All the crap from the last few weeks has clearly hurt Reigns and Bryan

The beard has become a detriment for Bryan. I don’t know if they think it’s got Game of Thrones cache, or if it’s the company’s way of trolling him, but it makes him look second-rate and I will eagerly cheer any heel who cuts it off of his face. This is a guy who’s attractive enough to marry Brie Bella. At least trim it into the kind of thing that Reigns, Batista, Barrett, Cesaro, Orton, and Rollins have all recently had, instead of this Gandalf-LARPing King of the Nerds gimmick.

Decent match, bad finish. The two guys main eventing your next PPV can’t beat 47-year old Kane and 43-year old Big Show. You could do the same stupid “dissention” tease between Reigns and Bryan and still have them win. It would even give them a better reason for this dumb 5-on-2 main event.

The Katie Vick joke - I laughed.

I laughed at the Flinstones version of Mr. McMahon.

All the crap from the last few weeks has clearly hurt Reigns and Bryan

 

I just think the majority of fans likes both guys. With hardcores being more passionate for Bryan and women for Reigns. I don't think they have been hurt at all....yet.

Mr. McMagma!!

OK, having Big Show featured as a heel and following up with a "I am the Big Show and don't be a bully" commercial is just a small, small tiny example of what is wrong with this company.

One of the "problems" with Bryan is that you can look at the first 30 minutes of the show and say, "Well, he got a 'tepid' response" or "He's still not a great promo" or "Reigns is more marketable and the crowd is coming around for him"...but then its time to wrestle and Daniel Bryan's offense is so fan-friendly and "interactive," his selling so engaging to watch, and his comebacks so dramatic that you forget all the shortcomings and are reminded as to why Daniel Bryan not being in a main event or not winning a Rumble is so irksome.

 

If Reigns had a resume that featured even 3-4 better-than-average singles matches, it wouldn't be an issue - but I just haven't seem him wrestle a singles match that was able to sustain fan attention and deliver a good story yet. Aside from the finish, I thought tonight's match was actually a pretty darn good TV match - and it was almost entirely due to Bryan's energy and connection with the audience.

That bothered me too, do they put zero foresight into these types of things? Maybe they figured Show would be a face again by the time it aired.

They’re laying the Sting tease on pretty thick - “Who will save us from these terrible distraction finishes?”

Mr. McMagma’s hair was really something.

Brie is the best in-ring performer of the show’s first hour. Nikki deserves a raise for running the ropes in stiletto heels.

They have pushed the deal that wrestlers are just playing characters on TV but in real life they are good people many times before

Even if they have, it's not something they say and broadcast regularly. Doesn't make it any less of a poor decision either if they actually want heat.

Re: Big Show on bullying - After the HHH podcast with Austin last week, this seems like a new animal: a fully blown post-kayfabe era in which heels and faces readily break character whenever it suits the corporate MO.

It’ll be interesting to see who gets cheered in Memphis for the Reigns-Bryan main at Fastlane. Memphis is kind of a great market to gauge what’s really working here, even if they’re going with a non-finish into a three-way at Mania.

Lana and Rusev aren’t even trying with their accents anymore. I don’t blame them, when having to do five minutes of promos about the Grammys and sentences beginning with “At WWE Fastlane…” At this point Rusev just looks and acts like a heel version of Reigns.

That was a really good Cena promo, and he deserves a ton of credit for making me want to see a match that prob. shouldn’t be happening until Mania.

Something tells me Stephanie is getting kidnapped by the Vigilante-er tonight

Re: Big Show on bullying - After the HHH podcast with Austin last week, this seems like a new animal: a fully blown post-kayfabe era in which heels and faces readily break character whenever it suits the corporate MO.

 

It’ll be interesting to see who gets cheered in Memphis for the Reigns-Bryan main at Fastlane. Memphis is kind of a great market to gauge what’s really working here, even if they’re going with a non-finish into a three-way at Mania.

 

Lana and Rusev aren’t even trying with their accents anymore. I don’t blame them, when having to do five minutes of promos about the Grammys and sentences beginning with “At WWE Fastlane…” At this point Rusev just looks and acts like a heel version of Reigns.

 

That was a really good Cena promo, and he deserves a ton of credit for making me want to see a match that prob. shouldn’t be happening until Mania.

Cena still does too many terrible and childish insults, but he can hype a match better than anyone in the company.

I think the lack of the crowd response to Cena's "old man" comments would underscore the fact that there is still a very large portion of the audience that does not see him as the old worn out dude that a lot of the internet does.

Seth Rollins' social media hacking has taken over the night though.....dick pics and a nude pic of NXT talent Zahra with the Zahra pics actually on his WWE.com page

At this point Rusev just looks and acts like a heel version of Reigns.

 

Except Rusev is a much better worker and promo.

Did Lesnar talk during this appearance? Surely they'll have him come back out later, or this was a hugely wasted appearance. But then, why have him on before Fastlane at all?

And if Seth wasn’t a babyface after the Rumble, he’s sure as hell one now.

This kind of feels like the Bret vs Vince stuff in 2010 where it was just way too late to mean anything.

 

At this point Rusev just looks and acts like a heel version of Reigns.

 

Except Rusev is a much better worker and promo.

 

Fair point, and agreed. "Acts like" above = "sounded like him on this promo." He's also more enthusiastic than Reigns. I was mostly noting that Rusev's a really distinct character who they're starting to have deliver the same overscripted Thomas Friedman promos as everyone else, so as to hype WWE Fastlane.

They have pushed the deal that wrestlers are just playing characters on TV but in real life they are good people many times before

No shit. It's still a problem that should be dealt with.

At least the crowd chanted for Sting. So was that Mark Starr or Marty Jannety as the fake Sting?

Dude, even that Sting chant was half assed. This crowd may be the worst ever.

They chanted We Want Sting