Now that these aren't every 2 weeks they kinda sneak up on us, huh?

https://tinyurl.com/OKPXR

As always:

-The "titleholder rule" is in effect and is listed below the names

-The picks lock at the first eligible match.

-"First match" refers to the main card, not the preshow. Preshow matches ARE eligible for "shortest match" however. So far they haven't announced which matches are on the preshow.

Let me know if you have any questions.

This card sucks ass

Shit, if it's last, we could see over 50% of the crowd walk out

I could see it being the third to last match, with a cooldown match and then AJ vs Rusev last.

And I think I may be over Braun.

God, how do you fuck this up so bad?
____________________

<================== Learn the name now before everyone gets dunked on

>And I think I may be over Braun.
>
>God, how do you fuck this up so bad?
.


I have lost all interest in him at this point. They've made him a cartoon instead of a monster and they lost me.

Probably the last of the excellent "Divas," and probably one of the wrestlers that most significantly improved during their time with WWE.

I hope she sticks around beyond the tournament.

>
>I hope she sticks around beyond the tournament.

Ellsworth will be in the cage for Carmella/Asuka.

I think it's a fun gimmick so I don't mind, but goddamn do they over-rely on it.

Again: this shit is not that hard. If you tell an emotional story in the ring, it's SUPER fucking compelling. Mustache Mountain are GREAT. UE are perfect shithead killer heels - I actually care about shit Roddy Strong is doing! (that Texas Cloverleaf Liontamer was MYYYY SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTT (c)Key and Peele)

As a callback to their Takeover match, but this is one of those feuds I think deserves a trilogy and that trilogy could've ended in BK at Summerslam.

Not even shitting on these guys, but the idea that we need to see Corbin/Balor more than Sasha/Bayley (at Extreme Rules nonetheless, which is perfect for blood feuds) is absurd.

I honestly can't wait. If its even close to as good as last years we're in for a special treat.

You already have crazy matches, and I think close to the end you have Ibushi vs. Omega.

I have no idea who could win this thing. I would even go for Naito winning it again and then finally winning the title at Wrestle Kingdom, although I would rather see him beat Okada at the Tokyo Dome.

>I have no idea who could win this thing. I would even go for
>Naito winning it again and then finally winning the title at
>Wrestle Kingdom, although I would rather see him beat Okada at
>the Tokyo Dome.

Okada is the test Naito hasn't passed yet and I think it would be better at Wrestle Kingdom, but they can also have those 2 meet in the G1 finals and then Naito goes on to win the title of Omega at WK13.

Personally, I'd love to see Ishii win. That Ishii/Omega match in California last year was bananas and I'd love to see them top it.

I feel its too soon for another Okada vs. Omega.

Naito and Ibushi are two names that stand out to me that could give an amazing match on their biggest show.

Seems like he's content with not being under contract ever so I think that will continue to stifle any push. On the other hand, Omega/Ibushi would be fucking fantastic and it's easy to set up with all the history they have.

Looks like they'll be facing each other late in the tourney if what I read was correct. Maybe Ibushi gets a win there, wins the G1, then at WK Omega gets his win back + retains? I could see that happening.

https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/rohnjpw-present-g1-supercard-live-madison-square-garden


They're holding this event in MSG. I didn't even know Mania was going to be in NYC this year, looks like I'm going with my main focus being this show! Finally something I can drive to!

Which matches are the iron man and cage matches?

Ironman: Rolins vs. Ziggler

Cage: Strowman vs. Owens

Extreme Rules: Nia vs. Alexa

Tables Match: New Day vs. Sanity

James Ellsworth in a Shark Cage match: I mean I'd hope you know which one that is...

At this point I guess everyone just says the N word so we can' punish Hogan for so long?

https://www.wwe.com/article/hulk-hogan-reinstated-into-wwe-hall-of-fame?sf193730743=1

I'm surprised they kept him on ice for 3 years

I was annoyed with the crowd doing the fake Rumble countdown the whole match but that ending retroactively justified treating the whole thing as one big joke.

Ibushi vs. Zach Saber JR
Omega vs. Naito

These matches fucking delivered! I'm talking edge of my seat the entire time and it's only night 2 of a month long tournament.

This is wrestling!

https://youtu.be/gzi8MZEcWd8

Next meeting we have at work I'm giving the same speech.

Of the title picture once and for all.

He badly needs a change of scenery.

kick him down to the IC belt

she easily has the most crossover potential of any of the women

Because they are being misused by a bunch of buffoons.

None of the storyline make sense anymore. The match booking doesn't make any sense. Even the actual matches themselves are a bunch of what the fuck moves and then bam finisher.

man fuck this mess.

Bobby beats Roman in a PPV match.

The next night he has to wrestle in a triple threat match to get the "privilege" to fight Roman again for a shot at the title at Summerslam.

Why would you have to fight the guy you just beat again?! The guy that keeps losing to Brock? Honestly it makes these PPV matches worthless because they just run the same match over again on the following or next Monday. You even got Nak vs Hardey again on Smackdown.

I can't wrap my head around this.

>man fuck this mess.

Next week we can fix our mistake.

I bet they really wanted Roman to go on last but didn't want to show people getting up and leaving early which would have happened.

You have Michael Cole announcing him like he's Cena, the Rock, and 80's Hogan rolled into one...all while being just about drowned out by boos week after week. Let him go away for a while. It's fairly obvious that the years of push won't make anyone over 16 cheer him, and the booking certainly doesn't help more often than not.

If for no other reason than it isn't the typical RKO out of nowhere and stand around for photo ops. I'm wondering where it's going with him and Hardy, but I'm certain all the intrigue will be gone shortly.

tag belts to be defended across all brands.

and there are enough women not just to pull it off but to justify it. Some of the women will never truly be in title contention so it gives them something to do.

In reality, the cruiserweight title can't even get on the preshow anymore, so I doubt they put much time and effort into this. That may be better than nothing, but I'm guessing we'll be complaining about the women's tag scene not being taken seriously REAL soon.

Just off of this PPV alone I'll be checking out the show weekly now. Honestly one of the better North American PPV's I've seen this year. If you can find the Pentagon Jr vs Sami Callihan match do yourself a favor and check it out.

*hurdles we set up for them cause we never took them seriously

I'm glad WWE Kreative dug deep to come up with that matchup.

Unless, of course, they do the unimaginable and find a way to make it a three way match with Lashley...another original concept.

>I'm glad WWE Kreative dug deep to come up with that matchup.
>
>Unless, of course, they do the unimaginable and find a way to
>make it a three way match with Lashley...another original
>concept.

It would be fine if Reigns didn’t get a million shots that don’t make sense. With this Lashley thing, he lost, then got a rematch for some reason, wins, and now he’s just in a title match. Again. Maybe Lashley IS gonna get himself added somehow.

And proclaim he's sick of Roman getting so many unnecessary opportunities. Crowd would go crazy for it so that means it won't happen.

In other news, my Mondays are now spent doing things I enjoy and I watch the highlights later. I don't feel guilty about wasting 3 hours on it anymore.

>It would be fine if Reigns didn’t get a million shots that
>don’t make sense.

He shouldn't have even been in the triple threats last week.

Because the minute he beats Brock, shit is gonna be so toxic that it will actually seem like they have no choice but to have Strowman cash in.

i'd rather have the CENA WINS LOL days back over this.

shame because he could be one of the leading guys of the company if they let him.

they quickly realized they had a star and they put a progression plan in place to get him where they needed him

I can assure you, such a plan does not exist for Elias.

Really enjoyed the whole episode, but this was the highlight:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUZWG-em5dM

And heel Randy is great.

Also, 6 minutes. All the great promos are 7 minutes or under, start to finish. Pipe Bomb, Cane Dewey, Hard Times, Dined with Kings and Queens, Ric Flair's entire 80s oeuvre, 3:16, "God? It's me, Billy," Cream of the Crop.

Like when they trot out Ziggler to give that speech once a month, but usually it works.

So the entire basis of the promo is I'm the biggest star of the last 20 years, I outlasted everyone and yet never get the proper recognition for it.

That is why I must end the career of someone always known for tag team wrestling who had a peak a long time ago and was never as successful as me.

I don't really want either of them in the main event and am glad we are getting AJ vs Joe.

But Kayfabe wise he literally could have shown up and cut the exact same promo on AJ about being an indy darling and not earning a spot on Orton's show AND he'd be going after the champ, why would you not do that if you're Orton storyline wise?

If I'm not mistaken, a couple months ago Randy was about to answer an open challenge and then Hardy came out and answered instead. It was odd how many times Orton insisted he wasn't upset in interviews. I was kinda expecting them to do something with that, although he hasn't mentioned it yet.

I love that he made reference to the "dive" thing again. Even focusing on the two sweet hand gesture.

A motivated Randy Orton is what we needed. Maybe this feud will light a fire under him and we'll get to see that vicious heel once again.

in every podcast or interview I have seen him in thats all he ever talks about. He is bored with being a baby face. It definitely showed in his work. I wasnt around for his legend killer run. But he just has a really food smug arrogant look. Plus the RKO is built for sneaking into the ring and taking dudes out.It just makes so much sense.

is pretty fucking impressive.

And yeah, more than the content of the promo, it just looks like he gives a shit. And that's a great sign.

lmao

Poor Johnny. You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.

Ric, Sane and Bianca all repeating themselves over and over again (especially Ricochet repeating EVERY. SENTENCE. Repeating EVERY sentence.) was a slog to get to the brilliance of Black/Ciampa. Word up to Sean Maluta taking the Shelton Benjamin Memorial Superkick Bump, too.

I liked the extra effort on the ref bump. LOVED Ciampa repeatedly calling Drake over to raise his hand (see, that's how repetition WORKS).

Can't speak for the other 2 you named, and I think Ricochet has a good sense of humor outside of the ring, but for whatever reason he can't string it together consistently enough on the mic. It bums me out only cause I know they have guys who are ready to go in both areas.


>I liked the extra effort on the ref bump. LOVED Ciampa
>repeatedly calling Drake over to raise his hand (see, that's
>how repetition WORKS).
>

Yup! For a second I was annoyed at how quick he recovered compared to other refs, but he was kind of a beast as an indie wrestler so I let it slide. Ciampa has been a revelation though. His non-entrance entrance is 90x better than Ziggler's. What a fantastic troll. Everything I hear about him outside of the ring paints him as such a nice dude too!

He's going to make WWE a shit ton of money if they get out of his way and give him the time to have bust-ass matches and cut promos on his own terms.

BC was a Saturday morning staple for me before he made it to the wwf. Hate him and Lawller didn’t have the prototypical father/son bond but that’s life. Hate his life sprialed out of control at the end


*Edit: R.I.P. to Brickhouse Brown as well. Also someone I grew up watching on Saturday mornings

the channel after RAW.

1) they're very funny, especially Maryse's mom
2) Maryse pregnancy titties are BIG AS FUCK HOLY SHIT.

>2) Maryse pregnancy titties are BIG AS FUCK HOLY SHIT.

I may bother with it for a minute.

PLEASE give Joe a belt!

I don't think this is his time, but he cuts decent promos, he fits his character perfectly, he has skills....if bums like Slater, Dallas, and Axel can hold belts, why not Joe??

Well, I said the same about Shinsuke but this time I definitely think it's going to be Joseph for the SummerFest win.

He was a credible threat to Brock, and would have opened up so many other programs if they pulled the trigger then.

Him choking out Heyman, the pull-apart... But it was never going to happen back then with Roman being the big picture.

Him choking out Heyman, the pull-apart... But it was never going to happen back then with Roman being the big picture.

whenever the Miz is feuding w/ either one his material is savage lmao.

Miz is smart as shit about wrestling and how to keep the heat where the heat needs to go. Bryan and Cena are untouchable. They're both extremely good promos who can match levels with the worst Miz has to offer (or they inspire Miz to elevate his material).

On top of that, those two are completely cemented in the crowd's eyes -- Cena is what he is at this point, and Bryan is pretty well perma-over. So it's not like a feud with Ziggler where nothing he ever does sticks, and one savage line from Miz would win the crowd in his favor (for as much as Ziggler puts himself forward as the ultimate heel on social media and shit, Miz is WAY WAY better as a wrestling heel because he knows how to keep the crowd wanting to see his ass get kicked-- Ziggler was nominally a heel when he cashed in his MITB). And it's not like a feud with Strowman where Miz being a total asshole would be unbelievable, so he plays it as a chickenshit heel, which is perfect.

>Miz is smart as shit about wrestling and how to keep the heat
>where the heat needs to go. Bryan and Cena are untouchable.
>They're both extremely good promos who can match levels with
>the worst Miz has to offer (or they inspire Miz to elevate his
>material).
>
>On top of that, those two are completely cemented in the
>crowd's eyes -- Cena is what he is at this point, and Bryan is
>pretty well perma-over. So it's not like a feud with Ziggler
>where nothing he ever does sticks, and one savage line from
>Miz would win the crowd in his favor (for as much as Ziggler
>puts himself forward as the ultimate heel on social media and
>shit, Miz is WAY WAY better as a wrestling heel because he
>knows how to keep the crowd wanting to see his ass get
>kicked-- Ziggler was nominally a heel when he cashed in his
>MITB). And it's not like a feud with Strowman where Miz being
>a total asshole would be unbelievable, so he plays it as a
>chickenshit heel, which is perfect.


Our first ever glimpse of this guy was on the Real World pretending he was The Rock. He wanted to be a wrestler more than anything and it shows how he has studied and understood wrestling psychology.

If it weren't for his love of it he'd have never gotten to the level he was because his barrier of entry was very high and he kept failing for a long time.

Just watching NXT and dude’s bacne is off the damned chain

LOLLLLLLLL at Johnny getting the “you deserve it” chants.

Ciampa might be my favorite dude in the whole company right now. Everything he does is gold.


>LOLLLLLLLL at Johnny getting the “you deserve it” chants.
>

Loved that. I like Johnny, but that was great. I try to avoid NXT spoilers, so I don't know if it's already out there, but I'd be super down for a Ciampa-Johnny-Black triple threat for the title at Takeover.

The last two matches were off the chart!!!!

Omega vs Ishii
Ibushi vs Naito

Subscribe to njpwworld
Find an illegal stream
Ask the bootleg dude at the barbershop if he got a copy
Just watch this shit!

Kenny vs. Ishii
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6reto2

Ibushi vs. Naito
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6rg5xi

This is why I want Ishii to win the whole tourney. He and Omega never disappoint. I really hope they put the title on Ishii someday. He's not really talked about in the conversation of the best, but he should be cause he's an absolute badass.

I have a strange feeling its going to be Naito again and this time he'll win the title at WK. Ishii gets a title shot because he beat Omega in that non title match so I have a feeling that'll happen before the end of the year.

Right now I'm thinking Naito, Ibushi, or Tanahashi will main event WK with Omega.

No matches announced yet for Omega or Pentagon but the star of a B-level CW/DC "action" series is definitely on the card.


Zero Hour: The Briscoes vs. SCU (Frankie Kazarian and Scorio Sky)
Zero Hour: The Over Budget Battle Royale, a fifteen-wrestler battle royal which will include Rocky Romero, Jordynne Grace, Moose, Ethan Page, and Colt Cabana.
Christopher Daniels vs. Stephen Amell
Hangman Page vs. Joey Janela (with Penelope Ford)
Kazuchika Okada vs. Marty Scurll
Rey Mysterio, Bandido, and Fenix vs. Kota Ibushi and The Young Bucks
NWA World Heavyweight Championship Match: Nick Aldis (c) vs. Cody (with Brandi Rhodes)

I had assumed Penta would be teaming with Fenix when they were announced, but he's such a big star at this point that i guess he demands a singles bout. Omega and him could put on a really fun and intense match.

Maybe they're holding out on Omega's matchup cause it's with a certain someone from Chicago??? If it's like Omega vs. Flip Gordon or something then I'll shit on it.

>Zero Hour: The Briscoes vs. SCU (Frankie Kazarian and Scorio
>Sky)
>Zero Hour: The Over Budget Battle Royale, a fifteen-wrestler
>battle royal which will include Rocky Romero, Jordynne Grace,
>Moose, Ethan Page, and Colt Cabana.
>Christopher Daniels vs. Stephen Amell

these do very little for me, especially that last one.

>Hangman Page vs. Joey Janela (with Penelope Ford)

I've been getting into Hangman recently and think this could be really good.

>Kazuchika Okada vs. Marty Scurll

I'm actually really intrigued by this one. I could see it disappointing, and everyone seems to agree it's not the match they would've guessed for Okada, but that's exactly why I'm curious. Still, it's gonna be tough to sell Scurll as legit competition for Kazu. He's gonna need a bigger umbrella or something.

>Rey Mysterio, Bandido, and Fenix vs. Kota Ibushi and The Young
>Bucks

Don't really understand this hodgepodge. I like Rey more than ever now, and he's in the best shape of his career, so it's a bit of a bummer to see him in a tag. Him vs. Fenix or Kota would be way better imo. I also don't think they've done enough to establish that the Bucks and Kota are friends rather than just have a mutual friend/common interest, ya know?

>NWA World Heavyweight Championship Match: Nick Aldis (c) vs.
>Cody (with Brandi Rhodes)

I like that Cody is going for the NWA belt, but not particularly excited for this matchup.


Edit: oh, didn't even see that Penta/Omega was being tossed around in the rumor mill. fingers crossed.

Cody booking himself in a main event for a title no one cares about , or Rey in a tag, or Okada against someone that isn't equally as special...all headscratchers for sure

However, IDK that Cody v. Magnus is the best match for that. If they can somehow have Pentagon or even Punk sneak the title away in the next month, then baby they got a stew going.

A For Us By Us card is a great idea, but what happens when there are essentially no head bookers or bosses to impress or nobody who gets the final say because it's their company?

I wonder if there was a lot of people not wanting to be exposed in certain matches, fight certain guys, difficulty in agreeing how certain things would go since this is essentially the biggest indy show ever in America.

Maybe none of it happened, we may never know true stories, but I can see this being difficult for Cody to book and main event and make everyone happy. I know that's a throwback to how it used to be done but these are not wrestlers from that era

Scored me some G1 Supercard tickets so looks like I'm going. This will be my first WM weekend.

Been to 4 of the last 5 and each one just feels more and more like a chore.

Mania is the worst part of the whole weekend and you can't go and just not go to Mania (I mean you could but that's weird). By the time it ends you feel like you've been through a marathon.

Of course I say that and will probably be buying tickets when they go on sale.

Now you got me thinking I should just get super cheap Mania tickets since I'm there. Honestly more interested in the other things taking place that weekend.

>Now you got me thinking I should just get super cheap Mania
>tickets since I'm there. Honestly more interested in the
>other things taking place that weekend.

me and my friends spent a bit. we had a great time and I don't regret it, but for how far away we were we should've probably just went with nosebleeds. The indie shows, Takeover, and the Raw after Mania is where you should splurge.

Now I know this is giving them a lot of benefit of the doubt - there's really no evidence to think they're qualified to pull something like this off anymore. But I think the stars may actually be aligning for a Lesnar exit/Reigns turn/Strowman cash in at Summerslam

- Brock seems to have one foot out the door, and they wouldn't book this match a FOURTH time to have Reigns come up short AGAIN would they? The one certainty is that he's definitely and finally beating Lesnar at Summerslam.

- But they also couldn't possibly expect Reigns to be received well at the end of their 2nd biggest show of the year in Brooklyn of all places could they? Surely, as dumb as they are, they know how a whitebread babyface win by Reigns will go.

- Watch this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSzvxxUnjgI
Heyman's "unless..." is worth paying attention to

- Why give the MITB briefcase to a babyface? To put a bow on Summerslam and not have it turn out a total disaster. Heyman turns on Lesnar, Reigns cheats to win, Strowman cashes in...and that works because a babyface can't cash in fairly otherwise. They're even trying to tease that Strowman is going to lose the briefcase to lead you another way.


Am I giving these bozos way too much credit?

The anti-Brock angle seems to be working and Roman has had a good response over the last few weeks. Obviously the NY crowd will want to change that though so who knows?!

Separating Heyman and Brock has been interesting - as you say, not sure if it's been done to have Heyman involved in the match/finish somehow or if it was just done to generate more heat on Brock.

Yes the MITB briefcase seems to be another unknown quantity here. I'd love KO to win it but doubt that it'll happen. Being honest - I hope that Lesnar/Reigns isn't interrupted and that Roman just gets the win he was scheduled for 18 months ago. Just get it over with so the product can move on.

I'm actually anticipating another Shield heel-turn though with Ambrose. I'm guessing Ambrose will return to help Seth (maybe this coming RAW) but cost him the title at SummerFest.

So yes, you gave them too much credit.

A little fantasy booking here. I would have Roman go over Brock clean. You get a massive amount of boo's at the end, at this point don't even mute the crowd let the boo's be heard.

Bruan's music hits, he runs down the ramp and hands the ref the briefcase. Crowd is going ape shit thinking they'll be a title change this quick. Match starts and Roman cheats his ass off and destroy's Bruan. I'm talking using chairs, low blows, everything he can. Match ends either with Roman pinning him, or the preferred way with Bruan winning via DQ but Roman keeping the title.


On Raw Roman gives his heel speech. There you have it.

He would have just defeated Brock Lesnar so for anyone to have to fight Braun straightaway, I think it would be more than fair for him to use chairs, etc. A heel turn for Roman would be to just walk away. Have Braun come down and have Roman clutch the belt to him and just say no as he walks away. It can be a count-out loss or not even start but him playing the coward would piss people off more than taking the fight to the legit monster.

Bruan would chase his ass down and toss him back in the ring. Braun is so loved by the fans that an absolute beating on him would bring straight heat to whoever delivered it. It makes sense to us that someone would walk away from another title defense after immediately defeating Lesnar, but the average fan doesn't want Roman to win, they absolutely don't want Roman to beat Braun after a cash in.

That's happened to Roman before, this time he needs to be prepared and by that he needs to go all out on Braun. He's failed too many times to let it slip away again.

Fans hate the coward not the guy who stands and fights. There isn't a heel tactic Roman could do in that situation - low blows, chair shots, etc - that people could hold against him. Him cheating against Lesnar though is a different matter and that would be heelish as Lesnar hasn't cheated to beat Roman before (despite the ref's call at the cage match).

I think I want a heel Shield. Ambrose, Reigns, and...eventually, Rollins. Or the Usos. Either way. They spend the fall beating Strowman in the shadiest ways possible to keep Roman as champ.

But I don’t trust WWE to execute it well enough for the crowd to not cheer it like crazy so I assume we get Heyman shenanigans where he aligns with Reigns and then the heeling will happen. And it will be fun. And Strowman will still be getting beat in the shadiest ways possible to ensure that Roman stays heel.

>Now I know this is giving them a lot of benefit of the doubt -
>there's really no evidence to think they're qualified to pull
>something like this off anymore. But I think the stars may
>actually be aligning for a Lesnar exit/Reigns turn/Strowman
>cash in at Summerslam
>
>- Brock seems to have one foot out the door, and they
>wouldn't book this match a FOURTH time to have Reigns come up
>short AGAIN would they? The one certainty is that he's
>definitely and finally beating Lesnar at Summerslam.
>
>- But they also couldn't possibly expect Reigns to be received
>well at the end of their 2nd biggest show of the year in
>Brooklyn of all places could they? Surely, as dumb as they
>are, they know how a whitebread babyface win by Reigns will
>go.
>
>- Watch this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSzvxxUnjgI
>Heyman's "unless..." is worth paying attention to
>
>- Why give the MITB briefcase to a babyface? To put a bow on
>Summerslam and not have it turn out a total disaster. Heyman
>turns on Lesnar, Reigns cheats to win, Strowman cashes
>in...and that works because a babyface can't cash in fairly
>otherwise. They're even trying to tease that Strowman is going
>to lose the briefcase to lead you another way.
>
>
>Am I giving these bozos way too much credit?
>
>
>
>

Instead of The Shield. Or better yet, AOP.

And their first act should be to beat the brakes off Ambrose and Rollins AND the Uso's, in a really, really bad way.

In a perfect WWE world, Ronda would turn heel the same night, that night would close with her, Roman, and AOP in the middle of the ring, with Paul Heyman standing in front of them, mic in hand, saying "Ladies and Gentlemen....", and then tossing the mic.

but they are going so hard with the Lesnar nasty heel act that I don't see it now. <aybe he goes "y'all booed me all this time trying to beat Lesnar and now that I did it, screw y'all" but unless he turns to start a series with Strowman, not happening IMO.

I wouldn't mind seeing a turn though...I might even like him.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6ruusr


Final Match of the G1 Climax 2018
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6rvr9x

Kenny and Kota had to face each other at the end and were dreading it.

Okada having an existential crisis that involved balloons for some reason.

Tanahashi looking like a worldbeater.

Naito having his block in the bag only to lose it at the end.

Juice Robinson had an injury/losing streak and was reevaluating his career.

Ishii looking like a badass all tourney and earning a title match.

I wasn't always crazy about the Firing Squad interference, but they had to do something to keep them strong as they lost I guess.

>Kenny and Kota had to face each other at the end and were
>dreading it.

I really wanted to see this run back at WK but I understand. That long term booking that njpw does, I'm sure Kota will get his main event one of these days and I'll be epic as hell.


>Okada having an existential crisis that involved balloons for
>some reason.

He just said that Gedo was no longer going to be his manager. The man was champ for so long and lost his title and himself in the process. Maybe we're going to see the rainmaker rebuild himself. Something tells me he could beat Tanahashi for that briefcase.


>Tanahashi looking like a worldbeater.

Dude performed like a God in the G1 and let everyone know that he's still the Ace. I was pulling for Kota but I'm not even mad Tana won this. Everything he's done for new japan he deserves this win. Him and Kenny may put on one hell of a show at WK.



>Naito having his block in the bag only to lose it at the end.

Naito is in a weird spot right now. Lost the WK main event, lost the IC title to Jericho, and still is one of the most popular wrestler on the roster. I have no idea what's next for him and I think that's exactly what the company wants us to feel. He's going to get that title win one of these days.


>Juice Robinson had an injury/losing streak and was
>reevaluating his career.

Him losing all those matches in the tournament set so many people up for a US Title shot, and I really feel like he's going to pull off those wins against them for his underdog story.


>Ishii looking like a badass all tourney and earning a title
>match.

Ishii is absolutely on fire now and I'm already marking out for Omega's title defense against him. I've never seen these two not perform well with each other. The next match is going to be sick and I almost feel like Ishii was the MVP of the G1. I think these two will face each other on the Destruction tour next month.


>I wasn't always crazy about the Firing Squad interference, but
>they had to do something to keep them strong as they lost I
>guess.

The interference got on a lot of people's nerves but I think we're looking at the real bad boys of njpw. They're doing what Suzuki-Gun has been doing all along but they don't care if they get caught or not. They won the Never tag titles and tossed them out of the ring pretty much saying fuck em. One good thing is I'm interested in every aspect of what they've set up so far and I know each story will be handled well in ring.

https://lordsofpain.net/wwe-legend-jim-the-anvil-neidhart-passes-away/

RIP to one of the best tag team wrestlers to ever do it.

Hart Foundation are my favourite tag team - complimented each other really well and Anvil was awesome being able to do the stuff he could for a guy of that size.

So sad to think that Owen, Davey, Anvil, Pillman... Bret's the last one.

Love me some HF and Anvil. Sad to see he's passed.

But there's a long line before his name comes up as an individually great tag team wrestler. Arn, Tully, Eaton, R&R Express (both) Michaels, *ahem* Bret, Owen, E&C both, The Hardys (both), The Dudleys (both), Booker T, both Steiners, LOD, Dynamite Kid, I mean... even newer cats like Cesaro.

He's pretty far back on the list, and THF doesn't exactly sit well on that top tier list as a team, let alone him as an individual.

I guess you can be mad and try to create a "thing" out of Anvil not really being in that GOAT class. I won't be a participant, but hey... have fun trying lmao

I can't even give you a "nice try" sticker for that.

You introduced that to the discussion

And ONE reply hardly constitutes "all over", and your hurt ass feelings don't magically change that fact.

If you *just* wanted to see a string of RIP followed by over the top embellishments just because the man is dead, that's your problem. If you didn't want to discuss his actual stature within the business, you shouldn't have brought it up.

Literally the only example of "mad" in here is the guy who couldn't handle a differing opinion, entirely expressed without snark or vitriol.

It's not my fault that you don't possess enough nuance to be able to hold to distinctly different discussions without getting pissy about it.

Look, if it makes you feel better to continue trying to make a "thing" because I expressed a different take on his career, have at it.

Chalk it up to part of the grieving process, I dunno. What I do know, as an observable fact, is that you don't have a single reasonable argument to justify your absurd reaction to a rather tame and wholly uncontroversial take on his career.

You were bothered that I disagreed with you on whether or not he's a goat tag wrestler and tried to create a thing out of it.

You had a pissy reaction to a completely benign, non confrontational, snark free opinion that disagreed with you.

Further, you chose to derail an RIP portion of this thread for a wrestler you clearly like just because I didn't agree with your assessment.

Great job, "chief".

You're just plain wrong and chose derail the post for absolutely no good reason.

None of this is remotely up for debate.

I made a simple statement in tribute to the man, who ranks as *ONE OF* the best people to feature in a tag team. ONE OF. That's a qualifier that leaves a lot of leeway, does it not?

You could have let that slide and said RIP. Or just said nothing. You could have done that too.

Not you. Nope.

So I pointed out that, wherever there's a chance to be superior and negative, there you are. And there, indeed, you were.

>I made a simple statement in tribute to the man, who ranks as
>*ONE OF* the best people to feature in a tag team. ONE OF.
>That's a qualifier that leaves a lot of leeway, does it not?

Actually... no. It doesn't.

>You could have let that slide and said RIP. Or just said
>nothing. You could have done that too.
>
>Not you. Nope.

...just as you could have let my reply slide, yes?

Just as you could have chosen, multiple times, to not continue to derail the RIP portion of this thread because you have an oddly asinine issue with me disagreeing with you.

You created a "thing" out of nothing, because I don't think he qualifies as goat tier.

>So I pointed out that, wherever there's a chance to be
>superior and negative, there you are. And there, indeed, you
>were.

I posted a different opinion. Not a "superior" or even negative opinion. Just one that disagreed with yours. Youre projecting in a big way.

And you decided that it was such an egregious offense that you decided to derail the post over it.

LMAO

I forgot, man. You're the hero of this place. Never, ever wrong. How could I have been so foolish?

You're doing this bullshit, deflective tapdance right now, but the only delusion here is you thinking you didn't create an issue from nothing.

You've taken multiple personal jabs instead of addressing whether or not you had any justification for taking any issue at all with me simply expressing an opinion. Conversely, I've focused on the specifics of this discussion and how it got from point a to point b- all without the potshots, mind you.

You could have posted your take, as you eventually did anyways, and a good discussion could have been had regarding his career.

Instead you chose to create a mess in response to an opinion that didn't agree with you.

I posted an opinion.
You responded with a snarky insult.

Then somehow managed to blame me for your inability to have a civil discussion whe someone simply doesn't agree with you.

Talk about delusions.

I'll summarize:

You've been a dick for absolutely no good reason, from the very beginning of this little dance, manufactured a "conflict" out of thin air, and somehow still tried to pretend that it was me.

You chose to completely derail an RIP post over an issue that didn't exist.

Or something else entirely?

But aren't getting it.

So you should ask that question of yourself.

This is amusing.

At no point have you shown a willingness to just drop it.

Further, I've explained your foolishness several times and in great detail.

Conversely, you do nothing but make assertions that don't match up with readily observable reality. Then you say things about me that clearly apply to yourself, throw insults, and then throw tantrums.

Instead of pointing out how and where I'm wrong, as I've done with you, you say dumb shit like "I forgot you're the hero and are never wrong".

The most amusing thing about this is the fact that you started this, don't want to let it go, and accuse me of having to have that word as you keep trying yo get the last word. Its not "no, YOU!"...its what you actually demonstrate.

You keep diving in with rage posts about your superior mind. Cool story, bro.

And this "superior" thing is funny from someone saying they don't take this seriously, yet created an issue out of thin air over a different opinion.

You either say things that make sense, or you don't, and you haven't said a single thing that makes sense.

But hey keep pretending you're not trying to get that last word 😂

https://www.fightersgeneration.com/np6/char/gifus/sagat-laughing2.gif

And to summarize, again:

this is all because you have an issue me stating a pro wrestler wasn't quite GOAT material.

You can lob all the message board cliches you want, but nothing can change that.

The big tag teams of the era right around when they hit - Road Warriors, Rock n Roll, The Midnight, even the Rockers - were teams of similar dudes. There wasn't a lot to split Shawn and Marty (in HOW they wrestled; obviously history will show what the real difference was there). Hawk and Animal were going to hoss you to shit. Ricky Morton was going to take all the punishment in the world before he tagged in Gibson. Even Arn and Tully didn't have too much variation in how they wrestled (neither, for that matter, did the big three of the Attitude era). The Bulldogs and Hart Foundation changed that. And I'd say that the Bulldogs get remembered more fondly primarily because Dynamite's story is so tragic (and because he was a very clear influence on two of the Web's favorite wrestlers ever).

And yes, Bret was a generational talent, while Anvil stumbled around in shit gimmicks like Who. But when the time came to run the heel side of the Hart fam against Bret, Anvil was right there to be the consistent hoss platform for Owen. And his lack of singles success doesn't erase his importance in the Hart Foundation's run.

I'd still put them in the top 15-20 tag teams of all time, which is, yes, semantically speaking, one of the best to ever do it.

The contrast in styles made the Hart Foundation more interesting to me than the teams where both guys did and said basically the same things. Anvil played his role beautifully in that team, IMO.

But even if one disagrees at how good he was individually, I don’t understand how the Hart Foundation aren’t right near the top of the all time great tag teams. I’d put them way up there. Like...top 5. They were a lynchpin of the division and probably the most consistent team for the longest time in WWF in a great era for tag wrestling. I’d only see the Steiners and Road Warriors as their competition from that era.

And maybe Hardys, Edge and Christian, and Dudleys with arguments from newer eras.

https://twitter.com/rantwithant/status/1029205560699367429?s=21

He looks like a crazy guy fresh off a bid.

he sucks

I know, 2-minute brawl segment, but the boot to Dolph and the Deeds on Drew looked like an actual attempt to fight someone.

Before casually sitting down for another drink

But his head is fucking weird and it looks like his spine is at a 30 degree angle.

I still contend that Bill Burr is the other father.

I haven't worked out the mechanics of how this happened. I'm only certain that this is how it happened.

and now I can't get that out of my mind.

posting early cause I'm traveling. you know the drill. picks will lock pretty early cause there are 3 preshow matches.

https://tinyurl.com/OKPSSlam

The go-home setup for Sane/Baszler was awesome. Ciampa grinning like a shithead with the belt in the championship match video package was so perfectly timed. I still don't believe Angry Johnny, but whatever, that match is gonna be flames. Dream/EC3 will be great. Tag Match will be great.

The SummerSlam pre-show looks like it's going to be worth watching, even. I'm trepidatious about Brock/Roman, because, well, we've been fooled before with Brock, and the reports that he's having a Hogan meeting at 4 on Sunday with the brass isn't very heartening. That said, there's a series of possible events that could lead to KO holding the belt as the fade out image, which would be FANTASTIC.

But Braun aligning with Heyman could be interesting.

>But Braun aligning with Heyman could be interesting.

Braun cashing in before the match begins to make it a triple threat would be fire.

>>But Braun aligning with Heyman could be interesting.
>
>Braun cashing in before the match begins to make it a triple
>threat would be fire.

I think this is what makes the most WWE sense. And yeah, a triple threat hossathon is $ on the table.

I just hope they don't do the thing where 2 folks gang up on Brock so he can lay around for 17 minutes before getting up and winning (again) thing. I'd be fine if they actually ganged up on Brock, wiped him the fuck out, and just go with whatever they're going with (hopefully Braun).

That way, Brock could show up 5 months from now and suplex some folks for revenge and it would actually be fun again.

I think a Braun win would pop the crowd, especially if he makes it a triple threat before the match starts, but I don't think it does anything to get Reigns over. If they have KO win the briefcase and cash in after a Reigns win I think it tells the best story and can get Roman over as he chases a sneaky heel champ (who maybe has Heyman's help).

With that said, all the stuff about that KO/Braun match stipulation feels like a swerve. It's been played up too much and I think (even) Braun will be smart enough not to get DQed. Not to mention it's pretty lame to put the briefcase on the line in the first place, so it already feels like a swerve.

On the other hand, Strowman doesn't need the briefcase to enter the title picture and KO would be a better choice... but if they felt that way they would've given Owens the briefcase in the first place, right???

All this is to say there are some interesting possibilities for an otherwise "just get it over with" match.

He hasn't really had a "big match" win since Reigns in the Ambulance Match. He lost to Brock, was eliminated in the Chamber, didn't win the Rumble (GRR is ehhhh since they don't have him carrying around the Saudi Arabian Championship title), Wrestlemania was that bullshit. I think they felt like they needed it to keep him from cooling off.

Whereas KO is KO, and they feel they can fire him up whenever.

Because Velveteen Dream is by far the coolest character in all of WWE and feels like the perfect superstar for the current social climate

and

EC3 is a spray tanned juicehead create-a-wrestler with clumsy offense who can’t sell. He looks and wrestles like a Nitro midcarder.

So VD beating EC3 is great booking

and the "call me up vince" on his tights. i love it all. i do hope they don't call him up right now though, i wanna see a few more feuds in nxt.

Boy if this company ain't slam fucking retarded 😂😂😂😂

Sasha, Bayley and Asuka need to riot.

Vince just has to have his blondes and his big fake titties as the feature

hmm.

Does he have an army of people on his payroll to pick through local Ross stores at each stop or what?

Did he win a lifetime supply of white label JNCO's in the late 90's?

I need an answer.

But I dont want to get put on a watch list
____________________

<================== Learn the name now before everyone gets dunked on

He gets a handle on the match, finds himself winning, and inevitably fucks everything up by doing something incredibly stupid.

>He gets a handle on the match, finds himself winning, and
>inevitably fucks everything up by doing something incredibly
>stupid.

Ha! This is it. I now assume it has been on purpose the whole time. Per NXT, I buy that WWE is capable of something like this.

like 95% of AJ's big feuds, that was a great match undermined by the bullshit thrown on top of it.

That said, the classic 80s NWA ending for Miz/Bryan was DELECTABLE.

their "ass bettaaaaa callllll someboddddyyyyyy". lol sorry.

It was a perfect toss.

Way too many face champions to keep my interest...

Charlotte
Rollins
Rousey
Reigns
B Team
A.J. Styles

and one of the heel champs - Bludgeon Brothers - has the personality of sand. Thank goodness for Nakamura. The only thing that could keep my interest in the near future is one or two solid heel turns ( maybe boring ass Becky Lynch or Bayley) or at least let a decent heel get some good shine for a while (maybe Samoa Joe can get a title run)

RIP KO

We fucking had 3 squashes and the World Title defended 80 minutes into a 4 hour show....what are they doing but really why?

given these guys' history and how that ended, i'm hoping this is a long lasting feud.

My buddy responded by saying "They all made sense".

No they phucking didn't.

basically the jericho role of fodder for the hardcore fans but not in the main event? i mean, i guess i can't complain, he's been entertaining as hell but damn i would love to see him get a major run again.

Just really cant buy him against Brock or Braun.
____________________

<================== Learn the name now before everyone gets dunked on

they announce the Geritol match of Undertaker vs HHH. My interest disappeared that fast.

get the fuck off the stage clown.

He isn't terrible in the ring...he's just terrible on the mic and he hasn't been a good character/gimmick. They put him in his most vulnerable spot - a big talking role, and he's a robot.

I don't agree that there was never a time where there wasn't potential, because I think there absolutely was.

All I'll say is that WWE has a habit of muting a lot of the natural strengths of their talent, instead favoring contrivances.

For people who are oozing ability, it's bad enough. When you're green and those strengths are limited as it is, well....

That's how you get Baron Corbin.

But 1) you can't have someone wrestle dressed like a sexy waiter (c) Mero and 2) stooge characters in general never work to elevate a guy.

The idea that a Strowman cash-in is an automatic win is just so great. Don’t over think it, obviously if he cashes in he wins. Lesnar knew it Sunday and the Shield knew it last night. It’s phenomenal.

I'm totally here for all-business Ambrose tossing fools around.

Just to get the title off of Brock and have someone who will be on tv almost weekly.

I'm not one for title defenses on every tv show, I feel like it cheapens the PPV's and the champ. I feel like the biggest title should only be defended on tv rarely. However I do like the champ being around, mostly to talk his shit, or to be in tag matches that help develop his story. I'm digging them having the shield keep Bruan of Roman because they know Bruan has a huge chance at winning. This will either make them heels, or make the crowd cheer for them not taking shit and delivering good beat downs on a guy that is seemingly unstoppable.

My question now is how is going to be the one to take it off of Roman? Bruan would make the most sense but that's why I almost don't want to see it happen.

He's a good-looking dude who makes everything look super intense, especially during a finishing sprint. As the final boss of The Shield, where Seth and Dean can do the talking, it works. But since the breakup, he's been given poochie-level promos to deliver, and his matches are booked in that Hogan/Cena "ignore everything that happened in the previous 16 minutes, it's time for me to bring it home" style.

with the majority of their belts. they waited so long to get roman this chance, i don't see them getting the belt off him unless he really screws it up. w

you've got some built in feuds that will take you all the way to mania. braun, shield break up. but other than braun, there's no one else who i can see them giving the belt to. my guess is he holds it til mania or longer, than someone from the draft comes over to eventually win it (joe? aj after losing to joe? somehow get joe a run dammit!)

.
.
Current Favorite Song: https://youtu.be/8v_KFHnPImY

"I cannot see how nature could have created itself. Only a supernatural force that is outside of space and time could have done that. ~ Francis Collins

They’re trying to fit a Samoan peg into a Cena hole

He’s not Cena, he’s what Batista would be if he were an actual athlete

Talk less, do more, wrestle physical matches

He’s obviously a star, but they’ve done him no favors creatively

The art of talking is what made the Rock, Stone Cold, Ric Flair, Hulk, HHH, Shawn Michaels, The Hit Man, Sting, Etc. all memorable great legends. If they couldn't talk they would only be good - not great.

Roman is not great. He's just good.
.
.
Current Favorite Song: https://youtu.be/8v_KFHnPImY

"I cannot see how nature could have created itself. Only a supernatural force that is outside of space and time could have done that. ~ Francis Collins

He was at his most popular when he didn’t talk at all for over a year.

Roman has never been a good talker, but I also think he had a certain level of charisma just on how he acted, when he was in the Shield.

>He was at his most popular when he didn’t talk at all for
>over a year.
>
>Roman has never been a good talker, but I also think he had a
>certain level of charisma just on how he acted, when he was in
>the Shield.

If we're piling on, Shawn was a shaky promo too. He was the king shit in the ring though.

Even Bret was more of a great character than a great promo.

Roman is fine when he has real matches against even decent rasslers. Brock was the biggest problem with Roman. The plan to have Brock be the roadblock was okay methinks, but Brock not being on the show hardly ever just cockblocked any momentum that could come. Add in that he rarely did anything on his Raw appearances and it was a shitshow. Braun is basically alternate Brock. He shows up, yells, blows shit up, yells again, then leaves. And he's usually smart enough to avoid the obvious traps. It's great.

It is also gonna be a damn party when the Wyatts turn out the lights to save Strowman a week or two from now.

>He was at his most popular when he didn’t talk at all for
>over a year.
>

You must not know about the NWA years! Sting was on par with Ric when it came to spitting that Show Game. The years when he was silent was a gimmick that played well, but it was not even close to when Sting was killing the verbal wordplay in the NWA




.
.
Current Favorite Song: https://youtu.be/8v_KFHnPImY

"I cannot see how nature could have created itself. Only a supernatural force that is outside of space and time could have done that. ~ Francis Collins

https://youtu.be/fD8qvFiHlOc

Certainly it was on par with Flair

https://youtu.be/79XeWgCLEOI

Probably 91-92. I don’t remember him being particularly memorable on the mic.

Regardless, he still had a ton of charisma as a performer.

>You must not know about the NWA years! Sting was on par with
>Ric

There was never a time when this was true. Never. Not ever. Sting is easily a bottom tier main event or in both promos and ring workers. He's top tier charisma and "it" factor, but despite his considerable strengths, his talking and ring work are absolutely below par.

This was the perception of him at the time, by the way, and there was very little confidence in him to carry things in any program that didn't include Flair.

The years when he
>was silent was a gimmick that played well

Played "well"? As much as you overstate his prior promo work, you understate the "Crow" run. Until the Hogan match at Starcade, it was, and remains, one of the single best executed storylines in the history of the business, all without saying a word.

And yes..I do mean business. As in $$.Sting not talking was not only his best work, it proved vital to extending the heat of the NWO run, which on it's own was rife with issues very soon after its formation.

He was one the one thing that made the NWO visibly, consistently fearful. DDP was running hot, and Crow Sting gave him an additional rub. It gave Luger meaningful screen time.

Sting had


but it was not even
>close to when Sting was killing the verbal wordplay in the
>NWA

Crow Sting objectively, verifiably eclipsed everything he had done prior.

There's nothing on his Captain Crunch resume that can compete with anything beyond warm fuzzy "back on my day" ruminations. Crow lapped drumline Sting in a bad way.

Surf Warrior Sting would have died an awkward, painful death after the NWO game change and everyone with a brain knew it.

Sting on par with Flair? LMAO

Case wild for that one. Ain't no way.

About a guy whose weak promo ability has been the principal criticism from jump, with his limited in-ring ability a close second, and he actually put him in the same breath as the God Tier/MtRushmore of Hogan/Rock/Austin/Flair.

And included Bret as another so-called "great" in that category. Its baffling.

>The art of talking is what made the Rock, Stone Cold, Ric
>Flair, Hulk, HHH, Shawn Michaels, The Hit Man, Sting, Etc. all
>memorable great legends. If they couldn't talk they would only
>be good - not great.

Welp, Bret was merely decent until his anti-American turn and Sting's greatest stretch involves him not saying a word.

Shawn was a mercurial promo who could eviscerate someone one night and come across like an awkward cornball the next. Talking was definitely part of his overall formula, but he's got a lot of misses.

Punk, Jericho and Piper are far more accurate examples IMO.

>Roman is not great. He's just good.

Talking wasn't what made him great in the Shield, and he WAS/IS great as part of the Shield.

Stop it.

He'd still be wrong, just not *as* wrong, and would actually have something to defend.

Warrior wound up with an oddly memorable promo style that stood out as larger than life.

Sting was animated but couldn't really pull off anything particularly notable. I mean, you understood what he was saying, but that was about it. No lifting his hands to the heavens and talking like he's possessed by some spirit.

Personally I'd take the guy spitting bizarre, meandering eccentricity over bland coherence.

Been listening to the Wrestle Me podcast, which is a lot of fun (Wrestlemania/Summerslam through the eyes of a seasoned wrestling fan and a complete newbie), and they played a clip of one of Warrior's Summerslam promos in a recent episode. MY WORD was it incoherent.

Roman was the bad motherfucker that threw people through tables, looked menacing and said “believe that” to punctuate promos. The point was that in that group he didn’t HAVE to talk to be a draw then.

1. zelina is alexa sized. i didnt realize that
2. creative made becky the heel instead of charlotte. how do you end up w/ such a dumb idea when their feud practically writes itself.

She's so incredibly boring and dry that she needs the attitude change for people to care about her. (either Sasha or Bayley need the same treatment IMO)

Why can’t a face have a chip on their shoulder, especially when they’ve got a reason?

It’s amazing how you’ve pretty much got to be a heel to do anything cool and likable. It’s like ever since they neutered Cena in like 2005, they haven’t known how to book a face.

Becky has a chip and the crowd will cheer her

Charlotte won't get why everyone is mad at her, she's just taking her opportunities she's given and capitalizing, it's not her fault she is a Flair while the crowd boos her.

They can call Becky a heel all they want, but that won't be the story we watch.

And because if she's not getting booed, then she's not "doing her job." And that's how you get Handsome Rusev on the preshow instead of the upper part of the card.

That let me know that they’re not going to just tell the story and let the crowd cheer who they want. Because...they absolutely did not cheer when Charlotte won.

It reminds me of Christian/Orton a little bit, when Orton took the title immediately after Christian won it. They turned the wrong guy in that one too.

"Daddy already went night night"...LOLOL

The win over Bryan seemed to seal that for me to.

He deserves a run as much as anyone else, I can totally see him getting the belt and Bryan finally beating him at Mania. That's a great 2nd main event.

At least, that's what I see as the logical sequence to get there. I think the story works best with Bryan chasing Miz for the title, but after Miz takes it from him.

Joe takes it from AJ at HIAC, Bryan gets it from Joe at the December PPV, Miz screws Bryan for it at the Rumble, and they work that program through Mania.

This is gonna suck for a while.

I sometimes feel that WWE plays it safe with heels like Miz and Bliss. Roman's already in a really interesting spot with Braun, AJ has to be mere weeks away from dropping the belt to Joe (even though we all said that for like 3 months with Shinsuke), Rhonda now has to compete way more than the four matches she's so far had this year...

Personally, I'm happy with the landscape for now.

That bro is going to be an absolute STAR.

The good being they're both really hot. Bless the bookers for this iconics vs Naomi feud

smackdown and raw dont feel like theyre coming from the same company

SD is so much better.

>smackdown and raw dont feel like theyre coming from the same
>company
>
>SD is so much better.
>
>

Raw is disappointing because it can be so good now that they have an active champion who can have good matches with anyone who isn’t full of shit in the ring. And Reigns is such a fun chess piece to work with now that the shield fellows are all healthy and doing well at the same time. Even the mid card could be printing money if WWE got the lead out and did things with them. They need their ass kicked for how they’ve done things with Elias.

Crowd is live, and I am ready for this card!

The Briscoes vs S.C.U. didn't make the main card?? Wow...

is this for real? is this a decision this company made?

or course. because it's stupid as fuck.

as being a better idea than trotting the same old recycled horseshit like the Shield and the Bellas.

I guess the point is to make Strowman look heel-ish so they'll stop booing the hell out of Reigns (it would take some super Saiyan heel work to do that IMO). For me, that's a stupid assed idea.

The card was pretty good...a little rough around the edges, but the action and the matches themselves were as good as any WWE PPV this year. Kenny Omega vs Pentagon was excellent as was Cody vs Nick Aldis. The only reservations I had about the card was it seemed too ROH-centric...if there was more balance between the other promotions in terms of contributions of tlent, it would have been amazing IMO.

Was a very solid card and wrestling wise it was on par or above anything wwe has put on this year. Cody and the Bucks did a hell of a job and I think this show far exceeded expectations for it basically being an indy show.

I heard Okada vs. Marty went 12 minutes over and that's why they had to rush the Young Bucks match at the end.

It may have been ROH centric, but that's primarily because the best indie dudes have at least a foot in ROH. They had the only NWA-related guy, some people big in Impact, NJPW's GOAT, etc.

What it really ended up being was the culmination of a lot of storylines on Being The Elite, so if you weren't familiar with what's going on with the Bucks and them's weekly YouTube series, you were probably lost at a few moments or didn't fully appreciate a few of the others.

At the time I didnt think Okada/Marty was long I thought it was the Street fight that screwed up the timing. After watching it again, the match feels long. And god damn at all the shit those dudes fit in, in 10 minutes. Loved the whole weekend there.

I loved that it was just 12 minutes of non-stop spots, it was a blast.

Just curious...I know people that like live shows better and some that rather watch at home, and since you did both....

But feeling it was pretty incredible to witness. It felt like a game changer and it delivered in my opinion.

>It may have been ROH centric, but that's primarily because
>the best indie dudes have at least a foot in ROH. They had the
>only NWA-related guy, some people big in Impact, NJPW's GOAT,
>etc.
>
>What it really ended up being was the culmination of a lot of
>storylines on Being The Elite, so if you weren't familiar with
>what's going on with the Bucks and them's weekly YouTube
>series, you were probably lost at a few moments or didn't
>fully appreciate a few of the others.


I see what you're saying, and I agree with you. I guess my thing is for a PPV of this type, I'd rather see matches that I wouldn't see on regular TV (which is why I can't stand WWE PPVs when they basically have the match 2-3 times on RAW/SD in the weeks leading up). For example, Briscoes vs SCU can happen at any ROH show. I'd rather see Briscoes vs Guerillas of Destiny or Briscoes vs Evil and Sanada.

Please don't take the ROH-centric comment as a diss...I'm an old school wrestling fan, especially of the old Philly promotions (pre-WWE ECW, ROH, and Combat Zone Wrestling). I guess I was just nitpicking to make a 8,5 show into a 10.

Penta/Omega was everything I thought it would be. I was actually jumping out of my seat at those kickouts. But Cody/Aldis really dragged to me, especially after the ref's "X" spot. So far enjoying the show but I haven't finished yet.

Shades of Zayn/Neville with Gargano debating whether to go full Ciampa (and falling for Dream’s mindgames in the process). Goddamn can Dream print money if they just let him when he gets to the main.

Cena recently declared Velveteen Dream "the one"

I think that type of endorsement can prevent Dream from becoming Adam Rose or No Way Jose

before his callup.

he's got IT if you will.

and we've seen one after another after another after another get fumbled and fizzle out, while they shove their pet projects down our throats.

I hope I'm proved wrong but I can't imagine that Vince will see nothing more in Dream than being Goldust 2.0.

I used to look forward to NXT stars being called up but I genuinely dread it now.

Had sold out arenas singing his theme and chanting holy shit at his entrance alone

Having It means nothing

Naka wasn't much after the music stopped and lights came back on.

He rode an amazing entrance as long as he could, but once you get to the main roster and you make that entrance once a week plus a Sunday per month it loses its specialness.

I only caught the very tail end of his NJPW run but quite frankly he hasn't lived up to any of the hype. His entrance is top notch, but he can't cut a promo (not sure why they are even trying with him, but that's another story) and outside of his match against Cena and some moments against AJ (who is impossible to have a bad match against) he just hasn't moved the needle for me at all since moving up to SmackDown.

And could sleepwalk to a passable match (the booking really fucked him in that AJ series). However, Kreative still overestimates the language barrier (Nak cut pretty decent promos with Sami in NXT, for example). There's also a lot of blank filling that they leave out when they advance Nak. He's "The Artist," according to Cole, but what does that mean? The Great One/The Brahma Bull was evocative of what the Rock did in the ring. The Texas Rattlesnake fit Austin. Excellence of Execution worked to explain Bret. They haven't established anything with Nak other than "fly-ass entrance" and "likes nut shots."

Dream is over as fuck, walks the gimmick, AND is frequently putting on EXCELLENT matches in his spots. You can watch him with the sound off and know exactly what he's about. He doesn't hamfist his catchphrases (Kona Reeves, looking at you buddy).

>He doesn't hamfist his catchphrases (Kona Reeves, looking at you
>buddy).

I don't get this shit at all. The finest? ok?
Then why you got that generic ass ring gear and haven't looked fresh yet.

Changed dudes character and he already needs another character change. Dude is "go check the fridge" material to me. One of the more skippable parts of NXT.

Not taking anything away from him. His body of work speaks for itself and he's earned the right to get some money while not having to work strong style. But Dream just demands the spotlight and is hungry af.

Things could change. He's 23 and we've certainly seen people fizzle out after a fast start, but this one feels different. I sincerely believe they struck gold in a way they haven't since The Rock.

>Shades of Zayn/Neville with Gargano debating whether to go
>full Ciampa (and falling for Dream’s mindgames in the
>process). Goddamn can Dream print money if they just let him
>when he gets to the main.

I just hope they don't try to slow play it when he comes to the main roster. AKA he has to be allowed to WIN IMPORTANT MATCHES IMMEDIATELY and continue to be a ridiculous and hilarious character. If so, he is going to print money. If not, he could end up like Bobby Roode. But I doubt that.

He can work. He is young. He came up in their system. He is BIG. And in great shape/notably athletic. The Dream Elbow looks sweet. And the modifier where he does it to the outside? C'mon...it's great.

And he has a character that basically writes feuds for itself. He shows up, makes over the top disgusted faces, calls someone hideous, and it's on. He can eat time with the absurd vignettes. He can do storytelling and 'mindgames' with the best of them already. He also is a master of the Rick Rude ring attire-based trolling. WWE has no choice but to love all of this. And shiiid, they could use another black star. He'd be amazing doing media stuff IN CHARACTER.

If they take it a step further and he gets some strong lady as his valet/heavy, then it is going to be a damn party. It would play into the chickenshit heel part of his character and it would be fun. He'd give her some crazy name and fun would be had by all. If she can actually work, even better.

Show 1 of this year's Mae was fantastic. Satomura/Killer Kelly was the obvious standout (THAT STF THO), but geez Vanessa Kraven could do some great work as a monster against Rousey. Rhea Ripley looks like she's latched on to something somewhere between Baszler and Beth that could be quite good.