The WWE Discussion Thread

[AJ_Radio]

1 minute ago, mega-tallica said:

 

I've been obsessed with Bret Hart interviews. That guy was a magician in the ring and had an understanding of what the fans want to see in wrestling than most other guys. Him talking candidly about the Montreal Screwjob, trashing crappy wrestlers like Goldberg who cut his career short by concussing him with a botched kick, and his time in WCW where they completely wasted his star power because the WCW creative team was absolutely clueless. Stuff that happened 25 years in the past, still fascinating to hear today from the perspective of an insider. How cutthroat and messed up everything was behind the scenes but yet you would never know it watching the show they still managed to put on. 

That’s why I love podcasts like the one I just posted. 
 

They’re probably the best tool in learning from the insiders. Because as kids we are conditioned that everything is lovey. Your brain hasn’t fully developed and thus you cannot understand the struggles of what goes on behind the scenes. 

[Rozalia1]

People really get hooked by this backstage and shoot stuff don't they. Jim Cornette claims the reason for that is because as wrestling is faker than it has ever been it means fans began caring about the backstage stuff more because "hey this stuff is real".

 

9 hours ago, AJ_Radio said:

That’s why I love podcasts like the one I just posted. 
 

They’re probably the best tool in learning from the insiders. Because as kids we are conditioned that everything is lovey. Your brain hasn’t fully developed and thus you cannot understand the struggles of what goes on behind the scenes. 

 

If you want to actually enjoy wrestling then you'll want to be able to shut that off. Too many fans have heard all the insider stuff and so can't enjoy themselves in the wrestling because they're thinking about how X is getting buried by losing a match to Y, and that this is all wrong anyway as Z should be in the spot.

[AJ_Radio]

3 minutes ago, Rozalia1 said:

If you want to actually enjoy wrestling then you'll want to be able to shut that off. Too many fans have heard all the insider stuff and so can't enjoy themselves in the wrestling because they're thinking about how X is getting buried by losing a match to Y, and that this is all wrong anyway as Z should be in the spot.

 

I don't think it's good to shut your brain off and pretend this stuff doesn't happen.

 

There's a lot of shady stuff that goes on behind the scenes in show business. WWE, AEW or any other wrestling product is no different. We've hit a point in time where it's easy to find former wrestlers and/or current wrestlers offer their commentary on their experience. Podcasts are basically the modern equivalent of the radio talk show that you sat at home and listened to.

 

When you're a kid, you're not thinking critically or are you concerned with any insider stuff. You just have to enjoy life and have fun. I'm in my mid 30s now, so I'm not all that young anymore, and these podcasts are a great bonding experience.

[Rozalia1]

Just now, AJ_Radio said:

I don't think it's good to shut your brain off and pretend this stuff doesn't happen.

 

There's a lot of shady stuff that goes on behind the scenes in show business. WWE, AEW or any other wrestling product is no different. We've hit a point in time where it's easy to find former wrestlers and/or current wrestlers offer their commentary on their experience. Podcasts are basically the modern equivalent of the radio talk show that you sat at home and listened to.

 

When you're a kid, you're not thinking critically or are you concerned with any insider stuff. You just have to enjoy life and have fun. I'm in my mid 30s now, so I'm not all that young anymore, and these podcasts are a great bonding experience.

 

Their viewpoints are from their side and so often biased/unfair, make sure to remember that.

 

As for shutting the brain off. My view is you enjoy things more if you pay attention to it without distracting yourself with backstage stuff which may or may not be true, or fantasy booking stuff yourself and getting mad they ain't doing what you'd do. You think otherwise and that is cool, just saying my view on it. As for kids specifically, if they ain't involved in doing that then good. They won't become fans of the sport if they go straight into backstage stuff as that'll make them unhappy and jaded real quick with the whole thing.

[AJ_Radio]

1 minute ago, Rozalia1 said:

 

Their viewpoints are from their side and so often biased/unfair, make sure to remember that.

 

As for shutting the brain off. My view is you enjoy things more if you pay attention to it without distracting yourself with backstage stuff which may or may not be true, or fantasy booking stuff yourself and getting mad they ain't doing what you'd do. You think otherwise and that is cool, just saying my view on it. As for kids specifically, if they ain't involved in doing that then good. They won't become fans of the sport if they go straight into backstage stuff as that'll make them unhappy and jaded real quick with the whole thing.

 

Nothing new there. These people in the podcasts can be criticized and they often will be. Same with any prominent YouTuber.

 

I've been a fan of Chris Jericho for a long time, and I found his commentary pretty enlightening. Kids aren't going to understand what podcasts are or what their purpose is. And they shouldn't.

[Rozalia1]

3 minutes ago, AJ_Radio said:

Nothing new there. These people in the podcasts can be criticized and they often will be. Same with any prominent YouTuber.

 

I've been a fan of Chris Jericho for a long time, and I found his commentary pretty enlightening. Kids aren't going to understand what podcasts are or what their purpose is. And they shouldn't.

 

Jericho has a pretty big one from what I recall. Never listened to it outside a few moments but not a fan based on what I've heard. You should give a listen to Jim Cornette if you haven't as there is no better one when it comes to learning about how things work and why things are done.

[You]

I listen to Jim Cornette talking about wrestling a lot.

[pxljim]

1 hour ago, enaysoft said:

I listen to Jim Cornette talking about wrestling a lot.

 

My condolences.

[mega-tallica]

4 hours ago, Rozalia1 said:

People really get hooked by this backstage and shoot stuff don't they. Jim Cornette claims the reason for that is because as wrestling is faker than it has ever been it means fans began caring about the backstage stuff more because "hey this stuff is real".

 

 

If you want to actually enjoy wrestling then you'll want to be able to shut that off. Too many fans have heard all the insider stuff and so can't enjoy themselves in the wrestling because they're thinking about how X is getting buried by losing a match to Y, and that this is all wrong anyway as Z should be in the spot.

 

I don't see any harm in watching older shoot interviews about stuff that happened well in the past and is no longer relevant at all to the current product. The beauty of the older stuff is that you can get the perspectives of everybody involved and formulate your own conclusions on what happened based on everybody's testimony combined. 

 

The curtain has already been completely lifted, there is no way to completely shut it out and pretend that everything happening in the ring is organic and just blindly go along with the script. 

 

This is why I say wrestling, as an entertainment medium, was meant for the 90's and before the internet and social media which blew the whole facade wide open. Like Seinfeld, how many storylines in Seinfeld could've been squashed if cell phones existed back then? There's a reason all those old-school wrestlers took kayfabe so seriously because they knew once it got blown open, the whole lure and mystique of wrestling would go with it. Not saying everybody in the 90's thought wrestling was real because that's definitely not true but it was just more easily protected and hidden and as a kid back then, I could totally attest to the fact I thought wrestling was real. I thought wrestling was real up until I was about 10 years old. Now, even kids know it's all scripted. 

 

Modern wrestling could still be enjoyable though even knowing all the backstage politics that go on. You just have to have a product that intrigues people enough to supersede that knowledge. If it's good enough, you'd easily forget the fact the stuff is scripted because you're being entertained so well. Distracting yourself from a distraction. Hard to do in this age, but possible. 

[Rozalia1]

1 minute ago, mega-tallica said:

I don't see any harm in watching older shoot interviews about stuff that happened well in the past and is no longer relevant at all to the current product. The beauty of the older stuff is that you can get the perspectives of everybody involved and formulate your own conclusions on what happened based on everybody's testimony combined. 

 

The curtain has already been completely lifted, there is no way to completely shut it out and pretend that everything happening in the ring is organic and just blindly go along with the script. 

 

This is why I say wrestling, as an entertainment medium, was meant for the 90's and before the internet and social media which blew the whole facade wide open. Like Seinfeld, how many storylines in Seinfeld could've been squashed if cell phones existed back then? There's a reason all those old-school wrestlers took kayfabe so seriously because they knew once it got blown open, the whole lure and mystique of wrestling would go with it. Not saying everybody in the 90's thought wrestling was real because that's definitely not true but it was just more easily protected and hidden and as a kid back then, I could totally attest to the fact I thought wrestling was real. I thought wrestling was real up until I was about 10 years old. Now, even kids know it's all scripted. 

 

Modern wrestling could still be enjoyable though even knowing all the backstage politics that go on. You just have to have a product that intrigues people enough to supersede that knowledge. If it's good enough, you'd easily forget the fact the stuff is scripted because you're being entertained so well. Distracting yourself from a distraction. Hard to do in this age, but possible. 

 

My view is kayfabe can certainly be maintained, most guys just don't try. Fault ultimately is on the promoters of course as they don't firmly tell guys to not break kayfabe as they should.

 

As for the matches... it would be good if more people tried to maintain kayfabe during those too. Whenever you see a bunch of goofs outside a ring waiting around for ages for whichever fool to moonsault on top of them, well, that just screams "this is fake" doesn't it. WWE wrestlers being better trained tend to be better in respect to this, but Indy/AEW guys are a nightmare on this aspect.

[Infected Elite]

giving this nxt stuff a chance out of boredom. 

 

- Tony D and friends vs Legado, good and i like Legado but i cant stand D'Angelo. His gimmick, promos, everything is just cringe. Stupid storyline that'll end in probably a 1 on 1 ladder match for Legado freedom.

- Toxic Attraction winning was good. Like Jane and Dolin.

- Carmelo winning was the right call, nothing against Grimes. I expect a 3 way with Solo added.

- Mandy Rose winning was the right call. I expect Roxanne Perez to beat her at the next IYH (summerslam week?). Also can't stand Choo or her gimmick. Seems the crowd doesnt like her either. Funny how her gimmick is about sleep, cause thats all she does for me, makes me want to sleep. Only reason i pick Roxanne Perez is i doubt they'd do heel vs heel with Straton vs Rose. Then Straton could be Perez first challenger for the title.

 

- 0 interest in the Pretty Deadly vs Creed Brothers. Don't like either team but Creed Brothers won. I didn't expect it. But ill take them over PD. Anyways it was kind of nice to see a feigned title shot, then decide against cheating and just win. Without it costing them the win. Curious what this means for Diamond Mine gling forward. 

 

As for the main event...

 

Bron Breakker vs Joe Gacy with his Hoods...

it was alright. My issue with Gacy is its typical cult leader and too soon after Wyatt left that even when he did his corner spot, crowd starts chanting "Wyatt Wyatt". i know i know, cult leaders have been around forever in wrestling. I think he has potential though and he isn't really a big guy, so he's pretty agile. As for Breakker, hes grown on me but i hate his name. Bron Steiner would be fine. I guess marketing and ownership and branding etc. He also apparently picked it. If/when he gets called up I'd like to see him go with Steiner.

Anyways.... almost ended with a typical Eddie G cheating spot. Other ref came down. Derp derp. So saved Bron. Gacy takes a rough table spot... landed on a monitor and table broke awkwardly. Fun stuff... Bron wins. Hood people still aren't unhooded.

Match went about 5mins too long.

 

Overall, not bad but not great. Carmelo Hayes is a star. But yeah, I unno. 

I wont watch nxt again anytime soon.

 

 

OH....

A major annoyance with this is the same damn Hell in a Cell promo between every match. Also that PLV has 1 smackdown match lol... Corbin vs Moss... Couldn't have the tag title riddle/shin v Usos match on the PLV? Same with GUNTHER vs Ricochet. Thats on SD? Smackdown gets shafted for a glorified episode of Raw tomorrow lol.

Edited June 5, 2022 by Infected Elite

[jackmadrox]

If Bray Wyatt returns at HIAC, I'll lose my shit. And I'll also be kinda sad at the same time, because I know he'll get ruined again. But it'll be good to see him again.

[Rozalia1]

NXT 2.0 In Your House

 

D’Angelo Family vs Legado del Fantasma - Fun hype match to start to start the show. I liked how Santos and Tony kept their eyes on each other and mouthing off at the start while letting their guys work in the ring. Wilde basically got pinned in the most embarrassing way possible but it was accidental as a result of being a bit out of position, and the spot is not often seen so something different. From an internet promo it seems we're going to get "Santos clean my toilet" skits out of this which... I think is wasting this a bit. Having these two groups legitimately working together I think would be so much better.

 

Pretty Deadly vs. Creed Brothers - I love both teams and both teams put on a good show. I wasn't sure which team needed to win but as I thought on it, it had to be the Creeds, which it was, as otherwise they ran the risk of being labelled chokers which can really hurt a babyface's popularity as everyone starts automatically assuming they'll always lose title matches. Deadly brought the fun antics, Creeds brought the power. Brutus seems really dedicated to doing that "Brutus Bomb" considering how dangerous a move it seems to be, but doing it within the ring at least seems like it doesn't have the chance to cripple him. Julius won after hitting a sweet shooting star press and we get a great babyface victory. As for Pretty Deadly... I wonder if all this points to their NXT run being a short stop and going to the main roster to be some of Max Dupri's clients is the play. Seems likely.

 

Toxic Attraction vs Kayden & Katana - Jacy Jayne of Toxic Attraction I feel has really progressed in NXT when it comes to her ringwork as she used to clearly always be the weakest person in the ring in the teams matches. Gigi, who is the more popular of the two, seems like she has regressed a bit oddly... there has been a lot of talk of her health and NXT has avoided giving her singles matches (When Roxanne beat Jacy a bit back she naturally should have beaten Gigi next, not gone straight to Mandy), so I'm going to chalk it off to her not being 100%. Their opposing face team I think has progressed quite a bit themselves. They have energy, they have moves, but ultimately... the size is not something they can exactly do much about. Katana even for a small woman seems extra small due to her lower half. Overall Toxic Attraction I feel is a great team and if WWE ever starts caring about the Women's Tag Titles on the main roster then they would be a perfect team to lead that charge.

 

Overall I was very pleased with NXT's tag team wrestling. At the start of NXT 2.0 I felt that it was very much NXT 2.0's weakest element, as it has always been for NXT (you can include WWE as a whole too)... but this was good stuff. What I like most about it, and I have to bring up the other guys because I've railed against their tag team wrestling in the other thread, is that these matches stay within the rules and you don't have teams on the outside for an eternity or double teams for a minute straight burying the referees and it being a contest. That is how tag team wrestling is supposed to be and 4/6 of the teams involved are green teams. It ain't some impossible concept.

 

Mandy Rose vs Wendy Choo - Wendy's dream intro is nothing to get mad as it used footage (only thing new was the announcer calling her the NXT Women's Champion) already seen and can be explained as simply being a package ran for her entrance. Think what you will about the gimmick but Wendy Choo is clearly talented and did have some great fire to her when she pulled down the onesie. Who will take the title off Mandy continues to be up in the air. Roxanne a lot of people expect to be the one but the story thus far seems to be building to her winning the tag titles with Cora Jade instead. Nikkita when she returns seems most likely to me and until she is ready... Ivy Nile as challenger going forward? Strong ordered the Creeds to win the title or they were out of Diamond Mine so perhaps he orders the undefeated Ivy, who has taken the side of the Creeds, to win the Women's title or she is out also. 

 

Side note. That backstage segment with Lash Legend... they giving her "baddies" also? Well Nikkita could do with some people to destroy before having another legendary match with Lash.

 

Cameron Grimes vs Carmelo Hayes - I wasn't all that into Carmelo when NXT 2.0 started but as I've said before, I've really bought into him since then. He is apparently heavily endorsed by Shawn Michaels so I expect he will be a big deal on the main roster, though I wish he'd get a new finisher because the one he uses right now isn't good for his health. My advice would be to use a standard version of it as a finisher and keep the top rope one for special matches as his "super" finisher. Cameron seemed like he "Sasha face" as people call it, but he had that in previously in matches he won so I wonder what is up with him not being all there on the shows. Both guys put on a good match.

 

Bron Breakker vs Joe Gacy - I'll say this. Adding the stipulation and 2 different spots during the match really helped make it seem like Gacy was going to win so good job in making Gacy appearing like he had a chance against Bron. The match puzzled me a bit honestly because it felt like I was watching an old Super Cena match where the heel largely dominated the face the entire match until the face then suddenly just obliterates the heel. The "Faces of Change" (name seems dropped) on the outside appeared completely useless and weren't unmasked so... will this continue? Ultimately I think a lot of people are too harsh on Joe Gacy. Guy isn't bad within the ring, works hard, and is dedicated to his character work.

 

Really great show which had me into it throughout as most events like this can really tire you out halfway through. No idea why they ran so many RAW/Hell in a Cell commercials though. The only one which I actually paid attention to was the MVP diss track on Lashley as that was fun.

[Infected Elite]

@Rozalia1 what a time to be alive when we upvote each other. But ya 

 

 

HIAC. Cody is apparently injured but will compete..Rumor is wyatt return but doubtful.. ill believe when i see it.

 

Anyways HIAC doesn't look good to me aside from womens 3 way and rhodes vs rollins...

 

Also what a week for injuries... Punk, Cody apparently and also apparently Byran Danielson. Crazy.

 

 

EDIT: Carmelo Hayes theme is a banger!

Edited June 5, 2022 by Infected Elite

[Infected Elite]

Hell in a Cell review...

 

- The womans 3 way was pretty good, seeing Bianca pin Asuka the way she did leaves it open for ANOTHER Bianca vs Becky program... which is nothing new. Not sure when, but i expect Heel Ripley to dethrone Bianca. Maybe SummerSlam.

 

- Lashley def. Omos/MVP. 

Nothing much here. Same match we've seen time and time again. Cedric interferes and tries to attack Omos (so is OG Hurt Business coming back?) MVP taps to Hurt Lock.

 

- Kevin Owens def. Ezekial

thank fuck. Not sure what it is but Ezekial just bores the hell out of me. Hopefully KO moves onto something else. Ezekial should just go away and come back as Elias.

 

- Judgment Day def. Styles/Balor/Morgan

I'm not callin them the club. Anyways, pretty good match. Ripley has new attire. It kinda works. Liv has improved. Missed what caused it but AJ got busted open and stayed outside while medical staff attended. Cover up blood.

Shortly after Rhea stands in Balors way of coup de grace. Spear. 1...2....3. Judgment Day wins.

They stare at a fallen Balor. Perhaps offer him a spot on Raw tomorrow.

 

- Madcap def. Happy...

Nothing much of note. Some weapon spots. Madcap wins. HOPEFULLY this feud is done.

 

- Theory def. Ali

Ali in his hometown. Didn't get to see much of this but Theory escaped an STF (hype for Cena rumor return?) Theory knee clips Ali, A-Town Down. 1 2 3. I like Theory. His gimmick can be tweaked a bit later but i do believe he's a future world champion. Rumor is a match with Cena at SummerSlam. Cena is also high on Theory so i wonder if he would put him over.

 

- Hell in a Cell: Cody def. Seth Rollins

This was a slower paced match, mostly Cody selling but fighting back. Rollins brings out a sledgehammer, they kick out of their finishers. End comes after Cody hits a pedigree, 2 Cross Rhodes, and then grabs the sledge, nails Rollins..

1...2....3. Cody Rhodes is 3-0 against Seth. Absolutely crazy. 

 

So Cody tore his pec or something. Now, i think maybe its a work only because they were saying it was training, then it was the brawl on Raw, then it was aggravated at training. So they bounced around.  Also note a few spots that had less bruising by the end of the match and had this been legit, lets be honest, Vince,  no matter who you are, wouldn't let you compete without getting looked at.

 

I am curious what happens, if its a work or not. Hopefully its nothing serious as wrestling this week has had some tough blows, Punk, Danielson and then if Cody? yikes. I know Cardona is hurt but no one gives a fuck about him lol.

 

Anyways, Yeah it really was a 2 match show. Lots of filler. They should have had Gunther vs Richochet on here at least to give SD another match on the card.

 

Curious to see where the Cody situation ends up as he is odds-on favorite to win MITB. In which i expect he call his shot and just challenge at Mania and announce it early.

What that means for Rumble? no idea but maybe the titles split by then. Cody wants the Winged Eagle belt if he wins, so thatd be a way to change the WWE title.

 

Anyways we have MITB July 2, Great American Bash July 5 on NXT.

[Rozalia1]

Hell in a Cell

 

Cody Rhodes vs Seth Rollins - This match was the show basically so I'm going to just talk about this one because oh what a match it was. I have seen crowds a bit stunned/confused on how to react to something happening in front of them, but I'm not sure I have ever seen a crowd stunned like that right at the start of a match and for that long. The match instantly became memorable when Cody took off his coat and revealed the damage, shocking the crowd and causing his opponent Seth to laugh at his luck. In my mind I instantly went to "This must be a quick squash match where Cody perhaps gets some hits in but then Seth beats him" but then... no. Cody was limited due being a one armed man but even like that he had a great match that went close to 30 minutes, which flew by. I don't talk stars but this was I think certainly the match of the year as no match, that was as good as it was, is going to stick with you as much as this one did. The match had everything. Seth mocking the Rhodes family and punishing Cody by whipping him. The battered Cody getting a bull rope and daring Seth to put it on, who in his rage did, and then they had in essence a short bull rope match (which his father was known for) within their ongoing Hell in a Cell match. 

 

Word is the reason Cody got cleared, and the injury is not a work because there is no makeup job you can do on this because even if you can make it look legitimate it'd rub off with the sweat, which didn't happen, was because the doctors deemed that the injury was as such that it couldn't get worse. Considering how Professional Wrestling is worked, and Seth being a master in the ring (his bad reputation for a time was because of freak accidents), they got through it. The only sour spot was the "Thank you Seth" chant due to him pulling out a table after it had been teased previously in the night (this is one reason why you don't allow guys to even tease something if the main event is doing it), but outside that the crowd was very much into Cody as usual and after this match I expect they will only be more so. Cody didn't have to do the match, but he did, and the respect he'll have gained from the fans, the guys in the back, and biggest of all Vince is going to be massive. If he wasn't going to be the guy to win the massive match against Roman (Roman can lose a title to MITB, while keeping the title with the massive reign) down the line, he should certainly be the one now.

 

Something that I got to thinking about also was the issues he had in AEW. The crowd turning on him, rejecting him no matter what he did for them (he literally had himself set on fire), people wanting him to be a heel while he refused as he wanted to be a babyface. I have so much respect for Cody. It is has become rarer in the modern day, especially post Cena's time at the top, to have a guy who wants to be a face so strongly which has been made so much harder these days. The truth I think is that for all of him being the "American Nightmare", he wants to be like his father the "American Dream" and be a top face. I hope it works out for him, and I'd be all for him getting a Cena like spot. Wrestling so badly needs a long reigning top babyface.

 

15 hours ago, Infected Elite said:

@Rozalia1 what a time to be alive when we upvote each other. But ya

Ripley has new attire. It kinda works

 

? 

 

According to Ripley it was a case of her gear not arriving so she had to cobble something together.

[Infected Elite]

1 hour ago, Rozalia1 said:

Hell in a Cell

 

Cody Rhodes vs Seth Rollins - This match was the show basically so I'm going to just talk about this one because oh what a match it was. I have seen crowds a bit stunned/confused on how to react to something happening in front of them, but I'm not sure I have ever seen a crowd stunned like that right at the start of a match and for that long. The match instantly became memorable when Cody took off his coat and revealed the damage, shocking the crowd and causing his opponent Seth to laugh at his luck. In my mind I instantly went to "This must be a quick squash match where Cody perhaps gets some hits in but then Seth beats him" but then... no. Cody was limited due being a one armed man but even like that he had a great match that went close to 30 minutes, which flew by. I don't talk stars but this was I think certainly the match of the year as no match, that was as good as it was, is going to stick with you as much as this one did. The match had everything. Seth mocking the Rhodes family and punishing Cody by whipping him. The battered Cody getting a bull rope and daring Seth to put it on, who in his rage did, and then they had in essence a short bull rope match (which his father was known for) within their ongoing Hell in a Cell match. 

 

Word is the reason Cody got cleared, and the injury is not a work because there is no makeup job you can do on this because even if you can make it look legitimate it'd rub off with the sweat, which didn't happen, was because the doctors deemed that the injury was as such that it couldn't get worse. Considering how Professional Wrestling is worked, and Seth being a master in the ring (his bad reputation for a time was because of freak accidents), they got through it. The only sour spot was the "Thank you Seth" chant due to him pulling out a table after it had been teased previously in the night (this is one reason why you don't allow guys to even tease something if the main event is doing it), but outside that the crowd was very much into Cody as usual and after this match I expect they will only be more so. Cody didn't have to do the match, but he did, and the respect he'll have gained from the fans, the guys in the back, and biggest of all Vince is going to be massive. If he wasn't going to be the guy to win the massive match against Roman (Roman can lose a title to MITB, while keeping the title with the massive reign) down the line, he should certainly be the one now.

 

Something that I got to thinking about also was the issues he had in AEW. The crowd turning on him, rejecting him no matter what he did for them (he literally had himself set on fire), people wanting him to be a heel while he refused as he wanted to be a babyface. I have so much respect for Cody. It is has become rarer in the modern day, especially post Cena's time at the top, to have a guy who wants to be a face so strongly which has been made so much harder these days. The truth I think is that for all of him being the "American Nightmare", he wants to be like his father the "American Dream" and be a top face. I hope it works out for him, and I'd be all for him getting a Cena like spot. Wrestling so badly needs a long reigning top babyface.

 

 

 

 

According to Ripley it was a case of her gear not arriving so she had to cobble something together.

 

Surgery apparently keeping him out 6 months. My guess is he is the front runner to win rumble and headline mania for the wwe title.

So night 1 Roman vs Cody WWE title

night 2 Roman vs Rock Universal title 

or reverse nights but Roman retains against Rock while Cody dethrones Roman.

 

Not like WWE has anyone else to do it the way booking has been.

Interesting stat in the Ripley attire. Aside from the purple, i liked the look

[Infected Elite]

didnt watch much Raw.

Cody acted like he can be at MITB. Rollins shook his hand and later attacked with sledgehammer. End this feud.... but writes Rhodes off tv, can come back win the rumble?.

 

Judgment Day bored me, new member is Balor... and for the first time In years WWE did something unpredictable.... they turned on Edge. Much prefer Balor/Rhea/Damian.

 

Probably gets edge off TV until SummerSlam, maybe he teams with AJ now as a "enemies turned besties" thing.

 

But yeah, The Ezekial story is pissing me off. Such a dumb gimmick... Elias walked so Zeke could speak... jesus christ lol. 

 

Womens 4 way, Alexa Bliss new theme is nice, Ripley new theme sounds good too, still, wish it was Chris Motionless singing it. 

 

Edited June 7, 2022 by Infected Elite

[SelectiveGamer]

*sighs*

 

God dammit.

 

See you in 6 months Cody ?

 

win rumble pls kthxbye

[Infected Elite]

8 minutes ago, SelectiveGamer said:

*sighs*

 

God dammit.

 

See you in 6 months Cody

 

win rumble pls kthxbye

 

If Seth wins MITB i already am calling it, Cody wins rumble by tossing Seth..Beats Roman for JUST the WWE title, changes to winged eagle..After first defense Seth cashes in and wins

 

OR for a twist, Seth cashes in at Mania again but Cody beats him lol

[Valzentia]

Apollo Crews and his lackey Azeez are back in NXT

https://www.f4wonline.com/news/nxt/apollo-crews-commander-azeez-moved-to-wwe-nxt-roster

[Rozalia1]

RAW

 

Certainly did not expect the bizarre turning on Edge and getting replaced by Balor... I can see no way this is good. I know Judgement Day has been hated by a good number of people so it could be said this is WWE in a rare instance listening to fans and changing things up but... I just don't see it currently. For a start they're a group about having success, yet the only title they can win is the Women's title. Roman I don't even need to go to, the US title is held by Vince's boy, and even going over to Smackdown wouldn't help as they're clearly going to give the Intercontinental to Gunther. 

 

If they did centre the group around a Woman's champion Rhea then that would at least be something very much different than the norm I'd give them that.

 

NXT 2.0

 

Von Wagner is a guy that I'm sure is trying, but it just has not been working thus far it seems. Seems to be a guy who simply doesn't have any supporters out there because he is very generic in the ring, his look is unique yes but perhaps not exactly great, and his mic skills... the man has two managers for a reason lets just say that. One to be his handler and the other to talk for him.

It ain't impossible they turn him around but it seems difficult to do so. Actually took a surprise loss here to Josh Briggs who is a tag team wrestler. Briggs is just as big as Wagner, can talk, and is better in the ring. Not faint praise either if it looks that way as I'm comparing him to Von Wagner. I think Briggs is a guy who due to the country boy gimmick a lot of people are primed to crap on him as being bad, but is actually a good big man.

 

Gacy's "Faces of Change" are now "The Dyad".

 

Quote

In sociology, a dyad is a group of two people, the smallest possible social group.

 

Actually fits the Gacy gimmick so that is something at least.

 

Didn't get much D'Angelo shenanigans yet. I did enjoy D'Angelo's trolling when he'd talk to Santos though. Santos doing a hold? "This is boring, do something else", Santos lets go of the hold and is instantly taken over on. Santos later hits some high flying? "What are you doing? You're crazy, never do that again". There needs to be more of a point to all this then D'Angelo trolling Santos into losing all of his matches though so we'll see what happens.

 

I felt Tiffany and Roxanne both had some miscommunication at times during their match where it looked a bit off, but they're both great talents who will be something. Roxanne was the right winner due to Toxic Attraction holding all the gold, but Tiffany would have been a worthy winner also.

 

Even Cody Rhodes respects Andre Chase going it alone in the handicap match against Pretty Deadly. As I find myself always saying about Chase, the fact he has made something out of what is a rotten gimmick is great stuff, and credit for wrestling in the outfit too which can't be comfortable. 

 

Nice tag match at the end. Solo Sikoa is clearly going to be the next North American champ and I'm looking forward to him and Hayes.

 

On 07/06/2022 at 11:00 PM, Infected Elite said:

If Seth wins MITB i already am calling it, Cody wins rumble by tossing Seth..Beats Roman for JUST the WWE title, changes to winged eagle..After first defense Seth cashes in and wins

 

OR for a twist, Seth cashes in at Mania again but Cody beats him lol

 

They might just be keeping the Seth story going forward just so Cody has a guy he has heat with in the ring for when he enters the Rumble. He then eliminates Seth in the Rumble and goes straight into the program with Roman.

[Rozalia1]

As much as I'd love to talk about RAW's posedown and NXT 2.0, there is a big story regarding Vince right now.

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/wwe-board-probes-secret-3-million-hush-pact-by-ceo-vince-mcmahon-sources-say-11655322722?mod=e2fb&fbclid=IwAR0TbnmgxjIEQziwVDj-0lZcy-Nzd7scUJRzRE-lGEku3HQ2gwIsADZRuao

 

The story is that Vince has been having an "affair" with a woman that worked for him (not a wrestler) and he rewarded her with a raise of 100k for it. Later he "gave her like a toy" to Johnny Ace. This predictably has sent the usual suspects who crave the downfall of WWE into a spin, everyone else not yet seeming to react much. To start with, this is not a rape case as much as some people might want it to have been. The word is that the relationship was consensual. Now of course, power dynamics, did Vince use his elevated position compared to his worker to badger her into the relationship? Possibly. Did she happily go along with it (she is an adult, not a child, people should remember that) knowing that at the very least she'd get a lot of money now and down the line? Possibly. The reality is there are some very nasty women out there who try to screw over men in this sort of manner, some far more harshly than this as they'll claim rape. Anyone who says otherwise is in a minority as the activist/media position on these things is not shared by the common public.

 

This sort of thing is why a number of companies will have relationship between workers as a no go and fire anyone they find violating it. Even if completely innocent, it is far too easy to be claimed otherwise. We'll have to wait and see what the investigation says. Vince does have some previous incidents yes, but even his enemies didn't buy those. Oh, also, NDAs. Some are out there claiming that an NDA proves guilt. No. Many rich and famous get NDAs with people as they don't want private details out there in the wild and don't want the bother. Vince for example wouldn't want an "affair" out in the wild, not because he is "cheating", but because WWE is a "family run business" and that sort of stuff looks bad. I put affair in quotation marks because it is quite obvious that him and Linda are at this point separated from each other, not divorced, but they've gone their separate ways. Linda has always had political ambitions and being divorced can hurt some people so she also has something to lose in a divorce which I doubt she wants the hassle of either. There is little point in getting money out of Vince at her age especially when it'll al be going to the kids anyway. 

 

It is doubtful Vince will go. Word apparently is however that this event has caused a number of people within the company to see it as their chance to rid it of Ace so are now filing a whole number of complaints against him, and as such, Ace might well get the boot at least. I'm not wholly sure if that would be a good thing ultimately as any replacement will likely be worse. Vince I think likes Ace because Ace does his dirty work, work which his other inner circle members can't do. On top of that for all the talk of people hating Ace, something not mentioned as much is the fact that Ace actually is in fact seen positively by a number of wrestlers as he is known for defending people from Jim Cornette, Harley Race, and those sorts.

[SelectiveGamer]

See you in AEW next week Sasha Banks ?

[Rozalia1]

1 hour ago, SelectiveGamer said:

See you in AEW next week Sasha Banks

 

That is not confirmed yet. I also think Sasha would be quite the trap for Tony so he would be wiser to avoid (so odds are good he hires her I suppose). Sasha stands up to Vince when she feels slighted, so if she is willing to do that, imagine what she'll be saying to Tony if he does his fake friend act and messes her around. Tony if he hires her would have to give her Baker's spot, make her the unquestionable number 1 which means beating Jade too, and he would also need to book far more women's matches then he'd like as Sasha is known to want the Women's division being a stronger thing as her spot at the top means more if the division as a whole means more. If Khan isn't willing to give her everything she wants, then they will inevitably clash, and Sasha's fans are known to be very zealous so AEW would instantly get a lot of hate constantly out there against them.

 

Not that WWE isn't being foolish with all this stuff either of course.

 

Speaking of releases. A guy, Two Dimes, did get released in NXT but it was a weird release that it is not known yet what exactly it is. Rumour is the reason is the guy is actually underage, hence WWE telling him to "come back next year and we'll hire you". Funny thing is "He looks really young" has been a thing noted about the guy since he appeared. Not the first guy to guy to lie on his age, though it is usually the other way around. Apparently Two Dimes wrestled on Indies for 3 years so... Indies were booking a 14 year old? Happens in Japan, but an oddity in America.