General WWE Discussion: Roman Weeps, Taker Retires, MNK/SAM/RDM LFP

**Anoat** · 2013-01-25 20:41

My prediction is that one of the newer guys will have some kind of high spot in the Rumble, look great, and get people talking. And then the Undertaker who is backstage visiting (or might be a surprise Rumble entrant, who knows) will have no idea who the hell he is, get upset, and go bitch to Vince about the kid not having the right look or "paying his dues". So the kid will get squashed by Ryback to all hell the next night on Raw.

**Exoduso** · 2013-01-26 02:41

Predications, go:

U.S. Champion Antonio Cesaro vs. The Miz (Pre-Show)
WWE Tag Team Champions Team Hell No vs. Team Rhodes Scholars
World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio vs. Big Show (Last Man Standing Match) --> Ziggy cashes in MITB
30-Man Royal Rumble Match - John Cena
WWE Champion CM Punk vs. The Rock

**Clemz** · 2013-01-26 04:47

The only one I could see going either way would be the U.S Champion match. But if I had to put money on it, I'd say Cesaro will walk away with it. With you 100% on the others, and I'd even go as far as to say they aren't predictions as much as they are foregone conclusions.

***Makwa*** · 2013-01-26 08:13

I could see Cesaro losing the US title only to win the rumble, turning his attention to the heavyweight title. Make him lift Big Show!(kidding)
I think the heavyweight match could go either way. If the rumors were true that they wanted a face-turn Ziggler, could have Show win for Ziggler to cash in, or have ADR retain and it goes the other way. Would be kind of interesting to have Ziggler wait til the very last day to cash in, is that Wrestlemania or is it before? Don't think anyone's held the MitB for the whole period before.
I want Rhodes Scholars to win just because I wouldn't mind a Kane/Bryan feud.
I honestly hope Punk retains all the way to Wrestlemania, he's had it so long that whoever takes the belt off him could have their "Mania Moment" that way.

**Clemz** · 2013-01-26 08:27

As far as rumor mill goes on Ziggler's face turn, I think that was put on the back burner. The original intent(as far I had read) was actually for Flair to pass the figure-four down to Ziggler rather than Miz, you know, someone who could probably do it right.

**Yugl** · 2013-01-26 10:14

Can Cena use his RR to hit up the HW title? Then do title v title at Mania?

**Clemz** · 2013-01-26 10:39

He could, but the winner of the Rumble gets their title match at Mania, don't they? So if he wins the Rumble, he won't be winning the title until Mania.

**Kalmado** · 2013-01-26 10:47

It's time to unify the top titles. While I'm not a Punk fan, I think it would be awesome if somehow he was the top holder, especially with how much heat he has right now. I want to see Big E Langston in some matches. Same with The Shield. I didn't watch much of SD last night, but what I saw during the middle of the program could easily be replaced by much better current talent.

**Exoduso** · 2013-01-26 10:48

Originally Posted by Yugl

Can Cena use his RR to hit up the HW title? Then do title v title at Mania?

Well no, because the RR win gets you a match AT 'Mania... so unless Cena wins the RR, then goes into the HW elimination chamber match and wins it there, then challenges for the WWE title using his rumble privileges, it won't happen.
I doubt WWE is ready to make 1 title again anyways... on multiple occasions it was said that the reason they haven't unified them yet is because they believe each house show should end with a title defense.

**Kalmado** · 2013-01-26 11:18

Originally Posted by Exoduso

Well no, because the RR win gets you a match AT 'Mania... so unless Cena wins the RR, then goes into the HW elimination chamber match and wins it there, then challenges for the WWE title using his rumble privileges, it won't happen.
I doubt WWE is ready to make 1 title again anyways... on multiple occasions it was said that the reason they haven't unified them yet is because they believe each house show should end with a title defense.

I would be much much more interested in weekly programming if we saw more title defenses. It's one thing that TNA does better than WWE because it gives more of a reason to watch. Everything is so terribly predictable right now.

When the commercial for the rumble aired last night my wife asked who was going to win. I told her probably Cena and she said she's sick of him too and he just needs to go. We here at BG, and other wrestling discussion groups, can give a billion reasons why he needs to go. Bleacher Report recently had an excellent read on why SuperCena needs to gtfo. We all know it's not going to happen (unfortunately) since kids love him and he sells t-shirts.

**CrosisX** · 2013-01-26 11:43

2 leaked surprise names for the rumble tomorrow. Spoiled if you don't want to know.

Spoiler: show

Rumble Predictions for tomorrow:

CM Punk (c) vs. The Rock – WWE Championship match CM Punk- Would throw the rumor mills spinning.

30-Man Battle Royal – Royal Rumble match Cena As much as i don't want him to win. Dark Horse: Ryback

Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. Big Show – World Heavyweight Championship last man standing match Del Rio

Team Hell No (c) vs. Team Rhodes Scholars – Tag Team Championship match Rhodes Scholars

Antonio Cesaro (c) vs. The Miz – United States Championship match (YouTube Pre-show) Cesaro

Other Predictions: Ziggler Cashes in the case. Though i have a strong feeling it won't happen til Elimination Chamber.

**arus2001** · 2013-01-26 11:53

Given the pre-planned nature of the medium, I feel like titles are a dated concept. Basically, spice up feuds with different match types. I can't recall the last time Punk's belt was actually up for grabs on Raw, nevermind how often belts actually change hands outside of PPVs.

Meanwhile, I guess I'll just continue to sit here thinking Cena's hated because he has some popularity. One week he makes a penis joke, people bitch. Next the Rock makes a penis joke, nobody says anything. So, while I can get liking the villain more, I'm not sold on shit like him having no moves being a Cena problem because I see other "popular" wrestlers basically running on small arsenals with little deviance, too. And again, they're not bitched about.

**Clemz** · 2013-01-26 12:21

His title was on the line on the Jan 7th edition of Raw against Ryback. I don't agree that the titles are necessarily dated, but I do feel that they could all use a little more importance behind them, particularly the mid-card belts(US and Intercontinental specifically).

As for Cena, personally I don't hate him, don't even strongly dislike him. But it's silly to assume that people do dislike him because he's popular. People dislike him because he's been the same character for the last however many years, and gets pushed to the moon constantly over many people that should be put above him. He doesn't need to be in the title hunt to be effective, yet he always is. That's the real beef people have with him. Because he is so ingrained in the WWE universe it's also impossible to have him put someone over. Look at the feud with Ziggler/Big E., he took a zigzag(which is awful, but no the point) and whatever Big E.'s finisher is, and then got up like nothing happened and walked away with the victory. It's not a fun or interesting dynamic.

**Kalmado** · 2013-01-26 12:31

Originally Posted by Clemz

His title was on the line on the Jan 7th edition of Raw against Ryback. I don't agree that the titles are necessarily dated, but I do feel that they could all use a little more importance behind them, particularly the mid-card belts(US and Intercontinental specifically).

As for Cena, personally I don't hate him, don't even strongly dislike him. But it's silly to assume that people do dislike him because he's popular. People dislike him because he's been the same character for the last however many years, and gets pushed to the moon constantly over many people that should be put above him. He doesn't need to be in the title hunt to be effective, yet he always is. That's the real beef people have with him. Because he is so ingrained in the WWE universe it's also impossible to have him put someone over. Look at the feud with Ziggler/Big E., he took a zigzag(which is awful, but no the point) and whatever Big E.'s finisher is, and then got up like nothing happened and walked away with the victory. It's not a fun or interesting dynamic.

Spot on statement here. I don't hate Cena either on a personal level or for the fact he only has limited arsenal. I hate the fact he won't put anyone over. He doesn't get mad at anything. He doesn't show emotion really, only that fake rise above garbage. Brock Lesnar coming back to feud with him was awesome. That punch in the mouth he landed on Cena had my wife and I cheering like mad.

The way I'll sum up my disdain for Cena is this. You spend weeks if not a few months protecting AJ and feuding with Ziggler. The idea is you have this somewhat deep relationship with AJ and you're playing the white knight. Then, at TLC as you're about to win your princess forces you to lose by tipping over the ladder you're at the top of. At the end, as she's standing with the winner, the black knight, the bad guy, and relishing in his victory and your loss, you just sit there and smile. No anger, no frustration. You just smile.

That is why Cena is garbage.

**CrosisX** · 2013-01-26 12:34

The "Smart" watchers hate cena because he is pushed to the moon but his move set is lacking. The smart fans appreciate people who can wrestle very well. The CM punks and dolph zigglers. I don't hate cena. Because of him there is a new generation of fans.

As for the belts. I believe the WWE championship does have more significance with longer title reins. CM punk has had the belt for over a year. The last time anyone had the belt for over a year was in 2006 with John Cena. Before that though it was in 1988 with Randy Savage. Too many title changes dilutes the the belt.

**arus2001** · 2013-01-26 13:09

Well, the belt is basically their gold medal, stanley cup, or whatever of the sport. Problem is, since this shit's fixed, it is pointless to consider it a sort of standard. It gets equally silly when people like Mysterio hold a heavyweight championship, emphasis on heavyweight. So, on paper it may give wrestlers something to fight over, but it's still fake fights and we're left forever wondering who the truly baddest dog in the yard would be if they could freely throw down.

As for the Cena smile thing post-AJ, not everyone's a Hulk smash rage face kind of reaction type. What was he going to do? Beat up a girl half his size? Stomp around in the ring all pissed off just to have people mock him anyway? I know it's cool for Punk to break the fourth wall from time to time, but Cena also does it. That smile is him understanding the biz and knowing that lashing out then would change nothing. He'll get his moment whether people like him or not because that's either who he is or the character he's set on playing for the camera. Hate him for seniority clout, sure. I was sick of Flair in the 90s when he should've retired in the 80s, but Cena's also still a capable guy. If he's still getting title shots when he's rocking flabby manboobs, then I'll probably join the dislike crowd. Maybe one day he'll heel turn, but I'm still not feeling a lot of these mid-cards some of you guys are behind, especially Ziggler. And I hope to god we don't see his bare ass for the third week in a row.

**Kang** · 2013-01-26 13:16

This is the first rumble in a while where I find it hard to pick a clearcut winner. Most years it is obvious but not this time. I chalk it up to a less than stellar build.

**Clemz** · 2013-01-26 13:21

Cesaro is hands down the best mid-carder, maybe even the best period, on the roster right now. At least until Ambrose and Rollins are allowed to actually wrestle. The tag team ladder match with The Shield vs Hell No was easily the best match of last year, maybe only second to the Taker/Triple H match at Mania, I'd argue it was better though. And if those are the caliber of matches they can put in as a tag team, what they do in singles should(theoretically anyway, some guys just don't make good singles wrestlers) be even better. They've got a huge crop of amazing talent at FCW that are coming up, or bound to come up soon in guys like Bo Dallas, Xavier Woods, Ritchie Steamboat, and the guys that have already come up in the Shield and Cesaro. The future of WWE actually looks better than it has for the last few years just because of all that talent down there, and it's going to be exciting to see.

For more Cena talk, I was actually a fan of his when he first came from OVW, and his early gimmicks. When he was given freedom on the mic, this was during the period where the Attitude Era was winding down however, but if he had been there a few years earlier, he'd have fit in amazingly well. Like I said, I don't even really dislike the guy, I think his character is stale, and the lacking move set could be said about every top guy ever just about. My biggest complaints about him are just the way he's booked, so I can't hate on him for that.

Also:

Goddamn Stephanie was hot.

**CrosisX** · 2013-01-26 14:12

Originally Posted by Clemz

The tag team ladder match with The Shield vs Hell No was easily the best match of last year

I couldn't agree more.

Really though everything is fixed; WWE isn't anymore scripted than any other television show. People watch it for entertainment. There are plenty of threads in this section that discuss scripted television and everything there could be considered predictable too.

This thread got my 666 post woo lol

**Yugl** · 2013-01-26 14:34

Personally, I prefer shorter reigns and R/S title matches. If you don't combine them though, they become meaningless. The shorter reign without R/S just makes each PPV a title handover. R/S with mega-reign makes them pointless. In both cases, the match is more predictable than ever.

While TV shows do have scripts, the good ones have variability. This show cannot vary too much because there's really only one event taking place. Ways around this include promos and match types, but rating limits the promo viability. Match type magic quickly wears unless they become creative (Brahma bull match/Inferno match). This is the real peril of their business imo.

Thread: General WWE Discussion: Roman Weeps, Taker Retires, MNK/SAM/RDM LFP

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