Vince's segment hyping Bret's return was disappointing

[theHeadliner]

I really thought the Vince segment where he talked about Bret last night would have more of a spark or more pizazz. Vince seemed somber, and of course from a character and kayfabe standpoint he would be, but something like this deserves and needs HYPE!!! Besides that spot and Johnny Damon last week nothing was really done to establish the fact that this is monumental to the WWE and wrestling in general I liked the video package idea to enlighten the little youngster Cena fans on who and what Bret was. I thought they should have done stuff like the video package throughout the whole show, and maybe have different superstars give their thoughts on Bret. They kept mentioning Bret was hosting, but to a 7 year old who has no clue what Bret meant to the WWF it doesn't do any good.

I thought they'd be doing heavy promoting the last 2 weeks about Bret. TNA has been plugging the Hogan thing hard with commercials and advertisements. I liked how Shawn came out. That made me a believer that Shawn and Bret have somewhat worked things out well enough to work together. Thoughts?

 

[Doomsday Device]

WWE is playing it cool. Where TNA would show there little Hogan commercial every 2 minutes if they could. Its like TNA is saying "hey, look at us, we're trying to be a real legit competition to WWE so PLEASE check us out and give us a chance!" Whatever.

Lets not forget Vince is a "face" at the moment. He knows better than anyone that to create emotion and stir shit up heel-mode has to kick in.

This is not even the beggining yet. I cant wait.

 

[Baller]

Posted by Doomsday Device
Lets not forget Vince is a "face" at the moment. He knows better than anyone that to create emotion and stir shit up heel-mode has to kick in.

I don't think Vince is a face at all. On Smackdown he hates on Teddy Long, as he is on probation and threatens to fire him all the time, hence making him the "heel" since Teddy is the face"

Also just because Vince made Bret the guest host doesn't mean Vince turned face also as he still doesn't like Bret (kayfabe), but did it because Shawn wanted Bret to returned.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I thought the segment was alright and they did do a good job of hyping Bret.... the problem was it went on a little long. Vince only needed to do the whole "Next week's guest is.... I can't say it" thing once, it was dumb the other times.

As far as the video package, I think it did a fantastic job on showing younger fans how awesome Bret Hart was. Showing his accomplishments followed by clips of the screwjob was a good idea because it shows what a legend he was AND it leaves people wondering how Bret himself will address the screwjob. You know it's going to come up.

The only part I disagree with theHeadliner's post on was the part on whether they should have done more to hype next week. Bret Hart is a legend among legends, but if they hype it too much then even he wouldn't be able to live up to that hype. WWE is playing it cool, as Doomsday Device said. We are in for an awesome show next week and I enjoyed this segment because it did a decent job of getting fans excited for January 4th's Raw.

 

[Loveless]

For what was a pretty good crowd, that segment didn't get anywhere near the reaction I was hoping for, but I guess that's what happens when your audience is staying up past their bed time. To be honest Vince's segment wasn't particularly well done, it was only when HBK came out that things got really interesting. I can't wait for that showdown.

 

[Doomsday Device]

Compared to Vince's tv character behavior from 10 years ago, he leans more of a face than a heel today. Plus he said "theres nothing I wouldnt do to please the WWE Universe" What heel would say that? Im sure he'll always have heel blood in him. Since he's known more for a heel than face. Its almost hard, or unacceptable, to see Vince as a face.

But this topic is not about that, so I'll stay to the topic.

Since TNA has declared war on WWE/Vince, he has yet no reason to enter in panic mode, but at the same time he will not take this sleeping.

 

[HHHmu]

Bret's been gone 12 years. He might be a "legend" to those who are 25+ years of age who remember him. But, to the knew 'teen' audience' who would of been like 5-10 years old---they don't know him.

I agree, a little more exposure was needed to hype it.

 

[Big Ol' Buckta AIDS]

I thought it was a good segment. Although not huge, it defiantly served its purpose and set up alot of things im looking forward to in the future.

1) It set up Vince as a possible heel again. which is what he should be. Vince as face sucks.

2) It furthered my hope of an undertaker HBK rematch.

3) It also setup HBK and Hitman fued, which would be great to see.

To be honest I hated that little video segment, first Vince says "To all our younger viewers, who dont know who bret hart is" First, even if your 12 or whatever, you should know who the Hitman is. and Secondly it just renforced the fact that the E is catering to kids and that the PG rating is in full effect.
To be honest, I don't think they really needed to do that much advertising for it. Right now, I see the fact that Bret Hart is coming back to the WWE is bigger than Hogan going to TNA, so people who are older i think are going to watch WWE once they hear that, and I mean they only need to hear it once. The kids who are going to watch Raw would watch Raw anyways, so you don't really need to appeal to them.
Another reason they didn't advertise as much is because a huge amount of people watch WWE compared to TNA in the first place. Lets be frank, RAW constantly draws around a 3.0 every week, TNA around a 1.0 With RAW having the bigger audeince to begin with TNA needs to draw from the WWE crowd. Hence the hulk hogan commericals every half an hour on spike and during WWE programming. They put it all on the line and they need this to work. For WWE on the other hand, they have such a huge advantage that they don't really need to worry about grabbing some of the TNA audeince for the upcoming RAW, they just need to go out there and have the show. To me This whole Bret Hart coming back thing is Vinces way of swatting TNA down and not even giving it the chance to become bigger and better

 

[Genius_Deadman]

Compared to Vince's tv character behavior from 10 years ago, he leans more of a face than a heel today. Plus he said "theres nothing I wouldnt do to please the WWE Universe" What heel would say that? Im sure he'll always have heel blood in him. Since he's known more for a heel than face. Its almost hard, or unacceptable, to see Vince as a face.

But this topic is not about that, so I'll stay to the topic.

Since TNA has declared war on WWE/Vince, he has yet no reason to enter in panic mode, but at the same time he will not take this sleeping.

technically (character wise), he takes credit for the Guest Host idea when on cam it was Trump's idea, i think he says that to try to get heat but no one bites. when he said he'd do anything for the fans, i would take that as sarcasm. i think he's closer to heel than face, but hovering above tweener. on SD, he's a heel against Teddy Long. on RAW, he has his face moments (with DX) and his heel moments too.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I thought the segment came off pretty well. Bret Hart's return was hyped well, HBK's appearance was a little unexpected and added a nice little bit of flare to it. It was also nice to see HBK behaving seriously instead of trying to be a 44 year old fratboy.

The segment wasn't overly animated last night and I kind of liked that to be honest. I thought Vince would come out and be his usual, bragadocious Mr. McMahon character but I was pleasantly surprised. The WWE underplayed it to some degree and I don't see anything wrong with that. The WWE doesn't "need" Bret Hart to be successful and that came across last night. The fans are excited to see him back, the WWE just isn't going overboard about hyping him. Truth is, Bret Hart doesn't really need all that much hype. People have been clamoring for him to be a part of wrestling for so long that just hyping the crap out of it by ramming it down our throats just isn't necessary.

 

[Jetspete]

first, i felt the video package was sorely needed. Twelve years is a lot of time. But seriously, in the middle of this important Bret Hart hype why is Shawn Michaels interrupting to talk about the Undertaker? that was a complete waste.

And secondly, four years ago the WWE did a program over how Shawn had moved past the whole Bret Hart thing? remember he called vince out on it and that led to the Vince/HBK feud. If anything Bret and Dx should each be doing their own things or Shawn should be trying to repent for helping screw Bret.

Overall i give the segment a 6 out of 10. it went too long, had a worthless undertaker reference and gave us little indication about what "good" things Michaels meant.

 

[Stuntz]

first, i felt the video package was sorely needed. Twelve years is a lot of time. But seriously, in the middle of this important Bret Hart hype why is Shawn Michaels interrupting to talk about the Undertaker? that was a complete waste.

And secondly, four years ago the WWE did a program over how Shawn had moved past the whole Bret Hart thing? remember he called vince out on it and that led to the Vince/HBK feud. If anything Bret and Dx should each be doing their own things or Shawn should be trying to repent for helping screw Bret.

Overall i give the segment a 6 out of 10. it went too long, had a worthless undertaker reference and gave us little indication about what "good" things Michaels meant.

IMO the reason HBK came out and requested the match was to show he doesnt care about Bret. After Vince told him he wasnt going to make the match it pissed Michaels off, so the wheels started turning in that little head of his. That is why he made reference to "good things happening" with the return of Bret. Something is coming and I believe we will all be shocked. Overall I enjoyed the whole segment, well written and well played by both parties involved. Now we just have to wait a week to see what they are gonna throw at us, me i am hoping for a curvebal out of now were(which im sure they will deliver)

 

[KBeef]

I myself liked the segment,
Now the only issue I have will be next week, Why not have this in Canada?
The crowd reaction would be AMAZING! I think they in Ohio next week

I dont think the crowd reaction will be that great and the HBK/Hitman confrontation wont get as much reaction as it should deserve.

But hey maybe it works out, time will tell

P.S Hogan pins Joe clean next week

 

[Toroc102]

Ehh, it was alright, nothing spectacular, I thought it kind've sucked that the crowd really wasn't into it though. Also that package was recycled(not that it matters)Its been used quite a few times.

The thing that really sucks is that since Vince has kind've imo been driving all the older fans away as of late and really putting the focus on the kids(every time I think about that it makes me think of him as a pervert(more so), Wrestling is a man's show dammit) Bret's return isn't as big as it should be. It there's anything to be said about TNA its that their limited fan base is full of Hardcore fans, unfortunately for them the Hardcore fans will probably be watching Raw for Bret and possibly avoiding TNA because of Hogan.

 

[MizMark]

Bret's been gone 12 years. He might be a "legend" to those who are 25+ years of age who remember him. But, to the knew 'teen' audience' who would of been like 5-10 years old---they don't know him.

I agree, a little more exposure was needed to hype it.

Really? I was 8 at the time of the Montreal Screwjob and I know who Bret Hart is, I know what the Screwjob was and I understand how big of a deal it is for Bret to be coming back.

The only people who won't know who is he are the 5-10 year olds now, and even then their parents might be able to enlighten them.

I thought the segment was good, and the crowd was hot for Hart at the start. It's such a pity that WWE dropped the ball so to speak in regards to the venues in the run up to Mania. I had a brief look a week ago and they it is all in the south. WWE needed a MSG/Philly/Toronto/Montreal for Bret's return, or even just a Raw before Mania, but I'm not sure that they go to any of those, which is a huge shame. Hart returning in Canada would have been f'ing awesome to watch.

(every time I think about that it makes me think of him as a pervert(more so)

WTF?! Because he is doing the right thing and focusing on the next generation(future) WWE fanbase?

Wrestling is a man's show dammit

W-World. W-Wrestling. E-Entertainment. The entertainment aspect covers this, it isn't just a wrestling company, it's an entertainment one, look at the movie releases etc.

Bret's return isn't as big as it should be

I agree, but that isn't just down to PG programming, far from it. Leave anything 12 years and some people will stop caring/some people(kids) won't even know what went on. Also, if this return was in Canada it would be HUGE, like I posted earlier, WWE dropped the ball there IMO.

It there's anything to be said about TNA its that their limited fan base is full of Hardcore fans, unfortunately for them the Hardcore fans will probably be watching Raw for Bret and possibly avoiding TNA because of Hogan

I don't think many will want to avoid Hogan, I'd say more new viewers will tune in to watch him that regular ones tune out because of him, but you are right, TNA is going to get battered in the ratings, partly because Bret Hart is going to draw some of their regular viewers away, partly because Raw is going to draw huge and partly because TNA has moved to a different night, and is being shown again in the regular slot, regular viewers can just stick to the normal and watch it then, and watch Bret return on Raw.

 

[the_jaf]

I think the segment was done well.

Here's what I think:

You guys think the whole "Undertaker" reference from HBK was useless and didn't make sense. I don't think so, i'll tell you why. HBK indicates nothing but good will happen if Bret comes back. Well, HBK gets Bret to make the match for Wrestlemania against Undertaker, only with a different stipulation. Bret is the special referee. (Unoriginal possibly but hear me out).

Bret is the special referee for the match and does either one of two things:

1. Bret "Screws" the Undertaker and HBK wins ending Undertaker's streak, or;
2. Bret "Screws" HBK out of ending the Undertaker's streak, getting even for Montreal 1997.

I think scenario 2 is more likely. I would hate to see HBK and Bret on the same page, them being rivals is definitely more appealing. I absolutely believe that Bret would have to be involved with HBK at WM in some fashion (and even McMahon in that matter) and the seeds were planted last night.

 

[MizMark]

I think the segment was done well.

Here's what I think:

You guys think the whole "Undertaker" reference from HBK was useless and didn't make sense. I don't think so, i'll tell you why. HBK indicates nothing but good will happen if Bret comes back. Well, HBK gets Bret to make the match for Wrestlemania against Undertaker, only with a different stipulation. Bret is the special referee. (Unoriginal possibly but hear me out).

Bret is the special referee for the match and does either one of two things:

1. Bret "Screws" the Undertaker and HBK wins ending Undertaker's streak, or;
2. Bret "Screws" HBK out of ending the Undertaker's streak, getting even for Montreal 1997.

I think scenario 2 is more likely. I would hate to see HBK and Bret on the same page, them being rivals is definitely more appealing. I absolutely believe that Bret would have to be involved with HBK at WM in some fashion (and even McMahon in that matter) and the seeds were planted last night.

Michaels v. Taker w/Bret Hart as special referee would draw HUGE.

BUT, the biggest problem is that could you really have a worked screwjob finish in such a massive match? I mean IMO it would tarnish the legacy of the Undertaker, if he would have lost the match unless Bret Hart had helped him, and 18-0 wouldn't be as sweet as it should be. It either has to be a clean win or loss or nothing at all IMO.

 

[the_jaf]

Don't you think that a screw job ending at a marquee match would be more effective than a screw job on a lesser marquee match? Undertaker had his clean win last year (not to mention most of his wins in WM), I don't think they would have a clean win ending again this year especially if they have Bret referee.

It's almost certain that Bret would dish out some sort of of "payback" if he's in that role. Going with the route of screwing HBK out of beatign the Undertaker is a good choice since HBK has been so hell bent of beating the Undertaker. HBK gets screwed, Bret gets even with HBK which provides some sort of closure between the two and Undertaker preserves undefeated streak.

 

[TLC]

I thought the segment came off pretty well. I actually liked the segment and thought it did a pretty god job of hyping Bret's return and got me pretty excited for it. I kind off expected HBK to come out but I also liked that and thought it was good that he acted normal and like his DX self.

I'm also glad that they didn't go too over the top with it. Vince was also good that he didn't act like this normal ass of himself which I was actually kind off shocked about that too be honest. WWE didnt go too over the top with it which will make me more excited to see him back. If they hype the fuck out of him kind off like how TNA are doing with Hulk Hogan i'd get fucking sick off him and not want to watch it. This way we're not getting everything in one which will keep us interested and actually tune in too see it.

 

[WWEIsLife]

I thought the Segment came off good. It got me even more pumped for The Hitman's Return Next Monday on RAW and I can't wait for the Bret/HBK Showdown. Its been 12 Years in the making and anyone remember JR saying at Survivor Series in 1997 We Will Never See It Again. Well never say never in the Wrestling Business because its happening. I too thought Vince would come out acting heelish but he didn't last night and HBK's line about Only Good Things will happen was very interesting. I loved the Video Package and it brought some tears to my eyes bringing back the Memories of my Favorite Wrestler of all time. I cannot wait for Next Week.

 

[Steamboat Ricky]

What did you want to happen? Did you want Bret to come out, beat up Vince, then challenge Shawn to an impromptu match?

I was more engaged with that segment than with any wrestling segment that I can readily recall. He announced it...then reneged...playing it off as a swerve against the IWC. Then Shawn came out...which was huge. It was all that you could have imagined within proper reason. Bottom line: A great segment that did exactly what it was intended to do...convince people to watch next week.

 

[xXSlater420Xx]

I think the segment was done well.

Here's what I think:

You guys think the whole "Undertaker" reference from HBK was useless and didn't make sense. I don't think so, i'll tell you why. HBK indicates nothing but good will happen if Bret comes back. Well, HBK gets Bret to make the match for Wrestlemania against Undertaker, only with a different stipulation. Bret is the special referee. (Unoriginal possibly but hear me out).

Bret is the special referee for the match and does either one of two things:

1. Bret "Screws" the Undertaker and HBK wins ending Undertaker's streak, or;
2. Bret "Screws" HBK out of ending the Undertaker's streak, getting even for Montreal 1997.

I think scenario 2 is more likely. I would hate to see HBK and Bret on the same page, them being rivals is definitely more appealing. I absolutely believe that Bret would have to be involved with HBK at WM in some fashion (and even McMahon in that matter) and the seeds were planted last night.

That got me thinking maby at WM26 we could be looking at a repeat of Summer Slam 97, only roles reversed HBK vs Taker w/ Hart as the special ref. Kinda bringing the whole HBK-Bret Hart rivalry full-circle maby? Seeing as tho SS was what began their whole feued.

But on to the topic, I think that the way it was handled by Vince lastnight was appropriate considering the situation. To him its business as usual, to a point I guess. Shawn coming out and feeding into it just adds to the anticipation. I think everyone was expecting Vince to go all out with it to really trump TNA, but by this point he really doesnt need to do that. He knows TNA dont stand a chance, espically if they are just going to replay the same show 3 days later. Now all he has to do is wait untill Monday comes and see what TNA comes out with and go from there.

Plain and simple the next 4 months in wrestling are going to be simply AWESOME.

 

[Tastycles]

I'm sorry, but what did you expect. Bret Hart isn't here yet, that's the point. To announce that someone will be on the show next week is an inherently boring statement, with a known outcome. Vince got as much entertainment as possible out of it, aided by Shawn Michaels, who was on rare form. The whole thing dragged on a bit, but seriously, how exciting can the statement "Bret Hart will be the guest host next week" be, without having Hart himself appear? Not very and that is why the segment was fine.

 

[elyoco02]

There is 1 more extremely interesting thing that could be taking place while Bret is back in the WWE. Since Bret will be back for Wrestlemania, could this be the year that he inducts his brother Owen into the hall of fame? Of all the scenarios we are trying to play out with Bret's role in the WWE, I think his chance of inducting Owen this year are very high....

 

[Razz]

There is 1 more extremely interesting thing that could be taking place while Bret is back in the WWE. Since Bret will be back for Wrestlemania, could this be the year that he inducts his brother Owen into the hall of fame? Of all the scenarios we are trying to play out with Bret's role in the WWE, I think his chance of inducting Owen this year are very high....

Well with a rumored Hart Family DVD coming out its possible Owen, Davey Boy and Stu could and should get inducted. That would be cool, but I have my doubts because of the problems between Owen Hart's wife and WWE I believe. Also Diana Hart had some problems with Bret but I don't know if their resolved. I would also like to see Dynamite Kid get inducted even though his WWE career wasn't that long he had was a major impact on wrestling. The Anvil might also be a longshot although he would probably get in eventually if Koko B Ware can (no disrespect). I think next year's WM is in Toronto so that might be bigger to induct them in Canada.