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The Wrestling Discussion Thread

Ali/Ethan was put together last minute but they had a segment together at least & really sold the purpose of the match, Ali reminded us of how he was released just when he was expected to win the NA title and how he has come back for the shot he earned & evoked the desperation to end his curse, we saw that in the match, while Ethan continues to generate traditional heat consistently and use his ring generalship in sneaky ways to stand his ground. This is why I follow anything Shawn’s involved with, it’s dev inherently but we get this too when he really flexes his muscles, excellent match, beautifully produced, Shawn/Ali have a great relationship to and Shawn played a big part in reinventing Ali.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
Did you guys catch AJ's post-match promo on RAW? Where he basically said that this match doesn't need a story because it's life or whatever. Felt like something straight out of the H playbook. And then he even had the commentators constantly saying that the fans wanted this match and we gave it to them...as if we should be grateful to Almighty H for giving us one match that any booker with even a couple of brain-cells would have booked months ago, and with an actual build.
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Need an AJ Punk feud. The two have never feuded on tv.
 
shaz619 said:
Man just watched Ali vs Ethan Page, this match makes me proud to be Pakistani; Ali wrestled like he has a death wish, hope he’s ok. Outstanding booking & Ethan has been consistently so good. Such a creative match, MOTY candidate for sure, go out of your way to watch this guys @RedwoodOriginal
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He almost overshot that dive out of the ring and flew into the crowd lmao. Is he Pakistani origin? Thought he was Saudi. Maybe I’m confusing him with that other wrestler who is similar to him.
 
On his podcast, The Undertaker claimed he'd never use his backstage power in WWE to help his wife Michelle McCool.
But former WWE writer Freddie Prinze Jr. dropped a story that makes that claim... rest in peace.
Here’s what Freddie said:
“I have Michelle losing the Divas Championship at the Royal Rumble which happens a few months before WrestleMania and I have her losing with dignity and I have her giving us a real match. I’ve been in the company maybe four months, I didn’t realise the belt meant so much to so many different people – it didn’t mean that much to others, if they had the Intercontinental Title belt they weren’t really in on when they were gonna lose it or not.”
“[…] I go to work, somewhere in the arena, backstage and Michelle comes up to me and says ‘Stephanie says you want to talk to me about the women’s storyline.’ We sit down in the cafeteria off to the side, and I start pitching to her what it’s gonna be. It wasn’t right on my part. I get to the Royal Rumble and I explain to her that the suggestion is that she drops the title at the Royal Rumble and then I keep telling the story of where it finishes because she deserves to know the whole story.”
“It gets all the way to WrestleMania which would be Beth and Kia [Kharma] and her face just goes pale. All the colour just drops right out of her skin and right away I know I’ve done something terrible. I just don’t know what is it yet because this is hindsight and I was in the moment. So I go ‘what’s wrong?’ and her eyes well up and I’m like ‘what did I do? What did I do?’ and she said ‘I didn’t think I’d be losing the belt before WrestleMania. […] She was upset, and in hindsight, rightfully so.”
“So here I am with the champion and she’s crying because of me because I didn’t talk to her first to say ‘hey we’re thinking of taking the title off of you at the Royal Rumble so we can get this other – that just sounds horrible even saying it now.”
“So I screwed up, before I got the story approved I probably should have shown it to her although when you hear the end of the story it probably would have gotten killed even sooner. I don’t know what the right move was here but I know I screwed up and she deserved better than that.”
“[Hayes told me] ‘Freddie there’s a problem with your diva’s storyline and we need to talk about it.’ He goes ‘it’s gone.’ I go ‘what do you mean it’s gone man?’ And he goes ‘it’s gone.’ I said ‘what happened?’ He goes ‘well Michelle said that you and her talked and she didn’t really like the story so it’s gone.'”
“He goes ‘Freddie, she talked to Undertaker, Undertaker talked to Vince, the story’s gone.”
And if you’re still in doubt, remember this:
His previous wife Sara pinned DDP clean in the middle of the ring.
That’s a 3-time WCW World Champion.
Pinned by Taker’s non-wrestler wife.
 
Suleiman said:
He almost overshot that dive out of the ring and flew into the crowd lmao. Is he Pakistani origin? Thought he was Saudi. Maybe I’m confusing him with that other wrestler who is similar to him.
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He's half Pakistani half Indian.
The one you're talking about is Mansoor.
 
Suleiman said:
He almost overshot that dive out of the ring and flew into the crowd lmao. Is he Pakistani origin? Thought he was Saudi. Maybe I’m confusing him with that other wrestler who is similar to him.
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Yeah he’s Pakistani, even when he first came up in the curser-weight classic as a back up when someone got injured (only then racist H gave him a shot), he wrestled under the Pakistani flag in an international themed tournament & he doesn’t have any Indian habits, e.g. going quiet about issues which concern the Ummah in general etc

That was insane lol I thought he might have broken his neck but it made for such a dramatic finish, he used to have bangers like these every week before the H/TKO regime, what a match though, he has that edge to him, always wrestling with a chip on his shoulder, you just don’t get that now from a lot of performers.
 
BunnyRabbit said:
On his podcast, The Undertaker claimed he'd never use his backstage power in WWE to help his wife Michelle McCool.
But former WWE writer Freddie Prinze Jr. dropped a story that makes that claim... rest in peace.
Here’s what Freddie said:
“I have Michelle losing the Divas Championship at the Royal Rumble which happens a few months before WrestleMania and I have her losing with dignity and I have her giving us a real match. I’ve been in the company maybe four months, I didn’t realise the belt meant so much to so many different people – it didn’t mean that much to others, if they had the Intercontinental Title belt they weren’t really in on when they were gonna lose it or not.”
“[…] I go to work, somewhere in the arena, backstage and Michelle comes up to me and says ‘Stephanie says you want to talk to me about the women’s storyline.’ We sit down in the cafeteria off to the side, and I start pitching to her what it’s gonna be. It wasn’t right on my part. I get to the Royal Rumble and I explain to her that the suggestion is that she drops the title at the Royal Rumble and then I keep telling the story of where it finishes because she deserves to know the whole story.”
“It gets all the way to WrestleMania which would be Beth and Kia [Kharma] and her face just goes pale. All the colour just drops right out of her skin and right away I know I’ve done something terrible. I just don’t know what is it yet because this is hindsight and I was in the moment. So I go ‘what’s wrong?’ and her eyes well up and I’m like ‘what did I do? What did I do?’ and she said ‘I didn’t think I’d be losing the belt before WrestleMania. […] She was upset, and in hindsight, rightfully so.”
“So here I am with the champion and she’s crying because of me because I didn’t talk to her first to say ‘hey we’re thinking of taking the title off of you at the Royal Rumble so we can get this other – that just sounds horrible even saying it now.”
“So I screwed up, before I got the story approved I probably should have shown it to her although when you hear the end of the story it probably would have gotten killed even sooner. I don’t know what the right move was here but I know I screwed up and she deserved better than that.”
“[Hayes told me] ‘Freddie there’s a problem with your diva’s storyline and we need to talk about it.’ He goes ‘it’s gone.’ I go ‘what do you mean it’s gone man?’ And he goes ‘it’s gone.’ I said ‘what happened?’ He goes ‘well Michelle said that you and her talked and she didn’t really like the story so it’s gone.'”
“He goes ‘Freddie, she talked to Undertaker, Undertaker talked to Vince, the story’s gone.”
And if you’re still in doubt, remember this:
His previous wife Sara pinned DDP clean in the middle of the ring.
That’s a 3-time WCW World Champion.
Pinned by Taker’s non-wrestler wife.
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Literally nobody has a bad word to say about Taker & now some low lives are coming out the woods over meaningless rubbish, he’s the last guy to talk crap about
 
shaz619 said:
Yeah he’s Pakistani, even when he first came up in the curser-weight classic as a back up when someone got injured (only then racist H gave him a shot), he wrestled under the Pakistani flag in an international themed tournament & he doesn’t have any Indian habits, e.g. going quiet about issues which concern the Ummah in general etc

That was insane lol I thought he might have broken his neck but it made for such a dramatic finish, he used to have bangers like these every week before the H/TKO regime, what a match though, he has that edge to him, always wrestling with a chip on his shoulder, you just don’t get that now from a lot of performers.
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Mustafa Ali, Cedric, Rich Swan, Kendrick, Neville, Aries, Tozawa all of them were putting great matches on weekly basis during the early part of 205 live.
 
shaz619 said:
I thought about this recently, Punk should really be his last opponent if Punk isn’t winning the WHC at WM or main-eventing, arguably AJ & Punk should perhaps wrestle for the world title.
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That feud could easily help WHC being taken seriously. Seth has had 2 long reigns with the title and has been unable to make the title mean anything in both of them. I loved it when AJ and Punk faced off for the first time in WWE in Rumble this year. Vince or Patterson would have made sure the moment would have resonated, but it was so bland. Think the biggest loss in WWE has been the absence of Patterson.
 
shaz619 said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1976577133557510356

They can job him into next week & bury him non-stop on Sunday Night Heat, but strike him down, and our love for the phenomenal one will become more powerful than 4/10 could possibly imagine.

The greatest modern wrestler of all time.
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I really hope Cena and AJ go unscripted in their match and do something to give a giant middle finger to Nose.
 
BunnyRabbit said:
Mustafa Ali, Cedric, Rich Swan, Kendrick, Neville, Aries, Tozawa all of them were putting great matches on weekly basis during the early part of 205 live.
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And Buddy Murphy as well.

Watch this match, an easy MOTY candidate and great story of Ali trying to break the curse. The desperation/intensity was almost 90’s HBK like, it’s one of his best matches ever imo & Ethan Page was terrific to, the styles clash helped massively, they had great chemistry, first time working together I believe.
 
shaz619 said:
Man just watched Ali vs Ethan Page, this match makes me proud to be Pakistani; Ali wrestled like he has a death wish, hope he’s ok. Outstanding booking & Ethan has been consistently so good. Such a creative match, MOTY candidate for sure, go out of your way to watch this guys @RedwoodOriginal
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So I ended up seeing two matches from this show. The Survivor Series-style elimination match and this one. Survivor Series-style match was okay. I enjoyed it because I'm a mark for this style of match, but it felt a bit short and rushed. Ali v Page though I thought this was a really fantastic match. Both guys were outstanding here and it was a perfect case of two contrasting styles meshing together perfectly to give you a fast-paced, exciting but logically put-together match. Like you, I was most impressed by the creativity they showed here...there were some really creative spots, including the finish. Ali is a very good babyface. He can take a beating but then knows how to make the big, flashy babyface comeback too. He has noticeably put on some size and looks much better physically then he did before. He's also very talented with some of the stuff he is able to do. Because I see alot of this high-flying style on AEW I have become somewhat numb to it, so the fact that Ali made me sit up and take notice says alot about his talent and abiiity.

At the same time though I don't want to take anything away from Ethan Page. Honestly, the wrestling business needs more wrestlers like Ethan Page. He is such a good heel who actually works like one and knows how to get heat through classical professional 'rasslin. He's also a great example of how good someone can be if you give them proper focus and don't present them as 'one of the guys', like he was on AEW.
 
shaz619 said:
And Buddy Murphy as well.

Watch this match, an easy MOTY candidate and great story of Ali trying to break the curse. The desperation/intensity was almost 90’s HBK like, it’s one of his best matches ever imo & Ethan Page was terrific to, the styles clash helped massively, they had great chemistry, first time working together I believe.
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Buddy is very talented. Another guy who has been badly utilized by AEW by being pigeonholed as a tag-team/six-man tag wrestler. When it comes to wrestling the fast-paced, high work-rate modern style, he is one of the best in the biz.
 
shaz619 said:
Yeah he’s Pakistani, even when he first came up in the curser-weight classic as a back up when someone got injured (only then racist H gave him a shot), he wrestled under the Pakistani flag in an international themed tournament & he doesn’t have any Indian habits, e.g. going quiet about issues which concern the Ummah in general etc

That was insane lol I thought he might have broken his neck but it made for such a dramatic finish, he used to have bangers like these every week before the H/TKO regime, what a match though, he has that edge to him, always wrestling with a chip on his shoulder, you just don’t get that now from a lot of performers.
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It amazes me how they let him go. He was doing so well on NXT and they even put the North American Championship on him. Even if you don't think he belongs on the main-roster, he is such a good fit for NXT because NXT needs experienced guys like him who can elevate/carry the young guys to good matches.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
It amazes me how they let him go. He was doing so well on NXT and they even put the North American Championship on him. Even if you don't think he belongs on the main-roster, he is such a good fit for NXT because NXT needs experienced guys like him who can elevate/carry the young guys to good matches.
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He wanted a release a year earlier, Vince kept him around, despite the disagreement he loved that Ali had an edge to him & always wanted to be a top guy, fast forward to the post allegation era, just after H took over Ali was released when he finally found a good spot in NXT under Shawn who was fuming about losing him. It made little sense really, I guess he was playing an all American character as a Muslim and am just being conspiracy theorist to now but it’s quiet interesting that he came back to NXT with the old baby face persona, H is a racist scumbag
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
Buddy is very talented. Another guy who has been badly utilized by AEW by being pigeonholed as a tag-team/six-man tag wrestler. When it comes to wrestling the fast-paced, high work-rate modern style, he is one of the best in the biz.
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A lot of these guys went there and it didn’t turn out the way they wanted, weirdly, Ricochet may be among a few who kinda got over lol
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
So I ended up seeing two matches from this show. The Survivor Series-style elimination match and this one. Survivor Series-style match was okay. I enjoyed it because I'm a mark for this style of match, but it felt a bit short and rushed. Ali v Page though I thought this was a really fantastic match. Both guys were outstanding here and it was a perfect case of two contrasting styles meshing together perfectly to give you a fast-paced, exciting but logically put-together match. Like you, I was most impressed by the creativity they showed here...there were some really creative spots, including the finish. Ali is a very good babyface. He can take a beating but then knows how to make the big, flashy babyface comeback too. He has noticeably put on some size and looks much better physically then he did before. He's also very talented with some of the stuff he is able to do. Because I see alot of this high-flying style on AEW I have become somewhat numb to it, so the fact that Ali made me sit up and take notice says alot about his talent and abiiity.

At the same time though I don't want to take anything away from Ethan Page. Honestly, the wrestling business needs more wrestlers like Ethan Page. He is such a good heel who actually works like one and knows how to get heat through classical professional 'rasslin. He's also a great example of how good someone can be if you give them proper focus and don't present them as 'one of the guys', like he was on AEW.
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This is the exact reason I loved the match so much, it was just 15 minutes long & had spots, but they were all done creatively, we got to see excellent technical ability, ring generalship and story/psychology; it does help you have two truly elite performers at their best, but the match was so well put together & Shawn gave them the license to do their thing. Ethan Page 100% must have studied both Jericho & Christian so closely, he has come on so well, we need to a revisit of the feud with Ricky, this time for all the marbles. Ali is still in his prime, I hope he gets to win the TNA world title one day, the WWE ambitions wont come to fruition.
 
shaz619 said:
A lot of these guys went there and it didn’t turn out the way they wanted, weirdly, Ricochet may be among a few who kinda got over lol
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Tbh, I expected Ricochet to succeed there. He already has some cache with that crowd because of PWG, and he's also a big mark for himself and everything AEW represents, who will defend AEW to randos online. So I guess he is considered as 'one of the sickos' by the fans despite spending most of his career in WWE. His stye of wrestling is also very conducive to the AEW environment. He may be a pea-brained man-child, but he is one of the best proponents of that high-flying, fast-paced modern style
 
shaz619 said:
This is the exact reason I loved the match so much, it was just 15 minutes long & had spots, but they were all done creatively, we got to see excellent technical ability, ring generalship and story/psychology; it does help you have two truly elite performers at their best, but the match was so well put together & Shawn gave them the license to do their thing. Ethan Page 100% must have studied both Jericho & Christian so closely, he has come on so well, we need to a revisit of the feud with Ricky, this time for all the marbles. Ali is still in his prime, I hope he gets to win the TNA world title one day, the WWE ambitions wont come to fruition.
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That's a great observation. I definitely see alot of those guys in Page's work. Page even uses the Boston Crab. It's a shame Josh Alexander decided to take the paycheck and go to AEW to be 'one of the guys', because he is another guy who could have been perfect for NXT. And he and Ethan Page could have done some good business on both NXT, and later even the main-roster too. For context, both guys were part of the tag team in TNA called The North. That's actually how they got noticed to begin with.
 
shaz619 said:
And Buddy Murphy as well.

Watch this match, an easy MOTY candidate and great story of Ali trying to break the curse. The desperation/intensity was almost 90’s HBK like, it’s one of his best matches ever imo & Ethan Page was terrific to, the styles clash helped massively, they had great chemistry, first time working together I believe.
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Yes I remember Murphy vs Ali, it was a the semi final I think.
Kenta was also involved for a while in 205.
I will definitely give it a watch. For last few months, I just barely go through WWE with selected segments mainly involving the big names like Cena Punk AJ Cody etc. Have been fast forwarding all Seth's promos for a few months now.
I'll watch Ali vs Page.
 
The build was minimal but the narrative that was lightly pushed was TNA vs WWE, and if there ever was a match which was the blow off to any kind of invasion angle with sentimental history/attachment behind it, then this was the match, this would be how you’d do it, AJ & Cena put on a classic which exceeded all expectations, I was thrilled by every second, it saddens me that we don’t get such matches anymore, but on this night AJ was vindicated & he bought out Cena’s best in his twilight. I’m not going to say it’s the best thing since sliced bread but the match was a love letter to pro-wrestling enthusiasts. So thank you AJ & Cena for that and a massive middle finger to H.
 
Nice rub there for Bronson Reed, they’re going all out with him & the Bron Bron’s with Heyman look a million dollars when Seth is not around, Reigns gave Bronson everything he had and was business despite his star power, no ego at all from him unlike that of lesser men.

I skipped most of Seth / Cody to the last 10 mins, I bet they worked the same match we’ve seen a million times, how can anyone kick out of a super cross rhodes off the top rope? They done Cody real dirty their, way to make your top star look like a chump against a guy who will never be the star they want him to be, but H got to come out and personally w@nk his son off, by the way, after every match Seth ‘sells’ by grabbing his pencil, why does he do that for, maybe today he was trying to control himself when H grabbed him.

The one positive, Stephanie went over and looked fantastic, I half expected their darling Barbie was going to go over when she didn’t need to, this is the problem with doing champion vs champion matches, in theory there should only be one champ, and if you got multiple world titles, why book them against each other?
 
Has anyone ever hit the super kick as good besides Shawn himself? lol I rarely see AJ use that move and his technique was outstanding.
 
shaz619 said:
That was brilliant 🤣 Roman used the bat like he was playing golf, and Barrett mentioned Ponting lol Definitely a cricket fan.
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It's nice to have Wade on commentary explain things and make cool references because that baboon Michael Cole is just as ignorant about the rest of the world as most Americans
 
shaz619 said:
That was brilliant 🤣 Roman used the bat like he was playing golf, and Barrett mentioned Ponting lol Definitely a cricket fan.
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When Barrett was doing commentary in NXT, he mentioned Flintoff on air for a Pete Dunne match I think and Flintoff started following him on twitter afterwards. :ROFLMAO:
 
shaz619 said:
Nice rub there for Bronson Reed, they’re going all out with him & the Bron Bron’s with Heyman look a million dollars when Seth is not around, Reigns gave Bronson everything he had and was business despite his star power, no ego at all from him unlike that of lesser men.

I skipped most of Seth / Cody to the last 10 mins, I bet they worked the same match we’ve seen a million times, how can anyone kick out of a super cross rhodes off the top rope? They done Cody real dirty their, way to make your top star look like a chump against a guy who will never be the star they want him to be, but H got to come out and personally w@nk his son off, by the way, after every match Seth ‘sells’ by grabbing his pencil, why does he do that for, maybe today he was trying to control himself when H grabbed him.

The one positive, Stephanie went over and looked fantastic, I half expected their darling Barbie was going to go over when she didn’t need to, this is the problem with doing champion vs champion matches, in theory there should only be one champ, and if you got multiple world titles, why book them against each other?
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This Seth superpush is just as unbearable as the reign of terror.
Cody shouldn't have to lose here unless it was Randy turning on him. Your top champ should only be taking pins when it's either him losing the title or for a big angle.
There is no logic in Noseley's booking.
 
Boy Cena and AJ killed it. They took us on a serotonergic ride that was enjoyable every moment. I would just add 4 moves in the match, Batista Bomb (Cena), Swanton(AJ), Yes Kicks (either) Angle Slam (either) and the match would have been a complete tribute to all their great opponents. Think AJ sort of did put a tribute to Bryan with those elbow shots to head of Cena near the ending stretch. Batista was a great opponent of Cena and Jeff for AJ. Bryan and Angle both have had famous feuds with both Cena and AJ. The good thing was there was no pedigree tribute to that pos who is destroying WWE. Rock Bottom and Stunner have been done to death in every other match, so I don't mind them not featuring here. Although a superman punch here would have made me grin.

The way I look at, this AJ Cena match is the other side of the coin of Edge Randy match from Backlash 2020. Edge Randy was a psychology and technique heavy match in front of 0 people but the adrenaline was visible and the two gave it all and left it all in the ring. While this match featured two vets near the end line of their careers infront of a raucous crowd of thousands that reacted to every movement of the two. They were visibly enjoying their match and giving everyone viewer the most enjoyable match of their lives. Both matches are perfect matches in my opinion. @RedwoodOriginal @shaz619 @Suleiman
 
Both Cena and AJ can carry on for 5-6 more years without losing a step. I hope AJ signs a Roman/Taker/Brock type of contract where he appears sporadically for a few more years. I am just hoping against hope that Cena continues to make unannounced appearances here and there and does Mania matches every year like Taker did in the last 6-7 years of his career.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
It's nice to have Wade on commentary explain things and make cool references because that baboon Michael Cole is just as ignorant about the rest of the world as most Americans
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Most horrible commentator in the world, he’s a nice guy don’t get me wrong but under H this is his worst run sadly
 
BunnyRabbit said:
Both Cena and AJ can carry on for 5-6 more years without losing a step. I hope AJ signs a Roman/Taker/Brock type of contract where he appears sporadically for a few more years. I am just hoping against hope that Cena continues to make unannounced appearances here and there and does Mania matches every year like Taker did in the last 6-7 years of his career.
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If I’m honest with you, I knew I said Cena still had it, and when I said that it was because I knew his ceiling at this stage, but at the same time, having these matches after such a gruelling run in his twilight is taking its toll and I honestly do believe this will be done after this, we need to appreciate Cena has given us this thank you tour in the middle of his prime Hollywood gigs as well. AJ Style on the other hand with his supreme conditioning, ring activity, fitness & elite ability could easily be around until 55 at his best but he doesn’t want to leave when he’s too far out of his prime or risk getting to that point. What Taker use to do accelerated his decline, same happened with Kurt, people don’t realise how good this Cena really is because when you’re out the game, your body switches off, and Taker had such a large frame / worked a physical style and Kurt always carried so many injuries that he completely shut down when they stopped him from wrestling during the initial WWE return.

On AJ, he should retire as much as it saddens me to say that, H’a booking is uninspiring and he hasn’t done anything interesting with AJ who belongs at the top of the card, I am just so glad a legend like Cena has shone such a big light on an all time great, and treated AJ with the respect that nobody else in WWE will right now.

2004/2005 version of me was tearing up seeing AJ get his flowers, I’ve waited for two decades for this.
 
BunnyRabbit said:
Boy Cena and AJ killed it. They took us on a serotonergic ride that was enjoyable every moment. I would just add 4 moves in the match, Batista Bomb (Cena), Swanton(AJ), Yes Kicks (either) Angle Slam (either) and the match would have been a complete tribute to all their great opponents. Think AJ sort of did put a tribute to Bryan with those elbow shots to head of Cena near the ending stretch. Batista was a great opponent of Cena and Jeff for AJ. Bryan and Angle both have had famous feuds with both Cena and AJ. The good thing was there was no pedigree tribute to that pos who is destroying WWE. Rock Bottom and Stunner have been done to death in every other match, so I don't mind them not featuring here. Although a superman punch here would have made me grin.

The way I look at, this AJ Cena match is the other side of the coin of Edge Randy match from Backlash 2020. Edge Randy was a psychology and technique heavy match in front of 0 people but the adrenaline was visible and the two gave it all and left it all in the ring. While this match featured two vets near the end line of their careers infront of a raucous crowd of thousands that reacted to every movement of the two. They were visibly enjoying their match and giving everyone viewer the most enjoyable match of their lives. Both matches are perfect matches in my opinion. @RedwoodOriginal @shaz619 @Suleiman
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It was like digging deep in your best mates tool box to help you out, AJ & Cena not only paid tribute to their peers but they used their best shots in a bid to prove which brand of wrestling was superior, we knew WWE would go over, but peak TNA got all the respect as well, I really enjoyed the story of the match. They need to keep the momentum going after this with AJ but he will be back tagging with Dragon Lee next week…..
 
IMG_3586.jpeg
John Cena and Cena John.

This is his stunt double for movies btw, was in the crowd to watch the match.

Honestly just train this guy and let Cena dub his promos and we have Cena again for the next few years.
 
Nothing special about Bronson reed but they making actual established stars like Roman be jobbers for him…

Knowing full well triple hoe would never job to these mediocre players let alone to guys actually better than him. Roman and Drew should head out too for this poor treatment.
 
shaz619 said:
It was like digging deep in your best mates tool box to help you out, AJ & Cena not only paid tribute to their peers but they used their best shots in a bid to prove which brand of wrestling was superior, we knew WWE would go over, but peak TNA got all the respect as well, I really enjoyed the story of the match. They need to keep the momentum going after this with AJ but he will be back tagging with Dragon Lee next week…..
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That's sad and expected. AJ paid homage to Kazarian, Sting, Christopher Daniels, Joe, HBK and possibly Bryan. Would have been great if he did a Swanton and maybe Angle Slam as well.
 
BunnyRabbit said:
He really hates Edge for some reason. Maybe for becoming the best heel in WWE in RA era.
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He feels that way about anyone who came after him and surpassed him esp when he was still active.

That’s why as posted above he’s not letting Randy rack up more PLE wins so he doesn’t surpass h. He feels the same way about Cena and Edge imo and tries to older brother them, but they see through it. Explains why he tried so hard to sabotage Cena’s final year. Tried to sabotage rock too- at least this one is properly documented as they were around the same level and then rock left h’s ass in the dust within 1-2 years, explains the tension between em now
 
BunnyRabbit said:
Boy Cena and AJ killed it. They took us on a serotonergic ride that was enjoyable every moment. I would just add 4 moves in the match, Batista Bomb (Cena), Swanton(AJ), Yes Kicks (either) Angle Slam (either) and the match would have been a complete tribute to all their great opponents. Think AJ sort of did put a tribute to Bryan with those elbow shots to head of Cena near the ending stretch. Batista was a great opponent of Cena and Jeff for AJ. Bryan and Angle both have had famous feuds with both Cena and AJ. The good thing was there was no pedigree tribute to that pos who is destroying WWE. Rock Bottom and Stunner have been done to death in every other match, so I don't mind them not featuring here. Although a superman punch here would have made me grin.

The way I look at, this AJ Cena match is the other side of the coin of Edge Randy match from Backlash 2020. Edge Randy was a psychology and technique heavy match in front of 0 people but the adrenaline was visible and the two gave it all and left it all in the ring. While this match featured two vets near the end line of their careers infront of a raucous crowd of thousands that reacted to every movement of the two. They were visibly enjoying their match and giving everyone viewer the most enjoyable match of their lives. Both matches are perfect matches in my opinion. @RedwoodOriginal @shaz619 @Suleiman
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Amazing match. You summed it very well. I was actually thinking that this match could have worked perfectly as Cena's retirement match too.
 
After the ending of Monday Night RAW this week, I would like to say Eid Mubarak to everyone in this thread, how lucky are we to get a third Eid this year mA
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
Dom Mysterio - best damn heel in the business
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MJF is still no.1 for me although I don’t watch the other show but just because of how much I admire his abilities, it comes down to preference because Dom is right up there, just another excellent portrayal of the villain, he’s the true successor to Eddie and he has made that persona his own
 
Bound For Glory

- Hardy’s / Dudleys killed it, they turned a gimmick match into a deeply psychological affair, it just shows of you strive for the story, it can be found in any place, great match and the youngster in me teared up.

- Main-event was great, over-booking was not needed.

- Leon Slater vs Je’Von Evans was shaping up to be a 5* classic until the E sent the Job Squad to ruin the match, my blood was boiling; what is Dark State’s rate? I have some meetings this week I’d like them to interfere in. But my god what a talent these two are, Leon has everything & is such a natural in the ring, incredible seller to and Je’Von is an insane athlete, can’t believe how young these two are; the E want to steal this match I bet and book it on one of their specials.
 
I pray we get to a proper Punk title run sooner rather than later, they just don’t allow him to spread his wings despite the fans demanding it all around the world, not good business at all.
 
But I’d take the programme to push Bron Breakker to the next level to before it gets to a point where he’s not presented as the star we know he is and fans stop giving a crap
 
shaz619 said:
MJF is still no.1 for me although I don’t watch the other show but just because of how much I admire his abilities, it comes down to preference because Dom is right up there, just another excellent portrayal of the villain, he’s the true successor to Eddie and he has made that persona his own
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You're right. He's not on MJF's level who is more of a complete package, but it's kinda amazing how quickly he has improved. Definitely one of the best heels in the business though. I really like how creative he has gotten with his cheating lmao, he clearly looks up Eddie alot. I love the point about him being a successor to Eddie. Also refreshing to see a heel who wants to be a heel and isn't trying to be cool like Rollins, who loves the fans singing his song.
 
shaz619 said:
After the ending of Monday Night RAW this week, I would like to say Eid Mubarak to everyone in this thread, how lucky are we to get a third Eid this year mA
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They could have made the Bron turn mean so much and could have shot him to the main event but I fear he'll be made to job to Seth.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
Let's wait and see where it goes. I'm hearing that they have been forced to do this because Rollins apparently got injured at the PPV.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1978127058568937758
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I’m not certain yet if it’s an injury for certain, I’ve also heard it was a big creative pivot which makes a lot of sense if someone like a Ryan Ward highlighted how the ‘My Sonah Puthar’ project was a disaster, we’ve said it for months that Heyman & the Bron Bron’s had terrific chemistry, Seth just never felt like a good fit at all and he will never be THE guy.

In the ideal world Bron should be pushed like 2002 Lesnar or 2005 Batista, let CM Punk help shape that, but we need to do him justice & book him super strong to set up Bron’s first WHC title shot. There’s Lesnar to who can be used equally wisely or even AJ Styles.

Seth is the one who should be in the upper mid-card helping out Dom & others…
 
shaz619 said:
I’m not certain yet if it’s an injury for certain, I’ve also heard it was a big creative pivot which makes a lot of sense if someone like a Ryan Ward highlighted how the ‘My Sonah Puthar’ project was a disaster, we’ve said it for months that Heyman & the Bron Bron’s had terrific chemistry, Seth just never felt like a good fit at all and he will never be THE guy.

In the ideal world Bron should be pushed like 2002 Lesnar or 2005 Batista, let CM Punk help shape that, but we need to do him justice & book him super strong to set up Bron’s first WHC title shot. There’s Lesnar to who can be used equally wisely or even AJ Styles.

Seth is the one who should be in the upper mid-card helping out Dom & others…
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I just find it hard to believe that Triple H abandoned his pet project just like that unless he was forced to. They were building this group up as the next big heel faction in WWE. Bronson pinning Roman, Seth beating Cody, Bron being the badass that he is...it didn't make alot of sense for them to just break-up like this, eventhough it was a great shocking moment. Based on everything we saw this was likely leading to a WarGames match where if anything, they probably would have added another member to The Vision.

For now I would say just put the belt on Punk and make him the transitional champion.
 
shaz619 said:
I’m not certain yet if it’s an injury for certain, I’ve also heard it was a big creative pivot which makes a lot of sense if someone like a Ryan Ward highlighted how the ‘My Sonah Puthar’ project was a disaster, we’ve said it for months that Heyman & the Bron Bron’s had terrific chemistry, Seth just never felt like a good fit at all and he will never be THE guy.

In the ideal world Bron should be pushed like 2002 Lesnar or 2005 Batista, let CM Punk help shape that, but we need to do him justice & book him super strong to set up Bron’s first WHC title shot. There’s Lesnar to who can be used equally wisely or even AJ Styles.

Seth is the one who should be in the upper mid-card helping out Dom & others…
Click to expand...
Also I'm reading that Rollins's coast to coast headbutt to Cody at the PPV is the likely cause of his injury. I remember watching him do that move in the match and thinking what a stupid and unnecessary move to do. It would be one thing if you were dropkicking him like RVD, but all this risk for a damn headbutt? It doesn't even really work in kayfabe. You are doing more damage to yourself than your opponent.

If that move really was the cause of Rollins' injury it will just be a reminder of how stupid and irresponsible this guy is. It's bad enough hurting others but being the World Champion you should be more responsible knowing the company is relying on you to carry their name. Despite working in WWE for over a decade, Rollins still has the mindset of someone working in a bingo hall for a hotdog and a handshake.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
I just find it hard to believe that Triple H abandoned his pet project just like that unless he was forced to. They were building this group up as the next big heel faction in WWE. Bronson pinning Roman, Seth beating Cody, Bron being the badass that he is...it didn't make alot of sense for them to just break-up like this, eventhough it was a great shocking moment. Based on everything we saw this was likely leading to a WarGames match where if anything, they probably would have added another member to The Vision.

For now I would say just put the belt on Punk and make him the transitional champion.
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He will throw anything and anyone under the bus if it means saving his own sorry ass.

Even the normies in the crowd and YouTube comment section are now beginning to see how overrated and over pushed Seth is. And just h panic booked AJ vs Cena out of nowhere due to public pressure, he will pull the plug on his son Rollins if need be.
 
Suleiman said:
He will throw anything and anyone under the bus if it means saving his own sorry ass.

Even the normies in the crowd and YouTube comment section are now beginning to see how overrated and over pushed Seth is. And just h panic booked AJ vs Cena out of nowhere due to public pressure, he will pull the plug on his son Rollins if need be.
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Rollins has been mediocre and bland from day one, but H has still pushed him or lobbied to push him, so why pull the plug now? When you're building this faction and even having Rollins go over Cody (eventhough that's a meaningless match). It just doesn't add up.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
Rollins has been mediocre and bland from day one, but H has still pushed him or lobbied to push him, so why pull the plug now? When you're building this faction and even having Rollins go over Cody (eventhough that's a meaningless match). It just doesn't add up.
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Because now WWE as a whole feels bland than it was 1-2 years ago, now h’s missteps are magnified even more than they already were and he knows he’s walking a tight rope now.
 
So I saw The Smashing Machine and my honest opinion on it is that...it's okay.

It's a well-made film and The Rock is fairly good in it, but it's also a very by-the-numbers and predictable Hollywood sports biopic, just on a much smaller scale. The Rock's performance in this film is one of the best things about it but at the same time it's nothing extraordinary and not like one of the best performances of the year. All in all, I'd give it a 6.5/10. I admire The Rock for taking on a challenging role like this, but I reckon this film needed something more than being a personal examination of Mark Kerr's life to rise to a higher level.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
So I saw The Smashing Machine and my honest opinion on it is that...it's okay.

It's a well-made film and The Rock is fairly good in it, but it's also a very by-the-numbers and predictable Hollywood sports biopic, just on a much smaller scale. The Rock's performance in this film is one of the best things about it but at the same time it's nothing extraordinary and not like one of the best performances of the year. All in all, I'd give it a 6.5/10. I admire The Rock for taking on a challenging role like this, but I reckon this film needed something more than being a personal examination of Mark Kerr's life to rise to a higher level.
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It was basically a retake of the HBO documentary & they used that visual style, the thing which I feel does raise it to a higher level potentially was Emily Blunt because her character's portrayal in the documentary was controversial and they wanted to do her justice. I have a bias because I’m a combat sports fan and I felt this movie was a breath of fresh air compared to what you see usually, the grit of the early MMA shows is rarely portrayed in Cinema and especially the exploration of why these men truly do battle, to me, the real addiction in this movie was the fighting and in a bleak way, Kerr overcame his demons to fulfil a more primal need. I totally get it wont be everyones cup of tea though & most fans of fighting now would have preferred to see something in the vein of a Southpaw.
 
Suleiman said:
Because now WWE as a whole feels bland than it was 1-2 years ago, now h’s missteps are magnified even more than they already were and he knows he’s walking a tight rope now.
Click to expand...

I like what they are doing with Bronson but you’re completely right about what you said before, while I hope Bronson thrives, this was H jobbing Reigns out opposed to wanting to make him a star; worse still, Drew is somebody who should have been getting this push and restarting his top level pursuits because he has IT, but anybody who hurts 4/10’s fragile ego is thrown bones, H is happy to stick his eggs in the 50/50 baskets unless his hand is forced by the board; e.g Punk, Cody & Reigns; but he has tried to sabotage all three secretly, isn’t it ironic they happen to be the biggest stars? Add Orton to the list to. This is falling under the radar due to TKO’s ruthless corporate cost cutting & price hikes, but the business is in a bubble and H is protected within it for now.
 
shaz619 said:
It was basically a retake of the HBO documentary & they used that visual style, the thing which I feel does raise it to a higher level potentially was Emily Blunt because her character's portrayal in the documentary was controversial and they wanted to do her justice. I have a bias because I’m a combat sports fan and I felt this movie was a breath of fresh air compared to what you see usually, the grit of the early MMA shows is rarely portrayed in Cinema and especially the exploration of why these men truly do battle, to me, the real addiction in this movie was the fighting and in a bleak way, Kerr overcame his demons to fulfil a more primal need. I totally get it wont be everyones cup of tea though & most fans of fighting now would have preferred to see something in the vein of a Southpaw.
Click to expand...
I haven't seen the documentary so I don't context regarding that, I'd say that besides Rock's performance I thought the fight scenes were really well shot, the jazz soundtrack was amazing and in general, the raw/unfiltered look with the handheld shaky-cam worked for this film. But I did not like the melodrama in this at all. Again, I know there is some real-life stuff involved and Emily Blunt's performance was very good, but I'm not really sure if this film did a good job in making her a more empathetic character. All the domestic home life scenes were not very interesting to me personally, eventhough they were well-acted.
 
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