Pro Wrestling Thread

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Boffo97

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Since it's not a topic that many are interested in, I'll go back to just one thread for it. Anything WWE/TNA/ROH/etc. goes here.

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/dis...n-loses-350-million-third-his-fortune-one-day

WWE CEO Vince McMahon Loses $350 Million, A Third Of His Fortune, In A Day

Even for someone who is familiar with beatings, Vince McMahon could not have been prepared for the drubbing that he had in store last week.

According to Forbes, McMahon, the chairman and CEO of WWE, lost $350 million in a span of 24 hours.

The loss was the result of a few factors, including lack of confidence in WWE's new online streaming network and a somewhat lackluster new TV deal. The new online streaming network has only picked up 700,000 subscribers since launching, and WWE said it expects the network to lose between $45 million and $52 million this year.

mcmahon-fortune589.jpg

The new TV deal, while still impressive, is far smaller than what some investors thought. WWE's contract with NBCUniversal to keep its hit shows "Raw" and "Smackdown" is worth around $150 million annually, which is half or one third of what many initially thought it would earn.

Together, the weak performance of the online streaming network and Thursday night's announcement of the new TV deal led WWE's stock to drop $8.86 (from $20.13 to $11.27).

That resulted in a huge loss for McMahon, whose net worth peaked at $1.6 billion in March. Then, Forbes reported, "shares dropped 29% the week after WWE announced its new online streaming network had only 667,000 subscribers, taking a $325 million chunk out of McMahon's fortune."

The stock's next big tumble Friday wiped out another $350 million -- nearly a third of his value.

A lack of confidence in the product and falling shares have dropped his fortune to an estimated $750 million.
 

TommerK

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I was a wrestling fan for many years, but I don't really feel sorry for Vince he still got 500 times more money than I'll see in my lifetime.

Yes he revolutionized the business over the years, but he also had a hand in ruining it too. He bought out his only real competition in WCW. That was the beginning of the end of the height of wrestlings popularity.

At that point, I had only learned of a company called ECW a few years prior to that. ECW was a much smaller company, but they were the true pioneers of hard-core wrestling. They became very cutting edge in the early to mid 90s and had some very talented wrestlers that were eventually poached by WCW and the then WWF. Vince eventually bought out ECW as well and try to create his own brand of ECW only to fail miserably at it. ECW in its originality was a very underground cult driven type of promotion that you couldn't really commercialize. But Vince didn't want to believe that. That's why he failed at promoting that brand. You can still find some of their old original tapes on YouTube.
 

Boffo97

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I was a wrestling fan for many years, but I don't really feel sorry for Vince he still got 500 times more money than I'll see in my lifetime.

Yes he revolutionized the business over the years, but he also had a hand in ruining it too. He bought out his only real competition in WCW. That was the beginning of the end of the height of wrestlings popularity.

At that point, I had only learned of a company called ECW a few years prior to that. ECW was a much smaller company, but they were the true pioneers of hard-core wrestling. They became very cutting edge in the early to mid 90s and had some very talented wrestlers that were eventually poached by WCW and the then WWF. Vince eventually bought out ECW as well and try to create his own brand of ECW only to fail miserably at it. ECW in its originality was a very underground cult driven type of promotion that you couldn't really commercialize. But Vince didn't want to believe that. That's why he failed at promoting that brand. You can still find some of their old original tapes on YouTube.
Sorry, I missed this post before.

Yeah, Vince has done a lot of good AND bad for the wrestling business, and really needs a threat in order to put good TV out there. WCW was a threat. TNA is not. ROH is kind of like ECW as far as WWE's relationship with them is concerned.

The new ECW, I liked at first, and there were some great matches (like the Ric Flair vs. Big Show match which sucked until Flair says "OK, let's try this hardcore stuff..." and then got AWESOME.) but I think it was doomed by three main setbacks. They wanted RVD to be the guy until RVD got busted for weed. They wanted Angle to be the guy, Angle becomes so much of a health risk that WWE doesn't want thim around anymore and he goes to TNA. They wanted Benoit to be the guy... and we all know what happened there (still can't believe that one of Benoit's surviving children wants to be a wrestler.)

After that, they didn't want ECW to be ECW. They wanted it to be what NXT would become. And NXT is a pretty good show. Some people have called it worth the price of the WWE Network (which also gives you all the old PPVs... although only one match with New Jack in it at last report), but for the purpose it served, the ECW name was baggage. Plus, I agree with you that ECW was going to be a product with a limited audience, and could never really be pulled off by a global publicly-traded company.
 

Boffo97

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And this one is so awesomely dumb, I had to share it...

http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/n...an-Was-Mick-Foley\\s-Son-in-Previous-Life.htm

- Yeah, this one has to be seen to be believed. The Outer Limits Of Inner Truth radio show announced an interview with Mick Foley tonight at 10 PM ET that will be followed by a forensic soul analysis. The press release notes that astrologer Constance Stellas and four psychic mediums analyzed Foley's soul and claim that he has ties to Daniel Bryan, AJ Lee and Undertaker in various previous lives. I can't do it justice, so here is the relevant excerpt from the press release:

According to Stellas, Mick Foley has one of the most unusual astrological charts she has never seen. Foley's chart literally suggests that great failure & hardship were in the stars for him but, that through incredible determination be defied fate & destiny and made it his own.

Mick Foley's previous lifetime (before his current one now) was that of a woman in the early 1900's who was severely abused (two psychics separately revealed this). Foley happens to be a tireless advocate leading the national fight against sexual violence and apparently this is one of the reasons why his chose to reincarnate so quickly and this era of human history.

According to the OLIT Team (known as the Virtues), Foley has experienced previous lifetimes with some WWE Superstars. Daniel Bryan apparently was his son in their previous lifetime (the one where Mick was abused) together and AJ Lee was a close friend. Also, the Undertaker (Mark Calaway) and Foley have shared several lifetimes together dating back to the dawn of the first ever Olympics.

Everyone who analyzed Foley said they were taken back by how much love he has in his heart for people & humanity in general. He was described an incredible force of positive energy who has been and will continue to impact millions of lives.

"It was an honor to have Mick Foley on our program. He's a super nice guy. We feel that he's an incredible teacher and feel that humanity can learn so much from him." Said Ryan McCormick, Executive Producer of The Outer Limits Of Inner Truth Radio Show.
 

Boffo97

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http://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2014/07/10/hulk-hogan-lebron-james

The “Decision” That Built a New World Order: How LeBron James and Hulk Hogan Legdropped Their Fans and Changed their Sports Forever

This week marks the anniversary of two shocking moments that altered the history of their sports – LeBron James fleeing the Cavaliers to create Miami’s Big Three and Hulk Hogan’s declaration of a New World Order. Both superstars were the top talents in their industries, but chose to backstab their lame franchises - the Cavaliers and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) – on live television for a chance to win greater glories with cooler cliques. These epic narratives of alliance and betrayal, which climaxed one day apart in 1996 (July 7) and 2010 (July 8), upset the balance of power in their industries. James and Hogan defined their careers with these actions, transforming from fan favorites into the biggest villains in their sports.

Join us as we revisit the decisions that changed professional basketball and wrestling forever.

The Settings
LeBron: ESPN’s “The Decision” TV special, broadcast from the Boys & Girls Club, Greenwich, CT

Hogan: Bash at the Beach 1996 pay-per-view event, broadcast from the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, FL

The Prologue
2010: James had just finished his seventh season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but had still yet to win an NBA Finals game. The Cavs were knocked out of the 2010 playoffs by the Boston Celtics, led by their Big Three of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen. While James earned regular-season MVP honors and recorded a triple-double in the deciding game, Cavaliers fans dreaded their homegrown superstar’s impending free agency. During the summer of 2010, James embarked on a recruiting trip, meeting with six different franchises to determine where he would sign his contract. Following this courtship, news broke that James would announce his destination on a prime-time TV special airing on ESPN.

1996: WCW was being terrorized by two ex-WWE superstars formerly known as Diesel (Kevin Nash) and Razor Ramon (Scott Hall). Wearing a denim vest, Hall interrupted a televised WCW match on May 27 and spouted the instant-classic line, “You people, you know who I am. But you don’t know why I’m here.” He concluded his snarky monologue with a direct threat to WCW: “You want a war? You’re gonna get one.” He and Nash followed up on this boast by launching several sneak-attacks on rival wrestlers. Finally, a WCW all-star team consisting of “Macho Man” Randy Savage, Sting, and Lex Luger combined their muscle at the annual Bash at the Beach event to fight Hall, Nash … and a mystery “third man”. Hall and Nash walked to the ring alone, but after they had laid out their opponents, a familiar face showed up to confront them …



Warning Signs

Basketball insiders immediately noted the significance of James removing his tank-top upon leaving the court following Cleveland’s season-ending loss to Boston. Play-by-play man Mike Breen wondered if this was the last time James would ever take off a Cavs uniform, providing epic foreshadowing by intoning, “If he leaves, it would be a disaster of enormous proportions for the Cavaliers.” Hogan showed similar signs of restlessness, shedding his trademark red-and-yellow garb in 1995 and sporting black wrestling gear to display his darker side. After losing the WCW World Championship at Halloween Havoc 1995, Hogan made sporadic in-ring appearances in 1996 while devoting time to his acting career.

Spoiler Alerts
While sports media fed an avalanche of rumors surrounding James’ free agency, Stephen A. Smith broke the news 10 days before “The Decision” that James and fellow Eastern Conference All-Star Chris Bosh would join 2006 NBA Finals MVP Dwyane Wade in Miami. Similarly, WCW color commentator Bobby “The Brain” Heenan sounded the alarm during Hogan’s walk to the ring at Bash at the Beach, repeatedly demanding, “Whose side is he on?” Fans still refused to lose hope in their saviors, disregarding both warnings as unthinkable.

Dirty Deeds
James jettisoned his organization and abandoned his diehard fans to join forces with Wade and Bosh in Miami. He ambushed his home-state team on national TV, telling the world that he was signing with the Heat. His announcement broke the hearts of a Cleveland fanbase that viewed James as the Chosen One who would lead their long-suffering city to a championship. His actions helped to establish the Heat as the presumptive frontrunner for the 2011 NBA Championship, while decimating a Cavaliers team that went from 61 wins in the 2009-2010 season to 19 victories in the 2010-2011 campaign. “The Decision” drew nearly 10 million viewers, and turned James into perhaps America’s most polarizing athlete. His move heralded a new era in which the league’s most talented stars would take less money, even in their primes, to combine forces with other great players for a better shot at winning titles. Suspicion persisted that James, Bosh, and Wade rigged the system to converge in a place of their choosing, reclaiming power for the players even as a new collective bargaining agreement eroded their share of basketball related income.

Hogan jettisoned his organization and abandoned his diehard fans to join forces with Hall and Nash. He cleared the ring of Hall and Nash to raucous cheers, only to double-cross WCW by leg-dropping a prone Savage. The Outsiders joined Hogan in decimating his co-Mega Power as a stunned crowd came to grips with what it had seen. Hogan then gave an interview to a livid “Mean” Gene Okerlund, proclaiming a New World Order (NWO) and telling his fans that “if it wasn’t for Hulk Hogan, you people wouldn’t be here.” His actions helped to establish Hogan as the presumptive frontrunner for the WCW World Championship (which he won a month later), and decimated a WCW stable reeling from the loss of its marquee talent. Hogan’s heel turn marked a sea change in professional wrestling, not just by having the most beloved wrestler of his generation break faith with millions of fans, but by signaling the end of an era of clearly defined heroes and villains and pointing the way toward the adult themes and grey shades of the Attitude Era.

Media Presence
ESPN reporter Jim Gray, who asked James the preeminent question, “The answer to the question everybody wants to know: LeBron, what’s your decision?”

WCW reporter ”Mean” Gene Okerlund, who asked Hogan the preeminent question, “What in the world are you thinking?”

Signature Kiss-Off
LeBron: “This fall, I'm going to take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat.”



Hogan: “You fans can stick it, brother!”


The Big Reveal – or, “What the hell is going on here!?” – WCW color commentator Dusty Rhodes
LeBron: “I can’t say it was always in my plans because I never thought it was possible. But the things that the Miami Heat franchise have done to be able to free up cap space and to be able to put themselves in a position this summer to have all three of us, you know, it was hard to turn down. Those are two great players, two of the greatest players that we have in this game today. And, you know, you add me, we’re gonna be a really good team.”

Hogan: “Well, the first thing you gotta realize, brother, is this right here is the future of wrestling. You can call this the New World Order of wrestling, brother.”

Why It Happened – or, “For you to join up with the likes of these two men absolutely makes me sick to my stomach… You want to put yourself in this group?” – “Mean” Gene Okerlund
LeBron: “I think the major factor and the major reason in my decision was the best opportunity for me to win. And to win now, and to win in the future... It’s about joining forces with the other two guys who I feel like I respect their game the most, and I feel like we have a great chance of winning and winning for multiple years.”

Hogan: “As far as Billionaire Ted goes, Eric Bischoff, and the whole WCW goes, I’m bored, brother. That’s why these two guys here, the so-called Outsiders, these are the men I want as my friends. They’re the new blood of professional wrestling, brother.”

Best OMG Moment of Realization that the Linchpin is Gone
Heenan: “Now what happens to us? What happens now to WCW? … What do we do now?”

Realist Fan on a Cleveland street talking about the Big Three: “They’re about to win a championship.”

But Really, How Bad Is It?
Heenan on the New World Order’s (NWO) formation: “Probably the lowest shot ever given to professional wrestling.”

Distraught Fan in Post-Decision Interview:He’s one of our own; that’s what makes it so painful. Art Modell, you know, he was 65 years old, he went away and the Browns came back. LeBron can never come back.”

Ill Will and Bad Tidings
Rhodes: “A career of a lifetime, right down the drain, kid. I hope you love it – you just sold your soul to the devil.”

Angry Fan: “For him to go in there and drag us through the mud for seven years and stab us in the heart, he deserves everything he gets. I hope he never wins anything in Miami."

Least Dignified Display of Physical Aggression
WCW Fans: Turning the Bash at the Beach ring into a landfill in their efforts to pelt Hogan with trash

Underemployed Fans: A protracted effort to burn Witness t-shirts and a Cavs #23 jersey while some guy off-camera mutters, “No integrity. No integrity.”

Least Dignified Display of Non-Physical Aggression
WCW Play-by-Play Announcer Tony Schiavone: “We have just seen the end of Hulkamania... Hulk Hogan, you can go to hell. Straight to hell."

Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert channels his petulant inner seven-year-old in an infamous open letter, which condemns the “shameful display of selfishness and betrayal by one of our very own”, calls James out for deserting the region, and contains the immortal phrase, “Some people think they should go to heaven but NOT have to die to get there.“

Verdict of the Legends
NBA legend Michael Jordan on LeBron’s actions: “There’s no way, with hindsight, I would’ve ever called up Larry (Bird), called up Magic (Johnson), and said, ‘Hey, look, let’s get together and play on one team.’”

NBA legend Charles Barkley on LeBron’s actions: “If you're the two-time defending NBA MVP, you don't leave anywhere. They come to you. That's ridiculous.”

Retired WCW wrestler Larry “The Living Legend” Zbyszko on Hogan’s actions: “Unmanly.”

Highspots
Both James and “Hollywood” Hogan won multiple world championships due to help from their two new friends. The Big Three reached four consecutive NBA Finals, winning championships in 2012 and 2013. Hogan would win numerous WCW World Championships with the NWO, exploiting a hip new persona to jumpstart his stagnant career. The Heat and the NWO became simultaneously the most popular and hated teams in their sports, and they sent ratings and merchandise sales skyrocketing for their organizations. Despite millions of fans rooting for their comeuppance, victory always seemed assured for the red, white, and black bad guys. Strangely, both men battled the NBA’s best: while LeBron made quick work of Kevin Durant and Paul George, Hogan tag-teamed with Dennis Rodman and faced off against Karl Malone.

Best Braggadocio
LeBron: “Not one … not two … not three …”

Hogan: “Not only are we going to take over the whole wrestling business … we will destroy everything in our path.”

ODB Memorial “Wu-Tang is for the Children” Shout-Out
LeBron (in a letter to a Cleveland city councilman regarding the charitable funding stemming from advertising proceeds related to “The Decision”: "I am so excited that the renovated gym, new floor and computer lab at the Broadway Boys & Girls Club are finished, and I've been told that everything looks amazing. These additions are great for the neighborhood, and thank you for giving me the opportunity to give back to the Cleveland community."

Hogan: “I held my head high. I did everything for the charities, I did everything for the kids.”

The Bench
To pad out their rosters, LeBron and the Hulkster relied on help from a motley cast of roleplayers. Both squads featured the following personnel:

Declining Veterans Willing to Forgo Personal Gain for Team Victories: Ray Allen and “Macho Man” Randy Savage

Tattooed Blond Big Men: “Birdman” Chris Andersen and “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner

Follically Blessed Executives: Pat Riley and Eric Bischoff

screen_shot_2014-07-11_at_9.48.51_am.png

Unloved Whipping Boys: Mario Chalmers and Syxx, who claimed he was fired by Bischoff via a FedEx delivery because the boss was mad at his friends Nash and Hall

Canaries in the Coalmine: The acceptance of David Flair into the NWO vs. the Heat’s reliance on Michael Beasley in a Finals game

Biggest Jerk Moves
LeBron and Wade mocking Dirk Nowitski’s illness during the 2011 NBA Finals.

Hogan, Nash, and Hall attacking countless WCW wrestlers before spray-painting them with their trademark NWO tag.

Most Grandiose Displays of Divine Power
Miami’s Big Three being deified at a pep rally that eerily resembles a pro wrestling event.

The NWO remaking the WCW Monday Nitro set in its own graven image.

Best Bodyslam of Haters
LeBron: "All the people that was rooting on me to fail, at the end of the day they have to wake up tomorrow and have the same life that they had before they woke up today. They have the same personal problems they had today.”

Hogan: “As far as I’m concerned, all the crap in the ring represents these fans out here.”

Tapping Out
>strong>LeBron’s low point: Losing a humiliating five-game series to the Spurs in the 2014 NBA Finals. San Antonio’s dominance led Bosh to confess, “They played the best basketball I’ve ever seen.” Worse, James’ supporting cast collapsed during this series, prompting comedian Chris Rock to tweet, “When did the Heat become the Cavs.” (SIC) This lopsided defeat precipitated the Big Three opting out of their 2014-2015 contracts, leaving the future of Miami’s New World Order in doubt.

Hogan’s low point: The Fingerpoke of Doom, a match that saw Hogan “beat” Nash in a manner that has been debated as “the biggest mistake WCW ever made”. On January 4, 1999, Nash defended his WCW World Championship against Hogan. Although the two men had become bitter enemies during the past year, the match ended almost immediately when Hogan tapped Nash with his finger, causing the giant to drop like he’d been shot. Hogan proceeded to pin Nash as pro wrestling’s Big Three reunited to once again wreak havoc on WCW’s do-gooders. This ill-conceived “match” is widely considered to mark the beginning of WCW’s downfall, throwing the organization into a creative tailspin that ended only when Vince McMahon bought the organization in 2001.

The Way Ahead
LeBron James has two options: he can do what Hulk Hogan did in 1999 by reforming the Big Three and taking another stab at dominance. Or he can do what Hulk Hogan did later in 1999 after seeing the (scripted) light. The reformed Hulkster took a stand for heroism once more, reclaiming his yellow-red-white-and-blue babyface character and ultimately defeating his former blood-brother Nash to retain the WCW World Championship. The Hulkster’s babyface comeback shows there is still hope for James to return home as the prodigal son, and finally prove himself a Real American.
 

Angry Ram

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Raw has been incredibly boring the past few weeks. And for months, all we are getting is All-Around Good Guys vs. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.

Change shit up. Have the top guys go at the title without any management characters in it. Even if it's John Cena and Randy Orton. Have a good old fashioned rivalry with 2 or 3 guys trying to 1 up each other.

It's the same formula almost every week
Triple H comes out and gives some boring promo Best for business, authority, plan B, blah blah blah.

John Cena/Roman Reigns comes out and interputs, talk some shit and a tag match is set later.

Then a bunch of jobbers getting their ass kicked by Rusev and Cesaro. Boring mid-card and diva matches that have no story. Even the best the IMO WWE has right now, The Wyatts, have been so incredibly repetitive. And what's worse is, they hardly ever booked to win over the big rivals:

-Lost against SHIELD
-Lost against John Cena @ Mania and Payback
-Lost the Money in the Bank Championship Ladder Match

The only time they were booked to be strong was against Daniel Bryan earlier this year. Now they are facing Chris Jericho. Bray needs to win this Sunday, otherwise it's gonna be harder for fans to take the guy seriously.

Oh and stop shoving the WWE Network down our throats. We get it, mention it a couple times. But really, we'll choose whether we want it or not.
 
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Boffo97

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Raw has been incredibly boring the past few weeks. And for months, all we are getting is All-Around Good Guys vs. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.

Change crap up. Have the top guys go at the title without any management characters in it. Even if it's John Cena and Randy Orton. Have a good old fashioned rivalry with 2 or 3 guys trying to 1 up each other.

It's the same formula almost every week
Triple H comes out and gives some boring promo Best for business, authority, plan B, blah blah blah.

John Cena/Roman Reigns comes out and interputs, talk some crap and a tag match is set later.

Then a bunch of jobbers getting their ass kicked by Rusev and Cesaro. Boring mid-card and diva matches that have no story. Even the best the IMO WWE has right now, The Wyatts, have been so incredibly repetitive. And what's worse is, they hardly ever booked to win over the big rivals:

-Lost against SHIELD
-Lost against John Cena @ Mania and Payback
-Lost the Money in the Bank Championship Ladder Match

The only time they were booked to be strong was against Daniel Bryan earlier this year. Now they are facing Chris Jericho. Bray needs to win this Sunday, otherwise it's gonna be harder for fans to take the guy seriously.

Oh and stop shoving the WWE Network down our throats. We get it, mention it a couple times. But really, we'll choose whether we want it or not.
I agree with a lot of what you said here. I'll just offer my 2 cents on some of these said issues:

What's beyond their control: CM Punk took his ball and went home. He might be back someday but even then, he really can't be counted on unless he earns trust back. Daniel Bryan got hurt. But there is some blame there on WWE for dragging out his title chase for so long even though the audience was ready for him. I actually feel bad for Batista because it's WWE's fault for the crowd crapping all over him (and poor Rey Mysterio who came in at #30) when the fans CLEARLY wanted Bryan.

What WWE needs to do:

As you said, WWE needs to end the Authority angle. I appreciate that they're trying to recapture the magic that was Austin-McMahon, but they've BEEN trying to do that for way too long now. And it's just keeping the top of the card stale. Hell, if you want to know what I'd do, I'd have Bray Wyatt take over that position as the result of a match and start having him book crazy things. Give the team of Jack Swagger and Rusev a title shot against the Usos. Book Paige vs. The Big Show. Book El Torito in a 10 on 1 handicap match. But don't drag it out. Eventually, get back to where things were way back in the day with Jack Tunney. Have an authority figure you trot out when the story needs one and then go away again. If the heels need a little heat, start developing some managers. Paul Heyman is arguably 2nd only to Bobby Heenan unless you want to go pre-Wrestlemania, and I'd take Lana or Zeb Colter over Harvey Whippleman anyday. I'll also take Lana... ahem... excuse me.

Also, John Cena. I love the guy. I have a Cena T-Shirt, but the audience is obviously getting more and more sick of him doing the same thing. It's like Hogan. When Hogan not only turned, but turned huge with the New World Order, it was a career rebirth for him. And serendipity wrote the perfect end to the story when Canada was having none of that Hogan is a heel stuff at Wrestlemania X8.

Jericho is going to lose to Wyatt at Battleground, but it's because he and RVD are doing the same thing... come in, and make the other guys look good. Jericho is still capable of having some awesome matches when it happens (and RVD at times as well. RVD vs. Adrian Neville down in NXT was pretty damn good.) But the dudes they put over need to be pushed out of it. At Fandango's debut match, he beat Jericho at Wrestlemania 29... and where's the dude now? Dolph Ziggler should be pushed a lot more than he is. Him, Damian Sandow, Kofi Kingston, the Miz, it's like WWE is telling us actively not to care about these people.

I do like Goldust and Stardust, but somehow the tag team division has withered away to where you have two teams in a feud over the title (right now Usos and Wyatts), 2 teams on the next level down (The Dusts and Rybaxel) and then teams that just do comedy stuff (Mainly just Los Matadores since 3MB was shrunk to 1MB.) Hell, put some of these midcard guys into a team and let them have personality.

As far as the Network goes, they need to re-examine how they're pushing it. Instead of having the announcers shill it the same way over and over again, show NXT highlights (Adrian Neville, Sami Zayn, the Ascension and others are GOOD) and announce main events for it on RAW (only once). If you ever do subscribe, AR, you should catch NXT. I'd so much rather watch NXT than TNA right now.

Instead of trying to foist Total Divas reruns on us (I liked it in a staring at a car crash way first run, and for the awesomeness that Cena, Bryan, Jimmy Uso and even Vincent in a sad way brought, but I don't see myself ever rewatching old episodes) tell us about the awesome documentaries going up, or what's on the next episode of the Monday Night Wars. Even what new classic Raw or Nitro episode you can see. And work something out so Raw and Smackdown can be simulcast, even if it has to be with commercials. Right now, I have no cable/satellite in my room, but I do have Netflix and WWE Network, and I'm likely far from the only one in that position.

In the end, it all comes down to this: Make everyone matter, and make the product unpredictable (although in a good way, not a Vince Russo random way).
 

Angry Ram

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Yeah I agree w/ you on the network. I'm probably not gonna subscribe for a long time b/c I'm not financially independent yet but I've seen some of the NXT highlights on youtube. It's really entertaining and has a house show feel.

Batista, even tho they made him a bad guy they still dropped the ball on how he's been written off tv. 3 times he's "quit" and acted like a whiny baby about it. How are fans supposed to take the big man seriously when he just quits like that. I understand him his age, schedule. Couldn't they have him be "fired" by Triple H or lose his contract?

The main thing is the lack of stories of the guys you mentioned have. It's ridiculous considering they have 5+ hours of tv a week.
 

Boffo97

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Yeah I agree w/ you on the network. I'm probably not gonna subscribe for a long time b/c I'm not financially independent yet but I've seen some of the NXT highlights on youtube. It's really entertaining and has a house show feel.

Batista, even tho they made him a bad guy they still dropped the ball on how he's been written off tv. 3 times he's "quit" and acted like a whiny baby about it. How are fans supposed to take the big man seriously when he just quits like that. I understand him his age, schedule. Couldn't they have him be "fired" by Triple H or lose his contract?

The main thing is the lack of stories of the guys you mentioned have. It's ridiculous considering they have 5+ hours of tv a week.
I think the Network will do better once they lose the "You have to commit for 6 months at least" thing. Sure, you'll have a lot of people signing up just to get Wrestlemania (and to a lesser extent Royal Rumble, Summerslam and Survivor Series, which I still consider the "big PPVs") but it will be easier for those who can sometimes kick some money in and sometimes not.

Batista... yeah, I understand he's a heel and all that, but he's really damaged his own character.

And honestly, WWE's (and Vince McMahon's) biggest problem is they NEED a credible threat. Right now, TNA is not that, not even close. When he has a credible threat, that's when he tries new things like the Attitude era. When he doesn't, that's when he tends to stick with what always works, like Cena having the same character for so long like Hogan did, or an evil authority angle. And thus it's hard for new guys to advance.

The amazing thing they have going right now is for Bray Wyatt to be as good as he is... and he's only 26 and the youngest guy on the active roster. But there's been tons of guys who once looked huge and are now spinning their wheels (Dolph Ziggler is a huge example here.)
 

SierraRam

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I'm old - My memories of Pro Wrestling ended after guys high up their tights:

Peter Mavia, Pat Patterson and the "Soul Man" Rocky Johnson...
upload_2014-7-19_11-0-35.jpeg
images
images
 

Boffo97

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I presume you like The Rock then, since two of your guys are his maternal grandfather and his father. ;)
 

Boffo97

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While I'm not the kind of guy to constantly seek out insider stuff, I've heard the persistent rumors that the plan is to have Brock Lesnar defeat John Cena and it leaves me feeling like tomorrow's PPV is just going to be filling time.

I hope it's not true, because yet another "Cena overcomes the odds!" match isn't anything new in terms of storyline... and Lesnar point blank should not be holding the title as a part timer (Of course, that's also why he should not have ended The Undertaker's streak at Wrestlemania, so there's that.)

WWE needs to bring back that "Anything can happen!" feeling that RAW had when it was really good. Right now, so much happens that's either utterly predictable or that you know is irrelevant because it's not going anywhere.
 

Angry Ram

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ANyone with half a brain (and really, with a wrestling audience, that sums up about half of them) could tell Brock was coming back when Paul Heyman said there's a "Plan C" available.

The PPV from what I saw was a throwaway. Bray Wyatt losing again annoys me. For all his awesome promos, and intimidating character being booked to lose all the time is making him seem more like a joke. All of a sudden, his promos become meaningless because @ the end of the day, we know he'll lose.
 

Boffo97

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After tonight's game is one of WWE's "Big Four" PPVs, Survivor Series. It's even free for people who aren't already subscribed to WWE Network, as is all this month.

Anyway, tonight's card with my picks in bold:

Natalya, Alicia Fox, Naomi, & Emma vs. Paige, Layla, Summer Rae, & Cameron - Traditional Survivor Series Match
(Note: A Traditional Survivor Series Match is an elimination match. Matches start either 5 vs. 5 or 4 vs. 4, but as competitors are eliminated via pin, submission, disqualification or count out, they are eliminated from the match and the match continues until all of one team is eliminated.)

(Champions) Goldust & Stardust vs. Los Matadores vs. The Usos vs. The Miz & Mizdow - Fatal Fourway for the WWE World Tag Team Championship.

(Champion) AJ Lee vs. Nikki Bella w/ Brie Bella - for the WWE Divas Championship

Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt

Team Cena (John Cena, Erick Rowan, Big Show, Dolph Ziggler, & RyBack) vs. Team Authority (Seth Rollins, Corporate Kane, Luke Harper, Mark Henry, & Rusev) - Traditional Survivor Series Match. If Team Cena wins, the Authority (Triple H & Stephanie McMahon) are no longer in power. If Team Cena wins, then the members of Team Cena except for Cena himself are fired.)
 

dieterbrock

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I have no clue what they are thinking in WWE land.
Unifying the titles I thought was a bad idea, I liked the 2 "Big" titles
Now they have Brock Lesnar as champ? When was the last time he wresteled? Word is he wont be back until Wrestlemania.
So no championship belt matches. And what's the point of the Money in the Bank?
Mind boggling

BTW, nice picks Boffo
 

Boffo97

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I have no clue what they are thinking in WWE land.
Unifying the titles I thought was a bad idea, I liked the 2 "Big" titles
Now they have Brock Lesnar as champ? When was the last time he wresteled? Word is he wont be back until Wrestlemania.
So no championship belt matches. And what's the point of the Money in the Bank?
Mind boggling

BTW, nice picks Boffo
Oh, don't even get me started on the whole Lesnar thing. (and last time he wrestled was in September at the Night of Champions PPV btw.)

Now I liked the unification of the two world titles since RAW and SmackDown really aren't separate brands anymore and I'd go even further and reunite the US and Intercontinental titles, since it seems like the writers seem to forget one exists for long periods of time (such as Dean Ambrose's long reign where he really never had any matches defending it.) but Lesnar was a huge mistake.

I don't mind the idea of SOMEONE conquering the Undertaker's streak, then decisively beating Cena at Summerslam, but that shouldn't be a part timer who disappears for months at a time. All the heat from those matches will get lost. Right now, Lesnar isn't scheduled until the Royal Rumble (or the RAW after) and if their current plan of having him finally lose at Wrestlemania comes true, it's going to be so anticlimatic as to not give anyone any heat.

Plus, I worry that partly because of rumors of him going back to UFC and partly because of him being the egotistical jerk he is in real life, WWE will end up having to strip him of the title, thus making the ending of the Streak mean absolutely nothing.
 

Angry Ram

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The momentum Survivor Series had with the Authority losing its power died Monday night. It was supposed to be a fresh start after over a year with the same boring Triple H and Stephanie McMahon "best for business" shtick.

Finally, guys like Dolph Ziggler and Daniel Bryan would no longer be screwed over. New guys like Ryback and Erick Rowan will get their chances.

All that came to a screeching halt when they brought back that stupid Anonymous Raw GM bullshit. That whole story was a joke and wasn't it revealed it was Hornswoggle? Like we're supposed to forget that (or maybe that's just what WWE wanted us to think, since it was so terrible and annoying).

WWE keeps rehashing terrible shit over and over again. I'm tired of seeing the "boss screwing over good guy employees, only for good guy to overcome" story. There's so many stories WWE can do. Why can't guys just have a rivalry b/c they are going for a belt or just flat out don't like each other?

RE Brock Lesnar, after Survivor Series no-show, I agree. Brock is a stud, I love watching him fight. But him not even showing up just makes the WWE title meaningless (as if it weren't already).

My interest in WWE is at an all time low right now. Hopefully this Anonymous Raw GM thing is short-term, and not some lame reasoning to bring back Triple H and Stephanie.
 

Boffo97

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I'm thinking (and hoping) that the anonymous GM is just for one week like Daniel Bryan was.

Because I'm with you... the whole heel GM thing is so played out it isn't funny. I get that they're trying to recreate Austin vs. McMahon. But that hasn't worked all the other times they tried it either.
 

Boffo97

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Any kind of summary on that? ;)

From what I've heard previous to this, the reasons are basically:

1. Injuries
2. Burnout
3. Frustration with part timers getting huge pushes instead of being used to put over full timers (The Brock thing frustrates me beyond belief too.)
4. Punk is the world's biggest Punk mark and he was frustrated not being in the main event plans (even though he just had the longest title reign in modern WWE history not too long ago.)