The Outhouse - The Greatest Comic Book Forum

by **jeremiahvedder** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 5:34 pm

syxxpakk wrote:
In all honesty, if it had been any other crowd it would have worked better.

That's probably true. Most other crowds, 90% of them wouldn't have remembered how shitty Prince Albert used to be because they hadn't been born yet.

by **rdrsfn82** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 5:37 pm

jeremiahvedder wrote:I'm not saying they haven't done it like this before and won't do it like this again but when you're jacked for one thing and they feed you a lesser thing, no matter where it's at on the card, there's gonna be some "okay, sure, now let's get on with the return we really want."

Brock was a bit more than a rumor, though. There was a lot of smoke and where there's a lot of smoke, there's a lot of fire.

I remember there being a lot of rumors online about Brock at the Rumble.

As syxx just pointed out, there was a lot of smoke about Batista.

Around WM time there's always a ton of smoke. This was an actual promo they'd been showing.

Again, like syxx said, if it was a typical WWE crowd (which is probably what they were expecting) it would have been a non-issue as 75% of the crowd wouldn't have had a clue that Brock was rumored to be around. But because so many people like you stuck around for RAW, there was a level of expectations and knowledge that they didn't anticipate.

by **jeremiahvedder** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 5:37 pm

syxxpakk wrote:There was a lot of smoke about Batista as well.

No one was seriously expecting Batista, were they? He's a shrimp nowadays and way too old. The level of smoke for him wasn't nearly what it was for Brock, anyway. Smoke was lopsided.

by **rdrsfn82** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 5:38 pm

jeremiahvedder wrote:That's probably true. Most other crowds, 90% of them wouldn't have remembered how shitty Prince Albert used to be because they hadn't been born yet.

In fairness, he's a lot better than he used to be. Then again, I never had an issue with him before.

by **jeremiahvedder** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 5:41 pm

rdrsfn82 wrote:
I remember there being a lot of rumors online about Brock at the Rumble.

As syxx just pointed out, there was a lot of smoke about Batista.

Around WM time there's always a ton of smoke. This was an actual promo they'd been showing.

Again, like syxx said, if it was a typical WWE crowd (which is probably what they were expecting) it would have been a non-issue as 75% of the crowd wouldn't have had a clue that Brock was rumored to be around. But because so many people like you stuck around for RAW, there was a level of expectations and knowledge that they didn't anticipate.

The promos were good. It also didn't help that Albert didn't look very impressive when he came out or later while he was wrestling. That whole "Alex Riley can't continue" thing didn't go over well without commentary and they didn't announce it right away at the show. I'm not sure why Alex just didn't stay down and pretend to be knocked unconcious? :smt102

by **Doc Jon** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 5:41 pm

Well, however they intended it, Lord Tensai did not debut well. DOesn't mean they can't do something with it, and I like Albert's new look, but the crowd was dead for it.

The debut could have been better. The squash match went too long and had little impact on the overall scheme of things.

by **jeremiahvedder** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 5:42 pm

rdrsfn82 wrote:
In fairness, he's a lot better than he used to be. Then again, I never had an issue with him before.

Yeah, I agree. But the Super Shredder entrance attire was eye-roll worthy.

by **Doc Jon** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 5:44 pm

And I also agree that Cena has turned heel without turning heel. This has obviously been going on for a while, and I don't know why the E hasn't pulled the trigger.

The best way to make Austin a face was to make him the worst heel in the world.
Same with the Rock.
Same with Orton.
Same with HHH.
It would probably be the best thing for Cena.

You could probably even keep most of the gimmick but just tweak it slightly. Make him love the kids and hate the hardcore fans that boo him. And finally make him a bad ass again rather than Hogan 2.0.

by **rdrsfn82** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 5:49 pm

jeremiahvedder wrote:The promos were good. It also didn't help that Albert didn't look very impressive when he came out or later while he was wrestling. That whole "Alex Riley can't continue" thing didn't go over well without commentary and they didn't announce it right away at the show. I'm not sure why Alex just didn't stay down and pretend to be knocked unconcious?

I blame that all on Alex. I think Albert looked great, but Riley fucked it up by not just laying unconscious.

by **jeremiahvedder** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 5:56 pm

rdrsfn82 wrote:
I blame that all on Alex. I think Albert looked great, but Riley fucked it up by not just laying unconscious.

WWE usually cleans house right after Mania so that might've been A-Ry being unprofessional in the face of a forthcoming pink slip. The roster purge is coming, people!

by **ReturnoftheMack** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 6:18 pm

Riley getting up was scripted.

And Tensai debuting makes absolute sense regardless of what the crowd did or if Brock did as well. The show after WM generally has the most people watching. More people saw the debut of Tensai and will remember that.

by **misac** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 6:38 pm

rdrsfn82 wrote:Cena/Rock turned out to be one of those comic events that will "CHANGE EVERYTHING FOREVER!!!!!" but that has no actual impact after the book ends, and everyone is acting just like they were before. Rock is not going to be a regular on TV, Cena isn't reevaluating who he is or working to improve to win a rematch or realizing he has slipped and trying to prove himself to be the best or really anything (and if we do see a change in character, it will be due to Brock and this new storyline), and really it was all just a lot of time spent building up to nothing.

That is why people are irritated. No one was expecting anything more from the Rock, he did all that people expected just by showing up and having a single match. The surprise of seeing Rock win, combined with the words Cena had spoken about how important this win was for him (and repeated all night long before he came out for his promo on Monday), combined with the fact we know he's going to be around all the time, led to higher expectations to see how this would impact him. Then instead of any real growth or change or even a real honest emotional reaction (well, real and honest by wrestling standards) we get him saying "Just kidding guys, that meant nothing, let's all move on, LOL"

I don't care if he's the face of the company or the greatest nicest guy in the world, his character is broken.

Lord Tensai's the new character that might stick around.

by **misac** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 6:40 pm

jeremiahvedder wrote:Cena's not gonna get a rematch, at least not at Mania and not one-on-one. They may meet again in a three-way or Armaggedon Cell or whatever but "Once In A Lifetime" will stick.

I suspect Brock will win the title some time in December and retain through Mania, and Rock will win the Rumble to set up a huge title match at WM.

If I had to guess, Cena will be fighting Sheamus for the World Championship while Punk fights Austin.

Maybe a three way at Mania. They could do a double elimination at the Rumble.