The Ultimate WWE Thread

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

The Hardy Boyz wrestling on NXT wasn't on my 2025 Bingo Card.

Surely they're shit now. Last time I saw Jeff he was a drunk mess and Matt hasn't been able to move properly for about a decade so he just does the DELETE crap.

[Waffdon]

Ricky Starks sitting out for a year with a severe case of jobitis just to turn up at NXT for a bout that wouldn't even get top billing on Rampage. A strange man.

He’s best friends with Cody Rhodes, he’ll be fast tracked to Raw or Smackdown.

NXT is also bigger than AEW.

[phonics]

Sure it is bud.

[SvN]

Isn't NXT battering AEW in terms of viewer numbers?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Ricky Starks' "debut" also pulled in like 13m hits across all social platforms within 24 hours.

[Waffdon]

Isn't NXT battering AEW in terms of viewer numbers?

Yes and has done for donkeys. TNA is more AEW’s level

[SvN]

I don't really watch much wrestling these days, but what's happened to AEW? Wasn't it considered a legit rival at one point? Or have I been conned by the AEW diehards?

[Ben]

Ricky Starks is money. Tony Khan was an idiot for trying to job him out to goofs like Daniel Garcia. Proving once again he thinks "bangers" are what gets you over on TV, as he loses his best mic guys to WWE (who instantly get over) while wondering why his viewership is plummeting when Meltzer has just launched 5 stars at something like Komander vs. "Cope" on Collision.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I don't really watch much wrestling these days, but what's happened to AEW? Wasn't it considered a legit rival at one point? Or have I been conned by the AEW diehards?

I think it just became more and more TK's play thing.

[Gray Fox]

Who is this Ricky Starks I keep hearing about? I know only of Ricky Saints.

[Gray Fox]

I don't really watch much wrestling these days, but what's happened to AEW? Wasn't it considered a legit rival at one point? Or have I been conned by the AEW diehards?

The in-ring action is better at AEW as they pretty much have a roster packed with the best talent that way. It's quite hard to argue Ospreay, Omega or Danielson(sorry Baz) are better for that, than most/all in WWE. And that's without getting onto the likes of Toni Storm and MJF.
It's wrestling, not sports entertainment there. This is why the likes of Rhodes and Punk did not do well there.

This imo is where the problem is, in terms of pure viewing figures/ticket sales. They are hitting the demographic they are catering to quite well. It's just that demographic is not in the majority of viewership.
I think of it like the TV Show, Firefly. Not really a bad word said about it and reviewed well, just it never drew in the pure numbers.

Their quarterly viewership now is actually not too different from where it was this time 2020.

[Waffdon]

On what planet did Rhodes not do well in AEW? The crowd just turned on him but that tends to happy when any baby face stays at a high level for too long (especially in a company only watched by marks.) let’s not pretend he’s dogshit in ring either.

AEW would be a lot better if they tried to protect moves and had an ounce of psychology in ring. It’s like watching an action film at times. If that’s what you’re in to, fair play.

Omega and Ospreay would obviously do well in WWE but it’ll never happen as they know they’ll never be anything other than upper mid card as being able to wrestle does not mean much in the big leagues. (Unless you have a decent gimmick).

WWE’s woman piss all over AEW (with NXT arguably having the most stacked talent)

[Gray Fox]

Rhodes then to now is night and day. He's much more a Sports Entertainment guy. He's a solid in-ring guy, but I'm not expecting him to turn up trees.

[Ben]

He got mocked as the “3 star general” in his ROH/AEW stint and that tells you all you need to know about that fan base. They’ll unironically tell you how amazing Komander is while calling the biggest star in the industry bang average.

[phonics]

I'm sorry you're not making me reflect on the 'Cody Rhodes solves racism' Anthony Ogogo angle and I'm the one that doesn't 'get it'.

There were some dark times with Cody in AEW. I mean just fucking take a look at this picture.

https://i.imgur.com/MJzh3xm.png

Mum said it's my turn to play Xbox ass angle.

His best match was his first one with Dustin. The rest of it bounced between mediocre and poor.

[phonics]

The details of the Shane meeting came out. The guy asked for equity and be head Booker :D

[Ben]

Yeah I'm with Big Tone on that one. :D

[phonics]

"Shane, I'm looking at your CV and under accomplishments it says 'Booked a Royal Rumble that was so bad the entire roster complained and your father fired you'"

[igor_balis]

The narrative around aew is quite funny cus it ranges from wwe fanboys aping Cornette, saying how terrible and awful it is and how TK is a stupid bloody idiot, and then aew fanboys like phonics who still think it's great. My definitely correct opinion is that it's still alright, but the booking has been quite bad, and they've been massively hurt by a lack of long term planning and general loss of momentum, and by wwe not being shit anymore.

[igor_balis]

I also feel like there might be a bit of a ceiling with the type of product they're putting out, but this side of it is overstated imo.

[Ben]

The narrative around aew is quite funny cus it ranges from wwe fanboys aping Cornette, saying how terrible and awful it is and how TK is a stupid bloody idiot, and then aew fanboys like phonics who still think it's great. My definitely correct opinion is that it's still alright, but the booking has been quite bad, and they've been massively hurt by a lack of long term planning and general loss of momentum, and by wwe not being shit anymore.

There's three eras to AEW for me:

The early days - wanky indie wrestling but the guys who started it were extremely popular within their own niche and it presented a very real alternative to an (at the time) awful product in WWE.

The Punk days - pros/cons of the bloke aside, signing CM Punk give them a real legitimacy and domestic viewership finally in the millions. The actual shows start to become more disjointed as the booker runs out of his original ideas and you have half of the guys trying to wrestle the mainstream style versus half of the guys doing the same indie shit that exposes everything you see. The deterioration of relationships and guys fighting backstage was inevitable when you try to shoehorn two different wrestling philosophies into the same show.

The current days - a pivot to the original style of show but the young upstarts are no longer as young and have lost all their popularity or are always injured. The newer top guys have more potential but the booker needs help. WWE is popular again now so there's no reason to seek out the alternative if they aren't finding the breakthrough on their own. Viewership for "Grand Slam" bottoms out at 250k for the main event.

[phonics]

Igor making up what I think to present himself as reasonable. ‘Phonics thinks everything aew is great’. The last AEW post is literally slagging it off.

[Waffdon]

The world isn’t against you bud, stop this victim complex

[igor_balis]

Igor making up what I think to present himself as reasonable. ‘Phonics thinks everything aew is great’. The last AEW post is literally slagging it off.

Shut up fan boy

[Waffdon]

Sounds like The Rock heard CM Punk was going to be main eventing Wrestlemania and decided to come back last minute

[wullie]

It's all well and good having your Will Ospreays and your Kenny Omegas but I'm not sure AEW can afford to miss out on Shane and his world class striking. 8*

[Shindig]

"The name on the contract reads ... Shane McKahn."

[phonics]

1894096204356612129

I've been an atheist my whole life but at this point I have to believe that God exists because the only explaination for Trish Stratus is that she's done a deal with the devil.

[Disco]

At what point does it become like sleeping in the tupperware drawer?

[phonics]

Looking at Tiffy time there she's half her age and got so many fillers it'd be like sleeping on a waterbed.

[Disco]

Someone showed me a picture of (most of) Charlotte Flair recently and I didn't believe them.

[phonics]

Quite, I didn't know it was possible to be actively turned off by nudes before seeing those pictures.

[Gray Fox]

When her music hit and came out I genuinely wondered for at least a minute when the actual Charlotte was going to come out. The lengths you go to, to not look like Ric Flair I guess.

[Pleb]

Check PMs :sherlock:

[Waffdon]

I know it’s in Canada but wasting Owens/Zayn at EC a month before ‘mania is just so dumb

Absolutely no idea who wins the Chamber, which is nice I guess. Absolutely guaranteed whoever Logan Paul screws will be his match at ‘mania. Pray it’s not Cena, utter waste if it is

[7om]

Here’s my prediction:

Cena wins tonight to main event Mania with Cody. CM Punk cashes in his favour with Paul Heyman to get him in the match. Cody, meanwhile, rejects Rock’s offer to be his Champion. Rock, feeling deceived by Cody, agrees to Heyman’s request to add Punk into the match to try and stack the odds against Rhodes.

Mania is set for a triple threat main event. As a payback for Rhodes helping Reigns at War Games defeat the New Bloodline, Reigns interferes in the match to assist Cody to win.

That then lays the groundwork for Rock - Reigns either at Summerslam or WM42.

Downsides: Cena doesn’t win #17. Reigns only has a bit part in a WrestleMania. Cody’s year long reign carries on with seemingly no end in sight.

[Waffdon]

I don’t think Cena wins #17 unfortunately and it’ll be a massively missed opportunity

That whiplash onto Liv’s stomach was horrendous. I thought the sound was just the whip hitting the cage but based off the mark and the amount of blood, clearly not

[7om]

Wouldn’t be surprised if he beats Gunther and they class that as 17. He also needs to win the IC to get his complete set.

[Waffdon]

Gunther is a world champ not IC

[7om]

Yeah, I mean he could beat Gunther for 17 to get that out the way. Then go after the IC to complete the set. Versus Bron at Summerslam could be an option.

[Waffdon]

Surely they’re not letting Rock close the show after the Chamber? :D

[Waffdon]

I really fucking hope we’re not getting Mcintrye v Priest at ‘mania.

Only thing that could top that is if we get a Paul/Cena set up in this match too

[Waffdon]

Now give him that fucking title :cool:

[phonics]

Fucking hell WWE wrestling is borderline unwatchable. It’s so dull. The only part of that match with any momentum was that middle cena/punk 90 seconds with some transitions. It’s just finisher spamming and punches.

[Waffdon]

Obviously. John Cena was involved.

:cool:

[Waffdon]

Heel Cena. He really is retiring. What a night

[Gray Fox]

Well thats a direction I didnt expect, but was obvious it was coming by Cena hamming it up when Cody said no. They're going to have to explain away Cena helping Cody last year, but I'm sure Rick can ramble some incoherent nonsense for 15 minutes.

My prediction before the show was that Cody respectfully rejects and then faces a match he cannot win at Mania. He then calls in Rick to sell his soul and Cody heel turns.

Crowd just didn't seem to want this. Same with the womens. They sounded all in on Alexa and the room went quiet when she was eliminated. Surely Bianca is the actual one behind the attack here too, because why would it be Naomi? Why would Jade not come back out and twat her too? Why the fuck is whatever a Travis Scott is coming out to the Ricks music, joint in hand?

Whole show felt kind of off to me. KO continues to take lol bumps(the face off the barbed chair looked legit).

At least we got Trish, I guess.

This also leaves the CM Punk favour in the air.

[wullie]

Packing out a massive stadium and only putting on four matches is a bit odd, sometimes less is less.

[Shindig]

He did it for The Rick :cool:

[Waffdon]

Well thats a direction I didnt expect, but was obvious it was coming by Cena hamming it up when Cody said no. They're going to have to explain away Cena helping Cody last year, but I'm sure Rick can ramble some incoherent nonsense for 15 minutes.

My prediction before the show was that Cody respectfully rejects and then faces a match he cannot win at Mania. He then calls in Rick to sell his soul and Cody heel turns.

Crowd just didn't seem to want this. Same with the womens. They sounded all in on Alexa and the room went quiet when she was eliminated. Surely Bianca is the actual one behind the attack here too, because why would it be Naomi? Why would Jade not come back out and twat her too? Why the fuck is whatever a Travis Scott is coming out to the Ricks music, joint in hand?

Whole show felt kind of off to me. KO continues to take lol bumps(the face off the barbed chair looked legit).

At least we got Trish, I guess.

This also leaves the CM Punk favour in the air.

It’s not a difficult thing to sell. Cena has always been a corporate man and he’s been sold a dream trying to achieve #17. You got snippets of it when he won the EC. A normal Cena wouldn’t have sprinted over to Punk after Rollins does his stomp and then the way he done his STFU was the most violent he’s ever done.

Peak wrestling

[Ben]

Just caught up now. What a fucking segment.

An all-time angle. Prime JR calling it was all it was missing.

[Waffdon]

Was a great event overall. I’m not sure a single fan could give two fucks that there were only 4 matches. Liv Morgan was an absolute star in the first match and the whole angle beforehand was also beautiful. Piss break after that before Zayn/Owens masterclass and then cinema for the last hour

Though I am getting a bit bored of McIntyre being rolled up for defeat every other week now

[Ben]

There’s something brewing with McIntyre, I’m sure.

[7om]

What a segment. I legitimately shouted what the fuck when the camera zoomed in on Cena’s blank face and Rick doing the cut throat gesture. Fantastic story telling and directing. I never saw it coming, to be honest.

There’s no doubt that Rick has lost half a step when it comes to promos but he brings three things to the table:

1. He’s a pro wrestling legend
2. He brings legitimate main stream mega star status
3. Big dong energy.

You cook that up and throw in his title of being on the TKO Board of Directors and you have a really great character that works regardless of any shortcomings. I also love that Cena will get to dabble in the heel character on his farewell tour. He deserves it after the tripe he had to put on for year after year. It does make me wonder though, how quickly do they turn him back? Because there’s no doubt he goes out as a face. Do they double turn him and Cody in the main event? It was a Cody-Rick rouse all along? Not sure.

It might be the first time I ever say this, because I hated the cunt with a passion during his prime, but Cena HAS to win this match.

Questions that now need answering:

1. Are we really going with McIntyre - Priest? Because McIntyre deserves so much more after the year he’s had.
2. What happens with the favour CM Punk is owed by Heyman? I’m starting to wonder if that will be forgotten about.
3. Where does this leave Reigns for this years Mania? It’s still not inconceivable that he gets involved with the main event to screw Rock and set up Reigns-Rock down the road.

[wullie]

Cena just hanging round in the background meant something was about to happen, same thing with Mark Henry's retirement speech. If Cena doesn't disappear, someone's getting a swerve.

I thought his year would revolve around chasing no. 17 and then he finally makes it and retires as champion, I don't know about that now but there's no way he retires as a heel surely.

[Shindig]

He's the type to go out on his back. He's there to build the next guy up.

[Waffdon]

What a segment. I legitimately shouted what the fuck when the camera zoomed in on Cena’s blank face and Rick doing the cut throat gesture. Fantastic story telling and directing. I never saw it coming, to be honest.

There’s no doubt that Rick has lost half a step when it comes to promos but he brings three things to the table:

1. He’s a pro wrestling legend
2. He brings legitimate main stream mega star status
3. Big dong energy.

You cook that up and throw in his title of being on the TKO Board of Directors and you have a really great character that works regardless of any shortcomings. I also love that Cena will get to dabble in the heel character on his farewell tour. He deserves it after the tripe he had to put on for year after year. It does make me wonder though, how quickly do they turn him back? Because there’s no doubt he goes out as a face. Do they double turn him and Cody in the main event? It was a Cody-Rick rouse all along? Not sure.

It might be the first time I ever say this, because I hated the cunt with a passion during his prime, but Cena HAS to win this match.

Questions that now need answering:

1. Are we really going with McIntyre - Priest? Because McIntyre deserves so much more after the year he’s had.
2. What happens with the favour CM Punk is owed by Heyman? I’m starting to wonder if that will be forgotten about.
3. Where does this leave Reigns for this years Mania? It’s still not inconceivable that he gets involved with the main event to screw Rock and set up Reigns-Rock down the road.

Id be utterly shocked if it’s not Reigns Rollins Punk main eventing night 1

[7om]

Id be utterly shocked if it’s not Reigns Rollins Punk main eventing night 1

I don’t like that because it takes away prestige from the Rumble. The winner should be main eventing.

[Browning]

All the ideas people keep throwing out for "the favour" seem to assume Heyman has booking power and he simply doesn't. "Oh maybe Cena wins the chamber and then Heyman adds him to the main event...." fuck off.

Roman Vs Punk (with or without Seth) could happen, and could be the favour, but it absolutely won't be a main event. Punk lost 2 chances to main event Mania, he'll do it next year most likely, they won't just go "Lol, he's owed a favour, so now this random match with no stakes is the main event".

[Gray Fox]

Was a great event overall. I’m not sure a single fan could give two fucks that there were only 4 matches. Liv Morgan was an absolute star in the first match and the whole angle beforehand was also beautiful. Piss break after that before Zayn/Owens masterclass and then cinema for the last hour

Though I am getting a bit bored of McIntyre being rolled up for defeat every other week now

I think this affected my enjoyment of the main event and post match stuff. He deserves so much better and it's actively annoying me. A bit like that Rumble where they dumped Daniel Bryan out very early and everyone switched off.




1. Are we really going with McIntyre - Priest? Because McIntyre deserves so much more after the year he’s had.
2. What happens with the favour CM Punk is owed by Heyman? I’m starting to wonder if that will be forgotten about.
3. Where does this leave Reigns for this years Mania? It’s still not inconceivable that he gets involved with the main event to screw Rock and set up Reigns-Rock down the road.

I do think that the favour has kind of been forgotten about now. There's no room for him in the main events now anyway.

It also does seem mad they gave that Sami v KO match away this close to Mania.

[7om]

All the ideas people keep throwing out for "the favour" seem to assume Heyman has booking power and he simply doesn't. "Oh maybe Cena wins the chamber and then Heyman adds him to the main event...." fuck off.

Roman Vs Punk (with or without Seth) could happen, and could be the favour, but it absolutely won't be a main event. Punk lost 2 chances to main event Mania, he'll do it next year most likely, they won't just go "Lol, he's owed a favour, so now this random match with no stakes is the main event".

I think it was more to do with Heyman and Rock having a relationship when they were all in the bloodline last year rather than anyone thinking Heyman has legitimate booking power…

[Waffdon]

I thought we were gonna get a DQ and that’s how the triple threat would have came about at ‘mania between Bianca, Rhea and Iyo. Never had Iyo going in as the champ :cool:

[wullie]

Ludwig Kaiser is quickly becoming a favourite of mine, absolutely world class sneering. Like a twink version of William Regal.

[phonics]

Travis Scott ruptured Cody's ear drum. My word.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

And that's why you don't do sage whilst wrestling, kids.

[phonics]

Rob Van Dam would argue otherwise.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

One for Ben:

1897693663721140483

[Ben]

7om

:drool:

[Ben]

Some banging stuff on there already.

Flair vs. Steamboat (Chi-Town Rumble)
Spring Stampede 1994 - one of their best ever PPV
WarGames 1992

[wullie]

If this replaces all the archive stuff they used to have on the Network that'll do me lovely, Youtube's so much easier to navigate than what they had.

[7om]

This is great news. I was concerned they were going to give up providing all the old content when it didn’t appear on Netflix. Hopefully they upload everything.

Long live WCW :drool:

[Ben]

They've uploaded Greed (the last PPV) which is much better than you'd think. The booking towards the very end was actually starting to get decent again.

[Shindig]

Wasn't the problem with end-stage WCW that no booking really stuck around from week-to-week?

[Ben]

Yeah it was all over the place. This "good booking" period in 2001 was Johnny Ace, after Russo left for the 10th time.

[wullie]

The worst in a long list of decisions was when they decided to just vacate all the titles as part of some nonsensical reboot plan that would have made little sense in a stable environment, never mind whatever was going on there at the time.

Incidentally Guy Evans' Nitro book is 99p on Amazon at the moment, good read if you can look past that he's pals with Bischoff.

[7om]

They've uploaded Greed (the last PPV) which is much better than you'd think. The booking towards the very end was actually starting to get decent again.

Agree. 2001 was actually fine. It wasn’t ground breaking or anything but it was sensible as opposed to Russo’s ADHD booking.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

It seems like the Chelsea Green/Michin is the never fucking ending rivalry.

Jesus Christ just end it already.

[phonics]

3 Absolutely generational bangers one after the other into that Moxley shitshow. lol.

[phonics]

Holy shit. I think Edge might be the greatest brotherer of all time. I’ve thought he was largely shit outside of being carried by the Hardy’s in TLC matches for his entire career. He’s managed to put up the greatest stinker in AEW PPV HISTORY. And the natural follow up is a Moxley v Edge street fight next week. Fucking abysmal.

[Ben]

You nearly had me in the first few words there. I was thinking what the fuck has he been watching, but yeah, him and Moxley are literally the two worst wrestlers going right now.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

1899666826982006886

This was really cool, just wish the match got more time.

Oba Femi v Moose and Ethan Page v Je'Von Evans (that kid has so much potential) were the standouts of a very good NXT special episode this week.

[Waffdon]

She’s injured hence the match up happening so soon and her dropping the title. I assume also the reason the match was short

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Ahh, ok.

That's a shame.

I felt she'd drop the title anyway, hopefully she's not out for too long.

[phonics]

The WWEID stuff is hilarious.

"With WWEID Talent, the deal according to a contract is that Gabe Sapolsky puts their matches together and gives the script to the promoter who has booked them.The promoter pays the talent and can push that the talent comes from WWE. WWE covers the travel costs with a stipend and the promoter pays the difference if the travel costs are larger than the stipend."

Sounds great Paul.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

1900596335989985681

:cool:

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Smackdown live from Barcelona right now.

We'll also be getting early RAW's for a few weeks.

[Gray Fox]

Some absolutely terrible promo work on show early.

Jimmy calling it the US Tag title. Solo with no idea what he was saying either. LA Knight not much better.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Axiom :cool:

Great that they gave him a match in Spain.

Class match too.

[Waffdon]

Next 3 Raws being live at 7pm or 8pm is class. Should be hot crowds for them all as well

Cena is back tonight :drool:

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

CENA SUCKS :drool:

[Waffdon]

The reaction without speaking was special. Saving him for the European tour was the correct call

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

The fuck was that match?

Also, lol at that attempted dive by Jey.

[phonics]

Jey winning a match with a cross body. The wrestling in this company is just absolute dogshit.

[Ben]

Ricky Steamboat did alright out of it.

You're not wrong that the wrestling is largely rubbish, but criticising a crossbody finisher isn't the way to go. Ignoring the fact that Jey Uso is shite, he's one of the top guys so having multiple finishers is a good thing. Win the banker matches with your second or third finisher, then when you bust out the big one in the big match, it's much more meaningful to the audience and keeps it protected. AEW go the complete other way and have midcard dudes kicking out of Tiger Drivers which in my opinion is much more egregious.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I think he actually tried a spear and botched it.

Much like the dive to the outside after the match.

[Ben]

Jey Uso botching? Give over.

[Waffdon]

Yeah it was definitely a rip off Bron spear running the ropes and he botched it completely. He is just utterly useless

[Ben]

Yeah I've just seen it.

Disregard my initial post, I should have thought something was amiss when Jey Uso was getting some credit. However it still applies to Gunther etc.

[Gray Fox]

Pretty good heel promo from BMJ. Although it reminded me a lot of the year WWE were at a loss for how to get Roman over so they had Trips win the rumble and try his hardest to get that heel heat. Trying a bit too hard at times.

That poor kid looked devastated though lol.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Surely the crowd have to realise that Jey is just a catchphrase and a catchy theme.

You see him putting up whatever that garbage squash match was whilst a few days prior Gunther had a match with Axiom that was quality.

[Gray Fox]

Surely the crowd have to realise that Jey is just a catchphrase and a catchy theme.

I saw a post the other day on this that has Jey as an anomaly. Normally when the internet crowd don't like a guy, it bleeds through first through the 'smarter' fans at the shows and then it catches on with the more casual fan and it becomes cool to hate them. Cena had it, Reigns had it and for most it tends to have to lead to a change in character or approach. Yet there are no boos, everyone laps it up.

[wullie]

I like how they resisted any urge to have Cena come out in a black suit and new evil music or any of that, he just ignored his cameraman pal and shouted YOU ARE THE ONES WHO ARE THE BALL LICKERS for 20 minutes with no mention at all of Travis Scott. Loved it, the foreign crowds always make things so much better as well.

[phonics]

"I'm not a babyface, I'm not a heel, I'm a human being" is vomit inducing.

[phonics]

Meanwhile. Chefs kiss stuff here.

1901835972238823934

[Ben]

Also lol that a load of Belgians belt out Cody's theme word-for-word but Americans are incapable. Just a woah for Cody, and a wooooaaahhh for Rollins.

[Ben]

Negro Casas :cool:

Never thought I'd see him pop up in this thread.

[Waffdon]

"I'm not a babyface, I'm not a heel, I'm a human being" is vomit inducing.

Imagine criticising that segment of all ones. You won’t find many reactions like that in the history of wrestling.

[phonics]

Imagine thinking that's a good line and using insider terms to the MARKS isn't just generally a bit cringe.

[Waffdon]

What the fuck are you on about :D

Gambling addict. Coke addict. It’s not a surprise that you’re an utter mong.

[wullie]

With Jey Uso I think it's like Kofimania where people have watched a likeable guy work hard for years so are happy to enjoy his success, but similarly it's not a permanent elevation and he'll lose it to Brock Lesnar in 5 seconds on telly.

[SvN]

What the fuck are you on about :D

Gambling addict. Coke addict. It’s not a surprise that you’re an utter mong.

Bit harsh. It's only wrestling.

[phonics]

Slightly OTT reaction there... I believe in the business they call that working yourself into a shoot, brother.

[Pepe]

Meanwhile. Chefs kiss stuff here.

1901835972238823934

:cool:

[Shindig]

That Cena segment is amazing but the crowd really, really elevates it. Cena using insider terms is fine, to be honest. Slightly cringey but, "I'm not a good guy or a bad guy." doesn't have the same impact.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZtH3dgwGUs

Heel Cena's new theme?

Make it happen Trips.

[phonics]

I don't think you heard, hes not a babyface, he's not a heel, he's a human being and most importantly, thats not cringe.

[Gray Fox]

Holy fuck, Jon Moxley. At least save that for PPV lad.

[Ben]

I have no words.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

That's too much.

[7om]

Just saw the Moxley spot. What a fucking twat he is. An absolutely finished worker that has to resort to these spots on a midweek TV match.

[Shindig]

That is not worth puncturing your kidneys for.

EDIT: HOW MANY FUCKING RUN-INS!?

[phonics]

Mankind and Terry Funk are the greatest of all time but Jon Moxley being a similar level of weirdo is a disgrace to wrestling. Sure.

edit: Strong typo

[phonics]

That is not worth puncturing your kidneys for.

EDIT: HOW MANY FUCKING RUN-INS!?

Edge isn't eating a pin unless he's on the receiving end of 8 thousand run ins, BROTHER.

[phonics]

I really couldn't give a fuck about this whole drama but my takeaway is that Moxley came out of that PPV match annoyed at putting on a defining level of stinker and said 'We're running it back and I get to do all the spots Brock Lesnar wouldn't let me do'

[7om]

Mankind and Terry Funk are the greatest of all time but Jon Moxley being a similar level of weirdo is a disgrace to wrestling. Sure.

edit: Strong typo

Comparing Jon Moxley to Terry Funk is retarded, even by your standards.

[phonics]

You have a reading comprehension issue clearly. Why would something be okay for Funk or Mankind to do but not someone you think is lesser than them?

Wrestlers are weirdo marks.

[Ben]

Moxley is just a fucking tragic worker. He was never really very good but the regression since his G1 run is astounding.

[phonics]

I would disagree with the worker comment. He’s a giant mark but he’s a good worker.

[7om]

You have a reading comprehension issue clearly. Why would something be okay for Funk or Mankind to do but not someone you think is lesser than them?

Wrestlers are weirdo marks.

For the same reason you’d want prime Lionel Messi one-on-one with the goalkeeper and not Emile Heskey.

[Ben]

I would disagree with the worker comment. He’s a giant mark but he’s a good worker.

He can't throw a punch and he can't bump. Watch his next match, he does the fire drill: stop, drop and roll.

His selling also depends on if he wants to get more of his dumb shit in.

Popular (inexplicably), yes, but no way is he anywhere near a good worker anymore.

[Baz]

1902782076987859303

[Ben]

CZW. Arguably the worst promotion to exist. ECW but without the talent and nuance.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

European fans :cool:

[phonics]

Dynamite will have more episodes than Nitro next week and Bischoff got fired by MLW this week. The Dub wins again.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

1904028909500342781

:lol:

[7om]

Dynamite will have more episodes than Nitro next week and Bischoff got fired by MLW this week. The Dub wins again.

That’s like saying there’s more Ford Fiesta’s produced than Rolls Royce’s so that must mean the Ford Fiesta is better.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Starting with Cena in Scotland :cool:

[phonics]

No it's more like saying there's more Fords than Rovers because one of them still exists due to wild mismanagement of the latter.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Burying the same kid deeper in the mud.

What a hero.

[Waffdon]

This guy is fighting for a world title at ‘mania and he’s in the second segment of the first hour. So mid

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I was really hoping the Scots would shit all over him.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

lol at that.

[Waffdon]

Liv Morgan is life

[Waffdon]

No way they’re actually turning Jey Uso’s botches into a storyline :D

Christ, he even fucked up the promo saying he’s 3-0 against Gunther

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Push El Grande Americano to the moon.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

1904016061407678924

Fucking hell.

[Waffdon]

The last 3 Raws have basically all been the same. Another promo advertising for Smackdown. Make it make sense

[phonics]

Glorified house shows when WWE is in another country despite charging 350 quid entry? Never.

[phonics]

1904016061407678924

Fucking hell.

This is the second time now where I'm not sure you understand how wrestling moves work.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

You're right, almost blowing out both knees is perfect.

[phonics]

Watching it with zero context I presume it's a finisher where the receiver is supposed to splay both knees which he did correctly.

If not it’s a regular reversal that they’ve fucked up and fans should be disgusted by wrestlers doing such dangerous moves as ‘a suplex reversal’. It’s almost like people are mad about nothing.

Wrestling IS and SHOULD BE dangerous.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

1904032439338717507

Well here is what it should look like.

Kross is just too tall to be taking that move.

[phonics]

Yeah that’s a dumb move to be doing to anyone that isn’t a foot shorter than you. Also he’s not doing enough to leave the ground.

Meanwhile, and I know it sounds like being a hater but when do you fed heads start to get worried about HHH as a Booker?

He obviously fell into the whole bloodline stuff which is also clearly led by Heyman anyway. The Jey stuff is clearly bad but you can give him a pass saying it’s just The Rock using TKO to push family members. But then we down the card and Chad Gable is Los Ultimo MAGA, Kevin Owens is just doing the Sami storyline with Randy having just finished the Sami storyline for the 7th time. Whatever the WWE name for the dark order feat Finn Balor seems to be doing can they coexist for the 4th year in a row. As ever with the WWE the tag division appears to not exist.

Not to be a complete hater I will drop some compliments. 1) I think the Europe shows have been very well filmed. 2) maybe it is all shit but if you have me 2 hours of liv Morgan running round in skimpy outfits I’d probably drop all the above complaints.

[7om]

No it's more like saying there's more Fords than Rovers because one of them still exists due to wild mismanagement of the latter.

Incorrect.

[phonics]

Yeah WCW was really well managed.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Fuck CM Punk.

[phonics]

I’ve come to quite like the Miz but you can’t be doing the rainmaker that badly.

[wullie]

Hart vs Austin going into the hall of fame is a nice idea, opens it up to Melina vs Alicia Fox for next year as well.

[Gray Fox]

I expect Jimmy v Jey Uso will be the 2nd match inducted.

[phonics]

Main Event Jey Uso not main eventing because CM Phil needs to main event is so perfect.

Also

1729355582497488955

[phonics]

I expect Jimmy v Jey Uso will be the 2nd match inducted.

HHH to get one of his absolute 2/5 wrestlemania borefests in every year so he can come on stage and tell you how humbled he is by it.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

He should put all his Mania entrances in too.

They're just so cool!

[Gray Fox]

HHH to get one of his absolute 2/5 wrestlemania borefests in every year so he can come on stage and tell you how humbled he is by it.

The one against Reigns, where they had tried everything to get him over as a clean babyface, to no success. Where he unretired to win the rumble from #30 and tried to cut his best heel promos to make you hate him, to no success. Where he then got a promo from Steph on his way to the ring, to no success. And then had the audacity to try and pull off a 30 minute match when everyone knew Reigns was going over and the show had been about 6 hours long by now, is a particular highlight.

[Waffdon]

Main Event Jey Uso not main eventing because CM Phil needs to main event is so perfect.

Also

1729355582497488955

The last match on night one absolutely isn’t a main event. No idea why WWE or anyone else for that matter think otherwise

[phonics]

Quite, he put on absolute borefests for years but he was 4 fingers deep inside the CEOs daughter and used everything he learnt from Shawn Michaels despite having 1/10th of the talent and the fact that Stone Cold and The Rock fucked off to gaslight the audience into him being good. The match that finally got him over being a 'deathmatch' vs Mankind where they use two different types of barbed wire bats because HHH refused to take the shoot one is just so him. I hope when he dies he just has to do Hog Pen matches for The Devil.

[phonics]

Also I watched that infamous HBK vs Hulk match with the overselling in full the other night and it's so perfect. It says something about the Hulksters ego that the whole time and even after I'm not entirely sure if Hogan realised he was being mocked.

Theres a great quote from his Bubba The Love Sponge interview a couple weeks after the match where he says "I thought the match was great and I elevated Shawn Michaels, but the promo he cut afterwards made me not like him. I'd like to wrestle The Rock or Stone Cold after so I can also elevate them to my level" The mans ego is insane.

[Gray Fox]

Was that the actual dawn of "that doesn't work for me, Brother" or did we already have that by then?

I know it was the first time he'd played the card with HBK though by the way he reacted in the match.

[phonics]

Was that the actual dawn of "that doesn't work for me, Brother" or did we already have that by then?

I know it was the first time he'd played the card with HBK though by the way he reacted in the match.

Nah he literally got Warrior hired for WCW just so he could beat him. Hes been brothering since the 80s.

[Ben]

Triple H was great for a short period. The street fight at Royal Rumble 2000 made him, then he went on an absolutely amazing run right up until he tore his quad. Useless after that.

Kevin Nash pioneered "it doesn't work for me, brother" - it was about Hogan but he coined it in a shoot interview, referring to when he (Nash) was booking WCW and Hulk would torpedo plans minutes before air with his creative control clause.

[wullie]

Best HHH match in later years by far was when he opened with Daniel Bryan, that was the year he was originally set to wrestle CM Punk so spite really is a great motivator.

[7om]

Yeah WCW was really well managed.

That has nothing to do with why the company no longer exists.

[phonics]

Lol

[Gray Fox]

The OSW guys had me clued in to how much of a cunt Hogan could be but it always makes me lol when extra nuggets come out like I need to elevate Steve Austin.

[7om]

I don’t really understand this triple threat between Reigns, Rollins and CM Punk. Why is it actually happening? It just reeks of Roman needing a main event and granting Punk the main event he’s always wanted. Throw Seth in there for the low hanging Shield fruit. But what are the stakes? If we assume that the winner goes on to be #1 contender for the winner of Cody - Cena then fine but that hasn’t been mentioned yet.

A random shower thought I had was that I think Heyman will turn on Reigns. Now whether he aligns with Punk or Rollins, I’m not sure. Heyman with a heel Rollins could be good.

[Ben]

I'm not a Rollins fan at all but his best period by far was as a heel in The Authority storyline all those years ago. Put him with Heyman and it might add a spark to the match, with both Reigns and Punk feeling aggrieved by the betrayal.

Although triple threats largely suck so my hopes aren't sky high, unless Punk has enough sway to get the other two (particularly Rollins) to dump the modern triple threat formula and do something akin to Benoit-Michaels-Triple H.

[Waffdon]

Rollins has been involved in some very good triple threats in the past so I have high hopes.

This is apparently Cena’s last appearance until ‘mania - if that’s actually true they need to do something mega tonight. Surely he turns up unannounced on the go home show though

[Gray Fox]

I would like to see that but with it first appearing as though Heyman has turned on Reigns to join Punk, but then also turning on him later on to align with Rollins(there's always a plan B).

They could have gone a few ways with this so far. Have Reigns reflect that he lost the title last year due to being unable to see past his hatred for Rollins. He had Cody pretty much done for despite all of the sports entertainmenty stuff before. They should probably have done this angle already but they wasted a half a year of pretending Solo was anything decent instead. However, take any one of the three out of this match and they dont really have anything to do at Mania so the show must go on.

Lol at main event Jey Uso not main eventing after his rumble win. Maybe a spoiler of how the match will go? Surely if he was winning you'd want the building yeeting itself home at the end of night 1.

They did have Orton come out and say he wants Cody after he wins a Mania, but you cannot waste this heel turn by having BMJ lose. Then what though? Does he hold it all the way to survivor series and have Cody battle against the odds(again) to take it from him?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I don’t really understand this triple threat between Reigns, Rollins and CM Punk. Why is it actually happening? It just reeks of Roman needing a main event and granting Punk the main event he’s always wanted. Throw Seth in there for the low hanging Shield fruit. But what are the stakes? If we assume that the winner goes on to be #1 contender for the winner of Cody - Cena then fine but that hasn’t been mentioned yet.

A random shower thought I had was that I think Heyman will turn on Reigns. Now whether he aligns with Punk or Rollins, I’m not sure. Heyman with a heel Rollins could be good.

It does seem they are sowing the seeds for Punk.

1906064514199531686

And obviously he got all teary eyed when he announced it was a main event.

[Ben]

To take this thread in another direction, I've stumbled across an interesting tidbit regarding Brock Lesnar leaving WWE the first time after WrestleMania XX.

The assumption in hindsight was Austin was put as the special guest ref because it had leaked that Goldberg and Lesnar were both leaving so they didn't want the crowd shitting on the match (which they did anyway). In fact, Austin was put in as the ref with the original plan of building for Austin to make a comeback and go up against Lesnar at Summerslam. Indeed, they even shot an angle to go in this direction at the go-home Smackdown just five days before WMXX. So while it was known quite far out that Goldberg was leaving, Lesnar didn't drop it on Vince until a day or two before (EDIT: in fact, it seems he gave his notice in Gorilla right after the angle with Austin at the Smackdown taping lol), which is why it got switched to Goldberg winning, because Vince was less pissed off with him.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Let's go Cena.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Tyler Bate back and teaming with Pete Dunne :drool:

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GnZO46qXkAARhKp?format=jpg

:lol:

[Waffdon]

Quality stuff with Gunther and the USO’s there. Jey is definitely winning now sadly. They’ve properly let down Gunther’s reign. Spent most of it feuding Jey or Preist

[Waffdon]

Rhea botches so much. One of the most overrated wrestlers in recent times. People just get blinded by her sexualised gimmick

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Who could have seen this outcome?

What shit.

[phonics]

Ben you'd love DPW. It might be a little too indie for you spot wise but it very much follows the fundamentals of a wrestling show.

[Ben]

Never heard of them but just seen Grizzled Young Veterans are their tag champions, so they can't be bad.

[Ben]

Rhea botches so much. One of the most overrated wrestlers in recent times. People just get blinded by her sexualised gimmick

She's proven to be a really bad babyface. Hopefully going back heel lights the fire again.

[wullie]

Watching the start now and it's really hard to not be distracted by Cody Rhodes' Blue Peter badge.

[phonics]

Finally they do something good with the Uso/Gunther stuff. Is it something people would cuss AEW out for? Probably but who gives a fuck.

[Ben]

Gunther having to sell the thigh slap superkicks then lay down for the splash is going to be painful viewing.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Yeah there's absolutely zero chance now that he wins :(

[wullie]

I'd have him defend successfully ideally, he could do with smashing fuck out of someone on a proper stage to stop it being a nothing reign, and it won't stop people buying yeet sunglasses either way.

[Waffdon]

Finally they do something good with the Uso/Gunther stuff. Is it something people would cuss AEW out for? Probably but who gives a fuck.

lol what

[phonics]

1907374463005475283

:drool:

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

1907493851209539784

Happy Rusev Day everyone.

[Disco]

Him and Andrade are going to bounce back and forth between different companies forever more.

[Gray Fox]

Him v Priest is right there for the taking.

Vince would have done it.

[phonics]

So glad to have those 3 off the books from AEW. Andrade I never got, Malakai/Alistair Black was just months of 'program starts hot, nothing happens incredibly slowly, program abandoned' and repeat and then Miro/Rusev was absolute dogshit twitch streamer gimmick, disappear for a bit, came back with a money gimmick where he was cutting promos as the son of God, won a bunch, lost, came back with an even more money gimmick where he was the fallen angel, was never seen again and then did the Cuckold to Bobby Lashley gimmick with a different black guy. Truly odd.

[Ben]

AEW really highlights those who don't have the creativity to be involved in their own booking.

Miro is top of list, with his steady run of stinking gimmicks. Cody (surprisingly, given his dad was WCW booker for years, albeit to mixed results). Danielson (again surprising, he's one of those that you would assume is good at that stuff). Moxley (not surprising at all, chooses to do a Neo-Nazi gimmick ffs).

Now we're just assuming these top guys are allowed to come up with their own storylines. Tony says it's all him, but I hope for his sake he's lying. And I think he is, because some of the better stuff comes in the midcard where you wouldn't give the workers licence to book themselves.

[wullie]

Rusev can still be ace if they don't fuck him about too much, he was over in WWE and the Redeemer thing in AEW looked like it was going to be the business for a while. I liked Aleister Black in NXT but if he's going to be all spooky rather than just a kickboxing goth he can fuck back off. Forgot Andrade's been signed for over a year, has he done anything?

[phonics]

Get a divorce?

[Ben]

Andrade just clearly doesn't give a fuck. The guy peaked as IC champion in New Japan when he was masked, so over 10 years ago. Apart from that he had a cracking match against Gargano in NXT and that's about it.

I'm with wullie about Black. If he wants to be spooky he can fuck off back to PWG. There's talent there but obviously another guy with no idea what to do with himself given a bit of leeway.

[Waffdon]

He was doing fine on Smackdown along with Carmelo Hayes and then ever since the news about him and Charlotte came out he’s not been seen since

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Rumours are that KO needs surgery and wont be able to face Randall at Mania.

[Waffdon]

Karma for wasting that Zayn match at elimination chamber

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

1908357370516037684

That is fucking wild.

[Ben]

I’m not sure Naomi has it in her to carry Jade to a decent length match. Might be a bit squashy.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

They fucked it by not making the attacker Bianca.

[Gray Fox]

Yep. I assumed that was there it was going. It being Naomi is just a whole load of nothing.

[Waffdon]

Naomi has been surprisingly good as a heel

Charlotte yesterday was an utter embarrassment. Sooner she fucks off the better. You just know she’s winning

[Gray Fox]

Bron spearing Carlito into next week. You love to see it.

[Ben]

Picked up Brock Lesnar's autobiography for 50p off the donation table in Tesco. I think it was released in 2011 so it should cover everything up until his WWE return.

[Ben]

Picked up Brock Lesnar's autobiography for 50p off the donation table in Tesco. I think it was released in 2011 so it should cover everything up until his WWE return.

Started on this earlier and lasted a couple of chapters before pretty much giving in. It's not very well written at all. So I've just decided to skim through it instead. Brock is very full of himself it seems but this thing is ghost/co-written by Paul Heyman and it makes a lot more sense if you read it in Heyman's voice, so I suspect Brock isn't 100% at the wheel of this one.

However, there's some great tidbits in here. Brock mentions a lot about wrestling not being a long-term career for him and already by the time he won the World title from The Rock at Summerslam, he's planning an exit strategy from the business. He says Curt Hennig (Mr. Perfect) told him to do this and it seems Brock really idolised him. The passage where he talks about Perfect dying is actually quite sad. Brock also randomly loves RVD and wanted to work World title programs with him. I'm not at the UFC bit yet.

This has reminded me how good wrestler autobiographies can be, though. Bret Hart's and Mick Foley's first one are stand-out offerings and I've got Ric Flair's somewhere that I can't recall having read actually. I'll have to dig that out.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I had Oldberg's one which was signed by him.

No idea where it ended up.

[Ben]

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

Just finishing watching this for possibly the first time since the event live.

The opening stretch is great (which often isn't the case for long matches) and in the second half it gets very "big stadium" style with all the false finishes which I usually don't like. But the atmosphere is just incredible, no wonder it killed the crowd for the matches that followed. Just like WM18 in that regard.

[Ben]

Back on the book trail: I found Flair's book in some boxes we never even opened since moving house.

It's got the pretty standard egocentric views on some stuff but in the main it's really super interesting, especially on his early career (which I didn't know much about other than the plane crash) and the WCW days. Also really fascinating is his early obsession with Dusty Rhodes (he wanted to be called Rick Rhodes when he first started) and then the gradual transition into really disliking each other. Flair also hated the fact that Sid was getting paid more than him (this is just before he went to WWF the first time) and carried that grudge throughout the book, which I hated because Sid is awesome. He absolutely trashes Bret Hart over the Montreal Screwjob as well. It's released in his Evolution days and clearly with WWE's blessing so there's a lot of fluff around that and hyping up Shawn Michaels and Triple H but otherwise it's a decent read.

I've got my hands on the Vince McMahon book which was released last year and apparently that's absolutely wild in the details of events like Jimmy Snuka murdering his wife and Vince making the charges go away, and also him raping the female referee in his limo.

[7om]

What McMahon book is that, Ben? Is it an official thing or something that has been thrown together?

[wullie]

I'm sure I've got Bobby Heenan's book on Kindle, really should get cracking on that as it's surely got to be great stuff.

[Ben]

What McMahon book is that, Ben? Is it an official thing or something that has been thrown together?

It's not official, no. Was seemingly knocked up quick after the allegations came out in 2022 but is very well researched.

[phonics]

I know you're not a fan Ben but I really do reccomend the Moxley one. It's clearly written by him which makes it a bit hard to read at times as it reads like someone talking, asides and all. But its a great fucking book.

[phonics]

Flair also hated the fact that Sid was getting paid more than him (this is just before he went to WWF the first time) and carried that grudge throughout the book, which I hated because Sid is awesome. He absolutely trashes Bret Hart over the Montreal Screwjob as well.

My thoughts of Shane are, he is a quarterback that thought he was going to go in the first round, that went in the seventh round, that knew because he went in the seventh round he had to play harder, but never made it. He threw the ball ten yards shorter. He ran the forty a tenth of a second slower. Everything he's done in life, he's done behind the scenes, and he's cried about everything and everybody. If it's not me it's Nash. If it's not Nash it's Hall. If it's not Hall it's McMahon. If it's not McMahon, it's Bischoff. At some point in time, you got to look in the mirror. Do you think that the fans listen to that s***? The problem is, the kid has never grown up. He told Mark Madden for ten years that he was going to be a doctor. A doctor of what? Mark, what medical school is he in now, Mark?

[SvN]

Anyone else as lost as I am?

[Shindig]

Just a little, aye.

[Waffdon]

HHH forgot who to book a wrestling promotion. Raw and Smackdown have been diabolical for a while now and meh since at least the Netflix special. Go home show for ‘mania and it felt fucking tragic. Raw has basically been the same thing for the past month.

Had so much potential and threw it away. I’m not even sure many of the matches will be any good. McIntyre should not be feuding with Priest but at least it’s a street fight and they both should be able to actually use stuff. Not a fan of Priest but he had an incredible fight in the same conditions with a celebrity so here’s hoping they go wild

[wullie]

The women's triple threat buildup is so weird, there's nobody to root for between two whiny dickheads and an afterthought.

[Waffdon]

They must have done the Rhea and Bianca squaring off and pushing Iyo out the way about 4 different times

[Ben]

I'm pretty checked out on WWE at this point. I'll watch Mania (not live) but unless there's a big change after then I won't bother with it.

But they continue to sell out arenas everywhere so fuck knows. I'm not saying they're doing a WCW but they kept selling out arenas for at least a year after they jumped the shark. Hopefully WWE see the staleness and book proactively post-Mania.

[Ben]

I know you're not a fan Ben but I really do reccomend the Moxley one. It's clearly written by him which makes it a bit hard to read at times as it reads like someone talking, asides and all. But its a great fucking book.

Great how? I'll give it a go if he's fairly thorough about everything he's done but if he's just cutting promos on Nick Gage then he can fuck off.

[Gray Fox]

Very much feels like there are too many on the card. This is good because all the lads/ladies get paid, but they used to have the battle royale for that.

Night 1 for example. Tag match should be alright, piss break match for some. But then does anyone care for Cargill v Naomi? Same can be said for the womens title. This one has been butchered in the build up and Charlotte is going to bury the hot young thing to absolute silence from the crowd. I get the impression Charlotte genuinely thinks she should be an over as fuck babyface in this one.

Then you have El Grande Americano which is great way to get him on the card, albeit in a pointless match. Fatu should slap the piss out of LA Man. Then we get to the two most frustrating matches on the card really. Jey Uso is terrible. He is not close to the same level as Gunther as a singles guy, but yeet so he's going over. Wonderful.
The last one has some intrigue with Heyman shenanigans surely afoot during the match, but this really should be a singles match between any two of them.
Trying to pay off the Seth v Punk hatred, but also the Seth v Roman hatred, while making up reasons for Roman to be annoyed at Punk is too much for this one match.

Night 2 has several matches no one cares for. There's the womens tag/everyone gets paid match. AJ and Paul which no fucker cares about beyond Paul. Drew being wasted on Priest for reasons. And then Iyo being made to be an afterthought despite being the champ and the one who should be winning here.

At least the 4 way should be some fun and then we get to watch Big Match John break the record.

[Waffdon]

There’s loads of matches and then yet the woman’s IC and US titles aren’t being defended and Street Prophets are defending their title on Smackdown.

They’ve missed a chance to do a big TLC/ladder match for the tag titles

[Ben]

I would do three or four big money matches each night (defend all titles plus a few grudge matches) and then chuck everyone else in a pre-show battle royal so they all get paid but I don't have to watch. :thbup:

Make me booker.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I actually think it makes sense that Priest and Drew are feuding.

The MITB cash in, the various "screwjobs" in between etc etc.

Shouldn't be at Mania but I do get it.

[Gray Fox]

How is a man supposed to pledge for Chelsea Green ffs.

[Ben]

Wasn't Rick supposed to be in a tag match or am I imagining that?

[Waffdon]

He turned up on the Netflix special as a face and then again at Elimination Chamber and not seen since.

He’s been teasing NJPW on Instagram

[wullie]

They still need to find something for Randy Orton to do, I'd have him wrestle Chad Gable who appallingly appears to be missing out again on getting a proper Wrestlemania match.

[Disco]

Please keep The Rock away from NJ, it doesn't need his shit tequila and crap promos.

[Ben]

I know you're not a fan Ben but I really do reccomend the Moxley one. It's clearly written by him which makes it a bit hard to read at times as it reads like someone talking, asides and all. But its a great fucking book.

I'm flying through this. All I'll say at this point is I think you're ribbing me.

[Disco]

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/roman-reignss-quest-to-be-wwes-next-great-crossover-star


Trump is one of those guys where he’s got a vast history and a huge background. He’s been in entertainment. He’s been in big business, politics. At this point, I’m supporting a bright future for our country. Positive and competent leadership.

I suppose this is what comes from making a living getting dropped on your head.

[Shindig]

Is Trump a WWE hall of famer yet?

[Mike]

He is.

[7om]

Anyone else not feeling Mania?

Most of the booking has either been boring or just plain doesn’t make sense. The Rhodes-Cena feud being a particular offender. After that great end to Elimination Chamber we are six weeks down the road and we still don’t know why Cena aligned with The Rock. What are the stakes in the Reigns-Punk-Rollins match? Why is it even happening. The tag divisions are diluted and the mid card singles feuds amount to “I don’t like you fight me lol”. This has been the build you’d expect to a fucking Roadblock of Backlash. It’ll probably be a good two nights but the build up has been crap.

[Shindig]

Cena and Cody are both company men. One of them is mad the other one is getting the reception he never got. It's a shit story, even if it did get some quality moments on the European tour. As for aligning with The Rick, he's a heel board member. Of course Cena would do that.

[wullie]

The only interesting thing about the Logan Paul vs AJ Styles feud has been Karrion Kross.

[7om]

Cena and Cody are both company men. One of them is mad the other one is getting the reception he never got. It's a shit story, even if it did get some quality moments on the European tour. As for aligning with The Rick, he's a heel board member. Of course Cena would do that.

Well, yes, that’s probably what it is. But it would’ve been nice for the Rock to show his face at least once after what was a pretty important plot point on THE ROAD TO WRESTLEMANIA.

[Shindig]

Given how they booked the last mania main event, it's probably going down like:

Rick shows up, rock bottoms Cody, glass shatters, Rick gets stunned by Stunning Steve Texas, Cody wins, he and Cena shake hands ('cos they can't have a defeated Cena booed out of the sport?). I haven't decided how a Cena mid-match turn happens. The Rick probably calls him a rude word.

[Gray Fox]

Sounds like they're setting up a "someone save WWE before Cena leaves with the title" story for the rest of the year after.

Surely you can't waste this kind of heel turn and not have BMJ win.

[Ben]

I would be mildly surprised if Cody retains.

[Dark Soldier]

As a filthy casual who has no idea what has gone on since the Rumble I can't wait for Mania.