The All New All New Wrasslin' Pay Windah

[Subtle Mocking]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

CAN BROCK LESNAR HIT THE F5 ON THE BIG SHOW?!?!?!?!?!?!

Spoiler alert

Of course he bloody well can.

[close]

[Deanjam]

At one point, WWE wanted to do Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. No word yet if that match is still on the books but we should know after next week when Big Show is back on RAW.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Is it 2003 again?

[Unoriginal]

If Heyman's interview with Cole is anything to go by, it seems the seeds have been planted for a possible Batista/Lesnar match at 'Mania. I don't really want to see that.

Just imagine if the two main events at the Rumble are Cena/Orton and Lesnar/Big Show. At least it would so clearly expose WWE's utter failure to bring through talent in the last few years I suppose.

[Subtle Mocking]

If Heyman's interview with Cole is anything to go by, it seems the seeds have been planted for a possible Batista/Lesnar match at 'Mania. I don't really want to see that.

To be honest, that's better than any other potential Batista options. His matches with Orton were rubbish, don't really wanna see Triple H wrestle again, a Cena rematch would be pointless, Bryan would be a waste of Bryan, Punk would be a waste of Punk, Undertaker could put on a decent match but I'd rather have a new streak match etc etc.

Lesnar vs. Batista goes all the way back to OVW 2002, so there's that at least.

Also, I love how people are getting so pent up about the Bryan/Wyatts thing. It's got pre-Mania filler written all over it. Remember when people thought Cena was turning heel with the 'Embrace the hate' storyline? And that just ended with an unspectacular match at a B PPV. If Bryan wins the Rumble, they could have him face Wyatt at Elimination Chamber. If Bryan wins, he's free from the Wyatt Family. If Bray wins, he gets Bryan's title shot at WM.

[kitsofan34]

Issues with the roster this week creates the creative team to think outside the box in positive ways, such as giving the last half hour of Raw to a relative newcomer in Bray Wyatt. There's simply no way that would happen if Cena and Orton were available.

I'm really enjoying the Wyatt Family. Rowan's a bit sloppy and all, but the other two are the bee's knees.

[Unoriginal]

To be honest, that's better than any other potential Batista options. His matches with Orton were rubbish, don't really wanna see Triple H wrestle again, a Cena rematch would be pointless, Bryan would be a waste of Bryan, Punk would be a waste of Punk, Undertaker could put on a decent match but I'd rather have a new streak match etc etc.

Lesnar vs. Batista goes all the way back to OVW 2002, so there's that at least.

Also, I love how people are getting so pent up about the Bryan/Wyatts thing. It's got pre-Mania filler written all over it. Remember when people thought Cena was turning heel with the 'Embrace the hate' storyline? And that just ended with an unspectacular match at a B PPV. If Bryan wins the Rumble, they could have him face Wyatt at Elimination Chamber. If Bryan wins, he's free from the Wyatt Family. If Bray wins, he gets Bryan's title shot at WM.

I don't think their styles would mesh too well unless they fight a more shoot-style MMA type match which would make sense given their recent history (though Batista sucking at MMA may make the whole thing less believable). If Batista came back as a heel, I wouldn't mind him taking on Punk because if Punk's other option is Triple H, just give him that. I can't imagine anyone wants to see Batista/Orton or Batista/Cena or Batista/Undertaker yet again.

One thing I think we can be pretty sure of is that Undertaker/Cena won't happen this year at least. It would have to be the main event yet I don't think they would want to relegate the title match to a secondary spot seeing as it's the only top title in the company now. Usually, even by now you have a decent idea of what the Mania card but I don't have a fucking clue right now. Then again, the way creative have been going about things the past few months, I don't know if they do either.

[Subtle Mocking]

On a rather sombre note to end the year, Mae Young has been moved to a hospice. http://www.wrestlingnewssource.com/news/32625/WWE-Hall-of-Famer-Mae-Young-Hospitalized/

[Unoriginal]

On a rather sombre note to end the year, Mae Young has been moved to a hospice. http://www.wrestlingnewssource.com/news/32625/WWE-Hall-of-Famer-Mae-Young-Hospitalized/

Incredible woman. I listened to an interview with Bully Ray when he talked about powerbombing her and how she admonished him the first time around for going soft on her. Genuinely tougher than most in the locker room today.

[Ja'moke]

Did anyone else hear Punk yell "It's all falling apart" before he shouted "It's clobbering time!" on Raw? I wonder what that was in reference too.

[Famous Mortimer]

Someone has made a custom story mode on WWE 2K14 called "Vince Russo books Raw". It's very funny, enjoy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOtB_UkjgU0

That is brilliant, as is the same guy's video "John Cena Gets Friendzoned".

[Spiteface]

I like how in this backstage reaction video, Punk explains why sometimes wrestlers don't come out to help others:

http://youtu.be/izO20swts4w

At least it's an explanation.

I've tried being the "wait and see" guy and got burned so many times, so forgive me if I have little hope right now. Especially in the face of yet more Cena/Orton. If Bryan ends up turning face again and destroys the Wyatts from the inside and wins the Rumble, I'll be amazed, and prepared to be proven wrong. But WWE's had so many hot wrestlers/angles fall in their laps only for them to balls it up, I fear this is happening again.

[Moribunderast]

The one thing I've seen online that would redeem everything is if it's been an incredibly long-con by the WWE and Kane infiltrated the Authority from the inside (after being taken by The Wyatts) and Bryan turns the Wyatts face to take on The Shield and the Authority going into Wrestlemania. Would fit with the "Down with the Machine" ethos of the group and apparently when Kane volunteered his services to Steph[nb]Get your mind out of the gutter, you![/nb] he also said "I'm yours", like Bryan did to Bray.

I could also see him using the Wyatts to get far into the Rumble and then eliminating Bray and hopefully winning from there. But as Spiteface said, all hope is gone, really. Batista will return, win the Rumble and talk about being Best For Business and The Face Of This Company and Bryan will end up wrestling El Torito in a Maria Menounos On A Pole[nb]I SAID get your mind out of the gutter![/nb] match.

Didn't watch all of that Russo WWEK14 vid yet but what I watched was great. The AJ thing was a perfect way to start.

[vrailaine]

Danielson vs Bray for Mania with the backup option of Danielson vs Kane if Cena has to use his backup.

This is the first year I might be able to organise a bit of a Mania viewing party, so it's a real shame nothing about it seems to be motivating me to watch again at all. I imagine I'll tune back in for the Rumble, even though last years was really really bad, iirc.

[Ja'moke]

I love that Kane/Wyatt Family theory. There was talk a while back of turning the Wyatts face, which at the time seemed preposterous, but with Kane and Bryan aligned with them taking down The Authority that could be easily achieved.

[Unoriginal]

Potential Rumble spoiler!

Spoiler alert

"There's now a feeling within WWE that Batista will win the Rumble and challenge whoever has the title at WrestleMania XXX. This doesn't mean that we won't see Wyatt vs. Cena down the line, but most likely not at WrestleMania XXX as WWE has other plans for Cena at the big event."

[close]

[Subtle Mocking]

These preidctions are really just that. Nothing against you, Unoriginal, but it's tiresome to see them thrown about as fact.

[Unoriginal]

These preidctions are really just that. Nothing against you, Unoriginal, but it's tiresome to see them thrown about as fact.

The site I got the story from does tend to be quite accurate though -- more so than Meltzer is these days. A lot of loose lips around creative right now by the looks of things.

[Subtle Mocking]

I suppose, though I think it's way too early for anybody to say definitively. Batista/Orton and Cena/Wyatt would be utter shite though, hope those aren't the plans.

[Unoriginal]

NXT was great yet again this week. If there's any hope for the future of WWE it is that Triple H pretty much runs NXT as Chris Hero revealed in a recent interview and unlike the main shows, it's booked logically.

[Subtle Mocking]

There's now talk of Undertaker vs.

Spoiler alert

Daniel Bryan

[close]

at Wrestlemania, with the 'sheets saying that

Spoiler alert

Taker wanted to face a heel Bryan

[close]

.

[vrailaine]

That'd be a really bad idea, no one would buy him for a second. Only reason I could see that happening would be if

Spoiler alert

Taker feels like he can't go at all anymore and desperately wants to cling onto his having the best match of the night position

[close]

[Subtle Mocking]

They'd probably have a great match, but...yeah, I agree with what you said. Besides I still really want

Spoiler alert

Bryan

[close]

to

Spoiler alert

finally win the title properly after winning the Rumble.

[close]

[Subtle Mocking]

Also, this is pretty big if true:

WWE are sending out memos stating that Chris Benoit footage will be shown on the WWE Network, with a disclaimer before each show he's on.

[vrailaine]

Very interested in seeing how that disclaimer is phrased...

[Famous Mortimer]

Very interested in seeing how that disclaimer is phrased...

"We mostly disapprove of murder"

[Enzo]

"We mostly disapprove of murder"

"unless you're superfly"

[Unoriginal]

I hope they show his matches but edit Triple H's head onto Benoit's body.

[Subtle Mocking]

I hope they show his matches but edit Triple H's head onto Benoit's body.

Or just duplicate Triple H.

"BAH GAWD, TRIPLE H JUST TAPPED OUT TO *TRIPLE H*!"

[up_the_hampipe]

"unless you're superfly"

"or Razor Ramon"

[mycroft]

Tried to watch Smackdown today, don't think I got through a single match without skipping bits. I just can't get enthusiastic about any show that isn't NXT these days: my love for Punk has mostly vanished due to boring feuds and his general being a twat in real life, and I can't even get excited by Bryan when a few months ago I'd be so hyped by everything he did. And Henry will probably get himself injured again before the Lesnar thing comes to fruition, poor bugger.

I'm blaming all of this on Steph. And fucking Orton.