The Ultimate WWE Thread

[Queenslander]

Omega v Jay White will probably lead on to Omega V Okada considering the booking style is faction v faction.

[Ian]

I would recommend Ibushi / Rhodes and the 4-Way, if you like those then watch Suzuki / Goto and Okada / Naito. It's definitely a different pace and style though which can be jarring.


I realise I am the worst kind of fan boy but either Suzuki v Goto or Naito v Okada is well worth a look.

At the moment I'm looking at:
Okada / Naito
Young Bucks match (I've never seen a full match outside of PWG, which probably plays up to the stuff Young Bucks are notorious for)
Cody vs. Ibushi
4-Way

I'll probably watch those four over the course of the weekend then look at the other few depending how I feel.

[Disco]

The Bucks match is definitely less spotty than their ROH stuff, it had some very simple but inventive parts which I think works a lot better than five minutes of superkicks.

[Queenslander]

I could not be more bored with the Bucks after last years spot fest. Literally every match had over the top catch spots that took me out of the match. Saying that the Being The Elite series is great viewing and they will pull off a 10k PPV this year. If they get Billionaire backer they will destroy WWE on the West Coast.

[Queenslander]

Latest episode of Being The Elite continues the Kenny v Cody fued. I dare say they saving it for a future American date maybe a ROH show?

[Queenslander]

http://i68.tinypic.com/iqhn50.png

[Browning]

Am tempted by that given it's down the road.

[Browning]

Took a punt and bought a ticket. No idea if IPW is any good but that match alone should be worth it.

[Queenslander]

They seem to have the standard British Strong Style wrestlers.

https://www.ipwuk.com/wrestlers

[Lewis]

That alumni roster. I watched WrestleMania 28 at Andy Boy Simmonz's house, which I imagine takes some beating as a shit claim to fame.

[Queenslander]

I forgot about that squash match yikes.

[Ian]

Ospreay vs. Dunne should be tremendous.

[Queenslander]

I deleted my post because it is just fan boy dribble but Dunn and Bate would both be perfect NJPW.

[Disco]

I'd pay admittance just for that match so I can't imagine you'll be disappointed.


Queenslander NJPW Oz tour announced today, you think you'll make a show?

[Queenslander]

They arent coming to Brisbane. :(

[Browning]

Sasha Banks being sloppy as fuck hasn’t ended her own career yet but it has ended Paige’s.

[Lewis]

Is this from that kick to her back? If so then she is probably better off being finished by that instead of something worse.

[Browning]

The source I saw said it was a "kick to the head" in a 6 woman tag match at a house show, but I don't know how reliable they are, so if there was a kick to the back in the same match it could easily be that.

[Lewis]

Yeah, she kicks her in the back, and then she starts acting as though she can't feel her arm[s] (looks like that anyway), so the referee stops it. If it is that then she can't have been fit in the first place.

[Ian]

Her comeback was going about as well as could be expected with WWE booking, too.

They should probably keep her about. She could could probably be a passable heel manager if they cared for such things any more.

[Dan]

Paige :( Sounds like it was something she'd have been dealing with even without wrestling, but taking all the bumps has made it worse. Still, better that she gets out while she's still relatively healthy, and I'm sure she'll still be able to make her way as a manager on the indies even if WWE don't want her any more.

I had loads of holiday to use before March so I've booked the day after the Rumble off :drool: Having said that, I've just seen the card & it looks pretty terrible, so hopefully the rumbles will save the day.

[Ian]

You'd hope we're due a decent Rumble if only by law of averages. Either way, I suppose it'll be a "I remember where I was watching when-" moment when Ellsworth returns to win the first womens Rumble.

I've just watched the Fatal Four-Way from Wrestle Kingdom and even if he didn't have quite the budget to do it on such a grand scale Scurll's entrance wasn't that much less embarrassing than some of HHH's Mania efforts. Good match though.

[Gray Fox]

The hot tip to win the Womens is a new entrant I've not heard of. Romana Reigns is set to debut and I reckon she'll take it.

[Lewis]

When was the last decent Royal Rumble? 2012? 2010? Triple Haitch winning the other year was lol, but the match itself was toilet.

[Ian]

There hasn't been a good one since I got back into it, certainly. That'd be '14 or '15.

[wullie]

I liked the actual match last year, but the result was shit and was part of the worst main event feud I've ever seen in wrestling. The one where Cena came back from injury about six months early and won it was the last one I remember as being ace.

[Browning]

When was the last decent Royal Rumble? 2012? 2010? Triple Haitch winning the other year was lol, but the match itself was toilet.

2001.

Rumbles where we know the winner 9 months in advance and they don't even bother to give us any shock returns are utter shite.

[Disco]

All Rumbles are great, best match of the year. Any of the ones where Road Dogg came back and ran the show for five minutes, any with Edge hiding for half an hour or the one time I genuinely believed Santino was going to win.

And get out of here Webly, the man turned into a fucking crow, it was great.

[Ian]

Is there a consensus rumoured winner this year?


I liked the actual match last year, but the result was shit and was part of the worst main event feud I've ever seen in wrestling. The one where Cena came back from injury about six months early and won it was the last one I remember as being ace.

I enjoyed something like a third of last year's and then it went to balls.

[Dan]

Is it not just Roman Reigns like every other year, or is he not in so it's Cena?

[Ian]

It genuinely wouldn't surprise me if they had Reigns win it, and if they're having it turn about given Smackdown won last year's then there's not a chance it's anybody else unless they have some 2000-esque number 1 contendership antics planned.

[Dan]

Who are the Champions now, Styles & Bork, right? Surely it's Reigns so they can do Reigns/Lesnar at WM for a change.

[Browning]

It'll be Nakamura to set up the dream match with Styles. Reigns will get to Mania some other way.

Edit- Unless they're going with Don Cena wins the 17th title, which would be :drool:

[Gray Fox]

It has to be a Smackdown winner surely?

WM will see Reigns finally take Lesnar down, with Strowman I imagine being the backup plan or involved too. Unless Strowman/Reigns wins it and takes the chance away.

[Ian]

Thinking Reigns needs to win the Royal Rumble to set up a match with Bork is exactly the sort of unimaginative nonsense thing WWE would do, sadly, but they really ought to be setting up somebody for Styles.

[Ian]

It'll be Nakamura to set up the dream match with Styles. Reigns will get to Mania some other way.

Edit- Unless they're going with Don Cena wins the 17th title, which would be :drool:

I'd fucking love it to be Nakamura but it seems to much of a tap-in for WWE not to fuck up.

"Free Agent" John Cena winning and mugging off Styles in another overrated finisher-fest is entirely plausible.

[Gray Fox]

That's a point. If they want him breaking Flairs record, this or next year is surely the last time to pull the trigger? And you can't have that match not being at WM.

[Pleb]

I'm hearing it's Brawn Strongman.

[Disco]

Cena will be busy with the Undertaker.

[Browning]

Big Dave seems convinced that it's going to be Cena Vs Taker at mania, which is at least 5 years too late. Taker's matches since the streak ended have been shite with no reason to care. Cena could probably carry him to one last good-ish match, which might be for the best given that the Reigns match was piss poor, but I think the post match send off was good enough to leave it there. People will riot when Cena wins if that match happens.

[Dan]

How many actual likely winners are there beyond Reigns, Strowman, Cena & maybe Nakamura?

[Browning]

I'd take Strowman off that list, and those are your 3.

Reigns Vs Lesnar is absolutley locked in, no way they go with Strowman after the disaster he had with Lesnar last time.

[Ian]

Brock Lesnar has had one good, proper match in about two years but Strowman probably would get more of the blame for that in WWE offices rather than Brock. It's hard to criticise a guy while his balls are on your chin, after all.

Strowman's not winning anyway.

As for the idea of Undertaker wrestling again: Ugh. Just give up, you old bastard.

EDIT: Make that singles matches, re: Brock. The other three in that fatal fourway did alright while he was having a lie down.

[SvN]

Taker's matches versus Lesnar in 2015 were both pretty good, but other than that, his matches have been crap for a few years.

[Disco]

EC3 is out of TNA, do we think NXT or Rumble appearance?

[Pleb]

NXT more likely.

Isn't there a 90 day no contract bullshit clause from TNA/Impact/whateverthefuckitscalled?

[Browning]

As much as he was a big star in TNA, I don't think he's big enough for a Rumble spot. Most of WWE's audience would have no clue who he is.

[Shindig]

"De-rek Bate-man ... "<clap> <clap> <clap> <clap> <clap>

He has the roid acne of a future champion.

[Browning]

Just seen Austin Aries has not only won the TNA World Title but also their secondary title, with whatever stupid names they have these days.

This is after Evan Bourne won both of their lower tier titles at the same time, and then seemingly dropped one to Aries while giving away the other to Josh Matthews.

Just fucking fold already.

[wullie]

Is Lashley gone too yet? I could see him in the Rumble, plus they've got a Trump aide gimmick ready to roll for him.

[Disco]

Jeff Jarrett to get one more title run.

[Ian]

That Rollins vs. Balor match was good, as was the return of the Curb Stomp. :drool:

Even if they've gone back to the name he used to use for it it's still better than any of the finishers they've tried on him since.

[Browning]

Looks like everyone and their dog is showing up for RAW 25. Is it going to be like 7 hours long, or are they each going to get 2 minutes and no actual wrestling?

[Pleb]

It will probably be like RAW 1000. X-pac shows up for a cheap pop while we all shit ourselves silly everytime we hear Takers theme.

[Dan]

Ricochet has signed with WWE. I can’t decide whether this is amazing or terrible, but I’m leaning towards the latter.

[Disco]

Straight to 205.

[Shindig]

I'd love nothing more than Daniel Bryan to sign for TNA.

[Ian]

Ricochet will be buried in 205 and not be allowed to do half the stuff that made him so popular elsewhere.

EDIT: Oh, they've signed War Machine as well? Anybody seen (m)any of their matches? Hopefully whenever they get to the main roster they get a bit more luck than the Revival.

[Queenslander]

Yeah they are very mobile for big men.

[Browning]

War Machine are ace and should skip NXT. They’re already the best tag team in WWE.

[Disco]

WWE tag teams are there to be split up and launch singles careers so I'm not really sure what they're going to do with War Machine.

[Browning]

So IPW was an experience...

I normally go to WCPW and I would say they are closer to WWE in terms of production than they are to what I saw last night. This felt very small time, but in a way that was good. About 100 people there all in one small area so it was worth paying more to get to the front. Luckily I wasn’t on the side that got covered in raw egg after it had been in the mouth of two wrestlers but that’s a long story...

Dunne vs Ospreay was great but probably the weakest of the 4 or 5 ospreay matches I’ve seen on the indies. Having no real finish didn’t help. As always though, Will was worth the price of admission.

[Ian]

I dunno exactly how much of Smackdown was Jinder Mahal restholds but fuck me, what a shitfest.

On the flipside I've actually quite liked the last two or three episodes of Raw. Even Boatman's nonsensical firing-rampage-cake-rampage-rehiring mini-story.

[wullie]

I assume the last Smackdown before the Rumble is Ziggler trying to claim he's the US champ or something, which would be alright if it was a different opponent and not someone he had the dullest feud of the year with.

[7om]

Never got the fuss over War Machine. I was actually happy when I heard WWE had signed them so I don't have to see them on New Japan anymore.

[Ian]

I assume the last Smackdown before the Rumble is Ziggler trying to claim he's the US champ or something, which would be alright if it was a different opponent and not someone he had the dullest feud of the year with.

Yes, the crushing inevitability of it being Ziggler coming back to a gimmick either he or they haven't quite pulled the trigger on looming over the US title doesn't help.

[wullie]

http://www.wwe.com/f/styles/gallery_img_l/public/all/2018/01/012_Attitude_12192017jg_0710--aa5de21286731473833d21bf76d3c9eb.jpg
http://www.wwe.com/f/styles/gallery_img_l/public/all/2018/01/025_Attitude_12192017jg_0161--dda5890bb0fcff235b85f7e0a5fd88c9.jpg

[Queenslander]

I reckon this All In event that the BTE will promote will have Omega v Cody at the top of the card.

[SvN]

Anyone staying up to watch Raw? If it's not the best episode of all time, it will be a let down.

[Pleb]

It will more than likely be a letdown hence why I'm probably going to record this.

[SvN]

It really will. I can't remember anything other than Wrestlemania being as hyped as this.

[Lewis]

I'll record it and then get through it in half an hour tomorrow.

[Ian]

There'll be a load of shit cameos and about ten minutes of wrestling. Kane will probably be the one getting the rub in any pre-Rumble hype so that he can go down to a single F5 on Sunday. Gotta build up the F5 before Roman kicks out of four of them, after all.

[Weaver]

Enzo Amore’s been suspended by WWE tonight, having been accused by a fan of rape on Twitter.


"WWE has zero tolerance for matters involving sexual harassment or sexual assault. Until this matter is resolved, Eric Arndt (aka Enzo Amore) has been suspended."

Her story is via @missgucciwitch

[Browning]

They've confirmed so many guests that it's going to be a complete shower of shit:

The Undertaker
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Ric Flair
Shawn Michaels
Triple H
New Age Outlaws
X-Pac
Scott Hall
Chris Jericho
The Dudley Boyz
JBL
Ron Simmons
William Regal
The Bella Twins
Trish Stratus
Eric Bischoff
Ted Dibiase
MVP
Sgt. Slaughter
The Boogeyman
Christian
Brother Love
Teddy Long
John Laurinaitis
The Godfather
The Brooklyn Brawler
Mean Gene Okerlund
Harvey Wippleman
Jacqueline
Kelly Kelly
Michelle McCool
Terri Runnels
Torrie Wilson
Maria Kinellis

Like what are you even going to do with half of those?

[SvN]

Most will be in a battle royal, I'd imagine.

[SvN]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DULiZ_qVQAIfDGo.jpg:large

:drool:

[Disco]

IcoPro, that went well. I wonder what they did with it all.

[Pleb]

http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/wwe/WWE_Suspends_Enzo_Amore_After_Woman_Accuses_Him_of _Rape.html

:D

[Browning]

The APA Office :drool:

[SvN]

Here we go motherfuckers. I suspect my next post will be at 4am outraged at how shit it was.

[Lewis]

They've confirmed so many guests that it's going to be a complete shower of shit:

The Undertaker
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Ric Flair
Shawn Michaels
Triple H
New Age Outlaws
X-Pac
Scott Hall
Chris Jericho
The Dudley Boyz
JBL
Ron Simmons
William Regal
The Bella Twins
Trish Stratus
Eric Bischoff
Ted Dibiase
MVP
Sgt. Slaughter
The Boogeyman
Christian
Brother Love
Teddy Long
John Laurinaitis
The Godfather
The Brooklyn Brawler
Mean Gene Okerlund
Harvey Wippleman
Jacqueline
Kelly Kelly
Michelle McCool
Terri Runnels
Torrie Wilson
Maria Kinellis

Like what are you even going to do with half of those?

One notable absence there.

[Lewis]

That pop. :cool:

[SvN]

If you didn't enjoy that opening segment, you may as well give up watching.

[Lewis]

It's all downhill from there though isn't it.

[Queenslander]

Jericho will be great fun surely?

[SvN]

It's already gone to shit. 8 woman tag match. Jesus. It's like they went out of their way to think "What's the shittest thing we could have next?".

[Lewis]

Trish Stratus and Torrie Wilson come out, cut a promo on there being 'too many munters and box chowers' in the game these days, and then these two team re-organise themselves along appropriate lines with Sasha Banks winning the Royal Rumble on the back of it.

[Lewis]

Somebody should cut a promo pointing out how 'Taker underachieved during his prime and how he's kidding himself if he thinks he was the top man for all those years.

'The Deadman? More like the delu-deadman if you ask me, Mark.'

[Queenslander]

Why bury The Revival?

[wullie]

Vince having the entire crowd in the palm of his hand was the only good thing about that show. Disappointed with no Mike Adamle in particular.

[Shindig]

It's already gone to shit. 8 woman tag match. Jesus. It's like they went out of their way to think "What's the shittest thing we could have next?".

They need to stop trying to shove their entire women roster into 15 minutes of TV.

[Browning]

It was a nostalgia show, of course the women were in some pointless clusterfuck match.

[Browning]

I couldn't find a decent video of the show to even skim through in half an hour, so I read the results, and now I'm glad I didn't even spend half an hour of that. What a load of shite.

[Ian]

Well that was terrible, as you'd expect. Opening was good though.


Why bury The Revival?

Because anti-establishment hero Triple H and his mates really needed the rub.

Why you have them lose the match AND get battered after is beyond me but, again, the answer is probably "because Triple H."

[Lewis]

This is the first I've seen of Elias, and he is crap.

[Browning]

No Hogan really is a disgrace. If he isn't back by Mania that's me cancelling the network.

[wullie]

I wonder how many people recognised MVP, even at the poker table.

[Lewis]

Has there ever been a good DX reunion?

[Disco]

Hogan has been an awful shitshow for 30 years, what use could he possibly be now.

[phonics]

I've never understood the Hogan hype. Maybe if you were watching in 1989 but outside of that? He's a terrible wrestler.

[wullie]

I always hated the Hulkster, but Hollywood Hogan was amazing.

Watched the 1992 Rumble and seeing Hogan get fairly thrown out, appeal to the crowd for sympathy and then completely cheat Sid, turns out WWE faces have always been terrible people.

[Disco]

The heel turn was great but a cardboard cut out could have gotten the NWO over (and not ruined that Sting match they spent 18 months building towards) plus all his matches from that time on were universally terrible.

[wullie]

Mid-late 90s though innit, match quality was way down the list of priorities behind run-ins and swerves and tits.

[Browning]

Fuck the haters. Hulkamania will live forever, brother.

[SvN]

What a fucking letdown that was. The opening segment was the only decent bit.

[Browning]

They should have just had Undertaker playing poker with everyone else if that was all they were going to do with him.

[SvN]

I can't even figure out what it was. People seem torn whether it was a retirement speech or an "I'm back" message.

[SvN]

JR should never commentate again either. He was so poor, no excitement about anything. When X-Pac came out he literally just said "X-Pac" in his normal voice.

[Disco]

Fair enough really, it was only Xpac.

[wullie]

My favourite thing about DX is HHH having a no.2 cut while the rest of them frantically try to cling on to their hairlines for dear life.

[SvN]

I noticed Shawn attempting to hide his hairline with a headband.

[wullie]

Enzo's got the boot now, no new evidence but apparently he's known about it since October and WWE are only just finding out. RIP 205 Live

[Shindig]

Making room for Bostonite Rick O'Shay, innit?

[wullie]

They still refuse to take Neville's picture down from their site, so I've got my fingers crossed they throw whatever he wants at him to come back.

[Ian]

JR should never commentate again either. He was so poor, no excitement about anything. When X-Pac came out he literally just said "X-Pac" in his normal voice.

The whole Manhattan Center thing was an utter waste of time and I imagine the people who bought tickets for that bit feel thoroughly ripped off. JR wasn't up to much but he also had next to fuck all to work with.

[Pleb]

Didn't they only have one match or something?

[Ian]

Two squashes, I believe.

EDIT: http://whatculture.com/wwe/wwe-raw-25-manhattan-center-crowd-angry-demand-refunds

$400??

Alright, you're just asking for trouble if you have that poor a money:sense ratio.

[Pleb]

"Enzo vs. Goldust was set to take place in the third hour of last night's RAW and would have led to The Dudley Boyz returning to stop The Zo Train from beating down Goldust and Cedric Alexander." (http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/wwe/Original_RAW_25_Plans_for_Enzo_Amore_More_Video_of _WWE_Stars_at_The_NYSE_Becky_Lynch.html)
:sherlock:

I'm also hearing rumors of a potential GM for 205 Live :D :face:

[Queenslander]

Alpha Club. :cool:

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

WWE network has a one month free trial (two if you've never been a subscriber) so I've gone in so I can watch the Rumble.

I so hope Austin is in it but I doubt it. Could also do with Kelly Kelly coming back for the women's one.

[SvN]

No chance Austin is in it. They wouldn't even let him speak the other night.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Decided to watch the '92 Rumble as it's considered the best ever.

Just before I got into it, I had forgotten how many shit gimmicky wrestlers they had.

Irwin R. Schyster (Bray Wyatt's fucking Dad), Repo Man, Hercules etc. Amazing.

[SvN]

The 92 Rumble was the first wrestling I ever watched. I'm not sure it's ever been topped.

[Lewis]

No chance Austin is in it. They wouldn't even let him speak the other night.

That was a bit weird that.

[Browning]

2001 will always be the best rumble for me but Heenan alone makes 92 second.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

'98 was probably my personal favourite, although 2001 wasn't far behind.

[phonics]

Which was the one that Stone Cold got battered before he could enter and then came in randomly through the crowd?

That was the best one.

[Disco]

Vince beat him up in a toilet in 2000 or 2001 and it ended up with just those two.

[phonics]

Didn't he get hit by a car or something? All the good storylines roll into one now.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

'99 wasn't it?

[Browning]

01 he was battered by HHH on his way down but still won it.

[Disco]

Didn't he get hit by a car or something? All the good storylines roll into one now.

Not as part of the Rumble, that was so he could bugger of and have neck surgery after Owen Hart dropped him on it.

[wullie]

Survivor Series 99 was when he got ran over and taken out of the main event he was still being advertised for up until the show started. People were pissed off at the WWF, but it was all Rikishi's fault.

[phonics]

WWE blaming it on the black man. A classic storyline.

[Disco]

They actually literally did that for a bit, Steve Blackman was (inexplicably) prime suspect at one stage.

[wullie]

The Rikishi reveal sucked the absolute life out of the room so much, the Gobbledygooker felt sorry for him. Luckily it was too early on for it to be Hornswoggle.

[Disco]

Has there ever been a proper explanation of why they went with him over the four or five other people it would have much more sense to have used?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

'92 was indeed great.

Heenan is easily the best heel commentator (I loved him shitting on Jamison) and the Rumble itself was great.

Proper lol at Macho Man fucking up though and the commentators having to put in a quick 'Oh but he went over the top by himself and not thrown out by someone' rule to save him. Would have been a good elimination though seeing him care more about revenge than the championship but it wasn't meant to end that way for him.

Oh and Sgt. Slaughter getting eliminated by Sid Justice is probably in my top 5 favourite eliminations. Sarge sold the absolute fuck out of it and the sound of him 'hitting' the post was great.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I have a really strong urge to now re-live the Attitude Era.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Rumble 98 and I forgot about the whole midget luchadores that they had around that time.

Max Mini :cool:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_iO5nwTWuM

110cm, his head didn't even reach the top rope when standing on the apron.

[Ian]

2001 will always be the best rumble for me but Heenan alone makes 92 second.

Every time I rewatch it I'm still sad Kane didn't win. I mean it was obvious he wasn't going to the first time but I do fucking love a bit of Kane. Which just makes the state of him now even more irritating.

[Ian]

I see WWE are keen to make the womens Rumble appear as unwatchable as possible by having Stephanie on the announce team.

[wullie]

Having invented women, she now has her sights set on taking Bobby Heenan's mantle as top Rumble commentator. I think she'll do it as she can and has done everything, and amazingly well. A true inspiration to all

[SvN]

It's so she can jump into the ring and raise Ronda's hand when she wins, ensuring she's in the photos that get published.

[Disco]

Are we discounting the possibility of her entering and winning, it would be in character.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I'd be stunned if she isn't in it.

Only way she wins it is if they haven't managed to get Ronda though.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WWE_personnel#Female_wrestlers

I count 22 across the two big brands but Paige is injured so 21. You've then got probably 2-4 from NXT.

I'd assume that Lita, Trish, Beth Phoenix, Steph and Ronda would be the others (and a couple more).

[Disco]

McMahon goes over unnecessarily could be the byline for the last 20 years so don't rule it out.

[SvN]

Lita wasn't invited to Raw 25, so I reckon she's not appearing.

[Ian]

Not on Raw 25 but she's on basically every PPV pre-show so it's not like they've fallen out with her. I still reckon she'll be in it in some part.


Are we discounting the possibility of her entering and winning, it would be in character.

I was joking about this with somebody recently. It would almost be worth the volcanic seethe.

I really, really don't want Rousey winning though. Fuck that. One of the recent NXT lot. Not Bayler because they've not fixed her yet having broken her. Asuka is the obvious choice of the current roster and probably the sensible one. I'd have her winning this and then remaining unbeaten for months yet.

[Disco]

I think she should go for a year or two, next years WM at the earliest. Then a loss would actually mean something, it won't happen though they don't have the patience.

[Ian]

I'll consider them to have done very 'well' (by their standards) if they last as long as.... say.... Summerslam.

But I agree with you. I'd give her a run like Punk's, including an alignment switch if/when it's required to freshen things up.

[Disco]

What is she now, still a sort of heel like on NXT?

[Ian]

Nah, they're having her as a face.

The mixed tag thing is ignoring all that but she's a face. I think. It's sometimes hard to tell with WWE these days.

[Trancemeister]

Is Vince bringing back XFL?

[SvN]

We'll find out at 8pm, but the answer is almost certainly yes.

[Weaver]

Would Rousey probably get booed like all big faces who come in and win big matches straight off?

Stephanie has announced that she’s going to be on commentary for the match - entrant #29 possibly with Rousey winning from #30?

[SvN]

I guess Ronda at 30 would hide her lack of wrestling ability.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

25th or so I reckon.

Let Shayna the cunt Bazler help her out a bit.

Could even bring in Jessamyn Duke and the other one. None of them are doing anything as they're all shit.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I've just seen this:

904796431478775809

So bad.

[wullie]

There's Sonya Deville doing an MMA gimmick too. Jerry Lawler will never get an erection again at this rate.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Is it not dust by now?

[Lewis]

I hope Charlotte wins the Tit Rumble. Preferably as the first entrant.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I want Becky to do it.

Becky :wub:

[SvN]

Becky would definitely be my choice to win, but I reckon she's got no chance. For whatever reason, they don't seem particularly high on her.

[SvN]

I'd also love it if JUST FOR ONCE a total outsider won the Rumble. For nearly 30 years they've been saying "ANYONE CAN WIN!" yet shockingly, it's always a main eventer (or Vince). Let someone like Goldust win it.

[Browning]

I honestly think Asuka should have challenged Bliss for the title at the Rumble and beaten her. Then you have Rousey win and the prospect of either Rousey Vs Asuka or Rousey Vs Charlotte would feel huge, and the decision would actually matter. Those were always the best storylines during the original brand split. "Which brand will the rumble winner choose?" "Which brand will this free agent sign for?" etc. Without stuff like that it all feels rather pointless.

[SvN]

It seems odd that neither of the women's champions are making an appearance at the second biggest event of the year.

[Shindig]

I'd also love it if JUST FOR ONCE a total outsider won the Rumble. For nearly 30 years they've been saying "ANYONE CAN WIN!" yet shockingly, it's always a main eventer (or Vince). Let someone like Goldust win it.

Yeah, put a proper underdog in. Even if they don't go over at Mania, you can still get a spectacle out of it. Or balance it out with a cash-in.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

They should bring back Eugene and let him win it.

[Browning]

XFL :drool:

Perfect timing with the Juice on the loose too. There's my round 1 fantasy pick. Him or Johnny Football anyway.

[Ian]

I'd also love it if JUST FOR ONCE a total outsider won the Rumble. For nearly 30 years they've been saying "ANYONE CAN WIN!" yet shockingly, it's always a main eventer (or Vince). Let someone like Goldust win it.

Thing is, if they were going to do it there'd have been no reason not to have done it by now. Not that I expect WWE to adhere to logic, but you could have got a lot of the sort publicity they want by having somebody who obviously isn't going to main event Wrestlemania win it and then have them heroically lose their spot. and if you're halfway capable of booking a babyface (WWE aren't) you've got a fan hero on your hands. Alternatively, with the brand split, you have a promising midcarder against a workrate veteran champion (say, for the sake of argument, AJ Styles) for them to go against and who can make them look like the bee's knees even if they don't ultimately win.

[Pleb]

I'd also love it if JUST FOR ONCE a total outsider won the Rumble. For nearly 30 years they've been saying "ANYONE CAN WIN!" yet shockingly, it's always a main eventer (or Vince). Let someone like Goldust win it.
Kane must be due one surely?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I've also watched some 2017 PPV's (Money in the bank which was meh and Elimination Chamber), wouldn't mind Naomi winning the 'Tit Rumble'. I love her intro, I'm a sucker for THE GLOW.

[Pleb]

"There are people in WWE who believe Strowman should defeat Kane and WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble to become champion. No word yet on what direction Vince McMahon will go but after RAW 25 he was not thinking of Braun as Universal Champion." (http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/wwe/Braun_Strowman_Currently_Scheduled_for_Big_Title_M atch_at_WrestleMania_34.html)

What scenes.

[Ian]

We really ought to be putting together some recommendations for 'How while he has his freebie Network.

Cena vs. Punk at Money in the Bank '11 if you've not seen it.
Cena vs. Michaels on.... Raw 1000?
The four matches of Taker vs Michaels and HHH at whatever Wrestlemanias they were.

And basically none of the Rumbles since whenever the fuck the last non-shit one was.

EDIT: Lesnar will take a ten minute lie-down (while Boatman pretends Kane isn't shit) and then beat somebody with a single F5. Nailed on.

[Disco]

Straw Boatman vs HHH seems a lot more likely.

[Lewis]

We should try to get #TitRumble trending during it. Somebody get in touch with Conor McGregor.

[Ian]

Straw Boatman vs HHH seems a lot more likely.

It's going to be Angle, shirley? Where that would leave Boatman (other than taking the shaft again) I don't know.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

We really ought to be putting together some recommendations for 'How while he has his freebie Network.

Cena vs. Punk at Money in the Bank '11 if you've not seen it.
Cena vs. Michaels on.... Raw 1000?
The four matches of Taker vs Michaels and HHH at whatever Wrestlemanias they were.

And basically none of the Rumbles since whenever the fuck the last non-shit one was.

EDIT: Lesnar will take a ten minute lie-down while Boatman pretends Kane isn't shit and then beat somebody with a single F5. Nailed on.

I think my last rumble was the one that Del Rio won (painfully bad but I'd have forgiven it had they let Santino win) and I haven't missed any good ones since apparently.

I can't remember the last time I was an active viewer (09 or 10 probably) so I'll take anything.

[Ian]

Well all those are worth a go for a kick-off. You'd need to google for the exact PPVs but the Usos / New Day and Strowman / Reigns series from last year are also good. Especially the bit where "babyface" Roman Reigns tries to murder a dude in cold blood because that's what heroes do.

Shield vs Wyatts, Shield vs. Evolution.

Lesnar vs. Reigns at WM31.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I got a bit of Uso/New Day when watching the Money in the Bank and it was great so that's a good shout.

[Ian]

I think they had three PPV matches last year. They were all good, anyway.

[Pleb]

Anything Shield related is worth a punt.

The Authors of Pain vs. #DIY vs. The Revival from NXT Orlando Takeover last year is also worth watching Mahow if you haven't seen that already.

[Ian]

Definitely go for the ones suggested so far anyway, Mahow. Let us know when you need more.

Especially once the PPV on Sunday is a crushing disappointment.

[Browning]

I’m fairly sure cena vs HBK was in the UK rather than RAW 1000, but I could be wrong. It’s great either way.

Any and all HBK mania matches that you haven’t seen would be worth it.

[Disco]

It's going to be Angle, shirley? Where that would leave Boatman (other than taking the shaft again) I don't know.

I think that went out the window when Angle looked like he was going to snap in half at every bump. Boatman / HHH and Lesnar / Reigns would appear to be the plan, which doesn't bode well for the Rumble unfortunately.

[wullie]

Aleister Black vs Velveteen Dream from late last year was pretty great.

[Ian]

That's a great shout from Wullie, I loved that match.


I’m fairly sure cena vs HBK was in the UK rather than RAW 1000, but I could be wrong. It’s great either way.

Yes you're absolutely right.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Decided I'd try to watch most of the 2017 PPV's so I have an understand of the storylines and most people in the sport now.

Rumble 2017 up and I really like the Charlotte/Bayley match and the Styles/Cena match was brilliant. The intro to the Rumble with Enzo (lol) and Big Cass :face:

I'm almost glad that he raped that woman so he wont be back.

I also stumbled across the 'Woken' Matt Hardy promo on Youtube, what in the actual fuck?

[Browning]

Go and watch the final deletion. Then you’ll know.

[wullie]

They've been treading water with the gimmick until TNA relinquished whatever legal rights they had to it which is meant to be all sorted now, but I'd be surprised if they let him go as mad with it as TNA did.

[phonics]

All you need to know is that it's a dilapidated boat.

[Disco]

The bit about green beans was my favourite.

In what might be the most defeatist move ever TNA have actually relinquished image/gimmick rights for all their wrestlers.

[Shindig]

I'm trying to think of good WCW PPVs but the peak of that company was always in spurts. All I remember is the turn at Bash at the Beach, Sting's long silence, Halloween Havoc with the monster trucks, Warrior's stupid return (which led to Davey Boy Smith's eventual death) and erm ....

Skim through the cruiserweights. Eddie, Jericho, Benoit, Malenko, etc. And anything with an Arn spinebuster.

[Ian]

Styles / Cena might be the most overrated match of last year.

[Queenslander]

Tanahashi V Suzuki for the Intercontinental Title should be a cracker! I can see Suzuki going over as a way of keeping the Title relevant while Tanahashi rehabs his broken body.

And there arent any proper heels at the top of the card at the moment.

[Disco]

I am always ready for Minoru Suzuki.

[Queenslander]

On tonight our time.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Do PPV's go straight up on network?

Wont be able to watch the Rumble live so wondering if I'll need to download it or it will be there waiting.

[Browning]

Yes, they do.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Just finishing on TLC (aka Braun and his truck), why was every single match bar the main event not a fucking TLC match? When did that shit change?

First time I had seen Asuka though and she's great.

[Pleb]

What's your best WWE PPV that you have seen so far then Mahow?

On the network I mean...

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Here's my rankings of the 2017 PPV's that I've seen:

1. Elimination Chamber, I feel that it's hard to go wrong with EC especially when the main event is good. I didn't care much for the handicap match with Apollo and Kalisto against Dolph but I enjoyed the rest.

2. Royal Rumble. The rumble itself was pretty meh but it had it's moments (Goldberg dispatching Brock quickly was fun) and the other matches (bar Neville/Swann) were all pretty damn good. Had the rumble been better with a more deserving winner it would be number 1.

3. TLC. I'm angry that there was only one TLC match (I'd have even been happy with special matches but they were all regular) and it was just strange. Balor and Styles was a really good match and I liked both women's matches (Asuka should have been given a better opponent though) but there were too many negatives. I didn't care for the tag match, I hated the Elias interludes and I hated seeing Enzo win. The handicap match was all types of mental though. I felt there were too many people (it's not a Rumble, lads), the Strowman 'incident' and Angle getting wiped out then coming back at the end with God mode enabled despite his brittle neck being taken to the very edge.

4. Money in the Bank. There was a bit too much shit in there (fuck off Jinder and the Breezango tag match, oh and Lana who whilst hot is not really a wrestler) and both Money in the banks had a shit ending. I feel that the women's one should have gone on for a bit longer but the main point was the ending. They're pushing for a women's 'REVOLUTION' and yet they have a male wrestler (James fucking Ellsworth at that) go and get the ladder? It didn't need controversy and if it did they could have done something better. As for the male's, Corbin just shouldn't have won. I was actually going to put it at third but the write up made me drop it, fuck the lone wolf.

[Disco]

Velveteen Dream was great again tonight, him and Black are the best things on NXT at the mo. With the possible exception of Big Damo and No Way Jose.

[Queenslander]

:cool:

http://i63.tinypic.com/2yy5dz9.png

[Disco]

Literally just finished watching it. What a lad. :cool:

[Queenslander]

That drop kick was mental.

[Queenslander]

Kenny Omega v Jay White is the main event tonight.

[Ian]

Velveteen Dream was great again tonight, him and Black are the best things on NXT at the mo. With the possible exception of Big Damo and No Way Jose.

My work chum was saying it was a great show so I'll need to get on that when I get home.

[Disco]

Dream v Ohno
Black v Cole
Moon v Basler
Almas v Gargano

All really really good, haven't seen the tag match though.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I'm watching it now as I heard good things.

Only seen the tag match thus far and it was really good although the ending wasn't great. I really like the look of Authors of Pain though, could do some good things on the main roster.

[phonics]

What time is the actual rumble starting? I'm thinking about staying up but if it's going to be last on at like 4am.

edit: and where's a good source for a stream?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Starts at midnight.

Best bet is to sign up for WWE Network.

You get a month free, two if you've never subscribed before.

[Disco]

https://www.reddit.com/r/WWEstreams/

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Black v Cole :drool:

That was seriously good.

I did lol at the quick medical timeout in an extreme rules match to put a bandage on Cole's thumb so the blood wasn't visible.

Mauro was terrible during the fight though, he kept calling things wrong constantly.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Jesus, the main event was even better.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Pre-show (Roode v TBA for the US Championship, Gallows/Anderson v Dawson/Wilder and Kalisto/Dorado/Gran Metalik v TJ Perkins/Jack Gallagher/Drew Gulak) is live from 10pm btw.

I think I'll watch that then go to bed.

[Ian]

Gallows / Anderson vs. Revival will hopefully have the match they should have been allowed to have on Raw 25.

I think I'll watch the pre-show and squeeze some TakeOver in between before bed.

[Ian]

WWE title is opening the show? Okayyyy....

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Yep, that's strange.

Owens and Zayn had me proper lolling there.

[Ian]

Are we confident that even WWE aren't stupid enough to have two Rumble matches back to back?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

That's what is listed on Wiki.

Although they've been wrong throughout so far. They had Roode kicking off, this match and then the six man tag so only 1 right there. They also had the WWE Championship match after the two rumbles.

It looks a mess though as they have the two tag matches as the final two on the card. Surely the Universal will be last.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I'm hoping it's something like this:

WWE Championship match (how shit it's first, they should have kicked it off with a tag championship match)
A tag match
Female Rumble
Second tag match
Male Rumble
Universal Championship.

Might be better to have the two tag matches in between the rumbles actually so we get a bigger break.

[Browning]

The Wiki card is never in order. I think it's typically the order the matches are announced, but they put the pre-show stuff at the top (or bottom, whatever it is).

They won't do them both back to back. I wonder if the title is going on first to allow the loser(s) to enter the rumble.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Scott Dawson's facial hair is a fucking mess. Do it right or don't do it mate.

[Ian]

Rumble is 100% going to be the main event, How.

On that note, add Cena/ Rollins / Lesnar to your list if we didn't already suggest it. it's a great match even if it helped perfect Bork's favourite formula.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

For some reason I thought they had done the Rumble as co-main event the last few years. Obviously it's going to be last so you can have the sign point to close.

[Ian]

"Co-main event" is not a thing. It's a WWE lie. Every show has one main event. No more, no less.

Also is Alundra Blayze drunk?

[SvN]

Please make sure you spoiler betting odds and rumours if you post them.

I reckon Blayze didn't know any women wrestlers so just rambled and rambled so she didn't have to answer.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Am I remembering things badly or has Kane been scoffing some cakes btw? I don't remember him being as fat as he is when I stopped watching, he seems to really stretch out his costume.

[SvN]

Yeah he's much bigger than he was even a few years ago.

[Browning]

Man are they hyping that shitty triple threat. I couldn't give a fuck about it. None of them are great and Lesnar is 1000% winning it anyway.

[Browning]

Both Renee and Phillips getting that video package wrong.... both going on about it being the first win for Austin (with Renee even mentioning 1997) and then the package is the 98 rumble.

[Ian]

Brock has the ability to be great, they just indulge his laziness. I genuinely hope that once Reigns mullers him he fucks off and doesn't bother his arse to come back.

[Browning]

MoJo fucking Rawley.

Start as you mean to go on. Odds of the only shock entrant in the Rumble being Kalisto just went up.

[SvN]

Mojo Rawley might be the person I'd have chosen if someone asked "who's the most boring person that could answer this challenge?".

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Promoting the triple threat, that they just promoted, in the middle of this says it all.

[Dan]

I'm ready to be disappointed :drool: Turning on to Mojo Rawley is a great start.

[Browning]

"Did Roode get all of it however?"

3 count to no reaction....

Brilliant commentary.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I think we're going to have a new champion here
Oh, DDT!

About 5 seconds between the two statements.

[Dan]

That shitty, awkward looking tornado DDT was the finish? :D

It's comforting to see that WWE still can't book. At least we're in Philly so the crowd will just shit on the whole thing by chanting for ECW if the main card sucks.

[Dan]

I wonder who's getting pinned in that triple threat... :sherlock:

Still rolling out the Rumble history montages too then.

[Ian]

It's comforting to see that WWE still can't book. At least we're in Philly so the crowd will just shit on the whole thing by chanting for ECW if the main card sucks.

The last thing WWE shows need these days is more crowds making things about them.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Has Flair had a stroke?

The lisp is off the fucking charts.

[Dan]

Probably, but I'm assuming Philly is still the same as it always was, so I won't be surprised if it happens.

[SvN]

He nearly died fairly recently.

[Disco]

Ric Flair hasn't said an intelligible thing (for about a decade) the entire time he's been on.

[Dan]

Has Flair had a stroke?

The lisp is off the fucking charts.

Didn't he basically die a few months ago?