Big Red Machine wrote: ↑Nov 3rd, '18, 19:48 Can it be done right? Yes. But I lack sufficient faith in the people currently involved in creative in just about every single wrestling company in the world to pull it off. And least of all WWE, because their desire to have two authority figures (they're not going to take Paige of TV for this) is going to lead to the standard WWE bickering authority figures, which is just painful to watch, and doubly so with WWE writing.

If being done for a hot angle to move into the Fox transition, I have some faith. Fox wants more SPORTS and less ENTERTAINMENT. I don't think they'll do bickering GM's, I think Paige is out and I'm fine with that. She's a step up from Corbin, but only 'cause she's purdy.

Big Red Machine wrote: ↑Nov 3rd, '18, 19:48 If they want a heel authority figure, there are definitely people out there who can pull it off. But those people are not within WWE right now (or at least aren't people WWE is willing to let look like pure heels for any extended period of time). If they're going to bring in Jim Cornette or Veda Scott or CMJ or even Wade Barrett then do that... but they're not going to.

THAT'S THE THING, though! For it to work... in the big picture, not just for the IWC or even the WWE Universe, it NEEDS to be somebody with ACTUAL authority. They miss on all their authority angles (beyond the writing) because their GM's rarely have any ACTUAL authority. They spend half the episode talking about what Steph wants or what Hunter wants or what Vince wants... it's difficult for an authority figure to get any heat when they're constantly passing the buck to the ACTUAL authority figure(s), or it's lost in a pointless chain of command (commissioners and gm's and director of operations and blah blah blah), made worse by writing that's impossible to portray naturally, making it obvious that they're being fed lines... by a higher authority...

The right answer, for any Authority-type angle in WWE, is a McMahon or at least somebody ACTUALLY in the chain of command (Michael Hayes? Regal? Lauranitis was perfect at the time), or it just doesn't work. Nobody believes Corbin or Paige have any actual say in anything. People couldn't give a shit about seeing the proxy "get theirs"... we want to see OUR proxies stick it to The Man! Which is why nobody wants to see a babyface Authority, all they're doing is hosting the damn show. You might as well bring back the celebrities if you're going to do that.

Vince is too old, Steph is aligned to Raw, and Hunter doesn't work on Tuesdays. Chickenshit Shane McMahon running around talking about being the best wrestler in the world and booking his way out of proving it every week could be big and the kind of buzz Fox is looking for. Others might work, but in the long run Shane is the right answer.

Give it a chance!

The one thing about Shane being a heel authority is that it's actually a lot closer to Vince than everyone else, simply because (1) we know he's the not the King of Kings that can actually beat you up, and most importantly, (2) he's a dude and the babyfaces can get the upper hand now and then.

The one thing too that I wonder and we'll see, should Miz become the first babyface to antagonize Shane?

Bob-O wrote: ↑Nov 4th, '18, 08:32

Big Red Machine wrote: ↑Nov 3rd, '18, 19:48 Can it be done right? Yes. But I lack sufficient faith in the people currently involved in creative in just about every single wrestling company in the world to pull it off. And least of all WWE, because their desire to have two authority figures (they're not going to take Paige of TV for this) is going to lead to the standard WWE bickering authority figures, which is just painful to watch, and doubly so with WWE writing.

If being done for a hot angle to move into the Fox transition, I have some faith. Fox wants more SPORTS and less ENTERTAINMENT. I don't think they'll do bickering GM's, I think Paige is out and I'm fine with that. She's a step up from Corbin, but only 'cause she's purdy.

I think saying Paige is only one step above Corbin is unfair. Paige is mediocre at best, but Corbin is a particularly bad actor. It's not the difference between a 5 and a 4, it's the difference between a 5 and a 1. But you may be right that she isn't as good as people give her credit for. I guess it's possible that the reasons she seems to be doing a better job is that she doesn't have the baggage that is years of dumb/forced "sports entertainment" decisions that a Teddy Long or Vickie Guerrero or Johnny Ace or even Shane McMahon has.

As for the Fox thing... to me, a heel authority figure is one of the major things you can do that screams "ENTERTAINMENT!" rather than sports. It's not a thing that happens in the real world. Dana White has his favorites, but it's not like he books Josh Barnett to get a shot at Daniel Cormier and then tells Barnett he has to fight two other times that night, or books him in a handicap match the week before. The heel authority figure is something that didn't exist until the Monday Night Wars era. IN the more realism-focused eras, you were supposed to believe that the promoter and promotion were there good guys, who would try to make it right when the heels screwed you so you would be happy to give them your money.

Bob-O wrote: ↑Nov 4th, '18, 08:32

Big Red Machine wrote: ↑Nov 3rd, '18, 19:48 If they want a heel authority figure, there are definitely people out there who can pull it off. But those people are not within WWE right now (or at least aren't people WWE is willing to let look like pure heels for any extended period of time). If they're going to bring in Jim Cornette or Veda Scott or CMJ or even Wade Barrett then do that... but they're not going to.

THAT'S THE THING, though! For it to work... in the big picture, not just for the IWC or even the WWE Universe, it NEEDS to be somebody with ACTUAL authority. They miss on all their authority angles (beyond the writing) because their GM's rarely have any ACTUAL authority. They spend half the episode talking about what Steph wants or what Hunter wants or what Vince wants... it's difficult for an authority figure to get any heat when they're constantly passing the buck to the ACTUAL authority figure(s), or it's lost in a pointless chain of command (commissioners and gm's and director of operations and blah blah blah), made worse by writing that's impossible to portray naturally, making it obvious that they're being fed lines... by a higher authority...

The right answer, for any Authority-type angle in WWE, is a McMahon or at least somebody ACTUALLY in the chain of command (Michael Hayes? Regal? Lauranitis was perfect at the time), or it just doesn't work. Nobody believes Corbin or Paige have any actual say in anything. People couldn't give a shit about seeing the proxy "get theirs"... we want to see OUR proxies stick it to The Man! Which is why nobody wants to see a babyface Authority, all they're doing is hosting the damn show. You might as well bring back the celebrities if you're going to do that.

Vince is too old, Steph is aligned to Raw, and Hunter doesn't work on Tuesdays. Chickenshit Shane McMahon running around talking about being the best wrestler in the world and booking his way out of proving it every week could be big and the kind of buzz Fox is looking for. Others might work, but in the long run Shane is the right answer.

Give it a chance!

I do think there is some equity in the suck-up being in charge (another area where I think they've dropped the ball with Corbin, and where Veda Scott could totally shine as a Steph idolizer), but if you want a McMahon with real authority, Shane isn't it, because he doesn't have any. Vince, Steph, Hunter, and Dunn is where the power lies. Hayes could work as a spot-filler, though.
The other problem with Shane is that fans won't boo him. As I've been pointing out for years now, in kayfabe, the guy is hypocritical piece of sh*t douchebag, and yet he still always gets cheered because he occasionally jumps off of stuff. I don't see this changing anything unless he hardcore screws AJ or Bryan, and even then, you'll have to find someone to be your "corporate champion" who isn't going to get cheered, and the one guy who could fill that role just went on an indefinite hiatus because of leukemia. MAYBE Lashley will work, I suppose, but other than that, your options at this point are Miz, Corbin, or even more Randy Orton.

cero2k wrote: ↑Nov 4th, '18, 10:53 The one thing about Shane being a heel authority is that it's actually a lot closer to Vince than everyone else, simply because (1) we know he's the not the King of Kings that can actually beat you up, and most importantly, (2) he's a dude and the babyfaces can get the upper hand now and then.

The one thing too that I wonder and we'll see, should Miz become the first babyface to antagonize Shane?

1. Except we've seen Shane beat people up on his own a bunch of times.


2. This is an important point. And last time they had Steph in the role, they wouldn't let anyone get their hands on her, even when Steph was pointlessly sticking her nose in Sasha and Bayley's business.

Part of me just thinks they also didn't want to have Strowman finally in Saudia Arabia and have it remembered as such.

MELTZ's Reviews

Nakamura vs. Rusev: 3

Mysterio vs. Orton: 2

Hardy vs. Miz: 2.25

Lashley vs. Rollins: 2

Angle vs. Ziggler: 2.5

The Bar vs. New Day: 2.75

Miz vs. Mysterio: 3

Ziggler vs. Rollins: 3.5

AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe: 3.25

Lesnar vs. Strowman: 1

McMahon vs. Ziggler: 1

Brothers of Destruction vs. DX: 1.75