The Wrestling Thread

[Doc_Piptorious]

Not having that Jaco

This is way better than anything Russo did without the McMahon filter.

I loved it, its what wrestling is all about IMO. Just silliness. Its basically Wrestling's equivalent of The Room.

Oh it was funny but still ****. The two are not mutually exclusive.


And if you have a problem with that, then expect a swarm of cheap ass drones to arrive soon

[chadrtc]

Not having that Jaco

This is way better than anything Russo did without the McMahon filter.

I loved it, its what wrestling is all about IMO. Just silliness. Its basically Wrestling's equivalent of The Room.

I thought it was awesome.

[Alex]

Not having that Jaco

This is way better than anything Russo did without the McMahon filter.

I loved it, its what wrestling is all about IMO. Just silliness. Its basically Wrestling's equivalent of The Room.

[Doc_Piptorious]

**** me, has Russo snuck back into TNA?

[MrMichael]

I don't even...

[chadrtc]

I'm just going to leave this here...

[ame="https://youtu.be/GG6y-5OYc_0"]Director's Cut Hardy vs Hardy The Final Deletion - YouTube[/ame]

[MrShawnMichaels]

Have you seen Meltzers avg ratings? It puts it second of all time behind last years. I agree with the finishes, but most of the matches were really good.

IC and Women's were stand out, and Jericho v AJ was the best of their series. Only really the Cell disappointed from the big matches, and even that had its moments for what it was.

I'm surprised with his star ratings.
It's as if Mania didn't happen the way they've booked TV these past two weeks.

[Alex]

Have you seen Meltzers avg ratings? It puts it second of all time behind last years. I agree with the finishes, but most of the matches were really good.

IC and Women's were stand out, and Jericho v AJ was the best of their series. Only really the Cell disappointed from the big matches, and even that had its moments for what it was.

[MrShawnMichaels]

Watched it back (on fast forward) and I think you are maybe being a little harsh on it. Except maybe the Lesnar v Ambrose match. That **** was sanitised.

Most of the matches were good. Nothing outstanding, which hurt the show. But everything else was solid. Even the main event, which for whatever it was was decent. Id have probably put the Battle Royale on the Pre Show and kept the show shorter. Plus give wins to AJ and Sasha. But other than that the rest sort of made sense.

It was probably a 7/10 Mania. With the last two being 9/10. More on a level with WM19, 21 or 25. Not terrible though. I think peoples hatred of Roman Reigns kind of ruined what could have been a really good main event.

Womens match was probably the match of the night, and too be honest it was the sort of story and match quality that could have headlined a smaller PPV. Which in itself is a big deal for a 'sport' that traditionally treats women as a bit of a joke.

Roll on Summerslam when Rollins, Cena and Cesaro are back up to speed.


Also, Nakamura. Jesus that match was good fun.

What made it horrible was the bad booking and creative on the show.
The Taker v Shane match was awful. It was far too long and I didn't need to see Shane try wrestling moves which are badly executed.

Wrestlemania is meant to make stars. How many fared better than last week? Maybe Charlotte but that's it really.

The matches were fine but you expect so much more at Wrestlemania. Compare that to Takeover and bar the Corbin match (yet they called him up????), Wrestlemania was streets behind in work rate and quality.

The other Manias you mentioned have some stellar matches which this Mania couldn't even touch. I'd say this has to be to in the bottom third of Wrestlemanias

[Bender]

imo Seth Rollins absence is very telling for wwe

[Alex]

Watched it back (on fast forward) and I think you are maybe being a little harsh on it. Except maybe the Lesnar v Ambrose match. That **** was sanitised.

Most of the matches were good. Nothing outstanding, which hurt the show. But everything else was solid. Even the main event, which for whatever it was was decent. Id have probably put the Battle Royale on the Pre Show and kept the show shorter. Plus give wins to AJ and Sasha. But other than that the rest sort of made sense.

It was probably a 7/10 Mania. With the last two being 9/10. More on a level with WM19, 21 or 25. Not terrible though. I think peoples hatred of Roman Reigns kind of ruined what could have been a really good main event.

Womens match was probably the match of the night, and too be honest it was the sort of story and match quality that could have headlined a smaller PPV. Which in itself is a big deal for a 'sport' that traditionally treats women as a bit of a joke.

Roll on Summerslam when Rollins, Cena and Cesaro are back up to speed.


Also, Nakamura. Jesus that match was good fun.

[MrShawnMichaels]

This was a show short of expectation due to the poor creative and decimated roster – both of which were hugely highlighted by the end of the night. A huge 7 hour production with 11 official matches and one impromptu was largely underwhelming. Some questionable decisions made by the key people in the promotion surrounding the whole event and the lay out.

Started with Kalisto/Ryback for the US Title match. ¾ empty, this was down to power issues in allowing the 85,000 into the building. This was a by the numbers match. Ryback hit a few power moves. Nothing spectacular. **

Total Divas v BAD and Blonde. This was ok, I expected it to be worse. Some solid showings from Emma and Natalya. Eva Marie continues to be booed despite their thinking that she is going to be a strong babyface because of her looks. This is where Vince shows his inability to understand his audience. He thinks pretty women make money whereas the world is now seeing tough women make money. Lana did a few kicks and was largely protected. This is probably Brie Bella’s last match and it could have gone with her doing the honours but instead they allowed her to win the Yes Lock. Nikki in her gear and neckbrace (weird) came out after to celebrate. **

Usos v Dudleys. The crowd didn’t seem to like the Usos at all. This again was a nothing match. Both these teams are capable of so much more, especially Bubba Dudley, who is showing his Bully Ray character more. Usos win with a nothing finish – superkick. At the end, the Dudleys went for the tables, which the crowd popped for, but the Usos instead put them through tables, few boos at the end. **

I remember last year the four team tag match was one of the better parts of the show. It’s as if none of these matches were used to heat the crowd up because of the show going so long.

IC Title ladder match. The main body of this match was the Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn feud which they have done nothing to explain on television. It was cool to hear the crowd sing along to Zayn’s theme song. Some awesome moves in this match, a dangerously fun showing from everyone. Zack Ryder in the biggest surprise win of the night. I remember last year the idea was for Cena and Bryan to elevate the US and IC titles respectively, so that it could help prop up Reigns and remove the negativity surrounding poor title matches. This year, they’ve opted for Kalisto and Ryder. I know which one of the two mentalities I prefer. ***3/4

AJ Styles v Chris Jericho. This is where the show fell off the cliff (yes, this early). Not a great spectacle but it was acceptable. Both guys don’t have good chemistry and Styles is capable of far more. They’ve completely killed the Styles clash as a finisher with Jericho kicking out of it, after it was protected so well by New Japan as a legit killer finisher. Styles won with the codebreaker from a springboard. Bad decision here – Styles badly needed the win. I can’t understand the 50/50 nature of this nor the need to have a best of 101 matches. ***

The League of Jobbers v The New Day. So in the pre show, they were still promoting this as a handicap, however this turned out to be a six man with Barrett sitting out. The New Day came out from a box of BootyOs. Lovely. This was decent, nothing spectacular of note. Xavier Woods had a good showing. Sheamus getting the win in another surprise finish. This win was done to set up old men coming out and showing how poor the current roster has been booked. HBK, Foley and Austin accepted the challenge of the Nations which led to all the signature moves being hit. Woods was later stunned when asking Austin to dance. This is where you can again question Vince for his booking as yet again one of his hottest acts is just a sideshow for OLD MEN and it did nothing for The New Day going forwards. **3/4

Lesnar v Ambrose in a streetfight. The story has been that Ambrose is a madman who cost Lesnar the chance to headline Mania after screwing him at the last PPV. Ambrose was being inspired by past hardcore icons to topple this behemoth. In this match, we saw neither of the lunatic element or the real hardcore elements which were being promised. Ambrose used kendo sticks, chairs and a fire extinguisher whereas Lesnar refused to indulge in such tomfoolery. The booking of Ambrose did him no favours – another Vince special to not protect a guy who is getting a strong crowd reaction (see Styles/New Day). Lesnar beat Ambrose clean with a F5 on a stack of chairs in the ring. Underwhelming. **1/2

Charlotte v Sasha Banks v Becky Lynch. On the pre-show, they announced a rebranding of the womens division and a new belt to get rid of the butterfly. This was a thoroughly enjoyable hard hitting match from all three who really put a lot of graft into it. It felt more in line with the quality displayed at NXT. They all equally showed how much they wanted the title with the intensity and aggression. Another questionable finish (see Styles/New Day) with Charlotte applying the Figure 8 on Lynch with Banks being screwed by Nature Boy. ***1/2

Undertaker v Shane McMahon in the Hell in a Cell for the control of Raw and ability to perform at Mania again. This was far too long (>30mins) for a non-wrestler and a 51 year old man. This was always going to be stunt show giving Shane’s past and what was teased on Raw. Shane hit the Van Terminator, got hit with a chokeslam on steel steps, got speared through the cage and then hit the much rumoured jump from the top of the cell to the gimmicked announcers table. Match ended with a tombstone. *1/2

Andre the Giant Battle Royal with surprise entrants Tatanka, DDP (he has Dallas in his name, geddit??) and Shaquille O Neal. The rumour was Conor McGregor was in Dallas. HAH. This was like all battle royals, nothing spectacular. Shaq and Big Show got eliminated early, Social Outcasts had the comedy spots. In the end, Baron Corbin threw Kane out to win it. The least over guy in NXT gets to win a match at Mania whereas one of the most over (Zayn) can’t overcome Ryder (a mid level tag team wrestler in the developmental brand). Another questionable finish (see Styles/New Day/Sasha) Classic Vince booking of going with the big guy with long hair. *1/2

Rock came out to announce the attendance with a flame thrower. This was so weird. The promo kept going on and on and on. Until the Wyatts came out. Rock mocked Bray yadda yadda. Rock challenged one of them to a match and pinned the Vintner, Eric Rowan after six seconds. The Wyatts circled Rock who was saved by the returning John Cena who was so serious about this evening of odds that he showcased his cum rag to the camera. And they wonder why he gets booed. These older stars killed the younger act despite outnumbering them (see League of Jobbers and Old Men confrontation). DUD

Triple H v Reigns where the winner has the misfortune of being called champion of this company. Triple H came out with Steph delivering what sounded like a shoot promo on the audience. Only the WWE has a disdain for its audience for not liking the crap its churning out on a weekly basis. Weirdly, this was being promoted as a No DQ through the week. Turned out that was ignored when this match started. This was long and boring. Crowd didn’t care with chants for Sami Zayn and Nakamura (that’s them screwed). This is third Mania HHH has headlined which has been an utter turdfest: Jericho at X8, Orton at 25. Reigns got a reaction when he speared through Steph accidently. When Reigns’ hand raised at the end of the night, the crowd sweetening was very evident. Huge boos for the guy with long hair and is good looking. No huge angle at the end of this like a heel turn or interference. Disappointing end. **3/4

Wrestlemania is usually the barometer for how the company is when it comes to its creative. What we have seen here is Vince go with the status quo. Heel authority figure is continuing, his big muscle meatheads winning matches and a lot of 50/50 booking. Nothing has changed and nothing will. In contrast, last year’s Mania was a blowaway to the turd displayed this year. Some acceptable matches but only for a TV setting, not for Mania. My star ratings hover around ** to *** demonstrating exactly that. It did turn out that the Shane v Taker storyline was a gimmick to spike interest into the Network. A very disappointing 7 hours of viewing.

[MrShawnMichaels]

Ricochet/Prince Puma is a top talent. Pretty much the only show I've been watching lately has been Lucha Underground, which is just all kinds of awesome.

Not seen NXT yet but looking forward to it. They're lining up some great indie dream matches to hit the main roster soon, the likes of AJ, KO, Zayn, Joe, Balor and Nakamura could rip the place up if allowed to.

Won't stay up for the whole of WM due to work so will have to watch most of it later in the week. Not having been paying that much attention though, the card seems very odd this year. Am I wrong in thinking that the endings to the 2 main events are rather ****ed? In one, Taker wins and the Authority stay in charge & Shane is gone, Shane wins and Taker retires? The crowd will be hot and not facing a proper wrestler this time will hide Taker's deficiencies, but the ending is going to be weird either way. And as for HHH v Reigns, unless they do a double turn the crowd are going to boo the face out of the building. Messy.

AJ & Jericho don't have the best chemistry for me but hopefully that one is good. The ladder match and Dean/Brock should be fun demolition derbies. The rest seems very meh.

Lucha Underground is rather awesome as a spectacle. Did you watch Aztec Warfare?

Operative terms that I have bolded. Haha

[Keyser Soze]

Well that was poor. Few high spots, but overall it wasn't good was it.

The match ups were not good and the 'surprises' a tad meh.

Women's match was decent (theres been better on NXT though) and the ladder match as always was entertaining (Ryder, nice guy and all but really ).
Obviously Shane jumping off the cell was intriguing.

The NXT event was far superior. Mania seems to be nowadays two awesome entrances (Taker and HHH) and some old wrestlers from when wrestling was fun return to show us what we're missing.

[Alex]

Well that was poor. Few high spots, but overall it wasn't good was it.