Random Wrasslin' thoughts.....

Lithium93_

My random thought for the day, and it actually occurred while listening to Jericho's Talk Is Jericho with Shinsuke Nakamura, Shinsuke's really got a great command of English..

I know it seems like a silly thought, but I was kinda surprised at how good his English actually is.

Agent Coulson

Agent Coulson wrote: »

The WWE needs to bring in local indy jobbers again for tv matches it would stop the same match been seen week in week out and I think needs to be done now even more with the Brand split.

Ya WWE male and female jobbers this week

764dak

Karl Anderson mentioning his hot Asian wife every time rubs me the wrong way.

briany

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Ya WWE male and female jobbers this week

How quickly does refreshment turn into anger when people realise their favourite 'held-down' wrestler has been replaced on TV by a random local jobber. The could've been Swagger losing to Rusev!

Omackeral

764dak wrote: »

Karl Anderson mentioning his hot Asian wife every time rubs me the wrong way.

Heels gonna heel.

Glico Man

I've just finished watching Hardy vs Hardy the Final Deletion... and, I'm not sure what to think about anything anymore.

leggo

764dak wrote: »

Karl Anderson mentioning his hot Asian wife every time rubs me the wrong way.

Really soured on Anderson after hearing him loosened up on the Talk N Shop edition of Jericho's podcast. He seems exactly the type of smarmy, dickhead wrestler that I hate.

jaykhunter

can you expand on that? What was he saying?

leggo

Ric Flair was seriously pissed with him for making reference to some money he owed or something while they were doing impressions of him, you can hear him talk about it at the start of part 2 of his podcast with Cody if you like. Gallows seems like a hoot, I dislike AJ personally but he was fine here and his Flair is the best I've heard, Jericho was just hanging out trying to be down with the kidz and build up his rep with the indie lads (but he can't get over being the patronising vet at times too), but Anderson just kept making bitchy in-jokes that went over our heads but you could tell he was using the platform to try get some digs in at people who weren't there to fire back who he'd probably be nice to next time he saw them. He just reminds me of the bitchy, fake types you meet in wrestling who'd be better off working in a beauticians gossiping while doing someone's nails.

It's a decent listen, very different from the standard interview podcast, I'd recommend it. The lads are getting drunk after a show and just firing off in-jokes and doing impressions, so you get a real feel for what they're actually like rather than the trained Disney persona everyone puts on for interviews usually.

jaykhunter

leggo wrote: »

Anderson just kept making bitchy in-jokes that went over our heads but you could tell he was using the platform to try get some digs in at people who weren't there

Cheers man. Ah jeez, that's real carny. Good to hear Gallows came off well, I watched some of his shoot video (talking about Fake Kane) and he comes across like a nice guy. AJ not so much?

leggo

On the podcast AJ seemed grand, he did some impressions then just seemed to want to keep the guys quiet so they didn't get kicked out of the hotel. I don't like him from when I met him previously, but who knows that was a long time ago, maybe he's grown up or just had a few off days over here. But I judge people based off personal interactions before any interviews etc. Anyway, the podcast is well worth a listen like I said!

Omackeral

leggo wrote: »

Ric Flair was seriously pissed with him for making reference to some money he owed or something while they were doing impressions of him, you can hear him talk about it at the start of part 2 of his podcast with Cody if you like. Gallows seems like a hoot, I dislike AJ personally but he was fine here and his Flair is the best I've heard, Jericho was just hanging out trying to be down with the kidz and build up his rep with the indie lads (but he can't get over being the patronising vet at times too), but Anderson just kept making bitchy in-jokes that went over our heads but you could tell he was using the platform to try get some digs in at people who weren't there to fire back who he'd probably be nice to next time he saw them. He just reminds me of the bitchy, fake types you meet in wrestling who'd be better off working in a beauticians gossiping while doing someone's nails.It's a decent listen, very different from the standard interview podcast

That reminds me of The Franchise Shane Douglas, funnily enough, taking shots at Flair throughout the late 90's and early 2000's. He's do it on live tv and interviews. Then he went to work at WCW where Ric was and Shane got punked out. Start telling Flair it was all a work and just business. Gimp and a mark.

leggo

Omackeral wrote: »

That reminds me of The Franchise Shane Douglas, funnily enough, taking shots at Flair throughout the late 90's and early 2000's. He's do it on live tv and interviews. Then he went to work at WCW where Ric was and Shane got punked out. Start telling Flair it was all a work and just business. Gimp and a mark.

Flair actually said that himself! He said "I guess Anderson fancies himself an amateur Shane Douglas" or something along those lines and said he'd see him at a future Raw where Anderson could explain himself (and you just know Anderson is gonna **** himself, he has nowhere near the pull to be disrespecting Triple H's mate in work). I've no idea what it's about but I loved his frosty reply and instantly took his side. So if you see Anderson and Gallows get their push froze from seemingly out of nowhere in the near future, maybe it's down to this.

DEFTLEFTHAND

Guys I think this might be a bit of an unpopular opinion but I change the channel when the WWE women wrestle. It's like watching a men's match in slow motion with more botches.

I love some of the Japanese stuff and the girls they brought into WCW back in the day. That was proper women's wrestling which could actually compare to many of the men's matches on the card (I'm not patronising them by any stretch.)

jaykhunter

It's a fair position; women's wrestling in WWE is not as fast or as crisp as men's. That said, it's a massive step up that you're comparing them to mens, rather than being a joke/simply there for titillation. It's literally the best time for females in the history of mainstream wrestling (I'm not counting the cup of coffee a handful of Japanese girls spent in WWF/WCW either). Thank God we're out of the days of seeing women's champion Sable do her grind and scarily botch a powerbomb on Mero. Dire!

WinnyThePoo

To be fair the new females comng through are wrestlers. Charlotte v sasha banks was great.
It just needs decent booking.

leggo

It's still a transitional period for them. They spent years drumming it into fans that the women's match was the piss break, while Sasha, Charlotte, Becky and Bayley deserve as much of a place on the roster as any of the lads, it's gonna take time for that perception to change as the only way it will be is through a steady progression of matches that force the audience that aren't necessarily ready to go with it to take notice. And they've only really had two on the main WWE roster since the 'revolution': the WrestleMania 3-way and Sasha/Charlotte last week. It won't happen overnight and we're just about to enter, say, year 2 of a 5-year plan (that could easily just get scrapped in year 3 in a notoriously ADHD company like WWE).

Classic matches are doable with talented wrestlers but everything else needs to be on-point for that to really change perceptions and break glass ceilings. Think about it: how many months in a row did The Usos KILL IT in pre-show matches and PPV openers between 2014 and 2015? (I was just reminded of the great Wyatts/Usos 2/3 Falls match from Battleground a couple years ago for example) How many great matches has Cesaro had in WWE now? And are either of their stock, or the stock of the tag division as a whole, any higher in general? No, because the 'everything else' part wasn't there to make it so and they were just standalone classics that never amounted to anything more.

BUT I think WWE are slowly getting it right. The women's tag to kick off Battleground was a big spot for them, it worked, and nobody even noticed or went "wait, women are getting that spot?!" Sasha/Charlotte getting time in the co-main event spot on a big Raw felt natural. In Charlotte they have the Triple H-circa 2002 heel that can carry the division when needed and make their big-time babyfaces. She's not perfect or the finished article, but that's scary because she can already fill that role and we've yet to scratch the surface. Sasha is an immense talent, the like of which hasn't been since since Trish Stratus. And Bayley is finally on her way up and has the potential to have the crossover connection needed that could see women main event a PPV seamlessly within the next year or so, the same way they did in NXT. Add to that Becky being given a chance to rebuild by heading up SmackDown's women's division before coming back into the title fold rejuvenated, with X factors such as Asuka, Nia Jaxx, even Eva Marie if she can hold up her end of the bargain with the natural heel reactions, and there's a lot of potential there for a bright future for women at the top of wrestling.

Bounty Hunter

The WWE are definitely getting better at training women too. No doubt Sara Del Rey has helped with that

4 out of Sashas 6 years wrestling have been in NXT / WWE
Charlotte has only wrestled in the WWE (4 years)

Bayley had spent 4/5 years wrestling before NXT (just under 4 years) but is essentially Ms NXT at this stage and developed into one of the top women in the world while there.

I do fear they have brought Nia Jax through far too fast after only being in the WWE around 2 years now and no exp prior to that but hopefully I am wrong on that one.

I think it would be very interesting if the rumor about Melina coming back to the company was true. Her return, Nikki Bellas return and Bayley being called up properly could mean 2 proper divisions with woman who can actually wrestle

DM_7

It's a weird one. Becky for example is one of the best when two people are locked up, close together. Has great footwork.

But when she charges across the ring it does look like slow motion. A lot of the men do that and it probably doesn't bother people, CM Punk looked awful in similar movements, his kicks and strikes looked weak yet was rated as one of the best.

Sasha is genuinely one of the best wrestlers full stop. Fluid in movement. When she hits it looks like it has intent. That is one of my biggest issues with WWE booking historically, the women never looked like they had any intent.

So yes I think the perception of what we are watching due to historical presentation still hurts them. Also the TERRIBLE booking post mania damaged the division. Natalya is like the Kane of the division, around too long and doesn't do anything interesting. Also her persona she presents looks awkward, probably because of the environment she worked in the last decade where you were not supposed to look or act like a wrestler.

I would prefer to see the recent women's matches than watch Darren Young or Miz execute weak looking ****.

connemara man

I have felt the last year or so that current WWE can't book more than one or two fueds at at time. That actually engage the audience.

It's usually the title picture then one other usually main event fued. And what we get in all aspects below that are endless holding patterns that exist to fill up the card.

Bounty Hunter

connemara man wrote: »

I have felt the last year or so that current WWE can't book more than one or two fueds at at time. That actually engage the audience.

It's usually the title picture then one other usually main event fued. And what we get in all aspects below that are endless holding patterns that exist to fill up the card.

I've felt similar for a while but I would have gone as far to say the main event, 1 mid card title (in recent years it was the US title booked pretty well) and then one non title feud / occasionally the women. This is why the brand split should really help because if they can do that per show now it will be a huge improvement even if they should be able to do more.

would be curious to see if the writing teams have also been split. Hope so

Agent Coulson

So wonder will we a lot of Trump for President propaganda on WWE TV over the next few months.

leggo

Agent Coulson wrote: »

So wonder will we a lot of Trump for President propaganda on WWE TV over the next few months.

No way, they won't want any part of that ****storm. Too divisive. Now if he wins they'll be all over it on the other hand.

CastorTroy

Well we have "Make Darren Young great again"

mrkiscool2

CastorTroy wrote: »

Well we have "Make Darren Young great again"

Was going to say the exact same thing, they can't afford to be seen actively endorse him, but they can do it subtly, having the "Make Darren Young Great Again" will stick in people's minds. They also only really started the gimmick once Trump was clearly going to be the candidate, not a coincidence as Young had been cleared for a while before that.

Itssoeasy

I think I've said it before but my favourite wrestler ever (and this has been solidified by the network) is Ric flair.

But I've been thinking and maybe It should be a case of me saying he's the best all rounder ever and that's why he's my favourite. I think there is a case to say there have been better in ring competitors than ric but I think Ric is the best total package.

So my random point is and maybe others can weight in on this.

Where do others rate Ric flair ?

leggo

I'd rank him closer to the top in terms of 'Most Valuable' than 'Best', if that make sense (American sports fans will know what I mean because this comes up in every annual MVP debate). In terms of personal preference he probably wouldn't crack my top 10 but there's no denying his importance to pro-wrestling, he's helped shape it into what we know today.

Itssoeasy

Yeah no I get exactly what you're on about with the most valuable part.

I've always seen HBKs name put forward as a name of the best in ring talent and that kind of the reason why I felt that Ric might not be the best in ring talent.

When I say he wasn't the best in ring that's not to say he was bad. I mean his trilogy with steamboat in '89 I'd put up against any trilogy of matches easy.

His mania 8 match with macho man was a beautiful story both in and out the ring. He had great matches with Harley race, terry funk, the late dusty Rhodes. I mean he was very good but maybe not the best.

cian68

After this week's Raw, Smackdown NXT and Cruiserweight Classic I'm very high on WWE. For all my watching other companies WWE is what I'm most excited about now (I'm a little caught up in the moment)

IncognitoMan

cian68 wrote: »

After this week's Raw, Smackdown NXT and Cruiserweight Classic I'm very high on WWE. For all my watching other companies WWE is what I'm most excited about now (I'm a little caught up in the moment)

Since Battleground I've really enjoyed wwe. Far more than I have in the last couple of years. I really hope the standard can at the very least be kept up and hopefully improved upon.

Smackdown needs a bit of work still and I don't like the way they film their shows but that's all I can really complain about.