CM Punk; WWE Has Me Hooked Again (2012 Official Pro Wrestling Thread)

[BrewCrewForever]

Anyone else kind of starting to enjoy Johnny Ace as the GM and an on-air character? I really disliked him at first, but he has grown on me. Kind of funny actually. Intentional or not.

[brettac1]

Anyone else kind of starting to enjoy Johnny Ace as the GM and an on-air character? I really disliked him at first, but he has grown on me. Kind of funny actually. Intentional or not.

Totally. He's finding his groove.

[radman12484]

I found my new favorite wrestler tonight...... "The Funk-Asaurus"Brodus Clay. I don't care how cheesy the gimmick is if they keep going with it. It's something different other then the big man coming out being a tough guy.

[PrinceEatMeat]

That Brodus Clay gimmick may be the dumbest thing I've ever seen. Also, a little confused by the whole Jericho crying thing. I figured he wouldn't talk again, but the crying was interested. I think he's still just pulling everyone in though. He'll cut a heel promo eventually. Who knows when though? I still like it.

[MillerParkSouth]

Pretty disappointing RAW I thought. I figured Jericho might pull his same act again, which was cool, I just hope they don't keep it up for too long. Would have liked to see more of Ziggler and much less of this Kane/Cena feud, especially with Kane suddently getting a lot of mic time. I do kind of like where they seem to be taking Daniel Bryan. Much more interesting as a heel. Also thought the Brodus Clay thing was really, really dumb. Hype it up for months and thne give us that?? We don't need Rikishi back. Agreed on Big Johnny finding his groove, curious to see what he does at RR.

[patrickgpe]

liked the jericho promo, definitely building to something. i said the same thing about Laurinaitis last night, he is kind of wearing on me. Really thought the Brodus Clay thing was dumb. Do not like when the WWE tries to repackage a wrestler that we have seen before. Really reminds me of what they did with Rikisihi. think Clay would be better served as a heel on smackdown who is really lacking them then whatever they are doing with him on Raw.

[brettac1]

It's a pretty bad sign for Punk that they throw him in the middle of the show because he's ratings death. Obviously, the Jericho thing is supposed to be mocking the fans, but I think it's going to backfire on the WWE because most of the fans don't know what's happening and Jericho really hasn't done anything to make anyone care.

 

I'm cool with Broadus as long as he's a fun guy who also kills people in the ring. If he's Rikishi, it is weak.

[PrinceEatMeat]

To me, the only way guys like Clay are effective is when they are built as monster, indestructible heels. Much like how Henry was recently. That was awesome.

[Raw Biz]

To me, the only way guys like Clay are effective is when they are built as monster, indestructible heels. Much like how Henry was recently. That was awesome.

I read that Clay actually pitched Creative about making himself an indestructible heel. Then he left to film a movie and WWE apparently thought Mark Henry would be better in that role. I think it would actually be cool to have two monsters like that who eventually meet but apparently the Funkasaurus is better. I chuckled a few times but would've liked him better as a beast.

[brettac1]

Don't get me wrong, I love monster heels. Mark Henry has been hitting it out of the park for months. He's a big part of why Smackdown is usually the better show - his commentary last week on the main event was totally killer. However, after a while a monster heel typically becomes so badass that they become a crowd favorite, anyhow.

[jerichoholicninja]

The monster heel thing has been done time and time again. A fat, dancing, monster who gives running commentary during his own match and yells "my bad" after hitting his finisher is something new and more interesting.

[Crew2323]

If you weren't paying attention you might have missed it. But after John Laurinitis--the executive vice president of talent relations, and the interim general manager of Raw--came out during the Punk/Swagger match, Michael Cole said, "I wonder who Mr. Laurinitis is texting all the time." I wonder if they are going to start tying that in with Jericho's return and the questions/speculation about who "she" is.

[patrickgpe]

good point, i was waiting for the constant texting everytime he was on camera. if you watch the main event closely, he was even texting while the match was going on right before kane attacked ryder. i don't think there was a ocnnection, but i knew the texting would come to flirtation at some point.

[brettac1]

Please don't let it be Stephanie. It probably is, since every time the ratings go down, the strategy is "we need more McMahon!".

[JimH5]

I have done a complete 180 on Laurinaitus. I am completely glued to him whenever he is on camera.

 

 

He is awesome on twitter, announcing tonight (in full character) that he worries that he is setting the bar too high for his eventual successor, and that he enjoys model trains.

 

Great comedy.

[LouisEly]

Fill in the blank:

 

The Brodus Clay gimmick is the worst gimmick since __________.

 

Some liked it, but the crowd was sitting on their hands, and that doesn't last long in this business.

[JimH5]

I would say it's the worst since Cryme Tyme, which was really offensive.

 

Brodus was just laughably dumb. I was expecting an athletic superheavyweight, like Umaga, but instead, we got the Godfather mixed with Akeem and some Scotty 2 Hotty.

 

I do like them mixing it up with "character-types" instead of the standard "guy trying to win matches", but after the big build up, I watched his debut in disbelief. How often will people tune in to watch the dancing fat man?

[PrinceEatMeat]

Yeah, laughably dumb is a good description. It was funny because it was so unexpectedly dumb. I know they come up with some dumb stuff, but this was over the top. There are so many better gimmicks they could've come up with for Clay. I'd agree that Cryme Tyme was probably the last really terrible gimmick before this. I know there's been a few bad ones, but none at this level.

[RightFieldCoder]

I met Cryme Tyme once. It wasn't a gimmick, that was how they acted in normal society.

[Vgmastr]

Does no one remember Rikishi? He was massively over because he was a dancing fat man. Crowd was quiet because they were trying to figure out what they were seeing. I bet you there are tons of Funkasaurus signs in the crowd this week on Raw. This gimmick will get over huge.

[patrickgpe]

Fill in the blank:

 

The Brodus Clay gimmick is the worst gimmick since __________.

 

Some liked it, but the crowd was sitting on their hands, and that doesn't last long in this business.

there has been awful ones, and i'll put this up there. Oz (kevin nash) Issac Yankum (Kane),

[brettac1]

Any of those "normal guy" gimmicks of the mid-90's. Duke "The Dumpster" Drose, Isaac Yankem, The Goon, etc.

 

I do think this might get over on a Rikishi level. The question is really whether this is a potential main event talent and if this gimmick blows that opportunity. Rikishi's heel run... not so good.

[patrickgpe]

looking around the interweb today i think i found the worst wwe gimmick of all time, don't remember him at all but...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=petRqrvKiyA

[OglivieHomePerm]

Congratulations to all who post in this thread. I haven't watched any professional wrestling on TV since I was forced to watch an episode of RAW in the early 2000's when I was invited to his house for a Monday Night Football game, and he kept turning over to RAW during commercial breaks (and sometimes forgot to turn back). When I was a kid, I used to watch wrestling on Saturday mornings, but wouldn't say I was "Into It" at all.

 

Anyway, despite all of this, for some inexplicible reason, this thread is one of my must-read on bf.net right now. I only have the faintest idea of what's being discussed, but for some reason, I find it fascinating. Keep up the good work. If I ever actually watch wrestling at some point, maybe I'll actually post something to move the discussion forward.

[JimH5]

Embrace it.

 

It will bring you lots of laughs and a thrill once in awhile, and it guarantees a bunch of eye rolls from your spouse.

 

That's worth it, no?