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  • Locked thread
Chris James 2
Aug 9, 2012


Jerusalem posted:

Just cleaned up the OP to be a bit easier to read.

Thank you

SatoshiMiwa posted:

So yeah this kills Bray dead

Forget if I said this in the spoiler thread or elsewhere but essentially my thoughts are: Could have been worse. Yeah, surprisingly, as bad as this was, if this had actually not been Bray-only it would have been Real Bad. Imagine if this was like...Paige's return. Or Asuka's main roster debut. Or Candice LeRae's signing and debut. Or Nikki Cross' callup or something. This would have ruined any of them from the start and there'd have been no coming back from it. For Bray, while this is easily Worst Gimmick of the year, this may not even result in his second-worst match of the year, and even if it was a WMOTY candidate, hey, he's already got 2 or 3 of them this year too, just add it to the pile

Which in itself I think is a good discussion point. Between this, House of Horrors, and Mania Worms, how many people even remember Bray won a world title this year? And there's still 2 more months for even more dumb and bad poo poo involving him in-ring

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Professor Funk
Aug 4, 2008

WE ALL KNOW WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN

Jerusalem posted:

Finn standing there talking about how he could feel the evil emanating from this thing would have been real cool if said thing hadn't been laughably pathetic. As it was it just made him look silly as well which is a shame, since like a week ago or so he casually mentioned wanting another shot at the Universal Title and the crowd was super into the idea (because it's a cool idea).

I mean I think we're probably getting Lesnar/Balor at Survivor Series, right? So Bray/Finn part loving four has to either end with another Finn victory or them just fighting to a no contest and both looking strong

MJeff
Jun 2, 2011

THE LIAR

pressedbunny posted:

He may as well have tapped out to a Nickelodeon sliming.

That fuckin' happened.

Professor Funk posted:

I mean I think we're probably getting Lesnar/Balor at Survivor Series, right? So Bray/Finn part loving four has to either end with another Finn victory or them just fighting to a no contest and both looking strong

Basically. So all of this nonsense is just leading to Bray losing again.

STAC Goat
Mar 12, 2008

Watching you sleep.

Butt first, let's
check the feeds.

As a connoisseur of really bad and cheap horror films that Sister Abigail was easily the lamest poo poo I've seen so far this October.

FUCKFACE MORON
Apr 23, 2010

by sebmojo
I'm glad I missed the Sister Abigail poo poo based on what I'm reading here

Alexander Hamilton
Dec 29, 2008
They reunited the loving Shield and all anyone can talk about is Bray Whatt’s career suicide, hahaha

Big Coffin Hunter
Aug 13, 2005

i can't believe i missed sister abigail when i was making dinner

i will update with my reaction

Big Coffin Hunter
Aug 13, 2005

update: this is dumb and i liked when bray was cajun charles manson back in nxt/fcw

STAC Goat
Mar 12, 2008

Watching you sleep.

Butt first, let's
check the feeds.

Alexander Hamilton posted:

They reunited the loving Shield and all anyone can talk about is Bray Whatt’s career suicide, hahaha

I thought their new shirt was kind of weird looking and then I realized it seems to use the same color scheme and style of the Roman Reigns shirt he was wearing at the start of the show.

SatoshiMiwa
May 6, 2007


Chris James 2 posted:

Thank you


Forget if I said this in the spoiler thread or elsewhere but essentially my thoughts are: Could have been worse. Yeah, surprisingly, as bad as this was, if this had actually not been Bray-only it would have been Real Bad. Imagine if this was like...Paige's return. Or Asuka's main roster debut. Or Candice LeRae's signing and debut. Or Nikki Cross' callup or something. This would have ruined any of them from the start and there'd have been no coming back from it. For Bray, while this is easily Worst Gimmick of the year, this may not even result in his second-worst match of the year, and even if it was a WMOTY candidate, hey, he's already got 2 or 3 of them this year too, just add it to the pile

Which in itself I think is a good discussion point. Between this, House of Horrors, and Mania Worms, how many people even remember Bray won a world title this year? And there's still 2 more months for even more dumb and bad poo poo involving him in-ring

Triplemania happened so Bray may not get WMOTYC but he has gimmick and worst promo locked up and may beat out Roman for overrated too.

And this is hitting Finn too unless they pull a 180 and have him non sell this. His promo later in the show treating this seriously was super bad.

Big Coffin Hunter
Aug 13, 2005

Other random thoughts: I'm annoyed they're already having The Shield face all 4 since I thought this was going to build up between different groups of Miz/Miztourage/The Bar/Braaaauuuun. Also as goofy as the sister abigail thing was I still enjoy the idea of Finn doing crazy rituals to get demon powers even if it's just facepaint. I know it's kind of stupid but that poo poo is totally my jam

Shinjobi
Jul 10, 2008


Gravy Boat 2k
I am ready for the WWE to die.

BWV
Feb 24, 2005


Bray's character is a disease. Everything he has been involved with is made worse. Orton is boring. Lou Harper and the tall genius red head are dead. Finn's demon is now useless, Braun is awesome but just got powerbombed and jobbed to a part time loser. MAKES U THINK

Chris James 2
Aug 9, 2012


By the day I'm agreeing more and more with the "anything good WWE does/did is/was either a mistake, fluke, or not their idea at all" belief

CityMidnightJunky
May 11, 2013

by Smythe
Am I misremembering or when Bray first appeared wasn't he just a backwater cult leader with David Icke-esque delusions of grandeur, with almost none of this supernatural horseshit? It was so much loving better that way.

FUCKFACE MORON
Apr 23, 2010

by sebmojo

Shinjobi posted:

I am ready for the WWE to die.

rare Magic card l00k
Jan 3, 2011


CityMidnightJunky posted:

Am I misremembering or when Bray first appeared wasn't he just a backwater cult leader with David Icke-esque delusions of grandeur, with almost none of this supernatural horseshit? It was so much loving better that way.

When Bray debuted that was the case, then enough people (both in and out WWE) said OH SO HE'S THE NEXT UNDERTAKER and now he's what happens when you go overboard on the wackiness without having the credibility, which is a less cool Kane.

STAC Goat
Mar 12, 2008

Watching you sleep.

Butt first, let's
check the feeds.

Way I remember it he debuted in FCW/NXT as a knockoff of DeNiro's character in Cape Fear and as time went on he developed his swamp cult leader character from that and that's what he debuted with in WWE. There were elements that were clearly meant to freak people out and evoke fear and eeriness. Lights going out and then "appearing" and "disappearing." Spooky imagery. But it seemed to be kept to a psychological play and not step into the Undertaker/Kane supernatural nonsense for awhile. I haven't paid near enough attention to know when.

I also assumed Balor's Demon was just a thing he did to psych himself up for big matches and get in his opponents' heads, but this whole things sounds like its making all kinds of silly implications. Is it just Bray being a big nerd and acting like there's a real demon or is Finn playing along?

Big Coffin Hunter
Aug 13, 2005

There was also a definite Charles Manson influence when he debuted

SamuraiFoochs
Jan 16, 2007




Grimey Drawer

STAC Goat posted:

Way I remember it he debuted in FCW/NXT as a knockoff of DeNiro's character in Cape Fear and as time went on he developed his swamp cult leader character from that and that's what he debuted with in WWE. There were elements that were clearly meant to freak people out and evoke fear and eeriness. Lights going out and then "appearing" and "disappearing." Spooky imagery. But it seemed to be kept to a psychological play and not step into the Undertaker/Kane supernatural nonsense for awhile. I haven't paid near enough attention to know when.

I also assumed Balor's Demon was just a thing he did to psych himself up for big matches and get in his opponents' heads, but this whole things sounds like its making all kinds of silly implications. Is it just Bray being a big nerd and acting like there's a real demon or is Finn playing along?

It's kayfabe not an actual demon. It's Finn both loving with his opponents psychologically and tapping into the darker parts of himself but there's not a literal demon even in kayfabe.

Also I don't care that they're doing this mostly to get Roman over, they got me. Watching The Shield wreck poo poo again was so loving fun and that TLC main is going to be loving awesome. I think part of the reason I enjoyed it so much more than I expected is I get the vibe that Seth, Dean, and Roman are legit geeked up to be teaming together because The Shield was probably the most fun they've ever had. :3:

I think I feel about the Abigail stuff how some of you feel about Jinder. It's objectively terrible but i get some sort of twisted enjoyment out of it, and it doesn't piss me off because it's not being used as a main event angle.

Blasmeister
Jan 15, 2012




2Time TRP Sack Race Champion

the only good part of it is they at least didn't retcon Bray's backstory to make Abigail some woman wrestler who's career they'd also ruin.

Jerusalem
May 20, 2004

Would you be my new best friends?

The Shield reunion is great because if it is ANYTHING like the old way the Shield was run, it's doing the most basic but important poo poo correctly: you highlights strengths and hide weaknesses. The three of them are such a complete package and cover for each other's weaknesses so well, and if they keep with Roman being the big hitter who comes in to put the finishing touches/final blow on their opponents it is probably gonna get him just as over as he was back when they were still a unit.

MJeff
Jun 2, 2011

THE LIAR
lol I see they went back to Kalisto's old music, too. Smart choice.

Chris James 2 posted:

By the day I'm agreeing more and more with the "anything good WWE does/did is/was either a mistake, fluke, or not their idea at all" belief

The good parts of Bray Wyatt that aren't the guy himself were all Dusty, so, yeah.

CarlCX
Dec 14, 2003

Somewhere between Elias/Apollo #8, All-Hands Women's Match #43 and Let's All Punch Bray Wyatt In The Dick #616 I started really deeply feeling the "I should stop watching" blues for the first time in a long time. I dunno, y'all.

Also did Enzo take a dump on the tour bus again or something, because really, what the gently caress.

pressedbunny
May 31, 2007

To A Brand New Galaxy

Sugar Blaster posted:

he basically did earlier in this very same feud.

VJeff posted:

That fuckin' happened.

I sincerely forgot/blocked that from my mind.

Well, I look forward to Bray pinning Finn on top of the Aggro Crag before accepting the Kids' Choice Award for Exemplary Workrate.

MJeff
Jun 2, 2011

THE LIAR
Real talk, an Aggro Crag match would be the best match WWE's done in years.

BrigadierSensible
Feb 16, 2012

I've got a pocket full of cheese🧀, and a garden full of trees🌴.

I want to like Bray Wyatt. But the WWE keeps making it so hard for me.

Its the same with Randy Orton. I want to like him, but then he gets booked so badly/blandly.

STAC Goat
Mar 12, 2008

Watching you sleep.

Butt first, let's
check the feeds.

SamuraiFoochs posted:

It's kayfabe not an actual demon. It's Finn both loving with his opponents psychologically and tapping into the darker parts of himself but there's not a literal demon even in kayfabe.
Wait... do you think I was implying there was an ACTUAL demon possessing the body of Fergal Devitt? Do you think that little of me?

Or are you just clarifying a kayfabe within a kayfabe where the wrestler character of Finn Balor is just working other wrestler characters by saying his demon is real when really he knows its not? I would largely assume that the case but then there's a line that gets crossed with Undertaker or Kane where the "its an act" gets put aside for "no, its for real supernatural magic." I assume Finn is just playing psychological games but Bray seems to talk like he thinks its the supernatural goofy stuff. I'm asking how Finn has played that?

STAC Goat fucked around with this message at 06:40 on Oct 10, 2017

DeathChicken
Jul 9, 2012

Nonsense. I have not yet begun to defile myself.

I remember Bray was more or less writing his own material at the outset. I imagine the writers decided to take over around the point he started to pick up steam (and around the point Cena buried the poo poo out of him)

Jerusalem
May 20, 2004

Would you be my new best friends?

STAC Goat posted:

I assume Finn is just playing psychological games but Bray seems to talk like he thinks its the supernatural goofy stuff. I'm asking how Finn has played that?



I laughed so much during and following that segment.

surf rock
Aug 12, 2007

We need more women in STEM, and by that, I mean skateboarding, television, esports, and magic.
Just got home from attending my first WWE show! It was really cool, the crowd was super into the good stuff and even the mediocre stuff. The only stuff that wasn't getting reactions around me was early in the cruiserweight matches and Bray's promo.

You all were totally right, lower bowl seats are the way to go. I was facing the hard camera so I was on camera a bunch, which isn't really something I wanted but I guess that's cool. Next time though I'm going to be on the other side, the camera's distracting and then the wrestlers will actually be facing me during their promos.

I wanted to share two photos from the show:

First, the Shield reuniting:



Second, the dark match was Dean/Seth versus Cesaro/Sheamus. Before the match started, Seth commandeered Kalisto's armor and ran around the ring doing the lucha chants.

SatoshiMiwa
May 6, 2007


That's the look of man planning on wrestling in the Tokyo Dome in 2019

Lid
Feb 18, 2005

And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.
The Wyatt Family was only created because Bray got injured so they needed a way to keep him on screen when all he had to do was sit in a chair. It worked too drat well

Jerusalem
May 20, 2004

Would you be my new best friends?

Glad you had a good time, and that looks like a cool dark match :)

Justin_Brett
Oct 23, 2012

GAMERDOME put down LOSER
So the Abigail thing was clearly editing the video in post, but how is that gonna work live at TLC? Bray trying to do a falsetto?

GrimGypsy
Mar 27, 2007

lol the bray thing was awesome, bray is awesome

SamuraiFoochs
Jan 16, 2007




Grimey Drawer

STAC Goat posted:

Wait... do you think I was implying there was an ACTUAL demon possessing the body of Fergal Devitt? Do you think that little of me?

Or are you just clarifying a kayfabe within a kayfabe where the wrestler character of Finn Balor is just working other wrestler characters by saying his demon is real when really he knows its not? I would largely assume that the case but then there's a line that gets crossed with Undertaker or Kane where the "its an act" gets put aside for "no, its for real supernatural magic." I assume Finn is just playing psychological games but Bray seems to talk like he thinks its the supernatural goofy stuff. I'm asking how Finn has played that?

The latter. I was explaining that even in wrestling world it's all Finn loving with people and psyching himself up with war paint, in essence. It's not like Kane, Taker, or Bray where he's supposed to be otherworldly.

shiksa
Nov 9, 2009

i went to one of these wrestling shows and it was... honestly? frickin boring. i wanna see ricky! i want to see his gold chains and respect for the ftw lifestyle
you know how in the beginning of the dark knight scarecrow is now a low-level drug dealer doing business in a parking garage

well thats bray wyatt now and finn is one of the idiot amateur hour batmen who's approximately on the same level.

anyway i like the shield and i dont care how calculated and obvious it is i am very into it.

Justin_Brett posted:

So the Abigail thing was clearly editing the video in post, but how is that gonna work live at TLC? Bray trying to do a falsetto?

you can do that live no problem with a microphone. i mean it'll be bad, but the bad weird voice thing you can do easily.

Dimebags Brain
Feb 18, 2013





Do you think they showed Finn the video beforehand so he could practice a reaction? they totally didn't

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Jerusalem
May 20, 2004

Would you be my new best friends?

"Finn we're not going to show you the video because we want a genuine reaction. I showed it to a film student and they were so terrified they fell into hysterical laughter and then started vomiting, so it must be scary!"

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