There's nothing really shameful about this at all, since he used to be legitimately awesome for over a decade.

But yeah, he badly needs to be sent out on an ice floe now.

I wouldn't call New Day racist (or ******ed, but that's just because that's not a word we should use) on face value. There's nothing inherently racist about it. It's just so hard to shake that it's very likely a reflection of what Vince thinks black people are, and what Vince thinks is a valid response to the complaints about the lack of push black workers have received.

What's wrong with the gimmick is 1- two of the guys can't work 2- the one that can, and the one that has any personality, has gone so broad and cliche that it undoes all his natural charisma. It doesn't help at all that you've got usually sarcastic Cole piling it out with zero sincerity. It's also just a sad (or worse, deliberate) misread of what's going to get over with the WWE's audience.

The WWE can't ever come out and go full Ridley Scott and say "We don't push black workers because our fans won't respond to them" - but that's very likely the reality, and having a gimmick that really hinges on crowd response fall so flat- it's just super painful to watch.

Topping that off with the decision to put them against the heel team that nobody wants to boo and that are only heels because of the bizarre insistence that the Usos continue to get a push they don't deserve. New Day never had a chance.

From all sides it's just Vince having no idea what people like or what's working. That, more than race, is really at the core here. The racial stuff just makes it even more awkward and upsetting.

Yeah it's insane. Woods isn't great but both Kofi and Big E are capable of so much more but instead they have to deal with this ****.

Chris Jericho seems to be going through a mid life crisis. Who starts tattooing themselves in their mid-40's?

The biggest thing I would have changed about the main event is either have Brock attack Rollins and then throw him out of the cage or leave it ambiguous. Don't force the heels to be buddies just because.

Can I call the "vanilla midgets" with Rollins the mini-Shield?

I actually least mind Woods of the 3 New Day clowns. At least he has some semblance of a personality. Only way that gimmick interests me at all is if Bo Dallas joins.

Kofi is capable of jumping. That's about it.

Never has there been a more quality assessment of Kofi's talent.

HAHAHA laughed so hard at this... Like what were they thinking cutting to that camera for even the second or two that it was.

Literally had about 100 people in the shot, and 2 were clapping.

They should keep this New Day thing going exactly as it is until it approaches the "Die Rocky Die" level of crowd disdain, then turn them into heels that actually have an edge in response.

They may have to push them to the moon the way they were with Rocky in order to achieve that result.

As long as they're off this planet, I'm cool with that.

Agree with all the excellent analysis over the last 2 pages.

I say "New Day" should change their name to "New Jack" and start each match by throwing a trash can full of weapons in the ring each match.

More seriously, Vince needs a "team of rivals" or at least a Devil's Advocate to present an opposing viewpoint to some of these asinine story ideas. It seems like he's instead surrounded by a team of sycophants saying, "Yes Sir, a 2014 reboot of the Red Rooster is exactly what today's audience wants!"

I'd like to see the new day be heels. Start attacking people with Organs and choir children

I wonder if what they become is just what the original promo Xavier cut when they were first a (heely red and black and not facey blue) concept. Guys fed up and not going to take it anymore.

Only problem is now that the "it" is a poor crowd response that feels awfully justified given how lackluster they've been in ring, and how nobody is going to buy that anybody is having a good time when Michael Cole tries to tell us how much of a good time they're having.

This would have been so much more successful had they just been three dudes who happened to be black and didn't throw in all HAI GUISE LOOK BLACK DUDEZ affectations with the gospel stuff and what not. In a different environment it all works, but depressingly this isn't it. If I thought it was something where the WWE was challenging convention/their fans, I'd give them credit. Just can't do that knowing who is running the show and their history.

They've previously gone the route of having the wrestlers cut worked shoots bitching about being given awful characters by the powers that be. That type of thing would work with this if they actually wanted to salvage the situation.

Thing is that I still believe that most of what we're seeing is their idea. Maybe not the broad idea, but there's so many little details (the way they enter the ring for instance) that do feel authentic (for lack of a better word) and in a way that you can't imagine coming from any of the WWE creative types.

If I was looking for a way out I'd just have Big E turn whatever direction you didn't turn the other guys and murder them both. Dude's got it- you can see even in the way he responded to the sweat towel thing. Given a chance and removed from other trappings I think he can. (and the matches will be better too).

Would love to see say, Jack Swagger, troll Rusev and Lana about today's collapse of the Ruble on tonight's Super Smackdown Live. But that would be far too sophisticated for WWE.

Oh I don't doubt they're putting their own touches on it, and they should; sometimes great workers make gold out of ideas that on paper are pretty damn bad. That's not what's happening here, but obviously I would still say the right thing from their perspective is to soldier on and give it their best possible go.

Big E is fantastic

OH I GOT THE MIC NOW

Considering the walking dead just became the first cable show in 30 years to beat MNF in ratings I'd be surprised if Vince resisted the urge to have every wrestler but cena and a couple others to be zombies

They already did the zombie gimmick. Think it was like the first thing on the "new" ECW. Not kidding. Look it up.

I'm not sure if Cena will go heel just because they're worried about the financial cost, but if they do pull that trigger, even if Reigns doesn't go perfectly I think WWE has other plans anyways. Orton is clearly face when he comes back imo. His feud will be with Authority and Rollins continuing the storyline of his "injured absence". Either Orton v Rollins or Orton v HHH at Wrestlemania (yes everyone thinks HHH/Sting is the WM match but if Undertaker comes back Undertaker/Sting would also work). So that gives them two big faces in Reigns and Orton to work with against Cena/Authority heel faction. Plus if they're not far away from Daniel Bryan by that point I assume, so even if he couldn't wrestle for another month or two they could at least have him involved a little until then

You're talking about somebody who had never heard of Scarface in the early 90s. In 2027 when Vince finds out what the Walking Dead was, he will book himself to win the Rumble and the belt at Mania on the grounds that he is the one that looks most like a zombie (and that the damn kids these days have no ambition).

Live SD starts with Reigns vs Fandango. See you next week.

They have to stop giving away these PPV main events on free TV.

What's next, Lesnar vs. Adam Rose?