That should be a pretty good main event for Fastlane

Zero pop for the main event announcement of Fastlane. Ouch.

This segment is Vince's wet dream. The Rock is how Republicans think racial minorities should behave. The New Day is how Republicans think black people actually behave.

I don't think Republicans think black people march around in unicorn horns and neon pleather playing RPG ditties on trombones. Now if you want to bring up Crime Tyme or R Truth or the original gospel incarnation of New Day...

Ambrose is clearly in the main event to eat the pinfall Dangerous for Reigns having him go over two babyfaces much more over than him

I thought the whole reason for bringing back Jericho and for bringing in Styles was because they had no heels for Reigns to work with. So why are the two of them wrestling each other and why are they both babyfaces?

Let's just stop with the "Was Rock fucked up and if so, on what" comments until I see it on Hulu tomorrow. Y'know, so an expert can tell ya.

 

 

No chance that this can't end well!

While watching the Rock last night the thought "this seems like a coke-fueled promo" did cross my mind.

 

This was the first Raw I watched from start to finish in ages. (mostly as background noise after the Sasha - Becky match) At the end I was really struck by how many tweeners there are these days and how few true babyfaces and heels. When you look at the problems of modern WWE, I think this is right up there.

Reigns has a rematch clause, doesn't he? Why is he in a #1 contender match?

I thought the whole reason for bringing back Jericho and for bringing in Styles was because they had no heels for Reigns to work with. So why are the two of them wrestling each other and why are they both babyfaces?

 

I think there's a long game with Jericho. I've come around to Johnny Sorrow's thinking on that. And there's no way they can turn Styles until the newness wears off.

Yeah, the handshake last night convinced me of that too. I see more Jericho as a challenger for Ambrose at Mania, personally.

 

And I think the "6-month plan" for Styles is him as a heel feuding with champion face Reigns. Nakamura probably has the same trajectory.

 

 

No chance that this can't end well!

Cleveland and Cincinnati hate each other, so I doubt the audience will see Ambrose as a hometown favorite. Mind you, Reigns will still get booed out of the building, especially when he backdoors his way to a victory after the Wyatts take out Brock.

I've seen people complaining about the Authority putting Reigns in a number one contender match, making no kayfabe sense. The bigger question is why would HHH want to risk having to face Brock again?

Because Haitch already took Brock out at a Mania so the King of Kings has no fear of Brock. I think we get an AJ heel turn when the Balor Club angle hits the main roster. If that group can actually draw boos that is. Is it just me or is Charlotte the best pure heel in WWE right now?

On one hand I get why people look for logical reasons Triple H would dodge challengers.

 

On the other hand I think we get into a bit of what I call "Breaking Down Cloverfield Logic" here. "Why don't they just drop the camera? Because then the movie would be over and that's boring. Do you really want that?"

 

To play Devil's Advocate a little I think Triple H is hoping that Lesnar, Reigns, and Ambrose basically destroy each other, leaving him in a better position.

After listening to Dave comment on how the AJ/Jericho segment backstage was seemingly shot purposely to make AJ look even smaller, I have to wonder is Vince the last person in the business to care about height? I guess maybe Kevin Dunn does too, but it's hilarious to see them going to lengths to point out the obvious when no one cares.

Triple H is the boss who respects Brock Lesnar. I'd imagine Triple H forks over the belt to Brock if he won the triple threat. He just booked him there because he wants to make sure it isn't Reigns who wins and having Brock kick Ambrose's ass as well is probably only the icing on the cake for Triple H. It seems pretty logical to me.

Still, putting Roman in the match to get a WM main event title shot after all the effort spent getting the belt off him makes no sense. Even if you go with "they just want Brock to beat him up" then you make it Brock vs Roman straight up. Making it a triple threat creates the option of Roman winning without having to pin Brock and makes the last three months seem redundant.

 

Plus there's the whole "it won't get Roman over they way they want" thing too.

I think it's safe to assume that HHH, the guy who calls himself the King of Kings, and wears giant skull crowns for his grand entrances, probably would believe he could defeat Brock Lesnar - especially considering he already did - and that a man with such a view of himself may not take kindly to the idea that Brock is an impossible to beat conqueror and the one real champion.

 

 

 

No chance that this can't end well!

Cleveland and Cincinnati hate each other, so I doubt the audience will see Ambrose as a hometown favorite. Mind you, Reigns will still get booed out of the building, especially when he backdoors his way to a victory after the Wyatts take out Brock.

 

 

I was at TLC 2014 and can say I thought Dean would get booed heavily there when, just a few hours earlier, the Bengals had trounced the Browns.

 

The opposite happened. Aside from true hometown hero Dolph Ziggler and John Cena (who was immensely popular with the kids, of which there are typically many at Ohio shows), Ambrose was easily the most over babyface and even the announcement of his hometown didn't draw nearly the chorus of boos that it should've on that day.

 

Lesnar is going to get huge pops. Ambrose is going to get huge pops. The best Reigns can hope for is that the younger fans somehow prefer him over Ambrose, but considering most young fans will cheer ANY babyface (for example, if this were Reigns vs. Cena vs. Lesnar, they may have a favorite, but would likely cheer anyone BUT Lesnar), I don't think this is going to solidify Reigns much as the "next Cena."

Still, putting Roman in the match to get a WM main event title shot after all the effort spent getting the belt off him makes no sense. Even if you go with "they just want Brock to beat him up" then you make it Brock vs Roman straight up. Making it a triple threat creates the option of Roman winning without having to pin Brock and makes the last three months seem redundant.

 

Plus there's the whole "it won't get Roman over they way they want" thing too.

It can be explained away as the Authority attempting to remain professional about their handling of a guy who looks like he has all the tools to be a star and loaded with potential. In sports oftentimes a coach doesn't just bench a star player because he answers to the owner and front office who would be displeased the team was being handicapped by a grudge. The analogy isn't anywhere close to perfect but hopefully it's close enough that it is logical in a sense. Before anyone asks who they are trying to please by keeping Reigns, that would be the stockbrokers who in kayfabe you can reasonably expect them to go "Wait a minute. Im lining your pockets with cash. What're you doing with Reigns?"

The whole thing about "they know they have to push Reigns for business" falls down when you consider that less than 24 hours ago, and also for like months and months beforehand, they went to extraordinary lengths to rob him of the title and not have to have him as their champion.

 

It's insulting in a narrative sense that they can do all that, and then once it's done, turn around and say "oh we need Roman for business, better stick him right back in a title match!" It makes zero sense. You didn't think of business at any point in the last three months?

 

They're doing it because it's wrestling and in wrestling the anti-authority babyface still manages to stay employed and get title shots or else there'd be no show.

I think they're afraid of getting killed by Reigns' family.

Afa putting a hit on the McMahons would be money.

So remember the debate when people were wondering when the first Styles Clash should occur in the WWE

 

 

At the Smackdown tapings, AJ Styles beat Curtis Axel with the Styles Clash

 

 

For fuck sakes