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The Wrestling Discussion Thread

Been quite poor WWE weekly programming this. Lack of post mania plans and Raw and SD since Mania feel very pedestrian apart from Bloodline segments. Drew and Punk was the only good thing in this Raw.
 
Markhor said:
Oh my ! Hulk Hogan is as big a pathological liar as Trump. Why does he say these things ? Is it CTE ?

Hogan once claimed he wrestled 400+ days a year because of how many times he worked in Japan and crossed the International Date Line.

He claimed Andre the Giant died five days after their WM3 match (he died six years later).

He claimed he was about to receive a grill sponsorship, but missed the call, and it went to George Foreman.

He claimed he turned down the lead role in The Wrestler - which the director has denied.

He claimed he partied with John Belushi after WM2 in 1986. The poor guy died in 1982.

And there's many more !
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It’s a tough one, because his behaviour now is sort of in line with who he was during his wrestling career.

I don’t think he took too many unprotected chair shots?

A pathological liar is most likely the best bet LOL but he tells these tales with so much sincerity in his tone, like he genuinely believes every single word and presumes everybody is stupid, I mean US media is pretty thick!

That or Hulky boy has been using a lot these last few years!
 
shaz619 said:
What more insight is there on this you reckon, this is the low down on who’s fault it was:

Eric Bischoff
NWO
Sh!t Stain
Sh!t Stain
Sh!t Stain
Sh!t Stain

End off, saved everybody a couple of hours from their lives
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The title is stupid and clickbaity. I'm just interested to hear them all bury and blame each other, it has the potential be entertaining. I had so much fun watching the Bash At the Beach 2000 episode of Dark Side of the Ring, I wanna see more of that stuff.
 
I think they should do Punk v Drew by SummerSlam. No point keeping that match waiting for a year when the feud is hot and the fans want to see the match.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
I think they should do Punk v Drew by SummerSlam. No point keeping that match waiting for a year when the feud is hot and the fans want to see the match.
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Think they're just waiting for both to get cleared. Punk seems very close to full fitness as he did go physical at mania to an extent. No idea about drew's injury
 
It’s going to be a carnival atmosphere tomorrow evening I can’t wait, AJ Styles is about as big as the Hitman was in Europe, he is MEGA over here due to the exposure/coverage on FTA since the early 2000’s, this is not lost on the management; the first ever WWE title change took place outside of NA for this reason.

All UK fans tune in during non zero dark thirty hours to pay homage to the phenomeal one and a personified modern great, he wont be around forever! :bow:
 
I'm a looking forward to Backlash France tomorrow. The crowd should make it very interesting but moreso the continuation of the Bloodline storyline. Tama Tonga is very impressive & has been since his Bullet club days.
 
TeymurBlake said:
I'm a looking forward to Backlash France tomorrow. The crowd should make it very interesting but moreso the continuation of the Bloodline storyline. Tama Tonga is very impressive & has been since his Bullet club days.
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This is the best shape I’ve ever seen Tama Tonga in to compared to the BC version from like 4 years ago, it should be a great event; they’ve signed Jacob Fatu as well, interested to see how he fits into The Bloodline’s scheme
 
Zilla Fatu on the other hand is a little obscure, the most I’ve seen from him are video’s of his conversion to Islam.

Both Zilla and Jacob should go all pagal kutheh on Solo for stealing their father’s gimmick
 
@RedwoodOriginal have you seen wwe speed? I just watched the final. Not really a fan of 3-5 min spotfests as their novelty factor wears off after watching 6 7 similar matches. But for twitter wrestling with no storylines, for 3-5 min matches, think they couldn't have chosen better guys than ricochet and gargano for finals and fitting that ricochet won it. Was a good spot match and the good thing was they didn't go full throttle.
 
I saw Will Ostrich today, apparently this animal is flightless though and has a brain smaller then its eye.


IMG_0178.jpeg
 
shaz619 said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1786128590460834000

It would actually be worthwhile if Flair had his say, sure he wants the check but I don’t know if much has been made of his experiences on these programs outside the usual soundbites
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Could be that The Rock doesn't wanna be associated with him after the allegations about him that came out in the Plane Ride From Hell DSOTR episode? Just spit balling here. But I would have liked to hear what he had to say
 
shaz619 said:
It’s going to be a carnival atmosphere tomorrow evening I can’t wait, AJ Styles is about as big as the Hitman was in Europe, he is MEGA over here due to the exposure/coverage on FTA since the early 2000’s, this is not lost on the management; the first ever WWE title change took place outside of NA for this reason.

All UK fans tune in during non zero dark thirty hours to pay homage to the phenomeal one and a personified modern great, he wont be around forever! :bow:
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I don't think he's gonna win the belt but I expect a heck of a match and a heck of a crowd reaction. Crowd was losing it for a freaking throwaway women's 8 woman tag on SD. Imagine how they will react for Cody v AJ.

Side-note, huge missed opportunity on their part not to have Sami Zayn defending the IC title on this card.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
Could be that The Rock doesn't wanna be associated with him after the allegations about him that came out in the Plane Ride From Hell DSOTR episode? Just spit balling here. But I would have liked to hear what he had to say
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Ric is booked for Busted Open next week, all shall be revealed 🤣🤣

That’s the thing bro with these programs and distancing from x or y, it affects the quality, I liked the original seasons because they were more unhinged in what they wanted to share
 
BunnyRabbit said:
@RedwoodOriginal have you seen wwe speed? I just watched the final. Not really a fan of 3-5 min spotfests as their novelty factor wears off after watching 6 7 similar matches. But for twitter wrestling with no storylines, for 3-5 min matches, think they couldn't have chosen better guys than ricochet and gargano for finals and fitting that ricochet won it. Was a good spot match and the good thing was they didn't go full throttle.
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Seems something aimed specifically at the zoomers. I saw one match and couldn't watch beyond that. It was stupid. People with such short attention-spans need to go and read billboards or something.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
I don't think he's gonna win the belt but I expect a heck of a match and a heck of a crowd reaction. Crowd was losing it for a freaking throwaway women's 8 woman tag on SD. Imagine how they will react for Cody v AJ.

Side-note, huge missed opportunity on their part not to have Sami Zayn defending the IC title on this card.
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It was a mediocre episode of SD if we being brutally honest, the crowd made it. Surely the higher ups should have done something a bit more special and accounted for the audience. Would be nuts if they did a title change, with Hunter you are not getting any surprises his booking is very predictable.

Agree don’t think they do brand exclusive PPV’s? Would love to see how Sami would be treated by an Islamaphobic audience, I think he would be super over, beauty of wrestling
 
shaz619 said:
Ric is booked for Busted Open next week, all shall be revealed 🤣🤣

That’s the thing bro with these programs and distancing from x or y, it affects the quality, I liked the original seasons because they were more unhinged in what they wanted to share
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I saw that episode. And not to defend/make light of Ric's actions, which were pretty disgusting. But the entire episode seemed like a hit piece. Ric Flair has probably done 100x worse things in his own life. I don't understand why you needed an episode to release these allegations on to the world as some sort of bombshell? And I'm not even blaming the victim here. I'm blaming the Dark Side producers who exploited that air hostess's story with the aim of generating ratings and interest in their show.

Not just that, I feel like they've run out of stories too. I know wrestling is a tough business that has numerous dark stories but sometimes it feels like they are really stretching it.
 
shaz619 said:
It was a mediocre episode of SD if we being brutally honest, the crowd made it. Surely the higher ups should have done something a bit more special and accounted for the audience. Would be nuts if they did a title change, with Hunter you are not getting any surprises his booking is very predictable.

Agree don’t think they do brand exclusive PPV’s? Would love to see how Sami would be treated by an Islamaphobic audience, I think he would be super over, beauty of wrestling
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That's the thing though. You could give this crowd JD McDonagh v Tozawa and they would still lose their sh!t. That's the benefit of coming to these places once a year. I can totally see why WWE want to make all their PPVs besides the Big 4, international events. And honestly after WrestleMania and some of these AEW PPVs, I'm actually looking forward to a PPV that doesn't run for 4+ hours.

I think the French will always love someone who speaks their language. That is something they really care about. All you would have needed was Sami coming out and saying a few lines in French and they would have gone crazy for him.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
That's the thing though. You could give this crowd JD McDonagh v Tozawa and they would still lose their sh!t. That's the benefit of coming to these places once a year. I can totally see why WWE want to make all their PPVs besides the Big 4, international events. And honestly after WrestleMania and some of these AEW PPVs, I'm actually looking forward to a PPV that doesn't run for 4+ hours.

I think the French will always love someone who speaks their language. That is something they really care about. All you would have needed was Sami coming out and saying a few lines in French and they would have gone crazy for him.
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It’s a Wrestlemania for them so make it a bit more worthwhile rather than putting on the same old garbage, we’ve had countless classics in Europe haven’t we, some of these lot are so pee’d they will pop for Naomi smacking her behind in somebody’s face, such good sh!t! not enough reason to be complacent and take the audience for granted
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
I saw that episode. And not to defend/make light of Ric's actions, which were pretty disgusting. But the entire episode seemed like a hit piece. Ric Flair has probably done 100x worse things in his own life. I don't understand why you needed an episode to release these allegations on to the world as some sort of bombshell? And I'm not even blaming the victim here. I'm blaming the Dark Side producers who exploited that air hostess's story with the aim of generating ratings and interest in their show.

Not just that, I feel like they've run out of stories too. I know wrestling is a tough business that has numerous dark stories but sometimes it feels like they are really stretching it.
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Which episode? I meant Ric’s booked next week on the Bull Ray podcast to air his grievances

They need to do one on Triple H, there’s plenty of material to cover there, if you do your job proper am sure they can find a number of topics which people would be interested in. But lets talk about WCW’s fall that been done a million times
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
Seems something aimed specifically at the zoomers. I saw one match and couldn't watch beyond that. It was stupid. People with such short attention-spans need to go and read billboards or something.
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I just saw the final. For a 5 min one off match, it was fine tbh. It was basically a spotfest but the good thing was they didnt go full throttle. They held back their finishers in it.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
That's the thing though. You could give this crowd JD McDonagh v Tozawa and they would still lose their sh!t. That's the benefit of coming to these places once a year. I can totally see why WWE want to make all their PPVs besides the Big 4, international events. And honestly after WrestleMania and some of these AEW PPVs, I'm actually looking forward to a PPV that doesn't run for 4+ hours.

I think the French will always love someone who speaks their language. That is something they really care about. All you would have needed was Sami coming out and saying a few lines in French and they would have gone crazy for him.
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There's only 5 matches on the card. I would have loved to see jd vs tozawa with insane fan reactions. 😆
They could've booked a maryse segment/throwaway match too which would have had the place erupting.
Not giving gunther or sami a match at this ppv seems stupid
 
shaz619 said:
It’s a Wrestlemania for them so make it a bit more worthwhile rather than putting on the same old garbage, we’ve had countless classics in Europe haven’t we, some of these lot are so pee’d they will pop for Naomi smacking her behind in somebody’s face, such good sh!t! not enough reason to be complacent and take the audience for granted
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Yeah I agree there. And I'm pretty sure that these tickets probably cost an arm and a leg. The least you could have done here was give them a good match between two guys that actually mean something. It's not like you got a stacked PPV card for the next night anyway.
 
shaz619 said:
Which episode? I meant Ric’s booked next week on the Bull Ray podcast to air his grievances

They need to do one on Triple H, there’s plenty of material to cover there, if you do your job proper am sure they can find a number of topics which people would be interested in. But lets talk about WCW’s fall that been done a million times
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The Dark Side of the Ring episode about the Plane Ride from Hell that got Ric cancelled for a while there.


Hahaha. I don't think H works as a subject though, considering he's the head booker of the biggest wrestling promotion in the world.
 
BunnyRabbit said:
There's only 5 matches on the card. I would have loved to see jd vs tozawa with insane fan reactions. 😆
They could've booked a maryse segment/throwaway match too which would have had the place erupting.
Not giving gunther or sami a match at this ppv seems stupid
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Gunther and Sami should have both been on this card. Or atleast one of them.
 
BunnyRabbit said:
I just saw the final. For a 5 min one off match, it was fine tbh. It was basically a spotfest but the good thing was they didnt go full throttle. They held back their finishers in it.
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Eh. Doesn't sound like something I would enjoy.
 

SmackDown Results, May 3, 2024​

  • Bianca Belair, Bayley, Naomi & Jade Cargill def. Asuka, Kairi Sane, Dakota Kai and Tiffany Stratton in an Eight-Woman Tag Team Match
  • Authors of Pain def. New Catch Republic
  • LA Knight def. Angel
  • A-Town Down Under def. The Street Profits in a WWE Tag Team Title Match
 
Classic AJ Styles, this is where he belongs, right at the very top. Let us enjoy him in the main event scene a lot more before it’s too late. Doing his utmost to get Cody’s reign up and running with a flyer in a way that only he can, unselfishly. Outstanding match before a hot crowd, the match flowed so well and had a beautiful rhythm, Styles make fights. Cody got all his sound bites in and pushed on nicely during the finishing stretch. I hope this isn’t the end of this feud because they are capable of so much more.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
The Dark Side of the Ring episode about the Plane Ride from Hell that got Ric cancelled for a while there.


Hahaha. I don't think H works as a subject though, considering he's the head booker of the biggest wrestling promotion in the world.
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He absolutely fuckking does, it’s an interesting topic, need some insights into him being the head sh!t head and the art of cutting a 20 min promo, bet the dog was desperate to tell us why it’s his era again before this crowd. It doesn’t matter if the higher ups own the creative behind The Light Side Of The Ring, what we need is, more of that 4/10 piece of sh!t on our screens so his cult can bust a few more nuts.
 
For many many years, not just in this thread but the old archived thread; some Eugene like personalities questioned the phenomenal one, they kept calling AJ Styles washed, that he was finished. I will always defend AJ till the end.

The best to ever do it in the modern era. Period.
 
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@shaz619 I was kidding when I said these tickets probably cost an arm and a leg. Looks like WWE were serious lol. There were like 11k people in there.

===

WWE's first-ever PPV/PLE from France was a financially successful night for the company.

During the event, it was announced that Backlash broke the record for the largest arena gate in WWE history (excluding stadium shows). Backlash took place from LDLC Arena in Lyon on Saturday. The venue also hosted Friday's SmackDown, with that being the highest-grossing SmackDown of all time.

"This is the largest gate of any arena show in WWE history," Michael Cole announced. "Thank you, Lyon. Thank you, France. Thanks everybody watching at home."

The previous record for WWE's largest arena gate was Money in the Bank 2023, which was held at The O2 Arena in London and drew a gate of $3.3 million.


www.f4wonline.com

Backlash 2024 draws largest arena gate in WWE history

The record was previously held by Money in the Bank 2023 in London.
www.f4wonline.com www.f4wonline.com
 
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shaz619 said:
Classic AJ Styles, this is where he belongs, right at the very top. Let us enjoy him in the main event scene a lot more before it’s too late. Doing his utmost to get Cody’s reign up and running with a flyer in a way that only he can, unselfishly. Outstanding match before a hot crowd, the match flowed so well and had a beautiful rhythm, Styles make fights. Cody got all his sound bites in and pushed on nicely during the finishing stretch. I hope this isn’t the end of this feud because they are capable of so much more.
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Yup it was an outstanding match. This is the AJ we want to see. The main-event level star that he is, putting on main-event level matches. This match really made me appreciate how perfect AJ's work is. It reminds me of something Bret Hart said, when he essentially said that if you're getting hurt doing wrestling, you're an idiot. In that sense AJ reminds me of Bret...everything he does is so perfectly executed. It looks like death but if you look closely enough, its just impeccable execution. Which is exactly how it should be. I almost feel like the replays of the burning hammer and the suplex into the turnbuckle ruined those moves somewhat. Because they showed you how freaking perfectly AJ executed those moves. And you didn't need that with a move like the Burning Hammer which isn't even used that often and perceived to be 'dangerous' by the fans.

Side-note: Loved the hot crowd but some of those chants got really annoying for me.
 
Man Kevin Owens has really been beaten like a drum hasn't he? It's sad to see someone as talented as him always being used to put other guys over. On one hand you're glad their talent is being recognized but on the other hand you feel bad for them because the booking ain't supporting 'em. I thought he was awesome in the tag match. For me, Owens has all the potential to be this generation's Mick Foley. If he is booked right.

Also, I would like to see Owens vs. Punk as soon as possible. It's literally one of the best matches/feuds Punk can have in WWE. Owens has made no qualms about the fact that he doesn't like Punk, which makes it even better. I think it could be something even bigger and better than the Punk and Eddie Kingston feud we saw in AEW.
 
WWE BACKLASH QUICK RESULTS:

WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) def. AJ Styles

Women’s Tag Team Championship: Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill def. Kabuki Warriors (c)

World Heavyweight Championship: Damian Priest (c) def. Jey Uso

Women’s Championship: Bayley (c) def. Tiffany Stratton and Naomi

The Bloodline def. Randy Orton & Kevin Owens
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
@shaz619 I was kidding when I said these tickets probably cost an arm and a leg. Looks like WWE were serious lol. There were like 11k people in there.

===

WWE's first-ever PPV/PLE from France was a financially successful night for the company.

During the event, it was announced that Backlash broke the record for the largest arena gate in WWE history (excluding stadium shows). Backlash took place from LDLC Arena in Lyon on Saturday. The venue also hosted Friday's SmackDown, with that being the highest-grossing SmackDown of all time.

"This is the largest gate of any arena show in WWE history," Michael Cole announced. "Thank you, Lyon. Thank you, France. Thanks everybody watching at home."

The previous record for WWE's largest arena gate was Money in the Bank 2023, which was held at The O2 Arena in London and drew a gate of $3.3 million.


www.f4wonline.com

Backlash 2024 draws largest arena gate in WWE history

The record was previously held by Money in the Bank 2023 in London.
www.f4wonline.com www.f4wonline.com
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Inflation is considerably lower in France and their gov has subsidised energy, living conditions there have been better through the unstable time. They’d have read the market and also took advantage of it being a rare PPV
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
Yup it was an outstanding match. This is the AJ we want to see. The main-event level star that he is, putting on main-event level matches. This match really made me appreciate how perfect AJ's work is. It reminds me of something Bret Hart said, when he essentially said that if you're getting hurt doing wrestling, you're an idiot. In that sense AJ reminds me of Bret...everything he does is so perfectly executed. It looks like death but if you look closely enough, its just impeccable execution. Which is exactly how it should be. I almost feel like the replays of the burning hammer and the suplex into the turnbuckle ruined those moves somewhat. Because they showed you how freaking perfectly AJ executed those moves. And you didn't need that with a move like the Burning Hammer which isn't even used that often and perceived to be 'dangerous' by the fans.

Side-note: Loved the hot crowd but some of those chants got really annoying for me.
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AJ adjusts to where he is placed on the card, they probably told him months in advance that he was going to work in that spot again, and the guy turned himself into a machine. AJ’s not an idiot, he can coast having good matches on the undercard in his sleep without killing himself, he’s always capable of turning it on as necessary and there’s nobody better in that big match scenario, especially in these difficult situations where he has to get others over. That’s an excellent observation, and many liken him to being the modern Shawn, but the excellent of execution label is also fitting, it’s that impact/explosiveness he can control by varying his speed because of the confidence in his work and if you also pay attention to how he bumps for those big spots it will impress you even more because that’s his bread and butter, why he can still do this at such a high level deep in his career.

Yeah lol like my ears were blocked for a bit and started to get better, now they’re Effed again 🤣🤣 they kept that energy throughout, if they were a bit quiet for one of the matches, would have been a good break, but al just happy AJ got his flowers
 
shaz619 said:
@RedwoodOriginal Collision is not on this week, I don’t know if the bump is as big a deal as being made on social media
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I am completely disconnected from wrestling twitter thankfully. No I don't think its a big deal at all. Real sports are always going to mean more to US audiences than pro-wrestling. Especially the version of pro-wrestling that AEW serves on a weekly basis.
 
Well, it wasn't Jacob Fatu but it was someone else, Tonga Loa aka Camacho is back. A good unexpected surprise. Also with that, the Bloodline Civil War adds another layer to the storyline.

Overall the crowd made Backlash much better. The wrestling was superb, R-KO vs Bloodline was excellent, Damien Priest Vs Jey Uso was solid but a spot fest however, the face turn teases are continuing with Priest's eventual departure from Judgement Day.

The women's triple threat & tag match were solid as well. I am here now, for Tiffy Time. What a showcase for her. Jade Cargill & Bianca jelled well specially with the eventual turn between the two leading to a match likely Summer Slam. Everyone did their roles perfectly.

And the main event, brilliant. What a Match. Brilliant performance from AJ Styles & Cody Rhodes. Got to run it back one more time.

Overall, great show.
 
shaz619 said:
That is the greatest cross over match of the 21st century imo and the ultimate ‘independent’ dream match. These soundbites get thrown around a lot now in a certain promotion, find me a better match then that just on paper, you can’t do it.
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I don't think newer fans can truly understand what this match meant back then. Or how popular ROH and some of the US indies were among the hardcore fans. It also helped that NOAH during its early days still had some AJPW holdovers as well as great up and coming talents like Morishima, KENTA, Go Shiozaki, which gave you the possibility to put on some amazing dream matches.
 
TeymurBlake said:
Well, it wasn't Jacob Fatu but it was someone else, Tonga Loa aka Camacho is back. A good unexpected surprise. Also with that, the Bloodline Civil War adds another layer to the storyline.

Overall the crowd made Backlash much better. The wrestling was superb, R-KO vs Bloodline was excellent, Damien Priest Vs Jey Uso was solid but a spot fest however, the face turn teases are continuing with Priest's eventual departure from Judgement Day.

The women's triple threat & tag match were solid as well. I am here now, for Tiffy Time. What a showcase for her. Jade Cargill & Bianca jelled well specially with the eventual turn between the two leading to a match likely Summer Slam. Everyone did their roles perfectly.

And the main event, brilliant. What a Match. Brilliant performance from AJ Styles & Cody Rhodes. Got to run it back one more time.

Overall, great show.
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It was a good show. The street fight was awesome. The main-event was excellent. But can't say I cared much for the stuff in between. The Three Way was okay at best, the women's tag went about 10 minutes longer than it should have and Priest carrying Jey, along with the crowd reaction made the World title match enjoyable enough.

I will say though, that this match exposed Jey Uso as a singles wrestler. I know I've been critical of his work in the past but this match made it clear to me that he is an absolutely terrible singles wrestler. He has like two moves and can neither punch nor sell very well. He's basically getting by on the 'Yeet' chants and him being over as a personality, which has everything to do with the strong booking. But gosh, I really hope WWE aren't thinking about going all in on him as a top babyface because his in-ring work absolutely sucks.
 
Bo Dallas's new stable will apparently feature Dexter Lumis, Joe Gacy, Erik Rowan, and Nikki Cross.

Interested to see where it goes. I hope they all have weird masks. Rowan and Gacy were rumored for Bray's stable at one point too. This has a high likability of not being very good. But I have always been fascinated by Bray's ideas and if this riffs on that, is treated seriously and pays tribute to him in some way, then it could be good.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
I don't think newer fans can truly understand what this match meant back then. Or how popular ROH and some of the US indies were among the hardcore fans. It also helped that NOAH during its early days still had some AJPW holdovers as well as great up and coming talents like Morishima, KENTA, Go Shiozaki, which gave you the possibility to put on some amazing dream matches.
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They wont because wrestling hadn’t been monopolised as much, the independent boom was initiated by the fall of WCW, those fans didn’t just jump to the UFC like some say, it wasn’t as huge as it is now and WWE’s core fanbase still appealed to the wrestling ‘enthusiast’ unlike now and the messaging about catering for everybody, and the wrestling ‘enthusiast’ knew who AJ Styles was, knew who Daniel Bryan was and knew who Samoa Joe was, and if you knew these guys, they were the bridge to Japan and what was happening there; if any of these talents made the jump to WWE in the late 2000’s, they would have been just as over compared to when they eventually did come over; Daniel Bryan is probably the best example and the constant outrage about his booking, and this was when kids were watching and peak PG era. That popularity will never be understood now because the indie scene is virtually dead, can you imagine Nick Gage showing up in the WWE; pin drop silence, such names will only be known to a very niche audience, while Samla Joe had national and international acclaim, so it’s difficult to sort of put into words how big that match was
 
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RedwoodOriginal said:
Bo Dallas's new stable will apparently feature Dexter Lumis, Joe Gacy, Erik Rowan, and Nikki Cross.

Interested to see where it goes. I hope they all have weird masks. Rowan and Gacy were rumored for Bray's stable at one point too. This has a high likability of not being very good. But I have always been fascinated by Bray's ideas and if this riffs on that, is treated seriously and pays tribute to him in some way, then it could be good.
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Interesting. The belief is that Alexa Bliss will join as well.

I was kind of hoping for the witches to be involved.
 
shaz619 said:
They wont because wrestling hadn’t been monopolised as much, the independent boom was initiated by the fall of WCW, those fans didn’t just jump to the UFC like some say, it wasn’t as huge as it is now. And WWE’s core fanbase still appealed to the wrestling ‘enthusiast’ unlike now and the messaging about catering for everybody, and the wrestling ‘enthusiast’ knew who AJ Styles was, knew who Daniel Bryan was and knew who Samoa Joe was, and if you knew these guys, they were the bridge to Japan and what was happening there; if any of these talents made the jump to WWE in the late 2000’s, they would have been just as over compared to when they eventually did come over; Daniel Bryan is probably the best example and the constant outrage about his booking, and this was when kids were watching and peak PG era. That popularity will never be understood now because the indie scene is virtually dead, can you imagine Nick Gage showing up in the WWE; pin drop silence, such names will only be known to a very niche audience, while Samla Joe had national and international acclaim, so it’s difficult to sort of put into words how big that match was
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Really well put. And what an incredible array of talent there was. When you look back, its actually kinda shameful how so many of these guys were kept out of WWE for so long. These days, the quality of indie wrestling has nosedived...whatever is left of it. Because mediocrity and bullsh!t has been mainstreamed by the Bucks and their PWG clique over the past decade or so. And now the new guys coming in think that's wrestling.

And it wasn't even just ROH. Even smaller promotions like IWA-Mid-South (F Ian Rotten) and CZW were generating buzz through cross-overs and dream matches. If I'm not wrong, I think the famous Punk v Chris Hero feud began in IWA...I know they had one of their very best matches there. The CZW v ROH feud is still regarded by many as the best booked invasion angle in wrestling. Joe v Necro Butcher in IWA, which is one of the most brutal matches I've ever seen in terms of taking sickening bumps, was regarded as a pretty big dream match too.

Yeah it's a real shame that someone like Nick Gage is one of the standard bearers of indie wrestling these days. How massively the standard has fallen. Him showing in WWE would be the same as if John Zandig showed up in WWE back in the day. People would ask what is this drug addict-looking bum doing on my TV screen?
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
It was a good show. The street fight was awesome. The main-event was excellent. But can't say I cared much for the stuff in between. The Three Way was okay at best, the women's tag went about 10 minutes longer than it should have and Priest carrying Jey, along with the crowd reaction made the World title match enjoyable enough.

I will say though, that this match exposed Jey Uso as a singles wrestler. I know I've been critical of his work in the past but this match made it clear to me that he is an absolutely terrible singles wrestler. He has like two moves and can neither punch nor sell very well. He's basically getting by on the 'Yeet' chants and him being over as a personality, which has everything to do with the strong booking. But gosh, I really hope WWE aren't thinking about going all in on him as a top babyface because his in-ring work absolutely sucks.
Click to expand...

I thought the WHC match was fine, I didn’t feel there was a drastic difference between the two performers and Jey improved on the Mania farce. I think he is capable of much better, while that did have a bit to do with Reigns he did some excellent work when in this spot previously. However, I think a lot of his recent showings is down to laziness, a crap attitude and coasting on the excellent character work, which for a long period has been fantastic. There’s money in a singles run for him but his attitude is just crap. Am not happy with the booking of the WHC and Priest needs a major revamp, from his look, to how he is presented to how his matches are produced, as champion, being a big guy, even in the era of the midget he should not be going 50/50 with everyone and their dog
 
shaz619 said:
This is nuts in any case lol

https://twitter.com/x/status/1787115153361649802
Click to expand...

When you see this, as an AEW talent, is the money worth it?

When you first lace up a pair of boots, it’s rarely for a few dollars, it’s for the love and adrenaline.

Working in a turbulent set up before dead crowds, infrequently, and no guarantees on TV, why?

Why as an upstart do you want to be there now.
 
TeymurBlake said:
Well, it wasn't Jacob Fatu but it was someone else, Tonga Loa aka Camacho is back. A good unexpected surprise. Also with that, the Bloodline Civil War adds another layer to the storyline.

Overall the crowd made Backlash much better. The wrestling was superb, R-KO vs Bloodline was excellent, Damien Priest Vs Jey Uso was solid but a spot fest however, the face turn teases are continuing with Priest's eventual departure from Judgement Day.

The women's triple threat & tag match were solid as well. I am here now, for Tiffy Time. What a showcase for her. Jade Cargill & Bianca jelled well specially with the eventual turn between the two leading to a match likely Summer Slam. Everyone did their roles perfectly.

And the main event, brilliant. What a Match. Brilliant performance from AJ Styles & Cody Rhodes. Got to run it back one more time.

Overall, great show.
Click to expand...

I want to see them book a full programme between Cody & Styles, I miss the days when you’d get a blood feud. Make it all real personal, after Mania this is what’s needed to keep the momentum going. I don’t mind cold defences with a minimal build for obscure events but doing that monthly when you are on TV is coasting a bit.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
shaz619 said:
I thought the WHC match was fine, I didn’t feel there was a drastic difference between the two performers and Jey improved on the Mania farce. I think he is capable of much better, while that did have a bit to do with Reigns he did some excellent work when in this spot previously. However, I think a lot of his recent showings is down to laziness, a crap attitude and coasting on the excellent character work, which for a long period has been fantastic. There’s money in a singles run for him but his attitude is just crap. Am not happy with the booking of the WHC and Priest needs a major revamp, from his look, to how he is presented to how his matches are produced, as champion, being a big guy, even in the era of the midget he should not be going 50/50 with everyone and their dog
Click to expand...
The Reigns match had a built-in story. I think they could have gone out there and done a 20 minute headlock and that match would have still had heat. Also feel like the No DQ stip. in that match masked Jey's shortcomings in the ring. But for me atleast they were exposed in this match and especially the WrestleMania match. Attitude and laziness are probably a big part of it. Because when I see his work it does look lazy to me.

You make a great point about Priest's booking. I agree, but I put some of the blame on Priest too. When you look at his height and his athleticism, he often times reminds of Taker, and how he used to move in the ring. But far too often I see him trying to work the modern style where he comes off as more Brian Cage than Undertaker. He has so much upside as a main-eventer. I think we haven't even scratched the surface of what a compelling promo he can be. But I think he maybe needs to go back and watch some old matches of his childhood idol Scott Hall, so he can understand how someone of his size and ability is supposed to work. And yeah I think the look needs the revamp too. This weird S&M goth look has run its course. And Rhea Ripley is pulling it off much better anyway.
 
shaz619 said:
I want to see them book a full programme between Cody & Styles, I miss the days when you’d get a blood feud. Make it all real personal, after Mania this is what’s needed to keep the momentum going. I don’t mind cold defences with a minimal build for obscure events but doing that monthly when you’re on TV is coasting a bit.
Click to expand...
AJ is doing some good work as a tweener. Problem is there is no concrete storyline for him to work with. An extended program between Styles and Cody could be great. Because then you could even do a 30 minute Iron Man match or a 2/3 Falls match later in the feud and it would mean something if these two are allowed to tell a story. Besides, who else is Cody going to work with right now? I don't know why but for some reason there's no major heel on SmackDown. There are guys like KO, Lashley, LA but they are all babyfaces. And I presume that they are saving the Randy Orton feud for down the line. I guess you could get a match out of Logan Paul for one of those Saudi shows but I dunno if I wanna see that.
 
shaz619 said:
When you see this, as an AEW talent, is the money worth it?

When you first lace up a pair of boots, it’s rarely for a few dollars, it’s for the love and adrenaline.

Working in a turbulent set up before dead crowds, infrequently, and no guarantees on TV, why?

Why as an upstart do you want to be there now.
Click to expand...
If you say that working in half-empty arenas in AEW is your dream then you're either:

a) an indie minded bingo hall mark who belongs in the bingo hall.
b) someone who has already worked infront of sold-out crowds and just want to have fun now (see: Edge).
c) a liar.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
The Reigns match had a built-in story. I think they could have gone out there and done a 20 minute headlock and that match would have still had heat. Also feel like the No DQ stip. in that match masked Jey's shortcomings in the ring. But for me atleast they were exposed in this match and especially the WrestleMania match. Attitude and laziness are probably a big part of it. Because when I see his work it does look lazy to me.

You make a great point about Priest's booking. I agree, but I put some of the blame on Priest too. When you look at his height and his athleticism, he often times reminds of Taker, and how he used to move in the ring. But far too often I see him trying to work the modern style where he comes off as more Brian Cage than Undertaker. He has so much upside as a main-eventer. I think we haven't even scratched the surface of what a compelling promo he can be. But I think he maybe needs to go back and watch some old matches of his childhood idol Scott Hall, so he can understand how someone of his size and ability is supposed to work. And yeah I think the look needs the revamp too. This weird S&M goth look has run its course. And Rhea Ripley is pulling it off much better anyway.
Click to expand...

It was early days into Reigns super heel persona and establishing the Bloodline, honestly he held his own then under a lot of pressure and the work they did, was fundamental to the bloodline saga which came. There was not enough heat at the time, and stories should drive the narrative and there were pieces in the puzzle which for sure helped but when you watched it then, you’re like yeah this guy can hang, they got that main event Jey Uso thing going to, same fans have switched after some bad performances and I get it, but some of it’s overblown. He should take accountability and I feel he did at Backlash but I also thing he is the sort of guy who ought to thrive more during the McMahon era, because Vince would have cut his balls for his recent behaviour, where HHH is all chill and cool so long as you kiss his @ss.

He has he been given this advice before and I see it in his work but not enough, and if there is something to criticise Priest about, it’s maybe carving his own legacy and standing up for himself because the producers are absolutely at fault and are doing him dirty, and Hunter wont care so long marks praise him and what not, he books big guys like cruiserweight and it’s just stupid. I mean you can criticise the Backlash PPV in the same way, for being too clinical, that doesn’t always serve its purpose in pro wrestling, does every match on the card have to be in the same sort of vein? if Priest came out refreshed with more of an aura and absolutely crushed Jey, that’s best for business. Also don’t think Jade had to do those high spots, she needs to be booked like Lesnar.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
AJ is doing some good work as a tweener. Problem is there is no concrete storyline for him to work with. An extended program between Styles and Cody could be great. Because then you could even do a 30 minute Iron Man match or a 2/3 Falls match later in the feud and it would mean something if these two are allowed to tell a story. Besides, who else is Cody going to work with right now? I don't know why but for some reason there's no major heel on SmackDown. There are guys like KO, Lashley, LA but they are all babyfaces. And I presume that they are saving the Randy Orton feud for down the line. I guess you could get a match out of Logan Paul for one of those Saudi shows but I dunno if I wanna see that.
Click to expand...

It has to be AJ, they can work through to the MITB event if they are clever, the biggest name for Cody in the interim until they book the Randy program as you say. There is so much scope for creative and AJ’s tweener work has been excellent to / showing more desire then those half his age, that’s the mentality of an all time great. I would love to see those classic technical in-ring match types, you can stretch the feud to that way. But I feel at best they may do one more match in Saudi and that’s it / blame fans short attention spans
 
@RedwoodOriginal Agree on the S&M, homo Taker and whatever else they propagate, can we have a serious WHC for once, Hunter would never present himself like this, why does he give these lot a free hand especially with the belt he held for a while? Rhea made it her thing but it doesn’t work for anyone else. They also need to have Priest distance himself from those two jobbers (Balor and JD).
 
shaz619 said:
I want to see them book a full programme between Cody & Styles, I miss the days when you’d get a blood feud. Make it all real personal, after Mania this is what’s needed to keep the momentum going. I don’t mind cold defences with a minimal build for obscure events but doing that monthly when you are on TV is coasting a bit.
Click to expand...
The problem is, no one can buy the idea AJ Styles will defeat Cody Rhodes.

However, I really like your idea. Make it personal because it clearly shows they can have bangers after bangers.
 

WWE RAW MAY 6, 2024 LINEUP​

  • GUNTHER vs. Sheamus
  • Ricochet vs. Ilja Dragunov
  • Kofi Kingston vs. Rey Mysterio
  • Drew McIntyre vs. Finn Balor
  • IYO SKY vs. Natalya
  • Lyra Valkyria vs. Asuka
  • Shayna Baszler vs. Zelina Vega
  • Zoey Stark vs. Ivy Nile
 
@TeymurBlake @MK7Z Did you guys watch Backlash live in the UK then?

Another heads up if you’ve cancelled the Network.

Join on the 24th or 25th of May, this way you get the following live PPV’s during normal evening hours:

25th May - Saudi Arabia PPV
June 15th - Clash At The Castle Scotland

That way another two events for 9.99 and makes more sense for us, I personally will only join when I can watch during normal hours unless on rare occasions.

In between the two above events, there’s NXT Battleground to but that’s going to air live from Las Vegas (UFC Apex)
 
TeymurBlake said:
The problem is, no one can buy the idea AJ Styles will defeat Cody Rhodes.

However, I really like your idea. Make it personal because it clearly shows they can have bangers after bangers.
Click to expand...

AJ was in a similar spot when he had that feud for the championship against Nakamura. That will be an issue to deal with whoever he faces throughout his run because unless it’s somebody like Reigns of The Rock, nobody else would even the odds. But if the story is compelling enough it will be worth it, AJ is also a little unlucky in that regard as the first challenger, but they wanted to get Cody off to a flyer in the ring and AJ is a master at getting others over / suspending your disbelief, he should be used like HBK in his twilight, HBK lost a lot but always hooked you in the ring, so for now they can get away with and hopefully make it a grudge match.

Down the line if they can get audiences invested like the way they were in Drew or Sami Zayn when they fought Reigns, then you might just trick the audience, for Cody in his current face role even though I feel he has some heel mannerisms, they will need super heel’s who we think stand a chance, right now I think Gunther qualify’s, maybe a returning Lesnar to? the onus is also on Haitch to develop credible challengers now.
 
I am glad they are doing the KOTR tournament with some kind of seriousness this time. It used to be such a staple of WWE and a great way to elevate wrestlers. But it has been treated as a joke ever ever since it was brought back. I think the last good one was probably the 2002 KOTR which included the legendary Brock Lesnar v Test match.

Gunther has to win this tournament in my opinion. If not him then LA Knight. But I guess I'm even more excited about the prospect of seeing Ilja Dragunov v Gunther on RAW. They have done a good job with the brackets with some really interesting potential match-ups for the next rounds. And I heard that Gunther/Sheamus and Ilja/Ricochet already put on two bangers tonight.
 
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