WWE Royal Rumble

[briantw]

4 minutes ago, Jack Bauer 24 said:

I've always been a Barret guy and I'm sad to see what they've done with him all of these years. Is he leaving? 

Also, is Dean the next Daniel Bryan as far as being so over they will eventually have to put the strap on him, or will he never get a title run?

There have been reports that Barrett has no intention of staying with the WWE when his contract is up this summer.  I don't know if those reports are true or not, but who could blame him?  He's talented and pretty good in the ring, and yet he can't even get televised matches any more.  He could probably step right in to a promotion like Lucha Underground and find a properly booked role with a lighter schedule.

Dean basically has to win the strap at some point, barring injuries derailing his career.  He's too popular not to.  And more importantly, he's remained popular despite godawful booking.  They basically made him Roman's sidekick for six months to try to get Roman to leech off some of Dean's cheers, and Ambrose has lost just about every major PPV match he's been in for the past year.  He's still the most over man in the company, with no signs of that slowing down.  He may not have the look that Vince likes, but he cuts a good promo, is decent in the ring, and unlike Reigns, believably sells a beating.

I'd be very surprised if Ambrose doesn't have at least one title reign by next year's Wrestlemania.  It would just be catastrophic booking if that were the case.  I think that once Reigns flames out completely (which is going to happen if they force the title on him at 'Mania as a face), Triple H will finally be able to convince Vince to move the title on to Ambrose to salvage something from the past two years of pushing Roman while Dean got himself over.

Personally, if I were booking things, I'd give Ambrose the surprise title win at the Roadblock special in ten days, then transition the title match at Wrestlemania into a fatal four way elimination match.  Doing that leaves you with so many more interesting options than trying to force Reigns on us as a face champ.

Some examples:

1. Ambrose survives until the end and wins clean to get his Wrestlemania moment.

2. Reigns turns heel and demolishes Ambrose to win the title with the help of Shane, Vince, and the Bullet Club (who debuted on the main roster earlier in the night to help Shane beat the Undertaker).

3. Lesnar wins and establishes himself as the most dominate monster the WWE has ever seen.

Obviously Triple H wouldn't be winning the match, and that's fine.  He's only holding the belt in the first place because Vince is so stubborn that he was willing to go to any lengths to get Reigns over.  You could also go with the first ending, then have Reigns come out to celebrate with his friend, only to lay him out and then destroy him, leaving Ambrose a bloody mess in the center of the ring to close out the show.

Any of those options would be far better than what we're probably going to get, which is Reigns winning as a "face" to a chorus of boos.

[Jace, Extat]

Finished Fastlane early in the morning, thought Y2J and AJ's match started off rocky, but got really good there towards the end. And a satisfying conclusion, even.

I thought I'd watch Reigns-Ambrose-Lesnar, but I ended up reading cracked articles during the entire match.

[Joe Pesci]

1 hour ago, Pony Queen Jace said:

Finished Fastlane early in the morning, thought Y2J and AJ's match started off rocky, but got really good there towards the end. And a satisfying conclusion, even.

I thought I'd watch Reigns-Ambrose-Lesnar, but I ended up reading cracked articles during the entire match.

I bet those cracked articles were better, such a shit ending to that match.

I don't mind the whole Y2AJ tag team for now, but the inevitable breakup at WM with Jericho going heel on Styles is coming. "Hows that for a Wrestlemania moment kid?" Captain Obvious as the head of WWE creative is doing a great job.

[briantw]

Semi-related to the topic at hand, but does anyone else here watch Lucha Underground?  It's amazing how much better it is than the current WWE product.  The matches are almost all good to great, with only the occasional clunker, and the booking is smart and sensible, with the right guys generally getting pushed and almost everyone looking at least somewhat strong even in losing efforts (aside from the occasional squash match, but those are necessary too).  Oh, and unlike the WWE, they actually act like wins and losses matter.

[Joe Pesci]

9 minutes ago, briantw said:

Semi-related to the topic at hand, but does anyone else here watch Lucha Underground?  It's amazing how much better it is than the current WWE product.  The matches are almost all good to great, with only the occasional clunker, and the booking is smart and sensible, with the right guys generally getting pushed and almost everyone looking at least somewhat strong even in losing efforts (aside from the occasional squash match, but those are necessary too).  Oh, and unlike the WWE, they actually act like wins and losses matter.

Is it on actual tv or is all online? There's a journalist here in Pittsburgh who went out to a filming and wrote about how great the show was. Wouldn't mind checking it out.

[briantw]

3 minutes ago, Joe Pesci said:

Is it on actual tv or is all online? There's a journalist here in Pittsburgh who went out to a filming and wrote about how great the show was. Wouldn't mind checking it out.

It's on El Ray.  I just downloaded the episodes from the first season since I missed out on them live.  The second season is airing now.  I'd recommend giving the first season a watch.  There are like forty hour-long episodes in season one.  Dunno how long season two is supposed to be, but I'd assume something similar.  Season three was already confirmed.

The quality of the wrestling is the best part.  There are no long-winded promos.  The stories are simple and to the point.  It's just all around a better product than the WWE.  It's similar to NXT if you watch that, although Lucha Underground generally has higher match quality.

[Joe Pesci]

There's a few episodes available on demand, I'll have to give them a view. I've started to watch NXT as of late, it's way better than what they put out on Raw or Smackdown at the moment. 

[GrimTuesday]

Just now, Joe Pesci said:

There's a few episodes available on demand, I'll have to give them a view. I've started to watch NXT as of late, it's way better than what they put out on Raw or Smackdown at the moment. 

For me NXT is kind of in a holding pattern right now. It feels like they are stalling for when they get their influx of new talent, and can turn Balor heel with the Bullet Club guys.

[briantw]

1 hour ago, GrimTuesday said:

For me NXT is kind of in a holding pattern right now. It feels like they are stalling for when they get their influx of new talent, and can turn Balor heel with the Bullet Club guys.

The match between Balor and Neville from last night's episode was fantastic.  I mean, it was obvious who was going to win, but sometimes that's not the point.

Either way, I'm guessing Balor gets called up after Takeover: Dallas.  Feels like he's pretty much run his course in NXT.  I hope the Bullet Club debuts at 'Mania and demolishes the Undertaker for Shane.

[GrimTuesday]

Just now, briantw said:

The match between Balor and Neville from last night's episode was fantastic.  I mean, it was obvious who was going to win, but sometimes that's not the point.

Either way, I'm guessing Balor gets called up after Takeover: Dallas.  Feels like he's pretty much run his course in NXT.  I hope the Bullet Club debuts at 'Mania and demolishes the Undertaker for Shane.

Thats what I was hoping for too. The fact is that Shane shouldn't be able to beat the Undertaker without help, and having the Bullet Club or whatever they are gonna call them in WWE come out would be not just a good thing for Shane's narrative, but it would also be a feather in the cap of the Bullet Club. THen again, I heard WWE wants to start them in NXT, so that would be where Balor's story there is going to go.

[lessthanluke]

On 04/03/2016 at 2:22 AM, briantw said:

Semi-related to the topic at hand, but does anyone else here watch Lucha Underground?  It's amazing how much better it is than the current WWE product.  The matches are almost all good to great, with only the occasional clunker, and the booking is smart and sensible, with the right guys generally getting pushed and almost everyone looking at least somewhat strong even in losing efforts (aside from the occasional squash match, but those are necessary too).  Oh, and unlike the WWE, they actually act like wins and losses matter.

LU is so much better than WWE right now it is silly.

[Joe Pesci]

Well that Y2AJ breakup came sooner than expected, leaving Jericho/Styles as a WM matchup and the New Day with a month to get into a feud with someone, or maybe another tag team ladder match will come about?

Did like the return of Sami Zayn, throwing him right in with Owens is a good move with their familiarity of each other.

[lessthanluke]

Y2AJ vs New Day was match of the year so far. Big E should be World Champ. He has everything.

[briantw]

Nice to see they're likely doing an Owens/Zayn match at 'Mania.  Those two are always money together.

[GrimTuesday]

13 hours ago, lessthanluke said:

Y2AJ vs New Day was match of the year so far. Big E should be World Champ. He has everything.

Big E (your uncle and your daddy) is the best, the whole New Day is easily the best part of RAW, and the only reason thing have started getting slightly stale is because creative can't give them a good opponet, making the fact that they didn't bring up someone like Enzo and Cass from NXT at Fastlane to inject some life into the Tag Division. Also, I'd love to see them do some stuff with the singles division, go for the US title or something like that, and then defend it through the freebird rule. That or have one of them (I'd personally rather it be Woods) become the more singles oriented wrestler, because Kofi and Big E are so good in a team (their styles really compliment each other), and Woods is a highly underrated wrestler, and I really want him to shine, which he doesn't really get to do since he kind of acts as a manager during the tag matches.

 

I'm so confused why it is Reigns and not Ambrose getting the big push, he has so much charisma, and the crowd loves him, and yet we are stuck with the charisma vacuum known as Roman Reigns. I do like certain things about Reigns, don't get me wrong, he looks good out there, and he isn't a bad wrestler, his biggest flaw is he works for a company that has done him a major disservice in how they have booked him.

[briantw]

22 minutes ago, GrimTuesday said:

I'm so confused why it is Reigns and not Ambrose getting the big push, he has so much charisma, and the crowd loves him, and yet we are stuck with the charisma vacuum known as Roman Reigns. I do like certain things about Reigns, don't get me wrong, he looks good out there, and he isn't a bad wrestler, his biggest flaw is he works for a company that has done him a major disservice in how they have booked him.

It's because Vince decided that he wanted to make Reigns the next Cena and fuck the fans if they don't like it.  They've written him off TV for a few weeks simply to avoid him getting booed out of the ring.  Think about that.  The WWE wrote off their number one contender and the guy they plan to win the belt at Wrestlemania because they knew he'd be eaten alive, especially by an always smarky Chicago crowd.

Meanwhile, Ambrose versus Triple H is the best thing the company has going at the moment, and is increasingly looking like everything the Reigns/Trips feud should have been but can't be because Reigns has the charisma of a sack of dog shit.  On the plus side, at least Triple H is making Ambrose look great in this feud.  The way he sold that DDT on Raw was great.  I'm betting that if Triple H had his way it's be Ambrose taking the belt from him at Wrestlemania instead of Reigns, but Vince is Vince.  It'll just be interesting to see if they end up having to pull an audible at Wrestlemania for the third year in a row due to bad booking and worse decisions.  

[balvinder]

i miss this fight..... 

[lessthanluke]

6 hours ago, GrimTuesday said:

Big E (your uncle and your daddy) is the best, the whole New Day is easily the best part of RAW, and the only reason thing have started getting slightly stale is because creative can't give them a good opponet, making the fact that they didn't bring up someone like Enzo and Cass from NXT at Fastlane to inject some life into the Tag Division. Also, I'd love to see them do some stuff with the singles division, go for the US title or something like that, and then defend it through the freebird rule. That or have one of them (I'd personally rather it be Woods) become the more singles oriented wrestler, because Kofi and Big E are so good in a team (their styles really compliment each other), and Woods is a highly underrated wrestler, and I really want him to shine, which he doesn't really get to do since he kind of acts as a manager during the tag matches.

 

I'm so confused why it is Reigns and not Ambrose getting the big push, he has so much charisma, and the crowd loves him, and yet we are stuck with the charisma vacuum known as Roman Reigns. I do like certain things about Reigns, don't get me wrong, he looks good out there, and he isn't a bad wrestler, his biggest flaw is he works for a company that has done him a major disservice in how they have booked him.

Totally agree with New Day needing to go after a singles title. I'd prefer Big E but would be happy with Woods as I am a big fan of his too.
At least one tag team needs to come up from NxT after Mania. There are a load of choice Enzo and Big Cass, Jordan and Gable, hell even the Vaudevillains are better than the Usos.

Agreed re Reigns, in the right setting he can shine, being pushed to the moon is not that setting.

[briantw]

2 hours ago, lessthanluke said:

Totally agree with New Day needing to go after a singles title. I'd prefer Big E but would be happy with Woods as I am a big fan of his too.
At least one tag team needs to come up from NxT after Mania. There are a load of choice Enzo and Big Cass, Jordan and Gable, hell even the Vaudevillains are better than the Usos.

Agreed re Reigns, in the right setting he can shine, being pushed to the moon is not that setting.

The status of the WWE tag division right now is pathetic.  The New Day are the only team that even feels remotely credible.  Given how many guys the WWE is either wasting or doing absolutely nothing with, there's really no excuse to not have a better tag division.  And then they do things like pair up Jericho and Styles for all of two weeks before breaking them up again.  It's pretty clear that Vince doesn't give a shit about the tag division.

When you contrast that with NXT, it's night and day.  NXT has a thriving tag division and focus is actually put on building good teams.  Jordan and Gable are one of the best shows in wrestling right now, Enzo and Cass are insanely over, the Revival are a fantastic heel team, and even gimmick teams like the Vaudevillains can put on consistently good matches.  Personally, I think it's time to call up Enzo and Cass.  They've been in NXT forever and probably are never winning the tag titles there because they missed that chance, so why not call them up and put them into the WWE tag title picture?  Jordan and Gable are probably ready as well, but they're pretty obviously going to win the titles at Takeover Dallas, so I'd assume they won't be getting called up for a while as they'll have the NXT belts.

I don't think the Vaudevillains will work on the main roster, though.  Their gimmick is just dumb.  They're doomed to fail there just like the Ascension did.  Some gimmicks that work in front of a small crowd of regular, hardcore fans don't translate to massive crowds full of casual fans.  Even if you write them off as a failure on the main roster, though, you've still got a bunch of solid NXT teams that could be called up.  Blake and Murphy come to mind.  As do the Revival and the aforementioned Enzo and Cass.  Or the Hype Bros.  Any of those guys could help breathe life into the WWE's stagnant tag division.

[GrimTuesday]

21 hours ago, lessthanluke said:

Totally agree with New Day needing to go after a singles title. I'd prefer Big E but would be happy with Woods as I am a big fan of his too.
At least one tag team needs to come up from NxT after Mania. There are a load of choice Enzo and Big Cass, Jordan and Gable, hell even the Vaudevillains are better than the Usos.

Agreed re Reigns, in the right setting he can shine, being pushed to the moon is not that setting.

 

The thing about not bring Enzo and Cass in at Fastlane is it would have made so much sense. Not only would it have given the New Day an interesting feud (unlike this weird, pointless feud with the League of Wasted Potential), giving Enzo and Cass a high profile feud to get them over, and just the situation with it being Edge and Christian who were kind of a precursor to those kinds of characters/teams. I was convinced that we were gonna hear Enzo and Cass' music. 

 

What do you guys think about a brand split? I think that it would be good for the product. If they can get wrestlers working a little less, that could lead to fewer injuries, but you also have to consider that it could dilute the roster a little too much, with not enough star power on each roster to carry a show. That said, I think that it could lead to some new stars being made, just look at the guys who really took off during the 2000's, guys like Eddie and Benoit, who might not have reached the heights they did because they didn't fit the mold that Vince looks for. Of course, then you look at what creative is doing now, and imagine them coming up with story lines for two shows, rather than just Raw, and it doesn't inspire confidence.