Pro Wrestling Discussion Thread **Spoilers Possible**

[murrayyyyy]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

Main event reaction: Really?

Main event reaction... sets up Dallas.

Enjoyed Rollins-Cena the most. Divas match was probably the worst.

[RainMaker]

Ehhhh I don't care to see Taker-Lesnar anymore. Would rather see him matched up with the younger talent where they can do some cooler in-ring stuff.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

I've seen indies for $5 come closer to hitting a spot than that.

But which one fucked up? It looks to me as though the recipient stopped short (and with her arms up was tentative about taking the move maybe?)

[molson]

I love little things like this in pro wrestling - one of the Matadors saving the ending of the tag team match when the other Matador falls off the ropes.

https://i.imgur.com/oT6sx6l.gifv

And I think the main event ending was a nice alternative to the normal way that type of angle has always been done. Where the ref gets knocked out, the heel gets a visual three count or a tap-out, and then the ref comes to and the face wins. This one accomplished that same general goal except with a little more effort. And it fit Lesnar more, to have it feel more like the end of a controversial MMA fight.

Summerslam and NXT made for a really fun 6-hour or so block of wrestling last night after a weekend away. RAW should be fun tonight. I believe this is the first time in pro wrestling history that a company has run sold-out TV shows on three consecutive nights in the same building.

[murrayyyyy]

So is it safe to assume that the Bella drops the belt tonight? It's the only title that wasn't up for grabs. The us title is off her man and if she drops the belt they can take time off.

[RainMaker]

No chance. They are trying to spite AJ's record so it won't change till the end of September.

[murrayyyyy]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

No chance. They are trying to spite AJ's record so it won't change till the end of September.

Crap, thought that was this PPV. Guessing it's the next one. Oh well gives them a month to pick who it will be then.

[RainMaker]

My guess is it'll be Becky or Charlotte. Having Becky get the pin last night makes me think she'll be the one they push.

I do think it'll eventually end up on Sasha either before or at Wrestlemania. She's the most talented female on the roster at the moment.

[murrayyyyy]

Well that was quite a show if you don't do spoilers.

1) New Wyatt family member that didn't come from a turn or NXT. Nice...
2) Dudley Boys come back to help tag division after 10 years. Nice...
3) Sting comes back to take on Rollins @ NOC. Nice... (more later)
4) Miz is the most over diva and they have destroyed the revolution now. Vince...

So are we now on a course of having Sting win at NOC and not wrestling again until Mania (against Cena) and Rollins defending the US title for a while? For most WWE fans being anti-WCW/TNA this was a very WCW/TNA weekend and it's be received pretty well.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by murrayyyyy

For most WWE fans being anti-WCW/TNA this was a very WCW/TNA weekend and it's be received pretty well.

I don't know that I've really perceived it that way, at least not since the end of the Monday Night Wars.

I think there's a lot of "oh that's just an inferior product" vibe about anyone/everyone else but I don't know that it felt directed at the wrestlers so much as toward the overall packaging/presentation.

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by murrayyyyy

3) Sting comes back to take on Rollins @ NOC. Nice... (more later)

So are we now on a course of having Sting win at NOC and not wrestling again until Mania (against Cena)

No freakin' way. The booking has been bad, but they can't honestly put the belt on a 56 year old semi-retired wrestler who has never won a match in the WWE ring can they? I get it, it's Sting. He's a legend. I watched WCW more than WWF in the mid to late 90's. He's an icon.

If they blow the shield explode triple threat and storyline at Wrestlemania again and opt to put a 56 year old vs. a 38 year old then they deserve all the shit that gets tossed on them at this point.

I suspect the three main events at Wrestlemania this year to be Cena vs. Sting, Undertaker vs. Lesnar, and Rock vs. HHH and we will all hear about how none of the young guys are willing to reach for the brass again from McMahon for another year.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by murrayyyyy

So are we now on a course of having Sting win at NOC and not wrestling again until Mania (against Cena) and Rollins defending the US title for a while? For most WWE fans being anti-WCW/TNA this was a very WCW/TNA weekend and it's be received pretty well.

Hard to imagine they're going to pull the trigger on something as big as putting the world title on Sting at a B-level PPV with just a few weeks of build up. Instead, we'll get some sort of screwy finish to set up a rematch and/or Sting's Wrestlemania opponent. (Which would make it three straight PPVs where the main event doesn't accomplish anything but set up a future main event. Have to think the fans catch on to that booking pretty quickly.)

[murrayyyyy]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

Hard to imagine they're going to pull the trigger on something as big as putting the world title on Sting at a B-level PPV with just a few weeks of build up. Instead, we'll get some sort of screwy finish to set up a rematch and/or Sting's Wrestlemania opponent. (Which would make it three straight PPVs where the main event doesn't accomplish anything but set up a future main event. Have to think the fans catch on to that booking pretty quickly.)

Well it's too soon for Sheamus to cash in and promote his TMNT movie role... (This is what the WWE has become) so I'm not sure who/what would get them the media attention.

[Mota]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

Hard to imagine they're going to pull the trigger on something as big as putting the world title on Sting at a B-level PPV with just a few weeks of build up. Instead, we'll get some sort of screwy finish to set up a rematch and/or Sting's Wrestlemania opponent. (Which would make it three straight PPVs where the main event doesn't accomplish anything but set up a future main event. Have to think the fans catch on to that booking pretty quickly.)

But we don't buy PPV shows anymore so it doesn't really matter how they book it.

Unfortunately that is why they are bleeding viewers for Raw and Smackdown, every year there are less people watching. Remember a few years ago when it was considered a disaster to go below a 3.0? Now they would dream of hitting that rating.

I still watch the PPV shows but I can't watch the TV shows anymore. 3 hours of TV every Monday, of which 2 1/2 hours are filler is just too much for me to take. 3 hours a month is about all I can handle these days. There's way too much good TV out there, there is no need to watch filler.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by Mota

But we don't buy PPV shows anymore so it doesn't really matter how they book it.

But isn't the Network month-to-month in the US? It is in Canada, and we always have it worse than everyone else, so I'm assuming it's the same or better down there. And if so, we basically are buying PPVs, since that's the main (only?) draw.

Given that they've bet the company on the Network strategy, you'd think they'd want to stay away from sending the message that nothing matters and it's always all about some other PPV down the road. But I guess they know better...

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by cartman

I'd been looking for this for a while. If you were a WCCW fan, or heard about them and wondered what the big deal was, this is a must see. The whole thing is on YouTube.

Heroes Of World Class - The Story Of The Von Erich's & The Rise & Fall Of World Class (HD UNCUT) - YouTube

Finally got to watch this, this week. Talk about an emotional roller coaster. I enjoyed it, but just felt sad by the end. I had no idea that Kerry had his foot amputated while he was out. It's damned impressive that he even came back to wrestling afterward. Oh, and Fritz was a fuck-up.

[Mota]

I am watching New Japan Pro Wrestling from 2012 right now and it's amazing. Just finished watching Okada / Tanahashi for the IWGP title, and it's everything that's great about wrestling. The match went about 30 minutes, the crowd was pretty much insane by the end with the teases and buildup. Tanahashi finally won the title in the end with his finisher (which he only did once and it doesn't get kicked out of very often).

After the match, they always make a big deal, and present the champion with a series of trophies and awards, and then the title. It feels like a major accomplishment. After that he gets challenged by Makabe to a future match, so the buildup begins for the next show. And finally, he has his Hulk Hogan moment and plays air guitar in front of the crowd who is loving it.

I have no idea what they're saying because I don't speak Japanese, but they tell such a good story that I don't need to. This is wrestling.

[Suicane75]

I was a complete virgin to NJPW when I ordered WrestleKingdom this year and despite not knowing anyone on the card or their reps (outside of the Americans), and it being in a foreign language, it was easily the most fun I've had watching a wrestling show in years.

I was legit bummed, as if I was watching a real sporting event, when Nakamura lost to Tanahashi in the G1 finals.

[albionmoonlight]

Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka Charged with 3rd Degree Murder, Involuntary Manslaughter | The Big Lead

I had no idea he was a person of interest in a 1983 death. Before my time.

[molson]

So in the first day and a half of this week:

-The WWE releases Seth Rollins' girlfriend, a developmental wrestler, because it appears from her social media accounts that she's super into Nazis

-Hulk Hogan goes on Good Morning America to talk about his racist rants

-Deranged individual obsessed with AJ Lee and Lita goes to the WWE performance center, shits in a bucket there and sings weird songs, and ends up getting shot by police

-TNA's Bram gets arrested for domestic violence.

-Jimmy Snuka finally charged in the 1983 death of his girlfriend.

[murrayyyyy]

Originally Posted by molson

So in the first day and a half of this week:

-The WWE releases Seth Rollins' girlfriend, a developmental wrestler, because it appears from her social media accounts that she's super into Nazis

-Hulk Hogan goes on Good Morning America to talk about his racist rants

-Deranged individual obsessed with AJ Lee and Lita goes to the WWE performance center, shits in a bucket there and sings weird songs, and ends up getting shot by police

-TNA's Bram gets arrested for domestic violence.

-Jimmy Snuka finally charged in the 1983 death of his girlfriend.

You forgot to add 3 women's matches on one RAW. From what I hear it was a delete/don't watch RAW last night.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by molson

-Jimmy Snuka finally charged in the 1983 death of his girlfriend.

Finally.

[Sublime 2]

[PilotMan]

No talk about Sting's possible career ending injury last night?

In better news, Lucha Underground was just greenlit for season 2.

[RainMaker]

Seems kind of dumb to put a 56-year old in a title match that demands a lot of physicality.

[Suicane75]

If you can't get enough of Kane & The Big Show, RAW is the show for you.

[CorporalClegg]

Lucha Underground Season 2's officially being announced is great news. It's been one of the more entertaining shows to me - wrestling or otherwise- in quite awhile. And I'm not even a big Lucha fan - so many of the moves there even look like they're doing as much damage to the person landing them as the person they're attacking (even if they go exactly as planned- so it basically becomes what are you thinking there or what's the game plan?) Even the authority figure/scheming owner (which I really don't care for as a story anymore) works for some reason. And there's an actual dragon.

If you're not watching it, it's worth giving it a try.

[Suicane75]

Seconded. The reason the tropes work in Lucha Underground, IMO at least, is because A) The guy who plays Dario Cueto is a real actor, and he's awesome. And B) They actually write their story out ahead of time and stick to it, so the payoffs actually deliver, unlike, say WWE, where they change their minds constantly.

That, and although it is based around wrestling, they're telling a story. Whereas WWE likes to think they're making movies, LU actually is a movie. Nothing was as awesome to me last year as the story of Angelico, Son Of Havoc and Ivellise overcoming the odds to win the trios title.

They know going in what's going to happen in the season, they build to it, and it all makes sense.

[Scarecrow]

Amazing blog post from (of all people) Vince Russo:

Sting Deserves Better

[Mota]

Another great NJPW match this time from the Tokyo Dome show in January 2013. (I'm using New Japan World)

Nakamura vs. Sakuraba for the IWGP Intercontinental Title

Great match, it wasn't all that long, but it is a totally different style from anything I've seen before. The match played itself off as an MMA match, with a ton of kicks and knees, and very little in terms of pro wrestling moves. Sakuraba actually knocks out Nakamura legit at one point with a knee to the face as Nakamura was shooting in for a takedown. He knew he screwed up there for sure.

So happy that I subscribed to this service, I'm down to watching WWE PPV only with my son, completely ignoring Raw and Smackdown for some time. NJPW is filling my need for pro wrestling and giving me a far better product than I've been watching for a long time.

[Ryche]

Seth Rollins blew out his knee last night, out 6-9 months Tournament to take place at Survivor Series to crown a new champion.

[molson]

No Cena, Orton, Rollins, and probably Lesnar for the next few months or longer. This is probably good time to put Reigns on top, he's getting over again and is having really good matches. But I have no idea who he'll feud with first. It can't possibly be Wyatt again. Maybe its time for the Ambrose heel turn. Or maybe Owens, they've been teasing that one for a few weeks. Or Sheamus, if they want to guarantee that Reigns won't get crowd hate. It might be time for some NXT callups too.

[Mota]

Oh crap, that really sucks. Rollins is one of the most talented guys on the roster even if he is being poorly booked (1-17 record will do that for you).

Bring on the Roman Reigns era. I think it will be akin to the Kevin Nash era in 1995. It'll make the next deserving champion look REALLY good, that's for sure. But then again, who else do they have???

[murrayyyyy]

Originally Posted by molson

No Cena, Orton, Rollins, and probably Lesnar for the next few months or longer. This is probably good time to put Reigns on top, he's getting over again and is having really good matches. But I have no idea who he'll feud with first. It can't possibly be Wyatt again. Maybe its time for the Ambrose heel turn. Or maybe Owens, they've been teasing that one for a few weeks. Or Sheamus, if they want to guarantee that Reigns won't get crowd hate. It might be time for some NXT callups too.

Not sure why you turn Ambrose heel as I'm not sure I can name 4 faces on RAW right now.

Reigns, Ambrose, Ziggler...Cesaro?

As much as I like ADR, you can't put him in the face role or a 2nd title on him this quick. You can't really have an Authority story line anymore plus Kane/Undertaker are set up for Wyatt feud.

[molson]

RAW is taping now because they're in the UK. Here's the tournament bracket, I'm guessing they'll do the first two rounds on TV before Survivor Series.

Spoiler

They're definitely telegraphing a certain outcome, but I could see a couple of different swerves.

[RainMaker]

I'm guessing Roman-Ambrose or Roman-Owens. They really don't have much main event talent on the roster. I guess Roman-Ambrose could end in one of them turning on the other.

[IlliniCub]

I'm worried they'll do Ambrose-Reigns with Ambrose turning. Ambrose turning makes no sense for his character. He's a crazy guy that liked to beat people up, a natural face. Reigns on the other and should turn join the authority and then blame the fans for rejecting him at the rumble and Wrestlemania. He wins the belt heels it up for a while and then people will be itching to accept him as a face when the time comes. He was loved when he was a heel and bad ass in the shield.

[Carman Bulldog]

I'm disappointed that it doesn't look like they are doing anything with Cesaro, other than possibly jobbing him out to Reigns in the quarterfinals. The fans are so ready to cheer him and I think having Cesaro against a heel Reigns could be big.

As it is, I still like the idea of turning Reigns heel. Run it similar to The Deadly Game tournament with Reigns in the role of The Rock, Ambrose as Stone Cold and Kevin Owens as Mankind.

Have The Authority show some sort of disdain for the two ex-Shield members and stack the deck against them. They will have to unite together to get through things. Meanwhile, HHH informs Owens that he is their chosen one. He says that NXT business boomed when Owens became NXT Champion. NXT is Triple H's baby and as a way to thank Owens, he wants to give Owens The Authority's full support and also believes Owens can boost WWE business the way he did NXT business. Owens is indifferent but as a prize fighter he wants what's best for his family and if it takes The Authority's support to get him there, so be it.

In the semi-finals, Ambrose aids Reigns in reaching the finals. In the other semi final, Reigns "inadvertently" costs Ambrose the match against Owens. Something not obvious at the time but that we can look back at and see that Roman did it intentionally. In the finals, The Authority aids Roman as he turns heel in capturing the title.

They reveal that Roman is their new chosen one, he has the look, charisma, pedigree, etc. At that point, you've got fresh potential matches with Roman vs. a disgruntled tweener Owens (run this in December and January), versus a pissed off Ambrose (potentially the Royal Rumble winner for a Wrestlemania matchup), vs. a returning Cena at some point in the new year, a rematch vs. Brock down the line, vs. a returning Rollins in the summer and maybe even Orton at some point.

[murrayyyyy]

I think Reigns turn on Ambrose to join the Authority will be how it ends now with Reigns winning because of Trips helping him win. He made a point during his script to point our he wouldn't be joining HHH tonight. Doesn't mean he won't do it later.

Then you can turn Seth to a face when he comes back. I mean you still have Sheamus with MIB but isn't he suppose to take over before the movie comes out in June?

[RainMaker]

Yeah I'd rather see Reigns turn on Ambrose. Ambrose is kind of a PG version of Austin at this point. Reigns would make a great heel corporate champ with how many of the fans view him as Vince's chosen guy.

I don't know if Owens can be a face. Maybe a tweener like Punk had during his Summer run but I think he's going to be at his best as a heel who the smarks like.

[Carman Bulldog]

Anyone else watching Breaking Ground on the Network? If not, I highly recommend it. Great behind the scenes documentary style look at NXT, the WWE Performance Centre and the individuals behind the characters.

I always liked Tyler Breeze the character but you get to see a little bit of what Matt Clement is really like and also get a real appreciation for just how developed the Tyler character is and how much he gets into it.

[Mota]

Breaking Ground is really good. To me, that and NXT show the potential for storytelling. Raw and Smackdown are the antithesis to this, this is corporate profiteering and old out of touch people running the show.

They have so many talented workers, and it's funny at how quickly they can go from popular and over superstars, to mid-card jobbers almost immediately after being promoted.

I'll continue to watch Breaking Ground and NXT for sure, that is good TV.

Also, Raw ratings continue to be among the worst in the past 20 years. Even with a World Title tournament, they can't keep the viewers from tuning out. They have been trying to push Roman Reigns for so long against the wishes of the crowd, it makes me wonder if the people that were against this just tuned out and stopped watching. I wonder how different things would be if they actually listened to their customers and let the pushes happen naturally instead of forcing them upon us.

[miami_fan]

WWE Hall of Famer Nick Bockwinkel Dies at Age 80 | Bleacher Report

[stevew]

Hate it when wrestlers die young

[molson]

Random fact, the oldest living member of the WWE Hall of Fame is now Mr. Fuji, also 80. With Abdullah the Butcher a close second at 79. Abdullah might still be working if not for getting Hep C.

[Toddzilla]

um, Abby got no legs

[Toddzilla]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

um, Abby got no legs

NM, I'm thinking about Kamala

[murrayyyyy]

Originally Posted by molson

Random fact, the oldest living member of the WWE Hall of Fame is now Mr. Fuji, also 80. With Abdullah the Butcher a close second at 79. Abdullah might still be working if not for getting Hep C.

Abdullah isn't 79 years old. He's "only" 74. Bruno Sammartino is the 2nd oldest in the HOF and he just turned 80 not to long ago. Of course if someone put in Jimmie Walker he'd be older but Mr Wrestling II will never make it.

Supposedly Bob Armstrong still wrestles and he is 76.

[molson]

Originally Posted by murrayyyyy

Abdullah isn't 79 years old. He's "only" 74. Bruno Sammartino is the 2nd oldest in the HOF and he just turned 80 not to long ago. Of course if someone put in Jimmie Walker he'd be older but Mr Wrestling II will never make it.

Supposedly Bob Armstrong still wrestles and he is 76.

Wikipedia has Abdullah at 79, but I wouldn't be surprised if he had different birth dates floating around.

Forgot about Sammartino. He's about 5 months younger than Fuji.

I watched all of these guys wrestle as a kid.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Just when you thought TNA couldn't find a worse "TV deal" than Destination America ... welcome to Pop TV in Jan 2016.

Between the time slots given to ROH by their own parent company and TNA's comical efforts, I'm really not sure why anyone could possibly think there's any viability in anyone other than WWE on U.S. television at this point.