Raw 2/3/15

briany

If there's one guy who could make people believe in Roman Reigns, it's Paul E. giving it the old Heyman pitch. It's really his services WWE should be trying to secure instead of Brock's. Try to lure him away from his PR/advertising firm a bit more to come on TV and put over talent. He could possibly do it for anyone given time. He could have put over Axel and Cesaro given them time to really build them, but no.

seandotcomm

mental that 3 of the biggest matches are featuring part timers that will have little or no air time between now and WM

[edit - part timers is probably the wrong term for Sting ]

Scavenger XIII

seandotcomm wrote: »

[edit - part timers is probably the wrong term for Sting ]

I thing "vigilante" is the word you're looking for.

Overdone I know but I had to.

Deadlie

Axelmania is gas, but didn't Ambrose "eliminate" him the night after the RR and say something like "you're eliminated now". Small nitpick, really.

A Roman heel turn at WM would do him the world of good. That and to fully capitalise on Rollins going 'mainstream' you'd need Rollins as a face.

Lord TSC

Putting Reigns and Heyman together would ensure they've got probably the biggest heel in years, who could have a massive reign in every sense, but then I guess you're back to the big question..."Who is the guy who can replace John Cena?"

rovert

The Bella's mother went off on AJ Lee last night essentially saying AJ wasn't as committed as the Bella and she only shows up when #GIVEDIVASACHANCE is trending the Bellas are claiming she was hacked:
https://twitter.com/BellaTwins/status/572791173535952897

Lithium93_

My reaction to Paul Heyman's promo last night




Absolutely a masterclass in how to deliver a promo.

Stereomaniac

They are so blessed to have Paul Heyman on board the last few years with Brock Lesnar. I don't think I would be as invested in his matches if Paul E. wasn't painting the picture beforehand.

Lord TSC

Its a shame Heyman is utterly squandered when he's not with Brock. His pairing with Cesaro should have been so much more important for Cesaro...

mrkiscool2

Lord TSC wrote: »

Its a shame Heyman is utterly squandered when he's not with Brock. His pairing with Cesaro should have been so much more important for Cesaro...

The problem was that Cesaro was so over that to turn him heel was the completely wrong move. Same with Ryback, but he should have done more with Axel.

Rock Lesnar

Just watching Raw now and while its a storyline, but good god almighty, Steph stuck it to Cena, just brilliant

Rock Lesnar

That was a hell of a promo from Heyman, the man is just pure gold.

briany

mrkiscool2 wrote: »

The problem was that Cesaro was so over that to turn him heel was the completely wrong move. Same with Ryback, but he should have done more with Axel.

That's weird how Vince had the gall to claim on Austin's podcast that Cesaro was missing something. Cesaro was indeed getting over with fans around WM 30 and they just completely ignored his face momentum and stuck him with Heyman. They should have just let him be himself as that was clearly working. Even Austin ignored the point of Cesaro's previous overness and didn't ask Vince why they didn't just 'call an audible', as Austin is fond of saying, on Cesaro's booking.

Lord TSC

mrkiscool2 wrote: »

The problem was that Cesaro was so over that to turn him heel was the completely wrong move. Same with Ryback, but he should have done more with Axel.

I honestly think the problem was they turned him heel and then did nothing with him; a heel turn on the back of massive popularity can work brilliantly, and would have been great with Heyman as a mouth piece.

Instead, they turned him heel and then proceeded to have his manager cut segment after segment about someone else; Cesaro was an afterthought with little to no character development. If Heyman had been allowed to focus on developing Cesaro, instead of basically turning Cesaro into an excuse to hark on about Brock, then maybe the crowd wouldn't have just given up caring, face or heel, about him.

Ryback, I actually though, was great with Heyman, and Heyman did a great job building him up. Just the match results didn't help at all, as Ryback lost so often, he was neutered. Still, the relationship between the duo was brilliant.

And Axel....Axel was booked like a jobber; even his reveal as Heyman's newest client was anti-climatic, and purposefully so. And again, it was followed up with WWE hacking legs out when it came to results.

Heyman can only do so much if WWE don't book people to coincide with the awesome promos. It's why I'd love to see Reigns and Heyman join forces at Mania, and have Heyman as Reign's mouthpiece during an all-conquering HEEL reign, Reigns the new beast. A turn on Brock, and a beatdown which wrote Brock out, would give Reigns a tonne of credibility, and set up a rematch with Brock as the ass-kicking babyface who wants revenge if Brock ever came back. It also would put Reigns into a great position for a feud with Cena ("I'm the new chosen one, I'm the new face of the WWE") and Bryan ("I've beaten you, no one cares about you any more, etc"). A heel Reigns, with backing from the results and Heyman as a mouthpiece, and built on the poor reception since his Rumble win, could potentially be phenomenal. There'd be genuine money to be made.

Sadly, they'll probably just have Reigns beat Brock clean and just squander yet more opportunities though, and have him as the goody-two-shoes face who just laughs every time he loses....

Uncle Walt

mrkiscool2 wrote: »

The problem was that Cesaro was so over that to turn him heel was the completely wrong move. Same with Ryback, but he should have done more with Axel.

Two things got Cesaro over.. The "We The People" theme and the swing. Without those two things Cesaro was never gonna remain over, it was never gonna work without it, because those things made him look more over than he in reality was

aaaaaaaahhhhhh

I miss Mizdow's stunt double gimmick

A Primal Nut

Uncle Walt wrote: »

Two things got Cesaro over.. The "We The People" theme and the swing. Without those two things Cesaro was never gonna remain over, it was never gonna work without it, because those things made him look more over than he in reality was

Nobody knows that unless you try. Swagger didn't get as popular as Cesaro. Turning him heel and taking the swing off him didn't help him.

aaaaaaaahhhhhh

Size of Cesaro to Tyson

riffmongous

That was a very good RAW imo, some great segments.. but it just didnt feel like a Road to Wrestlemania Raw, I couldnt give a **** about Lesnar or the Undertaker anymore and the Sting factor is wearing off much fast as he's never there

The Miz was great, the guy doesn't get enough credit. The Stewart segment was fantastic, I hope that's not the last we see of him in the WWE.

Looper007

It's amazing going into WM that the guy they want as their new number 1 and the crowd still doesn't give a damn about him.

Angron

Looper007 wrote: »

It's amazing going into WM that the guy they want as their new number 1 and the crowd still doesn't give a damn about him.

Given the ham fisted manner they're forcing him at people, from the woeful commentary pushes to the soul destroying "I'd bet on Reigns" Heyman promo, it's really not that surprising. They're locked in on this though, so as badly as he's being received they won't drop it at this stage.

DGRulz

riffmongous wrote: »

That was a very good RAW imo, some great segments.. but it just didnt feel like a Road to Wrestlemania Raw, I couldnt give a **** about Lesnar or the Undertaker anymore and the Sting factor is wearing off much fast as he's never there

The Miz was great, the guy doesn't get enough credit. The Stewart segment was fantastic, I hope that's not the last we see of him in the WWE.

Orton tweeted this a few hours ago, I think we might see him again soon.

@RandyOrton: Anybody else think #JonStewart was awesome last night? I think he killed it... hope to have him back.

Uncle Walt

A Primal Nut wrote: »

Nobody knows that unless you try. Swagger didn't get as popular as Cesaro. Turning him heel and taking the swing off him didn't help him.

To be perfectly honest.. Swagger shouldve gone with Heyman and Cesaro stayed with Zeb IMO

JP Liz V1

riffmongous wrote: »

That was a very good RAW imo, some great segments.. but it just didnt feel like a Road to Wrestlemania Raw, I couldnt give a **** about Lesnar or the Undertaker anymore and the Sting factor is wearing off much fast as he's never there

The Miz was great, the guy doesn't get enough credit. The Stewart segment was fantastic, I hope that's not the last we see of him in the WWE.

I am genuinely excited for his potential feud with Sandow


Jon Stewart was great

Scruffy19

Scavenger XIII wrote: »

I thing "vigilante" is the word you're looking for.

Michael Cole is that you??

Moneymaker

Heyman is a ****ing God.

riffmongous

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

I am genuinely excited for his potential feud with Sandow


Jon Stewart was great

Same here, I just hope they give it enough time in the next few weeks and at WM as it deserves it.

Omackeral

I'm gonna say it. That was an excellent Raw. One of the best I've literally seen in years.

-My favourite Heyman promo ever. Smart as f*ck with some layered shoot material but enough to sell the show.

-Thought Stewart was very good and knew his stuff.

-The IC scene actually looks better than ever right now. If all them guys get together and decide to put in 110% each, it could be special.

-Reigns looking strong was best for business at the end and the final flurry was savage.

-HHH's promo showed some excellent heel work.

-AJ's pop was great. Fans were dopes though chanting Punk here, and all night.

-Mizdow vs Miz was a bit of buzz. Harmless undercard stuff.

-Cena and Steph was different but enjoyable. Axel looked to be having a ball too.




The only thing I didn't enjoy was Wyatt. Zero interest there but a great show IMO.

briany

Omackeral wrote: »

The only thing I didn't enjoy was Wyatt. Zero interest there but a great show IMO.

I have to say I think Wyatt is doing a good job of building interest for this match considering one of the participants is absent and he's only given one small segment per week to say something.

A lot of people say Wyatt is like a new Undertaker, but if you think about it, he has much stronger parallels with Mankind. Similar look, similar build, similar rambling promo style and similar fixation on 'Taker.

Scavenger XIII

Loved the side effects of "Niagra" including "not getting over" and "being a jabroni".

Stereomaniac

I thought that that segment with the ad was golden. That's the kind of light relief I love in wrestling.

Lithium93_

Why were people going on about AJ being thin, i thought she looked healthy enough.

A Primal Nut

Some people think Steph's promo to Cena was really Vince's message to Brock. "Where would you be without the WWE?", "WrestleMania will go on without you", etc.

The funny thing about this is that I very much doubt Brock was watching. It would probably make Brock laugh if he saw it.

Lithium93_

drugstore cowboy

Omackeral wrote: »

-Thought Stewart was very good and knew his stuff.

.

Jon has been a huge fan of wrestling for a long time and to his credit he sometimes mentions a wwe storyline on his show to complete silence from his audience!

Jon thanked the wwe on his show for giving him and his son such a good time.

Again to the crowds silence!

JP Liz V1

briany wrote: »

I have to say I think Wyatt is doing a good job of building interest for this match considering one of the participants is absent and he's only given one small segment per week to say something.

A lot of people say Wyatt is like a new Undertaker, but if you think about it, he has much stronger parallels with Mankind. Similar look, similar build, similar rambling promo style and similar fixation on 'Taker.

I was half expecting Kane to come out during Wyatt's promo and burning angle but didn't Wyatt already feud with Kane

Rjd2

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

but didn't Wyatt already feud with Kane

Yes, and it was bloody awful. :(:(:(

SlickRic

They pin Reigns.

Vince has completely lost his mind.

It's going to be an horrendous Wrestlemania.

Angron

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

I was half expecting Kane to come out during Wyatt's promo and burning angle but didn't Wyatt already feud with Kane

orestes

The first Raw in a long time where I didn't fast forward anything at all. The only part where my interest waned was Wyatt, but since I'm not a fan of his anyway and he's having a feud with himself I don't think that even counts. Everything else was entertaining, and all actually seemed relevant.

SlickRic wrote: »

They pin Reigns.

Vince has completely lost his mind.

It's going to be an horrendous Wrestlemania.

After interference from 5 people, and then he destroys them while looking like a beast. I think that's the best I've seen Reigns look in ages, less sympathetic and much more badass.

I dunno, I'm certainly looking forward to Mania more than I was before that show. The IC match alone has the potential to be fantastic, although I think someone somewhere has gotten Kofi and R-Truth mixed up.

Winning Hand

drugstore cowboy wrote: »

Jon has been a huge fan of wrestling for a long time and to his credit he sometimes mentions a wwe storyline on his show to complete silence from his audience!

Jon thanked the wwe on his show for giving him and his son such a good time.

Again to the crowds silence!

A few month ago he did an awesome "I've got some bad news for you", with almost no crowd reaction. I think he was shown a bit at last years wrestlemania. Good ambassador for the sport

Insect Overlord

orestes wrote: »

The first Raw in a long time where I didn't fast forward anything at all. The only part where my interest waned was Wyatt, but since I'm not a fan of his anyway and he's having a feud with himself I don't think that even counts.

I like Wyatt's character a lot, but that line there still made me burst out laughing. Well played, man.

orestes wrote: »

After interference from 5 people, and then he destroys them while looking like a beast. I think that's the best I've seen Reigns look in ages, less sympathetic and much more badass.

Easily his best scene since he went solo. He looked like a star at the end of RAW this week. Mid-air spears FTW. And *that* dive over the top rope was huge.

Lithium93_

Anyone have a gif of Reigns doing the suicide dive over the top rope?

Stereomaniac

Google Images doesn't seem to be bringing up any, Daniel Bryan is at the top of all the results.

Lexicious

Not sure if it's been mentioned already, but I found R-Truth's segment with JBL to be bloody hilarious, especially when Harper showed his face.

Truth needs much more on air time, the guy is hilarious and is a pretty damned good wrestler too.

Stereomaniac

Part of me was wondering is R-Truth considering retiring any time soon? This Intercontinental ladder match would be a perfect opportunity to give him a big win if he was.

Lexicious

Stereomaniac wrote: »

Part of me was wondering is R-Truth considering retiring any time soon? This Intercontinental ladder match would be a perfect opportunity to give him a big win if he was.

It would make sense...He's in his early 40's now. He still looks in brilliant shape though, and still has plenty of wit to give some good segments.

mrkiscool2

orestes wrote: »

The first Raw in a long time where I didn't fast forward anything at all. The only part where my interest waned was Wyatt, but since I'm not a fan of his anyway and he's having a feud with himself I don't think that even counts. Everything else was entertaining, and all actually seemed relevant.

I found that funny as well, but so true. I think WWE's idea of not bringing Taker in until WM is a bad one. Wyatt has been carrying this feud by himself since lat January. That will be over 2 months of a feud he has carried by himself. To his credit he is not making me disinterested in the feud but without Taker being there it just feels a bit flat. And this is one of the 3 main matches remember!

I am, however, loving the amount of love the mid-card is getting in the run up to WM. The Andre The Giant Battle Royal is quickly just becoming a feeding ground for lower card guys, wouldn't be surprised to see a NXT guy win it, or even Sheamus on his return only to smash the trophy in pieces. But the tag titles, IC and US titles are being put over massively. The Usos chasing the titles is nice to see, the whole mad scramble for the IC belt is great (loving R-Truth in it, even if it is racist "Yeah, let's have the only black wrestler in the match steal the title the whole time!"), Rusev having the option to give Cena the title match and being super-heelish by not doing so is also great. The whole card is shaping up and it's going to be a good WM methinks!

SlickRic

orestes wrote: »

After interference from 5 people, and then he destroys them while looking like a beast. I think that's the best I've seen Reigns look in ages, less sympathetic and much more badass.

Orton's interference to cause him to get pinned made him look like a chump.

Why pin Reigns at all?

I have difficulty enough believing he can beat Lesnar, but I'm supposed to believe a guy who got schoolboyed is going to beat a legit top class wrestler, who has been mauling guys, kicking out of multiple finishers?

It's stupid.

Yes, Reigns looked strong after. But why pin him at all if all you're going to do is have him destroy everyone anyway?

As I say, Vince hasn't a clue how to book these things anymore.

Moneymaker

Even worse is the ref took about an hour to get into positon. Reigns looked like a complete geek.