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Post by J12 on Jul 20, 2016 10:43:23 GMT -5
Smackdown needs to be in full-on, balls to the wall star-making mode beginning next week. It's the only way they have a shot at not being absolutely horrible. If you break things down in terms of babyfaces and heels, this is your depth chart: Dean Ambrose John Cena (part time) Randy Orton Dolph Ziggler AJ Styles Bray Wyatt Alberto Del Rio The Miz That's going to get incredibly old, incredibly fast. Take Cena out of there, because he's part time, and it becomes even more gaping. Turn Orton heel, and you have another huge problem. They have to get to work on guys like Crews and Ziggler, immediately. No 50/50, they can't afford it. I just don't see them having the restraint to do it. Honestly, if they can finally push Ziggler as a big babyface and actually stick with it, and put him over after someone like heel AJ Styles gets a good run with the title, the brand split will be worth it to me, despite what a terrible idea I think it is. It's just my personal selfishness in the whole deal. I want to see it. I agree though. I think Crews is going to get the rocket over on Smackdown. I'm fine with it. Have him run through Miz for the IC Title and go from there. They just need to get a better grip on who he is as a performer. Right now he's just a guy who smiles. This is the predicament though. Smackdown has 1/3 the roster and so it stands the much stronger chance of getting old fast. I do think there are some good scenarios there though. Bray Wyatt and Styles both need world title runs and Ziggler needs a legit one as well. So I think the parts are there for them to have a compelling main event. I just don't see a situation where 6 months to a year from now it doesn't all feel incredibly recycled. It also suffers from having a bunch of talent that have worked each other dozens of times. Who wants to see Cena/Orton again? Ziggler/Corbin? Ziggler/Del Rio? Del Rio/Cena? Wyatt/Cena? These are all feuds we're probably going to see at one point of another, and I'm going to be completely disengaged from every single one of them. |
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Post by punksnotdead on Jul 20, 2016 10:47:04 GMT -5
Honestly, if they can finally push Ziggler as a big babyface and actually stick with it, and put him over after someone like heel AJ Styles gets a good run with the title, the brand split will be worth it to me, despite what a terrible idea I think it is. It's just my personal selfishness in the whole deal. I want to see it. I agree though. I think Crews is going to get the rocket over on Smackdown. I'm fine with it. Have him run through Miz for the IC Title and go from there. They just need to get a better grip on who he is as a performer. Right now he's just a guy who smiles. This is the predicament though. Smackdown has 1/3 the roster and so it stands the much stronger chance of getting old fast. I do think there are some good scenarios there though. Bray Wyatt and Styles both need world title runs and Ziggler needs a legit one as well. So I think the parts are there for them to have a compelling main event. I just don't see a situation where 6 months to a year from now it doesn't all feel incredibly recycled. It also suffers from having a bunch of talent that have worked each other dozens of times. Who wants to see Cena/Orton again? Ziggler/Corbin? Ziggler/Del Rio? Del Rio/Cena? Wyatt/Cena? These are all feuds we're probably going to see at one point of another, and I'm going to be completely disengaged from every single one of them.  |
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Post by tylerbreezee on Jul 20, 2016 10:50:49 GMT -5
Maybe we're gonna get a Cesaro angle where he quits Raw after being such a low pick and getting no respect and then goes to Smackdown
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Post by tiny04 on Jul 20, 2016 10:57:00 GMT -5
Maybe we're gonna get a Cesaro angle where he quits Raw after being such a low pick and getting no respect and then goes to Smackdown While I understand the logic behind that story, Smackdown didn't pick Cesaro either. So Smackdown doesn't respect him either. |
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Post by tiny04 on Jul 20, 2016 10:58:16 GMT -5
With all the top former NXT talents being on Raw, that just confirms that Foley as GM is temporary and Triple H will be running things in a few months.
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Post by cordless2016 on Jul 20, 2016 11:01:23 GMT -5
After Ambrose, Cena, Orton, Styles, Wyatt, and Miz, there is a huge drop off in talent IMO. Corbin is alright, but they need to hope Crews and American Alpha can get over big. Ziggler has been booked into oblivion and I don't see the WWE getting behind him even with split rosters. The less ADR the better. Unless they plan to move more NXT guys there SD could get old very quickly. Why Zayne or Cesaro arnt on SD I'll never know. I actually hope Ryder's push continues as with the lack of talent in SD's midcard he could really shine there.
And Bruan by himself will kill him quickly. If he wasn't injured Luke Harper can do great on his own, but Bruan needed to stay with Bray, just like Rowan.
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Post by J-MANN on Jul 20, 2016 11:07:34 GMT -5
This is just going to be a huge fail lol.. No way around it.
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Post by Chip on Jul 20, 2016 11:16:16 GMT -5
some confusing decisions, but i expected nothing less. this is the WWE. again, RAW is the flagship...people clamoring for a 2005 smackdown revival were just stuck in their pipe dreams of the past that so many wrestling fans refuse to let go of.
this isnt about getting Smackdown to be the greatest show ever. it never has been,
its about getting people to watch the entire product. give enough on tuesdays with all the big stuff on mondays. as long as ratings are good, USA dont care who is on what show. because it's still gonna be better than law & order or modern family reruns.
the whole thing with Slater is funny. i guess it's safe to assume they are never going to take a guy like him seriously or his counterparts Bo & Axel so I'm at least hoping for some kind of comedy with them trying to get Slater on RAW over the next couple weeks, maybe leads to a match or something. Because breaking up the Social Jobbers would be a travesty.
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Post by J-MANN on Jul 20, 2016 11:38:16 GMT -5
I still have so many questions about the belts. The Cruiserweight division is back, great. Is there going to be a Cruiserweight Championship belt? If so, redesign the old one. Don't be lazy and just bring the old title back. Same deal with the World Heavyweight title. Don't bring back the big gold belt. Create something new and fresh. What about that title we saw a few months ago? That'd be fine with me. Also, is there going to be two tag team championships as well as two women titles? I don't think the divisions are loaded enough for that.
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Post by The Champ is Here! on Jul 20, 2016 11:54:11 GMT -5
Yeah, no real reason to watch Smackdown. ...ill just watch aj styles match on youtube
No one else worth it
If you were going to make it a "competition" at least make it believeable
Smackdown is far and away inferior
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Deleted
Joined on: Nov 1, 2024 4:41:16 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2016 12:49:54 GMT -5
Excellent!!! So I wasn't seeing things then, it really did say 9 time Tag Team Champion hahaha Are they counting his ROH and other indy feds title reigns too then?? That's the only way that would some what make sense. we missing debut 1999? I think they switched with Jericho |
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Post by YES! YES! YES! on Jul 20, 2016 12:51:47 GMT -5
American Alpha is a huge reason of why I'm watching SmackDown.
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Post by tylerbreezee on Jul 20, 2016 13:23:05 GMT -5
Maybe we're gonna get a Cesaro angle where he quits Raw after being such a low pick and getting no respect and then goes to Smackdown While I understand the logic behind that story, Smackdown didn't pick Cesaro either. So Smackdown doesn't respect him either. That's true but also while he was on Raw was when he got no respect is what I mean. He worked his ass off and got nothing for it. It wasn't so much about getting picked later on showing no respect but how he is treated on Raw as a whole |
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Post by J12 on Jul 20, 2016 13:57:50 GMT -5
Unscripted promos/interviews were the absolute best part of last night, and it's not even close. It was so unbelievably refreshing to see these guys and gals just do their thing. In some cases, they swam, in some, they sank, but they had their own voice. For once.
I'd seriously recommend anyone who didn't have the second screen up last night go back and watch it on the Network. I'm just rolling through post-draft interviews now and it's great.
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Post by Next Manufactured’s Sweater on Jul 20, 2016 14:14:35 GMT -5
Excellent!!! So I wasn't seeing things then, it really did say 9 time Tag Team Champion hahaha Are they counting his ROH and other indy feds title reigns too then?? That's the only way that would some what make sense. we missing debut 1999? I think they switched with Jericho Jericho must have put on a lot of weight and grown recently then!  The stats in the graphic are Bubba Dudley's. He's the guy above Cesaro in alphabetical order too, which may be how they pulled all the wrong info. |
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Supreme Cross
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Joined on: Jun 5, 2014 19:01:32 GMT -5
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Post by Supreme Cross on Jul 20, 2016 14:54:51 GMT -5
Excellent!!! So I wasn't seeing things then, it really did say 9 time Tag Team Champion hahaha Are they counting his ROH and other indy feds title reigns too then?? That's the only way that would some what make sense. most likely because it said he debuted in 1999 also i was wondering the same thing, if Seth Rollins or Reigns win the title at Battleground, will there be another big title belt on Smackdown or what? i also saw that their are no tag team championships on Smackdown either. wonder how they are going to play this While I think they will create a new world title, everyone knows the WWE Title is #1 over the World Heavyweight, which is why I think it is essential that Ambrose wins on Sunday. Smackdown needs the WWE Title. either way, the brands will need another big championship |
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Post by Joey Cush on Jul 20, 2016 15:03:34 GMT -5
Personally, the draft was good. Some head scratchers. I am disappointed at certain picks because certain guys would benefit better on one brand than where they're at. As for who was called up, i felt they went with "Who's not gonna go any higher on the brand, but we see potential in" kind of way. I would have kept Alexa Bliss on NXT, as she could have been a great heel champion. Nia Jax was not going anywhere on NXT, she's not that bad in the ring, i felt she did good in her matches with Asuka and Bayley, so her getting called up doesn't bother me. I never liked Mojo but they see something in him so as long as he doesn't go higher than tag team with Ryder, i don't mind. I felt they should have given Alexas pick to Tye Dillinger, who i feel won't go any higher on NXT. As much as guys like Aries, Roode, Joe, Shinsuke deserve the draft picks more, there's still things for them to do on NXT. I must say, just cause the NXT draft picks are done, does not mean they'll stay on NXT for long. I can see Bayley coming up on Sunday. I see Samoa Joe or Nakamura coming up after Summerslam, depending who is not NXT Champion by then. I'm going to stay positive and not get my hopes up too high about this whole situation. I'm not gonna say "F*** WWE" because some things that i wanted to see didn't happen. If there's something on RAW or Smackdown I don't like or care about, there's always something else for me to watch. I'm not going to complain about something that hasn't happened. My life is too stressful as it is to stress over my hobby. Pertaining to NXT, I have no problem with their call ups. People crying about Nakamura/Joe/Aries/Bayley need to understand Balor was the big name. The Draft was essentially used to elevate Balor/NXT onto the main show. Those four can now have Styles/Zayne/Owens type debuts. All of those maybe besides Nakamura would have been outshined by Balor's pick. |
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Post by Joey Cush on Jul 20, 2016 15:09:19 GMT -5
If ever there was a reason/excuse to have some brand jumping, they have it: The Wyatt Family. I think we can all agree they need some serious rehabilitation, especially Bray, who is an anchor on Smackdown. This is one of the easiest and most fitting ways to do it. Have Strowman start showing up on Smackdown to help Bray and Rowan. Shane and Bryan can have him thrown out, repeatedly. Then Bray starts showing up on Raw to help Strowman. Stephanie throws a fit, has him thrown out. What are they gonna do? The Wyatts are a backwoods cult. Why would they adhere to draft rules? Why would a locked door keep them out of a building? What security guard is going to say "no" to Braun Strowman? They can resolve it by eventually sending Strowman to Smackdown, or just separating him from the group when Harper returns. Hell, they can suspend them if they want. They keep showing up. They're outlaws, the rules don't apply to them. The key here is to never put them in matches on their opposing show or let it appear as though it's sanctioned. There has to be resistance every single time it occurs. If nothing else, maybe it would help get the urge out of Vince's system. As great a storyline as this is, you do know its never going to happen right? I always hate reading people's madeup storylines because they are usually really good and very well thought-out but will never happen. Strowman will be pushed as a monster to be fed to Reigns then disappear and show up on Smackdown with the Wyatts. The announcers will make a note that Strowman decided to leave RAW and rejoin the family. |
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Post by J12 on Jul 20, 2016 15:10:24 GMT -5
Personally, the draft was good. Some head scratchers. I am disappointed at certain picks because certain guys would benefit better on one brand than where they're at. As for who was called up, i felt they went with "Who's not gonna go any higher on the brand, but we see potential in" kind of way. I would have kept Alexa Bliss on NXT, as she could have been a great heel champion. Nia Jax was not going anywhere on NXT, she's not that bad in the ring, i felt she did good in her matches with Asuka and Bayley, so her getting called up doesn't bother me. I never liked Mojo but they see something in him so as long as he doesn't go higher than tag team with Ryder, i don't mind. I felt they should have given Alexas pick to Tye Dillinger, who i feel won't go any higher on NXT. As much as guys like Aries, Roode, Joe, Shinsuke deserve the draft picks more, there's still things for them to do on NXT. I must say, just cause the NXT draft picks are done, does not mean they'll stay on NXT for long. I can see Bayley coming up on Sunday. I see Samoa Joe or Nakamura coming up after Summerslam, depending who is not NXT Champion by then. I'm going to stay positive and not get my hopes up too high about this whole situation. I'm not gonna say "F*** WWE" because some things that i wanted to see didn't happen. If there's something on RAW or Smackdown I don't like or care about, there's always something else for me to watch. I'm not going to complain about something that hasn't happened. My life is too stressful as it is to stress over my hobby. Pertaining to NXT, I have no problem with their call ups. People crying about Nakamura/Joe/Aries/Bayley need to understand Balor was the big name. The Draft was essentially used to elevate Balor/NXT onto the main show. Those four can now have Styles/Zayne/Owens type debuts. All of those maybe besides Nakamura would have been outshined by Balor's pick. I don't think the major complaint is that those guys/girl weren't drafted, but rather, there was no narrative explanation for why they wouldn't be chosen. They all hold significantly more value than the bottom half of both roster's draft choices, so it makes no sense within the construct of the narrative not to draft them. If you're the general manager of a show and you draft Mojo Rawley when Shinsuke Nakamura is on the board, that's a piss poor decision and you should be ridiculed and called out for it. It all could've been explained away very easily by either saying that William Regal had the power to withhold the contracts of X number of talents, or that no current NXT Champion and/or number one contender could be drafted. Then, at least, the only guy that doesn't fit the latter criteria is Austin Aries. It ruined the integrity of what otherwise came off as a mostly well-presented, sports-like atmosphere. Though I thought a lot of the decisions were poor, it largely played out in a respectable manner, they way you'd expect it might if it were real. Some of the picks were reactionary, some were reaches, others fell below where they should have been drafted. I really disliked the show as a whole, but I thought they at least nailed the presentation of it. |
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Post by Joey Cush on Jul 20, 2016 15:13:39 GMT -5
That I totally understand. But way too many people crying about those people not being called up when they all can have a chance to be called up at different times.
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