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

[bork]

Becky Lynch won the title! 

Refused to shake Charlotte's hand after the match

[Sideshow Raheem]

Randy Orton just took a screwdriver, put it through Jeff Hardy's ear-pierce hole, and twisted it.   

#HIAC 2018 folks.

Yeah, that was absolutely excessive and I felt no shame in turning away. The only thing worse would have been an actual stabbing. 

Charlotte losing redeemed the show.

[bork]

https://twitter.com/the_ironsheik/status/1041473724199759874

[bork]

Welp, it's that time again.

[bork]

This is gunning for WWE show of the year if Roman/Braun is as great as their previous matches

Second half kind of lost my interest.  Maybe the main event will bring it back.

[bork]

Summary of this match:

Braun and Roman beat each up and both go down
Match turns into Rollins/Ambrose vs. Ziggler/McIntyre on the outside
Rollins and Ziggler fall off the side of cage onto announce tables
OH FUCK IT'S BROCK
Heyman sprays shit into Foley's face
Brock F5s...Braun!?
Brock F5s Roman and leaves
Refs come out and the PPV ends with both men down

[Human Snorenado]

I think it worked because there were only 7 matches and they all had time to breathe and do their thing. It even ended with 15ish minutes to "spare" before 11.

I thought I was sick of Bork Laser but maybe I'm just sick of Bork as champion? Because I (and the people I was watching with) all popped pretty big when his music hit and he kicked in the cell door then just beat the shit out of Braun and Roman with table pieces and eventually was all "I'ma beat the shit out of a dude with another dude, fuck it"

I can get behind using him this way but still don't want to have the title on him long term.

I was also shocked that Becky won. I kinda figured she would eventually but with the Aussie super house show coming up and Becky-Charlotte already announced for that and I'm assuming Evolution (as it's a women's only ppv and this is your longest running and most heat drawing women's feud currently) too, I kinda thought we'd get Charlotte acting increasingly "heelish" as the feud wore on- winning with a handful of tights or her feet on the ropes for leverage, etc, maybe making use of goons to beat up Becky (Mandy and Sonya? I'd say the Iiconics are out of the question considering the nature of their debut on the main roster but then again the WWE doesn't give a shit about past feuds- see "Owens, Kevin") with Becky going over at Evolution. But I'm happy she won and interested to see where this goes.

[bork]

I thought I was sick of Bork Laser but maybe I'm just sick of Bork as champion? Because I (and the people I was watching with) all popped pretty big when his music hit and he kicked in the cell door then just beat the shit out of Braun and Roman with table pieces and eventually was all "I'ma beat the shit out of a dude with another dude, fuck it"

I can get behind using him this way but still don't want to have the title on him long term.

One report about that:
https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2018/9/17/17869988/brock-lesnar-wwe-return-big-money-match-saudi-arabia-report-roman-reigns-braun-strowman-hiac

This isn’t terribly surprising, but seeing the numbers laid out like this is pretty eye-opening.

Over at our sister site MMAFighting, Dave Meltzer reports Brock Lesnar is still training for a return to UFC. A deal hasn’t been signed for his next fight in the Octagon, however, which is probably part of why we saw him kick the door off a cage in WWE last night (Sept. 16) at Hell in a Cell.

The other reason is because Vince McMahon’s company is getting a lot of money from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to run shows in that country over a ten year contract signed earlier this year. The events, which feature pro-government propaganda that’s drawn the ire of fans and human rights groups, started with this spring’s Greatest Royal Rumble. Meltzer writes that based on WWE’s business statements it appears the company added $45 million in revenue from that one date - more than even an event like WrestleMania generates.

Brock wrestled Roman Reigns in Jeddah on that April 27 show, and his appearance on pay-per-view (PPV) Sunday night was to set-up another Universal title match on WWE’s yet-to-be-announced Nov. 2 return to Saudi Arabia. It’s not known if he’ll face Reigns one-on-one or if it will be a Triple Threat with Braun Strowman. It does look like Lesnar will get a check for an amount “well into the seven figures” for the trip.

MMAFighting’s report confirms again that Brock is in the USADA testing pool, meaning the clock is again ticking on his suspension for testing positive around his last UFC fight and indicating he is serious about a return. But with no deal signed for the teased fight with heavyweight and light heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier and a bunch of Saudi money on the table, the Beast is back in WWE for at least one more match.

This is a comment from another site:

As much as I hate that this part-time pr*ck is still around, it's hilarious to see the dirtsheets trying to save face after they all said he was gone.

[bork]

https://twitter.com/Maffewgregg/status/1041816097400541184

https://twitter.com/Maffewgregg/status/1041812778217099264

[Human Snorenado]

Haha, WWE's entire business model gonna be shows in Saudi Arabia and North Korea within 5 years, book it

[team filler]

https://twitter.com/FizzVsTheWorld/status/1041822428370939904

[bork]

https://twitter.com/mookieghana/status/1040940988334788608

[seagrams hotsauce]

MMAFighting’s report confirms again that Brock is in the USADA testing pool

lol so that's why he's looking so svelt now huh

[bork]

Braun to Baron Corbin: "I think you suck!"  HUGE CROWD POP
Braun to Roman: "I think you suck too!"  MASSIVE CROWD POP
Braun to audience: "I think this whole situation sucks!" HUGE CROWD POP
Braun to audience: "I think everyone here sucks!" ...STILL MOSTLY A POP 

[dkdk]

man how much are they paying taker for this run. he looked so over this bullshit the last time.

[bork]

Did WWE also say that HHH/Taker would be "for the last time ever" the last time they had a match? 

[Sideshow Raheem]

The Becky Lynch segment on this week's Smackdown was great. It's petty, but I really can't get enough of Charlotte Flair getting her comeuppance.

Becky is so much more natural/talented a talker than Flair. Flair must have gurgled out some variation of "I want to show you respect" five times in the course of two minutes.

Also, Paige is very creepy looking with her overinflated plastic lips.

[bork]

Also, Paige is very creepy looking with her overinflated plastic lips.

[bork]

[Human Snorenado]

I hope all of my favorites (Keith Lee, flippy Ricochet, Adam Cole baybay) never get called up to the main roster at this point

[Sideshow Raheem]

Brie Bella yes kicked for real.

Yes, it's a concussion.

Yes, it's possible to definitively state while both the Bellas are awful, one is more awful than the other.

[dkdk]

Nikki can stay. Brie knocked Liv tf out smh. She the Botch Queen rn

[bork]

Not only a bad botch, but she did a shitty job trying to save the match afterwards.   And this is following two other botches (in the same match  ) just a few weeks ago.

https://twitter.com/BulletClubItal/status/1036804501708132353
https://twitter.com/BulletClubItal/status/1036805604596166656

Thicki Bella can stay...Brie needs to get the hell out of the ring.

[bork]

Did anyone watch SD yesterday?  Truth TV was the best talk show segment in a long, long time. 

[dkdk]

i thought i liked blonde Carmella


but dark hair Carmella 

[Human Snorenado]

Who could have predicted that Truth would end up being one of the most genuinely entertaining performers in the WWE at the beginning of the year?

[bork]

Who could have predicted that Truth would end up being one of the most genuinely entertaining performers in the WWE at the beginning of the year?

Put him on commentary.  I'll start watching every week again!
 

[nachobro]

between football and birthday stuff for my wife i watched zero wrestling this week. but with the video of brie ko-ing liv and dark hair carmella, i feel like i'm all caught up on the best parts of both shows

[bork]

Watching most of Smackdown was the most WWE TV I've seen in a while.  Bored as hell of AJ vs. Joe already.  Nakamura is wasted and Asuka is now Naomi's sidekick.  Jeff Hardy is MIA.  Orton just pops up and does the same shit over and over again- this time to Tye Dillinger.  Seriously...Tye Dillinger?  The 'E made him completely irrelevant after he got called up to the main roster, so who cares?   

Orton on why he attacked Dillinger:

AKA channeling Vince, who reportedly hated this gimmick and gave him no chance in hell™ when he got called up from NXT.
 

This comes up as "Tye Dillinger highlights" when you google his name:



Can we get a roster shake-up again pls?

[Human Snorenado]

The problem is not with the wrestlers, it's with creative/booking. I mean shit, 2 months ago Truth was nothing and now he's one of the most entertaining things on Smackdown, even if ultimately this "push" only exists to further other angles and promote the mixed match challenge. But at least he's BEING USED FOR SOMETHING. On Raw, shit just happens and there's no rhyme or reason for it. Yes there's still plenty of dumb shit happening on Smackdown (misuse of Asuka, quadrupling down on Charlotte as a face in peril when she's better as a cocky heel, Nakamura's US title reign apparently existing to set up victims for Randy Orton, etc) but at least it's dumb shit that mostly happens for a reason. Raw can't even manage THAT.

[nachobro]

BIG DAVE BACK FOR SMACKDOWN 1000!



https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1045787918332133376

[nachobro]

i dunno about not promoted, they won't stfu about 1000 on Smackdown for quite a few weeks

[nachobro]

I don't usually watch Raw so I can't speak on that, i usually stick to rewind a raw and they haven't mentioned it.

[seagrams hotsauce]

https://streamable.com/ahu6x
incredible. you'd think the Sonics moved out of Seattle just last weekend by this reaction. god bless Renee for the Detlef Schrempf shout out too

[archie4208]

Anyone watch the Australia show?  I saw the last half of the Undertaker vs. Triple H match and it was depressingly horrible.

Father time. 

[Sideshow Raheem]

Anyone watch the Australia show?  I saw the last half of the Undertaker vs. Triple H match and it was depressingly horrible.

Father time. 

I saw a little. My takeaways are:

Your career is pretty much over when you form a tag-team with Naomi.

John Cena did a sixth move of doom and gave a speech in which he totally failed to acknowledge his partner, Bob Lashley.

They're desperate to make Becky a bad guy. And putting Ronda Rousey with the Bellas just highlights how awful the Bellas are and how far Ronda has come as a wrestler.

You couldn't pay me to watch the Undertaker and Hunter Helmsley.

[bork]

Dirtsheets are saying that WWE has given up on No Way Jose and Mojo Rawley.  Both are glorified jobbers now.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

[close]

Watching Super Showdown now.  John Cena's hair makes him look like a mutant John Layfield. 

https://twitter.com/JCLayfield/status/1048555426768412674

[Trent Dole]

I got two hours into the Aussie show and then couldn't stay awake anymore. I was partially thinking 'man Bryan's match is still coming up but I can't keep my eyes open' and then it turned out that match was like a five minute shit show so I didn't miss anything anyway.

[bork]

I got two hours into the Aussie show and then couldn't stay awake anymore. I was partially thinking 'man Bryan's match is still coming up but I can't keep my eyes open' and then it turned out that match was like a five minute shit show so I didn't miss anything anyway.

Did about two hours myself before stopping.  Will try to watch the rest today I guess- kind of don't care.  And then at the end of the month, it's time for the women's Evolution PPV on 10/28 and the men's Saudi show on 11/2. Too much for one week.

[Human Snorenado]

I didn't bother watching the Bonser Royal Rumble Down Under, G'day Mate.

I'm pretty much just watching NXT and the Mae Young Classic at this point. Maybe some Smackdown, but their lack of faith in Joe is disturbing. Put the fucking title on him already, let him run.

Also, is anyone else watching the Mae Young Classic? Meiko Satomura's in ring work is better than probably 95% of the main roster, men included. Just gloriously stiff fucking work.

[archie4208]

Tanahashi vs. Jay White was an excellent match

Cody vs. Ibushi vs. Omega could have been an excellent match, but it was dragged down by the 3 star general.

[bork]

Renae fucked up pretty badly on the super showdown in one of the matches, confusing two wrestler names- she was talking about how Liv Morgan had "Viking training" when she meant to say Sarah Whatsername.  Cole and Graves just ignored her whereas they totally would have shat all over Coachman for it. 

[dkdk]

hbk is back. in 2018. and he's bald.

and kurt angle just ran out there in a conquistador gold body suit lmfao. wtf is this crap

[TVC15]

Is Ambrose turnings heel? Oh boy, this is likely going to culminate in some shitty Ambrose vs Roman thing, isn’t it?

[bork]

DX IS BACK IN 2018 - WATCH THE WACKY TEENAGE HI-JINX SERIOUS BIDNESS OF A 40-SOMETHING AND 50-SOMETHING YEAR OLD MAN!!!  R U READY?!?!?!? 

What is this World Cup thing that they're going at Crown Jewel?  I like that they brought The Big Show back for a qualifier just so he could job to Orton.  And then I guess Nakamura will be jobbing to Rey Mysterio on SD 1000 next week.

LOL at the Bella turn on Ronda on RAW.  Watched that part and Ronda no-sold so much of it that it wound up making the Bellas look pretty weak coming off of that segment.

Still haven't watched the second half of the Australia show yet.  Maybe today.  Don't care about the SHIELD and Braun/Ziggy/Drew stuff.  Is their match worth watching anyway?

Is Ambrose turnings heel? Oh boy, this is likely going to culminate in some shitty Ambrose vs Roman thing, isn’t it?

That was the plan before he got hurt and looks to definitely be happening. 

[nachobro]

I didn't watch past the Shield match for the SuperShow thing, but their rematch on Raw was much better.

[seagrams hotsauce]

man that WON report about NJPW is concerning. i hope it's Meltzer crying wolf but it would really fucking blow if things went south for them

[bork]

man that WON report about NJPW is concerning. i hope it's Meltzer crying wolf but it would really fucking blow if things went south for them

This?

https://www.sescoops.com/njpw-wrestlers-upset-with-new-management/

The new management team for NJPW headed up by Harold Meij has apparently ruffled a few feathers within the promotion. According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, some NJPW talent are even considering leaving the company.

In particular, there appears to be some backlash toward Meij himself.

“The initial reaction was that the feeling was that he talks down to the wrestlers,” Meltzer wrote. He then continued to say many of the wrestlers are concerned he has no history in the business as well.

Moral amongst some has changed enough that they are considering leaving the company.

“There are people who in the past had never even considered WWE who are thinking about it, and others who were completely committed to staying who are probably still leaning that way, but are considering the WWE option.”

[seagrams hotsauce]

man that WON report about NJPW is concerning. i hope it's Meltzer crying wolf but it would really fucking blow if things went south for them

 

Let’s just say that the next few months are going to be very interesting. Some early contract offers made have raised some concern to go along with the issues mentioned in last week’s issue. While there is a lot of pride here for the quality of the matches stemming from the Kobe and Long Beach shows during what is usually the post-G-1 down period, and the great reaction to G-1 and its business success, but the new regime (Harold Meij and new General Manager Michael Craven) is very different and not experienced in dealing with wrestlers. There may be economics that we’re not aware of, but there was a lot about the U.S. expansion with enthusiasm, between the new dojo and running a regular California and West Coast second circuit (which I don’t think would have been a good idea) and the pull back from there, and other changes. But it feels like a lot has changed in the last 30 days. Craven, who is believed to be the head of talent relations as well as international expansion, may be the most unpopular guy among the wrestlers with the new regime. Craven I believe was the Tech Business Director at Hays Japan, managing technology recruitment for a company and had worked in IT recruitment for 20 years. He has lived in Japan since 1998, coming from the U.K. and has been involved in developing many of the top senior level technology executives in Asia. The initial reaction was that the feeling was that he talks down to the wrestlers and made strange comments and they know he has no background in wrestling, which is a very unique industry. Morale with the company was very high as you could tell by any interviews with the talent, particularly during G-1 where the level of work had led to high pride across the board with the feeling they were doing the best matches in the world and producing the best overall product. Now the morale is more weird than anything, with more uncertainty about what will happen next and less confidence than with the old administration. Another person noted that the new team has gotten off to a rough start and that all the wrestlers, both Japanese and American, are talking about how they feel like they are seen as workers in a factory assembly line as opposed to high level athletes or entertainers. The excitement so many had for working here has taken a hit. It’s really a bad time for that with the goal of international expansion and that fun vs. WWE money was a key to a lot of people, but if you lower the fun aspect, that changes the equation, and basically we’re coming in on the single most interesting and important contract season since New Japan started garnering some international growth. There are people who in the past had never even considered WWE who are thinking about it, and others who were completely committed to staying who are probably still leaning that way, but are considering the WWE option.

from https://old.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/9n8bjo/won_wrestlers_in_njpw_very_unhappy_with_new/?st=jn4m37d1&sh=a66358ed

[bork]

Thanks; just edited my post with an article about it right when you responded. 

How did Harold Meij end up gaining control of the promotion like that?  Wikipedia says he's lived in Japan on and off for a long, long time and is a fan of wrasslin', but still...wouldn't you want to get someone who really knows the business and the company running things?  That Craven guy has like zero experience here.

[seagrams hotsauce]

yeah it seems baffling that the second biggest wrasslin company in the world would get Dixie Cartered. hopefully they'll straighten things out but why the fuck these dudes get the keys is beyond me. it's troubling even as someone who isn't an avid viewer since NJPW is one of the few promotions on the planet that has wrestlers working for them who you can generally expect actually give a shit about what they're doing and have a modicum of agency in their stories. it's not perfect but the lack of WWE-esque cynicism is a huge appeal for me, and if that gets diminished i can only see wrestling suffering in general as a result

[bork]

Seeing rumblings that Crown Jewel may be canceled due fallout from the journalist who was killed there recently.  Apparently WWE stock dropped 12% and now they may pull out? 

EDIT: Their response so far:

“We are currently monitoring the situation,” a WWE rep said in a statement sent out to media outlets.

[bork]

0% chance that show gets cancelled. WWE didn't miss any shows when one of their active talents murdered his wife and kid.

  Sad, but true. 

[bork]

It's starting to get more attention:

Several United States senators, led by Chris Murphy of Connecticut - WWE's home state - have urged the company to reconsider the upcoming Crown Jewel show in Saudi Arabia and pause their overall relationship with the country. In an Independent Journal Review article, Murphy had this to say:

“Because [Linda McMahon] is part of the president’s cabinet […] the administration really should give it some thought and maybe even prevail upon them not doing it. I’d hope that they would be rethinking their relationship with the kingdom especially with respect to events coming up in the next weeks like [WWE Crown Jewel]"

-- Other senators on the Senate Foreign Relations committee also expressed concern over Crown Jewel including Chris Coons who at first acted surprised by the news regarding the future event before saying that the company “should be taking a hard look” at its relationship with the kingdom moving forward.   Added Senator Lindsey Graham: “There should be a pause."

-- WWE has declined comment other than releasing a brief statement saying that they are "monitoring the situation" but internally, the company is making back up plans in case they are forced to stop the event.   One of the working ideas is to move the major matches to Survivor Series, but to cancel the World Cup tournament. 

[bork]

LOL

-- In a recent interview with The Sun, WWE EVP Triple H made a statement that took many observers off guard by claiming that he isn't sure if Vince McMahon has ever watched an episode of NXT from beginning-to-end:

    “I don’t know that he’s ever even watched a full episode of NXT start to finish. He’s busy.  “He will pick up a lot from bits and pieces from what he sees. To me it’s always amazing – his insight of things.  I realise he just saw a snippet but what he will say about that snippet is a bigger overall arc to the entire product, and I’m like, ‘That’s really right.’ I think it’s great that he doesn’t see all of it because it gives him a different perspective. It gives him an outsider view on it.”

-- Triple H made the comments in London while announcing the debut of NXT UK – which airs on the WWE Network next Wednesday October 17.   He added that he isn't sure if Vince will watch the new NXT UK but that he is "very keen and very excited for the international expansion... for the future of the business."    NXT UK airs on the WWE Network at 8pm Wednesday October 17

[seagrams hotsauce]

lmao @ that second quote. jesus

also i hope Stro is right. makes sense and will feel less shitty when the Bucks get fast-tracked into the Smackdown tag-team holding pattern

[Mandark]

https://twitter.com/dalmuti/status/1050569317018787841

[bork]

https://twitter.com/rasslinblogs/status/1051180811989471232

[archie4208]

Roman Reigns has leukemia and is relinquishing the Universal Title.  What the FUCK.

[archie4208]

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1054524396117753856

https://twitter.com/WWEUniverse/status/1054525362942619648

I don't care for Roman the wrestler, but I hope he beats it again.