Raw Thread -Spoilers-3rd June

nazmoalex

Holy Sh!t!!!

Moneymaker

Genuinely stunned here.

Eire-Dearg

Wasn't expecting it to be Rollins.

Feel this is a PPV too soon to be honest. Small stage for such a moment.

Moneymaker

I hope they haven't over thought themselves here.

Rollins has become such a natural babyface in the past 6 months, they probably felt it would be a massive swerve if he's the one who turns when we all expected it to be Dean.

Swerving for the sake of swerving is often not a good decision.

And why defect when you win 2 straight PPVs so dominantly? Makes no sense.

Time will tell I guess.

gnfnrhead

"Hey guys, lets turn one of the very few natural babyfaces in wrestling heel! They'll never see it coming."

Diabhal Beag

I like it a lot. He's the glue that kept the Shield together and had to put up with the near-split but now he's done. I think he'll be an excellent addition because I liked Rollins as a heel in the Shield (esp pushing Taker that one time) and Shield were done in relation to challenges and competition after yesterday. This freshens things up nicely, is a nice bit of recognition for Rollins who was a terrible talker on the indies and has improved so much in his WWE tenure, and gives Reigns a good starting singles feud.

Aside from that though it only really sunk in how far Ziggler has fallen since last year. He doesn't seem like a guy who has learned where he went wrong and still sends out those tweets that WWE hate. One of the best examples of Twitter hurting somebody's image.

bradlente

Damn,switched off when it went to a break at 5 to 4 and Rusevs stupid ceremony thing was coming up.Will definitely tune in for next week now.

Why Seth Why!?

mrkiscool2

I'm very meh about it all. On the one hand it really gives Rollins a chance to break-away as well as Reigns. Ambrose can make it on his own, the other two needed something like this to be honest. On the other hand why turn a guy whose whole move-set (apart from his curb stomp finisher) is that of a face?

Still though, shocking and I am looking forward to seeing where it goes!

rovert

Went to bed after the Adam Rose match. Much happen the rest of the show?

Like DB said there was little else for The Shield to do after beating WWE's best other trio of the modern era. Also Shield six man tags have been few and fair bit post-Wrestlemania on WWE TV. The loss is less significant than you think.

Mr.Saturn

I'd rag on the crowd for their subdued response, but if you present them with 2 and a half hours of gack, it's kinda your fault that they remain quiet when something of consequence is offered; bullsh*t burnout, I think'd be the name.

That Sandow 'let's rag on the sports team' shtick makes the 'E look like such a provincial operation. It's as old as pro-wrestling itself, I guess.

The Rusev ceremony was probably the first time one of these sorry things has gone off without being interrupted midway, and, given its novelty, it was still just a vacuum. He still looks like a beast, so that's nice.

Luke Harper sounds mental, which is grand; a bit of depth in the Wyatt act since Bray's aura has taken a bit of inevitable battering.

The Rollins turn makes a wealth of sense in theory, but given he's gotten a moveset that screams 'face in peril' so loudly, even Steamboat'd ask him to tone it down, I imagine Rollins' turn is just a stopgap 'til Hunter takes on Reigns solo. On the subject of which, I'm pegging Dean Ambrose to become this feud's Zack Ryder to Reigns' Cena. Ambrose's reaction really did help sell as a massive shock.

Cena's promo was fun. Stephanie McMahon is absolutely nailing it. In lesser hands, that level of snark towards Cena would draw cheers.

Kane needs a makeover. He looks like a Kane tribute act from your local indy. I dunno quite how that's managed.

rovert

https://twitter.com/TheDrewMcIntyre/status/473665685093363712

Mr.Saturn wrote: »

I'd rag on the crowd for their subdued response, but if you present them with 2 and a half hours of gack, it's kinda your fault that they remain quiet when something of consequence is offered; bullsh*t burnout, I think'd be the name.

I sincerely believe that WWE are a big believers of the idea of stasis in storytelling. The night the Nexus debutted Raw was brutal too.

gnfnrhead

To be fair, a good Raw is rare these days.

Lord TSC

The Cena/Steph segment really irked me; their arguments boiled down to "He's not able to defend the title, so he should have to drop it like everyone else has" verses "Don't be such a baby, let him keep it cause that would be nice". I'm sorry, I agree with Steph there. On top of that, why is Cena the one who is white-knighting Bryan? Is Bryan not able to stand up for himself? And why is Cena promoting the idea that personal feuds shouldn't be a part of professional wrestling? Seriously, how boring would WWE be if Cena got his way there.

Anyway, other than that, and the fact that Rhodes managed to find a partner who loses more than him to help Golddust, wasn't bad.

The ending was great; I thought Ambrose was going to side with Rollins but nope. Rollins needed that alignment more than the others I feel, so interested to see what way it goes over the next few weeks. He'll make a good hitman for Hunter I feel.

MitchKoobski

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqqguGmtHws

rovert

Now in gif form

EdK

Actually predicted that would happen but expected it at Payback makes less sense to join them after you beat them

CSF

Should have been Ambrose.

QikBax

CSF wrote: »

Should have been Ambrose.

Maybe but his crazy babyface intent on revenge promos are going to be tremendous.

riffmongous

I like it, Reigns doesn't need it and Ambrose couldnt benefit from it fully as he is just too weird to fit in as a member of Evolution. Get Rollins in a suit, cut his hair and do the limo entrance next week, have him do a promo on evolving past his old teammates and he'll be fine. Realistically as well there are only so many top spots on the roster and I think Rollins was the most in danger of getting overlooked if they broke the Shield up down the line.

Eire-Dearg

Fergal Devitt for 3rd Shield member.

CSF

jamc wrote: »

Maybe but his crazy babyface intent on revenge promos are going to be tremendous.

This is true.

Ambrose

FutureGuy

As much as I hate the fact that the Shield are losing Rollins, it makes a hell of a lot of sense.

There's a place for another new Evolution member, HHH in the Flair role, Orton in the HHH role and Rollins and XXXXX in the "diamonds in the rough" role.

Lithium93_

rovert wrote: »

Now in gif form

One of the rarer moments in wrestling where i was completely :eek:, DID NOT see that coming at all.

rovert

Lithium93_ wrote: »

One of the rarer moments in wrestling where i was completely :eek:, DID NOT see that coming at all.

Looking back at the comments online in real time. The more savy people I know (mostly in America where they aren't very, very sleepy at 4am like us are) made "I've a bad feeling here" comments and recognised something was up as the show hit the 3rd hour with the main event being in the ring.

Personally I so annoyed that a) I went to sleep early and moreso b) not putting it all together:

- that WWE did the "boring" statis show they do before a big main event angle
- it being BIG SUMMER ANGLE season:



- the premature magazine article
- the trio having nowhere to go
etc

CSF

HHH kind of made it obvious in his promo at the start, which IMO he shouldn't have done.

I only really like 1 member of the shield now. Unless they go with Goldust to replace him (which is provably about 5000/1), I don't know who could replace Rollins that I would like nearly as much.

I wonder will they have a replacement in for MITB. That's Rollins and Reigns guaranteed in the match now, probably Ambrose too.

JP Liz V1

Why cant Steph just strip Daniel Bryan of the title now and use a new (preferably one) title belt


I loved Dave's wave when leaving, any gif of it please

Lithium93_

rovert wrote: »

Looking back at the comments online in real time. The more savy people I know (mostly in America where they aren't very, very sleepy at 4am like us are) made "I've a bad feeling here" comments and recognised something was up as the show hit the 3rd hour with the main event being in the ring.

Personally I so annoyed that a) I went to sleep early and moreso b) not putting it all together:

- that WWE did the "boring" statis show they do before a big main event angle
- it being BIG SUMMER ANGLE season:


- the premature magazine article
- the trio having nowhere to go
etc

If Seth turning on The Shield & joining Evolution is going to be the storyline for the summer months....... I hope that WWE Creative don't screw it up similar to how they screwed up Daniel Bryan being a member of The Wyatt Family for 2 weeks at the start of the year.

Lithium93_

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

Why cant Steph just strip Daniel Bryan of the title now and use a new (preferably one) title belt


I loved Dave's wave when leaving, any gif of it please

Here ya go Liz

Insect Overlord

MitchKoobski wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqqguGmtHws

This is the best WWE meme I've ever seen. Still laughing here.

CastorTroy

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

Why cant Steph just strip

Wondering that myself. :pac:

Be interesting to hear Rollins' reasons for turning. Probably be more to do with not wanting to be stuck between Reigns and Ambrose.

I was expecting Hornswoggle to come out with a Bischoff style wig when he was introduced as "He's back and better than ever"

CSF

CastorTroy wrote: »

Wondering that myself. :pac:

Be interesting to hear Rollins' reasons for turning. Probably be more to do with not wanting to be stuck between Reigns and Ambrose.

I was expecting Hornswoggle to come out with a Bischoff style wig when he was introduced as "He's back and better than ever"

I can't imagine them going with that route for Rollins given he isn't going it alone. I'm sure he will be playing up how he was the number one guy in the Shield making the other 2 look good.

rovert

Apparently Shield fangirls on Tumblr are issuing Seth Rollins death threats.

HEEL HEAT IN 2014

Lithium93_

rovert wrote: »

Apparently Shield fangirls on Tumblr are issuing Seth Rollins death threats.

HEEL HEAT IN 2014

Sirsok

Another space coming up in the shield? Zayn? Neville? Graves? Maybe Tyson Kidd (even if he is meant to go under a mask) Maybe ambrose or reigns turns on each other an one joins evolution as well?

mrkiscool2

Sirsok wrote: »

Another space coming up in the shield? Zayn? Neville? Graves? Maybe Tyson Kidd (even if he is meant to go under a mask) Maybe ambrose or reigns turns on each other an one joins evolution as well?

NOOOOOO!! Terrible idea! I want this to go until at least Summerslam with Ambrose really being let loose on the mic. Anarchy + betrayal=MONEY! Especially with Ambrose doing the talking. Let Reigns be an absolute beast in the ring as his tag team partner and just have Ambrose be the crazy, deranged, hell-bent on revenge other man.

JP Liz V1

If Reigns Vs. HHH is still the plan for SS, then Ambrose Vs. Rollins at SS would be good too

CSF

Sirsok wrote: »

Another space coming up in the shield? Zayn? Neville? Graves? Maybe Tyson Kidd (even if he is meant to go under a mask) Maybe ambrose or reigns turns on each other an one joins evolution as well?

No, too risky to throw a newcomer in now unless it's someone guaranteed to live upto the other 3 like maybe Devitt (and I've only seen a little bit of him), throwing in someone who won't be as epic as what currently exists will just give that person instant intense hate from Shield fanboys like me.

JP Liz V1

Sirsok wrote: »

Another space coming up in the shield? Zayn? Neville? Graves? Maybe Tyson Kidd (even if he is meant to go under a mask) Maybe ambrose or reigns turns on each other an one joins evolution as well?

How about Daniel Bryan joining

QikBax

CSF wrote: »

No, too risky to throw a newcomer in now unless it's someone guaranteed to live upto the other 3 like maybe Devitt (and I've only seen a little bit of him), throwing in someone who won't be as epic as what currently exists will just give that person instant intense hate from Shield fanboys like me.

Zayn is a better wrestler than all 3 Shield members but I agree. Anyone else joining could go either way.

saucyleopard

No, they'll probably try something stupid like Santino!

CSF

I think The Shield's 'cool' factor and mystique has to be taken into account. I'm not sure there is another current WWE star who would fit the bill. Devitt is the only one I can think of from outside the fold.

The timing of this move is terrible, it should have been last night or at MITB. Last night he jumps off the titantron to make sure The Shield win, the following night he joins the faction that The Shield just did a clean sweep over in an elimination match where every member of the Shield got an equal contribution to the pitfall count.

Where is the logic? How have Evolution become more appealing than they were before The Shield twice comfortably dispatched them?

Lord TSC

CSF wrote: »

Where is the logic? How have Evolution become more appealing than they were before The Shield twice comfortably dispatched them?

Isn't that the entire point to a show-closing angle though? Those questions are why fans will tune in next week; to see why Rollins jumped ship. And I'm sure they'll answer; a title shot, a massive pay increase, the chance to have HHH become his mentor, no longer having to deal with Ambrose and Reigns.

Something I'd also like to see is Rollins be given two lackeys to form a "New Shield"; Ambrose and Reigns shouldn't replace him since it will be a new face coming in, trying to live on the coat-tales of the most successful group in years. Rather, Rollins should bring up two guys who act as his new partners and form a new group where he's the clear leader, but they still have the threat of The Shield, and Rollins and Ambrose start a feud there.

riffmongous

Money?? The Evolution lifestyle? In fairness the Shield never really had clear motives beyond being mercenaries for almost everything they did before

CSF

Teamshadowclan wrote: »

Isn't that the entire point to a show-closing angle though? Those questions are why fans will tune in next week; to see why Rollins jumped ship. And I'm sure they'll answer; a title shot, a massive pay increase, the chance to have HHH become his mentor, no longer having to deal with Ambrose and Reigns.

Something I'd also like to see is Rollins be given two lackeys to form a "New Shield"; Ambrose and Reigns shouldn't replace him since it will be a new face coming in, trying to live on the coat-tales of the most successful group in years. Rather, Rollins should bring up two guys who act as his new partners and form a new group where he's the clear leader, but they still have the threat of The Shield, and Rollins and Ambrose start a feud there.

The entire point to a closing angle is not to see what excuse they came up with to justify an illogical angle. Do you think less people would have tuned in last night to see the fallout from the night before when they could have executed it in a significantly more logical manner.

The phrase 'if you can't beat em, join em' makes sense', the phrase 'if you can absolutely decimate them, join em' makes very little sense. Using money or a title shot as the olive branch is stupid too, it has been done before and more effectively in the past and would also have made more sense earlier in the feud.

CSF

riffmongous wrote: »

Money?? The Evolution lifestyle? In fairness the Shield never really had clear motives beyond being mercenaries for almost everything they did before

Again, I'm sure the Evolution lifestyle was more appealing before they got their arses handed to them.

I'm not arguing that the heel turn to Evolution was illogical, rather, the timing of it.

Ape Lincoln

Would have been nice if at least Rollins had been the only Shield member eliminated last night. Just for yhe logic of it as there's a sniff Atttude era swerve off of it but let's see where it goes. No major problems with a heel turn anyway.

gnfnrhead

The more you think about it, the more it seems like a swerve for the sake of it.

Of the three, Rollins makes by far the least sense. For me, Reigns should have been the one to turn. They could have easily done the Batista thing with him where he eventually outgrows them and turns on them to take the title. Can't see them doing that with Rollins.

Seen it suggested that Rollins is a plant to bring down Evolution but that would only work if the Shield hadn't already destroyed Evolution twice.

riffmongous

CSF wrote: »

Again, I'm sure the Evolution lifestyle was more appealing before they got their arses handed to them.

I'm not arguing that the heel turn to Evolution was illogical, rather, the timing of it.

But in story terms you could say that Trips never made the offer to Rollins before last night as he was so confident Evolution could beat the Shield. Now that he knows that they clearly cant beat the Shield in the ring, its time to try something else.

But I definitely think it could have been set up a lot better, some hints or red herrings would have enhanced it but I guess they are so scared of internet leaks nowadays that they try to make it a shock instead.

Moneymaker

I'm sure Russo loved it anyway.

CSF

riffmongous wrote: »

But in story terms you could say that Trips never made the offer to Rollins before last night as he was so confident Evolution could beat the Shield. Now that he knows that they clearly cant beat the Shield in the ring, its time to try something else.

But I definitely think it could have been set up a lot better, some hints or red herrings would have enhanced it but I guess they are so scared of internet leaks nowadays that they try to make it a shock instead.

The point of good storytelling is not to be able to come up with an excuse for why it makes sense, rather that when it happens you can immediately say 'oh yeah that makes sense, why didn't I think of that, that is genius'