The WWE Thread

[thenammagazine]

Er, I don't think I'll be clicking play on that video :

Chicken.

 

[karamazov80]

Apparently CM Punk is gone from the WWE. He told Vince he was going home, and then did so, and now is not written into any forthcoming story lines.

 

[thenammagazine]

Temper tantrum over no match at Wrestlemania?

 

[karamazov80]

Supposedly he's been burned out for awhile, and he's been wallowing on the mid-card since Rock came in last year and bumped him out of Wrestlemania's main event. Probably the company's second most over guy at the moment, so it's probably gonna hurt them a bit.

 

[thenammagazine]

Supposedly he's been burned out for awhile, and he's been wallowing on the mid-card since Rock came in last year and bumped him out of Wrestlemania's main event. Probably the company's second most over guy at the moment, so it's probably gonna hurt them a bit.

Kinda sick of the dude and his one-dimensional shtick anyway, PIPE-BOMB! He's been at the forefront for a few years now. It's a ****ing shame he can't really give back after the push he got. I'll never understand that about wrestlers. I get that he has skills both in the ring and on the mic, but after his feud with Cena was over, the feud with Hayman was all but predictable and something we'd all seen before, dozens of times. As it stands now, I didn't even really watch all of RAW and had little to no interest in the matches, so I think, overall, the WWE's in a slump.

 

[karamazov80]

I think the "what have you done for me lately" mentality is something you see from nearly everyone. And honestly, the way McMahon treats guys, it's a sensible way to behave. If you bend over backwards to show your allegiance to McMahon, then he'll show his appreciation so long as you are bringing in $$$, or as long as you are married to his daughter I guess. But he's a businessman, and treats wrestlers (and other staff--see Jim Ross) as commodities. I wouldn't begrudge anyone for doing what Punk is doing, particularly after working nearly non-stop for almost 10 years for the guy on a wrestler's grueling schedule. I'm sure Punk is thankful of what the WWE provided to him, but they aren't a charity--if you don't earn it, you usually don't get it--and his appreciation is only going to go so far. Kurt Angle left when he got burned out by the WWE machine, and even though he went to a much crappier company, he seems to be a lot happier with their schedule and what it means for his health and family life. Good on him for it, if McMahon wasn't willing or able to budge on those issues. Maybe if more guys took breaks before having breakdowns--physically, mentally, or whatever--then we wouldn't see so many tragedies in the business as we do.

 

[thenammagazine]

I think the "what have you done for me lately" mentality is something you see from nearly everyone. And honestly, the way McMahon treats guys, it's a sensible way to behave. If you bend over backwards to show your allegiance to McMahon, then he'll show his appreciation so long as you are bringing in $$$, or as long as you are married to his daughter I guess. But he's a businessman, and treats wrestlers (and other staff--see Jim Ross) as commodities. I wouldn't begrudge anyone for doing what Punk is doing, particularly after working nearly non-stop for almost 10 years for the guy on a wrestler's grueling schedule. I'm sure Punk is thankful of what the WWE provided to him, but they aren't a charity--if you don't earn it, you usually don't get it--and his appreciation is only going to go so far. Kurt Angle left when he got burned out by the WWE machine, and even though he went to a much crappier company, he seems to be a lot happier with their schedule and what it means for his health and family life. Good on him for it, if McMahon wasn't willing or able to budge on those issues. Maybe if more guys took breaks before having breakdowns--physically, mentally, or whatever--then we wouldn't see so many tragedies in the business as we do.

You can't really blame McMahon. At this point, that's like libs continually blaming Bush for how bad this country is. It's tired, wrong and misdirected. MOST of these guys would be nothing, trying to survive on low-paying jobs and $50 a night on weekends at high-school gym shows, to cover their gym memberships while suffering from addiction to pain meds and got knows what else. There are plenty of examples where stars have come in, faded out and then come back to be bigger than ever. As far as pro-wrestling is concerned, if they expect to beat the game, they need to go with the flow, or GTFO.

 

[karamazov80]

Well, he did GTFO, so. . .

And I don't think the Bush analogy works, unless you are saying that Bush had total absolute control over the workings of the country in the way McMahon does over his company.

 

[Jaycepticon]

Since he left, he shouldn't come back until Royal Rumble 2016 and win that so he could finally headline WM.

All jokes aside, I do like Punk and even though he's been at the forefront, he should've gotten to headline WM at least once by now. And nams examples are perfect in that after the infamous pipe-bomb moment, he's been relegated to silly storylines and high-fiving John Cena and smiling now. It really sucks there's no competition for WWE right now.

 

[thenammagazine]

Well, he did GTFO, so. . .

And I don't think the Bush analogy works, unless you are saying that Bush had total absolute control over the workings of the country in the way McMahon does over his company.

Uh... WWE is a publicly traded company. McMahon has to answer to shareholders.

 

[karamazov80]

Since he left, he shouldn't come back until Royal Rumble 2016 and win that so he could finally headline WM.

LOL, except he isn't best buds with HHH, so that wouldn't be the case.

Uh... WWE is a publicly traded company. McMahon has to answer to shareholders.

Every account I'm familiar with still says he has ultimate creative and technical control. He ultimately dictates who gets pushed, who doesn't, whether there is one title or two, whether a guy can take an extended break or not, etc.

 

[Jaycepticon]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure shareholders are happy with the ****-ton of Cena merchandise being sold, and since there's not much D-Bry merchandise to hurt any of their pockets, what the "fans" want is pretty irrelevant since it's all about the bottom dollar to Vince. At least, that's how I see it anyway.

 

[thenammagazine]

Every account I'm familiar with still says he has ultimate creative and technical control. He ultimately dictates who gets pushed, who doesn't, whether there is one title or two, whether a guy can take an extended break or not, etc.

Still doesn't mean he doesn't have to answer to them. The days of taking risks are looooooooong over, and until someone steps up that has the charisma of a Sean Michaels to compensate for what they lack in size (even though he can't wrestle), you're gonna have to understand that more muscles = more money. It's not like it's some new concept for the biz anyway. It's always been like that.

 

[karamazov80]

I don't disagree with you on that. Obviously, Punk didn't have that sway, so he did what he could do, and left. And there's no guarantee he'll be welcomed back with open arms if/when he decides he wants to return, so he is taking a risk.

 

[Natrix]

Temper tantrum over no match at Wrestlemania?

Read he was supposed to win the RR but then that got changed to Batista. If that is the case, he deserves to be pissed and walk out.

 

[Natrix]

Also:

The report also states the possible reasons behind Punk's decision to pack up and head home—the feeling that part-time wrestlers are getting pushed instead of men who work 365 days a year with the company:

In the past, Punk had been very vocal about “part-time” wrestlers returning to WWE and getting pushed ahead of guys who are there on a nightly basis, and that may be a reason for him being upset.

 

[karamazov80]

It's definitely good business, in the sense that you can more easily build up hype over guys who haven't been around in awhile, and who just come in for big pay days. But that's a legitimate gripe for a guy who has been grinding it out. On the other hand, maybe Punk can be in that role himself if he's just a part time guy in the future. I think Bret Hart commented on something similarly in his bio about Hulk Hogan during his prime--that he wouldn't wrestle except on really big shows.

 

[yruh8n]

Surprised to see Hellwig and Roberts going into the HOF this year. Could it finally be Macho's turn?

 

[thenammagazine]

Read he was supposed to win the RR but then that got changed to Batista. If that is the case, he deserves to be pissed and walk out.

Again, though, my point is, without McMahon, he'd be what? Where's Sandman now? You don't bite the hand that feeds ya. Even Cena jobbed for people. He jobbed for Punk who, if memory serves, has the record for longest title run (which was some of the most boring, whinyassed wrestling in recent history). Hell, Cena's jobbing right now, not going for the title. They don't have to like it, but they have to accept it. It's part of the deal. Always has been. Just goes to prove the temper tantrum theory. Crybaby wants to be the golden boy again and since he can't be, is taking his ball like a little ***** and going home.

 

[wanderlai]

Well you either draw or you can't. You don't have to be 6'5"+ and roided out. You don't have to be s wrestling machine. You don't have to have charisma or great microphone skills. Some of the greatest ever were missing one of those attributes. Most need 2 out of 3 to be successful.

1st tier:
Ric Flair- best promo/mic skills ever, very good wrestler in his prime, but not a hulking guy. Hardest worker ever.
Steve Austin- 2nd best ever cutting promos/mic skills, decent wrestler, not a hulking guy. Took the perfect character to take off.
Hulk Hogan- Huge guy, ok cutting promos/mic skills, bad wrestler. Greatest creation Vince ever made.
Rock- Big guy, good wrestler, 3rd best at cutting promos/mic skills, could improv on the fly. Ton of talent which is why he is successful in Hollywood.

2nd tier:
Undertaker-huge guy, great character, ok wrestler, ok mic skills. Vince's 2nd best creation.
Shawn Michaels- great charisma, looked good to women, ok wrestler, ok mic/promo skills
Cena- muscled, good wrestler, very good charisma, not a tall guy, good mic skills.