• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Wrasslin' Thread 20XX |OT| New Age WrestleGAF

NickFire

Member
Dynamite was pretty good last night. The opening segment was kind of refreshing / well done. I don't think any of them are on MJF's level, but having 3 homegrown guys coming at the homegrown champ was great and gives them a chance to do / say something to move them up a level. The PH and Wardlow feud seems, dare I say, meaningful all of a sudden. And credit where its due. The trios belt started off really bad IMO. Obviously pre-ordained champs getting immediately stripped made it feel like a joke to me. But hot damn, they have turned it around and I am in. The factions work and work well. Heelish BCC is fire. House of Black is legit. And the Elite coming to Page's rescue was well done for wrestling storylines. Even JAS matters a little more with trios belts being there to chase.
 

Fox Mulder

Member
What's everyone's guesses on Rey and Dominic?

A) Rey wins
B) Dom cheats to win
C) Dom wins clean.

I'm torn on this one. Dom cheating to win would extend the feud. But we are talking a father vs son match at Wrestlemania. I'm going on a limb and saying Dom wins clean somehow, at Rey's urging behind the scenes.

Dom is legit great in his role and Rey will probably want to put his son over for tons of heat in probably his final match at WM.
 
Last edited:
Dynamite was pretty good last night. The opening segment was kind of refreshing / well done. I don't think any of them are on MJF's level, but having 3 homegrown guys coming at the homegrown champ was great and gives them a chance to do / say something to move them up a level. The PH and Wardlow feud seems, dare I say, meaningful all of a sudden. And credit where its due. The trios belt started off really bad IMO. Obviously pre-ordained champs getting immediately stripped made it feel like a joke to me. But hot damn, they have turned it around and I am in. The factions work and work well. Heelish BCC is fire. House of Black is legit. And the Elite coming to Page's rescue was well done for wrestling storylines. Even JAS matters a little more with trios belts being there to chase.

Last night I watched the first half of this episode, at someone else's recommendation. I haven't been keeping up with AEW for a while, but a few recaps helped me get up to speed.

I love everything about MJF, and the verbal exchanges between him and JB/SG/DA were gold. The premise of a "re"-bar mitzvah itself is already interesting, but he put it over the top in a way only he can.

The tag match between Dark Order + Page vs Blackpool Combat Club was pretty good. Glad to see Claudio in AEW, and I always like seeing Mox in action.

I paused right around when the Jade Cargill challenge started, and intend to resume later.

Man, the episode reminds me just why I love pro wrestling shows hosted in Canada. Canadian crowds are something else.
 

Naked Lunch

Member
The "Pillars" segment of Dynamite was a perfect example of AEW's long form storytelling.
As soon as Jungle Boy got interrupted by Sammy's music I knew immediately that all four corners were going to fill up.
Gots to love their focus on homegrown younger talent - and storylines going back to the beginning of the company.

The Kenny v Jerico spots in Canada were just all time great wrestling moments. The crowd was bananas.
Quality entertainment.
 

dave_d

Member
I'm waiting for Cornette this week. I mean he should flip out on Jarrett losing to Pockets, you know given he actually thought Jarrett wouldn't embarrass himself by losing to the company mascot. (I guess Jim forgot about Jeff losing that good housekeeping match. I think Brian was saying he wouldn't be surprised if Jeff lost.) Of course I'd expect he won't cover this but given how much he loves Rhea Ripley he probably wouldn't react well to her saying a big inspiration for her is the Miz. (For those that don't know Jim hates the Miz. Why I don't know, Miz is a classic chickenshit heel. He's very good at what he does and is pretty much the best good will ambassador the WWE has now. )
 
Last edited:

DKehoe

Member
I'm waiting for Cornette this week. I mean he should flip out on Jarrett losing to Pockets, you know given he actually though Jarrett wouldn't embarrass himself by losing to the company mascot. (I guess Jim forgot about Jeff losing that good housekeeping match. I think Brian was saying he wouldn't be surprised if Jeff lost.) Of course I'd expect he won't cover this but given how much he loves Rhea Ripley he probably wouldn't react well to her saying a big inspiration for her is the Miz. (For those that don't know Jim hates the Miz. Why I don't know, Miz is a classic chickenshit heel. He's very good at what he does and is pretty much the best good will ambassador the WWE has now. )
Did Miz refuse to fuck Cornette's wife while he was in OVW or something?
 

AJUMP23

Gold Member
Anyone watched tales from the Territories about the history of wrestling prior to Vince and the unification of everything. I think it is on A&E, but I do not have that channel.

Also are there new biography WWE shows. I like those but I am not sure.
 
Yup, Jim's disappointed
EuOAlQHWQAIIHt8.png
 

Naked Lunch

Member
Kenny Omega v Vikingo was completely insane.
I thought someone was going to die at least 5 times in that match. Talk about putting it all on the line.
There was stuff ive never seen before. Just unreal.
How someone didnt break their neck was a miracle.

That match shows you right there - the difference between AEW and WWE.
 
That match was definitely high energy... and I mean, I don't know the Mexicans had Vikings, and had no clue who that dude was, but I knew from how they were selling it that it would be some quality pro wrestling. And yeah you don't get that match on WWE, and definitely not on WWE weekly television. Not that they haven't put out some decent stuff over the last year I've been watching.

Which leads me to reflect a bit. I started my wrasslin return pretty much with last year's Wrestlemania. I think in my head-canon I had decided that, "wow, they got two nights pretty much both full length pay per view... they must have really built all this up!"

I'm less than blown away with the build up to Mania this year, and I certainly don't havetwo nights worth of riveting storylines in my head... granted I do skip the womens stuff almost entirely.

I do watch most of Rhea Ripley though since she's embedded with Judgment Day, she's got that Mami thing and it makes me feel some type of way. That way of course being:
futurama fry GIF


I'm still a bit thrown off by Ric Flair having a wrestling daughter, and his wrestling daughter's move being the 'figure 8' where... I don't know but she arches her back and sends her breast implants into the sky. But she's got kind of a Ric Flair face... once again:
futurama fry GIF


So... aside from the women stuff... what do we got.. Reigns vs Cooooody. That build-up has been okay. I like Cody still but something's not entirely clicking here. Too much time off, kind of a lame Rumble win... I enjoyed all of his Seth Rollins stuff. I go back and forth on all the Dusty Daddy Issues... but I fondly remember Dusty from the WCW days, and his atrocious commentating. So it still sort of lands with me.

Rey vs Dominik... So you guys tend to think Rey is going to put him over clean? I don't know... the character is fun right now but I just don't see it. By the natural laws of wrestling as I see them, Rey can win clean, or Dominik can cheat to win. Maybe the family factor really does make it something different but I just don't get it.

We got Usos versus Sami and KO finally scheduled now? That was obviously always coming.

Cena vs Theory -- Cena has shown up on TV like 2 or 3 times, and took part in a tag match in the entire time I've been watching. Not that excited about the part timers.

Lesnar vs Omos - Lesnar, another guy who just occasionally shows up... I assume he's going to obliterate Omos because what does Omos bring? He's big, and lumbering... and he's something for a guy like Lesnar to do

Seth Rollins vs Logan Paul -- well... I love Seth... and Logan Paul is somehow the best of the part timers as I see it. I'm going into this match expecting to be entertained.

I suppose Seth's wife is doing something with those 'legends' who I've never heard of against.. Damage Control. That seems like a feud I've been fast forwarding. That's all I got.

Oh wait there's the European Intercontinental Championship.

Is Lantern Man and Howdy Doodie doing something? I recall seeing them on TV but can't recall who they were harassing after poor LA Knight had to be a jobber in the Mountain Dew Glow-in-the-Dark shitshow match. I'm guessing Jim Cornette doesn't like Mountain Dew branded glow-in-the-dark matches either. Maybe he and I can finally bond over that one of these days.
 

dave_d

Member
And for those of you following Impact both champions are injured. Josh Alexander has already given up the title. It's uncertain if Mickey James will be able to defend her title and she might have to give it up too.(Personally I really thought it was stupid to make her champion but hey, it's Impact being Impact.)
 

NickFire

Member
So... aside from the women stuff... what do we got.. Reigns vs Cooooody. That build-up has been okay. I like Cody still but something's not entirely clicking here. Too much time off, kind of a lame Rumble win... I enjoyed all of his Seth Rollins stuff. I go back and forth on all the Dusty Daddy Issues... but I fondly remember Dusty from the WCW days, and his atrocious commentating. So it still sort of lands with me.

Rey vs Dominik... So you guys tend to think Rey is going to put him over clean? I don't know... the character is fun right now but I just don't see it. By the natural laws of wrestling as I see them, Rey can win clean, or Dominik can cheat to win. Maybe the family factor really does make it something different but I just don't get it.

We got Usos versus Sami and KO finally scheduled now? That was obviously always coming.

Cena vs Theory -- Cena has shown up on TV like 2 or 3 times, and took part in a tag match in the entire time I've been watching. Not that excited about the part timers.

Lesnar vs Omos - Lesnar, another guy who just occasionally shows up... I assume he's going to obliterate Omos because what does Omos bring? He's big, and lumbering... and he's something for a guy like Lesnar to do

Seth Rollins vs Logan Paul -- well... I love Seth... and Logan Paul is somehow the best of the part timers as I see it. I'm going into this match expecting to be entertained.

I suppose Seth's wife is doing something with those 'legends' who I've never heard of against.. Damage Control. That seems like a feud I've been fast forwarding. That's all I got.

Oh wait there's the European Intercontinental Championship.

Is Lantern Man and Howdy Doodie doing something? I recall seeing them on TV but can't recall who they were harassing after poor LA Knight had to be a jobber in the Mountain Dew Glow-in-the-Dark shitshow match. I'm guessing Jim Cornette doesn't like Mountain Dew branded glow-in-the-dark matches either. Maybe he and I can finally bond over that one of these days.
Rey v. Dominik is the only match I'm really looking forward to watching. Just can't get excited. Really feels like the biggest payoff is getting the last year finally over with so we can jump start a new year without loose ends from the Vince era. Gut check thoughts for each match:

I guess I am a little bit looking forward to AT and Cena. But if Cena wins this I might give my DVR a break from WWE. WWE needs new stars who haven't been buried a million times, and Cena is not a wrestler anymore.

D v. R - Dominik has really leaned into his character. The build up to get Rey to face him was great. Historic match IMO, and yeah I expect Dominik to win. No greater joy for Rey than putting him over in this spot is my guess.

Brock and Omos - how fun. A guy who barely wrestles vs a guy who cant wrestle.

Seth and Logan. Logan impressed me last year for someone who is not a wrestler. But he's not on Seth's level, and I don't care one bit about Logan. I just respect that he's better than the average guy off the street. Yawn / waste of Seth.

Women's division matches - honestly, I don't even know who is facing who. Somehow, I am more invested in AEW's women division these days in terms of following storylines. My interest just never recovered after The Man turned into Big Time Becks. Bianca is worth watching when I see her, and Charlotte is great but a little stale. I just don't buy into anyone as serious threats to them beyond each other.

Triple Threat IC match - never been a fan of triple threat, and his just feels like a match you could watch any Monday or Friday. I do think big names chasing lesser titles is good, but not for everyone. Drew in particular feels like he has been demoted big time. Which I just don't understand. His match against Roman last fall was fire. Crowd going nuts, people watching on TV buying into near falls. And just like that it ended. And now he faces Sheamus again. Poor Fella.

RR and Cody. Spent almost a year believing the Rock was going to show up and lay claim to title of Trible Chief. The winner and loser wouldn't have mattered. Biggest name today being challenged by biggest (close anyway) name in Hollywood who was once biggest name in wrestling. But instead Stardust came home and was made the challenger cause reasons or something. At least AEW gets a big rub if somehow Cody ends RR's streak. MJF's promo would be fire if Cody won. Anyone capable of talking in AEW really.

Uso's match - Sami and KO have been talking about ending the bloodline. Only way their possible payoff achieves their goal is if Cody wins. Who they barely interacted with until recently. This program feels like melted ice cream suddenly to me. Still tastes right, but something's just a little off.

Finally, did WWE not see the reactions LA Knight is capable of getting from crowd? Was the cheering just canned crowd noise that duped me? I know he isn't a spring chicken, but get this man something meaningful. He's got plenty of years left, is jacked, and is one of best talkers on roster. I'm sure I'll smile if the glass breaks and he gets stunned, but its gonna feel like a more feel good version of Goldberg beating Fiend to me. That said, I could see a plan where he finally has enough because of it and builds a program from there.
 

dave_d

Member
Finally, did WWE not see the reactions LA Knight is capable of getting from crowd? Was the cheering just canned crowd noise that duped me? I know he isn't a spring chicken, but get this man something meaningful. He's got plenty of years left, is jacked, and is one of best talkers on roster. I'm sure I'll smile if the glass breaks and he gets stunned, but its gonna feel like a more feel good version of Goldberg beating Fiend to me. That said, I could see a plan where he finally has enough because of it and builds a program from there.

He's yet another "can't miss" star that the WWE has managed to mess up. What's worse is that the main event of Stand and Deliver is 2 more "should be" break out stars in Carmelo and Bron. I fully expect whoever loses is going to be moved up to the main roster and unfortunately I expect them to mess them up too. (A guy like Cameron Grimes has no chance with the screw ups WWE has writing the show.)
 

dave_d

Member
Glad they didn't fuck this up.




Fsrk7hCXgAEhPTV
I think it'd be better to say I'm surprised they didn't f**k this up. Then again, there's always Bron Breakker.(I figure he's moving up to the main roster now. Wonder if he'll be yet another "can't miss" they'll manage to screw up.)
 

Vestal

Gold Member
I don't remember the last time WWE has been this good consistently. Last nights show was fantastic!

Stole the show:
Charlotte v Ripley -> Can't say enough about both of them. Charlotte truly is the female incarnation of her father in the ring. She is the measuring stick and king maker.

The ending:
This generations Eddie and Benoit moment in a sense. It gave me that vibe when both KO and Sami were sitting there looking at each other after they won.

My only complaint of the Show is the start. Theory has a good look, and great skills in the ring.. But his presentation, music and over all character simply isn't clicking. I would argue that the company feels the same way. Which is why they didn't give him the "good rub" to elevate him further. Needs a big time repackage if they want to take him to the next level.


Great night and great moments through out.
 

Dthomp

Member
I don't remember the last time WWE has been this good consistently. Last nights show was fantastic!

Stole the show:
Charlotte v Ripley -> Can't say enough about both of them. Charlotte truly is the female incarnation of her father in the ring. She is the measuring stick and king maker.

The ending:
This generations Eddie and Benoit moment in a sense. It gave me that vibe when both KO and Sami were sitting there looking at each other after they won.

My only complaint of the Show is the start. Theory has a good look, and great skills in the ring.. But his presentation, music and over all character simply isn't clicking. I would argue that the company feels the same way. Which is why they didn't give him the "good rub" to elevate him further. Needs a big time repackage if they want to take him to the next level.


Great night and great moments through out.

Agree with most, but if history has taught us anything it's that Cena is beyond protective of his spot and character. He phoned in this match for the most part, and had he wanted to easily could have agreed to give AT the rub without the low blow. Theory is missing something, but I think that something is legitimacy which he would have gained by not being killed on the mic before mania, and a 100% clean win over Cena here without being beat down most of the match.

Overall I enjoyed Mania far more then I thought I would, my only complaints would be the Miz/Pat stuff (I don't get the McAfee obsession they have) and honestly as good as the ending was in the main event, it levels of Young Bucks nonsense at the end with a million superkicks and false finishes that likely should have put the match away sooner.
 

Vestal

Gold Member
Agree with most, but if history has taught us anything it's that Cena is beyond protective of his spot and character. He phoned in this match for the most part, and had he wanted to easily could have agreed to give AT the rub without the low blow. Theory is missing something, but I think that something is legitimacy which he would have gained by not being killed on the mic before mania, and a 100% clean win over Cena here without being beat down most of the match.

Overall I enjoyed Mania far more then I thought I would, my only complaints would be the Miz/Pat stuff (I don't get the McAfee obsession they have) and honestly as good as the ending was in the main event, it levels of Young Bucks nonsense at the end with a million superkicks and false finishes that likely should have put the match away sooner.
I agree with you to an extent on the sort of "spot fest" at the end..(it was on my mind as it was happening) But in this case at least it was serving as a plot device. It wasn't a spot fest for the sake of a spot fest. They were trying to convey a story, and they succeeded.

edit.. Honestly they could have conveyed that same story without going so hard on all those finishers. But the kick out of the 1D was good :)
 
Last edited:

dave_d

Member
Overall I enjoyed Mania far more then I thought I would, my only complaints would be the Miz/Pat stuff (I don't get the McAfee obsession they have) and honestly as good as the ending was in the main event, it levels of Young Bucks nonsense at the end with a million superkicks and false finishes that likely should have put the match away sooner.
I mean when I saw McAfee do a promo on Cole I thought he did a good job. The thing is that these days with him bouncing around with more energy than a weasel on a meth/crack cocktail I just want him to go the hell away. I guess he works best in very small doses and Vince never figured that out.
 

dave_d

Member
Wow, I think both Jim Cornette and Eric Bischoff were saying they couldn't have Sami win the title because of course they were going to have Cody win at Wrestlemania. Yeah, about that.
 
I was talking to a buddy and we both felt Cody had a look to him coming out like he got the news he wasn't winning. Didn't think they would actually have him lose though...wtf. Now hes probably gonna be stuck in a program with Solo and go back to being a mid carder and Roman will fight the Rock at Summerslam or Mania next year... yippiee...
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
So who the fuck do they even have in the roster as a legitimate challenger that Roman hasn't already beaten (multiple) times?

Don't bring in fucking DWAYNE to end the run. They had a fucking golden ticket with Cody .. fucking worst way to end the show after how good night 1 ended. Just have the 'good guys' win all round, send the folks home happy.
 
Last edited:

Dthomp

Member
Jesus, another year of wasting the Royal Rumble winner in the hopes that Dwayne will come back for a one night stand. I don't want to hear there is more story to tell from Trips, this was the logical end goal, get the belts off Roman to the dude who gets the best reactions and start some fresh new storylines. Another year of boring as will they/when will they Bloodline crap and a PT champ. Where are the people that hated Brock keeping the belt and only showing up 10 times a year? This title run has gone on for 18 months too long and I just don't have the energy to care anymore. Roman just beats everyone and they all look worse after losing to him. Cody gets to come out and look like a sad sack before being probably beaten up and maybe cucked for good measure and we move on to nothing intersting happening til maybe Summerslam
 

Dthomp

Member
Also, Lashley got robbed of a wrestlemania pay day, should have had him beat up the Miz instead of the terrible Shane angle they tried to pull.

The Shane thing, along with the main event just all has Vince written all over it. I watched with my wife tonight and said right after I haven't felt this depressed/wasted my time since Vince was last in charge.
 
Having started watching again at last year's Wrestlemania... yeah a year of the Roman thing has been enough. And when I think it's been more like 3 years for people paying attention the whole time... ouch.

It feels dragged out like Hogan/Sting/NWO back in the day. I'll admit with the injury last year, the build up to Cody/Reigns was a bit rushed... but in the moment it felt right. And it's Wrestlemania. I get passing on Zayn in Montreal, and to a lesser extent Drew at the Castle.

I was a lot less confident in a Cody win after feelgood Saturday with Sami and KO.

I guess the obvious plot now is Roman shitting on the Usos for losing their belts, the Usos pointing out that they're the only reason Roman retained, and Roman didn't do shit for them, and the whole thing falling apart.

Speaking of Sami Zayn, my first exposure to him was jobbing to Johnny Knoxville ffs. What a year! I gave zero fucks about him at last year's Wrestlemania. The pop Cody got last year as a mystery opponent sent me down the whole rabbit whole and got me interested in Sports Entertainment again. Very unsatisfying Wrestlemania on that front for
me this year.

I was only passingly familiar with Shane-O Mac, but I couldn't help but laugh at his misfortune.

I guess something happened to Lantern Man so that Bobby Lashley didn't get to do Wrestlemania? He seems pretty sad about it. I feel for him... but that Smackdown shit this week where they had the Battle Royal... and all the jobbers walk to the ring together, then he gets his own entrance? Sorry that shit is just too stupid for me.

On the AEW front I thought they had a really good show on Wednesday... Britt Baker DMD coming out after the main event was a little too corny for me. I still have to watch their new reality show to see if it's interesting. WWE seems to have a lot of that kind of content but I haven't touched any of it. There's just too much. But since this is new I guess there's no backlog so maybe I'll catch on.

It wasn't until these last two weeks that I even learned that Kenny Omega has a manager... named Don Calus? And that Don Calus is not the same as the Young Bucks Bill Laimbeer mask guy (I thought maybe he had taken it off). So Bill Laimbeer records the Bucks YouTube stuff or whatever I take it?

That's always confused me... the managers/valets that don't seem to do much. I think I remember Julia Hart from my Sega Genesis days:
Chakan_Coverart.png
 
Last edited:

Naked Lunch

Member
Im oblivious to WWE these days - but I tune into the mania here and there being that I have the nbc app.

When a friend of mine got me back into wrestling in 2016-17 ish I remember when this Roman guy got booed out of the building to "you cant wrestle chants" - he still cant. Walking around doing one move every 5 minutes. Hes the same hes always been.
I also remember when Cody got booed out of every AEW show - and now thats the main event here?

All spectacle, no substance - and the actual wrestling simply isnt good at least from what I watched on Sunday. Same old interference crap deflating and cheapening the experience. Glad there are alternatives to this junk.
 
Top Bottom