The chants aren't quite as loud, but I think more heat building angles (which is what got him over in the first place) like they did tonight will get him back at that level by Mania.

Yeah, I anticipate the Mania crowd to be jacked because unless the WWE creative are the most incredibly stupid people on the face of the planet (and they can be because it is wrestling), the crowd knows the ultimate payoff is there.

That last segment was just way too long though. Way, way too long. Stephanie is awesome though.

Bryan is more over in some areas than others....

And this wasn't exactly a hot crowd

I do like how Triple and .Stephanie have reverted back to their McMahon Helmsley personas here complete with Stephanie talking in her screechy voice and getting turned on watching Hunter's beat down. You could see them doing that segment with Jericho 14 years ago. In fact it was very similar to how they set up the Undertaker match at wm 17 complete with fake cops.

 

 

"You hit like a girl" killed me

Oh and the Rhodes Brothers T Shirt is fucking bad ass.

 

RE: Bryan Crowd reaction

 

6 months ago when Bryan's music hit it was "Yay!!!" Yes, yes, yes!" Now it is just mild cheer followed by Yes chants. They missed the peak of Bryan's popularity. However, the beatdown tonight was great and I think by Mania the crowd will be electric. Unless Bryan makes fun of Stephanie's dog on the go home show.

No love for the continued "Lawler used his connections to allow the Occupy RAW to happen" story? I loved it and it makes sense. And the connected Shield turn and Kane beatdown ruled.

I really liked that segment. It was shot almost like one of those Westerns where it's a slow build-up to the shootout, then BANG.

Segment would have been good if the crowd hadn't been awful.

What Dylan said. I loved it, but there was no heat and that killed the drama of the turn.

Fuck the crowd, I was cheering.

My brother hasn't been a regular viewer in years, but he checked out Raw tonight and he said he hopes Phinneas Goddwinn kicks Cena's ass.

Oh man, the Cena/ Wyatt hype video to the Eminem song was fucking killer. As was Bray just murderalizing Kofi like it was a Saturday morning in 1984 and Kofi was Rudy Diamond.

I laughed when HHH was praising Bryan and said "Anyone else I treated like you would have taken their ball and gone home" and the crowd chanted "CM PUNK."

Also, Brie Bella has to come out and tackle Stephanie at Wrestlemania.

 

Yeah, this absolutely has to be part of the endgame here. Steph is getting so much heat on herself that she needs to get SOME comeuppance and you can't really have Bryan kick her in the face. At least, I hope not.

I loved the petty CM Punk dig in HHH's promo and also the way that they acknowledged that - yes -this is the match they should have done all along. The beatdown was too long as all Triple H things are but it was as violent and uncomfortable as it should have been. Bryan just hasn't been the same since Hell In A Cell and there's a lot of truth to what Steph said a couple of weeks back about the crowd switching. They will turn on him when he finally wins the big one like they turn all all babyfaces now. And I'm looking forward to a new direction for Bryan because the bearded 'YES' thing is played out.

 

The Cena/Wyatt feud seems to be bubbling nicely. I like how Cena has been rattled by Bray. That video package gave me chills and might be one of the best I've ever seen.

Also, watching the Authority/Batista/Orton crumble all night was hilarious. Stephanie is wrestling gold at the moment.

Re watching and Hunter went out of his way to protect Bryan in that segment. Very careful with the bumps. Especially

the slams on the announce table. Stephanie didn't really lay in the slaps like she used to either. Everyone was extra safe there

Also, watching the Authority/Batista/Orton crumble all night was hilarious. Stephanie is wrestling gold at the moment.

It took her 15 years to become this good a performer and you can tell she's having the time if her life doing this. Something Loss mentioned when the company testified for Congress is that deep down she seems starved for attention. I ll bet she never wanted to really leave TV in the first place but if she didn't she might not have improved this much. Ido hope that they drop the faux corporate act with Hunter and Stephanie as it's pretty tough to go back to after the last couple weeks

Who was it who said they were just waiting for that elongated beatdown section from HHH? They got it last night. Every feud, seriously. The beating seemed to go on forever, and there wasn't much he could do except endless fake looking punches and throwing him into the barricade about a dozen times. Would have been far more effective over a couple of minutes, although the chair shot was cool and unexpected. Could have done with blood, though.

 

Anyone catch Cena claiming he had wrestled over 3,500 matches since his debut? That must be a work, surely? It would equate to about 300 every year, and he has had a few spells off for injury.

 

Bray Wyatt is very underwhelming to me, and doesn't deserve such a big Wrestlemania slot in the slightest. His character is like something you would see in an embarassing fifth rate made for television horror movie, I've seen more believable characters in backyard wrestling. Ridiculous corny and they overplay it. That character has no legs long term unless they change it up.

 

Wonder what they are doing with The Shield at Wrestlemania? Reigns beating Kane in a quick semi-squash wouldn't be the worst idea, but what about Amborse & Rollins? After the work they have done getting over this year, and their ability in the ring, it seems a shame to waste them in some battle royal. A tag match with The Usos feels like a backward step. Maybe Kane/New Age Outlaws vs The Shield? Would maybe work as an opener.

Someone at DVDVR mentioned that they basically had Hunter cut Bryan's "babyface journey" promo for him last night and he was great. It's not that .bryan is overtly terrible on the mic he just lacks the emotion and feelings of being screwed

Never before have the WWE youtube 4 minute sum ups been more useful.

 

Also, watching the Authority/Batista/Orton crumble all night was hilarious. Stephanie is wrestling gold at the moment.

It took her 15 years to become this good a performer and you can tell she's having the time if her life doing this. Something Loss mentioned when the company testified for Congress is that deep down she seems starved for attention. I ll bet she never wanted to really leave TV in the first place but if she didn't she might not have improved this much. Ido hope that they drop the faux corporate act with Hunter and Stephanie as it's pretty tough to go back to after the last couple weeks

 

Dunno about that. I thought she was good all the way back in 2000 when in a similar role. But there was more innocence about her character then, rather than the full on monstrous evil of today.