Reply With QuoteNetflix just added some WWE titles.
The King of the Ring, Ladder Match 2, the Bret Hart/Shawn Michaels documentary, etc.
I feelmStorm should be the one to take the belt off of Roode. Give it about three months and have him rekindle his fire and come back more determined than before redeeming himself.
Originally Posted by Briomega
Netflix just added some WWE titles.
The King of the Ring, Ladder Match 2, the Bret Hart/Shawn Michaels documentary, etc.
For those that haven't seen it the Bret/Shawn documentary is fantastic
I'm gonna watch it later today, pretty excited.
Agree. But I would have Storm pull what Roode did. I'd have him ostensibly join the dark side. Help Roode hold on to the title in a few matches and then eventually gain a shot, act like he will just lay down and hit Roode with the beer bottle, sorry bout your damn luck, new champion.
sting used to pop a few extra buys on ppv. they'd always cite that sting/samoa joe title match from '08 and his match against foley in '09 - both of which did better-than-average buys. this simply isn't the case anymore. sting/roode actually did worse than the prior month's buyrate. sting hemorrhaged buys during his last title run.
he's still a "name," and he's able to elicit a reaction. he should be kept around and given sporadic feuds. he shouldn't be the top contender. the most over face is hardy, and they've already blown through that feud. their best bet, i'd think, would be to invest in storm fully and attempt to make him the guy or find someone unmarred by constant start-stop pushes and give him the push. aries is a prime candidate for that.
I'd like nothing more but I don't think they are anywhere close to the point of giving him that big a push. Maybe if he feuds with Bully for a bit and gets the upper hand, you could then sell him as a legitimate threat for the top title.
i get the arc: they give him the title after he did so well with kurt, and just as he rises to the top, his jealous former-partner crushes his moment and takes the title from him. roode gets instant heat for this, and storm quickly becomes a sympathetic character. however, you can't prolong that feud. storm risks becoming a choke-artist, and that could severely impair his momentum. it's been nearly half a year since he won (and subsequently lost) the title. the time to regain it was most likely the ppv.
i enjoyed his promo on thursday. it's pure pathos. we feel for him, and he's teasing being disheartened and potentially given up. he'll ultimately come through and triumph or something, but that promo and this story should have been executed within the already elapsed six-month period. i'm all for slow builds, but when you're making a guy - trying to propel him into the role of top face - you can't have him lose too many times. trading wins with kurt and getting beaten by roode on television twice and twice on ppv is not how you make your next guy. the chase should have ended by now.
conversely, roode's far exceeded expectations as top heel. he's been great. it stands that, if they want storm to be the top face, he should have won by now, but if they plan on going in another direction, it's good that they've left roode at the top.
they need someone new. they have such a dearth of starpower. hardy and sting are their only over faces, and they're only marginally over. they need compelling characters at the top, and they can't be the same guys who've littered the main-event scene for the last few years. with the booking changes, russo's exodus and roode's rise to the top, this should mark a change-over and an emphasis on establishing new, clearly-defined characters. i know that's obvious, and i'm not saying anything new.
however, sting should play the foley circa 2000 role (which he has, albeit much less effectively), with roode getting the triple h rub from him. the feud should have ended decisively in favor of roode, while giving him heat for being the one to "put down the legend" so mercilessly. rvd is not the guy. roode beating him will do nothing for either guy, and if anything, will only further lower van dam's stock. he should be kept as a novelty act who's still over in virtue of his wwe run, and has 2-4 month runs in the company every year or so. coming back only to get beating will degrade that, and it won't do a thing for roode.
so, they need guys who aren't kurt, jarrett, sting and, to a lesser extent, hardy as top contenders. aries is their strongest character, has the most potential of any undercard face and has managed to generate a fan reaction that isn't the result of his being over in wcw/wwe in '98. it wouldn't take much to groom him for a run. let him talk, let him being aries, just give him more mic time. have him go over bully. give him a decisive victory. then, push him to roode. those two would probably interact very well on the mic.
you also have aj and joe ripe for a repush. they've been out of the title picture so long and simmering in the undercard without many memorable feuds that you could conceivably push them as "blank slates." take the opportunity to make joe a monster again in the team with magnus, and then push him as a solo killer. aj's the endearing, spunky underdog flier with just a touch of lovable arrogance. without russo booking them poorly or killing their characters, they could make great additions to a main-event scene populated by roode, storm, bully (who's essentially a "new character") and aries.
those six as your top guys, with angle, hardy, sting, rvd, jarrett and flair cycling in-and-out of upper midcard feuds with one another right under them, could make for strong cards.
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