Some really cringey moments this week with Balor, Mustafa and Bliss's talking segments. All came across as cheesy for me. I'm thinking Alexa turns soon.
All that said, so much good to enjoy with WWE at the moment. And Extreme Rules is looking rather splendid.
Alexa Bliss is hit or miss as a babyface. I was a big of the creepy "Fiend" Bliss and personally I think she was getting super over-but I also think that was because she was lookin 2 SWEEEEEEEEET in some of those outfits. But her straight laced smiling Bliss that teamed with Nikki Cross and currently, kind of lame. Maybe if she wasn't 6-7th down the ladder and had more time on the mic it'd be better. Turn her heel and have her keep working with new people like Shotzi, Raquel, etc.
Just a segment that didn't come off this week with Alexa, as I think she's one of the better talkers on the roster.
But yes, pretty bland role for her right now.
Alexa had a long time away due to injury, and when she returned, for several weeks, they didn't let her use her arguably second best asset, which has been talking (her hotness being her best). They put her in a few squash matches but they only looked like they were trying to make sure she didn't have ring rust. After a few weeks of this, even though she was getting okay face cheers as they were heating her back up, fans were becoming restless because we all know she can do much more.
So she had a bad episode on the mic. It happens to everyone, but in her situation, it is magnified because of recent history.
My point would be that Alexa Bliss suffers as a straight up babyface. She's has a little attitude and cockiness about herself that seems natural and you can't get that when you're telling her "Go out there and cut a Rocky Maivia 1996 promo"
I think Alexa Bliss would be suited better to be a manager. Her work with Blake & Murphy was enjoyable. She should wrestle only occasionally, maybe in mixed tags with her client.
She would probably get paid a lot less as a manager but I kind of agree. I still think there's $$$ in her and Braun doing Team Little Big. She can talk, he can walk.
Thats a wonderful idea, pair her up with Braun. If they can get Black back in WWE, he and Zelina vs Braun and Alexa would be fun.
Agree on Bliss, she does nothing for me in the ring. Very clunky, if that's the right word. She deffo has talent, just not that talent, particularly.
I also don't get why she still carries the doll, but that may lead to something.
I'm wondering if they still sell a shit ton of them.Originally Posted by Murphy
Agree on Bliss, she does nothing for me in the ring. Very clunky, if that's the right word. She deffo has talent, just not that talent, particularly.
I also don't get why she still carries the doll, but that may lead to something.
I saw a grown-ass woman who bought one at the house show I went to on Sunday. Pretty sure $$$ is exactly whey they kept it around even though they did those therapy vignettes about her getting over it.
Pretty eventful Raw lol.
Fucking Good Brothers!!!!
Remember when DX had hair?
Good Brothers suck, in particular Karl Anderson.
Do you hate them that badly that you would take them to the gallows?
And she still carried it with her after those vignettes. I think she even had it at the Castle ppv.
Well aside from merchandising and trying to apply WWE logic to this…she keeps it around because a reminder of her childhood and that she is now mentally strong enough after therapy to carry around the doll and not be obsessed with it/let it overtake her like it did before.
Apart from that dunno lol.
Won't lie. As much as I love dx I was still hoping Bray was coming out to wreck them.
I want to see what Shawn's hair looks like without the cowboy hat. He had something odd growing out the back and we know dude has nothing but shine on top.
Opening Bloodline promo was long, but it's so good it doesn't feel long at all while it is happening. Roman and Sami get a lot of credit, but Jey's work in this storyline has been really underrated.
Brock coming for that Saudi payday. Lashley looks like an idiot for getting taunted into losing his title.
Bayley losing two televised matches in consecutive days, but she is still better than most of the roster.
AJ has been in a rut since he was paired with Omos for a while. Good Brothers will hopefully help him regain some relevancy.
Dominik is really getting hated. And Rhea is the best part of Judgment Day.
It looked like Maryse botched her spot where she was supposed to get a face full of cake. I would LOVE to see Miz beat Lumis so he doesn't earn a roster spot.
De-geriatric X was fun nostalgia. I liked Road Dogg allowing the crowd to acknowledge Bad Ass Billy Gunn, and Waltman giving the shout out to Chyna.
But you're ok with no mention of Rick Rude?
It is weird how Rude is the forgotten DX member. Wasn't Hornswoggle part of the DX reboot in the early mid 2000's?
Seems like whoever they tagged with in the 2000s DX reboot got to be an 'honorary DX member' during that run. The less remembered from those days the better lol. 'Swoggle was as much a member of DX as Angle was a member of the Shield that time he filled in.
But how many of them wound up on a shirt with DX? This was a running bit on Raw for awhile. Angle was a one night last minute fill in. Don't get me wrong, keep that Hornswoggle DX memory in the gutter.
Tori, Stephanie, and Mike Tyson I think were members at some point too
Now that there seems to be a long term process now, what do we think ends up being the planned Wrestlemania card? Really, the pieces are in place now to kick on and have a pretty fantastic card if they don't blow through everything early. I'm going:
WWE Universal Title: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Cody Rhodes - no need to overcomplicate things. Only way I'd deviate is if Rock's on board, but if that's the case I'd have Reigns vs. Rock night 1 and Reigns vs. Cody night 2. I'm just not overly hyped in seeing The Rock in a big match anymore.
WWE Tag Titles: The Usos (c) vs. Owens and Zayn. Another absolute no brainer. Could main event night 1, truthfully.
Smackdown Women's Title: Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Becky Lynch - the biggest first time match they have in the women's division.
Raw Women's Title: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Rhea Ripley - the 2 top stars going forward.
Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley 3 - Lesnar wins at Crown Jewel, maybe with the old kimura arm break angle. Clear revenge rubber match.
Matt Riddle vs. Randy Orton - another no brainer. Orton slotting back in as a vicious heel and putting the newer guy over.
IC Title vs. Career: Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Sheamus. Classic story with the reluctant babyface not wanting to put down his storied rival.
US Title: Rollins (c) vs. Balor vs. Styles. A little bit 'get them all on the card', but makes sense.
No Holds Barred: Bray Wyatt vs. Edge - fresh matchup, Wyatt gets the win as they position him as a top star going forward.
Rey Mysterio vs. Dominic Mysterio - another slow burner. Why rush it?
Big E Return 6 man tag: New Day vs. Imperium - hopefully he'll be ready for then!
Logan Paul vs. Happy Corbin - Logan will be on the card, and wins. Corbin's the foil.
Women's Tag Team Titles: Damage CTRL (c) vs. Sasha Banks and Naomi. Again, no brainer.
Bayley vs. Charlotte - the 2 top women left off the card, maybe keep Charlotte off until late and do the 'Bayley's desperate to get on the card' angle.
Braun Strowman vs. Karrion Kross - similar to the match above.
The Miz and Austin Theory vs. Pat McAfee and ??? (Gronk?) - play off last years match.
Be a banging build that.
I dig it that card but personally I can't start fantasy booking Mania until after the Rumble. Almost 40 Manias and very few have more than 1 or 2 matches building 5-6 months prior. Even WM 3, Hogan v. Andre, that was a 2 month build.
Cody Rhodes is a curious element right now. His push halted at the worst time due to injury. Obviously considering how high they are on Seth Rollins, Cody going over him 3 times in a row is a big deal. But was he going to get the strap by Mania? Was he going to win the MITB? You never know with Vince and now that Vince is gone and Triple H is here....is Triple H as high on him? Especially to dethrone Roman. Now with Kross and Wyatt back you have to wonder.
That card would also put Finn and aj fueding for over half the year. I'd imagine we are setting up a war games match at SS with these 2 and the fued will probably be done after that.
I highly doubt The Rock gets slotted in for Night One.
I'm thinking aj, good brothers and the returning, for the 76th time, edge vs jd war games match. Be cool if Beth and Ripley could be added but that would probably get a little tricky.
Shawn really needs to accept what's happened. When he buzzed it, it was fine.
Is this what happens to all born again Christians?
they don't accept balding?
Mustafa Ali getting in the US Title scene against Rollins? Hell effin' yes.
I hope it lasts. Ali has had more start and stop pushes than anyone in recent memory. Remember when he was feuding with The Miz? That lasted like 2 minutes. It's hard for me to see any upside to this guy because he's never really done anything.
Finn Balor either needs to improve on the mic or he needs to be given less time with it. The little swagger and his delivery is so forced, that he's coming off like a little angry cartoon character. Fine on his own, I guess, but it doesn't fit in with the rest of the group.
Can't say I'm overly thrilled to see the OC and AJ back together, but I'll give it a chance.
I loved the opening to the show. Would love a strong win for Lashley at Crown Jewel, but we'll see about that.
And speaking of mic time, Mustafa needs some work too, but that's what TV is for, I guess.
Miz's chair attack on Dexter looked dreadful. Different camera angle may have helped, but the sound of the chair hitting the ramp gave it away. There was clear air between the chair and Mr Lumis. Small observation.
Still a fun show though, overall.
I'm happy Corbin (pun intended) is getting a big push, but I'm not happy JBL is back on TV. Probably my second least favorite talent after Triple H. At least Triple H had cool theme music.
Least favorite for me has to be X-pac. JBL played annoying, pompous asshole pretty well, and he had moments with the APA. He didn't deserve the long title reign he had, especially since he hadn't been built as a single heel that well before Angle and Big Show were out with injury, and Brock had left the company. He would never recover from being seen as a "next option" tv time filler.
I am coming along in my appreciation for Corbin. Not sure why they are giving him JBL as a mouthpiece.
I enjoyed the stuff with the Miz this week. It's always good to see R-Truth get some TV time. Since I am not sure where the story with Lumis is going, this has been fun.
Raw thoughts -
Nobody expected Nikki Cross to have a chance against Belair, but this version of Cross got a bit more offense than I expected.
Lesnar vs. Lashley build continues. Lesnar seemed more of a face, and Lashley really needs a mouthpiece.
Rollins played the face against Theory, who continues to impress in the ring. Rollins gets the crowd singing with his entrance so I guess they went along with it, but I'm not sure its permanent. This was a really good match, and I'd like to see more of them together.
Loved the Roman/Heyman promo. Roman clearly knew he'd have to address the "Ucey" chants from the crowd, and he handled it well. I think WWE has done a great job selling the fact that Logan only needs "one lucky punch", and I am sure Paul will hit it at some point during their match. I am also certain Roman retains. For storyline continuity, it was a good idea for the Miz to come out and play up the guy who beat him, and the crowd always pops when someone punches Miz.
Karl getting the win over Priest seemed like it got cut, and the post match cheap shot by Ripley, then the beatdown by Judgment Day, felt repetitive. I thought they had talked about adding a woman to the OC last week?
JBL's confidence and talent overshadow Corbin. R-Truth deserves better.
The Halloween Trick or Street fight - seeing Bro Riddle dress as Ezekiel was creepy. Gable and Otis doing the Swayze/Farley Chip and Dale dancers was fun - I love how Otis commits. The crowd fully expected someone to wear the Jack-o-lantern, but the visual seeing it on a guy Otis' size worked.
Miz vs. Ali went as expected - Ali wins but due to the fact that Miz was already suffering from the broken jaw earlier, and the distraction from Lumis. But then we get the storyline advancement from Gargano's interview about the Miz initially being in cahoots with Dexter, to get the attention he craves. At least there's an explanation, and I certainly look forward to Miz's denial etc.
Congrats to Asuka and Bliss for the women's tag title win. I didn't expect it.
I also wanted to add - Kevin Patrick and Corey Graves really seem to work together. As jealous as I am of Corey, my heart goes out to him and Carmella as she recently miscarried. That being said, I wasn't sure that Kevin Patrick could handle 1/2 of the Raw commentary table, and he's doing a fine job.
There's not many options that make sense, so the more appealing thing to me would be to run it back from NXT and have Raquel be the equalizer.
Bad timing for Rhea to get hurt as JD was taking shape but she's really found her groove. I can see that they're trying to provide some hints of her being the modern version of Chyna. Rhea is more capable than Chyna was, so that's a promising start if they keep leaning into it.
When Beth storyline recovers from the conchairto, maybe they’ll add her full time to avenge Edge as an added motivation.
Only other thing I can think of and maybe a bit off the wall as not sure of her current status but Charlotte? Her and Rhea have history and a role reversal could do wonders for getting her over.
Last edited by Badger; November 2nd, 2022 at 8:06 PM.
No I think he was saying it was bad timing when she got hurt but now she's finding her groove. I read that too, googled, we're all good!!
I realised after and meant to edit that part out in my post. My bad.
Brings up another point. The Rhea/Dom dynamic. What do you guys think would be a better pay-off if there was one if Dom were to ever go face again and reunite with Rey? Rhea stringing him along for months or Dom actually getting a clue wising up and trying to get Rey’s forgiveness? Or should it be status quo?
Oh by the way @BGMaverick, thought this would be the best place to say it. Though not hit your timezone yet…
Welcome to the 40 club!
Fuck it, gonna do a thread too!
Happy birthday Bart Gunn maverick.
Fantastic!
What's the status quo?
So far I like Dom as a heel. I think he's still pretty early in the heel skin but I know how fast everything moves in wrestling. Personally I would revisit their issues, planting the seeds for a Mania match at Rumble. Both on opposing brands, but Dom eliminates Rey. Slow burn until maybe late Feb where you have them crosspaths because Dom wants to prove him eliminating his dad wasn't a fluke, that he deserves to carry the Rey Mysterio banner and that's what they wrestle for at Mania.
I would have Dom win. Ride that heel wave. Then to turn him babyface he saves his dad from a beating way down the road, maybe setting up something for Summerslam where they reunite. It can't be Rey saving his son, it has to be Dom. I think Dom has potential to really be something but it can't be pops helping you out all the time, you gotta do this shit and save your dad.
Re-reading that back, didn’t word this that well.
Essentially should Dom stay heel or turn back face to be with Rey?
Leaning on riding the heel wave at the moment.
Last edited by Badger; November 3rd, 2022 at 9:19 PM.
Ride the heel wave... If they wanted to, they could go all-in with his heel heat, right up to and including unmasking his own dad in a match.
I think Dom needs to drop the Mysterio from his name and use Ripley.
That would be terrific. And Rhea should call him "Dom Dom"
Quite a few things happened here:
- Mia Yim’s back aligning with OC. Shame for her the crowd was a bit shit and barely reacted. Assuming this will lead to a Survivor Series match.
- Gargano got more evidence on the Miz using a “private investigator” covering as a Hollywood Producer. Cheated to beat Gargano then attacked by Lumis.
- Nikki Cross joins Damage Cntrl for War Games. Beats Dana Brooke for the 24/7 title then trashes…or tries to trash it a la Medusa but missed the trash can lol. At least the belt’s seemingly done with. About time really!
- Theory finally cashed in…..on Rollins and the US title.Convenient how they can change the rules on the belts. But failed thanks to Lashley.
Decent episode but the crowd was pretty rubbish.
That's one way to get the briefcase off him, but at least have Roman destroy him?
Possibly if Vince hadn’t gone bye-bye, they may have had him cash in on Roman but likely still fail.
Where Theory goes from here is anybody’s guess. Hopefully still in the US title mix at least for a bit.
I think he does but the only thing that leaves me iffy is his mic skills need to improve a good amount and he needs to stop doing all of that Eddie stuff, get heat by using your own abilities and not relying on copying Eddied mannerisms and frog splash done in a mocking manner.
I see nothing wrong with wanting to pay tribute to your own father.
Funny how a week or so ago the "news" was that Theory was going to be the first guy to wait the full year to cash in.
Happy Mia Yim is back.
I never get too worked up about people losing their cash in. John Cena, Corbin, those 2 guys lost and their careers were fine. I'd even argue that Corbin has had a better career post-MITB loss. I'm curious if Theory was going to cash in successfully. Not worried in the least. He was featured heavily when Triple H was running NXT and he's been in the mix doing something on Raw ever since he debuted. People should've been more concerned when they randomly called him up during the Thunderdome era for a brief with Angel Garza and Zelina Vega.
That's what gets him heat though is doing the Eddie thing. It pisses people off. No different than Owen Hart stealing Bret's mannerisms, moves, it was done to piss the fans off.
Honestly he's not terrible on the mic but he doesn't exactly come from a tree of good promo ability lol. Rey has never been good on the mic, passable but not good. Dom is right there. He could obviously get better.
Theory looks like a complete idiot for not holding the MITB briefcase until Wrestlemania, and for cashing it in for a title he's already held, not even on a PPV event, but on a nothing episode of Raw.
I really enjoyed the opening promo with the Uso's and New Day. They've had a lot of history, lots of great matches, and they called back to the mutual respect between two of the best tag teams ever. The fact that there'd never have been a KofiMania without the Uso's forfeiting because of their respect, and Kofi should go back and hang with his kids. Kofi responding by how could he be an example for his kids if he didn't take the opportunity to defend their reign. Riddle coming out with his bong bong was fun, and I like his interaction with calling Solo the strong silent type. Everyone got a chance to shine, in a pretty long segment to start the show. Sikoa continues to be booked very well. Looking forward to their tag title match on Smackdown.
JBL's trying to rebuild Corbin is tedious, but at least they're putting the effort into it. Corbin has lost so much he needs a few wins, so Jobber Cedric Alexander got the call.
Rollins comes out for the open challenge, and Judgment Answers, immediately followed by AJ Style and the OC. Seth slinks away, and we get the reveal for their answer to the Rhea problem with a returning Mia Yim. Crowd yawned. Rhea is so much better than Yim.
Elias just beat Otis last week, so Otis got the 50/50 win back.
Set up for the ladies' War Games match still feels meh. I am not feeling Damage CTRL.
Theory's backstage segment with Shelton was fine, and their quick match was done likely to give Theory a win since he loses so much, including last week against Rollins.
The Miz segment and Gargano reveal of the hidden camera footage from the private investigator pretending to be a Hollywood Producer was done well, but what surprised me was that the match that followed was given so much time. Gargano looks tiny compared to Miz, who is not a big man himself compared to many. The finish was creative, Miz needs to cheat to win more, but I won't mind seeing more from these two.
I am probably in the minority as I am sad to see the 24/7 title get retired. Congrats to Mikki, I guess. I hope this doesn't mean Dana will be joining Bianca's team in War Games.
The main event stuff with Rollins played off well, as they had a lot of guys involved. Ali answering the challenge on video, followed by heel Lashley beating him up, then Lashley beats on Rollins before the match, followed by the unsuccessful cash in.
I'm intrigued by the Lesnar-Lashley-Rollins-Theory stuff. Lesnar has basically interacted with all of them over the past few years. I know Lesnar would be on the outside of this whole group but you saw Lashley being the heel at Crown Jewel, Rollins sounding a little like a face last night, and Theory coming out to cash in on Rollins. All before Lashley destroyed him too. It was a pretty bonkers final ten minutes to the show.
Rollins has been a face for a couple weeks. The WWE realized that with the crowds singing along to his theme, they pretty much needed to switch him. His "open challenge" is a face move (as well as the backstage interview saying he made a promise to the people so there will be an open challenge tonight), as was his reminding the crowd that he's been in the WWE for 10 years now.
Fans sing Jericho's theme but he's a heel. (I think.)
I was figuring that and assumed the Lashley heeling it up at Crown Jewel was simply a one-off kinda thing. Of the three who finished on Raw last night where Theory goes after this has me curious. Getting the recent interactions with Rollins, then being on the losing end of a cash in. That, plus wherever Ali fits in if he ever finds his way back from where he got thrown last night.
Lashley is better as a heel than as a face, and he was much better with MVP as his mouthpiece.
Not only do we miss Kevin Owens, since we saw a Shelton and Cedric appear, it made me wonder why we have not seen Tamina, Doudrop, Ciampa, Ziggler nor Roode, Tozawa, nor the Street Profits, in ages.
You just might be the only wondering why Tamina hasn't been on WWE television.
Ciampa is injured. Didn't Ziggler just lose to Baron Corbin a couple weeks ago?
It is pretty interesting we haven't seen Street Profits in over a month. I have a shit memory so I can't think of a non-wrestling appearance like maybe they were backstage mingling with some folks in a segment. But yeah the last time we saw them wrestle was over a month ago when Dawkins fought Solo.
It could just be a matter of giving these guys time off, repositioning them on the card. SP were a staple of the tag division for awhile and I think they have steam left BUT I could also see them going their separate ways.
You'll be happy to know that last night they taped a few matches for Main Event: Wendy Choo v. TAMINA and Xyon Quinn v. her man Tozawa. The fact it was 2 NXT wrestlers, one who hasn't been on tv in a bit (Wendy), makes me think they might be getting called up soon. But what a terrible match for Wendy...Tamina of all people....
Montez is injured.
Various NXT folks have been on Main Event regularly for about a month now. Apparently it's the new thing to let them get experience in front of a real crowd.
So Theory cashes in for the US title during a US title open challenge? Is he going to go to Walmart on Black Friday and ask to pay full price on a discounted TV as well? Or ask to buy a toaster for the price of a TV? Dumb…
Very true. I know they've done it with Kross, Ciampa, Pete Dunne, Bronson Reed, a couple others and then-aside from Reed who was cut-they wound up debuting not too long after. I would love to see Wendy Choo on the main roster, I love that gimmick. Quinn....He has a good look but yeah that's a weird one to have on Main Event. It doesn't seem like they use him very often on NXT.
No, what's dumb is answering an open challenge when a dude on Rollins' level is fresh instead of cashing in after he's had a match. I'll be honest, some of the comments I've been reading that echo yours, I'm not 100% convinced they know how the cash ins usually go. Very very rarely do people cash in on someone fresh, I think only twice have we ever had a winner select a particular date to cash in.
Theory is the type of dude who goes to Wal Mart on Black Friday, waits for everyone to kill themselves over the tv.....and when he grabs one, gets the deal, comes home and it's fuckin broke.
What I'm hoping is we get some kind of explanation as to why he chose the US title. It's funny how in some circles people put the NXT champion Bron on the same level as Roman Reigns, but not the US championship held by Seth Rollins. But it was definitely on some weird shit and I can only hope this leads to something better. He's super young and 90% of cash in World title reigns suck. Triple H will get MITB back to Mania.
That alone can be an angle where he gets the contact back as he did not have to use it and was only answering an open challenge. Miz got his back on a technicality. There is a chance Theory could too.
Yeah, the Theory stuff was pretty daft.
My best guess rationale is because of Roman being part-time now, they’re both heels and maybe HHH doesn’t see Theory the way Vince did that they wanted to get the briefcase him a bit quicker. Still agree it was poorly executed though.
I had seen a report that the planned angle with theory was for him to hold the case until Mania and have a running countdown type of deal. This would lead to theory being in a panic and thinking about cashing in on every male title leading up to some sort of dramatic conclusion. Personally I liked this idea but I guess since they have no intention on taking the title off of Roman soon they decided to just get it off of him.
Corbin had a pretty funny tweet to theory though. Said theory was now part of a special club with him that was led by John Cena.
Oh yeah I'm sure now there's tons of reports about the "real plan" for Theory. Next time someone tells you kayfabe is dead, laugh. Theory has barely won any matches since he got called up. He's a heel. Winning the briefcase doesn't magically turn you into a top guy. Being part of a WrestleMania storyline with Vince doesn't mean Vince wants you to beat Roman Reigns or carry the World title anytime soon.
This is just another example of a guy many people did not care for and suddenly because it was an unexpected approach, there's all these "theories" about Theory and the relationship with Triple H of all people. I'm still waiting for what's next. I'll gladly blow myself if Theory starts doing the job for Mace on Main Event.
Of course it’s all theory (pun kinda intended).From my end I wasn’t suggesting he was likely gonna win the title (I even said earlier he likely may have cashed in and failed) under Vince nor does HHH completely shit on him as he’s still getting regular time and putting on good matches with Rollins. I was suggesting in between the two extremes. Vince may have seen him as an upper card and HHH may not quite see him but still as a good player.
I do agree to see if and how they explain it further but on the surface it doesn’t look that good IMO. Why go after a midcard title and how could that be allowed anyway. I think this is one of those situations where it may have been better served explaining a bit first.
Vince didn't book Theory that strong either. Winning the US title doesn't mean much, that's a title where the man definitely makes the belt. Remember when Apollo Crews won it? Me neither. lol
This is definitely one of those situations where it'll play out. Theory was just in the main event of Raw mixing it up with the top 2 guys on the brand. I'm not worried about the kid. I was more concerned with his original call up 2 years ago than I am now. Especially with how well Triple H booked Theory in NXT. Wins/Losses are just a small part of getting over. Many people were not happy with him being the MITB winner just like with Otis. So they did something out the box and here we are.
The thing is, though, that Theory has looked pretty good in most of his matches. He generally sells very well, his offense looks good, and his quickness is a huge asset. He gets solid crowd reactions. Plus, his confidence in his character is way above his experience level. I was not opposed to his push, because he's done well so far. Becoming the youngest ever US title champ helped showcase him as a prodigy. Immediately after losing it, he wins the MITB briefcase. Until now, his character understood that winning the MITB contract meant a shot at fighting for the title at Mania, or if he picked his spot at the right opportunity like after the Lesnar/Reigns Last Man Standing, he could have what everyone is chasing. He's had very good matches against McAfee, Balor, Lashley and Rollins, and has done well in multi-man matches.
I agree that he won't be jobbing to Mace on Main Event any time soon, but I could see him mixing it up with Kevin Owens or Riddle shortly, as neither is doing all that much right now. Which probably means his near-term future will see him tagging with Corbin against Gargano and Elias.
The title and MITB contract helped him tremendously, arguably more than anyone in recent years. It remains to be seen whether or not the fans will find him at all worthy of our attention without it.
Judging by the lack of pro-Theory comments I would say good luck lol. This is just one of those situations where all the sudden the booking of someone matters. Just like Ali. When he started crying on Twitter, a percentage of fans suddenly became Mustafa Ali fans. Or someone gets released and it's total bullshit despite some of those people never caring one bit about Tucker.
I personally think the US title and MITB hurt him. Who wanted to see him cash in on Roman? If the belts weren't unified he'd probably still be holding the case and had been booked differently. I think there was massive backlash for him winning it and fueled more of the resentment and negativity toward the idea that he was going to be the next top guy.
This is also another scenario where we just have to see how it plays out. I've always felt the MITB cash ins resulted in weak title reigns anyway. Only a few have really benefited from it. More often than not a previous or future reign is more worthwhile than the cash in reign. It didn't kill John Cena. It did kill Sandow lol. But Theory dethroning Roman Reigns would've gone over about as well as Otis going over Brock, Roman, Drew, whoever was the champ when he had it.
Dolph’s cash-in was great. The pop was massive and probably my favourite one next to Edge’s first one. He might’ve had a decent first reign if he hadn’t gotten a concussion.
Oh yeah he might've but he didn't, sadly. That's my point. The cash ins are almost always a nothing reign. Kane, Seth Rollins, and Randy Orton are the only ones who had a decent reign, imo. I wasn't a fan of Orton cashing in on Bryan and the reign itself was imo lackluster but it was a long reign that lead to a huge payoff at Mania 30.
Miz has successfully cashed in, and even though the title reigns weren't great, they weren't supposed to be. It fit his chickenshit heel character very well.
Actually I forgot about The Miz and I liked his first reign I'd call that successful main eventing and winning Mania against Cena of all people.
The 2nd one was simply transitional but IMO more entertaining than the idea of Otis as World champion.
Even though his second title was transitional, the Miz brilliantly used it to put over the fact that he's the only two-time grand slam winner.
But I agree, it was far more entertaining than if clueless face Otis had won.
I guess I'm not even really a fan of MITB. The first two were cool with Edge and RVD. After that....I think when Swagger won it I was just like yeah this isn't for me. There's a reason Santino didn't win the Royal Rumble. If they did away with it I think it would be great.
Theory feels like he's still growing as a character. I feel like he's a little Grayson Waller with a little of the Miz but probably closer to Waller in terms of growth since being pushed as a singles guy. Where they go with Theory from here I don't know. Now that the MITB thing is dead he's just kinda there.
Dude....how can you say he's just "kinda there" when it hasn't been 48 hours since the main event of Raw that he was in??? This whole Generation ADD is what is really killing the business. A slow death but still....I can't even imagine how some modern fans would digest the booking of the 80's where everything took maybe a year to pan out.
I'm intrigued by what's next.
Losing his MITB shot may very well work out for the best.
Even with Corbin and Cena losing with it, the concept is still newish to the point where it's still an almost-guaranteed title win with it. Knocking down the win-rate creates more tension with each future cash-in attempt.
It cleanses some of the Vince-tainted booking of his character (under whom he won MITB). Him being hyped as the 'youngest ever MITB winner ' just has Vince-stank all over it. Now he can move on.
The optimist in me says there's something storyline-wise to him going after Rollins specifically or the US title as opposed to the big belt(s) (which seem off-limits, seeing as how the Bloodline story seems destined to last until a WM match with Rock or a returning Cody, or at least until a 'Bloodline implodes' type of storyline). Make it build as some form of strategy on his part. Hell, get his old pal Gargano (who actually made me care about the meandering motivations behind the Miz-stalker storyline) to do another faux-'60 Minutes' expose on what possessed him to 'blow' his MITB shot on a secondary title. If there's one thing they've been doing in the last couple months, they've been leaning into a bit of continuity, not just week-to-week, but longer term. See where this plays out over the next month or so, then we might be able to properly judge it.
Does it add importance to the IC/US title if you can cash in your MITB on those champions as well? I know it seems odd with how we've been trained to think about wrestling and the World title being the #1 goal. But I definitely think we can come to our conclusions as to why he didn't try on Roman a 2nd time, probably something Triple H and co. will leave to us as fans to decide. Kind of like an open ending movie. Maybe he saw the impenetrable wall that is the Bloodline. Maybe he looks at the NXT championship on the same level as the US/IC titles considering who carries the NXT title versus the others?
I'm way over the whole MITB cash-in thing. It's like a cheap joker card for WWE to say "We dunno what to do so... this!" but ultimately the reign fizzles away and it's onto the next MITB. I'd be fine if they did away w/ the briefcase.
The motivation to turn Rollins seems subtle but it really doesn't make sense as to why it happened. The only thing to grasp straws at is that the crowd plays off his theme. They've been doing that for a while though. It just seems like they're learning into more over recent weeks. It's been for a while but he coerced Lashley into keeping the US championship match on, he won, has been tussling with Ali but is working more as a face. It's interesting.
You Frankenstein Waller's charisma and chops on the mic into Theory's work rate and we are cooking with gas. I like where Theory is at in terms of working but he's had an incredibly convenient path to working the WWE learning curve because he's worked with a ton of top guys wherever he's been at. He's still trying to find his voice and approach when it comes to the talking segments. I know it's been beaten over the head he was the youngest this and the youngest that, but that's important to remember for him in terms of the fact he's still developing. Look at most of the men working on the main roster in terms of their age compared to him, it's quite wide in terms of the age gap.
Last edited by BGMaverick; November 12th, 2022 at 9:14 PM.
They booked it silly last week, but Austin Theory is going to be just fine.
Agree, Theory was redeemed on Raw last night. I always believed they would correct things and not just make him look like some foolish heel.
Though I missed the second half of Raw they are really doing a lot on the show. The booking towards Survivor Series involving Damage CTRL has been slowly cooking and fun to watch. I missed Cross throwing away the 24/7 title after winning it but I guess that is one way to eliminate it. Good riddance.
I didn't like the cash in attempt last week, but I agree, Austin Theory will be fine. When we first saw him with Ziggler backstage, I had even more doubts, because let's face it, everything about Ziggler screams midcard at best. Kudos to Theory for laying the groundwork for his character's development - stop calling me the youngest fill-in-the-blank, don't call me kid, etc. Moving forward to the match - they actually got the crowd to chant "this is awesome" because it was far better than expected from these two. Theory has had several really good matches against top opponents, but this time he showed he could get the great crowd reaction when he wasn't being carried by a better worker. I still think he's damaged because the failed cash-in attempt on a lower belt can't make him look anything but foolish, but this was definitely a step in the right direction. I did like his promo before Ziggler arrived, as he gave credit to how dominant Reigns has been, with the Bloodline always there, or Tyson Fury or Lesnar, so he decided to go for the next best thing.
My oh my, how Riddle has fallen, especially since he beat Rollins in the cage. Now, he's losing to Chad Gable, who never wins singles matches. Very good match, though.
I am not thrilled with JBL playing cards backstage without Ron Simmons. I really wanted him to appear and say "Damn!" after Tozawa beat Corbin in poker.
MizTV segment was terrific, as we've come to expect. The story is moving along nicely. Miz has once again proven he can carry a feud by doing all the talking himself. I am expecting that Dexter beats Miz to get his contract, and Miz moves on to Johnny Wrestling, where Dexter will interfere and help Miz. Because it was this Miz who ultimately helps Dexter get his contract. Dexter being a silent shadow enforcer for Miz can be fun - because the Miz is awesome. I'd love to see Johnny Gargano roll through Miz's history with all his lackeys.
High marks for Dominik in his backstage taped segment with Cathy Kelley and Shelton Benjamin. Dom is really leaning into the sniveling heel role, and the crowd is hating him for it. The quick match itself was also better than expected in terms of crowd reaction. Dom implying that he's better than Uncle Eddie and his father each time he does the shimmy has the crowd going nuts. The way Dom gets the crowd to boo a 619 attempt is amazing. Kevin Patrick on commentary wondering aloud what Eddie would be thinking about Dom made me chuckle, because Eddie was as good a heel as any, and he would clearly be proud of the reactions Dom is getting. Especially considering the reaction comes when working against a guy that never wins, in Shelton Benjamin.
Nobody in the audience cared about Dana Brooke.
Tozawa got a chance to show what he can do against Corbin. Since there is no longer a 24/7 title, we may get to see Tozawa used more like Cedric Alexander.
The Main Event with Rollins and Balor gave the crowd their money's worth. The distraction by the rest of Judgment Day and the OC was expected given they have War Games coming up, and face Rollins gets the pin to make the crowd happy.
I was not expecting Theory to come back to attack Rollins afterwards, but it certainly helped. Did anyone else notice that Theory has ditched the selfie?
Raw was fun this week. Opening promo with Becky going out into the crowd was fun, and I was glad to see Bayley interrupt it. Becky and Bayley are both great both in the ring and on the mic, and they don't need a title to get any more over. Pretty much most everyone else on the women's side needs a title for us to care about what they are or are not doing. Perfect example was next up with Michin Mia Yum and Rhea. The Double DQ interference meant they need the guy's involvement for us to care. I like Rhea but Michin seems forced. Didn't Karl Anderson - who let us know Michin's nickname - used to brag about his HOT ASIAN WIFE?
Glad to see the Street Profits are back and healthy.
I liked the Owens interruption of the Bloodline, while nobody in the audience nor at home believes KO is done with Sami, happy for him, but would be fine to never be in the same room with him.
Candace LeRae gave a promo that she should have given before she hit the main roster. Introduce herself, show some fire, may be will start to care.
I fell asleep for Austin "The Now" Theory's interaction with Rollins. But on watching it again this AM, I am glad we will get more from both of them together.
Lumis winning over the Miz was completely expected by anyone who had been following. Now that Dexter has an "official" contract even though he's been appearing for months, it will be interesting to see where he goes next. Miz moves on to Gargano so Dexter gets....? He needs someone who can do all the talking, so maybe Gable invites him to join Alpha Academy? Gable can praise him as someone who knows how to "Shoooooooooooosh!"
They put a mic in front of Alexa Bliss and she only gives a "Yeah, Becky's great!" but her look, and importantly the fact that commentary brought it up, Bliss may be thinking elsewhere. I hope this means they will use her mic skills better.
The main event with KO and Jey absolutely delivered - these guys completely deserve the time they got. KO surviving 3 superkicks, with all the Bloodline on the outside. KO selling his back throughout the whole match, Jey nursing the broken hand, they used every pause to make every move mean that much more. This is worth watching again.
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