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Post by Jindrak Mark on Jan 22, 2024 15:41:09 GMT -5
I've always wondered this.
Fans would have turned on him anyway in the following weeks on TV but if he was a complete surprise return would the excitement/shock tide them over for the night and fans would pop for him? Instead of announcing him ahead of time, playing video packages for a month and even having him return on Raw the week before rather than waiting for the PPV.
Not sure how accurate this is but I think I recall hearing at some point that he was originally supposed to be a surprise return but word that he was returning leaked out so they decided to just advertise him instead.
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4real
Wade Wilson
Posts: 28,709
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Post by 4real on Jan 22, 2024 15:55:56 GMT -5
Maybe? Only problem was number 30 still would have been Rey and the crowd still would have been pissed. Batista winning wouldn’t have been as expected though I guess.
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Nosnorb
El Dandy
Nachos and Fraggle Rock are TIMELESS.
Posts: 8,375
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Post by Nosnorb on Jan 22, 2024 16:07:24 GMT -5
Didn't help that when Dave returned he was welcomed back by Trips and Steph instead of splitting his skinny jeans while powerbombing Trips. Dude was supposed to be a beloved returning face, which wasn't helped by being all friendly with the two top heels in the company.
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Soultastic
El Dandy
Only an idiot can be completely happy.
Posts: 8,963
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Post by Soultastic on Jan 22, 2024 16:15:26 GMT -5
I think he would've gotten a good pop at first, but by the end he would've been booed all the same. The crowd was simply not accepting anyone who wasn't Daniel Bryan.
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Post by Stu on Jan 22, 2024 17:05:58 GMT -5
I've said it before and I'll repeat my dream scenario. Punk and Bryan are both in the Rumble, much to the Authority's chagrin. Batista returns and is their chosen one. However, he's a face and declines their offer for support. It comes down to Punk, Bryan and Batista and Trips tries to help his friend out of desperation. Things backfire, Batista gets eliminated and one of the other two win.
Batista is upset, but forgives his friends. Trips helps by putting him in the Elimination Chamber to challenge the Rumble winner for the Wrestlemania main event. Things again backfire, and the winner is Bryan or Punk (whoever didn't win the Rumble.
This leads to a falling out between Trips and Batista, leading to the Wrestlemania match the latter wanted. We still get a triple threat match with Orton, Punk and Bryan. It's elimination and Orton is out relatively early. We then close with Punk and Bryan one-on-one. Bryan wins.
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