2012 Pro Wrestling Thread

A Heyman's Guys stable is best suited for guys whose characters feel ignored or disrespected by their lack of opportunities. With Punk as the main star and Lesnar as the special attraction guy, you need a couple of younger workers credible enough to be believable as being worthy of Heyman and Punk's interest, but not so big they make the group top-heavy. If Miz touched on the character he and R-Truth were running when they went after Triple H, he'd be a good fit. Even better: a rested, retooled and focused Jack Swagger. Kingston was a pretty decent heel in his indy days and it'd definitely give his character a much-needed freshening up.

On the other hand, there's something to be said for not doing a stable at all so Heyman and Punk (and Lesnar when he's around) can always be a big deal when they're out. They shouldn't concern themselves with the midcard.

 

Fair and good points.

Still would love to see some new angles for Ziggler, Guerrero, Kingston and Miz, among others (though I've been on the road the last few days without cable and haven't watched the new Raw, so I have no idea what happened last night).

 

If they did a storyline where the explanation for Swagger's disappearance is that he has been training with Lesnar, that would make perfect sense—especially given that they both came from the amateur wrestling background. And it would be a smart way to reboot a wasted talent in Swagger who has the physical credibility and decent-enough talking skills to be a main eventer.

 

Agree with this, and the previous point that Kingston in the stable could work. I don't think he's ever been a heel in his main roster time, and I think he's gotten one or two title shots, both in "free for all" cage-type matches, despite holding both the tag team belts and the IC or US belts. (I can't remember which one.) I think it would be easy to switch him over to the "I don't get any respect" type of heel, and you can minimize his work on the mic by just having him act like a heel.

 

Not saying this would be a bad idea, but they've already made it known it's going to be Cena-Rock II at Mania, possibly with Rock defending the WWE title.

 

Am I the only one who thought immediately that the Ryback-Punk thing at the end of Raw was a possible set up for Ryback-Lesnar?

 

That's not what I thought at all.

They're apparently just teasing Punk-Ryback, and using Ryback as a "Plan B" if Cena can't go at HIAC.

 

It feels way too soon for Punk vs. Ryback. Even with Cena's injury, just throw somewhere else in there now. There are three outcomes for the match if it happens - 1) Punk beats Ryback, which slows down or halts the push he's getting. 2) Ryback beats Punk and it's not really seen as that credible of a victory yet, since his streak isn't really that long yet. 3) There is some kind of contested finish, which would make for two PPVs in a row with a screwy finish.

I'd rather see them go off the board somehow, like having Punk do an open challenge at the PPV and having someone unexpected challenge him. Bribe Jericho for the night, have Kevin Nash tape up his surgery scars for one last match, have R-Truth or Kofi Kingston break up in a three-way dance with him, just something new would be nice.

 

Didn't watch Raw from Monday yet (I'm in Army school and working late). Are they that serious about Punk-Ryback already? Surely to goodness they can find someone else to throw in there for a few weeks. Turn Big Show back face or something. It's way too soon for Ryback-Punk.

 

I guess my thought process/theory is that by the way Punk reacted to Ryback is that he'd be the weasely guy who was clearly afraid of Ryback but he'll play it off as "this guy doesn't deserve a shot at me yet" and then Heyman would call in his big gun in Lesnar to take care of Ryback. Then, if the E is dead set on pushing Ryback to the moon, they can put him over Lesnar without hot shotting him to the title. I'm sure I'm probably way off but I think it would be a good way to take this angle and make for an interesting matchup of "monsters."

 

No one is talking about the incredible mic battle between Foley and Punk? Damn, that was good stuff. That was Mick Foley at his best and CM Punk very, very near it.

 

You can never have enough options. Probably will be Rock over Punk at Rumble, Cena over Rock at Mania, then whatever else after that, but even the longest burns can implode because of injuries.