The Ultimate WWE Thread

[Queenslander]

Apparently he kicked out at 1 lol

Check out RickeyShanePage’s Tweet: https://twitter.com/RickeyShanePage/status/1082426480116740096?s=09

[Ian]

Even by the standards of a) all things Hulk Hogan since (whichever year prior to about two decades ago of your choice) and b) having him do a tribute to Okerlund that promo on Raw was fucking dire.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Even by the standards of a) all things Hulk Hogan since (whichever year prior to about two decades ago of your choice) and b) having him do a tribute to Okerlund that promo on Raw was fucking dire.

The fucking pop that he got.

How quickly the sheeple forget.

Edit: I've just gotten to the bit where he's doing a promo about Gene setting matches between other dead wrestlers, FUCKING HELL.

[Ian]

The whole thing was a mess.

Much like the vast majority of the show to be fair.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I do not understand the whole Revival angle they've been going with for the past few weeks.

Why are heels constantly being screwed over? Are we meant to sympathise with them (assuming anyone cares)?

It's so stupid.

[Shindig]

If Benoit survived and somehow got acquitted (OJ style) , he'd get a huge pop too.

[7om]

Bastard PAC just appeared at the AEW rally :drool:

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

lol at Nia not able to even get her weight right.

300.5 ounces aka 18.78 pounds...

God she's so fucking bad.

[wullie]

https://i.imgur.com/B60hIXF.jpg

What's going on with the Travolta hairline there

[Gray Fox]

With Bastard PAC, does the PAC stand for something I don't know about?

[Lewis]

Even by the standards of a) all things Hulk Hogan since (whichever year prior to about two decades ago of your choice) and b) having him do a tribute to Okerlund that promo on Raw was fucking dire.

Wanker.

[Disco]

I skipped that bit.

[Queenslander]

Looks like AEW will work with Dragon Gate in Japan.

[Ian]

I skipped that bit.

You missed about 60 WELL LEMME TELL YA SOMETHINs and some weird bits interspersed. Typical Hogan promo only this time he mentioned heaven a lot more.

At least he didn't book Jesus in that tag match.

[wullie]

Naming all the dead people was nice, but it then got a bit weird when he said Gene could get fat because there are only two ugly dead women to go round.

[Disco]

It was an odd Raw, is that awful shaky camera a new thing? The tag title match is also booked very oddly, who is supposed to be good team in all this? And why, during a lumberjack match, did Bobby Roooooooo manage to disappear for several minutes?

Still, at least that part wasn't ruined by Bobby Lashley, and not in a 'ooo, aren't I a wrong un' sort of way, just in a bland boring way that made everything worse.

[Ian]

The Revival have been the heels who get consistently screwed over without it being part of any story or gimmick for over a month now I think. On the WWE scale for bonkersness it rates fairly low but it IS bonkers.

[Disco]

You missed about 60 WELL LEMME TELL YA SOMETHINs and some weird bits interspersed. Typical Hogan promo only this time he mentioned heaven a lot more.

At least he didn't book Jesus in that tag match.

I watched the video tribute thing because WWE are normally pretty good at those but all it really did was highlight how much better the show would be if it had a proper presenter.

[wullie]

I hate that shaky camera whenever there's action, I can't work out if they're trying to make everything look action-packed or playing safe in case anyone whiffs like a Shane McMahon punch.

[SvN]

It's to hide the botches. They never used to bother before HD, but it's super obvious now when someone completely missed a punch by a foot.

[Baz]

AEW sounds awesome.

Can the thread be renamed?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I hate that shaky camera whenever there's action, I can't work out if they're trying to make everything look action-packed or playing safe in case anyone whiffs like a Shane McMahon punch.

I love that NXT UK uses the shaky camera for when Dave Mastiff walks to the ring.

HE'S THAT FUCKING MASSIVE.

[Ian]

I liked on this week's Raw when Rollins and Ambrose fought to the back and the camera stayed on them for an absolutely eternity. This being directed by the same cunt who does about three cuts a second when stuff is actually going on.

[Disco]

Surely that was pre-taped and they just had a rest for a while. That match was good until Boring Robert came out to beat up Seth Rollins who I must now assume is a loser with not a friend on the roster.

[Ian]

That whole set up is weird. The WhatCulture bit I read put it fairly succinctly.


Seth Rollins hit a curbstomp and pinned Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose Monday night, then stomped him again but was stopped by Bobby Lashley, who lost to Elias at TLC and on Raw two weeks ago, and was beaten to a pulp by Rollins last week. Elias lost to Baron Corbin, who had been on a losing streak recently.

So who is supposed to be the person standing tall here? Lashley physically was the one standing at the end of Raw Monday night, but he hasn’t exactly been setting the world on fire. Rollins seemingly is the guy being groomed for a Universal Championship match, but he’s still battling for the IC title, and since he can’t win that, he had to lose Monday night.

[Ian]

Also WWE have apparently just trademarked "When Worlds Collide." Earthbound-WWE vs Gene Okerlund's heavenly invasion. :drool:

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I loved the bit backstage when Rollins attempted to roll some steel at Ambrose but 'HE JUST MOVED OUT OF THE WAY' despite the fact that he moved almost instantly from his prone position.

[Disco]

I loved the bit backstage when Rollins attempted to roll some steel at Ambrose but 'HE JUST MOVED OUT OF THE WAY' despite the fact that he moved almost instantly from his prone position.

I spotted that as well, he kept pushing the thing despite Dean very obviously not being there (although if he'd suddenly been right behind him I would have forgiven it). Not quite as silly as Ibushi and his moonsault to nobody but still.

[Boom-Boom-18]

I have spent the last couple of nights watching random wrestling videos / interviews, mostly relating to the 1997 > 2004 time period.

Reading about the Angle / Puder incident was entertaining - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3rW4Ei_Clo

I am very tempted to buy a WWE Network pass and watch the entire attitude era again.

[Ian]

That sort of shit (the puder incident) just makes you roll your eyes when you read it. "Aw man I wanted to show this guy up on TV but he showed me up. Get him, boys. :(:(:("

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I have spent the last couple of nights watching random wrestling videos / interviews, mostly relating to the 1997 > 2004 time period.

Reading about the Angle / Puder incident was entertaining - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3rW4Ei_Clo

I am very tempted to buy a WWE Network pass and watch the entire attitude era again.

I tried but the very start is a bit tough going, I need to get back into it.

You forget how shit some of it was.

[Disco]

The rule for that era is WWF - Good main event guys, terrible undercard. WCW - Trash main event, great undercard.

The big take away from watching a load of that era is how much WWE was spoiled by having The Rock and Austin in the company at the same time. It seems to have given them a few ideas that they are incapable of moving away from, biggest of all that you can portray yourself as a heel company/authority figure and have it work. It worked once with the biggest face of all time and the biggest 'heat angle' of all time.

[phonics]

I tried doing the same Boom. I forgot that I used to watch the 1 hour version back in the day, there's so much dross.

I used their 'Best of' function after that which is quite good.

That app is a work of art though. I've used it on everything from phone, appletv, monster desktop to crappy laptop that can't even run pornhub and it works perfectly on them all. Every Sports Broadcaster should be hiring that developer.

During said binge I got to see quite a bit of Sunny. Jesus she was attractive. The peak moment might have been the midget tag team match where as you can see in the below gif, she wears a tiny pair of hot pants which clearly wasn't revealing enough as they have zips up the side so you can get a bit of extra thigh.

https://66.media.tumblr.com/51fff2614f8ef4d132fa010748cb8abb/tumblr_p2q4lgC2Mn1s24yedo1_400.gif

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

She's proper fucking ropey now which is a shame.

[Ian]

You can't just go about saying the Attitude Era wasn't perfect like you've left of your rose-tinteds, you idiots. The IWC will come and get you.

Or at least post nasty comments about you online.

[phonics]

She's proper fucking ropey now which is a shame.

Seeing that she had a porn video followed by watching said video is the biggest high to low I've experienced in some time.


You can't just go about saying the Attitude Era wasn't perfect like you've left of your rose-tinteds, you idiots. The IWC will come and get you.

Or at least post nasty comments about you online.

You'd think The Rock being absolute garbage every time he returned despite doing the exact same gimmick would have at least cracked a rose-tinted lens or two.

[Ian]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2NQBN5D6UI

Saw this on Smackdown and the official WWE Universe (sigh) Twitter account has it on there so either there's a weird exception for a Canadian Destroyer (even though you'd think it's more liable to bad things happening than many normal piledrivers) or Rey and Almas have had their arses kicked but the WWE have just decided to roll with it.

[phonics]

I was for legalisation of all drugs across the board but Sunny has convinced me otherwise.

From:
https://i.imgur.com/oSyBV8p.jpg

To:
https://i.imgur.com/TskP1KQ.jpg

in 10 years just isn't right.

[wullie]

I wouldn't watch full Attitude Era shows, maybe the Monday Night Wars show instead which cover the highlights so long as you can put up with the revisionist stuff like DX turning up hours before Nitro being what put WCW out of business.

I thought Smackdown was really good, and couldn't believe it but the Bar winning is the first time a champion has won a non-title match in WWE since 1979.

[Shindig]

I was shocked when I realised how boring swaths of the nWo stuff is. There's a Nitro where they batter the entire locker room for an hour.

[Ian]

I thought Smackdown was really good, and couldn't believe it but the Bar winning is the first time a champion has won a non-title match in WWE since 1979.

Gotta make 'em look strong before the world's greatest wrestler and his dorky kid brother make them look like mugs at the Rumble.

[Disco]

You'd think The Rock being absolute garbage every time he returned despite doing the exact same gimmick would have at least cracked a rose-tinted lens or two.

Him being so brilliant is part of the problem with most of the stuff that came after, you could give him a shopping list to read and it would have been amazing. Their problem has been that they haven't realised that you can't treat your top guys like that when they aren't The Rock.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I'm just starting on SD now and they really couldn't have come up with a better heel character for Daniel Bryan?

The first week they nailed his heel shtick and then they just killed it making him an angry vegan.

[phonics]

I wouldn't watch full Attitude Era shows, maybe the Monday Night Wars show instead which cover the highlights so long as you can put up with the revisionist stuff like DX turning up hours before Nitro being what put WCW out of business.

I thought Smackdown was really good, and couldn't believe it but the Bar winning is the first time a champion has won a non-title match in WWE since 1979.

I was really enjoying Monday Night Wars but I didn't get more than half way through. A few reasons:

1) The sheer amount of re-used audio/clips. I have to assume they could only get 20 minutes with HHH and have to use that for everything. They use the same few lines every other episode.
2) The 'War' storyline is over by episode 3
3) Then we go back in time for individual gimmick reviews with a biography of DX, Foley, Hart and Austin without revealing anything new that you couldn't skim off a wikipedia page.
4) An hour long documentary on Goldberg? I'm done.

[Gray Fox]

Them kicking fans with AEW shirts out of Smackdown is top tier, petty Vince. :D

[Ian]

I've probably seen this before about the Rock but for a guy of his standing he was also one of the best at making the guy across from him look a million bucks and taking the fall to do so a lot of times. Maybe he was just better chasing the title, I'd need to watch more of the TV again I guess, but I was reminded recently that his combined WWE title reigns come to just under or just over a year and about a third of that was with one reign.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Them kicking fans with AEW shirts out of Smackdown is top tier, petty Vince. :D

They also removed Jericho from the WWE credits at the start :harold:

[Ian]

And yet they let the Revival have an AEW reference on their arses this week. Which presumably means that nobody who matters knew what it meant and couldn't be arsed internetting it like I did.

[Queenslander]

http://i67.tinypic.com/15wyyo.jpg

[Baz]

And yet they let the Revival have an AEW reference on their arses this week. Which presumably means that nobody who matters knew what it meant and couldn't be arsed internetting it like I did.

For reference, seeing as this made me internet it: http://whatculture.com/wwe/the-revival-send-out-aew-hint-on-wwe-raw

[Disco]

That angle writes itself, I'd definitely watch Bucks vs Revival

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

When does AEW actually start? Is it also going to be a weekly thing?

[Disco]

They've announced Double or Nothing which is a second All In show later this year but apart from that I don't think they've said what the normal schedule will be.

[wullie]

They said their second show would be in Jacksonville and raise money for gun crime charities, but there was no dates mentioned. The two venues though are basketball/ice hockey size arenas, so they're aiming pretty big already and would double TNA's attendance record in one go if they come close to a sellout.

[Baz]

AEW needs to come to the UK.

Although it mightn't be as enjoyable as ICW in the grotty Academy in Liverpool. I mean, who cares if the oily muscle men can wrestle, when you can drink beer out of two-pinters and heckle Drew McIntyre about Taryn Terrell?

[Boom-Boom-18]

I tried doing the same Boom. I forgot that I used to watch the 1 hour version back in the day, there's so much dross.

I used their 'Best of' function after that which is quite good.

That app is a work of art though. I've used it on everything from phone, appletv, monster desktop to crappy laptop that can't even run pornhub and it works perfectly on them all. Every Sports Broadcaster should be hiring that developer.

During said binge I got to see quite a bit of Sunny. Jesus she was attractive. The peak moment might have been the midget tag team match where as you can see in the below gif, she wears a tiny pair of hot pants which clearly wasn't revealing enough as they have zips up the side so you can get a bit of extra thigh.

https://66.media.tumblr.com/51fff2614f8ef4d132fa010748cb8abb/tumblr_p2q4lgC2Mn1s24yedo1_400.gif

What sort of standard are the old episodes in? HD quality?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I believe they're upscaled to HD.

I've had no issues with quality.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Keith Lee's voice is fucking superb.

I would pay to have some audiobooks he's recorded.

[Disco]

He's the best.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2019/01/wwe-announces-worlds-collide-with-talent-from-multiple-649683/

WWE today officially announced the WWE Worlds Collide Tournament during Royal Rumble weekend as part of Axxess. The tournament will feature talent from the NXT, NXT UK and 205 Live brands. The tournament will start as a 15 man battle royal on Saturday, which will determine the first round matches for the tournament beginning later that day. The winner of the battle royal will receive a bye in the first round.

The tournament will conclude on Sunday at the final Axxess session. The winner of the tournament will be awarded a future title shot.

Here are the wrestlers chosen:

From NXT

Adam Cole
Velveteen Dream
Dominik Dijakovic
Keith Lee
Otis Dozovic

From NXT UK

Mark Andrews
Tyler Bate
Travis Banks
Jordan Devlin
Zack Gibson

From 205 Live

Cedric Alexander
Humberto Carrillo
Tony Nese
Drew Gulak
TJP

The winner will be able to challenge for any title across those 3 brands too. Interesting idea and there should be some cracking matches there. Adam Cole/Velveteen Dream against Tyler Bate would be amazing.

[Ian]

My money is on Shane O Mac.

[Queenslander]

Kushida's last match is against Tanahashi.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

"The problem was the success of All In changed the value structure. Paul Levesque worked hard at getting all four into WWE. Page was offered main roster money to work NXT, where he’d have been pushed as one of its top stars. The Bucks & Cody were offered strong deals. The Bucks deal was for money roughly the same as WWE champion A.J. Styles, which would have also included BTE being made a regular weekly show on the WWE Network, as well as something I’ve never heard WWE concede on, which was a six-month window where they could have left their three-year contract if they wanted and weren’t happy with their push."

Haitch went hard for the four it seems.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Also if this is true, lol:

Sullivan was supposed to debut in some manner on Monday’s Raw (speculated as in a dark match) but he either failed to show up at the arena or arrived and left before the show, having apparently suffered an anxiety attack

Meltzer notes that the WWE office is very understanding of mental health issues following their experiences with Mauro Ranallo, who has been very public about his long battle with bipolar disorder, and they took the time to speak with Sullivan and help him through his issues.


Believing the matter was resolved, WWE scheduled Sullivan for a dark match at the following night’s SmackDown tapings. This time Sullivan did not even show up at the building – instead he flew home to Colorado.

A nervous monster freak.

[Ian]

NXT UK Takeover tonight at 7pm.

I kinda drifted away from the TV show so there are some of the matches I'm not sure if I should be looking forward to or not. Eddie Dennis looks a bit odd and gangly, is he actually any good?

And I really can't be doing with Jordan Devlin.

[Queenslander]

Mustafa Ali on Jericho's podcast is a good yarn.

[Queenslander]

"The problem was the success of All In changed the value structure. Paul Levesque worked hard at getting all four into WWE. Page was offered main roster money to work NXT, where he’d have been pushed as one of its top stars. The Bucks & Cody were offered strong deals. The Bucks deal was for money roughly the same as WWE champion A.J. Styles, which would have also included BTE being made a regular weekly show on the WWE Network, as well as something I’ve never heard WWE concede on, which was a six-month window where they could have left their three-year contract if they wanted and weren’t happy with their push."

Haitch went hard for the four it seems.

Hangman Page is going to be bigger than Omega in the States. He has so much upside and doesnt look a little bit you know...

[Baz]

One of my wifes mates husbands is called Adam Page.

[Queenslander]

One of my wifes mates husbands is called Adam Page.

Big hog?

[Baz]

Big hog?I presume not.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

NXT UK Takeover tonight at 7pm.

I kinda drifted away from the TV show so there are some of the matches I'm not sure if I should be looking forward to or not. Eddie Dennis looks a bit odd and gangly, is he actually any good?

And I really can't be doing with Jordan Devlin.

I also drifted, they were pumping out episodes so quickly.

I really don't like Dennis, his attire looks like he dipped into the lost and found and his scowl is so crap.

[wullie]

Really liked that show, the Takeovers are so compact it works well. I had Devlin as a pound shop Balor at first but he's grown on me, I'd echo the same about Eddie Dennis though, he seems to be presented as a big man wrestler solely because everyone else is a bit short.

[Queenslander]

Walter v Pete Dunn is going to be great.

[Yaysus]

holy shit becky is cringe

[Ian]

UK Takeover was fine but I reckon give it a fortnight and there's very little I'll remember about it beyond Balor being there, Moustache Mountain's hideous ring attire and Dunne vs. Coffey being approximately 20 minutes too long.

[Gray Fox]

holy shit becky is cringe

Are you referring to The Man?

[bruhnaldo]

During said binge I got to see quite a bit of Sunny. Jesus she was attractive. The peak moment might have been the midget tag team match where as you can see in the below gif, she wears a tiny pair of hot pants which clearly wasn't revealing enough as they have zips up the side so you can get a bit of extra thigh.

https://66.media.tumblr.com/51fff2614f8ef4d132fa010748cb8abb/tumblr_p2q4lgC2Mn1s24yedo1_400.gif

Every time I see or remember Sunny I'm taken back to 4th grade where I, at some point, drew a sun with a big cartoon smile in the corner of like a 3x5 and wrote something to the effect of "Sunny makes my day Sunny" in big 4th grade bubble letters.

I only remember this because my mom subsequently found it in my bookbag and asked me who Sunny was and then when she realized it was one of them WRASSLIN' GALS gave me one of these:

https://neversaynever0304.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/jennifer-aniston-oh-really-gif-nmbd.gif

...leaving me in a tatters of embarrassment and shame lmao.

[bruhnaldo]

Also, idk if anyone keeps up with NXT but I went to a house show last Friday and apparently "EC3" and "Heavy Machinery" are getting called up to the main roster, as per their goodbye message to the crowd after the main event.

I don't know if anyone knows or cares about this but anyways thought I'd share.

[Disco]

As are Lacey Evans and Nikki Cross.

[Ian]

And Lars if he bothers to turn up.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Read a story today that said Balor was always going to be the opponent and they wanted this match last year at the Rumble.

Brock apparently wanted to fight Finn as he likes fighting the smaller more agile guys.

[Ian]

I.e. guys who make him look good at minimum effort.

A load.of suplexes, couple of hope spots, another identikit win, yawn.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Indeed.

Then we got Rollins against Lesnar at WM.

[Ian]

Where exactly the same thing happens but for 20 minutes and either:

1) ends with some sort of shenanigans and, if Rollins is winning, his umpteenth Curb Stomp to make sure Brock has ruined the move before he loses to it.

Or 2) lol Brock wins and takes the belt to a WWE Network special in Putin's back garden and beats Rollins again.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

20 minutes including some KNEE PROBLEMS for Rollins ofc.

[Ian]

Followed by a load of moves he 100% could not perform with a gammy knee.

[Browning]

Supposedly they built it as Lesnar vs Strowman to sell more tickets which is just ridiculous.

[Ian]

If that's true and they've intentionally pulled a bait-and-switch on people who've bought tickets then that's beyond lunatic booking and into actual shady bullshit territory.

We're the Authority now though so it's fine.

[Shindig]

Gimme the keys for a week and I'll have him fighting Nia Jax.

[Ian]

It's also a bit lol when you look at that fatal four-way for the #1 contendership. A guy who was red-hot until they had him subjected to the usual 50/50 stuff, a guy who they've barely allowed to look like more than a midcarder until about a fortnight ago, an absentee bald-spot and poor old fucking Jezza.

Also loved the quality protection for recently returned and recently turned Dean Ambrose in losing the belt.

[wullie]

Apart from Nikki Cross, it looks like Lars had the right idea to shit it based on all the debuts last night.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Dozovic's was quality, so close to a bit of good ol' sexual harassment too had it not been for 'Tucky'.

[Disco]

What have they done to my beautiful lumpy boy?

Otis :(

[wullie]

He was blending up an egg and steak smoothie on Smackdown, so it may not all be lost yet.

[Disco]

One wonders if, somewhere in the three hour wrestling show, they couldn't find a few minutes to maybe put them in a wrestling match? Could that work?

[Ian]

What? You've lost the fucking plot.

[wullie]

The best way to debut people is have them in the background as an established character walks down a corridor, maybe stopping to have a look for a second. Basically printing money

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Watched a bit of SD before bed and the Almas/Rey match was great, they have such great chemistry.

Took them so long to actually utilise Andrade but they're nailing it now.

[Ian]

That was a great match. What is their fucking problem with surnames though? Ugh.

Also, Canadian Destroyer again. I don't get how that doesn't breach their piledriver rule. Have Rey and Almas convinced somebody it's more of a reverse frankensteiner delivered via sunset flip?

[Shindig]

"I don't see piledriver in the name. Do you?"

[wullie]

I think they make allowances for certain moves if the people involved can be trusted, I'm surprised they still let Undertaker do his tombstone though having spent the past few years looking like he'd crumble into pieces if the wind changed direction.

[Ian]

Has ANYBODY got permission to do regular piledrivers other than His Crumbliness and Mayor Jacobs though?

[wullie]

I'm sure I remember Cena breaking one out not too long ago. One of the 205 gang did a brainbuster, but technically that's just a faster suplex

[Browning]

King would probably get away with it.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

The Revival requested a release right after their match on RAW this week but it was denied.

[SvN]

I think they make allowances for certain moves if the people involved can be trusted, I'm surprised they still let Undertaker do his tombstone though having spent the past few years looking like he'd crumble into pieces if the wind changed direction.

:D

The bounce he got from Aiden English's bonce at GRR was brilliant.

[Queenslander]

Proper heel is old mate Walter.


https://youtu.be/5SJH-4A166o

[Disco]

Well his WxW mates are piling up in NXT...

[Smjffy]

I would struggle to recall the last time I watched any wrestling but January is always the best month. Royal Rumble baby!

Sad news regarding Reigns but I have a sneaky feeling he'll reappear at said event.

[Browning]

Who let that prick into this thread?

I really thought the Rumble was tomorrow, but nope. Oh well. Not following it at all means I have zero idea who is likely to win, which is kind of nice, but the fact it'll probably be one of the Shield lot or Strowman seems a pretty safe bet for the next 10 years.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Rollins will win the men's rumble and Charlotte will win the women's.

[Browning]

That was the vibe I got from a quick search earlier, but I hope not. I don't want to see the standard Rollins match main event WM, and Becky deserves the nod much more than Charlotte right now. Make it Drew and Becky or something.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Becky would be so much better as I rather see her against Ronda than Charlotte.

How many times has a double duty wrestler won the Rumble though?

[Browning]

Seemingly the last time it happened was Brock Lesnar in 2003, so her chances aren’t great.

Edit- Hart in 94 is the only other one.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/ae2u5j/everybody_who_has_done_double_duty_on_royal/

Bret (co-win) and Brock are the only ones to do it.

I don't fancy her chances.

[wullie]

If Becky's not in the Rumble I've got Rousey fucking up her title match in order to get a triple threat going with Charlotte. Shane McMahon to win the mens.

[Baz]

A-E-dub. :baz:

https://scontent-lht6-1.cdninstagram.com/vp/01d480cbca40719a4005d78de5fd31e3/5D015075/t51.2885-15/e35/49527675_577544239375300_5382658820132809161_n.jpg ?_nc_ht=scontent-lht6-1.cdninstagram.com (https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs0cACbnTgkKR9ChqezpTVmd7bdV_v0e2XWyNI0/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading)

[Queenslander]

Good looking shirt.

[Queenslander]

Well his WxW mates are piling up in NXT...

Bloody Haitch is good. Walter could carry either NXT belt as a heel for 12 months at least.

[Queenslander]

Enjoyable episode of Being the Elite.


https://youtu.be/_VOuIoxFw4c

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I like how the WWE have completely forgotten that Balor did get a match for the title against Reigns a few months ago.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Otis :drool:

Owning it rather than just being mental and drinking protein.

[wullie]

Curt Hawkins as the best referee in the history of wrestling is a turnup for the books.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Curt Hawkins as the best referee in the history of wrestling is a turnup for the books.

Not a single thing got past him, let's get him on main events.

Oh and lol at Ronda barely being able to string a sentence, I mean seconds together.


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

[Ian]

http://whatculture.com/wwe/aj-styles-shoots-on-gillette-toxic-masculinity

He really does come across as a proper hick boy, what with things like this and his not-not saying the Earth is flat nonsense.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Well he is from Georgia.

[Baz]

1087580246621282305

[Shindig]

Image rights on a pole match. Actually, that's got LA Park and La Parka written all over it.

[Ian]

I wasn't sure at first but I'm sold on this Bryan gimmick.

[wullie]

https://twitter.com/totaldivaseps/status/1087905855205507073

Wasn't that long ago Mysterio was a bloaty mess, now he's pulling out the 1997 magic.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

He's only looked his prime against Andrade Almas, it's been a great rivalry for both.

Although there's not exactly much you can get from Randy Orton.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Watched Smackdown and whilst I didn't like the ending of the Andrade/Rey match I get why they did it. Those two though really are pumping out quality, Rey seems to be revitalised with the rivalry and Andrade is just doing Andrade stuff but finally getting to do it on the main roster.

[Ian]

I was sort of on board with it if only for making Joe look a megacunt until Keith appeared to STAND TALL

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I do like that I mentioned Randy before even watching it.

I'M A WWE SEER.

[Ian]

Congratulations, you have whatever mental illness Vince has.

[wullie]

You'll be adding 'quite frankly' to every sentence before long, dammit

[Queenslander]

https://twitter.com/AusWresGIFs/status/1088990393608355841?s=07

Psycho driver...

[Shindig]

Okay, that's murder.

[Ian]

Do I know that by another name?

[Browning]

Do I know that by another name?

Looks fairly similar to the Burning Hammer to me.

[Lewis]

Where has the rest of Baroque Lesnar gone?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

:yn: Stone Cold as a surprise entrant.

I'm going to hope for it until he dies.

[Baz]

:yn: Stone Cold as a surprise entrant.

I'm going to hope for it until he dies.Rob Van Dam, baby!

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Going to try and watch Takeover and Rumble live.

Takeovers are always top quality and the Rumble is probably my favourite PPV.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/ak1x1u/as_he_could_become_north_american_champion/

Made so much more lol that JBL of all people is standing up for Johnny Forriner.

[wullie]

Had the NXT pre-show thing on, is Pat McAfee always on it and always as bad?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

This is the first pre-show I've watched but apparently yes.

Sam (who talks like a muppet) burying Belair was a bit strange.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

What an entrance from the War Raiders.

[wullie]

I never really got Roderick Strong until he turned and his natural smarm came through, but Kyle O'Reilly plays a world class dickhead. So good.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I'm always surprised by how agile the War Raiders are.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

What a way to kick off a show.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

That toe spot :sick:

[Baz]

Gif?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I'd rather not look it up.

I don't need to see a kayfabe toe biting spot again tbh.

'Kassius Ohno has a thing for toes' was a great line from Mauro though.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

MOTY 2019 contender and possible winner there.

[Baz]

MOTY 2019 contender and possible winner there.Was awesome. Ricochet is absolutely class - he’s like every kid’s perfect CAW, even down to the beard. Such a fun style.

The first half of the match felt a bit too choreographed though. Like some of the transitions were almost too fluid to forget that it’s all just an athletic dance. Good match though. No doubt better than anything we’ll get at the big boy show tomorrow.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Two brilliant matches followed by two meh matches.

Shafir (with the shit Batman cosplay mask) and Duke should be nowhere near TV appearances, they suck.

[igor_balis]

Doing a royal rumble sweepstake with some pals (@Phonics got to watch UFC with them) before watching it. It's an open draft of 10 (or 7 if the fourth guy gets involved) wrestlers in the mens and womens match. Points based on eliminations, time spent in the match etc. Who should I pick?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Rollins and Becky are my picks for the Rumble winners but I would consider taking Mustapha Ali and Andrade. They could well get them lasting for 45 minutes and I could see one of them being in the final four. I actually have £5 on Ali to last the longest and Andrade to get to the final 4 because betting on a pre-determined event is a good idea.

Drew and Braun will have the most eliminations in the men's.

Nia would be a good pick in the women's, she'll probably get the most eliminations there and they will have her last a while.

[igor_balis]

...fancy giving me about 20 picks for mens and womens in order so i have some...guidance...

it's for £30, if I win you can have £10 Sir Andy Mahowry

[igor_balis]

If not I'll just pick Rollins, Braun then a series of blokes from 15 years ago out of blind hope they'll make a surprise appearance. It's Tajiri's year.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Might change based on the point distribution:

Seth Rollins
Mustafa Ali
Becky Lynch
Andrade Cien Almas
Braun Strowman
Nia Jax
Charlotte Flair
Drew McIntyre
Ember Moon
Samoa Joe
Rey Mysterio
Lars Sullivan*
Trish Stratus*
Alexa Bliss
Apollo Crews
Bobby Lashley
Ruby Riott
Zelina Vega
Velveteen Dream*
Pete Dunne*

The asterisks haven't been announced for the Rumble but I've heard rumours about all of them.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

3 cracking matches and 2 meh.

Great Takeover but not near their best.

The roll from Ciampa into the rope DDT was brilliant.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Aleister Black might be worthy of a late pick.

I'd assume that's him done in NXT now. Could last a while and/or get a couple of eliminations or they'll save him for the RAW after Rumble.

[igor_balis]

Might change based on the point distribution:

Seth Rollins
Mustafa Ali
Becky Lynch
Andrade Cien Almas
Braun Strowman
Nia Jax
Charlotte Flair
Drew McIntyre
Ember Moon
Samoa Joe
Rey Mysterio
Lars Sullivan*
Trish Stratus*
Alexa Bliss
Apollo Crews
Bobby Lashley
Ruby Riott
Zelina Vega
Velveteen Dream*
Pete Dunne*

The asterisks haven't been announced for the Rumble but I've heard rumours about all of them.

- 1 point when participant enters
- 1 point per elimination
- 3 points for double elimination
- 5 points for triple+ elimination
- 1 point if participant lasts 10-19 mins
- 2 points if participant lasts 20-29 mins
- 3 points if participant lasts 30-39 mins
- 4 points if participant lasts 40-49 mins
- 5 points if participant lasts 50-59 mins
- 7 points if participant lasts 60+ mins
- 5 points for third
- 8 points for second
- 10 points for first
- -1 point if eliminated before 5 mins

- Any return/debut in the match(es), down your drink

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I'd probably knock Almas down below Strowman.

[Baz]

Ember Moon #1

[Mike]

Not watched a wrestling show in months; maybe longer, NXT takeover is on.

[Pleb]

I'd imagine Brawn Strongman will waltz into the Rumble match and piss off the wrestling purists including Mahow because memes.

[Mike]

I really like the NXT commentator, I just wish he had less pre planned lines.

[SvN]

Barely watched for the last 6 months, but I'm still excited for the Rumble tonight. I'd love a few nostalgia entries, they've been lacking the last few years.

[Dan]

Rumble main card starting at 1 tonight? I'll probably give it a look.

How's the (main roster) product these days?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Midnight.

RAW is pretty awful and Smackdown is alright.

[Dan]

Same as it was when I stopped watching then.

Just had a look at the card & it's not exactly got me excited - Miz & Shane tagging together? :D

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

It has been a woeful storyline.

Miz got to the final of THE BEST IN THE WORLD MEGA SAUDI TOURNAMENT, prior to this Shane said whoever lost in the final for SD would be fired (the guys who lost before were fine ofc) and Miz got a kayfabe injury. They were going to declare Ziggler the winner by forfeit but Shane O'Mac came in for the glory.

Miz has then been claiming that he's 2/3rds the best with Shane 1/3 and that if they teamed up they'd be THE BEST IN THE WORLD. Shane wasn't sure but finally relented.

I feel bad for The Bar, they lost RAW titles against Braun and a 10 year old and now they will lose the SD titles against Miz/Shane.

[Ian]

You missed that Miz wants this because his dad admires Shane.

[Ian]

Fridge Raiders vs UE and NA title match seriously delivered.

Riddle / Ohno had a weird ending, have we seen somebody tap out to strikes in WWE before? I feel like I have seen it but no idea where. Match did the job though and Ohno did some good heel stuff.

Baszler vs. Belair was disappointing and I can't quite make up my mind on the NXT title match. It's definitely good but I don't think it's to the standard of most other NXT title matches recently. Not that there's any shame in that.

[Baz]

What happened in the women’s title match? I got to the point where

the ref was down for a bit then got back up just as Baszler got some submission move on Belair.

I wouldn’t normally care but I was quite invested but then my daughter finally went back to sleep and I didn’t fancy risking watching any more.

[Browning]

No idea if it was the same moment you got to, but the finish was Belair passing out in a submission hold.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Marina Shafir (sporting a shit Catwoman cosplay mask) and Jessamyn 'The Drunk Anorexic Crane' Duke came running in. They got bitchslapped by Belair but Shayna had time to recover. She put Belair into the choke but she performed a really nice suplex counter showing her strength. Baszler got it back in shortly after and Belair attempted to lift her but then collapsed.

Shafir and Duke are crap and shouldn't be there as it's also making Shayna look weaker.

[Ian]

What happened in the women’s title match? I got to the point where

the ref was down for a bit then got back up just as Baszler got some submission move on Belair.

I wouldn’t normally care but I was quite invested but then my daughter finally went back to sleep and I didn’t fancy risking watching any more.

[spoiler]Belair hit a move and pinned Baszler but the ref was down, she then fought off Baszler's mates, Baszler got her in the submission as the ref came round but Belair stood up and powered out, whiffed a 450-splash at which point Baszler got the submission in again./spoiler]

I thought they made Belair look really good but I just didn't think this match worked as well. Whether that's because Belair's still a bit green or if Baszler's just better against faster opponents rather than Belair's power I dunno.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

1089404348109484032

They had a brawl involving Dream, Ciampa, Gargano, Black, Adam Cole and Ricochet when TV coverage stopped.

This has got people thinking they might do an NXT elimination chamber.

[Ian]

If they brought back the old chamber to differentiate it from WWE's new one I'd be all over that shit.

[SvN]

Just to reiterate because people are sometimes dicks, put any betting odds or "backstage rumours" in spoiler tags in the build up and during the event.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Pre-show is starting now.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Cena is out with Braun replacing him.

That kills one of rumours which was:

Lars would take out Cena backstage and replace him.

Perhaps they're done with him.

Put it in spoilers just in case they've tweaked it but seems dead.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Rezar and Dawson will be teaming together because reasons.

I thought they'd just write off the AOP with Akam's injury.

[Lewis]

Don Cena winning it from number thirty. :drool:

[Dan]

You can tell WWE is owned by a multi-billionaire because they're pitching the guy who cares about the long term welfare of the environment as a heel over a guy who thinks the earth is flat.

EDIT: Bryan cutting a promo that definitely wasn't designed to sell more burgers in response :D

[Ian]

Truth, mate.

Truth winning it from number thirty.

[Dan]

Just making Chad Gable miniature Bobby Roooooo, huh?

We're getting two guys who've never tagged together beating the reigning champs, right? Seems like the way WWE usually books things.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

First match starting now.

Roode and Gable against Pain Revival.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Fucking cameraman clearly falling over there :D

[wullie]

A future shot at the tag titles isn't much of a prize when they all get one every two weeks anyway. Get the Colons or the Ascension in the match and you've got some stakes.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

That was pointless.

[wullie]

I hope they're getting all the night's fuckups out of the way in this match because there were enough for an entire show then.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Shawn looks like he's a guy who lives in his van and he's going for a job interview.

[wullie]

Nice to see Nakamura wearing Kane's hand me downs nowadays.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Ref was worse than Lana's accent.

[Disco]

I'm almost certain that Shawn Michaels is answering different questions to the ones we're hearing.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Aiden looks like a budget Cesaro with his (seriously shiny) bald head.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Itami is looking over the 205 limit.

[Disco]

Nigel McGuinness is approximately 900 times better than any of the other announcers.

[Disco]

Itami is looking over the 205 limit.

More talent in one single bitch tit than in the rest of the ring.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

More talent in one single bitch tit than in the rest of the ring.

Sadly I've not seen him as Kenta or the NXT run which were both apparently great.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

That rana landing looked stiff.

[wullie]

Speaking of heft, Akira Tozawa has shifted a bit over the years

https://78.media.tumblr.com/c4c0ad4123f7c2a6e71af37ff1bf6bb0/tumblr_nsrjszzfU11ud3u5jo1_1280.jpg

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Buddy Murphy with all the head spots.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Buddy Murphy is so good.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Surprised the SD titles aren't first but this guarantees that Becky (should she lose) will be in the Rumble.

[Disco]

That is a long 'ramp', could we be in Big Show golf cart territory? :drool:

[wullie]

I don't think they've got the big Wrestlemania sign up this year, without the pointing there's no way to know that people will want to win the rumble now.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

100% Becky had a wardrobe malfunction after that kick out.

Black out and she was adjusting when it came back.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I don't think they've got the big Wrestlemania sign up this year, without the pointing there's no way to know that people will want to win the rumble now.

The 3D graphics man will sort it out.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Christ, that sort of strange botched side suplex had to hurt.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I liked that bridging Asuka lock.

A bit sloppy in places but I liked that. Didn't expect it to be a clean win for Asuka though.

[Dan]

That was alright. Becky's winning the Rumble match now though, surely? Asuka's so good. You can see she has actual wrestling skills in the way she transitions between holds.

Here comes the money :drool:

[wullie]

I'm guessing Becky either takes Lana's place to win it now or gets involved in the other title match in a big huff.

Shane should turn on Miz now just because Miz and Bryan should always be complete opposite sides of the spectrum forever.

[Disco]

Never have four men looked so idiotic as this lot. That purple camo is a war crime.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Shane desperate to make sure his top doesn't go up during the big swing.

Fat people problems.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

A shooting star press? Please.

[SvN]

Shane holding down his shirt during the swing was hilarious.

Still, pretty decent SSP to finish.

[Dan]

Holy shit :|

Shane deserves a title just for not killing himself doing a shooting star.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Look how happy Miz's Dad is.

Fuck everything else Miz has done in his life, THIS IS THE PINNACLE FOR HIM.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Ronda's makeup :D

Fuck me.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Good match and it was nice to see Ronda against someone competent.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

What a strange ending. I was sure Sasha was going to turn heel and attack her, that was nothing.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Finally a Rumble.

[SvN]

Both women's matches were pretty good. A few botches here and there, but nothing too distracting.

I hope they don't do that thing where half of the women roll under the bottom rope every few minutes this year.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Please eliminate 'Nattie' quick.

[Dan]

Do they even have 30 women on the roster?

Are we going to get Io Shirai? :drool:

[SvN]

Natalyia has such a wired physique. She looks fantastic whenever she's in a bikini, but looks horrendous in that awful gear.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Do they even have 30 women on the roster?

Are we going to get Io Shirai? :drool:

23 were announced.

I highly doubt Shirai will come in.

Shayna and Belair from NXT are more likely.

[Dan]

Hang on, Charlotte has 7 title reigns already & Sasha has 5? :D

They're going to end up with 20 each by the time they're done.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Ember :cool:

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

What a pop for Nikki.

[Dan]

It's really weird seeing all these SHIMMER girls on a big WWE pay per view. In a good way.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Tamina is so fucking slow, boring and shit.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Tamina always looks bored as fuck too.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

No idea who this is (I didn't watch the Mae Young Classic) but she looks great.

[SvN]

This is considerably worse than last year's so far.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Ember with a great Kofi spot and I hate that they made Nikki go out so early.

[Dan]

Charlotte looks bulkier than I remember.

And yeah, Tamina sucks. I assume Nia Jax is still on the same level too.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Kairi is life though.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Kairi is trying to pop Charlotte's balloons.

[Dan]

She does have a pretty elite elbow drop, to be fair.

[Dan]

Maria :wub:

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Her elbow drop is one of the best in the business, her wind up is cracking.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Maria :wub:

She's so annoying now she's Mike's manager on 205.

[Dan]

She's not got a whole lot better in the ring either.

My stream randomly turned to Total Bellas when Kairi entered, so I'm on a second one now :D