The Wrestling Discussion Thread

[shaz619]

At this age its hard to not get injured even if your fitness is next level. Which Punk's is. But in AEW he only really had one injury which was the triceps tear (same injury he suffered in WWE) that he picked up in the match against Moxley. The other was a freak accident that could have happened to anyone. He got overexcited to see the fans after winning the World title, jumped from the ramp and ended up breaking his foot. For a great part of his run though Punk was putting on classics on Dynamite week in and week out. After his comeback last year, he was wrestling long matches fairly regularly on Collision as well.

I think majority of those who complain how injury prone he was in AEW never really watched him perform there, he was the best all round performer in the world for the duration of his active run and was even recognised by the kayfabe mag PWI who sort of reward work horses for their endurance and consistency over a longer period, he had the best baby face run since Shawn during the RA era. And when he became a tweener on Collision, he literally was a manager / promoter / booker / worker and made that show the best episodic TV show in wrestling whilst putting on bangers every week, cutting promos and putting a big spotlight on talent who needed it / elevated them.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

John Cena: WWE legend to retire from in-ring competition at end of 2025

John Cena will retire from in-ring competition with WWE at the end of 2025, bringing an end to a career that has included winning 16 world championships.

Cena appeared at WWE's Money in the Bank event in Toronto on Saturday night to reveal that he would embark on a farewell tour next year.

The 47-year-old said he would wrestle at the Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber in early 2025 and also at the two-night extravaganza WrestleMania 41, which will be held in Las Vegas on April 19 and 20.


SKY Sports

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1809395150722130192

https://twitter.com/x/status/1809091585721680337

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I think majority of those who complain how injury prone he was in AEW never really watched him perform there, he was the best all round performer in the world for the duration of his active run and was even recognised by the kayfabe mag PWI who sort of reward work horses for their endurance and consistency over a longer period, he had the best baby face run since Shawn during the RA era. And when he became a tweener on Collision, he literally was a manager / promoter / booker / worker and made that show the best episodic TV show in wrestling whilst putting on bangers every week, cutting promos and putting a big spotlight on talent who needed it / elevated them.

It was an absolutely incredible run. It may be hard to believe now, but or a short period of time, AEW was heads and shoulders above WWE in-terms of quality. And the biggest reason why was Punk. He elevated AEW in regards to every metric from gates to ratings to PPV buys. Not because he went out there and tried to have 7 star matches for marks but because it was a perfect combination of a massive star using his star power to tell stories in the ring that make you want to tune in every week. In two years (a great bit of time where he was injured), Punk elevated a plethora of young talent, drew AEW's first million dollar gate, drew their biggest PPV buy-rate, became World Champion, had one of the greatest feuds of the modern era against MJF, booked, promoted and wrestled on what was the best pro-wrestling show on TV (till he was there) in Collision, beat the s**t out of two entitled EVPs and choked out Glass boy.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I think majority of those who complain how injury prone he was in AEW never really watched him perform there, he was the best all round performer in the world for the duration of his active run and was even recognised by the kayfabe mag PWI who sort of reward work horses for their endurance and consistency over a longer period, he had the best baby face run since Shawn during the RA era. And when he became a tweener on Collision, he literally was a manager / promoter / booker / worker and made that show the best episodic TV show in wrestling whilst putting on bangers every week, cutting promos and putting a big spotlight on talent who needed it / elevated them.

The way he booked Ricky Starks was so refreshing to see. Finally someone who got what Ricky was all about and made use of his personality and charisma. I actually quite enjoyed the matches those two had as well. Crazy to think it was about the same time last year when all this was happening. And look at where Ricky Starks has been since Punk left. Seems fairly obvious that his association with Punk has been his downfall. I think at this point he should just ask for his release. Because like Wardlow, Tony is never going to book him right. And he would be better off in a place like WWE, where he has friends like Cody and Punk that would go to bat for him. Cody is the top guy in WWE now and has already gotten Shawn Spears and Ethan Page jobs in NXT. I'm fairly certain he would be able to do the same for Ricky, who unlike those guys, actually has a big future.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

@shaz619 MJF finally back as a heel. I enjoyed his babyface run because it showed how talented he is and what he is capable of. But ultimately, I think he meant to be a heel because of how natural he is at playing one. Ospreay v MJF at Wembley would be incredible. And feels like a feud that could be revisited again possibly with the World title on the line the next time. Ospreay is the biggest babyface in AEW and will only get bigger. While MJF, I'm sure is going to be back as the most despicable heel in the company fairly soon. It's going to be funny though because the EVPs are going to look like even more of a joke when compared with a real heel like MJF.

 

[Dhakar Pola]

I tried to watch AEW, but they cant go on for one show without a wwe reference. It was fun at first when WWE was bad but now its just cringe. and also tony is the biggest cringe on aew

these two things put me of AEW, you cant grow a larger fanbase by dissing WWE, most of us were fans of wwe first, wwe brought us into professional wrestling

 

[Dhakar Pola]

John Cena: WWE legend to retire from in-ring competition at end of 2025

John Cena will retire from in-ring competition with WWE at the end of 2025, bringing an end to a career that has included winning 16 world championships.

Cena appeared at WWE's Money in the Bank event in Toronto on Saturday night to reveal that he would embark on a farewell tour next year.

The 47-year-old said he would wrestle at the Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber in early 2025 and also at the two-night extravaganza WrestleMania 41, which will be held in Las Vegas on April 19 and 20.


SKY Sports

big question is would wwe give him that 17th world title to surpass flair

 

[shaz619]

It was an absolutely incredible run. It may be hard to believe now, but or a short period of time, AEW was heads and shoulders above WWE in-terms of quality. And the biggest reason why was Punk. He elevated AEW in regards to every metric from gates to ratings to PPV buys. Not because he went out there and tried to have 7 star matches for marks but because it was a perfect combination of a massive star using his star power to tell stories in the ring that make you want to tune in every week. In two years (a great bit of time where he was injured), Punk elevated a plethora of young talent, drew AEW's first million dollar gate, drew their biggest PPV buy-rate, became World Champion, had one of the greatest feuds of the modern era against MJF, booked, promoted and wrestled on what was the best pro-wrestling show on TV (till he was there) in Collision, beat the s**t out of two entitled EVPs and choked out Glass boy.

Absolutely it was must see TV then, all the programs he was involved in were top tier and he put on so many bangers, you judge stars by the season, and yes for one of them he was out but for the other, arguably the best in the world because WWE wouldn’t have put those type of programs or matches on and it was a breath of fresh air because of that, everybody he worked with looked a million dollars, not even active in the ring now but he has done the same for Drew who has more heat on him since his first run towards the belt

 

[shaz619]

big question is would wwe give him that 17th world title to surpass flair

They could build a story around it and have him challenge for the title whether it’s Cody or somebody else for the WHC on a B PPV. I think there’s scope for him to win the WHC especially, but honestly, as there’s not a lot to get out of it from there and his decline in the ring to / retirement, I don’t see the point unless they have him win the WHC sooner rather then later and it’s like a proper run, then he puts over somebody like Gunther, Sami Zayn or a left field choice in Brok Breakker for the title at Wrestlemania or something. This was more likely under Vince, no chance under H though.

 

[shaz619]

@shaz619 MJF finally back as a heel. I enjoyed his babyface run because it showed how talented he is and what he is capable of. But ultimately, I think he meant to be a heel because of how natural he is at playing one. Ospreay v MJF at Wembley would be incredible. And feels like a feud that could be revisited again possibly with the World title on the line the next time. Ospreay is the biggest babyface in AEW and will only get bigger. While MJF, I'm sure is going to be back as the most despicable heel in the company fairly soon. It's going to be funny though because the EVPs are going to look like even more of a joke when compared with a real heel like MJF.

I welcome the turn, he was good as a babyface but looking back I feel he went about it the wrong way with the being vulnerable angle, I know it’s hindsight and don’t think it was terrible but it just wasn’t MJF, even as a face, can’t have him go that route again, I bet it was Tony’s idea

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1809941613893820469

@shaz619 Pearce

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I tried to watch AEW, but they cant go on for one show without a wwe reference. It was fun at first when WWE was bad but now its just cringe. and also tony is the biggest cringe on aew

these two things put me of AEW, you cant grow a larger fanbase by dissing WWE, most of us were fans of wwe first, wwe brought us into professional wrestling

AEW is very hard to get into if you haven't been watching it from day one or atleast since 2021/22 when it was actually great. The booking makes no sense week to week and besides a handful of guys that succeed inspite of the booking, its a car crash that could be good, awful or mediocre depending on the week. And most times its mediocre. If you are into great matches that have no reason for happening and have no story behind them, then it might be the best wrestling product you've ever seen. But most people's idea of wrestling is not that. They can still do great things like promos, matches, surprises and still have a pretty stacked roster but they can never seem to sustain anything for the long-run. For the average fan it's not really a very accessible product.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

big question is would wwe give him that 17th world title to surpass flair

I don't think it makes any sense for a part-timer like Cena to hold the World title in this day and age. When Vicne is gone and the power of social media is bigger than ever before. Even till 2018/19, social media wasn't as big and even when there was fan backlash for something like Roman Reigns getting the whitemeat babyface push or Lesnar getting the belt despite wrestling like 4 matches a year, Vince simply didn't care. But after WrestleMania XL and the whole Cody outcry, WWE will be careful not to do anything that upsets the fans.

Cena needs to just do all the dream matches on this retirement tour. There are plenty of them. He can wrestle for the belt against Cody but there is no reason for him to go over just to surpass Flair. Flair is the GOAT and if anyone is going to break his record (which I doubt), it should be organically rather than in such a forced and contrived way.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I welcome the turn, he was good as a babyface but looking back I feel he went about it the wrong way with the being vulnerable angle, I know it’s hindsight and don’t think it was terrible but it just wasn’t MJF, even as a face, can’t have him go that route again, I bet it was Tony’s idea

I was alright with it because you could justify it logically where even a scumbag like MJF could change. I mean don't get me wrong, it was corny as f**K that he needed a 'best friend' to change as a person. But I was okay with it, because at the start it was entertaining, the fans were very much into it and it felt like it was going somewhere. Then they kept getting goofier and goofier and after that ofcourse you had the Adam Cole injury which just killed the entire thing completely.

I'm glad that they just decided to move on from that instead of keeping it alive. Because at the end of the day, the entire storyline ended up being a massive failure because of the pay-off.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

As for the decision to turn MJF face, I mean I can understand it to a great extent. Even the babyfaces in AEW are heels. They have Ospreay and Swerve now. But when they turned MJF they had no top babyfaces besides Punk. And half the crowd had turned on him too after Brawl Out. It was okay for the short-term but MJF was never meant to be a babyface.

 

[Dhakar Pola]

AEW is very hard to get into if you haven't been watching it from day one or atleast since 2021/22 when it was actually great. The booking makes no sense week to week and besides a handful of guys that succeed inspite of the booking, its a car crash that could be good, awful or mediocre depending on the week. And most times its mediocre. If you are into great matches that have no reason for happening and have no story behind them, then it might be the best wrestling product you've ever seen. But most people's idea of wrestling is not that. They can still do great things like promos, matches, surprises and still have a pretty stacked roster but they can never seem to sustain anything for the long-run. For the average fan it's not really a very accessible product.

Without good story I don't enjoy wrestling.

 

[shaz619]

I was alright with it because you could justify it logically where even a scumbag like MJF could change. I mean don't get me wrong, it was corny as f**K that he needed a 'best friend' to change as a person. But I was okay with it, because at the start it was entertaining, the fans were very much into it and it felt like it was going somewhere. Then they kept getting goofier and goofier and after that ofcourse you had the Adam Cole injury which just killed the entire thing completely.

I'm glad that they just decided to move on from that instead of keeping it alive. Because at the end of the day, the entire storyline ended up being a massive failure because of the pay-off.

I found it entertaining but looking back it’s like the low point of the stuff he did and even that was good if it makes sense lol but Cole and Khan ruined it all

 

[Dhakar Pola]

I was on board of thinking giving drew the MITB briefcase was a bad idea but now watching a clip of Seth confront punk I can say that was a brilliant booking by HHH. Not only he made drew and punk story grow he also made sure to plant more seeds of Seth Vs punk. Remember not only drew lost, Seth also lost the title match because of punk and as long as prist is champ, Seth can't get another title shot

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Guys be careful with your older PSP’s, if the battery is expanding dispose safely immediately due to the safety hazard!

I got a new battery but my psp turns off after playing for 20-25mins for some reason.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

I'm not talking about him during WrestleMania. More of him in the last few years. He has an inflated sense of ego and thinks he is a huge movie star when his movies suck and are now starting to bomb at the box-office too. He apparently tried to do a big powerplay to get control in DC Films and it blew up in his face in spectacular fashion. There has been plenty of stuff in the news too about how he is on movie sets...carrying pi$s bottles and what not to save time. Not to mention the fake stuff he posts on social media like giving people expensive things and then filming it all so everyone knows what a saint he is.

This is why I like Batista and John Cena. Atleast they haven't forgotten who they are as people just because they got famous in Hollywood.

as much as i like cena, he is more superficial than Dwayne. A lot of what he does seems more ingrained to boost his PR. He has countered himself a lot of times in the past.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

I just don't understand why they put it on guys they would never make World Champion. Dominick is not a World champion at this point of his career either. For me its getting a bit pointless though now that they've given the KOTR winner a future World title shot at SummerSlam too.

LA Knight winning and cashing in on Priest would have made for a great shock moment. Priest is already not working as a champ. An LA Knight victory would have protected him as well. And Gunther could have simply squashed Knight at Summerslam. They just sorta wasted MITB and got it out of the way just for the sake of it.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

How do you think bloodline story will go down in WM?

Here is how I would have booked

Solo pinned cody so solo gets a title shot in summerslam, solo was saying roman lost the bloodline title so as the new tribal chief he gets the opportunity to win back their title

Solo loses against cody, Roman returns after the match, summerslam is done

Roman tells solo to acknowledge him, but solo says roman will have to beat him to be the tribal chief, but to get to solo roman will have to bear the bloodline 2.0 in wargames. Roman gets joined by the Usos. its still 3 vs 4, roman says I got my usos but not all usos are blood related, some are honorary. Sami comes and it becomes OG bloodline vs Bloodline 2.0

OG bloodline wins the war games and roman gets his match at summerslam vs Solo, Roman wins. in next smackdown its time for solo to return the tribal beads to roman but solo laughs, and it is revealed that solo was never the original tribal chief, all along rock was the one who was doing all these

we then go to WM for Rock vs Roman for the head of the table match

Or maybe instead of Sami, Rock joins Bloodline for the Wargames match and turns on Bloodline to join Bloodline 2.0 during the Wargames match.
WWE without Dwayne and Roman post Mania has been pretty boring apart from Punk McIntyre feud.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

as much as i like cena, he is more superficial than Dwayne. A lot of what he does seems more ingrained to boost his PR. He has countered himself a lot of times in the past.

Cena is a naturally extroverted person and the most typical white guy in the world. The B.S motivational stuff he shares on social media is stuff he probably believes in. But I don't find him to be fake at all. Infact he always comes across as naturally funny and charismatic in movie press stuff. That's probably why he excels in comedic roles too. That's not to say that the Rock isn't naturally charismatic. But to me it seems like he has come to a point where every aspect of his public persona is carefully crafted by Hollywood PR people. That Brian Gewirtz numbskull works him. What do you think he does besides writing what The Rock is going to say?

As for the Make A Wish stuff, I don't think it was Cena's idea to showcase all that on-screen. But what he did probably brought happiness and joy to alot of little kids that may not have had that in their lives , and I don't how you can be anything but impressed by that.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

LA Knight winning and cashing in on Priest would have made for a great shock moment. Priest is already not working as a champ. An LA Knight victory would have protected him as well. And Gunther could have simply squashed Knight at Summerslam. They just sorta wasted MITB and got it out of the way just for the sake of it.

That does nothing for Knight though and just buries him and makes him look like a geek.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

AEW is very hard to get into if you haven't been watching it from day one or atleast since 2021/22 when it was actually great. The booking makes no sense week to week and besides a handful of guys that succeed inspite of the booking, its a car crash that could be good, awful or mediocre depending on the week. And most times its mediocre. If you are into great matches that have no reason for happening and have no story behind them, then it might be the best wrestling product you've ever seen. But most people's idea of wrestling is not that. They can still do great things like promos, matches, surprises and still have a pretty stacked roster but they can never seem to sustain anything for the long-run. For the average fan it's not really a very accessible product.

Even then, I would find the Bucks vs Lucha Bros matches very hard to get invested in. They even took spotfest to Fast and Furious levels.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

That does nothing for Knight though and just buries him and makes him look like a geek.

I would have liked it as it would have given Knight something in his WWE career (a title and MITB atleast) and would have had the shock factor. We could all see Drew winning MITB and Punk costing Drew the cash in from miles away.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Cena is a naturally extroverted person and the most typical white guy in the world. The B.S motivational stuff he shares on social media is stuff he probably believes in. But I don't find him to be fake at all. Infact he always comes across as naturally funny and charismatic in movie press stuff. That's probably why he excels in comedic roles too. That's not to say that the Rock isn't naturally charismatic. But to me it seems like he has come to a point where every aspect of his public persona is carefully crafted by Hollywood PR people. That Brian Gewirtz numbskull works him. What do you think he does besides writing what The Rock is going to say?

As for the Make A Wish stuff, I don't think it was Cena's idea to showcase all that on-screen. But what he did probably brought happiness and joy to alot of little kids that may not have had that in their lives , and I don't how you can be anything but impressed by that.

Dwayne hasn't gone Full Jericho yet so there's hope for him still.

The whole Nikki Bella stuff Cena came out as incredibly two faced. And he sucks up to his Indian and Chinese fanbase much more than any other wrestler does. There's definite contrast in his beliefs in that regard.

 

[shaz619]

I got a new battery but my psp turns off after playing for 20-25mins for some reason.

Which battery did you get? go with Ostent 2200mAh and see how it goes, it could be a that the battery is horrible knock off and doesn’t hold a charge

 

[shaz619]

as much as i like cena, he is more superficial than Dwayne. A lot of what he does seems more ingrained to boost his PR. He has countered himself a lot of times in the past.

Cena is just better at it then Dwayne

 

[shaz619]

Without good story I don't enjoy wrestling.

Ospreay v Pete Dunn from like 5 years ago randomly popped up on YT and I had a casual over who couldn’t stop calling it fake and gymnastics despite not being a follower of the industry at all besides knowing about WOS from the 80’s with Big Daddy Cool & Big John Studd lol

 

[shaz619]

Sol Ruca is a special talent, Shawn has done a great job with her, well all of them really, Lola Vice has the it factor to. It’s impressive the development in the PC in short periods, it was only yesterday Tiffy was in NXT.

 

[Dhakar Pola]

Or maybe instead of Sami, Rock joins Bloodline for the Wargames match and turns on Bloodline to join Bloodline 2.0 during the Wargames match.
WWE without Dwayne and Roman post Mania has been pretty boring apart from Punk McIntyre feud.

Issue is if you have rock and Roman in the same team and other team has solo discount usos and Jacob, the star power looks imbalance on paper.

Also war games is in Survivor series. That's two months before royal rumble. I don't think rock will be active for this long before WM. Most likely he is going to be active in WM season which starts after RR

 

[BouncerGuy]

I am so disappointed at drew's handling. They let him win MITB and then made his lose the same night. Not fair to this guy.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I would have liked it as it would have given Knight something in his WWE career (a title and MITB atleast) and would have had the shock factor. We could all see Drew winning MITB and Punk costing Drew the cash in from miles away.

Yeah but that's just doing a swerve for the sake of doing a swerve. It does nothing for LA Knight when it comes to being taken seriously by the fans. I'm sure he would rather have a proper reign with the belt when the time is right rather than an inconsequential one that is only going to be remembered by how it ended.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I am so disappointed at drew's handling. They let him win MITB and then made his lose the same night. Not fair to this guy.

It's all about the story they are telling. And within the confines of that it makes perfect sense.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Which battery did you get? go with Ostent 2200mAh and see how it goes, it could be a that the battery is horrible knock off and doesn’t hold a charge

Problem here is that our version of Amazon sells the most low-quality stuff that most times you're better off not ordering online. This is why I prefer game stores where you can atleast check stuff before buying it.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Dwayne hasn't gone Full Jericho yet so there's hope for him still.

The whole Nikki Bella stuff Cena came out as incredibly two faced. And he sucks up to his Indian and Chinese fanbase much more than any other wrestler does. There's definite contrast in his beliefs in that regard.

Yeah okay that was cringe but bro if you have ever been in a relationship you would know that sometimes you have to do some pretty cringe af stuff just to make your girl happy.

As for the other part, again, the guy is the biggest wrestling star of the last 20 or so years, so obviously he has a major fanbase in two of the largest countries in the world. And the China thing is actually something I like because he goes against the propaganda that US spread about China and gets alot of flak for that too.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Even then, I would find the Bucks vs Lucha Bros matches very hard to get invested in. They even took spotfest to Fast and Furious levels.

I see it as junk food. If I turn my brain off and watch it purely as a car crash then I can enjoy it sometimes. That is if there is some level of creativity involved. But its very hard to take it seriously when there is zero selling and storytelling involved.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Very much impressed by Jacob Fatu. He reminds me alot of Umaga. The explosiveness, agility and athleticism that he has despite his size is quite impressive. For me, he should be the center-piece of this Bloodline Wolfpac but for some reason they have to try this Solo experiment.

If I were booking SmackDown, I would send Solo Sikoa back to NXT. Because he can't cut it in the ring and he can't cut it on promos. And now he's killing this entire Bloodline story by being totally miscast in this role of the leader.

 

[shaz619]

Problem here is that our version of Amazon sells the most low-quality stuff that most times you're better off not ordering online. This is why I prefer game stores where you can atleast check stuff before buying it.

If not game stores, I think @BunnyRabbit mentioned Ali Express ship to Pakistan?, but from there, for the PSP-1000 (Phat), you can order Ostent 2200mAh which is meant to be the best, besides that, Cameron Sino is another known brand. If you are able to order online from Ali Express try the Ostent unless something decent pops up in a game store.

I had a Cameron Sino they are hit and miss but currently testing the Ostent myself

 

[shaz619]

Very much impressed by Jacob Fatu. He reminds me alot of Umaga. The explosiveness, agility and athleticism that he has despite his size is quite impressive. For me, he should be the center-piece of this Bloodline Wolfpac but for some reason they have to try this Solo experiment.

If I were booking SmackDown, I would send Solo Sikoa back to NXT. Because he can't cut it in the ring and he can't cut it on promos. And now he's killing this entire Bloodline story by being totally miscast in this role of the leader.

Fatu is probably the better option but they’ve backed Solo so much he had to get the gig and the more known name, I think his character work is great and in the ring I need to see more, we will know more during this current run. But I like the look of Bloodline v2

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

If not game stores, I think @BunnyRabbit mentioned Ali Express ship to Pakistan?, but from there, for the PSP-1000 (Phat), you can order Ostent 2200mAh which is meant to be the best, besides that, Cameron Sino is another known brand. If you are able to order online from Ali Express try the Ostent unless something decent pops up in a game store.

I had a Cameron Sino they are hit and miss but currently testing the Ostent myself

Yup it does. This sounds much better. I think I'll go with this if I don't find it from game stores.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Fatu is probably the better option but they’ve backed Solo so much he had to get the gig and the more known name, I think his character work is great and in the ring I need to see more, we will know more during this current run. But I like the look of Bloodline v2

I dunno, he comes across as pretty one-dimensional to me. Every time I see him in this role of the leader of the rebel Bloodline, I just don't believe him. In the ring he is even worse. I feel like he was pulled out of NXT far too early just because he was Roman's cousin and the Usos brother and they thought he would fit into the storyline well. It worked when he would be standing silently in the corner as the enforcer and looking like a bada$$, not so much with him trying to take over Roman's spot.

 

[shaz619]

I dunno, he comes across as pretty one-dimensional to me. Every time I see him in this role of the leader of the rebel Bloodline, I just don't believe him. In the ring he is even worse. I feel like he was pulled out of NXT far too early just because he was Roman's cousin and the Usos brother and they thought he would fit into the storyline well. It worked when he would be standing silently in the corner as the enforcer and looking like a bada$$, not so much with him trying to take over Roman's spot.

They have given him that opportunity are trying to build him up which is a positive instead of going back to usual, everyone coming through dev now are being supported. Offcourse if we were starting from scratch I’d probably pick Fatu because he is Umaga’s son, and Solo was given his gimmick basically, but Fatu is dynamic and can show other sides to his personality opposed to being a carbon copy of his dad which is what would have happened

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Yeah but that's just doing a swerve for the sake of doing a swerve. It does nothing for LA Knight when it comes to being taken seriously by the fans. I'm sure he would rather have a proper reign with the belt when the time is right rather than an inconsequential one that is only going to be remembered by how it ended.

But better than just wasting the whole MITB on a feud that's already pretty hot.
Knight doesn't have the ring generalship to carry the WHC title for long either way.
So this might have been the only chance he'd have gotten close to it.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

If not game stores, I think @BunnyRabbit mentioned Ali Express ship to Pakistan?, but from there, for the PSP-1000 (Phat), you can order Ostent 2200mAh which is meant to be the best, besides that, Cameron Sino is another known brand. If you are able to order online from Ali Express try the Ostent unless something decent pops up in a game store.

I had a Cameron Sino they are hit and miss but currently testing the Ostent myself

I bought the new battery for 2k pkr. it's working pretty fine.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Issue is if you have rock and Roman in the same team and other team has solo discount usos and Jacob, the star power looks imbalance on paper.

Also war games is in Survivor series. That's two months before royal rumble. I don't think rock will be active for this long before WM. Most likely he is going to be active in WM season which starts after RR

which would make the rock's heel turn a bit better and he will straight away walk in to the Bloodline 2.0 as the tribal chief after the victory over the original Bloodline.
He's on a much higher post in the higher management so I think we'll be seeing more of Dwayne in WWE for 1-2 years.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Yeah okay that was cringe but bro if you have ever been in a relationship you would know that sometimes you have to do some pretty cringe af stuff just to make your girl happy.

As for the other part, again, the guy is the biggest wrestling star of the last 20 or so years, so obviously he has a major fanbase in two of the largest countries in the world. And the China thing is actually something I like because he goes against the propaganda that US spread about China and gets alot of flak for that too.

But he takes a stand against competing in Saudia for human right violations that China has done as well. It just doesn't add up. It's pretty clear his loyalty lies where he gets to make the most profit from. The righteous stand is just an excuse.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

I see it as junk food. If I turn my brain off and watch it purely as a car crash then I can enjoy it sometimes. That is if there is some level of creativity involved. But its very hard to take it seriously when there is zero selling and storytelling involved.

couldn't enjoy it one bit. MJF Wardlow feud despite having a squash match was much better for me. Sometimes you have to hold back your best moves to tell a story. Bucks and Lucha bros etc can't grasp that concept neither do their fanbase.

 

[Suleiman]

Jacob Fatu first bloodline member since Roman to look like a serious threat.

Easily dwarves everyone else in that faction currently. Including Solo The Weeknd Sikoa.

Even out of character he is charismatic by himself.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

But better than just wasting the whole MITB on a feud that's already pretty hot.
Knight doesn't have the ring generalship to carry the WHC title for long either way.
So this might have been the only chance he'd have gotten close to it.

I wouldn't call it wasting. You could argue that they have reached the peak of this feud but it certainly did generate heat at the PPV.

L.A Knight cashing it only to be squashed would be a waste. Because he doesn't get elevated in any way. Even David Arquette was World Champion. Doesn't mean anyone remembers his title reign with any kind of fondness. And I disagree, L.A Knight is a very fundamentally sound wrestler and a great worker who knows how to tell a story in the ring.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

But he takes a stand against competing in Saudia for human right violations that China has done as well. It just doesn't add up. It's pretty clear his loyalty lies where he gets to make the most profit from. The righteous stand is just an excuse.

I guess that's hypocritical. But even if you take the China/Saudi stuff, Cena isn't anywhere near The Rock interms of fakeness.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

They have given him that opportunity are trying to build him up which is a positive instead of going back to usual, everyone coming through dev now are being supported. Offcourse if we were starting from scratch I’d probably pick Fatu because he is Umaga’s son, and Solo was given his gimmick basically, but Fatu is dynamic and can show other sides to his personality opposed to being a carbon copy of his dad which is what would have happened

Fair enough. Can't fault them for trying to make new stars. I wonder if they will add more members to this Bloodline Wolfpac. Because Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa have another brother Hikuleo in NJPW. I've seen him wrestle on AEW a few times, he is far less developed in the ring but has some serious size. He's like 6'7 or 6'8.

I believe Jacob Fatu is Tonga Kid's son.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

The Punk-Rollins segment on RAW was all about money. Absolutely compelling television.

This is the brilliance of Punk. Just by interacting with him even a clown like Rollins feels real. This was the most interesting that Rollins has been since the last time he was involved in a segment with Punk.

And Punk is incredible at just making things make sense. I feel like his ability on the mic is truly unparalleled in the wrestling business. Nobody is functioning on this level.

 

[shaz619]

The Punk-Rollins segment on RAW was all about money. Absolutely compelling television.

This is the brilliance of Punk. Just by interacting with him even a clown like Rollins feels real. This was the most interesting that Rollins has been since the last time he was involved in a segment with Punk.

And Punk is incredible at just making things make sense. I feel like his ability on the mic is truly unparalleled in the wrestling business. Nobody is functioning on this level.

Sorry but even when the Seth Rollins Koookamunga fans think he cut a fire promo he still sounds like a whiny brat and just levels beneath Punk with his delivery, he had to be carried on the mic there. Then again it’s a testament to Punk’s ability to present others in this light

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Sorry but even when the Seth Rollins Koookamunga fans think he cut a fire promo he still sounds like a whiny brat and just levels beneath Punk with his delivery, he had to be carried on the mic there. Then again it’s a testament to Punk’s ability to present others in this light

I somehow did not feel annoyed by him at all in this promo. Because I was captivated by the interplay between these two. I do know what you are talking about though. His whiny style of talking is kinda impossible to miss and always stands out when he has a mic in his hands.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

This was an absolutely fire segment. The biggest babyface vs. the biggest heel. You expect this kind of stuff from MJF but I was seriously impressed by Ospreay here. He is such a natural babyface and is very strong on the mic. They sold me on the match in this one segment. I do wonder though if this is the match you give away on free TV. Though I am certain they will wrestle at Wembley too.

 

[shaz619]

This was an absolutely fire segment. The biggest babyface vs. the biggest heel. You expect this kind of stuff from MJF but I was seriously impressed by Ospreay here. He is such a natural babyface and is very strong on the mic. They sold me on the match in this one segment. I do wonder though if this is the match you give away on free TV. Though I am certain they will wrestle at Wembley too.

Will take a look, am at a point where the special promo’s and segments are just not enough for me, unless there’s a wider story in motion which is executed well

 

[shaz619]

I picked Christian in my 06 SvR season mode, SD just invaded RAW and Cena/Show are ripping H’s promo style to shreds, hilarious!

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Will take a look, am at a point where the special promo’s and segments are just not enough for me, unless there’s a wider story in motion which is executed well

I think going into All In they might try to tell some stories. Danielson potentially winning the World title, MJF v Ospreay....umm.....yeah, that's about it.

I was hoping for Omega v Okada but I haven't heard anything on Omega's recovery from his surgery so maybe that's not happening.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I picked Christian in my 06 SvR season mode, SD just invaded RAW and Cena/Show are ripping H’s promo style to shreds, hilarious!

Getting major FOMO reading about this.^

I really need to get off and get my PSP up and running already.

 

[shaz619]

I think going into All In they might try to tell some stories. Danielson potentially winning the World title, MJF v Ospreay....umm.....yeah, that's about it.

I was hoping for Omega v Okada but I haven't heard anything on Omega's recovery from his surgery so maybe that's not happening.

They book with a very small time mindset and Danielson vs Swerve isn’t a big time match. Omega wont return for some time and if he does, not sure he should subject his body to the same intensity

 

[shaz619]

Getting major FOMO reading about this.^

I really need to get off and get my PSP up and running already.

It’s weird revisiting these storylines honestly lol but they are more amusing with the present landscape, it was the peak of video games, it was only fitting that the best console of all time (PS2), would result in a special sony handheld.

It’s just a shame we never got a wrestling title for the Vita and that was ahead of its time to with Switch like capabilities

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

They book with a very small time mindset and Danielson vs Swerve isn’t a big time match. Omega wont return for some time and if he does, not sure he should subject his body to the same intensity

I actually feel like Swerve v Adam Page would have been a more interesting match-up. It is one of the most amusing feuds in AEW for me that could only have happened in a company like AEW. Because you basically had the heel (Sweve) beat the babyface twice and in empathic fashion, as well as invade the babyface's home to terrorize his infant son. Not only did the babyface never get his revenge, but he also had the fans turn on him and start cheering the heel. Only in AEW.

Danielson might win the World title at All In but I feel like the bloom is off the rose with his run. He needs to just do the dream matches and retire because this AEW run has not really leveraged his name value or notoriety the way it could have been leveraged. Besides the MJF Iron-Man match and the a couple of big matches at Arthur Ashe (to diminishing returns) I would even say that he has not been used like a money-drawing, main-event level star at all.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

It’s weird revisiting these storylines honestly lol but they are more amusing with the present landscape, it was the peak of video games, it was only fitting that the best console of all time (PS2), would result in a special sony handheld.

It’s just a shame we never got a wrestling title for the Vita and that was ahead of its time to with Switch like capabilities

Yeah it was definitely ahead of its time. Because the graphics were a massive upgrade. Too bad about the memory card issues. I suspect today you could probably have some fun with a super modded up Vita.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

It’s weird revisiting these storylines honestly lol but they are more amusing with the present landscape, it was the peak of video games, it was only fitting that the best console of all time (PS2), would result in a special sony handheld.

It’s just a shame we never got a wrestling title for the Vita and that was ahead of its time to with Switch like capabilities

Never played Vita. Heard there were very few games released for it and homebrew never really cracked it like it did for the psp. PSP is such a giant that you can literally play sega, neogeo, capcom, nintendo, ps1 on it apart from its very own big pool of games. getting sega, neogeo and ps1 games on handheld is especially pleasing for me as I don't know about another handheld console that can do it. Even the super expansive cellphones cant do what a 150$ thing from mid 2000s could do.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Yeah it was definitely ahead of its time. Because the graphics were a massive upgrade. Too bad about the memory card issues. I suspect today you could probably have some fun with a super modded up Vita.

The battery i ordered from daraz is working pretty well. cost me only 2000rs.
My psp turning off every now and then was due to the body having gotten a bit loose. Got it taped up and tightened the screws. It's working like a charm now.

 

[Emaan123]

Thats a great revolution

 

[BunnyRabbit]

I picked Christian in my 06 SvR season mode, SD just invaded RAW and Cena/Show are ripping H’s promo style to shreds, hilarious!

Just bought wwe 2k16 for PS4 yesterday. Got it for 2k PKR. 2018,2019 and 2020 sucked pretty much. Atleast the 2k16 matches start with proper grapples etc.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

wwe's been extremely boring apart from drew punk and judgement day segments.
one can see randy's upcoming heel turn on cody from miles away.

 

[shaz619]

I actually feel like Swerve v Adam Page would have been a more interesting match-up. It is one of the most amusing feuds in AEW for me that could only have happened in a company like AEW. Because you basically had the heel (Sweve) beat the babyface twice and in empathic fashion, as well as invade the babyface's home to terrorize his infant son. Not only did the babyface never get his revenge, but he also had the fans turn on him and start cheering the heel. Only in AEW.

Danielson might win the World title at All In but I feel like the bloom is off the rose with his run. He needs to just do the dream matches and retire because this AEW run has not really leveraged his name value or notoriety the way it could have been leveraged. Besides the MJF Iron-Man match and the a couple of big matches at Arthur Ashe (to diminishing returns) I would even say that he has not been used like a money-drawing, main-event level star at all.

Agree on Bryan, you strike when the iron is hot, this is just desperation now. There’s no planning or real vision behind what they want to do, Bryan has been booked like a guy who works a few times a year and is mainly a backstage producer, what is his role, there’s no clarity or direction.

With the stadium show you need the big names in marquee matches, Bryan against who? he needs to fight a name, even if it’s Jericho though I don’t know what his form is but he stood up last year, there’s no Edge, can’t face Cesaro or Mox as they booked themselves into a corner there, I think the biggest match they can do in the UK is Bryan vs Joe, unless Joe is injured to?

 

[shaz619]

Never played Vita. Heard there were very few games released for it and homebrew never really cracked it like it did for the psp. PSP is such a giant that you can literally play sega, neogeo, capcom, nintendo, ps1 on it apart from its very own big pool of games. getting sega, neogeo and ps1 games on handheld is especially pleasing for me as I don't know about another handheld console that can do it. Even the super expansive cellphones cant do what a 150$ thing from mid 2000s could do.

They can’t match it @ a similar weight and form factor especially which is why it’s the best ever and even the GO model especially now is wonderful. Though the Vita extends the emulation compatibility, is technically a beast and I think with patches you can play the classic PSP titles with two joysticks which fixed many of the FPS games. The library don’t compare to PSP but it does get more home brew support now, I’ve not tried it myself.

 

[shaz619]

Just bought wwe 2k16 for PS4 yesterday. Got it for 2k PKR. 2018,2019 and 2020 sucked pretty much. Atleast the 2k16 matches start with proper grapples etc.

19 takes some getting use to then is fine, 17 I think is the one with Lesnar on the cover which was a lot of fun, 16 am not sure off, is it the best on PS4 you reckon

 

[shaz619]

wwe's been extremely boring apart from drew punk and judgement day segments.
one can see randy's upcoming heel turn on cody from miles away.

NXT & TNA are better bottom to top but obviously main roster WWE got the big angles still

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Agree on Bryan, you strike when the iron is hot, this is just desperation now. There’s no planning or real vision behind what they want to do, Bryan has been booked like a guy who works a few times a year and is mainly a backstage producer, what is his role, there’s no clarity or direction.

With the stadium show you need the big names in marquee matches, Bryan against who? he needs to fight a name, even if it’s Jericho though I don’t know what his form is but he stood up last year, there’s no Edge, can’t face Cesaro or Mox as they booked themselves into a corner there, I think the biggest match they can do in the UK is Bryan vs Joe, unless Joe is injured to?

You're spot-on. I actually feel like they have been booking Swerve quite well. Who has been nothing but great himself. But he is simply not the level of star that Danielson, Jericho, Edge, MJF, Ospreay, Mox, Joe, Omega, Christian, Okada are. And it will take him some time to even be a big star in just AEW. For their biggest stadium show of the year, this is simply not the marquee match it should have been. And AGAIN you have two freaking babyfaces in the main-event of their biggest show of the year.

Joe I believe is away filming Twisted Metal. But all the names you and I mentioned, any of them could have main-evented this show with Bryan. And it would have been a 50x bigger match.

I don't think they will nearly draw the crowd they drew last year. Let's see how many people they can draw. Last time around they could have put Young Bucks v Dark Order in the main-event, and it wouldn't have made a difference because the tickets had been sold months in advance. It was the first time and people were excited. Now, they've seen it. And unless you book some matches that they are actually interested in seeing with established stars, it will be diminishing returns every year.

Which is also why I feel that they should do All In in a different international city every year. Won't mask their dwindling attendance in the States, but atleast for one show each year they will look like a major league wrestling promotion on-par with the WWE. There are plenty of markets in Europe and around the world where people would pay money to see AEW for the first time.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Just bought wwe 2k16 for PS4 yesterday. Got it for 2k PKR. 2018,2019 and 2020 sucked pretty much. Atleast the 2k16 matches start with proper grapples etc.

For me, 2k19 is the only decent game out of all the WWE 2K ones. The rest either all feel the same or are complete garbage. WWE 2K20 is by far the worst. That game is riddled with bugs and glitches. WWE need to bring someone new on. Their games are not fun anymore. All they do is improve the graphics and make the controls more complex each year. There's nothing differentiating this for all the other generic sports games that come out each year with minimal upgrades.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

The battery i ordered from daraz is working pretty well. cost me only 2000rs.
My psp turning off every now and then was due to the body having gotten a bit loose. Got it taped up and tightened the screws. It's working like a charm now.

Yeah I know it probably will but I wanna try to get a good quality one first if I can. I just don't trust anything I buy on Daraz. Might be working fine today but you don't know if it will continue to.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

wwe's been extremely boring apart from drew punk and judgement day segments.
one can see randy's upcoming heel turn on cody from miles away.

I think its all building nicely to SummerSlam. I agree that there has been alot of fluff on their shows lately. SmackDown last week, might have been one of the worst episodes of SD I have seen in a very long time. But for them its about using these shows to move the stories rather than put on quality wrestling matches, and they have been doing that fairly well. Besides Priest v Gunther, the marquee matches have had a decent build.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

@shaz619 Watched AJ v Marufuji in NOAH from last week. It was really good. A classical Japanese style match that starts off slow but builds to a wonderful crescendo. Reminded me alot of AJ's NJPW run. Would recommend because I feel like AJ doesn't get to wrestle too many matches like this in WWE. Marufuji, who I have not seen that much of was also really good here and countered some of AJ's signature maneuvers in really cool and logical ways, that I have not seen anyone else do before. I think the match is still up on Dailymotion if you want to check it out.