View Full Version : The Ultimate WWE Thread
wullie
22-04-2023, 12:09 PM
I noticed that the way they debuted White was him helping CJ Parker and doing some wacky Bullet Club stuff. Have AEW explained what any of that means outside Excalibur probably shouting everything at 400wpm?
Shindig
22-04-2023, 12:11 PM
If they'd done that so that in some way he doing it to dodge attacks from White then... fine, I guess, but White's just standing there watching him jump about for 15 seconds.
He should've done the move after the springboard botch. That way it looks like a good recovery and White doesn't look dim.
Waffdon
22-04-2023, 12:22 PM
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Good few seconds for that big doofus
Sir Andy Mahowry
22-04-2023, 01:44 PM
:lol:
I noticed that the way they debuted White was him helping CJ Parker and doing some wacky Bullet Club stuff. Have AEW explained what any of that means outside Excalibur probably shouting everything at 400wpm?
Mate all the AEW hardcores got pissy when nobody knew who El Hijo del Vikingo is, so you just know they expect everyone to have been following New Japan for the last 10 years.
And they get puzzled when nobody but CM Punk can draw anyone beyond their base 850k audience.
Sir Andy Mahowry
22-04-2023, 03:27 PM
They'll fix that by signing Goldberg.
True. But surely not? I’ll believe it when I see it.
Shindig
22-04-2023, 03:45 PM
AEW would want him on every week. Not sure Goldberg can manage that unless you feed him squashes like it's 1998.
Nah that’s too logical. Tony will want him to go toe to toe with Komander.
They already have Hook for that.
Disco
22-04-2023, 03:54 PM
If you can get Goldberg you get Goldberg, the tricky part is using him properly which is where current AEW might struggle.
Vanishing Wanderer
22-04-2023, 04:04 PM
Especially since Goldberg kinda goes against the AEW model. I think you can put him against guys like Wardlow or Lee tho.
I’ve just seen the Wembley seating plan and they’re blocking off everything at or behind stage line, so it’s likely being configured for about 60-65k including floor seats.
I’ve just seen the Wembley seating plan and they’re blocking off everything at or behind stage line, so it’s likely being configured for about 60-65k including floor seats.
I wonder how much seats in “E” will be.
I think they've already announced the range as £30-£500, so £500 I'd guess.
Browning
22-04-2023, 04:55 PM
Omos vs Rollins at Backlash is the best build up WWE have done in at least a decade.
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He’s never losing it, is he.
It took a while to load the tweet on my phone and I thought you were talking about Orange Cassidy. Guy hasn’t lost a match since he beat PAC for the title six months ago.
Sir Andy Mahowry
24-04-2023, 09:58 PM
“I say no, dude. I’m tired of people — and this is not a bitter thing, this is the truth. We worked hard for that last name. This whole family worked really, really hard to get that name to where it was and we’re tired of people prosti**ting it in a sense and using it for their benefit. So Rey Mysterio, I’m sorry that no one knows who Rey Mysterio Sr. is, Rey Mysterio Jr. No one knows who he is, and I’m sorry that you have to latch on to the Guerrero family and we’re just kind of tired of it, so, thank you for keeping Eddie’s name alive, thank you for keeping the Guerrero name alive but we don’t need you, we’re good”
Sounds like a lot of salt from Chavo.
Don't work yourself into a shoot, brother.
WWE going back to one "World Heavyweight Championship" :drool:
They did a video a while back showing ‘every WWE champion’ and people moaned that Benoit wasn’t on it, among others, but it was because he won the big gold belt that Booker T had, which I think was the Heavyweight title, rather than the og WWE belt with the blue globe with wings(?) on.
They also never show him, wouldn't matter if they did a compilation of their greatest Chris', Masters would get in before Benoit did.
I’m not sure if it was a WWE official video or fanmade. :dc:
Also, and I know it's a very low bar, but that new WWE title is such an improvement. I'll need to see it on the highlights to see if it's their new best belt (ahead of the NXT North American.)
Waffdon
25-04-2023, 06:17 AM
People who chant Benoit’s name or moan about him being blacklisted are the biggest creeps going
They did a video a while back showing ‘every WWE champion’ and people moaned that Benoit wasn’t on it, among others, but it was because he won the big gold belt that Booker T had, which I think was the Heavyweight title, rather than the og WWE belt with the blue globe with wings(?) on.
Yeah the downside to all this shit is that is screws up lineages. For example, history will tell you Jinder Mahal won the prestigious championship that Bruno Sammartino held for so many years, but the Big Gold Belt that was successor to the iconic NWA and WCW championship was just an offshoot that started with Triple H just being handed it on Raw for no reason until being killed off a decade later at a random TLC event.
wullie
25-04-2023, 08:01 AM
The new belt is alright but the big logo stands out too much for my liking. Saying that though if it's replacing a belt that's just a big logo + colourful backdrop it's a massive step up. NXT North American and the old UK championship belts are the best recent ones they've had for me
Yeah the UK one was nice too.
The tacky logo is a bit obvious but I suspect you're never going to not have that these days. It's the thing I dislike about the otherwise decent AEW one too.
The original UK one (https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/prowrestling/images/1/1d/Walter_NXT_UK_Champion.png) was tremendous. NXT UK really nailed the belts, if nothing else.
The WWE's first Big Gold Belt (https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/prowrestling/images/d/d7/Chris_Benoit_Heavyweight_Title.jpg) is up there as one of my all-time favourites. Winged Eagle (https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/prowrestling/images/2/23/SGT_Slaughter.png) was always a prestigious looking thing that looked great on everyone. The IWGP belt (https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/prowrestling/images/e/e6/Stylesiwgptitle.jpg) they binned a couple of years ago was an all-timer too. I'm a sucker for the side plates with past champions on, it adds to the illusion that holding the title is an honour bestowed only on the best wrestlers, as opposed to Jinder Mahal.
Sir Andy Mahowry
25-04-2023, 10:45 AM
I've often thought about buying a replica NXT UK belt but never had the bottle to spend close to £400 on it.
wullie
25-04-2023, 10:50 AM
The old WCW US title is a belter as well
https://www.wwe.com/f/styles/gallery_img_l/public/all/2020/03/005_sSCSA_00000000_0068--087ac9ba39bd7699f63d20b359414bfb.jpg
Big eagle, subtle logo, little bit of USA flag without making it the whole thing, cheeky smile and combover combo to boot.
That guy looks stunning. Shame he never amounted to anything after Bischoff fired him.
phonics
25-04-2023, 11:05 AM
Hilarious.
No-one could beat Roman Reigns so we're just taking a belt off him. Enjoy your sloppy seconds Cody.
wullie
25-04-2023, 11:14 AM
Really the first new champion should just have it handed to them by Eric Bischoff.
(Tiny image warning)
https://media.ticketmaster.co.uk/tm/en-gb/tmimages/venue/maps/uk8/22739s.gif
I don't want a commemorative take home chair ffs.
P2 light green between DD and I is the aim, I guess.
Please tell me I can’t justify spending 5k to watch muscle men flip about.
That setup is wild.
And lol at an extra grand just to take the seat home. Is Snowman overestimating the amount of merch marks in this country compared to America? In my experience the nutters over here just tend to get leathered and try to get themselves over by being loud and obnoxious.
wullie
25-04-2023, 03:06 PM
So they are actually aiming to sell the whole stadium? I'd go with the £45 seats, chances are you'll be right next to where Darby Allin is thrown over the side.
That’s the plan, baybay. :baz:
Blue £70 (stand, not floor) looks good, assuming the stage isn't ridiculous. I'd not pay three figures to sit floorside with all the mentalists.
But realistically how full is it going to be? What's their all time gate? 20k in their home country with a much larger exposure/fanbase.
Hilarious.
No-one could beat Roman Reigns so we're just taking a belt off him. Enjoy your sloppy seconds Cody.
I still reckon Cody will beat him, just a year later than expected. Him winning A world title isn't the story.
Usual caveats about trying to rationalise or predict WWE booking applies.
I like this better than most of the ideas anybody had for splitting one off Roman but then I simply wouldn't have had one bloke hold two titles for years if you don't want to be limited to one top belt.
Gray Fox
25-04-2023, 05:02 PM
CM Punk showing up backstage at RAW seems like a weird way for him to try to cosy back up to the WWE guys.
Word is he had a "clear the air" talk with The Miz and tried to do the same with HHH. Trips then rang Vince to okay the talk and Vince told him to get security to throw him out. :D
Sir Andy Mahowry
26-04-2023, 07:37 AM
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Appears she legit injured her ankle so had medical attention during the match then came back out.
wullie
26-04-2023, 02:19 PM
Tell you who you never see in the same room
https://i.imgur.com/5aMi5xe.png
https://i.imgur.com/94ELCK7.png
Dynamite was fucking turgid. The best thing was a Jeff Jarrett match. In 2023.
They're completely fucking the World title picture. It's all just bollocks now because Tony thinks he needs to do this Four Pillars crap, like his guys are anywhere near the same level as the All Japan Four Pillars. They should have just gone with Darby vs. MJF and built it properly. Oh but Roderick Strong debuted! Another small indie guy for the hardcore fans to stroke one out to. Although Tony has bought End of Heartache for his theme which is fucking mint.
And of course, LOLORANGEWINS.
The Eddie Guerrero DQ finish was funny though.
Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega are set to square off against one another in a steel cage in two weeks on AEW Dynamite, May 10 from Detroit, Michigan.
I’m on holiday that week. Gutted.
Disco
29-04-2023, 06:10 AM
In the biggest swerve of the century Moxleys skin remains unbroken for the entire match.
At least the cage will prevent his standard five minute brawl in the crowd.
You’d think, anyway.
Draft episode was pretty boring, as they usually are, and while I don't begrudge the NXT women their moment none of them feel a big enough deal to make those interesting draft picks. I assume we'll get Breakker and Pretty Deadly called up on Monday?
Main event was alright. I assume that the Usos end up on Smackdown anyway even if Roman doesn't want them to progress that story.
Indi Hartwell was a baffling one. I remember her impressing in the Rumble but she looked very green and they’ve just put the NXT title on her.
I just think she's not very good. She was wrestling relatively regularly in NXT during The Way stuff and that was a while back now and I thought it odd when they gave her the womens title. It felt a little bit "you've been here ages so here you go." But I watch bugger all NXT these days so maybe I'm being unfair.
Sir Andy Mahowry
29-04-2023, 09:23 AM
Yeah, I was never a fan of her in ring stuff.
I assume they reunite her with Lumis as Index still seemed pretty over with the NXT crowd when he helped her win the title.
phonics
29-04-2023, 09:58 AM
Have your opinions but she’s Rab from Consolevanias niece so she can be pushed as far as they want.
Browning
29-04-2023, 10:18 AM
I really need the full details of how Jim Cornette conspired with Michael Jordan, Nikki Bella, Home Depot and the ghost of Chris Benoit to steal someone's kids.
Shindig
29-04-2023, 10:28 AM
Have your opinions but she’s Rab from Consolevanias niece so she can be pushed as far as they want.
Huh. That reminds me, I need to see if Consolevania is good these days.
Sir Andy Mahowry
29-04-2023, 04:27 PM
1652346870541295616
Index can continue then. Possibly a "The Way" revival?
Got to feel that RAW have lost that by having to take Nattie though.
phonics
29-04-2023, 09:28 PM
No idea why but the Exploding Deathmatch just popped into my head. Got to be up there with Vince blowing out both his quads in funniest moments in wrestling history terms.
https://www.wrestlinginc.com/img/gallery/kenny-omega-reportedly-upset-after-aew-revolution-revolution-content-removed-from-twitter/intro-import.jpg
1652346870541295616
Index can continue then. Possibly a "The Way" revival?
Got to feel that RAW have lost that by having to take Nattie though.
Von Wagner a free agent?
Fuck it, I'll call myself a free agent for this draft too then.
Disco
30-04-2023, 01:21 AM
No explosion (ie Kenny can't make a bomb) would have been better than that farty pyro.
This race needs some tyre blowouts like what happened to Max and Strulovich that time.
Don’t be giving Tony any more crazy ideas eh.
Disco
30-04-2023, 08:17 PM
Do it Tony, complete the journey to becoming WCW.
https://i.imgur.com/V651sCQ.png
wullie
30-04-2023, 08:42 PM
I have to admire Tony's restraint in having Big Show on the books and not booking a rooftop monster truck match yet.
To be fair, a lot of AEW pays homage to the Giant’s murder and resurrection later in the program with all the no-sells the flippy guys do after being thrown off a ladder/stage/whatever.
phonics
30-04-2023, 09:21 PM
Huh. That reminds me, I need to see if Consolevania is good these days.
Takes itself a little too seriously now and Ryan McLeod isn't part of it anymore.
Shindig
30-04-2023, 09:35 PM
Oof. Without someone like Ryan to balance out Rab's flowery tat, it's not Consolevania to me.
Tickets acquired. Had some of the £400 ones I wanted but it had auto selected 2 instead of 3 and when I went back to change it, I could only get £175 ones. :cry: Got them for now but will keep an eye out for some P2 ones going back on sale. Will join the 11am presale (for non-Fite TV subscribers) and see what’s what.
Ya mad cunt.
I just watched a whole episode of Raw in 15 minutes. This holding pattern until post-draft is dreadful. The best thing about the whole show was Priest's promo and I understood about 20% of it. Dominik getting booed out the building was as fun as always though.
phonics
02-05-2023, 09:45 AM
Got offered 175 quid tickets. Couldn't swing it so I gave em to a mate.
Sir Andy Mahowry
02-05-2023, 05:02 PM
Apparently 35k tickets already gone for AEW Wembley.
It’ll be full. Can’t wait.
Shindig
02-05-2023, 05:28 PM
See if you can get Taz to present a TTH award.
Sir Andy Mahowry
02-05-2023, 05:38 PM
It’ll be full. Can’t wait.
I was a little unsure but those are some strong opening numbers and suggest it indeed will be fully.
Tickets acquired. Had some of the £400 ones I wanted but it had auto selected 2 instead of 3 and when I went back to change it, I could only get £175 ones. :cry: Got them for now but will keep an eye out for some P2 ones going back on sale. Will join the 11am presale (for non-Fite TV subscribers) and see what’s what.
https://cdn.thefa.com/viewFromYourSeat/map_blocks-sports.png
I'm in 121. Not that bad, really.
I'm guessing the entrance stage/ramp will be between 101 and 144.
Get watching AEW Mike. Borrow your missus' Jeff Hardy tshirt.
A Wrestletalk list has just reminded me that in the 2021 draft WWE put Gable Steveson on Raw. Well worth it.
Sir Andy Mahowry
02-05-2023, 07:15 PM
Draft picks don't always work out.
Seems he's trying to qualify for Paris 2024 to defend his Olympic gold.
90,000 Baz’s in Wembley. :eyemouth:
Wardlow was much better when he was a bit like Brock Lesnar but I’ve completely lost interest now he’s actively trying to be, flexing his straps and doing that little dance.
Add him to the pile of wrestlers that Tony has actively sabotaged through his incompetent booking. He got massively over doing the "Lesnar" thing, then they randomly stopped it, killed his momentum, and now Tony will be wondering why it isn't working when he's decided to go back to it.
Waffdon
06-05-2023, 07:34 AM
Dom with the nuclear heat last night on Smackdown
Enjoyable show for once. Hot crowd obviously helps but all four matches were decent too. Puerto Rico loves Cody.
Waffdon
06-05-2023, 08:10 AM
Not as much as they love Bad Bunny. That was Stone Cold level pop
Yeah that crowd was great so hopefully should give Backlash a bit of a boost as well.
The Bad Bunny? Is he a good wrestler?
He's a good celebrity wrestler. He's probably not as good overall as Logan Paul has been so far but he's athletic, bumps, clearly puts the effort in to try and be good at it.
Shindig
06-05-2023, 11:53 AM
Who's the bottom of the celebrity wrestler pile?
wullie
06-05-2023, 12:15 PM
Jay Leno comes to mind, but chances are it's one of the many times TNA gave it a try.
I watched Sharmell vs. Jenna Morasca because Wrestletalk are doing a "Worst Wrestling Match Ever" series and Jenna Morasca was possibly the worst I've seen.
Shindig
06-05-2023, 12:22 PM
Ooooh, Packman Jones. So crap they had to give him nothing to do.
Disco
06-05-2023, 03:07 PM
Classic TNA, bung a load of money at someone who is contractually prevented from actually doing anything.
They struck gold with DeAngelo Williams though. Probably the best before Logan Paul came along.
phonics
07-05-2023, 04:02 AM
Think that Backlash kind of proves how mad this AEW show is going to be. Crowd's can make even the worst show over.
Sir Andy Mahowry
07-05-2023, 09:05 AM
Just started.
Ito/Bianca was fun but the ending was a bit meh. Hot crowd (hopefully it continues) really helped too.
Omos/Rollins was better than I thought it would be but not by a huge amount. Think it was dumb that Omos kicked out of back to back stomps but the SUPER stomp was fun.
Triple Threat was far too quick unfortunately as it was really fun. Smart way for Theory to win though.
Ripley/Vega was pretty poor. At no point did it feel like Zelina had any chance of winning, her 619 was also laughable.
Bunny/Priest was alright. Best thing was Carlito returning obviously. Carlito :cool:
Bloodline Trio match itself was alright but nothing special, I'm just gagging for that Bloodline implosion now and I loved it when Solo thought about spiking Jey.
Belair / Skye - Fun, and that one near fall I actually thought they might be doing it, but on the whole while Belair is really good they need to change something up if she's gonna keep the title for much longer.
Rollins / Omos - He tried, bless 'im. And I don't hate a top rope curb stomp as a way to put the exclamation point on it but yeah, nobody's getting anything good out of Omos.
US title triple threat - The problem here is doing sneaky shit is literally all Theory has. They need to get that belt on somebody else while they figure out what to do with him because this isn't working. He's got talent but he's a non-character and the fans simply don't care.
Rhea / Vega - Didn't watch. This was even more predictable than the Belair match and Vega just isn't great.
Bunny / Priest - Just fine, but the crowd really elevated it and the overbooked mess in the middle with Carlito and Savio Vega was a laugh I guess.
Bloodline trios - I've got a lot of time for how committed Solo has been to his character since being called up, and him basically trying to take charge of the team to Jey's chagrin is a good wrinkle as they continue to tease that out. Not bad but for having six men there was still too much time when everybody was down or nowhere to be seen because they still wanted to fit all the storyline stuff in.
Rhodes / Bork - I thought they'd really hit a spot of luck with Bork's blood pissing absolutely fucking everywhere and how good that would look when Cody stood tall at the end covered in Brock's blood so to have him win because Lesnar is a moron somewhat took the shine off that. I liked that Cody jumped him before the bell but otherwise not much to report here. An unfortunate middle ground between Brock's 4 minute slugfests and his standard template for the flippier lads he wrestles.
As Phonics says though, the crowd being so into everything really lifted a lot of a very middling show.
Gray Fox
07-05-2023, 10:37 AM
Didnt really care much for anything beyond the last two matches. Agree on Omos though. Can't really knock the guy as he seems in pretty good shape for someone so large and seems to be an alright guy out of the ring, but he is just too large for anyone to be getting a good match from.
Solo almost mistakenly spiking Jey, then thinking he should really do it anyway is interesting. Maybe we get Solo having to make the choice soon. Stoner Bro still has no part in being shoehorned in here. Speaking of which put some damn shoes on.
Silly to make Brock look the idiot, but it depends how the inevitable next match goes. If Cody wins again but a lot more decisively then he goes on to take a/the belts. If we get good old fashioned 50/50 booking, we're in for a Brock win next and then a DECIDER at SummerSlam.
They absolutely love the "rolls through a submission to pin" finish and overdo it so much it's just ruined it altogether. Samoa Joe must have lost about 400 matches that way during his WWE stint.
Waffdon
07-05-2023, 11:40 AM
I don’t want to be dramatic but that crowd popped louder at times than Stone Cold in his prime lol
Sir Andy Mahowry
07-05-2023, 11:54 AM
Main event was a bit pants.
Seemed to be getting going and then they go with the bullshit submission into pin finisher. I wonder if they called it early because Lesnar's forehead was PISSING blood.
WWE.com revealed the wrestlers, with six each from Raw and SmackDown:
Raw: Cody Rhodes, Damian Priest, Finn Bálor, Seth Rollins, Shinsuke Nakamura, and The Miz
SmackDown: AJ Styles, Austin Theory, Bobby Lashley, Edge, Rey Mysterio, and Sheamus
On Raw, there will be two triple threat matches, with the winner of each battling later in the night to determine the winner of that bracket. The same process will repeat itself on SmackDown. The winners of those two brackets will face each other at Night of Champions for the World Heavyweight Championship.
I was sort of hoping they'd do a proper tournament. And Austin Theory, Miz, Edge and (if he's there just to be fodder for somebody) Nakamura shouldn't be in there.
Would have been nice to have a longer tournament because that could have allowed some proper wildcards to make a run deep into it.
Sir Andy Mahowry
08-05-2023, 09:43 AM
It's also strange that they're including SD wrestlers despite just having a draft and this now being a RAW title.
What happens if AJ Styles (I didn't realise he was back) or any other SD wrestlers win? Do they move to RAW?
Although it's surely Cody winning anyway.
If Cody wins this one and they deem that to be him finishing the story then that's fucking horseshit. Though the end of his match on Saturday had the whiff of "we're gonna spin this feud out longer" so I'm not ruling out Bork costing him.
Gray Fox
08-05-2023, 10:34 AM
Triple threat allows Cody to not win while not eating the pin. Them literally creating a new title for him so their guy doesn't have to lose to him would be bollocks but that sounds a lot like Vince.
Unless Theory loses the title very soon there's only really AJ and Bobby that make sense on Smackdown, while Rollins seems a shoe in for the Raw one.
The double double triple threat. Triple H Special.
Given we're definitely getting more Mysterio vs. Dom somewhere down the line I'd be inclined to have Balor beat Mysterio for the title. Judgement Day are quite popular, a title would do Balor good as well as the stable for having it (and a womens champ), can have the gang help cost Mysterio to keep that ticking over.
I still rate Rollins more than most but he's far too obvious (quite aside from not really wanting his cackling goon character being the focal point of the show) and as discussed it absolutely shouldn't be Cody.
Waffdon
08-05-2023, 01:15 PM
Judgement Day are properly class. They have everything in the group. They definitely should put a title on Balor or Priest - most likely the latter though as it feels like Balor and Priest have switched roles
Gray Fox
08-05-2023, 01:17 PM
Yeah Priest needs a title more than Balor does. They'd done enough now to tell us Balor is no longer a top guy in their eyes. Priest looks more the type they like and hasn't had his chance yet.
Rhea is the top woman and Dom plays the shithouse heel so well you can't change him yet. Though he should have beaten Rey.
Sir Andy Mahowry
08-05-2023, 01:18 PM
The problem with Judgement Day (at least the men) is that they've lost too many important matches, especially Balor.
Priest deserves more I agree and a title can certainly elevate him but at the same time, with it being a new title, you’ve got to establish its prestige versus Roman’s title. Putting it on Balor or Priest would immediately earmark it as the secondary belt.
But then again only Cody can establish it as top level and it’s already been noted how that would be bad booking so fuck knows.
Gray Fox
08-05-2023, 03:14 PM
Brock comes out and kills Cody during his entrance, takes his place in the triple threat and then kills everyone.
Rollins :facepalm: come on Smackdown guys!
The Cody-Brock angle was good though.
I wish AEW had used the Briscoes more before one died cos Mark Briscoe seems very good entertainment. (He’s gonna be a special guest referee at Double Or Nothing in the FTR vs JJ & Jay Lethal waste of time match)
Apparently (according to Dave anyway) some WBD official didn’t want them on TV because Jay sent a racist tweet over a decade ago, even though he apologised profusely for it. Not sure I buy that considering some of the worse shit some of the current roster have pulled in more recent times.
Who're the AEW bad lads? Other than rapey Sammy Guevara obviously.
Jericho obviously had the close connection to the Capitol Hill insurrection. They had Mike Tyson on their TV. They booked Moxley's best mate Nick Gage, who robbed a fucking bank. You mentioned Sammy. Jeff Hardy is married to DUI at this point yet they still bring him back.
Loads have tweeted shady stuff at some point when they were still on the indies, including Scorpio Sky with an almost identical notion to Jay Briscoe. I don't agree at all with cancelling people over tweets from a decade ago, but it seems it's only an issue in AEW if you're not in the Bucks/Kenny/Jericho inner circle.
Waffdon
12-05-2023, 05:50 PM
The Briscoe’s definitely look(ed) the type to throw Nigger about casually in sentences
Shindig
12-05-2023, 05:54 PM
The moral code should be the same as actual combat sports (i.e. there isn't really one), to be honest. Especially when the bookers are such cunts.
They were shouting from the rooftops about treating it like a sport at its inception but that quickly went by the wayside when it became apparent many of them wanted to do indie flips, and seemingly all of them are fragile bitches who don't like their feelings being hurt. AEW shows glimpses nearly every week of how good it can be but it's always sabotaged by itself through amateur booking/production or just bunches of fannies not wanting to do good business because Tony has guaranteed their money anyway.
wullie
12-05-2023, 06:52 PM
Do they still do their rankings and match records or have they done the sensible thing and slowly forgot about it?
phonics
12-05-2023, 07:24 PM
Between disappearances they shove them on dark and they reappear on Dynamite with a 74-2 record.
It seemed a good idea on the surface but it was just not feasible given all the bollocks they did outside of Dynamite. The new TV deal will be a good thing if only to get rid of the YouTube shows. Again not the worst idea at its inception but it ended up being green worker vs. green worker in front of four people, so they didn't learn anything. The new (old as time) format of a couple of dark matches before the TV show in front of the TV crowd will do the green guys so much better. It will also allow Tony to release 50 guys back to the indies who just aren't needed; for example, Serpentico has wrestled 154 matches for AEW but I have no idea what he even looks like.
Ospreay pretty much confirmed for All In. He's wrestling Shingo at RevPro the night before. :drool:
As bad as that cage match was (of course it was, it had Jon Moxley in it) the V Trigger spot was pretty fanfuckingtastic.
CsFgXBeAc8t
Tried to buy these three tickets (the green ones):
https://i.imgur.com/yX1wzky.png
But they disappeared after I selected them. Twat.
I have a kitchen to pay for too so probably a bad idea anyway.
Would never happen with a proper cage.
https://ringthedamnbell.files.wordpress.com/2018/03/ssblue.jpg
Just pulled up Summerslam 92 to see the layout.
https://i.imgur.com/xkuHbhr.jpeg
Obviously it's a completely different stadium but I'm not gonna see shit from the proper football seats am I. :moop:
Gray Fox
12-05-2023, 08:58 PM
New Wembley has the seats much closer to the pitch and the stands are steeper, so it wont be near that bad.
wullie
12-05-2023, 09:17 PM
I always assumed that as Dean Ambrose he was being stifled by corny Vince McMahon but having seen him being allowed to do what he wants for a few years now, Moxley is actually just shit.
Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles
It’s going to be Franklin isn’t it.
I always assumed that as Dean Ambrose he was being stifled by corny Vince McMahon but having seen him being allowed to do what he wants for a few years now, Moxley is actually just shit.
I was a little bit the same. His WWE run was actually alright if you ignore the bits of horrendous booking so when he popped up in New Japan for the G1, I was really excited for it. I thought he did well even though his forearms were pathetic.
AEW you’ve covered well there though. :D In this heel role, he’s gone full Bruiser Brody where he sells for no cunt except the blade. Although it must be noted how he carried the company for a bit after the All Out fiasco and he actually seems to be one of the few guys they have that draws (somehow).
Waffdon
13-05-2023, 07:17 AM
Reigns not defending his titles at another PPV but instead winning the Tag Titles would be hilarious. Though I didn’t think Sami Zayn would go to Saudi Arabia so unless something has changed maybe that won’t happen
Sami is going to get detained in Saudi isn’t he.
Gray Fox
13-05-2023, 09:16 AM
Sami and Kevin have never done the blood money shows have they?
Sir Andy Mahowry
13-05-2023, 09:49 AM
They have not. However:
1657197277524418561
Waffdon
13-05-2023, 09:52 AM
Sami creating world peace
Browning
13-05-2023, 09:56 AM
What a farce. Roman is worse than Brock at this point. At least Brock not defending the title made the fans seethe and that was entertaining.
I still feel WWE fumbled the ball with Cody but his promo on Brock last night was fucking money.
phonics
17-05-2023, 06:56 PM
I don’t want to come across as some Shindigesque Incel but if Andrades continuously post about how press use bad pictures of Charlotte to demean her I’d suggest that he counters with pictures where she doesn’t look like a bulimic 70 year old woman.
The work she’s had done has turned a reasonably attractive woman into something from an HR Giger sketch.
Gray Fox
17-05-2023, 07:15 PM
The problem I imagine she's trying to escape is she just looks somewhat like her dad.
It's a shame when people fall into that cycle of seeing the surgeon as the answer. See Saraya as another.
Yeah Charlotte has looked pretty horrendous facially for a few years now.
phonics
18-05-2023, 06:18 PM
You'll be shocked to know but it seems like Phil Brooks is being an absolute turd and Tony Khan got worked by being a mark.
Shindig
18-05-2023, 06:30 PM
Confidence Man Punk. :cool:
You'll be shocked to know but it seems like Phil Brooks is being an absolute turd and Tony Khan got worked by being a mark.
https://media.tenor.com/06YRFb-iiH0AAAAM/shocked-bean-mr-bean.gif
New AEW show: Collision.
https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/img-52f11ad1ae7d-1-6464f529cbebf.jpeg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/WCW_Nitro_logo%281995-1999%29.png
:rosebud:
Not surprising. He’s such a mark.
He also patted himself on the back for the last two weeks of Dynamite by pointing to Cagematch ratings. :lol:
I look forward to Collision also having a "huge announcement" every week.
Every Saturday will be the greatest night in the history of our sport.
It would be but Tony Schiavone doesn’t give enough of a shit anymore to even say that. :(
Browning
19-05-2023, 03:23 PM
1659218731128754177
So I came in after Ryback was already on the downhill. To those who were watching at the time, how over actually was he?
When I first saw him fans would chant along with the "Feed me more" thing but wrestling fans will chant/sing along with fucking anything.
So I came in after Ryback was already on the downhill. To those who were watching at the time, how over actually was he?
When I first saw him fans would chant along with the "Feed me more" thing but wrestling fans will chant/sing along with fucking anything.
He was mega over for a brief period, but that was mainly down to the audience wanting Goldberg and an alternative to Cena. It didn’t last long because he had nothing to offer.
Yeah that was kinda what I assumed as a best-case scenario because the man wasn't actually any good.
1659336928435617793
Shut up, Dutch. Gimme dem big bumps and flippy flips.
Gray Fox
19-05-2023, 09:34 PM
Big E threw himself through the ropes at people many times and landed on his head and was fine. Hes about 3 times the size of jungle boy too.
Then one bad suplex botch on the outside and he's done.
I bet he'll be straight back to doing it if he ever got cleared for in ring stuff. You either have to go full send or not bother at all.
Waffdon
23-05-2023, 08:56 AM
Brock is great at the minute. Best in the business when he’s got someone he’s got a feud he’s interested in
AEW Double or Nothing this weekend so I've watched Dynamite in its entirety to catch up. If you're one of those people who actually pays for PPVs, you'd certainly be thinking twice after this go-home effort.
Orange Cassidy vs. Kyle Fletcher to start. They already announced Orange will defend his title in the Battle Royal so you knew the winner going into this, even if they tried to back pedal on that. The match was poor considering who was involved. Fletcher is a great heat man in a tag team but he's not got a lot of experience as a singles guy so it was just moves and the crowd either don't care for him or don't know him. The booking of Orange is getting Roman Reigns ridiculous now. He kicked out of four piledrivers, including a tombstone and a fucking avalanche before getting the inevitable win. Tony Khan loves Orange Cassidy and YOU WILL LIKE HIM.
Ricky Starks doesn't like getting beat up by Bullet Club so he's entering the Battle Royal instead. OK. Then Bullet Club beat him up anyway. They couldn't have ruined this guy any better.
At least they decided to pre-tape the Jungle Boy promo but it was still pants. Nobody cares about this match and they care even less about Jungle Boy who's supposed to be a contender for the World title but he got his arse kicked by Rush last week, who barely makes it onto TV. I maintained from the start it should have been just Darby vs. MJF.
FTR are great in the ring, like really great, but their promos (well, Dax) are just far too smarky. I think the tag title match will be good if there's not a lot of shenanigans because there's actually four workers in there but they haven't done anything to get the casual hyped.
Sammy with a backstage promo. Seems Tony has realised, albeit far too late, that the fans only want to see Darby. So the presence of the other two will just be a hindrance.
A House of Black six man title match happened. Five minutes or so of stuff.
BCC promo. Moxley has brain damage at this point I'm sure.
Now a segment with the World title guys. You could literally see the crowd actively wondering who will be MJF's next challenger, because this thing is death.
Then a women's match. Taya Valkyrie vs. Lady Frost. I've never heard of Frost but she seemed a decent worker. They're clearly trying to build Valkyrie for something (probably Jade Cargill).
Tony announces the debut Collision will be in Chicago in the worst kept secret ever. No announcement of Punk yet but surely they're not going to sell out the United Center on the promise of Punk then not deliver, because that would be some WCW shit.
Hangman Page is coming for blood. I think he picked up Moxley's script by accident.
Oh my God, they are doing a contract signing for Adam Cole vs. Chris Jericho. Yes that's right, a contract signing for an unsanctioned match. You can't make this shit up. And then in a bizarre twist after Jericho threatens to gang rape Cole again, Sabu comes out for the save. Well that's a cameo I certainly didn't see coming.
Straight into Roderick Strong vs. Daniel Garcia. Size aside, Strong is decent. He has fucking End of Heartache as his theme tune and is a great worker. He led Garcia through a good match here. No stupid shit so it's capped at 2.5 stars by Dave but I liked it for what it was.
And then in another bizarre bit of booking, the ROH World Champion is challenging for the Tag titles. The stipulation from last week was bollocks but at least it gave them an out in that they could have put in Danielson to make the actual match interesting but no, it's Yuta. And then the Lucha Brothers drag Claudio into one of their standard matches. If you've seen one, you've seen them all. Best bit was Bryan on commentary.
Then we finish with another BCC promo again promising blood. Whatever. Moxley and Elite fanboys will probably be enjoying this but it's just turgid crap.
A completely underwhelming show. On the one hand, they could be saving the good stuff for the PPV but they might have turned off enough viewers here that no cunt will see it. The last couple of PPVs were good and they set themselves up for the summer well off the last one, but they've completely fluffed their lines the last couple of months.
wullie
25-05-2023, 08:13 AM
BCC is such a weird group. Danielson wants everyone to be a professional wrestler so obviously get the screwdrivers out, Moxley is just fucking rubbish, Cesaro is great but background noise, Wheeler Yuta's mean face looks like a child pulling a tantrum. Also they're named after a current WWE employee and a place none of them could point to on a map.
I know wrestling is about suspending disbelief but they could at least attempt to make things look believable. The way Moxley pretends to stab away with that screwdriver, if there was actual contact then he'd be up on a murder charge. It's a much worse version of Triple H's sledgehammer.
Also, why a fucking screwdriver?
What percentage of contract signing segments are actually any good?
Punk and Cena was the last good one that I can remember.
Otherwise they're just an excuse for someone to go through a table, because tables are the most over thing in wrestling now.
phonics
25-05-2023, 11:30 AM
Imagine bringing Sabu in for your run in because he’s more emotionally stable than Bobby Fish.
As much as I’m enjoying Brock chucking Cody around each week, the story for these two feels weak. Why did Brock go after Cody? I don’t think there’s ever been an explanation and it deserves one.
phonics
25-05-2023, 11:32 PM
As much as I’m enjoying Brock chucking Cody around each week, the story for these two feels weak. Why did Brock go after Cody? I don’t think there’s ever been an explanation and it deserves one.
Is "Man who looks like he organises hate crimes on 4chan" vs "Man who actually does them" for the belt.
Not really but fucking hell Cody, that tattoo was the biggest mistake I've ever seen.
As much as I’m enjoying Brock chucking Cody around each week, the story for these two feels weak. Why did Brock go after Cody? I don’t think there’s ever been an explanation and it deserves one.
I genuinely think they're just going for the motivation as him being an angry ham triangle.
If they were actually saying "look it's Lesnar he's mental and we're too scared to ask" then I could probably get on board with it but from what I've skimmed of Raw I don't think they're even really doing that.
Cody is one of the few (only?) guys left that can get Brock motivated, have him work hard during a match and ultimately put the other guy over. How they get there is an afterthought.
Gray Fox
26-05-2023, 06:24 AM
They also needed something for both of them to do while Bloodline stuff happens.
The booking of Orange is getting Roman Reigns ridiculous now. He kicked out of four piledrivers, including a tombstone and a fucking avalanche before getting the inevitable win.
This and the other review of the show I read make this match and his booking obnoxious. Did I read right that he kicked out of back to back tombstones? Why is he doing that in a TV match?
AEW fans love that shit. There needs to be one “banger” on TV every week and apparently this is it.
Undertaker and his opponents spend 30 years putting over a move and it’s destroyed by a double denim clown. Fantastic.
I already don't get how or why Cassidy's gimmick is meant to work (either in or out of kayfabe) and if the disinterested dude is also now just invincible then yeah, no.
Undertaker and his opponents spend 30 years putting over a move and it’s destroyed by a double denim clown. Fantastic.
This is just wrestling all over though isn't it. Not just AEW even if they're the most obvious/egregious at the moment.
So many moves that are just transitioning things into the next spot that used to be big deals.
I'm not some crusty old man who thinks everything should be vertical suplexes and wristlocks but there are too few protected finishers and too many moves where people are getting smashed onto their head/neck which really oughtn't to be run of the mill kickouts.
They should’ve saved it for after the Battle Royal at the PPV, so it wasn’t inevitable he’d win.
This is just wrestling all over though isn't it. Not just AEW even if they're the most obvious/egregious at the moment.
So many moves that are just transitioning things into the next spot that used to be big deals.
I'm not some crusty old man who thinks everything should be vertical suplexes and wristlocks but there are too few protected finishers and too many moves where people are getting smashed onto their head/neck which really oughtn't to be run of the mill kickouts.
Yeah, I’m not a fan of the false finish era that we are in now. On the big shows such as WM or whatever, then yeah, I get it. Maybe kick out of 1 spear from Roman or 1 AA from Cena. I can accept that. But you see matches now where these fucking idiots spend 10-15 minutes spamming each others moves and kicking out. It’s pathetic and tragic to watch. Does it even get a pop anymore? I’m not sure it does.
phonics
26-05-2023, 10:10 PM
Bunch of people who got into wrestling in the attitude era annoyed that moves get less effective as time goes on as if the DDT was still a fininsher back in their day. Please for the love of god, stop listening to Jim Cornette.
Waffdon
27-05-2023, 12:07 AM
Bunch of people who got into wrestling in the attitude era annoyed that moves get less effective as time goes on as if the DDT was still a fininsher back in their day. Please for the love of god, stop listening to Jim Cornette.
Such a nerd :D
Bunch of people who got into wrestling in the attitude era annoyed that moves get less effective as time goes on as if the DDT was still a fininsher back in their day. Please for the love of god, stop listening to Jim Cornette.
Not liking the modern indie style must mean you worship Cornette? Stop talking like a AEW Twitter idiot. What about when people like Austin and Undertaker have commented on this?
It’s phonics. Don’t bother trying to understand him.
Let's rile up phonics even more with a Double or Nothing preview.
Six Man Tag Team Match
(Pre-show) Ethan Page & The Gunns (Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn) vs. Hook & The Hardys (Jeff Hardy & Matt Hardy)
Don't care. Six man matches in this company just ignore the rules anyway. I said at the time of his return that Jeff is most over when his music hits for that initial surprise pop, then it's downhill from there. I'm yet to see what others see in Hook as well.
AEW World Trios Title Open House Match
The House Of Black (Brody King, Buddy Matthews & Malakai Black) (w/Julia Hart) (c) vs. ???, ??? & ???
HoB have issued an open challenge. It's going to be The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn, surely. Might be alright, although I'm not a huge fan of the HoB special lighting; that's some Bray Wyatt shit.
Unsanctioned Match (Special Enforcer: Sabu)
Chris Jericho vs. Adam Cole
An unsanctioned match that needed to be signed off so logic is off to a great start in this one. I can't recall the last Jericho feud that had a good logical build. The bloke is allowed to book his own storylines and he's a headcase, so this is where we are at. It'll probably end with a Sabu heel turn, and a botch in the process.
AEW TBS Title Match
Jade Cargill (c) vs. Taya Valkyrie
Cargill looks like an absolute star but I've mentioned it before that she should be nowhere near PPVs and I don't think Valkyrie will be able to walk her through a good match. Ready to be pleasantly surprised with this one.
AEW Women's World Title Match
Jamie Hayter (c) vs. Toni Storm
What a fucking trainwreck. It's been six months since Hayter won the title. From Storm. They fucked the money feud that was handed to them on a plate (Hayter vs. Baker), made Hayter an afterthought in all this Outcasts bullshit and now we're back to square one with the same match that started all this. And if that wasn't bad enough, apparently Hayter is hurt so Storm might win this with shenanigans. Tony Khan at his worst here.
AEW International Title 21 Man Blackjack Battle Royal
Orange Cassidy (c) vs. Dustin Rhodes vs. Trent Beretta vs. Chuck Taylor vs. The Blade vs. Brian Cage vs. Ari Daivari vs. Tony Nese vs. Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Rey Fenix vs. Juice Robinson vs. Big Bill vs. Swerve Strickland vs. Keith Lee vs. Ricky Starks vs. Kip Sabian vs. Jay White vs. Bandido vs. Lee Moriarty vs. Komander vs. The Butcher
AEW are atrocious at Battle Royals and I don't expect this to change that sentiment. LOLORANGEWINS.
AEW TNT Title Ladder Match
Wardlow (c) vs. Christian Cage (w/Luchasaurus)
For a minute, I thought we'd make it through an AEW PPV without a Ladder match, but no. Classic Tony, book the blowoff match to start the feud. Anyway, it'll probably be decent. Wardlow is a good powerhouse and Christian is awesome. Hopefully Luchasaurus gets taken ill pre-match because he is a lump.
AEW World Tag Team Title Match (Special Referee: Mark Briscoe)
FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) (c) vs. Jay Lethal & Jeff Jarrett
Hopefully Briscoe isn't booked to do anything stupid because this could be a really good wrestling match. No fuckery please.
AEW World Title Four Way Match
MJF (c) vs. Sammy Guevara vs. Jack Perry vs. Darby Allin
I've said a few times already that this should be a singles match with Darby and MJF. They've fucked the build so bad that the World title isn't going to be the main event.
Anarchy In The Arena Match
The Elite (Adam Page, Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) vs. Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley & Wheeler Yuta)
This will be egregious bullshit with Nick doing enough flips for eight guys and Moxley bleeding enough for eight guys. It'll be full of plotholes and hokey nonsense. The Elite are so bad at the walk and brawl type matches so God only knows why Tony has booked one.
This is shaping up to be dreadful and apparently ticket sales are saying the same thing. I like AEW's schedule of a PPV every three months or so and they teed themselves up well off the last couple but this has been a complete blunder. Every passing week highlights more and more how Tony Khan needs booking help ASAP (and not from some message board yes man dipshit like he's just brought in, but an actual experienced veteran).
Phonics it's super dull when you bring the needless antagonism in here. Knock it off, save it for the argumentative bore threads and have an actual conversation about the thing if you're disagreeing and we'll all have a lovely time talking about this dumb shit we're taking a bit too seriously.
Speaking of, just watching the closing segment of Smackdown and liked it very much. Heyman's hammy expressions are always perfect and when Jimmy said "When it comes to the Usos I AM the Tribal Chief" his "oh no what have you done?" look at the Usos was great.
I've talked a lot about Solo in recent weeks* for maintaining his aura / character and stuff but Jimmy's doing some great work too, having spent time earlier in the story easing into being the guy who's just going with it for his family and now getting more and more fucked off with Roman as the weeks go on.
I don't really care for the fact that we might now have a couple of Reigns' sparing PPV appearances where he won't even be defending the title if he's doing tag shit with Solo (and presumably again vs. the Usos) but I'd be lying if I said the Bloodline stuff isn't doing it for me still. Which it shouldn't be because we should probably be nearer the endgame now than we presumably are but everybody involved is just still doing really good work.
Can't remember if I said about it but I really liked last week as well when Reigns accidentally bumped into Solo and had a moment of Reigns clearly not wanting to mess with Solo. I've no idea what his actual level will be once this is all over but for now they've done a great job of making him seem like a big deal.
Waffdon
27-05-2023, 10:14 AM
LA Knight gotta be getting that push soon. Saudi fans were screaming his name yesterday when HHH was speaking and now they’re saying he might be getting an impromptu match.
HHH clearly likes him, and while I still don't really have much appetite for watching him wrestle he's over as fuck and is a top promo so he deserves something substantial. I'd get the US title on him for starters I reckon. Get Theory out of there and totally retool him because at the moment he's just a nothing, generic sneaky heel.
Gray Fox
27-05-2023, 10:18 AM
More great bloodline stuff last night. Heyman is always worth watching during these segments when he's not talking. The look of horror on his face when Jimmy called himself the Tribal Chief was great.
They've made a big point of saying the Usos were not invited to Blood Money, so I can only assume they're going to turn up and Jimmy will cost them the title somehow.
EDIT: Dammit Ian
Bloodline has been a bit off since WrestleMania in my opinion, even though the character work remains great. Last night was a good segment though and hopefully it kicks on again now.
LA Knight is amazing, although I liked him as Eli Drake too.
They probably could have got the Bloodline story to where it is now at least a month ago without it feeling rushed if Roman wanted to work but than once a fortnight.
So I’ve largely stayed away from any insider talk on WWE over the last few months. Is McMahon fully running the creative in WWE now?
Gray Fox
27-05-2023, 10:34 AM
If word is to believed he has little to no part of show-to-show running. So for example he wont be turning up on Smackdown to make last minute changes, but he does have a say in outcomes. So for example he could say Cody is to lose again at next years 'mania.
Oh blimey, Asuka won the title off Belair! Weird time to do it but they did need to change something up with Belair, felt like they were padding the title for its own sake. And Asuka is great, obviously.
Waffdon
27-05-2023, 07:46 PM
The pop for Zayn was pretty special. Great moment for him
Waffdon
27-05-2023, 07:54 PM
Saudi crowd might genuinely riot if they make Zayn lose here. The crowd is absolutely mental
Gray Fox
27-05-2023, 08:12 PM
Main event was excellent.
Roman vs Jey at Summerslam, maybe?
I'll be watching the main event tomorrow but I assume we're getting Solo/Reigns vs. Usos next? Then maybe some singles with the Usos.... not sure. Looking at the results though I love that Jimmy is getting some agency now.
phonics
28-05-2023, 07:07 PM
Let's rile up phonics even more with a Double or Nothing preview..
It's funny that I'm known as the AEW hater in my friend group and the AEW fanboy on here.
Here you’re known as a mong.
Waffdon
28-05-2023, 10:43 PM
:lol:
Disco
28-05-2023, 11:05 PM
NJ have announced a match for Dominion for the 6 man tag titles. It's Okada / Tanahashi / Ishii vs Umino / Moxley / Castagnoli :alan:
phonics
28-05-2023, 11:51 PM
Tony Khans Fedora is going to be a meme for some time.
phonics
29-05-2023, 12:06 AM
The battle royal has been going about 90 seconds and is a complete shitshow.
phonics
29-05-2023, 01:45 AM
This is horrific.
phonics
29-05-2023, 02:47 AM
It got worse
phonics
29-05-2023, 03:18 AM
Horrible. I just want to go to bed but I’ve wasted so much time already.
phonics
29-05-2023, 03:31 AM
Nah couldn’t sit through it. If TNA did this ppv it’d be mocked for years.
Waffdon
29-05-2023, 08:48 AM
Bron Breakker might have the best spear in the game
Reading the NXT review and I've just been reminded of the "Heritage cup" rules. Fuck's sake, sounds a pain in the arse.
It’s British rules isn’t it? Rounds etc.
Yeah. Six rounds (three minutes, or when a fall happens), 2/3 falls, if there's a DQ or KO match is over. It's not super complicated, I think I'd just rather any of the other types of match which are sort of smushed together there.
Easier to follow than AEW who make rules up as they go along.
Double or Nothing was some unadulterated filth. I started doing a proper review but lost my head during the Jericho match.
Firstly, the pre-show match was horrible. Poor Baz is going to be so disappointed at Wembley, Jeff Hardy was a complete embarrassment in this one. He's done.
The battle royal was standard fare for AEW (ie. shite). Tony managed to pretty much bury 20 guys in his quest to get over Orange Cassidy. The usual booking mess during the match as well. The lucha guys did all their flippy shit as 15 other guys stood around waiting to catch them. Then they paid off the big Swerve and Lee split from last year with a confrontation during a random battle royal so it shows where Tony's head is at with maintaining heat in his booking. Big Bill was the best performer in this ffs. Tony is building Orange as a challenger to MJF I'm sure as well. Tremendous.
Then here is where I quit on this thing. Adam Cole vs. Chris Jericho was an absolute embarrassment of a pro wrestling match. If you saw this at your local indie you'd be facepalming but from two veterans this was disgraceful stuff. Adam Cole is boring as fuck and it was low effort weapons for 20 minutes, capped off with a referee stoppage in an unsanctioned match which the crowd rightly booed out of the building. The worst high profile match since that Saudi debacle with Undertaker and Shawn.
The FTR match was alright for a while. Decent ring work but the same old problem with AEW. It's just PWG on steroids where everything has to be one big inside joke, so first they bring in Karen Jarrett because they expect everyone to have been watching TNA 15 years ago, then Aubrey Edwards running to the ring like a meme to take a guitar shot was pathetic but the type of shit that AEW does to spite itself. Clown stuff.
Ladder match was good, as far as ladder matches go. They didn't spam the spots like the Reseda boys and built the match, and the finish, around one big spot. Which is how it should be. But there was far too much Luchasaurus and again the interference ruined things.
Hayter lost the title in quick fashion as expected due to injury, but not quick enough to see some horrendous brawling when the interference happened. They should probably just cull the women's division at this point.
An underwhelming trios match and Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio got the biggest pop which is classic AEW.
Then after what, three years, of building Jade Cargill like Goldberg, Tony decides to kill her completely. I've said before that Cargill is still poor in the ring but once you've committed to booking her strong, you might as well use it ffs. So the match with Valkyrie was actually better than I thought. Nothing groundbreaking but probably her best singles match. Then, inexplicably, her manager gets on the stick and issues an open challenge. That's right, a heel does a babyface thing. Then Statlander comes and squashes Jade in 30 seconds. And there we go, three plus years of undefeated streak ended with no build or heat. What the actual fuck. It could have been a big deal if done right.
Then the World title match which wasn't terrible but had the usual multi-man match issues. It went long and I found myself zoning out for long periods when MJF wasn't directly involved. Jungle Boy looks way out of his depth and the Sammy laying down spot was just stupid.
Aaaand the main event. I just hate these types of matches. Full of stupid spots for no reason other than a pop. Jumping from extreme deathmatch to overzealous comedy and back again is just bizarre and completely off putting if you're not in on the cult. As predicted Moxley bled insane amounts just because he wants to and clearly having eight people in the match wasn't enough because this one needed interference as well. Tony went full ECW/WCW hybrid on this match and got the worst of both doing it. Also, did they hire Kevin Dunn for this? The camera cuts were nauseating. Takeshita heel turn to set up a 5v5 with probably Ibushi. Marks stroking their cocks, non-marks scratching their heads.
Hands down the best part of the whole show was the look in Tony Khan's face as MJF sold himself to WWE in the post-event presser thing they do.
wullie
30-05-2023, 08:41 AM
It feels like Matt Hardy's been involved in a never-ending cycle of matches nobody cares about to win control of the contracts of wrestlers nobody cares about.
Cargill lost her streak to an open challenge? Incredible.
Disco
30-05-2023, 03:59 PM
Double or Nothing was some unadulterated filth. I started doing a proper review but lost my head during the Jericho match.
Firstly, the pre-show match was horrible. Poor Baz is going to be so disappointed at Wembley, Jeff Hardy was a complete embarrassment in this one. He's done.
The battle royal was standard fare for AEW (ie. shite). Tony managed to pretty much bury 20 guys in his quest to get over Orange Cassidy. The usual booking mess during the match as well. The lucha guys did all their flippy shit as 15 other guys stood around waiting to catch them. Then they paid off the big Swerve and Lee split from last year with a confrontation during a random battle royal so it shows where Tony's head is at with maintaining heat in his booking. Big Bill was the best performer in this ffs. Tony is building Orange as a challenger to MJF I'm sure as well. Tremendous.
Then here is where I quit on this thing. Adam Cole vs. Chris Jericho was an absolute embarrassment of a pro wrestling match. If you saw this at your local indie you'd be facepalming but from two veterans this was disgraceful stuff. Adam Cole is boring as fuck and it was low effort weapons for 20 minutes, capped off with a referee stoppage in an unsanctioned match which the crowd rightly booed out of the building. The worst high profile match since that Saudi debacle with Undertaker and Shawn.
The FTR match was alright for a while. Decent ring work but the same old problem with AEW. It's just PWG on steroids where everything has to be one big inside joke, so first they bring in Karen Jarrett because they expect everyone to have been watching TNA 15 years ago, then Aubrey Edwards running to the ring like a meme to take a guitar shot was pathetic but the type of shit that AEW does to spite itself. Clown stuff.
Ladder match was good, as far as ladder matches go. They didn't spam the spots like the Reseda boys and built the match, and the finish, around one big spot. Which is how it should be. But there was far too much Luchasaurus and again the interference ruined things.
Hayter lost the title in quick fashion as expected due to injury, but not quick enough to see some horrendous brawling when the interference happened. They should probably just cull the women's division at this point.
An underwhelming trios match and Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio got the biggest pop which is classic AEW.
Then after what, three years, of building Jade Cargill like Goldberg, Tony decides to kill her completely. I've said before that Cargill is still poor in the ring but once you've committed to booking her strong, you might as well use it ffs. So the match with Valkyrie was actually better than I thought. Nothing groundbreaking but probably her best singles match. Then, inexplicably, her manager gets on the stick and issues an open challenge. That's right, a heel does a babyface thing. Then Statlander comes and squashes Jade in 30 seconds. And there we go, three plus years of undefeated streak ended with no build or heat. What the actual fuck. It could have been a big deal if done right.
Then the World title match which wasn't terrible but had the usual multi-man match issues. It went long and I found myself zoning out for long periods when MJF wasn't directly involved. Jungle Boy looks way out of his depth and the Sammy laying down spot was just stupid.
Aaaand the main event. I just hate these types of matches. Full of stupid spots for no reason other than a pop. Jumping from extreme deathmatch to overzealous comedy and back again is just bizarre and completely off putting if you're not in on the cult. As predicted Moxley bled insane amounts just because he wants to and clearly having eight people in the match wasn't enough because this one needed interference as well. Tony went full ECW/WCW hybrid on this match and got the worst of both doing it. Also, did they hire Kevin Dunn for this? The camera cuts were nauseating. Takeshita heel turn to set up a 5v5 with probably Ibushi. Marks stroking their cocks, non-marks scratching their heads.
Hands down the best part of the whole show was the look in Tony Khan's face as MJF sold himself to WWE in the post-event presser thing they do.
You don't seem to enjoy these shows, at what point do you stop watching?
I keep going back because there’s like a dozen guys I like to watch but the booking is steadily killing my interest. WWE is too boring outside of one or two feuds so I keep giving it chances. I want to see how the whole Forbidden Door to All In stretch plays out because it could be really interesting, especially if Punk does actually come back.
The last couple of PPVs were alright but this seems like the worst one they’ve done.
Waffdon
30-05-2023, 04:35 PM
1663583549839101952
This fucker is winning at life with a schedule like that
Sir Andy Mahowry
30-05-2023, 04:59 PM
So lol that he used to complain about Brock being part time.
Has anybody ever properly called him out on it during a feud and actually committed to it? Rollins for last year's Rumble maybe? I think he did it in a couple of promos.
wullie
30-05-2023, 08:32 PM
Cena giving it loads about the Rock going off to Hollywood was great, he ended up getting to both beat him and join him.
Double Or Nothing was probably the worst AEW PPV I can recall, but only because the bar is set so high. The only AEW-PPV-level match was the four pillars title match, but even they felt a bit flat. There were some great spots and ehh cmon MJF could have lost but it didn’t exactly feel like Austin, The Rock, Triple H and Kurt Angle in there, did it.
Anarchy in the Arena is always toss cos there’s too much going on for the cameras to show, but it was even worse with a live band doing three renditions of Moxleys theme music in the background.
At first I was annoyed by the Cargill- Statlander thing but hopefully it’s just giving Jade some time off before moving up to challenging for the proper belt. What is Hayter’s injury? Presumably the plan is to drop the belt to recover in time for All In, but who the hell knows with AEW.
Also lol at the reaching, those saying Jeff Harry’s botch was him selling an ankle injury. I wish.
CM Punk baby. :cool:
Seems like Tony wanted it to be a surprise but shite ticket sales have forced his hand.
LA Knight :cool:
London will erupt for him winning MITB.
I've not seen the match yet but odd choice to have him and Montez Ford in the one qualifier when they'd have both seemed obvious choices to be in it.
Waffdon
03-06-2023, 09:47 AM
la knight :cool:
London will erupt for him winning mitb.
yeah!
The Knight / Ford match was good, despite being fairly short probably my favourite Knight match so far in WWE or it's up there at least. Still feels odd you wouldn't have Ford in the MITB match but hey-ho.
Bloodline segment was great. Saw Solo's second turn coming but they strung it out really well until it happened and I'm glad Jimmy is now getting the chance for some spotlight in the story.
That new belt still isn't good but it at least looks like a fancy toy now, not the awful designs they had before.
Waffdon
04-06-2023, 04:11 PM
1665373524272226304
Might be the smoothest of all time
Lovely stuff. I'm sure I've read/heard before that Rollins had to convince Orton to keep that in their match because they'd been practicing it and couldn't get it right the day before.
1 and 16 my favourites.
16 is amazing because of Heyman's timing with the promo and Orton hearing the voices after. So fun.
That KO / Gunther match was a bit of fun, eh? Not sure I've ever seen Gunther win just with a roll-up before, I wonder if that means we're getting more of this? I wouldn't say no.
Quite nice that they've planted the seed that Gunther is beatable. I thought they were going to use the triple threat at WrestleMania as a cheap way of getting the belt off him but I think that rollup is the start of the road to him losing the belt properly.
Yeah, he doesn't need to lose it any time soon still but it's just the first chink in his invincibility.
Why does Twitter like to compare Gunther and Keith Lee? :cab:
I've no idea, I like both but that's a bizarre comparison other than them both being units.
Apparently The Iron Sheik has died. :(
wullie
07-06-2023, 03:24 PM
Fuck the hulk hogan
Sir Andy Mahowry
07-06-2023, 03:29 PM
We lost a legend :(
I assume he's not having the blokes who run his Twitter account buried with him so "he" can continue to tweet his madness even after death.
Shindig
07-06-2023, 06:16 PM
I've got no doubt they'll carry that on like nothing happened.
I've been actively avoiding AEW after the Double or Nothing clusterfuck but it looks like Adam Cole and MJF had a 30 minute draw on Dynamite last night. I've never been overly high on Cole like others but he can work a good match (like Roddy Strong) so I might have to cut short the hiatus to check that out, especially with the announcement it will be MJF vs. Tanahashi for the title at Forbidden Door which should be a great babyface vs. heel match. :cool:
But then they announced SANADA vs. Jungle Boy for the IWGP Heavyweight title. Like, how has Gedo been talked into that? Obviously Japan don't give a shit about this PPV but how the fuck has the most prestigious title of all time been reduced to fucking Jungle Boy, the most boring wrestler on the planet? Less charisma than Lance Storm and can't even work. That will be a car crash of a match.
If there was a list of things that might tempt me back to a wrestling show I was taking a break from a 30 minute Adam Cole match would not be on it.
I'm coming back for Collision and Forbidden Door so it was only going to be a few days early. :D
Cole was decent in NXT to be fair. Why would would book a 30 minute draw right off the bat after one week of build fuck knows, but that's Tony for you. In a vacuum, I feel it will be a good match.
Ian, it's actually alright. You're right with the sentiment of who the fuck should get excited for Cole, but 30 minutes of MJF is great with anyone but Jungle Boy.
Just watched it now. It has the :eek:'s from Cole when MJF kicks out of pins and way too many superkicks which both annoy me with him because he can work otherwise, but they paced it well with good psychology (particularly from MJF on the arm). Although I enjoyed MJF a lot more than Cole in this. He's just so far ahead of most of the roster in terms of understanding how to work a match properly, which is more an indictment of them due to the fact MJF works once every couple of months and he's only like 25. Some overbooked shit towards the end but it's not AEW without that so it is what it is there, but the draw ending was timed really well (which is usually messed up far more often than it should be). A proper face vs. heel match which AEW neglects far too often as the crowd were well into this. The Tanahashi match should be great.
Having said that, now the concussion good will is wearing off Cole, they need to switch him heel. A small babyface needs two qualities: selling like you're on the verge of death and comeback fire. That's the two things Cole lacks. As a little twat heel he has a lot more upside.
Disco
15-06-2023, 03:01 PM
You do get some odd title matchups in the run up to the G1 (Yota Tsuji had a go last week) but someone clearly has a higher opinion of Jungleboyjackperry than most of us because him vs Sanada is a hell of a mismatch.
Obviously Tony has a hard-on for Jungle Boy (same with Orange, but let's not go there again) so giving him an AEW World title match is one thing, but him managing to convince Gedo to book him against the IWGP Heavyweight champion is actually mental. It just shows that NJPW fans (domestically, anyway) don't care about these joint shows and NJPW is only doing it because it's free money to them while Tony plays out his fantasies.
Still, I'll be watching because the other announced matches are genuinely great.
Disco
15-06-2023, 03:08 PM
I suppose for a one off match it's tricky to find someone not in a program already and sufficiently high up the card but AEW have half a dozen better options sat at home with nothing to do.
Sir Andy Mahowry
15-06-2023, 04:21 PM
Adam Cole is great on the mic (as a heel) but his matches are all one note because they descend into superkick madness and almost endless near falls.
He could be great and he did have a couple of really good matches in NXT but he needs to calm it down.
That's basically where I am. He's an amazing promo / character. But quite aside from looking like I could take him I don't like his moveset and his most lauded NXT singles matches I thought were.over-choreographed messes.
How did you feel about his Gargano match in NXT 'How? Because I genuinely hated it while everybody was fapping over it.
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