Pro-wrestling discussion thread

@comicstooge said:

Nope.

At least as far as I can tell based on how Raw was, pretty sure the Raw before Wrestlemania is suppose to get people excited for Mania. Right now people seem more excited about Axelmania.

I actually wanted Undertaker last match to be against Fandango and for them to actually make Fandango's gimmick that he is actually an immortal demon who is pretending to be a human that loves to dance Salsa. Over time they slowly start making his segments and promos more subtly satanic, screen flickers, deeper voice modification when he says Fann-dann-GOOOHHHHHH, slap some yellow contact lens on him, sharp teeth and then have him and his demonic female dancer dance in blood raining from above the ring. Boom, Fandango is the New New Undertaker and the New New Face of Fear and also err Undertaker's son.

Have Mordecai come back and then you have the perfect set up between him, Fandango and Bray Wyatt over who is Undertakers legitimate illegitimate son. Think Batman Battle for the Cowl except its a fight for who will be the new Undertaker. Have Kane be the judge and then cue awesome Uncle and Nephew segments for the future.

Vince McMahon: I like it! Book it!!

LOL.

That RAW ending was horrible.

@sc: @comicstooge I take it you didn't like RAW either.

Creative have these options.

Lesnar wins.

Reigns wins, Rollins cashes in.

Lesnar wins, Rollins cashes in.

Reigns wins but turns heel, aligns with Heyman.

Simply put, Reigns going on any sort of run with the belt as a face isn't going to resinate well with fans right now.

.....

As I said before, Vince was way too gun ho trying to push Reigns. People would have been fine with him Main Eventing next year. To make matter worse, bizzare booking has made it harder for him to get over. I mean tug of war with the belts? Seriously?

@laflux: Rollins cashing in would make me buy the WWE Network

I would book it that Brock beats Reigns after a tough fight. Then Reigns beats on Brock after the fight using a steel chair, prompting a heel turn. Rollins cashes in, and uses a Curb Stomp, Small Package Driver (God's Last Gift) and his Pheonix Splash to pin Brock, who kicks out literally just after the 3 count.

That way Rollins becomes champ, but Lesnar looks strong. Reigns would work better as a heel. Heel Reigns can then go after Cena who will probably win the U.S Championship (with Cena long awaited Heel turn possibly coming then). Rusez can go after MITB. Daniel Byran wins the IC championship (making him a Grand Slam Champion) and fueds with Dolph Ziggler. Bray Wyatt can go after Sting. Ambrose and Orton get inserted into the Title Picture (Rollins has history with Ambrose) and Orton should go over Rollins in the singles match, so that would give him bragging rights as a number one contender, plus he never got his Rematch from Mania 30. Lesnar can take a break till SummerSlam, and inserted into the Picture then.

Did it really ? I mean the way The Streak ended was basically by seeing a totally diminished Mark Calloway try to put on his best Undertaker gimmick from what he had left in his tank for a 48 year old man. It was not that way when it was Undertaker vs CM Punk, Taker was more in gear not as diminished in skill and conditioning and that point. It just seemed fitting that Undertaker vs CM Punk could have been the end for Undertaker than Mark Calloway as Undertaker vs Brock Lesnar IMO at least.

@laflux: To use chess as an analogy. I don't mind the pieces being used, just the strategy being played. One of the relatively exclusive strengths of wrestling is that plans can be modified fairly quickly, but creative/Vince seem too fickle, so we should be getting slow builds that don't need constant revision because WWE has given us that in the past but also be lucky in that WWE can cater to all its fans/audience by changing what isn't working.

For many, since we don't know how long Brock Lesnar is around for, he becomes a limited commodity. One of Vince's reasons he talked about ending the streak was looking around to see who could capitalize on it ending and who were viable candidates, with only Brock being the one. Now a year later its kind of a similar question except with Brock being in Taker's position.

I am looking forward to Wrestlamania, its nice that its unpredictable for me, but usually I prefer Mania being the culmination of great story lines and wrestling and character development. This year thats really lacking. I am hoping the Raw after is great.

@sc: Brock signed a new contract. Which is nice, because its not a full blown conclusion Reigns wins now.

@laflux: Oh cool, I had heard rumors but nothing concrete. Though given how much WWE has been playing him leaving to go to UFC I imagined that they had something concrete. I like that because I hope that means we could potentially get a Brock/Bryan Brock/Orton feud down the line and more matches like Rumble Three Way.

Yes. Brock probably stayed because he knew he wouldn't beat Cain in the Octogan.

If Cain stops injuring himself while training.

Wrestlemania 31 Predictions:

IC Title 7 Man Ladder Match: Daniel Bryan (New Champ)

Fatal 4 Way Tag Title Match: Tyson Kidd and Cesaro (Retain Titles)

Randy Orton vs Seth Rollins: Randy Orton

Bella Twins vs Aj Lee/Paige: Bella Twins

Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal: Curtis Axel or Sheemus

US Title Match: John Cena (New Champ)

Undertaker vs Bray Wyatt: Undertaker

Triple H vs Sting: Sting

WWE Title Match: Roman Reigns (New Champ) Bonus: Seth Rollins cashes in (Newer Champ)

Match of the Night: IC Title 7 Man Ladder Match

True, I forgot about that part.

Shazam, I'd rather see your dreams killed than watch Taker suffer a far worse injury in the ring just to satisfy fans who would rather see him perform instead of considering his well being

so WWE is gonna produce horror films and partner with Gene Simmons........Hope they are better than See no Evil with Kane

@gambit474: Take it easy. I'm just bustin' your chops. I understand....I get it.

On a different note I saw on SportsCenter a few days ago Lesnor is done with MMA and resigned with Vinnie Mac. They should have him beat Roman and turn Roman into a heel. Seems like no likes thay guy anyways.

I am taking it easy, I'm simply just blunt lolz. Nah Lesnar needs to lose the title. It's actually hurting the title's image more than it's helping it in this day and age. The storyline with the Authority has felt more important than the WWE title nowadays. We need a champion who's actually active and shows up more..Not one who's barely there. They either need to have someone else win the championship or separate the titles

I don't believe Reigns or Rollins is ready for a title reign. Vince is the only reason Reigns has been pushed all the way to the main event so strongly and is probably going to win. He nerds to let HHH run to company already so Roman can stop having to do those crappy promos, and I won't even get started on the tug of war raw ending.

The crowd will boo Reigns if he leaves with the belt and he simply isn't over enough or ready enough for a title reign. Rollins for some reason has been consistently booked as very weak and stupid, needing security, constantly running away from fights, easily being tricked and stomped by randy, it has just been horrible. I'm not sure why they book the future and then architect like that. Unless he beats randy with no interference I'm not buying him as a champion. I know Rollins is amazing but the booking just doesn't support it.

The best case is Lesnar retaining. Simple as that. Reigns is probably going to win though, unless Vince smartens up or HHH gets through to him. I don't think Vince wants Rollins to cash in either.

The worst case is Lesnar retaining, which I just explained. Multiple fans don't approve of having a part-time champion as champ. The ones who do approve only approve because it's Lesnar. Even the Rock showed up more times than Lesnar did when he was champ and part-time. As for Triple H and Vince, pretty sure CM Punk told us all how that would turn out when he ranted a few years ago at the top of the entrance ramp :P

@gambit474: I disagree. There are always people who oppose everything but lesnar gets huge pops when he comes out. The majority of people love him. He I'd a huge draw for pay per views. Of course some people complain but there's a reason he gets paid millions on a part time schedule. WWE can count on him as a champion. Most people don't care he's part time. He's a spectacle. He doesn't need to wrestle every week. Or even every pay per view, since there's not many who can challenge him. Brock is easily the best person to win. He bring legitimacy to the title.

@gambit474: I just think Roman still needs more time. Seems like they're rushing to strap this dude up for some reason, and nobody's buying it. Ever since I've started watching RAW again I've noticed crowd loves Lesnar, crowd can't stand Reigns when it's suppose to be the other way around. I've watched prowrestling long enough and can see where this is going, but it'll be pretty lame. Majority of fans will hate it and it'll do the company title a disservice imo.

I actually like Lesnar with the strap, like Jayc1324 says it give the title some cred right now.

Please don't let Lesnar become a face.

Don't know why crowds you're listening to but I hear Lesnar getting boo'd, which he should because he's a heel. "Huge pops" would be more like Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, and such..Not Lesnar. I look on WWE's FB/Twitter pages and there's a lot of people who care about him being part time. Legitimacy? No he doesn't. There's plenty of guys on the roster that could hold that title better than Lesnar if WWE would bother to use them. Ziggler, Ambrose, Cesaro, Barrett, Rollins, and yes..even Daniel Bryan. Brock has the title simply because he's Brock Lesnar. He's not even as impressive as he was in his previous WWE run.

Shazam, some people only boo Roman and cheer Lesnar because they don't like Roman. I've seen some even admit to such. If it was, yuck, Daniel Bryan..You'd be amazed if Lesnar got any cheers at all. Majority of the fans need to get over it. It's not the first time they pitched a hissy fit over WWE doing something they didn't like. With as many times as they whined and cried about Cena being champ, what difference does it make if they boo Reigns? If this was 2003, I'd be impressed with Lesnar. It's 2015 now and Lesnar's no where near as dominating as he was back then. Now he's just "strong" because he's booked that way.

@gambit474: Dude, lesnar and heymen get pops. Its not like Bryan or ziggler but no one boos lesnar. Go to any site, they all see this and expect lesnar to get cheered as a face at mania.

A former ufc champion, NCAA national champion does bring legitimacy to the title. A lot more than anyone else in that locker room.

Its not Bryan though. Its roman. And lesnar gets cheers. People enjoy seeing lesnar kick ass. Everyone is strong because they're booked that way? That's how the company works? Reigns is only strong because he's booked that way too. Its all scripted. You know that.

There's a reason they wanted lesnar to resign so badly. Its because they see what I see. He's legitimate, brings in viewers, sells tickets, and is a true spectacle. Lesnar obviously gets weaker with age but is still easily able to spam big show and mark Henry. Don't pretend like he isn't still strong as hell. He's the real deal, even HHH said it on Twitter after he resigned. Lesnar is as legitimate as it gets. NCAA wrestling champion, ufc champion. Its get no more legit than that.

It doesn't have to be deafening to hear them boo Lesnar. I've heard them boo Lesnar before, maybe not to your version of booing but he has been booed. If Lesnar's a face at Wrestlemania then I'm the King of France. That UFC and NCAA nonsense just makes him overrated, not legit. Being a UFC champion doesn't even mean anything in a company where the outcome is predetermined and the matches are scripted. Lol whatever dude, Lesnar would be a lot more entertaining to watch with him getting his ass kicked. I'd love to see Randy Orton do to Lesnar what he did to Rollins. Ryback would be fun to watch. Part of Lesnar's problem is the whole "unstoppable" bit is boring as hell to watch unless you're one of his fans. Nobody wants to watch someone who's unbeatable and every time they've had Lesnar in a match, they've never had someone kick his ass back. The last person to have ever beat the crap out of him imo was Triple H. "Gets no more legit than that"..You apparently missed where I said being a UFC champ is irrelevant in WWE. Lesnar's not the only one with accomplishments, he's just the only one who gets acknowledged. If Lesnar retains at WM, I'll definitely not be watching WWE anymore for a while

@gambit474: Its clear he is a face since he got cheered when holding up the title at raw and reigns got booed when he did

Calling a ufc and NCAA national champion overrated is just wrong. That is legitimacy. Yes it is scripted, but it makes him legit and it has been incorporated into his fighting style. He wears ufc style gloves and shorts. It all adds to the gimmick of an unstoppable beast.

He broke his rib in kayfabe at the royal rumble. He's gotten his ass kicked recently. There's nothing wrong with being good, not sure why you'd find that boring. People always hate winners. Lesnar is the only NCAA champion and UfC champion. This has even been mentioned by heyman to show just how much of a beast Brock is. Its been used in the story. It is relevant. It not only adds real legitimacy but also kayfabe legitimacy since its been used as part of the script. Like I said, they pay him millions to work part time for a reason. Sad to see you'll stop watching if lesnar wins. It not even like you'll have gave to see him that often ;)

So since my crappy computer didn't bother to post it after I responded, I'm having to rewrite this. Being UFC champion means nothing in WWE because winning in MMA contributes to nothing in a scripted wrestling match. Oh wow it makes his matches look more flashy..zzzzzz. Sure there's nothing wrong with being good, so long as you lose every now and then. Tell me the last time Lesnar's lost a match since he won the title from Cena. He's boring. Being unbeatable is lame as hell. At least when CM Punk was champ for a year, which btw I might add he was a hell of a lot better champion than Lesnar, he at least lost matches here and there when he'd show up on RAW/Smackdown. They paid the Rock good money too when he was champ and part time but at least he bothered to show up more. The same can't be said for Lesnar. Oh trust me bub, WWE entirely won't be worth watching if Lesnar's champ ;) but hey..There is a bright side. Since they're demeaning the title with Lesnar as champ, and yes they are whether you agree or not, at least the IC title is getting better attention and seen as more prestigious since they can't seem to have a world champion on TV ;)

So can someone please get me up to date on:

• AJ Lee
• Eva Marie
• Daniel Brian
• the rest of WWE

@hammer_of_j2 said:

Aj Lee Is teaming up with Paige to feud with the Bella twins, PaJ Lee is face with Bellas as Heel but because Paige and AJ are crazy type characters they are teasing conflict between the two whilst the Bellas are a united force.

Eva Marie is pretty and stuff.

Daniel Bryan is in the Intercontinental Championship picture, and at Wrestlemania there is going to be a Ladders match for it, along with Bad News Barret the defending champ, Ziggler, Dean Ambrose, R-Truth, Luke Harper and uh… Stardust.

John Cena is in a feud with Rusev, Randy Orton is in a feud with Seth Rollins/Authority. Roman Reigns is feuding with Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman over the WWE Championship belt. Everyone else is sort of doing nothing because they will all be in a Wrestlemania Battle Royal.

@sc: Bray Wyatt vs Taker and Sting vs HHH are kinda obvious omissions.

And not really feeling mania this year. Will watch, but it won't be nearly as fun as last year.

@king_saturn: @comicstooge: @laflux: You guys might like Max Landis's "Wrestling Isn't Wrestling". Its a Youtube thing, I'd link it here but it has a bunch of language stuff and I am too lazy to write a disclaimer. Its really easy to google and find though. He basically makes fun of Triple H's entire character arc, and its all acted out, except Triple H, Cena, Orton, Undertaker, HBK, Daniel Bryan are all played by sexy, cute ladies.

Has no wrestling in it, its all character stuff.

@laflux said:

Oh yeah haha. To be fair its hard to remember Undertaker is doing anything since he hasn't appeared and Bray Wyatt often talks to himself in the ring.

I feel the same way about Wrestlemania but maybe thats a good thing, low expectations, I might get a pleasant surprise. By the way I think you will love Wrestling Isn't Wrestling. Its even got cameos by JTG and Shad heh heh. Also sort of makes me wish there was an alt reality where these characters were all actually woman… I kind of have a crush on FemmeTaker.

@sc: very nice

Sounds interesting

Thank you sir

If Lesnar wins tonight then they really need to separate the titles again. At least then you'll have a world champ who's actually there

Only saw three matches of Wrestlemania 31... all of them were good though.

I was kind of surprised Sting lost to Triple H... great action between both competitors, Sting looked in good shape for a 55 - 56 year old man and help his own.. also I liked the whole Degeneration X vs NWO team ups in the match towards the end... wish Sting could have had a better lasting impression than losing to The Game and more importantly the WWE Authority.

Undertaker vs Bray Wyatt was pretty good... it seemed like Undertaker was in better shape this time around... he grew his hair back to the point he looks like Biker Taker aka Big Evil and had his 2008 Undertaker gear... Wyatt and Taker put on a decent show... I just wonder how much longer with Undertaker be wrestling in the WWE though.

Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar was a Wonderful Match... crazy physical, Lesnar doing his Suplex Exhibition on Reigns... Reigns taking it and even dishing out some decent shots of his own at times. Seth Rollins coming to cash in MITB at the end after Reigns and Lesnar pummeled each other was nice. Rolling got the Belt now. Not really surprised by the ending at all... Seth Rollins is a good all around performer, big ups to him... even if Reigns and Lesnar did put on a Match for the Night.

WM was fantastic

Decent wrestlemania, awesome ending. Disappointed sting lost but happy with everything else. Loved Daniel Bryan's win, and happy with the undertaker/Wyatt match.

That ending though. That was awesome, and so was the match. Brock carried Roman through pretty much all of it and just dominated him almost the entire time. Seth Rollins finally got the win he deserved and I'm happy WWE has chosen this route. Roman was not ready yet. I like him and he showed heart tonight but the crowd just doesn't receive him well and he's not ready to carry the belt yet. Hopefully he can put on a good feud with Seth while Brock takes some time off. They kept Brock safe by having him not get pinned, saved Roman from what likely would've been a failed title run, and put the belt on Seth. Couldn't ask for anything better.

HHH found his shovel again. Ugh.

That ending was pure perfection though

I really hope this leads to Sting vs Undertaker in the future somehow...

That outcome to Sting vs Triple H was BS. Guess I shouldn't be surprised since they let Sting look strong the whole time but God forbid that WWE might let WCW triumph over one of their stars for once. Seeing the Rock come out and one up them was nice but still..Guess Triple H still has that shovel. I was disappointed in Bryan winning the IC too not because I don't care for Bryan but that he wasn't really involved much in that match. Ziggler, Barrett, Ambrose, and Harper totally owned that match. Am somewhat satisfied that Cena won the US title. Cena winning the US title years ago was back when he started really getting over with the fans. Not that that'll happen again or something since he's got it now, but maybe they can make the US and IC titles look important again with guys like Bryan and Cena holding them

He said that was most likely his last outing, he would consider 1 more match for Summerslam or Wrestlemania 32 but realistically speaking he is done. Apparently he also pushed for a match against Taker for last nights event but HHH and Vince wanted the HHH vs Sting match they got.

I was rooting for Sting until it became nWo vs DX and I just couldn't side against DX.

@sc: Best move/performance of the show

Boycott Cena

awesome