WWE Day 1 - 1.1.22

[Blonde Moment]

i think for big e to work better he needs to drop the whole New Day gimmick

[Mr. Nerfect]

Originally Posted by Woken Wheel i think for big e to work better he needs to drop the whole New Day gimmick

There definitely seems to be a crossroads with him. He doesn’t come off as a main eventer with the gimmick, but without the gimmick you’re taking a huge risk removing what people find charismatic in the first place. Honestly, he kind of reminds me of Rikishi in that sense.

He’ll get his opportunities. He’ll be a two-time Hall of Famer for them if he keeps his nose clean — tag team and singles. It just is what it is. As a main eventer you need to take more risks with him. His ultimate value may be as a mid-card act though. And look, when they need someone for the odd WWE Title run here or there, he isn’t offensive in the role (well, I do find the gimmick obnoxious).

[Tom Guycott]

Originally Posted by Woken Wheel i think for big e to work better he needs to drop the whole New Day gimmick

Originally Posted by Mr. Nerfect There definitely seems to be a crossroads with him. He doesn’t come off as a main eventer with the gimmick, but without the gimmick you’re taking a huge risk removing what people find charismatic in the first place. Honestly, he kind of reminds me of Rikishi in that sense. He’ll get his opportunities. He’ll be a two-time Hall of Famer for them if he keeps his nose clean — tag team and singles. It just is what it is. As a main eventer you need to take more risks with him. His ultimate value may be as a mid-card act though. And look, when they need someone for the odd WWE Title run here or there, he isn’t offensive in the role (well, I do find the gimmick obnoxious).

I know it isn't going to happen, but...

EVERYONE gets swerved when Reigns gets beaten by Big E... with a new assist from Heyman. When the time for the "Why?" promo shows up, we get reminded of the Talking Smack thing where Paul talks about him "finally showing his true potential" asks him the rhetorical question in relation to him and New Day: "When was the last time that anyone said anything about Roman Reigns where they even mentioned The Shield?"

Only problem with that, though, is that WWE would prob'ly be too eager to just make him act like Roman v.2 and have him turn heel instead of the bigger swerve of turning Paul Heyman face. He was in the ear of an unpredictable monster Brock, and a manipulative egomaniac in Reigns... have Big E be his redemption arc. The type of champion he wanted the others to be. Of course, everyone thinks he's just trying to sweet talk his way into Big E's good graces, and all signs and history point to this being true, because he's fucking Paul E. Dangerously, so everything he says and does will always look damning in one way or another. Let that be the new drama, where it looks like he's going to go back to one of the other choices, but does not.

But ultimately, it is Big E that saves the sinner, and that whole "is Heyman's career done?" ends with him savagely being attacked by Brock or something while protecting Etor or somesuch, and carted out one last time on a stretcher in a last act to prove he wasn't lying to him, and then we get a more serious, agressive Big E that is also a) still a babyface that doesn't need to just turn on his friends for zero reason while b) the whole paring with Paul E divorces him more from New Day even if just by osmosis.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Originally Posted by xrodmuc316 Since when has losing to Brock Lesnar become a career killer? The way they did it to Kofi was bad, no doubt, and the complete lack of a followup story from Kofi made it worse. Big E losing to Brock in a competitive match is not the same thing. I would have rather Brock pinned Seth, it gives E a better gripe for a rematch, and Seth's character would not suffer in the slightest, but it is what it is, they booked it for Lashley to look strong. Lashley is a better matchup for a babyface Lesnar, and he is a more marquee match since the two of them have never crossed paths before Day 1.

The lack of follow-up with Kofi was silly. Made it look like he didn’t even give a shit. If he doesn’t care, why should his fans? But I actually didn’t hate the way the “match” happened. Say what you want about Vince, but he protected the fuck out of the mystique of Brock wrestling bell-to-bell on TV. A loose cannon babyface Brock could be used to do that to boost ratings, but he hasn’t jumped the gun on it. We’re almost 10 years in.

And Brock, who largely put the 2020 Rumble together with Heyman (allegedly) interacted with Kofi Kingston in that match, who was out to prove something in that context. Brock remembered even if the WWE moved past it (because what are you really going to do with Brock vs. Kofi?).

Originally Posted by Tom Guycott I know it isn't going to happen, but... EVERYONE gets swerved when Reigns gets beaten by Big E... with a new assist from Heyman. When the time for the "Why?" promo shows up, we get reminded of the Talking Smack thing where Paul talks about him "finally showing his true potential" asks him the rhetorical question in relation to him and New Day: "When was the last time that anyone said anything about Roman Reigns where they even mentioned The Shield?" Only problem with that, though, is that WWE would prob'ly be too eager to just make him act like Roman v.2 and have him turn heel instead of the bigger swerve of turning Paul Heyman face. He was in the ear of an unpredictable monster Brock, and a manipulative egomaniac in Reigns... have Big E be his redemption arc. The type of champion he wanted the others to be. Of course, everyone thinks he's just trying to sweet talk his way into Big E's good graces, and all signs and history point to this being true, because he's fucking Paul E. Dangerously, so everything he says and does will always look damning in one way or another. Let that be the new drama, where it looks like he's going to go back to one of the other choices, but does not. But ultimately, it is Big E that saves the sinner, and that whole "is Heyman's career done?" ends with him savagely being attacked by Brock or something while protecting Etor or somesuch, and carted out one last time on a stretcher in a last act to prove he wasn't lying to him, and then we get a more serious, agressive Big E that is also a) still a babyface that doesn't need to just turn on his friends for zero reason while b) the whole paring with Paul E divorces him more from New Day even if just by osmosis.

Interesting ideas there. I could go for something like that down the road. I think the Mania story is pretty set. A guy I actually had penciled in for a potential Heyman relationship down the line is Drew McIntyre. I don’t know when exactly, but Drew being a guy who walked through Lesnar without consequences (as of yet) has got potential for Heyman to try and milk — whether that be against Lesnar or just parallel to him.