Fastlane Tonight - in Cleveland!

[MoFlo]

Jason Powell from http://prowrestling.net sums it up perfectly:

"Powell's POV: An embarrassing night for Vince McMahon. It's bad enough that he was so stubborn about Batista winning at this time last year, but now he's done it two years in a row. This is damaging to Reigns, The Rock, and WWE overall. Keep in mind that this is a man who claims to listen to the fans. Damn near everyone assumed the crowd would turn on Reigns if they went with him winning the match, yet Vince stuck with it rather than go with Daniel Bryan. Sure, he can turn Reigns heel if things get bad, but that doesn't justify this move. The Rumble match was more deflated than a New England Patriots football (finally got to work that one in) once Bryan was eliminated. It wasn't just the Bryan elimination, though, the booking of the match was really bad and some of those eliminations were just asinine and lazy."

"Powell's POV: Vince McMahon knew Reigns wasn't over enough to please the fans, so he brought in The Rock in order to help get him over. Swing and a miss. The online fans who have been the most anti-Reigns since word came out that he was pegged for the Rumble win are the first people who will see through this and will continue to hold it against Reigns. Two years in a row, Vince. How embarrassing."

 

[RapsCavs]

And the way Big Show and Kane just eliminated the fan favorites (Ziggler, Bray, Ambrose) was pretty much the WWE's way of saying "fuck you" to the fans. Like they didn't even get booked to actually fight back. Big Show and Kane just used their finisher on them and they were already knocked out and were thrown out like rag dolls.

 

[Bill Walton.]

That was awkward.

Rollins continues to shine though..

 

[Lionheart]

I don't watch a lot of WWE but I was able to watch the RR (I agree the Daniel Bryan elimination was so bland) and mostly get my info from the different threads on RCF. My question is, what happened with Reigns? If I remember correctly everyone here predicted that he had superstar material in him. You guys were even talking about the day when Shield finally disbands so he'll get his shine as a solo act. So what happened? I'm really interested.

 

[getBUCKED]

Rollins was incredible tonight. He's easily the best ring performer out there right now with the athleticism he brings every night. They overkill his bad guy persona but damn does he kill in the ring.

 

[Juice is Loose]

The WWE Network cancellation page crashed last night. Vince should have fun this morning with the share holders and board.

 

[TheLand1287]

I don't watch a lot of WWE but I was able to watch the RR (I agree the Daniel Bryan elimination was so bland) and mostly get my info from the different threads on RCF. My question is, what happened with Reigns? If I remember correctly everyone here predicted that he had superstar material in him. You guys were even talking about the day when Shield finally disbands so he'll get his shine as a solo act. So what happened? I'm really interested.

I cant speak for everyone here, but I think the main reason people were talking about his superstar material and future rise as a solo star was because we all know Vince McMahon has a massive hard on for guys with his "look". This was, unfortunately, inevitable. Reigns has "the look" and "potential", but in the ring he makes John Cena look like Kurt fucking Angle. And on the mic he's even worse.

I'm not saying the guy is worthless, because he does have some untapped talent, but he's just not ready for this kind of a push. He's too green. Especially given the fact he's coming off of an injury to boot, and during the time he was out guys like Ziggler, Wyatt, Ambrose, etc. shined and were just flat out more deserving of winning the Rumble. Throw in the way those 3 guys were eliminated from the match by has-been's like Kane and Big Show, and Bryan going out in the middle of the match like he's just another guy, and it's no wonder people feel like they were served a heaping pile of shit for desert after the filet mignon that was the Triple Threat WWE World Heavyweight Title match.

Speaking of which, best case scenario now has to be Rollins cashing in at WrestleMania. Pound for pound he may be the best in the business right now, IMO. Also, the way Lesnar has been booked, it should take an act of God for him to lose a match. If he loses cleanly in a singles match vs. Reigns at WrestleMania... I hope fans riot because that would be the biggest joke ever. Even worse than last night.

 

[TheLand1287]

So far I see WrestleMania shaping up this way:

Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns (hopefully this changes, would be such an awful main event)
Triple H vs. Sting (obvious)
Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins (would make sense given that Rollins kayfabe took Orton out)
John Cena vs. Rusev (WWE already hinting toward this. Rusev has gone undefeated almost an entire calendar year... we've seen this story before)
Bray Wyatt vs. Undertaker (one can dream)

 

[Jack Brickman]

Speaking of which, best case scenario now has to be Rollins cashing in at WrestleMania. Pound for pound he may be the best in the business right now, IMO. Also, the way Lesnar has been booked, it should take an act of God for him to lose a match. If he loses cleanly in a singles match vs. Reigns at WrestleMania... I hope fans riot because that would be the biggest joke ever. Even worse than last night.

If WWE is smart they'll turn Rollins face and Reigns heel over the next two months since the fans are basically already treating them as such anyway. This being the WWE, though, you never know. It damn near took an act of god for them to put Bryan in the main event last year even though that was what everyone wanted.

 

[Juice is Loose]

If WWE is smart they'll turn Rollins face and Reigns heel over the next two months since the fans are basically already treating them as such anyway. This being the WWE, though, you never know. It damn near took an act of god for them to put Bryan in the main event last year even though that was what everyone wanted.

Rollins is perfect as a heel. I don't want him going to face. If you look at the SHIELD, Ambrose and Rollins have taken off as singles. Both great in the ring, get solid reaction every time from the crowd, better on the mic. Then you look at Reigns. 4-5 wrestling moves, spear, superman punch and that's about it. And he is made the guy to main event Wrestlemania. I hope whoever is writing his script tonight better deliver.

 

[Jack Brickman]

Rollins is perfect as a heel. I don't want him going to face. If you look at the SHIELD, Ambrose and Rollins have taken off as singles. Both great in the ring, get solid reaction every time from the crowd, better on the mic. Then you look at Reigns. 4-5 wrestling moves, spear, superman punch and that's about it. And he is made the guy to main event Wrestlemania. I hope whoever is writing his script tonight better deliver.

I agree that Rollins is great as a heel, but WWE has kind of written themselves into a corner here. The only thing that's going to save Wrestlemania (outside of making it a triple threat match like last year) is for Rollins to come in and win the title. The crowd is going to cheer for him anyway in that situation.

Also, you can be an asshole and still be a face. Stone Cold pulled it off for years.

 

[Jack Brickman]

Haha...Raw canceled tonight due to impending blizzard. Even God hated the Rumble.

 

[Real Deal]

The WWE Network cancellation page crashed last night. Vince should have fun this morning with the share holders and board.

#CancelWWENetwork was trending #1 worldwide for 4 hours last night, I wonder if Cole will mention that trend

 

[MoFlo]

#CancelWWENetwork was trending #1 worldwide for 4 hours last night, I wonder if Cole will mention that trend

I distinctly heard chants of "this is bullshit", "we want rusev", "we want refunds" (and probably some others that I'm forgetting) last night.

 

[MattyFos.]

I don't watch a lot of WWE but I was able to watch the RR (I agree the Daniel Bryan elimination was so bland) and mostly get my info from the different threads on RCF. My question is, what happened with Reigns? If I remember correctly everyone here predicted that he had superstar material in him. You guys were even talking about the day when Shield finally disbands so he'll get his shine as a solo act. So what happened? I'm really interested.

When Reigns was part of the SHIELD it was a natural swell of support. He wasn't being pushed to the moon. Then he was given a singles run and he was exposed as shit in the ring and on the MIC. During this time Rollins and Ambrose exploded in both areas. They're both naturally talented. They had a grassroots following. Neither were supposed to be "The Man" but both showed that they are more than able to carry the ball if asked.

then we heard rumors of the Reigns push and we were concerned. We all see it. He has amazing potential and a great future. But it's too early. Then he gets injured and comes back and the WWE hasn't backed off the SuperReigns push. The fans are just sick of it.

The WWE puts out ridiculously good shows on a weekly basis with NXT.. Great story telling. Great in ring action. Great WOMEN'S matches. Great promos. Great natural progression. It's unfathomable how they drop the ball on a weekly basis with the main roster. Then do shit just to intentionally piss people off like last night.. Bryan, Ziggler, Wyatt, Ambrose.. Follow it up with the guy winning who we've been worried about for 6 months.