TGM

Aug 26 2015, 04:50:18 PM

Crusader

Aug 26 2015, 04:38:45 PM

TGM

Aug 26 2015, 04:29:47 PM

Crusader

Aug 26 2015, 04:24:52 PM

I like the idea of Bryan being inserted into the Tag Team Division. It could suit his health better. Imagine this, Bryan and Sami Zayn being a team. Maybe Bryan and Cesaro if the first option isn't possible.

Actually, going along the lines of discussion until now, I honestly think that teaming Bryan up with Roman Reigns can possibly accomplish a number of things. One, as you mentioned, keeps Bryan from overdoing things, as he has a tendency to do, and could benefit his health. Two, it frees up Ambrose from being saddled with a Reigns tag team, so he can continue his singles pursuits. And three, since Reigns has pretty much established that he flat out can not go in singles competition and sort of needs to be in a tag team in order to be properly utilized, who better to team him up with than one of the best in the business? He could probably learn a lot by teaming with a guy like Bryan at that.

I like the idea of Zayn & Bryan because both of them are vastly over and are deemed ultimate underdogs. Plus, Zayn is much like Bryan in the sense that he's not in optimal health. Both of them would substantially benefit from this team-up. In my opinion, they should give Reigns a heel run then maybe everyone will view him differently.

I'm not at all opposed to a Reigns heel turn, what I'm most concerned with is how limited he is in the ring. I still can't figure out if it's because he's being instructed by management to do the bare minimum in the ring, or if he really does only know how to do just three moves. But his entire matches for far too long now has consisted of him getting beat down (already a mistake, they shoulda been having Reigns mowing through guys the very instant The Shield broke up), then coming back with punches, a spear, possibly a samoan drop every now and then, and if it spills onto the outside, that nifty little apron leg drop of his.

But that's it. He doesn't even mix it up with regular moves like grapples or other slams, it's just his flashy superman punches and spears. And it's just bizarre. How is this guy not out there just tossing people and slamming them around? How come his only slamming move was the triple powerbomb? They give this guy the most limited moveset imaginable, and it's not even one that really even fits in with his build and type of character they'd like him to be. He's supposed to be "The Shield's muscle", so why not go all out with that?

Unless, of course, he actually just flat out can't go beyond what he's shown. It's just so hard to tell with this guy, because he spent so long sheltered behind tag teams while in The Shield, and his limited abilities only came to the forefront when he was pushed out on his own, and he appears to be showing no improvement in the ring at all, let alone on the mic.

I dunno what it is about the guy, but I do think there's a reason that WWE has significantly scaled back on his push, and I'm not sure it was only because of the negative crowd reaction to his Rumble win. Because, outside of idiot smark territories who haven't come around with the times and are too blinded to see that Reigns isn't getting the Cena treatment anymore, crowd reactions really haven't been all that sour on him since Mania. But even so, he's had a noticeable de-push since then, where as a guy like Ambrose alternatively has went on to have the main event program with Rollins that, quite frankly, made more logical sense for Reigns to do. But they didn't pull the trigger, and I think that may be because they've realized he just isn't that good, he isn't ready, and they've lost their confidence in him.

TGM

Aug 26 2015, 09:24:57 PM

With Reigns, when I say he only has 4 moves in his arsenal, I'm being very literal about that. He does the spear, the samoan drop, the leg drop, and the superman punch. And that's it. And, I'm sorry, but that's not wrestling.

TGM

Aug 26 2015, 09:24:57 PM

The difference between a "Hogan/Cena" limited moveset and a "Reigns" limited moveset is, while Hogan and Cena have their signature moves, they also both actually know how to wrestle a match. They incorporate basic wrestling maneuvers and techniques in-between their key spots. But Reigns doesn't do that. There's no basic wrestling moves in his arsenal, or any sort of variety. When you talk about Cena's "Five Moves of Doom" back in the day, those were just the last 5 moves that lead to his finish, but he did a lot more than five moves over the course of his match. With Reigns, when I say he only has 4 moves in his arsenal, I'm being very literal about that. He does the spear, the samoan drop, the leg drop, and the superman punch. And that's it. And, I'm sorry, but that's not wrestling.

Hell, I'm not even usually the kinda guy to harp on a guy's moveset or that sorta thing, and usually find such arguments to be annoying when spoken to the likes of Cena et al, for the reasons stated above. Besides, it's not about how many moves a guy has, but how they're used, and how well one can tell a story in the ring. And that's the thing about all those other guys, arguably limited moveset or not, they actually can wrestle. Hell, even Goldberg incorporated basic moves over the course of his matches, sloppy as they may have been in execution.

But Roman doesn't wrestle, though. He gets beat up, then hits the same three flashy signature moves. Every. Single. Time. That's not putting on a match, that's... I don't even know what that is. It's not wrestling, it's certainly not telling a story, it's essentially just going out there and trying to put together a series of highlights for a video package, and forgetting about all the other stuff between the highlights that those packages usually omit, yet are a important factor in making a given match worth highlighting in the first place. And I honestly can't even think of another major star like that. Hell, fucking The Great Khali did more in the ring than Roman Reigns does, and that dude could barely even move! How fucking bizarre is that?

Fromage

Aug 27 2015, 10:31:24 PM

The fans sound just like Sterling Archer.

Fromage

Aug 29 2015, 12:14:05 AM

Triple H slapped the shit out of that guy at some point off camera.