Pro Wrestling Discussion Thread **Spoilers Possible**

[Toddzilla]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

The Neville-Zayn feud was better written than anything WWE has done in awhile. The long build-up of Zayn to this moment. The storytelling during the match and the attack at the end. People actually cared about the match. Is there any story in WWE right now that people care about?

This.

And if NXT had to sell merch or generate clicks, they would have hotshotted the Zayn win over Neville 3 weeks in and had the title flip 5 more times already.

[miami_fan]

WWE star Kevin Nash and son booked on battery, released - CNN.com

Alcohol-fueled hostility ended with a famous professional wrestler pinning his son down at their Florida home early Christmas Eve, sheriff's deputies said.

Former ring star Kevin Nash, alias Diesel, and his teenage son Tristen were booked on battery and later released without bond, according to arrest records from the Volusia County Sheriff's Office

[Jughead Spock]

Nash is an inarguable ass, but from what I've read - at least on the surface - hard to fault him here. Although, it's likely a result of absentee parenting to begin with.

[molson]

Alcohol plus family getting together around the holidays equals big business for defense attorneys!

[dubb93]

As far I can tell, son comes home drunk. Son assaults mom, dad (Nash) puts son down on the ground. Police are called. Mom lies and says that it was a misunderstanding. Police arrest dad, presumably because he is big and scary, possibly drunk? Mom changes story and says son was actually the aggressor, but police don't buy it.

A couple of hours later son is ready for round 2. Son assaults mom and then uncle. Police come out and again and drag him in. Honestly, I can't believe charges are even being pressed against Kevin Nash at this point. IMO police botched the initial investigation and took the wrong guy in. You can even hear Kevin Nash in the background of the initial call saying to someone that his son is drunk and completely out of control.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by dubb93

As far I can tell, son comes home drunk. Son assaults mom, dad (Nash) puts son down on the ground. Police are called. Mom lies and says that it was a misunderstanding. Police arrest dad, presumably because he is big and scary, possibly drunk? Mom changes story and says son was actually the aggressor, but police don't buy it.

A couple of hours later son is ready for round 2. Son assaults mom and then uncle. Police come out and again and drag him in. Honestly, I can't believe charges are even being pressed against Kevin Nash at this point. IMO police botched the initial investigation and took the wrong guy in. You can even hear Kevin Nash in the background of the initial call saying to someone that his son is drunk and completely out of control.

I thought it was pretty standard for the man of the house to be removed from the home in any domestic violence call.

[SirFozzie]

Longest & Most Epic Chop Exchange in Wrestling History - YouTube

Over 360 chops thrown. I hope they wore very loose shirts the next couple of days

[molson]

Daniel Bryan on Twitter:

"Everyone comes to a crossroads in their life and I’ve come to mine. I look forward to telling you all about it tonight on #Raw."

Retirement or teasing retirement to announce a return, it looks like.

I'm guessing the latter, just because Meltzer reported that his arm strength has started to come back. But maybe they found something else.

Or he just shaved his beard.

[Suicane75]

If you love wrestling and are sick of the shit WWE is putting out, I'm here to guide you.

1. Go to njpwworld.com
2. Sign Up
3. Whether you've heard of them or not, watch the Nakamura/Ibushi match from last nights Wrestle Kingdom show.
4. Go back to the beginning and watch the whole damn show.
5. Take a deep breath as you remember why you love wrestling in the first place.

[cartman]

WrestleMania 32 will be held next April at Jerry's World. They almost certainly will break the attendance record set at WM3.

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/metro...l-announce.ece

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by cartman

They almost certainly will break the attendance record set at WM3.

Yep, and i bet they have to paper 20% of the crowd to do it.

[molson]

No shame in papering if they can fill the building up - the important number is the gate, and they definitely have a chance to break their record there. I'd imagine lots of people want to check out that stadium, and if they're a wrestling fan, this would be the idea time to do it. Tickets above the floor will be very affordable, and it won't be as expensive to travel to and stay in Dallas as it is to go to New York or the Bay area

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by molson

No shame in papering if they can fill the building up - the important number is the gate, and they definitely have a chance to break their record there. I'd imagine lots of people want to check out that stadium, and if they're a wrestling fan, this would be the idea time to do it. Tickets above the floor will be very affordable, and it won't be as expensive to travel to and stay in Dallas as it is to go to New York or the Bay area

Yeah. You will be able to do WM for cheaper than a football game, I expect.

[RainMaker]

LOL the Rumble is turning into a disaster

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

LOL the Rumble is turning into a disaster

The phrase I saw that might cover it was "Bootista wasn't this big a disaster"

[Neuqua]

Getting a Philly crowd to become disinterested is quite the feat.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Neuqua

Getting a Philly crowd to become disinterested is quite the feat.

Especially considering the pop that a returning ECW legend was worth. (Should they have saved that guy for a little life after the Elimination Of Doom? )

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Especially considering the pop that a returning ECW legend was worth. (Should they have saved that guy for a little life after the Elimination Of Doom? )

The booking is bizarre. They had to figure knocking Bryan out would cause the crowd to turn and should have setup something to get them back in it. I mean I think the next guy out was the dumb New Day gimmick.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Meanwhile, I guess the fans got ... Rock-rolled

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

The booking is bizarre. They had to figure knocking Bryan out would cause the crowd to turn and should have setup something to get them back in it. I mean I think the next guy out was the dumb New Day gimmick.

I wonder what the record for consecutive entrants being booed was before tonight?

[RainMaker]

How did this company think Roman would get cheered?

[JonInMiddleGA]

And how odd (as I watch the waves of chat room posts flowing around the net) to have two guys apparently never eliminated legally.

Axel never went over the top, Rusev (I gather) rolled himself out under the ropes. I'm pretty sure Curtis Axel ain't saving the match with a big win at the end so ... what was the point of that really?

[PilotMan]

I hate to say it, but I think it's all by design. Maybe I'm giving them too much credit, but Vince has done it before.

[RainMaker]

Wow

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

I hate to say it, but I think it's all by design. Maybe I'm giving them too much credit, but Vince has done it before.

It's the ol' "Fuck you" from VKM. Nothing new about that at all really.

Although rumors have been that Vince actually wanted Rock vs Brock for WM while Trips wanted Reigns vs Brock

[RainMaker]

Have to give them credit for finding a way to get the crowd to turn on even The Rock

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

It's the ol' "Fuck you" from VKM. Nothing new about that at all really.

Although rumors have been that Vince actually wanted Rock vs Brock for WM while Trips wanted Reigns vs Brock

It does help that WM is the next "big" event. Somehow it's a Skinner Box, that if the last one didn't reward you the next one surely will.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Good point made out in the cyberverse ... biggest night of Reigns life, he gets booed out of the building really through no fault of his own. This one rests solely on the powers that be, not on Reigns.

And that, y'know, does kinda suck.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Apparently the post-show thing started the Rusev-Cena feud.

[Neuqua]

Agreed. Just like last year it wasn't Batista's fault either.

I just don't get it. You have the most over guy on the roster in years eliminated before #16?

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Neuqua

Agreed. Just like last year it wasn't Batista's fault either.

I just don't get it. You have the most over guy on the roster in years eliminated before #16?

It's so weird that they try to manufacture top babyfaces when the fans clearly are telling them who they want as the top babyface. It's almost like they book out of spite.

[Mota]

Reigns has always been the third most talented guy in The Shield. He looks cool and has a few shiny moves, but he can't talk. Right now he's just a highlight reel wrestler, any match over 8 minutes of his is super boring. He can't be a top singles wrestler, not in 2015 at least. He obviously still has a ton to learn before being ready, and he can't learn it while being overpushed and vilified by the crowd.

This is VKM saying "The fans don't know what they want. _I_ know what they want". (as in another muscle gronk overpushed like Cena)

Actually the fans do know exactly what they want and WWE doesn't care. And this is why their ratings are at a near-record low.

[Mota]

Originally Posted by Neuqua

Agreed. Just like last year it wasn't Batista's fault either.

I just don't get it. You have the most over guy on the roster in years eliminated before #16?

Why put him in the Royal Rumble at all if he's not going to win? Do they remember 2014? Or was that too long ago?

[Mota]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Have to give them credit for finding a way to get the crowd to turn on even The Rock

Yeah he came out to give Roman Reigns "the rub" and Roman actually gave him "the rub".

[BishopMVP]

On the plus side, Seth Rollins trying to one-up Adrian Neville... https://pbs.twimg.com/tweet_video/B8PhAUNIAAA-OxV.mp4

[IlliniCub]

The only thing I can remotely think of putting interest in the match would be a Rollins cash in of some sort before mania and then the revenge match between Rollins and Reigns at Wrestlemania. Not to mention Brock is probably done after Mania and going back to UFC. Didn't they learn from the last time they put Brock in a Mania match when the whole world knows he's gone? The fans will crap all over it.

[RainMaker]

I think I'm out on my network subscription. Have been debating it for awhile now. Fast Lane looks like a throwaway PPV and the WM looks to be shaping up terribly. I'd only be in for comedic value at this point.

[Logan]

I'm not a wrestling guy but apparently a lot of the sports media guys I follow on Twitter are. Can someone summarize what exactly happened last night and why it's such a big deal? Thanks.

[PilotMan]

The question is, are they ready to put the title on Roman right now? Because on paper I don't see the guy they've built in Brock losing to the guy they've built in Roman. The flip side is, would they really be willing to keep the belt on Brock even longer?

I do like that they've finally moved away from the belt swapping every other week on Raw.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by IlliniCub

The only thing I can remotely think of putting interest in the match would be a Rollins cash in of some sort before mania and then the revenge match between Rollins and Reigns at Wrestlemania. Not to mention Brock is probably done after Mania and going back to UFC. Didn't they learn from the last time they put Brock in a Mania match when the whole world knows he's gone? The fans will crap all over it.

Oh, I think he's done, but I don't think there is any way he goes back to the UFC. Those scars are still there and that division isn't somewhere an old guy can go and be competitive. He still might make money there, but a couple of losses and you take away from what you accomplished there. OTOH, he pretty much said he'd never go back to the WWE too.

I think you could be on to something though. Roman/Rollins would be more intriguing than Brock/Roman.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Logan

I'm not a wrestling guy but apparently a lot of the sports media guys I follow on Twitter are. Can someone summarize what exactly happened last night and why it's such a big deal? Thanks.

Tough to explain but fans feel like the WWE is forcing certain wrestlers down their throats while ignoring the ones they like. Basically fans want their stars to be created organically and WWE wants to create them artificially.

[molson]

There will be an all-state "travel ban" in effect in CT during RAW in Hartford tonight. If this were any other kind of sporting event, it'd get cancelled, but I can't remember the WWE ever cancelling a live TV event because of weather.

[RainMaker]

Word is that it's been cancelled.

[molson]

Wow. Not sure that's good or bad to let Rumble simmer for another week. Wonder if they'll run anything else in the timeslot.

[RainMaker]

I think it's probably better for them that it's cancelled. Heat dies down a little bit. Could have gotten ugly tonight on Raw.

[mmartin68]

They putting on a live show Thursday on Smackdown to make up for missing the live Raw. VKM just doesn't understand that the hardcore viewers want to see a guy who can wrestle like D Bryan and CM Punk. We don't need muscle bound freaks that can't wrestle.

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by mmartin68

They putting on a live show Thursday on Smackdown to make up for missing the live Raw. VKM just doesn't understand that the hardcore viewers want to see a guy who can wrestle like D Bryan and CM Punk. We don't need muscle bound freaks that can't wrestle.

It isn't even that. It's a complete inability to read their audience and it goes beyond the "hardcore." If they would have put Roman Reigns over last year the crowd would have went crazy. The Shield was hot and the way Roman was booked up to and in the Rumble the crowd wanted him to win (well, in the same way they wanted Dolph Ziggler to win this year). Instead they put over Batista and the crowd shit on it.

Flash forward one year later and now heading into and including the Rumble match itself, Reigns has been booked like shit and exposed. Couple that with a crowd that is hot for the return of Daniel Bryan and Dolph Zigglermania....and you put over Reigns. Really?

Last year they ended up including Bryan because they fucked up the road to Wrestlemania by not putting over one of the guys the crowd wanted to see win (which was a short list that did include Bryan). This year they are falling into the same trap. Putting over a guy that the crowd simply didn't want to see win. Roman with The Shield last year > than Roman coming off injury and acting like a complete doufus this year.

Really this should have been the year of Dean Ambrose. The dude was the breakout star of The Shield split over the summer but in true WWE post Attitude era fashion instead of running with it they decided he was over shadowing Roman Reigns and gave him the Cesaro treatment. I simply do not understand why this company books without regard to the audience reaction.

[RainMaker]

The Rumble should be easy to book. You put over a face who got popular organically or you put over a heel. How can you screw that up two years in a row?

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by dubb93

Really this should have been the year of Dean Ambrose.

QFT

[Toddzilla]

Watch for Reigns and Rollins to swtich roles before WM - Rollins is super-over and will be an easy guy to cheer, and Reigns is a natural heat-magent. This way they can push Lesnar as the face at WM.