So, why did they have...*RAW Spoilers*

[Mr. Nerfect]

Why on earth did they have Rey Mysterio replace John Cena, when Chris Jericho was right there. He also went over the World Heavyweight Champion in non-title competition the previous week. I'm glad we're getting another Jericho vs. Michaels match, and all, but can't that have been put on hold to No Mercy, and actually let the feud build some more, before yet another chapter is completed?

CM Punk and Batista are more than enough face power to carry the match. Kane also has his hands full with his current Batista problem before he moves onto the Rey Mysterio one. It all feels very rushed.

Would Chris Jericho replacing John Cena have been a better decision than Rey Mysterio doing the same?

[Lock Jaw]

Of course it would have. It was honestly what I was expecting.

I mean, he has been pushing for a title match of late, and went over the champion last week. If he were in the scramble, it would give a little meaning behind that win at least.

It would also push off on another Michaels/Jericho confrontation so soon, and letting it build up even more. Have HBK interfere in the scramble to cost Jericho the match or something.

And as for Rey, they just continue to build whatever it is they have going with his "tortured" thing, and have him show up too or at the Raw the next night.

[Rammsteinmad]

Cena will still win. Now he can win the Gold belt with a broken friggin' neck!

[Juan]

When Adamle said it was a former Heavyweight champion, my heart sunk a little cuz I thought Great Khali right away. I totally didn't expect it to be Rey Mastrio. I agree that it should've been Jericho.

[Lock Jaw]

Cena will still win. Now he can win the Gold belt with a broken friggin' neck!

I believe this calls for:

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[Afterlife]

Statler and Waldorf make everything more tolerable. :y:

[Afterlife]

HBK and Jericho is perfect by itself. There's no need to complicate the best grudge match in years by throwing the title at it and making over gold instead of revenge. That would cheapen both the title and the grudge by my estimation.

As long as Rey is in decent condition, I can see him fitting in rather well. The chesmistry between Batista/Rey/Kane could prove rather interesting. With those three going at each other, most of the falls would be betwixt Punk and JBL, a feud that already centers over the title.

On a side note, I'm gonna damn near guarantee that the 20 minute time limit will expire at the 2 count while Punk pins JBL to get his title back. JBL wins the title by dumb luck and good timing.

[DaVe]

Why on earth did they have Rey Mysterio replace John Cena, when Chris Jericho was right there.

The question I'm more interested in is why on earth did they have Rey Mysterio replace John Cena, when Rey Mysterio was so severely mauled and disfigured by Kane. I mean... how exactly am I to believe Rey is suddenly fine after such a beating according to Kane? I hope they explain this (or have they already in 5 seconds, and wrapped up the Kane-Rey angle already?).

[Mr. Nerfect]

HBK and Jericho is perfect by itself. There's no need to complicate the best grudge match in years by throwing the title at it and making over gold instead of revenge. That would cheapen both the title and the grudge by my estimation.

As long as Rey is in decent condition, I can see him fitting in rather well. The chesmistry between Batista/Rey/Kane could prove rather interesting. With those three going at each other, most of the falls would be betwixt Punk and JBL, a feud that already centers over the title.

On a side note, I'm gonna damn near guarantee that the 20 minute time limit will expire at the 2 count while Punk pins JBL to get his title back. JBL wins the title by dumb luck and good timing.

No one really said that Jericho vs. HBK should be over the title. It just seems to make more sense to insert Jericho into the title match in this instance. I wouldn't have him win, but as someone said, HBK could run-in, attack Jericho, and take him out of the match, or something. Add fuel to the fire, and then have the "Unsanctioned Match" at No Mercy.

Rey returning is selling his "injuries" short as DaVe and I have both pointed out. Kane tortures him, and then Rey is back the next week after this revelation? Build that shit, man. Let Kane vs. Rey also happen at No Mercy. Then do a gimmick match at Cyber Sunday, with the fans voting on the stipulation. Then they can be on opposite teams at Survivor Series. It all works out right through November with that booking. By then it's about time to start thinking about the Royal Rumble, anyway, of which both Kane and Rey Mysterio should both be featured quite heavily in the build-up of.

[U-Warrior]

The heat between Jericho and Michaels is such that I think you can't put off the next match. The run-in at the scramble would be a step backward in terms of what these guys have done to eachother, and would ruin the build of the fued.

[CSL]

Yeah, Jericho should definately not be in the title match. The only way it should have happened is if say Michaels came charging out seconds into the match and obliterated Jericho. Which would make putting Y2J in the match pointless in the first place

[Afterlife]

Exactly. Keep them away from the title scene.

[Fox]

Keep Chris Jericho away from the title scene? Are you mad?

I agree that Jericho should have been the one to replace. First of all, No Mercy + Unsanctioned Match = Makes Sense. Come the fuck on. Also, it hasn't been long enough since HBK was going to retire. Jericho should've been allowed to bask a bit more in his assholeness before HBK came back; make the fans really believe that Michaels is gone. And what better way to do that than have Jericho totally change focus, thus "ending" the storyline, and go after the World Title? Meanwhile, HBK is nowhere to be seen. It builds interest. The bad guy seems to have won.

Then HBK returns either at Unforgiven or on RAW the next night and punks Jericho with SCM, or if he started stalking him or took out Garrison Cade or something. Ramp it up another notch, and THEN do Unsanctioned at No Mercy. This way, to me, does feel a bit rushed.


I guess I just think Rey was a bad choice overall. I mean with this whole Kane thing going on, the shit is just confusing. Another person who could have filled that spot would've been the rumored return of Sid Vicious. Scramble that shit up.

[BigDaddyCool]

I would have preffered a quick tourny to figure out who gets to go in, or just Will Regal. He beat the shit out of Punk last time the wrestled. Sure punk won the match, Regal won the fight.

[Ninti the Mad]

Jericho is busy with HBK.


Mysterio is a shitty decision though.

[BigDaddyCool]

Yeah, that is why Regal should have been put in.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>It makes sense that Jericho wasn't put in. From a logical standpoint, why would Adamle want to put Jericho in the match when he just got challenged to a match on Unforgiven with HBK?

That being said, I had an awful feeling it'd be Rey, and I was right. It makes no sense, and if anything, they should have held off Rey's return until Unforgiven, let him screw Kane over or something. It's retarded to assume he'd be well enough to be in the match.

My second thought was possibly Big Show, seeing as he was left out of the SD Scramble...but unfortunately he'll probably just be taking The Brian Kendrick's place.</font>

[TerranRich]

Rey Mysterio is the new Undertaker. He's heavily involved in an angle without ever showing up.

"Oh, yeah, Rey's been hurt badly by Kane. And he's in the Scramble. Next, we're going to have him carry Vickie Guerrero's illegitimate child, quickly followed by being burned alive in a car explosion Vince McMahon-stlye, only to then announce that he has entered himself 5 times into the 2009 Royal Rumble!"

[Fox]

I didn't even think of Mr. Regal.

Guess the booking team didn't either.

[Mr. Nerfect]

The heat between Jericho and Michaels is such that I think you can't put off the next match. The run-in at the scramble would be a step backward in terms of what these guys have done to eachother, and would ruin the build of the fued.

I disagree. I mean, there is only one more RAW before Unforgiven. The first week, you have Chris Jericho defeat CM Punk in a non-title match, as was given, with only allusions made to Shawn Michaels, and how much of an asshole Jericho is.

The next week, Jericho says he wants to be in the Scramble, because he defeated CM Punk last week. Mike Adamle says that he has his orders from Shane and Stephanie, and that the match is to feature five participants, and those five have been confirmed. Jericho says he will get back to Adamle. Later that night, Jericho and Cade attack John Cena, and badly beat and brutalise him. Like really bad. I guess if Cena can't take a proper beating on TV, you just show Cena in a pool of blood backstage with Jericho and Cade standing over him. Jericho then comes out and says "At this time, I would like to re-submit my application for the World Heavyweight Championship Scramble at Unforgiven." Mike Adamle comes out and says that Cena won't be able to compete in the match, so all logic points to Jericho as the replacement candidate.

Week three, the RAW before Unforgiven, Shawn Michaels shows up backstage, and tells Jericho that he thinks Jericho deserves to be in the match (through gritted teeth), and that he hopes that if Jericho wins, he wll have the World Heavyweight Championship, and he will realise how awful the things he's done have made him feel, because he will have some real achievement in his life (with Adamle, security or maybe RAW Superstars around to keep them from getting out of hand). Jericho tells HBK that after Unforgiven, he will be World Heavyweight Champion, but he won't regret a thing. He can maybe add a line like "How does it feel to know you will never be Chris Jericho?"

At Unforgiven, Chris Jericho is a part of the match, things go as expected, but Shawn Michaels comes out, pulls Jericho out of the match at the final minutes (maybe while Jericho is tentative champion) and beats the crap out of a tired and expended Jericho. The following RAW, Jericho can call Michaels cheap and a coward, and HBK can do his thing and tell Jericho that he is refusing to sign his resignation papers, because he will do anything to get back in the ring with Jericho. Pretty much what we saw with this past week.

[Mr. Nerfect]

William Regal wouldn't have been a bad choice, but my problems with it are that he got beaten by Punk recently (whereas Jericho defeated him -- there needs to be some follow-through on that), and the whole suspension thing. The WWE is probably reluctant about rewarding Regal, as awesome as he is. He hasn't been involved in major RAW storylines for a few months now.

Although, a replacement Battle Royal with HBK screwing Jericho, and then Paul Burchill working with Regal to get rid of everyone, and then Regal eliminating Burchill from behind would have been a great way to get him into the match.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Rey just doesn't make sense, because his return against Kane needs some drama before they pull the trigger. Rey's spirit is broken, so he's announced as a participant the next week? It's very rushed.

[TerranRich]

I like your idea of properly introducing Jericho into the Scramble. While others may bitch and complain that (gasp) you're actually writing thoughtful posts on a message board (how dare you!), I actually enjoyed reading it.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Thank you, TR.

It really makes sense that Jericho would want to go after the World Heavyweight Title, especially with Shawn Michaels (in storyline terms) gone. He's got the whole "selfish and aiming for success" thing going on now, the more *cough* aerodynamic look about him, and I believe he said in a promo recently that he was going after the WHC.

I'm not saying get the title involved in the Jericho vs. Michaels feud, I'm just saying at least remind the WWE audience that these two men exist in the same reality as the World Heavyweight Championship, and it is ultimately the goal of every wrestler on the RAW brand to win it. Except for tag teams, who really should be gunning over the World Tag Team Championship as if it is their life. And women, who should see the Women's Championship as their World Championship.

[Sepholio]

Yea, they totally dropped the ball by using Rey. This could have been the best oppurtunity to further Jericho/Michaels fued and give CM Punk another good title defense.

Imagine if HBK came out Monday and said he didn't care what Y2J did, that he was done and he was going home to be with his family regardless, etc. Y2J gets all pissy obviously and continues to talk down to HBK for the coming weeks, telling him that he is scared and all that lovely shit. So we come down to the scramble with Y2J instead of Rey. Jericho ends up pinning someone for the belt with a couple minutes left, and it looks as if he will win the title. Then with only like 15 seconds left, HBK comes in, sweet chin music, CM Punk pins Jericho, and presto. Huge booster to the Y2J/HBK fued and CM Punk pulls another win out of his ass. Would have been awesome IMO.

[Afterlife]

It does NOT make sense that Jericho would rush into the title scene. He is fucking occupied with the most emotional and psychological feud he's ever had in the WWE, and the belt fucking ruins it. I'm not saying he should never be near the title, and anyone who thinks I meant that is a fool. But trying to shove the belt into this feud is fucking stupid.

[Theo Dious]

It would make no kind of sense for Jericho to be involved in such an intense, emotionally charged feud and suddenly be like "hey, be right with you, I have to go over here and be in a title match." And if they had done that, people would be complaining about it.

That being said, I would rather have seen Hornswoggle put in the Scramble then Mysterio.

[Mr. Nerfect]

It does NOT make sense that Jericho would rush into the title scene. He is fucking occupied with the most emotional and psychological feud he's ever had in the WWE, and the belt fucking ruins it. I'm not saying he should never be near the title, and anyone who thinks I meant that is a fool. But trying to shove the belt into this feud is fucking stupid.

I respectfully disagree. If you're calling people fools for assuming you meant the black "Jericho should never be near the title," then it's equally foolish to assume the white that Jericho being in a title match would drag the belt into the feud. Realise I am not calling you a fool, because I know you're not.

Jericho is not the one psychologically drained in this feud. He is in the driver's seat. He is owning this thing right now, got rid of his rival, and needs a new direction. He can't spend the rest of his nights just cutting promos about retiring Shawn Michaels. The World Heavyweight Title, as the Jericho character even said, is the next step. You tease that step with the Scramble, but then you pull Jericho out of it -- not the title into it -- and continue the Jericho/HBK program with a new chapter. Hell, Jericho moving on to bigger and better things is more likely to grab at HBK's goat than Jericho being all mopey about hitting Rebecca in the face.

I don't know how it could be considered rushed that Jericho would step into the scene. He just beat the World Heavyweight Champion in singles competition. If that doesn't get Jericho thinking about the World Heavyweight Title, nothing would, and nothing should. You have to keep in mind that Jericho is filling in for an injured competitor in the match.

It would not make sense for Jericho to go and get himself in another psychological-based feud with someone right after the Summerslam stuff, but going from a personal-based hatred to a professional-based program seems like a great way of adding some punctuation to one of the best programs the WWE has going right now. Having Jericho and HBK wrestling each other at every PPV from now until the end of the year would be more damaging to the feud than spacing it up a little, especially when they have a development that basically requires a given pause. Not to say that HBK and Jericho wrestling will ever be anything short of awesome.

[MrSpikeLee]

Out of all the guys backstage why on earth give Rey the shot at it.

Rey is not in the major storyline for the Title race. He is the replacement because He's going to continue his feud with Kane. And what better way for this to happen than costing KANE his title match.

I also don't think Jericho will get a title shot just yet, I think they want him to be a major heel champion, and once his feud with HBK is over, he'll move up the ranks and start going after the title again.

[TerranRich]

I like your idea of properly introducing Jericho into the Scramble. While others may bitch and complain that (gasp) you're actually writing thoughtful posts on a message board (how dare you!), I actually enjoyed reading it.

I love how Kane Knight neg repped me for the above post. Yes, KK, there exist people who actually type out long posts on message boards, usually to an intelligent audience. Take the AGS Forums (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forum) for example. You'll see many posts that people on here would deem too large to even bother reading. KK, you may have the attention span of a house plant, but leave the rest of us alone who actually like typing out "long" posts with meaning behind them.

[MrSpikeLee]

I love how Kane Knight neg repped me for the above post. Yes, KK, there exist people who actually type out long posts on message boards, usually to an intelligent audience. Take the AGS Forums (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forum) for example. You'll see many posts that people on here would deem too large to even bother reading. KK, you may have the attention span of a house plant, but leave the rest of us alone who actually like typing out "long" posts with meaning behind them.

Hey Rich are you on AIM now man?


I've found Stephs tron :D

[Splaya]

It does NOT make sense that Jericho would rush into the title scene. He is fucking occupied with the most emotional and psychological feud he's ever had in the WWE, and the belt fucking ruins it. I'm not saying he should never be near the title, and anyone who thinks I meant that is a fool. But trying to shove the belt into this feud is fucking stupid.

And that is what makes this feud so awesome. You don't need the belt to get their points across. They are not fighting for a title, or a title shot, etc. They are fighting for legacies

[Afterlife]

I respectfully disagree. If you're calling people fools for assuming you meant the black "Jericho should never be near the title," then it's equally foolish to assume the white that Jericho being in a title match would drag the belt into the feud. Realise I am not calling you a fool, because I know you're not.

Jericho is not the one psychologically drained in this feud. He is in the driver's seat. He is owning this thing right now, got rid of his rival, and needs a new direction. He can't spend the rest of his nights just cutting promos about retiring Shawn Michaels. The World Heavyweight Title, as the Jericho character even said, is the next step. You tease that step with the Scramble, but then you pull Jericho out of it -- not the title into it -- and continue the Jericho/HBK program with a new chapter. Hell, Jericho moving on to bigger and better things is more likely to grab at HBK's goat than Jericho being all mopey about hitting Rebecca in the face.

I don't know how it could be considered rushed that Jericho would step into the scene. He just beat the World Heavyweight Champion in singles competition. If that doesn't get Jericho thinking about the World Heavyweight Title, nothing would, and nothing should. You have to keep in mind that Jericho is filling in for an injured competitor in the match.

It would not make sense for Jericho to go and get himself in another psychological-based feud with someone right after the Summerslam stuff, but going from a personal-based hatred to a professional-based program seems like a great way of adding some punctuation to one of the best programs the WWE has going right now. Having Jericho and HBK wrestling each other at every PPV from now until the end of the year would be more damaging to the feud than spacing it up a little, especially when they have a development that basically requires a given pause. Not to say that HBK and Jericho wrestling will ever be anything short of awesome.

But he HASN'T vanquished HBK at ALL. He cannot take a new direction until the one he's on has actually come to a halt. And with the passion both men are putting into the story, you can't justify pauses and breaks. If Jericho re-injures HBK in this unsanctioned match, then sure, give him a title shot at the next ppv. But then HBK fucks it for him and we see a supercharged revenge angle for a LMS match. In fact, this could go all the way to HiaC if played out properly, and this, so far, is right fucking proper. But saying "O.k., they had amatch, pretend they aren't still focused on each other and give one as title shot" makes no damn sense and, yes, it would be rushing it.

[Afterlife]

And that is what makes this feud so awesome. You don't need the belt to get their points across. They are not fighting for a title, or a title shot, etc. They are fighting for legacies

Fucking bingo.

[Lock Jaw]

The belt isn't what is freaking important here.

The fact is that Jericho talked about vanquishing Shawn. He made it known that he thought he should get a world title match. He didn't get that match when he lost that triple threat to JBL. He then went on to later beat CM Punk.

How would it NOT make sense to place him in the scramble? He's "moved on", but not really, since he still makes comments about Shawn like every chance he gets (Like he did with Dean Malenko in WCW), meanwhile we could get "updates" on Shawn or whatever.

The scramble match comes, everything is going normal, but then Shawn comes out mid-match and beats down Jericho and takes him out of the match. The pops for the moment, and for his return on Raw the next night would have been bigger and better, and an emotion filled promo would set the stage for round 2 of the feud. Rather than moving directly from round 1 to round 2 with no dramatic pause.

The title is unimportant and does not impact on their feud. It is not "brought into" their feud, and does not get in the way of their conflict. Jericho CAN mention Shawn costing him the title, but then go on about his whole Shawn is a horrible person who needs the spotlight rant.

[screech]

Fucking Rey. I don't like him in the match for two reasons: I don't like him at all and the storyline feels so rushed now. There are definitely others deserving of that spot.

On a side note, I enjoy reading Noid posts.

[TerranRich]

Oh no! As our favorite belligerent poster would say, "Noid Rage is contagious"!

[Afterlife]

The belt isn't what is freaking important here.

The fact is that Jericho talked about vanquishing Shawn. He made it known that he thought he should get a world title match. He didn't get that match when he lost that triple threat to JBL. He then went on to later beat CM Punk.

How would it NOT make sense to place him in the scramble? He's "moved on", but not really, since he still makes comments about Shawn like every chance he gets (Like he did with Dean Malenko in WCW), meanwhile we could get "updates" on Shawn or whatever.

The scramble match comes, everything is going normal, but then Shawn comes out mid-match and beats down Jericho and takes him out of the match. The pops for the moment, and for his return on Raw the next night would have been bigger and better, and an emotion filled promo would set the stage for round 2 of the feud. Rather than moving directly from round 1 to round 2 with no dramatic pause.

The title is unimportant and does not impact on their feud. It is not "brought into" their feud, and does not get in the way of their conflict. Jericho CAN mention Shawn costing him the title, but then go on about his whole Shawn is a horrible person who needs the spotlight rant.

Except, as previously stated, Shawn isn't gone.

[Lock Jaw]

Yes. And as stated in the very beginning of the thread, this is a hypothetical situation where they would have kept Shawn gone instead of having him come back and challenge Jericho to the unsanctioned match, leaving him open to be in the scramble.

[Afterlife]

And let the passion that makes the feud so damn great start to fade.

[#1-norm-fan]

I'm agreeing with Lock Jaw here.

They should have had a couple weeks of Shawn tending to his wife and contemplating his own faults in the situation, had Jericho be in the scramble, and then during the match he gets chased away through the crowd by Michaels.

Wouldn't have hurt the heat of the feud one bit.

[Fox]

At some point I know Kane is going to tell Rey that he's going to "send him down to his friend Eddie" and then do that really maniacal, cheesy laugh.

[Afterlife]

Kane's laugh is fantastic.

[Fox]

Ngh.