Pro Wrestling discussion topic--WWE, AEW, ROH, Impact, New Japan, indies

Heyman is killing it tonight.

It's a damned shame he's so far above the entire company on the mic. Take away the script and let dudes sink or swim on their own. Dude sucks on the mic on his own and you wanna keep him?

Give him a manager. It's not a total loss. Christ.

 
Opening video running down Reigns-Seth was good with an epic feel. Then we got 15 minutes of comedy with Orton being great with Noble, Show, and Kane while an idiot held up a Benoit sign. Orton explained that everyone thought he was going to turn on Seth, THAT HE IS ACTUALLY GOING TO TURN ON HIM WHEN HE LEAST SUSPECTS IT (while all the goons are in here), and then says it was a joke. Seth guffaws and believes him and Noble is the one smart guy who doesn't. Goofy IC Title bullshit. Commentary was ungodly bad here. Heyman cut an all-time great promo after the Roman hype video and got off a ton of great lines while Brock smirked.

Rowan and Ryback beat Show and Kane to the sound of silence, leading to Steph burying Show and Kane for her weekly burial. Wizdow rapped a bit and then Wiz bombed hard. AJ beat Summer in a nothing match. Sting responds to HHH next. BOY THANK GOD THEY HYPED UP STING'S FIRST WWE PROMO SO WELL. So they do a hype video and it's either to Sting's voice with a ton of audio processing, which is sounded like for a little while, or a different person, which is what it seemed like for 90% of it. 

Cena was a prick backstage to Rusev, who killed Axel. Cena then CHOKED RUSEV FOR HAVING AN OPINION and did it again to get his title shot. New Day beat the champs to no reaction, leading EVER SO SEAMLESSLY to Nattie-Naomi. Naomi wins with ass-related stuff leading to Usos-Matadores won via cheating thanks to the bull and using the tights. Handicap match was just an Orton-Seth angle. Loved the double-bird. Orton took 90 years to beat him down though.

http://jayreviewsthings.blogspot.com/2015/03/wwe-raw-3-9-15.html

Screens - 

CHRIS BENOIT IS INNOCENT! in 2015.

 





How to kill a main eventer in 5 minutes.










http://www.imagebam.com/gallery/j7r3jli4ghtdfq3gs6utqaxhb6gqkr44

 
Devils' advocate: In an era where everyone (to my knowledge) has their stuff scripted out (not bullets, but sentences) in advance, is it fair to say anyone has good mic skills?

I mean, sure, some people cut good promos and some don't - but perhaps that's on the writers to a large degree?

Enzo and Cass are entertaining, sure, but they also say the same thing each week - while I'm reluctant to say they have poor mic skills, if there's potential there, I'm not sure I'm seeing it.

Reigns is not a very good wrestler as far as I'm concerned; the RR match was supposed to put him over, but he sat on his ass in the corner for nearly the whole thing. You can't put someone in the title match on your marquee show if you have to protect them - that's inane booking.

He also has to have a different gesture to set up for his finisher; 'cocking' his arm the way he does always looks to me like he's telling his opponent that he's about to fist them. Egads.
Things are scripted now so true mic skills may not be the term to use. However I think that regardless of if you call it mic skills, acting, being charismatic or a natural talker some guys got it and some guys dont. As someone again into the whole soap opera element of wrestling compared to the actual physical wrestling, believability is everything to me. I do not expect RR or Rollins to come out and be the next Stone Cold or CM Punk. They do not need to be great at going off script or working with simple bulletin points. They do however need to be believable and I just do not see either of them as anything other then WWE super stars reading a script. Part of that likely has to do with being in the internet age though and knowing these guys are being pushed as the next best thing, especially with the WWE constantly bringing reality into their story lines.

All that said who knows, maybe some guys who right now come across as uncharismatic and without a lick of acting chops would do better if they WERE working off bullet points or allowed to go off script more. Rollins could be the next Rock(doubt it)and this is just the wrong format for him. The one big up side though is that I know that the NXT kids have like studios and sound booths and crap to go and in solitude practice cutting promos. I am really hoping that the smart decisions HHH seems to be making with NXT leads to some really well rounded talents in the future.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Damn, 11 years is a long time.
Yes, Yes it is. Had a fun time. The Rollins/Orton brawl was right next to me once it spilled into the crowd, so that was a great moment. Never been that close before. Also didn't know Brock was going to be there, so that was a nice surprise, will probably be the first and last time I ever see him live, if he leaves after WM.

I don't know how things came off on TV but the crowd seemed pretty into most things. We all went a bit nuts when the first gong hit and we thought taker might actually show up, but obviously that didn't happen.

 
I was high as shit last night, but even that didn't keep me from getting so fucking irritated at certain shit that went on, which honestly is a first for me.

That opening segment was a damn train wreck, and honestly, the Orton turn should have been done right then and there instead of acting like it was all a farce. 

That bullshit Sting promo almost made me wish Sting NEVER came to the WWE. That is EXACTLY the type of stupid shit that ruined any WCW momentum after the takeover and merger. Do they seriously think nobody knows what on earth Sting sounds like? Did they forget that even taking TNA out of consideration, there is this thing called the WWE Network that people can watch for a nominal fee of 9.99 a month where they can see tons of Sting footage? Seriously, fuck whoever decided to do that shit with the voice in the ass with Scott Hall's cattleprod.

Another thing. Did anyone else see the double-double turn last night? Honestly, WWE has GOLD on their hands with the Rusev/Cena fued, one where they could make a future top guy AND at the same time change up an act staler that 1994 Hulk Hogan.  Let me explain this one for you is I may:

Cena started the night as a face, Rusev as a heel. Then Cena tells Rusev if he talks shit bout 'Murika he will kick his ass. OK I can handle that. Then, after destroying Axelmania, Rusev drops nothing but pure truth and gold out there for everyone to hear. What he said honestly wasn't bullshit, we have become weak as a nation, we have stop showing our might on things and rather resorted to talking, and due to alot of the bullshit that goes on in government, if there was a soul it would be black as night. . 

Sooo.... we get Our hero, John Cena coming down to protect our virtue and beats on Rusev, puts his sub move on him and knocks him out. OK. Thats what a face does. But now, we wake up the guy, put the move on him again, and hold it until he gets what HE wants. Not Lana or Rusev saying that 'Murika is great, or apologizing, but instead something CENA wants for himself. So there was your Bret/Austin double turn, but rather than leave it alone and let it soak in, the commentary team has to pull a double turn via their stupid reasoning and make Cena face and Rusev the heel once more.

The absolute best way this thing can go down is one way: Cena loses again at Mania via Lana distraction. Then, either by some sort of accidental bump Lana gets hurt or Rusev fires her for agreeing to this match which frees her up from TV to go make her movie shes signed onto. This also sets up the 3rd and final match between Cena and Rusev. This one should be a Last Man Standing/No Holds Barred GRUDGE match. Ruzev loses this one ONLY after Cena beats him down with chairs, kendo sticks, tables, ring bells, etc. This way Rusev loses but still looks strong due to Cena only being able to beat him that way, and Cena completes the full on heel turn. This shit actually writes itself, but WWE will fuck it up. 

Belly Dat.

Sorry for the long winded post, but I needed to get this shit out of my head. It has been running around there since last night and I dont want it fucking with my 420 tonight if ya know what I mean.

 
I'd still hate him in the main event scene because I don't think he deserves it, or is ready for it.. but I'd love it if this is the Reigns we got..

http://youtu.be/4pbS7iCMxn0
 
Rigor Mortis - I don't get high at all (though if y'all are into bourbon, let's talk), and yet I feel the need to talk you down from your high.

It's wrestling, it's just tee vee, man. Stuff can be disappointing, but when it gets to a point where you're stressing it hard, maybe it's time to take a break. Worked goddamned *wonders* for me. I used to sweat the booking, and Triple H was a monster, etc. etc.

Anymore? Meh. Don't care if I don't like it. I'm hardly watching anyway.

That said, the Sting promo was goofy as hell. It's rather hilarious how they act like we don't know what motherfucker's voice sounds like. Might as well be Ole Anderson doing the mic work for him.

 
Rigor Mortis - I don't get high at all (though if y'all are into bourbon, let's talk), and yet I feel the need to talk you down from your high.

It's wrestling, it's just tee vee, man. Stuff can be disappointing, but when it gets to a point where you're stressing it hard, maybe it's time to take a break. Worked goddamned *wonders* for me. I used to sweat the booking, and Triple H was a monster, etc. etc.

Anymore? Meh. Don't care if I don't like it. I'm hardly watching anyway.

That said, the Sting promo was goofy as hell. It's rather hilarious how they act like we don't know what motherfucker's voice sounds like. Might as well be Ole Anderson doing the mic work for him.
I used to be a hardcore drinker until I had surgery in 2005. By hardcore I mean a bottle of Southern Comfort 100 proof in under 30 mins. Not wanting to combine pain meds and booze stopped me from drinking, and now, i dunno. I just don't have the desire for it anymore. Weed is a relatively new thing for me, and I am enjoying it more than I did booze for some reason. <Odd because as a teen/early 20's I hated how weed made me feel.>

As for talking me down and all, I usually don't get frustrated with the male soap opera called wrasslin, as none of it is under my control to change. Just this past Monday night for some reason certain things just frustrated the living shit out of me. The Sting thing however...... I won't go back into what I think should happen to someone over that nonsense. Maybe it is cause I have been watching NWA, WWWF, Georgia and Florida territory wrasslin since I was a kid on a black and white antenna TV and Sting was like my super hero. Or maybe it is because it just was insulting to common human intelligence.

 
This is a pretty stupid excuse for the Sting promo:

Regarding Sting’s promo on last night’s WWE RAW, it was his voice used but it was altered. The promo was inspired by The Black Scorpion, a WCW gimmick from 1990. The character was played by several wrestlers and feuded with Sting.
 
[quote name="pitfallharry219" post="12562616" timestamp="1426121368"]This is a pretty stupid excuse for the Sting promo:[/quote]
I don't know, I call bullshit.

I do have to hand it to them though, they have some answer/excuse for everything.
 
Rigor Mortis, those are fair points. It doesn't bug me the vast majority of the time, but there are occasional tics of internal monologue screaming "WHAT IN THE NAME OF JESUS TAPDANCING CHRIST IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?" when I see a segment on tv.

Anymore, it typically doesn't occur during the current WWE broadcast, but when watching them talk about WCW/ECW/NWA etc. The narrative that WWF was a scrappy lil' mom and pop wrestling shop facing the megacorporation of Turner during the Monday Night Wars - that kind of horseshit makes me roll my eyes hard. But that's not so much the booking, but the "come on, man; you don't think viewers are THAT dumb, do you?" aspect of their reconstructed narrative.

But, to be fair, I probably react that way to Fox News far more than I do WWE. But I'm not innocent, and perhaps more jaded to the current product than zen - which is a pretty critical distinction.

 
Can't wait for next week's NXT. I really hope I see myself on TV, I was at the Columbus show that both the Riley vs. Owens and Banks vs. Bliss took place at. I was also directly next to one of the camera guys who had pointed the camera directly at me and my friends several times. As I said before, the show was great and the crowd was hot all night. 

 
The show started with a really nice video package setting up tonight's big blood feud matches. I liked EY-Roode, but it felt a lot like a video game match with tons of chops and punches, some moves, and then big spots thrown in without much of a story. The use of the chair fit the story they told last week though, with EY costing Roode the title shot with one.

Drew and MVP said words. I like MVP referencing he and Drew apparently being friends and drinking buddies - adds a sense of reality to things. They had a nothing match and Taz sounded so odd here. It was like they were just randomly inserting Taz sayings into the other 99% of the show where Josh was just talking endlessly. Post-match beating was just awful thanks to the pipe shot. MVP has V. Porter on the back of his gear despite WWE owning the actual Montel Vontavious Porter name.

Good Bram-Magnus hype vid. THIS IS GONNA BE A FIGHT, NOT A MATCH...so like the opener then. Meh. This also had a chairshot to the gut and back, but AFTER A DQ. Why this blood feud match had DQs, I had no idea. Then we got some weird stuff with Bram threatening to seemingly kill Mickie, but then allowing her to go when Magnus kissed his boot. Just eyerolls all around on this one.

Brooke-Robbie was a fine mix of comedy and fanservice. Spud vs. EC3 was amazing. I didn't have really high expectations for this, but each guy brought their A game. Spud has far better strikes than EC3, but man is he just the perfect dickhead of a heel. They got Spud over as a big face, who fought hard and was put over big by EC3 in ways that are all legit - but he didn't let him have that and still beat him up and shaved his head. THIS RULED and was one of the best matches of the year. It also finally saw TNA use blood right as it added a ton to the match.

Full Recap -

http://jayreviewsthings.blogspot.com/2015/03/tna-impact-wrestling-3-13-15.html

Screens -



















http://www.imagebam.com/gallery/z8bsh9vjoeed3reu900aepnmy4iprrdr

 
The show started with a really nice video package setting up tonight's big blood feud matches. I liked EY-Roode, but it felt a lot like a video game match with tons of chops and punches, some moves, and then big spots thrown in without much of a story. The use of the chair fit the story they told last week though, with EY costing Roode the title shot with one.

Drew and MVP said words. I like MVP referencing he and Drew apparently being friends and drinking buddies - adds a sense of reality to things. They had a nothing match and Taz sounded so odd here. It was like they were just randomly inserting Taz sayings into the other 99% of the show where Josh was just talking endlessly. Post-match beating was just awful thanks to the pipe shot. MVP has V. Porter on the back of his gear despite WWE owning the actual Montel Vontavious Porter name.

Good Bram-Magnus hype vid. THIS IS GONNA BE A FIGHT, NOT A MATCH...so like the opener then. Meh. This also had a chairshot to the gut and back, but AFTER A DQ. Why this blood feud match had DQs, I had no idea. Then we got some weird stuff with Bram threatening to seemingly kill Mickie, but then allowing her to go when Magnus kissed his boot. Just eyerolls all around on this one.

Brooke-Robbie was a fine mix of comedy and fanservice. Spud vs. EC3 was amazing. I didn't have really high expectations for this, but each guy brought their A game. Spud has far better strikes than EC3, but man is he just the perfect dickhead of a heel. They got Spud over as a big face, who fought hard and was put over big by EC3 in ways that are all legit - but he didn't let him have that and still beat him up and shaved his head. THIS RULED and was one of the best matches of the year. It also finally saw TNA use blood right as it added a ton to the match
Since no one else is commenting on your recap or TNA this week in general I just have to chime in on the Brooke v Robbie E match and Spud/EC3. They were the first time in I do not even recall how long that I watched a whole match vs fast forwarding through most of them. The one was great comedy and showed how you can get a woman over in professional wrestling and make her look great in the process. Brooke is one of not just the sexiest chicas in wrestling but makes it super in your face(both her costumes and backstage twerking antics). But like most of the knockouts she keeps proving that her talent goes far beyond her sex appeal, I really wish WWE would take note.

Spud vs EC3 was just crazy. Who would have thought those two would put on such a show stopper! The best part of the whole thing was the ending and that I honestly could not tell who was going to win and once it was over where the story was going. My respect for TNA but especially Spud and EC3 went up a lot this week. Now just if they would end this whole stupid BDC thing and have Drew Galloway tone it down a notch(good gimmick, just should be toned down and moved from BDC story ASAP).

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I am high as a mofo and I had to come here to profess my LOVE for BRAWWWWWWWWWK LESSSSSSSSSNUR after that promo. That shit was fucking gold. Promo of the year for damn sure.

 
Opening heel promo stuff went on too long and set up a goofy Orton promo. Nikki beat AJ in a bad match, but looked amazing in doing so. Henry-Roman hype vid led to nothing. Ryback beat Miz in another nothing match, but this time, Miz attacked Mizdow afterwards. THUS ENDS HOUR ONE. Rusev and his new, super-fake Russian lawyer were amazing. The accent was among the worst you'll ever hear and was buried by Booker and Cena, while Rusev said WW FASTLANE! Team Factual Friendship beat the New Day, but bumped for the bull. AMAZING inset promo by the champs though. Brock was AMAZING with this promo. Oh my God it was great!

Then Show killed Rowan, BUT IT'S OKAY - IT WASN'T A MATCH. Awesome Larry HOF vid. That was the best HOF video this year - they covered his whole career and if you didn't see it, you got a sense for how good he was in the WWF, WCW, the AWA, NWA, on commentary, and on promos. 6-Being Interspecies Tag Match? Why couldn't WWE get more money for their rights deal again?

So that's the first two hours. Hour three begins with a Heyman promo. It was amazing, and then Roman came out and said words too. Has Roman's name been changed to Daniel Bryan? If so, he's getting over huge! IC Champ jobbed again in another 6-man, but left with the belt. Young Bucks signs was behind Harper when he confronted Truth. Steph cut Seth's balls off. Then HHH did, and then Steph did it again. WWE'S FUTURE IS BRIGHT!

Recap of Cena-Rusev and Taker-Bray. BRAY'S PROMOS ARE NOT WHAT I NEED WHEN I'M TRYING TO STAY AWAY AT NEARLY 11 PM! Loved loved loved loved Sting running wild. That may very well be the peak of Sting in WWE.

http://jayreviewsthings.blogspot.com/2015/03/wwe-raw-3-16-15.html

Screens - 

 

Vogue




 









http://www.imagebam.com/gallery/15jj87oc4aazmbgiwndy1lq1i6d1erqf

 
I mean, I guess I'll check it out. I just can't stand the fuckin' wrestler. At all.

Unrelated, this will make you mark out several times over for sure:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYvMOf3hsGA

 
You know, it is really sad that they have to invoke the whole patriotic angle into the Cena-Rusev feud to keep Rusev from being cheered by the crowed over Cena. IMO it makes Cena look even worse due to having to rely on this and going along with it. 

 
Everything about Rockstar Spud is fucking abysmal.
O come on! You have to at least give it up for the name! Such an amazingly awesome name. Totally naming my next pug or Bulldog Rockstar Spud. The other dog is named Higgins and taught to fetch so I can yell Higgins fetch me the paper! Jokes aside though give the EC3/Spud match a chance if its up on youtube or something. Really was surprising how great that match was.

 
I mean, I guess I'll check it out. I just can't stand the fuckin' wrestler. At all.

Unrelated, this will make you mark out several times over for sure:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYvMOf3hsGA
Was this made for youtube or a TV show or what? Just has quite a few celebrities in it. Totally love that they use Joey Ryan too!

 
I mean, I guess I'll check it out. I just can't stand the fuckin' wrestler. At all.

Unrelated, this will make you mark out several times over for sure:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYvMOf3hsGA
Who is that dude and how did he get so many random cameos from famous people?

edit - Nevermind. I see now that his dad is John Landis, so that explains it.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
WWE dropped the ball on EC3. That guy is great on the mic and a really good heel.
I think part of it is because he understands and respects the role of a heel. Caught an interview with him recently and he talked about he how feels that too many guys these days try to "get over" as a heel when it is the exact opposite of what you should be doing. Basically if a heel is loved and respected by the crowd then they are more of an anti hero then a true heel. I tend to agree, it is so much easier to be someone like Austin who was generally loved even at his worst then to be someone like a Ted Dibiase or Vicki Guerrero that people just despise consistently. I honestly can not think of many people recently who played true heels outside the authority.

 
I mean, I guess I'll check it out. I just can't stand the fuckin' wrestler. At all.

Unrelated, this will make you mark out several times over for sure:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYvMOf3hsGA
That was incredible. He essentially used Triple H's character arc since he arrived in WWE to explain how awesome, unpredictable, engaging, and outright insane the storytelling in pro wrestling can be.

 
Was wondering why no one said anything about RAW this week......guess after watching the show its because nothing happened :wall: I can not believe we are just a week or two away from Wrestlemania and this is the lead up! The most interesting thing in the whole show was Sting at the end and realistically while not a bad end for the show, I would have MUCH rather they just kept the story going with Seth Rollins being on the outs with the Authority. I should not be able to skip RAW this close to Wrestlemania and not miss a beat. :wall:

 
Last edited by a moderator:
In some other news, WWE Live is going to be back in Charleston, WV on May 9. While I was supposed to be working the other day, I was caller #10 and got some free tickets!

Hope they're good ones, they haven't called me to come and pick them up yet.

 
I worked a show in the Charleston Civic Center last September (not wrestling, but WFTDA roller derby). Neat venue, and good seats all around.

Congrats on your slacking off at work paying dividends! ;)

 
Apparently El Rey is one of the base-level networks you get on Sling TV on XBone...thinking about at least doing the free trial month. No real alternative for me to see LU (other than Youtube or torrents or whatever). I don't think I can take much more WWE crap. It's weird as hell that the November-December period that is usually the absolute worst time for WWE was significantly better than the WM buildup season - and that's still not saying much.

 
I don't even recall what was going on in November-December last year, quite honestly.

Brock is building himself up really well, to be honest - that when Reigns wins, it's gonna be really damned deflating.

You would think WWE would be smart enough to not put over the talent smart marks hate in front of a crowd of 50,000 smart marks (let's not kid ourselves, casual fans ain't paying WM ticket prices). So while it won't be surprising that they have enough hubris to actually do it, it will be really uncomfortable to watch.

 
I don't even recall what was going on in November-December last year, quite honestly.

Brock is building himself up really well, to be honest - that when Reigns wins, it's gonna be really damned deflating.

You would think WWE would be smart enough to not put over the talent smart marks hate in front of a crowd of 50,000 smart marks (let's not kid ourselves, casual fans ain't paying WM ticket prices). So while it won't be surprising that they have enough hubris to actually do it, it will be really uncomfortable to watch.
Well one thing they have going for them is it is at least an open stadium. Would be sooooo much worse if it was closed with all the boos echoing around. I am still really hoping that someone shows some insight and recognizes since they are about to fall on their face its time to shake things up. I mean what better time to do something big, risky, shocking and generation changing than a WM where you are expecting to get booed out of the building no matter what you do? Have Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe, Sami Zayn and Prince Devitt form a stable and run in leaving Lesnar, RR and all the authority just decimated as Bryan leads a confused and excited audience in a Yes! chant. Have Pete Rose run in for an interrupt and have Kane Tombstone him off the stage allowing a confused Lesnar to stumble over the ref and into a cheap pin. I mean christ even the joke solution would be better then going with the status quo and facing this brewing fall out.

RAW is in a closed arena right after WM too! So as it is it means if they dont find a good solution and go with the status quo they give fans a night to peculate on social media and then open that rage in a closed environment. Smart!

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I don't even recall what was going on in November-December last year, quite honestly.
Mostly no Authority presence, Bryan returning, and Ziggler being treated a bit more seriously. That went out the window pretty quick.

It certainly wasn't "great" but I'll take it compared to the mess that's going on currently.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Goddamn that whole gauntlet was fun. It actually treated the title seriously, and hopefully that's the direction they go with from now until WM...and then after that, but I'm not holding my breath. J and J Security ACTUALLY BEING A SECURITY TEAM rules. I'm going to just go with a theory though that everyone involved was just hired by Noble to make himself feel like a big deal.

http://jayreviewsthings.blogspot.com/2015/03/wwe-smackdown-3-19-15.html

Screens -

"Okay, so we need THE MOST ASIAN FONT EVER!"









http://www.imagebam.com/gallery/ddzyf1rrsv2lnh5b3kswl44edq2m49wh

 
Just announced at Wrestlemania Axxes! NXT will be holding a tournament on Thursday and the winner will get a spot in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at Wrestlemania. 

Really stoked to see an NXT star get a spot on the Wrestlemania card. I really would love to see the NXT tournament winner go on to win the Memorial Battle Royal. 

 
Tyler Breeze or Finn Balor will win, and summarily will end up getting tossed right quickly - by whatever fuckin' monster they decide gets the "Cesaro treatment" in that battle royal.

 
Tyler Breeze or Finn Balor will win, and summarily will end up getting tossed right quickly - by whatever fuckin' monster they decide gets the "Cesaro treatment" in that battle royal.
I'd love to see Balor win, he'd get a massive pop in front of the Wrestlemania crowd. I personally think Adrian Neville will be the one to win though, he's done just about everything he can in NXT at this point and it's his time to move up.

 
bread's done
Back
Top