The Figure Four - ALL Things ECW-WWF-NJPW-TNA-ROH-AEW

[Zazzaro703]

From Raw last night. Props to whoever this is:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_606w/WashingtonPost/Content/Blogs/dc-sports-bog/StandingArt/RG3raw0412a.jpg?uuid=KkJeuIKoEeGwiIZgYwtyhA

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/post/rgiii-giant-head-at-wwe-raw/2012/04/09/gIQAtmr16S_blog.html

I don't watch wrestling that much anymore but did back in the day and was interested in WM. Anyways, i think it would be awesome if when they announce RGIII's name (Of course after booing Goodell and screaming we want our money back) the whole crowd erupted in the

"YES! YES! YES!" chant.

[ixcuincle]

Nice.

And that fight reminded me of a baseball fight. Lot of posturing

[spjunkies]

This dude put the D.C. crowd on blast

By Arda Ocal

7:00 a.m. EDT, April 12, 2012

What a difference in the crowd from Raw in Miami on April 2 to Raw in D.C. on April 9. It was essentially the difference between a rock star show and an indy act.

Yes, Miami’s crowd had many WWE diehards who made an entire WrestleMania weekend of it with Raw as their final event (unless they traveled to Orlando for Smackdown). Those crowds are typically the loudest. But the crowd in Washington seemed to buy tickets and be content to sit on their hands.

I don’t often make comparisons to Corpus Christi, Texas (which I deem the quietest WWE audience in the world), but on a scale of Corpus Christi to 1 (with 1 being the loudest), the nation’s capital this past Monday on Raw was a 9.

When Brock Lesnar appeared to the crowd this past Monday on Raw, the impression I got from the audio on TV of the crowd response was that Washington didn’t care that Lesnar was there. A few people stood up but didn’t bother to cheer or boo.

I don’t think this has anything to do with altered crowd response, either. Some people tweeted me throughout Smackdown last week saying the crowd reactions they heard on TV during Daniel Bryan’s breakup with AJ were very different from being live in Orlando. In the case of Lesnar, I genuinely believe that the pop wasn’t there.

It’s no surprise to anyone how important the crowd is to a WWE or pro wrestling event. David Shoemaker of Grantland wrote a great article about the various chants at events (for example, “Lets go Cena / Cena Sucks,” “This is Wrestling” and “Yes! Yes! Yes!"). Crowd reaction defines a superstar. John Cena is proof of that.

Monday’s Raw showed that a lack of crowd response can make superstars seem ... mortal. That’s exactly how Lesnar appeared Monday. Connection with John Laurinaitis changing his crowd response or not, the response lacked not only in this segment but throughout the show.

Looking to the past, consider these moments / feuds that were brought over the top due to crowd response:

* The crowd in Miami for WrestleMania 28 was fantastic. The crowd made John Cena vs. The Rock. It may not have been the best in-ring matchup of all time, but it doesn’t matter – it didn’t need to be. Crowd interest brought it over the top. The difference between the WrestleMania 28 matches of Rock/Cena and 'Taker/HHH is that the crowd response made Cena/Rock, while HHH/'Taker made crowd response (including the loudest reaction to a near fall I have ever heard).

Embarrassing

[Teller]

That dude on the right, in the RGIII pic looks familiar...like ES familiar.

[FSUSkins24]

John Cena is sucha a bore on the mike, and the king of hyperbole. Brock Lesnar's return was "the most anticipated in WWE History?" riiight. :jerk:

In somewhat related news. Somebody needs to turn up Laurinitis' mic, cause that weak voice doesn't carry.

[Dont Taze Me Bro]

John Cena is sucha a bore on the mike, and the king of hyperbole. Brock Lesnar's return was "the most anticipated in WWE History?" riiight. :jerk:

In somewhat related news. Somebody needs to turn up Laurinitis' mic, cause that weak voice doesn't carry.

I actually used to like Cena somewhat, but now, I'm just sick of him. Brock coming back was a pretty big deal though, WWE needs it.

What is horrible about Cena is he can never turn full heal like the Rock was before when he was in the NOD. Too many kids like him. Im sick of the rise above hate, all that **** to be honest. Its like they are trying to turn him heal, but he really cant turn, so its broken imo. WWE needs to stick to the old template. Its pretty simple........major heal turn/screw jobs at PPVs costing championships; changing the WWE titles on RAW/Smackdown every few months so you watch cause that usually doesnt happen.

Edited April 17, 2012 by Dont Taze Me Bro

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

Why's this white dude all marked up with Japanese script? Is he supposed to be Japanese?

[FSUSkins24]

Brock coming back was a pretty big deal though, WWE needs it.

I completely agree, but to say "the most anticipated in WWE history" is beyond ridiculous. It's not even the most anticipated in the last two years, am I right (The Rock)? I just sat there watching Cena's Raw speech and thought. "Woow, this isn't the least bit captivating."

---------- Post added April-17th-2012 at 02:19 AM ----------

Why's this white dude all marked up with Japanese script? Is he supposed to be Japanese?

He debuted a couple weeks ago, Lord Tensai. His backstory is that he is a former WWF/E wrestler (Prince Albert/A-Train) that went oversees and got HUGE in Japan. So now he is like a Japanese bad ass kinda thing.

I actually REALLY like his character, and think that WWE has gotten away from "character" guys. I thought they had a good thing going with Ivan Koloff or whatever his name was back in '08 when he was an unstoppable Russian wrestler, but then they made his character all silly with Santino.

I feel like Tensai has potential. Heel or face.

[CrypticVillain]

I actually REALLY like his character, and think that WWE has gotten away from "character" guys. I thought they had a good thing going with Ivan Koloff or whatever his name was back in '08 when he was an unstoppable Russian wrestler, but then they made his character all silly with Santino.

You must be talking about Vladamir Koslov.

This is how I feel about WWE.

They are playing a game of Spades. They have been dealt a great hand, but since it is not full of power cards, they are messing it up.

For the life of me I don't understand why Dolph Ziggler isn't getting any major burn right now; they need to turn him face. They need to do the opposite to Kofi Kingston.

They also need to turn Randy Orton heel again because honestly, there aren't any top heels in WWE right now besides Mark Henry....

One thing that is intriguing to me is what kind of angle they are about to do with Abraham Washington (AW). I swear if he creates a stable with all the big men of the WWE, I am going to flick off.

[FSUSkins24]

You must be talking about Vladamir Koslov.

Haha yeah, that's the guy. I knew I had the name wrong but was too lazy to google it to double check :silly:

[KDawg]

Watched RAW on DVR, man did it suck. Although, I like how they pushed Tensai last night. They made him look formidable.

I think they're going on a "losing streak" gimmick with Cena. Hopefully, eventually he snaps and goes berserk. Maybe not as a heel, maybe he still "rises above hate" but he stops being an extreme goody good and has moments of rage where he loses his wits and destroys people. Then he can come back and say he's sorry for his actions, but it's something that needed to be done...yada yada yada. The whole goody two shoes thing is getting more infuriating every day.

The Punk/Jericho thing has been completely uninteresting lately. It had a ton of potential, but its just not entertaining me, and I like both guys. I think Ryback and Tensai can breathe some life into WWE, and I definitely wonder what Abraham Washington is up to. But without Rock/Lesnar on the show, the product was... lackluster. I probably watched 30 minutes of RAW in all by the time I was done fast forwarding. And that may be a high estimate.

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

I agree with everything you said, KDawg.

[RichmondRedskin88]

I keep thinking back to this segment this month. It shows Cena can still do his Thugamonics deal. They need to let him write his own lines again.

----

See I guess I never understood the hate for Cena. I mean he was put in a tough spot years ago. When you are approached by Mr McMahon and asked to be the face of the organization what do you expect him to say? He's telling you the sky is the limit to your legacy, your roster spot is safe, and you'll be a role model. Who would pass up the money, opportunity, and job security? Would you tell the guy "No, I don't want to be the face of your organization because people will boo me"? I don't think anyone would pass up that opportunity. You'd be nuts.

Over the years you've seen John Cena come in as unknown, develop a thug gimmick, become a man chasing his dream, become a guy who represents the military, and Become a guy about loyalty/respect. Personally I'll root for guy version of Cena whether punk, heel, or his current one. I'm not gonna turn on the guy just because he was made the face of the WWE.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYo-5xr7rDs&feature=related

Edited April 20, 2012 by RichmondRedskin88

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

I can't be the only who noticed CM Punk botched the alphabet backwards on his second, sober attempt. Intentional or not, I don't know

[DM72]

They need to check Cens's undies. Brock scared him ****less tonight.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

You know what Brock Lesnar excels at?

Talking for 30 minutes.

Jesus Christ. Just have him punch someone in the face. He's not Ric Flair on the stick.

[RichmondRedskin88]

I can't be the only who noticed CM Punk botched the alphabet backwards on his second, sober attempt. Intentional or not, I don't know

Yeah he mixed up S and T. Probably more.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

Yeah he mixed up S and T. Probably more.

I believe K and L too. There was definitely a second botch. I wonder if that's his way of saying this"this storyline is stupid".

Edited April 24, 2012 by G.A.C.O.L.B.

[Mr. Sinister]

Completely forgot about Raw tonight, but it sounds like I didn't miss much. I was kinda underwhelmed by WM, and haven't really watched any programming since.

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

See I guess I never understood the hate for Cena. I mean he was put in a tough spot years ago. When you are approached by Mr McMahon and asked to be the face of the organization what do you expect him to say? He's telling you the sky is the limit to your legacy, your roster spot is safe, and you'll be a role model. Who would pass up the money, opportunity, and job security? Would you tell the guy "No, I don't want to be the face of your organization because people will boo me"? I don't think anyone would pass up that opportunity. You'd be nuts.

Over the years you've seen John Cena come in as unknown, develop a thug gimmick, become a man chasing his dream, become a guy who represents the military, and Become a guy about loyalty/respect. Personally I'll root for guy version of Cena whether punk, heel, or his current one. I'm not gonna turn on the guy just because he was made the face of the WWE.

Because no matter what angle they bring Cena in with, he's always going to be way too "human" to enjoy. When I'm watching wrestling, I'm watching a play, an acting performance, in order to forgo the normalcy of every day people. I'd rather watch a good guy hellbent on other motives than a normal upstanding citizen. Or a crappy copy of Eminem, or a proud American. These are real life characters, wrestling is fantasy. You can still live on the moral high ground, you can teach young children the right things to do, just do it with some kind of awesome twist.

I always liken it to superhero cards. Like if Hogan was Mr. America and Sting was Night Crawler - Cena would be "Person".

Or "Human Being".

I feel like at this pace, we'll have to search for WWE products in the infant section.

Cena in 2020: "And I DAMN sure suck on my baba when I'm stressed, because throwing the milk bottle across the room is a DAMN NO NO."

Great that he's making a gazillion bucks, doesn't mean I'm entitled to enjoy his character. I don't like that "sold out to McMahon" argument. I mean, yeah, I'd take the money too, but that doesn't mean people should like me. As a fan, it isn't about anything else other than the show the wrestler brings to the table. Do you bring it? To me, Cena is a snoozefest.

Edited April 24, 2012 by d0ublestr0ker0ll

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

The problem I have with Cena is that he needs to pick one approach - sincere or ironic - and stick to it. Hogan stuck to his sincere Hulkamania drivel way way way past its expiration date. But at least he was committed. Austin and the Rock always acted like they were too cool for McMahon's Hee Haw senisibilities. And they stuck with it.

Cena will give a ten minute speech about believing in yourself and never giving up and then get in a confrontation with a heel and smirk like he's above it all. He was smirking while Brock was dropping him on his face a few weeks back. It's like he's saying to the adults in the audience "I know this is BS but I have to sell t-shirts to the kids."

This problem came out last night. That segment was deader than dead before Cena came out because some genius decided to let Brock talk for 20 minutes. But Cena came out and no one had any idea what emotion he was trying to convey: Fear? Confusion? Constipation? Since nothing has ever affected him, he doesn't know how to sell any emotion outside the ring.

[KDawg]

I don't get what they brought Edge out for. I mean I get it on its head. A pep talk. But, he wanted Cena to change back to being... well... the exact same version of John Cena we're seeing now. And Cena just had that "aww shucks" look after Edge left.

I don't dislike Cena the guy. He puts in a lot of time and energy for Make A Wish because he wants to help people. The guy is good on the mic when he's allowed to be. The guy can wrestle and he's an extremely hard worker. I HATE Cena the character.

[RichmondRedskin88]

The problem I have with Cena is that he needs to pick one approach - sincere or ironic - and stick to it. Hogan stuck to his sincere Hulkamania drivel way way way past its expiration date. But at least he was committed. Austin and the Rock always acted like they were too cool for McMahon's Hee Haw senisibilities. And they stuck with it.

Cena will give a ten minute speech about believing in yourself and never giving up and then get in a confrontation with a heel and smirk like he's above it all. He was smirking while Brock was dropping him on his face a few weeks back. It's like he's saying to the adults in the audience "I know this is BS but I have to sell t-shirts to the kids."

This problem came out last night. That segment was deader than dead before Cena came out because some genius decided to let Brock talk for 20 minutes. But Cena came out and no one had any idea what emotion he was trying to convey: Fear? Confusion? Constipation? Since nothing has ever affected him' date=' he doesn't know how to sell any emotion outside the ring.[/quote']

As far as Austin no one is gonna dislike a beer drinking guy from Texas who is only out to whoop ass sober or drunk. The Rock drove people nuts for a period of time with some of his phrases. People didn't like squeaky clean "I'm here for competition" image. So The Rock started annoying the hell out of them and that's how he got over. Cena said something before wrestlemania that holds very true. At some point every superstar has turned their back on the WWE universe. Cena how ever is so controversial that he doesn't have to. If you read between the lines of his words he's basically making it known that he can't be a fun heel because there will be people who root for him just like there will be people who hate him.

[KDawg]

You know, the whole Austin thing you just said, RR? About how he just liked to drink beer and whoop ass drunk or sober?

You made me find a glaring hole in the story line from last night. Punk got sobriety tested for being drunk because Eve said, "You can't drink 12 hours prior to an event". Well, Austin violated that, well, every night and didn't get stripped of his title. I realize it's just a story, but glaring storyline issues like that drive me nuts.

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

Someone get me a hot dog and a beer.