The guy he fought on Saturday is well into his thirties and had lost his only previous professional fight. He was showboating like a prime Ali and Punk still couldn't get near him.
He came to it late and clearly just has no natural aptitude. He doesn't look like a great athlete either, but being a great athlete isn't really necessary until you get to the real upper echelons. He's had at least four years of proper training and on Saturday he was still doing things on the ground that made no sense and would be actively discouraged by a competent coach. That's a mental thing, so he just isn't cut out for it in any way.
I wonder what breaks first? His resolve or his ability to draw a booking?
Well he's been cut by the UFC.
His options are a lesser MMA show (Bellator won't want him), NJPW or Indies in wrestling.
He came at it at 37, with no previous training. He's lucky they didn't give him anyone seriously good or he'd be hurt bad.
Respect to him for not throwing in the towel and also giving it a go at getting better. He's just not cut for it. There's no point in taking up serious MMA training now he's 39. He'd get easily 5-10 years more from a wrestling promotion, he still has a pretty big reputation and would draw well. Even though those things have taken a dent with the UFC fights.
He said before the fight he was 100% done with wrestling. So maybe he just rides off into the sunset with AJ Lee and his pile of money.
Retirement match at Wrestlemania 42 it is.
At that point, CG will be good enough we won't notice.
I can see Punk making appearances at All In and on the Cruise of Jericho.
Not sure why people seem to think Punk needs to do something wrestling related, given how it's treated him. He's no doubt a multi millionaire already, he has no reason to piss about in Japan or fighting Will Ospreay at Student Unions.
He has already signed on for Starrcast which is the meet and greet before All In.
He had his first fight at 37, but he'd signed the contract two years previously and trained full time for those two years, as well as claiming to have been training on and off as his schedule would allow for at least a decade before that. He shouldn't have been as bad as he was.
He'll probably just do comic and TV stuff before appearing mysteriously in the crowd at NXT Takeover 38.
I didn't realise he's had 4 years of training. What the hells he been doing? Round 1 of his second fight was okay, but it went way downhill after. He seemed to want to take it to the ground but had no actual idea what to do when it got there. After that it was wild swinging.
He's so far away from being a natural athlete and only got good at wrestling through sheer hard work and perseverence where others take to it quickly, but obviously those don't translate as well to something where people are legitimately out to smash your face in.
Yeah, he was a really good wrestler because he had the underrated trait that he "gets" it and the hard work you mention to use that. Brock gets it too, he just doesn't care.
Last edited by Ian; 16-06-2018 at 02:08 PM.
https://www.wwe.com/shows/wwe-united...?sf191770250=1
UK Championship tournament first round matches starting to get uploaded if anybody's interested.
Wasn't that lad "Tucker" a load of rubbish in the last one?
Nothing particularly exciting in the first round though I did like Gulak / Gallagher and wish it could have had five more minutes.
Takeover was good as per and all the matches, even the weaker ones, had really good endings I thought.
Before things get under way tonight (I won’t be watching it live anyway but I’ll watch it tomorrow before I cancel the network) I want to place on record that Charlotte should be winning it and cashing in during Carmella vs Asuka. It won’t happen and they will go with something boring like Nattie wins because her and Ronda are best mates... but yea, when Carmella wins clean (or via Ellsworth) it’ll sum up how badly booked things are right now.
Literally couldn’t give a toss about the men’s one. Miz would be nice I guess.
Keith Lee
A man of intelligence and power, he's going to be great.
New brand and show, adding a womens and tag titles to the existing UK one
Has Alexa got pictures of Vince doing something unspeakable? Comes off lengthy but uninspiring title reign before winning MITB, immediately cashing in and getting the title back very shortly after. Yawn.
Maybe they want Ronda in a feud with a better talker or a heel.
That was amazing from Ronda Rousey.
I've no objection to them moving Rousey onto a better feud (I thought she looked pretty decent against Nia given how green she is) but more Alexa?
Alexa deserves it. She's incredible.
That said Ronda is just on another level to anyone else. She's almost enough for me to keep the network, but not quite.
Big Cass has been released, for some reason.
Good news, he's awful. Not sure I've seen a less threatening big man type.
Wasn't even wished well in his future endeavours. He must have done something.
Best news I've heard all week.
Early rumour is he really committed to his heel turn and was actually the one in that hotel room in Phoenix.
I didn't hate significant portions of MITB. The women's ladder match was great, I have a lot of time for an instant cash in too (as long as you don't think too hard about the very recent booking of everyone involved). Rollings was great again. The last man standing match was pretty good for such an inherently shit stipulation, fair play to Nakamura for taking that Style Clash and letting AJ hoof him right in the plums.
I'm normally the first to praise the women these days (they've kept me somewhat interested when my interest in any male storyline has reached 0) but I thought the MITB match was average at best. No real drama, just plodding along until Becky/Bliss botched the ending.
Ronda Vs Nia and the cash in afterwards was good stuff though.
I did not watch Styles Vs Nakamura and despite the reviews, I won't. They've burnt me with 3 piss poor matches, so fuck them.
Big Cass fucked up didn't he? If so then
I thought the women's one started well with a few nifty sequences but as you say became a bit plodding and that sequence where there were loads of them on two ladders felt endless. I think it was better than last year's but still suffers for a lack of proper bumps.
I didn't like AJ/ Nakamura that much but then I don't really care for last man standing matches.
Asuka losing by spending a minute staring at James Ellsworth seemed a particular bad use of their distraction trope.
Yeah, that went on way too long and just made everyone involved look thick.
Him trying to wink was particularly special.
https://twitter.com/itsvadertime/sta...47703418408960
Vader died Monday
Best big man ever? Struggling to think of any better.
Him, Bam Bam Bigelow and Big Show are the names that stand out for me, assuming the likes of Undertaker are a different category.
Yokozuna.
Japan really does do everything better, look who's doing the music (?) for the G1.
Toggle Spoiler
I suppose Andre the Giant is the greatest big man in the sense that he changed (revolutionised?) the industry, but Big Show is the best actual rassler/performer ever over a certain size.
I'd separate giants from big men, people like Vader, Bigelow, Michael Elgin or Keith Lee these days. All big but far more mobile than Big Show or Andre (or Khali, lol).
He may well be the best big man if you don't count any of the other good ones.
In big man terms, let's never forget the Twin Towers, RIP 9/11 XXX
Just seen the news about Vader
What a man he was.