Who else is tired of..?

[AegonTargaryen]

I'm watching this week's Raw and the opening segment featuring HHH and Stephanie- "The Authority" of course.

Now, I'm the biggest DB hater around when it comes to him being overpushed and passed off as a significant player(which he isn't, in my HUMBLE opinion) and his crappy title reign and everything. I just watch the wrestling matches for the sake of wrestling, and overlook the atrociousness and heinousness of DB's segments. Pre-wrestlemania, it used to be fun to see the Authority, the segments featuring Batista and Orton with Steph, and DB.

But now, I sense boredom in its absolute and highest potentiality when I see HHH and Stephanie walk down the ramp smiling and hugging. PUHLEESE. It's so boring that I wish to watch Los Matadores and that 4-ft tall clown instead. I'm sickened of the way HHH's voice sounds, his intonation, and the very content, which I'm not even interested to hear. He looks old, washed-up, grey hair and all. Stephanie is talking so slowly and emotionlessly that it's intolerable. Goddamn the way she says "Alberto Del Rioooooo" , no fucking emotion. I'm sick of HHH's holier-than-thou, quasi-heel attitude and his damn catchphrase "Adapt or Perish". God, Charles Darwin must be cursing his damn life.

I've never been sickened or bored of Vince Mcmahon when he used to show up week in and week out(and now that I recall, not a single week had I found John Laurinaitis' presence insufferable in the least). But Stephanie and HHH really seem insufferable to me now. I'll make this short and ask, are you too, sick of watching HHH/Stephanie week in and week out (irrespective of what they say) because of their appearance, their oldness and staleness, the boredom that they represent?

 

[J.J.]

Perhaps you just shouldn't watch the 20 minutes of Raw? Seriously. I typically fast forward through the opening segment. Michael Cole usually sums up the 15 minutes with 30 second clip of what was said that actually pertains to the show. Word of advice, DVR. Watch it 20 minutes into the show and fast forward.

 

[AegonTargaryen]

Perhaps you just shouldn't watch the 20 minutes of Raw? Seriously. I typically fast forward through the opening segment. Michael Cole usually sums up the 15 minutes with 30 second clip of what was said that actually pertains to the show. Word of advice, DVR. Watch it 20 minutes into the show and fast forward.

How Ingenious of you!!

Seriously, though, I am glad I don't own a TV and don't have to go through 3 hours of RAW (which more often than not are for most of the show, devastatingly boring) along with all the commercials. Youtube is my tool and yeah there's always an option of not watching something. But don't you think we'd all stop coming here, and stop watching wrestling altogether if we really "stopped watching" things because they've been terrible lately?

The whole point was to ask you your opinion about HHH/Steph seeming halfhearted , surfeited with their success and overconfident because they know that WWE is monopoly and fans are going to tune in just to watch through crappy segments, even on youtube; and that being reflected by their gait, demeanour and their speech. That's what I felt about this week's raw.

It'd have been more effective of you had you chosen to respond about the query, instead of giving a pointless and well-known advice of "not watching".

 

[J.J.]

Given that my response was to fast forward, I also stated that is what I do myself. Meaning that I am tired of if as well- given that I have no control of the creative direction of the live tapings I choose to fast forward. Any half-heartedness they show is within that 20 minutes they waste at the beginning of Raw every week. You're bored of it, what is your solution?

 

[Un-Bo-Lievable Jeff]

How Ingenious of you!!

Seriously, though, I am glad I don't own a TV and don't have to go through 3 hours of RAW (which more often than not are for most of the show, devastatingly boring) along with all the commercials. Youtube is my tool and yeah there's always an option of not watching something. But don't you think we'd all stop coming here, and stop watching wrestling altogether if we really "stopped watching" things because they've been terrible lately?

The whole point was to ask you your opinion about HHH/Steph seeming halfhearted , surfeited with their success and overconfident because they know that WWE is monopoly and fans are going to tune in just to watch through crappy segments, even on youtube; and that being reflected by their gait, demeanour and their speech. That's what I felt about this week's raw.

It'd have been more effective of you had you chosen to respond about the query, instead of giving a pointless and well-known advice of "not watching".

So if you are not watching live, and basically a repeat online, why choose to watch HHH and Steph when you clearly don't like watching them? And if you don't want to suffer three hours of Raw, and just watch the matches anyway, I don't understand why you sat through watching the opening of Raw?

 

[George Steele's Barber]

I like them. If they were entertaining the crowd would cheer for them. The most entertaining they can be is by being smug and condescending. They are effective heels in 2014.

Cena and Stephanie in the ring two weeks ago was a terrific segment without accomplishing anything.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

In this day and age, it's difficult to get over as a genuine heel because fans don't want to suspend disbelief, they want to show that they're "edgy" in some way by cheering for people they shouldn't cheer for, they want to display some sort of "rebellious" tendencies by cheering for the guys that the company is portraying as bad guys, etc. As a result, one of the few ways in which a heel is able to get over by behaving in a despicable manner is by being this condescending, narcissistic, egomaniacal asshole. Regardless of who you are in life, what you do for a living, what your personal beliefs are, where you stand politically or what religion you follow; nobody likes being talked down to by a hypocritical douche bag that sees himself/herself as being a better quality of human being than anyone else.

When you look at Stephanie McMahon and Triple H, you see two people who're able to fill such a role in a believable way because of what we know about them. In Stephanie's case, she was born into an extreme level of wealth. In just about every society, there's always been this friction between those who're wealthy and those who aren't. The reasons why this friction exists include jealousy, genuine personal dislike, a sense of entitlement, etc. When she first became involved in WWE on the air as a young woman, she was portrayed as this spoiled rotten, self-absorbed princess that had everything in life handed to her. To one degree or another, that image is still there whether it's actually true or not.

As far as Triple H goes, the reasons for dislike range from him being a dominating & top star in the company, accusations of backstage politics during his in-ring career, the notion that he's only where he is in his life & career because he married the boss' daughter, etc. Did he play politics backstage? I'd bet both nuts that he did and was probably damn good at it. Is he where he is only because of his relationship with Stephanie? Absolutely not, but there's still that perception that some have. Nepotism playing a part in his success is a natural assumption when you consider that his rise to the main event did happen to coincide with the beginning of his romantic relationship with Stephanie. It's so natural that, every so often, it's brought up and used as part of a storyline or angle. We've heard it mentioned in promos by CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, for instance, at various points.

The Authority are full of themselves, they revel in the power they wield and relish the thought of using that power to further their own personal agenda. They're so egomaniacal that they disguise, albeit transparently, their agenda by claiming what they do is "best for business" while what's "best for business" ALWAYS happens to go hand in hand with their own personal views. As a result, it makes perfect sense for them to come out and brag about being right whenever the opportunity presents itself. Even when I'm watching, I know that it's all staged, but there's still a part of me that gets irked when I hear them say what they say to the wrestlers and fans as if they're addressing a room full of mentally handicapped 4 year olds. They're able to stimulate me in an emotional way, which allows me to enjoy what they're doing. I'd agree if I wasn't at all emotionally invested or if they weren't so good in their roles, but I don't because I am and because they are.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I'll agree that the Family Levesque sometimes goes on too long with their show-openings remarks, but over the years, I've appreciated the "life imitating art" aspects of their act.....for instance, the fact that in Triple H's early days in WWE, he was advertised as a "blue-blood from Greenwich CT"......and now, he really lives there. It brings an element of reality to the proceedings.

For numerous reasons, the company has determined that the fans enjoy seeing WWE management as characters in their own production, particularly Vince McMahon. Going with that, they've extended the family participation by replacing Vince with his daughter and son-in-law, an attractive proposition since Triple H is a wrestler and knows well how to bring the goods. I enjoy what they do, although they really shouldn't be taking 20 minutes right at the top of the show.

However, rather than de-emphasizing the "management takes the stage" aspect of the business, I think we're going to see more of it than ever when the Vince vs. Stephanie/Triple H power struggle we expected at WM30 takes place this year or next (unless plans for it have been abandoned altogether). But if folks are bored by seeing the McMahon-Helmsley Faction now, they're gonna be really upset when we start getting a double dose of it.

 

[AegonTargaryen]

While I agree with the preceding posters that HHH and Stephanie are very effective as heels and perhaps are as effective in 2014 as Punk and Jericho were back in 2009, the main notion I proposed was the tiresome and monotonous aspect that they bring to the table.

CM Punk mentioning that he's better than everyone in the areana could have been effective and efficacious for him as a heel as long as there were people in the audience who were obese, chronic smokers, alcoholic, or otherwise inclined to "substances", whether it be Marijuana or Cocaine. Jeff Hardy had played his role well. But even CM Punk evolved with time.

Chris Jericho's persona had begun to fade in 2010 because there is only so many times that you can smash Shawn Michaels' face in the Jeritron(and there are only so many Shawn Michaels' as it is), brag about it, win the WHC, and so on. But I'd say that July 2008-Sep 2010 was the greatest time in Chris Jericho's career, and for me as a spectator, and there's plenty of tangible evidence in the form of his matches, classic rivalries, his tag-team with Big Show being hilarious and dominant , etc.

Vince Mcmahon never got boring or tedious. However, the feeling I have/get regarding Stephanie and HHH is not so much of them being effective or ineffective. It's the monotony of "best for business", "adapt or perish", and so on that I've begun to find un-entertaining and insufferable. In fact, HHH and Stephanie seem to bring forth not excitement, thrill, or entertainment, but an attitude of smugness and contentment. It's not just the content of their promos but the manner that I find intolerable , whether it be HHH and Stephanie's appearance(the smugness, the goddamn smiles, their gait, their oldness and staleness, which I never ever felt with Vince Mcmahon).

In fact, with DB gone, The Shield broken, and no CM Punk , and John Cena and Randy Orton already having had rivalries and mixed with "The Authority" , and Batista being a flop, all that is left is boredom, tediousness and monotony. And It's not just me because every WZ editor and writer has posted time and again how boring the product is, and so on. I think ironically, as much as HHH wants to be the advocate for "Evolution", right now, he represents nothing but Un-Evolution of the business because what he represents is "have done", "had done", "there's no more to be done". The only babyface candidate to feud with HHH/Authority left now is Roman Reigns, which isn't exciting because personally, I find Roman Reigns overrated, boring, tedious, and worse than Goldberg and Batista in the ring(which is pathetic). The only way WWE and wrestling can be exciting/thrilling again(which hardly happens in this day and age) would be if CM Punk were to return and replace DB as the Rebel and whatever else.

I also look forward to the rise of Cesaro, Bray Wyatt is exciting, and whether or not Brock Lesnar returns to enter/stay in the WWE WHC picture.

 

[Checkmate9113]

We have lost Jericho, CM Punk, Batista, The Rock, Lesnar all in the last year/year and a half. All for Daniel Bryan? Makes no sense.

 

[southrnbygrace]

I don't understand why WWE believes that every show needs to open with a promo. Why can't we open the show with, I don't know...say, a WRESTLING MATCH??

I posted somewhere else, I have always hated backstage personnel being involved with onscreen storylines. I hated when Vince did it. I hate it now. And Triple H needs to decide if he's going to wrestle or be in the front office because right now, I feel he's doing a crappy job at both.

 

[cenabetterthantherock]

Jericho left for music career Batista and The rock left to do crappy movies and Lesnar just can't hang full time and punk was done. No one left for Daniel Bryan!