The WWE Discussion Thread

[Infected Elite]

54 minutes ago, Rozalia1 said:

 

I have to agree. An interesting detail is that Carmelo has basically been a champion constantly but I've not really seen talk of people being sick of him as champion, while Bron seems to have people who think he needs a break. I assume considering Grayson's promo had him straight up call Bron boring and the match had Grayson getting chants over Bron that they must realise that a Bron vs Melo match is likely going to result in the fans being firmly behind Melo.

 

If Melo isn't champ, he was often in contention for North American title and imo MADE that title what it is. Nobody gives a rats ass about Wes Lee.

 

Breakker is falling into the Roman Effect. Drawn out and boring. Bron has star power written on him but its all the same with him. At least Hayes is innovative, can cut damn good promos, carries himself like a million bucks. I'd say he's got a better look than Bron in terms of marketability right now. 

 

Someone ive never seen potential in is Apollo so i am glad he got swept 2-0. As for whats his name, Dabba Kato? who cares. Another generic big man lol. I expect Carmelo to beat Breakker and carry NXT until summerslam/Mania 40 season (would like to see Melo win a midcard title in a good 20min showing at Mania 40 though. Run back Melo vs Ricochet?). Anyway i expect Breakker to get the call up after Mania.

 

There are rumors of a draft and new world titles and actually splitting the WWE Universal Global Mega Title of the World once Cody wins. So hopefully that happens. Id bring back the eagle title Cody wants, and the big gold wcw title. They just look so much better than the shit we currently have. 

 

Now to just trudge through Elimination Chamber. Honestly. Couldn't care less for this event. Its a waste leading to Mania. lol.

 

 

------------------------------------

As for Mania, id have:

 

- Cody def Roman clean and have Roman fuck off until Mania 40 (WWE Universal Global Mega title of the world) (headline night 2)

 

- Rhea beat Flair (SD Womens title) (headline night 1)

 

- Bianca lose to whoever (Asuka or Piper Niven?)(Raw Womens title)

 

- Gunther retain against Sheamus and McIntrye in a 3 way (IC Title)

 

- Austin Theory def John Cena clean  (US title) (pass the torch)

 

- KO/Zayn def Usos for tag belts(titles split before then?)

 

- Wyatt/Bliss/Howdy and whoever else form the Wyatt 6 group once Wyatt wins his match against whoever. (hopefully not the cinnamon toast crunch shit jesus fuckin christ)

 

- Rousey/Shayna def. DMG CTRL (womens tag belts. Poor Dakota Kai )

 

- Brock def Lashley i guess 

 

- Edge vs Balor (Hell in a cell?. who cares. fuck this feud)

 

- Rey vs Dominik (post match face turn by Dominik Guerrero? he sucks though. So this will be the match i use for food making and bathroom break) 

 

- Seth Rollins def Logan Paul

 

- Pat McAfee on commentary

 

 So currently I have 12 matches for Mania across 2 nights. I think previously they had done 7 each night. 

 

 

 

Then there's some that should be on mania that i havent found a spot for:

New Day (Woods/Kofi),

Liv Morgan,

Bayley,

Becky Lynch,

AJ Styles if he is healthy (apparently he knows of his Mania plans but wont speak on them)

 

i expect most others like Gargano, JONAH, Miz, Ciampa, etc in the battle royal preshow stuff. 

 

I'd only consider that jobber LA Knight if he comes out and just gets a stunner by Austin

 

Also waiting on HHH to let Shinsuke be strong style like japan/nxt once again.

 

 

whats everyone's Mania predictions?

Edited February 5, 2023 by Infected Elite

[Rozalia1]

1 hour ago, Infected Elite said:

whats everyone's Mania predictions?

 

Cody & Rhea winning their matches is unquestionable to me.

 

I'm not sure Seth actually beats Logan. This is the start of Logan Paul's heel run and while Logan does have two victories under his belt... beating the Mysterios in a tag match and beating the Miz aren't exactly the most cred gaining affairs, so for many him losing to Seth here could well get him marked down as a loser due to him so rarely wrestling.

 

Bianca is losing to someone as you said, but I would imagine it would be Asuka. Piper needs rebuilding and Bianca is pretty much the last person you want to put her in there with right now while doing that as last time they interacted it resulted in Bianca beating her again and again which killed her pretty dead (to be fair, that was happening regardless).

 

Gunther retaining in a triple threat with two allied babyfaces would be a bit odd to me. My prediction would be Sheamus beats him 1 on 1 as there is enough built up story there which can be further juiced up in the build.

 

People keep saying KO/Zayn winning the tag titles and admittadly that is the most likely thing but... why not Sami/Jay vs Solo/Jimmy? WWE once had Cody win the titles off himself as he was on both teams, so this wouldn't be the craziest thing. It'd functionally mean the Usos reign gets vacated and the two teams compete for who become the new champions.

 

Theory beating Cena would be nice... but we'll see if Cena has the time.

 

Rey vs Dominik seems very possible, perhaps a hair vs mask match. While Rey is very much near retirement Dominik losing wouldn't really hurt him. 

 

No idea on the rest. LA Knight should get something though. You don't have a guy called LA Knight and then not put him on a show in LA.

[Infected Elite]

5 minutes ago, Rozalia1 said:

 

Cody & Rhea winning their matches is unquestionable to me.

 

I'm not sure Seth actually beats Logan. This is the start of Logan Paul's heel run and while Logan does have two victories under his belt... beating the Mysterios in a tag match and beating the Miz aren't exactly the most cred gaining affairs, so for many him losing to Seth here could well get him marked down as a loser due to him so rarely wrestling.

 

Bianca is losing to someone as you said, but I would imagine it would be Asuka. Piper needs rebuilding and Bianca is pretty much the last person you want to put her in there with right now while doing that as last time they interacted it resulted in Bianca beating her again and again which killed her pretty dead (to be fair, that was happening regardless).

 

Gunther retaining in a triple threat with two allied babyfaces would be a bit odd to me. My prediction would be Sheamus beats him 1 on 1 as there is enough built up story there which can be further juiced up in the build.

 

People keep saying KO/Zayn winning the tag titles and admittadly that is the most likely thing but... why not Sami/Jay vs Solo/Jimmy? WWE once had Cody win the titles off himself as he was on both teams, so this wouldn't be the craziest thing. It'd functionally mean the Usos reign gets vacated and the two teams compete for who become the new champions.

 

Theory beating Cena would be nice... but we'll see if Cena has the time.

 

Rey vs Dominik seems very possible, perhaps a hair vs mask match. While Rey is very much near retirement Dominik losing wouldn't really hurt him. 

 

No idea on the rest. LA Knight should get something though. You don't have a guy called LA Knight and then not put him on a show in LA.

 

LA Knight gets a talk segment and squashed lol

 

Usos vs KO/Zayn is almost a guarantee.

Cena also was confirmed for Mania but he won't be there to do much of the build. Theory and Cena filmed some segments as far back in December that have yet to air.

 

It also is highly expected to be an IC 3 way and its being pushed for backstage. Question is when do Sheamus and McIntrye fall apart? 

 

What i do see Mania 39 being is not only the first HHH mania. But a complete roster reset/shuffle. Who is viewed as top stars going forward for the next few years etc.

 

As for who Cody eventually drops the title(s) to, it has to almost be Seth. But we will see where it goes.

 

Also hate USA network not allowing Cody to say "Undesirable to un god damn deniable". Apparently God Damn is offensive. Or its WWE. Regardless its a bunch of sponsor heads being fickle. lol

 

 

[Rozalia1]

1 minute ago, Infected Elite said:

LA Knight gets a talk segment and squashed lol

 

Usos vs KO/Zayn is almost a guarantee.

Cena also was confirmed for Mania but he won't be there to do much of the build. Theory and Cena filmed some segments as far back in December that have yet to air.

 

It also is highly expected to be an IC 3 way and its being pushed for backstage. Question is when do Sheamus and McIntrye fall apart? 

 

What i do see Mania 39 being is not only the first HHH mania. But a complete roster reset/shuffle. Who is viewed as top stars going forward for the next few years etc.

 

As for who Cody eventually drops the title(s) to, it has to almost be Seth. But we will see where it goes.

 

Also hate USA network not allowing Cody to say "Undesirable to un god damn deniable". Apparently God Damn is offensive. Or its WWE. Regardless its a bunch of sponsor heads being fickle. lol

 

If they do a three way it would be just to give McIntyre a match, but it'd be a mistake to me. Sheamus is hotter than he ever has been right now and the story would call for him finally getting one over Gunther. McIntyre if anything should be someone Gunther takes out to help juice up the feud more. It'd also hurt the whole point of this run with Gunther also regarding the prestige of the title because the IC title has had so many multiman matches over the years at mania as the title matters so little, so having a singles match and a hot one at that would really help the belt.

 

Good to hear if the Theory vs Cena stuff has got some certainty behind it. Haven't followed that stuff lately.

 

That is a tv thing yeah. WWE isn't AEW and can't be swearing and blading all over the place... that said, I would not be surprised if we see some colour during the Cody vs Roman match. Special occasion and Cody is the type to want to do it.

 

As for HHH mania... the whole sale nonsense exists so that is up in the air. I also don't know about roster resets or shuffles. A positive I'd give HHH is he appears more patient than Vince in giving guys time to get over, but many of HHH's guys he bought back have simply not worked as they get barely any reaction. Which doesn't really shock me at all. Yeah, Vince is Vince, but when he looks at the likes of Gargano and thinks "he doesn't have it" he ain't wrong. The question is if HHH will simply keep trying with his guys, will he change their gimmicks to attempt to get them over, or if he'll demote/fire them.

[Infected Elite]

1 hour ago, Rozalia1 said:

 

If they do a three way it would be just to give McIntyre a match, but it'd be a mistake to me. Sheamus is hotter than he ever has been right now and the story would call for him finally getting one over Gunther. McIntyre if anything should be someone Gunther takes out to help juice up the feud more. It'd also hurt the whole point of this run with Gunther also regarding the prestige of the title because the IC title has had so many multiman matches over the years at mania as the title matters so little, so having a singles match and a hot one at that would really help the belt.

Yeah but without Drew, he has no lead into Mania. I dont like Drew to begin with and i feel he was one of the worst recent world champs but thats a diff topic. 3 way works for either A: Gunther being dominant. or B:  Sheamus winning by pinning Drew. While Gunther works toward moving up to the main event on Smackdown.

 

 

Quote

 

Good to hear if the Theory vs Cena stuff has got some certainty behind it. Haven't followed that stuff lately.

Yeah its essentially a lock. Thats why Theory has been doing some twitter shading. Russo thinks Cena should go over but id prefer to have Theory go over. Lets be real, if Cena wins it's going to be under 10min.... its Cena..He's annoying when he wins.

 

Quote

 

That is a tv thing yeah. WWE isn't AEW and can't be swearing and blading all over the place... that said, I would not be surprised if we see some colour during the Cody vs Roman match. Special occasion and Cody is the type to want to do it.

 

Yeah i feel it is a tv thing but honestly, Mania season they tend to let things slide. So hopefully he can say God Damn Undeniable at least once. I also hope they don't get into any physical contact until Mania. Have Roman dealing with bloodline falling apart while Rhodes is just training/preparing for Roman. But yeah Cody definitely bleeding. I wonder if HHH would be nice enough to allow Brandi and Dustin (even tho hes signed with AEW), to go to the ring post Mania win for Rhodes since Dusty obvs can't. 

 

Quote

 

As for HHH mania... the whole sale nonsense exists so that is up in the air. I also don't know about roster resets or shuffles. A positive I'd give HHH is he appears more patient than Vince in giving guys time to get over, but many of HHH's guys he bought back have simply not worked as they get barely any reaction. Which doesn't really shock me at all. Yeah, Vince is Vince, but when he looks at the likes of Gargano and thinks "he doesn't have it" he ain't wrong. The question is if HHH will simply keep trying with his guys, will he change their gimmicks to attempt to get them over, or if he'll demote/fire them.

I'd say the biggest shock for returns that hasnt been good is Kross. He has it all. But something just didnt work with this run yet. Had he been dominant like NXT perhaps, he can still lose here and there but shit. He came in, took out Drew. Eyeballed Roman, and then lost to Drew in a shit feud and now losing to Rey who is only around to put over his talentless son who did "hard time" before retiring.

 

The ones I'd release asap again are Hit Row. What anybody sees in them is beyond me. I'd even release Michin. What's she done? besides confuse everyone by changing her name weekly. lol. 

 

But its mania season, i am sure it'll be a good card. Couldn't give a fuck about sales as long as WWE Network still exists (peacock sucks. Network runs 10x better).

Edited February 6, 2023 by Infected Elite

[Rozalia1]

4 minutes ago, Infected Elite said:

Yeah but without Drew, he has no lead into Mania. I dont like Drew to begin with and i feel he was one of the worst recent world champs but thats a diff topic. 3 way works for either A) Gunther being dominant. or Sheamus winning by pinning Drew. While Gunther works toward moving up to the main event on Smackdown.

 

I don't think Gunther has to necessarily keep being unpinned/undefeated, which I don't recall them ever even alluding to anyway. Sheamus has been his only real rival thus far and they've had matches considered match of the year contenders, with Sheamus doing the job each time. Sheamus is also a many times world champion and one of the strongest booked guys in the company for over a decade. Gunther can afford a loss to Sheamus.

 

I recall there being talk of Gunther vs Brock which there was a tease in the Rumble but... they'd need to have a word with Brock. One thing I noticed, though the silly quick cutaway that makes you miss the action actually helped here as it made a bunch of people miss it, is Gunther actually chopped Brock who just no sold it and that is certainly a no no if they have a feud. Gunther is not actually a full on unstoppable monster as he will at times direct his stable to do the damage while he remains safe and he also does show moments of worry/fear (when big guys are about to do a big comeback on him), which doesn't hurt his aura. Getting his signature offense laughed off would hurt however.

 

18 minutes ago, Infected Elite said:

Yeah i feel it is a tv thing but honestly, Mania season they tend to let things slide. So hopefully he can say God Damn Undeniable at least once. I also hope they don't get into any physical contact until Mania. Have Roman dealing with bloodline falling apart while Rhodes is just training/preparing for Roman. But yeah Cody definitely bleeding. I wonder if HHH would be nice enough to allow Brandi and Dustin (even tho hes signed with AEW), to go to the ring post Mania win for Rhodes since Dusty obvs can't. 

 

They've shown Brandi on their TV so I would imagine she (and their child) would be allowed. I doubt the WWE would bar Dustin as he more recognised as their guy to begin with and Dustin may as well not exist on AEW TV anyway. I would imagine Tony Khan wouldn't block it as it'd be bad press, so the biggest obstacle might be Dustin himself who deems his presence not right considering he works for the competition.

 

22 minutes ago, Infected Elite said:

I'd say the biggest shock for returns that hasnt been good is Kross. He has it all. But something just didnt work with this run yet. Had he been dominant like NXT perhaps, he can still lose here and there but shit. He came in, took out Drew. Eyeballed Roman, and then lost to Drew in a shit feud and now losing to Rey who is only around to put over his talentless son who did "hard time" before retiring.

 

The ones I'd release asap again are Hit Row. What anybody sees in them is beyond me. I'd even release Michin. What's she done? besides confuse everyone by changing her name weekly. lol. 

 

Kross was the top heel in Saudi Arabia at least from what I remember. Its hard to say with Kross. I actually think he actually isn't bad. I like how he carries himself in backstage segments with people and think the manner he speaks stands out. His in ring is fine too. The main issue that crops up with him with internet fans is that he comes off completely like a HHH insert, that HHH backs him because when he looks at Kross he sees himself. Does the casual fan see that though and that is their issue too? Usually that'd be unlikely hence why internet and casual fans can have such different opinions on things, but it ain't impossible as casual fans usually know HHH and if they do then they likely can see HHH in Kross also.

 

Hit Row is quite the mess, but I actually think one worth taking on the challenge of turning around. In terms of positives while they aren't stars, they certainly carry themselves as if they are which is a good thing because if you won't believe in yourself then why should others and all that. Adonis has a good look and his work seems fine. B-Fab has a good look but they still won't trust her in the ring so... yeah, but as the manager she'll have plenty of time to work on that. Top Dolla ultimately has the most potential due to his size and personality. They'll be a heel team that faces make fun of and there is value in that.

 

Michin... she is a body in the division and doesn't look like she'll go beyond that. Vince's way of dealing with a person like this would be to slap a gimmick on her in an effort to get out some personality. The only thing I recall that could work towards a gimmick was that one time during a Retribution match (one of their rare wins) where she pretended to have a seizure to cheat in a match. Heel who cheats in absurd ways would be at least something. Beyond that she is a blank slate they could do anything with.

[Infected Elite]

28 minutes ago, Rozalia1 said:

 

I don't think Gunther has to necessarily keep being unpinned/undefeated, which I don't recall them ever even alluding to anyway. Sheamus has been his only real rival thus far and they've had matches considered match of the year contenders, with Sheamus doing the job each time. Sheamus is also a many times world champion and one of the strongest booked guys in the company for over a decade. Gunther can afford a loss to Sheamus.

 

I recall there being talk of Gunther vs Brock which there was a tease in the Rumble but... they'd need to have a word with Brock. One thing I noticed, though the silly quick cutaway that makes you miss the action actually helped here as it made a bunch of people miss it, is Gunther actually chopped Brock who just no sold it and that is certainly a no no if they have a feud. Gunther is not actually a full on unstoppable monster as he will at times direct his stable to do the damage while he remains safe and he also does show moments of worry/fear (when big guys are about to do a big comeback on him), which doesn't hurt his aura. Getting his signature offense laughed off would hurt however.

 I'd save Gunther vs Brock for SummerSlam or something but yeah i remember the no sell. Ugh. Also unfortunately remember him being pinned pretty quick at a survivor series by Drew. Oof. Gunther has been pinned, just hasn't been awhile. Also, i don't think Cody has been pinned yet. So his first pinfall loss may actually be when he drops the titles. Crazy.

 

28 minutes ago, Rozalia1 said:

 

They've shown Brandi on their TV so I would imagine she (and their child) would be allowed. I doubt the WWE would bar Dustin as he more recognised as their guy to begin with and Dustin may as well not exist on AEW TV anyway. I would imagine Tony Khan wouldn't block it as it'd be bad press, so the biggest obstacle might be Dustin himself who deems his presence not right considering he works for the competition.

Yeah i think hes feuding with Swerve and his band of misfits lmao. That tattoo faced guy looks like hes gonna be fired in a year or so from doing jail time LOL. but i could see Khan allowing it. WWE and AEW would work together if it made sense but i dont see how it can when one puts out a PG program and the other pushes 14A. Plus WWE would probably only allow their ex talent lol. Only AEW vs WWE matches id want are Elite vs New Day and Omega vs Rollins. Bucks vs Usos. That's about it. I'd keep them apart. It's best for business. 

 

28 minutes ago, Rozalia1 said:

 

Kross was the top heel in Saudi Arabia at least from what I remember. Its hard to say with Kross. I actually think he actually isn't bad. I like how he carries himself in backstage segments with people and think the manner he speaks stands out. His in ring is fine too. The main issue that crops up with him with internet fans is that he comes off completely like a HHH insert, that HHH backs him because when he looks at Kross he sees himself. Does the casual fan see that though and that is their issue too? Usually that'd be unlikely hence why internet and casual fans can have such different opinions on things, but it ain't impossible as casual fans usually know HHH and if they do then they likely can see HHH in Kross also.

Yeah i like Kross too. I think him bulking up may be what makes me look at him differently. Like he lost a bit of speed? But i saw him on Sheamus workouts on youtube and not sure why but i really want to see them Feud. Kross should be a world champion one day. Providing he can stay injury free. I was a bit shocked how little crowd reaction he was getting but being the doomsday clock and all that is a good gimmick. Perhaps aside from the HHH thing, others didnt see his NXT stuff so have no idea what hes done there or on indies.

 

28 minutes ago, Rozalia1 said:

 

Hit Row is quite the mess, but I actually think one worth taking on the challenge of turning around. In terms of positives while they aren't stars, they certainly carry themselves as if they are which is a good thing because if you won't believe in yourself then why should others and all that. Adonis has a good look and his work seems fine. B-Fab has a good look but they still won't trust her in the ring so... yeah, but as the manager she'll have plenty of time to work on that. Top Dolla ultimately has the most potential due to his size and personality. They'll be a heel team that faces make fun of and there is value in that.

there can be value in Hit Row, you're right but they just feel pointless without Swerve being the leader. If they push someone to be a leader of them maybe?

 

Speaking of heel teams, Hurt Business reforms with Omos would be big. Hard to take down Lashley if he has 3 guys by his side. Not that Omos is good or anything but i think MVP alluded to it?

 

28 minutes ago, Rozalia1 said:

 

Michin... she is a body in the division and doesn't look like she'll go beyond that. Vince's way of dealing with a person like this would be to slap a gimmick on her in an effort to get out some personality.

 

Like Reckoning? lol

 

28 minutes ago, Rozalia1 said:

 

The only thing I recall that could work towards a gimmick was that one time during a Retribution match (one of their rare wins) where she pretended to have a seizure to cheat in a match. Heel who cheats in absurd ways would be at least something. Beyond that she is a blank slate they could do anything with.

 

Yeah, there's a few talent that could be bigger. I'd put Dakota Kai as a future womens champ. She has had great matches with Raquel, and wargames showings. Shes bffs with Shayna (i think they live together or did?) and she is solid in the ring. 

So i mean aside from usual suspects Flair, Becky, Bayley, Bianca. I'd add Rhea, Dakota, Io, Asuka as a heel and just swap them all around. Once Shayna/Ronda lose tag titles whenever, I'd push Shayna as a monster heel by destroying Ronda in Rondas last match or something. So then you have a solid 7-9 main contenders for 2 womens titles and they can hopefully feud without titles amongst themselves too. Maybe pair up Raquel with Dakota later on too. 

 

So many changes I'd make within a year or 2 to build every division.

[Infected Elite]

Another thing I'd like to note, is there have been reports both Edge and Sheamus want to retire sooner rather than later (Edge in Toronto 2023?, Sheamus soon). Supposedly Edge told Sheamus win the IC title first. I think this could be a good story, Sheamus wins IC title at Mania. Gets his grand slam thing. Faces Edge in Edges final match for IC title in Toronto. Or SummerSlam? Either Sheamus wins and Edge does the job on his way out, or Edge repeats the often used "win title, vacate next night" kinda deal. Edge was big in the IC title history. So perhaps thats ending his career on his terms cause he isn't going to win a world title. 

 

I'd be fine with this feud and it going either way.  Even having someone like Edge compete again for the IC title would help elevate it's importance even more.

[Rozalia1]

WWE

 

Cody and Heyman with that promo battle. Heyman had a killer line at the end but Cody handled it in the best way a babyface could such a situation, forcing Heyman to shake his hand and saying that Roman will pay for it.

 

NXT

 

TOXIC EXPLOSION! The cowardly Gigi tried to smash her way through a door to get away from Jacy. I'm not sure how I feel about such a momentous event. It could go well for both women sure but they were so good with each other and breaking in as a singles is extremely difficult (though many of the WWE main event are on the older side for women in pro-wrestling). Gigi being a babyface I think fits as she has a look that clearly a lot of people like and her crying did make you feel bad for her, especially with that nasty kick to the face she took. Reminds me of the triple threat where at one point she was coming out with a strange noise while selling, certainly something different from the norm.

 

We'll have to see. I think Jacy has come along so much since the start of 2.0 where she was rough and clearly the weakest member of Toxic Attraction, having developed more personality and also coming along nicely in the ring. I think she has potential as a heel single. Gigi was over instantly based off her look alone (there is a reason Vince is look obsessed) but unlike Jacy has regressed somehow, many believing it must have been as a result of a physical or mental issue as she began moving at half speed and avoiding taking bumps for ages. If she hasn't gotten over her issues then having no tag team to help hide them is going to go badly. On a plus side for both of them, if they don't work out then the team can be reformed easily enough when Mandy returns as the explanation is as simple as the alpha female Mandy Rose bringing both of them in line.

[Peaches]

Elimination Chamber was great.

• Women's match was probably the best Women's EC match yet.
• Men's match was awesome and did a great job of making everyone look great. Montez needs a title run soon.
• Brock/Bobby was the low point. Interested to see what Brock does for Mania now.
• Mixed tag match should be the finale of that rivalry, so we'll see who Judgement Day feuds with next.
• Mania event was great as expected. Those near falls were crazy close. 

[Rozalia1]

A top to bottom solid show. I wonder if doing this "filler" PLE between the Rumble and Mania outside America is something they'll do be doing going forward considering I believe this is the second year running. Due to it being a rare event the crowds are as hot as they are for the Rumble and Mania.

 

I enjoyed WWE mocking Tony Khan's recent embarrassing twitter behaviour and that it was done in a way that didn't in anyway detract from the show and if you weren't aware then it wouldn't leave you going ??? That is how you put something out there in a playful manner while not hurting your own show, something that those who take shots at WWE so often fail to do.

 

I enjoyed the Hollywood parody with Seth and Becky. Seth just had to be Joker.

 

Lesnar getting himself purposely DQ'ed isn't exactly a predictable finish and its obvious part of a build. The idea being that Lashley's Hurt Lock is so powerful that even the likes of Lesnar knows he is finished if it is successfully applied. No Bray or Howdy stuff... ummm... so is he going after Lashley for winning the match or Lesnar for standing tall. Honestly... I don't see how Bray can make contact with Lesnar in singles action and not be completely eradicated. Lesnar isn't going to sell his spooky stuff and is going to rip him and any goons he has apart with ease. Lashley is only slightly better also. Triple threat? Maybe throw in some other big guys and expand the match a bit? Would certainly make it an event. A massive left turn would be for Bray and company to target both Lesnar and Lashley who decide to team up at Mania against Wyatt in a 6 on 2 tornado tag match.

 

I get there are some people who think that the moment warranted Sami winning but... you can't always pull the trigger like that. There is something bigger coming. Everything surrounding the finish was I felt interesting. Jey we didn't find out where he is as while he didn't attack Sami, he also didn't attack Roman. Kevin meanwhile came out to save Sami, but only after the match ended and had a sort of energy to him that he was doing it more to get some revenge against the Bloodline then specifically to help Sami, which means we could certainly get Sami vs KO at Mania. Solo was also very noticeable by his absence which was never explained. Solo's debut was explained as the "Elders" sending someone to help Roman, so he can be part of Roman losing everything as Solo then refuses to do Roman's bidding further as he is no longer champion and the Elders have had enough of Roman's disrespect (by putting forward that he is the head of the family).

[GoldenShaka]

I actually weren't sure about that KO/Sammy for Tag team titles but after that oopsie from last night I can see Jay supporting the bloodline, some people wanted jay to be the tribal chief but with Cody vs Roman in Mania is basically impossible.

Hmm actually he can be but without the title in the picture. Idk how good could that be.

Edited February 19, 2023 by GoldenShaka

[Rozalia1]

13 hours ago, GoldenShaka said:

I actually weren't sure about that KO/Sammy for Tag team titles but after that oopsie from last night I can see Jay supporting the bloodline, some people wanted jay to be the tribal chief but with Cody vs Roman in Mania is basically impossible.

Hmm actually he can be but without the title in the picture. Idk how good could that be.

 

Historically its likely the Jey thing goes as you say, but I've always hated that stuff and it'd be especially bad here. "I mean sure Roman has treated me like crap for 3 years and I despise him for it... but you accidently speared me uce".

 

I personally think it would be foolish to just have Jey stay heel as the story can be far more effective if he turns on the Bloodline. Sami also needs a big win (that affects Roman in some manner) to paper over this loss, which I think needed to happen regardless of what some people say (who I'm pretty sure are largely AEW fans who complain about anything and everything WWE and so have no credibility). I'd personally give Sami and Jey the tag titles (Jimmy and Solo the other team). Perhaps add a stipulation on top that if the Bloodline team loses then everyone in the Bloodline is banned from ringside in Roman's match, so it can be said that he was integral to Cody beating Roman. KO would be better served turning on Sami, not wanting him to do what he believes he should have done.

[GoldenShaka]

8 hours ago, Rozalia1 said:

 

Historically its likely the Jey thing goes as you say, but I've always hated that stuff and it'd be especially bad here. "I mean sure Roman has treated me like crap for 3 years and I despise him for it... but you accidently speared me uce".

 

I personally think it would be foolish to just have Jey stay heel as the story can be far more effective if he turns on the Bloodline. Sami also needs a big win (that affects Roman in some manner) to paper over this loss, which I think needed to happen regardless of what some people say (who I'm pretty sure are largely AEW fans who complain about anything and everything WWE and so have no credibility). I'd personally give Sami and Jey the tag titles (Jimmy and Solo the other team). Perhaps add a stipulation on top that if the Bloodline team loses then everyone in the Bloodline is banned from ringside in Roman's match, so it can be said that he was integral to Cody beating Roman. KO would be better served turning on Sami, not wanting him to do what he believes he should have done.

I was more open to the ko/sammy for tag team champions Maybe i am not seeing the whole picture. Is roman really leaving after losing the title, because then i see all the pieces together with the bloodline been split and jay and sammy winning the tag titles.

[Rozalia1]

We're one step close to the prophesy being fulfilled after Heyman told Cody that if somehow Cody can beat Roman, then Heyman will cuck Cody.

 

Paul Heyman vs Brandi Rhodes! Will we get a promo battle between the two? Will we get Heyman vs Brandi in a tuxedo match? AEW couldn't do a single thing with Brandi without the crowds being against it, and in a really nasty way at that as people called her a whore/slut/whatever and cheered anything a heel would say about her. Can WWE do something (short term thing) with her and not have that happen? I think its possible as since AEW popped up the toxicity that the WWE crowds used to have has largely disappeared and Cody is massively over as a babyface.

On 20/02/2023 at 9:04 PM, GoldenShaka said:

I was more open to the ko/sammy for tag team champions Maybe i am not seeing the whole picture. Is roman really leaving after losing the title, because then i see all the pieces together with the bloodline been split and jay and sammy winning the tag titles.

 

He has already stepped back heavily so its thought that once this run is over he'll start doing more movies, which if successful will quickly lead to him rarely being around outside a few times a year.

[SelectiveGamer]

Of course Vince McMahon booked the Omos v Lesnar match. Nobody wants to see this shit.

 

It's selling to Saudi PIF and he'll be back in control of everything and then I'll quit because I'm not dealing with this BS anymore. What a f-ing joke.

[jackmadrox]

21 hours ago, SelectiveGamer said:

Of course Vince McMahon booked the Omos v Lesnar match. Nobody wants to see this shit.

 

It's selling to Saudi PIF and he'll be back in control of everything and then I'll quit because I'm not dealing with this BS anymore. What a f-ing joke.

I was just starting to watch WWE again too... but sadly I stopped as soon as I started because what's the point if Vince is just gonna come back and undo everything Triple H has done? I'm so sick of it. I mean what a tease... we all know as wrestling fans what the problem in WWE has been for years... and just as we got rid of the problem, it comes back like herpes. I can't do it anymore. I will watch any other wrestling promotion at this point, as long as it isn't WWE. 

[sk_lp_him]

Omos is still a better opponent than Bray Wyatt. Lesnar would never agree to do stupid Bray Wyatt shit so Lashley drew the short stick to be in the worst Mania match this year.

[Infected Elite]

why is Gable Steveson signed? dude apparently is "ready for debut". Thats what he claims. There is ready, and then there is "tv ready". Meanwhile he also says he wants to go for a gold medal in 2024. So what? debut him for a few months before he fucks off to attempt to win a medal?

 

At least his brother gets featured. Maybe Gable is just full of his own hype. I see nothing of value in him. 

[Rozalia1]

On 06/03/2023 at 6:40 PM, sk_lp_him said:

Omos is still a better opponent than Bray Wyatt. Lesnar would never agree to do stupid Bray Wyatt shit so Lashley drew the short stick to be in the worst Mania match this year.

 

If its true that Lesnar just shut it down then that is a really bad look for Wyatt. If other top guys start rejecting programs with Wyatt (I imagine Seth is likely on a "No Wyatt" list after what happened last time) then he'll basically become a main eventer restricted to the midcard (and even some of the them likely have enough cache to reject working with Wyatt) as no one above that level will be willing to work with him, and the midcard people likely will only work with him because they'll have no choice in the matter. Not the first time that has happened to someone but all the other cases I can think of came as a result of the guy getting shut out being someone who was careless and would hurt people in the ring constantly, not because their gimmick/stories would kill everyone they faced.

 

Wyatt better either start turning this around or just give it up and go with something else. As I said ages back, a good way to get out of all of this is to have him exposed as a rich kid who plays the cult leader because he likes to mess with the poor and downtrodden.

 

On 09/03/2023 at 8:23 PM, Infected Elite said:

why is Gable Steveson signed? dude apparently is "ready for debut". Thats what he claims. There is ready, and then there is "tv ready". Meanwhile he also says he wants to go for a gold medal in 2024. So what? debut him for a few months before he fucks off to attempt to win a medal?

 

At least his brother gets featured. Maybe Gable is just full of his own hype. I see nothing of value in him. 

 

From what I recall he had a heart issue (now sorted last I heard) which kept him from actually starting in WWE for a significant period of time. His brother started while he was out and seems to have more potential in wrestling as he seems able to play the part of a scumbag heel. Nice ringwork too from what I recall. Granted, not exactly fair to compare the two considering Gable Steveson has basically done nothing, but showing zero charisma in what little he has done is not a good sign.

[Infected Elite]

24 minutes ago, Rozalia1 said:

 

If its true that Lesnar just shut it down then that is a really bad look for Wyatt. If other top guys start rejecting programs with Wyatt (I imagine Seth is likely on a "No Wyatt" list after what happened last time) then he'll basically become a main eventer restricted to the midcard (and even some of the them likely have enough cache to reject working with Wyatt) as no one above that level will be willing to work with him, and the midcard people likely will only work with him because they'll have no choice in the matter. Not the first time that has happened to someone but all the other cases I can think of came as a result of the guy getting shut out being someone who was careless and would hurt people in the ring constantly, not because their gimmick/stories would kill everyone they faced.

 

Wyatt better either start turning this around or just give it up and go with something else. As I said ages back, a good way to get out of all of this is to have him exposed as a rich kid who plays the cult leader because he likes to mess with the poor and downtrodden.

 

 

From what I recall he had a heart issue (now sorted last I heard) which kept him from actually starting in WWE for a significant period of time. His brother started while he was out and seems to have more potential in wrestling as he seems able to play the part of a scumbag heel. Nice ringwork too from what I recall. Granted, not exactly fair to compare the two considering Gable Steveson has basically done nothing, but showing zero charisma in what little he has done is not a good sign.

 

In regards to Wyatt, i will always be a fan. I just originally figured it'd be a slow build unmasking the puppets, leading to a stable of a few guys and girls maybe. Hence Wyatt 6. Then have it be a darker take on Wyatt without the spooky stuff. Thing is it worked for Undertaker forever. But he never went super crazy with it other than maybe teleport behind someone. Some dumb "lightning" shit. Even when he was no selling, he was still beatable.  Wyatt can still and very well should become a character of that vein. Limit spooky tricks and be dominant but also beatable in the ring. Its been done throughout history. So i say that route would be best and then maybe perhaps people would work with him. Whats odd is he's listed as #1 Babyface on smackdown. So... they obviously see tons in him. So do i. Just yeah time will tell.

 

Also read a report (you can google if you want), Papa H is ready to give Kross one last big push after mania to make him a star. So, is it possible? sure. I dont think it will happen unfortunately. Kross losing to McInshit so many times...

 

But yes, i forgot Gable had a heart issue taken care of. I mean anything is possible with anyone in wrestling given the right booking, push, and so on.  But really, i say bring him in, feud with his brother cause why not. Eventually they just stay a tag team. 

 

Also what are your thoughts on WWE scrapping womens tag belts in favor of a midcard womens title (like AEW has TBS). I say due to lack of real teams its better idea. They could also use it to help some talent work on promos before eventually going after Raw or SD title. 

 

Look at Raquel, was a beast in NXT for a bit. Now she's just smiley "whos my friend for the week" character. Also I'm bias as i like Dakota Kai but i would put Kai back with Raquel and have Dakota win the raw or sd womens title for the summer reign of 3 or 4 months.

[Rozalia1]

1 hour ago, Infected Elite said:

In regards to Wyatt, i will always be a fan. I just originally figured it'd be a slow build unmasking the puppets, leading to a stable of a few guys and girls maybe. Hence Wyatt 6. Then have it be a darker take on Wyatt without the spooky stuff. Thing is it worked for Undertaker forever. But he never went super crazy with it other than maybe teleport behind someone. Some dumb "lightning" shit. Even when he was no selling, he was still beatable.  Wyatt can still and very well should become a character of that vein. Limit spooky tricks and be dominant but also beatable in the ring. Its been done throughout history. So i say that route would be best and then maybe perhaps people would work with him. Whats odd is he's listed as #1 Babyface on smackdown. So... they obviously see tons in him. So do i. Just yeah time will tell.

 

Also read a report (you can google if you want), Papa H is ready to give Kross one last big push after mania to make him a star. So, is it possible? sure. I dont think it will happen unfortunately. Kross losing to McInshit so many times...

 

But yes, i forgot Gable had a heart issue taken care of. I mean anything is possible with anyone in wrestling given the right booking, push, and so on.  But really, i say bring him in, feud with his brother cause why not. Eventually they just stay a tag team. 

 

Also what are your thoughts on WWE scrapping womens tag belts in favor of a midcard womens title (like AEW has TBS). I say due to lack of real teams its better idea. They could also use it to help some talent work on promos before eventually going after Raw or SD title. 

 

Look at Raquel, was a beast in NXT for a bit. Now she's just smiley "whos my friend for the week" character. Also I'm bias as i like Dakota Kai but i would put Kai back with Raquel and have Dakota win the raw or sd womens title for the summer reign of 3 or 4 months.

 

You just reminded me that Bray is supposed to be a babyface. Makes all of this even more bizarre considering Howdy is attacking people for Bray. I agree with your assessment that such a thing would work, but the most important thing for Bray is that people need to benefit from feuding with him. Wyatt has always been a negative in this aspect. Early in his career feuds with him were considered by people a waste of time as they were always the same. Bray attacks someone randomly to get them out of whatever feud they were in. "They're lying to you man". Wyatt loses again and again. Now we have an opposite problem where he barely makes contact with people and when he does he absolutely kills people.

 

As bad as it might sound, Kross who you mentioned would be good for Wyatt to feud with. If Wyatt feuds with anyone with any stock then if they don't get raised up or worse fall off, then Wyatt will get blamed. If he feuds with someone like Kross who has nothing to lose and can make some good business then that will help be a good first step in Wyatt's perception. Reduce the level of promos between the two and just have them smash each other in the ring repeatedly. While Bray is no ring general his massive lack of ringtime for many years now (granted he was fired for a good amount of that), so little that even MJF would blush, has made people believe that he has no talent at all in the ring so he needs a bunch of matches to show off what he can do.

 

On the matter of replacing the women's tag title with a midcard belt... well, WWE main roster is certainly better than AEW when it comes to how well they treat women on time, but having meaningful secondary titles for the women is very difficult. Even NXT which gives the women more time than anyone between the two companies struggles with that (doing good right now by adding the titles to the Kiana/Fallon story) so everyone else has no hope. If I did have to replace them I would do something a bit more far out and keep secondary tag titles but make them mixed tag titles. I don't know if you ever watched it but WWE when they had a partnership with Facebook ran something called the Mixed match challenge which was a tournament for mixed tag teams. This led to promos online between people who normally wouldn't interact and you had some good partnerships. You had cowardly heel Miz completely overjoyed and full of confidence as he had the (then) unbeatable Asuka as his partner. You had Alexa, the smallest woman on the roster at the time, teamed up with the biggest man at the time in Strowman. Samoa Joe never got to compete as he got injured but his team looked like it had the theme that Joe had no respect for his female partner and wanted her to only be there to look pretty, hold his towel, and wipe away his sweat as he did all the work.

 

I think it'd be the optimal set up when it comes to replacing those belts. Still gets women time, gets men more time too, leads to different interactions, and is an entirely new avenue for guys to go into when they need time away from a singles belt but the tag team division either has no space for them or WWE simply doesn't want to commit the person to a significant stint in the tag division, as a mixed tag division should be far more fluid. Though an important detail that made the mixed match challenge fun was Vince's management was lets say hands off with it seemingly so the wrestlers acted more like they were doing fun house show matches, and when the wrestlers are having fun with it then it can make the viewer have fun too.

[Infected Elite]

2 hours ago, Rozalia1 said:

 

You just reminded me that Bray is supposed to be a babyface. Makes all of this even more bizarre considering Howdy is attacking people for Bray. I agree with your assessment that such a thing would work, but the most important thing for Bray is that people need to benefit from feuding with him. Wyatt has always been a negative in this aspect. Early in his career feuds with him were considered by people a waste of time as they were always the same. Bray attacks someone randomly to get them out of whatever feud they were in. "They're lying to you man". Wyatt loses again and again. Now we have an opposite problem where he barely makes contact with people and when he does he absolutely kills people.

 

As bad as it might sound, Kross who you mentioned would be good for Wyatt to feud with. If Wyatt feuds with anyone with any stock then if they don't get raised up or worse fall off, then Wyatt will get blamed. If he feuds with someone like Kross who has nothing to lose and can make some good business then that will help be a good first step in Wyatt's perception. Reduce the level of promos between the two and just have them smash each other in the ring repeatedly. While Bray is no ring general his massive lack of ringtime for many years now (granted he was fired for a good amount of that), so little that even MJF would blush, has made people believe that he has no talent at all in the ring so he needs a bunch of matches to show off what he can do.

 

On the matter of replacing the women's tag title with a midcard belt... well, WWE main roster is certainly better than AEW when it comes to how well they treat women on time, but having meaningful secondary titles for the women is very difficult. Even NXT which gives the women more time than anyone between the two companies struggles with that (doing good right now by adding the titles to the Kiana/Fallon story) so everyone else has no hope. If I did have to replace them I would do something a bit more far out and keep secondary tag titles but make them mixed tag titles. I don't know if you ever watched it but WWE when they had a partnership with Facebook ran something called the Mixed match challenge which was a tournament for mixed tag teams. This led to promos online between people who normally wouldn't interact and you had some good partnerships. You had cowardly heel Miz completely overjoyed and full of confidence as he had the (then) unbeatable Asuka as his partner. You had Alexa, the smallest woman on the roster at the time, teamed up with the biggest man at the time in Strowman. Samoa Joe never got to compete as he got injured but his team looked like it had the theme that Joe had no respect for his female partner and wanted her to only be there to look pretty, hold his towel, and wipe away his sweat as he did all the work.

 

I think it'd be the optimal set up when it comes to replacing those belts. Still gets women time, gets men more time too, leads to different interactions, and is an entirely new avenue for guys to go into when they need time away from a singles belt but the tag team division either has no space for them or WWE simply doesn't want to commit the person to a significant stint in the tag division, as a mixed tag division should be far more fluid. Though an important detail that made the mixed match challenge fun was Vince's management was lets say hands off with it seemingly so the wrestlers acted more like they were doing fun house show matches, and when the wrestlers are having fun with it then it can make the viewer have fun too.

 

See, now with Wyatts "6" if that had become a thing, Kross as part of it works and doesnt. I mean he could for a bit before breaking off? who knows. Won't happen lol. But yeah Bray has always been good but they never gave him much. Promos? yes. Ring work is dependent upon who hes wrestling. Does he need endless squashes? no. But i mean by summerslam i would think we have an idea what to expect from Wyatt. Hes DLC for 2k23 in July(?) so i highly doubt he's goin anywhere lol.

 

Yeah i will say Papa H has finally fixed WWEs womens division. AEW, they have Baker, Hayter, Storm and tho i dont think shes that good, Cargill. Along with a plethora of crap like Saraya, Ruby, Nyla and so on. Its essentially a 3 woman show on AEW. Kenny seems hell bent on fixing that but i mean.... when?

 

H on the other hand has elevated some to bigger spots like Ripley and Asuka (Kana ver.), while keeping Bayley high up to easily be swapped as a challenger and occasionally champ. Becky and Charlotte are fine forever. Dakota and Iyo have tons of upside. As does Zelina when given the opportunity. Piper Niven thank god has her name and gimmick back. Doudrop was the stupidest shit i swear. Liv Morgan is staying upper midcard. The only mistep is still Shayna. How can she go from so dominant in NXT to being just kinda there. I expect she gets a bigger push soon after Rousey bounces. Which leads me to Mania 39....

 

if Vince is truly gone from creative  i expect a reset of sorts:

 

- Cody def Roman (happening regardless)

- Ripley def Charlotte (finally)

- Asuka def Bianca

- KO/Sami def Usos

- Brock def Omos 

- Wyatt def Lashley (Howdy Unmask or Bliss returns)

- Gunther def Sheamus/Mcinshit OR Sheamus pins McInshit so he gets his IC run before retiring. 

 

But i think one of the most important outcomes has to be:

- Theory def Cena CLEAN. no cheating (ok maybe low blow whatever)

 

[afc-razor-84]

Ain't read any post on this but bring back the attitude era wrestling today just ain't got no heart no storyline except Zane and Roman. FOLEY IS GOD nuff said ?

[Infected Elite]

7 hours ago, afc-razor-84 said:

Ain't read any post on this but bring back the attitude era wrestling today just ain't got no heart no storyline except Zane and Roman. FOLEY IS GOD nuff said

 

Attitude Era is gone. Never coming back. I'm not bias toward any company, so if you miss the blood, gore, hardcore stuff, and swearing check out AEW. 

 

WWE has gotten better but it will probably forever stay PG with some boundary pushing during Mania seasons like every year due to bullshit sponsorships like Be a Star.