offical wwe thread

[FilthyRear]

This is gonna be so hype. Main event for All Star Extravaganza VIII is the sixth ever Ladder War for the ROH World Tag Team Championship.

I hope the Guns win.

"The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels is a nazi now?

 

[famicommander]

He calls himself a ring general. His character is a paranoid, delusional, self absorbed asshole but not overtly bigoted or expressing any political leanings. Mostly his shtick is about how smart+experienced he is and how everybody else is engaged in a conspiracy against Frankie and him.

 

[famicommander]

-EC3 has signed a new deal with TNA
-Cody Rhodes will be appearing for ROH, TNA, and NJPW but, at least for now, he won't sign a contract with any of them. He'll be working as an independent contractor which will allow him to appear on TV for multiple promotions. Only a guy with his level of recognition could get away with this.
-Despite his dad owning the name, WWE legal is trying to stop Cody from using the Rhodes name on TV
-Tuesday's Smackdown was the lowest rated since the move to Tuesdays

 

[FilthyRear]

-Tuesday's Smackdown was the lowest rated since the move to Tuesdays

I un-subbed from the network. I couldn't put up with that garbage anymore.

I'm taking a sabbatical from watching wrestling then I'll move to puro.

 

[jro]

I don't watch anything regularly anymore but when I do watch it's to see AJ Styles.

Ambrose plays off him pretty damn well and the two of them (plus Heath Slater, of course) have made snippets of SD sort of decent over the past few weeks.

 

[FilthyRear]

I don't watch anything regularly anymore but when I do watch it's to see AJ Styles.

Ambrose plays off him pretty damn well and the two of them (plus Heath Slater, of course) have made snippets of SD sort of decent over the past few weeks.

I love Uncle Deano as champ.

 

[100proof]

As someone who is only a casual watcher of all things wrasslin', I gotta say the amount of vitriol from wrestling fans baffles me. Like there have definitely been times in the not too distant past where wrestling has been shit and completely unwatchable (most of the 00's) but between the Network (which even if you don't like the current WWE programming, you can watch 30+ years of old PPVs and house shows), the much wider availability of indie shows (both live and on Youtube) and how easy it is now to watch NJPW and other promotions that aren't on scheduled TV programming, this seems like a golden era for wrestling fans.

Even WWE seems to be moving away from promoting low-talent, zero-personality roid monsters and towards guys with characters and actual wrestling and mic skills. For god's sakes, their two big champions right now are a chunky Canadian indie darling and a balding dufus who has to wear a tank top to cover his lack of physique and would've been a comedy character in any other era. I don't know... I get that watching 5 hours of WWE programming is fucking stupid and that their writing is always going to be wildly uneven. I personally can't watch more than like 30 minutes of wrestling a week without feeling like I'm wasting my life.

Should probably just chalk it up to "impotent internet rage" but I check this thread from time to time and it still puzzles me.

 

[famicommander]

What frustrates me is that, despite recent incremental changes, WWE by and large doesn't try to get the best out of every person on the roster. They sign a bunch of great square pegs and try to mash them through round holes.

So, consequently, every time they sign a guy like AJ Styles or Kevin Owens they're making wrestling worse in two ways: they aren't maximizing the talent they do have, and they make other shows worse by signing away the talent that WAS being maximized elsewhere.

Kevin Owens/Steen is a prime example. He's still ridiculously talented and he's still entertaining, but a lot of what made him great in ROH can only be done in small doses, if at all, in WWE. No more blistering, profane shoot promos. No more package piledrivers. No more bloody feuds. No more "KILL, STEEN, KILL!" chants. "Fight, Owens, Fight" just sounds so much worse.

In promotions like Lucha Underground, literally every character has their own arc. Whereas in WWE, only 3-5 acts at a time really get to do anything important and the entire rest of the roster is basically treated like fodder to get them over.

It's also frustrating that WWE can actively shit on the style of wrestling that took place in ROH/TNA/NJPW/AAA/CMLL for 15 straight years, and then they can change their minds on a whim and suddenly everybody pats them on the back for being forward thinking.

It shouldn't have taken fans hijacking entire shows chanting for Bryan and Punk for weeks on end for WWE to relent and actually let them be themselves. It shouldn't take a guy like Styles getting a monstrous pop in his debut for WWE to realize he's someone they can run with. It shouldn't take ten years of the Knockouts Division making them look like shit to scrap the "Divas" division and give us real female wrestling.

 

[Arcademan]

Just popped in for a moment to see the old thread going as strong as ever. I got so far behind in my wrestling that I had to binge watch a few shows. Thank goodness for DVRs, the internet and this thread, not in any particular order.

Be back soon

 

[famicommander]

Good to hear from you, brother. Stay strong.

 

[JoeAwesome]

Good to hear from you, brother. Stay strong.

Ditto. Hope to see you here more often, soon.

 

[jro]

As someone who is only a casual watcher of all things wrasslin', I gotta say the amount of vitriol from wrestling fans baffles me. Like there have definitely been times in the not too distant past where wrestling has been shit and completely unwatchable (most of the 00's) but between the Network (which even if you don't like the current WWE programming, you can watch 30+ years of old PPVs and house shows), the much wider availability of indie shows (both live and on Youtube) and how easy it is now to watch NJPW and other promotions that aren't on scheduled TV programming, this seems like a golden era for wrestling fans.

Even WWE seems to be moving away from promoting low-talent, zero-personality roid monsters and towards guys with characters and actual wrestling and mic skills. For god's sakes, their two big champions right now are a chunky Canadian indie darling and a balding dufus who has to wear a tank top to cover his lack of physique and would've been a comedy character in any other era.

Braun Strowman would like a word.

j/k!

Yeah, I agree with you for the most part. I get that Kevin Owens isn't quite the same as Kevin Steen was, but it's still pretty cool that he's the top guy in the top promotion in the world, at least at the moment. I would think he's making decent money, and it's cool that WWE is finally willing to recognize his talent.

I mean, c'mon, Kevin Steen and Tyler Black are the top two guys on RAW, and AJ Styles and Jon Moxley are on the top of SD. That's progress, on some level at least.

 

[famicommander]

I mean, c'mon, Kevin Steen and Tyler Black are the top two guys on RAW, and AJ Styles and Jon Moxley are on the top of SD. That's progress, on some level at least.

It's progress, but ultimately they're all just placeholders for Lesner, Cena, and Reigns. Those are the top three guys and everything they do with everyone else just feels like a holding period until one of those three show up and obliterate everyone. The only reason Cena put over Styles is so he can leave to film another reality show, and the only reason Ambrose got a shot with the title was because Reigns failed a drug test.

 

[Syn]

Famicommander may hate WWE but he backs his views and it encourages discussion.

 

[famicommander]

Famicommander may hate WWE but he backs his views and it encourages discussion.

I still crack a smile every once in awhile when I watch WWE.

I was legitimately glad for Steen even though the belt he won is ugly and meaningless.

And I really want Rhino and Slater to wins some tag belts.

 

[famicommander]

I didn't even recognize him during the episode on Wednesday but look who had a cameo in the Lucha Underground season premiere:

Fuckin' Honky Tonk Man

I'm now imagining that the prison warden is The Mouth of the South Jimmy Hart complete with megaphone.

 

[Syn]

And I really want Rhino and Slater to wins some tag belts.

I'm still wondering, why are they pushing Heath now? He's been under utilized for years. Now watching Swerved I see Heath was in a few segments and really came across as likeable or pulled a prank on an unsuspecting victim perfectly.

Could Swerved have given Heath the much needed push he's deserved for too long?

 

[famicommander]

AJ Styles and Rhino walked out of a WWE PPV with title belts. I wouldn't have believed it if you told me this would happen two years ago.

Congrats to the both of them.

AJ Styles career titles (major promotions only):
3X NWA-TNA World Heavyweight Champion
2X TNA World Heavyweight Champion
2X IWGP Heavyweight Champion
1X WWE World Champion (current)
6X TNA X Division Champion
2X TNA Television Champion
1X ROH Pure Wrestling Champion
4X NWA-TNA World Tag Team Champion
2X TNA World Tag Team Champion
1X ROH World Tag Team Champion

Between ROH, NJPW, WWE, and TNA that makes 8 World Championships and 24 total championships held.

Rhino:
1X (and final) ECW World Heavyweight Champion
2X (and final) ECW Television Champion
1X NWA-TNA World Heavyweight Champion
1X WCW US Champion (WWF version)
3X WWF Hardcore Champion
1X WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champion (current)

Rhino is a two time World Champion and has held 9 major championships between WWE, ECW, and TNA

 

[famicommander]

Alberto on La Sombra, AKA Andrade "Cien" Almas

I talked to my good friend Manny and poor guy, he wants to come back. Unfortunately, when you go into that company you have to abide by their rules. That's just how it is. It's the nature of our business. I always put it like this. There is a problem with all the talent that goes there, it's the inability to speak the language. They have the talent but when you go work for a company like this, you have to, I say this, something my great mentor Dean Malenko would tell me. Everything you know, forget it, delete the tape. You are starting from nothing. Use one of the moves or things that will help you get over but forget about lucha libre. Lucha libre will not work here. You will never be anything if you focus and stick to being a luchador in WWE.

I adapted and changed myself. I have been the only one to go on and win everything that I won. So that's what I think is the formula. I told Manny this the last time I saw him. He asked me if things were different on the main roster. I told him, "Things are going to get worse up there."

 

[jro]

I'm still wondering, why are they pushing Heath now? He's been under utilized for years. Now watching Swerved I see Heath was in a few segments and really came across as likeable or pulled a prank on an unsuspecting victim perfectly.

Could Swerved have given Heath the much needed push he's deserved for too long?

I think under the old setup, he was seen as a useful guy to job and get a decent amount of heel heat, and a really good guy in the back, but nothing more.

The brand split means that guys who weren't getting time before have a better shot at tv time now, and when the guy getting a shot takes the ball and really runs with it, like Slater has (I can't help but think he's done far better than anyone could have expected, even, getting over as a really likable relatable face), then that guy is going to get pushed. It's nice to see the brand split actually doing what it was supposed to do- Slater, Styles, Owens, Lynch- all of them were going to be held back to some degree if they had to compete with the entire roster on one live show, but now all four are getting real pushes and are getting the chance to shine.

edit: Rhyno deserves mention there, too, for sure. He wouldn't have even gotten a roster spot otherwise, now he's doing real nice face work and has a title.

 

[norton9478]

Slater has always gotten plenty of TV time.

 

[Alpha Skyhawk]

And word is Orton's out of regular performing duties due to concussion symptoms from getting pummeled in the head by Lesnar at Summerslam which is why the Wyatt match didn't happen.

What an unnecessary thing to do in that match

 

[famicommander]

Roderick Strong has officially signed with WWE.

Not sure if it's NXT/Raw/SD or if they're going to change his name.

Roddy is top five in the world as far as ring work goes. Hopefully they just let him be himself and play a cocky heel. Don't make him come out and try to cut long, scripted, babyface promos.

 

[norton9478]

Roddy and Davey put on one of the greatest TV matches ever.

 

[neo_X7]

Will be in Philly next week and I wanted to go by and check out the 2300 arena. I hear that it is not in the best part of town for tourists, has anybody been there?