Smark darling already finished

[TrueEpic08]

He chose it, by all accounts. Goes back to his Irish heritage/ancestry. Blame him if you hate it.



And I'll repeat what I said to you:



I'll never understand the obsession some fans have with ratings or PPV buys. It literally doesn't affect us in the slightest. Unless, of course, you think Punk was a total failure as a heel given the slide the company went on with PPV buys and ratings when he had that 400+ day reign as champ

If he chose it for the relation to his ancestry, that's on him. I wish him the best either way, and if he proves me wrong, all the better.

Punk's heel run drew in the ratings (he only drew lower than usual overruns and segments during the first few months of his reign. JBL tanked SmackDown's numbers permanently) AND was quality consistently, while JBL drove people away from the SmackDown with his cheap heat tactics. While he had his moments, SmackDown's hot streak ended with his reign. You don't think that there's a problem there?

I use numbers because that's a metric that can be used to define whether someone actually succeeded or not as a champion. They never rose with JBL. Add that to the fact that he never made you want to see him get beat as a heel (just not want to see him) and that's a problem in terms of terming him a success.

But whatever. No issue if you liked JBL's run (as I said, he had his moments). It just turned me and others off SmackDown for the entirety of his run.

 

[Riley Escobar]

Punk's heel run drew in the ratings (he only drew lower than usual overruns and segments during the first few months of his reign. JBL tanked SmackDown's numbers permanently) AND was quality consistently

And again, I don't give a shyt about ratings or overruns. They mean nothing to me.

JBL drove people away from the SmackDown with his cheap heat tactics

That's what a true heel's supposed to do, cheat to win, never look strong and never get the fans on your side.

SmackDown's hot streak ended with his reign. You don't think that there's a problem there?

I don't see how you can attribute that to him. Heyman wasn't booking anymore, Lesnar had quit, Angle and Edge were out with neck injuries (and the latter moved to Raw anyway) leaving Undertaker and arguably Eddie as the only legit top guys on the brand. It's why they elevated JBL as there were no top level heels for them to face.

I use numbers because that's a metric that can be used to define whether someone actually succeeded or not as a champion.

We're not discussing whether he succeeded as champion or not. We're discussing your assertion that he was a "total failure as a heel". They're entirely separate issues.

 

[Pinyapplesuckas]

man i need FinnDaGawd to debut right fukking now...and i need a CDQ of that theme asap

 

[TrueEpic08]

And again, I don't give a shyt about ratings or overruns. They mean nothing to me.





That's what a true heel's supposed to do, cheat to win, never look strong and never get the fans on your side.



I don't see how you can attribute that to him. Heyman wasn't booking anymore, Lesnar had quit, Angle and Edge were out with neck injuries (and the latter moved to Raw anyway) leaving Undertaker and arguably Eddie as the only legit top guys on the brand. It's why they elevated JBL as there were no top level heels for them to face.



We're not discussing whether he succeeded as champion or not. We're discussing your assertion that he was a "total failure as a heel". They're entirely separate issues.

If the numbers mean nothing to you, fine. But they're not irrelevant. SmackDown tanked under his watch when he was given every chance in the world and a long reign, period. If we shyt on Diesel for the same reason, why not JBL?

And while a heel is never supposed to get the fans on his side, that heel is also supposed to make people want to see him get beat. Case in point: Ric Flair (maybe the best ever at this). JBL didn't do this, as he simply drove people away from the product, therefore he was a failure as a heel champion. Not hard to understand.

 

[Riley Escobar]

SmackDown tanked under his watch when he was given every chance in the world and a long reign, period. If we shyt on Diesel for the same reason, why not JBL?

Diesel was the face of the company. JBL was the face of a brand that was a shell of what it was two years previously.

JBL didn't do this, as he simply drove people away from the product, therefore he was a failure as a heel champion.

JBL drove people away or the fact that 95% of what made Smackdown so appealing wasn't there anymore did?

I remember being pissed every time JBL retained his title by scraping a win

And while a heel is never supposed to get the fans on his side

Yet literally every heel in the company for the last decade aside from JBL has actively tried to do that. Like I said, he was the last true heel and to call him a failure at doing that is ridiculous - unless you want to say the same about Punk, Cesaro, Ziggler, Bryan, Orton et al.

 

[HomieSoprano]

Trevor Adkins
Simon Schall
Knute Rivers
Chet Augustine
Sam Hess
Alabaster Smith
Jackson Deavors

This dude could be a GM handing out pink slips like

 

[R=G]

Bryan's title reign on Smackdown got ratings. We filed that every week. Eddie and Rey were out drawing Cena, Bradshaw, and Taker on Smackdown....that's why, title or no title, Eddie was in that main event spot after the heel turn.

 

[Ill Lou Malnati]

both Kenta and Devitt coming out the gate with good themes

That is a good theme. :sadambrose: :sadrollins:

They MURDERED the Ascension.

 

[Jmare007]

Yall were hating on Daniel Bryan name too...chill.

This is the first name out of the indy/international stars that I have a deal with. It just plain sucks imo It's not a big deal but I'm surprised Devitt went with it.

Word is that Devitt chose the name.

They always choose their names. If they can't come up with one themselves, the company gives them a list of random names were they have to pick one.

D-Bry always tells the story of them giving him a bunch of shytty names and Regal finally coming up to him and asking him why not go with "Daniel Bryan".

 

[Psychosis]

Word is that Devitt chose the name.

This.

 

[FRIED MASON]

Finn Balor already top 5 in the E.

fukk that fakkit threadstarter... Another great signing by HHH.

 

[Heelish]

And why would you say that? Changing Adrian Neville to PAC or KENTA to Hideo Itami hasn't stopped them talking about their experience in Japan.

I don't really understand why people get so invested in a name. Daniel Bryan is a generic name, hasn't hurt him one bit. Dolph Ziggler is an awful name, the name isn't the thing holding him back.

Freakin Hulk Hogan and Diesel would be considered terrible names today.

If a guy debuted today with the name Razor Ramon, the internet would be calling him, Gillette.

Agreed with everything except Razor Ramon is a dope name no matter the era

 

[CBoz]

It was a dropkick, unfortunately, but let's hold out hope. He and Devitt are about to be going double-stomp crazy though.

If you think that was a dropkick, then you've never watched Kenta matches.

Busaiku 100%

 

[luckyse7enz]

If you think that was a dropkick, then you've never watched Kenta matches.

Busaiku 100%

I'll just give you the nod and blame it on the angle, but the way dude bumps while shooting off all the way into the corner and how KENTA's feet extend when he lands make it look a LOT like that hard double-seated dropkick that he rolls people across the ring with. So be it. Busaiku, it is. It'll look great in November.

 

[Grifter]

Fergal is a terrible name.