WWE Thread

[OrangeDW]

Overall good PPV.

That ending...

Stupidest thing I’ve ever seen. Wish I didn’t come back for the main event today. Somebody tell WWE to stop booking supernatural stuff.

 

[jncuse]

That ending was something... I will say that.

I watch parts of the Stone Cold Sessions with Seth Rollins afterward. Seth, without intention, basically confirmed everything that was bad about the WWE;

- Said how the WWE tried hard to change him into something else in FCW and he initially resisted. He said eventually Joey Mercury gave him the best advice -- he just needs to stay true to himself but learn to play the backstage game.

- Mentioned that he found out that the Shield was splitting a few hours before it happened. Confirmed the WWE booking on the fly.

- When discussing his current character he said that everything is largely on the fly and he is adapting as time goes along.

 

[jncuse]

Watching Raw Tonight, multiple times they have said the Lashley / Big E issues must "Finally" come to an end, emphasizing the need for finality part. Now they have to go in a cage to end their issues. FFS its been two weeks since they first met and they have yet to have one real match.

EDIT - I suppose the two will be split in the draft at the end of the week which is why they are closing things out. But it just seems rushed programming for a program that can use decent content for a more stretched out period.

 

[jncuse]

I'm watching on about a 20 minute delay.

But coming back from the last commerical, within the first 15 seconds they emphasized the "finally" aspect of the match again. These guy are so dumb.

 

[jncuse]

How do you think Vince reacted to Roman Reigns wearing a mask as he ventured out into the crowd at extreme rules?

It probably was a nothing to Vince... but the cynical part of me thinks it angered Vince to the point that he will give the belt to Brock at the next PPV.

 

[OrangeDW]

How do you think Vince reacted to Roman Reigns wearing a mask as he ventured out into the crowd at extreme rules?

It probably was a nothing to Vince... but the cynical part of me thinks it angered Vince to the point that he will give the belt to Brock at the next PPV.

Always cracked up at his “what kind of man doesn’t eat steak!!” hesitance on Bryan.

 

[Symphony Steve]

Since I have a Comcast subscription, I get Peacock for free. So, I'm watching Crown Jewel today.

My take:

Edge vs. Rollins in Hell In A Cell. Excellent, perhaps five minutes too long. Chairs, tables, ladder, tools. One table spot too many, and they probably missed the crowd sweet spot. Edge wins the rubber match. At least 4 1/4 stars on the Meltzer scale. Edge is a great face, Rollins is a great heel.

Mansoor vs. Ali. A TV match, kicked up a notch. Ali plays smarmy heel, not particularly convincingly.
Mansoor wins, Ali beats him up post-match. Some guy comes out wrapped in one of those turban thingies. Takes his sweet time getting to ring. Unmasks. He won a silver medal in kickboxing in the Olympics for Saudi Arabia. Takes out Ali with one kick and celebrates with Mansoor. Give the people what they want. 3 stars

Orton and Riddle vs. AJ Styles and Omos. Speaking of giving the people what they want, Riddle rides out on a camel. I marked out. Pretty short match b/c there is simply no way to mask the ponderousness of Omos. He's a heat-killer. Orton and Riddle retain. 3 stars. Other than the camel, this was a TV match. One thing you won't see on tonight's telecast from Saudi Arabia: Cameltoes.

Queen Of The Ring 'Final': Doudrop vs. Zelina Vega. Both dressed so modestly that not even a Saudi male could get aroused. This is unspeakably bad. Crowd is silent. Looks like first day of rasslin' school 101. Vega kicks out twice, which sucked. She wins with a 'Code Red Power Bomb', whatever that is. All I know is that Doudrop had to work to hold her own shoulders onto the mat. Minus-five stars. Now Zelina is posing with crown and scepter. EEE-ewww.

Goldberg vs. Lashley No Holds Barred/Falls Count Anywhere. We all know that Goldberg blows up quickly. I'm setting the over/under at 4 minutes. Goldberg comes out chewing gum and looking every bit his age. He looks none too steady. (Lots of WWE-style crowd sweetening all night, BTW.) Slow. Lashley with a chair. Now Lashley searches for, finally finds, and pulls out a table while Goldberg 'rests'. Lashley goes through table that he had set up in corner. Spear, jackhammer, but Goldberg wants to inflict more punishment. He can barely walk. 'Marching toward the lifeless body of Bobby Lashley'. Well, it might be a lot of things, but not lifeless. These announcers. Here come 'The Hurt Business'. Goldberg turns them into geeks. Lashley selling his heart out. Goldberg spears him onto a crash pad. Onetwothree. 'Bobby Lashley has not moved' as he moves all over the crash pad. I'm sorry, I can't suspend my disbelief when watching Goldberg. Well, they'll have to figure out a way to heat up Lashley again. Too long.

King Of The Ring Finals: Finn Balor vs. Xavier Woods. Should be a quality match, if given time. The question is--will it be better than a Raw main event? Solid grappling to start. If Mansoor and Ali was kindergarten, this is finishing school. There've been a few notable missed 'boots to the face' tonight. Just saw one in this match. Woods wins with an elbow off the top. Real good match, well-paced. Balor was the best 'wrestler' I've seen tonight. Could've used a couple more minutes, but I'd say 3 and 3/4 stars. The crown looks so Burger King-esque, though. Minus three stars for the crown--unless he gets fries with that.

Big E vs. Drew McIntyre For WWE Championship. McIntyre and his sword enter first. Reminds me of a sardonic line from a Randy Newman song:

"Why must everyone laugh at my mighty sword?"

BTW, McIntyre's sword is 'named after his late mother'. Who might, or might not, have been a 'sword swallower'. (See, kids, blogging ain't that difficult...)

Both guys know how to throw each other and how to get thrown around. Much more of a power match than Balor/Woods, but keeping up a real good pace. Near-falls off of power moves. They don't need the crowd sweetening for this one. And you can really tell the difference.

Big E kicks out of the Claymore, and wins with a power move. My only negative was that the finisher was far from the most impressive spot in the match, and I don't think the crowd bought it. 4 stars. I'm happy to see Big E with the belt. But McIntyre won't be belt-less for long.

Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair For Smackdown Women's Championship. Women's attire du-jour features T-shirts (yes, you can buy them all at the WWE store) over long sleeves. Lynch is now 'Big Time Becks', complete with yellow and black T. Opening spots look too choreographed.

Becky's moves look crisp. Sasha's, not so much. Typical WWE three-way:. All three only in ring maybe about 1/3 of the time. Formula: Two wrestle, one rests, wash, rinse, repeat. When Becky's out, match drags.

Pretty sloppy, they need to go to the finish soon. Yep, they're going to the quick near-falls, action has picked up. Lynch's cardio looks great. Becky with a double-disarmer on both women. Becky pins Sasha using the ropes. Good finishing sequence for all three. Sasha just looks a bit clunky to me. I'd go 3 3/4.

Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar For WWE Universal Championship. Of course, the question is, who is Paul Heyman gonna leave the ring with? I don't know, since it looks like this angle is gonna go straight through to Wrestlemania. Gotta figure that Lesnar gets the belt at some point, then loses it at WM. Just don't know if tonight's that night. Heyman has been superb in building this angle. He has no equal.

Reigns' entrance is interminable. Hope they're going past 4 EDT, otherwise, it'll be a short match.Lesnar is wearing your pop-pop's swimming trunks and MMA gloves. I see a roll of fat or two. He just heads to the ring. Let's hope he doesn't blow up this time...

First suplex two minutes in. Brock's face already turning red. Give Lesnar credit, he's not coasting like Goldberg. Reigns with a spear.

Lesnar leapfrogs over Reigns. That was unbelievable. Suplex #2 from Lesnar. 3. 4, though not as impressive. -5 from Lesnar, Reigns kicks out. Lesnar breathing heavily. He's catching his breath now.

Reigns goes for an -5 and...REF BUMP!! Lesnar would have won, as ref could've counted to 100. Lesnar kicks ref out of ring. No official. Gee, something tells me we're headed to a controversial finish. Heyman tosses the belt into the ring, says 'You know what to do with it'. Lesnar wins tug-o-war, but Usos superkick Lesnar, Reigns hits Lesnar with belt, and pins Lesnar. The question remains--who was Heyman tossing the belt to? To be continued.

I enjoyed the match, and especially the angle.

Really good PPV. Since I didn't pay for it, it was worth every penny I didn't spend on it.

 

[cusefan88]

Paul Heyman is the best. Throws the belt directly between them. Scared eyes at Roman as they walk off. Really nice storytelling. He stays relevant and fun.

 

[OrangeDW]

Since I have a Comcast subscription, I get Peacock for free. So, I'm watching Crown Jewel today.

My take:

Edge vs. Rollins in Hell In A Cell. Excellent, perhaps five minutes too long. Chairs, tables, ladder, tools. One table spot too many, and they probably missed the crowd sweet spot. Edge wins the rubber match. At least 4 1/4 stars on the Meltzer scale. Edge is a great face, Rollins is a great heel.

Mansoor vs. Ali. A TV match, kicked up a notch. Ali plays smarmy heel, not particularly convincingly.
Mansoor wins, Ali beats him up post-match. Some guy comes out wrapped in one of those turban thingies. Takes his sweet time getting to ring. Unmasks. He won a silver medal in kickboxing in the Olympics for Saudi Arabia. Takes out Ali with one kick and celebrates with Mansoor. Give the people what they want. 3 stars

Orton and Riddle vs. AJ Styles and Omos. Speaking of giving the people what they want, Riddle rides out on a camel. I marked out. Pretty short match b/c there is simply no way to mask the ponderousness of Omos. He's a heat-killer. Orton and Riddle retain. 3 stars. Other than the camel, this was a TV match. One thing you won't see on tonight's telecast from Saudi Arabia: Cameltoes.

Queen Of The Ring 'Final': Doudrop vs. Zelina Vega. Both dressed so modestly that not even a Saudi male could get aroused. This is unspeakably bad. Crowd is silent. Looks like first day of rasslin' school 101. Vega kicks out twice, which sucked. She wins with a 'Code Red Power Bomb', whatever that is. All I know is that Doudrop had to work to hold her own shoulders onto the mat. Minus-five stars. Now Zelina is posing with crown and scepter. EEE-ewww.

Goldberg vs. Lashley No Holds Barred/Falls Count Anywhere. We all know that Goldberg blows up quickly. I'm setting the over/under at 4 minutes. Goldberg comes out chewing gum and looking every bit his age. He looks none too steady. (Lots of WWE-style crowd sweetening all night, BTW.) Slow. Lashley with a chair. Now Lashley searches for, finally finds, and pulls out a table while Goldberg 'rests'. Lashley goes through table that he had set up in corner. Spear, jackhammer, but Goldberg wants to inflict more punishment. He can barely walk. 'Marching toward the lifeless body of Bobby Lashley'. Well, it might be a lot of things, but not lifeless. These announcers. Here come 'The Hurt Business'. Goldberg turns them into geeks. Lashley selling his heart out. Goldberg spears him onto a crash pad. Onetwothree. 'Bobby Lashley has not moved' as he moves all over the crash pad. I'm sorry, I can't suspend my disbelief when watching Goldberg. Well, they'll have to figure out a way to heat up Lashley again. Too long.

King Of The Ring Finals: Finn Balor vs. Xavier Woods. Should be a quality match, if given time. The question is--will it be better than a Raw main event? Solid grappling to start. If Mansoor and Ali was kindergarten, this is finishing school. There've been a few notable missed 'boots to the face' tonight. Just saw one in this match. Woods wins with an elbow off the top. Real good match, well-paced. Balor was the best 'wrestler' I've seen tonight. Could've used a couple more minutes, but I'd say 3 and 3/4 stars. The crown looks so Burger King-esque, though. Minus three stars for the crown--unless he gets fries with that.

Big E vs. Drew McIntyre For WWE Championship. McIntyre and his sword enter first. Reminds me of a sardonic line from a Randy Newman song:

"Why must everyone laugh at my mighty sword?"

BTW, McIntyre's sword is 'named after his late mother'. Who might, or might not, have been a 'sword swallower'. (See, kids, blogging ain't that difficult...)

Both guys know how to throw each other and how to get thrown around. Much more of a power match than Balor/Woods, but keeping up a real good pace. Near-falls off of power moves. They don't need the crowd sweetening for this one. And you can really tell the difference.

Big E kicks out of the Claymore, and wins with a power move. My only negative was that the finisher was far from the most impressive spot in the match, and I don't think the crowd bought it. 4 stars. I'm happy to see Big E with the belt. But McIntyre won't be belt-less for long.

Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair For Smackdown Women's Championship. Women's attire du-jour features T-shirts (yes, you can buy them all at the WWE store) over long sleeves. Lynch is now 'Big Time Becks', complete with yellow and black T. Opening spots look too choreographed.

Becky's moves look crisp. Sasha's, not so much. Typical WWE three-way:. All three only in ring maybe about 1/3 of the time. Formula: Two wrestle, one rests, wash, rinse, repeat. When Becky's out, match drags.

Pretty sloppy, they need to go to the finish soon. Yep, they're going to the quick near-falls, action has picked up. Lynch's cardio looks great. Becky with a double-disarmer on both women. Becky pins Sasha using the ropes. Good finishing sequence for all three. Sasha just looks a bit clunky to me. I'd go 3 3/4.

Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar For WWE Universal Championship. Of course, the question is, who is Paul Heyman gonna leave the ring with? I don't know, since it looks like this angle is gonna go straight through to Wrestlemania. Gotta figure that Lesnar gets the belt at some point, then loses it at WM. Just don't know if tonight's that night. Heyman has been superb in building this angle. He has no equal.

Reigns' entrance is interminable. Hope they're going past 4 EDT, otherwise, it'll be a short match.Lesnar is wearing your pop-pop's swimming trunks and MMA gloves. I see a roll of fat or two. He just heads to the ring. Let's hope he doesn't blow up this time...

First suplex two minutes in. Brock's face already turning red. Give Lesnar credit, he's not coasting like Goldberg. Reigns with a spear.

Lesnar leapfrogs over Reigns. That was unbelievable. Suplex #2 from Lesnar. 3. 4, though not as impressive. -5 from Lesnar, Reigns kicks out. Lesnar breathing heavily. He's catching his breath now.

Reigns goes for an -5 and...REF BUMP!! Lesnar would have won, as ref could've counted to 100. Lesnar kicks ref out of ring. No official. Gee, something tells me we're headed to a controversial finish. Heyman tosses the belt into the ring, says 'You know what to do with it'. Lesnar wins tug-o-war, but Usos superkick Lesnar, Reigns hits Lesnar with belt, and pins Lesnar. The question remains--who was Heyman tossing the belt to? To be continued.

I enjoyed the match, and especially the angle.

Really good PPV. Since I didn't pay for it, it was worth every penny I didn't spend on it.

Well...I was going to watch it but wanted to be done by the time the Lakers game starts at 10.

Watched Edge-Rollins. It was good. Enjoyed it. Edge is the man. So glad he’s getting to go out on his own terms, because he was obviously far from done when that neck injury initially retired him.

Tried fast-forwarding the 2nd match because I’ve only got 2 1/2 hours and that one doesn’t make the cut for me...and the app crapped out on me. Wouldn’t fast-forward, then froze entirely.

Don’t have time for this. Peacock is a joke and is not even worth $5 a month. They’ve had more than enough time to iron out their issues, and they clearly don’t care. So I’m out. Subscriptions cancelled. I’ll buy $5 of ethereum every month or something. I’ll watch the Sixers-Nets instead, while reading your review to catch up on things.

 

[OrangeDW]

Wait, THEY HAD GOLDBERG SQUASH LASHLEY!!??!!

I hate this company.

 

[jordville]

Sounds like more "budget cuts" (WWE releases many from NXT)...
Karrion Kross (brought him up to the main roster to lose and change his look with no valet)
Keith Lee (this one is a big mistake imo)
Gran Metalik
Lince Dorado
Oney Lorcan
Nia Jax
Scarlett (Kross' wife)
Franky Monet (John Morrison's wife)
Ember Moon (she'll do well at AEW.. their women's division could use a boost)
Mia Yim (Lee's wife/gf)
Eva Marie
B-Fab (from the Hit Row faction they just brought up to Smackdown)
And several others...

 

[jordville]

NXT was a good product (probably WWE's best TV program) with HHH running it. Once Vince and Pritchard took over NXT was doomed.

 

[OrangeDW]

Sounds like more "budget cuts" (WWE releases many from NXT)...
Karrion Kross (brought him up to the main roster to lose and change his look with no valet)
Keith Lee (this one is a big mistake imo)
Gran Metalik
Lince Dorado
Oney Lorcan
Nia Jax
Scarlett (Kross' wife)
Franky Monet
Ember Moon (she'll do well at AEW.. their women's division could use a boost)
Mia Yim (Lee's wife/gf)
Eva Marie
B-Fab (from the Hit Row faction they just brought up to Smackdown)
And several others...

Eva Marie? Every now and then I wish CuseRunner wasn’t banned, just to see his reaction.

I haven’t been watching WWE at all. AEW I’ve been kinda half watching while doing other things. I like the MJF - Darby feud. And I like Britt Baker. Wish she had a good rival to have a memorable feud with though. Nobody else in that division does much for me.

Saw Tully and Arn almost mix it up the other night which was a cool little moment.

 

[jordville]

Eva Marie? Every now and then I wish CuseRunner wasn’t banned, just to see his reaction.

I haven’t been watching WWE at all. AEW I’ve been kinda half watching while doing other things. I like the MJF - Darby feud. And I like Britt Baker. Wish she had a good rival to have a memorable feud with though. Nobody else in that division does much for me.

Saw Tully and Arn almost mix it up the other night which was a cool little moment.

Haha, right?! Whatever happened to CR?

I got pulled back into wrestling because of my son. I keep tabs on both promotions weekly... usually a lot of fast forwarding.

MJF is such a good heel. D-M-D is great. Agreed.. the women's division in AEW needs work.

 

[jncuse]

NXT was a good product (probably WWE's best TV program) with HHH running it. Once Vince and Pritchard took over NXT was doomed.

In a backhanded way, what they are doing with NXT makes sense.

But you have to accept that Vince and his Cronies are idiots and did like the old NXT and were never going to use it properly or use great wrestlers working in it. They were always going to be leery to develop most of the super-indy stars coming from NXT and were going to bury most of the guys that only came up because of fan pressure (and then end up pissing off fans with how they treat them) It's stupidity on their part, but once you accept that is the way they are going to act, then the move to NXT 2.0 makes some sense.

This might be a better way for them to develop stars since if they are coming up in a Vince/Crony approved system with Vince approved "look" it is more likely they can become successful at the next level.

 

[jordville]

With so much bad in the media across the sports and entertainment world (really everywhere in the media), I thought this was pretty cool...

(Also, days after the Travis Scott concert deaths and injuries.) There are probably many more moments like this one with Orton that we just don't get to see and/or get publicized. Good on you, Randy.

 

[ScrabbCuse]

Anyone catch Survivor Series last night? The opening match between Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair and the main event between Roman Reigns and Big E were solid while everything in between was mostly garbage.

Roman beat Big E clean via pin although E looked strong, getting up from three Superman punches and kicking out of a spear. Crowd was dead until the last few minutes as it’s becoming predictable that Reigns won’t lose anytime soon. Vince is making it clear the Universal title is the ultimate prize and the WWE title is second rate.

The five on five matches would have been better if the biggest stars(McIntyre, Lashley and Sasha Banks) weren’t all eliminated by count out. The men’s match came down to Jeff Hardy and Seth Rollins and the crowd was ready to pop hard for Hardy. He lost of course which deflated the crowd but I guess made Vince happy.

Raw dominated SmackDown in every match but the Reigns one. Don’t get me started on the 25 man battle royal which was basically a long advertisement for Pizza Hut, complete with the Street Profits flinging pizza into the stands like frisbees. Should have been on the pre-show but the irrelevant Intercontinental and US belts were placed there instead. Also, the Rock was teased all night but made no appearance. Overall, not a great ppv.

 

[Symphony Steve]

Anyone catch Survivor Series last night? The opening match between Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair and the main event between Roman Reigns and Big E were solid while everything in between was mostly garbage.

Roman beat Big E clean via pin although E looked strong, getting up from three Superman punches and kicking out of a spear. Crowd was dead until the last few minutes as it’s becoming predictable that Reigns won’t lose anytime soon. Vince is making it clear the Universal title is the ultimate prize and the WWE title is second rate.

The five on five matches would have been better if the biggest stars(McIntyre, Lashley and Sasha Banks) weren’t all eliminated by count out. The men’s match came down to Jeff Hardy and Seth Rollins and the crowd was ready to pop hard for Hardy. He lost of course which deflated the crowd but I guess made Vince happy.

Raw dominated SmackDown in every match but the Reigns one. Don’t get me started on the 25 man battle royal which was basically a long advertisement for Pizza Hut, complete with the Street Profits flinging pizza into the stands like frisbees. Should have been on the pre-show but the irrelevant Intercontinental and US belts were placed there instead. Also, the Rock was teased all night but made no appearance. Overall, not a great ppv.

So, it looks like tonight's entire Raw is gonna be a tie-in with the Rock's new movie.

The theme (I'm not making this up)?: Who stole Vince McMahon's 'egg', which was allegedly gifted to him by the Rock? Vince will make a cameo, which is all he can do these days, kinda like Logan Roy.

They think this will boost ratings. Maybe it will. But it's just another hotshot angle.

 

[jncuse]

The problem with the "Survivor Series" Concept is there are really no consequences and nobody is fighting for anything.

I watched snippets of Raw + Smackdown over the past few weeks and it seemed one of the main themes of the show was members fighting or being screwed off teams in a match that meant **** all.

We had the GM on RAW, saying that he was changing the team because he could not "live with himself" if he made a mistake that led to RAW losing. Except he is also the GM of Smackdown FFS, and used similar concepts of having to win for Smackdown when changing their team.

The WWE for the most part has had fairly decent PPV's this year. Not near the level of the last two AEW shows clearly but still fairly decent by WWE standards especially when we watch their regular TV product. But you can't build a decent show when there are literally no consequences for winning or losing and very little heat. Or showcasing 5 by 5 matches where nobody cares about winning for their team.

It's a bad concept that either needs to change -- or the WWE at least build some rationale for why these matches happen. I heard somebody online mention that the winning team should all be guaranteed title shots over the next year -- now that would make sense -- people would fight hard to be on the team, would make them work hard to win for their team, and there would be real consequences. But the WWE just prefers to deliver fluff.

 

[Symphony Steve]

I heard somebody online mention that the winning team should all be guaranteed title shots over the next year -- now that would make sense -- people would fight hard to be on the team, would make them work hard to win for their team, and there would be real consequences.

Good idea in theory. But I can't remember a time when WWE honored its stips. Meaning (a) nobody will believe the stip, and (b) they won't honor it.

 

[jncuse]

Good idea in theory. But I can't remember a time when WWE honored its stips. Meaning (a) nobody will believe the stip, and (b) they won't honor it.

Fair enough - but it's better than doing what they do now.

Doesn't have to be even a title shot. Something as simple as giving them a match in the next month against any opponent of their choosing with any stipulation -- and even if the WWE GM finds a way to screw them over. At least there was consequences going in and something coming out of it, that may or may not be screwed over.

 

[ScrabbCuse]

Fair enough - but it's better than doing what they do now.

Doesn't have to be even a title shot. Something as simple as giving them a match in the next month against any opponent of their choosing with any stipulation -- and even if the WWE GM finds a way to screw them over. At least there was consequences going in and something coming out of it, that may or may not be screwed over.

Good idea. Maybe even let the survivors of the 5v5 decide what spot they want to enter the Rumble in.

 

[jordville]

Did anyone else see the nutjob that jumped the barricade and attacked Seth Rollins last night on Raw?

Edit: language in the video fyi


The 24-year old has been charged with attempted assault and attempted violation of arts and cultural affairs (disrupting live sporting event) for his attack on WWE wrestler Seth Rollins during the Raw television show Monday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, per the NYPD.

 

[MSOrange]

Did anyone else see the nutjob that jumped the barricade and attacked Seth Rollins last night on Raw?

Edit: language in the video fyi


The 24-year old has been charged with attempted assault and attempted violation of arts and cultural affairs (disrupting live sporting event) for his attack on WWE wrestler Seth Rollins during the Raw television show Monday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, per the NYPD.

I was just about to post this after I saw it on twitter. Wow that guy needs to go to jail for awhile.

 

[OrangeDW]

I was just about to post this after I saw it on twitter. Wow that guy needs to go to jail for awhile.

I hope he got roughed up behind the curtain.