Well that was depressing. I watched it drunk with friends last night and hated the Rumble, watched again today and I actually thought it was a good rumble until they got to number 30. I've never seen a reaction like that, the crowd just shat all over the way Bryan wasn't entered, and BAtista is just utterly detested. Not because he's Batista, but because he's taken Bryans place.

How on earth do they go forward from here? They've signed Batista to a massive deal, but placing him in the Wrestlemania main event you can bet they crowd reaction will be the same, they have to put him in. Also bear in mind, the Rumble was in Pittsburgh, not NYC, not Canada, not Bryans home town. It's not a place renown for its 'bizarro world' audience. The more they write him off the stronger the reactions will get. I'm really looking forward to tonights RAW.

I can't believe they didn't watch the first two matches and have a eureka moment over Brock defending the title at WM against a Rumble winning Bryan.

Dogfingers wrote:

Wrestlemania main event: WWE Booking vs The Live Crowd

Haha.

I do find it strange that they are so insistent on forcing certain things (Orton as top heel, who has begun being nothing'd by crowds against Cena as top face, who is being roundly booed), yet refuse to let someone be a star who they would have to do basically nothing to have it happen.

Anyone can be a star, if creative is complaint. Look at Mark Henry. He was your run of the mill big man that no one cared that much for, yet they pushed him to the ends of the earth with the title run. With consistent booking, he stepped up his game, and became a genuine star.

Then they gave us one of the best angles in years with his 'retirement', and... got bored? If they had  seen that through it would have been feud of the decade stuff. EVERYONE believed he was quitting, people were genuinely upset at it, properly emotional, then he slammed Cena and turned it on it's head. And we had one match and forgot about it and him.

i actually don't mind Batista. I think he's a limited guy who cannot carry a match, but give him someone great and he'll deliver. Randy Orton or John Cena aren't the men for that job, and I doubt Brock is either. So who does he face that isn't going to be rubbish? Taker? Jericho? Punk? We know it won't be Bryan. I think his biggest problem here though is that he was supposed to be a surprise return, and it got leaked. I think people would have been so shocked to see him back they would have gotten over Bryan not being there and Reigns not getting the nod.

Part of me want Reigns to win in the Chamber.

Completely agree, love reading your posts on this DS, you're feeling the same way as me about it and you don't even watch.

The baffling thing is that Bryan is right there! They'd normally do anything for the reactions he's getting but they're not taking advantage of it through sheer stubbornness because they didn't plan it this way.

I think Batista is gonna give Rock a run for the worst cardio I've ever seen.

The Bryan thing even made the bbc website. Odd.

With the way the crowd was last night, getting to Mania without being hounded like fuck would be a damn good step.

Because heels are cool.

I have no interest in wrestling. I guess i just don't get it. 

Reading through the last couple of pages of this thread I was thinking 'how on earth can these guys buy into all this rubbish.'

Then I realised that's what a lot of folk say about gaming. Wrestling fans and gamers are kindred spirits I guess (tho' not mutually exclusive). 

I am now in the position of thinking Bryan is the only hope for WWE's future despite not having a bloody clue as to what is going on. He seems like an interesting character too. If people like me are having their interest piqued then perhaps it was part of the plan to get WWE popular? 

'YES, YES, YES'. In Bryan we trust.

I lost interest when trunks made their comeback, Stoph. All business and no gimmicks. The Rock had just about enough charisma to work 'em, but then you've...

Sid Eudy - black trunks
Marc Mero - black trunks
Dean Malenko - black trunks
Steve Austin - black trunks
Batista - black trunks
Randy Orton - black trunks
Brock Lesnar - black trunks
Hatch - black trunks
Ken Shamrock - red trunks!
John Cena - shorts!!!
Kurt Angle - leotard!!!!!

Back in the day, plain trunks were for journeymen. Yer Bob Backlunds and Barry Horowitzes.

Backlund has the second longest title reign in history. Only Bruno lasted longer with the strap.

With Bryan, I can see that the Twitter comments may have been approved to try and diffuse things. It doesn't mean we'll get a pay off though, or at least a satisfying one.

Still waiting on that one. Whilst I can totally believe it, I can also totally believe it's a work.

Heart of hearts though, I think he just got fed up, and fair enough.

Still don't understand why he didn't win the Rumble. Nobody cares about Dave.

Said everyone not called Vince McMahon.

I don't really get it. He went away and failed at everything else he attempted, giving WWE total control in any negotiations. He's known only to the people who watched 4/5 years ago and he appears to be a physical wreck.

I expect Scott Hall is next to return then.

Nineties' Backlund.

I was a regular viewer throughout '95 - the first year we had Sky. I probably watched a fair bit in '96, before drifting away in '97. I was certainly gone by Attitude, which I thought was completely the wrong direction at the time.* Young viewers were increasingly aware of works by then, yet it was trying to sell itself with a harder edge.

The stunts improved in magnitude and risk, but for me, the fun was gone. I wasn't laughing any more.

And then the Divas arrived, right when the Internet was hammering its way into the mainstream. All we had was Sunny.

*Creatively, not financially.

He might well be in Guardians of the Galaxy, but the rest of his CV is straight to video dross, and 2 bits of theatrical dross. And how did that MMA career go?

They should have told him to shove it if he wanted to main event Mania as part of the deal for coming back. He needs them more than they need him.