Pro Wrasslin' Thread: I don't know what I just saw

[FunSlower]

Neville's heel work has been really good. Sadly, a man held back by his height. Everything else clicks. I know little fellers can get over, but that'd make him a prime dude.

[FunSlower]

Damn you coulda seen Barb live! THE DICEMAN. DICEMAN. 

[fistfulofmetal]

damn

[bork]

Show training hard for his match against Shaq.

[FunSlower]

Both Strowman and Show are on that cut. Both looking dope.

[nachobro]

good for show, he looks great. meanwhile shaq bought a krispy kreme

[archie4208]

Dave Meltzer gave information on the planned WM33 card at this time (things can change etc):

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Goldberg vs. Lesnar
Undertaker vs. Roman Reigns
HHH vs. Seth Rollins
Jericho vs. Owens
Wyatt vs. Orton (might be for the World Championship)
Show vs. Shaquille O’Neal
Charlotte vs. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax

Cena vs. Joe and Styles vs. Shane pitched

[close]

[fistfulofmetal]

That looks... fine.

[bork]

Re: WM card rumors:

Goldberg vs. Lesnar
HHH vs. Seth Rollins
Jericho vs. Owens
Show vs. Shaquille O’Neal

These are all expected and are fine.  I hope the Lesnar/Goldberg match is better than the last time.    They really need to make up for 2004.

Undertaker vs. Roman Reigns

wut

Wyatt vs. Orton (might be for the World Championship)

This one's a head-scratcher right now.  We just saw Bray Wyatt give Luke Harper his finisher on SD and stick with Orton.  I can see Orton turning face again later on, but how is he going to get in the title picture and then feud with Wyatt for it by WM?

Charlotte vs. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax

I really wish this could have Nia Jax swapped out for Becky Lynch.  Fatal Four-Horsewomen-Way.

Cena vs. Joe and Styles vs. Shane pitched

More wut on these, too.  Especially Cena vs. Samoa Joe.  Just...

If these end up being true, I guess this means we might have an interesting Rumble, with these feuds starting there.  But this being WWE, I'm probably just setting myself up for disappointment.

[FunSlower]

Didn't catch SD. Wyatts are on the outs? :/ Again?

[bork]

Didn't catch SD. Wyatts are on the outs? :/ Again?

Haven't really been following it, but there's tension between Orton and Harper.  Harper accidentally hit Wyatt last week IIRC, so the storyline this week was that Bray set up the match for them to settle their differences.  Orton won and then Wyatt gave Harper his finisher and celebrated with Orton. 

LOL if Orton suddenly turns face and the reason given is "it was all a trick to destroy the family from within" or some nonsense. 

[FunSlower]

That'd be fine if they ever actually did anything with Orton, though. Dangit. What's the point?

This is SD though, so I can actually give them the benefit of the doubt. They actually might have a good reason.

[bork]

How about Ziggler/Styles?  Would much rather see that.

[FunSlower]

I'd be happy with no more Ziggler ever.

[bork]

I'd be happy with no more Ziggler ever.

 

[bork]

That'd be fine if they ever actually did anything with Orton, though. Dangit. What's the point?

This is SD though, so I can actually give them the benefit of the doubt. They actually might have a good reason.

Didn't catch SD. Wyatts are on the outs? :/ Again?

Haven't really been following it, but there's tension between Orton and Harper.  Harper accidentally hit Wyatt last week IIRC, so the storyline this week was that Bray set up the match for them to settle their differences.  Orton won and then Wyatt gave Harper his finisher and celebrated with Orton. 

LOL if Orton suddenly turns face and the reason given is "it was all a trick to destroy the family from within" or some nonsense. 

I'm QUITE positive that the Randy Wyatt thing has absolutely been the long con where, since Randy couldn't beat the family, he joined them to destroy the family from the inside by immediately causing tension between Bray and Luke, leading to Bray and Luke breaking apart, leaving Randy to finally have Bray 1 on 1. Bringing the title into that makes no fucking sense to me, though. It's not necessary in the least for that type of story.

You know what would have been fun?  Orton taking over and it's Wyatt who gets kicked out of the group.  Would be more unexpected. 

AJ/Shane would be extremely disappointing. I wouldn't have wanted an AJ/Cena retread but does anyone really want AJ/Shane?

I see that matchup and wonder who is asking to see this?  Waste of AJ's time and talent.

[FunSlower]

That would be fascinating if Orton takes over and Bray is "exiled" - but man that's a lot to hope for!

AJ/Shane could be fine, it would be a comedy match.

[archie4208]

AJ/Shane can be fine if they mask it behind a ton of gimmicks, but goddamn AJ deserves better.

[nachobro]

AJ/Miz would be aight

[FunSlower]

Just because AJ can do comedy well doesn't mean I want him in it either! But Shane's always been a fuggin goof.

[nachobro]

is there any chance balor is back for the rumble? or for wrestlemania? balor vs taker would be better than roman.

[bork]

Definitely a chance.  They haven't cleared him yet though.

[Take My Breh Away]

Don't exactly want AJ in a comedy match at Mania, we got three of them with Ellsworth in just these couple of months. Dude's been the highlight of most PPV's he's in so I'd rather he get a work rate match like Stro said.

Also, is Miz not planned for anything? He's been killing it lately, so hope he does have a match at WM.

They keep teasing Miz/Bryan. I'd be unsure if they pull the trigger on that, unless they grace Bryan with one match a year and come up with some BS to clear him for bumping around as GM. At the same time they might just book a ladder match clusterfuck for the IC title and Kill all Miz's heat just cause they are in a corner.

Though if they wanted AJ for something more important and Balor is cleared in time. An AJ/Balor "Raw Vs Smackdown" match would be a hot open and a hell of a draw.

[FunSlower]

I don't believe it is possible for Balor to work Rumble. Like 0% he can be cleared by then. Mania, though, sure. Then again, Foley was definitely not cleared and was able to appear a couple years ago for the Rumble so...what would I know? I know nothing!

However I can say with complete confidence you will not see Bryan wrestle again in WWE.

[bork]

The dirt sheets say he's being evaluated and WWE will make a decision to clear him in the next 48 hours.

...But those are the dirt sheets. 

[FunSlower]

Let's pretend Balor is cleared - not a win, obviously, but to kick off a feud. Who with?

[bork]

He wins the Rumble.

He attacks Reigns.  Cue the rest of the locker room to attack Reigns.

Reigns is gone from WWE forever.

He feuds with KO.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I dunno, good question.  Mania means cross-brand matches.  How about Styles?

[close]

[FunSlower]

I saw Wrasslegaf still was angry that Roman Reigns is fun to watch in the ring. I didn't know you still held these feelings!

Styles would be a good pick because you know together they can go, and Styles isn't a monster so Balor wouldn't look ridiculous. Owens/Balor is a dangerous feud because Owens could really embarrass him on the mic and shoot his character in the heart. Like when Rock made fun of Show in the beginning. He had nothing else, haha.

[archie4208]

Let's pretend Balor is cleared - not a win, obviously, but to kick off a feud. Who with?

AJ.  That way you get your workrate match and an interpromotional match.

[bork]

Roman Reigns is fun to watch in the ring.

[nachobro]

eh, roman's issue isn't in the ring. each big match he's done has gotten better but i dunno how a match with the undertaker works in his favor at all. either he loses to the undertaker to massive cheers or beats the undertaker and gets booed out of the building. the only way it work is if a heel roman wins, but that won't happen.

a heel balor could do something cool though. demon king vs deadman would actually be a match that makes sense to me. maybe post-wm he hooks up with the club again, it could be cool.

styles/balor would be cool too, though if i had my way i'd stick styles in the match with cena and joe.

[FunSlower]

Reigns isn't anywhere near bad. He's solid. He just needs his own story.

[bork]

Nobody here is "one of those wrasslegaf dudes."  That's almost insulting.   

That's the shitty wrasslegaf crew anyway.  The new generation.  The old crew was way better. 

Reigns needs to be repackaged

This.  Very much so.  But you have to wonder if it will ever happen since Cena has barely changed.

[FunSlower]

I was definitely in the wrong comparing someone to the Wrasslegaf usuals. I'm sorry. Guilty as charged.

[bork]

I was definitely in the wrong comparing someone to the Wrasslegaf usuals. I'm sorry. Guilty as charged.

For punishment, you're going to have to watch some of the shittiest wrasslin' of all time and-- wait, we're already doing that.

[bork]

[bork]

Had no idea that Justin Credible was on RAW (pre-ECW invasion stuff).



Is he cursing about the botch or trying to play it off? 

[nachobro]

Think I might watch RR92 today. I remember it being a good show plus FLAIR FOR THE GOLD!

Last year I watched all the Rumble matches while working out on the lead up to the Rumble. Goddamn there were some stinkers in there, but I still always enjoy a Rumble match. No matter how bad it is, there's always something to pop for. Figure with 92 I'll watch the rest of the show along with the Rumble match. Haven't watched that entire show in at least a decade if not more.

[FunSlower]

At least you got a Kamala gif out of that show.

[Take My Breh Away]

Depressing myself thinking how awesome it would be for Rusev to come in and wreck shit during the Rumble. Dump a few out. USA chants. Kurt Angle is next entrant. Dump each other out and fued to a Short, Safe match at Mania to elevate Rusev with a fuck finish and an Angle Lock to make people happy.

Rusev is consistently one of the best on the roster week in, week out even with Vince's hateboner for him and one of the highlights of the company in general. He deserves a mania moment. 

[bork]

Dirtsheet rumors:

Bray Wyatt was earmarked for a title run in 2017 so that means that both he and Randy Orton are in contention for winning the Royal Rumble, with the other winning the WWE title at the Elimination Chamber PPV.

One of the backstage rumors currently making the rounds is that Orton would win the Rumble and Wyatt the Chamber match (and the championship), thereby setting up their title match at WrestleMania 33.

And Kenny Omega has said that he is going to re-sign with NJPW.

[nachobro]

I'm okay with that setup. Orton/Bray has potential for a strong matchup. I'd sorta prefer Bray winning the Rumble just because Randy has already won it before but either way it seems fine.

[nachobro]

WWE just seems to think people won't care about feuds without a title being involved though. I don't know if it's lack of confidence in the writing or their audience or what but it seems anytime they want something to be "big", a title must be a factor.

[bork]

Speaking of announcers, it feels like Percy Watson isn't there.  He doesn't seem to say much.

[bork]

I guess the plan is going to be to have Asuka make her eventual WWE debut as the undefeated NXT champ?

[bork]

[seagrams hotsauce]

I liked Gargano and Chiampa/AoP more than I expected. I liked Nakamura Roode too but I saw some people on Reddit who were literally saying "this is a smarks fantasy booking wet dream, thank you WWE" last night and I gotta say I was just kinda confused by that and the "BIGGEST MONEY MATCH" hype they were attempting. Definitely weak compared to most Takeovers, though HHH basically admitted as much this week, no?

[Take My Breh Away]

Man, I know there's arguments about does Tye Dillenger have "It" cause the gimmick is kinda a one and done but that was some fucking 80's hot fire Babyface he pulled off and great booking last night. Especially as it took all of Sanity working together to set him up for Young's finisher and Dillenger wiped them with a dive. Kinda a shame he'd flounder on the main roster because when he is on the comeback, he does hot comebacks better than a significant amount of faces on the roster and he's way more over than just the gimmick because of it because the crowd fucking loves it. Maybe if they could find a good tag gimmick he'd be a great addition with someone else since he's got natural FIP fire.

Also, they really have to put him in the rumble for a small segment or else the crowd will get way fucking insufferable with the chants. Imagine Goldberg, Lesnar, Taker, Reigns, Wyatt and Orton are last survivors for a hot as fuck final six, but but the crowd's too busy jerking themselves off yelling "Ten!" over and over for the past hour. Stick him out at #10 as the NXT rep (Joe will probably get a Main roster debut slot). Crowd gets it out of the way so the rest of the match isn't hurt by the crowd shitting all over it like 2014 and 2015.       

[seagrams hotsauce]

I liked Gargano and Chiampa/AoP more than I expected. I liked Nakamura Roode too but I saw some people on Reddit who were literally saying "this is a smarks fantasy booking wet dream, thank you WWE" last night and I gotta say I was just kinda confused by that and the "BIGGEST MONEY MATCH" hype they were attempting. Definitely weak compared to most Takeovers, though HHH basically admitted as much this week, no?

Yeah I was confused about the biggest money match hype they kept pushing. I don't think anyone had the thought of Roode vs Nakamura until they were both in NXT, and then it was as a lolrandom styles clash type of match. With all the build of "Roode won a random fatal four way to get a title shot and Nakamura made funny faces at him". Joe vs Nakamura was a dream match. Nakamura vs Balor in WWE I guess was a dream match. Nakamura vs Sami was a dream match. Nakamura vs Bobby Roode 

Made me really worry for Nakamura's main roster, weekly TV career, because he didn't mesh well at all with Roode's style, and that's about as close to the most basic of American TV style wrestling anyone can get.

  Before the match Graves named those three matches (I think) and then said "And now we have another classic... Roode vs Nakamura!" And I thought "Hmm...  one of these things is not like the others"

[bork]

OMG, Dean Ambrose on this pre-show interview is embarrassingly bad.    Awkward as fuck.

[bork]

I missed that Anderson and Gallows are the new RAW tag champs.  The pre-show had three matches...they couldn't fit them into this FOUR HOUR PPV?

[bork]

Yup.  Started at 7:00 PM EST.

They opened with the RAW women's championship match.  Charlotte retained.

Now it's the RAW championship match with Owens/Reigns.

[bork]

[bork]

I guess my stream is behind?  The match is still going for me.   

[bork]

Nah, that's fine.  I just fast forwarded to see Stroman interfere and then reloaded.  I don't think I really care about anything on this card other than the rumble.

[archie4208]

This Styles/Cena match. 

[bork]

That was a good match.

Cena champ again.  Tying Flair.

[bork]

Is that it?  They have a shitload of time left.  Is the rumble gonna be that long?

[bork]

Why the hell is the Elimination Chamber PPV two weeks away?  Space that shit out. 

[bork]

So true. 

"WWE - 'Cause FUCK YOU'" would be a good slogan for them. 

With this being the 30th anniversary rumble, I hope that this is A) a good match and B) those eight mystery entrant slots are something special.

But since it's 'cause fuck you', I doubt it.