Pro Wrestling Discussion Thread **Spoilers Possible**

[Neon_Chaos]

For all of WWE's flaws, their video department is so damn good.

Terry Crews welcomes you to SummerSlam - YouTube

[RainMaker]

Gargano became what he hated. What a great story that match told.

[Edward64]

Not a big fan of wrestling but do enjoy MMA so this caught my eye. I think its a good transition.

Say what you will about wrestling but pretty much anyone that gets into the ring is a performer and an athlete ... and I would not want Ronda to get mad at me.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/...aign=editorial

Ronda Rousey's meteoric rise in WWE continued Sunday, as she defeated Alexa Bliss at SummerSlam in Brooklyn, New York, to become the new Raw women's champion.

Bliss did her best to try to frustrate Rousey by staying outside of the ring and running to the ropes. She couldn't avoid the former UFC star forever, though.

Eventually, Rousey got ahold of Bliss' left arm and didn't let go. Bliss tapped out within seconds of Rousey locking in the armbar.
:
Sunday's bout was a physical mismatch, but the story it told was among the most compelling on the card.

In the end, Rousey emerged as the Raw women's champion, marking one of the quickest ascents to the top of the pro wrestling industry ever.

Rousey is oozing with credibility, and it stands to reason there will be even more interest in the WWE women's division heading toward the Evolution pay-per-view on October 28 with her as champion.

[PilotMan]

Eh, honestly that's no surprise to me at all. She will do well, will play a great heel eventually, and do alright. I'll never cheer against Alexa though.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Not a big fan of wrestling but do enjoy MMA so this caught my eye. I think its a good transition.

She's still incredibly green in the wrestling business but even I'll admit (as a raging skeptic of MMA crossovers in general) that she's shown incredible potential & is a crazy fast learner. One of the quickest studies I can recall honestly.

I'm not enthused about the rocket push but I understand it from the business side. Still, I had no real interest in this particular outing because it felt more like a coronation than a title match. {shrug}

[Carman Bulldog]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

...(as a raging skeptic of MMA crossovers in general)...

...Matt Riddle?

[Mota]

My favorite match of the weekend was Undisputed Era vs. Mustache Mountain. I totally did not expect that, and to be honest I had very little knowledge of Mustache Mountain, but that match was intense. The wrestling was so crisp, and the selling of some of these moves was unique and next-level.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Carman Bulldog

...Matt Riddle?

Actually drove up the road an hour or so just to see him in person, he's certainly entertaining. But he's also now 4 years into it so there's more track record & he's nearly been in wrestling as long as he was a pro MMA guy.

[murrayyyyy]

Originally Posted by Mota

My favorite match of the weekend was Undisputed Era vs. Mustache Mountain. I totally did not expect that, and to be honest I had very little knowledge of Mustache Mountain, but that match was intense. The wrestling was so crisp, and the selling of some of these moves was unique and next-level.

Not a big fan of the fat guy in MM as he seems to have one move and it's a slap. Cole-Ricochet seemed to have more quality spots while storyline wise AJ-Joe (until they fucking it up some how tonight) were the 2 best to me.

[Carman Bulldog]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Actually drove up the road an hour or so just to see him in person, he's certainly entertaining. But he's also now 4 years into it so there's more track record & he's nearly been in wrestling as long as he was a pro MMA guy.

I think that MMA fighters (like amateur wrestlers before them) that really commit to pro wrestling and "get it" have a potential for a greater upside than anyone, particularly when they have a charismatic personality to match the athleticism. Those that are simply there to collect a cheque (or alternatively fail to commit full-time) are often the one's that fail.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

She's still incredibly green in the wrestling business but even I'll admit (as a raging skeptic of MMA crossovers in general) that she's shown incredible potential & is a crazy fast learner. One of the quickest studies I can recall honestly.

I'm not enthused about the rocket push but I understand it from the business side. Still, I had no real interest in this particular outing because it felt more like a coronation than a title match. {shrug}

I watched my niece this weekend (who is 9) and she's gotten into wrestling. She's absolutely bonkers for Ronda. I'm in the same boat with having little interest in it but I think she's going to be a star.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Mota

My favorite match of the weekend was Undisputed Era vs. Mustache Mountain. I totally did not expect that, and to be honest I had very little knowledge of Mustache Mountain, but that match was intense. The wrestling was so crisp, and the selling of some of these moves was unique and next-level.

I'm guessing you've seen their previous two matches as well? Those were incredible too.

I thought Summerslam was pretty good this year. Main Event was a dud but the rest of the show was solid. And that's from someone who really hasn't followed the product much.

Still blown away by how good NXT is. I don't follow the indies as much as some of you but they just seem to have so much talent. Never really saw Ricochet before and he's incredible. Guys like Tyler Bate and Velveteen Dream seem like stars at such a young age. And their booking is so well done. Every match feels like it has a proper build, feels like it matters.

Maybe Jon knows this but is there any reason a network like FS1 hasn't picked up NXT weekly shows? I can't fathom it would cost much and it's not like that network is tearing it up ratings wise.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Maybe Jon knows this but is there any reason a network like FS1 hasn't picked up NXT weekly shows? I can't fathom it would cost much and it's not like that network is tearing it up ratings wise.

To my knowledge NXT has not been offered to any outside network, it's strictly a WWE Network product.

Tyler Bate is scary good, even moreso when you consider that he's only 21. And Pete Dunne is just 24 but has been training since he was 11. As bright a pair of young talents as there are in the world afaic.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

To my knowledge NXT has not been offered to any outside network, it's strictly a WWE Network product.

Tyler Bate is scary good, even moreso when you consider that he's only 21. And Pete Dunne is just 24 but has been training since he was 11. As bright a pair of young talents as there are in the world afaic.

That's interesting about NXT. From what I've read it loses like $10-$20 million a year (although it's tough to put a price on what value it brings to the network). I'd just figure they'd jump at the chance of getting enough money to have that brand break even. They did have a deal with Hulu I believe but can't imagine it paid much.

Bate did a couple power moves in that match which I didn't think someone his size could do. He's got crazy power and it's insane how young he is. Dunne is also a favorite of mine. Maybe it's that old school heel style he has.

I thought Velveteen Dream was dumb at first but that gimmick has really grown on me. Kind of a modern day Gorgeous George. If they don't screw it up, this is a main event heel on the main roster. He is so athletic but still needs some polishing at NXT so I hope they don't bring him up too soon.

I should add that I don't understand the fascination with EC3. He had a nice run in TNA but I just don't think he's a good wrestler. I have a feeling they'll call him up soon because of his look which Vince must love but he feels so far behind the rest of that NXT roster in talent.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Bate did a couple power moves in that match which I didn't think someone his size could do. He's got crazy power and it's insane how young he is. Dunne is also a favorite of mine. Maybe it's that old school heel style he has.

If you tried to design a perfect face for a heel, you'd probably come up with Dunne. He just looks like a heel. And yes, Bate is one of several guys (in more than one company) who have downright shocking strength for their size these days.

I thought Velveteen Dream was dumb at first but that gimmick has really grown on me.

That's VERY much my reaction to him. I still think it's a little on the dumb side at times honestly, but he's damned good at it so I wouldn't mess with it. There's something to be said (same thing I noted about Jay White during G1) for just being/feeling totally committed to your gimmick. If they come across like they believe it/live it then we're more likely to go along for the ride.

[Mota]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

I'm guessing you've seen their previous two matches as well? Those were incredible too.

I thought Summerslam was pretty good this year. Main Event was a dud but the rest of the show was solid. And that's from someone who really hasn't followed the product much.

Still blown away by how good NXT is. I don't follow the indies as much as some of you but they just seem to have so much talent. Never really saw Ricochet before and he's incredible. Guys like Tyler Bate and Velveteen Dream seem like stars at such a young age. And their booking is so well done. Every match feels like it has a proper build, feels like it matters.

Maybe Jon knows this but is there any reason a network like FS1 hasn't picked up NXT weekly shows? I can't fathom it would cost much and it's not like that network is tearing it up ratings wise.

That was the first WWE I watch since Wrestlemania. I mostly watch NJPW and ROH. I'm actually watching the 2017 G1 right now and am blown away by some of the matches so far. Okada / Omega are putting together such a great feud over the months. I love Ishii. Naito looks like he couldn't care less, and the fans are loving it.

As an ROH guy, I've seen much of the past Undisputed Era stuff. We saw Kyle O'Reilly wrestle against Claudio Castagnoli (Cesaro) back when he was still a local Canadian guy and was just starting his career. Then we met him about a year ago in Smash Wrestling in Toronto and he was a totally different dude. Confidence way up, and projecting something that he didn't have years before. It was great to see so much development over the years. Same with Roderick Strong, he was always a fantastic wrestler, but he had no personality for years before he turned heel and started to develop his own persona.

[Scarecrow]

So...the WWE thought the fans would accept a Becky Lynch heel turn? She tried so hard to get the crowd to turn on her, but it wasn't going to happen. Wonder if creative will change their plans, or shove what they want down our throat?

[murrayyyyy]

Originally Posted by Scarecrow

So...the WWE thought the fans would accept a Becky Lynch heel turn? She tried so hard to get the crowd to turn on her, but it wasn't going to happen. Wonder if creative will change their plans, or shove what they want down our throat?

Depends on what the end game is here. I think the end game is Charlotte gets beat by Becky to end up on RAW in time for Rousey-Flair @ Mania. Charlotte probably holds the belt to pass of to Lynch before she leaves.

In true WWE style, they basically have done the same thing with Bayley-Banks and just pasted different names in the blanks. Friends until someone screws the other one over, the biggest face snaps on the other friend. People ate that shit up when Bayley did it so Vince probably thought it would work in this situation also.

The crowd was hot for it @ SS but that was a horrible way to make her a heel by letting her blame the crowd. They should have ran with it's a Flair being a Flair instead and left Becky as a tweener. They could still do it I guess. I mean the crowd was hot for the Shield reunion which basically had your babyface champion getting his two friends to help jump a bad guy.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Scarecrow

So...the WWE thought the fans would accept a Becky Lynch heel turn? She tried so hard to get the crowd to turn on her, but it wasn't going to happen. Wonder if creative will change their plans, or shove what they want down our throat?

It's weird because Charlotte is such a perfect heel. Size, arrogance, and she calls herself the Queen. How do you not make her the heel champ and have the plucky underdog Becky chase?

[RainMaker]

So if Gargano and Ciampa get called up to the main roster, do they have a chance to do anything? They are so good in NXT.

This is a company that screwed up Owens and Zayn so I'm guessing not.

[murrayyyyy]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

So if Gargano and Ciampa get called up to the main roster, do they have a chance to do anything? They are so good in NXT.

This is a company that screwed up Owens and Zayn so I'm guessing not.

The only reason it works in NXT is because they don't have 50 hours of content to fill every week.

[Mota]

Originally Posted by murrayyyyy

The only reason it works in NXT is because they don't have 50 hours of content to fill every week.

They're not forced to do it. I love Star Wars, but if it was a 6 hour movie with an additional 4 hours of filler, it might not still be a classic.

[Carman Bulldog]

Originally Posted by Mota

They're not forced to do it. I love Star Wars, but if it was a 6 hour movie with an additional 4 hours of filler, it might not still be a classic.

I also don’t buy the 50 hours argument. The Smackdown brand only has two hours of programming a week if I’m not mistaken. That’s only an hour more than the NXT brand, with a much deeper roster. The 205 Live brand only has an hour a week, same as NXT.

If the problem is that there is one creative team in charge of Raw, Main Event, 205 Live, Smackdown, etc. and another creative team in charge of just NXT, split the teams or increase staff.

I agree that a three hour plus show in its current format does not work. But I think one of the problems with the current product could be addressed by cutting the wrestling aspect of Raw down to two hours. For money reasons, I don’t think the show itself ever goes down an hour, but I have plenty of ideas for how that extra hour could be filled with a non-wrestling format pre-show.

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

To my knowledge NXT has not been offered to any outside network, it's strictly a WWE Network product.

It is on Hulu as well FYI. That's obviously not broadcast TV etc, but it's something.

[murrayyyyy]

The choices in a WWE poll are yes or yes?

Did you support Becky Lynch the entire time she was trying to win the SmackDown Women's Title?

Yes, I was rooting for her the whole way.
Yes, but only until Charlotte Flair got involved.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I owe Wendy's a burger purchase soon. Gold. Pure gold.

https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe/wend...omo-on-twitter

[AlexB]

What do you guys think of Grado? I happened to catch 5 minutes of Impact and was surprised to see Grado & Joe Hendrie on it!

Grado is a modern day Big Daddy for me, and is really entertaining in a British style fed, but I’m intrigued as to whether his comedy style translates in the US

[Toddzilla]

Originally Posted by AlexB

What do you guys think of Grado? I happened to catch 5 minutes of Impact and was surprised to see Grado & Joe Hendrie on it!

Grado is a modern day Big Daddy for me, and is really entertaining in a British style fed, but I’m intrigued as to whether his comedy style translates in the US

He's astoundingly stupid, beyond what I ever thought stupid could be in any context, wrestling or otherwise.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by AlexB

What do you guys think of Grado?

I'm aware that he exists. I'm pretty sure I've seen a minute or two of him at some point in the past. Made zero impact, so much that I had to Google to see remember exactly what he looks like.

I don't know that I mean that entirely as harsh as it probably sounds, it's just that he's never been relevant enough to me & my viewing to have any significant reason to think about him at all.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

He's astoundingly stupid, beyond what I ever thought stupid could be in any context, wrestling or otherwise.

It’s a bit harsher than I expected, but along the line that I thought it might be. He’s very much a 1980s-style British wrestler, and it never crossed my mind that he would either try, or be picked up by, a US company

[murrayyyyy]

Originally Posted by AlexB

What do you guys think of Grado? I happened to catch 5 minutes of Impact and was surprised to see Grado & Joe Hendrie on it!

Grado is a modern day Big Daddy for me, and is really entertaining in a British style fed, but I’m intrigued as to whether his comedy style translates in the US

Is that the guy who comes out to Madonna's "Like a Prayer"? That's pretty much all I know about him if it's him.

[AlexB]

That’s the one. Maybe a British wrestling thing, maybe just me, but he makes me laugh in matches. Outside the ring, maybe less so, but he’s entertaining

[Toddzilla]

He's not a wrestler, he's a fat annoying asshole in a wrestling ring. Stop calling him a wrestler.

[AlexB]

I don’t think anyone has.

Edit: oh, actually I did But to be fair he has some moves, and as I say, when he’s in the ring, he makes me laugh. In a good way.

We’ve always liked caricatures in wrestling in the UK: it’s always played well here

[RainMaker]

So it was a big of a last minute thing but I was able to go to All In. Not sure if anyone watched it or cared but I was pretty surprised at how well run it was. Had the feel of a WWE PPV.

Crowd was pretty insane all night and just about every match was great. Only one I didn't care for was Christopher Daniels vs the celebrity guy.

Maybe it's just this show but Cody was massively over. Place was nuts for him the entire match and when he won it felt like a big deal. People seemed to give a crap about the NWA title.

I don't really go to wrestling events so maybe this is the norm but it was pretty cool. Also glad they held it at the Sears Centre and not Rosemont. Bit of a drive but perfect arena for wrestling.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Crowd was pretty insane all night and just about every match was great. Only one I didn't care for was Christopher Daniels vs the celebrity guy.

While the guy is certainly no celebrity to me (if not for BTE, I'd likely have never heard his name afaik) he did give what a lot of people are describing as one of the best celeb performances ever in the ring. Having once witnessed, in person, Pacman Jones standing on the ring apron throughout a match, I'd take this one as a win.

Maybe it's just this show but Cody was massively over. Place was nuts for him the entire match and when he won it felt like a big deal. People seemed to give a crap about the NWA title.

Definitely my sense of things, though damned if it makes much sense to me. I get about as far as "yeah, nice that he got Daddy's title once" but otherwise, damned if I seem to be able to work up any care.

[RainMaker]

For a celebrity he definitely did well. The match just seemed kind of long considering the talent on the card. It was definitely over 10 minutes.

[miami_fan]

Traveled down a YouTube rabbit hole looking at Terry Funk videos. Piledrivers on a table, barbed wire matches, fireballs etc. That was Saturday morning/early afternoon TV growing up.

[RainMaker]

Brie Bella botched some kicks and knocked Liv Morgan unconscious. Then made the genius decision to drag her to the corner by her neck. She also potatoed another wrestler later.

Oops. Brie Bella just legitimately kicked Liv Morgan in the face#RAW pic.twitter.com/XWH0Zxv7Ab

— GIF Skull (@GIFSkull) September 25, 2018

[molson]

Oh Brie, she's had a tough month trying to wrestle

Brie Bella attempts two suicide dives on Raw and fails twice - YouTube

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/LameBestAt...ang-mobile.mp4

(OK, that second one is older, still relevant though)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Nice gesture by WWE, as Cesaro makes a surprise appearance at an NXT show tonight as Cassius "Chris Hero" Ohno celebrates his 20th anniversary in the business apparently.

For one night, Kings of Wrestling were back together

[Mota]

Originally Posted by molson

Oh Brie, she's had a tough month trying to wrestle

Brie Bella attempts two suicide dives on Raw and fails twice - YouTube

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/LameBestAt...ang-mobile.mp4

(OK, that second one is older, still relevant though)

If it's possible to have negative hang time, she has successfully achieved that.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I don't necessarily love everything that happened at King of Pro Wrestling but they did manage to advance a variety of storylines & paid off on some that have been in the works for as much 8-10 months.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Austin Aries after his match at Bound For Glory: unprofessional bitch shoot? work to try to further his whole "I'm a loose cannon" gimmick?

[murrayyyyy]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Austin Aries after his match at Bound For Glory: unprofessional bitch shoot? work to try to further his whole "I'm a loose cannon" gimmick?

If it's a work then they pulled the curtain back too much.

Austin Aries no sells main event finish of Bound For Glory - YouTube

[molson]

Is Vince Russo back in TNA?

[JonInMiddleGA]

And on the other end of the kayfabe spectrum, this fan twitter capture from NJPW

カトリーナ・スウェイト on Twitter: "I was highly amused that Evil’s Starbucks actually said “Evil�, but then again, everything is evil 😂👊�… "

[RainMaker]

I don't think it's a work. The new people behind Impact seem old school and it just doesn't fit their MO.

Odd story but I was actually friends with Dan (Austin Aries) in college. Think he dropped out after a year though.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Meanwhile, on the heels of Meltzer's "morale is horrible backstage at NJPW" story last week, today Chris Jericho calls out NPJW for not using Don Callis on shows like King of Pro Wrestling.

While Meltzer certainly ain't above working us all to help his pals, and Jericho is almost certainly the same (or worse), the tweet felt more like trying to unfuck stuff than a simple work.

Then, just to make things bizarre, I read where Lanny Poffo is supposed to be getting a commentary tryout sometime in the next 2-3 weeks.

Lanny. Fucking. Poffo.

[RainMaker]

Still think the best Lanny Poffo story is that he signed a deal with WCW and they paid him for 5 years and he never had to work a single match. Whether they didn't like him or just forgot he was signed, it's a great WCW story.