The Long and Painful Road to Mania

I have to say for me the road always begins at the Rumble. They announced some inductess to the HOF before the Rumble which was strange as it is normally afterwards. The buzz normally begins. Jericho returned and I have to say it has gone so low key that even him interfering in Punk's match last week really hasn't grabbed my interest.

The Rumble itself. Big Show at no.30. The Road Dogg making a return, though that was obvious from his appearance at the Slammy show. When Sheamus won it, I was thrilled. I didn't expect it and thought more on the lines of him winning MITB. It was a good surprise.

To the current champions. CM Punk is fantastic. I think his feud with Big Johnny is working. If we can rid of Otunga who brings nothing to the equation and reeks of Mean Street Posse!! If Big Johnny was behind Miz or Ziggler would strengthen his position. Take the Austin/Vince feud. He backed Foley, then Rock, then Undertaker, then HHH. It worked so well on so many levels. Get behind the biggest heel.

Daniel Bryan. Wow. Burried. The whole 'hiding behind AJ' cowardly act is not just working for me. He is up against Big Show and Henry. It doesn't work. If he is to rely on interferances, it needs to be a mid card sacrifice. For example if you had Ted Dibiase behind him it would work so well. And against Orton would be perfect. Least Bryan could hold his own against Orton. For me he is more of a Bret Hart 1997 than a Ric Flair. Brilliant technically and a bit scratchy on the mic.

Despite the Elimination Chamber coming up, I am still not feeling the excitement.

Cena.

The man that divides opinion.

How have I found his feud with Kane?

My mind isn't made up. Kane has been excellent and I have enjoyed this new cerebral version. Really and truthfully was started against the Undertaker back in 2010 and then for some reason he went face in 2011. I like this Kane, not so sure if fits the Cena feud. Let's see what happens from EC to Mania with Kane. Cena and Rock will no doubt build up a massive frenzy after EC. Shall be interesting if the Rock shows up at EC.

Finally, The Undertaker.

Undetaker v HHH III

Spare me please. I mean are the WWE that short of talent? Maybe if Sin Cara wasn't injured, I would've been pleased for him to step up to the plate. The whole silence thing would work.

I am so hoping for a Lesnar return to get me marking out for Mania!

I can't see a Lesnar return, his body is wrecked, he's had it surgically repaired, and although wwe matches are knowere near as brutal as the UFC, he would have to compete regularly, rather than once every 6 months like the UFC.

On the Kane/Cena feud I can't help but get angry at Cena, Kane has been great and really hooking me in but then Cena shows up and kills all the buzz it creates. The guy has no concept of showing genuine emotion, his acting is terrible from his voice to his body language and especially his facial expressions! How is this guy the top dog in WWE?!?! Over the summer he seemed to of turned a corner against Punk, I found him engaging for the first time in years, his promos were good and his matches were of a very high standard when you compare them to his usual standard but since then he has not only gone backwards he has gone further back than he was before the summer, couple that with Rocks absence since Survivor Series and I generally couldn't care less about what was suppose to be a clash of 2 of the WWE/F's biggest superstars.

I'm struggling right now to justify paying for Wrestlemania this year with how the feuds and matches are shaping up atm, I've lost the buzz of Jericho's return, I don't want to see another spot fest match between Taker and HHH, Shaemus vs Bryan/Orton has me interested but that's about it. They really need some good strong Raws and Smackdowns now more than ever because I just don't feel any kind of buzz right now which is the first time I can say that about the road to Wrestlemania!

DDT wrote:I can't see a Lesnar return, his body is wrecked, he's had it surgically repaired, and although wwe matches are knowere near as brutal as the UFC, he would have to compete regularly, rather than once every 6 months like the UFC.

If he did come back for a stint, it'll be most likely a short term 3/6 month program for a wresltlemania where he wouldn't have to get in the ring more then maybe 5 times. I can't see him coming back on any full time basis.

I think he'll take a year off anyway, his body has been through a lot and he'll need to rest mentally as well as physically, I can see him return for a couple of months neext year for the big Austin/Lesnar match at WrestleMania XXIX... They can fit that in just after Taker/HHH 4

Jericho v Punk for the WWE title at Mania is a salivatingly dream match up for me and yet Jericho's totally underwhelming come back has killed it for me. I really hope the promos after the EC are superb to rescue this feud.

HHH v Taker III is not the ideal rematch but I think the build up will be great and the booking is logical. I like the idea of Taker chasing HHH to redeem the reputation of his Streak.

Cena v the Rock is a legitimate super-match up and the biggest marquee match on the card. Even though the feud doesn't feel organic and natural due to the fact that the Rock is only making a guest return, nevertheless I think this is a huge match with lots of potential. Cena really proved himself against Punk last summer and I'm sure he can do it again; I hope he will rise to the challenge of selling this match. The Rock still oozes charisma and will always command the admiration of the fans. Some of his jokes against Cena last year were funny and I'm sure he can produce some great promo moments again this year.

I am concerned about the WHC match and where Sheamus fits in. In many ways I think MITB has overshadowed the Royal Rumble in recent years. Sheamus deserves to main event Mania without being the spare wheel in a generic triple threat match if Orton is involved.

I am also concerned about Ziggler - he deserves to be in a high profile upper mid card feud like Rhodes v Mysterio last year. I really hope he's allowed his own feud this year rather than being a last minute thought and being thrown into a terrible tag match or something.

Still there are a lot of positives about this year's mania and I am still hopeful about it!

Punk Jericho is a SummerSlam match for me, Jericho just isn't in the league that Punk requires, I'd be very surprised if CM Punk is more over after his feud with Jericho which for me should have been the main aim for this year's WrestleMania as there is a big chance he could become the top face of the company in 2012

the-gaffer wrote:Punk Jericho is a SummerSlam match for me, Jericho just isn't in the league that Punk requires, I'd be very surprised if CM Punk is more over after his feud with Jericho which for me should have been the main aim for this year's WrestleMania as there is a big chance he could become the top face of the company in 2012

Agree there with the SummerSlam match most definitely. Although I have always been a fan of Jericho, he never could draw in the crowds Rock, Stone Cold or any other of the main guys could. Punk for me should have gone up against triple H and got a big Mania win. Then, enter a feud with either the Miz or maybe Cena.

I think Jericho joined the wwf at a bad time, he came in as a face, and he was always going to be left in the shadows of the Rock and Stone Cold, and whilst the fans did like the whole Jerichoholic gimmick, he could never get over in the same way as the other 2. Maybe had he been around in a different era, he might of been able to establish himself more as a face.

I think as a heel though, he is alot better, and his heel turn realy did help him rise to that next level, he realy does know how to make people hate him.

He went into the WWF as a heel, he was an equal to anyone on the mic face or heel, it's impossible to compare anyone with Rock or Austin of that period but the guy he should be compared to is Shawn Michaels and HBK is just head and shoulders above him, Jericho had no real consistancy though and for me that's hindered him most, he's always switched from face to heel quite regularly until 2008, he had a prolonged un-interrupted run as a heel but after his initial run when Cena beat him at Survivor Series and Armageddon 08 he was basically treading water for the rest of his time, he got a token WHC run but apart from getting a Mania win out of it, it was hardly memorible

What about the feud with HBK?! Was that not after his feud with Cena? That was his best story ever in my opinion.

Yeah that was a great storyline, that was before his short run with Cena though, that was from after WrestleMania XXIV all the way through to No Mercy

Jericho for me is great both as a technical wrestler and a promo artist. He is one of the most complete wrestlers in the WWE - up there with HBK & Punk; arguably his skill set is wider than HBK's was due to his time in Mexico, Europe and Japan. The difference between Punk and Jericho's claim to be best in the world is that Jericho's character never displays heart, grit and determination. His heel character is ultimately cowardly. He hid behind the Big Show during their tag team run; he ran away from Taker in the EC where HBK cost Taker his WHC and then retained the WHC at Mania against Edge through cheating. Punk on the otherhand has shown tremendous heart and determination in his matches to be WWE champion and an aggressive individualism in his shoot style promos first against Vince, HHH & Cena and now against Laurinaitis. In short Punk's character has more integrity and passion than Jericho's, making his claim stronger.

talkingpoint wrote:Jericho for me is great both as a technical wrestler and a promo artist. He is one of the most complete wrestlers in the WWE - up there with HBK & Punk; arguably his skill set is wider than HBK's was due to his time in Mexico, Europe and Japan. The difference between Punk and Jericho's claim to be best in the world is that Jericho's character never displays heart, grit and determination. His heel character is ultimately cowardly. He hid behind the Big Show during their tag team run; he ran away from Taker in the EC where HBK cost Taker his WHC and then retained the WHC at Mania against Edge through cheating. Punk on the otherhand has shown tremendous heart and determination in his matches to be WWE champion and an aggressive individualism in his shoot style promos first against Vince, HHH & Cena and now against Laurinaitis. In short Punk's character has more integrity and passion than Jericho's, making his claim stronger.

I wouldn't compare Jericho with HBK in terms of ring ability for one simple reason, ring generalship, That is pulling a match out of a guy who isn't great in the ring that is better than expected, I've said this a lot about Jericho that he clearly has a lot of experiance in the ring is capable of having a great match with an opponent of equal or greater ability but when faced with a lesser opponent his matches tend to go down to their level rather than the other way around, HBK made a career out of having better than expected matches with poorer opponents (as have Angle, Benoit and Hart), his matches with Chris Masters (Unforgiven 2005), The Great Khali (Raw between Wrestlemania 23 and Backlash), Kevin Nash (Wrestlemania 6) are 3 that immediatly spring to mind, as well as doing a watchable hour with Cena without any props. I struggle to think of any match where Jericho has done the same.

Don't get me wrong Jericho does have skills in the ring, but to compare him to HBK is a tad far for me. HBK was the greatest in ring performer of all time for me, not just for his moves, but for the emotion he showed, and how well he sold a beating.

HBK stole the show at pretty much every Wrestlemania he apeared at, regardless of wether he won or lost, regardless of opponent, his match was always the best on the card.

Jericho has had the best match on the card once, and that was when he faced HBK.

Spot on, to suggest Jericho has a wider skill set than Michaels doesn't ring true to me at all, and like you say, when it comes down to the nitty gritty, Shawn could get a 4*+ match out of anyone whether they were Main Eventers or Curtain jerkers whether it was WrestleMania or Monday Night RAW, Shawn knew how to work a match and a crowd regardless of opponent like no-one else in the last 10 years

I absolutely agree that HBK is a better ring general than Jericho, I didn't mean to imply he wasn't. My comment was in reference to the broad range of experience and wrestling styles Jericho is capable of. Jericho can wrestle lucha libre style, he can wrestle Japanese hard style - Jericho could easily have wrestled the ROH style back in his prime. Jericho also has the benefit of working in the major American promotions during the 90s, ECW, WCW and WWF.