RavishingRickRudo

Why wouldn't the title change hands if Cena passes out? I never said pass out. Think of it more as Tim Sylvia/Frank Mir. Cena comes out the next night, in crutches, and says he never lost the title. Angle comes out and says he won the title fairly. Cena says he never tapped. Cena says "let's do it right now". Before Angle agrees, Bischoff comes out and says that the refs ruling stands because the ref was looking out for Cenas safety. Vince McMahon comes out and asks the audience if they agree with the title ruling, which segues into Taboo Tuesday. Vince says something like this has never happened before in the WWE, so the title is in dispute and will be suspended until Taboo Tuesday where the fans get to decide the fate of the WWE title (the matches will be one that favours Angle, one that favours Cena, and another match that doesn't favour either). After Vince leaves, Bischoff puts Cena on a 30 day leave period, preventing Cena from wrestling on a bad ankle, or as Bisch puts it "to protect Cena from himself". Hell, he could even call Angle the "interim champion", where Angle goes on to defend his version of the WWE title against tomato cans. This leads to Cena, who is banned from competing, to run in from the audience at various times to fuck with Angle and whatnot. Would all this happen? No, of course not. I suck at predicting what the WWE is going to do, because I usually use their own logic better than they do and mix it in with good booking. But, they _have_ been doing more unconventional finishes for matches that mirror UFC finishes - KO's spots, for example. Excessive Bloodloss is another one. I still don't see Cena losing the belt, even if it is only because the title is suspended. But this would enhance Cenas current character. Cena is all about "real, recognizin real", and HE'S the REAL champ, cause he never lost. "THE CHAMP IS HERE" takes on a newer meaning. You could go so far as to Cena calling himself "The Peoples Champ"

I could see Angle beating Cena by ref stoppage after Cena refuses to quit from the anklelock, but can't escape it either. Much drama happens and the title is suspended and will be decided at TT in a match by the fans' choosing. That way you can keep both guys' heat, continue the feud, and give the TT match added importance.

Or that Vince McMahon is totally bullshitting there and no one takes what he says seriously. If this were the case, Steph would have been fired a long time ago due being a massive failure in every single regard of her position in the company.

Well, "not knowing how to work" can fall under "pretending to be a wrestler", but it is more along the "interaction with the fans" side of it. Not necessarily pandering to the audience, but working a tempo and controlling the pace so that you can move the audiences emotions around. Benoit/Angle RR03 is the example I like to use most - the crowd was dead, and they brought it back to life. How did they do that? Unique moves like the DDT on the apron, hard work shown by the two men through a fast pace and hard-hitting action, and in particular, two spots that was able to get the crowd into it. There was a sleeper spot which got the typical "clap clap clap" from the audience, and then there was the double ko spot which got a "1...2...3...4...5..." count - both these things pulled the fans into the match by getting them active. Other things like blood, near-falls, unexpected spots, humour, trademark spots, etc. are good high spots in a match. Of course, time is a big factor and that match went 20 minutes and the fans were familiar with both guys - still, it was quite the accomplishment. I wonder why HHH -expert on working- couldn't do the same? With a WWE crowd, if you are unfamiliar to them, you have to do something special to get their attention. Humour is probably the best way to do that, rather than trying to get over on "hard work" and grunting. I don't mean gimmicks or anything, which is what the WWE thinks, I mean in-ring comedy. Wrestling is underrated in terms of slap-stick and physical comedy and actual comedy matches are pretty rare to see in the Fed... well, intentionally funny... Another way to get over with the crowd is through interaction. Clapping your hands to get them to clap their hands, taking signs/beer/etc. and using them in your match, the 10 punches in the corner (better than the sleeper/cometolife spot), stuff like that. And exceeding expectations is a good way to get over with a WWE audience as well. Make them think you are one thing, and then do a complete 180 and make them take notice that their first impression was wrong. Listening comes into play when a spot gets the fans' attention, or doesn't. Do you continue holding that headlock despite it not getting the reaction you desired in hopes that they eventually wake up, or do you try something else? If the crowd pops for something, do you pick up the pace and try to sustain their interest? Should you go through the motions because you think the office doesn't want you to stray, or do you take advantage of the situation and do something you think would get the fans up? The purpose of a wrestler in the WWE should be to pop the audience - not because that's what wrestling is, not because that's what the WWE is, but because that's what Vince responds to best. He is the biggest mark for crowd reaction. Unfortunately, he may not be watching everyones matches and may only get information second hand. So, if -say- HHH is the one feeding him info and HHH probably doesn't mark for the pop as much as Vince and looks for something else, he'd probably say "That kid did a crazy move that he shouldn't have done" rather than "That kid just made the crowd go nuts".

Emulating other wrestlers and what other wrestlers do rather than doing what wrestling is all about - pretending to fight. How many times have I seen a skinny white guy pretend to be Misawa?? It's awful. If you really want to be like Misawa, don't pretend to be Misawa, pretend to be whatever Misawa is pretending to be. You see indy guys doing intricate pinning sequences... why?? There is no sound explanation for it other than "because other guys do it". It's overly choreographed and is more like a dance than a fight. In wrestling, at least in what I view as the pure form of professional wrestling, holds should be fought over, not simply given. There should be thought put into the moves, and what I see from the majority of wrestling today is that it's a collection of pre-planned spots, and in between those spots is a whole lot of filler and throw-away moves. Wrestling should be reactionary (with your opponent), as should working (with the crowd). Yes, you can still provide high spots that would normally not be found in a real fight, but only if they make sense to your story and how the match has unfolded. And I find that even when I see guys try to work a headlock spot, it's like it's only to show that they're "really wrestling", and to get people talking about how they based a match around a headlock. And the dumbass fans watching will clap because that's what they think they should do, because in their minds they are purists and want to appreciate crap like that. But it all comes off as pre-planned, so the headlock loses its controlling features and isn't based on reaction.

I should note that I agree with the rumoured assessment, not necessarily with Punk - who I've seen a handful of matches from, so I can't really say anything - but in terms of the vast majority of the ROH and American indies I've seen, it comes off as guys pretending to be wrestlers (or Luchadores, or Shootwrestlers...), rather than being wrestlers. Then again, the WWE guys aren't wrestlers either, so I don't know why the fuck HHH and HBK feel they deserve to say anything on the subject.

I looked. I am STOKED.

So HHH was just watching out for Chris Jericho back in 1999, then. Amazing. He wasn't burying him at all, just addressing (in a very similar fashion) issues where Jericho could have improved.

Me thinks they are all just saying this to get Punk to cut his hair.

I was hoping for OJ in the Black Dave gimmick. Though, if they bring in Paul Mooney as his manager, I'm all for it.

It's funny how the WWE clearly has no new ideas on how to further their product. Their big show on USA is nothing more than focusing on the past - the RAW retrospective, all the old-timers coming back. THIS is their solution?? Meanwhile, the UFC is trying to make stars in every single show they do, so they can build towards bigger and better fights. Ratings be-damned, there is no competition here.

Hey, this ain't ballet.

WHAT??!?!?!

The WWE pushing a muscle head and a second generational wrestler (I wouldn't include Tomko in this, since his "push" was beating up Rosie and Hurricane, and jumping Cena and taking the pin) is nothing new. Infact, it's their M.O. As for Star Power... what Star Power? The only "star" that would differ from the norm is HHH. People give the WWE too much credit if they think the bad shows are a way of getting back at SPIKE. The WWE doesn't need any motivation to make shit.

You're just bitter because this means the end of Randy Wear.

But don't you see, that's their plan. You THINK, that just because the same thing that happened with Jericho is happening to Angle, that the end-results will be the same too... and that's when they switch it up and SHOCK~! Angle wins. And you are left dumbfounded, thinking to yourself "But but but but but but but... wuh wuh wuh wuh wuh wuh". It's BRILLIANT!

Cena is doing everything he can in the current wrestling environment. It is an uphill battle that most likely won't be won. Of course, his character being insipid is a bit of a problem, but Austin lost most of his zest well before the height of his popularity. Austin, however, wasn't nearly as pandering as Cena is now, so his characters freshness lasted a lot longer. Debating drawing ability is abit fruitless, since nobody is a draw, and everybody is a draw.

Can-Smarks are the Smarkiest of all Smarks. I believe Smark Digest gave Canada a ***** rating in terms of smart markery. It gave Japan ****1/2's, saying it wasn't quite as good as it was back in 1994. America was given ****, which clearly is overrating the States, but I guess that's what happens when so many people think it's the only country in the world.

*sniff* Thank you. My efforts have been rewarded. RRR: Grateful Smark. SIKE! UR A LOOSER BOB! RRR: Asshole Smark. *catches football* RRR: Jock Smark.

Considering how much control TV networks have over other programming (i.e. sitcoms, dramas, newscasts), its not too much of a stretch to think they'd be able to tell WWE what matches they'd prefer to see on their network. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Yeah, and UPN has been all over the WWE for their content since day one. I mean, that whole Hassan thing... and the... and... and... um... they beep swear words too and stuff. Like, this certainly isn't a childish reaction by the WWE to a perfectly reasonable and justifiable course of action on the part of UPN. UPN should have done what the WWE does when people criticize them - mock the critics.

I don't get this whole "They are intentionally tanking it". Like, seriously, this is how its always been. They must've really hated Spike if they've been dogging it for this long. *kicks sand on cabbageboy after destroying his sandcastle trying to catch a football*

You were missed. *Edit* Ok, not "missed", missed. Like, I didn't ponder "where is Mullato??" or anything like that. But when I read your post, I was like "Holy Shit, Where was Mullato??". It's more of a retroactive missed.

You know what? You know what you are? A crybaby smark. Go cry on your blankie, crybaby smark. RRR: Jock Smark.

Oh, and they changed the opening again. I don't want to appear as someone who nitpicks... but I miss the daisy dukes/run down the stairs part. And Lauren Grahams hair wasn't so great. Come to think of it, all this bad stuff is adding up. Horrible show. Just Horrible. Never watching it again. And I forgot all about the Bikers! Michell being freaked by it and then Lorelai following suit was gold. Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn't talk about LUKE DANES SEXY (in a completely heterosexual guy way) CHEST. Oh my lawad, I was about to get the vapours just watchin him in bed *fans self*.

Maybe he's talkin bout Remco.