offical wwe thread

[famicommander]

You really putting DDT up there?

DDT is a good product because they know what they want to be and everything they put on screen or in the ring is in service of that. DDT is nothing like ROH but they have the same level of commitment to their identity so, just like Lucha Underground, the nonsense stuff they do actually works for them. I can't say I watch every DDT show, nor even most of them. But I know what to expect when I do watch it and they do their best to deliver on that promise. DDT does all kinds of stupid shit but I don't recall them putting on a terrible show. DDT stands for Dramatic Dream Team; with a name like that you know you're not getting NJPW and their "King of Sports" mentality. And that's why their new owners are keeping NOAH, which is relatively serious, separate from DDT. Unlike WWE which just arbitrarily divides people up between shows that are the same shit, there's a coherent reason for a brand split here.

NXT, for example, can't even decide what it is. Is it developmental? Is it a third brand? Is the NXT title a world title? Is it a sports based promotion? If so, why is Karen Q being repackaged as a 1000 year old character from Chinese mythology? I don't think a single person in WWE can answer those questions because the real reason NXT exists is to hoard talent away from the other majors. Roderick Strong has been there five excruciating years and he's not having the same quality of matches he did in ROH and Japan through no fault of his own. Same goes for Cole, Fish, O'Reilly, etc. They still put on good matches but the magic is gone and sometimes it feels like they're just going through the motions.

Impact was great when the Knockouts and the X-Division were killing it every week, and that's the time in their history when they were the closest to having their own identity. Because for most of their existence their identity was simply "opposition to WWE" which resulted in a gong show because WWE itself has no identity and it's always stupid to define your product by a competitor's in the first place.

AEW literally was pitched as a sports-based promotion where wins and losses mattered and there'd be no cringey ass WWE shit. They promised us NJPW and ROH style with a major network budget. Instead we're getting a show with a bunch of unrelated concepts trying to pander to every distinct style of wrestling fan in the same two hours and as a result nobody really gets what they want. The rankings are meaningless, the rules aren't enforced, the camera work is just like WWE's, Matt Hardy can fucking teleport, geezers are wrestling on PPV, Chris Jericho is doing musical dance numbers, and all the while JR is burying the roster and plugging his diarrhea BBQ sauce and shitty podcast while Excalibur tries to call the matches like a real fight. And the Young Bucks are booking all their talentless friends like Peter Avalon, Luther, Michael Nakazawa, etc.

 

[wataru330]

Just caught Super Crazy v TAJIRI on Pluto TV’s wrestling channel.

From a DEFY show a couple of years back. Good times!

 

[famicommander]

NJPW should be easier to follow as they are bringing their weekly one hour show back to the US via Roku Channel. It will air Thursdays at 5:00 PM Eastern for free. You can get the Roku channel via web browser if you don't have a Roku.

 

[jro]

The last half hour of AEW was great. If that didn’t get your panties untwisted and wet, it might not ever.

And that’s fine. But in general, wrestling on the non-Indy level, isn’t going to get much better soon.

Killer main event with a legitimately surprising angle to close the show on. If they've got a working deal with New Japan, that's a solid collaboration right there.

Re: Miro- I used to think WWE was just wasting the guy and didn't use him right. Now he's in different company and he's still pretty awful, makes me wonder if he's the problem?

 

[Syn]

Miro needed to come in as a no nonsense badass and feud with Archer, Cage, etc.

Comedy does not suit him, to the extent that he's been doing. A little bit, that's okay. He needs more ring time that's for sure.

 

[famicommander]

Miro needed to come in as a no nonsense badass and feud with Archer, Cage, etc.

Comedy does not suit him, to the extent that he's been doing. A little bit, that's okay. He needs more ring time that's for sure.

He went from a wedding storyline in WWE to a wedding storyline in AEW.

When he first showed up in WWE I thought he sucked. Then Rusev Day convinced me he might not suck. But everything after that has me thinking he sucks again.

Also why the fuck is he doing sing-alongs with the crowd when he's a heel?

 

[Mr.Bojangles]

So as somebody who hasnt enjoyed WWE since the goat Shawn Michael's retired, and was really into WWE during the Attitude Era, what exactly keeps you guys watching this stuff? I can only name a handful of today's wrestlers and while I see the talent is still very much there, the storylines, the hardcore comedy, the rivalries that felt so real you could sense legit heat coming from your tv, and certainly the passion is all but gone. Alot of these wrestlers while gifted in the ring, just dont seem very imposing, with the exception of a few. I tried watching at times over the last 5 years, but what ended it for me was when I saw some fat guy, who wasnt physically imposing in the least, smaller than me with zero charisma become WWE Champion. I remember the best thing about WWE was that all of the guys back in the day, looked like they could kick major ass. Alot of them were monstrous. So, to see alot of these guys now that look like average Joe's become the faces of the business is majorly disappointing. Don't think I'm trying to make it seem like WWE is shit, to the contrary, I love the company. I just hate the quality of content theyve been feeding us for a while now and I just dont get why people keep supporting it.

 

[Lee_Rekka]

Are you saying you don't find a guy who is 5'6 and 165 pounds imposing? Who also wrestles like they are in cirque du soleil, with bright red legs from all the thigh slaps, and have no personality with cringey porn level acting?

You're crazy man, modern wrestling is where its at!

Don't forget to check out New Japan after Jado, and Gedo took over, and disassociated themselves with Strong Style in favor of American entertainment style. Its great.....

 

[Mr.Bojangles]

I guess I wouldn't have much of a problem with the smaller guys nowadays if they could perform like a Shawn Michaels , The Hardy's, Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, X-Pac. I mean those guys weren't the biggest, but not only were they great ring performers, they could work the mic too and cut good promos. I guess I'm just looking for the total package in wrestlers. HBK was it for me because the guy was an acrobat with no fear in the ring. Yes he was an insufferable asshole in the late 80' - 90's, but he was hilarious as fuck, even though he was high as a kite most of the time. I saw one Monday Night Raw later in Shawn's career once he found god, but this took place in Montreal. They never let him forget about Bret, and Shawn worked that crowd into such a frenzy. He mocked,laughed at them and berated them and even teased them with Bret's intro music. When Bret never came out and Shawn started laughing, it sounded like the crowd wanted to kill him. You just dont see that kinda heat these days and the ability to work a crowd like that is what separates the amateurs from the greats. Three guys who I thought had the best mic skills were HBK, Stone Cold, and The Rock. Too me, not many wrestlers could hang with them when it came to dialogue and cutting promos.

 

[Mr.Bojangles]

Actually I take that back, Ric Flair was really entertaining too.

 

[JoeAwesome]

The Attitude and Ruthless Aggression eras are over. What you see is modern sports entertainment, for better or worse.

It took me a long time to leave the Attitude era. Can’t say it’s as good as I remember it, nowadays.

 

[Mr.Bojangles]

The Attitude and Ruthless Aggression eras are over. What you see is modern sports entertainment, for better or worse.

It took me a long time to leave the Attitude era. Can’t say it’s as good as I remember it, nowadays.

Believe me, I've tried liking it, it's just not as good to me. I like Roman Reigns, AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins okay just wish they had alot more personality.....were more, animated I guess. AJ Styles is the one who sorta remotely reminds me of a young Shawn Michael's as far as ring presence.

 

[famicommander]

My pick for next ROH World Champion:

 

[famicommander]

Former NFL and CFL quarterback Doug Flutie now holds a WWE title.

 

[Mr.Bojangles]

Former NFL and CFL quarterback Doug Flutie now holds a WWE title.

GTFOH Mr. Flutie Flakes himself? How the hell does that happen? He's about as imposing as a senior citizen who hasnt gotten their percocet yet. What a fucking joke. Vince McMahon Sr. must be rolling over in his grave.

 

[famicommander]

GTFOH Mr. Flutie Flakes himself? How the hell does that happen? He's about as imposing as a senior citizen who hasnt gotten their percocet yet. What a fucking joke. Vince McMahon Sr. must be rolling over in his grave.

WWE has been terrible for almost 20 years now. Every once in a great while they'll put on 2 months of good television and that's what their fans cling to.

 

[Mr.Bojangles]

WWE has been terrible for almost 20 years now. Every once in a great while they'll put on 2 months of good television and that's what their fans cling to.

See, this is exactly why I haven't watched since Shawn Michaels last match with the Undertaker. To me real wrestling entertainment died that day. God though, I would love to be proven wrong. I have supported this compqny since its early years as the WWF.

 

[famicommander]

See, this is exactly why I haven't watched since Shawn Michaels last match with the Undertaker. To me real wrestling entertainment died that day. God though, I would love to be proven wrong. I have supported this compqny since its early years as the WWF.

Pick a good promotion and try them out. If you want to stick to companies that produce weekly content in English:
Ring of Honor
New Japan Pro Wrestling
Major League Wrestling

Ring of Honor TV airs every week in syndication or on one of many free platforms online. Easiest to find at rohwrestling.com or fite.tv. They also run PPVs or you can get those included with a subscription, but the weekly TV show is always free.

NJPW will have a free weekly show on the Roku channel starting this Thursday. Or you can subscribe to NJPW World to get all of their content.

Major League Wrestling is on Youtube, Fubo Sports Network, DAZN, and BeIN Sports every week.

The indie scene is pretty barren right now due to COVID. I think the only decent one really putting out shows regularly is Game Changer Wrestling.

 

[Mr.Bojangles]

Pick a good promotion and try them out. If you want to stick to companies that produce weekly content in English:
Ring of Honor
New Japan Pro Wrestling
Major League Wrestling

Ring of Honor TV airs every week in syndication or on one of many free platforms online. Easiest to find at rohwrestling.com or fite.tv. They also run PPVs or you can get those included with a subscription, but the weekly TV show is always free.

NJPW will have a free weekly show on the Roku channel starting this Thursday. Or you can subscribe to NJPW World to get all of their content.

Major League Wrestling is on Youtube, Fubo Sports Network, DAZN, and BeIN Sports every week.

The indie scene is pretty barren right now due to COVID. I think the only decent one really putting out shows regularly is Game Changer Wrestling.

Thanks for the recommendations. Kinda hard to find wrestling programs with the total package these days
You would think Vince McMahon would've gotten a clue by now, but unfortunately he probably has the censors breathing down his back.

 

[famicommander]

Thanks for the recommendations. Kinda hard to find wrestling programs with the total package these days
You would think Vince McMahon would've gotten a clue by now, but unfortunately he probably has the censors breathing down his back.

Vince just keeps raking in the billions no matter how much his product sucks. He gives zero fucks. WWE is a quantity company, not a quality company. They simply put out so many hours of live TV per year that they have value to networks no matter how low the ratings go.

 

[Arcademan]

Butch Reed passes away at 66.

Butch Reed—who wrestled for WWE, WCW and multiple other promotions during his lengthy career—died Friday at the age of 66.

It was announced on Reed's official Instagram page that he died because of heart complications. The page announced on February 2 that Reed had suffered "two massive heart attacks" in 2021.

Reed is likely best known by wrestling fans for his stint with WWE from 1986-88 followed by a run in Jim Crockett Promotions (later WCW) from 1988-92.

Before breaking into professional wrestling, Reed played college football at the University of Central Missouri and briefly spent some time with the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs.

Reed debuted as a pro wrestler in 1978 and wrestled in Kansas City, Florida and St. Louis, but his first huge break came in 1983 when he joined Mid-South Wrestling, which encompassed Tennessee and Arkansas.

He excelled as both a babyface and heel in Mid-South under the name "Hacksaw" Butch Reed and had memorable rivalries with the likes of "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, Junkyard Dog and Magnum T.A.

In Mid-South, Reed held the North American Heavyweight Championship three times, the Television Championship once and the Tag Team Championships once with WWE Hall of Famer Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart.

Reed joined WWE in 1986 and became known as "The Natural" Butch Reed. While Reed never won a title in WWE, he competed for the Intercontinental Championship on multiple occasions.

Reed wrestled at both WrestleMania III and IV, and he was also part of the first-ever Royal Rumble match in 1988.

The Kansas City native joined WCW in 1988, and after initially trying his hand at being a singles star, he joined forces with WWE Hall of Famer Ron Simmons in 1989 to form the tag team Doom.

Reed and Simmons enjoyed a dominant run that saw them win the WCW World Tag Team Championships from The Steiner Brothers in 1990.

After leaving WCW in 1992, Reed continued wrestling sporadically on the independent circuit for 10 years and then came out of retirement and continued wrestling from 2005-11.

Reed was one of the most popular and successful Black wrestlers of the 1980s and 1990s, and he helped pave the way for many of today's stars.

 

[JoeAwesome]

Fami fails to mention it’s a silly title; Mr. Bojabroni reads the headline and not the story.

 

[famicommander]

Fami fails to mention it’s a silly title; Mr. Bojabroni reads the headline and not the story.

That the title exists in the first place is bad enough. It devalues every other title they have and everyone who wins it. People on the roster who are involved in relatively serious programs still have to take losses to a guy who got pinned by Doug Flutie.

There's also a rapper on the card for Wrestlemania.

 

[Mr.Bojangles]

There's also a rapper on the card for Wrestlemania.

Please sweet Jesus, let it be Kanye West vs Brock Lesnar in a Hell In The Cell Match!!! I will pay just to see that.

 

[famicommander]

Nick Aldis says the plan for the future of NWA is to build around 56 year old Tim Storm and 42 year old Eljiah Burke and it is in no way alarming that everyone that any other promotion wants is signing elsewhere as soon as they legally can.