Pro Wrestling Discussion Thread **Spoilers Possible**

[SirFozzie]

Did you see who's returning this month for TNA Jon?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Did you see who's returning this month for TNA Jon?

Yeah, it's a little sooner than I expected, but at this point I don't think it can do any more harm than has already been done.

Between Mantell & Russo's lamebrain ideas & pet projects, and Jarrett (reportedly) telling the X-Division guys to stop selling & just bounce around "like a video game", I'm starting to think it might be hopeless

[WVUFAN]

John Cena is a geek.

hxxp://www.ugo.com/channels/sports/features/wrestling/?page=John%20Cena%%20%2020Interview%20&cur=page4

Specifically, a PC geek, but he did make a reference to Robotech in the interview.

My opinion of him has risen.

[DeToxRox]

ROH All Star Extragavanza was INSANE

Alex Shelley made his return to ROH last night with Sabin to challenge the Briscoes for the Tag Titles (they won them back last night) but during the match Mark Briscoe went for a SSP to the outside and almost died. He was taken out in a stretcher in the back I hear, blood was pooling up where he hit. Unreal.

Jack Evans vs Roderick Strong was unreal too. Awesome shoe.

[molson]

If anyone's interested, WWE.com has the first few hours of the hall of fame inductions in a few minutes, with the last hour to be on USA tonight. These have been pretty entertaining the last couple of years.

[SirFozzie]

Originally Posted by DeToxRoxDVHStyle

ROH All Star Extragavanza was INSANE

Alex Shelley made his return to ROH last night with Sabin to challenge the Briscoes for the Tag Titles (they won them back last night) but during the match Mark Briscoe went for a SSP to the outside and almost died. He was taken out in a stretcher in the back I hear, blood was pooling up where he hit. Unreal.

Jack Evans vs Roderick Strong was unreal too. Awesome shoe.

He basically landed completely flat on the SSP. Splatted real good. They still had to finish the match against the DG guys to get the Briscoes the titles. Mark was somewhat ok, they had someone team up with Jay for tonight's card.

Sabin/Shelley versus the Briscoes next month can be good, as long as someone reigns the Briscoes in.

Apparently the Dragon Gate main event was completely off the hook tonight

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

He basically landed completely flat on the SSP. Splatted real good. They still had to finish the match against the DG guys to get the Briscoes the titles. Mark was somewhat ok, they had someone team up with Jay for tonight's card.

Sabin/Shelley versus the Briscoes next month can be good, as long as someone reigns the Briscoes in.

Apparently the Dragon Gate main event was completely off the hook tonight

It was fucking absurd.

I dunno if I can say it was better then last years but I think it was. I need to see it on tape but the shit they were pulling out was something you can never see anywhere else.

Whitmer/Jacobs in the cage was brutal. Lots of blood.

Mark Briscoe is still in the hospital after last night. A real shame.

[duckman]

How many of you are watching WrestleMania XXIII? I'm actually looking forward to the Money in the Bank match and the Michaels-Cena match.

[molson]

Originally Posted by duckman

How many of you are watching WrestleMania XXIII? I'm actually looking forward to the Money in the Bank match and the Michaels-Cena match.

I'll be getting it. Only 8 matches means that that they're banking on some of the stuff being able to go long and steal the show. And I'm a big fan of the huge football stadium venue for wrestling shows.

[Neon_Chaos]

Going to be watching it live from the Mall of Asia threater here in the Philippines.

Can't wait.

[DeToxRox]

I'll be watching it at a buddies for sure.

What ROH gave me in wrestling the E will give me in entertainment. I fully expect HBK/Cena to be better then anything I saw all weekend.

[molson]

What sounds particularly cool for the Mania setup is the "morphing" entrance ramps, which will vary depending on the wrestler. I'm not sure what that means exactly, but I guess they're setting a record for cables/lights/production trucks etc.

[DeToxRox]

Memories:

http://www.opsang.dk/rednex.mp3

RIP Curt Hennig

[MikeVic]

I'll be watching it.

[molson]

The one downer about Mania is the outcomes seem more predictable than usual this year. There's a pretty clear favorite in every match:

Lashely
Cena
Undertaker
Edge
Melina
MVP
Khali
ECW New Breed

I'd be pretty surprised if any of the above 8 aren't going over.

[bulletsponge]

Originally Posted by molson

The one downer about Mania is the outcomes seem more predictable than usual this year. There's a pretty clear favorite in every match:

Lashely
Cena
Undertaker
Edge
Melina
MVP
Khali
ECW New Breed

I'd be pretty surprised if any of the above 8 aren't going over.

you dont think that playmate hussie is going to win?

[molson]

Originally Posted by bulletsponge

you dont think that playmate hussie is going to win?

Nah, they didn't put the title on Christy Hemme in almost an identical match at mania 2 years ago, and Hemme was both more over and more talented than Ashley. It'll be a "valiant effort coming up short"

[DeToxRox]

As far as MITB goes I expect Kennedy or Punk ahead of Edge. I am a huge Punk mark so I am biased but I have this sense the reactions he's been getting are starting to finally make people realize he has "it" and I think Punk will use it to cash in on an ECW Title Shot.

If Kennedy wins or Edge tho I expect them to cash it in tonight. Wouldn't shock me at all.

[molson]

Originally Posted by DeToxRoxDVHStyle

If Kennedy wins or Edge tho I expect them to cash it in tonight. Wouldn't shock me at all.

Word is MITB is going on first tonight, so you may be right.

Maybe I'm overthinking the significance of Edge's "streak" - I always assumed they'd do Edge v. Undertaker at some point down the road. I can't see them throwing it that away in a match like this. But that's definitly the match that I'm least sure of.

[molson]

Show's what I know - I missed 3 of my predictions already.

3 Matches left with 2 hours of PPV time - Lashely/Umaga's going to be a long, bloated, overbooked, entertaining custerf**K

[Flasch186]

any updates?

[molson]

Originally Posted by Flasch186

any updates?

Entertaining show so far. Vince gets shaved, Trump gets stunnered. Taker wins WHC in a surprisingly good match. Show looks great with 80k plus people there.

-Kennedy wins MITB in standard crazy high-spot match. Jeff Hardy does the biggest spot, jumping off a ladder onto Edge, who was lying on another ladder, breaking it in half. Edge does the stretcher job, which looked planned, but the spot was brutal enough that you couldn't be sure.

-Dusty Rhodes, Eugene, Mike Rotundo, Slick, Ricky Steamboat, Mae Young, Moolah, and Sgt. Slaughter have a dance party. That's worth the price of admission right there.

-MVP looked like a star v. Chris Benoit, but lost the match.

-Khali over Kane and Melina over Ashley were very short "breather" matches, as they should have been.

-ECW originals surprisingly over ECW New Breed, with RVD dominating. I guess they're making their push to keep him once his contract's up.

[jbergey22]

Cena is still the champ

Very entertaining wrestlemania, Cena-Michaels, taker - Batista were great. Batista wrestled a great match for the first time I've seen.

[DeToxRox]

Anyone who shits on Batista/UT is crazy. Match of the Night. And I __HATE__ Batista. That was storytelling though. Best match I saw all weekend and I was at both ROH shows.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by molson

ECW originals surprisingly over ECW New Breed, with RVD dominating. I guess they're making their push to keep him once his contract's up.

My first thought upon seeing this result was that it was an indication that he's either already re-signed or that they've reached an agreement.

[molson]

Oh, and the barber's chair had it's own entrance and theme song. Which was amusing.

And next year's mania will be outdoors at the Citrus Bowl.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

My first thought upon seeing this result was that it was an indication that he's either already re-signed or that they've reached an agreement.

Yeah, can't say I doubt him either. The schedule may be better in TNA but at this point creativley he's far better off in the E.

[Schmidty]

I love Detroit, as everyone knows, but that crowd embarrassed me during the Cena/Michaels match. It was a great match, and Cena deserved a LOT more love. Michaels kicks ass, but dudes (mostly internet losers) that have this unintelligent fixation on hating Cena, need to go have sex with their wife (or hand), and realize that he isn't trying to steal their women. He's a very good wrestler regardless of his percieved easy "thug" style, and he's the best guy on the mic since The Rock. Give him the love he deserves, you fucking slobs.

As far as the Undertaker/Batista match goes, I have always despised both wrestlers, and usually change the channel when either wrestles, but DAMN that was a grea match. The best match by FAR. I still think they both have the charisma of a rock, but they certainly put on a great show.

Overall, I would say that the PPV was worth 20 buck, not 50. It was the first one I've bought in like 3 years, and I was slightly disappointed. My wife is in love with Cena now though, and that kind of cracks me up, because I am too.

[molson]

Originally Posted by Schmidty

I still think they both have the charisma of a rock, but they certainly put on a great show.

I did a double-take after that sentence until I realized you said charisma of "A" rock.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by Schmidty

I love Detroit, as everyone knows, but that crowd embarrassed me during the Cena/Michaels match. It was a great match, and Cena deserved a LOT more love. Michaels kicks ass, but dudes (mostly internet losers) that have this unintelligent fixation on hating Cena, need to go have sex with their wife (or hand), and realize that he isn't trying to steal their women. He's a very good wrestler regardless of his percieved easy "thug" style, and he's the best guy on the mic since The Rock. Give him the love he deserves, you fucking slobs.

As far as the Undertaker/Batista match goes, I have always despised both wrestlers, and usually change the channel when either wrestles, but DAMN that was a grea match. The best match by FAR. I still think they both have the charisma of a rock, but they certainly put on a great show.

Overall, I would say that the PPV was worth 20 buck, not 50. It was the first one I've bought in like 3 years, and I was slightly disappointed. My wife is in love with Cena now though, and that kind of cracks me up, because I am too.

Cena definetly has grown on me too and yes the crowd, for 80,000, sucked. I was shocked but the wrestling was solid all night long.

[molson]

Originally Posted by DeToxRoxDVHStyle

Cena definetly has grown on me too and yes the crowd, for 80,000, sucked. I was shocked but the wrestling was solid all night long.

Cena won me over after the Edge feud and especially the Umaga match at the Royal Rumble.

There's been some talk that maybe the WWE didn't properly mic the 80k+. I hope it was that, because otherwise, they were a disaster.

[MikeVic]

I think I'm kind of disappointed with Wrestlemania.

I really only cared about two matches: Money in the Bank and HBK/Cena. The rest I didn't care about at all, or felt the winner was so obvious that it would hurt my enjoyment of the match.

When Money in the Bank came on first, I knew it would be a long wait for the last match... and that hurt my enjoyment. Taker/Batista was alright, but you knew that Taker wasn't going to lose and that hurt my enjoyment.

I also think it'll be impossible to top Triple H's entrance from last year... I loved that song and whole Conan-esque thing so much. I think every Wrestlemania from now on will suffer in terms of spectacle to me because of that entrance.

[Deattribution]

Originally Posted by Schmidty

I love Detroit, as everyone knows, but that crowd embarrassed me during the Cena/Michaels match. It was a great match, and Cena deserved a LOT more love. Michaels kicks ass, but dudes (mostly internet losers) that have this unintelligent fixation on hating Cena, need to go have sex with their wife (or hand), and realize that he isn't trying to steal their women. He's a very good wrestler regardless of his percieved easy "thug" style, and he's the best guy on the mic since The Rock. Give him the love he deserves, you fucking slobs.

He's a good wrestler, and he has his niche down in the ring but his character is so stale it's crazy. Nobody cares about him - that's why they boo him. It has nothing to do with the tired argument that it's cause all the women want him yada yada - he's just boring.

They had the perfect reason to turn him last year, opportunity for endless amounts of fresh material at the fans expense - material that doesn't include fart jokes, homosexual innuendos and interviews that are a mixture between a unfunny Stone Cold and a poor man's People's Champ. They didn't do it cause they feel they know what the fans want more than the fans do.

Cena seems like a great guy - and he bust his ass but he's never going to reach the level of Hogan, Rock or Stone Cold until he actually has some substance - something other than being the guy who isn't a thug, or a rapper but just a guy who goes out wearing whatever creative thinks they can merchanize best (his belt, jersey's, wrist bands ect) and cuts promos that are so obviously scripted that it's like watching a puppet. He's not even in the same building as the Rock on the mic, but that's not necessarily all his fault although it doesn't matter who is to blame, it's still the case.

[MikeVic]

Oh yeah, I noticed the crowd last night too. I hope it just wasn't properly setup, because I don't think I heard a single extended chant all night. Did I miss any? I started hearing a faint "HBK" and "Let's go Taker" chant, but they died out quickly. Was there even a "Holy Shit!" chant after that Hardy/Edge spot?

[Maple Leafs]

That Hardy/Edge spot was so insane it's almost depressing. I mean, at this point I think they've just given up on the idea of not killing or crippling somebody in these matches. It's one thing to try a dangerous spot and have it go bad, but there's no possible way to do that spot safely. You just do it, and hope that both guys can still walk the next day.

[molson]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

That Hardy/Edge spot was so insane it's almost depressing. I mean, at this point I think they've just given up on the idea of not killing or crippling somebody in these matches. It's one thing to try a dangerous spot and have it go bad, but there's no possible way to do that spot safely. You just do it, and hope that both guys can still walk the next day.

That was pretty shocking in light of the “safe style” the WWE has employed the last few years. It did appear that the ladder was pre-cut, but if it didn’t break (which happens with tables from time to time), Edge breaks his back or worse.

[Neon_Chaos]

I'll have my eye on MVP. That match against benoit was pretty sick.

And we found it funny that Michaels had his hand on Cena's crotch for about 1 minute, during the count-out sequence when they were trying to get up.

[molson]

Originally Posted by Neon_Chaos

I'll have my eye on MVP. That match against benoit was pretty sick.

All he needs now is some decent ring attire. He has the star power, and he’s a far-above average worker by WWE standards. I think he has a higher upside than Kennedy.

[Neon_Chaos]

oh, and how about that streaking atempt? cena and michaels played it cool, so did the announcers... and the cameramen were quick to go out of focus as well.

I found it great that all six commentators were talking during the MITB match.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Neon_Chaos

And we found it funny that Michaels had his hand on Cena's crotch for about 1 minute, during the count-out sequence when they were trying to get up.

Yeah, wtf! JR said something like "they look like they're spent" right before that too. Talk about awkward.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by Deattribution

He's a good wrestler, and he has his niche down in the ring but his character is so stale it's crazy. Nobody cares about him - that's why they boo him. It has nothing to do with the tired argument that it's cause all the women want him yada yada - he's just boring.

They had the perfect reason to turn him last year, opportunity for endless amounts of fresh material at the fans expense - material that doesn't include fart jokes, homosexual innuendos and interviews that are a mixture between a unfunny Stone Cold and a poor man's People's Champ. They didn't do it cause they feel they know what the fans want more than the fans do.

Cena seems like a great guy - and he bust his ass but he's never going to reach the level of Hogan, Rock or Stone Cold until he actually has some substance - something other than being the guy who isn't a thug, or a rapper but just a guy who goes out wearing whatever creative thinks they can merchanize best (his belt, jersey's, wrist bands ect) and cuts promos that are so obviously scripted that it's like watching a puppet. He's not even in the same building as the Rock on the mic, but that's not necessarily all his fault although it doesn't matter who is to blame, it's still the case.

It seems you may be quite a bit off on many of your statements above. First you state "nobody cares about him", well I do so that makes that statement untrue. He doesnt get booed my everyone, the majority of the time lately he is cheered. He was booed vs Triple H at WM last year, RVD at ONS and against HBK during this WM. Again, in your second paragraph you continue to think you know what the fans want. Cena has been gaining a lot of momentum lately and McMahon seems to think he is the future of the company IMO. You would have a hard time convincing me that Vince McMahon doesnt know what he is doing, he has made billions proving just the opposite. Again in the 3rd paragraph you are calling him a thug that raps. This was his gimmick 2 years ago, he has changed to a military gimmick hence the salute when he comes in the ring. Again I disagree with you saying he is like watching a muppet on the mic, he is one of top intervieweres in the WWE today, he can do comedy, he can do emotional, he can even show fear. Even the rock has scripted interviews and he overused the same lines a he!! of a lot more than Cena. I'm not trying to come down hard on what you are saying but you are saying the same as all the Cena bashers say, its nothing new!!! Maybe I am silly but I would choose the billionaire in his business over any internet group that claims to know more about the business than this billionaire.

[DeToxRox]

To add to what jbergey said ..

Cena gets booed heavily or gets cheered heavily .. isn't that what you want? It's be different if he got an Orton as champ reaction of silence but either way people tune in to see him win or to see him lose.

[molson]

Originally Posted by DeToxRoxDVHStyle

To add to what jbergey said ..

Cena gets booed heavily or gets cheered heavily .. isn't that what you want? It's be different if he got an Orton as champ reaction of silence but either way people tune in to see him win or to see him lose.

I really loved how when the crowd reaction was at it's most negative (over a year ago now), the WWE didn't ignore it, they made it a part of his character. Though he was still being pushed as a pure face, the WWE acknowledged that he was in, in reality, very much a tweener.

His character HAS evolved (and he doesn't rap about poop anymore)

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by molson

I really loved how when the crowd reaction was at it's most negative (over a year ago now), the WWE didn't ignore it, they made it a part of his character. Though he was still being pushed as a pure face, the WWE acknowledged that he was in, in reality, very much a tweener.

His character HAS evolved (and he doesn't rap about poop anymore)

Yup, agreed.

He is going to keep it up too as it looks like Cena/HBK will defend the tag titles at Backlash. Or so common sense would dictate.

[DeToxRox]

Ring of Honor regular "Classic" Colt Cabana has signed a WWE developmental deal and is expected to be assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling. Cabana was backstage at Wrestlemania 23 over the weekend and has done some enhancement work for WWE in the past.

Cabana, who's worked regularly for ROH since 2002, is best known as one third of the Second City Saints in ROH alongside current ECW star CM Punk and WWE developmental talent Ace Steel (who trained Punk and Cabana both).

Cabana and Punk held the ROH Tag Team championships in the past and did a great "Odd Couple" type of deal where the straightedge and serious Punk played off the more comedic Cabana.

While in ROH, Cabana feuded with a number of stars including Raven, Homicide, The Briscoe Brothers, Nigel McGuiness, and Jimmy Jacobs. While in ROH, some of his highlight bouts were against Punk, Samoa Joe, James Gibson (aka Smackdown's Jamie Noble) and Bryan Danielson.

Cabana has been touring Europe regularly in recent years and also worked for MTV Wrestling Society X under the masked persona of "Matt Classic". It would appear his WWE signing may be an indication that MTV has started to release wrestlers contractually bound to the project. PWInsider.com is working on confirming that as of this writing.

Ring of Honor announced that Cabana's last date with the company will be 4/28 in his homestate of Illinois at their return to the Windy Cityt Fieldhouse in Chicago Ridge. Cabana commented on his signing on the official www.ROHWrestling.com website, stating, ""For the past four and a half years the only consistent thing in my life has been ROH. ROH has been my home and family. The Chicago show on April 28th is not going to be a farewell, but a celebration. We are going to celebrate how great ROH is and will continue to be. It's not going to be a good bye, its going to be a "Seeya later". Thanks for all the good time, and great memories!"

The 4/28 event will be titled "Good Times, Great Memories" in honor of backstage vignettes in the guise of a talk show that Cabana regularly did on ROH DVD releases.



Best news in a while. Colt will be awesome no matter his role. Really stoked for this and for him.

[SirFozzie]

Someone want to tell Abyss that the thumbtacks are a bad idea?

We all know the deal.. he brings the thumbtacks, and 90% of the time, he ends up taking the bump into them.

Well, at the recently concluded TNA payperview, thumbtacks were used twice. Christian Cage got chokeslammed into them, and in the "Um what were you expecting?" category, Abyss filled a Jarrett guitar full of them...

And Jarrett ended up hitting him with the guitar full of thumbtacks.

[Flasch186]

I like JJ as a face.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

... And Jarrett ended up hitting him with the guitar full of thumbtacks.

The whole event just felt flat to me, pretty much from start to finish.

And when your 2nd or 3rd biggest event of the year includes chants of "We Want Wrestling" and "Fire Russo" (although I guess I'm leaning toward believing that he isn't solely responsible for the mess), that's not a good sign.

Glad to see the Dudleys get the belts, even if it's only for a short run. That's fine, I just think they deserved to have their names on the list of title holders (yeah, even if the whole thing is worked, that's still a tribute to something).
The electrified cage was a joke.

Meanwhile we get Shark Boy in a title match while Senshi & Starr are paired off in what now seems to be intended to start a feud with Starr & Backlund.
Oh yeah, that makes sense

Storm & Harris was a predictable mess, who on earth thought the blindfold thing was a good idea.

Still, for all my gripes, I don't think this was an awful PPV, it was just ... eh.
These days, maybe "eh" is about the most we can hope for in a long show overall, problem was that there really wasn't an absolutely memorable highlight in the whole thing.

[SirFozzie]

There was some good matches (especially the main event, I think the applicable term is "Enjoyable Clusterfuck", but the electrified cage and the blindfold match (quick, name a blindfold match that HASN'T been a candidate for worst match of the year).. bah.

[Toddzilla]

How "electrified" was the cage?