What are we really Mad About?

[123NewChamp]

What's up everyone:

I've Been meaning to post this since last week, but finally getting to it. I want to know what are we really mad about concerning the Royal Rumble? Is it the fact that Roman Reigns won the rumble? or was it the way that WWE set it up for Roman Reigns to win by getting rid of Daniel Bryan Early?

Honestly I point the finger towards WWE and blame the result on how WWE set it up for Reigns to win the rumble. Fans were just cheering for Roman Reigns on Smackdown and then when Daniel Bryan got eliminated way too early, the world just turned against him.

I'm pretty sure if Daniel Bryan would've stuck around in the rumble, and it came down to him and Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, and Dean Ambrose, rather than Reigns vs. Kane and Big Show and the field narrow down to Bryan and Reigns, then if he would've won, then it wouldn't of gotten such a negative reaction. A lot of good guys gotten booed because of WWE's decision to have Bryan eliminated early from the Royal Rumble.

WWE basically told us way early into the match who was going to win. Hello WWE everyone got access to the spoilers and other than Bubba Ray Dudley being a surprised entrant into the Royal Rumble, the Royal Rumble was a bust. And one of the big 4 pay per views is surely losing it's integrity. This is the 2nd year in the role that fans were outraged about the Rumble. And honestly I thought about getting the Pay Per View on the WWE Network but thank God I didn't get it. The Royal Rumble and WWE is getting too predictable and is not the same anymore.

But I'm not mad at Roman Reigns winning the Rumble, I'm just mad at how it was done. What are your thoughts?

 

[Zycho32]

Just totally mad at Creative. Not particularly about going with Reigns overall over Bryan (though I find the potential Main Event story juicier involving Bryan), but that they can't even do their fucking job right.

I want you to imagine an Alternate World, where Reigns lays waste to the Authority like a true Guerrilla fighter after Seth Rollins shatters the Shield. I want you to imagine Reigns blasting the hell out of Kane and Randy Orton, only to turn to Rollins when his remaining brother is taken down. I want you to imagine, instead of constant dreary interviews during his recovery, you get 30-to-45 second vignettes showing grainy footage of operations, workouts, relentless training. Silent, purposeful, relentless. The Titan WILL return.

I want you to imagine that he doesn't win that Slammy, but instead crashes the Podium, grabs Paul Heyman by his necktie, and promises pain for Brock Lesnar. I want you to imagine that he keeps his words to a minimum while he simultaneously tries to defend all his 'allies' from the scattered remnants of the Authority. I want you to imagine that he is part of the 'punished', not to be fired but to be humbled by Rollins, or so the attempt will go. I want you to imagine that he goes through the Big Show like a wrecking ball through a brick wall and retires the Giant thoroughly.

Booking is responsible for why Reigns is actually behind what his projections should have been(even accounting for the supposed 'casual viewer' increase since he won the Rumble). Either they mucked up his character on the mic, or made him too much of an underdog when he should've been Goldberg, or left him entirely out of the juicier plotlines, especially when they involved him being on the losing side.

It's very telling when you have to deprive the Rumble of nearly every interesting angle and plot out there in order to make your hand-picked Artificial Superstar look bright.

 

[Hillali2]

Just totally mad at Creative. Not particularly about going with Reigns overall over Bryan (though I find the potential Main Event story juicier involving Bryan), but that they can't even do their fucking job right.

I want you to imagine an Alternate World, where Reigns lays waste to the Authority like a true Guerrilla fighter after Seth Rollins shatters the Shield. I want you to imagine Reigns blasting the hell out of Kane and Randy Orton, only to turn to Rollins when his remaining brother is taken down. I want you to imagine, instead of constant dreary interviews during his recovery, you get 30-to-45 second vignettes showing grainy footage of operations, workouts, relentless training. Silent, purposeful, relentless. The Titan WILL return.

I want you to imagine that he doesn't win that Slammy, but instead crashes the Podium, grabs Paul Heyman by his necktie, and promises pain for Brock Lesnar. I want you to imagine that he keeps his words to a minimum while he simultaneously tries to defend all his 'allies' from the scattered remnants of the Authority. I want you to imagine that he is part of the 'punished', not to be fired but to be humbled by Rollins, or so the attempt will go. I want you to imagine that he goes through the Big Show like a wrecking ball through a brick wall and retires the Giant thoroughly.

Booking is responsible for why Reigns is actually behind what his projections should have been(even accounting for the supposed 'casual viewer' increase since he won the Rumble). Either they mucked up his character on the mic, or made him too much of an underdog when he should've been Goldberg, or left him entirely out of the juicier plotlines, especially when they involved him being on the losing side.

It's very telling when you have to deprive the Rumble of nearly every interesting angle and plot out there in order to make your hand-picked Artificial Superstar look bright.

Amen to that.

Sums up exactly how I feel. Expletives and all. In the end it doesn't really matter who won the rumble. People just don't want to see roman reigns forced down their throat and turned into John Cena mark 2. There are a million ways they could have got reigns over at the rumble. Lazy creative and incomprehensible booking.

 

[CyberPunk]

I won't say I am mad, but I very disappointed in how the whole lead up to Rumble went down, including Rumble itself. On one hand, they want Reigns to be the next big thing. On the other hand, they took everything that got Reigns over away from him. They kept on putting him in lackluster stories and tried turning him into Cena 2.0. Instead of being the hound of justice who'd silently kick authority's ass, he got his ass handed to him by none other than Big Show. Try as much as you want, you can't make Reigns look an underdog. He was supposedly a one man army and they turned him into a corny joke teller. On top of that, they pissed over all the popular babyfaces on the roster to try and make Reigns look good. No logic, no rhyme, just poor creative decisions.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

What are people mad about? They're mad at the grim reality that Wrestling, the thing they love, got into and want to see has now become "just another TV Show". Fans are used to their input mattering to an extent, who they like being rewarded with prominent placing and those who they hate being made heel. Bryan getting into Mania and Batista's turn last year was the best example of this...

WWE has, in this case laid down a clear marker "This is a TV show, we write it, make it...you only watch it...if you don't like what we give you, we KNOW you're hooked and will watch anyway cos you put up with Cena for 10 years...if not stop, we don't care..."

That is what has so many people mad... Live crowds are mad because they now know their hundred dollar ticket doesn't buy them a say in the product... Network fans know they are just a number and a multiple of 9.99 and IWC fans know that all their pontificating, debate, hate, even their loves mean exactly dick to VKM...

Wall Street are mad, but that's a different story... working Wall Street like just another mark is a big issue WWE is gonna face... forget the roid trial, or the concussion suits... if any of the SEC stuff gets traction... then WWE is in big trouble.


But look at how they handled Rumblegate this year, acknowledged it but basically told the fans outright... tough shit... When those reactions happened they used to be dismissed as "Bizzaro-land"... Perhaps people are mad because they realised it's NEVER been any different and they just got sucked into thinking they had a say all along.

 

[Navi]

I'm not mad I'm more disappointed in the way I see things going. You have the most over guy on the roster in Daniel Bryan and the WWE doesn't really give a damm about him, or how the fans will react when they think he's being treated unfairly.

You have a guy like Dena Ambrose who has worked his ass off, got himself over and gets the same deal as Bryan. Ambrose got sent over the top rope like a bag of garbage. Ditto Ziggler. All the crowd favourites where treated like shit.

Then you have Roman Reigns the winner. Here's a wrestler who has the look of a champion. The physique of a Greek God, women love him, and they can't book him for shit. There are reason's for that. His in ring work needs well work, and he can't talk on the mic, but shit he looks impressive just standing there.

Not only that with one fell swoop they have ruined him. They have killed any momentum he had with horrible scripted promo's. He's been put in a position when he'll get boo'd or ignored in almost every town he goes into now. The worst part about it is the WWE doesn't care enough, or know enough to do anything about it. Once fans turn on someone it's very hard to get them back. I think his run might be over.

What Pittsburgh did last year to Batista, Philadelphia just did to Roman Reigns. Was it his fault, no it wasn't, but he's the one standing in the ring, not the writers or Vince McMahon, and when the heat comes down it comes down on the guy standing there front and centre.

The way the fans have been treated is a joke as well. Some think they aren't important but they are. They are the ones paying the bills at the end of the day. They are the ones in the audience that these wrestler's play too. Don't insult us by treating us like idiots. The WWE doesn't think we know why the Rock was in Philly, and why he ran out to save his cousin. He showed up just at the right moment, to try and deflect the heat from Reigns and it didn't work, not for a second. Fans saw through that and continued booing.

Reigns will almost need a miracle now to get himself ready in the next couple of months. The fans will be a hurdle for him, one he didn't need to get over, but it is what it is.

Someone said on another post and this is true. You shouldn't be hoping that going for the WWE Title will make you a star, you should be a star first before you even are considered worthy of holding it. Reigns star is on the rise, or was on the rise, now if he fails, it will be the most spectacular failure in recent memory. So you see I'm not mad just really disappointed.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

You see Ambrose getting himself over... I see him being pushed constantly since his debut... Every stable has the Must, Want and Bonus guy to get over... Ambrose was the must coming in... he got most of the mic time and the focus of the Shield, got the US title for the 4th longest in history and all the "push" early in the Shield's run as the "leader".

Reigns was the guy they wanted over.. Rollins the bonus... that the latter has worked so well has put the pressure on them with Reigns... certain "promises" would have been made to him and from his side, as much as these guys are his friends and they've come up together, he'll want what he was promised and he is now getting it...

The fans won't care about this, only that they want what they want... They don't care if Vince doesn't rate Bryan, cos they do... He can keep Cena and Reigns prominent, but the fans want their choice to be the main guy... when Vince is basically putting out a TV show to compete with Gotham for example, which runs at the same time.

Look at that show, you have characters you love to see more of like Penguin and Bruce and Alfred (or rather Batkid), who is going great and those you hate to see like Fish Mooney or Barbara... all are integral to the story and the product, but they nailed their colours with the show being about Gordon... they CAN 180 it by setting Season 2 3 or 5 years down the line and have Bruce be a late teen, all ninja'd up or make Penguin the Joker which everyone is clamouring for... but it would ruin the carefully built product. Rightly or wrongly, that's how Vince feels about Bryan... it'd be making Gotham about 16 year old Batman or turning one villain into another to appease fans rather than letting all of them get their due in the proper time...

It worked for WWE in the late 90's you had Rock, Austin, Foley and Trips and Jericho all get there, one per year... each one helped build the next... They all couldn't have the title at once so they had to stagger it... Trips waited a LONG time for his moment but arguably came out best, so perhaps Ambrose has to this time...or even Bryan.

 

[Aquaman6686]

I don't think the anger is directed solely at Daniel Bryan's elimination. It's also for the eliminations of Dolph Ziggler, and Dean Ambrose. Hell, at the end of the match, fans were cheering Big Show and Kane. They wanted ANYONE but Roman Reigns to win. A returning Sheamus or Randy Orton or Rob Van Dam could have won the Rumble to an EARTH-SHATTERING reaction. The crowd wasn't pro-Bryan or pro-Ziggler or pro-anybody, they were anti-Reigns. There's a difference. Fans in Philadelphia, New York, New Jersey, Chicago, and one or two other places, we don't like being told who to like and who not to like. We'll cheer for the guys who EARN it, not the ones shoved down our throats week in and week out. But other areas and other crowds follow the example of the vocal ones. Roman Reigns is going to get overwhelmingly negative reactions from now on, unless WWE does something completely unexpected and drastic. We crapped all over Reigns because he's not ready to be a headliner and EVERYONE knows it. He's a midcard guy with no personality being thrust into the main event spotlight, and fans are being told, "You don't want to cheer for him? Too bad. F*ck you. You're going to get Roman Reigns night in and night out, and you're going to LOVE IT."

WWE knows the fans hate Reigns, and they don't care. The fans want Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler in the main events, those are the guys we will PAY to see. Nobody pays money to see Roman Reigns. But WWE is insisting on keeping Reigns in that spot, whether people want him there or not. It's like if Pizza Hut decided, "You know what? We're not going to make pizza anymore. From now on, we're selling hot dogs. If someone calls and orders a pizza, f*ck them, they're getting a HOT DOG. That's what the people want. They're idiots, they don't know what they want, WE know what they want."

 

[sMark]

I hate WWE's (Vince's?) childish mentality and stupidity - in the last year they had Bryan, Ambrose, Bray, Rollins & Dolph who fans got behind, but instead of making them stars, WWE decided throw all of them away because apparently they hate iWC/fans opinions and feel like they are in a position to dictate us who to like and who not, like THEY pay us some money to watch their shows...so they go with Reigns who was a fine midcarder, but who is clearly nowhere near main event quality level in anything but his looks...it's like if in Attitude era Vince decided to not care about Austin, Rock and HHH and went with Mark Henry, because he is strong, he is black and was real olympic champion, doesn't matter that it took Henry more than 10 years to find his craft and become something...where WWE will be by now if this happened then?

I can stand poor stories, cause it's like a standard for RAW today, but in the last year, many matches were ruined by stupid decisions as well, and looks like this will continue in this year as well. I don't even know why i continue to watch, maybe i have some hope for the better deep inside me, but this hope is dying with every poor decision i see on my TV. Honestly, so far, the RAW after WM31 looks like my final WWE show, and i'am sad about it, cause i'am still wrestling fan, but WWE make me turn away from them more and more.

 

[Navi]

You see Ambrose getting himself over... I see him being pushed constantly since his debut... Every stable has the Must, Want and Bonus guy to get over... Ambrose was the must coming in... he got most of the mic time and the focus of the Shield, got the US title for the 4th longest in history and all the "push" early in the Shield's run as the "leader".

I see him as getting himself over. He was put into a great feud with Rollins, but he hasn't been handed the opportunities that Reigns has. You can plainly see it. Ambrose has however taken what he was given and run with it, that is one thing Reigns has yet to do.

Reigns was the guy they wanted over.. Rollins the bonus... that the latter has worked so well has put the pressure on them with Reigns... certain "promises" would have been made to him and from his side, as much as these guys are his friends and they've come up together, he'll want what he was promised and he is now getting it...

They are determined to push Reigns till the cows come home, no matter what the fans say about it. The problem with Reigns is that even though he came up with the Shield, he doesn't have anywhere near the talent that a Rollins or Ambrose has. He might have been promised this, that or the other, but in this industry if you can't deliver what good are you. Since the Shield broke up Ambrose and Rollins have gone on to bigger and better things. Reigns is stuck in a rut and while it might not be his doing, but he doesn't have the experience yet to say that.

The fans won't care about this, only that they want what they want... They don't care if Vince doesn't rate Bryan, cos they do... He can keep Cena and Reigns prominent, but the fans want their choice to be the main guy... when Vince is basically putting out a TV show to compete with Gotham for example, which runs at the same time.

In this business shouldn't you be putting out what the fans want? Going to shows isn't a cheap night out for most people, especially if you have kids. It can cost into the hundred of dollars. So of course they want to have their say. When you begin to see that the WWE doesn't give a damm, then you stop going to the shows, buying the merchandise, in effect you change the channel.

It worked for WWE in the late 90's you had Rock, Austin, Foley and Trips and Jericho all get there, one per year... each one helped build the next... They all couldn't have the title at once so they had to stagger it... Trips waited a LONG time for his moment but arguably came out best, so perhaps Ambrose has to this time...or even Bryan.

This isn't the late 90's anymore and fans have the internet now. It's a different time and different era. I don't think fans are mad because Ambrose doesn't have the title, or Bryan, or Ziggler. What they are upset about is that someone who doesn't deserve to even be in the title match is getting the opportunity over others who do. Roman Reigns has a lot that other's don't have, he has the looks, charisma and intensity. Given the time he could be something very special, but the way they are pushing him right now is derailing his career before it even leaves the station. If it keeps going this way he will be this generations Luger, do we really want that to happen?

 

[Mustang Sally]

Reigns will almost need a miracle now to get himself ready in the next couple of months.

And it seems WWE management is hoping for that miracle, given that they had Roman win the Rumble. I'd like to think they have something in mind to get him high on the fan's list, where he was when first breaking from the Shield. On the one hand, it's kind of encouraging to see the fans turn against a guy, strictly on what they see as a lack of wrestling ability, isn't it? That's the type of thing casual fans never used to notice.....but with Roman Reigns, they do. The guy looks terrific and dangerous when pounding his fist on the mat, getting ready to spear someone, yet people in the stands recognize that his ring repertoire doesn't consist of much more than that.

Then again, does Daniel Bryan offer that much more? Yes, in his days with independent companies, he displayed a plethora of wrestling moves, designed to dazzle. But what is he doing today? Watch his matches and you see the same old moves, over & over. The drop kick to the helpless opponent lying against the turnbuckle, the backward somersault off the top rope, the kicks to the opponent who's tottering on his knees.......the same damn thing, match after match. Yet, the crowd loves everything he's doing. Go figure.

I've been speculating for months that the crowd likes Daniel more for the "Yes!" than anything else.....and every time I try to think differently, it winds up coming right back to that.

Maybe Roman Reigns can find a chant for himself.....and the wrestling world would embrace him as if he's......well, Daniel Bryan.

How about: "Spear! Spear! Spear!"....accompanied by the chanter's fist pounding downward on the guy sitting in front of him in the arena?



Aw, never mind.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I think that Roman Reigns accounts for maybe 10-15% of why people are actually upset. After all, those who're mostly against Reigns winning have that belief because he's not ready, hasn't really don't anything to show that he's ready and hasn't really done anything to show that he deserves the spot.

However, in my opinion, Roman Reigns isn't really the issue as much as he's just sort of the last straw, the straw that broke the camel's back, etc. People ranging from fans to roster members to dirt sheet writers to WWE legends have been frustrated with some of Vince's decisions over the years. Mostly, its decisions in which the solution seems perfectly obvious, yet Vince decides to simply go at it his own way. There have been so many potentially interesting opportunities to come along over the years that Vince has written off because he feels that he simply knows better than EVERYBODY else. There have been a lot of instances in which Vince seems to treat the fans as though they're mentally handicapped children who don't know what they want or that what they want is simply wrong. Vince McMahon made a worse mistake at the Royal Rumble last Sunday that he made at last year's Royal Rumble. He underestimated Daniel Bryan's popularity last year, it was a big mistake but at least it was a genuine mistake. Bryan's popularity can't be underestimated now, but Vince decided to blatantly ignore what the fans want and substitute his own judgment by telling them what they wanted. To a lot of fans, this was essentially Vince telling them that it only really matters what he wants. Roman Reigns is just the latest example of Vince's mind set of telling people who they should be supporting for no other reason than because he says so. Vince McMahon has genuinely insulted fans' intelligence yet tries to sort of take the stance that fans are always the problem. Sometimes they are in my opinion, but it's not a crutch that he can lean on every single time. WWE has had issues with issues with its product but instead of altering his own mind set or even entertaining the notion that he no longer has his finger on the pulse of modern wrestling fans the way he once did, he tries to shift blame to anyone else because he's too arrogant to accept any responsibility for the problems plaguing his company.

I'm not trying to claim that I or any of us know more about the business than he does, that'd be pure arrogance on my part. However, it doesn't take any sort of genius to see that many fans are unhappy with the product as a whole. What happened last Sunday I think was a culmination of years Vince feeding fans double talk by saying that he listens to them while, yet again, blatantly ignoring what they want. As I've said in other posts, what we saw last Sunday wasn't just a handful of fans who're only into indie guys pissed off. It's not some minor contingent of internet wrestling fans who were raising hell Sunday and who've been criticizing Vince vehemently for an entire week, it's essentially wrestling fans from all across the board ranging from the most casual of casual to the hardest of the hardcore smarks and in very large numbers.

 

[BuriedByCena]

WWE had 5 or 6 other guys in the rumble who deserved the push instead of Roman. Roman has not proven himself yet. Other guys have. That is why fans are upset.

WWE last 5 rumble winners were either already successful(Cena, Batista) or were terrible/green(Alberto, Sheamus and Roman).

WWE fans want an actual person they can get behind to win and who has earned it. Ziggler, Ambrose, Bryan, Bray Wyatt, Ryback or Cesaro have earned it. Those are guys fans can get behind if Vince would listen and stop de-pushing them.

So based on WWE logic next year and not giving a **** what fans want, ERICK ROWAN will win the Royal Rumble in 2016. He can't wrestle, he can't talk, fans don't care about him, but he's big....SO PUSH HIM!!! I promise you all so much money Vince will do this. I am not even joking. When people like Roman, sheamus and Alberto win, it is a fact Vince does not care what we think.

 

[Jonyboyuk2]

I think what it comes down to is that for 12 years WWE has been the John Cena Show. Whilst younger fans love Cena and those who grew up with Cena being the head babyface, there are people who want something more. I think Cena is a great superstar; and he has been a great face leading the business and the brand and the work hes done for the Make A Wish foundation is incredibly moving.

But we wanted Daniel Bryan to be the next WWE headliner. DB was involved with the Authority from August 2013 to WM30. After the Authority should have siezed to exist and DB should have feuded with different people but putting DB in a feud with Kane was just daft. Sadly DB got injured and that was that. But the way he was written off tv with his neck injury at the hands of Kane and the Authority suggested DB should have come back and banished them in the ultimate come back. Roman Reigns could have had a WWE championship match at SummerSlam this year and been cost the the match by a heel and then they could have sent Reigns off to start a journey to headlining WM 32. It is possibly too soon to have him in a WM main event, for 3 reasons; 1 his long term injury stopped a lot of momentum at the 2nd half of 2014. He needed to be rebuilt for a bit before the Rumble, and they didnt have time, 2, His promos are written by Vince and they are awful and 3, the fans still want DB in the main event at WM31.

In addition; when I was a kid fan of WWF, the tag team division was rich; and the tag belts meant almost as much as the WWF title (as did the IC title most of the time). We had the Rockers, the Hart Foundation, LOD, Powers of Pain, midnight express, Bulldogs, Demolition and The Twin Towers - all brought something new to the table, and each match up pairing between them meant something and gave something more to the fans; wwe don't have that. The Assension and the Dust Brothers are the closest we've had to wrestling tag teams that mean something in a long time. But when the Dust brothers impload and Goldust retires; who will the Assension feud with. They can be great but without competition that matters; they sieze to matter. Another simple thing to point out; if you build a strong tag division; with strong teams and characters as members of that team; you have ready made stars who transfer in to the singles division so well; ala Bret Hart, Shawn michaels, British Bulldog, Scott Stiener, Rikishi, JBL (who was never even a mid carder before his APA days), Jeff Hardy, Edge and Christian... it could be so much better and with Raw being 3 hours and smackdown being 2 hours - so much more time can go to these instead of insane segments with HBK, Hogan and Flair on Raw talking about the Royal Rumble; when all 3 have long since retired and take up TV time from tomorrows stars; and it feels like this happens a lot so I no longer see this a novelty; just an excuse to put them on tv.

Theres just tweeks that WWE should make; the NXT show seems to be helping in this respect, but get these kids out of development/NXT and on to WWE house shows for 2 months then push them on TV.

 

[Prince Vee]

Well its not the fact that Roman Reigns won the Royal Rumble that made me mad at the show. I knew obviously everybody knew that it's gonna happen like 3 months back. So I try to content myself with Roman Reigns main eventing Wrestlemania even though I don't like him.

And quite surprisingly I'm not mad in the way Daniel got booked and eliminated. I guess they booked him getting eliminated way too early because they didn't want him to stay in the ring for more time and using his signature moves and anticipating the fans to expect him winning the Rumble but unfortunately losing and getting all the heat from the fans.

So I don't mind about Daniel Bryan's booking.

1) I'm pretty mad about the way Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler and Bray Wyatt got eliminated

2) There isn't much surprise returns or NXT talents in the show. Last year Rusev made a Hell of an impact

3) The last three entrants were predictable because WWE announced the 15 superstars and 12 were in the ring when the countdown started for #28

4) Bogeyman was booked like a total shit. I expected at least a few minutes or creepy shit in the ring

5) Zack Ryder answering to Bray Wyatt but not Daniel Bryan

6) The way Roman Reigns eliminated Big Show and Kane

7) Rock leaving the ring even before Roman Reigns could won

Totally the Rumble is shit. I Felt so terrible after the show and felt like its a disdain!!

 

[Weems2k]

As long as the sheep keep filling Vince's bank account, this is the lame E product you're going to be stuck with for a very long time. You really want to see a change, and make a statement? Stop going to the shows. Stop buying the merch, the ppv's, the Network. Stop watching the shows too. Believe me, when Raw starts looking like Nitro did back in the dying days where half the arena is darkened. Ratings drop to the 1.0 - 1.5 range, and revenue is minute. Only then will you see a drastic change in the product. Good or bad? Who knows.

 

[mkw1962]

WWE is going to do it there way, it doesn't matter what we want. Daniel, Dean and Dolph got tossed out to early, and everyone seems to think Roman is not ready yet. The big one is Roman won the Rumble, this what everyone is angry about. I just say hire new writers, Daniel had his shot last year, they are afraid of him getting injured again. Roman is as ready as he is going to be, WWE needs to let him talk not script him and let him be the beast he was in the Shield.

 

[CyberPunk]

And it seems WWE management is hoping for that miracle, given that they had Roman win the Rumble. I'd like to think they have something in mind to get him high on the fan's list, where he was when first breaking from the Shield. On the one hand, it's kind of encouraging to see the fans turn against a guy, strictly on what they see as a lack of wrestling ability, isn't it? That's the type of thing casual fans never used to notice.....but with Roman Reigns, they do. The guy looks terrific and dangerous when pounding his fist on the mat, getting ready to spear someone, yet people in the stands recognize that his ring repertoire doesn't consist of much more than that.

Then again, does Daniel Bryan offer that much more? Yes, in his days with independent companies, he displayed a plethora of wrestling moves, designed to dazzle. But what is he doing today? Watch his matches and you see the same old moves, over & over. The drop kick to the helpless opponent lying against the turnbuckle, the backward somersault off the top rope, the kicks to the opponent who's tottering on his knees.......the same damn thing, match after match. Yet, the crowd loves everything he's doing. Go figure.

I've been speculating for months that the crowd likes Daniel more for the "Yes!" than anything else.....and every time I try to think differently, it winds up coming right back to that.

Maybe Roman Reigns can find a chant for himself.....and the wrestling world would embrace him as if he's......well, Daniel Bryan.

How about: "Spear! Spear! Spear!"....accompanied by the chanter's fist pounding downward on the guy sitting in front of him in the arena?



Aw, never mind.

You're absolutely right. Daniel Bryan doesn't do many of his moves that he used to do. And that's kinda the point. People already know what Bryan can do. Because he's done it all. They know that in a big match environment, Bryan has the ability to pull something new and refreshing. He can tell a story inside the ring. He's done it as a face and a heel. On the other hand, Reigns hasn't shown anything such. People don't know if Reigns can actually put on a decent 30 minute match (because that would be required for a Mania main event). What people have seen is a man who struggles through his lines and looks unnatural when trying to cut a lengthy promo.

So now, on one hand you have Bryan who can put on a clinic with almost anyone, can at least speak his lines properly and has a very, very over chant (in your words) and then you have Reigns who has almost no experience of lengthy matches, cannot cut a promo properly (or at least not the ones which are given to him) and very little connection with fans. If you had an option, who would be your pick?

Royal Rumble was as harsh on Reigns as it was on Bryan (or Ambrose or Ziggler or Wyatt). Reigns has an amazing look but hey, in Mania main event, he will not be doing poses, he'll be trying to carry a 30+ minute match with another man who himself can't carry a match unless he has the right opponent.

And this theory that Bryan shouldn't be at the top because of his injury is asinine. Roman Reigns has come back from a life threatening surgery himself. Steve Austin came back from a career ending neck injury.

 

[#tamale]

Reigns has an amazing look but hey, in Mania main event, he will not be doing poses, he'll be trying to carry a 30+ minute match with another man who himself can't carry a match unless he has the right opponent.

This is misleading.

Reigns vs Punk, Reigns vs Rollins, Reigns vs Harper; Roman Reigns can have great singles matches. You can say that the caliber of his opponent helps him deliver and that's true, but Reigns looks great in the process. That's why it is so mind boggling that they keep pairing him with The Big Show. The last opponent Big Show helped "make" was Del Rio and Del Rio is an artist in the ring. And that was 2 years ago. Big Show has not helped Reigns at all. Reigns needs top quality opponents. Give him Bray, Cesaro, Ryback, Harper, Barrett, HHH, Rollins. Instead of having Miz vs Jimmy/Jey Uso #8323982, have Miz and Roman build a 2 week feud. A roster this deep, and the best you can give Reigns is the Big Show?

Lesnar can also carry a match. His only "bad match" was against Big Show which was him destroying the Big Show. Lesnar is capable because his presence alone sends chills and his brutality in the ring is must see TV.

 

[Michael J. Fox]

Reigns was getting booed out of the building after he eliminated Show and Kane - what would eliminating Bryan have done? When Bryan was eliminated early, most fans knew Reigns was going to win. Personally, I was upset that you could see the booking from a mile away, especially after the #27 entrant.

Bryan is an obvious fan favorite, so that plays into it. The idea that a superstar with so much momentum heading in to the Rumble, to be eliminated shortly after? Poor use of a superstar. I don't care if he didn't win but in retrospect, creative could have used him better. Nobody is talking about Wyatt eliminating him ya know? I feel Bryan staying in the final 2-4 would have kept fans in to the end. And some don't think Reigns is ready.

 

[L@RISANO]

This is misleading.

Reigns vs Punk, Reigns vs Rollins, Reigns vs Harper; Roman Reigns can have great singles matches. You can say that the caliber of his opponent helps him deliver and that's true, but Reigns looks great in the process. That's why it is so mind boggling that they keep pairing him with The Big Show. The last opponent Big Show helped "make" was Del Rio and Del Rio is an artist in the ring. And that was 2 years ago. Big Show has not helped Reigns at all. Reigns needs top quality opponents. Give him Bray, Cesaro, Ryback, Harper, Barrett, HHH, Rollins. Instead of having Miz vs Jimmy/Jey Uso #8323982, have Miz and Roman build a 2 week feud. A roster this deep, and the best you can give Reigns is the Big Show?

Lesnar can also carry a match. His only "bad match" was against Big Show which was him destroying the Big Show. Lesnar is capable because his presence alone sends chills and his brutality in the ring is must see TV.

This.

Reigns has had some good matches, and as the saying goes, "It takes 2 to Tango!"


My problem with Reigns winning the Rumble has always been his lack of momentum. That lack of momentum is a factor because of poor booking and lack of proper storyline continuity which meant that Roman Reigns was never able to give the majority of fans a Reason to back him and his character.... ntm, those fairy tales...



I look forward to watching RAW tomorrow night. IF Reigns is paired again with the Big Slow at any point which signals a continuation of that Dumb-Ass feud... then I'll officially say that the Reigns push has been screwed beyond repair regardless of what Paul Heyman does after Fast Lane...

 

[CyberPunk]

This is misleading.

Reigns vs Punk, Reigns vs Rollins, Reigns vs Harper; Roman Reigns can have great singles matches. You can say that the caliber of his opponent helps him deliver and that's true, but Reigns looks great in the process. That's why it is so mind boggling that they keep pairing him with The Big Show. The last opponent Big Show helped "make" was Del Rio and Del Rio is an artist in the ring. And that was 2 years ago. Big Show has not helped Reigns at all. Reigns needs top quality opponents. Give him Bray, Cesaro, Ryback, Harper, Barrett, HHH, Rollins. Instead of having Miz vs Jimmy/Jey Uso #8323982, have Miz and Roman build a 2 week feud. A roster this deep, and the best you can give Reigns is the Big Show?

Lesnar can also carry a match. His only "bad match" was against Big Show which was him destroying the Big Show. Lesnar is capable because his presence alone sends chills and his brutality in the ring is must see TV.

I am not saying Reigns can't have good matches, because he has. But those matches were against opponents who are way superior to him inside a ring and can actually wrestle a good match with almost anyone.

And Lesnar can carry a match? Remember Mania 30? Granted, Taker had a concussion, but Lesnar was lost without Taker leading the match. His matches against Triple H were physical but underwhelming. His matches against Cena has been good to great, but we're talking about Cena here, and say what you want, Cena knows a thing or two about how to lead a match. The triple threat was great but it was Rollins and Cena doing bulk of the work.

I want Reigns to successful. I really do. And I'd love to be proven wrong by Reigns and Lesnar at Mania. However, the evidence so far suggests otherwise. Either Reigns has to suddenly know everything there is to know about leading a match, or Lesnar has to be more than 100% willing to work his ass off to make Reigns look good. And even if that were to happen, WWE will have to do a hell of a job to give Reigns a more than solid build through the mania season because the crowd has lost faith in him. One more Big Show vs Reigns, or even Kane vs Reigns will kill any momentum that has not already been destroyed by Rumble.

 

[Navi]

I am not saying Reigns can't have good matches, because he has. But those matches were against opponents who are way superior to him inside a ring and can actually wrestle a good match with almost anyone.

And Lesnar can carry a match? Remember Mania 30? Granted, Taker had a concussion, but Lesnar was lost without Taker leading the match. His matches against Triple H were physical but underwhelming. His matches against Cena has been good to great, but we're talking about Cena here, and say what you want, Cena knows a thing or two about how to lead a match. The triple threat was great but it was Rollins and Cena doing bulk of the work.

I want Reigns to successful. I really do. And I'd love to be proven wrong by Reigns and Lesnar at Mania. However, the evidence so far suggests otherwise. Either Reigns has to suddenly know everything there is to know about leading a match, or Lesnar has to be more than 100% willing to work his ass off to make Reigns look good. And even if that were to happen, WWE will have to do a hell of a job to give Reigns a more than solid build through the mania season because the crowd has lost faith in him. One more Big Show vs Reigns, or even Kane vs Reigns will kill any momentum that has not already been destroyed by Rumble.

This.

Reigns has to be carried thorough most of his matches. He just does not have the experience yet to dictate what happens in the ring. Right now he's a follower not a leader. Lesnar for all this size and power isn't a ring leader either. What the hell were they thinking.

If 17k were booing at the Rumble, can you imagine the noise coming out of Levi stadium when you multiply that by 5. Now not all almost 100k will be booing him, but a good majority will and as the match progresses if it turns out to be shit, I'll be able to hear the boo's all the way here in Toronto.

 

[#tamale]

People are taking what Austin said to heart and it makes no sense. In all of Lesnar's matches, he is the dominant one. What percentage of the match would you say is all Lesnar? Lesnar knows how to portray brutality in that ring. I'm not worried about Lesnar leading that match.

I'm also not worried about Reigns in that match because I have seen what he can accomplish when he has quality opponents. I can understand the skepticism towards the match, but if it delivers then all of this uproar will be for not and everyone who criticized will have egg on their face.

What WWE needs to do now is keep Big Show away from Reigns, not script his promos, and unleash the fury. If Lesnar vs Reigns fails, then I will gladly eat crow, but until then, I will remain optimistic based on what I know.

 

[Franchize1990]

I think what people are really mad about concerning this year's Rumble isn't the predictability, or Daniel Bryan getting eliminated so early in the match, or even the winner (right choice to win the Rumble in my opinion). What people are so upset and disappointed about was the giant step backwards the WWE took in terms of making their newer up and coming stars look strong. Throughout the majority of 2014, fans both casual and hardcore could see the beginning of a changing of the guard. Dolph Ziggler eliminates 3 of 5 members of Team Authority to become the sole survivor, all 3 members of The Shield were starting to close out Raw, SmackDown, and a couple of PPVs, Bray Wyatt has a marvelous feud with John Cena and then works himself back into the upper part of the roster after being off of tv for a while, Daniel Bryan became a made man at WM 30 beating Evolution all by himself in one night to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Fast forward to the Rumble and the perception seems like all of that progress didn't even take a back seat, it got left behind at an airport in favor of two wrestlers who have been a part of the WWE since the Attitude Era, not exactly showcasing the future of the company like they could've. The new faces like Bryan, Ziggler, and Ambrose combined for a grand total of 4 eliminations while the older heels Kane and Big Show each matched that total.