The Wrestling Topic

[Demitri_C]

6 hours ago, Dick said:

Smackdown....

  Hide contents

Big title changes hands

 

Spoiler

So you have Aksura run ended only for Carmella to cash in, god the booking in WWE is absolute gash 

 

 

[Villanun]

I enjoyed WM34 a lot more than I thought I was going to. Rollins-Balor-Mizz was always going to be great and they didn't disappoint; I think Rollins might well be Raw's most valuable player right now. The women's matches were all well wrestled, but I didn't like the end of the Flair-Asuka match at all. First they made Asuka look weak, and then they interrupted Charlotte's celebration to make it all about Cena. Rusev losing sucked, especially on Rusev Day - and wow, Randy Orton looks like he can barely be bothered any more. The booking on Reigns-Lesnar was awful, typical "make Roman look like superman" bullshit, so the ending came as a real surprise - and given the negative crowd reaction it wouldn't surprise me if the rumours about Vince calling an audible were completely true. Styles-Nakamura was a shock dud, although the heel turn might fire Nakamura's up a bit. And how close did they come to messing up Daniel Bryant's return? Way to massage your own ego, Shane.

But for me the real surprise was the mixed tag match. I was dreading it; watching two old men, one non wrestler and one debutant go at it was not a prospect I was looking forward to. What we got was a really entertaining, well paced match that told a coherent story and allowed everyone to play to their strengths. Rousey looked great on offence, and I particularly liked her "I'm just going to back in there and continue beating up your wife" line to Trips. If the stories about Trips taking a personal hand in this match's planning are true then it's only more proof that Vinny Mac should hand over the reins.

[Demitri_C]

1 hour ago, Villanun said:

I enjoyed WM34 a lot more than I thought I was going to. Rollins-Balor-Mizz was always going to be great and they didn't disappoint; I think Rollins might well be Raw's most valuable player right now. The women's matches were all well wrestled, but I didn't like the end of the Flair-Asuka match at all. First they made Asuka look weak, and then they interrupted Charlotte's celebration to make it all about Cena. Rusev losing sucked, especially on Rusev Day - and wow, Randy Orton looks like he can barely be bothered any more. The booking on Reigns-Lesnar was awful, typical "make Roman look like superman" bullshit, so the ending came as a real surprise - and given the negative crowd reaction it wouldn't surprise me if the rumours about Vince calling an audible were completely true. Styles-Nakamura was a shock dud, although the heel turn might fire Nakamura's up a bit. And how close did they come to messing up Daniel Bryant's return? Way to massage your own ego, Shane.

But for me the real surprise was the mixed tag match. I was dreading it; watching two old men, one non wrestler and one debutant go at it was not a prospect I was looking forward to. What we got was a really entertaining, well paced match that told a coherent story and allowed everyone to play to their strengths. Rousey looked great on offence, and I particularly liked her "I'm just going to back in there and continue beating up your wife" line to Trips. If the stories about Trips taking a personal hand in this match's planning are true then it's only more proof that Vinny Mac should hand over the reins.

You only have to look at NXT to see how well he is doing. The other obstacle is where does Shane fit into it? Surely he will a piece of the pie too. 

[hogso]

Can't decide which 6 man ladder match was better - the NXT one, or the ROH one. I really can't call it. I think the frantic pace of the ROH match was better for awhile, and the danger of the match was 'real'...but it was spoilt horribly by the interference. Seeing Ricochet doing Ricochet things in a WWE ring was great, it's a shame he can't talk for shit which will impact his progression severely I imagine.

[Daweii]

7 hours ago, Demitri_C said:

  Hide contents

So you have Aksura run ended only for Carmella to cash in, god the booking in WWE is absolute gash 

 

 

Spoiler

The thing is where else would you have the streak ended? It has to end sometime, it was already a streak longer than any other. 

In Asuka's short time in WWE she has already broken the record for the longest title reign of the modern era at 510 days and she went on a 914 day undefeated streak. 

Yes Asuka could have won the Women's Championship, but then what? Add another 365 days onto her streak because the only place worthy of ending it is WrestleMania? The streak had to end at some point. 

As for Charlotte losing? It's not like she looked weak in defeat after getting absolutely annihilated by The Iconic Duo. Sure if she lost 1 on 1 in a legit match I'd be more disappointed, but Charlotte lost because she got smashed for 5 minutes solid. 

The booking in WWE has been trash over the years, but while I understand the disappointment was there any other way to book this without disappointing some? The answer to that is no and Carmella as champ is interesting to me.

 

[Daweii]

43 minutes ago, hogso said:

Can't decide which 6 man ladder match was better - the NXT one, or the ROH one. I really can't call it. I think the frantic pace of the ROH match was better for awhile, and the danger of the match was 'real'...but it was spoilt horribly by the interference. Seeing Ricochet doing Ricochet things in a WWE ring was great, it's a shame he can't talk for shit which will impact his progression severely I imagine.

I need to watch the ROH one. I adored the NXT one which may sway my judgement in their favour, but I love frantic and dangerous ladder matches so I am super interested in the ROH one. 

[Demitri_C]

19 minutes ago, Daweii said:

  Hide contents

The thing is where else would you have the streak ended? It has to end sometime, it was already a streak longer than any other. 

In Asuka's short time in WWE she has already broken the record for the longest title reign of the modern era at 510 days and she went on a 914 day undefeated streak. 

Yes Asuka could have won the Women's Championship, but then what? Add another 365 days onto her streak because the only place worthy of ending it is WrestleMania? The streak had to end at some point. 

As for Charlotte losing? It's not like she looked weak in defeat after getting absolutely annihilated by The Iconic Duo. Sure if she lost 1 on 1 in a legit match I'd be more disappointed, but Charlotte lost because she got smashed for 5 minutes solid. 

The booking in WWE has been trash over the years, but while I understand the disappointment was there any other way to book this without disappointing some? The answer to that is no and Carmella as champ is interesting to me.

 

Spoiler

I cant disagree more. Carmella is a gash charchter. A average wrestler who I think will flop as champion. She has had as many title runs as Becky Lynch and Naomi who in my view are better. 

I think Charlotte should have kept the gold until WM where she would then face Rousey. I think would have been more sense for Carmella not to win it.  I agree about the booking being gash for years.

 

[Daweii]

@Demitri_C I personally believe in giving new Champions a chance as no one knows how a wrestler is going to adapt and change with the confidence that comes with being the title holder. Alexa Bliss is a prime example of that. She was super green in the ring, semi-decent on the mic, but she showed no signs of being the potential face of the Women's division, yet look at her now. She took that title win on Smackdown and she ran with it and made a name for herself despite the fact she wasn't Championship material in the eyes of anyone watching WWE at the time. Now Carmella is also super green in the ring, semi-decent on the mic and shows no signs of being a great Champion, but we won't know how she fairs until she lives that role for a bit and I'm excited to see what happens.

I don't know maybe it's all down to how I look at Smackdown Live. To me Smackdown is an extension of NXT, it's the next rung up on the ladder and yes there are some top top talents on Smackdown Live, but to me it's the ideal place to go when coming up from NXT. So when I see someone green getting a title run, I see it more as a test of their future potential. It's why when Corbin failed to cash in I thought it was a waste of a potential chance to see if Corbin could be the face of Smackdown Live for 3-6 months. So sure I understand where you are coming from, but I just don't see this as the huge negative that you do now that the dust has settled. 

[RichardCanning]

Have to say I agree @Daweii the same champions over and over leads to great wrestlers being disliked (Cena being the prime example). The thing I wanted to see at WM was a heel turn by Kofi or Big E as for me the New Day is stale and having one of the members move out by turning on the others and then progress to be a world singles champion would add more depth to the superstar playing field. I would truly love come January to think that every one of the 30 participants entering the Royal Rumble could win it, but due to the booking it tops out at 5 possible winners, if WWE could change that they would have a very interesting product on their hands IMO

[hogso]

4 hours ago, Daweii said:

I need to watch the ROH one. I adored the NXT one which may sway my judgement in their favour, but I love frantic and dangerous ladder matches so I am super interested in the ROH one. 

I think the NXT one was the better match on reflection. There's not much in it, though. 

On the subject of Supercard of Honor - Kenny v Cody was disappointing, Castle v Scurll was ok, but the best match was Page v Ibushi. Page has slowly but surely developed over the last year and he's now genuinely exciting.

I'd hope that once this dick thing with Joey Ryan for All Out is finished he'll regain the darker image he's had. I wouldn't say sky's the limit for him (far from it in fact), but he's certainly one of the brightest up and comers from North America at the moment, along with the likes of Darby Allin, Eli Everley, MJF and Tony Deppen. 

In NJPW news (there's not much at the moment) two new Heavyweight young boys debuted in-ring at the latest Lion's Project event. Sekimoto is on the next Lion's Project show, and if that's a sign of things to come, I'd love to see him in this year's G1. The guy is an utter beast and is fast approaching 40, so it'd be great to see him get a proper shot in NJPW. 

[sharkyvilla]

11 hours ago, Villanun said:

I enjoyed WM34 a lot more than I thought I was going to. Rollins-Balor-Mizz was always going to be great and they didn't disappoint; I think Rollins might well be Raw's most valuable player right now. The women's matches were all well wrestled, but I didn't like the end of the Flair-Asuka match at all. First they made Asuka look weak, and then they interrupted Charlotte's celebration to make it all about Cena. Rusev losing sucked, especially on Rusev Day - and wow, Randy Orton looks like he can barely be bothered any more. The booking on Reigns-Lesnar was awful, typical "make Roman look like superman" bullshit, so the ending came as a real surprise - and given the negative crowd reaction it wouldn't surprise me if the rumours about Vince calling an audible were completely true. Styles-Nakamura was a shock dud, although the heel turn might fire Nakamura's up a bit. And how close did they come to messing up Daniel Bryant's return? Way to massage your own ego, Shane.

But for me the real surprise was the mixed tag match. I was dreading it; watching two old men, one non wrestler and one debutant go at it was not a prospect I was looking forward to. What we got was a really entertaining, well paced match that told a coherent story and allowed everyone to play to their strengths. Rousey looked great on offence, and I particularly liked her "I'm just going to back in there and continue beating up your wife" line to Trips. If the stories about Trips taking a personal hand in this match's planning are true then it's only more proof that Vinny Mac should hand over the reins.

I've watched bits and pieces and the mixed tag match looked the best match of the night.  Really surprised how good Stephanie was, and I now get the hype about Rhonda Rousey.  Great to see Kurt back wrestling too, he's probably my all time favourite along with Jericho.

[Demitri_C]

13 hours ago, Daweii said:

@Demitri_C I personally believe in giving new Champions a chance as no one knows how a wrestler is going to adapt and change with the confidence that comes with being the title holder. Alexa Bliss is a prime example of that. She was super green in the ring, semi-decent on the mic, but she showed no signs of being the potential face of the Women's division, yet look at her now. She took that title win on Smackdown and she ran with it and made a name for herself despite the fact she wasn't Championship material in the eyes of anyone watching WWE at the time. Now Carmella is also super green in the ring, semi-decent on the mic and shows no signs of being a great Champion, but we won't know how she fairs until she lives that role for a bit and I'm excited to see what happens.

I don't know maybe it's all down to how I look at Smackdown Live. To me Smackdown is an extension of NXT, it's the next rung up on the ladder and yes there are some top top talents on Smackdown Live, but to me it's the ideal place to go when coming up from NXT. So when I see someone green getting a title run, I see it more as a test of their future potential. It's why when Corbin failed to cash in I thought it was a waste of a potential chance to see if Corbin could be the face of Smackdown Live for 3-6 months. So sure I understand where you are coming from, but I just don't see this as the huge negative that you do now that the dust has settled. 

It is in a way but Carmella? She has nothing going for her but good looks and screeching. Becky Lynch is so much better, in fact there are a number of women better than Carmella. But will see how this works out. I think her reign will be a flop. As for Bliss I always thought she was good, she is good on mic can wrestle and a great heel. 

Im glad Nia won though on Raw about time she was given a run she is a great wrestler 

[Villanun]

23 hours ago, Demitri_C said:

You only have to look at NXT to see how well he is doing. The other obstacle is where does Shane fit into it? Surely he will a piece of the pie too. 

When the brand split first happened Smackdown was by far the better show, and when Raw improved and Smackdown worsened I heard it was because they moved some of the Smackdown writers across to Raw. Assuming that to be the case, I'd move thosr writers back to Smackdown and let Shane Captain that ship and give Raw to Trips. The McMahon kids have always had a problem with putting themselves over at the expense of wrestlers, so that could be a problem, but Trips seems to know how to build good matches regardless.

[Villanun]

13 hours ago, sharkyvilla said:

I've watched bits and pieces and the mixed tag match looked the best match of the night.  Really surprised how good Stephanie was, and I now get the hype about Rhonda Rousey.  Great to see Kurt back wrestling too, he's probably my all time favourite along with Jericho.

The match played well to Stephanie's strengths, letting her get some sneaky attacks in while accepting the fact that she's not a pro wrestler. Kurt looked better than he did in his Shield guest-spot, but he hasn't been particularly mobile in a while and honestly I worry for him every time he's in the ring. One of the things I thought the match did well was manage Angle's injuries while still making him look effective. Rousey meds more time to improve on the mic, but her fighting abilities were never in question. Yeah, this was one of my two matches of the night (the other being the Intercontinental title match).

[omariqy]

I was expecting more debuts on Smackdown but nice to see Styles v Bryan. I can see a Bryan v Nakamura v Styles triple threat in the future. 

Be interesting to see what happens in the shake up. I would definitely look to move Rusev over to Raw and maybe Balor to Smackdown.

[Demitri_C]

12 minutes ago, omariqy said:

I was expecting more debuts on Smackdown but nice to see Styles v Bryan. I can see a Bryan v Nakamura v Styles triple threat in the future. 

Be interesting to see what happens in the shake up. I would definitely look to move Rusev over to Raw and maybe Balor to Smackdown.

I think we will see Nakamura vs Styles rematch with Nakamura winning leading to a feud with bryan who will win the title at SS

if I was booking i would perhaps go in that direction and maybe throw Orton in between the Bryan-Nakamura feud. They need to then hurry up and turn Rusev and start a Rusev-Mahal feud 

31 minutes ago, Villanun said:

When the brand split first happened Smackdown was by far the better show, and when Raw improved and Smackdown worsened I heard it was because they moved some of the Smackdown writers across to Raw. Assuming that to be the case, I'd move thosr writers back to Smackdown and let Shane Captain that ship and give Raw to Trips. The McMahon kids have always had a problem with putting themselves over at the expense of wrestlers, so that could be a problem, but Trips seems to know how to build good matches regardless.

Yeah thats how I would do it. It works well having Shane on SD and steph/trips on Raw although I think we won't see shane turning heel now as paige is GM (good shout btw the wwe although would have been happy to see Double JJ)

[hogso]

The card for this 'Greatest Royal Rumble' is absolutely mental. HHH v Cena? Undertaker v Jericho casket match? Universal title cage match? IC title ladder match? No women? And god knows who will turn up in the rumble. 

I think Meltzer has already referred to is as 'non-canonical' in it's absurdity. I'd say that's pretty accurate. I know the reasons for the event, but it's still nuts. 

[Daweii]

The card is looking so good and they have more to announce. At this rate this is basically WrestleMania 34: Part 2 as I am sure they said that 7 titles will be defended at the event and only 2 titles have confirmed matches right now. 

[Wainy316]

11 hours ago, hogso said:

The card for this 'Greatest Royal Rumble' is absolutely mental. HHH v Cena? Undertaker v Jericho casket match? Universal title cage match? IC title ladder match? No women? And god knows who will turn up in the rumble. 

I think Meltzer has already referred to is as 'non-canonical' in it's absurdity. I'd say that's pretty accurate. I know the reasons for the event, but it's still nuts. 

Not sure about non-canonical, I reckon Reigns will finally take his prize.

[JB]

The fact that there are no women’s matches is **** up. WWE should be ashamed of themselves IMO.