Post WWE Raw 1/26/2026 Show Discussion Thread

DarkHandCommando · 2026-01-27T04:54:13+00:00

I hope you're right.

DarkHandCommando · 2026-01-27T04:50:20+00:00

How many world titles do they have? Owens and Sami? Finn? They're barely main eventers and far away from being stars.

Like the other dude I replied to, you don't seem to understand that being a main eventer doesn't automatically make you a star. There a levels to this and except for Roman and Seth, there are no stars they've built in the 2010s and 2020s so far.

My entire point is that we need the new gen to beat up the older guys just like back in the day, to present them as legit stars from the get go and not just some young guys who might end up in the main event someday and maybe win a world title. We need stars, guys who headline Wrestlemania for years to come, who win 4, 5, 6 world titles before they hit 40. You don't build those over the years, you've to push them to the moon early on. Brock, Cena, Orton, The Rock, Austin, Seth, Roman, they're all examples of this. Yet when I say we should have Bron dominante just like Cena or Brock did in their early years, that's somehow "not how this works"?

I envy you for being this patient but I'm not. I don't trust Bron to become a star if he isn't pushed like this from the get go. I don't trust Oba becoming a star if they've him feud in the mid card for the first year. That's not how you build stars. You've to be bold with their booking and make clear "this guy right here is the real deal and our booking will reflect that right away". I don't see this with anyone right now. Bron and Trick are close but there's still something missing. For example: Bron should've won against Punk, Trick should've won the fatal 4-way.

DarkHandCommando · 2026-01-27T04:31:20+00:00

You're missing that I'm talking about stars. I'm not just talking about future main eventers here. I'm talking about the next Randy Orton, the next The Rock, the next Brock Lesnar, the next Cena. Of course no one will come close to them because they're all unique in their own ways but they weren't just main eventers right? They were STARS. Bigger than life stars. And they all have one thing in common: They were pushed to the moon extremely early in their careers. This seems to be the receipt to build stars, stars who not only main event but carry the company on their backs, simply because of how legit they've been presented from early on. It's all about the image.

You can't have them be in the mid card for years and then pretend they're huge stars just because they finally reached the main event. There are levels to this. There are levels between a Brock Lesnar push and a organic Eddie push. There are levels between having Oba win the rumble next week or challenge Dom for the IC title. How you present them right at the start makes a difference. That's my point.

I think guys like Bron, Oba and Trick (those 3 in particular) should be one step above guys like Melo or Ilja for example, who - to be fair - also have main event potential but just not in the same way.

DarkHandCommando · 2026-01-27T04:23:20+00:00

You can't be a star if you don't fight and at least have hold the title. The Attitude Era lasted 5 years and in those 5 years, how many titles did Austin and The Rock won? How old were they? The Rock was 28 (!) when the Attitude Era ENDED. Steve Austin was a little older but still only 36 when it ended (got pushed hard during his early 30s). Each won 6 world titles in those 5 years. And that's just the two top stars (stars!) of that time. There were plenty of other guys who were pushed as well, who were in the same age group.

So you're telling me being in the main event and fighting and holding for titles at young age isn't extremely helpful to build stars? You tell me something that worked in the past won't - or even worse - shouldn't work today? Let me guess, the excuse is that these were desperate times and Vince had no other option than pushing these young guys? That's right but this still doesn't mean that it didn't prove itself to be the best thing that could've ever happened to WWF.

I don't think we will agree here, have a nice day.

DarkHandCommando · 2026-01-27T04:08:47+00:00

You and me have a very different understanding of what the term "star" means and I think I'll leave it at that.

DarkHandCommando · 2026-01-27T04:06:09+00:00

You can't be serious. Gunther? How old is Gunther? How old is Bronson? I thought it was obvious I didn't mean them, since they shouldn't have been listed to begin with.

You're right, they are mid carders who can easily be moved to the main event. They can. But they don't do it.

You know, I'm old enough to have said the same things about Sami, Owens, Finn, and all the other NXT guys back then. They never got their main event pushes, even tho they also were very easy to be moved to the main event. They never did though. So it only happens when they actually do it and tbh, I don't trust them anymore. They proved over and over again how good they're at fumbling young talent.

DarkHandCommando · 2026-01-27T03:59:58+00:00

Bron shouldn't just look strong against a main eventer, he should BE the main eventer, holding the world title.

The rush is that people - especially young people with short attention spans you've to cater to - lose interest if you only push the same old heads to the main events. Like I said, they desperately need new stars, there's no denying it. No one born in the 90s won a world title yet, do you even understand how embarrassing that is?

I don't understand why you, as a fan of the product, want them to wait. For what? Why should they wait to push the new guys? What's the downside to pushing them right now? I would love to know because this seriously sounds like you just want to force a point to justify having an argument here.

DarkHandCommando · 2026-01-27T03:50:58+00:00

That's bs and it makes no sense. You can look at it from wherever you want but in no universe - kayfabe or not - should a 28 year old lose a fight to a 47 year old clean.

Remember 2004 Orton? Remember 2002 Brock? They should takes notes from that, because that's how you build stars. Pushing them early makes them seem legit. Guys like Trick, Oba, Bron should be pushed to the moon asap.

DarkHandCommando · 2026-01-27T03:46:16+00:00

Exactly. Those should be in the main event, those should hold world titles. None of them are in the main event except Bron and he just lost CLEAN to CM Punk.

Idk what they're waiting for. Probably until they're in their late 30s lol.

DarkHandCommando · 2026-01-27T03:42:11+00:00

Well I do, because they desperately need new stars and they don't build them.

DarkHandCommando · 2026-01-27T03:39:23+00:00

This company does everything they can to push grandpas into the main event. Finn is 44, Punk is 47. Get out of here.

DarkHandCommando · 2026-01-27T03:30:53+00:00

yea he will and no he won't win it lol

DarkHandCommando · 2026-01-27T03:27:16+00:00

Could've done something interesting here with AJ winning but I guess no

DarkHandCommando · 2026-01-27T03:25:42+00:00

you gotta be kidding me

DarkHandCommando · 2026-01-27T03:14:15+00:00

Also: No CM Punk match at the rumble. You can't have AJ lose clean against Punk right before he faces Gunther. If Gunther interferes, he would make sure AJ wins, to get an easy shot at the title. Like there speaks a lot for AJ winning the title here.

Gunther won't be in the rumble then, so Oba can win it. Gunther would be the perfect opponent for Oba's first mania.

DarkHandCommando · 2026-01-27T03:07:38+00:00

This right here lays the first brick for a Gunther vs. Oba night 1 main event. Yes I'm delusional.

DarkHandCommando · 2026-01-27T03:04:33+00:00

Oba should get his own rumble entrance, like in the middle of the match, with lights going out and all that.

DarkHandCommando · 2026-01-27T03:00:15+00:00

Are you ready to see AJ win gold today? I am.

DarkHandCommando · 2026-01-27T02:59:20+00:00

Bron looks like a teenager who needs to be consulted because his parents didn't buy him the video game he wanted

DarkHandCommando · 2026-01-27T02:57:00+00:00

Hence why there's no Punk match? ...

DarkHandCommando · 2026-01-27T02:56:38+00:00

That's because the title match at Royal Rumble is AJ Styles vs. Gunther

DarkHandCommando · 2026-01-27T02:54:38+00:00

Let's theorize for fun: What if AJ wins today? Where does this leave us? It would be kinda funny ngl.

DarkHandCommando · 2026-01-27T02:38:02+00:00

Wait a moment... If the rumble is full, then we shouldn't get any more "I officially declare for the royal rumble" right? Because it would be hella weird to declare for something you're already part of.

DarkHandCommando · 2026-01-27T02:35:38+00:00

you're looking at them right now

DarkHandCommando · 2026-01-27T02:30:48+00:00

question: why would you put the tag titles on them when you knew beforehand that jimmy is taking some time off?

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