Wrestling Thread 8: Follow The Buzzards • Page 1644

Now “shut the fuck up” and I’m pretty sure they didn’t know what they were saying and didn’t censor it

 

cena's heel turn being centered around defending the spinner belt 20 years later is so fucking funny

 

Uso reunion is fun

 

Fuck sake, was hoping Jeys partner was gonna be Joe Hendry

 

When did he become "Big Jim" lmao

 

Roman called him it about 6 months ago and it stuck.

 

Build up to Mania has been such a dud and super lazy

 

The problem I think is that mania traditionally would be this weekend or next but instead it’s still a month away so they are just spinning their wheels

 

When Cena finally turned, never in a million years did I think the follow up would be so uninspired and dull. He just became a completely generic “you people” heel while Cody tries to upsell himself as something he already is (the soul and face of the company.)

 

The two obvious problems are they did the biggest heel turn in 20 years and waited...what, 2-3 weeks to follow it up? I cant even comprehend Roman going over Taker at WM33 and then taking a couple of weeks off before cutting the "its my yard now" promo. Even as uninspired as AJ is on the mic, they did the whole "beat up John Cena" promo after he won their initial match. The iron was hot, it was all over traditional media...and didnt Cody return before Cena even cut a promo? Its just all backwards. Cena should have been running down crowds for weeks before that Austin-level pop of Cody returning

 

Its also looking like every midcard belt becomes a triple threat or 4-way or gimmick match. And even then...the matches kinda look bad. Gunther/Jey is a fine B-level PPV match. Bron/Penta/Finn/Dom/whoever else gets shoehorned in is a match that would have ruled as the MITB match at WM a decade ago, but, feels underwhelming today.

I dunno, it all definitely has WM2000 kinda vibes where none of the build feels anywhere near as good as WM40, and like they have way better ideas for WM42.

 

Hard disagree. Cena is the first person to truly make the "you people" style heel promo work considering how much people hated him when he was super Cena and how he powered through it despite the old rapists insistence on pushing him HARD. He's earned the ability to do a promo like that. Last weeks was a good but a bit long, but they did it so much better last night and he had the crowd in the palm of his hands. An incredibly hard task considering the crowd.

 

Jey isn’t even average in the ring, people only like him for his vibes. The whole feud has made Gunther look like a schmuk

 

Most of the Jey takes are bad considering he’s one of the best tag workers of all time

thinking he’s below average is silly at best

 

I just don't see it that way at all. The time for this kind of turn would have been at the height of super Cena getting booed, or right at the moment they finally started to come around to him, not five years after the crowd has more or less universally seen him as a beloved figure. Even the dueling "Cena sucks" chant became a term of endearment the way Kurt Angle's did. The whole thing just rings hollow.

The reason this whole turn felt so intriguing out of the gate is because it seemed like it was going to be loaded with nuance - Cena desperate to break Flair's record, seeking history, acknowledging that he'd not really been up to task for years, and thus, selling his soul to The Rock to increase his odds. Hell, intense jealousy over the fact that Cody Rhodes is in the "John Cena" spot and getting cheered. There were so many ways to cut meat from this bone, and it seems like they've taken the most generic, least interesting, and laziest approach. I just don't think John Cena long-conning the audience is a great story.

I'm fine with him cutting this kind of promo one time if it came after he took the angle in any one of the aforementioned directions, but to base the entire character around that, to me, is just a cop out. He's feuding with the fans, not with Cody. That's a fun little diversion in the road in May or June when business is slowed down and you're trying to fill TV time, but it's certainly not a satisfying build to a Wrestlemania main event, especially when they're just quietly downplaying The Rock's involvement in the whole thing.

Right now, this angle just feels at risk of becoming the 'ole "battle for the soul of the company" thing that AEW has been doing for months, very poorly.

 

AEW better make her one of the highest paid wrestlers on their roster

 

big TK gonna pay mariah a phat contract

 

May definitely deserves a significant payday. That company tried for years and years to build a relevant division with big names and only finally succeeded when they put her and Toni at the forefront.

 

Card is dece for tomorrow but I will enjoy seeing Brody and fletcher beat the shit outta each other

 

TNA firing Gail Kim and keeping Tommy Dreamer and Delirious is as LOLTNA as it can get.

 

Can't send you a PM but I'm looking to set it up! My DMs are open