WWE RAW 8/29 feat. The End of Vacant's Universal reign, Braun's quest to rid the world of jobbers, and Bayley

[RP]

OWENS!!!

[ClockShot]

NO WAY?!

[Ruien]

SAVE US REIGNS!

[RP]

YES YES YES YES YES

[Dark One]

Is HHH going to turn on Seth?

[RP]

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES

[Droford]

Lol

[Evil Vito]

KEVIN FUCKING OWENSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

[slik]

Will Triple H turn on Seth next?

[ClockShot]

GUTSY MOVE IT IS!

[KIRA]

YES FUCKIN YES!

[Theo Dious]

Lol I was just thinking earlier that we hadn't seen HHH since Wrestlemania.

[RawRocks]

WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?

[GD]

What the fuck? Kevin Owens is the Universal Champion :eek:

[Dark One]

Yesssssss. Owens is going to thrive as "Hunter's guy"

[Theo Dious]

LOL HOLY SHIT

[Droford]

Gonna pedigree Owens too

[Locke]

Good pedigree

[RP]

Too bad it dont fit around his waist

[Emperor Smeat]

:D Owens

Really great ending and match overall. Thought Triple H was going to just pedigree both guys for a screwy finish.

[Frank Drebin]

hmmmm.......interesting.....I like this. Lot of fun ways this can go.

[Dark One]

Well, that's one way to turn Seth face.

You know what would have been better? Not trying to force him heel against Roman when he came back from injury. You know, the sane option.

[Theo Dious]

Somewhere Jim Cornette just threw up in his mouth.

[slik]

Yay, I love it!

[Tom Guycott]

I think what made that whole thing is the look on Owens' face... and how it took him a minute to put the puzzle together, still didn't seem to understand why, and was like "fuck it, I can pin Rollins"

[Droford]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/FightOwensFight">@FightOwensFight</a> We can't say we weren't told..... <a href="https://t.co/ixmmozyb5Y">pic.twitter.com/ixmmozyb5Y</a></p>&mdash; jude kilgour (@judekilgour) <a href="https://twitter.com/judekilgour/status/768175916065234950">August 23, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Kevin Owens going to win tonight.

Prophecy fulfilled

[ClockShot]

Next week's gonna be fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun.

[slik]

Does this mean Seth is a face now?

Are we getting face seth vs heel owens? Is Owens even a heel?

[Dark One]

Great fucking show. Dragged in the half hour leading up to the main event, but they definitely turned the potential disaster of Finn's injury into exciting television.

I'm really excited to see next week's show.

Super happy for Kevin Owens. Dude just achieved a dream, even if it's a brand new kind of ugly belt. He's the man on his brand.

[Ruien]

FUCK YES ROLLINS IS GOING TO BE A FACE FINALLY! The next superface was just born and the crowd has no idea.

[Locke]

Fans unable to adapt their cheers of "you deserve it" to the rhythm of kevin owens' theme song

[KIRA]

A heel going off the air to "you deserve it chants" great

[Tom Guycott]

Somewhere Jim Cornette just threw up in his mouth.

Not exactly.

He prob'ly would have if he still looked like a sloppy neckbeard fan like he did in ROH.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

I'm of two minds about that finish but 95% positive. 5% negative is HHH making the finish about him BUT I think in a sense it was like he was passing the HHH torch to Owens is some weird fucky way, so I'm down.

[Evil Vito]

So this might give credence to the rumors that Balor vs. Owens was meant to be the Universal Title match at Clash of Champions. Glad they stuck with the plans of keeping Owens in the title picture.

[KIRA]

Only draw back is that belt is still hideous

[Tom Guycott]

Does this mean Seth is a face now?

Are we getting face seth vs heel owens? Is Owens even a heel?

Owens has been heel the whole time. Fans just aren't co-operating.

[Droford]

Feel like the original plan was probably to have HHH help Balor win vs Rollins at next RAW ppv because of NXT connections..

[Tom Guycott]

So this might give credence to the rumors that Balor vs. Owens was meant to be the Universal Title match at Clash of Champions. Glad they stuck with the plans of keeping Owens in the title picture.

And this would give an excuse for that long rumored HHH vs Rollins feud.

[Shadrick]

I just watched the last five minutes with my mouth wide-open in a good way. No dicks this time. I marked out like crazy the entire time

[Ruien]

Owens has been heel the whole time. Fans just aren't co-operating.

They will operate when the fans need to sit through a 20 minute HHH promo before ROLLINS interrupts and destroys him.

[Theo Dious]

I'm of two minds about that finish but 95% positive. 5% negative is HHH making the finish about him BUT I think in a sense it was like he was passing the HHH torch to Owens is some weird fucky way, so I'm down.

Owens can be basically his NXT Boy. Sure Rollins & Reigns came from NXT but if wasn't as much HIS NXT as it is now.

[Simple Fan]

Well I like KO winning, would have rather seen it clean but oh well. I like setting up the Rollins face turn to. Just would have had Rusev do something to Roman to continue that. Not sure where Roman goes now. Main event was good and it was pretty much the only good thing about Raw other than the New Day/GoodBrothers match.

[Lock Jaw]

Hey guys, I didn't see any of this show but the main event..... Glad Owens won.....

Doesn't "make sense", though..... KO and Sami Zayn have their big blow off match so they can both "move on"....... Sami wins and moves onto obscurity...... KO loses and moves on to being champ......

Happy that he is champ, though..... even if it is weird.....

[Theo Dious]

The Shield needs to reunite now and operate across both brands guerilla style.

[Dark One]

KEViN OWENS GIF PARTY INCOMING

[Droford]

HHH and KO vs 2/3rds of the Shield

[Dark One]

https://threemanbooth.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/steendx01.gif

[Dark One]

http://i.imgur.com/Qc4ijrP.gif

[Theo Dious]

Well I like KO winning, would have rather seen it clean but oh well. I like setting up the Rollins face turn to. Just would have had Rusev do something to Roman to continue that. Not sure where Roman goes now. Main event was good and it was pretty much the only good thing about Raw other than the New Day/GoodBrothers match.

HEELS AREN'T SUPPOSED TO WIN CLEAN. WHAT THE HELL DO YOU PEOPLE NOT GET ABOUT THAT!!!!!!!!!

[Dark One]

https://33.media.tumblr.com/8d7ba05331850849a4b3fd465941dc82/tumblr_ntilzd6X1C1swlf6ho1_500.gif

[Dark One]

http://38.media.tumblr.com/74a2070f5885a7222e3b2cda23be1337/tumblr_ns7k92lYXg1sbzhteo1_400.gif

[Dark One]

http://25.media.tumblr.com/6f49ae1a2e8fbe375469d413bdd6f607/tumblr_mm8v8bltjM1rotdcto1_400.gif

[slik]

FUCK YES ROLLINS IS GOING TO BE A FACE FINALLY! The next superface was just born and the crowd has no idea.

Yeah, he will be awesome as a face. He has the mic skills/in-ring skills to pull it off.

FACE Rollins vs HEEL Owens will an amazing feud

[Dark One]

And the one that was undoubtedly made for me, for this night:

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/EssentialObviousHoneyeater-size_restricted.gif

[Droford]

Poor Jericho

[Dark One]

I just watched the last five minutes with my mouth wide-open in a good way. No dicks this time. I marked out like crazy the entire time

[Tom Guycott]

They will operate when the fans need to sit through a 20 minute HHH promo before ROLLINS interrupts and destroys him.

You're running under the assumption that Hunter is going to be Owens' manager or something instead of just a means to an end.

[Emperor Smeat]

http://66.media.tumblr.com/f9ee041f0708d152ef98af974a391a68/tumblr_ocpcrks1kh1u1ljrzo1_500.gif

[Ruien]

You're running under the assumption that Hunter is going to be Owens' manager or something instead of just a means to an end.

You really don't believe next week HHH will be out there doing a 20 minutes promo to start the show? Really? You can't honestly think that won't happen.

[Tom Guycott]

So, what's the over/under on him taking a pic with his son and the belt and posting it?

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Yeah the over under on Ruein's assumption should be pretty high. HHH is going to say "THIS BUSINESS" a lot and kind of put over Owens while mostly putting over himself.

[Droford]

Hope Owens isn't hurt or doesn't get hurt..

[RaginRonic]

James Steele just jizzed himself

So Jimmy's still a faggot, huh? =P

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

lol I love how there are 2 over/under posts next to each other that have nothing to do with each other. Literally posted at the same time as you, Tom hahaha fucking weird.

[Anybody Thrilla]

That was tight. Shut the fuck up about the belt.

[Tom Guycott]

You really don't believe next week HHH will be out there doing a 20 minutes promo to start the show? Really? You can't honestly think that won't happen.

Possibly... but you made it seem like it was going to be a weekly occurrence.

Meanwhile, Owens will still get cheered. Even when he slags off on the fans, shows off, taunts his opponent, or is otherwise a dickhead in any way, he still gets pops for it.

[Frank Drebin]

Great fucking show. Dragged in the half hour leading up to the main event, but they definitely turned the potential disaster of Finn's injury into exciting television.

I'm really excited to see next week's show.

Super happy for Kevin Owens. Dude just achieved a dream, even if it's a brand new kind of ugly belt. He's the man on his brand.

When you can't hit the "Cena wins lol" panic button, amazing things can happen.

[Simple Fan]

HEELS AREN'T SUPPOSED TO WIN CLEAN. WHAT THE HELL DO YOU PEOPLE NOT GET ABOUT THAT!!!!!!

If done right a heel can with clean. That's one thing about WWE that sucks to me. All the heels are chicken shit cowards besides Lesnar. Their all the same and it's because of that mentality that heels can't win clean. Roman wins clean all the time and is the biggest unofficial heel in the company.

[Tom Guycott]

That was tight. Shut the fuck up about the belt.

Well excuse the radioactive red glow kinda ruining the image.

[Tom Guycott]

When you can't hit the "Cena wins lol" panic button, amazing things can happen.

[Ruien]

They will operate when the fans need to sit through a 20 minute HHH promo before ROLLINS interrupts and destroys him.

Possibly... but you made it seem like it was going to be a weekly occurrence.

Meanwhile, Owens will still get cheered. Even when he slags off on the fans, shows off, taunts his opponent, or is otherwise a dickhead in any way, he still gets pops for it.

Nope.


I wouldn't bet against it happening more than one either though. Especially if HHH is coming back to wrestle against Rollins.

[rockman725]

The part that doesn't make sense to me is why not do this with Big Cass still there and not Roman. Here's the problem. You have Owens (textbook heel), Rollins (textbook heel), Reigns (textbook face) still in the match, but the smark crowd sees it the opposite way. So HHH attacks Reigns and the roof blows off the place. But you're now left with heel vs. heel where the crowd doesn't care who wins as long as it wasn't Reigns. HHH helping either guy is really a dead issue for the moment. Fans would have been cheering for Owens or Rollins no matter what HHH did from there.

I can only see this as a gig to get HHH back into the authority storyline where he's pissed that Steph picked Mick Foley over him as GM of Raw. Putting the money down right now that Survivor Series will be Team HHH vs. Team Foley.

[Ruien]

If done right a heel can with clean. That's one thing about WWE that sucks to me. All the heels are chicken shit cowards besides Lesnar. Their all the same and it's because of that mentality that heels can't win clean. Roman wins clean all the time and is the biggest unofficial heel in the company.

Owens should not be winning clean against Rollins and Reigns though. He just lost clean to Sami Zayn.

Rusev is not a chicken shit heel. Those two bald guys that hang around AJ (Well, did) is not chicken shit heels. Hell, Rollins wasn't a chicken shit heel either (He is a face now I think though).

[Emperor Smeat]

The part that doesn't make sense to me is why not do this with Big Cass still there and not Roman. Here's the problem. You have Owens (textbook heel), Rollins (textbook heel), Reigns (textbook face) still in the match, but the smark crowd sees it the opposite way. So HHH attacks Reigns and the roof blows off the place. But you're now left with heel vs. heel where the crowd doesn't care who wins as long as it wasn't Reigns. HHH helping either guy is really a dead issue for the moment. Fans would have been cheering for Owens or Rollins no matter what HHH did from there.

I can only see this as a gig to get HHH back into the authority storyline where he's pissed that Steph picked Mick Foley over him as GM of Raw. Putting the money down right now that Survivor Series will be Team HHH vs. Team Foley.

Triple H still has beef with Reigns story-wise and not Cass although if Cass was still in the match, he probably gets hit with or without Reigns being there and then Rollins.

On paper Triple H still gets some heel heat before the big swerve happens even if Reigns is pretty bad being a top face.

[Tom Guycott]

WWE has a track record of being more shortsided than that, rockman.

If they have anything planed besides Seth vs. Hunter, Owens vs. Balor and a possible confrontation between one of those two and Lesnar who insinuates himself in the title picture, then that would be shocking.

[Ruien]

Triple H still has beef with Reigns story-wise and not Cass although if Cass was still in the match, he probably gets hit with or without Reigns being there and then Rollins.

On paper Triple H still gets some heel heat before the big swerve happens even if Reigns is pretty bad being a top face.

Agreed. And him nailing Reigns ensures everyone he is still the heel before going after Rollins.

[Ruien]

Maybe HHH is the test to see if Rollins is dangerous or not.

[Ruien]

OMG ROLLINS IS GOING TO BEAT HIM WITH THE PEDIGREE TOO! Its going to be sweet.

[Corndad]

That was Mark Out City.

[slik]

yo Ruien what movie did u see, Don't Breathe?

[Emperor Smeat]

When you can't hit the "Cena wins lol" panic button, amazing things can happen.

Reigns getting popped was the best thing to happen to the rest of the RAW roster especially if the rumors about Vince no longer seeing Reigns as Cena's successor is true. He probably would have been the new panic button at least for RAW if that never happened.

Wouldn't be surprised if Rollins takes that spot now since Balor is out and then once Balor returns, they make the decision on which one to pick as Cena's mega star successor.

[Tom Guycott]

In other news...

If Izzy isn't a WWE Women's champion within the next 15 years something will have gone horribly awry or she turns out to be too ugly for TV.

Izzy vs baby McMahon-Helmsly for WrestleMania 50.

[Ruien]

yo Ruien what movie did u see, Don't Breathe?

Ya. It was pretty good. Nothing special though. One thing really bothers me which kind of ruined the movie though.

[Simple Fan]

Owens should not be winning clean the against Rollins and Reigns though. He just lost clean to Sami Zayn.

Rusev is not a chicken shit heel. Those two bald guys that hang around AJ (Well did) is not chicken shit heels. Hell, Rollins wasn't a chicken shit heel either (He is a face now I think though).

That's the weird booking of Raw. It's just the match itself I thought should have had a cleaner finish. They have a title that the longest reign is by Vacant and they end up essentially just handing the title to Owens.

Rusev just ran away from his match and a spot in the Universal title match last week. Still think he should have cost Roman instead of HHH though. Not getting him involved makes him look even more chicken shit. Rollins was a legit chicken shot heel his first WWE title reign.

[slik]

Ya. It was pretty good. Nothing special though. One thing really bothers me which kind of ruined the movie though.

Haven't seen it yet but plan to

[slik]

Bobby Roode theme to end RAW


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eMOjsA9Jzhk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Ruien]

That's the weird booking of Raw. It's just the match itself I thought should have had a cleaner finish. They have a title that the longest reign is by Vacant and they end up essentially just handing the title to Owens.

Rusev just ran away from his match and a spot in the Universal title match last week. Still think he should have cost Roman instead of HHH though. Not getting him involved makes him look even more chicken shit. Rollins was a legit chicken shot heel his first WWE title reign.

Rusev ran away once while 'injuryed'. He kept going at Reigns over and over. Seriously, that's one fucking week. If you think Rusv is a chicken shit heel I don't think I want to bother having a convo with you.

[Simple Fan]

Yeah but he ran away from an opportunity for the Universal title for no reason at all. Like I said it's the weird booking of Raw. Rusev is a bad ass but to say he doesn't have chicken shit tactics would be wrong. Heels should have those tactics but Rusev shouldn't just be running from one of his biggest matches of his career because he's "injured". The first champion won the belt injured for Pete's sake.

[Dark One]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">EXCLUSIVE: A furious <a href="https://twitter.com/WWERollins">@WWERollins</a> questions <a href="https://twitter.com/StephMcMahon">@StephMcMahon</a> &amp; <a href="https://twitter.com/RealMickFoley">@RealMickFoley</a> moments after <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RAW?src=hash">#RAW</a>'s shocking main event! <a href="https://t.co/EFfSPhiW9j">pic.twitter.com/EFfSPhiW9j</a></p>&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWE/status/770469283277209600">August 30, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[RaginRonic]

WWE...where their operations are based of a daisy-chain of never ending heel world titleists.

The 80s and early 90s may have been babyface happy, but at least WWE was making every last dollar available to them by having the majority of champions be babyfaces.

One gets tired of exclusive heel booking after a while.

[Volare]

Just got home, no one spoiled it for me, watched the match...





HOLY FUCKING SHIT YES! WHAT A FUCKING AWESOME DAY TODAY IS!

[Emperor Smeat]

Looks like Ceasro legit hurt his back from the turnbuckle post spot during his match with Sheamus.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Well... I guess I'm not working out or anything this week...</p>&mdash; Cesaro (@WWECesaro) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWECesaro/status/770467391235055616">August 30, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-cards="hidden" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">INJURY UPDATE: <a href="https://twitter.com/WWECesaro">@WWECesaro</a> suffered contusions to the lumbar spine vs. <a href="https://twitter.com/WWESheamus">@WWESheamus</a> on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RAW?src=hash">#RAW</a>: <a href="https://t.co/j46IGoX8RE">https://t.co/j46IGoX8RE</a> <a href="https://t.co/GRe5RTPrXf">pic.twitter.com/GRe5RTPrXf</a></p>&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWE/status/770477758703079429">August 30, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Volare]

Good luck to Smackdown tomorrow!

[Volare]

Hope Cesaro isn't injured badly, we don't need that now.

[Corkscrewed]

Looks like Ceasro legit hurt his back from the turnbuckle post spot during his match with Sheamus.

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Well geez, I hope that was worth it for a blow-off match in the best of sev--ohhhhhh...
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[Corkscrewed]

But my favorite heel is champ now, and that makes me happy. :D

[RaginRonic]

Hope Cesaro isn't injured badly, we don't need that now.

Pfft...let Cesaro suffer...what do I give a fuck?

Just yet another fuckin' heel in that long lineup, right? No big loss. > = P

[Volare]

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/A-nx5twz7J4?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Volare]

Makes the man officially....

ROH World Champion
PWG World Champion
NXT Champion
WWE Universal Champion

[owenbrown]

I fell asleep and just woke up and I missed Triple H returning and KO is the new champ?! :eek:

[Heyman]

FUCK YES ROLLINS IS GOING TO BE A FACE FINALLY! The next superface was just born and the crowd has no idea.

I hope you're right. Again - I haven't watched WWE in years, but I was a huge advocate of Rollins/Reigns doing a double switch at this year's Mania'. I can't rememember which thread I posted this idea in, but it was around the time that #1-wwf-fan and NormanSmiley were feuding.

[Destor]

Makes the man officially....

ROH World Champion
PWG World Champion
NXT Champion
WWE Universal Champion
PWG belt isnt a world title no matter what they say

[Droford]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The signs were there…<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Raw?src=hash">#Raw</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UniversalChampionship?src=hash">#UniversalChampionship</a> <a href="https://t.co/NmdoVagdji">pic.twitter.com/NmdoVagdji</a></p>&mdash; Bleacher Report WWE (@BR_WWE) <a href="https://twitter.com/BR_WWE/status/770459170243960832">August 30, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[hb2k]

I'm of two minds about that finish but 95% positive. 5% negative is HHH making the finish about him BUT I think in a sense it was like he was passing the HHH torch to Owens is some weird fucky way, so I'm down.

You know way, wayyyyy better than that, my friend.

I love that Owens is getting the push, but fuck me, the fact it came by HHH being anointed as the top star on the show again just pisses all over everything.

"You Deserve It", say the fans who watched a man win the world title by somebody else doing all the work. A diabolical act cheered at large. Fans isolating what they want to see and ignoring what is clearly there - HHH is going to have his balls all over this. Wrestling psychology has lost it's way.

But hey, it's a new era.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Good for Owens. He's played the game well in WWE and managed to win their phantom title pretty quickly. I worry about his ability to draw as a heel. He can talk and work the part, but I think his look would be more effective for a babyface. It'll be interesting to see whether Owens turns "corporate" and gets a bit of a sponsored make-over, or whether he just remains the same and is Triple H's guy.

Seth Rollins should have returned from his injury as a babyface. He should have come back and beaten Reigns cleanly and be in a good, strong run as face champion to see how he does. Maybe Triple H returns and pulls the rug out of Rollins anyway to set up that feud that Triple H just needs to have (because let's be honest, Rollins doesn't), but it's good that Rollins' disposition is finally matching up to where audiences want him. I feel that they've strung him along too long as a bad guy for people to really bite on him. I think this is the illusion of writers who perhaps don't understand the dynamics of professional wrestling as much as they do other narrative forms. Randy Orton returning as a heel to align with Seth Rollins is another example. Yes, it is logical in a story about Machiavellian motivations for Orton to infiltrate Rollins' cirlce, wait until the right moment, then turn on him -- but in wrestling, people like their motivations to be pretty clear to sell a program.

Triple H vs. Rollins will be interesting. Triple H, if nothing else, is a heel that gets booed. There's a lot of history there. Rollins was the first NXT Champion, worked for him as The Shield, fought him as The Shield, then worked for him again. Maybe they build a program on the canopy of all that and it feels like an culmination of a great story, as opposed to a feud we have already seen before with extra players.

Kevin Owens as champion could be pretty great. The fans will eventually turn Owens face, but I do kind of like the idea of them really spinning it along, ala Rock in 1998. Owens has reminded me a lot of Rock from that era actually. Owens vs. Rock would be a great feud come to think of it. I like the idea of Jericho being off in the wings, and Reigns vs. Owens as an establishing feud for Owens is going to be pretty fresh, and a nice way to put Owens over strong as a new champion.

[Black Widow]

Fattiude Era

Seriously though I was for him out of the 4.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I too think he was the best choice. Wrestling needs something new. Big Cass is too new. Seth Rollins is not new. Roman Reings is New Coke.

I could have gone for a Seth Rollins run if he took the belt cleanly and was incubating it for Finn Balor, but it would have been status quo sort of stuff. I do think the most interesting course of direction is Kevin Owens being given a shot, even if I'm not entirely sure he doesn't end up losing the belt to Rollins at some point and then start his own feud with Triple H in time for Mania.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

Looks like Ceasro legit hurt his back from the turnbuckle post spot during his match with Sheamus.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Well... I guess I'm not working out or anything this week...</p>&mdash; Cesaro (@WWECesaro) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWECesaro/status/770467391235055616">August 30, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-cards="hidden" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">INJURY UPDATE: <a href="https://twitter.com/WWECesaro">@WWECesaro</a> suffered contusions to the lumbar spine vs. <a href="https://twitter.com/WWESheamus">@WWESheamus</a> on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RAW?src=hash">#RAW</a>: <a href="https://t.co/j46IGoX8RE">https://t.co/j46IGoX8RE</a> <a href="https://t.co/GRe5RTPrXf">pic.twitter.com/GRe5RTPrXf</a></p>&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWE/status/770477758703079429">August 30, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Hope Cesaro isn't injured badly, we don't need that now.

Meltzer is saying it's a #WORK and his back is as bad as Big E's balls: Fully functional

[Mr. Nerfect]

I'm optimistic about this Best of Seven Series with Cesaro and Sheamus. I like their chemistry in the ring, and they get to tell a story that goes over a series of matches now. I'd like to see the winner presented with a trophy and The Best of Seven Series made a yearly thing in WWE.

Cesaro winning is the only option that makes sense. Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro would be a lot of fun for a PPV. But Cesaro really gets to tell a story of progress over this thing. Sheamus wins the first match with a Brogue Kick out of nowhere. Sheamus wins the second one with the Texas Cloverleaf, because Cesaro has a bad back and he needs to make sure he's fighting fit for the other ones. Next time, maybe he lasts a bit longer in there. Then he wins the next one, even with a bad back utilizing a roll-up. Then he wins with The Neutralizer. Then he wins via submission. It's the final fight. Cesaro wins when Sheamus ultimately concedes, to his own Cloverleaf, that Cesaro is the better wrestler.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

https://65.media.tumblr.com/47fb769482ee564b4816f3f8b9f050fe/tumblr_ocpe08VB8i1tjs03ao1_540.png

[Blonde Moment]

Could they have decided to bring Nxt into the war somehow?

[Rammsteinmad]

Yay. Just as it looked like WWE was really starting to turn attention to new, younger guys, Triple H has to return, back to the same old employer vs. employee rivalry which has been going on for the last 20 years.

[Rammsteinmad]

I can't wait for Seth Rollins to carry Hunter to a 5-star match so that Hunter still thinks he's relevant and can hog all the Wrestlemania spotlight that younger guys could benefit from.

[Ruien]

Hunter is constantly putting the talent over though.

[Jordan]

Hunter is still better than everyone else they have with only a few exceptions.

[hb2k]

Hunter is constantly putting the talent over though.

And yet, after he does so, he's the one in the top spot, not them.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

Could they have decided to bring Nxt into the war somehow?

New Blood 2016?
Even Newer Nexus?

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

You know way, wayyyyy better than that, my friend.

I love that Owens is getting the push, but fuck me, the fact it came by HHH being anointed as the top star on the show again just pisses all over everything.

"You Deserve It", say the fans who watched a man win the world title by somebody else doing all the work. A diabolical act cheered at large. Fans isolating what they want to see and ignoring what is clearly there - HHH is going to have his balls all over this. Wrestling psychology has lost it's way.

But hey, it's a new era.

It will actually be really funny when he's cutting 20 minute promos at the beginning of RAW week in and week out. NEW ERA BABY

[Big Vic]

It will actually be really funny when he's cutting 20 minute promos at the beginning of RAW week in and week out. NEW ERA BABY

Which is why SD! is better :cool:

[Clerk]

So dumb to give Kevin Owens the Universal belt. Why did the game do that to the MAN!

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

It's funny because they really can't help themselves. They have to know how silly it self indulgent the HHH 20 minute opening promo is, and yet they revel in it. It helps nobody and kills the show but by god, IT'S A NEW ERA BABY.

Here's hoping that even though they'll use HHH they don't do the same old shit.

Also, I don't mind the new belt. I don't like the logo, but the red is kind of cool. It would be cooler if the logo was a bit less obnoxious, but it gets a 7/10 from me.

[Evil Vito]

Re-watching the ending from last night. I actually love those moments where you can sense a turn coming.

Like Triple H showing up in general was a surprise but as it was all going on you could tell he was about to turn on Seth because of how bloody long it was taking to set everything up. Love those few moments of tension building before it finally happens.

[Bad News Gertner]

HHH won the title I see. Nothing changes.

[Rammsteinmad]

And yet, after he does so, he's the one in the top spot, not them.

Exactly.

Let Rollins and someone he'd have amazing chemistry with tear the house down at Wrestlemania, hell, even give him the main event spot (but not against Trips), and THAT would give him some big time, mainstream exposure to legitimize himself.

A Wrestlemania match with Triple H will just be "another Triple H match".

I mean, he put over Roman Reigns in the main event last year, and yeah woo! Look how Roman Reigns is suddenly the face of the company etc!

[Ruien]

HHH was wonderful in that build. No matter what storyline Reigns was in or who the opponent was Reigns was going to be destroyed by the crowd.

[Rammsteinmad]

It's hard to explain what I mean. But like, Wrestling obviously isn't anywhere near the heights of popularity as it was 20 years ago. Very few stars have mainstream appeal, such as Steve Austin back in the day, The Rock and to a degree, John Cena.

Seth Rollins beating Triple H won't suddenly make Rollins a recognizable name to non-wrestling fans. Nobody outside of the wrestling world will really give a shit. So in my opinion, a guy like that is better suited in a match where both (young) guys can really shine, give the fans the 5-star match they're capable of, with a mainstream audience that comes with the spectacle of Wrestlemania.

Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles (for example) shows the world that "these are our top two stars, and this is what they represent to the company, and this is the product we deliver". It will solidify both guys as top stars and the mainstream exposure Wrestlemania gets will show the world what the WWE has to offer.

A match against Triple H, even if he goes over, won't solidify a guy like Rollins any more than a match against a guy like Styles, or Reigns, or Ambrose.

Ah, it's so frustrating, I can't really put into words what I'm trying to say. Lesnar and The Rock for example are box office draws (and that didn't do anything for Dean Ambrose). Triple H isn't. Look at Roman Reigns' match with Triple H at WM32. Take Triple H out of the equation and put someone else in the match as well. Same story, same match, same position on the card. Nothing would have changed. Triple H doesn't add anything to the equation any more.

It won't elevate Seth Rollins any more than a match with anyone else, because outside of the wrestling world, nobody will know who Seth Rollins is anyway. Triple H being in a featured match at Wrestlemania, at this point in his career, and at point in time for the WWE, will only serve to take time away from people that could benefit from the exposure.

In my opinion.

[Rammsteinmad]

Of course, there's always hope that this might all blow over at Survivor Series. But heavens forbid Triple H getting his Wrestlemania entrance.

[Ruien]

Oh, I agree with that. I would not want Rollins and HHH at Mania but I think it will be a nice boost if Rollins beats HHH at the Rumble then challenges and beats Brock at Mania. You keep putting Rollins on ESPN shows like First Take to get his name out there.

[Rammsteinmad]

Aw right. Yeah absolutely agree with that.

But let's face it, we know this is headed for Wrestlemania.

[Ruien]

If they stretch it out to Mania they will lose the opportunity to make Rollins a megaface like he has the ability to be. Unless HHH is going to have like a NXT invasion then MAYBE they can stretch it out. And I highly doubt that will happen anywaya.

[Mr. USA #1]

I wonder how <s>Shisen Kopf</s> Mr. USA #1 liked that promo?

????

[Tom Guycott]

Meltzer is saying it's a #WORK and his back is as bad as Big E's balls: Fully functional

If it is indeed a work, it gives Claudio an excuse to rock more kinesiotape... which is apparently the new breath right nasal strips of athletics.

Somebody needs to bring back the DDP taped rib look. Maybe Ambrose.

[Mr. Nerfect]

WrestleMania XXX - Triple H is the true heel and roadblock for Daniel Bryan to overcome as the selling point of WrestleMania.

WrestleMania 31 - Triple H beats Sting.

WrestleMania 32 - Triple H is the defending WWE World Champion in the main event, although it is not the selling point.

It actually seems like Triple H is GAINING WrestleMania significance over the years.

[Dewidi]

New Blood 2016?
Even Newer Nexus?

lord lets hoe not look at the losers that came from the 1st nexus justin gabriel,heath slater,david otunga daren young just to name a few

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Could they have decided to bring Nxt into the war somehow?

Wouldn't really make sense. Rollins is NXT too. Could be though. It's been awhile.