SamuraiFoochs posted:

This too. Also goddamn, rewatching it, everything about that first Shield segment was perfect. Everything. Crazy Ambrose flying around like a madman beating up 3MB and GRINNING AS HE DID IT, Reigns spearing Slater out of loving nowhere to huge "Roman Reigns" chants, that Ambrose promo being...well, what it was, Reigns cutting a legit cool promo and possibly the best of his career, the mic drops...it was great.

Also I want Crazy Face Ambrose for at least like, six months. As others have said, it's such a breath of fresh air to have an unhinged face in WWE. It's so much fun.


This part I agree with. Cole being there was the biggest flaw.

Also wait a second, does this make Dean Ambrose the #3 face in WWE in 2014 with Bryan on the shelf?

sportsgenius86 posted:

triplexpac posted:

They did this when they unified the titles too. I think it's just their way of saying "look, I know we've hosed you on a ton of finishes lately, but we won't this time I promise!!"

Yaya posted:

Didn't Edge look good after feuding with Cena?

Big Bidness posted:

I'm going to Raw next week for the first time in a decade. Do they do any matches before Raw starts, like for Main Event or whatever? Just wondering what time I should get there.

quote:

Adam Rose being off Raw this week is an indication already that they are cooling off on the character. Vince McMahon, who makes all the key choices, isn’t the easiest one to get to accept new people as main players. He’s said not to be completely sold on any of the recent characters. Bo Dallas’ push is still continuing on almost every show. Kevin Dunn apparently buried Rose and Vince isn’t sold on him either. That’s why Paige has the title but little character developmental has been done her. Dunn right now is a huge proponent of Fox, so her gimmick will continue to be featured.

Memento posted:

Which will a) probably be an awesome match and b) mean that the titles are going to end up on Orton or Cena, with a very small outside chance of Cesaro.

Sex Robot posted:

I knew he was injured, I was more wondering if they'd told him to take his time coming back in the name of the storyline. The way they're doing this PPV with staggered qualifiers I get the feeling they're keeping the door open for Bryan to suddenly get a spot to reclaim the title.

Shima Honnou posted:

I know, it's weird. Brodus, Camacho, and especially Yoshi have been on NXT a decent amount lately. JTG must know where the bodiesbottles of used HGH and steroids are all buried or something.

quote:

In the case of Teddy Long, his WWE contract expired. He had been taken off TV for some time and it was well known in the company that he was going to be departing the company.

In the case of Yoshi Tatsu, there was a feeling for some time that he had really regressed in the ring. The company had attempted to find another role for him, including trying him out as a ring announcer in NXT.

Regarding Brodus Clay, the feeling among those I've spoken with is that he fell out of favor with creative, which was obvious when they broke up his team with Tensai and then did nothing with him. His final appearance for the company was putting over NXT champ Adrian Neville on TV, which was a sign there wasn't a plan for him going forward.

We haven't heard much in the way of Evan Bourne's release but he hasn't wrestled in a long time on the main roster after being hurt in a car accident while he was out on a Wellness suspension. There was always a ton of potential for him in the ring but the timing was never in his favor.

The departures of Curt Hawkins and Camacho were the biggest surprises amongst people in the company we've heard from. Camacho was extremely popular within NXT circles and had a strong charisma and was well spoken in recent appearances. Hawkins had several more years on his current deal and had been considered a good hand in the ring, although he had not been utilized beyond putting people over in recent months.

Hawkins has a school he opened in Long Island, so he was already preparing a "Plan B" for himself and will likely get a ton of indy work in the Northeast.

The belief is there may me a few more releases among the wrestlers, but when releases happen, paranoia does kick in and everyone begins to freak out, so we will see.

quote:

There had been people waiting for this since she injured Naomi several months ago, but then it didn't happen.

xNarUtoRKOrton420x posted:

Brodus actually had this planned out all along, he's a main event playa!

MY GOD TAZ WHO'S THAT ATTACKING ERIC YOUNG!?

CapnAndy posted:

Is there any reliable word yet on how long Bryan will be out?

CapnAndy posted:

Christ on a sidecart.

Was it actually the five goddamn piledrivers that did this? Kane's usually mega-safe, I thought.

Teddybear posted:

Are any of them on Smackdown? It would be kinda funny to see them job after they've been jobbed out of the company.

maxallen posted:

When I went to Raw a couple weeks ago in Knoxville, 3MB came out to massive boos, I was about the only one cheering.

I still don't understand why people were booing, or how 3MB had so much heat. That's my 3MB story. Has PWInsider or anyone reported on why they were fired?

rip

quote:

An episode of Black Friday came a day early this week.

WWE has not have a massive release of talent in a long time, to the point the only talent that had been let go were usually people whose contracts had expired and weren't being used.

The number of releases are likely a casualty of cost cutting since the company was projecting losing $45 million to $52 million thi year.

Names released so far today are:

Aksana - She never really improved past a certain level as a wrestler. With Alicia Fox breaking up the team this week, there was no apparent role for her. Then again, Rosa Mendes seems to have survived with even less of a role and more drama.

Evan Bourne - He hadn't been used in seemingly years, since a serious foot injury put him out for a long time. It's probably the best for all concerned because if he is healthy, and he was cleared some time back, he could be a very strong addition to either a TNA or ROH roster. They clearly had no interest in using him for a long time.

Camacho - He had been used only in NXT of late and had no role since Hunico became the second Sin Cara.

Brodus Clay - He was turned heel, but then his character was dropped. He also had done a program in NXT with champion Adrian Neville and made one recent appearance on Raw in a run-in.

Marc Harris - A referee

Curt Hawkins - A wrestler who had rarely been used. Few even remembered he was still with the company except he did a recent NXT match. He's opened a wrestling school recently.

Teddy Long - A very good television performer and talker. With The Authority storyline, a babyface GM role didn't fit. At one point they had a storyline started with he and Booker T, but everything was dropped cole and he hadnt been seen at all. There was no television role in the company for him at ths point.

Jinder Mahal - Someone they were somewhat high on but he didn't do anything to stand out on the main roster.

Drew McIntyre - McIntyre fell victim to the Chris Masters syndrome. He was a tall guy with a good body and a good look who they thought would be a superstar, so they pushed him super hard and the fans rejected the push. In time, he turned into a very good performrer, but they'd treated him like a joke in booking by that point for too long. 3MB was as good as it could have been given they were booked like the ultimate buffoons. And that role does give you limited upside mobility and shelf life. In his case, having been on TV in this role for so long, even though he's really talented, I don't know if there is a place for him past working indies, and in Europe he probably can do well. New Japan is already overloaded with foreigners and right now he's not what TNA needs, with the idea of pushing a guy coming directly off years as a WWE joke character.

Yoshi Tatsu - Another good wrestler who they had lost interest in. He was very over at least in appearance in his rare NXT appearances. But developmental isn't a place for a wrestler in his late 30s.

oatgan posted:

I'm sure their salaries will make a huge dent in those 50 million dollars of losses

Mr. Carlisle posted:

Are any of those guys going to come in demanding a huge amount of money though? Seems now even more than ever WWE pretty much has the leverage to pay guys whatever they feel they're worth and I can't imagine WWE thinking any of those guys are huge moneymakers at first look being that they don't think like 90% of their active roster will make them any money.

Mr. Carlisle posted:

I wonder if Alberto Del Rio sells much merch being that pretty much nobody cares about him and the best most people can muster is a shrug when asked about his character.

NienNunb posted:

There are no more constants in Professional Wrestling. The streak is dead, JTG isn't employed. Tomorrow Test is probably gonna stop being dead.