The Ultimate WWE Thread

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Watching this weeks NXT:

1415109816851210242

oof.

[Ian]

I caught up on last and this weeks NXTs and I'm 100% just not into this O'Reilly run. His character is nothing and just comes across as a really boring guy. He's good in the ring but I just can't be invested in him at the moment.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Christ the Women's MITB match was bad, it also had quite possibly the worst finish to a ladder match ever.

It made everyone else look like fucking idiots.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Rick O'Shea is incredible. That spot was brilliant.

[Lewis]

Don Cena. :cool:

[Ian]

The pop for Cena was absolutely incredible. Proper WWE Legend Returns pop. The crowd weren't bad but that was their loudest, and therefore best, moment.


Christ the Women's MITB match was bad, it also had quite possibly the worst finish to a ladder match ever.

It made everyone else look like fucking idiots.

I thought quite a few spots made them all look like idiots. Even worse than the finish was them all standing around outside while Liv spent half an hour organising a ladder. It was a very, very bad match.

It was a pretty meh show on the whole really. I like Roman's current thing but they need to let him do more than the bully heel match because he's better than that. It worked brilliantly against Jey initially but sadly WWE doesn't know what diminishing returns means. Him and Edge were plodding and it makes genius legend Edge look idiotic that he can't work out a way to keep up with Roman. The ending was also a bit Attitude Era-y though at least everything in it was setting up something else.

Men's MITB match was decent enough though lacking one properly classic spot to tip it into being a proper top level match. Match of the night, as much as I didn't care going in, was clearly Ripley/Charlotte.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Nikki taking about a minute to get up a ladder to jump on everyone whilst they all looked at her was another idiotic moment.

[Ian]

Sounds like a stellar episode of Raw last night. Kross debuts on main roster and loses to Jeff Hardy inside 3 minutes, Keith Lee comes back just to lose, Oldberg challenging Bobbo, more Elias vs. Ryker, Charlotte only had the belt to lose to Nikki (I'm happy enough for Nikki but lol.)

[Queenslander]

Keith Lee to the Indies please.

[Ian]

I had to go back and watch Cena's appearance again because I'd totally missed that after he'd come out and Maggle screamed "Cena is here!!" that McAfee responded with "Where??" :D

[Queenslander]

I popped massively what a Legend.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Kross :lol:

[Disco]

The guy with the hammer is a bit of a twat but thankfully he shuts up for most of this. DDP :cool:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2chwn9I_MB0

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

NXT was ok this week but nothing really great.

Quite a few bad bumps too, especially in the breakout tournament match. I was a bit disappointed with the big lad Odyssey Jones especially after commentary hyped him up so much.

[Gray Fox]

Rumours growing on Twitter that AEW could be about to get both CM Punk and Daniel Bryan.

I'm convinced the former should stay retired, but the latter would probably be the biggest name AEW could likely get. Also the first one to go through THE FORBIDDEN DOOR that would be an "oh shit" moment.

[Disco]

I thought the door opened into New Japan, which would make Nagata the first one through no? Or maybe Rocky Romero, whichever came first.

[Gray Fox]

I thought it just meant crossing between companies.

We've had some good guys go from WWE to AEW so far, but no one you'd say would be a miss to WWE.

[Disco]

No, mostly the ones crossing over have either not been used or randomly released. The difference in scale of the two companies means I can't see AEW poaching anyone Vince cares about.

[phonics]

Deathmatch Nick Gage is AEW.

[phonics]

This was amazing

https://streamable.com/ivz1v0

[phonics]

I've thought about it a bit.

Jericho is so thin skinned that people made fun of him for the shitty bump so he's going against Nick Gage to prove he's real.

Pathetic.

[Gray Fox]

Twitter has moved from rumours to "ITKs" saying Bryan is now officially All Elite. I might actually watch a show of theirs now.

[Ian]

I wonder if he just outright told WWE he didn't want a new contract or if they weren't prepared to meet his terms.

I really hope it's the latter because lol if they're not paying him so they can pay the likes of Oldberg.

[Queenslander]

Hangman Page is ready.

[Queenslander]

Bullet Club in the ring to close AEW is big.

[wullie]

Page is the one they've missed out on so far for me. He felt really forced when it first started but then he really started to come into his own, now they've got him with all the Dark Order nobodies which really isn't doing him a favour. At least not yet, when Punk and Bryan rock up in their spooky masks business will pick up.

[phonics]

Bullet Club in the ring to close AEW is big.

It’s fucking lame. I legit don’t care about what some marks popped for 10 years ago and the constant having to pretend every member of bullet club isn’t an absolute lame nerd sucks.

[Queenslander]

That is so rude.

If it gets Jay White on AEW TV it will all be worth it.

[Queenslander]

Page is the one they've missed out on so far for me. He felt really forced when it first started but then he really started to come into his own, now they've got him with all the Dark Order nobodies which really isn't doing him a favour. At least not yet, when Punk and Bryan rock up in their spooky masks business will pick up.

Do you watch Being The Elite?

Daniel Bryan in the Dark Order would be great.

[Baz]

Called John Silver a nobody is out of order.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

1418019097736925187

[Queenslander]

:drool:

[Disco]

If Nick Gage is working with AEW then it means we can finally do the best triple threat tag match ever.

Nick Gage & Ethan Page vs Christian Cage & Hangman Adam Page vs Diamond Dallas Page & Brian Cage.

[wullie]

Do you watch Being The Elite?

Daniel Bryan in the Dark Order would be great.

I've seen one or two but found it all a bit too knowing and pleased with itself and I can't stand the Young Bucks enough as it is. I did like the Brodie Lee outtake tribute one though

[phonics]

I'm sure I posted by Big E fantasy booking at one point so here's another

You bring punk out to get the crowd popping. As he starts to speak 'bah gawd thats connor mcgregors music' and Conor shoots on punks shitty ufc career and now conors come to the wwe to kill that career too. Perfect anti hero v heel angle.

[Queenslander]

Jay Whites my era Bullet Club promo was good stuff and rejecting the Good Brothers made me so happy. A 6 month build for a match with Kenny at Wrestle Kingdom?

[Ian]

Reigns saying Cena's act is like "missionary position every single night." :D

[Queenslander]

Zack Ryder v Nick Cage death Match in GCW was proper garbage wrestling. That spot with the broken fluro light on Ryder's forehead was unwatchable for me.

[phonics]

Reigns saying Cena's act is like "missionary position every single night." :D

Considering that he has to rely on Paul Heyman and the Uso Brothers to carry him despite claiming to be the alpha, would that make Roman Reigns a cuckold?

[Queenslander]

Zack Ryder v Nick Cage death Match in GCW was proper garbage wrestling. That spot with the broken fluro light on Ryder's forehead was unwatchable for me.

Reading up on night 2 and GCW sounds awful what a disgrace that the let fans throw a pizza cutter and full bottles of beer at the talent.

Garbage promotion garbage fans.

[Disco]

Tanahashi / Shingo was pretty fucking good given the short notice. The Tokyo Dome looks like shit with so few people in it though, I know it's a restricted audience but from too many angles it still looks like you fucked up.

[phonics]

Look I never want to give props to WWE comedy but

"Baron Corbin begging Kevin Owens a fiver for a can of beans, getting shot in the dick by a tank and then having Dolph Ziggler steal his fiver" is just good comedy.

[Ian]

When he got shot in the dick by Shotzi it was very "Man Getting Hit by Football" and as much as I'd love to pretend I didn't lol at it I definitely did.

[Queenslander]

Tanahashi will challenge the winner of Lance v Hikuleo :drool:

[phonics]

You have to hit a top rope manouvre in order to win? Is this a shitty WWE 2k Objective mode?

[Queenslander]

I popped bigtime for the Dark Orders entrance. It is incredible that they are this over considering how shit they were when Dynamite first aired.

[Queenslander]

https://youtu.be/MsfEiZ_IY2U

[Shindig]

If I brought basketballs to that ring, I'd be slinging them right in there.

[wullie]

Darby Allin was with Sting and Alex Marvez backstage.

Darby said there’s only one place for men to prove themselves and that’s in AEW… especially if they think they’re the best in the world!

You've got to hand it to them for subtlety.

[Disco]

What with that and Cocaine Tony 'no commenting' questions about it, you have to think it's going to happen.

[phonics]

The ultimate swerve of 'The 5 Labours of Jericho' would be him losing in the third one.

[phonics]

You've got to hand it to them for subtlety.

Moxley said the Chicago event will 'be coming to you In Living Colour'

[wullie]

I saw that MJF had a promo with Jericho that started off the same as Punk's pipebomb too. Imagine the reaction in Chicago when it was all a swerve and it's Buddy Murphy they've signed instead

[Browning]

The dream is they’ve actually signed Brock.

[phonics]

Found this and I'm obsessed. https://darrenswinloss.wordpress.com

Did you know that Big E and Goldust are the worst Mania participants of all time. And Big Bossman is top 10

[Gray Fox]

Now AEW have both Punk and Bryan seemingly in the bag, the new rumour of the day is that Vince wanted Brock back for Summerslam and beyond, but he has rejected WWE because he's signed another deal somewhere else.

It's not been said where yet, but given he's now 44 and there aren't too many fights left for him in an octagon, I doubt it's MMA.

[Ian]

On the one hand I'd love it if WWE didn't have that particular booking crutch to fall back on, on the other it'd probably just mean more Goldberg or something even worse.

[Ian]

The contract stuff to make it Reigns vs. Cena at Summerslam rather than Reigns vs. Balor was dumb as a bag of spanners.

- Reigns rejects Cena's challenge last week and accepts Balor's. Fair enough.
- Pearce and Deville go for it, and set up a contract signing. Makes sense so far.
- As Balor is about to sign the contract he gets attacked by Jezza because.... reasons. Jezza then makes like he's going to sign the contract that presumably has Balor's name all through it because that it obviously how contracts work, it's just a free-for-all and you hope the right dude's name goes on the end of it.
- Cena then comes in and attacks Jezza not, as you might think, because he's going to bin Jezza and make sure that Balor gets his match but so he can sign it instead. Because again, this is how contracts definitely work.
- Pearce and Deville having presumably spent a week preparing (let's pretend WWE do that in kayfabe) for Reigns / Balor at Summerslam, getting marketing materials together and building the card around that and whatever, see this and just go 'lol yolo.'
- Roman Reigns, who had enough say on Smackdown just months ago to be able to batter his boss, demand whatever matches he wanted and refuse to wrestle with no consequences, somehow now doesn't have enough say to go "Erm hold on that contract now makes no sense."

I love the writing from this lot. I assume poor old O'Shango now has the 'wrestle Jezza for 18 months' feud.

And yet that isn't even the dumbest in-kayfabe thing on the show given it featured Belair being surprised by an inevitable Sasha Banks betrayal.

[phonics]

Bray Wyatt has been let go.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

:lol:

Fiend BURIED.

[Browning]

He will not be missed.

[Ian]

I'll be interested to see where he ends up. He's not much of a wrestler but he's a creative guy. If he'd had somebody sensible at WWE taking some me of the rough edges off his ideas rather than WWE writing mongs he could have done a lot better.

Still, he had a bunch of memorable moments even if he barely got any important wins but that's still more than some get.

But yeah, if there's a way to get good stuff out of him in the ring WWE didn't know what it was.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Now to destroy the even worse Alexa gimmick.

[phonics]

The irony of Wyatt sending Jon Cena to an alternate dimension. Cena returning. No one mentioning it and Bray Wyatt getting sacked a week later is funny.

[Gray Fox]

Big Match John is now the last remaining member of The Nexus in WWE.

[Ian]

Cena mentioned it. He didn't quite say "lol" but he may as well have. BMJ does not simply adjust his character where there are colourful shirts to be sold.


Now to destroy the even worse Alexa gimmick.

Yes please. Even ignoring the gimmick she's comfortably in the bottom half of the women they have, talent wise.

[Lewis]

He will not be missed.

We did it mate.

[Queenslander]

Death match Bray Wyatt might work.

[Waffdon]

Bray Wyatt has been let go.

Has he not been away recently anyway because he’s struggled to deal with Brodie Lee’s death? Nice of WWE.

[Queenslander]

Dirt Sheets on Reddit are saying Adam Cole's contract is up but he will work SummerSlam.

[wullie]

Cole's wife and best pals work for AEW and their roster is physically smaller on average so he'd look that little bit less weedy. With that in mind I look forward to him signing a multi-year extension and being promoted to Superstars with Chad Gable and the lads

[Queenslander]

Be funny if he aligns with Bullet Club.

[Ian]

I don't care how much HHH supposedly loves him, while Vince is alive Adam Cole ain't winning shit on the main roster. And frankly he feels a bit stale in NXT at this point so I think AEW would be a better shout for him, though is their roster getting a bit bloated at this point?

[Queenslander]

They easily have room for him and Kevin Owens.

[wullie]

They've got this second show on the way which in theory should allow room to breathe and more of a showcase for more people, my money's on them going the WWE route and you just get twice the amount of the same. Everyone else gets a go on the 19-match Youtube shows

[phonics]

The second show is on for an hour at the worst time for TV in the world.l It's where you put like Heat or something.

It's why I would warn against them signing Bray Wyatt. The only way to give them enough space would be for there to be less wrestling.

Anyone claiming some shitty Comedy YouTube show like BTE counts as a show can be ignored.

[Ian]

Heat. :drool:

[Disco]

Cole yes please, Wyatt no.

[Ian]

Cole is a great promo, I don't get the excitement about his matches for the most part because the ones other people gush over I think look like sequences rather than remotely like a fight. His offence doesn't look remotely threatening, the Panama Sunrise is, in all its forms, a lol move and the Last Shot is rubbish as well.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I like his matches but a lot of them are far too similar and are a bit finisher heavy.

For promos he's top tier, matches he's one possibly even two below.

[Disco]

He's streets ahead of Husky Harris and his shit gimmicks, plus there's no chance it isn't happening eventually what with all his mates and his wife there already. If nothing else then we get to see how they bring him back from the dead.

[wullie]

Ric Flair's been released now, he really needs to challenge Omega for the title if only to keep up the child support payments to Lacey Evans

[Shindig]

You could probably make a Horse(wo)men stable out of their kids, to be fair. At least until Tessa Blanchard gets a power trip and ruins it.

[phonics]

Arn Andersons kid is hilariously awful in and out of the ring. Best comedy segement AEW's had was that angle.

[phonics]

Just fucking abysmal:

https://i.imgur.com/7D5tL7M.png

[Shindig]

Oh, eck. He's not pulling out a spinebuster.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Classic Mert attire.

[Disco]

Benoits kid is probably a non-starter too.

[phonics]

The match was a shot-for-shot recreation of late 80s WCW as well. Appalling.

[Shindig]

Pillman got in at some point, so there's that. And Curt Hennig.

[phonics]

Pillman Jr is in a genuinely good gimmick at this point. They're the 'Varsity Blonds' looking like the jocks from Revenge of the Nerds with a great look. The matches are dull but you like to see them job out to someone because the gimmick works.

[Lewis]

Arn Andersons kid is hilariously awful in and out of the ring. Best comedy segement AEW's had was that angle.

'Awful size. Awful speed. Awful quickness. Awful looks. Awful intelligence. Awful... carpentry skills.'

[Queenslander]

Tommy End showing up at PWG was cool to see. I like the idea of him wrestling as his normal character outside of AEW.

[Baz]

I’m all caught up!

Jericho and MJF carrying AEW is not surprising.

[Baz]

I just learned there’s a wrestler called Ruby Soho. As a Rancid fan, I like it.

[Ian]

I see AEW saw WWE's questionable decision to have Charlotte Flair use Simone Biles as part of a promo and went "Pfft, we can top that" and had somebody called Max Caster do the same but chuck in some other questionable material as well on Dark. Top work by whoever put that one in the edit.

[Ian]

Ever-Rise are an interesting signing for AEW. Does their tag division need more bodies?

I thought latterly in NXT their matches were still so-so but their promos, etc. were genuinely a lot of fun.

[Queenslander]

Plenty of tag teams in AEW I reckon they might work Impact and NJPW Strong as well.

[Ian]

AEW's new show is going to have a four man commentary team?

I mean I assume it won't be as bad as when WWE have occasionally done that in the past but I still hate commentary setups of more than two people 99% of the time.

[Queenslander]

Jobs for the boys.

[Queenslander]

Jay White and Juice Robinson will both miss the G1 this year.

Omega V White must be on the cards.

[Disco]

I don't hate the AEW three man setup but mainly because one of them shuts up for extended periods. I think you can do what you like as long as one of them isn't Michael Cole.

[Ian]

Cole is shit but even he showed how much better he can be the one time recently he was allowed to commentate without a demented old man screeching down his ear.

[phonics]

Sounded like the ramblings of a mad man. Aew was shit, the end n

[Disco]

Was phonics abducted in the middle of that post?

Anyway, everyone who goes to Summerslam will have to wear a face mask which is pretty lol. If they hadn't sacked Wyatt they could have given everyone a fiend mask at the gate.

[Ian]

I assume Phonics' "sounds like the ramblings of a madman" was prefacing his own post, then disappeared to really lean into it.

He doesn't drop kayfabe.

[phonics]

Malaki Black stole my boot.

[Gray Fox]

Phonics was doing a Bray Wyatt promo when the lights went out, but only in his room.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

1423816333649715204

What the fuck?

How do you release Bronson Reed?

[Disco]

Giant Zanjeer sounds incredible.

[Queenslander]

Bronson Reed and Bobby Fish to NJPW Strong please?

[Ian]

Releasing Reed. :face:

What the fuck are they up to?

[Disco]

They only care about building up 'the brand' so that it doesn't matter who the individual performers on the shows are. If the main asset of your company is the company then it's value is not governed by the people it employs, the brand makes them stars rather than the other way around.

[phonics]

Those names could all be made up for all I know about them

[Shindig]

Aye, it reads like a list of regens.

[phonics]

Just seen a tweet saying 'WWE have released 52 wrestlers in 2021' like it's a bad thing.

You have 3 shows. You barely need 52 wrestlers across the entire brand.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

1424298526310285313

If that is all true (it's a thread) then ugh.

[Disco]

Or the whole thing is here:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQEOJVQX8eM

[Ian]

"No more midgets."

:face:

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Poor Hornswoggle was just about to make his glorious return.

[Shindig]

Just have him do all his promos sitting down. Vince will never catch on.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I've just had a horrible thought regarding the "no midgets" policy.

Santos Escobar...

He's probably my second favourite wrestler right now (behind Pete Dunne ofc) as he's brilliant in the ring and is gold in promos (also amazing at talking shit during matches). He also feels like a natural heel. He even dragged a good match out of Karrion Kross.

He's sub 6 foot and the wrong side of 30 though so could easily be cut by Vince.

[Gray Fox]

Pete Dunne will be gone soon too. Mark my words.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Pete Dunne will be gone soon too. Mark my words.

Contract up in September and short, so probably.

[Queenslander]

Another bloke that would be perfect for NJPW.

[Ian]

Yeah he'd be a fool to hang around WWE with all this shit going on. And he'll be brilliant wherever he ends up.


I've just had a horrible thought regarding the "no midgets" policy.

Santos Escobar...

He's probably my second favourite wrestler right now (behind Pete Dunne ofc) as he's brilliant in the ring and is gold in promos (also amazing at talking shit during matches). He also feels like a natural heel. He even dragged a good match out of Karrion Kross.

He's sub 6 foot and the wrong side of 30 though so could easily be cut by Vince.

Mate he's not just a midget, he's a FOREIGN MIDGET.

He's got about as much chance of a main roster future as I have.

[Queenslander]

I wonder if Vince will cut NXT UK?

[wullie]

'Dave says the Curtis Axel era of NXT.'

No such thing Dave, everyone knows that time was the genesis of Mcgillicutty.

[Ian]

I wonder if Vince will cut NXT UK?

I dunno. It would make sense given they appear to now care solely about the bottom line but on the flipside they like being a lumpen parasite on that particular scene so there's a conflict of Vince's mad desires there.

[Queenslander]

Brutal I forgot that the NXT UK mob have a limited amount of Indies they can work.

[phonics]

Isn’t NXT UK just a collection of sex pests and pedos these days?

[Ian]

No more or less so than the rest of the wrestling industry I don't think.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Cutting NXT UK means cutting WALTER as he's hesitant to go full time in the US.

I think that's what is saving the UK brand at the moment.

If Vince can convince WALTER to move it's done.

[Ian]

What, the same WALTER who lost by DQ on his Raw debut and looked a mug in his brief time in the Survivor Series match?

Yeah, I bet Vince'll is desperate to keep him if he even knows/remembers who he is.

He's not even that tall by main roster standards.

[Disco]

Don't underestimate their desire to stifle the indie scene, the US is too big for it to work but they can reasonably easily do it here (and have). Plus I suppose there's no reason they can't run it the same as the main NXT roster.

Personally I don't mind, if good wrestlers are cut from their rosters they're more likely to turn up in promotions who book better shows which is good for me.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

1424777495878897664

Sam Roberts annoys me but other than that it's a decent lineup.

I hope they bring back the drawing round for Wale.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

1424777495878897664

Sam Roberts annoys me but other than that it's a decent lineup.

I hope they bring back the drawing round for Wale.

[Ian]

Sam Roberts is annoying as fuck on WWE broadcasts but I watched him doing a breakdown of the Firefly Funhouse match after that Mania and he seemed pretty interesting and quite knowledgeable so he should be decent.

[Queenslander]

Sam Roberts is unbearable on his little radio show. He is such a basic bitch conservative.

[Ian]

We'll see how he goes then. I've never listened to his actual show, just that one thing I mentioned and the interminable PPV pre-shows which I haven't seen in ages now, fortunately.

EDIT: Dunne vs. Dragunov on NXT last night. :drool: I'll definitely be watching that.

I need to enjoy it while I can before NXT just becomes a load of Heidenreich regens rest-holding each other between occasional big boots.

[Ian]

Wale and Sam Roberts. The awkward feud I didn't know I needed.

[phonics]

Who's the host guy, I figured anyone who looked like Milo Yianopolous would have changed the gimmick.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Adam Blampied.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Wale v Sam has been brilliant.

[Ian]

Yeah that was fun.

As was Dunne/Dragunov by the way despite the stupid ending. If you don't want to have Dunne lose then don't have that be who Dragunov faces ahead of the Walter match.

[Queenslander]

Dante Martin is a bit of a freak.



https://streamable.com/4u12io

[Ian]

He looks fun.

[Ian]

Is All Out AEW's biggest PPV of the year?

Because if so, Omega vs. Christian is a bit.... hmmm.

PAC vs. Andrade though. :drool:

[Queenslander]

Nah All In is the big show.

[Ian]

Ahhh, okay. That's not so bad then.

Is that gonna be Omega / Page or is Tony Khan gonna get too excited about one of his new toys? When in the year does All In fall?

[Queenslander]

You'd think so.

I think Jay White will show up after the Impact Title match on Rampage.

[Queenslander]

Ahhh, okay. That's not so bad then.

Is that gonna be Omega / Page or is Tony Khan gonna get too excited about one of his new toys? When in the year does All In fall?

I'm retarded All In was the indie show.

[Ian]

Ah. So All Out IS the big one?

[Queenslander]

I would guess Double or Nothing.

[Queenslander]

Ishii v Moose at the NJPW Resurgence show could be the best hoss fight on American soil this year.

[Gray Fox]

It was supposed to be Omega v Page but the latter has pulled out short notice.

Likely a good idea as his big title win would immediately be overshadowed by Punk and Bryan appearing.

[phonics]

Punks debuting so they don’t want to bury the Page thing.

[Disco]

And Christian can both have a good match with Omega and easily eat a loss while they line everything else up.

[Ian]

Even if they just need somebody to have a good match, lose to Omega and then off ye fuck back to the midcard surely there's a better, more interesting option than Christian.

[wullie]

I saw that they've got a match on AEW for the Impact world title which Omega holds along with the TNA belt. Has he got the Global Force one in a bag somewhere?

[Ian]

He's basically the Triple H meme right now, isn't he?

I wonder if he'll lose one to Andrade at Triplemania.

[Disco]

Even if they just need somebody to have a good match, lose to Omega and then off ye fuck back to the midcard surely there's a better, more interesting option than Christian.

Who would you suggest?

[Baz]

Sammy Guevara push.

[Disco]

The issue with most other options are that they're doing stuff with other people. Christian is good, not in a feud, and near the top of their rankings so he makes sense for a stopgap. Not every promotion brings in veteran wrestlers to humiliate the rest of the roster and remind you how much better things used to be.

[Ian]

Who would you suggest?

I don't watch AEW but I know they have a shitload of people and I just struggle to imagine anybody is that invested in Christian other than when Tony Khan is doing the 5 Second Pose in the mirror.

[Disco]

I think you would be wrong, (with the exception of the oddly rushed end to his match with Fat Mat) he's been presented quite well so far. Even then, nobody needs to be very invested when the main event is likely to be the big new signing turning up rather than the title match.

[Ian]

Meh, I dunno then. Christian in 2021 just seems like the most boring possible option to me (for AEW, that is, WWE have, are and will again do worse) other than to get a bit of a nostalgia pop.

And if you can write off your world title main event because Punk is turning up to Change the Culture then why bother having it at all? Just have Omega heel himself a night off.

[Disco]

That would work too but I think I'd rather see the match than have nothing.

[Ian]

They should just have Henry freestyle a promo in his big peach blazer.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

1425818199673683968

Candice is not going to be wrestling on NXT for a while.

[Disco]

They should just have Henry freestyle a promo in his big peach blazer.

I still smile every time I remember he said 'Tony very much' in his first interview with Schiavone.

[phonics]

Christian sucks which is exactly why they don’t care about him losing twice. He’s dull as fuck. The wrestling equivalent of missionary position.

[Ian]

Nicking Roman Reigns' incredible bants. :nono:

[igor_balis]

Christian is great but he's the most midcard wrestler of all time. People overstate how important having "it" is, but he mostly certainly does not have it, whatever it is.

[Shindig]

I don't think I've heard anyone describe the missionary position as an industry workhorse.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

1425879175886426113

Keith Lee almost died due to complications after Covid.

[Ian]

WWE 205 Live is to occasionally feature wrestlers above the standard 205-pound weight limit going forward.

The promotion announced as much while confirming Joe Gacy vs. Josh Briggs for tonight's show, including the following sentence in the copy:-


"The purple brand will now occasionally play host to matches where one or multiple Superstars eclipse the 205-pound weight limit, setting the stage for a colossal main event between Gacy and Briggs."

https://i.imgur.com/MPbX6OD.jpeg

[wullie]

They updated their banner for it about a week before firing pretty much everyone on it

https://i.imgur.com/BzWi8Zo.png

[Ian]

I love that the banner didn't even feature the cruiserweight champion.

Does Kushida ever actually wrestle on 205 Live? It's not like he's on NXT every week.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

He's wrestled once in 2019, twice in 2020 and once (last month) this year.

[Ian]

Not that I want Kushida slumming it on 205 but it's a bit lol that the champion of the brand never features. I assume Escobar was barely ever there either.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Twice in 2020 including a 6 man tag loss to Ashantee thee Adonis (now in Hit Row) and two now released superstars.

No idea how clean it was and which of Legado took the pin.

[Ian]

I mean it's fairly academic, they'll all be released once Vince reviews their BMIs anyway.

Odyssey Jones for Cruiserweight champ.

[Gray Fox]

So the talk is that the WWE higher-ups are SEETHING that they lost the "Wednesday night wars" as WWE should be winning easily in their eyes. The people who are out of a job once Trips takes over are laying the blame on his doorstep and it seems to have stuck.

The latest NXT developments, the releases, Kross being called up to RAW only to be essentially squashed despite being a top NXT star, someone called Aliyah(?) getting a win over Dakota Kai to take away her momentum ahead of a Takeover title shot, are all as a response to the above. It's essentially Trips being told all of "his guys" are shit and now Vince has taken that over.

The idea is Trips' NXT is now being portrayed as a bunch of indie guys who couldn't draw and were too small, so no young 'uns wanted to watch.

[Ian]

Even at face value the Kross stuff just seemed like anti-NXT spite.

[Disco]

Vince does not and has never given the first shit about NXT, very happy with the idea of monetising their developmental but it's been run like an indie show which doesn't produce what he wants. He wants giant dudes to put on TV, their wrestling ability is a long way down the list of things he cares about. I doubt he understands why it was popular and even if he does it's a radically different strategy from the rest of the company, in that context there's no point in your feeder promotion doing decently booked stuff with good wrestling because that's not what they do on the main roster.

[Ian]

No and Vince will probably have been asking why the likes of Ciampa and Gargano are still in NXT.

NXT Power Plant here we come.

I wonder if the inevitable ruining of NXT will be what drives me off wrestling again. I already cherry pick what I watch and I'm not sure I have the enthusiasm to try and get invested in a new company / show from scratch.

[Gray Fox]

No more midgets DAMMIT!

[wullie]

Great Khali currently looking for a rental property in the Orlando area.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

No and Vince will probably have been asking why the likes of Ciampa and Gargano are still in NXT.

NXT Power Plant here we come.

I wonder if the inevitable ruining of NXT will be what drives me off wrestling again. I already cherry pick what I watch and I'm not sure I have the enthusiasm to try and get invested in a new company / show from scratch.
Would be the death of my interest.

[Ian]

Great Khali currently looking for a rental property in the Orlando area.

And NEW NXT Light Heavyweight champiooooonnn......

[Disco]

It was done for me once they went to Wednesdays, it was instantly worse and it's not like there's a shortage of good wrestling with booking that makes sense that I can watch instead.

[Ian]

Yeah when they started doing counter-booking and everything there was a noticeable drop-off. I actually think it'd gone a bit even before then as I thought they got a bit too into their HHH style "epic" (i.e. 40 minute) matches to cap off the big feuds and while it wasn't helped by the Raw call-up the Gargano/Ciampa feud was already going off the rails by then. But there's enough talent there that I still usually enjoy a show and a Takeover even if the latter are more often a 3.5 now compared to the consistent 4.5 they used to be.

[Queenslander]

Amazing end to Kenny v Christian

https://streamable.com/mppq9w

:drool:

[Ian]

Yeah that's a decent ending. Does AEW tend to go in for that WWE-esque "endless referee distraction" thing often?

Interesting to take one of the belts off him. Wonder if that helps, harms or makes no difference to Andrade's chances against him tonight.

[Queenslander]

I don't watch enough AEW to know.

Kenny has done a brilliant job elevating the IMPACT title. Christian Cage v Jay White for the belt would be big business.

Andrade has to win surely?

[Disco]

Aew do all the tropes but I wouldn't say they're overused, at least I haven't noticed it but then I only watch Dynamite.

[Disco]

Watching it now and the best thing about that match was that the crowd was so into it you could barely hear any 'this is awesome' or other associated bollocks.

[Ian]

Watching it now and the best thing about that match was that the crowd was so into it you could barely hear any 'this is awesome' or other associated bollocks.

Yeah, WWE crowds are all too often trying to get themselves over.

Although with the piped-in noise sometimes WWE is doing that for them now.

[Queenslander]

Will Ospreay is in America. :drool:

https://streamable.com/4s7qn4

Triplemania wooooo

https://streamable.com/g2ja20

https://streamable.com/n8hivv

[Disco]

That makes me wonder just who will be in the G1 this year, hoping for some Forbidden Door fun but I suspect Covid may scupper that.

[Queenslander]

It feels like they will only have enough talent for a single group G1?

Did you watch Moose v Ishii?

[phonics]

Yeah that's a decent ending. Does AEW tend to go in for that WWE-esque "endless referee distraction" thing often?

Interesting to take one of the belts off him. Wonder if that helps, harms or makes no difference to Andrade's chances against him tonight.

I meant to reply to this before so sorry for resurrecting old posts.

My biggest issue with AEW is that every match ends like this or with a run-in.

It got absurd at one point where there was a run-in but the other guys guys did a run-in on the run-in before they could run-in and then a third group unrelated to the match but who didn't like either group did a run-in on both groups of run-inners.

If you've ever seen Sean Ross Sapp post 'GAAAAAAAAAAAAANG WARRRRZ' that's what its referring to. It's every other match.

[Baz]

Can UK people watch AEW Rampage without piracy?

[phonics]

It's part of the 4.99 Fite.tv package if you have that for Dynamite.

[Ian]

The extent to which Nikki is being booked as an afterthought during her own title reign is impressive even by WWE standards.

Also I've not watched Andrade/Omega yet. Anybody seen it?

[Queenslander]

The extent to which Nikki is being booked as an afterthought during her own title reign is impressive even by WWE standards.

Also I've not watched Andrade/Omega yet. Anybody seen it?

Yep it is a good match Kenny is a freak. Give it a go!

[wullie]

Is Dynamite still on ITV or has that moved just to Fite as well?

[Baz]

Is Dynamite still on ITV or has that moved just to Fite as well?The most recent episode was on ITV, but I don’t know about going forwards.

[wullie]

Cheers, it seemed to be moved around a lot and then I couldn't remember the last time I'd even noticed it listed anywhere

[Ian]

I watched Omega/Andrade. Good match but I really don't like the way it's shot. The angles are either too far out (presumably to catch the rolling ads on the big screens) or way too close most of the time and occasionally dips into Kevin Dunn-esque rapid switches between camera angles.

[Queenslander]

I agree AAA is definitely a rough watch.

[Disco]

It feels like they will only have enough talent for a single group G1?

Did you watch Moose v Ishii?

Just seen it, proper meat circus :drool:

Strong may actually be worth watching now then.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

lol at the Ric Flair (not 100% sure it's him) picture trending on Twitter.

[Baz]

It’s not quite Stephen Bear levels of ‘why’s that tren… ffs’ but yeah.

So long as Charlotte hasn’t got that tattoo on her ankle, we’re good.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

1428090843735396357

Trains nowhere near luxurious enough for the Nature Boy.

[Lewis]

What a way to address it. :lol:

[Queenslander]

Just seen it, proper meat circus :drool:

Strong may actually be worth watching now then.

I hope they keep Ishii in America for the rest of the year.

Edit: Oh shit Suzuki will be in America for Strong tapings!!!

[Gray Fox]

MJF had anything Judas related banned as part of the match, so the crowd took over instead.

1428170949749362693

[Ian]

Good work that crowd. :cool:

I love how surprised and delighted Jericho looks too.

[Disco]

He spent the last week telling people to do exactly that, ever the consummate carnie is Jericho.

[Ian]

He spent the last week telling people to do exactly that, ever the consummate carnie is Jericho.

Oh did he? :D Fucking hell, he looks so genuinely delighted I thought it was impromptu. And reasonably believable, the fans are mark-y enough.

[Queenslander]

Disco Starts at 3 minutes.



https://youtu.be/xKfX3HKklvs?t=178

Hiromu the loon :D

[Ian]

What the fuck is this "WWE PPVs on a Saturday" nonsense? I mean, it makes sense but it's the principle of the thing.

[Disco]

Disco Starts at 3 minutes.



https://youtu.be/xKfX3HKklvs?t=178

Hiromu the loon :D

:cool: He really is the best.

[Queenslander]

Holy shit!!!



https://youtu.be/KrZXDqREmaU

[Gray Fox]

Cult of Personality. Almost replica of his best shirt. Massive reaction and straight into a feud with the exact kind of guy he always wanted to work with.

I always thought he should have stayed gone by this point but I guess we’ll see.

[Ian]

The promo was fine, the pop was predictable but brilliant.

[Mike]

The pop was outstanding and a great opening promo.

[Browning]

The main thing is he got his ice cream bars.

[phonics]

I thought Fite's bitrate was a bit iffy but let's have a look at the WWE HD stream.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E9WZkZuXIAIM_nR.jpg

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

It's fine for me.

[Queenslander]

Is HHH normally on the preshow?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Corbin is really leaning into his homeless look.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

The “Eva Marie is worse than an airport tuna sandwich.” sign on the hard cam to start her match :lol:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E9WtfkxWYAQc-4O?format=jpg

[phonics]

That match was abysmal and somehow the commentators were worse. Corey Graves is atrocious.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Had heard that Sasha wasn't there but replacing her with Mella at the very last second? F.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Well business has picked up.

[Queenslander]

I cant figure out who Bray's first opponent will be in AEW?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Disappointment to HYPE to disappointment.

Brilliant.

[Disco]

I cant figure out who Bray's first opponent will be in AEW?

I've been interested in most of the ex-WWE signings but this one just doesn't do it for me. He never really showed he was that good at actual wrestling and the spooky stuff always fell flat for me (apart from the haunted house thing with Orton but I loved that for all the wrong reasons). I suppose it will be interesting to see how they use him and if his supposed creativity can be put to better use.

[Ian]

Summerslam was about as meh as it's possible to be. Not even objectionably bad for the most part, I was just bored to tears.

RKBro vs. AJ / A Tall Man - Like, fine-ish? But I thought AJ, Orton and Riddle would do some good shit at least. A TV match at best.
Alexa vs. Eva Marie - Obviously I didn't watch this.
Priest vs. Sheamus - Not bad. I'd have given Priest a bit of a longer, hotter build to the end but it was fun enough.
Usos vs. Mysterios - Decent, breezy, uneventful.
Lynch vs. Belair - Fuck off.
McIntyre vs. Jinder - Nope, not watching that.
Raw womens title - What precisely was the point of Nikki's reign? Charlottewinslol.
Edge vs. Rollins - Yawn. Edge selling like death early doors from a few minor neck bumps so he could keep everything at a walking pace thereafter. If you're going to book him in slow, plodding matches put him against slow, plodding opponents, not Seth Rollins.
Bobbles vs. Oldberg - What was that fucking end. :D Jesus.
Reigns vs. Cena - WWE saw the response to Reigns / Jey and thought, "hey that went down well" without understanding why so now that's every match they let Roman have. This should've been 10-15 of them smacking the piss out of each other. And lol at Bork's return as well with his topknot and his lifts. Is there a person on Earth (other than Vince) who wants more Reigns / Lesnar? Also is "person's music hits" the beginning of every Reigns feud currently?

[Queenslander]

I've been interested in most of the ex-WWE signings but this one just doesn't do it for me. He never really showed he was that good at actual wrestling and the spooky stuff always fell flat for me (apart from the haunted house thing with Orton but I loved that for all the wrong reasons). I suppose it will be interesting to see how they use him and if his supposed creativity can be put to better use.

Im standing by death match Bray Wyatt as the best way to book him outside of WWE.

[Baz]

I enjoyed Kenny Omega wearing a Chick Magnet shirt and Sammy Guevara doing CM Punk’s finisher, on the Dynamite before we saw him.

[Queenslander]

I wouldn't mind that chick magnet t shirt.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Fuck me Ilja/WALTER was insane.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Cole v KOR with a really shit finish.

[Queenslander]

Nikki Bella to AEW

https://twitter.com/Tessflocker/status/1429543693799800834?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5 Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1429543693799800834%7Ctwgr% 5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.redditmedia.com%2Fmediae mbed%2Fp9l6s4%3Fresponsive%3Dtrueis_nightmode%3Dfa lse

[wullie]

Not seen any of the Summerslam stuff but Bianca getting the Kofi treatment only makes sense if Becky Lynch is going to be a heel, otherwise they're fucking people over to make time to drip stick stuff which is equally likely.

Saw the CM Punk thing, that's the most AEW has come across as a big deal so far. Proper big, full arena and star power, got to be the biggest crowd reaction since his own one at MITB and the time HHH came back from injury years ago. His thing about returning to wrestling after years in sports entertainment doesn't really ring true with what they've been doing but if they've got Bryan coming in as well hopefully it goes a bit more the direction they claimed it would be at the start.

[Disco]

I was very bored yesterday evening so I decided to watch this Summerslam here are the thoughts my brain had:

- Three of your best wrestlers (and a 1.5 scale Lukaku regen) in the opening match, what a pleasantly entertaining start.
- What are you doing to poor Piper Niven.
- Some other tedious matches happened and Shinsuke Nakamura came out. That's it, he came out then a new match without him in happened. What?
- FUCK BIANCA BELAIR IN PARTICULAR is an odd strategy but the reaction for Becky Lynch was impressive as was the hugeness of the crowd in general.
- Drew McIntyre has a costume prop sword that scares the absolutely terrible Jinder Mahal.
- FUCK ALL OF OUR WOMEN CHAMPIONS seems to be the theme of this show. Nicki Cross is really good (and trying her best bless her) and the Charlotte/Ripley bits were great. Ripley is awesome.
- Somewhere in here I cursed the day Mike Mizanin was ever born or decided to get into wrestling, but it's also nice to see Jonny Mundo getting paid for something other than killing himself on Impact.
- I made dinner while Edge was boring the tits off Seth Rollings.
- Lashley and Glodbog went to a ref stoppage. At Summerslam. in 2021. This shouldn't be that hard chaps.
- Big (Bald) Patch John finally losing the battle with nature. Fun but so deep into a show that felt longer than it can have been. Roman Reigns still can't do heel banter.
- Finally, you own a Ricochet but I didn't see him on this show what the fuck were you thinking?