The Official WWE and TNA thread

[TheManKnownAsMecca]

Well WWE just killed any momentum they had from this hot ending to Raw....because they just released Danielson today.

People speculate its because he choked Justin Roberts, which they want to avoid doing on camera because of the Benoit stuff (yeah I'm sure thats what people thought of when they saw that....sigh). Plus they apparently we're upset he spit in Cena's face.

Way to go WWE...way to go.

I didn't hear anything about the spitting part but yeah the tie choking is what I heard got him his release. I thought that was a clever and cool idea. The WWE messed up here but they could fix it.

This could easily be played up into the angle. Barrett can complain that the WWE cut Daniel Bryan because of the attack on Monday. They will say that due to this the attacks will get worse. Have them attack someone else this Monday and repeat the pattern. This time have the WWE release all of them except Barrett (they can say that he cannot be released due to his title shot). Barrett can then challenge Cena to a match where if he loses the WWE can release him without giving him a title shot, but if he wins all of his NXT competitors are resigned. Barrett wins the match and then gets his title shot (which he loses to Cena).

[nhyankeefan]

Is there any chance firing Daniels is just part of the storyline?

[dabomb2045]

Its possible. I wont rule that out. However, going on what I've heard...its a legit firing. I think if it was a work they might have said on the website "due to the events of Monday, the WWE has released Daniel Bryan". Instead we got the generic release statement w/the "we wish him best of luck in future endeavors" line.

Obviously what happens Monday will be a key. If Bryan is mentioned...its a work. If they dont mention him at all, then I think that tells you they really let him go.

If it is a legit firing...its an awful move. It will definetly hurt this NXT angle.

[Yankeeah]

Is there any chance firing Daniels is just part of the storyline?

I would assume it's one of a few things

- He is being used as an example, like what UFC did to Paul Daley.

- It's part of the storyline

- There is something that happened backstage that we don't know about.

[NYYRules#1]

From some of the stuff I've heard, the firing is a work, and Danielson's actually been signed to a 3-year contract.

Then again, there's a lot of debate as to what's actually happened. And apparently a sponsor (could be Mattel) wants WWE to change some of their product, including changes to Undertaker and CM Punk's gimmicks. So who knows what's going on at this point,

[TheManKnownAsMecca]

I'm thinking it's an angle. Danielson was featured in the preview of the show and at the start in a video package.

[TheManKnownAsMecca]

Eh, the NXT guys said Danielson isn't there because he felt remorse about beating on Cena and that he wouldn't be seen with them again. I think he'd be better off as a face anyways.

[TheGameEpisode2]

Danielson is a fantastic heel, he can do anything.

[nhyankeefan]

I didn't watch Raw, other than mentioning Danielson isn't part of the group anymore because he felt remorse, how did they follow up on last week's angle?

I thought one of the reasons the nWo invasion worked so well in 96 was because WCW let them "win" so much in the beginning (of course they let the winning go on far too long but that's another story). Conversely, the reason the WCW angle didn't really work in 2001 was because it didn't include the main WCW stars of that time and they were never allowed to look too strong. I hope the WWE learns from their mistakes and lets the NXT guys stay strong for a while.

[NyQuil]

I didn't watch Raw, other than mentioning Danielson isn't part of the group anymore because he felt remorse, how did they follow up on last week's angle?

Hart fired the winner (don't even know his name) and told them to leave. Cena called all of them out and as they approached the ring Lawler, Orton, Regal, Edge, Santino and Sheamus came out and beat the NXT guys up. At the end of RAW there was a tage match or Orton/Cena versus Sheamus/Edge that ended in a no contest. THe NXT rookies destroyed some of the stuff in the back and beat the crap out of Hart with another fake car hit. They told him they wanted an answer by Sunday.

[TheManKnownAsMecca]

My friend Dean texted me last night to tell me that he was at a bar in NC and was doing shots with none other than Ric Flair. I told him it'd be great for him to call me and get Flair on the phone. Dean said that this seemed possible so he called me and sure enough Flair took the phone and pretty much cut a promo on me. He called me fat boy two times (even though he had no idea what I looked like) and told me that he gets more ass in a day then I've ever gotten in my life. He then Wooo'ed and gave the phone back to my friend Dean. My friend was in near tears telling me that Flair was basically strutting/pacing back and forth the entire conversation and sweating like crazy the entire night after about their fifth shot. It was awesome.

[NyQuil]

Fatal Fourway ends with NXT again beating up everyone they see and at 10:30.

Thirty minutes early, glad I don't pay for it.

[S2]

My friend Dean texted me last night to tell me that he was at a bar in NC and was doing shots with none other than Ric Flair. I told him it'd be great for him to call me and get Flair on the phone. Dean said that this seemed possible so he called me and sure enough Flair took the phone and pretty much cut a promo on me. He called me fat boy two times (even though he had no idea what I looked like) and told me that he gets more ass in a day then I've ever gotten in my life. He then Wooo'ed and gave the phone back to my friend Dean. My friend was in near tears telling me that Flair was basically strutting/pacing back and forth the entire conversation and sweating like crazy the entire night after about their fifth shot. It was awesome.

This would be pretty much be the highlight of my life.

[NyQuil]

Another RAW ends with Cena getting beat up by NXT and no one helping.

Lazy lazy writing.

Oh wait they beat Mr. McMahon up too.

[dabomb2045]

Im not sure where this NXT angle is going as of now.....you could tell the crowd was confused by what happened tonight too. Are they heels? faces? They've attacked both....and now they attacked Vince, after it seemed like Vince might have orchestrated the whole thing.

Plus we now have this unknown anonymous Raw GM that communicates via a Macbook on the announcing desk....and this GM will supposedly "reveal something next week".

Im not sure what to think right now. At the very least, it is intriguing as opposed to the usual predictable Raw crap. On a side note, it appears they have ditched the guest host concept which is a very good thing IMO.

[NyQuil]

The thing is the writers dont seem to realize if you have the same ending every week its going to get old and boring.

[dabomb2045]

The thing is the writers dont seem to realize if you have the same ending every week its going to get old and boring.

I could live w/Cena getting beat up to end Raw for the rest of eternity. Much better then the usual "SuperCena overcomes the odds, to fight the good fight, and win!" stuff that ended Raw for like a good portion of the last 5 years.

I think if they want this NXT angle to really work....they need to make them look dominant. And for a good period of time. This is a big reason why the WCW invasion failed. The WWE guys always won and were made to look stronger. Make this group look unstoppable for awhile, and the angle will get over.

[NYYRules#1]

Having been in the crowd tonight, there were points where it was confusing as hell. Nobody could tell what was going on when they were making those apologies - I figured Wade Barrett would take the mic and say the apologies were fake, but then he didn't. Reaction to them after that promo was still negative, but most people didn't know what to think. I can't be the only one who was thinking at the time about how they killed the angle.

Parts of the crowd started getting behind NXT when they beat up Vince, but I think what happened after they went off the air is the most telling for the future. The NXT guys came back out as Vince was getting carted off and went after Cena again, only for a few faces to start trickling out of the locker room (Mark Henry, Evan Bourne, and R-Truth were a few of the first ones out there). NXT fought back and started beating the faces up, and then Orton's music hit and just about all of the faces came out (though I saw Regal in there too, and he's still heel), and chased away the NXT guys. So there's little question in my mind that NXT will be heels going forward, and we're probably going to see an NXT vs. rest of WWE feud.

If they continue booking this well (and explain away that weird apology segment), this could be an amazing angle. I'm just hoping the new GM isn't a McMahon - unless it's HHH, which could be interesting as hell.

[NyQuil]

This NXT stuff seems familiar...hmmm where have I seen it before.

Oh yeah.

[dabomb2045]

I just found them beating up Vince to be strange. After I watched the first segment with him being announced as the guest ref, I actually said to myself "its gonna come out later that Vince is behind this. NXT will interfere in the title match, Vince will stand by and watch, then say something about planning this the whole time....how him and his new crew will take over WWE. He'll be the leader of the NXT faction".

Thats what it looked like. NXT interferes, beats up Cena, Vince grabs a mic and takes credit for what happened. Then all of a sudden, NXT turns on Vince and beats him down.

Does this mean Vince will turn face and lead the WWE in the feud vs NXT? Or will his character just dissapear again? Or is it something else we havent thought of yet?

This anonymous GM thing is weird too. Not sure what to make of it.

[NyQuil]

On a side note, it appears they have ditched the guest host concept which is a very good thing IMO.

Sigh it appears not.

[NyQuil]

Wow RAW switched it up this week. Instead of having NXT beat up people at the end they had them beat up 60 year olds in the middle of the program.

[dabomb2045]

Having them beat up the Legends was a way to get around the "if NXT attacks any Superstars they are fired" thing. I dont mind it all. I like this angle alot right now. As I said last week, in order for this to really work...they need to keep having these beatdowns every week. Make this group look invincible.

[Bronson'sCornrows]

The NXT/Nexus and anon GM angles are both keeping me confused, but also intrigued, so I'm going with mildly positive on both.

[dabomb2045]

The NXT/Nexus and anon GM angles are both keeping me confused, but also intrigued, so I'm going with mildly positive on both.

Any theories on who the GM might be?

[TheManKnownAsMecca]

Any theories on who the GM might be?

I think it's going to end up being Michael Cole. It wouldn't explain how he talked to McMahon on the phone last week but it makes sense for a few reasons:

1. Cole has never been attacked by the Nexus

2. They can play the Daniel Bryan release into Cole not wanting him in Nexus. Bryan can come back as a big time face and fight against the Nexus who have Cole as their leader.

3. Cole gets to read the e-mails. While it's not a big deal, Cole doesn't look at the screen much when he is reading the e-mails. While he obviously knows what to say, whoever "figures out" that it's Cole could point this out. I think the WWE is doing this intentionally.

4. Cole and Nexus got rid of Bret Hart so he could take over temporarily.

Cole has a ton of heel heat right now so having him be the GM would be great.

[dabomb2045]

I think it's going to end up being Michael Cole. It wouldn't explain how he talked to McMahon on the phone last week but it makes sense for a few reasons:

1. Cole has never been attacked by the Nexus

2. They can play the Daniel Bryan release into Cole not wanting him in Nexus. Bryan can come back as a big time face and fight against the Nexus who have Cole as their leader.

3. Cole gets to read the e-mails. While it's not a big deal, Cole doesn't look at the screen much when he is reading the e-mails. While he obviously knows what to say, whoever "figures out" that it's Cole could point this out. I think the WWE is doing this intentionally.

4. Cole and Nexus got rid of Bret Hart so he could take over temporarily.

Cole has a ton of heel heat right now so having him be the GM would be great.

I almost hope its not him....just because it would be too obvious. Everyone is assuming right now that it is him. I want WWE to throw me another curveball.

[nhyankeefan]

I also think Cole is the most likely person to be the anonymous GM.

Not sure if it's been mentioned yet, but the reason Wade Barrett missed Raw was because his visa has expired. The WWE is having some problems getting it renewed and he may not be back until after SummerSlam. If he's out for a while the Nexus angle will take a huge hit.

[Bronson'sCornrows]

Any theories on who the GM might be?

Cole, as noted, is the obvious choice, but I don't think it would work unless he stopped doing commentary. The attempted JR heel turn didn't work in '97, despite everybody doing everything right to get him over as a genuine heel. Granted, Michael Cole is already widely disliked or even despised, particularly among the 20-something males (such as myself) who are long-time wrestling fans, but I don't think the heel commentator. I mean, obviously heel commentators work when they were already over as heels BEFORE becoming commentators, but Cole has no credibility (or even believability) as either a mastermind or an authority of any sort.

HHH could be an interesting surprise. In fact, it would be so interesting that I wouldn't even mind seeing his gigantic nose stuck in the main event for 6 months or so.

I have a few ideas past that, but they're all incredible longshots and don't necessarily make sense in conjuction with the Nexus angle. If it's assumed that the Nexus are entwined with the anonymous GM, I might as well keep my harebrained idea to myself.

[TheManKnownAsMecca]

The WWE is trying to make it look as if Steve Austin is the new RAW GM. I don't see this happening, but I could see it being someone from the Attitude era.

[gregzzy22]

The WWE is trying to make it look as if Steve Austin is the new RAW GM. I don't see this happening, but I could see it being someone from the Attitude era.

I don't see it either but why would they make such blatant signs pointing to him?

[TheManKnownAsMecca]

I don't see it either but why would they make such blatant signs pointing to him?

I'm not sure but what's the point of having an "anonymous" GM if it is so obvious.

[NyQuil]

I don't even care about this anonymous GM crap. The "email" the Cole gets is lame.

Althought it would be funny if Cole revealed himself as the GM and ordered NXT to attack Cena again.

[Yankeeah]

Linda McMahon is running for Senate? They just showed a commercial during the Yankees game.

She can't win......right?

[TheManKnownAsMecca]

I'd love to see Bryan Danielson return to be on Cena's team.

[Bronson'sCornrows]

That would be pretty fun. TNA seems to mock WWE every week by having someone choke out someone else with some type of cord or shirt or other ligature. Throwing that in with the blade jobs, it seems that they are trying to be a bit more "edgy" right now. Both products are a bit stale to me, but I'm one of those hardcores that never really stop watching. We slow down, but we don't ever stop.

[tdel23]

have they announced who the secret gm is yet?

[TheManKnownAsMecca]

The secret GM has not been revealed yet. The longer this plays out the more I think it'll end up being Triple H.

If it is Bret Hart he'll turn on the team this Sunday. I can't see him getting bumped, but I could see him getting counted out if he remains a face.

No one is reporting anything about Danielson being the seventh man so I'm hoping to be correct. I could see Miz asking Cena to beg him to be on the team and Cena saying no and hinting that he has a replacement. Danielson coming out and taking out one or two of the Nexus will cause the crowd to go nuts.

[TheJobaRules]

The secret GM has not been revealed yet. The longer this plays out the more I think it'll end up being Triple H.

If it is Bret Hart he'll turn on the team this Sunday. I can't see him getting bumped, but I could see him getting counted out if he remains a face.

No one is reporting anything about Danielson being the seventh man so I'm hoping to be correct. I could see Miz asking Cena to beg him to be on the team and Cena saying no and hinting that he has a replacement. Danielson coming out and taking out one or two of the Nexus will cause the crowd to go nuts.

That's a pretty awesome idea that I haven't thought of. Regardless, I think this sets up for Cena turning on team WWE. I know Cena probably still brings in more total revenue, but Randy Orton gets the biggest pops every week now on raw. Orton has supplanted Cena as the top face, and I can definitely see a major feud between those two for the WWE title (I see Orton winning this sunday) over the coming months.

[dabomb2045]

Lance Cade died earlier today. Heart failure....only 29 years old. This one hits home for me as I just turned 29 a few days ago.

[TheManKnownAsMecca]

Lance Cade died earlier today. Heart failure....only 29 years old. This one hits home for me as I just turned 29 a few days ago.

Yeah, I forgot to mention that on here earlier. I really thought he had star potential. May he R.I.P.

In other news, Tiffany has been suspended by the WWE. She and her husband Drew McIntyre had some sort of domestic dispute in public and she was arrested.

[TheManKnownAsMecca]

I'm giving myself a Barry Horowitz-like pat on the back.

[NyQuil]

Crap PPV but a great main event.

Cena haters will hate but thats enough to fill another thread.

[TheManKnownAsMecca]

My SummerSlam thoughts:

I liked the ending to Ziggler/Kofi. It was a nice statement for Nexus.

Was surprised that they put the belt on Melina so fast.

Big Show defeating SES should pretty much put an end to the group. Punk needs to be placed in better angles as he has been outstanding for a long time now.

Orton/Sheamus was good but predictable. The WWE dropped the ball big-time here though. They made Sheamus look very weak at the end of the match and yet The Miz wouldn't come out and cash in his money in the bank? That makes no sense. I'm not saying they should have put the belt on Miz tonight, but don't have Orton give Sheamus an RKO on the table and just cut to a John Cena movie promo. The crowd even had a Miz chant.

Mysterio/Kane was much more enjoyable than I thought. Thought the 2nd time the casket opened would lead to the Undertaker appearing, but they waited for a 3rd time. I like that they made Kane look strong as Undertaker is still "recovering."

As for the main event:
-Loved how they picked Danielson over Miz and the pop he received.

- Skip Sheffield kept it simple tonight, but he did a very nice job overall.
-Also I was very impressed with Heath Slater. He really made Bret Hart look good in the ring.
-Everyone in the Nexus impressed me except for Otunga, Young, and and Tarver. People say Tarver is a very good worker but the WWE hasn't given him a chance to show it.

-Morrison is a vanilla babyface, but he is far too talented to be the first job to be eliminated for Team WWE. Turn him heel fast.

-R-Truth is not going anywhere in the WWE. He is a heck of a worker but I don't see him as a main-eventer.

-Jericho was great tonight, as was Edge.

-They put Daniel Bryan over strong. The fans really got behind him and he couldn't have looked any stronger. I like how the Miz basically eliminated him. Miz has to drop the US Title sometime soon so I wouldn't mind if they put it on Bryan.

- I was about to give SummerSlam one of the best PPV ratings in a long time and then Cena won it. Terrible, terrible stuff. I know he hasn't won at SummerSlam for like 3 or 4 years but Nexus needed to go over. After the match I was waiting for Nexus to attack him, but there was just celebrating by Cena. The booking committee better put Nexus over big time tomorrow night.

[TheManKnownAsMecca]

Crap PPV but a great main event.

Cena haters will hate but thats enough to fill another thread.

I actually think it was one of the WWE's best PPV's in a while. There were no match of the year candidates but I didn't hate any match (except the Diva's match, I don't think I've enjoyed a Diva's match since Trish Stratus retired. Well Mickie James was really good too actually).

I'm not a Cena hater, but I don't think it was in the best interests of the WWE to have Cena win tonight.

[NyQuil]

They need to actually let Cena wrestle (he can) and stop the angle of him getting the crap kicked out of him for 30 minutes and then winning after 60 seconds of "Super Cena."

[TheManKnownAsMecca]

I'm banking on the anonymous GM to be Triple H. Last night, the GM said that he hated Bret Hart. Triple H was not and I believe is not a fan of Bret, even after he and Shawn Michaels made peace.

I did find it funny that the GM said he hated Hart about 20 minutes after he had Bret Hart bring the new tag titles down to the Hart Dynasty.

[dabomb2045]

I'm banking on the anonymous GM to be Triple H. Last night, the GM said that he hated Bret Hart. Triple H was not and I believe is not a fan of Bret, even after he and Shawn Michaels made peace.

I did find it funny that the GM said he hated Hart about 20 minutes after he had Bret Hart bring the new tag titles down to the Hart Dynasty.

Yeah I was thinking that too. I wonder if thats just another red herring (ala using The Rock and Austin's catchphrases in prior weeks) or if it actually means something.

Btw how great is Orton? He's easily the best thing going in WWE right now. I love how his character has not changed one bit---but the crowd just wants to cheer him now. In a way it reminds me of 1997 Austin. The crowd just decided that "hey you know...this guy is pretty bad ass. I kinda like him now". The guy is WAY over. His facial expressions/body language are as good as it gets....nobody in WWE is better then him right now.

I hope he gets the belt soon and gets a nice run as this psycho babyface character.

[AMYanks]

I saw this somewhere and thought it was interesting:

- For what it’s worth, WWE Magazine is currently running a poll on Twitter asking fans which pay-per-view they would like to see return. The options are King of the Ring, War Games, Halloween Havoc and “Other.”

I don't know how well it would work in the PG era of WWE, but I'd love to see War Games again.

[TheManKnownAsMecca]

Yeah I was thinking that too. I wonder if thats just another red herring (ala using The Rock and Austin's catchphrases in prior weeks) or if it actually means something.

Btw how great is Orton? He's easily the best thing going in WWE right now. I love how his character has not changed one bit---but the crowd just wants to cheer him now. In a way it reminds me of 1997 Austin. The crowd just decided that "hey you know...this guy is pretty bad ass. I kinda like him now". The guy is WAY over. His facial expressions/body language are as good as it gets....nobody in WWE is better then him right now.

I hope he gets the belt soon and gets a nice run as this psycho babyface character.

Orton's popularity is definitely approaching Steve Austin like heights (in it's early days).

As for AM's post, War Games makes the most sense by far. There was no gimmick to Halloween Havoc really. Go with War Games.

EDIT: I also like King of the Ring but War Games was a great concept that I've wanted them to bring back for quite a while.