Hall of Fame, baby! That's L-E. W-I. S-B. E, double T (S).
Hall of Fame, baby! That's L-E. W-I. S-B. E, double T (S).
WCW were at it as well. Chris Canyon being a construction worker. He had a hard hat. That's how you knew.
Two hours (or thereabouts) of wrestling (less the endless adverts) was a bit of a surprise. Really enjoyed the gauntlet match. A bit surprised they gave Rollins so much from it given he appeared not to even be in their plans for the PPV before they 'accidentally' revealed the line-up for the Chamber. Doesn't make a difference to the outcome of course so Reigns loses nothing by being first man out of the gauntlet but I'm not sure what they're planning with Rollins with Ambrose still out and Jordan going down too.
Yeah, I groaned when Reigns came out thinking we'd get 10 minutes of him fucking up on the microphone.
It made no sense (them all kicking the shit out of each a week before an elimination chamber match) but it was enjoyable.
All the big boys getting battered days before the PPV was the norm back when WWE cared about buyrates and had "go-home shows."
So we know Miz is one of the guys starting in the chamber, Elias definitely isn't and Cena probably isn't (or else why bother having him earn the right not to be first.) So Cena and Elias in pods, I reckon Strowman will be in one so that he can react to some provocation by forcing his way out of it. Probably Roman is in from the start because he's the BIG YARD DOG GUY and can go the distance and Balor starts too because otherwise why wouldn't Reigns and Rollins just batter the shit out of the Miz right off the bat.
Miztourage probably find some way to get involved too after all the chat that they won't.
They made Seth LOOK STRONG to set him up as Reign's challenger post-Mania.
It'd be weird to have that as face vs face (sort of) before they've seen out this shambolic Shield reunion, unless they're quietly sweeping it under the carpet and maybe have Ambrose go heel the moment he returns.
Strowman is definitely getting a world title feud with Reigns at some point (maybe even where the belt changes hands), maybe Miz too so Reigns can slaughter him. Dunno who else, it's hard to say when the main event is Bork and Roman followed by a midcard full of people without proper pushes.
I'd really like it if they sacked Dana Brooke btw.
I fucking hate the STATISTICIAN gimmick, it's so fucking cringey.
"After WrestleMania, you'll get the best of both brands – Raw and SmackDown LIVE – every month, on every pay-per-view. Catch every event streaming live on the award-winning WWE Network.
WrestleMania 34 - April 8, 2018
WWE Backlash - May 6, 2018
WWE Money in the Bank - June 17, 2018
WWE Extreme Rules - July 15, 2018
SummerSlam - Aug. 19, 2018
WWE Hell in a Cell - Sept. 16, 2018
WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs - Oct. 21, 2018
Survivor Series - Nov. 18, 2018
WWE Clash of Champions - Dec. 16, 2018"
Good decision that, but so many people hate it.
Less PPVs is good. I just hope they strike the balance right between giving guys matches on them and "big" TV matches.
I'm hearing the PPVs will be 6 hours long in total (2hr pre show, 4hr main show)
Watching Smackdown now and this Roode/Orton/Jinder feud with the top 10 lists is batshit.
It's the pits.
I'm enjoying 205 (I really liked the Jack Gallagher/Mustafa Ali match) and NXT so much more than the 2 big shows.
You've basically started to watch it just in time for it to stop being an utter waste of time, as I understand it. I need to make a point of giving it a go because there are some guys there I really like. Jack Gallagher in particular, and Neville if he comes back. Mark Andrews too, now.
Looking forward to see how much they spoil Ricochet as well.
Mahow has gone through most of the modern wrestling fan trajectory in about a month.
Rediscovery
Nostalgia
NXT is the only thing worth watching
Is it too soon to recommend NJPW?
I didn't watch all the Wrestle Kingdom matches I was going to. But the links on the page I was using went a bit wonky so I need to find new ones.
Dunno if you'd already read that but Meltzer agrees, it would seem. Seemingly the initial plan was for Ambrose to turn heel soon, which I think everybody had suspected would happen at some point, and then be Reigns' first title feud.
Have we had a singles Reigns / Ambrose feud yet? Or just the triple threat(s)?
American crowds are one of the worst.
She's awesome.
Before the upcoming PPV we should probably ask. Is it possible to tip the chamber over?
Because it's Brawn. And it's a PPV. Some big shit is being tipped over.
Well he's definitely putting someone (Miz) through a pod.
I wouldn't be surprised if he chucks someone (Miz) against the door which breaks/opens and the Miztourage come running in.
Boo Reigns is getting that Beast guy at Mania because WWE logic.
Has anybody broken out of their own pod before? Loads of people have gone through the "bulletproof" glass but has somebody force their own way out? If not, Boatman is doing that. If so then, as you say, something else. Maybe he batters the door open like 'How says. You'd think there'll be a big strength spot of some variety for him.
Not that I can think of.
Maybe Boatman could do a powerslam to someone (Miz) through the metal flooring to the side.
Mark Henry. He milled about before deciding to come out and join one of the worst matches ever seen.
I wonder how Strowman's strength compares to Henry's. I still love the bit where they forgot to gimmick the cage door Henry was meant to break off so he just did it for real.
Also if Mahow's not seen it this feels like a good excuse to link this:
It might look like I just want you to admire Henry's magnificent suit but it's worth watching anyway.
Dolph's body broke the thin PVC sheeting.
Oh and that's an incredibly sharp suit.
When he's thanking his family and someone in the crowd shouts Mae Young
Great promo.
I hear he's the worlds strongest man.
Sexual Chocolate
His individual and total numbers have been surpassed now (only just, and I think he is still the only person to squat and deadlift over 900lbs in the same tested meet), but he set his powerlifting records at a relatively young age, and at a time when he was no longer a full-time powerlifter, so realistically he never got anywhere near his full potential with that and is still an all-time great. In addition to that he was an elite-level Olympic weightlifter despite 1) coming into it ten years too late; and 2) not being on drugs. Plus he won the first Arnold Classic, beating a load of drugged-up professional strongmen despite barely training for it due to his rasslin' commitments, where he was also the first person to clean and press the Thomas Inch dumbbell. For some lol perspective, John Cena - who is strong as fuck - has posted videos of himself just about squatting six-hundred pounds. Henry was doing that for repetitions when he was fourteen.
He is a freak of Usain Bolt-like proportions, and in terms of covering all conceivable forms of strength athletics/events is pretty untouchable.
Hall of Pain Mark Henry was one of the best characters they've ever had. The match where he won the title by just telling Orton to fuck off with his RKOs and smashing him was perfect.
I don't often come in this thread but have enjoyed the discussion about Mark Henry. I follow strength athletics quite a bit and Lewis is spot on here. I will also add that there is an argument that the Arnold Classic is a truer test of strength than the Worlds Strongest Man competition. Mark Henry definitely has a legitimate claim to be the strongest man of all time. In strongman terms, I'd say the strongest ever would be Henry, Bill Kazmaier and Zydrunas Savickas.
So Honor Rising night 2 finished with the Young Bucks coming out to declare offense to the Golden Lovers claim at being the best tag team in the World. The Young Bucks have moved up to heavyweight. Golden Lovers v Young Bucks fued has started!
Didn't he keep fucking his own momentum with injuries, or was he just seen as a crap draw and not trusted with the belt?
He did have a lot of injuries but I don't think they trusted him much to do anything proper either. Probably got booked against other fatsos rather than guys who'd bump like fuck for him.
So does Boatman register at all as a strongman in WWE terms? I always think it's funny how often I've seen guys talking about Kane as the strongest guy in WWE, and to be fair there were a couple of times he picked up Big Fat Big Show with what looked like relative ease.
Strowman's spots with the vehicles and whatever are absolutely absurd, I just don't know enough about it to put his actual competition stuff into any sort of context beyond how easily he handles WWE's other big lads.