The Ultimate WWE Thread

[Browning]

Seeing that women's title again it looks shitter than I remember it being earlier. It looks like they took the WWE title, made the strap white, and then chucked a bucket of red paint over it.

[Gray Fox]

I have Sasha winning this.

Bring out Bayley at the end though.

[Baz]

Despite having to be up at 7, and not watching wrestling for god knows how long, because I've been sent to the spare room due to coughing too much, I've spent the last hour watching Wrestlemania. :cool:

Probably gonna watch it all now too. Or at least until Shane time, but that might be last anyway, right?

[Gray Fox]

Despite having to be up at 7, and not watching wrestling for god knows how long, because I've been sent to the spare room due to coughing too much, I've spent the last hour watching Wrestlemania. :cool:

Probably gonna watch it all now too. Or at least until Shane time, but that might be last anyway, right?

Makes sense for them putting the cell together.

[Browning]

Eddie Guerrero attire? She's won then.

[Browning]

That was :drool:

[Gray Fox]

Have they just cancelled this Battle Royal then?

If not, Browning I think you're spot on before.

Also that was my match of the night so far, just a shame about the finish.

[Browning]

Once the BR wasn't on first, and with the fact people were jacking off to the Divas as a "co main event" I figured that was where it was going.

[Gray Fox]

I can only think this means Taker is winning, which would be me being wrong yet again.

Unless Shane wins and this plays a part in the later title match.

[Browning]

Yea, I think Taker's winning unless Shane wins too.

[Waffdon]

Undertaker is winning.

[Gray Fox]

I meant Shane winning only makes sense if they're on last. Because he then gains control and can do what he wants with the show right away.

[Browning]

No he can't. This isn't RAW.

[Baz]

Shane looks beefed up.

[Gray Fox]

No he can't. This isn't RAW.

Ah so it's just for RAW? His promo said he was coming back to take control. Need all 3 shows to do that! Brand split coming again soon then?

[Browning]

Yea, it's just for RAW. Big rumors of a brand split.

[Gray Fox]

I suppose it might give people a reason to watch Smackdown again.

[Baz]

Undertaker looks surprisingly mobile here. Well, apart from that failed Last Ride.

I'm sure it's only a matter of time before he shows his age and it resembles Louis van Gaal vs Pep Guardiola. I can't see Shane winning though.

[Dark Soldier]

This is fucking awful

[Gray Fox]

If Shane doesn't go off the cell this has all been pointless.

[Browning]

He will. Through the table no doubt.

[Browning]

YES! YES! YES!

He'll miss though.

[Baz]

Here comes the money :D

[Waffdon]

that impact tho

[Browning]

"FOR THE LOVE OF MANKIND" was so shit from Cole.

[Browning]

The streak is dead. :(

[Baz]

It's a bit funny that the best camera angle was ruined by undertaker rolling into the cameraman. :lol:

What's next? Will probably go to sleep now.

[Browning]

20 man Battle Royal and then the WWE Title match.

[Gray Fox]

Well my streak is alive and well. Wrong in every match so far.

[Browning]

Shaq. :D

[Waffdon]

No the big goof from the Wyatts? or Cena?

The fuck is the Wyatts, actually?

[Browning]

Yea... what the fuck?

[Waffdon]

Not a very long main event. Lol at when HHH is the face

[Gray Fox]

Still wrong in every match. Have Reigns winning the main even because Vince gives zero shits to what anyone else thinks.

[Browning]

Forgot this prick was turning up.

[Dark Soldier]

Why does he have a flamethrower

[Gray Fox]

To burn all those who boo Roman.

[Browning]

10 minutes to go and we're not even at HHH's entrance yet.

[Waffdon]

Are we not getting a main event?

[Waffdon]

Dece pop for the GOAT.

[Browning]

Marked out a little. The Don is back. :cool:

Something needed to save that.

[Gray Fox]

Well. I'm going to be fucked for work. I had hoped to sneak an hours sleep in here but looks like a 4:30 finish.

[Waffdon]

That's enough for me.

[Dark Soldier]

You're missing the main event Waff :drool:

This is amazingly bad, some good performances, solid spots, fucking flat throughout. Good show.

[Dark Soldier]

I'm sure this looked good on paper

[Browning]

Stephanie is dressed to fight.

[Gray Fox]

What a reaction for Reigns :D

[Browning]

It may be because it's 4:30, but I really have no interest in this.

[Browning]

What is the pink on HHH's face?

[Browning]

Bayley chant going on during the main event. :D

[Dark Soldier]

Well worth staying up for thanks WWE night all I have the noose ready

[Gray Fox]

Creative: "How do we get Roman over?"
"Spear a woman?"
"BRILLIANT!"

[Lewis]

Every match was either 1) crap; 2) booked badly, and the fact that Stone Cold and Don Cena were the best bits is pretty tragic. I thought the main event would have been interesting in that Triple Haitch would have to lead the match and effectively carry Roman Reigns (his recent feuds have been against competent rasslers), but it was an absolute shocker.

[Pleb]

Was that a 7 hour show last night? :cab:

[Dan]

I fell asleep somewhere in the New Day/League of Nations match, but i've just caught up.

Nice to see they dragged all the old guys out again for half the show & put them all over - Rock beating Rowan in one move was probably the worst of the lot though. The tag match was okay, the street fight was pointless as Ambrose didn't even kick out of anything, which hardly makes him looks like 'the iron man of WWE'. The battle royal was a surprising result, but still a battle royal, and therefore pretty shit. The women's match was good, but Charlotte winning kinda ruined the whole thing. 'IT'S A NEW ERA (with the same champion lol)!'

Hell in a Cell was rubbish apart from Shane killing himself, and the main event was rubbish apart from anything that involved Stephanie. I'll give RAW a look tonight since i'm off work & it's usually a big one, but I'm not really expecting to enjoy much beyond the surprises.

Oh, and Camp WWE :D

[Waffdon]

The reaction Reigns will get at RAW will be a tad sad. Poor guy

[Browning]

I may watch tonight's RAW when I wake up. I'll have to be up around 8 or so no chance I'm staying up, but if someone knows somewhere that usually hosts it early, let me know. I know I used to get it on Daily Motion but no idea if that's still possible.

My thoughts now I've had some sleep:


I'm not going to talk about the pre-show, because that was all crap. Except from Lana's attire. Get her in the ring every night.

The IC title match was a decent-ish match. The problem was only Zayn and Owens had any story to tell or any build up. They carried it but so many randomers being there that you didn't care about watered it down. Not a bad start, and a shock winner (despite the bookies ruining it) so could have been worse.

AJ Syles Vs Chris Jericho.... good match. Not as good as I expected from these 2, but good enough. People are bitching because Jericho won. Yet had Styles won, it would have been "predictable". He's Chris fucking Jericho and a loss here pretty much would have transitioned him into a jobber to the stars (and Fandango). I have no problem with him pulling out the win. Styles should just be happy to see a crowd.

New Day Vs League Of Nations- The match itself sucked, and the constant flip flopping on it really really annoyed me. First it's a title match, then it's not, but it's a handicap match... even billed as such on the pre-show... but it winds up a 6 man tag. Barr-uh couldn't be that injured as he took all 3 finishers at the end, so I'm left with the conclusion they didn't want to give him a WM win before he pisses off. Which is petty as fuck to be honest. The shenanigans before and after the match were a highlight even if the match itself was shit.

Lesnar Vs Ambrose was really underwhelming, but the right result. People need to stop with all the crying about how Ambrose should have won.It's BROCK LESNAR. He shouldn't be losing except in very rare circumstances, and certainly not to someone who couldn't beat old man HHH. Still, I expected more from these 2.

Women's Title- Match of the night. Really enjoyed it, and I'm not one of those people who was going to say that no matter what happened. A few botches at the beginning and I thought we were in for some shit, but they picked it up, and they delivered. Possibly the best Women's match in Mania history, but I'm not quite ready to declare that yet. The winner was always going to be "who is going to hold the title for Bayley" and Charlotte is the right result as the heel. Becky seems a little bit pointless albeit a good wrestler, and Sasha would have just had people crying even more when she jobbed to the superior wrestler later on. So go Charlotte! Also, she turns into Zack Ryder when she's hungry, so she's 2-0 for the night with 2 titles.

HIAC was...... something. I didn't expect it to go like that at all. I was actually hoping for some run ins and shenanigans. As it was, it felt weird, because Shane's just an old bloke. Why is he able to hold his own with Taker? The miss from the fall was obvious (he's missed all but 1 of those, hasn't he?) but it was still a great moment. I didn't hate the match as much as some seem to have, but I certainly didn't like it much. Shane still reminds me of Kermit the Frog too, and I don't know why. I think it's the voice.

Battle Royal was shit for being a Battle Royal. Dunno who Baron whatshisface even is, and I don't care.

The Rock stuff was the low point of the night. Who the fuck thought "We have a guy who talks gibberish and makes lame jokes and 20 year old catchphrases... let's send him out to the ring with ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to talk about, and then have him interrupted by.... oh... I don't know... how about the king of talking gibberish?" Waste of time and I could have gotten to bed half an hour earlier and not lost out on anything. Stop dragging out that washed up has been.

HHH Vs Reigns was shit in just about every way possible. The worst part being the logic of "He needs to be cheered... let's him have beat up a Diva... sorry... woman". Are you kidding me? You spend all night bigging up the girls and then have Stephanie get attacked by a bloke? When did that become OK again? All that aside, the match sucked, and had no place being at Mania, let alone the main event. Felt really, really forced to just try and get Roman over... and they surely haven't.

[Dan]

Lesnar absolutely should've won, but I was expecting Ambrose to put up more of a fight. Talking him up as this guy who can't be broken only to have him beaten at the first cover is pretty silly - having Lesnar wail on him for a bit longer with Ambrose continually kicking out & getting off the odd flurry would've gotten him over more while still making Lesnar look like a beast as he mercilessly chucks Ambrose about for 20mins.

Jericho winning seems weird, because he's been a jobber to the stars for about five years, and AJ winning makes storyline sense as a payoff to the feud, but I guess if they're carrying this one on after Mania it's not as bad. Personally I still prefer Styles winning & then moving on to face someone more interesting than watching (or not in my case) another two months of AJ/Jericho or having Styles lose to someone who immediately fucks off for six months.

Corbin is decent. He's probably going to get a push as the latest big guy, and he's more like Kane & Taker in their prime than most others have been, in the sense that he's huge, powerful & also very athletic, but he's not exactly a talker & I've never really been bothered by him in the ring. He's got everything he needs to big a legit 'big man' in WWE, probably only second to Luke Harper in that regard, and I'd expect him to become a big player in time, although he'll probably be booked pretty strongly from the start.

I don't have a problem with the spear on Stephanie. It was accidental - he didn't exactly go over and punch her straight in the face for no reason - and if we're saying that the women are equal to the men why would we kick up a fuss about the women who's supposedly driving that, and has taken plenty of similar bumps before, taking a bump again? It was pretty much the only spot that could've got Reigns a cheer, which sums up how badly his face push is going.

[Browning]

I don't really "have a problem" with the Stephanie spot, but given it's something WWE themselves decided to stop doing, it really felt out of place to me. But yea, that's pretty much the ultimate sign you've fucked up a face push if hitting a woman is the only way to get a cheer. How the fuck is Reigns meant to move on to a feud with another heel who doesn't draw as much heat as her and Trips?

Styles can still move on at this point I think. Hopefully he will, although we all know Backlash/EXTREME RULES/whatever it is is normally just a WM re-run.

And yes, I agree about Lesnar. I wanted to see more from Ambrose. It just seemed really badly booked to be honest. Why the fuck did they waste time having him bring out a fucking Chainsaw knowing full well he's not exactly going to cut out Brock's intestines with it.

[Lewis]

Does Roman Reigns not even get the grudging respect that Don Cena gets?

[Jeet]

Hate when they have a match that is extreme/street fight rules and most the time it's just singapore canes shot.

Wasn't great, Women's match maybe the best of the night. Was disappointed with the Aj and Brock match, could have much better.

[Browning]

As noted, WWE announced last night that they set a new attendance record of 101,763 fans at AT&T Stadium for WrestleMania 32. This beats out the previous WWE attendance record of 93,173 at WrestleMania 3.

WWE actually had under 100,000 fans in the building but they still set a new record. Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE had over 93,000 fans but under 94,000, according to venue officials.

WWE also announced that WrestleMania 32 in Dallas became the highest grossing live event in company history with $17.3 million grossed.

- - - -- -- -

If it's still a record, what's the fucking point in lying about it?

[igor_balis]

Because they're still a bunch of fucking carnies. Slick, billionaire carnies but carnies nonetheless. Turning the crowd volume down to hide the Reigns boos is fucking hilarious, just turn him heel you cunts.

[Shindig]

Undertaker's going to wind up retiring on medical grounds at this rate.

[Disco]

He already looks bizarrely orange, like he dipped his head in something.

[Gray Fox]

Pre-show - Almost nothing of interest happened. Lana debuted and continued to look sexy as hell. Brie probably retired too. Oh and the Dudleys, who are heels, and swore never to use another table not 3 weeks ago, went to use table and were pandering to the crowd a little. That bugged me.

Ladder match - As far as I could tell on my stream, the crowd would have much more enjoyed KO v Zayn. I like a surprise winner but I couldn't tell if the crowd were booing or wooing. The problem here is the surprise winner has had all of 3 minutes worth of match in the past couple of years. Some nice spots and a decent opening. I felt The Miz was completely unbelievable sitting on the ladder like that though.

Y2AJ - If the feud is to continue the outcome makes sense. Styles was booked strong and I would have like Jericho to get in some more meaningful offense. Great spot on the finish.

#TheLADS v New Day - Besides the usual shtick from the New Day(loved the outfits) this was all about stalling until the big after match pay off. Disappointed they lost at Wrestlemania, but none of that matters because Stone Cold!

Lesnar/Ambrose - Very disappointing. They built Dean up well with the indestructible thing which would have made sense had they have Lesnar repeatedly suplex/F5 him and him kicking out. I think he lost on his 2nd or 3rd pin attempt. Lesnar looked reasonably strong and despite me wanting otherwise is probably the best result. Bar a return at RAW from Rollins or someone similar I'd expect Reigns and Lesnar to headline SummerSlam.

Womens - Slightly rough start but my match of the night by far. Shows what can happen when you take it seriously. Right result as NxT results make it look like Bayley is stepping up and she's so damn good.

Taker/Shane - Very slow, sloppy and a little strange. The best wrestler of his generation matched by a guy who hasn't had a match for years. Both are about 50 years old and they looked it. Taker needs to retire after his Cena match next year. Obvious cell dive miss was obvious, but an awesome spot certainly. Got to love a coast 2 coast as well. Right result albeit dragged out.

Battle Royal - This was an odd place to put the match and having Mark Henry win it in his last Wrestlemania in his home state would have been nice, however I agree very much with putting a new younger guy over. He was never the best in NxT but I hope he does well. At least a third of the roster is made up of older guys on the verge or retirement and so bringing up younger guys is a good thing.

The Rock - I originally was in disbelief as he turned back after just announcing the attendance. Seeing Wyatt was odd given his bad back problems. All in all I think the point of this was so that Daniel Bryan no longer had the record for quickest loss at Wrestlemania. Either that or Rowan has really pissed Vince off. Cena return was nice. It'll be interesting to see what kind of shape he is actually in.

Roman/HHH - Firstly Steph. Yes :D As for the match. It was always going to be like this wasn't it? The crowd reaction against Roman was worse than I thought it would be. The match killed the crowd though. It was just too slow and predictable. I had to lol at the heavily edited crowd cheers and muting at the finish. It's the worst head in sand job I've ever seen.
The spear on Steph is fine being accidental. They can also use that as a spark for the heel turn if they want. They need to book him better now. Imagine the fans if SummerSlam is Cena v Reigns :p


Does Roman Reigns not even get the grudging respect that Don Cena gets?

No. I think Cena gets respect because even though the character has become stale to the adults, he's still a good worker and is an apparent good guy away from the ring(that charity work though). And he's still way over with the kids. It's more pantomime booing for him I feel.
Reigns is genuine hate for a guy that they really don't want being shoved down the throat.

[Pleb]

I gave up after the TLC match.

[Browning]

I gave up after the TLC match.

2001?

[Ian]

Ladder match - Liked Zayn more than I have previously and the tornado DDT ringpost spot was good and that chickenwing suplex, if that's what it is (maybe a tiger something-or-other), was nasty. More deserving of a "holy shit" than about 135% of the things that actually get it these days. And ZACK FUCKING RYDER wins? Jesus Christ. What a joke the IC title is these days. If Owens has lost that and it isn't to move him onto some big feuds then he deserves to be fucking furious.

Style/Jericho - Better than I expected and. Jericho's actually fitter than his moobs would suggest but he LOOKS a right state. A bit surprised they had Jericho win and it was interesting that they had the heel being the resilient one who who wouldn't stay down despite taking a beating as well.

New Day - Loved the Booty O's entrance. I was surprised that League of Nations won and it felt a bit anticlimactic, the team who had more numbers (well, sort of) winning relatively cleanly. Even though I enjoyed all of HBK, Foley and Austin's music hitting are they really choosing a result just to drag some old guys out? I'd have rather had New Day win dirty, then League of Nations batter them again then bring the three of them out. And Barrett got made a mug of, not in the match and then got the triple-finisher treatment at the end. Austin enjoying himself so much and then arsing about spoiled it somewhat..... until the stunner to Woods. I'm never going to not love Austin appearing but that whole thing was still a bit tragic.

Street fight - Lesnar bottling out of that DDT onto the chairs was lol. Let-down of a match though and a premature ending without anything happening. Lesnar's invincibility is, predictably, a bit boring now and it being an excuse to job the shit out of Ambrose is irritating. Thank fuck he's still part time.

Snoop Dogg and Women's match - Nope.

Hell in a Cell - As the match started my main thought was: "How the fuck are they going to fill another two and a half hours?" Undertaker looking so, so old was my second. I was actually sitting with my mouth open wondering if Shane was actually going to jump off the cell or if they were just teasing us. Even though it had big cushions underneath fair play to him, that takes stones. Another Undertaker feud/match which wastes everybody's time. Especially if Shane now just disappears off into the ether. About as shit as I expected but I didn't expect Shane to go off the cell.

Battle royal - TATANKA! DDP! YEAH! Is this NXT lad who won it actually any good?

I'm glad something at least happened in the Rock's bit because I actually thought at one point they'd literally rolled him out just to announce the attendance record. It was less shit than most of his appearances appearances these days but.... yeah, another excuse for an older guy to slap some of the current roster about

Main event - Christ, that booing was a proper mess. HHH kicks him in the bollocks and gets huge cheers. I didn't hate it as much as you guys did but that might be because I was just relieved they were going to at least try and have one actual match on the card after Jericho and Styles which by this time felt like it had happened about a fortnight beforehand. Had expected SOMETHING to happen at the end with Roman's win but.... nope, they've just cracked on with it.

I didn't hate it as much as I feel it deserves given the in-ring stuff didn't manage to escape the wonky booking but, yeah, meh.

[Browning]

The Rock - I originally was in disbelief as he turned back after just announcing the attendance. Seeing Wyatt was odd given his bad back problems. All in all I think the point of this was so that Daniel Bryan no longer had the record for quickest loss at Wrestlemania. Either that or Rowan has really pissed Vince off. Cena return was nice. It'll be interesting to see what kind of shape he is actually in.
.

Bryan didn't have it anyway. Kane and Chavo was shorter.

[Pleb]

2001?
Pretty much :D

[Dan]

Is RAW really starting at 2am tonight? I'll be asleep long before that.

[Browning]

No, 1am as per usual. But I'll be watching it tomorrow morning if I can find it. Then I won't watch it again for a year. :D

[John]

I had a lol at the commentators talking about how Shane O Mac could do in The Undertaker by just outlasting him, as if he was a talented kid taking on a fading legend. There's five years between them. Do they have a 'Billed Age'?

[Dan]

No, 1am as per usual. But I'll be watching it tomorrow morning if I can find it. Then I won't watch it again for a year. :D

I think I'll be doing the same, to be honest.

[Browning]

I had a lol at the commentators talking about how Shane O Mac could do in The Undertaker by just outlasting him, as if he was a talented kid taking on a fading legend. There's five years between them. Do they have a 'Billed Age'?

Yea, I thought the same. Undertaker might be old but he's also been training his entire life, you'd imagine he'd outlast Shane with ease.

[Chrissy]

anyone got any decent streams for raw?

[igor_balis]

anyone got any decent streams for raw?

http://prowrestlingreports.com/cgi-bin/livestream3.php

passable.

This is gonna be so much more fun than last night, but now 'crazy post-wrestlemania raw' is a #thing, with fucking cole and jbl acknowledging it ('THEY'RE GONNA BE BOOING WHO THEY USUALLY CHEER AND CHEERING WHO THEY USUALLY BOO, THEY'RE HAVING FUN, I LOVE IT MAGGLE') it does take away from the THRILL a bit.

[igor_balis]

anyone got any decent streams for raw?

http://prowrestlingreports.com/cgi-bin/livestream5.php

this is better

edit: that's even better.

[igor_balis]

Actually shit all the streams I've posted are bollocks, fuck sake.

[Chrissy]

tis cool got sorted dude

[Dan]

That was rubbish. Nothing surprising even happened really.

AJ Styles as #1 contender was unexpected, and Enzo's promo was easily the best part of the show, but everything else was basically just a standard RAW with a couple of debuts that didn't really have much impact.

Apollo Crews was fine, but I wish they didn't tell everyone who was debuting just before they came out. I might've given a bit more of a shit about this one if I hadn't know about it in advance. Crews is on the same level as Corbin to me - big, strong, ridiculously athletic, but not all that interesting to watch. I probably prefer Corbin, to be honest. Vaudevillians are meh too, although the gimmick is interesting. Apparently they're bringing Primo & Epico back as well :D

The women's segment getting shit on by Bayley chants was pretty lol, and a short match alongside Charlotte v Nattie as the main feud is hardly filing me with confidence that this 'new era' stuff is going to be all that different from the old era, other than a new name & title.

Ryder immediately losing the title to Miz was sadly predictable, and Barrett getting kicked out of the League of Nations was probably the last time he's going to be shit on by WWE as he's supposedly leaving soon.

Guess that's me pretty much done until SummerSlam then.

[Browning]

I'm with you Dan, pretty bad RAW, though probably better than I expected. Wrote some notes as I watched it:

Actually enjoyed the opening promo for once, even though there was nothing particularly special about it. Just.... Shane I guess.

Starting with the New Day is a great decision. Bit of logical booking too giving the League a title shot, though makes no sense that Wade is one of them... and basically ruins the result. Putting the Wyatt's against the League just prove what directionless crap the Wyatt's are as they literally turned from Heel to Face in 24 hours to suit the feud they're in. Awful team and always have been.

Summer's promo made no sense as Sasha wasn't beaten.. .and having the commentators shit on it just proves they knew that... so why is she saying it? There's being a heel and then there's being stupid. But oh well, guess we aren't meant to care about Summer Rae. Good to see after stealing the show at Mania, the girls are back to 2 minute crap matches. Bit pointless.

What's the difference between Strength and Power? Seems to me this NXT guy only really has 3 attributes, or whatever crap they're calling it. Putting him against Breeze gives me very little interest in watching it either. 3 matches so far is great, but the fact all 3 were matches with no doubt who was going to win ruins it. It worries me that they are playing it so safe with these matches.... do they have some real bullshit to come later?

That reaction for Reigns. :D What a cunt he is. "They boo people they normally cheer"... fuck off. Even having the heel commentator trying to get him over. This is pathetic. Please bring out the Don to shut him up. Jericho will do. :drool: But we all know there's no chance Jericho is breaking him in half, not tonight and not at the PPV if they get there. Jericho's promo was flat and AJ's entrance music is the least dramatic way to interrupt someone ever.Eventually he's interrupted by 4 people.... 3 of which lost at mania. :D

"Countdown" starring Dolph Ziggler must be the least enticing movie mad since... WWE's last one. At least we've finally got a match between 2 people who deserve a win, albeit you'd expect them to put the NXT guy over. Why do they both need a 5 minutes rest mid-match? This isn't Taker Vs Shane. Decent enough match, wasn't expecting Dolph to kick out at the end. Corbin is a fucking idiot for not just getting back in the ring and then moaning about it though. Still, enjoyed that.

Why is there an IC Title match tonight, given it won't be against Owens? Makes no sense.... he better not lose it. I will say though, no one deserves that title and that moment more than Zack for all the work he's put in to achieve his boyhood dream. I've got a horrible feeling Miz will win this.... and given he's every bit as not-built up as Ryder... that would be horrific. Miz is still great on the mic, shame Lillian ruined that a title match is definitely coming. Fuck off Miz. Seriously. What was the point? Seeing Maryse again makes it worth it... but still. Why was that not a DQ anyway?

Divas segment is going to die on it's ass unless Bayley is here. Which doesn't seem like she is. I'm betting they are doing the Triple Threat again. God... all those years of practicing and Charlotte can't even Woo! properly. OK guess I'm wrong about the Triple Threat... it's just going to be Nattie? Well, that's shit. She'll never be champion again so let's not pretend otherwise.

It might be a tables match, but I still have no intention of watching the Dudleyz Vs The Usos. Skipped to the end, but that shouldn't count as a win, you have to put someone through the table. Glad the Dudleyz called them out on that shit. Could be the highlight of the night though hearing Bubba yell "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? YOU'RE A HORRIBLE ANNOUNCER!" after they'd moved on to Renee. More Zayn and KO don't get along.... no one cares anymore.

This NXT team is nuts. Do they literally cut the same promo week after week so the crowd can join in? A bit lame. Genuinely thought he was gonna say "Well, let me tell you something Brother". Still, I enjoyed their smack talk to the Dudleyz somewhat. Hope they're as good in the ring as they are on the mic.

Hmm... so they are replacing Sami. Gotta be The Don, hasn't it? Him or Bayley. :D

Didn't even recognise Cesaro's music. Fuck sake. Why is he in a suit? Sure it'll be decent enough, but I think I'm all wrestled out after Mania and 3 hours of this. Skipped through it. Styles winning is an odd choice... Reigns is well and truly fucked there.

[Lewis]

Tonga Jeff is never getting called up is he?

[Jeet]

Having Maryse as Miz's manager hopefully will make his character better, rather than being the guy that gets beat during someone's feud on Miz TV. They've done that the year before with Miz losing the IC title next day on RAW.

Thought Cesaro would have been next in line to face Roman given that Roman's best match was vs him.

Corbin looks like a Bo Dallas if he bothered to workout and get this teeth sorted.

Edit: Is that the last of Barrett then? Contract up?

[Browning]

Yea, seemingly.

[Lewis]

That idiot Enzo Amore made me lol. Is it just that every week, or does he change it up a bit?

[wullie]

I didn't know how they'd fill four hours what with a load of stuff being shunted to the kickoff show, but it going nearly five was mental. Felt like ten hours if you watched the main event. The biggest surprise over the whole week is that Shawn Michaels is in ridiculously good shape and hasn't got all fat like he should have.

The future bodes well for the Vaudevillains that on the post-Mania Raw their debut is announced for Smackdown.

[Dan]

The Enzo & Cass introduction spiel is the same every time, which means it quickly gets dull. They'll probably add Carmella in soon too, which will add another bit on to the intro script.

The actual promo they cut after all that was entertaining though. From what I remember Enzo's not that great in the ring, and Cass is on a par with Baron Corbin as big guys go, but more similar to the traditional Big Show/Kane/Taker template in terms of his moveset. He's got a fantastic singing voice as well, surprisingly.

Vaudevillains v Primo & Epico on SmackDown please.

[Jeet]

Cass looks and sounds like Edge :D (slightly taller and slimmer)

[Lewis]

He needs to cover that midriff up.

[Disco]

Why is the Network only displaying Raw episodes up to the end of February, where are the rest?

Edit: Ok, it's to do with airing rights. Back to 1999 I go then.

[Browning]

They take about a month to appear due to their TV deals.

[7om]

Not sure if you guys are aware but TEW2016 comes out in the first week of May and the list of improvements over 2013 looks substantial:

http://www.greydogsoftware.com/forum/showthread.php?t=532912

Does anyone play it still or plan on getting the new one? I've barely played it at all but am seriously considering getting this one.

[Browning]

I've downloaded one of the old ones (whichever one was free) about 3 times but every time I can't get it to run on my laptop whatsoever. Like i load up, hit continue and about 3 hours later it's still processing the very first thing. Not sure if this one would be any better? I'm really interested in giving it a bash but I don't have a desktop and it seems to hate laptops.

[igor_balis]

I've downloaded one of the old ones (whichever one was free) about 3 times but every time I can't get it to run on my laptop whatsoever. Like i load up, hit continue and about 3 hours later it's still processing the very first thing. Not sure if this one would be any better? I'm really interested in giving it a bash but I don't have a desktop and it seems to hate laptops.

Might be a case of right clicking on the icon and setting it to run as administrator, can get a bit fucky when you don't do that.

[Jeet]

Why is the Network only displaying Raw episodes up to the end of February, where are the rest?

Edit: Ok, it's to do with airing rights. Back to 1999 I go then.

Doesn't Hulu air the next day?

I normally watch it via DailyMotion - BTW If anyone had a problem streaming it to their TV using Chromecast, looks like downloading the Beta version solves the problem as before only with DailyMotion it would say 'Does not support this browser'

One good thing about Barrett leaving is JBL can now stop comparing them to The Four Horseman every week :face:

[Ian]

Shane really left his mark on Raw. #1 contender match, an IC title match he had nowt to do with and some re-runs of last night's card.

So glad this story didn't fizzle to nothing.

[Browning]

At least he had a tough choice to make as to which 4 people to put into the contenders match....

Oh wait.

[Ian]

"Well those four guys turned up so...."

Also amused by Reigns' screentime. Has a new champion done so little on the Raw after Wrestlemania before?

[Gray Fox]

I've not seen more than clips of RAW but I know a lot of what went on.

Supposedly Cena isn't in any shape to make a full time return for possibly another 3 months so I wasn't expecting to see him. They could possibly have done with him being kayfabe injured again.

Shane being allowed to control RAW for the night says to me he's off in to the sunset to not be seen again.
Opening with New Day is standard practice now as they always get a good reaction. Way better than 15 minute Authority promo. No idea why #TheLADS are given a title shot that quickly even after the Mania win but seeing them lose their 13454167th shot is standard and right.
Wyatts interrupting the end is a little dull. Bray needs to go out on his own again. I feel the character could be great albeit given a little help with his promos. Big Show style heel to face turn is pretty lol too.
Barrett leaving meant this was coming but it's typical WWE to not let him go out on some kind of high.

Summer Rae needs to fuck off quickly. The Womens division could get away with being just Charlotte, Paige, Sasha, Becky, Nattie and Bayley, assuming the Bellas are both done. No Bayley here is acceptable provided she appears in the title stuff later on the card.

Ziggler can drag a good match out of anyone so putting Corbin against him is a good move. Not having the younger go over however doesn't make much sense beyond the need for another match. Just don't make it on Smackdown.
I'm much for excited for Apollo Crews as he's a freak of nature athletically. I hope he doesn't stall much, but he has the look Vince likes so he may go far.

Roman Reigns. They FINALLY booked him right. Let him be smug as fuck and don't have him be superman saving the fans. He needs to be like this and make the slow move to a heel. I really hope they've finally twigged and Mania was just paying off the Authority angle. If they have him go in as a face against Styles they truly are stupid.

What the actual fuck was Ryder and Miz about? Is the IC title really in such a bad state that The Miz needs to be a champion? No one has given a shit about him for years and rightly so. I've never liked this Miz character whether face or heel so I don't know how he's still around.
Having Ryder consistently pull the win out the bag in an underdog style for a decent length belt run would have been great. Instead it looks like they gave him Mania as a 'thanks for the work in the past, sorry we destroyed you now fuck off while we shit on you again.'

Womens title. WHERE THE FUCK IS BAYLEY? No recourse for Flair senior getting involved in the match? Thought Charlotte did well with the crowd trying to take it over.

I give zero fucks about the Usos so they can piss off. Enzo and Cass though :D They're really needed and hopefully they go into after the New Day after this feud. I just hope they don't overdo the gimmick by having it on Raw and Smackdown each week.

Lastly it looks like Zayn might be injured. He was rumored to have done his shoulder in the earlier scuffle with Owens. But Cesaro is back so it's okay. Ish. I really like him and hope he can take advantage at the top of the card in the short time before Rollins, Cena, Orton etc come back.
If Roman is going heel then Styles winning is perfect. Jericho has no business being near the title any more and Zayn hasn't been here long enough to justify a shot. Owens winning was the other option but heel v possible heel doesn't make much sense, even if the crowd cheer Owens regardless.

If Roman stays face during all of this then they're going to kill his career.

I love how many on the roster have now worked their way through NxT. The old guys need to start retiring. I'm looking at you Kane, Big Show and Henry.

[Dan]

New TEW sounds pretty good, although I haven't played the series in ages. Might end up giving it a look at some point though, I guess.

[igor_balis]

Aye it does sound promising. I'll probably download it, spend about 2 hours setting up my game then get bored and never play it again, as I do every fucking time.

[Browning]

Shaq is claiming he's facing Show at mania 33.... Meaning at least one more year of Big Show!

[Jeet]

Is it a sumo match?

[Browning]

Blackjack Mulligan has passed away at the age of 73.

[Shindig]

A quick google makes me realise how much of a family business wrestling can be.

[Browning]

Nakamura's finisher got a new name because it was previously called Bomaye but they can't use that because it translates is "Kill Him" and of course was what was chanted during the Rumble in the Jungle. As a result they've now named it "Kinshasa" after the City where that took place. Not quite the same ring to it....

[Shindig]

If you're going to use Kinshasa it should only be in reference to a Kamala tag team partner.

[Gray Fox]

Montel Vontavious Porter(remember him?) has been hired and subsequently fired by Lucha Underground. All in the space of a week, the daft twat.

[Ian]

I didn't really know who he was but he had some good matches against Benoit that I saw on my Network WWE PPV trawl.

[Shindig]

I last saw him in TNA in a heel stable with Joey Samoey and Eric Young.

[Mike]

His episode of The Art of Wrestling is a great listen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R0GhiLuyHA

[Gray Fox]

So for some reason Shane McMahon is again in charge of the show tonight and Dr Phil is there, also because reasons.

[wullie]

The entire setup of Shane's match made absolutely no sense in the first place ('I'll let you blackmail me but you have to beat the Undertaker first') so it's good they've carried that on with even less sense since.

[SvN]

I know it's fashionable to hate on WWE shows, but Raw last night was excellent. It ticked all of the right boxes. Even Dr. Phil's participation was decent.

[Lewis]

Festus. :cool:

[Disco]

The entire setup of Shane's match made absolutely no sense in the first place ('I'll let you blackmail me but you have to beat the Undertaker first') so it's good they've carried that on with even less sense since.

The setup was fine apart from one thing, they booked him into a match he was never going to win when the only decent outcome story wise was for him to win and take over (which they seem to be just ploughing on with anyway).

[Gray Fox]

"Due to overwhelming social media support"

I wonder if they've looked up Roman Reigns.

[wullie]

The setup was fine apart from one thing, they booked him into a match he was never going to win when the only decent outcome story wise was for him to win and take over (which they seem to be just ploughing on with anyway).

The setup itself made no sense either with this undisclosed leverage he had over his old man that he could only use if he could beat the end of level boss of Wrestlemania. Even as far as wrestling storylines being made up as they go along, this one was a bit madcap.

[igor_balis]

Yeah Raw was pretty decent last night. Ambrose and Jericho is a bit underwhelming as a feud, but I think it is pretty obvious they have Ambrose pegged as an upper-midcard guy for life so I suppose it makes sense from their end. I'm not even a huge Ambrose fan - in ring he's not great and his mic work is a bit overrated, but he's dead charismatic and the crowd love him...surely there's something a bit better they can do.

Styles is excellent but he's so unthreatening and dorky on the microphone. Long term I'd love to see him become a real no-nonsense killer (a bit like what they were trying to do with Kurt Angle on WWECW before he left), with Heyman as his mouthpiece. Soz for the fantasy booking.

[Pleb]

Styles-Reigns and Cesero-Miz?

My interest has peaked somewhat.

[Browning]

Is Reigns a good guy or a bad guy? I feel it's unclear.

[wullie]

He'll have a t-shirt confirming the status before the month's out hopefully.

[Lewis]

I'm watching Smackdown for the first time in years, and for about ten seconds I was wondering how they have a more vocal crowd than Raw. Oh yeah. What a job whoever controls the buttons must have.

[7om]

The best ones are when they add the canned cheers and then pan to the crowd who are in their seats and silent. It's like they know it's shit and are just lolling at themselves.

[Browning]

As much as RAW looked decent I can't comprehend ending such a show with the least appetizing main event ever. The league of jobbers Vs those 2 pricks? No thanks.

[Jeet]

Yeah I did skip to the end of the main event match and the Usos of course right until the pin.

AJ even smaller than Zayn!

[Shindig]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXqcEg5tyWU

Scott Steiner: Restaurant owner

[Lewis]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YVNP1G0KSA

[Gray Fox]

Is Reigns a good guy or a bad guy? I feel it's unclear.

It'd really help if he had some consistency in his promos. He needs to come out and deliver the same message every time. Then we'd be sure.

[five time]

Sometimes I think that video is him doing it on purpose and sometimes I'm not quite sure.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fe92m7nF7s

[Lewis]

I couldn't find this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QbxySfWNZQ) earlier (no idea why), but it's up there with Custom Made.

[igor_balis]

I couldn't find this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QbxySfWNZQ) earlier (no idea why), but it's up there with Custom Made.
Ha, that's great. I like this one as well, it is just like custom made.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPQbJUt1AGw

[Browning]

Balls Mahoney has passed away at 44.

[igor_balis]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cf5owi9VAAAa0vl.jpg

Not the most sensitive response from my boy Lance Storm. Might have to phone him again.

[SvN]

Jesus Christ. "RIP you annoying dickhead".

[Ian]

The Shane thing makes the Wrestlemania match even more of a waste of time than it looked like it was going to be for the entirety of its build-up but I like having a bit of a change from the Authority, for however long we have it/ social media overwhelmingly supports Shane. Good show though.

No idea what this Reigns/Wyatt stuff is building to but I enjoyed that match more than I thought I would.

[Smiffy]

.....

[igor_balis]

Reigns gets shit for being pushed too soon yet when fanboy favourites AJ Styles and that Sammy fella get title shots and number one contender matches then it's OK?

Logical.

Is this a serious post?

[Ian]

Yeah I'd have been annoyed had Zayn got into the match.

[Smiffy]

.....

[Browning]

The Reigns hate stems from the fact he's fucking shit.

[phonics]

I don't follow wrestling particularly closely but Roman Reigns stinks of the same shit as when I heard one of the Hardy boys were going for the Championship.

[Smiffy]

.....

[Lewis]

Isn't it that he is being pushed without having got himself over at any point? When Rocky Maivia was getting shat on he reinvented himself, got himself over as 'The Rock', and then got his mega push.

[Browning]

Obviously he can't refuse the position, but the fans need to voice their opinion that he's not worth it, rather than just lapping it up like Vince wants.

[Shindig]

Its the same Rocky situation except Roman hasn't the personality to carry a gimmick. His mic skills are rough and he's done some rather iffy stuff from a PR perspective.

[Smiffy]

.....

[Smiffy]

.....

[Browning]

No one is claiming the fans "know it all". But Reigns is just terrible on the mic and not good enough in the ring to be where he is. Even Don Cena had to win the US Title a couple of times and get his character over before he won the title (and he WAS over at that point, and deserved it).

Reigns has done nothing to deserve being where he is and isn't good enough to justify just getting it handed to him. It's basically because he's big and because he's related to The Rock.

[igor_balis]

I dunno, Reigns isn't awful but he's never really gotten over with the fans since his SUPER PUSH, except for about 5 minutes when he won the title on Raw that time and he was booked like Austin.

His post-Mania promo (hey cmon guys, I'm not a bad guy etc) was excellent, but it was an excellent heel promo. He plays the cocky, arrogant dickhead so well.

[Smiffy]

.....

[igor_balis]

Vince has simply decided Reigns will be 'the guy' then has instructed his terrible gang of shit failed sitcom writers to get him to that position. He's a symptom of (and perhaps a victim of?) the WWE's rubbish 50/50 booking, crap scripted promos and a generally tone-death owner who thinks you can get over with fans on looks alone.

[igor_balis]

Do you believe Reigns would still be being pushed so hard if Cena, Orton, Rollins and Daniel Bryan hadn't succumbed to injuries? Today's Lesnar being a part timer doesn't help either whereas he was full time back when Cena was getting over.

Absolutely. I think it is pretty obvious he's been the CHOSEN ONE for about 2 years. I reckon they'd decided he was the next GUY before the Shield started, or at least early on during that run! Remember what Punk said on Cabana's podcast about them inserting Reigns in and 'keeping him strong'.

[Lewis]

I think there is also a perception that he doesn't really get rasslin'. I've no idea how true that is, but you can interpret some of his comments as being a bit 'lol fans are idiots'. Whatever people think of Don Cena, people appreciate that he fucking loves the business and would never come out with those sort of things.

[Ian]

Reigns seemed most over when he had Vince hamming it up against him for a few weeks.

He's just one of those guys who's going to need more talented people to elevate him, inside of the ring or out.

EDIT: Didn't he only get into wrestling because he turned out to be crap and/or injury-prone at gridiron?

[Smiffy]

.....

[igor_balis]

I think there is also a perception that he doesn't really get rasslin'. I've no idea how true that is, but you can interpret some of his comments as being a bit 'lol fans are idiots'. Whatever people think of Don Cena, people appreciate that he fucking loves the business and would never come out with those sort of things.

I agree entirely. Also, more simplistically Cena is clearly a lovely, charismatic bloke, and Reigns seems like a bit of a bell. And Cena was genuinely over as fuck when he was the rapper, his pops circa-WM XX were huge.

[Smiffy]

.....

[7om]

Browning, why are you getting in on this 'Don' Cena rubbish? I distinctly remember you hating the guy.

[Browning]

I hated him until the Rock came back and showed me what truly shit promos and complete lack of in ring ability look like. Him carrying that feud made me appreciate him more. Don't get me wrong I still think a lot of mistakes were made with how he was booked especially in that first title run (before he got the title was perfect) but that's not his fault.

[Smiffy]

.....

[wullie]

I liked Roman Reigns in the Shield and as Dean Ambrose's handsome pal but his big push involved a character actually being handed every chance at success freely while everyone was making out he was being held down, so it was poorly done and impossible to get behind. If they're using this built-in entitlement for this smirking whatever version of him, I'm into it. I think he's fine in the ring and on the mic to be honest, so long as he avoids the 'wow, what a great crowd that's booing me' stuff, that's Cena's domain and nobody can touch him.

[igor_balis]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cf5owi9VAAAa0vl.jpg

Not the most sensitive response from my boy Lance Storm. Might have to phone him again.

http://imageshack.com/a/img922/5687/sqUnrN.jpg

[Ian]

John Cena is underrated as far as his in ring ability goes, I reckon. He's had far too many good matches for it to be his opponents carrying him.

I don't think he needs carrying but nor does he necessarily elevate the guys he's with that much. He can keep up with top guys but I can't think of many times he's made somebody crap seem better than they are.

[Lewis]

Don Cena was THE BEST WRESTLER IN THE WORLD during his open challenge run.

[7om]

Agreed. He was incredible with that title.

[Ian]

He certainly elevated the title probably more than anybody has a particular title. Aside from, possibly, some of the new ones they made during the first brand split but I didn't see much of that and it's a different situation.

[Mike]

http://i.imgur.com/F7QA2Xi.gif

Not a Roman fan at all, but him spearing whoever Bray points to would be cool.

Also, with all the talk of Sami being injury prone, the man bounces off his head!
https://streamable.com/71gr

[Ian]

I never even noticed Wyatt pointing at Sheamus.

Maybe Wyatt's actually converted somebody. Roman could use a massive beard.

[Mike]

He could use some moves :hat:

[Ian]

Also only just noticed it's actually a gun Wyatt's doing.

[Browning]

I was about to point out that Cena was incredible during the open run challenge.

He also got a decent match out of Khali once... so yea, he's definitely decent in the ring.

[Ian]

I watched that Khali match recently and "decent" is a stretch, but then I'm not sure anybody could get a good match out of Khali. The Umaga match is surprisingly good but then that was mostly because Cena sold the shit out of them making Jamal look like a monster.

[Browning]

I've not seen it since it happened, but I remember it being much better than Khali's other matches, but that is a pretty low bar I guess. I might watch it later and see if it holds up.

In other news, they've added a whole bunch of RAWs from 2002-2003 to the network. Hogan. :drool:

[Ian]

Yeah I watched all the ones from post-WM17 to HHH doing his quad. The Power Trip stuff was good.

[7om]

Bray :drool:

I'll never give up hope.

[Lewis]

I watched the McMahon street fight the other day, and the pop for Linda gets me every time.

[Disco]

The one where she's supposed to be sedated?

[Lewis]

Yeah, when she gets up and belts Vince in the bollocks (after he has to fucking call the spot and open his legs the useless bitch). I watched it because me and my friend were feeling sorry for the generations of wrestling fans who will never get to see a proper McMahon feud.

[Weaver]

Wyatt got injured in Italy last night, according to WWE.com.

Something with his calf.

[Browning]

Bray :drool:

I'll never give up hope.

You should.

[wullie]

Wyatt got injured in Italy last night, according to WWE.com.

Something with his calf.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KQThOiv8wo

[igor_balis]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaZk9-2x4vI#t=79

omg

[Lewis]

I thought the run of RKOs after eleven minutes was good, but that Styles Clash is amazing. I'm glad Pepe won as well.

[Shindig]

Sportz.

[Baz]

:lol:

Most people would probably say I wasted 22 minutes of my life there. I disagree.

[Jeet]

The round of applause 13min+ :D

[Mike]

That video was ace. :D

[Weaver]

Adam Rose and Konnor of the Ascension have been suspended for 60 days for breaking the wellness policy.

Second offence.

[Yaysus]

that suicide dive from the ladder :drool:

[Ian]

I've made a start on the Monday Night Wars. I've no idea how I was unaware of the fake Diesel/Razor thing but what an idea that was.

[Gray Fox]

Played by Glen 'Kane' Jacobs no less.

[Ian]

Yeah, saw that when I Googled it.

http://wwebrasil.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Fake-Diesel-Kane.jpg

:D

[Disco]

I think you'll find that technically that's Isaac Yankem. But yeah, that was angle was dead in the water right from the off, Jacobs did learn all four of Nash's moves though (including the one that's basically him combing his hair).

[Lewis]

I've always found their approach to it (turning Jim Ross heel and having him do it to mock the company) loller than the actual characters.

[Baz]

I think you'll find that technically that's Isaac Yankem. But yeah, that was angle was dead in the water right from the off, Jacobs did learn all four of Nash's moves though (including the one that's basically him combing his hair).:lol:

[Lewis]

It was actually six moves (and that was with the hair flip) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypDMM6qbuUg). There used to be a lol video of him responding to that, but it seems to have gone.

[7om]

That biggest lol about those Indian lads is that they're probably drawing more fans than an average TNA taping.

[Shindig]

There's a local fed coming to my neck of the woods and Bram is showing up.

[Ian]

It was actually six moves (and that was with the hair flip) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypDMM6qbuUg). There used to be a lol video of him responding to that, but it seems to have gone.

:D

Should I be watching more Cornette stuff? Because he was entertaining in those few minutes.

[five time]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvMgylcPWvc

[Disco]

:D

Should I be watching more Cornette stuff? Because he was entertaining in those few minutes.

At least listen to him rant on Vince Russo because whichever version you hear it's glorious glorious rage. There's also a great interview with him and Paul Bearer chatting about all kinds of stuff.

[Lewis]

His psychoanalysis of Vince McMahon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugwTSNVvQ4Q) is up there, but everything he shoots on is great really.

[7om]

I thought I'd listened to every Cornette video out there but that muslim one is a first. Amazing shit.

I'm not sure if I've posted it here before but my personal favourite is him ripping 'Block Lesnar' a new one and calling him a meathead.

[igor_balis]

Cornette is great at criticising shit stuff, but some of the stuff he's responsible for is pretty ridiculous too.

Exhibit A:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoidl4m0zP4

It is like my lovely horse ffs.

[Shindig]

I don't like seeing Lance Storm happy.

[igor_balis]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVW8mpxeRQw

Deffo my new fave wrestling fed.

[igor_balis]

Watching Raw (no spoilers plz) and Shane really is a pretty rubbish promo. Always mumbling and stumbling over his words and shit.

[wullie]

Roman Reigns is going to lead the Bullet Club isn't he?

[Browning]

Not sure he can lead a stable without altering his promo.

[SvN]

"We're not bad guys. We're not good guys. We're THE guys."

Done.

[wullie]

At the very least they're costing AJ the match, but I can see THE ROMAN EMPIRE being formed. Reigns throwing up Wolfpac signs as the Young Bucks cry themselves to sleep.

When the Lads battered Barrett was that his WWE sendoff?

[igor_balis]

From what I've read, Barrett gave his notice and his contract ends in June. Figures, right?

[Lewis]

I thought the crowd did well to balance being vocal whilst not acting like wankers trying to get themselves over. It must just be the Americans who do that.

[igor_balis]

I thought the crowd did well to balance being vocal whilst not acting like wankers trying to get themselves over. It must just be the Americans who do that.

I agree. Don't think I heard 'we are awesome' or anything like that. Plus, they actually booed the heels and cheered the faces!!!

Another rather decent Raw I thought. Getting rid of tedious, played out heel authority promos filling up half the show makes it more fun... what a shocker.

[Browning]

They booed Roman Reigns....

Even you have forgotten he's meant to be a face. Kind of.

[Disco]

Is it still three hours long? I always thought it got immeasurably shitter after they did that.

[Browning]

It is, and I agree. It's just not the kind of thing that can hold my interest for 3 hours, and keeping the MAIN EVENT until last generally just leads to me not watching it because I don't care anymore at that point. Granted they can't change that, so it seems the best solution would be going back to 2 hours. I doubt they ever will though.

[7om]

Dear me that Styles - Reigns in ring promo was the stuff of nightmares. Two guys who are complete wank on the mic standing their mumbling to each other like they're reading off the script. Just awful.

[wullie]

Now Chris Jericho's back to being good and telling idiots to shut up at last, Dolph Ziggler's really taken on his mid-life crisis gimmick with some aplomb.

[igor_balis]

Dolph Ziggler is fucking rubbish. Here's an excellent Alvarez (who can be a bit of a nob at times in fairness) rant about him from WOR a few weeks ago:

http://picosong.com/hEjG/

AJ isn't good on the microphone at all, but he shouldn't have to be. Just stick him with a manager, or at least let him give more naturalistic WRESTLING PROMOS to read, rather than awfully scripted bullshit (that part applies to the entire fucking company), but I don't think Reigns is that bad. His promos recently have been okay, but they're HEEL promos.

[Lewis]

I like A. J. Styles' old-school rasslin' promos. If they can give him a special southern gimmick match ('It's gon' be a Georgia Klan match!') then they're sorted.

Dolph Ziggler is complete pish. I can't remember which pay per view he came out in those trousers for, but I said to my friend that he looks like WCW had attempted to rip Shawn Michaels off, so I like that rant above. He also needs to take some time off if his knee is folding in every fucking match. Dickhead.

[7om]

Now Chris Jericho's back to being good and telling idiots to shut up at last, Dolph Ziggler's really taken on his mid-life crisis gimmick with some aplomb.

Even though he resembles a weirdo uncle having a mid-life crisis in his underwear, Jericho has been great as a heel recently. There's even a video doing the rounds where he gave a fan the middle finger off camera last week.

[wullie]

All the stuff that made him the embarrassing uncle suddenly work when he's playing a dickhead on purpose. The waistcoats and scarves with no shirt, his weird Kofi Kingston pecs, still wearing the trunks, this is the Jericho I like. Once he tried to pin AJ Styles with one foot at Wrestlemania I was sold again.

[Jeet]

Enzo and Cass was abit shit on RAW, that A cup joke was shit.

No doubt Gallows and Anderson are joining the Roman Empire at Payback

[Ian]

I'd be quite happy if they just wheeled Styles out in a box and emptied him into the ring when they need him to do a match. His entrance is balls too.

Decent enough Raw, though it's a shame that they balance out having a tag team showcase by having half the teams get gimped out when they lose. I like that the Dudleys haven't been brought back just to add to their collection of titles and I get that they're not what they used to be but you could still use them to make their opponents look better than that.

I'm just looking forward to The Authority coming back and sticking it to Shane's NEW ERA by giving Patterson and Briscoe a shot at the tag titles.

[Lewis]

Yeah, I'm bored of Enzo and the Elephant Edge already. His introduction can stay, but they need to stop forcing the 'SAWFT' bit in. Let it come naturally, lads.

[wullie]

Big Cass shouting everything as loud as he can is a bit jarring, it's like every promo from the 80s bar Jake Roberts. He always looks a bit scared too.

[igor_balis]

jus a coupla haters

[igor_balis]

it's a shame that they balance out having a tag team showcase by having half the teams get gimped out when they lose.

I'd argue WWE needs people to be gimped out more rather than less. Letting people go on a run of definitive wins over enhancement-talent geeks is a tried and tested formula. Having the likes of Miz and Dolph Ziggler and whichever mid-card nothing you can think of trade wins and losses leads to a huge roster of people nobody cares about.

[Lewis]

What do they call it, 50/50 booking? It's balls, and too many people are protected. You can lose a feud and come back. That is the point of having different styles. You might lose a feud to Bray Wyatt and get the better of somebody else, and then when you meet again (or the person you beat also has a run with Wyatt) it becomes a lot more interesting. I suppose it comes down to how long-term their planning is. Didn't they used to plan about eighteen months in advance? I would find it hard to believe that they look beyond the next WrestleMania these days (and even then only for the title).

[igor_balis]

But you need to remember wrestling is fake. Nobody cares about wins and losses. It is just a big spandex variety show. I'd rather it was just 3 hours of people making outdated pop-culture jokes. Boy, I can't wait for 2019 when they get US Champion Aj Styles doing the gangnam style dance before he loses in a non-title match on Smackdown to Kalisto. <3

[Chrissy]

Seems like a NJPW reunion for the Bullet Club. Devitt can't be far away from a call up now.

[Ian]

I'd argue WWE needs people to be gimped out more rather than less. Letting people go on a run of definitive wins over enhancement-talent geeks is a tried and tested formula. Having the likes of Miz and Dolph Ziggler and whichever mid-card nothing you can think of trade wins and losses leads to a huge roster of people nobody cares about.

I'm not talking about giving shit people and/or those who are going nowhere wins for the sake of a false sense of competetiveness (pretty sure thats not a word.) I mean upping how competetive your individual match is if the guy or team who are going to lose have been otherwise booked to look competent.

[7om]

Chyna found dead in her apartment last night. Fucking hell.

Saw some of her videos last year and it was blatantly obvious she was going off the rails.

[five time]

Saw some of her videos last year

I was never brave enough myself.

Worth it?

[wullie]

Outside all the trailblazing and whatever, she was pretty shit.

[igor_balis]

Nice eulogy, Lance.

[wullie]

Now step aside as I rock America

[Lewis]

The best thing about Chyna is that any mention of her inevitably leads to the time Jeff Jarrett blackmailed Vince McMahon, which itself leads to him being sacked on air (unlawfully, might I add, since Shane McMahon was actually his boss) despite being the biggest thing in wrestling and causing Hulk Hogan to have a MELTDOWN.

[igor_balis]

Ha, the story of double J holding Vince up for money to drop the IC title is funny as fuck.

[Disco]

The most amazing part of that entire story is anyone allowing Jumping Jeff a title run anywhere near the end of his contract.

[Lewis]

'It would be capital G, double-o, double-n, double-e; GONE!'
'That's... What's that, "Goonnee"?'
'Capital G, dou... He's fucking sacked, right?'

Everyone under twenty-five(?) probably has no idea what a legend Vince McMahon is. No wonder half his pops are shite these days.

[Disco]

He smashed it pretty much every week from 1998 onwards.

[John]

I always thought Vince McMahon's best bits were when someone else got one over on him. Like when Stone Cold battered him with a bedpan and stuck an IV up his arse.

[igor_balis]

I think the character Vince McMahon's pops have been diminished somewhat by the disdain a lot of the audience have for the actual person Vince McMahon.

[Lewis]

I would have thought anybody with some perspective would have him in credit until the end of time. Oooh, he sacked CM Punk, he only likes bodybuild... HE IS WRESTLING YOU TWAT! The man is a genius, if a mental one, and everybody should hero worship him.

[igor_balis]

I would have thought anybody with some perspective would have him in credit until the end of time. Oooh, he sacked CM Punk, he only likes bodybuild... HE IS WRESTLING YOU TWAT! The man is a genius, if a mental one, and everybody should hero worship him.

I agree and disagree.