BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
I thought Elias was on his way to getting released. At first I thought it was LA Knight lol. It was just a comedy skit. Don't think they're going to do a KO-Elias feud now.
-
Contact the PP Team
The Wrestling Discussion Thread
- Thread starter shaz619
- Start date
I thought Elias was on his way to getting released. At first I thought it was LA Knight lol. It was just a comedy skit. Don't think they're going to do a KO-Elias feud now.
BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
Yes Christian was a good signing plus he wasn't going to get an Edge like booking in WWE had he decided to sign with WWE.
But Tony's signings like Lee, Strickland, Nese, Ruby, Mercedes Martinez, Matt Sydal, Lio Rush, Big Show etc have been done just for the sake hiring talent.
RedwoodOriginal
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Runs
- 13,760
- Post of the Week
- 4
I actually don't mind Nese, Ruby, Martinez, Sydal and even Big Show.
Nese and Sydal are the kind of guys who can make other guys look really good and have good matches with pretty much anyone on the roster. So for me they serve a purpose. It's not like they are going to be involved in big time angles anyway. Even Martinez and Riot I didn't mind because AEW's women's division was frankly a travesty until very recently. And Big Show was always brought on as a commentator who would sometimes wrestle.
But Strickland and Lee were not good signings in my opinion. Strickland has got to be one of the most overrated young talents in the business. There is nothing about him that stood out for me in NXT and there's still nothing that stands out. He's okay at best and someone who should probably be in IMPACT rather than AEW. And as ironic as it sounds Lee for me is a very limited guy with a certain glass-ceiling. Yes he is athletic for his size but he only works well with guys that are one fourth his size. And his style of talking just starts getting on your nerves after a certain point. Don't care for either of these guys, especially Strickland.
RedwoodOriginal
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Runs
- 13,760
- Post of the Week
- 4
Well I hope not. That would be like going from the penthouse to the outhouse for Owens.
Just done watching the Lesnar Reigns match and what an awful main event. I hope these two never wrestle again. I grew up watching great Wrestlemania trilogies like Austin - Rock and HHH - Taker and now I have to watch this garbage trilogy.
As for Edge - AJ Match, it was a very good match but could have been better. But I guess you can say that about every single AJ Styles Wrestlemania match.
Also, I am really annoyed that Bobby Lashley & Drew McIntyre are midcarders now. They went from beng world champion main eventers not too long ago to having the second match at Wrestlemania. This sums up WWE's creative direction in a nutshell.
As for Edge - AJ Match, it was a very good match but could have been better. But I guess you can say that about every single AJ Styles Wrestlemania match.
Also, I am really annoyed that Bobby Lashley & Drew McIntyre are midcarders now. They went from beng world champion main eventers not too long ago to having the second match at Wrestlemania. This sums up WWE's creative direction in a nutshell.
Last edited:
shaz619
Test Star
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2010
- Runs
- 36,730
- Post of the Week
- 7
I don’t think that should be a left field choice bro, on paper Cody would fit the mould nicely - especially after his hard work outside the company. But at the same time, wrestling fans are so fickle that if wouldn’t surprise me if they turn on him after 6 months. While I hate how Drew has been booked, the fans are fickle as hell, they turned on the guy who carried the company through the pandemic in some grim situations, if there’s one guy who is deserving of that spot and has a ready made baby face story carved out it ought to be Drew but fans are fickle, there’s a great deal of sentimental value in a Cody world title run, I still see it as a possibility but in any situations you just never know with the fans either.
shaz619
Test Star
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2010
- Runs
- 36,730
- Post of the Week
- 7
[MENTION=147292]RedwoodOriginal[/MENTION] The reason why I think Mox has some serious influence backstage or a very lenient contract in favour of him is because, which promoter yeah would allow arguably his biggest star in their prime to return from rehab which he approved off and work his first match for some outlaw mudshow ? it doesn’t make any sense. I see him vetoing the influence of the Bucks, Omega and others when he gets the chance
RedwoodOriginal
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Runs
- 13,760
- Post of the Week
- 4
I am a big fan of Mox. I think he's one of a kind in every way and one of the best promos in the business. But even I am bothered by how enamored he is with that stuff. He just can't seem to disassociate himself from the garbage, deathmatch wrestling scene eventhough he is easily one of the biggest stars in wrestling today. Like geez man, you've been World Champion in two of the biggest wrestling promotions in the US. How long are you going keep getting tubelights smashed on your head by drug-addicted bank robbers infront of 50 people?
And I agree with you that he probably has major pull backstage. But I feel that's still different from having the power to book entire divisions like the Bucks and Omega do. If you don't like Mox, you do have the choice to not watch his matches. But you don't have the same choice with the Bucks and Omega because their fingerprints are on segments and matches that they don't even feature in.
The thing you are mentioning seemed to me like Tony being Tony and considering it his duty to help another low-level wrestling promotion, in this case the folks at Garbage Championship Wrestling by letting them benefit more from Moxley's return than he would have. GCW were doing their first big show at Hammerstein and I am certain that the news of Mox defending the title probably did alot to drive up ticket sales and PPV buys. Personally, I would have never done that. And I thought it was a highly stupid move on his part. But I think that whole thing was something that was probably finalized between Tony and Brett Lauderdale rather than Tony and Mox.
As obsessed as Mox is with deathmatch wrestling, I find it hard to believe that his AEW contract would not be a bigger priority for him than a handshake agreement with a deathmatch promoter.
RedwoodOriginal
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Runs
- 13,760
- Post of the Week
- 4
Yeah you really can't tell with the fans. But again, I feel that Cody has significant mileage with this WWE crowd. And from what it seems, with Vince and the management too.
If there's one thing I have observed about Vince its that he does trust certain guys to do their own stuff (Reigns, Edge, Owens, Lesnar). And he does sometimes have respect for guys who come back to his company after being successful elsewhere.
So honestly, Cody could not have asked for a better situation to come back to WWE to. He's at the top of the card...he can most likely do his own stuff...he has been presented as a top guy. But at the same time I think he also needs to understand that we live in a postmodern age where people are cynical and there is a certain level of B.S that no self-respecting fan will tolerate. Fans can be fickle, yes but they aren't idiots either. They know when someone is pandering to them and being disingenuous. And while booing Cody may have become a fashionable thing to do towards the end of his AEW run, he still did alot of stuff leading upto that was tone-deaf and insulting to your intelligence.
I like Cody. I think he's a hell of a talent in the ring and he deserves alot of credit for essentially turning himself into a main-event calibre star in the last 6 years too. But I think sometimes he just goes over the hill trying to channel Dusty and being something he is not, and the fans see through it. Anyway, let's see how it goes. If there's one thing that a positive its that Cody is more self-aware about the blunders he made in AEW. So let's hope he reaches the heights he always dreamed he would reach in WWE.
Drew still gets positive babyface reactions from the crowd. Its just that nobody cares about him as much as they used to. And there are a number of reasons for that. For one thing, the pandemic just killed his momentum. For that I don't hold anyone responsible. But that said, look at how Drew was presented during that feud with Brock and how he is presented now. Previously he was serious. He didn't come out with a stupid sword laughing, smiling and making jokes and being a kid-friendly, Cena-esque babyface. His promos were serious and you felt like what he was saying was genuine. Now they feel like they were written by someone who is not Drew. On top of that, you add bad booking to the mix and the result is right infront of you.
RedwoodOriginal
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Runs
- 13,760
- Post of the Week
- 4
I wouldn't say they are midcarders. Infact they are probably their biggest and most protected guys after Roman and Brock. But when you put both the World titles on the line one match, it gets harder to give every top guy a spotlight. So their matches imo were about them getting wins at Mania rather than feuding with midcarders.
BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
Lee's nonsensical poetry gets on my nerves to be honest. He seems like a guy who acts too smart that he really is. Like when he was called up on the main roster on WWE, he even made a big deal of not liking to wear singlet.
BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
The problem with AJ-Edge match was that it was not a feud ender but a start of another chapter with Edge making his new faction. I think they're going towards AJ/Balor vs Edge/Priest now.
Well Roman doesn't really have any other opponent left to feud with apart from Drew, AJ, Randy and maybe Lashley. And Randy is still in the tag division, so it makes Drew, AJ and Lashley the only guys he can feud with going forward. Although Roman-Lashley would be a borefest.
King_Rizzy
PPCL Hall of Famer
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2012
- Runs
- 14,398
Are you still here?
shokz1408
First Class Star
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2010
- Runs
- 3,662
3 more weeks to go for London, can’t wait to see reigns. Are any of you guys going to the UK tour
shaz619
Test Star
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2010
- Runs
- 36,730
- Post of the Week
- 7
Tony can be stupid but I don’t think he is that stupid, he is learning on the job but interestingly has a varied taste in pro wrestling especially from the territory days. That must definitely have been one of the perks which enticed Mox to sign, I don’t know when his contract expires but it will be interesting to see how they work things out moving forward, Mox doesn’t have booking powers but on an individual level there are certainly perks which swayed him to leave the E
shaz619
Test Star
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2010
- Runs
- 36,730
- Post of the Week
- 7
Yep he does, lets see how it goes; I don’t mind the Dusty stuff, his surname means too much to the business on so many levels and he can echo that more organically if done smart in this company and I doubt the fans will be too resentful about that part. But they have a tendency to turn on so called favourites once they reach that mountain, I don’t doubt there’s a high possibility of winning the big one but what happens after that will be interesting because while booking doesn’t always help, fans are fickle; however, most of the hipster smarks predominately watch AEW now and smarks in general have tuned out the product a bit, RAW after mania was duller then usual on the crowd side of things
shaz619
Test Star
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2010
- Runs
- 36,730
- Post of the Week
- 7
With Drew that’s my issue, you mentioned the pandemic killing his momentum but I don’t feel that should have happened if the fans were in touch with his abilities and run. Imagine a guy that has the look, can talk and work; he is pushed as a star and treated as such against high level opposition but then is tasked to carry the belt through the pandemic, the company at that point needed a guy like that. The story wrote itself, there’s a great deal of sympathy for where Drew was, where he went and how he came back, then in a seriously grim situation you could say he gave ‘hope’ to people watching from home. Maybe he overstayed his welcome but to me in this example especially, the fans were extremely fickle and Cody shouldn’t take them for granted and push to adjust if required.
And presently, I know you say they are not mid-carders and I feel that should be the case to, however, they have been presented that way and we can’t fault the audience for looking at them in that vein. Drew should never be anywhere near the Veer Mahans and Mad Cap Mox or Happy Corbin, mid-card might be harsh but certainly the upper-mid card. I know Drew isn’t Austin but he’s a former world champion who beat Brock at a mania, he went from that to being paired with bums - am sure creative could have come up with better then that, they have a talented roster so many possibilities. I’d say right now KO has the momentum, good chance he is going to work the top of the card again, he faced of with Reigns in the dark segment following RAW I believe
shaz619
Test Star
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2010
- Runs
- 36,730
- Post of the Week
- 7
am glad you’re alive 
RedwoodOriginal
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Runs
- 13,760
- Post of the Week
- 4
No I don't mind him bringing up Dusty or anything like that. Infact that actually enriches him as a person people can believe in. Heck they can do a year-long storyline and use Dusty not winning the title at the Garden as part of Cody's quest to the World Title. He wins the title by count-out on SummerSlam but obviously doesn't get it. Then goes on to win the Rumble and win the title at Mania.
But coming back to my point, my problem with him is that he tries too hard to be the American Dream in his promos, which he simply is not. Because he is neither the son of a plumber nor an average joe that people can relate to in a way that they could relate to with Dusty. He needs to shift his focus to aspects of his personality that people can believe in.
Yeah the only people who are likely to boo him right now are those that watch AEW and WWE. And I don't think there is a large segment of such fans who go to WWE shows just to boo WWE.
RedwoodOriginal
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Runs
- 13,760
- Post of the Week
- 4
[MENTION=46929]shaz619[/MENTION] [MENTION=141227]BunnyRabbit[/MENTION]
So apparently Brock dislocated Roman's shoulder when he had him in the Kimura Lock during the WrestleMania main-event. So I guess one of the reasons Roman's selling was so great while being in that hold was because he wasn't selling, he actually had his shoulder dislocated lol.
That's why they had to go to the finish early. Apparently the match was supposed to go on longer, which now makes sense to me considering the anti-climatic finish and a mere 12 minutes on the clock.
So apparently Brock dislocated Roman's shoulder when he had him in the Kimura Lock during the WrestleMania main-event. So I guess one of the reasons Roman's selling was so great while being in that hold was because he wasn't selling, he actually had his shoulder dislocated lol.
That's why they had to go to the finish early. Apparently the match was supposed to go on longer, which now makes sense to me considering the anti-climatic finish and a mere 12 minutes on the clock.
RedwoodOriginal
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Runs
- 13,760
- Post of the Week
- 4
You can blame the fans to certain point. Because simply put, this current Drew is the not the same Drew that won the 2020 Royal Rumble to set-up one of the most organic face-turns you will ever see. Almost every thing about Drew from the way he talks to the way he comes out to the ring in a quilt with that stupid sword is different. Even uptill the feud with Randy Orton, Drew was presented as a serious guy and a World Champion. But somewhere in between...probably during that feud with Sheamus the writers got a hold of him and since then they've turned him into an insufferable babyface who is out there making jokes with underneath guys and waving swords around like a 6 year old kid.
I would love nothing more than to see the belt on KO. I can't imagine how this match with Austin doesn't raise his stock in the company in a major way. Without him that match would never have been as good, or as popular with the audience as it was. During an interview recently KO said that Vince told him that he 'belonged in WWE' and that made it a relatively easy decision for him to re-sign. So let's hope that Vince actually meant what he said and wasn't just looking to keep him from going to AEW.
He was actually working Cody in a dark match on RAW. Reigns might be legit injured after his match at Mania. So we'll have to see how serious the injury is. But my guess would still be that he is taking on Lashley next.
Last edited:
BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
If he's legit injured, I doubt he would compete.
shaz619
Test Star
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2010
- Runs
- 36,730
- Post of the Week
- 7
Good shout there on the relatable babyface stuff I totally agree with that, it’s certainly true, what did you make of his promo on RAW? I thought it was fine. If am honest I’ve not watched Cody’s work much in his final run with AEW so I am not too sour on his material yet, but I did catch his first year or so which I absolutely loved and to this day I still feel that match with Dustin is the best ever from the promotion, don’t think another match pulled my heart strings more and his promo work was excellent. I know later on many of the smarks have been upset with his work and I believe you’ve explained why.
Am not sure bro on the Reigns bit, anything to confirm this? but going back to that spot, I felt it was a pretty good worked shoot with Reigns being pretty vocal about his shoulder popping out, I also don’t feel he should have been able to lift his arm at all if it were that bad; I just think it’s classic selling, samoans are the best at it and Reigns is arguably the best seller in the world
The Drew stuff is shocking but hopefully he returns to form, booking defo hasn’t helped it is mind boggling and am concerned he has been playing too nice backstage because he’s a top bloke and Vince will walk all over that sometimes, despite the stuff that happened with Punk, Vince always respected how he didn’t give a sh!t lol
On the KO side I certainly hope so, KO is a big mark for WWE and that must have helped to, him and Vince have a decent relationship and I hope KO is rewarded for that main event because it was special, Vince was meh at first on AJ until he helped elevate Reigns in those matches - they literally convinced Vince to push Styles to the top and when I was watching the matches I thought Vince would be daft not to give him a shot and there were some fans worried about AJ’s age lol
BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
Roman has always been a great seller, it was his big plus point even during his push of terror from 2015-18. He's probably the second or third best seller in the business aside from Brock who IMO is the best atm.
Well, it remains to be seen if he is legit injured. Guess we'll find out on SD. It was a bit weird for him to just appear for a promo without any angle going forward on Raw considering he holds both titles now. Roman's a tough guy, so he wouldn't show his pain on screen mostly.
As per my knowledge, there are 6 grades of shoulder dislocation. Grade 1 takes about 2 weeks to fully heal and grade 3 12 weeks. These 3 are the most common. Grades 4-6 require surgery to fix the ligaments, bone and tissue. So if he had any of the grade 4-6 surgery, he'd be under the blade already and would have vacated the titles. So I'm guessing it's 1-3. So they'll probably keep him away from any in ring action for atleast 2 weeks now if he's legit injured.
So let's see what angle do they go with on Smackdown. It would be really boring if he comes out again with the bloodline on SD and just gloats about his victory and leaves. WWE would also be sweating over his recovery for the upcoming UK tour where he's advertised to face Sheamus I think and is the main attraction with Brock gone.
BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
[MENTION=147292]RedwoodOriginal[/MENTION] [MENTION=46929]shaz619[/MENTION] one thing that I find really ironic about Roman's ongoing reign as champion is that Brock was heavily criticized for not being there every week and only defending the title on PPVs. Since winning the title from Bray, Roman has defended his title only twice on SD if I am correct. Once in Bryan's last match in WWE and second time against Balor on SD after Summerslam. Like does no one want to see Universal title match on Raw and SD anymore?
I loved it when AJ beat Jinder on SD and Bryan beat AJ on SD.
I loved it when AJ beat Jinder on SD and Bryan beat AJ on SD.
shaz619
Test Star
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2010
- Runs
- 36,730
- Post of the Week
- 7
I watched the Samoa Joe segment and man does he always surprise me lol in his last match in NXT he got through it but was struggling, maybe it was injury, endurance/fatigue issues, lack of ring time or combination of all these. His ring style also doesn’t typically age well and he carries more weight to. But the guy is a beast lol he defies logic, it was a basic squash but he looked great from what I watched and there is still some gas left in the tank. I remember his final run in TNA and getting upset at what I was watching knowing how much I loved his work at his peak, so when he came to NXT I didn’t have high expectations and he sort of went through the motions. Then NXT Takeover London came along, and he had that match with Balor and it made me suspend my disbelief because the Samoa Joe of old was back, the intensity, physicality and agility were off the charts and he built on that with his main roster run, he didn’t win the big one but was treated with respect and had an enjoyable main roster run imo and his promos were brilliant to. Joe is an asset whatever he chooses to do but I will try not to get too excited about the ring stuff but it is hard not to
BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
Drew's reign was so good till his feud with Randy before he was made to nonsensically lose the belt to Randy for just 2 weeks. Since then, his feud with Miz and Lashley killed his momentum. Miz's MITB reign was unbearable and I think once Lashley won during the Black History month, Vince must have gone like, the title on Lashley is good **** and let's keep him the champion for some time now. Then Drew had to job out to Bobbles in terrible matches where Bobbles was totally unable to match Drew's speed or be working a fluent match. By HIAC, no one believed Drew was going to win as they were doing everything to keep the title on Bobbles and the crowd got tired of him challenging for the title again and again. The breaking point came when he was rushed into a feud to put over Big E nonsensically. Plus the sword shtick was only destroying his gimmick. Like fine, everyone knows he scottish, he's not in Braveheart.
BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
I remember Balor saying he learned working a match in Japan, but he learned injecting emotions into the match from Joe.
shaz619
Test Star
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2010
- Runs
- 36,730
- Post of the Week
- 7
Not surprised he said that, Joe has such a high ring IQ and he utilised psychology so well, this is why he is an asset in the AEW locker room no matter what he does. Balor also mentioned once how Hogan/Rock is one of his favourite matches, the guy gets it but the higher ups don’t, interesting to see what he does next, read some dirt that people wanna see him team with Styles, wouldn’t mind that
BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
Think Balor/Styles team is happening very soon now that Edge has Priest on his side. They will have them overdo Too Sweet chants.
shaz619
Test Star
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2010
- Runs
- 36,730
- Post of the Week
- 7
Roman hasn’t defended as much but he is around a lot more then Brock was. I personally didn’t have an issue with how Brock was booked, I liked how he was kept as a special attraction. Also, I actually like that they don’t always do world title matches frequently on regular episodes, it can devalue the championship if it happens too often, but on special occasions it makes sense; AJ beating Jinder was the first time in forever that a the world title changed hands overseas and it may have been the first! I should have been at that show in Manchester but a mate let me down, the following year I went to the SD with AJ coming out champ in his final week with the belt before he was beaten by Bryan.
RedwoodOriginal
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Runs
- 13,760
- Post of the Week
- 4
I thought it was a good promo. Cody has a tendency to present himself as some kind of embodiment of virtue and honor. And sometimes it just comes off as contrived and unbelievable. Like something out of the 80s. But at the same time he can also speak from the heart. And I have noticed that when his promos have a personal side to them, they can be compelling to watch. His promo with Jake the Snake during the early days of Dynamite was a great example of that. This was nothing special, but it had that personal side and worked in regards to getting people interested in him as a person.
That's a criticism about him I just don't get though. I can understand all the criticism around the tone-deaf promos, illogical angles, the constant shoe-horning of his untalented wife...but his work has always been great. And say what you will about him, he put over new guys like Brodie Lee and Malakai Black clean. He put over young guys like MJF, Darby, Sammy clean. He elevated the TNT Championship. Had some seriously great matches...some of the best in the company's history, and for that he deserves credit.
I've heard from a number of people but can't confirm because I tend to avoid wrestling websites till I have watched Dynamite lol.
Yeah I hope so too. And that's the thing about Owens...he has had great feuds and matches time and time again but not been given the ball the way he should have been. His own feud with Reigns that sadly occurred during the Thunderdome era was compelling and elevated Reigns as a top heel. IIRC they even had an outstanding match at TLC. And most of all, that feud showed how great KO is at being a babyface, eventhough he is a natural heel. Anyways, he should be at the top of the card going forward. Anything less would be a slap on the face.
RedwoodOriginal
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Runs
- 13,760
- Post of the Week
- 4
Honestly, I think its pretty plausible that he is injured. For one thing, the double arm wristlock (aka The Kimura) is a submission maneuver that many of shoot fighters and MMA fighters use...for this very reason. And once your arm is locked in, it doesn't take much to dislocate that shoulder. Its entirely possible that Lesnar got a little carried away in the match and accidentally dislocated Reigns' shoulder. Because once that whole deal happened, there wasn't much rhythm and reason in the match going forward and the finish felt way too abrupt and anti-climatic for a WrestleMania main-event. Not to mention, Reigns was in visible discomfort once he tried to lift the belts post-match. And at first he couldn't. I'm not so sure if he was selling there.
As for him coming out on Raw, I don't think its weird if the injury is not that serious. He barely wrestles on TV at all to begin with. And pretty much only does house shows and one PPV per month. If they keep him off house shows they still have a month to build his next feud...and if they are smart he won't have to throw a punch till that match at the next PPV.
Last edited:
BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
Yes he might be legitimately injured right now. But how would they be able to keep him off house shows oversees? That would hurt the entire purpose of their tour when their top champ isn't going to be competing.
Regarding the finish of the match, I did notice that the event finished 10 mins too early and went off air at 8:50. When I saw the match ending early I immediately thought that The Rock's music is gonna hit now as there's still 15 mins left but 5 mins later I saw the copyright logo and was so disappointed lol.
BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
Yes he might be legitimately injured right now. But how would they be able to keep him off house shows oversees? That would hurt the entire purpose of their tour when their top champ isn't going to be competing.
Regarding the finish of the match, I did notice that the event finished 10 mins too early and went off air at 8:50. When I saw the match ending early I immediately thought that The Rock's music is gonna hit now as there's still 15 mins left but 5 mins later I saw the copyright logo and was so disappointed lol.
RedwoodOriginal
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Runs
- 13,760
- Post of the Week
- 4
Couldn't have summed it up better myself. The guy is just unique and one of a kind. He along with Danielson, McGuinness, Aries, Punk quite literally put ROH on the map and by extension made people care about indie wrestling for the first time in pretty much ever. His series of matches with Punk are remembered to this day and his reign as ROH Champion was legendary. But tbh, I was even more impressed by his early years in TNA...the undefeated streak, the feud with Angle, the barn-burners he had with AJ and Daniels...that was truly the peak of TNA.
You are talking about much longer down the line. For me, Joe in TNA was ruined once Russo put that d*ck shaped tattoo on his face and came up with that asinine angle where he was kidnapped and then came back as some kind of savage Samoan. Classic Russo sh*t for you there.
ROH (to a small degree) and NXT allowed him to refurbish himself after the damage that a decade in TNA had done. That entire feud with Balor was awesome. But for me, his main roster run was pretty disappointing. Alot of it was just bad timing. He got injured right before Mania 33 and 34. And one of those occasions he was slated to face Cena. But alot of it was bad booking too like the feud with AJ where he lost pretty much every single match in a lengthy feud, and was never allowed to get the kind of heat that comes from beating the babyface. But yeah, there was some awesome stuff there too like that match with Brock and the US Title run.
I am a massive Samoa Joe mark...always have been so you can imagine how happy I am and how much I agree with everything you just said. Particularly the part about his intensity, physicality and agility...it truly is off the charts, even at this age. If I'm being honest I feel he probably needs to lose a few pounds. That will only improve his speed in the ring. I don't blame him considering he hasn't wrestled since last year. But I think with his recent history of injuries he will have to be careful going forward. Still, couldn't be more excited to see what he does next.
RedwoodOriginal
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Runs
- 13,760
- Post of the Week
- 4
I'm not sure if they are going on overseas tours rn. And even if they are, if he's injured, he's injured. He can't wrestle on house-shows, TV or PPV.
Yeah that figures. The Rock thing is not 100% rn and depends greatly on Rock's schedule. But apparently Rock wants to put Roman over so there's a very high probability that match will happen. That might even be one of the reasons they are doing that WrestleMania in LA...to get all the publicity that comes with having The Rock on their show. But that whole thing not being a 100% is probably why Rock wasn't there at Dallas.
RedwoodOriginal
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Runs
- 13,760
- Post of the Week
- 4
Balor is another guy who I feel would thrive in AEW. The guy is just insanely talented. He doesn't do one-third of the stuff in WWE that he used to do in New Japan. And for while there, I don't know how...but he was main-eventing SummerSlam with Seth Rollins for one of the World title belts. Unfortunately his injury in that same match ended his run before it even began. But for a second there, he was at the very top of the card. And I'm guessing they had plans for him.
Since then though its been mid-card or bust for the poor guy. The second NXT run was amazing. But ever since he came back its been even worse. Now he can't even get on WrestleMania...a guy of his talent and caliber. I know its a little crowded in AEW right now. But I do hope I see him there one day...KO and Zayn too. I just feel like those will thrive in that environment in a way they can't in WWE.
RedwoodOriginal
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Runs
- 13,760
- Post of the Week
- 4
Well tbh there was a difference. Roman is always on SD! cutting a promo even if he doesn't work a match or throw a punch. Brock when he was Champion didn't show up on Raw for weeks on end. And there'd be like 10 guys fighting each other for a chance to face Brock on a PPV that was be 2 months away.
I even remember him not being on numerous PPVs while he was champion. There was this one PPV in late 2018...I think it was TLC. The main-event was Rollins vs. Mox for the I.C title...while Brock was World Champion. Personally. I didn't like that whole deal because it put Brock above everyone else on the roster. And for that I blame WWE. They could have just paid him more money for him to be on more shows like they did this time around. I mean I doubt he missed more than one SD! in the last 3 months or so.
But coming back to your question, I don't think WWE fans are programmed to see good wrestling on free TV. World title matches are few and far between. Besides the ones you mentioned I can probably name a handful more that happened on TV in recent years. Infact whenever WWE has put Reigns in a title match on TV in the last 2 years its usually been with the intention of driving home a big rating...usually when the show is in competition with football or some other sport.
BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
Aries is one guy who goes under the radar 99% of the time for being one of the best workers of his era probably because of a total douchebag of a person he is in real life. But boy is he talented.
BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
I get it but then it doesn't make sense for them to not have Roman compete in Elimination Chamber matches. Last year, you could say it was done so to get heel heat for him to just squash Bryan after dbry had won it. But he should have defended his title this year in Elimination Chamber. I'd like champions to compete on weekly tv and not just show up to cut promos or attack someone.
BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
Balor is insanely underrated. For me, he is like a hybrid of Benoit and Guerrero. He was even named as Pegasus Kid 2 in Japan I think as the original pegasus kid was benoit himself. He doesn't do any of his submission based wrestling in WWE, the only glimpse of that was seen in his battle with Pete Dunne and KOReilly. Plus Balor is too fluent in the ring. I so badly wanted to see him wrestle Bryan or Edge in a properly booked match with no shenanigans. Sometimes I get the feeling that Balor wants out of WWE, but then it was the same thing with KO and Zayn who looked tired of WWE and yet chose to stay with great deals. Let's see what kind of deal do they offer him once his contract is up.
shaz619
Test Star
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2010
- Runs
- 36,730
- Post of the Week
- 7
Yep, I was alluding to Joe’s final stint in TNA, I enjoyed his early TNA run a great deal before the aids arrived in the company. I know he never got to work with Cena and it was disappointing, as you say driven by perhaps injuries and also Cena’s evolving schedule / transition to Hollywood but getting to work a PPV match at that time with Brock is very rare and it’s a big one for the bucket list and am glad he got that.
How one defines success in the E is subjective, you ask Nigel Mcguiness what he thinks and he’d kill to have had the runs which either of KO, Zayn or Joe has, sadly his health dictated otherwise but it was still a massive deal for him to sign with the company. I still believe the likes of Zayn, KO and Joe had very successful stints close to the top part of the card, it may not have been world championships but these guys got over and are consistently entertaining. There has been acclaim for their work coming out of WM38, in the early days it was harder to watch knowing how Hunter presented them but they adjusted around what was required on the main roster, I still feel KO will be champion again.
Balor you could say has not had the same success on the main roster though, maybe that injury following the championship win turned Vince off and since then I think he has been on the shelf a little more then he should have. I know you guys have said he don’t work like he did in Japan and that I don’t find that shocking, if he did he’d he in a hospital bed permanently due to the brutal schedule, your Punks, Bryans, Zayn, KO etc you could say they were asked to tone it down but I believe they deserve credit for adapting their style successfully and remaining over - in some aspects their work was arguably better to watch, this isn’t unusual at times imo Punk is the perfect example of someone who vastly improved his work from the indies and it helps also when you idolise Bret. Before Balor joined WWE he had something like 7-9 concussions working in Japan, I recall him mentioning that during a BBC documentary.
Last edited:
BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
Buckle bomb is one of the worst moves i have seen, it should be banned or only sparsely used(but it isn't good enough to be a seldom used move). It injured Balor and Sting, and don't know how many more might have suffered from it before WWE.
BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
[MENTION=147292]RedwoodOriginal[/MENTION] [MENTION=46929]shaz619[/MENTION] what do you guys reckon about WWE having Cody immediately go into a feud with Roman. I'd say it would be too early. Plus I don't see Roman taking a pin from Cody and Cody losing would only hurt his momentum.
Meltzer refused to rate the Seth Cody Mania match for some reason lol. I am guessing it would out of spite and anger for Cody leaving WWE. That guy is such a blatant AEW simp and keeps denying it.
Meltzer refused to rate the Seth Cody Mania match for some reason lol. I am guessing it would out of spite and anger for Cody leaving WWE. That guy is such a blatant AEW simp and keeps denying it.
BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
Another nothing show. Raw and SD after Mania used to be full of life and felt newish. This year they've been more like Talking Smack episodes.
Raw and SDs have been way too boring since the start of this year. It's like nothing really happens on the shows. Most of the matches end in DQ or screwy finishes. And the angles don't really make you intrigued about what's going to happen next week. It's been abysmal. I remember the Raw after Mania 33 featured Kurt Angle as the new GM of Raw, and Rollins teamed up with a returning Balor to take on Joe and KO in a brilliant main event. This year, it's been like, I don't even know if anything has happened during the whole show.
Raw and SDs have been way too boring since the start of this year. It's like nothing really happens on the shows. Most of the matches end in DQ or screwy finishes. And the angles don't really make you intrigued about what's going to happen next week. It's been abysmal. I remember the Raw after Mania 33 featured Kurt Angle as the new GM of Raw, and Rollins teamed up with a returning Balor to take on Joe and KO in a brilliant main event. This year, it's been like, I don't even know if anything has happened during the whole show.
shaz619
Test Star
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2010
- Runs
- 36,730
- Post of the Week
- 7
I see it as a great opportunity to prove his worth to Vince and it could pay dividends later, the risk is if things go south then it may be tougher for Cody later on but if he gives a good account of himself and as the saying goes ‘make Roman look strong’
then there are no losers, it’s pro wrestling at the end of the day and even in defeat you can win, if the matches are great and what Vince is looking for it’s a plus. AJ Styles was given a similar chance when he came in and people were afraid, Roman was a bit more green back then even though he always did fairly well in the ring and was still an elite seller, now Roman is at his peak and you could argue so is Cody, it’s a big programme to go into, makes sense if he was going to have tune ups with some upper mid-carders; the outing with Seth probably was a test and you could see that as the tune up for this feud if true.lol surely not even Meltzer would be able to get away with that one, are you sure mate? I read on a site that he gave it 4.5 stars:
https://itrwrestling.com/news/dave-meltzer-wrestlemania-38-ratings/
shaz619
Test Star
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2010
- Runs
- 36,730
- Post of the Week
- 7
I haven’t watched SD but read a brief report it looked to be going in the right direction, I know you mentioned Cody as Romans feud earlier but it would appear Nakamura is getting the shot first which is overdue imo and I look forward to that, also reports Gonzales and WALTER made their debut? that should be intriguing for the future
RedwoodOriginal
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Runs
- 13,760
- Post of the Week
- 4
Aries was incredible. He's another guy who didn't have the kind of career he should have had, based on his talent. Yeah he was reported to be difficult behind the scenes, and that might have been a detriment to his career at certain points but what an amazing worker and so talented on the mic too. His quest for the TNA Heavyweight title was probably one of the best arcs TNA ever came up with.
RedwoodOriginal
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Runs
- 13,760
- Post of the Week
- 4
Yeah I agree that its subjective. And that success can mean alot of things. But I think at the end of the day every pro-wrestler dreams of becoming World Champion, even if they don't deserve it. And personally when I look at guys like Joe, McGuinness, KO I just fail to see why they wouldn't be World Champions in any pro-wrestling company in the world. Even Zayn if he isn't wearing that stupid sock mask he wore in ROH.
McGuinness for me is just a tragic story. What an incredible pro-wrestler. And I don't doubt that he would say that aswell. But he too for me was always a World Champion/main-event caliber wrestler.
Re: Balor, I don't disagree with you. But I think I didn't properly clarify what I was meaning to say. There are two sides to this argument. One aspect relates to wrestling stiff and the other relates to having a more diverse repertoire of maneuvers in your arsenal. Balor was both a very stiff worker and someone with a far more diverse move-set. And it wasn't just stiff moves but alot of creative technical stuff too. So I think that he doesn't necessarily have to wrestle stiff if he brings back some of his old stuff. Nor should he based on his history of concussions.
RedwoodOriginal
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Runs
- 13,760
- Post of the Week
- 4
Nah I don't think this should happen. Its never a good idea to put two guys that are hot with the crowd in a feud with each other. WWE learned that lesson the hard way during The Fiend and Seth Rollins feud. But what's worse is that Cody has little to no credibility as a babyface right now. Because he has only won one match. You gotta build him up by putting him up against top-level guys so the fans can get used to the idea of him as a main-eventer.
If Cody faces Roman Reigns, him winning would make Reigns and the belt look bad considering Reigns has beaten practically everyone on the roster while Cody has one win. And if Cody loses it would kill all his momentum, like you said and make the fans lose interest in him before they even started caring about him.
He didn't give it an official rating but he was angling towards a 4.5/4.75 in the Observer. He called it the best match of the PPV on his radio show with Alvarez too. Meltzer has the tendency to be a massive AEW mark sometimes...especially when it comes to talking about the Bucks and Omega, but he does appreciate good wrestling too. Personally, I find some aspects of his personality annoying but the guy has been involved in the business as a journalist for 30 something years and does have some credibility left in my eyes. On top of that, I have found myself agreeing with star ratings many times over the years. That said, I can totally understand why others might not feel the same way about him.
Last edited:
RedwoodOriginal
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Runs
- 13,760
- Post of the Week
- 4
Yeah Nakamura is probably getting the shot at the PPV. I remember hearing this was a planned match a year ago at the FastLane PPV but never happened. I guess its gonna happen now. At this point they are essentially ticking off the names of the guys Reigns hasn't beaten. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But I would be interested in seeing who is the next major opponent he is going to face. My guess would be Lashley once Lashley beats Giant Gonzalez 2.0.
Yes WALTER debuted on SD! and won a short and sweet squash match. Would be interesting to see how he is booked on the main-roster. He has great potential to be an incredible top heel for them, but alot of that depends on them not going cold on him after a certain point...like they do with so many others.
Could say the same for Gonzalez but with her its the potential of being a top babyface for the company.
Last edited:
RedwoodOriginal
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Runs
- 13,760
- Post of the Week
- 4
I've gotten used to this for quite some time now. SD! is the Roman Reigns Show and the only thing worth seeing is usually that one promo that Reigns does in the last 6 minutes of the show.
RAW can have a good match every 2-3 weeks but that show is usually worth seeing for 2-3 segments at most.
Wrestling is not something I look forward to on a weekly WWE show. But thank god for AEW. Because I feel they are the only company right now that cares about giving fans multiple good wrestling matches every week. And this week you had two barn burners to start and end the show.
RedwoodOriginal
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Runs
- 13,760
- Post of the Week
- 4
[MENTION=46929]shaz619[/MENTION] [MENTION=141227]BunnyRabbit[/MENTION] Now that the curtain has fallen on Triple H's career, what do you guys make of The Game's legacy? And I'd love if you guys could name of 3 favorite Triple H matches.
Personally I feel its an overwhelmingly positive one...atleast from my end. When it comes to success, the guy is a 14 time world champion who was consistently featured at the top of the card during the hottest period for pro-wrestling, in the biggest wrestling company in the world. He may not have been on Austin or Rock's level but he was always working with those guys and putting on classic matches. The 3 Stages of Hell match he had with Austin at No Way Out is one of my personal favorites to this day.
He was a true student of the game, everything he did in the ring was logical and made sense. What I loved most about him in the ring was that he had both that old-school and methodical style of working influenced by guys like Harley, Flair, Killer Kowalski, but at the same time he had the modern touch and was able to adapt that old-school style to the then modern times aswell.
This may be an unpopular opinion, but I quite enjoyed his reign of terror. I know he buried alot of guys but RAW during that period was highly entertaining and a major reason for that Evolution and HHH. And when he did put over guys, those wins actually mattered. Benoit, Batista and Benjamin's wins over him being the prime examples. And what's interesting to me is that he didn't beat Batista and Benoit once during that period despite losing to them on multiple occasions.
The DX stuff was juvenile and stupid and if I'm being honest I stopped caring about him as a wrestler after 2005-06 mainly because he essentially stopped being a heel after that and worked some incredibly boring feuds with the likes of Orton, Sheamus, Cena. But undoubtedly he had a hell of a career. And definitely one to be proud of.
And when it comes to the backstage stuff, again there's alot to dislike there aswell but nobody can deny what he accomplished with NXT. He is the one most responsible for making WWE's first generation of serious main-event level female talent. Charlotte, Becky, Bayley, Sasha are all there because of him. Rollins owes a great deal of his success to him, Joe claims that he wouldn't even have gotten to WWE if it wasn't for HHH and according to Owens' own admission no one did more for him in WWE than Hunter. And there are numerous other wrestlers like Balor, Zayn, Ricochet, Adam Cole, Malakai Black who probably wouldn't be where they are today if it wasn't for H. For a while there he was even running the best pro-wrestling promotion in the world in NXT.
His dislike of Punk was something that always angered me and during his heyday he was both a clever backroom politician and a guy who buried numerous guys just because he could. But at the same time, I feel what he has given to the wrestling business outweighs whatever damage he did to it for his own selfish reasons.
My favorite 3 HHH matches would have to be:
1. Triple H v Cactus Jack - (Street Fight) - Royal Rumble 2000: This is the match that made Triple H into the Triple H we know. This was around the time that he was really starting to come into his own as a main-eventer. I think this was not long after that 'The Game' promo. And man oh man did Hunter and Foley beat the tar out of each other in this match. This match had just about everything and just going up against Foley in such a brutal match took HHH to the next level in the eyes of the fans. The Hell in A Cell match that followed a month later at No Way Out was also incredible. But this for me was just better.
2. Triple H v Chris Benoit v Shawn Michaels - WrestleMania XX 2004: This is probably one of my favorite matches of all-time. Absolutely perfect from start to finish. Three of the best workers in the business (at the time) tearing it up on the biggest stage: WrestleMania at Madison Square Garden. The story behind the match was compelling and well-told. You were cheering for the underdog Benoit to do the impossible. And when the moment came, everyone lost their s*it. But none of it could have been possible without all three guys having an absolutely incredible 5 star match in the ring. Its just a shame people can't talk much about this match anymore because of obvious reasons.
3. Batista v Triple H - (Hell in A Cell) - Vengeance 2005: Similar to how the Foley match made HHH into a star fans could take seriously, this was the match that made Batista. The HHH-Batista feud is probably one of my all-time favorite WWE arcs. It was wrestling 101. The guy who is seen as nothing more than a stupid, muscle guy by the leader of the group slowly starts to outgrow his role within that group. Until he realizes he might just be better off on his own. It was a year-long angle that was executed to perfection. Batista ofcourse had his coronation at WrestleMania but the match itself was not especially great. And after a screwy finish at Backlash, this awesome feud needed that one great blow-off match to cap things off and boy did we get it.
This may have been called a Hell in A Cell match on-paper, but make no mistake about it, this was a classical old-school cage match. If you take out the thumb-tacks this one of those matches that could have worked in any era. It had everything you want out of a great cage match.
Personally I feel its an overwhelmingly positive one...atleast from my end. When it comes to success, the guy is a 14 time world champion who was consistently featured at the top of the card during the hottest period for pro-wrestling, in the biggest wrestling company in the world. He may not have been on Austin or Rock's level but he was always working with those guys and putting on classic matches. The 3 Stages of Hell match he had with Austin at No Way Out is one of my personal favorites to this day.
He was a true student of the game, everything he did in the ring was logical and made sense. What I loved most about him in the ring was that he had both that old-school and methodical style of working influenced by guys like Harley, Flair, Killer Kowalski, but at the same time he had the modern touch and was able to adapt that old-school style to the then modern times aswell.
This may be an unpopular opinion, but I quite enjoyed his reign of terror. I know he buried alot of guys but RAW during that period was highly entertaining and a major reason for that Evolution and HHH. And when he did put over guys, those wins actually mattered. Benoit, Batista and Benjamin's wins over him being the prime examples. And what's interesting to me is that he didn't beat Batista and Benoit once during that period despite losing to them on multiple occasions.
The DX stuff was juvenile and stupid and if I'm being honest I stopped caring about him as a wrestler after 2005-06 mainly because he essentially stopped being a heel after that and worked some incredibly boring feuds with the likes of Orton, Sheamus, Cena. But undoubtedly he had a hell of a career. And definitely one to be proud of.
And when it comes to the backstage stuff, again there's alot to dislike there aswell but nobody can deny what he accomplished with NXT. He is the one most responsible for making WWE's first generation of serious main-event level female talent. Charlotte, Becky, Bayley, Sasha are all there because of him. Rollins owes a great deal of his success to him, Joe claims that he wouldn't even have gotten to WWE if it wasn't for HHH and according to Owens' own admission no one did more for him in WWE than Hunter. And there are numerous other wrestlers like Balor, Zayn, Ricochet, Adam Cole, Malakai Black who probably wouldn't be where they are today if it wasn't for H. For a while there he was even running the best pro-wrestling promotion in the world in NXT.
His dislike of Punk was something that always angered me and during his heyday he was both a clever backroom politician and a guy who buried numerous guys just because he could. But at the same time, I feel what he has given to the wrestling business outweighs whatever damage he did to it for his own selfish reasons.
My favorite 3 HHH matches would have to be:
1. Triple H v Cactus Jack - (Street Fight) - Royal Rumble 2000: This is the match that made Triple H into the Triple H we know. This was around the time that he was really starting to come into his own as a main-eventer. I think this was not long after that 'The Game' promo. And man oh man did Hunter and Foley beat the tar out of each other in this match. This match had just about everything and just going up against Foley in such a brutal match took HHH to the next level in the eyes of the fans. The Hell in A Cell match that followed a month later at No Way Out was also incredible. But this for me was just better.
2. Triple H v Chris Benoit v Shawn Michaels - WrestleMania XX 2004: This is probably one of my favorite matches of all-time. Absolutely perfect from start to finish. Three of the best workers in the business (at the time) tearing it up on the biggest stage: WrestleMania at Madison Square Garden. The story behind the match was compelling and well-told. You were cheering for the underdog Benoit to do the impossible. And when the moment came, everyone lost their s*it. But none of it could have been possible without all three guys having an absolutely incredible 5 star match in the ring. Its just a shame people can't talk much about this match anymore because of obvious reasons.
3. Batista v Triple H - (Hell in A Cell) - Vengeance 2005: Similar to how the Foley match made HHH into a star fans could take seriously, this was the match that made Batista. The HHH-Batista feud is probably one of my all-time favorite WWE arcs. It was wrestling 101. The guy who is seen as nothing more than a stupid, muscle guy by the leader of the group slowly starts to outgrow his role within that group. Until he realizes he might just be better off on his own. It was a year-long angle that was executed to perfection. Batista ofcourse had his coronation at WrestleMania but the match itself was not especially great. And after a screwy finish at Backlash, this awesome feud needed that one great blow-off match to cap things off and boy did we get it.
This may have been called a Hell in A Cell match on-paper, but make no mistake about it, this was a classical old-school cage match. If you take out the thumb-tacks this one of those matches that could have worked in any era. It had everything you want out of a great cage match.
RedwoodOriginal
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Runs
- 13,760
- Post of the Week
- 4
Highlight of WWE TV this week was Bron Breakker v WALTER on NXT. Probably the best match of Bron's short career thus far.
shaz619
Test Star
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2010
- Runs
- 36,730
- Post of the Week
- 7
Triple H is guy I love to hate and hate to love, I’ve posted a lot on why I despised this guy in the original WWE raslin thread which was ironically created by an AEW hipster smark and in this one, but I think it’s a bit unfair to go into why, but he someone who left a mark that can’t be erased and was a part of our childhoods. For me, NXT was his greatest legacy. On the matches side:
1. The unsanctioned match with Shawn, no one knew what to expect and Hunter was tasked with taking care of his best friend in the ring while his mom watched and was sh!t scared for her sons life, they call wrestling fake but it’s a shoot sometimes man and that was raw. Shawn was out a while due to the back injury and this was expected to be his final match but they tore the house down, Shawn was special that night but I will give credit to Hunter because he was dealing with a Shawn who may have been unsure of himself understandably.
2. The End of an Era match with Taker
3. HHH v Batista - WM21 , you could argue the blow off was special but I thoroughly enjoyed this because it was a selfless performance to really put Batista over and pass the torch so to speak, Batista looked like an animal and I loved the psychology of Hunter reeling
Honourable mention: There are others you could add where he was in there with some truly great performers so I wont list those but another one that might be overlooked is the match with Dean Ambrose at Roadblock; you look at how Mox works now and think wth but this guy is so versatile and perhaps you could argue Hunter bought that side out of him
BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
A positive career as a whole. Although he definitely did a lot politicking earlier on in his career to get ahead of others plus his marriage to the boss' daughter was probably more of a marriage of convenience for him(I shouldn't say it maybe it was true love), but apart from his reign of terror, feud with Sting(which he probably didn't book) and burying Brock during their feud in 2012, I thoroughly enjoyed his career. One of the most consistent characters throughout his career. One of the best heels of his era. His promos were always his strongest point. In addition to that, he was an extraordinarily safe worker who seldom ever injured his opponent. A company man through and through. My admiration of him only surged due to his backstage role with NXT and how he handled and molded newer stars. Everyone speaks highly of him regarding how he is a wrestler's guy and stands up for them.
I tend to rate wrestlers more on the basis of their feuds rather than isolated matches. So I'd just write mine seperately.
Feuds.
1. Trips vs HBK (2002-04) A very lengthy feud but one of the best executed ones that always left you wanting more.
2. Trips vs Stone Cold (2000-01). The feud that really made the world notice that he could hang with the very best in the business.
3. Trips vs The Rock(1998-2000) Not my favorite feud cause as a child, I always rooted for Dwayne as he's my all time favorite. But I guess this is the feud that really made him.
4. Trips vs Batista. This feud was the best executed one in terms of storyline with the complete breakdown of Evolution. The only reason it doesn't come in the top 3 because it was a feud about Batista not Trips. It launched Batista into stardom. The Mania match although not a very well executed one did have the emotional feels and was a feel good one and him losing to Big Dave at Vengeance in HIAC finally put an end to his reign of terror.
Matches wise. Never really a master in ring technician or an in ring psychologist but would tell good story during his matches. My top 3 matches would be
1. Trips vs HBK (Summerslam) Unsanctioned fight. A must watch.
2. Trips vs Undertaker (HIAC) That Mania match was probably the last great match Trips wrestled.
3. Stone Cold vs The Rock vs Kurt Angle vs Undertaker vs Trips vs Rikishi (Armageddon 2000) A must watch for any wrestling fan. Attitude era at its very best. Although Trips wasn't a main contributor towards the match. He did kickstart his feud with Kurt there I believe.
4. Trips vs HBK vs Benoit (if that HIAC doesn't count as 6 men matches don't put much emphasis on a single storyline or one wrestler).
BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
Nakamura has been losing to the usos in recent past, don't know how would they make the feud believable.
Yup Walter got called up. Marcel Barthell's new name is Ludwig Keyzer lol.
Don't care about Raquel. She's extremely boring. One of the worst NXT women's champions IMO.
BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
With Ciampa and Dunne officially gone from NXT, I have stopped watching it completely. There's no one left there that excites me.
BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
I've been finding Sammy and Tay incredibly annoying which makes me stop watching AEW. I only usually watch Bryan's stuff on AEW. Not into Hook, Danhausen stuff. Wardlow angle is the one i really like.
Watching Bucks makes me want to puke mainly due to their outside antics. They are good wrestlers but nowhere near the best. Plus their biography update trend on twitter is such cringeworthy stuff. I like FTR though.
BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
I find himself to be incredibly biased though. Plus he acts like a manchild on twitter. Everytime someone calls him a fake journalist, he provides them a link of wikipedia list of sports journalists
Well I find it ironic how Bryan never got a 5 star rating in his entire ROH and WWE career yet gets 2 5 star matches immediately into his AEW career. Like I still rate Bryan's match vs Roman on SD better than his match with Omega. Plus he's given so many ****** matches 5 stars like that best friends street fight, every Tanahashi's match (which I find incredibly repeating). Okada and Ospreay are the only ones who I agree him with regarding his star ratings. Plus he also has some bias against Balor and probs Randy. Never gives Balor more than 4.5 despite Balor having one of the best runs of during his NXT stints.
Plus I find it criminal that The Rock vs Hogan was rated so low like every match of The Rock. Rock vs Austin at mania 17 and 19 were perfect matches IMO although I might be biased here. And Kurt never getting 5 star matches despite consistently providing the best matches in 2000s.
RedwoodOriginal
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Runs
- 13,760
- Post of the Week
- 4
I find himself to be incredibly biased though. Plus he acts like a manchild on twitter. Everytime someone calls him a fake journalist, he provides them a link of wikipedia list of sports journalists
Well I find it ironic how Bryan never got a 5 star rating in his entire ROH and WWE career yet gets 2 5 star matches immediately into his AEW career. Like I still rate Bryan's match vs Roman on SD better than his match with Omega. Plus he's given so many ****** matches 5 stars like that best friends street fight, every Tanahashi's match (which I find incredibly repeating). Okada and Ospreay are the only ones who I agree him with regarding his star ratings. Plus he also has some bias against Balor and probs Randy. Never gives Balor more than 4.5 despite Balor having one of the best runs of during his NXT stints.
Plus I find it criminal that The Rock vs Hogan was rated so low like every match of The Rock. Rock vs Austin at mania 17 and 19 were perfect matches IMO although I might be biased here. And Kurt never getting 5 star matches despite consistently providing the best matches in 2000s.
He is biased. He may try to project himself as this supposedly objective journalist but that's not exactly true because he does have major biases and agendas. Personally, I recognize that everyone has certain biases and I don't care that much about his star ratings to begin with, so I'm not that bothered. But again, I can understand how other people might lose confidence in his ratings system. I mean he has practically broken the scale himself with all the 7 and 6 stars he has given certain matches in recent years.
That said, I dunno if I agree with you on that one. Because for me, Omega v Danielson is arguably the best straight-up pro-wrestling match that AEW has ever put on. I liked a few other matches more, but that for me was simply an incredible wrestling match that I have gone back and revisited aswell. Reigns v Bryan was great but if I were to pick a Bryan match in WWE that should have gotten 5 stars, I'm not sure if that would even make my top 5. I also thought that match was significantly hurt by the lack of crowd. But again, that's just my opinion.
Yeah as far as matches he was quite clearly wrong about, that one takes the cake. I was watching another awful match the other day...Cactus Jack v Vader at Halloween Havoc '93...an absolute mess of a match when it came to the rules and he had given it something like 4.75 stars. So like I said, sometimes its just a matter of opinion or his biases kicking in, other times he just gets it wrong...sometimes he does manage to get it right. Either way, I'd say don't read too much into what he thinks or claims to know because at the end of the day what matters most is what you yourself think.
Last edited by a moderator:
RedwoodOriginal
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Runs
- 13,760
- Post of the Week
- 4
There's always stuff that's a little on the nose but I think AEW deserves credit for cutting out the slack significantly and putting on a great wrestling show. There was very little filler on this show and very little amateur level talent.
- Joe's debut was perfect. He killed Caster and came off as a beast. Caster got over just by doing that awesome rap.
- Christian vs. Cole ruled. Similar template to the Edge v AJ match but better in nearly every way. The way the crowd was popping for Christian at the end was unreal and great to see for me personally as a long-time Christian fan.
- The whole Wardlow deal was brilliantly executed again.
- FTR v Bucks was simply incredible. Not nearly on the level with that FTR-Briscoes match but still a barn-burner of a match. Say what you will about the Bucks...and I say plenty but they can put on incredible matches from time to time. And this was right up there. FTR is unquestionably the best tag team in the business so this was expected to be a banger and it delivered.
- On the flip side, the Hardyz tables match was awful and made no sense. This was a prime example of a match that sounded good on paper but shouldn't have been booked simply because its not 2001 and the Hardy Boyz are both in their 40s.
- Shida v Julia Hart was also very, very bad.
Overall, I'd say that's a combination of good wrestling and compelling segments. Especially when you compare it to WWE TV this week which has very stuff of note among a mountain of long entrances and video-packages.
Last edited:
RedwoodOriginal
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Runs
- 13,760
- Post of the Week
- 4
That 6 man HIAC match is one of my favorite WWE matches. It really is a classical WWE Attitude Era match. On paper it seems like a match that would be hard to follow and just a complete mess, but it was quite the opposite: a massively entertaining multi-man match with one of the best cage bumps ever.
BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
Yes AEW does put better weekly shows than WWE. I would just like for AEW to stop taking shots at WWE at every opportunity(like Britt Baker) and a few others do so and the weird thing is their crowd loves it when their wrestlers take shots at WWE. Plus Tony's tweets are awful to begin with. I've never seen Vince tweeting about bots hampering his company or how the upcoming show would be a must watch. He needs to take a back seat.
That's the main reason why I find Bryan so compelling in AEW is that he just does his stuff like he wants to. He's not being Daniel Bryan of WWE and that's probably why he joined AEW in the first place. And he's just doing his stuff and recreating himself.
BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
I don't know man. I think I'm one of the fans who decide for themselves what match they like. I don't consider star ratings as a reference point. I am sure you decide for yourself as well what match you like and stuff. I just find it cringe when people start mentioning that this match was rated 6 stars so that's why it's better than every other match and stuff. I just think as a seasoned "journalist" or historian or whatever he likes to call himself, he should stop acting like a geo or ary anchor and be neutral with his reviews. That takes away all his legitimacy as a writer/or whatever he is. Or maybe pro wrestling is an industry like that where you have to act like that to remain in mainstream to earn money or stuff.
RedwoodOriginal
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Runs
- 13,760
- Post of the Week
- 4
I don't follow wrestling twitter so I am not aware of any of that goes on there.
But as far as taking shots at WWE in promos goes, I kinda like it. And honestly I prefer that much more to what WWE does which is essentially pretending that no other wrestling company besides WWE even exists.
I don't know about everyone else, but I enjoy this kind of carny stuff. Its what pro-wrestling is built on. And it makes sense for AEW to do this since AEW fans are usually well-aware of what's going on in the world of pro-wrestling which isn't always the case for WWE fans.
BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
[MENTION=147292]RedwoodOriginal[/MENTION] [MENTION=46929]shaz619[/MENTION] what do you guys think of Ciampa's impending redebut on Raw? Hearing he would be joining Edge's faction.
Personally for me, I think he will get a moderate push first up in the midcard(US/IC title or Tag Team Champ reign) then will become a jobber for some time, which is basically the standard for NXT call ups. And if you survive them both, you would get a more permanent spot on the roster. Like Matt Riddle, Roode, Balor, KO, Zayn, Ricochet and Nakamura went through the similar pattern before settling into their current role.
As much as I love Ciampa, I hope he doesn't go to AEW cause with his history of neck injuries, the extreme style of AEW won't be suitable to his health. One bad/miscalculated bump could end his career. Plus AEW don't really have trainers or a performance center leading to guys like Luchasaurus, Dante Martin etc making regular botches.
Personally for me, I think he will get a moderate push first up in the midcard(US/IC title or Tag Team Champ reign) then will become a jobber for some time, which is basically the standard for NXT call ups. And if you survive them both, you would get a more permanent spot on the roster. Like Matt Riddle, Roode, Balor, KO, Zayn, Ricochet and Nakamura went through the similar pattern before settling into their current role.
As much as I love Ciampa, I hope he doesn't go to AEW cause with his history of neck injuries, the extreme style of AEW won't be suitable to his health. One bad/miscalculated bump could end his career. Plus AEW don't really have trainers or a performance center leading to guys like Luchasaurus, Dante Martin etc making regular botches.
shaz619
Test Star
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2010
- Runs
- 36,730
- Post of the Week
- 7
Don’t think it’s the worst idea, starting out from a faction led by Edge means he should work close to the top of the card and get TV time to prove himself to Vince, at least he isn’t called Butch lol Ciampa’s a versatile performer and he will get over on his mic ability alone so don’t see him going all out, especially due to WWE’s schedule which is far more taxing then what you do in the AEW roster where the main issue is when you’re working with talent which don’t have the high level experience or ring IQ to not take silly risks to make up for their lack of charisma. Yep they don’t have much of a training team and from what I understand, the talent predominately book their own matches which is fine when you know what you’re doing….
shaz619
Test Star
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2010
- Runs
- 36,730
- Post of the Week
- 7
Finally a stadium show has been confirmed in the UK at the principality stadium (75k capacity) in Cardiff! it will most likely be a live event I reckon / network special opposed to a PPV which would be great but this is big news, first time since SS 1992; I feel if they are ever going to do it, now would be the time for Drew to go over Reigns in the main-event! that would blow the roof off providing it isn’t retracted lol would make for an epic moment, winning the big one at home
shokz1408
First Class Star
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2010
- Runs
- 3,662
Can’t wait for this! I will be there for sure. True, for McIntyre to win it at home would be huge! Also, I would love to see lesnar here in the UK. I hope they go all out for this event.
BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
Not just McIntyre but Pete Dunne could break away from Butch stuff and Sheamus and maybe win IC/US title there where he is already quite popular. Becky and Balor would get humongous pops as well I believe.
BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
Wrestlers shouldn't be booking their own matches or it will lead to another Hogan situation. Plus not everyone is as selfless or imaginative as Bryan who would be able to put up matches in more than one structure or would be willing to put others over. That's why I believe you need trainers and match producers which can help out the upcoming wrestlers immensely. Lashley despite a seasoned wrestler was a lost cause till they put MVP with him.
RedwoodOriginal
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Runs
- 13,760
- Post of the Week
- 4
Somehow Ciampa seems destined to end up in the Bobby Roode, Keith Lee, Killer Kross spot. They'll probably put one of the midcard belts on him for a period of time. But honestly, what do they even mean nowadays when those titles can't even get on a two night WrestleMania? And then it'll be down to jobbing or sticking him in a stupid tag team.
It's sad because Ciampa is like an alternate version of Randy Orton, and looks like a spitting image of Triple H. More importantly though, he can work his a*s off...and was one of the major reasons why NXT was the best wrestling promotion in the world for a while there. And honestly if Hunter was around or had some influence I would have expected Ciampa to have more of a chance. But now even he is basically sidelined.
I don't want him to go to AEW because its already very crowded there as it is, but if we're being honest AEW could be the best thing for him. I get your point about the potential risk of him working with green talent like Dante or someone who is just an unsafe worker like that uncoordinated dinosaur. That being said, in AEW Ciampa will have to work 1-2 days a week...potentially 3 days a week if there's a PPV that week. He won't be on the road 300+ days like he will be in WWE. And if he is feeling he can wrestle more than he can just take independent bookings if he wants to, or not if he doesn't.
AEW has a long way to go in alot of respects but I think one thing that should be appreciated about them is that they are very talent-friendly. They have found a way to make their business model work without house-shows and that's a pretty revolutionary thing for the wrestling business...and a huge positive for the wrestlers.
RedwoodOriginal
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Runs
- 13,760
- Post of the Week
- 4
I feel this should be a PPV. Would be utterly foolish of them to book a 75k stadium (pretty sure it will be sold-out) and then not even show it to the rest of the world. They've done glorified house-shows in Saudi Arabia...some of which were absolutely atrocious, and they put those on PPV.
But anyways, hope you have fun brother. I can only imagine what the experience will be like. TNA booked Wembley in 2013 and that stadium was packed despite not being sold-out. So I expect this to be a sell-out considering how crazy fans are about wrestling in the UK.
Last edited:
BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
I am hearing Trips is back in the meetings and even recently broker the deal through which wrestlers would get back the control of their cameo etc accounts.
But I do hope Ciampa gets treated better. Damian Priest has had a relatively successful run even though guys like Kross and Lee looked more like Vince's guys.
shaz619
Test Star
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2010
- Runs
- 36,730
- Post of the Week
- 7
It would be nice if it gets the PPV billing globally, but I suspect it wont be, it will be similar to the show they done at the MCG in Australia, whenever they do stadium shows they always air it live on the network, they will be cheeky here and sell it on UK PPV as well though given their deal with BT.
I enjoy them Saudi shows lmao some matches be good but it’s also predominately the luxury of being able to watch live wrestling during normal hours lol I can’t stay up anymore bro, only for specific Boxing fights and even they I try to avoid spoilers sometimes and buy the replay in the morning.
Yeah think that was the SSE arena in Wembley, TNA has a big fanbase here and have received decent coverage over the years on FTA, there use to a channel called ‘The Wrestling Channel’ it use to show every alternative to WWE and wrestling from all around the world and the indie circuit in America, this was when I first came across Punk, Joe, Daniels, Mcguiness, Amazing Red, Bryan, Shark Boy (LOL), Jushin Thunger Liger in his prime and my all time fav japanese guy to watch Kenta Kobashi, when he wrestled Joe it was such a massive dream match in those days. I also remember when Punk vs Eddie Gurrero first happened they showed that on the channel to it was mad
RedwoodOriginal
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Runs
- 13,760
- Post of the Week
- 4
Tough to see HHH having much of a major role going forward considering his heart condition.
Kross looked really big in NXT but when I saw him on WWE, the guy looked smaller than Jeff Hardy. But yeah, he and Keith Lee were definitely still very much of the WWE mold. The kind of guys WWE likes to invest in. Don't know exactly what led to them getting fired.
RedwoodOriginal
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Runs
- 13,760
- Post of the Week
- 4
Dude why don't you just get FITE TV or New Japan World? You can watch AEW on both and obviously you can get New Japan on New Japan World too. I know it won't be the same as watching something live but you can just watch it the next day. The only reason I say that is because I've kinda been taken aback by the quality of wrestling on Dynamite recently and I know there are multiple matches on nearly every show that I feel you will enjoy.
WWE's Saudi shows have gotten better recently but the earlier ones were just sad to see for me personally. From Oldberg nearly killing Taker to DX and the Brothers of Destruction embarrassing themselves....they even prostituted the Royal Rumble by introducing that 50 man Rumble which had about 30-35 jobbers. Personally, I'm still very turned off by those Saudi shows. They just feel so off-kilter and out-of-place to me. But I'm glad someone else is able to get something out of them. Hearing they are thinking of doing TLC in Saudi later this year.
Wow that sounds amazing. That's such a great and organic way of getting introduced to so many amazing, generation-defining talents. Btw, if you are a fan of Kobashi v Joe you gotta watch Bryan Danielson v Minoru Suzuki...if you haven't already that is. They had this incredible match on Rampage last year that was very reminiscent to that Kobashi-Joe match. And the best thing is that you can find it on YouTube because I do believe it was on a Rampage pre-show in a week where they were going head-to-head with SmackDown.
Last edited:
BunnyRabbit
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Runs
- 8,230
- Post of the Week
- 1
Kross suffered the wrath of Vince cause he was supposedly the top chamption of Nxt during the time Dynamite overtook NXT in ratings. Kross was extremely limited in ring (never liked him as a character or wrestler) but a lot of people have said he's a genuinely nice guy who's always doing what he's told and was never difficult to work with and was also a locker room leader(which was one reason Trips hired him in the first place cause let's face it, he was never built for NXT).
Keith Lee just turned out to be too smart for his ownself. He had problems with WWE changing his music to his ring attire to many things. And one thing that WWE takes a lot into account is how their wrestlers adapt to the creative, Lee never did it well. He could only play a calm yet forceful monster face.
