***OFFICIAL*** Tazz Dan Endorsed TPWW WrestleMania 31 thread - RISE!

[Vastardikai]

I'll try to go over what I remember...

• Tag Match was solid, well what I saw, anyway. There was a LOT of issues from the Network on my end. They wrote off the Uso very well. Also, the finish was brilliant. I don't get why they don't do more with Cesaro.
• Battle Royal was cool. I liked Mizdow's face turn. Well played out. One thing I didn't like was Big Show winning. Way to push the youth movement, WWE.
• Who was that Lanolin Grey dude?
• Ladder match was ok, but I'm really not big on the spottiness of it. Also, the headbutt-a-thon was kind of ludicrous at the end. But the right guy won. Also, why isn't Harper higher up on the card? Seriously.
• Orton vs. Rollins was a decent match. It was much more balanced than I expected. The finish was cool, but I hated the delay between the finish and the pin. Glad to see that spry new-comer Randy Orton go over the established veteran Seth Rollins. I'll discuss this a bit more in a bit.
• Sting vs. HHH met expectations. It went on too long, was overbooked, Triple H blew up first, and he won. If anyone goes back to watch it, though. I strong recommend you do so on mute. You clearly heard Vince through all three of them. All I could think of during the entrance for Sting was "You know that Great Muta was a different guy, right?" And Triple H's entrance topped the Conan the Barbarian entrance for most ridiculous thing he ever did.
• All I could think of during the musical performance was "And the Tag Match was pushed to the pre-show because...?"
• Cena vs. Rusev met expectations as well. I loved Rusev's entrance. It was insanely awesome. But of course, Cena won. I think the only thing worse was how he won. Rusev is more or less dead at this point. Stick a fork in him, he is done.
• It's insanely rare when Stephanie gets her comeuppance. Far too rare, if you ask me. And huge props to WWE for getting someone when they are at their most relevant for a change.
• Taker vs. Wyatt was better than I thought. Taker did quite well for himself, though he looked really skinny. Of course he went over though, because we don't want to create new stars.
• The Main Event was an intense spectacle. I thought halfway through the Reigns' strategy was going to be to rope-a-dope Lesnar into wearing himself out and then take advantage. That said, Rollins' cash in was PERFECT. I wasn't as pissed about Orton going over after that. Because it sets him up until, if they play their cards right, at least Summerslam. One day Reigns will be the guy. But Rollins' moment is now.

[Heyman]

Originally Posted by Vastardikai Rusev is more or less dead at this point. Stick a fork in him, he is done.

• Pretty solid analysis V, but I strongly disagree with the above. One thing the WWE has done extremely well with Rusev, is in building him up slowly. Rusev is an amazing talent, and I think he's got a bright future ahead of him. The WWE seem to be teasing a Rusev/Lana and I think this will further add to Rusev's heeldom.

Having said all that, I'm almost as down on Wyatt as you are with Rusev. Wyatt seems to have stagnated a bit and I hope the WWE's long term plan is to have Wyatt ultimately end Taker's career.

[Vastardikai]

Originally Posted by Heyman Pretty solid analysis V, but I strongly disagree with the above. One thing the WWE has done extremely well with Rusev, is in building him up slowly. Rusev is an amazing talent, and I think he's got a bright future ahead of him. The WWE seem to be teasing a Rusev/Lana and I think this will further add to Rusev's heeldom. Having said all that, I'm almost as down on Wyatt as you are with Rusev. Wyatt seems to have stagnated a bit and I hope the WWE's long term plan is to have Wyatt ultimately end Taker's career.

I don't think so. I feel like Cena more or less killed the Accolade, no sold Lana ENTIRELY (I felt like the thrown shoe should have been a bit more of a distraction), and made Rusev look bad in the process.

Wyatt is in a rough state right now. If it was me, the match would have been last year, when the Family was still together. During the build, Taker says something to the effect of "The man who has the power to beat me is standing in that ring." Everyone thinks they're talking about Wyatt. During the match itself, the Family gets involved, Rowan gets taken out, and there's an intense stare down between Taker and Harper, This leads to a near fall for Wyatt.

In the end, Taker won, but we see a development in Harper's character from then on. It starts very subtle, with Harper starting to do the eye roll, but no one really catches it, thinking he's just being nuts as usual. During a big match at Summerslam, he's hit with something that should beat him. There's a bit of a stall from the opponent, he staggers to his opponent, and Harper sits up. There is an eventual split with Wyatt and Harper debuts a new move to his arsenal during their match at Survivor Series: A chokeslam.

It builds up to Harper vs. Taker this year, and it is Harper who ends the streak. From that point on, Harper is the new phenom, not unlike how 'Taker became the phenom after Superfly.

But that's a bridge that was already crossed. Sorry for the accidental Noid post.

[Fignuts]

Originally Posted by Vastardikai Cena vs. Rusev met expectations as well. I loved Rusev's entrance. It was insanely awesome. But of course, Cena won. I think the only thing worse was how he won. Rusev is more or less dead at this point. Stick a fork in him, he is done.

Complete opposite.

Undefeated streaks, while a good shorcut to looking strong in a hurry, can be creatively stifling. This loss will give the writers a lot more freedom in booking Rusev, and it doesn't really hurt him at all because it's Cena. Losing to superman doesn't hurt your rep at all.

[Vastardikai]

Originally Posted by Fignuts Complete opposite. Undefeated streaks, while a good shorcut to looking strong in a hurry, can be creatively stifling. This loss will give the writers a lot more freedom in booking Rusev, and it doesn't really hurt him at all because it's Cena. Losing to superman doesn't hurt your rep at all.

I don't care that Cena won. If Cena had fought to the ropes to escape the Accolade, I wouldn't have cared. But no, we get Super Cena "Fuck Your dreaded finish" spot. I would have liked if the thrown shoe would have actually caused Cena to release the STF out of confusion. But he no sold it. And Lana got made an afterthought sucked, as well. Rusev could have come out of the match at least looking strong in defeat (Hell, even Wyatt kicked out of a Tombstone), but he looks like a chump.