Wrestling Discussion Thread II

The New Day are one of my favourite things going in WWE right now - never fail to entertain me.

Hogan's retweeted a picture of Rio Ferdinand yesterday too - he's off the rails.

Wait a second....why in the hell did someone who wasn't Efe Ambrose post that picture to Hogan?

EDIT: Never mind it's from people trolling him.

Sadly, we can add Roddy Piper to the list of heroes who have died this year.

Really sad news. 2015 has sucked for old wrestlers.

Just like Dusty Rhodes this was a complete shock & even though he wasn't actually Scottish he acted crazy enough to make you believe he grew up in Glasgow.

Rest in Peace Hotrod.

In the lull between now and Sumerslam, and hopefully between any more bad news or sad news, how about some thoughts on things you'd like the WWE to do differently?

I'll kick off with this: the undercard need a belt or some sort of play-in match in pre-shows. Fandango, Swagger, Rose, Sandow, hell even your pure jobber like Slater (whose actually really good at his job of making others look good) need some tv time. With the singles belts being either the world champ or solidly in the midcard, and the tag being more like 'other' than lower card, a lot of these guys seem to be on the outside looking in, occasionally getting whopped on superstars.

The easiest and laziest remedy is a belt for them to go after. I don't even care if it isn't regarded as even mildly prestigious, just give them something to fight over. The alternative I'd like to see is nobodies having the chance to play into a match on the pay per view during the pre-show. Perhaps not every PPV, but where appropriate it'd be nice to see a pre-show match mean something.

Muss wrote:

In the lull between now and Sumerslam, and hopefully between any more bad news or sad news, how about some thoughts on things you'd like the WWE to do differently?

I'll kick off with this: the undercard need a belt or some sort of play-in match in pre-shows. Fandango, Swagger, Rose, Sandow, hell even your pure jobber like Slater (whose actually really good at his job of making others look good) need some tv time. With the singles belts being either the world champ or solidly in the midcard, and the tag being more like 'other' than lower card, a lot of these guys seem to be on the outside looking in, occasionally getting whopped on superstars.

The easiest and laziest remedy is a belt for them to go after. I don't even care if it isn't regarded as even mildly prestigious, just give them something to fight over. The alternative I'd like to see is nobodies having the chance to play into a match on the pay per view during the pre-show. Perhaps not every PPV, but where appropriate it'd be nice to see a pre-show match mean something.

Agree with the undercard. It's why I skip through most of Raw (as if the adverts weren't bad enough).

I would remove this tendency for whoever does a promo at the start of Raw, to talk to the crowd like it's their first time watching WWE. They summarise all the storylines (Triple H and Stephanie did it last week) and it feels like such a waste of time. It's one of my biggest gripes with John Cena, as he always does this. It also breaks the third wall, by treating the show like a regular TV series, rather than this unique world that wrestlers inhabit. "Yeah we know what happened, we watched last week you jackass".

I'd have done more with Sting post-Wrestlemania. They don't seem to do Backlash any more whereby any feuds from Wrestlemania with a potential rematch, could be closed at the next PPV. I think Sting winning against Triple H would have helped his legacy a bit more.

Seth Rollins REALLY needs some competition. Brock Lesnar was a mismatch and he now seems to be tied up with The Undertaker. I get that Seth is a coward and undeserved champion, but I really enjoy his current heel run. There's just NOBODY with the buzz to compete with him at the WWE CHampionship level. Kevin Owens is great, but it's too soon to throw him in there. John Cena is boring. Dean Ambrose is decent but not main event status - nor is Roman Reigns. I'm enjoying Dolph and Rusev's feud at the moment, it's so ridiculous. Rusev is a great heel. In fact, all the wrestlers I enjoy watching are heels - Wade Barrett, Bray Wyatt, Sasha Banks, the Bellas. I feel like there hasn't been a goosebump moment for a while now, particularly in terms of a big name returning. I'd like to see Kurt Angle return, especially as it would instantly give the main event picture some legitimacy.

I always though the US title when the World became one should of been for like of R-Truth, Fandango, Swagger, Rose, Sandow the IC for the next tier then the World for the rest.

The problem with having the US as an undercard title right now is that the mid-card is pretty stacked. Also, much as the Internet hates John Cena, he needs to either be in a major storyline or have his mits on a belt. Think about it, if you were a child you'd probably love Cena but child logic would also dictate that he needs to be the centre of attention. The US belt is a good spot for him, and his matches against Owens and Rusev have (mostly) been excellent. That said, Owens should have beaten Cena for the US title, with Cena moving onto another storyline. Owens' momentum has been stiffled which is a shame.

What they could do is bring back the old TV Title from WCW, and have it contested regularly on Raw and, like in the old days, change hands on TV shows, although right now that'd conflict with Cena's open challenges.

Does anyone here also watch UFC? I've not watched it since Chuck Liddell was the main man, and then briefly when Brock Lesnar had his first fight. The hype surrounding Ronda Rousey at the moment is bigger than anything WWE seem to be doing (in terms of mainstream exposure), and I want to get back in to it.

Any followers?

I'll watch a fight every now and then, but I'm not a huge fan. I'll probably watch CM Punk's first fight though.

Isn't UFC fake anyway?

There's one simple solution for the Undercard, the Hardcore title, I know they've gone in a different direction with the shift to PG but they're still not afraid to get weapons involved so why not spice things up. Many of those wrestlers suit the zany nature of belt and it has the possibility to include a large number of them.

@Muss yeah putting it on Cena elevated the US above the IC and has made it the second tier title.

I do wonder what will happen to the US belt after SummerSlam if either win clean, maybe it gets vacated and there's a tourney which the under-card can be in.

I'm super excited for Summerslam, and I really like the look of the majority of the card. Only problems, don't really like the Randy - Sheamus match (don't see the point) - I don't think Miz/Show/Ryback will put on a good match - and I can't see the Cena Rollins showdown ending in anything other than a DQ. That says this is the WWE at a premier PPV, anything could happen

I honestly can't call the main event as it can go so many different ways but I'm quite excited for the ppv as well & I think the Stardust/Green Arrow may be one of the better celebrity/wrestler match ups.

Yeah, we've got a celebrity who is properly into the WWE and well-known for being a fit dude who does stunts, so it should be a legit match unlike most cameos.
I wanna say the main event is a guaranteed DQ but it really can go any which way.

The_Jaster wrote:

I honestly can't call the main event as it can go so many different ways but I'm quite excited for the ppv as well & I think the Stardust/Green Arrow may be one of the better celebrity/wrestler match ups.

Agreed! It might actually be my most anticipated match at the PPV - Stardust and Barrett's promo recently was classic 80s cheese, and I loved it.

I'm also quite looking forward to 2/3s of the Shield vs 2/3s of The Wyatt Family, as I reckon there'll be shenanigans. Always game for a Brock Lesnar match, and Cena always put on a decent PPV match.

JayMoyles wrote:

The_Jaster wrote:

I honestly can't call the main event as it can go so many different ways but I'm quite excited for the ppv as well & I think the Stardust/Green Arrow may be one of the better celebrity/wrestler match ups.

Agreed! It might actually be my most anticipated match at the PPV - Stardust and Barrett's promo recently was classic 80s cheese, and I loved it.

Aye I laughed at how stupid the name Cosmic King was but I loved it as well.

Be hard for Summerslam to top NXT Takeover,

I've tweeted Drunka already that we need to go to the UK NXT Tour in Cardiff.

Aye NXT Brooklyn was indeed a belter of a show & Bayley Vs Sasha Banks was an absolute classic.

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As for the NXT UK tour I was speaking to Jay when it was announced and he suggested a few of us GNamer folks should go (here's the dates) which I'd definitely be up for & if we are surely a middle ground venue would be best which is either Newcastle, Sheffield or Blackpool.

Only issue I've got and reckon will have the same as December is hell for retail and it's getting the time off, I know it's quite far in advance though but would likely need 2 days off and stay at a hotel over night.

Where I said Cardiff to Drunka/Muss as it's 1hr 15mins drive that I could even work then go to Cardiff and even work the next day with no real issues.

I just think if enough of us all want to go to the one show then we could chip in for a Van rental or something and just be there for the one night.

Yeah, looking at the locations I was thinking the three shows Jas mentioned. Ideally I'd want to go to the Glasgow show, but realistically that'd only suit us Scottish forumites and I was thinking a group GNamer NXT show would be ace.

I think I'll most likely still be going to the show in Glasgow as well.