The Ultimate WWE Thread

[Ian]

That's no age.

[Ben]

Holy shit. :|

[Dan]

Man, that sucks. The Briscoes were ROH.

Feels like this is up there with Brodie Lee in terms of how much love there is for him & how many stories there are about how great of a guy he was.

[7om]

Apparently his daughters were also seriously injured. Tragic.

[Disco]

That is shitty news, is Gerry Briscoe still alive so they can at least keep the tag team going?

[Baz]

In better news, I’ve just come across the episode of The Floor Is Lava with Chuck Taylor, Kris Statlander and Orange Cassidy on after my daughter shouted me out the kitchen with ‘daddy that man has your T-shirt’ :cool.

[Ian]

Apparently his daughters were also seriously injured. Tragic.

Yeah seemingly one of them is having to have back surgery and the mum posted something to the effect of praying she's able to move her legs afterwards. :(

[Ian]

So WWE have said that Raw is XXX (ugh) next Monday will include "every generation of the Bloodline." Now, is that a tease for the Rock so that his absence (before presumably returning later) is more notable or will he actually turn up I wonder?

[Gray Fox]

https://wrestlingnews.co/.image/ar_1:1%2Cc_fill%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_aut o:good%2Cw_1200/MTkwMDM4NDE2MTQ1NzIwNjAx/rikishi.jpg

Or we riot.

[Ian]

He's 100% going to be there, you'd think. He's already been part of some Bloodline / Usos segment or another hasn't he?

[wullie]

I've only just remembered about Manu, who was part of Randy Orton's nepo baby faction for about week before he was fired for being a fatty fatty fat fat

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

1616409937483030528

lol if true.

[Ian]

Sami fucking Zayn beating Reigns for the titles it is then. :drool:

It'll be Cody.

If they do do that then Zayn should still get a win over Roman. Have Reigns rage over losing the titles and he sets the Bloodline on Sami as the target of his fury, Sami wins, then Roman takes the extended break I assume he's taking when he eventually loses.

[Ian]

If that's true though the Rock has totally buggered one of the obvious big finishes for the Bloodline story as a whole.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

And it's not like he's had over a year to prepare.

[Ian]

Maybe he's still not walking straight after the fisting Black Adam took.

[Gray Fox]

The Rock also categorically stated he was done with the wrestling world before. One week before he was confirmed as the host of Wrestlemania.

[Ben]

They need to do Reigns & Zayn vs. Usos before Reigns vs. Zayn.

[Ian]

They need to do Reigns & Zayn vs. Usos before Reigns vs. Zayn.

That'd be a good stage of the breakdown of the Bloodline.

[phonics]

Can I suggest a slightly different angle that they've slightly explored.

Usos + Sami v Owens Handicap match for a title shot. KO expends all his energy TKO'ing Usos giving Sami an easy win, Sami struggles with the moral quandry of fucking over his old friend. KO takes advantage and cheapshots Sami for the win. Roman cusses out Usos instead of Sami.

Roman gets Usos to make sure Sami wins MITB so he has no real challenger cause Sami would never screw him over. KO/Reigns slobberknocker. Reigns wins. Orders a Bloodline post-match beatdown. Usos beat-up KO. KO fends off Usos somehow. Sami finishes off KO after. Roman gets on the mic calling them both pathetic. Says Sami is the only one worthy of being part of the bloodline and sends Usos to the back.

Roman celebrates to hard-cam as Sami looks at his bloodied up former best-friend. KO points at the suitcase. Sami realising this is his chance cheapshots Roman with the briefcase and cashes in. Roman beckons at the ramp to the Usos begging for help. Usos look at each other and decide enough is enough and just stand at the top of the ramp. Reigns gets up in a daze and Sami does the 'Im Sorry' to Roman and big boots him for the 1,2,3.

A crimson masked KO raises Sami Zayn's hand with the title in the other. The two men embrace in a meaty man hug as the copyright logo in the bottom appears. Fade to black.

[Ian]

I don't hate that, only thing I'd say is to my taste / dream for this has Sami get something of a cleaner win. Yours is probably more realistic and as I said I do like it, but if I'm going to dream I'm gonna do it how I'd like to see it.

[Ian]

I would say though your post is an example of why this is such a good storyline at this stage, they have genuinely left themselves a bunch of ways they could pay it off which would be good. Everybody's got their own twist on how they'd pay it off but I think most so see the merit in other potential endings.

[Ian]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8JtFbvnCrU

Saw that WWE had put this one on their channel so gave it a rewatch. Still a really fun match. Shelton Benjamin had loads of talent. And the crowd really pop for that finish.

[Ian]

As those special edition episodes of Raw go that wasn't bad and had some genuinely fun stuff. And crucially, wasn't just three hours of octogenarians battering the current roster.

The Bloodline stuff (both the trial and the match) was absolutely perfect sports entertainment nonsense which the crowd were well up for.

The DX / Imperium bit gave me the fear but I did chuckle at them all proceeding to bottle it when Walter challenged any of them to a scrap.

[Shindig]

Undertaker coming back in his civvies can do one. If he's going to team up with Spooky Wyatt, the least he can do is a 14 minute entrance with some druids. Or pretend he's Uncle Howdy.

[Ben]

Bloodline excellent as always. The punishment better be Sami vs. Jey after that.

Rest of it was garbage truthfully.

[Waffdon]

Who we getting a massive pop from at Royal Rumble then. Surely they have something up their sleeve.

[Shindig]

At 30 they'll announce the sale. Or Vince comes out and wins it.

[Ian]

Bloodline excellent as always. The punishment better be Sami vs. Jey after that.

I have growing appreciation for Solo's role in all that. Everybody else has some level of emotional investment one way or the other. Solo does not give a fuck and is just there to do the job.

[phonics]

I tried to give it a watch on YouTube on my phone earlier and no joke WWE have their youtube set to do an ad every 25 seconds for a 15 minute segment so I'll have to give it another go on desktop with an ad blocker.

[Waffdon]

All their videos are about 4 minutes.

[phonics]

This ones the whole thing and it's 15 minutes. I got 2 ads before Paul Heyman even finished speaking about ECW.

[Ben]

Mark Briscoe vs. Jay Lethal on Dynamite tonight.

Boy, that's going to be emotional.

[Waffdon]

I had no idea Shaun Ricker was on the main roster. 5 years too late. What a charismatic don of a man.

[Ben]

I had to look that up you fucking mark. :D Otherwise known as Eli Drake and LA Knight.

And I agree he’s fucking brilliant.

[wullie]

He was a highlight of the NWA youtube show, that was great fun until covid shut it down. It's rubbish now

[Ben]

Tyrus (Brodus Clay) is their fucking champion now.

Whereas the pandemic ruined them, it lit a fire under ROH. They were absolutely great in that little no crowd period.

[Waffdon]

Have they announced what on earth this L A Knight match is going to be or is it literally as it says on the title.

[Ben]

Like everything involving Bray Wyatt, absolutely fuck knows what's going on.

[SvN]

https://i.imgur.com/6NOZXml.png

[wullie]

I saw that there's something to do with UV light involved so there's a chance it'll be some kind of rave and Uncle Howdy ends up being something only Wyatt can see when he's off his head.

[Ben]

I think I'll need to drop a disco biscuit or two to make sense of anything Wyatt related so hopefully there's a rave.

Also, The Demon was fucking tremendous before they fucked that as well.

[Browning]

I’m genuinely hoping it is just them wrestling while it’s pitch black. Would automatically be the best match of Wyatt’s career.

[wullie]

I hope it leads to more sponsored matches. Coca-Cola on a pola next

[Disco]

I hope the ghost tractor from the spooky Orton match makes a return.

[Ian]

I think I'll need to drop a disco biscuit or two to make sense of anything Wyatt related so hopefully there's a rave.

Also, The Demon was fucking tremendous before they fucked that as well.

The Demon was always a bit stupid, cool entrance aside, until Vince got his hands on it and made it out to be a supernatural alter ego or whatever.

But it was a bit dumb even when it was "oooo I'm so mad I'm going to spend hours being meticulously body painted with cartoons!!!"

Should've made it look like slapdash warpaint he'd slapped on himself in a frenzy.

[wullie]

It looks like pre-WWE he'd have a load of different elaborate getups for matches, after joining apart from a Jack the Ripper thing for the UK show he was just Darth Maul with a loan of ribbons on his head every time.

[Ben]

I don't think he's an all-time great worker or anything, but he was certainly better than the sum of his parts until a few years ago thanks to his dedication to the craft. I don't care what Kenny fans say, Prince Devitt Bullet Club was the best Bullet Club (followed by AJ Styles) and his Demon gimmick always meant something when he bust it out, despite being a little "out there" as Ian said. Now he's just one of the boys on Raw, pretty much everything is skippable but pre-Vince he was always worth watching because everything he was involved in felt big time.

[Shindig]

Should've made it look like slapdash warpaint he'd slapped on himself in a frenzy.

Nah, Joker Sting already perfected that.

[Ben]

LA Knight with another great promo. He’s going to turn himself babyface at this rate. Who gives a fuck about this silly match, he’s coming out of this feud more over than he went in and that’s a completely rarity for a Bray Wyatt feud (Bryan 2014?).

Cody vs. LA Knight for the title(s) after Mania. :drool:

[Browning]

That Taker entrance is just sad.

[Ian]

LA Knight has a not dissimilar problem to Wyatt in that he's a great promo (only that unlike Wyatt he doesn't need an editor) but you do eventually have to watch him wrestle, which... Eh.

[Ben]

Come on Ian. He’s hardly Ricky Steamboat in the ring I agree but he’s light years ahead of Wyatt.

[Ben]

Just watched Hayter vs. Sakura from Rampage. I think Hayter is outstanding so I was looking forward to this. It descended a bit into Japanese epic for the sake of it and Hayter is in that weird spot where the crowd have turned her full babyface but she’s still working heel. Still a good match and a good indicator of how much better the women’s division is overall with someone like Hayter on top. Not her best work but we won’t see her involved in any stinkers like past champions.

[Ian]

Come on Ian. He’s hardly Ricky Steamboat in the ring I agree but he’s light years ahead of Wyatt.

I didn't say he wasn't. But he's still an entirely generic worker.

Which is fine, if you're a good character you can be a perfectly serviceable midcarder if you're a bit nothing in the ring (Hello, the Miz!) provided you pick the right opponents but I struggle to envision that I'd ever look forward to seeing him wrestle.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

But this Saturday you get to watch him wrestle in the dark so you wont be able to actually see what he's doing.

Win win, right?

[Ben]

The benefit of being six hours ahead, I’ll not watch it live, so I can skip right past that shit (and plenty of other).

[Shindig]

What if the fight was 100% promo? Psychological warfare.

[Ian]

The benefit of being six hours ahead, I’ll not watch it live, so I can skip right past that shit (and plenty of other).

Absolutely. Though I'll probably watch everything else unspoiled but I'll be reading the reviews for the MOUNTAIN DOO Pitch Black match before I even consider it.

Might skip Belair / Bliss as well actually, Bliss is another who just doesn't really have good matches.

[Ben]

Yeah I’ll skip that. Bianca is great but Bliss is just daft, especially in this Wyatt role.

Apparently Dragon Lee might be in the Rumble and as far as flippy shit wrestling goes, he’s top of that tree.

[Ian]

I wonder if they'll have the Great Muta in as part of the agreement with NOAH. That'd be great.

[Ben]

I never even thought of that. Yes please.

Although Muta bumping over the top rope might be risky.

[Ian]

Do we think it's an actual zero chance that Big E has made a Cena-esque miracle recovery and makes the Rumble? Not that I'm sure you'd have him in it if he wasn't winning, which he wouldn't be, but imagine that pop.

[Ben]

If Kingston and Woods are both in the ring, it might just happen.

Man, it’s just great when they only announce half the participants. There was a proper wank one a few years ago where they pre-announced about 28.

[Browning]

In before there’s no actual surprises apart from X-Pac.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I highly doubt it. Big E was saying a while back that he's due more scans in March (the one year mark) to see how it's healing.

[Ian]

In before there’s no actual surprises apart from X-Pac.

:D

He's declared himself OUT but I suppose that could just be part of the ploy.

[Waffdon]

1619493597325283329

Tonight is Sami’s night :cool:

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

1619419178255155200

KO walking in with a Sami Zayn forever shirt :cool:

[Waffdon]

Starting the show with the men’s RR? Huh?

Cody Rhodes win then.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

McAfee :cool:

[Dark Soldier]

Gotta be the first time it's opened with the mens, surely?

[Waffdon]

Presume so. Can’t believe it’s on before the women’s :D

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Kross getting bumped out early :drool:

[Disco]

The real swerve would be Kofi Kingston just getting eliminated normally.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Lashley :cool:

[Waffdon]

This has been great so far

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Angry Brock is amazing.

[Waffdon]

Otis is the best

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

His thiccness is now off the scale.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Michael Cole calling Dom (who absolutely took Rey out) a piece of shit is great.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Bookah :cool:

[Waffdon]

No idea why they bother with pointless tag team people being in these

[Disco]

Poor Booker, his real enemy was that long walk to the ring.

[Waffdon]

Balor:lol:

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Fucking Logan Paul.

[Waffdon]

Nobody replacing Rey?

[Dark Soldier]

Please let Logan win

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Nobody replacing Rey?

This seems strange.

[Dark Soldier]

Fucking hell

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Logan is a cunt but that was some spot.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Letting WALTER be the Ironman is fucking awesome.

[Dark Soldier]

Hate Logan all you want but he's a dream heel

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Hate Logan all you want but he's a dream heel

Oh he's a cracking natural heel and he's got incredible talent.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Cody's chest looks like cheap minced beef.

[Dark Soldier]

Every time I've watched Cody he looks a bit slow and, well, shit. What's the hype?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Big fan of that Rumble match.

Only real negative I have is the whole Rey thing.

[Waffdon]

Big fan of that Rumble match.

Only real negative I have is the whole Rey thing.

Pretty much this. Huge fan of it starting the show though in a selfish way.

Everything made sense throughout mostly and they progressed multiple different feuds which was nice. I really wanted a Sami win. I reckon Reigns loses tonight now if its closing

[Gray Fox]

I like that they let WALTER look great before getting him dumped out. Logan Paul also irritatingly good at the rasslin'

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Sami doesn't need the Rumble though.

He can cross Reigns at the end tonight (I imagine it closes) and gets his Mania match that way.

Sami would have made no sense.

[Dark Soldier]

This match is gonna be a mess ain't it

[Waffdon]

Did Kofi just get injured? Swear he never re-entered either lol

[Waffdon]

Sami doesn't need the Rumble though.

He can cross Reigns at the end tonight (I imagine it closes) and gets his Mania match that way.

Sami would have made no sense.

Can’t believe the pay off is gonna be Usos v Zayn/Owens

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Did Kofi just get injured? Swear he never re-entered either lol

I'm 99% sure he got knocked out, he didn't look good.

[Gray Fox]

Mens rumble on first either means they have Reigns winning alright, then a Dwayne appearance, or Sami is going to do something big.

Otherwise why not have Codys big moment send everyone home happy?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FnmmHN2XEAAenh3?format=jpg

Fairly sure the back of his head cracked against the table.

[Dark Soldier]

Hes like a shit Gangrel

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

This is Naomi's match ffs.

[Gray Fox]

Glow in the dark match.

[Dark Soldier]

Lol that looked so bad

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Bray Wyatt needs to be cut again.

[Dark Soldier]

Haha what the fuck

[Gray Fox]

That felt... off.

[Waffdon]

They buried him :(

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Why is it still going?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

He missed the jump by fucking miles.

[Gray Fox]

Uncle Howdy missed it for fucks sake :D

[Waffdon]

That’s definitely Bo Dallas the mong

[Waffdon]

Just give LA Knight a decent person to feud with for mania pls

[Gray Fox]

I think that's definitely a case of the idea looking far shitter on TV than it does on paper.

[Dark Soldier]

It's mad cos Bray does such good promo shit then they throw it all under the bus with gimmick wank. Cena/Rock couldn't wrestle for shit but look at the pops, this dude is at least different and then it's all day glo and weird masks and oohh rabbit face and uncle fucking howdy doodie

[Gray Fox]

Rhea just has to win the womens rumble right?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Rhea just has to win the womens rumble right?

Surely. The only other one who has a chance is Beth.

[Waffdon]

Christ, 30 woman royal rumble? So there’s still another hour until the main event? Fuck sake

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Oi Baz.

Liv Morgan #2, I fucking told you.

Edit: And Chelsea Green.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Christ, 30 woman royal rumble? So there’s still another hour until the main event? Fuck sake

Seems they're trying to do it in 30, the countdown clock is FAST.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Heel Asuka :drool:

[Waffdon]

Thought Asuka was Uncle Rowdy there

Least she can run the ropes

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Piper Niven back :drool:

Get fucked Doudrop.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Class entrance from McCool.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Fuck off.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Class finish.

[Dark Soldier]

Yeah that was really well done.

[Waffdon]

Fuck is this

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

So fucking bad.

[Waffdon]

He genuinely cannot sing. He sounded like a bad audition from X factor

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I thought it was a Make a Wish thing.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

That stair spot was brutal.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Sami :cool:

[Gray Fox]

That bloodline stuff after the match was glorious.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Sami Zayn is my Tribal Chief.

[Ben]

Working my way through the show this morning. First thoughts are that WWE's video packages remain the best in all of any entertainment. Tremendous job of positioning Cody as the top babyface. Even the Charlotte one was great even though she stinks as a babyface.

Men's match: it was alright. Some good booking in the middle but I didn't like the end sequence. They couldn't have done a worse job of getting Cody over after the aforementioned video package put him on top of the world. Good to see Gunther positioned as the iron man. If you had any suspicions Vince was sticking his nose in the booking, then seeing Gargano last way too long and Ricochet getting some shine with the finalists should put pay to that. Kross and Gable are just death with their current look/gimmicks. Otis is a joke. Dominik can't really work but is the best chickenshit heel in years. Seth and Becky must be getting ready to try for another baby because he's really pudgy (ie. off the gear). That Logan Paul and Ricochet spot was absolutely amazing. Now, my problem with the Cody booking. He's meant to be the top babyface so if he's coming in at #30 then he should be cleaning house and showing he's the best but instead he sold for Gunther forever. Doesn't make me feel like he could win the big one at WrestleMania after that. If he went in at #1 and lasted the whole match then the whole selling babyface thing at the end would have been fine but it just ended up looking like a fluky win.

Bray Wyatt vs. LA Knight: skipped this so I don't spoil LA Knight for myself.

Bianca Belair vs. Alexa Bliss: skipped this too because there was too much potential for Wyatt-related shenanigans.

Women's match: Ripley at #1 is a great start. Liv Morgan I just don't get though. When did Emma come back? She was always a good worker but they proper fucked her. Maybe Vince might be booking actually because they buried the NXT Champion. Bayley's crew did a good job of keeping the middle interesting with the team eliminations. Zoey Stark from NXT looks great. Nia Jax though, ffs. And unlike the men's match, the end sequence was excellent and in my opinion they chose the right winner. Rhea Ripley just screams superstar.

Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens: not there yet. Will watch later, I've got too much distraction (ie. baby) at the moment.

[Ian]

Men's Rumble: fine. I'll barely remember any of it beyond Gunther's run and Cody winning in a week though because not a lot really happened. I wasn't bored but it's a 3/5 Rumble at best, not helped by there being absolutely no jeopardy because there wasn't another credible winner.

Big Bray's Dayglo Sparkle match: Skipped it but saw it was just neon. So lol.

Bianca / Alexa: Nope. Right winner though.

Women's Rumble: A touch better than the men's? I think? Rhea is due a big title reign because she's just great and while I hate the shit in Rumbles where they hang about on the apron the final elimination from the dangle spot is fun. Also WHY HAVE THESE WANKERS CHANGED ASUKA'S MUSIC? For fuck's sake.

Reigns / KO: I mean it was an extended angle really. I'm not a huge fan of a Rumble not ending the show but this is so over it worked. Everything about that final bit was great. Sami's hesitation, them setting it up like Rollins betraying the Shield, the huge pops, the "Fuck you Roman" chant, Jey's arc having come full circle and him dissenting against Roman again and then leaving Zayn covered in flowers. Excellent stuff. I wish Owens would stop taking that stairs bump though, looks fucking rough every time. I also now have no idea what they do with Cody / Sami / Reigns over the next few months.


First thoughts are that WWE's video packages remain the best in all of any entertainment.

Even when the show sometimes falls to bits around them those guys never miss, they really are brilliant.

[Ian]

Also the Chamber is only 3 weeks away. No idea what the men's match is going to be for that as things stand.

[Waffdon]

Presume it will be Reigns/Zayn at EC since it’s in Montreal and the atmosphere will be absolutely mental. Then Owens/Zayn tag match at Mania

[Gray Fox]

And there'll be nuclear heat when Reigns beats him there too.

Chamber will probably set up a split titles picture. Roman is likely headlining both nights with a title defence, so I imagine he loses one of them.

I reckon we're due some time of Roman trying to beat Jey back into shape, only for 2 proper splits in the Bloodline to form.

[Shindig]

Can Roman ever turn face again? He's got so much mileage from the tribal chief stuff. That might be his entire career path now.

[Gray Fox]

I think once he drops both belts he goes off to start doing films.

[Ian]

I hope Jey fucking off means the big payoff for Sami isn't "gets filled in by Reigns then wins the tag belts" because while that's plausible it'd also be shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit.


Can Roman ever turn face again? He's got so much mileage from the tribal chief stuff. That might be his entire career path now.

After a return. People will cheer fucking anybody if they've not seen them for a bit.

But as Fox says, once this particular run ends with him losing and the Bloodline in tatters I assume we don't see him for a while.

[Waffdon]

He’s been part time for about 2 years hasn’t he?

[Ian]

He goes through phases of how often he's actually on TV but he has had plenty of runs where he's on most weeks and just doesn't wrestle.

I think it'd make sense to write him out for a bit anyway.

[Gray Fox]

Problem is after not having him lose once for 3 years, you cant just plop him back into the mid card shuffle. Nor can you put him back in the title picture again immediately, so you're right, he should get some months off screen.

If/when he does come back then then he can have his big send off face run.

[Ben]

This definitely needs to end with him losing both titles (separately so he’s putting over two people) and going away for a while.

[Ian]

My only issue with him losing the belts in separate matches is it takes the sting out of the second title loss. And if you're having it happen on different shows absolutely telegraphs that that's what's happening. Which okay, you expect those losses to come at certain points anyway but even still. I will be interested to see how they go about it.

[Waffdon]

Yeah. He shouldn’t be headlining both nights not losing two nights in a row. Idk how they go about it.

[7om]

Watched the show (well, the men’s rumble, Bray vs LA Knight, and the main event) and was blown away by it. I’ve kept up with the Bloodline story through highlights and the ending segment elevated it to another level. It’s got to be some of the best stuff they’ve done in 10+ years.

Actually had a few goosebumps when he hit Reigns with the chair. And that pop from the crowd. Amazing. This is what it’s all about.

I dunno how they go about ending this though. You’ve got a guy who’s been untouchable for three years and you’ve got to somehow strip away the Bloodline faction and take the titles off him and not make him look like a mug. I’m not sure how you do it.

[wullie]

Nia Jax having her big comeback fucked up by production and then being unable to lift herself off the ground within a few seconds of getting in there, what a great return.

[Gray Fox]

Have Roman drive people away through paranoia of everyone now being out to get him. If he can't trust his own cousin, who can he trust? etc.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Yeah, have him spear his daughter.

[Ian]

Splitting up the Bloodline is the easy bit from here. More friction between Roman and Jey, maaaaaaaybe another match between them? Either way, Jimmy will ultimately take Jey's side when push comes to shove. Just leaves Solo who you either leave with Roman or given he was sent to do his dirty work by the elders or whatever just say they've told him he can do his own thing.

One thought I had (and this has its own problems) is you have Reigns absolutely obliterate Sami at the Chamber after help from Solo. And then properly wreck his shit after the match, cuffs again, chairs, tables, Samoan spikes, the lot. Write off him TV then he returns at Mania to take out Solo when he's about to try and cost Cody the match, enormous pop. Reigns properly goes off the deep end because he's lost his titles, maybe Solo abandons him at that point and you have Reigns vs. Sami from there. Sami wins, Reigns fucks off for a year.

That way you let the focus be on Cody but you get Sami to see this Bloodline story through to the bitter end. And while I'd love Zayn to a) win the world title and b) get the big match at Mania I don't know that either are absolutely necessary for the Roman thing.

[Ben]

Ian has it pretty much spot on there I’d say.

[7om]

I’ve seen a few people say Reigns will be going part time / leaving after this story is over. Why is that? He’s only 37, or is there something going on?

[7om]

Granted I haven’t seen a lot of Cody since his NJPW days, but is he WWE Champion material? He’s always struck me as thoroughly uninspiring in pretty much every department.

Then again, do they even have someone who can fill the “top guy” spot after Reigns is gone?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I’ve seen a few people say Reigns will be going part time / leaving after this story is over. Why is that? He’s only 37, or is there something going on?

Hollywood.

[Gray Fox]

He also wanted to go part time over a year ago and has pretty much been so since.

[Ian]

Granted I haven’t seen a lot of Cody since his NJPW days, but is he WWE Champion material? He’s always struck me as thoroughly uninspiring in pretty much every department.

Then again, do they even have someone who can fill the “top guy” spot after Reigns is gone?

They have barely anybody who feels like a proper main eventer because everything has been at the service of this angle, but Cody's had three really good matches against Rollins before his tit fell over and crowds are into it so he's as good a shout as any to start the next phase after Roman. Though hopefully they'll split the belts. Or just properly unify them into one that isn't fucking ugly.

[Ben]

I’ve seen a few people say Reigns will be going part time / leaving after this story is over. Why is that? He’s only 37, or is there something going on?

He’s already part time in terms of wrestling matches. The storyline dictates he goes away at its conclusion but if they wanted to keep him around for TV ratings then there’s an argument for that but it can’t involve the titles anymore. But then I’m not sure how you book him.


Granted I haven’t seen a lot of Cody since his NJPW days, but is he WWE Champion material? He’s always struck me as thoroughly uninspiring in pretty much every department.

Then again, do they even have someone who can fill the “top guy” spot after Reigns is gone?

I like him because he is one of the few guys today who know how to wrestle a proper match. Working heel, working babyface, working limbs, selling. But I agree I don’t know where that fits in today’s WWE where matches are the least important part of the TV show and are just pre-planned spots to generate moments for social media and highlight packages. I think he’ll win the title(s) because it’s overwhelmingly the right thing to do but I have my doubts it’ll be successful.

[Ben]

Meltzer reckons Kofi was meant to rejoin the match after that elimination spot but it went tits up and he might be injured.

Also they did the thing with Rey because he was legit injured on Smackdown yesterday.

[Ian]

Two years in a row he's beefed his miracle spot, the silly sausage.

[Baz]

Actually had a few goosebumps when he hit Reigns with the chair. And that pop from the crowd. Amazing. This is what it’s all about.

Is this satire? I watched it (admittedly with zero context other than the VT before the main event) and thought it was convoluted tripe, and very predictable.

Also I know it say it everytime I catch some WWE but the camera angles man. Absolutely awful.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FnrUxuCWQAAoJMy?format=jpg

[phonics]

I figured this is leading to a Jey/Sami/KO v Reign and rest.

[Ben]

Sami Zayn vs. Roman Reigns is all but confirmed as the main event of Elimination Chamber.

In Montreal.

Shawn Michaels level of heat incoming.

:drool:

[Waffdon]

No idea what they do for the Elimination Chamber match if it’s that since Rhodes obviously already has the title shot for Mania

[Gray Fox]

Make Cody choose a belt/brand and then the chamber winner gets a shot at the other.

Unless they split the belts before Mania, Roman is surely main eventing both nights.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

1620182432808046592

Trips making the US title (and Intercontinental) great again.

[Waffdon]

Should have been IC Title so we can see Gunther in there

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

The brutality he'd have doled out would have meant it would have been an 18+ age rating.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Plus it might not have been a good idea for an Austrian to be punishing people inside an elimination chamber.

There's been enough of that.

[Ben]

You know what, I'm not opposed to it being for the US title. On one hand, it does slightly degrade the Chamber's prestige but it was never going to main event that PPV anyway.

[Browning]

They tried it before and it was shite.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

If Ryback, Dolph Ziggler and R-Truth can't make it work than no one can.

[Ben]

It's all about the Montreal crowd seething at Roman anyway.

[Ian]

What can't work? Pushing midcard titles? Sure it can, like anything it's just doing it right. However....


It's all about the Montreal crowd seething at Roman anyway.

This is the point anyway. This angle is all consuming. In the best way. You want everything else to be good but Sami / Bloodline makes or breaks everything until Mania.

[wullie]

Watched the full Rumble event and the good thing about the middling Mountain Dew and women's title matches is that they suddenly looked like top flight entertainment compared to whoever that fat Kid Rock tribute is meant to be.

[Ben]

Dynamite looks to have been good so I might watch it through in its entirety tonight.

Not sure we needed Moxley vs. Page again so quickly but it was in Moxley home territory so Tony probably couldn't resist. I feel like I'll be bored of that come Revolution. Allin vs. Joe is getting rave reviews although how long is Darby's career going to last if he keeps killing himself on TV every week? He needs to slow down. And they're ruining Jamie Hayter. It was building nicely to Hayter getting that big babyface turn on Baker but they've fumbled that by just having all involved switch sides due to Saraya flopping, and now Hayter is still second fiddle to Baker. She's supposed to be the champion. No wonder nobody gives a fuck about the women in AEW.

Gripes aside, at least the matches last night should be at least good.

[Ian]

Danielson and Thatcher, eh. Let me know how that is.

[Ben]

Once again this Bloodline stuff continues to be perfect. Sami is over like rover but it’s Roman carrying it, he’s such a superstar now. His improv to the Jey chants was excellent stuff.

My only gripe is that they do too much talking in the ring using just the floor cam and mic. Great for TV but the live crowd are out of the loop.

Actually I’ve just seen they’ve released official graphics for Roman vs. Cody at Mania, minutes after Roman vs. Sami at Elimination Chamber was made official. Now I know any smart fan knows Sami isn’t winning, but don’t insult the viewer eh.

[Ian]

Yeah I thought at the Rumble that it can't have been great for the crowd, but then having been to a Raw I said at the time that their live crowd for TV (and by extension PPVs)... well, the show's really not for them other than if you get to be there for a notable moment.

And agree on Reigns as well. It's annoying that they've done to him what they seem to like doing to their anointed top guys these days and have most of their matches follow a template but anybody still trying to peddle the line that Reigns is somehow objectively bad is at it and as you've said he's genuinely good at working with what the crowd gives him now too.

Thought the Boatman/Ricochet vs. Imperium match was really fun too and even though they lost I thought their work especially with Strowman was great, finding ways to wear him down and even have him make a hot tag to Ricochet at one point. They're balancing out the unstoppable beefcake thing with actually having him work with his small(er) opponents a bit more and they're getting some good stuff out of him.

[Ian]

https://whatculture.com/wwe/dijak-finger-latest-following-ugly-wwe-nxt-injury

:|

[Ian]

Also I totally forgot that show was even happening but there are a few matches on there I need to give a go. Not The Breakkkkker match obviously but tag titles and NA title match certainly. Maybe Crews / Hayes.

[Ben]

I haven’t gone back to NXT since Vince nerfed it. Until Grizzled Young Vets get their names back I’m holding out.

[Ian]

I stuck with it for a little while once it went Dayglo but I've only watched a few matches since. Dijak is great though and I liked Wes Lee in whatever their tag name was before his mate went all white power.

[7om]

One of the best shows I ever went to was NXT San Jose in 2015. It was their first time outside of Florida on Wrestlemania weekend. It didn't start til 10pm and the crowd was electric. Triple Haitch came out at around half past midnight to keep the crowd going and finally finished at 1am. Sensational.

[Ian]

I would have loved a chance to get to a Takeover at the peak of Black and Gold era NXT.

[wullie]

As they shifted back mostly to people learning as they go with the 2.0 thing most of it didn't feel like something that should go in front of a big crowd but the first match was great, I forgot how good Dijak was.

My favourite other part was the recap of one woman lying injured in the car park while every other female wrestler under contract is also there at the same time completely ignoring her in order to look shifty for the big whodunnit, which means there are at least 15 witnesses to the crime.

[Ben]

If you weren't into Cody vs. Roman then you should be after that promo last night.

Also Fun Brock Lesnar is amazing.

Also fuck Seth Rollins, I'm just through with him now.

[Gray Fox]

Also fuck Seth Rollins, I'm just through with him now.

I haven't watched for more than the odd PREMIUM LIVE EVENT and Bloodline stuff for a long while now, but what in gods name is he doing? He seems to spout absolute gibberish and then do some horrid laugh/smile thing all the time.

[Ben]

God knows. I loved his heel work after he turned on The Shield but he's just a parody now. Not to mention he's getting out of shape and still tries to work like he did pre-knee injury.

[Baz]

I've grabbed a load of wrestling watchalongs. Starting with Jim Cornette, oldest to newest, and the match between Sgt Slaughter and Pat Patterson was awesome.

[Ben]

They on XWT?

Cornette certainly has some views but watchalongs sound cool as fuck.

[Disco]

I would have loved a chance to get to a Takeover at the peak of Black and Gold era NXT.

We went to one in Plymouth Pavilions which had on the card Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, Shinsuke Nakamura, Asuka, Bayley, American Alpha and more which I'm probably forgetting. I think we got our moneys worth on that one.

[Baz]

They on XWT?

Cornette certainly has some views but watchalongs sound cool as fuck.

Yeah there's a pack - search Cornette.

Some are missing, including the most recent 1992 Royal Rumble match, so I've downloaded all the matches he's done watch-alongs for on his podcasts and plan to sync them up myself.

[Ian]

If you weren't into Cody vs. Roman then you should be after that promo last night.

The promo with him and Heyman was great. I do quite like the "man I just wanted to win a title belt and now you had to go and say all this shit" angle to it as well. I look forward to what happens when Reigns inevitably starts talking about Dusty.

[Ben]

Baz where's that list of wrestlers that AEW have killed when they're hot?

Add The Acclaimed and Jamie Hayter to it. Fucking hell.

[Ben]

Just read that the Cody and Heyman segment from Raw wasn’t even planned. Heyman wasn’t booked and they had a sole Cody promo planned but Heyman was in town because Lesnar was booked and Heyman still handles all Lesnar creative. So he and Cody got talking and worked it out.

[Ian]

That absolutely stinks of a "100% would not have happened under Vince" bit of booking change.

Plans change, pal, but they're MY changes, and I've decided you're Stardust again.

[Ben]

I’m going to be gutted after WrestleMania when this Bloodline stuff comes to an end. Easily the best TV since Bryan vs. Authority.

[Ian]

I don't think it will end at Mania. Whether they resume some Zayn/Reigns stuff then or end up with... I dunno, Reigns and Jey as the finish to make it really come full circle? I dunno, but I think especially if Reigns is only facing Cody at Mania there's more to come.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

The Rock at SummerSlam :drool:

[Ian]

Problem with The Rock ending it is... I don't really want him beating Roman? Though maybe Roman's run here has made him big enough that when he eventually just goes into the Big Match Cycle like Bork that wins and losses will largely be irrelevant?

Also, re: this:

Easily the best TV since Bryan vs. Authority.

Where is everybody putting the Bloodline on their best all time wrasslin' storylines? Podcasters / channels I follow have mooted it as being among the best ever if not THE best ever. I think recency bias is obviously a factor a) just... generally and b) because the recent stuff ignores that it did go into a bit of a lull for a while. But on the whole I think you'd have to be the biggest WWE / Reigns sceptic to not at least think that it's 'up there.' I can't think of a contender from the period of my peak wrestling nostalgia (Attitude Era didn't do a lot of very good long term storytelling and I was far too late to have emotional attachment to Savage / Miss Elizabeth, say) and I think some of the more obvious more recent examples (Hangman Page's ascent to being a title contender, Yes movement, etc.) have been subsequently beefed by "right what do we do now we've got the first main peak of this thing?"

[phonics]

The Rock sucks and is a giant cornball these days. Keep him away.

[Ian]

The Rock sucks and is a giant cornball these days. Keep him away.

I would be concerned that quite aside from the fact that he hasn't had a good match since Mania XIX* he also has absolutely no sense of humour these days. A feature of Reigns' reign of terror is that he's known when a Funny Thing is happening and to go with it and based on his ACTUALLY BLACK ADAM DID REALLY WELL antics and that he's not allowed to seem weak in action moves even for a scene I suspect he simply doesn't have the sense of humour to be the Rock any of us know and love(d) now.

[Baz]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWBVfZy7OjM

Why have I only just heard this?

[Ian]

More good Bloodline stuff. Really not sure how that's all gonna shake out, but I did think they might do a bit more with the fact that the Usos can't go to Canada than "Er, Roman says to watch it at home, yeah?"

Their tag match was really good too. I like that they have had them defend one set of tag belts a few times so it feels a bit more plausible they could lose them even on TV. Loved the finish too.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWBVfZy7OjM

Why have I only just heard this?

Fuck's sake. :D

[Ben]

:lol:

[Ben]

I never thought I’d say this about a Hikuleo match but watch Hikuleo vs. Jay White.

[Ben]

Another week, another Cody home run. He's coming across like a complete superstar and the fans are ready to get behind him as the top babyface.

[wullie]

It's weird how great he's been because he's not doing a huge amount different to his AEW run, but he came across as completely unbearable there.

[Ben]

AEW is all about the matches. Their TV show is wall-to-wall matches with fans marking out for MOVES. Cody is of the old school where the story is built and the match makes sense. AEW fans would rather he stopped selling the arm and did a corkscrew senton. It was just a bad fit all round once they settled into their routine. Cody doing his thing stood out for being different and the only person he had as a filter/advisor was the cocaine addict, so it wasn't surprising it was ridiculous at times.

WWE have none of those concerns.

[Baz]

corkscrew sentonHell yeah!

THIS IS AWESOME

FIGHT FOREVER

[Ian]

Another week, another Cody home run. He's coming across like a complete superstar and the fans are ready to get behind him as the top babyface.

I am curious about the (excellent) segment. Testing the water for a triple threat? Making sure if you so much as mention Cody and Zayn in the same breath the fans don't reject the former? Just doing the basics of at least building the idea that Sami could beat Roman at the weekend (he surely won't)?

Whatever it is, it must be heartening for them that Cody isn't getting Bluetista'd.

[Gray Fox]

They're just trying to get around the obvious problem they've created in Sami Zayn. He's got himself very over and there's risk of a Daniel Bryan situation(albeit not as big) when Roman has to beat him in Montreal. They need everyone behind Cody after that.

Once Sami loses they'll have him in segments getting behind Cody and being all "I lost, now you're the companies only hope" etc.

[Ben]

Yeah, so far it just looks like they're going to have Sami endorsing Cody for six weeks to avoid a potential revolt. Somewhat surprisingly it seems that it's not even needed, Cody is arguably organically over more than Sami at the moment anyway. It's a long build to Mania after Saturday though so it won't harm to have Sami dipping in and out.

[Ian]

Somewhat surprisingly it seems that it's not even needed

This is kind of what I meant, they don't need to do this because Cody's doing just fine (though as you say, it can't do any harm) but it's nice that they're at least trying Sami/Cody as a possibility in kayfabe even if it presumably isn't one in reality, so it might be that they're doing it because they have less of a cretin in charge and it's the sensible thing to do and that in itself is a good thing.

[Ben]

God forbid it might be a bit of long-term foreshadowing. A Money in the Bank (or similar) title match perhaps.

[Gray Fox]

He'd be a great follow up match to Roman. Cody v Sami at MiTB would be a good show. You risk splitting the crowd with your supposed new top babyface but it's an easy in.

[Ben]

Oh boy Dynamite was horrendous. One of the worst ever.

At least they didn’t get a close up shot of someone blading this week I suppose.

[Ian]

The Montreal crowd for Sami on Smackdown. :drool:

I hope they don't totally beef it tonight.

[Ben]

:drool:

On the other end of the spectrum, the Elite literally had a fucking basketball match in the ring on Rampage. Absolutely embarrassing and they’re undoubtedly the worst thing about AEW right now.

[Ian]

Oh I read about the basketball stuff and it gave me strong Street Profits / Fridge Raiders vibes from a couple of years ago, whenever that awful feud was.

Also Gunther vs. Moss was pretty good. Obviously Gunther doesn't tend to have any duffers anyway but I do think Moss has more potential than you might think given his jobbery gimmick and he did a good job of just being a relentless physical test for Gunther.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Is he still in Create a Wrestler gear?

[Ian]

Nah, he looks very generic now but he's not still wrestling in fucking suspenders.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

The plain black trunks with plain black wrist bands weren't much better tbh.

[Ben]

The men’s tag match was good as well. Four good workers and they got time and the crowd were really into it which always helps. About as good as you get for a WWE TV tag match.

[Baz]

Oh boy Dynamite was horrendous. One of the worst ever.

At least they didn’t get a close up shot of someone blading this week I suppose.
I’ve fallen off it due to time commitment issues. Will get back involved in the the next week or so in time for Revolution on 5th March.

Honestly was the thought of the pointless Bryan Danielson gauntlet that made me switch off.

[Ben]

To be fair up until this week it's been really decent for a couple of months now. But this week was a complete abomination.

[Ian]

The men’s tag match was good as well. Four good workers and they got time and the crowd were really into it which always helps. About as good as you get for a WWE TV tag match.

Forgot to mention that yeah but it was good fun. Would like to see those four get a PPV match actually, so you can do it without all the ad break interruptions.

It's a weird point to be at but Sheamus basically doesn't have matches any worse than about 7/10 these days.

[Ben]

It's a weird point to be at but Sheamus basically doesn't have matches any worse than about 7/10 these days.

That’s an indictment of the WWE formula in my opinion. It’s so repetitive and restrictive that it takes someone about ten years in the WWE system to truly nail down the psychology of wrestling (and it’s only going to get worse in the future because they don’t run daily house shows anymore), which is where Sheamus is at now. In the past it would take someone about three years to get there. For example, Sting was atrocious in his early years for Watts (1986ish) and then by 1989-90 he was having genuinely great matches.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Montez Ford is a star. Give him the damn belt.

[phonics]

This is the best Elimination Chamber I've seen.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Wasn't a fan of the finish but my word did those 6 men go all out.

Incredible stuff.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Amazing storytelling in the main event but it was let down with a typical Roman Reigns finish and I also hated that Jey didn't make his choice.

[phonics]

I don't want to sound like CM Punk but what was Kevin Owens doing 90 seconds prior to coming out. Having a sandwich in catering?

[Gray Fox]

Very good show overall I thought.

Some of the spots in the mens chamber were great. Reigns v Sami was done very well too. The only niggles with it I have(that are true to a lot of these kinds of finishes) is that the ref who is seemingly dead on the outside is fine to scamper in at full speed because the finish needs to happen. Also KO coming out after all the shenanigans and the match was lost makes no sense. Why did he not rush out when Jimmy did?

Still there's no PREMIUM LIVE EVENT now until Wrestlemania and you've just had Sami with a legitimate claim that he had Roman pinned. I wonder if there's scope for inserting Sami into the Cody match somehow? I know the actual answer is more likely that it's never mentioned again, but they surely did that spot for a reason.

[phonics]

https://i.imgur.com/OLWr8gl.png

I laughed.

[Ben]

Just watched the main event and...I did not like it at all. Whoever was the agent for this match needs firing.

Roman came out first which got my back up immediately. Corey Graves can talk about "champion's prerogative" all he wants but no, the champion always comes out last. Then they milked the crowd way too long (>5 minutes ffs) but whatever. Then there should have been a big heat segment with Roman beating the piss out of Sami in the middle of the ring but instead they did the old walk-and-punch around ringside so they could get Sami's wife into it. And then I'm not joking here, that sunset flip powerbomb was the first actual move of the match and we're 15 minutes in. No build, no working of the limbs, just straight from nothing to powerbomb-pin-uranage-pin-exploder-pin, zero to hundred. And all three of those pins were very close near falls, just no building of suspense whatsoever. Then we had the ref bump-false finish angle which is fair enough because they're in Montreal and it gives an avenue to build a triple threat for Mania if they want to (I hope not). But then we get some ridiculous stupidity with the Jimmy Uso interference because there's no way the replacement ref has not just seen the fucking interference because he's already legging it down the aisleway as Jimmy is mid-air for the splash. He should be calling a DQ here. We then get a couple more random move-pin combos before ANOTHER REF BUMP. And then they don't even have Jey make a choice so they could have left that for Smackdown. Then the flattest fucking finish ever and the crowd didn't know what to think. If the intention was to kill Sami off so the fans will get behind Cody 100% then well done, otherwise what a blunder. And then Kevin Owens finishes his supper to come and send the crowd home happy despite his mate needing him more than ever a few minutes earlier.

I'm just so pissed off. This thing was a cannot miss and they managed to miss. There's just no reason to care about Zayn anymore.

[Ian]

I agree with most of that, Ben. Referee logic was awful, KO only appearing when the game was up didn't make much sense either. I thought that was a proper wet fart of a finish and if they're going to now have Jey turn heel because he does that thing where wrestlers don't know what an accident is to have him just rejoin the Bloodline and feud Sami/KO then it's a big old

https://gifdb.com/images/file/boo-this-man-adam-sandler-raspberry-thumbs-down-46ql8jqynv8j9587.gif

from me, Clive.

Rest of the show, womens Rumble was so-so with some good spots. They cleverly didn't try and have Carmella actually wrestle and I'm well up for Belair / Asuka. That should be a tremendous match.

Bork / Lashley - Skimmed through this and it was exactly the sort of shit I expected, but with an even shitter finish, so bravo lads.

Mixed tag - Skipped. Don't need to see Mr and Mrs Edge beat yet more current talent.

Mens chamber - Pretty decent? Hampered by a load of blokes who I just didn't see winning but there were some really good bits in there.

That ending of the show was a complete wet fart though.

[Ben]

KAIRI (Sane) vs. Mercedes Moné (Sasha Banks) was really good. I’m not reviewing because I’m on my phone but take my word for it, if you’ve never seen Joshi wrestling then this is a great entry point with it being in America and two ex-WWE wrestlers.

Mercedes also wore Hana Kimura gear which was a great look.

[wullie]

With Owens thing I think it's that they're not officially pals again yet but he was just returning the favour and wasn't going to let him get battered outside the match. They should do more stuff in Montreal, that crowd loved everything, even Johnny Gargano.