Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
Do people even know why they are booing Roman Reigns anymore? Originally, they booed Reigns because they felt he was a Vince hand-picked man that he chose over Daniel Bryan, who was a people's choice at the time. Much like Batista, the boos toward both were a byproduct of not their talent or push, but more of the lack of push for Bryan. But now, Daniel Bryan is retired, not expected to ever wrestle again, and is nowhere near any type of push as a wrestler. So now that nothing is standing in the way of Reigns, there SHOULDN'T be any justifiable reason to hate on him in-large. His work is good, he's not repetitive like Cena, and he's not pushed down our throats. So are there any reasons other than personal one-offs to hate/boo him at this point?
I agree. The narrative went from "we are booing him because they picked him over Daniel Bryan" to "We are booing him because he sucks." Reigns doesn't suck, but he is paying the price for WWE pushing him so hard when the audience wanted someone else pushed. They have tried to quell that by pulling back on the push but it's obviously not working. My guess is that one day they will give up and turn him heel and THEN fan will get behind him. But, the reality is that right now, we are at a point where people boo him because they were...not to make any sort of statement, in my opinion.
Who was the best heel in WWE over the last ten years?
No question in my mind: CM Punk during the Straightedge Society era.
Other than maybe Renee Young being on both Raw and Smackdown (Talking Smack, and sometimes as an interviewer), I believe Todd Phillips is the only person who works every WWE show. He's on Raw as an interviewer, Smackdown as a host, and NXT as a commentator. Does he get paid to work multiple shows, as other talents only have to work one show? Or is it just part of the gig? I ask because that's a lot of traveling since Raw and Smackdown are not always so close in proximity. He should get a lot of credit for all of that.
It's just part of the gig. The announcers are under contract that pays them a salary no matter how many days they work.
With the annual tradition of running Raw at MSG on 12/26 falling on a Monday this year, why didn't WWE decide to make it a live Monday Night Raw episode? I would have made the episode a little more special and I can't even remember the last time WWE had a live show at MSG (usually it's now at Barclays). Does it cost more to rent the venue whether they do a show live or not? Seems like a no-brainer to have done that to not only get people to tune in, but to kill two birds with one stone.
Raw was in Chicago and so was the production crew. MSG has a high origination fee for broadcasts. WWE (and other entertainment companies) have worked more with Barclays in recent years because they cut better deals financially. Beyond that, the routing of the WWE events are locked in a year to 18 months in advance. They couldn't have switched to MSG for Raw because they already had TV locked in for Chicago back in 2015.
With WWE starting so many new brands- NXT, 205 Live, and now whatever the U.K. Championship will become... is there any concern in watering down their main product? Having a guy like Nakamura stay with NXT because NXT needs a headliner has to take away from the main product I would think. Especially in the long term. And Nakamura is only one of many examples.
No, because they see it all as WWE, just different brands. The idea is not to water down Raw but have 4 or 5 brands instead of 2. They want a world where John Cena could go to NXT, for example. Whether they get it, we will see, but that is why we are seeing the movements we are.
What are they doing with Sami Zayn? They teased him going to Smackdown and the fans were excited but then Mick fires him up and we think "oh he is going to get a push now" and then he is dominated for 10 minutes but at least the story is "he hung with the giant for 10 minutes" but then on RAW they send him home because Braun is going to kill him. Why do the match at Road Block if he is still going to be made the wimp on RAW? I mean Mick isn't protecting anyone else from Braun so that means he thinks out of all the men on the roster only Sami needs protecting. Why didn't they just send him to Smackdown? Smackdown needs main eventers right now...and Zayn is not only being wasted but he is actually being devalued as well.
They believe they are making him out to be a fight from behind underdog babyface. He was sent home so Braun could have his rampage, not to make Sami look like a coward. If anything, that decision made Mick Foley, not Sami, look back in my mind. They are getting back to Zayn vs. Braun next week.
If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!
Bang On Casino
