The Ultimate WWE Thread

[Shindig]

Who said it was intentional? Maybe she's a mad bitch in real life, like Mickie James

[SvN]

Mick Foley the Raw GM. Not sure what sense that makes in terms of kayfabe, but at least it's not Triple H.

[7om]

Calling it now, Bryan will be dog shit as GM. His promos are crap and just smiles all the way through.

[SvN]

Yeah he's dull as fuck.

[wullie]

Stop attacking him from your reservoir of insults you meanies.

[Browning]

Foley makes a lot more sense than anyone else bar HHH as he's a man who has held positions of power many times abs done well with it. Good choice. Regal should have been the other.

[Disco]

Regal is far better suited to doing what he's already doing.

Get Guerrero in.

[Lewis]

It should have been Triple Haitch. Mick Foley will be rubbish. He gets by on people our age popping for him, but if he's out every week looking like shit and gurning/rambling his way through fifteen minute segments then it won't work.

[Disco]

The Cerebral Assassin is little better, at least Foley gets over four words a minute.

[Jeet]

Foley.....That'll put bums on seats.....

[Gray Fox]

Anyone watching? Not going as I'd have thought so far.

[Pleb]

Balor :drool:

Cena :cool:

[SvN]

Lol at Cena not being in the top 5.

[Pleb]

Holy shit a four man booth :serious:

[Gray Fox]

Get Bullet Club on RAW and have Balor take over as leader.

[7om]

So they end Raw last night with Rollins as champion and then Stephanie opens Smackdown saying Seth will leave tonight as champion.

Makes sense.

[Pleb]

So Bork is a full time guy now?

[Gray Fox]

This is a Nakamura away from me still not watching Smackdown.

[SvN]

I love that Darren Young is using the chicken wing.

[7om]

Pretty much confirmed they're not doing anything 'Bullet Club' related with Balor and AJ. Bit of a shame.

[SvN]

Sasha is fucking awful on the mic. She speaks before she knows what she's going to say.

[Gray Fox]

I know this has all been set up weeks in advance, but in what world does Jericho get picked before Owens?

Just get KO and Nakamura on RAW and I'll carry on only watching that like nothing ever happened.

[SvN]

Jericho is a 6 time champion, of course he gets picked first.

The order has been ridiculous though. Balor and Charlotte before Cena?

[7om]

This is so boring it's unbelievable.

[SvN]

And now Baron Corbin before Cesaro. Jesus.

[Gray Fox]

As a supposed draft, this has been fucking awful.

[Gray Fox]

So they end Raw last night with Rollins as champion and then Stephanie opens Smackdown saying Seth will leave tonight as champion.

Makes sense.

They showed EXCLUSIVELY on the network, the match result being officially declared a draw just after raw ended.

I expect the same result or a DQ tonight.

This draft really needs a surprise return or something to make it entertaining.

[SvN]

Balor Club incoming.

[Gray Fox]

Mentions woman from NxT, crowd gets excited. Announce Nia Jax, crowd go 'for fucks sake.'

Balor club is great, but Big Show actually drafted? Piss off.

[SvN]

Amazing how quickly Cesaro's push after returning has been abandoned.

[Gray Fox]

Only 5 picks left tonight. If one of them is Kane...

[SvN]

The final pick has to be Nakamura or Bayley, surely

[Gray Fox]

Sheamus. Wow.

[SvN]

I... Sheamus. The final televised pick was Sheamus.

What a shambles.

[Gray Fox]

I'm actually annoyed to have stayed up for that now. Hopefully this title match makes up for it in some way...

[Gray Fox]

Was that a 'we want Bayley' chant that got muted then?

[7om]

Amazing how quickly Cesaro's push after returning has been abandoned.

He's ruined beyond help now, so I'm not bothered personally.

He doesn't even know what he is anymore. It's the same old shit every match. Spam the uppercut, Cesaro Swing, lose. Garbage.

[wullie]

Is there a mandate in the NEW ERA for everyone to quietly talk over and heckle each other? Stephanie McMahon can't shut the fuck up.

[Browning]

I was going to stay up for that but thanks to people at work all being sick/on holiday my day off today was cancelled so I couldn't. Looks like I dodged a bullet.

[Lewis]

Other than Rusev getting a push as the only title-holder on Raw, the draft results make it look like both shows are going to be a lot worse due to the basic fact that you've now got half as many decent people to play with, which means you either have top geezer rasslin' plebs (and how do you book John Cena vs Erick Rowan without making one of them look shit?) or you have the same matches every week.

[SvN]

Raw also have Charlotte and The New Day

[7om]

May as well admit defeat and sign Nash, Razor Ramon, Scott Steiner, Goldberg, crippled Sting, Hogan and put Bischoff in as 'GM'.

Beats watching Zayn vs Cesaro for the 4000th time.

[Lewis]

I obviously(!) meant singles titles (nobody cares about the birds' wrestling mate come on), so I hope he makes a big deal out of it with his lisp.

[igor_balis]

Last night was boring as fuck.

[SvN]

Come next Monday, Seth and Ambrose will both have their own titles after both pinning Roman at the same time.

[five time]

Will they have to ban Lesnar considering the substance him (and Jones) popped for is apparently on the wellness policy list?

Hopefully we get a 'STEROIDS' chant at summerslam all through his match.

[wullie]

Lesnar and Orton on different shows is a great start to them keeping the rosters completely separate, while they hype Owens and Zayn as being possibly the final time they'll blah blah and they both get drafted to Raw anyway.

[Browning]

WWE has announced that the new RAW announce team will feature Corey Graves, Michael Cole and Byron Saxton.

The SmackDown announce team will now include Mauro Ranallo, JBL and David Otunga.

No word yet on where Jerry Lawler will end up but Superstars will be called by Graves and Tom Phillips while Main Event will be called by Otunga and Phillips.

- - - -- - -

Otunga is still a thing?

[wullie]

He's actually quite good at all the wrestling stuff he does that isn't wrestling.

[Browning]

What has he been doing lately? To be fair I barely know who the lead Smackdown guy is, but the few times I've heard him, I've hated him.

[Disco]

Will they have to ban Lesnar considering the substance him (and Jones) popped for is apparently on the wellness policy list?

Hopefully we get a 'STEROIDS' chant at summerslam all through his match.

I think, him being a part timer, he may not actually be covered by it.

[wullie]

Otunga disappeared for ages but then came back and did those Network pre-shows. No idea if he's officially retired or just doesn't need to bother.

[Ian]

I'd been wishing I could stay up and watch last night but as it turned out they didn't make it even vaguely interesting.

[Gray Fox]

The seethe when Reigns wins Sunday and then goes heel.

[Shindig]

"I'm not a good guy, I'm not a bad guy... I'm THE bad guy!"

<Razor's music hits>

[Ian]

They need to get Rollins face and Reigns heel pronto. Unless they're actually positioning Reigns as their only top-level babyface on Raw. Which they probably are.

[SvN]

Bayley finally called up.

[wullie]

People were so happy to see Mojo Rawley.

[Shindig]

Bayley finally called up.

I look forward to seeing her job to Natalya on a weekly basis.

[Browning]

They were already talking about it being a "one off" during the Pay Per View.... so I doubt it.

[SvN]

Yeah it looks like she'll be in NXT for a while longer, presumably to finish off her feud with Asuka. Won't be long before she's full time, though.

[wullie]

Summerslam's got to be Charlotte vs Sasha so they're better off having her move over properly after then.

[SvN]

Sasha wins the title, Charlotte and Dana chimp out and beat the crap out of her, Bayley with the save.

[7om]

The best part of Battleground was the Highlight Reel.

Jericho was hilarious and Orton actually looked like he cared.

[Browning]

Agreed, other than Zayn/Owens, which was superb as expected. Highlight Reel a close 2nd though. Orton even got a laugh out of me with his Fandango comment, which must be a first.

[Shindig]

OSW's latest is out. They've turned to Patreon for funding which, I guess is cool as they'd get nowt otherwise. Arn Anderson and Flair wrestling was an actual treat.

[Ian]

I enjoyed that quite a lot. Feels like the best PPV in a while. Yeah, wouldn't be hard, whatever, I genuinely liked it. I watched the womens tag match having seen Bayley vs. Asuka from the NXT Dallas show last night and not being bored to tears by it. Wyatts and New Day was sort of coasting but once Woods and Bray were first in the right the pace and "story" of it were bang on. Rusev and Ryder was fine for what it was. Zayn and Owens was bangin', genuinely had a moment of fearing for Zayn when he fucked up that springboard thing (was he actually hurt or did he improvise on the arm like a boss?) and then lol'd when he almost botched a foot on the rope as well. Skipped the second womens match, Miz vs. Young I don't understand why it couldn't have had an actual finish. Were the commentators tallking about a fine for Miz? Get lost.

The second six man tag was good too once it got going. The crowd are fucking shit hot for Enzo and Cass too and once it's decided to let the New Day lose the belts (do they have the record yet? If not I assume you let them set a decent record then have them lose) it really has to be Enzo and Cass. Though of course Cena got the decisive moment.

And then the main event felt too short given how long this has been built up but I liked it. As soon as Ambrose was bundled out of the ring and Reigns kicked out of the Pedigree the general gist of the finish was plainly obvious but I really thought they'd have one of the Raw pair win so Ambrose was a nice surprise.

Genuinely thought it was a good show.

[Ian]

With only one match to go on NXT Dallas I'm watching the main event. I bloody love Tonga Jeff. Get him on the main roster so I can watch him win 48 consecutive matches again Dolph Ziggler already.

[Browning]

My main gripe would be every match (bar the 6 man tags, which I didn't care for in the slightest) was pretty much spoiled by the draft. Rusev and Miz both had to retain as if one lost the other had to and Miz-Rusev to Ryder-Young was too big a downgrade. Becky Vs Nattie had to be Nattie as they are on the same show so the feud is continuing and Zayn was obviously going to go over KO to end the feud (that's not to do with the draft but still). Main Event I guess was up in the air but I always thought Ambrose would retain so they could bring out a new belt at the start of the night tonight. Still it was a decent enough show, but yea, I think the draft should have come after it.

[Ian]

Rusev and Miz were going to retain because there was no real reason for them to lose. That wasn't really the fault of the draft, just poor booking of challenger-of-the-month acts in Ryder and Young. Though I hope Young gets some more shots somewhere because for all that I skipped all bar the first of the vignettes with Backlund there may actually be something there. If only in an enterianing-mid-card sort of way.

The 6-mans there's not really much to argue, I suppose. It's hard to objectively rate such a match. I personally thought they really worked.

As for the main event, the reason I had an inkling that Ambrose would drop the title is I thought they'd want to keep the one with some history on Raw. Maybe even have Rollins pin Reigns so Smackdown could say Ambrose never lost as an excuse to as good as put a new belt on him.

[Browning]

I should clarify I didn't even watch the 6 man matches, because I didn't care about them. So they could have been great, but yea, it takes something special to keep me interested in those matches.

[Ian]

I find them hit or miss. What I liked about these two is that they actually gave most of the people in the match their moment to do something. The biggest exceptions probably being Doc Gallows and Braun Strowman in their matches. But if you're generally not a fan of six man tags there's probably nothing there that's going to win you oer, and as much as I've quite liked the New Day/Wyatts fued part of me thinks they ought to have had a tag titles match on the last pre-split show. You can still do the Woods/Bray stuff, just have Kingston removed from the match somehow (eaten by Strowman.)

[SvN]

Surprised that Sasha won the title last night. I thought they'd save that for Summerslam.

[Ian]

What a shit name for a title.

Also loving that they're still trying to book Reigns on the face side of things. They're never, ever going to give up are they? Not sure what I think about Balor immediately becoming number one contender but should make for a good match and I guess if he's been drafted as their third pick or whatever it was you just sort of go with them instantly shoving him into the main event.

[five time]

Is it just me that finds the coup de grace really underwhelming?

[Lewis]

I find Finn Balor underwhelming.

[igor_balis]

I skipped through it in about 15 minutes but raw seemed p good.

[7om]

I find Finn Balor underwhelming.

Wait until you hear him do a full promo. He makes Reigns look like Stone Cold.

[Browning]

I find Finn Balor underwhelming.

Indeed. Never understood the hype.

[Lewis]

Wait until you hear him do a full promo. He makes Reigns look like Stone Cold.

I watched his backstage one from last night and I could have sworn he was offering Ken Shamrock out.

[Waffdon]

I find Finn Balor underwhelming.

HE'S ONE OF OUR OWN HE'S ONE OF OUR OWN.

IC-DUB IC-DUB IC-DUB.

love me the Prince.

[Pleb]

You would imagine a Baron Cordin v Ambrose title match might be on the cards for SummerSlam.

[Ian]

Having seen FOUR Finn Balor matches (two of them on Raw) I think I'm well-placed to say that WWE are getting a bit over-excited about him.

[Waffdon]

He'll majestic them more money than Reigns and that's all that matters. PRINCE <3

[Lewis]

The people he will make money from already give WWE most of their income (having sworn never to do so again after the last pay per view didn't go their way).

[Disco]

It doesn't matter anyway, Bayley is already the new cash cow.

[Shindig]

That's the 'fat' angle sorted, then.

[Disco]

It's a new era Maggle!

[Shindig]

This reminds me of Madison Square Garden in 1928 when a young Fabulous Mula fought The Great Depression to retain her Women's title.

[wullie]

I like Finn Balor as a wrestler, but when he talks it's surprising how someone who looks so fit struggles for breath between every single word.

[SvN]

As a non-NXT watcher, Raw was my first real exposure to Balor. I thought he was pretty good, really enjoyed the match with Reigns and think he came across well.

Reigns being pinned clean twice in 2 nights is something I never thought I'd see a month ago.

[Weaver]

I flicked through Raw last night and I like the presentation - Michael Cole's role is quite decent, in that he's actually saying a few intelligent things here and there and pretty much letting Byron Saxton (needs work) and Corey Graves (pretty good) call the match.

I've read the Smackdown results and I see that the broadcast team there is David Otunga, Mauro Ranello and JBL, which seems a strange combo on the face of it.

I'm thinking Lesnar vs Orton is going to be Summerslam's main event, at least on paper.

[wullie]

Jerry Lawler was playing the heel again on Smackdown recently so I'd rather they'd fuck JBL off instead. Ballgame!

[Browning]

They better not. We need John o'clock.

[SvN]

JBL is fucking abysmal. He really ruined the commentary last night.

I thought Smackdown was a bit meh. Nowhere near the level of Raw.

[Ian]

Smackdown was indeed a bit meh but then when you saw the whole roster at the ring in the opening of the show you see that the cupboard is slightly bare, even for a two hour show. Well, I say two hours, I'm not sure how long it actually is once you count ads such as the one that arrived about 30 seconds into the main event and then another which delayed getting back to their main event to talk about Brock sodding Lesnar appearing on Raw next week.

And Dolph Ziggler was the last person I expected to win that. I thought Cena or AJ winning and then the other being included for a triple threat at Summerslam was more likely but fancied Wyatt for the win (rookie error) and even thought one of the other pair might be given the nod, much as I would have thought that would have been a mistake. Hopefully they turn Ziggler given his "character" is a dead-end waste of time at the moment.

And on that subject, Orton simply isn't funny enough for what they're trying to get him to do at the moment.

[Browning]

I'd mark out if Zigglypuff won the title, but he won't. Still nice to see him get a chance.

Eva Marie's entrance was amazing though, that's the only part I watched.

[7om]

Mauro Ronaldo sounds like Scott Hudson.

[igor_balis]

I really don't like Ziggler. People moan about the indie guys, but he's the archetypal flippy shit with no psychology guy.

[Ian]

I tend to find myself watching Ziggler matches thinking I should be enjoying them more than I do.

[Browning]

Ziggler is about the only one today with any ring psychology whatsoever. :D

He just needs to sort out his character. In the ring he's near perfection.

[igor_balis]

Ziggler is about the only one today with any ring psychology whatsoever. :D

He just needs to sort out his character. In the ring he's near perfection.

Dya think? I think he's quite a fun wrestler, but it is all SPOTZ and ATHLETICISM to my eyes. Like, his selling is absolutely piss poor - feels like watching a cartoon at times. Different strokes for different folks perhaps.

[Browning]

I think his selling is the best in the business. Sometimes he crosses the line and it looks a bit cartoonish, I'll give you that, but it's not all that often, most of the time he's spot on. Even when he does that, it's nothing that the likes of The Rock didn't do (watch him sell any Stunner). It's nice to see someone actually selling in this day and age.

[Lewis]

Is he still selling a leg injury to put twats over?

[Browning]

WCPW have signed Kurt Angle for a show in October. Fucking hell.

[Disco]

Jesus. He's no Martin Kirby but Sandow, Rhodes, and now Angle is pretty impressive.

[Gray Fox]

They're in a pokey warehouse in Newcastle right now, but I'd be very interested to see the crowd they could pull in a bigger venue. They can clearly pull in the talent already.

[Lewis]

Eva Marie's entrance was amazing though, that's the only part I watched.

This was incredible. It was actual trolling.

[Disco]

They're in a pokey warehouse in Newcastle right now, but I'd be very interested to see the crowd they could pull in a bigger venue. They can clearly pull in the talent already.

I do agree but there must be a huge difference in getting one off appearances and actually signing people to a roster or does that only really happen in the bigger promotions? Still, having started (apart from a massive ready made platform) with nothing a few weeks ago they appear to be doing alright, I'm enjoying it at least.

[Shindig]

I suspect it might be the bigger promotions that can commit to that. There's a shit one in Middlesbrough that manages to grab TNA talent for the odd night.

[Jeet]

God the talent in the battle royal on SD :face: even worse the women's division - the reaction when Carmella came out, even the Shining Stars had a better reaction.

There shouldn't be a draft for the women, they should bring in a women's tag-title and have it competed on SD only and the women's title on RAW only.

[Browning]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9maqablMjQ

Fucking hell.

[Disco]

He's going to eat his feet? :D

[Disco]

Just watching Raw and my they really are hammering Roman. Heels and faces teaming up against him, naughty boy.

[Browning]

Yep. When he said "I'm going to...." or whatever it was, I don't think I'd have guessed the next 3 words with 1000 guesses. :D

[Pleb]

What is this opening to Raw :D

[igor_balis]

What is this opening to Raw :D

I hated it, loved it then hated it again. Enzo is brilliant but starting Raw with 20 minutes of talking to set up a meh mixed-tag, via a POOP joke, isn't ideal.

[Pleb]

I hate the new theme tune by the way...

[Chrissy]

Any ICW fans in Scotland, I'm hosting the stand up shows of Billy Kirkwood and The Wee Man tomorrow. Would love to meet up with TTHers for a pint.

http://imgur.com/a/2iQOy

[Ian]

Watching some Raws from 2000 seeing as they've just added them to the Network. I don't understand why HHH books Blackman against Angle and Stephanie is SEETHING. Is this part of/building up to the "love triangle" thing they did?

And British Bulldog has just interfered for Angle to win. I love dropping back to old episodes of Raw/Smackdown.

[Browning]

Shelton to WWE is off because he's injured.

[Trancemeister]

Ryback has been released

[Shindig]

Dana White to sign him up for a match against Punk.

[Gray Fox]

WCPW to announce him within the week.

[Disco]

WCPW to announce him within the week.

That was my first thought.

[Shindig]

Imagine the Greggs he'll put away.

[Waffdon]

Kevin Owens on commentary was heel Lawler levels of good.

[Ian]

Ambrose took a while to warm up on Stone Cold Podcast. Pretty sure he's full of shit as well, or is at least extremely cagey as to what he will and won't talk about and covers for it rather than just refusing to answer.

I did like that he said what a load of shit his 'Mania match against Lesnar was though and stopped only just short of calling Baroque a cunt.

[Browning]

Fucking hell. WCPW got Jim fucking Ross. It's going to be so good.

[Shindig]

Meanwhile, Billy Corgan is now President of TNA. First order of business was to sign Sandow.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ntH56wRLlY

[Lewis]

I love those bitter TNA welcome promos. That one with the actual Triple Haitch impression was the best.

[Ian]

Onto the '09 Rumble on the Network and I appear to be watching a decent Jack Swagger match, which I didn't know was a thing.

[7om]

I've been watching old wrasslin' videos this morning and eventually ended up on the clip of Bob Holly beating the shit out that twat on a Tough Enough. Holly comes across as a proper psycho and it's hilarious.

[Ian]

Cracking on through 2009. Has anybody else ever had the same finisher, like Christian did, but have it go through three names? Unprettier was a much better name than the Killswitch or Impaler as well.

[Ian]

I know the WWE's feud-booking strategy these days is mostly "book these two guys to wrestle each other eight times a week until everybody wishes they were dead" but to have what felt like a 20-odd minute match between Reigns and Rusev a week before Summerslam is an odd choice. Though if they're having Rusev go over (which I assume they are given Reigns won here and assuming they'll have him back in the main event soon enough) then I suppose this throws Reigns a bone and lets him beat somebody before he takes another defeat on Sunday.

[Lewis]

'Finn Balor? Pfft. He's... Mate, he's just a knobhead from the in... SHITTING HELL HE'S PAINTED HIS FACE WE'RE FUCKED LADS!'

[Lewis]

Also, I reckon Randy Orton will beat Baroque Les-nar with that wanker kick he used to do.

[7om]

I didn't watch Raw this week but saw the segment between Brock and Heath Slater. Got to say I thought it was brilliant. I find Slater really entertaining on the mic and Brock dropping swear words and a massive BEATDOWN made it a really good couple of minutes of tv.

[Ian]

I think they'll have him win as well. I think I want him to but I don't know that I actually care, or at least I don't care enough about this shit face character and Viperville nonsense. I think I just want Lesnar to be an unstoppable monster. So I suppose if Orton is going to STEAL a win I hope he fucks off.

And yeah, I'm actually quite enjoying the Slater stuff too. A pity it's going to end in him being given a contract and then only seen again to be squashed.


'Finn Balor? Pfft. He's... Mate, he's just a knobhead from the in... SHITTING HELL HE'S PAINTED HIS FACE WE'RE FUCKED LADS!'

Proper lol'd at that. Reminds me of a post you made on the old board about Triple H shitting his pants because a fat bloke took off a collared shirt to reveal a white one.

[Lewis]

I liked his little mythology promo as well, asking Seth Rollin[g]s whether he knows about some Irish giant and Celtic Boys Club. Probably not, mate; but he beat Sting.

[Ian]

Was it a coffin he was sitting on as well? Whole thing's a bit silly.

I'm hoping that the DEMON KING having got the upperhand with his brutal overhead kicks on Rollins a couple of times now means that Rollins is going to do him on Sunday.

[Browning]

Rollins has to win on Sunday. It's way too soon for Balor.

Also, fuck Orton. He's been boring for a decade. Hope Brock destroys him.

[Pleb]

I've noticed they have added more old RAWs on the network.

When are they going to add 2008-2011 for fuck sake?

[SvN]

Heath Slater has been the best thing about the last few weeks. I hope it ends with him winning a contract against a somewhat legitimate competitor and he gets a run at the US title or something.

[Browning]

If that's true, this really is the low point of the industry.

[7om]

If any of you haven't seen it, I highly recommend the Stone Cold podcast with Dean Ambrose.

One of the very best bits of car crash TV I've had the pleasure of watching. Some of the death stares that Austin was giving him while Ambrose basically shrugged his shoulders at everything was priceless. I wouldn't have been surprised to see Austin Lou Thesz press him through the table and beat the shit out of him.

If you feel like switching off half way through, don't. The last 5 minutes are brilliant.

[Weaver]

I'm quite annoyed they brought the 'DEMON KING' out on Monday - it's supposed to be a thing that takes him to 'another level', but instead it's become simply a costume for him to prance about it.

[Shindig]

If you're going to do that, sit on it for much longer. I mean, he's just come up from NXT. You hold that shit back til the smarks from NXT burst when he finally does switch. It's the kind of thing you do to retire The Undertaker.

[Pleb]

Del Rio just got suspended for violating the wellness policy :harold:

[Mike]

If you're going to do that, sit on it for much longer. I mean, he's just come up from NXT. You hold that shit back til the smarks from NXT burst when he finally does switch. It's the kind of thing you do to retire The Undertaker.

I'd have saved it for 'Mania and I'd have let him do new makeup and stuff, not the one from NXT.

[Shindig]

Paige suspended as well.

[Ian]

Bit of a shame Gallagher lost in the CWC, I'd love WWE to sign him for the Cruiserweight division. His match was really good though, as was the Kendrick/Nese main event.

I wasn't massively into this during the first round but it's warming up nicely. Not sure how much of that is just that as we go along and the crowds are seeing the guys after the first time they're warming up to it too.

[Jeet]

Paige suspended as well.

All red everything herself...has been suspended for 30 days after her first violation of the WWE wellness policy.

[SvN]

Her most elaborate match evasion tactic so far.

I do wonder what the hell is going on, though. Paige must've had one hell of a birthday party.

[Browning]

I did wonder if that was just a match evasion tactic...

"Eva Maria can not compete tonight because she's smacked off her tits."

[wullie]

I was starting to like Eva Marie, or at least the fact they capitalised on how everyone hates that she has a job there.

I could see Paige quitting with Del Rio before coming back later, like a female Jerry Lawler.

[7om]

Driving up to New York in the morning for NXT Brooklyn. Then straight back on the sunday in time for Summerslam. Fair play to WWE on this one, the card looks pretty good so stupidly I'm expecting a decent show.

[Weaver]

The Dudley Boyz vs Neville and Sami Zayn, as well as Breezeango/The Ascension/The Vaudevillans vs The Usos/The Hype Bros/American Alpha have been added to the Summerlam Preshow.

Have a good time, Thomas.

[Ian]

Draft Zayn and Owens. Utterly waste them in one of the big PPVs of the year. Good work all round.

EDIT: Another year 2000 RAW on the go. Shane McMahon is talking about how he admires everything about Chris Benoit....

[Ian]

Also have the Network dubbed over American Badass by Kid Rock with his You're Gonna Pay music? I was sure I was losing the plot but they've definitely cut out his American Badass music. For expletives and such, I suppose.

[Shindig]

Also have the Network dubbed over American Badass by Kid Rock with his You're Gonna Pay music? I was sure I was losing the plot but they've definitely cut out his American Badass music. For expletives and such, I suppose.

License probably expired.

[Ian]

That makes more sense.

Foley was such good fun as commissioner. It was almost like he was going out there to enjoy himself or something.

[7om]

Brooklyn is the biggest shithole I've ever seen but I got here. Renee and the pre show are directly behind me. If only I had a TTH sign.

[Pleb]

:D

How's the event going at the moment 7om?

[7om]

Actually really good.

[7om]

Got a horrible feeling Joe busted his jaw right at the end. After the bell a load of referees and medics ran down to the ring sharpish.

Don't know how I just walked through Brooklyn at 11pm at night and didn't get killed. It's a genuine ghetto.

[Lewis]

If he lost (which he has), I was expecting him to show up tonight as a way of keeping the belt off Papa Shango for a few more months. So that's out.

[Shindig]

The only good thing about Brother Nero is his entrance music. You ruined it, Jeff.

[Ian]

If he lost (which he has), I was expecting him to show up tonight as a way of keeping the belt off Papa Shango for a few more months. So that's out.

*Pap O'Shango

[SvN]

Super excited for tonight. I hope it's not shit. I watched last year's in a wrestling bar in New York and it was amazing. I've even got the wife staying up late to watch it with me.

[7om]

It's like looking in the mirror three years ago with SvN's posts.

[Ian]

I was considering staying up late given my holiday starts tomorrow but then it occurred to me that'd mean staying up 'til five. Fuck that. What time does the pre-show start?

[Pleb]

11-11:30.

12am special start apparently.

[Pleb]

Maybe a useless double post but rumors are flying that Bill Goldberg has signed for the E and may make an appearance tonight :serious:

[Ian]

I saw Goldberg had been saying something about Lesnar in a press-conference which would be a waste of time if something wasn't up.

[Shindig]

Maybe a useless double post but rumors are flying that Bill Goldberg has signed for the E and may make an appearance tonight :serious:

Presumably to sub for Eva Marie.

[Browning]

They say that about every third PPV at the moment. If he's there he'll probably just promote the video game and fuck off. But I doubt he's there.

Edit- And there it is....

As previously reported, Bill Goldberg is in New York City promoting WWE 2K17. Goldberg noted that he won't be wrestling anytime soon, as he underwent double knee surgery six weeks ago.

[Ian]

Well that's a relief.

[Shindig]

Man, not the knees. That's where all his talent is.

[7om]

What an absolute abomination of a PPV, and that's all I've got to say about that.

[Lewis]

*Pap O'Shango

Oh yeah. That was a rubbish pay per view.

[wullie]

I liked Jon Stewart escaping the ring before remembering he had to get back into the ring to set up the Big E run-in. Is he really small or is Stephanie a giant?

[SvN]

Yeah that was pretty shit. AJ v Cena was incredible. The Universal belt looks horrible.

[wullie]

I'm glad Miz won, they seem to have thrown Crews in there and crossed their fingers something would happen. He's like a scale model of Bobby Lashley.

[Lewis]

Nikki Bella though. :cool:

[SvN]

Looks like her shorts shrank in the wash.

[Ian]

Yeah that was pretty pants. Cena/Styles was good and plenty of the other matches were okay but bugger all else actually stood out. Not sure what the purpose of the US title stuff is supposed to be and I don't think much of putting that awful belt on Balor right off the bat though I suppose it at least shows the WWE aren't quite so obsessed with pretending all non-WWE wrestling is second-rate. Either that or they just love a flavour of the month. Still not getting the Balor/love.

[Lewis]

It effectively serves to put NXT on the same level as the main roster if somebody can come straight from there and challenge for titles (whichever title). In which case, what is the point of NXT?

[Browning]

Yep that was shit all the way through really. To the point where I actually wanted Goldberg to spear the shit out of Brock, despite knowing it wouldn't happen.

When there was 35 minutes to go for 2 matches I knew some absolute shite was going to go down. When Rusev/Reigns didn't happen I was hopeful that Lesnar/Orton might be alright after all. It wasn't.

Once again KO was the highlight for me, but given it feels like that tag match was about 6 weeks ago I've pretty much forgotten that among all the shit.

AJ/Cena was alright but nothing special. I didn't care for either World Title match, though the "tuning up the band" spot with Ambrose was great. The women's title match was fucking shit. Get Bayley in to carry them already.

[SvN]

Not sure what your issue with the women's title match was. I thought it was pretty good.

I was pretty bored for both title matches, but I was fucking knackered by then.

[Browning]

I just had no reason to care for it. Sasha and Charlotte have no characters really other than "I'm a boss" and "I'm Flair's daughter", we've seen the match many times before, there was nothing new there, and hot shotting the title back to Charlotte makes no sense really. It wasn't the worst match ever, but there was no reason to be invested in it. The "Divas (I mean Women) Revolution" is so stale by now. Putting it so early in the night was a laugh too. Should have swapped it with Nikki's match.

[7om]

The main problem with the Women's title match was that it was littered with mistakes and botches. Sasha in particular is probably going to cripple herself one day with some of the risks she takes.

The biggest head-scratcher for me is why Brock - Orton went on last. I initially assumed it was because something was going to go down big time but a TKO ending? Fuck off with that absolute shite. I like Brock a lot, but this Suplex City gimmick is reducing his matches down to about three moves and loads of standing around sweating. It's crap and boring.

[Browning]

I also didn't get why they allowed Orton to bleed so much just for that shit ending.

[Lewis]

I assumed it was a botch/improvised ending, seeing as he can't have meant to bust his head open and knock him silly with elbows.

[SvN]

Meltzer reckons the ending went as planned, Brock just overdid it a bit which led to more blood than expected.

[Ian]

Baroque is basically a match gimmick in his own right now and it's boring.

[wullie]

I hope they're not leading to Shane challenging him, although he did batter Orton that time without touching him so maybe he's the man.

[Ian]

You'd think if that is a thing that this time it will actually be to bring somebody in/back to face him.

The dream is either Kur Tangle or that being how Slater gets his contract.

[SvN]

The moment Angle's music hits will probably be the most mental I'll ever go watching wrestling. I hope it's not spoiled in advance.

[Disco]

Of course it will be spoiled, if not revealed ahead of time to sell tickets then the twats in the crowd chanting his name will do it.

When was the last time we had a genuinely surprising return from someone not already employed by WWE?

[SvN]

Of course it will be spoiled, if not revealed ahead of time to sell tickets then the twats in the crowd chanting his name will do it.

When was the last time we had a genuinely surprising return from someone not already employed by WWE?

The Dudleys at Brooklyn last year springs to mind (and I was there :drool:)

[wullie]

Shane's return was a bit of a shocker.

[Jeet]

I hope they're not leading to Shane challenging him, although he did batter Orton that time without touching him so maybe he's the man.


Nope will lead to Brock being "suspended" and returning back on the next big PPV.

I agree Sasha will have a short career the way she is going.

AJ vs Ambrose - Bring it on!

[Weaver]

WWE have announced that Finn Balor has injured his shoulder and Samoa Joe got injured against Nakamura as well. No mention on if they'll miss any ring time.

Lesnar's beatdown of Orton was brutal - have a look on Bubba Ray's Twitter to see the gash on Orton's head.

[Pleb]

The Dudleyz retiring apparently.

[SvN]

My bet is Devon is retiring and Bubba will have a singles heel run.

[Smiffy]

.....

[7om]

Yet more evidence that they have no clue what they're doing with Reigns.

Yeah, have him kick out of Jericho's finisher, superman punch Owens and end it with one spear. Yeah, that'll get him cheered.

[Shindig]

My bet is Devon is retiring and Bubba will have a singles heel run.

Aces and Eights II.

[Ian]

Looks great for the US title that Reigns fucked up his shot at it and immediately lost interest.

[Shindig]

I'm back in on the Brother Nero shit. I love the idea it's an elaborate ruse from Matt to stop his brother killing himself off ladders. And Jeff now uses the hashtag #ObsoleteMule.

[wullie]

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

Shoulder pops out, shoulder pops in

[Browning]

Why is Big Cass in the Fatal 4 Way? Fucking hell. I really don't get the hype for him and Enzo. They were great for a while but I'm already bored of their act.

[Smiffy]

.....

[wullie]

Land of the giants and all that.

[Smiffy]

.....

[five time]

Zom must be the most masochistic poster in this thread. 99% of his posts are complaining that the company has no idea what they're doing, yet he's probably spent more on tickets than the rest of us combined.

[Lewis]

Other than having a pram face and a shit gimmick, why does Bayley 'deserve' a title shot ahead of everybody else?

[Pleb]

Because she's a female version of John Cenahhh...

[bruhnaldo]

Yet more evidence that they have no clue what they're doing with Reigns.

Yeah, have him kick out of Jericho's finisher, superman punch Owens and end it with one spear. Yeah, that'll get him cheered.

They really had him lift Jericho up and handstand walk to the ropes during the fucking Walls. Unbelievable.

They're really going to let Reigns win the fucking title. The ultimate fucking fuck you to the fans. Hey your hero Finn Balor got the belt for 24 hours, now we're going to let Roman hold it until Wrestlemania.

[bruhnaldo]

Why is Big Cass in the Fatal 4 Way? Fucking hell. I really don't get the hype for him and Enzo. They were great for a while but I'm already bored of their act.

They'll end up booking Cass strong as fuck in the 4-way only to get accidentally knocked out by Rusev (who'll be trying to fuck with Roman) setting up a Big Cass vs. Rusev US Title program for the next month or two.

Rusev will be all preoccupied because omg i didn't mean to hit Cass oh shit and Enzo will probably be coming at him and then Reigns will spear him on the outside or some shit or do a splash onto both of them arguing because the kids are gonna love that and somehow this'll bring great shame to Lana.

Reigns being occupied will let Jericho smash him or some shit to help KO.

Then KO will yell at Jericho that oh I don't need your help blah blah blah and Seth will roll his ass up for the cheap win.

Maybe.

[bruhnaldo]

Cass'll be all YOU COST ME MY TITLE

and Rusev'll be all YOU COST ME MY WOMAN

easy fucking program tbh

[Lewis]

Also, what were they on about her being the 'hottest free agent'? Firstly, she already works for you; secondly, and more to the point, nobody has drafted Nikki Bella.

[Browning]

Nikki is officially on Smackdown, so they have.

[Lewis]

Oh. Well. Speaking of which, is Shane McMahon dressing like Eric Bischoff deliberately?

[Waffdon]

Balor popping his shoulder back in :cool:

[7om]

Balor popping his shoulder back in :cool:

What do you think of him, Waff?

[Jeet]

Looks great for the US title that Reigns fucked up his shot at it and immediately lost interest.

He done so well by earning his title shot by throwing a cake at Lana, whereas poor Cesaro got nothing.

[Waffdon]

What do you think of him, Waff?

I don't really watch but he's bland in WWE but I'll always support him because of his ICW background. Whole show just looks like shit.

Nakamura has the best there ever tho

[wullie]

More new belts

http://www.wwe.com/f/styles/gallery_img_ml/public/all/2016/08/001_TAG_08192016fv_0128_BLUE_BLK--5ea87dad2c60d7536a835e479ce7122b.jpg
http://www.wwe.com/f/styles/gallery_img_ml/public/all/2016/08/003_TITLE_07222016gd_0163_BLK--8636487bc49c5cf504c34e7a359575e9.jpg

They should scrap that new Universal one and have both big titles be black with the red/blue background like the women do.

[five time]

https://youtu.be/8d4SLA4HYp0

Not sure how to embed on my phone, but that has to be one of the best WWE promos in years. Hopefully Smackdown starts to let people go off script like that a little more and Raw can keep Reigns and his suffering succotash.

[Weaver]

I watched a little bit of Raw last night, and Titus O'Neil's promo was flubbed about five times. Kalisto's after he was drafted is the worst of the year so far, didn't have a clue what he was on about.

[Disco]

The Miz is pretty great at what he does, slagging off the still massively popular GM/Commissioner (particularly on the topic of his injuries) like that is perfect weasley-heel heat.

[7om]

https://youtu.be/8d4SLA4HYp0

Not sure how to embed on my phone, but that has to be one of the best WWE promos in years. Hopefully Smackdown starts to let people go off script like that a little more and Raw can keep Reigns and his suffering succotash.

Miz :drool:

He really is great at talking. Probably one of the best heels in the company, I'd say.

[Jeet]

Belts are not bad. Considering how shit the The Penny belts are on Raw, it looks decent. Not strong enough tag-team division though on SD.

[Shindig]

Aye, when they turned to the tag teams and I only saw three of them because Fandabbybreezy or whoever where being carefully hidden behind everything. A tournament of two rounds, man. King of the fucking Ring.

[wullie]

You rarely have more than four people in contention for any of the titles so I don't think it'll matter that much.

[SvN]

I must've watched that promo 3 or 4 times today. Absolutely incredible. It's a shame that a lot of people won't see it. I hope it gets shown on Smackdown next week.

[Lewis]

Smackdown should have had a Ladies Championship, with a tiara and a sash, and built a story around Shane McBischoff hating women.

[Shindig]

He'll get Becky Lynch to 'Berk like a dag' on TV which puts him in Vince's good books and then we can have a Shane vs. Haitch son-off at the Royal Rumble.

[Lewis]

Now we're talking.

[Ian]

That Miz video is ace. He's donned Bryan there.

[wullie]

Nearly all the promos people online rave about tend to be on the backstage fallout app stuff rather than the broadcast show, even the Usos apparently come across well on that Smackdown one. I bet Titus O'Neil's a real raconteur on the Raw pre-show.

[Mike]

Just put Raw on. When did Sami Zayn last have a match he didn't get some sort of 'injury' in?

[Disco]

Nearly all the promos people online rave about tend to be on the backstage fallout app stuff rather than the broadcast show, even the Usos apparently come across well on that Smackdown one. I bet Titus O'Neil's a real raconteur on the Raw pre-show.

Presumably you don't get to the WWE without being pretty good at most aspects of the job, promos included, so it seems odd that once they get on tv they don't let anyone deviate from the drivel that comes out of whatever writing group they have these days.

[Weaver]

769308487457370112

And what a run it's been to date.

[Jeet]

Still not won a match via a pin!

[Pleb]

The GM-Yes Man apparently cleared to wrestle but not from WWE :D

[Browning]

That's been the case for fucking ages.

[Shindig]

Still not won a match via a pin!

Rosa v Eva Marie at Wrestlemania. Make it a Michael Hayes on a pole match.