R Truth Rox

[psz]

Is it just me, or was Cena getting booed in his home town?

[theimpalertmx]

Hey, he's from the mean streets of West Newbury, MA... a town I never heard of until John Cena came along (I live in MA.) As far as smarky crowds go, Boston is probably only behind Philly. To New York... if we're talking MSG, then Boston wins the smark-off. In general, New York probably tops it. You know, the Northeast is a hotbed of prestigious universities and we probably have the highest asshole per capita rate than any other region of the US. People in Boston would take that sentiment as a compliment.

[psz]

Never meant it as insult to Boston. It was quite the compliment ;->

Also, "Ass" and "Wrestling" are apparently no longer on the "Banned" list. Cena's biggest pop during the promo was his use of the word "Ass".


Oh, and it seems like Punk must have re-signed. Also loved his comment about how there's no way Cena would be fired, even if Punk wins.

[JoshiQ]

Jul 11, 2011 8:15:39 GMT -5 allpowerfulgarth said:

Jul 9, 2011 10:43:41 GMT -5 magiccitydawg said:

If a star, AJ Styles for instance, is good enough to be a multi-champion in TNA, he should be good enough to be WWE champion if he went.

OK, I don't agree with this notion. Just because someone works as a world champion in TNA, that doesn't mean he works as a world champion in WWE. And I don't mean this in a dismissive "WWE is the big leagues, TNA is the minors" sense; there are some people who have been given the belt (or at least a huge push) in TNA who wouldn't be able to reach that level of over-ness in WWE. The two companies just don't have the same fans.

A.J. Styles is a guy who works well as your world champion in TNA because TNA fans traditionally go gaga for guys who utilize his style -- lots of technical savvy, lots of high spots. But in WWE, his size disadvantage would be even more pronounced unless he's facing Rey Mysterio all the time. On top of that, Styles ain't great on the microphone, and he'd need those mic skills to be taken seriously as a world champion. You can take issue with the in-ring ability of some of the people WWE has put the belt on recently, but all of them can talk circles around a guy like Styles, even Randy Orton.

He was never a world champion in TNA, but a good person to look at to study this effect is Marcus Cor Von. As Monty Brown, he spent a lot of time at the top of the card because he A) was a powerhouse and B) had a unique promo style that the fans could get behind. But when he jumped to WWE and became Cor Von, he was hard to take seriously as a powerhouse because he was suddenly in the company of a lot of guys who were much bigger than he was -- most noticeable by the fact that he debuted on the brand whose champion was Bobby Lashley. He cut promos as Marcus Cor Von that were similar to the promos he cut as Monty Brown, but the WWE fans just plain didn't respond. Abyss is a former TNA champion, but he'd have a tough time reaching the same level in WWE because his size just isn't as impressive when you put him next to Kane, the Big Show or the Great Khali.

Were it not for the fact that TNA tends to put so much stock in ex-WWE guys, the reverse of this effect could be true as well. When it's not trying to squeeze money out of ex-WWE talent, TNA does have a tendency toward better ring work and more high spots. You could see former WWE world champions like Jack Swagger and Chris Jericho getting the big belt in TNA, but without that reverence for ex-WWE talent, I doubt TNA would ever consider putting the belt on Sheamus or Kane.

Just thought I'd give you some props for this response. It's right on the money.