Raw rating lowest since July 2012

[BigCrippyZ]

Originally Posted by The CyNick Cesaro has not yet been pushed to main event level. As proven with Reigns, and Bryan before that, when WWE wants to get a guy to that level they can and will.

There's that sound again.

That's not the point.

Why would you repeatedly try to push Upcoming Superstar A (i.e., Reigns) in the same way, month after month, when it's clearly not working? At least it seems they FINALLY tried a different route with Reigns on Sunday and Monday.

In addition, when Upcoming Superstar B (i.e., Ziggler, Cesaro, Dean. Fucking. Ambrose., etc.) is already over/getting over naturally on their own, why not let them continue to do their own thing and try pushing Upcoming Superstar B instead of killing Upcoming Superstar B's momentum with either intentional or negligent horrible writing/booking?

[The CyNick]

Originally Posted by BigCrippyZ There's that sound again. That's not the point. Why would you repeatedly try to push Upcoming Superstar A (i.e., Reigns) in the same way, month after month, when it's clearly not working? At least it seems they FINALLY tried a different route with Reigns on Sunday and Monday. In addition, when Upcoming Superstar B (i.e., Ziggler, Cesaro, Dean. Fucking. Ambrose., etc.) is already over/getting over naturally on their own, why not let them continue to do their own thing and try pushing Upcoming Superstar B instead of killing Upcoming Superstar B's momentum with either intentional or negligent horrible writing/booking?

Why are you pretending like they have been trying to get Roman over as THE GUY for months and months? He took a backseat to Rollins, who was feuding with guys like Ambrose, Lesnar, Sting, Kane, and Cena. Roman was in secondary programs. They really started pushing him as THE GUY coming out of Survivor Series. They told a story over 6 weeks or so with Reigns getting screwed time after time. Finally he reached a breaking point, and he stepped up his agression and developed an i don't give a fuck attitude while still cutting cheesy 2015 babyface promos. To me that's just great storytelling and excellent character progression.

Funny how the sheep on here quickly change their stance on Roman. Maybe next time you will have faith that WWE know what they are doing. Actually you guys never learn, so you will look foolish next time too.

[ron the dial]

who has changed their stance on roman? show me a post.

[BigCrippyZ]

Originally Posted by ron the dial who has changed their stance on roman? show me a post.

No one that I've noticed. He's still just as talented AND has the same flaws he had before. He can't cut a long promo or a scripted promo and make it interesting or compelling to save his life.

The difference is apparently on Sunday and Monday night WWE booked and produced him in a way that was more compelling and worked to his advantage, doing their best to hide Roman's weaknesses and showcase his strengths.

They apparently didn't do what they had been doing, i.e., having him come out and try to memorize and cut an awkward, long winded, horribly written promo that made him come across as a bubble gum, baby face, Cena 2.0. Instead, WWE apparently had him be a bad ass, take no prisoners, wrecking machine who was going to get his point across with violence and destruction.

No one has said Roman isn't a strong hand or doesn't belong in the main event scene at all. The problem is he's not yet proven he's earned that spot necessarily, both in story line and in talent. What had he accomplished as a singles guy in the midcard both in and out of the ring before winning the Rumble? The answer is nothing.

What had HHH, Austin, Rock, HBK, Jericho and others done before winning or getting their first world title shots? Won multiple singles and tag team titles, had great mid card feuds, cut good to great promos and put on great matches and gotten over as heels and/or faces.

[screech]

Originally Posted by ron the dial who has changed their stance on roman? show me a post.

Don't want this important question to get lost on the last page.

[DAMN iNATOR]

Originally Posted by screech Don't want this important question to get lost on the last page.

I did, but only VERY slightly for the positive, and only temporarily pending where they go with this new devil-may-care badass persona. By and large,
at least as of now it still seems he's the same old Roman. I'm willing to give it a chance.

[BigCrippyZ]

Originally Posted by The CyNick Why are you pretending like they have been trying to get Roman over as THE GUY for months and months? He took a backseat to Rollins, who was feuding with guys like Ambrose, Lesnar, Sting, Kane, and Cena. Roman was in secondary programs. They really started pushing him as THE GUY coming out of Survivor Series. They told a story over 6 weeks or so with Reigns getting screwed time after time. Finally he reached a breaking point, and he stepped up his agression and developed an i don't give a fuck attitude while still cutting cheesy 2015 babyface promos. To me that's just great storytelling and excellent character progression. Funny how the sheep on here quickly change their stance on Roman. Maybe next time you will have faith that WWE know what they are doing. Actually you guys never learn, so you will look foolish next time too.

You can't be serious or this stupid. They've been pushing him as the next guy since Royal Rumble this year. Just because the fans shit on the idea of him winning at Mania against Lesnar did they pull back a little and hold off.

If Vince & co. could've gotten away with putting the title on him at WM, they would've. If Vince & co. could've kept presenting him as a bubble gum, Cena 2.0 baby face, who kept cutting long, horribly written promos they would've. Hell, they could still fall back into that pattern at anytime.

[The CyNick]

Originally Posted by BigCrippyZ You can't be serious or this stupid. They've been pushing him as the next guy since Royal Rumble this year. Just because the fans shit on the idea of him winning at Mania against Lesnar did they pull back a little and hold off. If Vince & co. could've gotten away with putting the title on him at WM, they would've. If Vince & co. could've kept presenting him as a bubble gum, Cena 2.0 baby face, who kept cutting long, horribly written promos they would've. Hell, they could still fall back into that pattern at anytime.

That's just not accurate.

No doubt he was being pushed as the NEXT top guy at the 15 Rumble, but he wasn't THE GUY yet. They made a mistake IMO by putting him next to Daniel Bryan. The crowd was still hot for Bryan after the effective job that was done building him and his subsequent injury.

They decided to pump the breaks on his meteoric rise at Mania and start telling a story where he has to struggle to get to the top. Rollins was clearly always going to get the belt at some point in the first half of 15 because he had the briefcase. Likely Reigns would have been screwed and they would have done a chase story for him to get the belt back.

In pumping the breaks on the push, he became the 2nd or 3rd from the top guy on most shows. Cena and Lesnar and others worked with Rollins at the top of the card. That's not positioning Reigns as the top guy for that time period. Even as recently as Hell in a Cell he was at best 2nd from the top.

Post HIAC they started to position him as the focal point, but Rollins got hurt and derailed those plans. WWE to their credit came up with this 6 week arc that saw Reigns go from looking like the hand picked champion to an underdog that tough towns like Boston and Philly were screaming like little girls to see him win. I would say it's been a successful 6 weeks on top for Reigns, and some epic booking along the way even when faced with difficult circumstances.