BRM Reviews the 8/21/2018 Smackdown

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cero2k
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Re: BRM Reviews the 8/21/2018 Smackdown

Post by cero2k » Aug 23rd, '18, 15:04

Big Red Machine wrote: Aug 23rd, '18, 12:19
I think they've done a relatively good job with Orton over the past year of keeping him as a tweener. The problem with Orton is that everyone cheers his heel stuff. They also seem to be doing a good job of stopping that now, though.
Everyone was cheering Roode and Sasha, too. Miz hasn't been a babyface in years. I have no problem with Charlotte being a babyface.
relatively is a big word, Orton hasn't really done much in a while. Roode gets cheered because of his entrance, but he's a natural heel. Sasha's WHOLE gimmick is a heel gimmick. If they're just going to ignore the cheers and booes that Becky and Reigns get respectively, then why aren't they ignoring the cheers the Glorious song gets. If the writers can't get a heel booed, then fire them and ask Hunter how they made Ciampa and UE and Baszler huuge heels.
Big Red Machine wrote: Aug 23rd, '18, 12:19 Slapping someone or shoving them is frustrating. Beating the sh*t out of them is a heel turn. Also, doing it after two hugs is a heel turn. If she had responded to Charlotte's attempt to hug her with a shove then that would be frustration. That's not what happened.
that wasn't much of a beating and it's not like it happened after Becky had a chance to clear her head, it was still in the heat of the moment. it's frustration.
Big Red Machine wrote: Aug 23rd, '18, 12:19 The crowd shouldn't agree with the babyface for snapping in this manner in this situation. I think that wrestling fans, as a storyteller's audience, have lost the distinction between "bad" and "competently told but not what I want," and this is a major case of it. (And yeah, yeah, I know: Daniel Bryan. But that was a case of fans wanting him to be the top guy, and WWE seeing him as nothing but a mid-carder. In this case WWE is clearly positioning Becky as the top heel on the brand.)
if the crowd has been following Becky for long as she built herself into finally getting that one-on-one, the fans are equally frustrated, and IT IS the same frustration that Dragon was building. Fans get invested into the characters and react naturally to them, they don't get a copy of the script.
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Re: BRM Reviews the 8/21/2018 Smackdown

Post by Big Red Machine » Aug 23rd, '18, 16:07

cero2k wrote: Aug 23rd, '18, 15:04
Big Red Machine wrote: Aug 23rd, '18, 12:19
I think they've done a relatively good job with Orton over the past year of keeping him as a tweener. The problem with Orton is that everyone cheers his heel stuff. They also seem to be doing a good job of stopping that now, though.
Everyone was cheering Roode and Sasha, too. Miz hasn't been a babyface in years. I have no problem with Charlotte being a babyface.
relatively is a big word, Orton hasn't really done much in a while. Roode gets cheered because of his entrance, but he's a natural heel. Sasha's WHOLE gimmick is a heel gimmick. If they're just going to ignore the cheers and booes that Becky and Reigns get respectively, then why aren't they ignoring the cheers the Glorious song gets. If the writers can't get a heel booed, then fire them and ask Hunter how they made Ciampa and UE and Baszler huuge heels.
UE get cheered a lot. The "Sasha's whole gimmick is a heel gimmick" argument could just as easily be made about The Rock.
cero2k wrote: Aug 23rd, '18, 15:04
Big Red Machine wrote: Aug 23rd, '18, 12:19 Slapping someone or shoving them is frustrating. Beating the sh*t out of them is a heel turn. Also, doing it after two hugs is a heel turn. If she had responded to Charlotte's attempt to hug her with a shove then that would be frustration. That's not what happened.
that wasn't much of a beating and it's not like it happened after Becky had a chance to clear her head, it was still in the heat of the moment. it's frustration.
It was enough of a beating to feel significant, and based on what Becky said on SD this week, it seems a lot more like the hugs were to lull Charlotte into a false sense of security.
cero2k wrote: Aug 23rd, '18, 15:04
Big Red Machine wrote: Aug 23rd, '18, 12:19 The crowd shouldn't agree with the babyface for snapping in this manner in this situation. I think that wrestling fans, as a storyteller's audience, have lost the distinction between "bad" and "competently told but not what I want," and this is a major case of it. (And yeah, yeah, I know: Daniel Bryan. But that was a case of fans wanting him to be the top guy, and WWE seeing him as nothing but a mid-carder. In this case WWE is clearly positioning Becky as the top heel on the brand.)
if the crowd has been following Becky for long as she built herself into finally getting that one-on-one, the fans are equally frustrated, and IT IS the same frustration that Dragon was building. Fans get invested into the characters and react naturally to them, they don't get a copy of the script.
Dragon didn't fail cleanly, then go beat Punk up over it, and comparing Becky to Dragon is ridiculous. With Dragon it was two years of frustration. Becky not had a main title taken away from her in a twelve-second squash at WrestleMania. This Becky thing has been going on for a few months at most.
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Re: BRM Reviews the 8/21/2018 Smackdown

Post by cero2k » Aug 23rd, '18, 23:12

Big Red Machine wrote: Aug 23rd, '18, 16:07
UE get cheered a lot. The "Sasha's whole gimmick is a heel gimmick" argument could just as easily be made about The Rock.
yeah, 20 yrs ago, and the people called him the People's champ. Fans don't call Sasha THEIR Legit Boss or whatever the nickname is.

Big Red Machine wrote: Aug 23rd, '18, 12:19 It was enough of a beating to feel significant, and based on what Becky said on SD this week, it seems a lot more like the hugs were to lull Charlotte into a false sense of security.
yeah, a terribly scripted promo. I'm not arguing that Becky is not following orders because WWE actually tried to make her a heel, but if there was ever an example on how bad scripted promos are, this is it, how the fuck can Becky say the fans don't cheer for her while they're all cheering for her? And Becky didn't even hit her finisher or anything, she just punched Charlotte a few times and pushed her off the ring, that's nothing, plus Charlotte is not super established as this big babyface that we should feel that her attack was dastardly. She got what she had coming.

cero2k wrote: Aug 23rd, '18, 15:04 Dragon didn't fail cleanly, then go beat Punk up over it, and comparing Becky to Dragon is ridiculous. With Dragon it was two years of frustration. Becky not had a main title taken away from her in a twelve-second squash at WrestleMania. This Becky thing has been going on for a few months at most.
two years, one month, it's the same frustration if you're behind the wrestler, hell, you can say this is a legit 4-5-15 yr frustration that WWE keeps pushing their favorite kids over who the fans actually want to see on top. There's people who have been wanting to see Becky get a real push since NXT and her first title win was a joke, if you're a fan of the chick, this was her big one on one that all build towards her winning the title, so i can understand the frustration.
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Re: BRM Reviews the 8/21/2018 Smackdown

Post by Big Red Machine » Aug 24th, '18, 07:34

cero2k wrote: Aug 23rd, '18, 23:12
Big Red Machine wrote: Aug 23rd, '18, 16:07
UE get cheered a lot. The "Sasha's whole gimmick is a heel gimmick" argument could just as easily be made about The Rock.
yeah, 20 yrs ago, and the people called him the People's champ. Fans don't call Sasha THEIR Legit Boss or whatever the nickname is.
No, but they do call her The Boss on signs. And you're forgetting that the first person to call The Rock "The People's Champion" was The Rock, as a heel thing.
cero2k wrote: Aug 23rd, '18, 23:12
Big Red Machine wrote: Aug 23rd, '18, 12:19 It was enough of a beating to feel significant, and based on what Becky said on SD this week, it seems a lot more like the hugs were to lull Charlotte into a false sense of security.
yeah, a terribly scripted promo. I'm not arguing that Becky is not following orders because WWE actually tried to make her a heel, but if there was ever an example on how bad scripted promos are, this is it, how the fuck can Becky say the fans don't cheer for her while they're all cheering for her? And Becky didn't even hit her finisher or anything, she just punched Charlotte a few times and pushed her off the ring, that's nothing, plus Charlotte is not super established as this big babyface that we should feel that her attack was dastardly. She got what she had coming.
I actually thought Becky's promo was scripted pretty well. She didn't say "you didn't cheer me." She said "you cheered me... but then you cheered when Charlotte beat me, so your cheers were bullsh*t."
So what if she didn't hit her finisher? She attacked her after a match, punched her a bunch of times and posed with the belt... and then went back to attacking her afterwards. That's not frustration anymore. And then she threw her into the barricade, which is the same technique that the lowly Alicia Fox used to take out the great Ronda Rousey on Raw a few weeks ago, so clearly this was intended to be a big beating.
cero2k wrote: Aug 23rd, '18, 23:12 plus Charlotte is not super established as this big babyface that we should feel that her attack was dastardly. She got what she had coming.
Oh. So just because she's not the most popular person in the world then it's perfectly okay to beat the sh*t out of her because you're sad she beat you? What kind of logic is that? Was it wrong for Orndorff to turn on Hogan but okay for HBK to put Marty Jannetty's head through a window because more people liked Hogan than Marty?
And Charlotte "had it coming?" Really? Please explain to me what Charlotte did wrong here? She didn't lobby to be in the title match; Paige made the stip without Charlotte's input. Should she have thrown her match against Carmella all because it's apparently Becky's turn to have a title shot? Or should she have just let Becky pin her during the PPV match? Should she give up her own aspirations to once again reach the pinnacle of her sport? Should Serena Williams do the job for Venus whenever they face off in a tournament because Serena has been a lot more successful? F*ck no. If Becky can't win the match then she doesn't deserve the championship.

cero2k wrote: Aug 23rd, '18, 15:04
Big Red Machine wrote: Aug 23rd, '18, 12:19 Dragon didn't fail cleanly, then go beat Punk up over it, and comparing Becky to Dragon is ridiculous. With Dragon it was two years of frustration. Becky not had a main title taken away from her in a twelve-second squash at WrestleMania. This Becky thing has been going on for a few months at most.
two years, one month, it's the same frustration if you're behind the wrestler, hell, you can say this is a legit 4-5-15 yr frustration that WWE keeps pushing their favorite kids over who the fans actually want to see on top. There's people who have been wanting to see Becky get a real push since NXT and her first title win was a joke, if you're a fan of the chick, this was her big one on one that all build towards her winning the title, so i can understand the frustration.
You're acting like this isn't a push for Becky. And why was her first title win a joke? Just because the company didn't do much with it? That happens to a lot of people.
I'm so sick and tired of these shifting winds of IWC bullsh*t!
Cody:
- Goes to the indies and has a bunch of mediocre matches where he needs the likes of Jay Lethal or Zack Sabre Jr. to carry him to an acceptable main event? "BOO! CODY SUCKS!"
- Puts on a Bullet Club shirt- becomes the biggest babyface ever
Nia Jax:
- Is a big, clumsy oaf who injures Bayley? "Nia is terrible and dangerous and shouldn't even be on the main roster!"
- Shows no improvement in her ring-work, but gets turned babyface and wins the title at WrestleMania? "YOU DESERVE IT!"
Champion rarely ever defends his title:
Jan.-June 2018, three defenses from Brock? BOOOOO! This is lame! What sort of champion never defends his belt?
Jul.-Dec. 2017, ONE defense for Okada? No one even notices.
Charlotte:
- One of the top female workers and biggest female star on the main roster? "WE LOVE CHARLOTTE!"
- Beats Becky Lynch once, penciled in for match with Ronda at Mania? "F*CK YOU, CHARLOTTE! YOU ARE SATAN!"


People can be upset that Becky didn't win and they wanted her to, but to say that the story they have executed is being told poorly is a completely unfounded criticism.
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Re: BRM Reviews the 8/21/2018 Smackdown

Post by Bob-O » Aug 24th, '18, 07:49

Coming out of Summerslam and the follow up TV, Becky Lynch is the hottest thing in company right now (no pun intended, but i'll take it). THAT'S what people are talking about, not Roman or Rhonda, not Braun or even Dean... even from a WWE Universe standpoint, the YouTube video of the promo in question has 500k more views than anything else coming out of it.

It absolutely doesn't fit their narrative, and it'll be interesting to see what they do here. I mean, we all KNOW what they're gonna do here, and I think it's fair by now to assume the worst, but they could have an actual organic star for the first time in who knows how long!
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