premise admits a need to hide Rock's weakness.

Rock is barely standing with the ref raising his hand when Cody nails him from the back with the Money in the Bank briefcase. Cody picks him up and delivers the Cross Rhodes and defeats Rock. - This goes against the condition he set forth, but I guess that is sufficiently heel-like.

The next night on Raw, Cody cuts a promo about how people never understood what the American Dream setting the stage for the American Nightmare really meant. He talks about how when Dusty was held down he found a way to take what he deserved. And now the American Nightmare has too. - Cody as a face is still pretty popular. This wastes his big heel turn. Also, Dusty did not find a way. Cody's entire story is based on Dusty not finding a way. If he's going heel, might as well have the promo be, "I'm not a loser like my dad was. I found a way when he couldn't".

So there you have it. 2 big money Rock matches and Cody gets to finish his story at WrestleMania in a less predictable way. It gives Rock an out, allows a possible face turn for Roman when he comes back (Cody never beat him), and a strong list of potential face challengers in Randy Orton, CM Punk, LA Knight, and Seth Rollins (What’s the Smackdown champion doing on Raw anyway?). - If we have 2 Big Rock matches, why waste them both on Roman Reigns? Just have Rock beat Roman at EC, then you could have Cody beat the Rock. (Or even have the Rock beat Cody) This leaves Priest with MitB as the wildcard to make a little bit less predictable who leaves as champ. Also, since Roman used a rematch clause, this means Rock has one too, no? Also has more of a gripe to use it since his loss was so cheap. If he doesn't use it, it lowers the prestige of being the champ. He simply does not want it because being an actor is cooler than being the champ? If we got 2 Rock matches, can we get 3?

It may be a shitty puzzle (YMMV), but all the pieces fit.

Thank you for the detailed reply. Admittedly I’m not booking what I want to see, but what I could see WWE doing and making it most profitable.

Addressing some of your points:

*WWE has always used the rematch clause when it was convenient. Shawn temporarily retiring after WM 14? Well doesn’t make sense to talk about a rematch clause there. HHH/Batista having great matches and getting Batista over? Yeah might as well continue this feud let’s bring up the rematch clause.

*Priest would accept this for any number of reasons, but my initial booking was long enough. Chiefly, Priest is a heel and overconfident. He wants to make Judgment Day the clear top stable over the Bloodline. Cody is never going to join willingly and this is his one chance to put Cody in his place behind him. Think Cena being forced to join Nexus. Only here we don’t see it play out because Cody wins.

*Why did we need Rock/Punk twice? Because it involved 2 top stars in a hot angle. It drew. Rock at his age and with ring rust is going to have limitations, that’s just a fact. But it’s like WCW Uncensored 1997. No one was expecting Hulk Hogan or most of the other names in the main event to put on a workrate clinic. But it still managed to be the only PPV ever to get more PPV buys than a WrestleMania in the same month.

*You nailed this one. Cody was lying the whole time. He always planned to cash in.

*I know that no matter what that heel promo has to tie back into Dusty. There’s better ways to do it, but as you implied it’s never going to be, “I’m not a loser like my dead dad.” Maybe make Cody say the American Dream has evolved into the American Nightmare. Dusty did his best in his time and now Cody has tweaked the formula for 2024. Longterm this could also tie into Cody’s redemption story when he inevitably turns face again. His future opponent could make Cody admit that the American Dream never needed to be tweaked.

*3 Rock matches would be great for TKO execs. If he keeps bricking in Hollywood (Black Adam) maybe we can

[Deleted]

This seems very much a misery booking darkest timeline.

Priest loses the MITB cash in

Roman finally loses his title at a non Mania

Rock and Roman main event 2 PLE's back to back

Cody doesn't get to wrestle in the main event at Mania even though this is what his loss previous Mania and build up has been leading to

Then Cody just turns heel and doesn't even beat Roman when he cashes in

[KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!!]

Jan 8, 2024 11:57:41 GMT -5 @sigmax said:

This seems very much a misery booking darkest timeline.

Priest loses the MITB cash in

Roman finally loses his title at a non Mania

Rock and Roman main event 2 PLE's back to back

Cody doesn't get to wrestle in the main event at Mania even though this is what his loss previous Mania and build up has been leading to

Then Cody just turns heel and doesn't even beat Roman when he cashes in

It’s not my exact cup of tea, but I’m a little surprised by multiple people calling it misery booking within the first few replies. WrestleMania used to be THE place to blow off feuds and storylines. I don’t think of it as killing Roman’s run or killing Cody as a face. Just freeing them up from their current storylines to do something new.

You know what’s cool? The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express vs. The Midnight Express in front of a packed crowd in the 1980s. You know what’s less cool? The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express vs. The Midnight Express at a 75 person capacity venue in 2006.

For those saying this is misery booking the scary thing is if Rock makes one phone call and says he is willing to wrestle 2 matches, but only if this exact booking was followed, it’d probably happen.

[stoptheclocks]

I don't know how profitable or even good it is, but give me this timeline over a Cody-Roman rematch where Cody winning is a complete formality.

Also, people suggesting The Rock main eventing multiple PPVs would be 'misery booking' I think are out of touch with the majority of WWE fans.