Unpopular Opinions

[The Legend]

^^ I'll go one step further and say that Ambrose's mic work hasn't been good either. It was okay when he was with the Shield. It's awful now. People used to say he'd be the breakout star of the Shield, but he looks like the worst of them to me. Yes, worse than Reigns too. Though I admit that his awful material for promos and his failure to win a single big match since the Shield broke up means that the situation is largely out of his hands.

Eventually Ambrose will turn heel and then get to do all the things he was doing before on the mic and be the allotted freedom he needs to succeed. Every heel in the company is better on the mic than every face, it's just how the WWE works these days. Heel Ambrose will cut a much better promo than heel Rollins is right now.

[Circled Square]

^^ I'll go one step further and say that Ambrose's mic work hasn't been good either. It was okay when he was with the Shield. It's awful now. People used to say he'd be the breakout star of the Shield, but he looks like the worst of them to me. Yes, worse than Reigns too. Though I admit that his awful material for promos and his failure to win a single big match since the Shield broke up means that the situation is largely out of his hands.

Eventually Ambrose will turn heel and then get to do all the things he was doing before on the mic and be the allotted freedom he needs to succeed. Every heel in the company is better on the mic than every face, it's just how the WWE works these days. Heel Ambrose will cut a much better promo than heel Rollins is right now.

Is Ambrose a face?

[Hanley!]

^^ I'll go one step further and say that Ambrose's mic work hasn't been good either. It was okay when he was with the Shield. It's awful now. People used to say he'd be the breakout star of the Shield, but he looks like the worst of them to me. Yes, worse than Reigns too. Though I admit that his awful material for promos and his failure to win a single big match since the Shield broke up means that the situation is largely out of his hands.

Eventually Ambrose will turn heel and then get to do all the things he was doing before on the mic and be the allotted freedom he needs to succeed. Every heel in the company is better on the mic than every face, it's just how the WWE works these days. Heel Ambrose will cut a much better promo than heel Rollins is right now.

I'll believe that Ambrose is better than Rollins in any single way, once I've finally seen it with my own eyes. Rollins at the moment is far better than both Reigns and Ambrose in just about every way. It's funny how we all worried he'd be the one ignored when they split up.

I agree with you that if/when Ambrose turns heel, he'll be better. I'm not sure how much better, but their heels always get over more on the mic than their faces. You're 100% right. It kinda sucks though, because done well, I think Ambrose's character could be better as a face. Or at the very least, it's the kind of character their face roster desperately needs. We need more faces with a bit of life and personality. WWE babyfaces have been completely vanilla since 2005. We need some more out-there personalities.

[Circled Square]

I was on the fence about Rollins but he really won me over in that triple threat match at the Rumble.

[Str8Shooter]

I read somewhere that Ambrose is 0-8 in singles PPV matches since The Shield split. I don't know if that's true or not but it wouldn't surprise me. That kind of booking won't help anybody. When he first went singles and was feuding with Rollins, Ambrose was pretty damn over, one of the most over faces on Raw. But the losses and lack of any interest in pushing him has cooled him off considerably.

[Circled Square]

Not sure if this holds much relevance, but I like R-Truth. Not saying he's a top tier guy but he is good in the matches I seen him in and has a unique voice that sounds good on the mic. I enjoyed his push before he got Santino-ish with his Little Jimmy routine. I am glad to see he's on the WM card this year.

[Str8Shooter]

Not sure if this holds much relevance, but I like R-Truth. Not saying he's a top tier guy but he is good in the matches I seen him in and has a unique voice that sounds good on the mic. I enjoyed his push before he got Santino-ish with his Little Jimmy routine. I am glad to see he's on the WM card this year.

R Truth when he first turned heel and became crazy and was ridiculously over the top with the Lil Jimmy and comedic promos was one of the most entertaining parts of Raw. Then he turned face, Lil Jimmy became an overused gag, and before you knew it he was generic face #8.

[Messiah]

^^ I'll go one step further and say that Ambrose's mic work hasn't been good either. It was okay when he was with the Shield. It's awful now. People used to say he'd be the breakout star of the Shield, but he looks like the worst of them to me. Yes, worse than Reigns too. Though I admit that his awful material for promos and his failure to win a single big match since the Shield broke up means that the situation is largely out of his hands.

His promos on the Fallout shows are pretty good.





I don't know why we can't get that Ambrose on Raw.

[Messiah]

Here is another one:

On-screen wise, The Authority is the worst thing about the WWE product right now.

[Str8Shooter]

Here is another one:

On-screen wise, The Authority is the worst thing about the WWE product right now.

6-8 months ago I wouldn't have agreed with this, but they've overstayed their welcome. I'll say that I think both Triple H and Stephanie are wonderful in the roles that they play, but I think with any storyline like this it's going to become played out over time. Survivor Series probably would have been the perfect ending, but they feel like big stuff like this has to end at Mania and not at a PPV like Survivor Series.

[Westcoastvibes]

Here is another one:

On-screen wise, The Authority is the worst thing about the WWE product right now.

6-8 months ago I wouldn't have agreed with this, but they've overstayed their welcome. I'll say that I think both Triple H and Stephanie are wonderful in the roles that they play, but I think with any storyline like this it's going to become played out over time. Survivor Series probably would have been the perfect ending, but they feel like big stuff like this has to end at Mania and not at a PPV like Survivor Series.

It would still work if they didn't have to be involved in every fucking feud and insist on delivering 30+ minutes of emmy worthy in ring promos every fucking week

[Circled Square]

Trips has gotta go off for awhile. After this Sting shit give him a break on screen for a bit. Steph was GOLD with Cena though I have to say.

[War Daddy]

'
R-Truth did the YES better than Daniel Bryan with his dance.

[Racing Guy]

Seth Rollins is a way better wrestler than Bryan. So are Ambrose and Cesaro.

[Hanley!]

Ric Flair wasn't that good. Go back and watch his promos now and even as a younger wrestler he sounded like a crazy old man ranting incomprehensibly. His matches were polluted with over the top selling and silly midcard spots. He had no concept of wrestling psychology. He's miles away from the greatest of all time.

[PorkChop]

Seth Rollins is a way better wrestler than Bryan. So are Ambrose and Cesaro.

Ric Flair wasn't that good. Go back and watch his promos now and even as a younger wrestler he sounded like a crazy old man ranting incomprehensibly. His matches were polluted with over the top selling and silly midcard spots. He had no concept of wrestling psychology. He's miles away from the greatest of all time.

*awaits @Vaderbomb's furious rebuttal*

[The Legend]

Ric Flair wasn't that good. Go back and watch his promos now and even as a younger wrestler he sounded like a crazy old man ranting incomprehensibly. His matches were polluted with over the top selling and silly midcard spots. He had no concept of wrestling psychology. He's miles away from the greatest of all time.

HALLELUJAH!! HALLELUJAH!!! Preach it Steve!

[Hanley!]

*awaits @VaderBomb's furious rebuttal*

Making his head explode is a frequent consequence of my being here.

[VaderBomb]

*awaits @VaderBomb's furious rebuttal*

Making his head explode is a frequent consequence of my being here.

Honestly, Steve I agree with you more than I disagree and whenever I do disagree with you, I usually respect your stance 100%. You rarely "make my head explode" as if what you're saying is some sort of revelation or out of anger or frustration from me not agreeing with you. If anything, I seek out your posts because I know that I can get a decent good spirited debate and read some insightful intelligent opinions that I may or may not agree with.

On to the wrestling, I don't necessarily disagree with these final couple statements that have been quoted, I would never get too passionate about comparing who is the better wrestler out of Bryan, Cesaro, Rollins and Ambrose. They're all incredible and in my personal top ten right now, but in my opinion Bryan is the best.

When I discuss a wrestler, I always take their entire career into account. If you look at these guys overall, Bryan has a better legacy and has had far more classic matches and feuds. Look at all of his rivals throughout his career.

Homicide/Bryan Danielson
Austin Aries/Bryan Danielson
Chris Hero/Bryan Danielson
Samoa Joe/Bryan Danielson
Nigel McGuiness/Bryan Danielson

I would without a doubt put each of these rivalries in the top 100 or so feuds/rivalries of all time. Bryan doesn't get enough creative control in WWE. He's had some good feuds but none that stand up to these ROH ones. I can definitely see how someone who is only familiar with Daniel Bryan and has never watched months of Bryan Danielson working in ROH, could believe that Bryan isn't as good as Rollins, Cesaro or Ambrose.

I've been watching all four of these guys for over a decade. I've seen a lot of their work. I can firmly say that Bryan is by far the best, but Cesaro is really high up there too. Cesaro is being booked like shit in WWE, and I hoping that now that he's got some gold that he will stop being mis-used but it's not likely. Like Bryan, Cesaro as Claudio Castagnoli had loads of amazing feuds and matches working for other promotions before coming to WWE. Like Bryan, they don't allow him to express that greatness.

Dean Ambrose is the best on the mic but in ring he's not quite on the level of Bryan, Cesaro or Rollins. He had some great matches and feuds working for other promotions, but never had a big standout classic that people still talk about. Ambrose, along with Rollins also went pro years after Bryan and Cesaro did. When Rollins debuted in ROH, Bryan was already a veteran. Rollins went pro in 2003, technically only four years after Bryan, but he wasn't a big name at all before coming to ROH. When Ambrose as Jon Moxley fought Bryan Danielson, he had only been pro for a few years. Bryan was already an established veteran all around the world. Moxley was only known by local fans. Clearly, Bryan had more time and space to establish himself as a legend, but he got that opportunity because he's the fucking best of all time.

I wouldn't argue against Seth Rollins being more entertaining than Daniel Bryan lately. He's thriving with this heel run and his dick pics were hilarious, but you have to put in account the fact that Bryan just came back from and injury whereas Rollins has had months and months to solidify himself in the position of WWE's top heel. Bryan would also be better right now if they didn't book him like shit and like I said earlier, gave him more creativity. Allowing all of the wrestlers more creativity would help their show immensely.

As far as Ric Flair goes, I would easily put him in my top ten of all time. I love his promos. They're full of passion and energy and vibrancy. There's nothing contrived about anything that he said on the mic, at least in his prime during the NWA days. He was 1,000,000% gold all of the time. There's hardly anybody that can play such an amazing heel or face with such ease.

The statement that he has no concept of wrestling psychology is a pretty insane statement that I can't get on board with. Many of my favorite matches of all time are Flair matches and I'm sort of a technical-wrestling snob. When Flair's on his "A game", he never lets me down. I am always entertained.

[Hanley!]

On Flair, during his prime he always wrestled with loads of energy and passion and charisma. But I had trouble believing in his performances. I didn't like his selling much at all. I found him generally to be too over the top. He was a real pantomime wrestler. And that's not necessarily a bad thing: I definitely think that has its place. I would never say that Flair was a bad performer. But he has a reputation as the greatest wrestler ever and he'd be way down my list. I don't consider him within shouting distance of the top.

When I talk about wrestling psychology, I usually mean those little details that help you suspend your disbelief. The ability to find the reality in an over-the-top wrestling storyline. Flair's performances always stretched kayfabe too much for me. Which is why I couldn't consider him one of the best ever.