I guess. I dunno, I thought it tried to be too cute at times and like the writing was way too self-aware and trying to speak to fans by breaking down the fourth wall a bit too much. I like Firefly, but it's disappointing to see that Whedon hasn't progressed much in terms of dialogue since then.
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May Wrasslin' |OT| Super Strong Style 16 - Thread Edition 2015
- Thread starter FlammableD
- Start date
I guess. I dunno, I thought it tried to be too cute at times and like the writing was way too self-aware and trying to speak to fans by breaking down the fourth wall a bit too much. I like Firefly, but it's disappointing to see that Whedon hasn't progressed much in terms of dialogue since then.
Avengers, to me, seems like Whedon's way of making some cash and a name for himself so he can get back to making stuff he wants without too much resistance from studios.
"Oh, he made the two highest grossing movies of all time, sure give him 20 million and let him do whatever he wants."
But what do I know?
"Oh, he made the two highest grossing movies of all time, sure give him 20 million and let him do whatever he wants."
But what do I know?
Maybe. Ultron definitely felt like there were a lot of cooks in the kitchen in terms of the script, and I can't imagine Whedon being totally happy with the end product feeling so disjointed and bloated.
Sibersk Esto
Banned
Fury Road impressions are making me quiver with anticipation.
I wasn't super interested before, but am more now based on reactions.
Gonna assume he's in there, then again, I can see them doing Kane, Orton, Big Show, Rollins, Ambrose and Reigns more.
Neville will probably be IC champ.
If they're smart they do two EC matches, one for the IC title and one of the World Title.
They're not smart, so that answers that...
I read somewhere that it was one for the IC and one for the Tag titles...
CreeperBlocks
Banned
I feel there's something missing in some scenes in the movie. Overall I thought the movie was Decent it didn't feel like a climax of all the new films leading up to it like the first film.
That little release they put out says it's for the IC title. Ziggler, Sheamus, Neville, and Barrett are givens. I image the last two will be some combination of Stardust/Ambrose/R Truth. I would say Harper, but he's back in a tag team now. Basically the people that were in the KotR tournament.
I'd be fine with this too. 14 man clusterfuck EC match? Hells yeah.
Ah, good good.
It was fun. I think Marvel let Whedon be a little to Whedony at times.
Quicksilver dying
Coulson's death
Empyrean Heaven
Member
He learned from the master.
giancarlo123x
Banned
Bryan should take a break for a few years and pull a hbk run number two. Dude is still kinda young.
Bryan must have sold his soul to the devil for his WM win at 30. I've never seen someone have such a triumphant moment and then lose everything within the course of a year. If there isn't another big moment somewhere on the other side of this its going to be really depressing.
FlammableD
Banned
Like WarGames I guess? Or even you could just do it where you have to eliminate both members of a team, so half a team could be gone before the other half comes out? There's a few interesting ways you could go with the rules.
D
Deleted member 47027
Unconfirmed Member
Tonight's the night for WrassleGAF Movie Night. Enjoy Buff Bagwell's film debut with "Day of the Warrior"! Rated R for profanity, violence, and nudity.
We will be watching it tonight at 7 Central Time, feel free to join the conversation in our WrassleGAF chat:
irc.synirc.net
#wrassleGAF
If you need help getting there, Mibbit.com makes it pretty easy - just select SynIRC as the server and join the channel #wrasslegaf
The movie will air on WrassleGAF's Taima.tv channel:
http://taima.tv/r/neogaf
The movie is also available straight from YouTube if you'd like to watch it on your own time, as opposed to live.
Hope to see some of you tonight!
Here's the movie synopsis if you're not sold on that image of Buff:
The Legion to Ensure Total Harmony and Law (L.E.T.H.A.L.), is tracking a criminal mastermind known only as The Warrior. While investigating his combination diamond smuggling/art theft/porn production industry, the agents discover that he has cracked their secret database and has stolen the files on all of their agents. With the help of their martial arts intructor Fu, agents Tiger, Willow and Cobra take on the case while also taking every opportunity to remove their bikini tops.
See y'all there tonight.
We will be watching it tonight at 7 Central Time, feel free to join the conversation in our WrassleGAF chat:
irc.synirc.net
#wrassleGAF
If you need help getting there, Mibbit.com makes it pretty easy - just select SynIRC as the server and join the channel #wrasslegaf
The movie will air on WrassleGAF's Taima.tv channel:
http://taima.tv/r/neogaf
The movie is also available straight from YouTube if you'd like to watch it on your own time, as opposed to live.
Hope to see some of you tonight!
Here's the movie synopsis if you're not sold on that image of Buff:
The Legion to Ensure Total Harmony and Law (L.E.T.H.A.L.), is tracking a criminal mastermind known only as The Warrior. While investigating his combination diamond smuggling/art theft/porn production industry, the agents discover that he has cracked their secret database and has stolen the files on all of their agents. With the help of their martial arts intructor Fu, agents Tiger, Willow and Cobra take on the case while also taking every opportunity to remove their bikini tops.
See y'all there tonight.
Better film than the first, not as good an "event".
New Day
Kiddaro
Lucha Dragons
Midcard Powers or Los Matadores
Ascension
Primetime Players
FlammableD
Banned
I thought we were doing The Backyard?
D
Deleted member 47027
Unconfirmed Member
That'll be for a different night. Backyard is good watchins. VERY good watchins. This is kind of a dry run, not expecting anything crazy.
D
Deleted member 47027
Unconfirmed Member
Oh nice, Grandia II coming to Steam. Grandia games always had some of the best combat ever. Great combat system and worth playing just for that. The rest of the game is great, too, but that combat...
Who is ready for sandals with WWE's inspirational slogans on them?
$49.99
No Bryan and No Brock.
But both the bellas?
I will take 2
Active wrestlers only.
Dick Justice
Banned
Is Cesaro the only man to land properly from an AA? Punk and Zayn both landed on their asses, Neville stumbled a bit. Cesaro the GOAT.
D
Deleted member 47027
Unconfirmed Member
Interesting read here by Kevin Eck, ex-WWE creative member, on Tensai's initial plans and more:
During my three-year stint on the WWE creative team, differing opinions within the team and with management regarding story lines and characters were the norm. It made for some spirited debates, with Vince McMahon being the ultimate decider.
This is the first entry in an occasional series in which I will discuss specific creative decisions and whether I believe my opinion on them at the time was eventually proved right or wrong.
I WAS RIGHT ABOUT TENSAI
It was either late 2011 or early 2012 when Triple H announced in a booking meeting that we had signed Matt Bloom, who had previously performed under the names Albert and A-Train in WWE. It was obvious from his demeanor that Triple H thought this was kind of a big deal.
I was skeptical right from the start. Bloom had impressive size but I always thought he lacked the "it factor" that was necessary for a talent to connect with the audience.
In fact, when I interviewed for a position on the creative team in 2001 (I ended up not being offered a job at that time), I was asked by then-creative team member Paul Heyman to name a performer on the roster who I thought had turn-the-channel heat. My answer was Albert.
Heyman then asked me what I would do to get Albert over. My response was that when a guy has the look and size of Albert, you have two choices: either make him a monster you think you can make money with or make him a comedy act, and I thought he was better-suited for the latter.
When Bloom returned to WWE a few years ago, the intention was to make him a main-event-level monster heel, and the creative team was assigned to come up with a character for him. Among the pitches for Bloom were for him to be a masked mauler, an ex-prisoner in an orange jumpsuit and an American samurai.
I was of the belief that the best option was to give him a cool-looking mask with black ring attire that showed the tattoos on his upper body but covered his ample midsection. The more we hide his identity, I thought, the less chance the crowd will be chanting "Albert" at him. I also thought he needed a mouthpiece, and my suggestion was to hire James Mitchell as his manager.
The samurai character was my least favorite. Of course, that's the one we went with. And instead of a manager, he was given a follower who never spoke English named Sakamoto.
The story line played off of Bloom's real-life experience of failing to make it big in WWE and then going to Japan and finding success there. The idea was that he embraced the samurai culture while in Japan and was now coming back to America to wreak havoc in the place where he was rejected years prior, WWE.
A bunch of names were tossed around for the character, with Tensai emerging as the winner. Then the discussion was whether to go with Lord Tensai or Master Tensai.
I thought Master sounded more badass. Of course, we went with Lord.
When I got a look at Tensai backstage just before he was about to walk through the curtain and make his debut that April, I thought he looked ridiculous in the samurai garb. I didn't think the red trunks were flattering either. The whole presentation, including him spitting green mist and using a claw hold as his finisher, was just bad.
The idea was to strap a rocket to him and have him main event SummerSlam against John Cena. In an effort to get Tensai over at that level, he was given pinfall victories over top babyfaces Cena and CM Punk on TV.
Cena was all for doing a program with him, telling us that he welcomed the opportunity to get in the ring with "a big man who can work," but I told some of my colleagues that I didn't believe there was any chance that proposed SummerSlam match would take place.
The audience immediately rejected Tensai and took to chanting "Albert" when he was in the ring. It quickly became evident to everyone that the character wasn't working, so a series of changes were made.
He lost the samurai garb. He lost the "Lord" from his name. He lost the green mist. He lost Sakamoto.
None if it mattered, and the next thing he began losing was matches. A lot of them.
Not only was I right about Tensai not main-eventing SummerSlam against Cena, but Tensai ended up not even being on the card at SummerSlam.
Eventually, Tensai was turned into a lower-card comedy act.
I WAS WRONG ABOUT RUSEV
When the creative team was shown clips of Rusev matches and promos from NXT so that we could start working on ideas for him when he was called up to the main roster, I and several other members of the team burst out laughing.
With his loincloth-type ring attire, over-the-top facial expressions, wild hair and primal screams, the guy was unintentionally hilarious. This was a heel character straight out of the 1970's that would never work today, I thought.
We started coming up with pitches for him as a comedy act, but we were told that Triple H envisioned Rusev as a monster heel so we had better forget about the character being played for laughs.
I said Rusev would end up being Tensai 2.0. But at least Tensai had intimidating size, whereas Rusev had a thick build but was no more than 6-feet-tall at the most.
He reminded me of a less-muscular Ted Arcidi. There was no way this guy could be a believable monster heel when he'd be looking up at guys like Sheamus and John Cena.
What Rusev did have that Tensai lacked, however, was Lana as his mouthpiece. Still, I figured a beauty-and-the-beast act would probably get Lana over while Rusev would end up as Marc Mero to Lana's Sable.
It turned out that some people above my pay grade saw some of the same flaws with Rusev's presentation that I and others on the creative team did. Before Rusev made his WWE debut, his ring attire was changed and he was instructed to tone down the facial expressions and screaming and to wet his hair so that it didn't look look so wild.
While the changes were for the better, I remained steadfast in my opinion that Rusev would never get over to the level that Triple H was expecting.
During that time, Vince McMahon also questioned whether Lana should remain part of the act or if Rusev was better off going it alone. I didn't think Rusev had a great chance of being a success even with Lana by his side, but without her he had zero chance.
Fortunately, McMahon decided to keep Lana with Rusev, and it wasn't long before "The Ravishing Russian" became one of McMahon's favorite characters (go figure).
Just like Tensai, Rusev was given a huge push from the start with the intention of having him work on top against Cena. The plan was for Rusev to be Cena's opponent at WrestleMania.
After Rusev began appearing regularly on Raw and SmackDown, I still wasn't sold on him making it as a top guy, but it did become apparent that my initial thought that he would suffer the same fate as Tensai was wrong.
Before long, I realized that Rusev was everything that Triple H thought he would be.
During my three-year stint on the WWE creative team, differing opinions within the team and with management regarding story lines and characters were the norm. It made for some spirited debates, with Vince McMahon being the ultimate decider.
This is the first entry in an occasional series in which I will discuss specific creative decisions and whether I believe my opinion on them at the time was eventually proved right or wrong.
I WAS RIGHT ABOUT TENSAI
It was either late 2011 or early 2012 when Triple H announced in a booking meeting that we had signed Matt Bloom, who had previously performed under the names Albert and A-Train in WWE. It was obvious from his demeanor that Triple H thought this was kind of a big deal.
I was skeptical right from the start. Bloom had impressive size but I always thought he lacked the "it factor" that was necessary for a talent to connect with the audience.
In fact, when I interviewed for a position on the creative team in 2001 (I ended up not being offered a job at that time), I was asked by then-creative team member Paul Heyman to name a performer on the roster who I thought had turn-the-channel heat. My answer was Albert.
Heyman then asked me what I would do to get Albert over. My response was that when a guy has the look and size of Albert, you have two choices: either make him a monster you think you can make money with or make him a comedy act, and I thought he was better-suited for the latter.
When Bloom returned to WWE a few years ago, the intention was to make him a main-event-level monster heel, and the creative team was assigned to come up with a character for him. Among the pitches for Bloom were for him to be a masked mauler, an ex-prisoner in an orange jumpsuit and an American samurai.
I was of the belief that the best option was to give him a cool-looking mask with black ring attire that showed the tattoos on his upper body but covered his ample midsection. The more we hide his identity, I thought, the less chance the crowd will be chanting "Albert" at him. I also thought he needed a mouthpiece, and my suggestion was to hire James Mitchell as his manager.
The samurai character was my least favorite. Of course, that's the one we went with. And instead of a manager, he was given a follower who never spoke English named Sakamoto.
The story line played off of Bloom's real-life experience of failing to make it big in WWE and then going to Japan and finding success there. The idea was that he embraced the samurai culture while in Japan and was now coming back to America to wreak havoc in the place where he was rejected years prior, WWE.
A bunch of names were tossed around for the character, with Tensai emerging as the winner. Then the discussion was whether to go with Lord Tensai or Master Tensai.
I thought Master sounded more badass. Of course, we went with Lord.
When I got a look at Tensai backstage just before he was about to walk through the curtain and make his debut that April, I thought he looked ridiculous in the samurai garb. I didn't think the red trunks were flattering either. The whole presentation, including him spitting green mist and using a claw hold as his finisher, was just bad.
The idea was to strap a rocket to him and have him main event SummerSlam against John Cena. In an effort to get Tensai over at that level, he was given pinfall victories over top babyfaces Cena and CM Punk on TV.
Cena was all for doing a program with him, telling us that he welcomed the opportunity to get in the ring with "a big man who can work," but I told some of my colleagues that I didn't believe there was any chance that proposed SummerSlam match would take place.
The audience immediately rejected Tensai and took to chanting "Albert" when he was in the ring. It quickly became evident to everyone that the character wasn't working, so a series of changes were made.
He lost the samurai garb. He lost the "Lord" from his name. He lost the green mist. He lost Sakamoto.
None if it mattered, and the next thing he began losing was matches. A lot of them.
Not only was I right about Tensai not main-eventing SummerSlam against Cena, but Tensai ended up not even being on the card at SummerSlam.
Eventually, Tensai was turned into a lower-card comedy act.
I WAS WRONG ABOUT RUSEV
When the creative team was shown clips of Rusev matches and promos from NXT so that we could start working on ideas for him when he was called up to the main roster, I and several other members of the team burst out laughing.
With his loincloth-type ring attire, over-the-top facial expressions, wild hair and primal screams, the guy was unintentionally hilarious. This was a heel character straight out of the 1970's that would never work today, I thought.
We started coming up with pitches for him as a comedy act, but we were told that Triple H envisioned Rusev as a monster heel so we had better forget about the character being played for laughs.
I said Rusev would end up being Tensai 2.0. But at least Tensai had intimidating size, whereas Rusev had a thick build but was no more than 6-feet-tall at the most.
He reminded me of a less-muscular Ted Arcidi. There was no way this guy could be a believable monster heel when he'd be looking up at guys like Sheamus and John Cena.
What Rusev did have that Tensai lacked, however, was Lana as his mouthpiece. Still, I figured a beauty-and-the-beast act would probably get Lana over while Rusev would end up as Marc Mero to Lana's Sable.
It turned out that some people above my pay grade saw some of the same flaws with Rusev's presentation that I and others on the creative team did. Before Rusev made his WWE debut, his ring attire was changed and he was instructed to tone down the facial expressions and screaming and to wet his hair so that it didn't look look so wild.
While the changes were for the better, I remained steadfast in my opinion that Rusev would never get over to the level that Triple H was expecting.
During that time, Vince McMahon also questioned whether Lana should remain part of the act or if Rusev was better off going it alone. I didn't think Rusev had a great chance of being a success even with Lana by his side, but without her he had zero chance.
Fortunately, McMahon decided to keep Lana with Rusev, and it wasn't long before "The Ravishing Russian" became one of McMahon's favorite characters (go figure).
Just like Tensai, Rusev was given a huge push from the start with the intention of having him work on top against Cena. The plan was for Rusev to be Cena's opponent at WrestleMania.
After Rusev began appearing regularly on Raw and SmackDown, I still wasn't sold on him making it as a top guy, but it did become apparent that my initial thought that he would suffer the same fate as Tensai was wrong.
Before long, I realized that Rusev was everything that Triple H thought he would be.
FlammableD
Banned
TLDR: Of course. they didn't like my ideas, because they only like bad things. I told them so, dumb poopyheads.
slightconfuse
Banned
Thinking about the Bryan thing. They really,don't need 2 midcsrd belts. No one missed the IC belt while he was gone
D
Deleted member 47027
Unconfirmed Member
And then the opposite with Rusev
Sibersk Esto
Banned
He admitted he was wrong about Rusev.
One of the few benefits of having a lot of people on creative is the chance of a bad idea being overthrown.
slightconfuse
Banned
Mega Powers still a Draw in 2015
D
Deleted member 47027
Unconfirmed Member
Honestly, Tensai had no chance of not being called Albert a million times. Didn't matter the gimmick.
FlammableD
Banned
Mostly, true. His Tensai segment is exactly that though.
slightconfuse
Banned
Lose cena fued
Lose Lana
Where is the upside? A tag team with fandango( Miracle Dance Comnection)
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