RAW Superthread

Thought Zayn looked in rough shape last night, flabby belly hanging down. Vince won't be impressed with that. After the length of layoff I thought he'd be in peak condition.

It didn't help that he was in there with Balor, a man who looks like he is sculpted from marble.

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Thought Zayn looked in rough shape last night, flabby belly hanging down.

Not as noticeable as Chase Owens who has outgrown his tights for some time

seen on twitter that on his most recent talk is jericho appearance that sami seemed almost done or it wouldnt bother him being done with wrestling and then hes just spent his time off travelling through europe by his instagram so i doubt hes given too much time to keeping in shape

Lars Sullivan will be a massive failure. I guarantee it. He will only survive if he happens to fall into a faction or some gimmick that gets over, otherwise he has nothing that I see that will catch on with fans.

Getting Lars over shouldn't be difficult. He could smash jobbers for a few months before moving on to mid-carders. Has worked in recent years with Ryback, Braun, Rusev etc. They could even bring back the tactic of facing two jobbers at once.

Only thing that worries me is with his promos. I remember he did one in NXT where he was talking in big words that felt out of place with his character. I figured before listening to him he'd sound like a caveman or something, sort of Braun-esque, but he was saying long words like 'unequivocally' and it was just rotten verbiage. His voice isn't particularly deep either.

Maybe giving him a mouthpiece could work. If they're not going that route I just hope his promos are kept short and simple. We don't need to see this guy in 10-15 minute segments. Just have him come out, smash a dude in a few minutes, sneer at the camera, scream at the fallen jobber, and leave.

Having him smash jobbers is a terrible idea if I’m honest. If they want to push him then I’d have him straight away go pick a fight with Braun Strowman and let him get a win against him which makes Braun angry and starts a feud which gives both of them credibility. Keep the matches short and violent possibly with both men getting disqualified each time until its decided they need to put them in a cage or a cell.

Braun needs a distraction now, otherwise he should be calling out Rollins straight away.

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Has worked in recent years with Ryback, Braun, Rusev etc. They could even bring back the tactic of facing two jobbers at once.

I agree it worked for Braun but he is truly a special case as he is so unique. His size and ability combined is as impressive as anyone I’ve ever seen.

Ryback was a failure. His push actually was his biggest downfall imo. Smashed jobbers then got thrown into a main event feud and fans didn’t buy it.

Rusev was blessed he had Lana. Lana was the one who got him over. She was who we all wanted to see.

GSPfan wrote: »

Ryback was a failure. His push actually was his biggest downfall imo.

He was damn hot when he first got pushed into the title scene with Punk

Look at the reaction he got when he saved Mr McMahon from CM Punk, it was thunderous

His downfall was getting screwed by Brad Maddox for the title, then getting screwed by The Shield

He was put into the title scene too fast and he couldnt win it since the plan was already in place for Punk vs Rock at the Rumble months later

Same as his prequel Goldberg he was limited but good in his own square hole, he could have been a top guy for 3/4 years if handled properly but he wouldnt have lasted without seriously improving in ring

I agree with SureYWouldntYa. I wouldn't class Ryback a failure. When he was thrown into the match with Punk at the last minute he did a surprisingly big buyrate.

It's the easiest formula in the world to get a big dude over. Just have to give them wins, accentuate their positives, hide their negatives. If they do it well they could eventually build towards a big match with Reigns or Braun or maybe even Undertaker. Normally this is the one area Vince books well because he loves the big guys.

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

It's the easiest formula in the world to get a big dude over.

Not always, the guy needs to have a bit of talent to make it work

Vladimir Kozlov got a similar build to Ryback but was always limp and dull as dishwater

Great Khali beat all around him but never got close to over

Baron Corbin was unbeaten in NXT for a long time, despite the commentarors telling us he’s a big deal he never became one, and look at where he is today even with more legit background as a golden gloves champion

I was wondering why he chose Kurt Angle to give a beating to and I’m now wondering if it will set off a storyline between them in the way of a mentor/manager role. Angle has signed a contract to do something other than wrestling so it might not be bad to pair them up.

The last one that lived up to the hype was after 29

After that it really became a thing, and as usually happens when WWE try to make a thing into a thing it turns disappointing

Who's the actual GM of raw now ??

Don't know why they got rid of Paige as Smackdown GM in that "overhaul". I thought she was good.