TSM Call to Action Campaign 2009

[Damaramu 0]

Ok guys, I didn't see a CTDWAT so I'm going to just kind of throw this in here. If it doesn't belong then any mod can feel free to throw it in a different thread. It is sort of WWE General Discussion.

 

As I mentioned in the WWE DVD thread I haven't really watched wrestling since JBL first won the world title. Yeah I know, that's a long time ago.

The only events I've seen since then are Royal Rumble 07, No Way Out 07, Wrestlemania 23 and Backlash 07 because of WWE 24/7.

I quit watching because I hated the brand extension, title switches and storylines.

But, recently I've gotten back into wrestling and am trying to catch up on what I missed in WWE over these past 4 years or so.

I do regret not watching Edge and Orton's rises to prominence (especially Edge) and some of the great matches Cena had as champion. While I was watching Edge was a midcarder, so it's kind of weird to see him constantly at the top of the company when you haven't been paying attention.

 

So if anybody can PM me a list of PPVs between the night JBL won the title to now that might be worth checking out I'd really really appreciate it. Anybody at all. I just want to see some good wrestling and try to catch up a bit on what I missed. Anyone? Bueller?

 

I know I won't catch up on every midcarder or midcard feud that has run through the WWE. I look through the past few years and see guys like Mordecai or Deuce and Domino and go "What the hell was the deal with these guys?" There's a ton of wrestlers and midcarders that have come in (and gone) since 04 that I'm completely lost on. lol

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

www.wikipedia.org

[CanadianChris 0]

www.wikipedia.org

Beat me to it.

[Damaramu 0]

www.wikipedia.org

 

No clue what happened to my response to this.

 

Yes I have been using wiki to study up on title histories, main event feuds and PPV results.

 

However, wikipedia does not tell me what PPVs had good matches or what PPVs were quality. Only a person who's watched it could tell me that. That's more what I was asking for. The other stuff about not knowing who the hell has come and gone and been fired was just random musing.

 

What I was asking for is what PPVs were good or not. Wiki can't answer that.

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

Don't see the need for a PM, so I will say that, aside from all the WrestleMania cards, which you should watch, here are a few off the top of my head:

 

ECW One Night Stand 2005

Great nostalgia, two very passionate segments from RVD and Paul Heyman, Awesome and Tanaka steal the show

 

Vengeance 2005

HBK vs. Angle II, Batista vs. HHH Hell in a Cell

 

ECW One Night Stand 2006

The heat for RVD vs. Cena is off the charts

 

Armageddon 2006

Fun card overall, with an awesome four-way tag team ladder match as the highlight

 

I'll probably post more that spring to mind, but these are all worth checking out.

[Diamonddust 0]

For some reason I thought the promos weren't scripted line for line...I guess I thought they would have a general theme of the promo and maybe a line or two, and then let the worker come up with the details. Does that actually happen as part of the scriptwriting process, or do the writers basically decide every line?

 

Workers coming up with their own stuff used to happen. The process of the writers scripting out things word for word has now taken over. Some workers, Jericho and Michaels, for instance, have far more leeway in scripting their promos than others.

 

The major/critical problem about totally scripting a promo or even a match (This was discussed when the TNA script was leaked and the matches were written out, move for move) is that it doesn't allow for the talent to improvise if the crowd doesn't react positively. If the audience starts to crap on a segment and the worker can't improv his way out of it, he'll either panic or continue to give a promo/segment that is already bombing.

[fisticuffs 0]

No Way Out 2006

Kurt Angle vs the Undertaker

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhRLM1J4pzs

[Damaramu 0]

Don't see the need for a PM, so I will say that, aside from all the WrestleMania cards, which you should watch, here are a few off the top of my head:

 

ECW One Night Stand 2005

Great nostalgia, two very passionate segments from RVD and Paul Heyman, Awesome and Tanaka steal the show

 

Vengeance 2005

HBK vs. Angle II, Batista vs. HHH Hell in a Cell

 

ECW One Night Stand 2006

The heat for RVD vs. Cena is off the charts

 

Armageddon 2006

Fun card overall, with an awesome four-way tag team ladder match as the highlight

 

I'll probably post more that spring to mind, but these are all worth checking out.

 

Yeah, I was going to get the One Night Stand and Wrestlemanias.

 

What about the Rumbles I've missed? 05, 06 and 08? I watched 07 and really really enjoyed it.

 

I'm trying to pinpoint my last WWE PPV and the last time I watched and I think it was around Judgement Day 04. Weird, long time for someone that used to not ever miss a RAW.

 

I know the Survivor Series and Summerslams (the other 2 of the original big 4) are kind of hit and miss over this time period, but I can't remember a Rumble I've ever openly hated. There's been some worse than others, but for the most part I really enjoy the PPV.

[foleyfanforever88 0]

The 05 Rumble was a lot of fun.

[Steviekick 0]

ECW One Night Stand 2006

Edge, Mick Foley and Lita against Terry Funk, Tommy Dreamer and Beulah was all kinds of awesome.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

I'll thread this up... eventually.

[Big Green 0]

So, I'm going to go ahead and say it......

 

Am I the only one who actually liked JBL's title reign? I loved his character and found him to be an incredible villain. Maybe he was given the belt too early but it seems weird to quit watching because of his reign.

 

 

On that note, I'd recommend you find JBL's promo from ONS 2005 then look for some other JBL promo goodness.

[fisticuffs 0]

This is my favorite segment involving JBL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOYiEGtD9oo

[Big Green 0]

 

JBL is fucking awesome

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Yeah, the JBL hate was misguided at the time. I mean, it's the guy's job to make fans hate him. And JBL was ahead of the curve when it came to working the internet.

[bob_barron 0]

Yeah, the JBL hate was misguided at the time. I mean, it's the guy's job to make fans hate him. And JBL was ahead of the curve when it came to working the internet.

 

He was funny on the mic, but in no way should he have been World Champion for ten months, or been pushed so hard right after turning heel. The hate was totally warranted, some of those matches were awful

 

[Big Green 0]

Yeah, the JBL hate was misguided at the time. I mean, it's the guy's job to make fans hate him. And JBL was ahead of the curve when it came to working the internet.

 

He was funny on the mic, but in no way should he have been World Champion for ten months, or been pushed so hard right after turning heel. The hate was totally warranted, some of those matches were awful

 

Honestly though, in-ring talent is secondary to mic skills in terms of being a successful World Champion. JBL wasn't Jackie Gayda level bad, he was carryable and he got good heat from the audience.

 

In terms of JBL being pushed hard, I agree. However, I'll say that after a couple of months, he was well over enough to be WWE Champion.

 

More JBL goodness:

 

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

In terms of JBL being pushed hard, I agree. However, I'll say that after a couple of months, he was well over enough to be WWE Champion.

 

I agree. At 1st I hated the JBL reign, but eventually he grew on me.

[daileyxplanet 0]

JBL means "Just Beat a Lizard" LOL.

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

Edge v John Cena series was pretty good, it was actually the year I started to like Cena, due to all the work he did with Edge. Can't remember the year, thought it was 2007, I'll check back.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

He was funny on the mic, but in no way should he have been World Champion for ten months, or been pushed so hard right after turning heel. The hate was totally warranted, some of those matches were awful

I agree with this. JBL was a fun midcard act but not World Champion material. Sure, he got over in the end, but just about anyone would after being shoved down our throats for ten months. As for the heat he got, yes it was huge at times, but when you put that aside and look at the houses he drew (less than 1,000 on one infamous occasion, one of the lowest MSG crowds in years on another) you'll see the heat didn't translate into dollars at the gate. Seems like JBL was good at getting people to hate him but not at getting them to pay to hate him in person. As for him 'working the internet' what's the big deal about JBL, or anyone, having worked such a small percentage of the fans? The idea is to work as many fans as possible into coming to the arena or into buying the PPV. JBL failed on the first count and wasn't any great shakes on the second. People can love his act all they want, but they shouldn't fool themselves into the idea it was much of a success where it matters.

[Aero 0]

Some PPVs not mentioned so far that were pretty good:

 

 

Judgment Day 2006

Main event has Mysterio vs. JBL in a decent match, MNM vs. Londrick, and Benoit vs. Finlay in a great match that some how managed to get 20+ minutes (especially strange since this was a last minute add on to the show). The first Taker-Khali match is on this show, however.

 

Unforgiven 2006

Cena vs. Edge in a TLC match, Trish's farewell match vs. Lita, Jeff Hardy vs. Johnny Nitro in a fine match. Nothing is actively bad.

 

Backlash 2007

Probably one of the best top to bottom PPVs since 2004. Only six matches, so everything gets a fair amount of time. The two main events (Taker vs. Batista and Cena vs. HBK vs. Orton vs Edge) are both very good.

 

 

[Atticus Chaos 0]

He was absolutely crap in the ring. His heel character was interesting enough, but he should have stayed as a commentator.

 

He is good at being hated, though: I've heard him referred to as the most hated wrestler on the roster in real life. I don't know how true that is, but it sounds like it could easily be true.

[T0rrent 0]

Speaking of JBL, did anyone else enjoy his JBL's America shows he had on the web? I know they stopped with one last one after he lost that win or quit match with Rey when he had the injured back.

[BorneAgain 0]

In hindsight I wonder with Brock gone, Big Show taking time off, Angle injured, and Eddie not being able to handle the pressures of being champion, who they should have gone with as champion instead of JBL.

 

-I like Booker, but he really didn't start giving a shit in the ring until Sharmell started traveling with him. Still he was more main event material than Layfield.

-Taker probably could have worked given his then recent return as the Deadman character, but then there was the question of transitioning the belt from Guerrero to him and what heel he'd go against until at least Angle came back.

-Cena was certainly over, but it might have been to early then, especially given he had just gotten the US at that point.

-RVD would have been a sight to see. A face/face series between him and Guerrero could have been a blast and one probably could have stretched it out depending on if and when which one went heel.

 

Had they spent a couple of months building up JBL as an upper mid-card act (a US title feud with Cena perhaps) then I would have had as big a problem as a did when he won it. But to go from APA to WWE title feud was just too much, too soon.

 

[Caliban 0]

Every PPV last year has at least one good to great match on it, bar Survivor Series. WWE had a great 2008 on PPV.

 

The Jericho vs Michaels feud last year yielded some great matches.

 

Check out the Michaels vs Hogan feud built around Summerslam 2005 as well. Some of the promo work is probably better than the eventual wrestling though.

 

The Edge vs John Cena feud from 2006 must be seen as well. Check out their TLC match from Toronto at Unforgiven 2006. Great heat.

 

I think Vengeance 2005 has been mentioned before in this thread, but that was a good PPV. HBK/Angle II and the superior HHH/Batista Hell in a Cell match.

 

That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

 

 

Oh, the 2006 Royal Rumble event is ok if you stop watching before the main event. It's Angle/Henry, for some reason. Yeesh. Other than that, Rumble matches have been excellent in that time period.

[Atticus Chaos 0]

In hindsight I wonder with Brock gone, Big Show taking time off, Angle injured, and Eddie not being able to handle the pressures of being champion, who they should have gone with as champion instead of JBL.

 

-I like Booker, but he really didn't start giving a shit in the ring until Sharmell started traveling with him. Still he was more main event material than Layfield.

-Taker probably could have worked given his then recent return as the Deadman character, but then there was the question of transitioning the belt from Guerrero to him and what heel he'd go against until at least Angle came back.

-Cena was certainly over, but it might have been to early then, especially given he had just gotten the US at that point.

-RVD would have been a sight to see. A face/face series between him and Guerrero could have been a blast and one probably could have stretched it out depending on if and when which one went heel.

 

Had they spent a couple of months building up JBL as an upper mid-card act (a US title feud with Cena perhaps) then I would have had as big a problem as a did when he won it. But to go from APA to WWE title feud was just too much, too soon.

 

It should have been Booker. He wasn't exactly main event, but he was higher up than JBL at that point.

[The Buzz 0]

JBL served his purpose, was entertaining and although some of the matches weren't great from a pure wrestling workrate point of view, a lot were entertaining. I'm aware he didn't draw huge number, but he didn't kill the show off or anything and if nothing else was a good heel champion to put Cena over the edge. As far as some good recent ppvs, I enjoyed the run of ppvs that involved CM Punk as Champion and HBK vs Jericho/Batista. The Cena/JBL parking lot brawl was pretty cool too. Believe some of those ppvs are Summerslam 08, Great American Bash 08, One Night Stand 08, Armageddon 08.