VC Official Pro Wrestling Thread

[scottheisel]

I brought signs but wasn't allowed to hold them up because my seats were in on the floor in front of the hard cam, so they would have blocked the main shot. Womp womp.

[somethingvinyl]

I cancel the network in between the big 4 PPV's so I can save $10 a month. 

[Breezus]

On 9/28/2016 at 1:54 AM, TheWindBlower said:

Hahaha, you were right on the guard rail? That's dope. I also agree with your decision to give that man some thumbs down.

 

I didn't see the show or Raw unfortunately. How are the cruiserweights doing? I heard the crowd isn't getting over for them...

The crowd was okay during Cedric/Swann-Dorado/Gulak but they chanted 'CM Punk' and 'Randy Savage' during TJP-Nese so yeah. While I get that the casual audience isn't going to get crazy for relatively unknown talent, I don't get how in the fuck you can disrespect them like that. However, WWE is to blame as well. It's great that they added the purple ropes, trons and mat logos and the ref interactions but short video packages before the matches aren't enough to get people invested. They didn't capitalise on the CWC's massive hype at all and that's just mind-boggling.

 

SmackDown! is turning the Usos, Naomi and fucking Eva Marie into must-see attractions while RAW couldn't take advantage of the overness of Banks, Bayley, Zayn, the cruiserweights and so much more talent. It's like they're run by two entirely different companies.

[TheWindBlower]

2 minutes ago, Breezus said:

The crowd was okay during Cedric/Swann-Dorado/Gulak but they chanted 'CM Punk' and 'Randy Savage' during TJP-Nese so yeah. While I get that the casual audience isn't going to get crazy for relatively unknown talent, I don't get how in the fuck you can disrespect them like that. However, WWE is to blame as well. It's great that they added the purple ropes, trons and mat logos and the ref interactions but short video packages before the matches aren't enough to get people invested. They didn't capitalise on the CWC's massive hype at all and that's just mind-boggling.

 

SmackDown! is turning the Usos, Naomi and fucking Eva Marie into must-see attractions while RAW couldn't take advantage of the overness of Banks, Bayley, Zayn, the cruiserweights and so much more talent. It's like they're run by two entirely different companies.

It baffles me that the cruiserweights were put on Raw. I get it, they have three hours to kill, more time = more competitors. But D Bryan as GM and Mauro on commentary would've made these guys larger than life on SD. Definitely a dropped ball by WWE. It also would've been nice for HHH to come and introduce them on their first night since he put the CWC together instead of having Mick Foley stumble through an absolutely terrible monologue. The crowd was so dead listening to him fumble over his words. It was very annoying. I hope the cruiserweights manage to catch on. They're the best product WWE has, alongside NXT.

[Breezus]

4 minutes ago, TheWindBlower said:

It baffles me that the cruiserweights were put on Raw. I get it, they have three hours to kill, more time = more competitors. But D Bryan as GM and Mauro on commentary would've made these guys larger than life on SD. Definitely a dropped ball by WWE. It also would've been nice for HHH to come and introduce them on their first night since he put the CWC together instead of having Mick Foley stumble through an absolutely terrible monologue. The crowd was so dead listening to him fumble over his words. It was very annoying. I hope the cruiserweights manage to catch on. They're the best product WWE has, alongside NXT.

Yeah, Cole and Saxton don't do them nearly enough justice. Can't say JBL and Otunga would but Ranallo is definitely the superior play-by-play guy, plus they'd probably be much better booked so yeah. The cruiserweights can still work on RAW though and I think they'll eventually get over, regardless of the booking and hour placement - it's just the fact that they could've gotten there already that's infuriating. But still, I hate WWE's half-assed approach to characters and storylines (on RAW). Honestly, I'm not sure I'd care nearly as much about Banks, Bayley, Neville, Zayn and the cruiserweights if I didn't watch NXT and the CWC.

 

Speaking of NXT, the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is shaping up to be glorious (pun fully intended) with teams like the Revival, Gargano/Ciampa, Cien/Cedric, Itami/Ibushi (!) and my favorite, the Glorious 10 (Roode/Dillinger). Can't wait for NXT to be consistently exciting again, I have to say it's been a while.

[TheWindBlower]

1 hour ago, Breezus said:

Yeah, Cole and Saxton don't do them nearly enough justice. Can't say JBL and Otunga would but Ranallo is definitely the superior play-by-play guy, plus they'd probably be much better booked so yeah. The cruiserweights can still work on RAW though and I think they'll eventually get over, regardless of the booking and hour placement - it's just the fact that they could've gotten there already that's infuriating. But still, I hate WWE's half-assed approach to characters and storylines (on RAW). Honestly, I'm not sure I'd care nearly as much about Banks, Bayley, Neville, Zayn and the cruiserweights if I didn't watch NXT and the CWC.

 

Speaking of NXT, the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is shaping up to be glorious (pun fully intended) with teams like the Revival, Gargano/Ciampa, Cien/Cedric, Itami/Ibushi (!) and my favorite, the Glorious 10 (Roode/Dillinger). Can't wait for NXT to be consistently exciting again, I have to say it's been a while.

Agree with you fully. Due to my following of the indies and NXT for so long, I am certainly biased in my appreciation for the cruiserweights and former NXT stars. I can understand why some people, especially kids, wouldn't know how great it is or wouldn't care how great it is to see some of these people on Raw. I think they'll get over eventually. I just hope Vince doesn't pull the plug before they do.

 

Haven't watched this week's NXT yet, but I heard about the Dusty Classic, and they teams you listed are very exciting. My only concern is this: if the Authors of Pain are entered in it, how do you book them to lose? Cuz with a star studded line up like that, you can't have those one dimensional guys go over, no matter how much heel heat they'd get. Unless, they're not involved in it? Like I said, I haven't seen this week's episode. Side note: Billie Kay is quickly becoming one of my favorite women wrestlers in NXT right now. She has the gimmick down pat, given some improvements on the mic and better opponents, she'll shine.

[Breezus]

18 hours ago, TheWindBlower said:

Agree with you fully. Due to my following of the indies and NXT for so long, I am certainly biased in my appreciation for the cruiserweights and former NXT stars. I can understand why some people, especially kids, wouldn't know how great it is or wouldn't care how great it is to see some of these people on Raw. I think they'll get over eventually. I just hope Vince doesn't pull the plug before they do.

 

Haven't watched this week's NXT yet, but I heard about the Dusty Classic, and they teams you listed are very exciting. My only concern is this: if the Authors of Pain are entered in it, how do you book them to lose? Cuz with a star studded line up like that, you can't have those one dimensional guys go over, no matter how much heel heat they'd get. Unless, they're not involved in it? Like I said, I haven't seen this week's episode. Side note: Billie Kay is quickly becoming one of my favorite women wrestlers in NXT right now. She has the gimmick down pat, given some improvements on the mic and better opponents, she'll shine.

Yeah, fans like us don't really tend to think about that because we already know so much about them and don't turn that knowledge off even if they don't get decent character development or storylines on RAW - we'll still root for them. It's a big problem that brings the whole product down and makes even top stars look less legit. Just look at NJPW's former top guys like Gallows and Anderson or Del Rio when he was there (I saw him on WCPW and El Patron is like a completely different person, it's insane).

 

They haven't been announced yet but even if they do enter, they could still "go too far" and get disqualified. There are ways to make talent lose without hurting them at all. And yeah Billie Kay is great (so is Peyton Royce) but they haven't really given the viewer much reason to care about her, unfortunately (at least that's how I feel). I hope this will change in the coming months.

[TheWindBlower]

* SAnitY is revealed
* Drew Gulak and Tony Nese
* HoHo Lun and Bin Wang
* No Way Jose and Rich Swann
* Austin Aries and a mystery partner
* Lince Dorado and Mustafa Ali
* The Authors of Pain
* Tucker Knight and Niko Bogojevic
* TM-61
* The Bollywood Boyz
* Hideo Itami & Kota Ibushi
* Tino Sabbatelli & Riddick Moss
* Bobby Roode & Tye Dillinger
* Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa
* Andrade "Cien" Almas & Cedric Alexander
* NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival

 

All 16 teams announced for the tournament. Some great pairings in there with a lot of CWC competitors coming back. That'll be interesting to see. I won't spoil the surprise competitors with dirt sheet rumors, but if you're keen to the internet, some basic searching of "Sanity," "Austin Aries Tag Team Classic," and so on will give you the information you're looking for. It should be a lot of fun. Hopefully most of the matches are televised, but I guess we'll see.

[Breezus]

Was that the best RAW since the draft split? Holy hell, that was good.

 

But yeah, that's a stacked list and I agree about the CWC teams. I'm legitimately intrigued by SAnitY and Aries' partner (who I think is gonna be - potential spoiler alert ...)

 

 

RODERICK F'N STRONG

Edited October 4, 2016 by Breezus

[Breezus]

On a sidenote, you guys should totally check out Bound for Glory's Great War (essentially Final Deletion III - and yes, it was delightful) and ROH All Star Extravaganza 's absolutely ridiculous LADDER WAR between the Addiction, the Bucks and MCMG. I'm surprised they came out of that one alive.

[dantheriver]

23 hours ago, Breezus said:

On a sidenote, you guys should totally check out Bound for Glory's Great War (essentially Final Deletion III - and yes, it was delightful) and ROH All Star Extravaganza 's absolutely ridiculous LADDER WAR between the Addiction, the Bucks and MCMG. I'm surprised they came out of that one alive.

Those were both awesome. Ciz Diz and Kaz were getting wrecked!

[somethingvinyl]

So Bill Goldberg is returning? Nobody give a fuck.

[TheWindBlower]

10 hours ago, somethingvinyl said:

So Bill Goldberg is returning? Nobody give a fuck.

Apparently, yeah. Not sure why, but looks like Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg at Survivor Series. People must have forgotten how bad their first match was years ago. It's not like Brock has gotten anymore exciting in the ring. It'll be a guaranteed snoozer.

[TheWindBlower]

Sanity's debut was awesome. My only gripe is that it came at the hands of Tye Dillinger. Hoping they set up a feud between him and Bobby Roode. That would be great. Hot start to NXT tonight.

 

EDIT: And a backstage interview with Roode seems to set up the potential for the aforementioned feud. Love it.

Edited October 13, 2016 by TheWindBlower

[somethingvinyl]

13 hours ago, TheWindBlower said:

Apparently, yeah. Not sure why, but looks like Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg at Survivor Series. People must have forgotten how bad their first match was years ago. It's not like Brock has gotten anymore exciting in the ring. It'll be a guaranteed snoozer.

Brock is great now, albeit way different than before.

He is older and has more wear and tear on his body from fighting in the UFC. His first run with WWE matches (specifically with Kurt Angle at WM 19 and the iron man match they had on Smackdown) were excellent. Even his match with Rock at Summer Slam was decent. But there was more put into them.

So, yeah, I get that he's a one trick pony now but that's his character. He might actually be lazier but he's sooooooo over with the fans, we buy it that all he does is punch and suplex and try to get people to submit. 

Goldberg on the other hand, was never great. Sure, he had a solid flash in the pan run in WCW and some of that carried into the WWE. This is purely for nostalgia. WWE seems convinced that big names draw houses these days.  Such a terrible philosophy. 

[Breezus]

I'm not even a fan of Goldberg but I'm looking forward to his return (admittedly, that's only because of his epic entrance). I'm fine with the match too, it's pretty much whatever to me - I'm just glad they're not headlining WM.

 

And yeah, SAnitY's debut was fantastic. Really happy a stable finally has a female member (and that being Nikki Storm Cross is just the icing on the cake) and I'm expecting big things from these guys. Sad to see Glorious 10 split up already but this should be great feud (even though I'm 90% sure Tye will lose). Anyway, I'm happy NXT is on a roll again. Too bad Itami is out again though, fuck that shit.

[TheWindBlower]

Already moved the cruiserweights to the HIAC pre-show. Awesome...

 

How can they be so mismanaged? I haven't watched Raw in weeks.

[dantheriver]

2 hours ago, TheWindBlower said:

Already moved the cruiserweights to the HIAC pre-show. Awesome...

 

How can they be so mismanaged? I haven't watched Raw in weeks.

One of three (I repeat THREE) matches with the same gimmick should be on the preshow, not one of the few matches that will actually be unique to the show.

[TheWindBlower]

21 minutes ago, dantheriver said:

One of three (I repeat THREE) matches with the same gimmick should be on the preshow, not one of the few matches that will actually be unique to the show.

Not to mention that I can't imagine Rusev vs. Reigns will be a real barnburner...

 

I hear that Raw was trying to hype all three HIAC matches as "main events." Since when can an event have THREE main events? I find it hardly believable that a show can have two main events. Let alone three. The main event, in my mind anyway, is the one that goes on last. It's like co-headlining tours. Is it really a co-headline if the same band performs last every show with an extended set and encore? I don't know, maybe I'm picky about word choice.

 

Don't get me wrong though. I'm very hyped for Charlotte vs. Sasha in a cell. Hopefully, that lives up to the hype without anyone getting injured. We've seen a couple nasty bumps between these two before. Toss a cell into the mix, and who knows.

 

NOTE: I should mention that I jumped the gun a bit. There are two cruiserweight matches, and it appears that the cruiserweight title match will get its just due on the main card, hopefully, while the six-man tag will be on the pre-show.

[somethingvinyl]

C'mon, I need something to talk about. 

HIAC was good. What Culture gave a good review on "What Just Happened". 

Sasha vs Charlotte was great. Good match. First women's main event on WWE PPV and first time women were in HIAC. Sure, there were some botched spots and the finish was a little underwhelming, but overall, probably match of the night. 

[TheWindBlower]

Cruiserweight show "205 Live" coming to WWE Network Tuesday, November 29th.

Press Release

 

Love this decision. No word yet on whether they'll continue to be on Raw, though.

[somethingvinyl]

It's going to be great because it seems like everybody they signed for the Cruiserweight division are just the most incredible workers. I hope this means that they won't slowly remove CW from Raw over time.

Edited November 3, 2016 by somethingvinyl

[Breezus]

That's good news but I wish they replaced RAW's third hour with the new cruiserweight show instead of not having Talking Smack right after SD! (I'd hate to see it edited). Either way, I hope they actually get good reactions now because seeing the crowd on RAW not give two shits during their matches is fucking sad.

 

The HIAC main event was mostly really good (mainly because they did a lot of unexpected stuff - never thought I'd see some of those spots) but that finish did nobody any favours. I don't get why they took the belt from Charlotte in the first place if this was the plan all along. Even from a kayfabe perspective, Sasha looks like an absolute idiot for making the challenge and then nearly dying (as if SummerSlam wasn't enough). It's a shame because it definitely dragged the main event down.

[somethingvinyl]

Apparently, they're going for a Bayley vs Charlotte program and they needed the belt on a heel and didn't want Sasha to turn heel.

[TheWindBlower]

Going to NXT Live in Boston tomorrow. Very excited, first time seeing an NXT show live. Hoping to see some good matches before Toronto this Saturday. NXT has been consistently great the last few weeks. Dusty tournament has been interesting.

 

Side note: Has anybody been to a NXT Live event? Do the superstars hang around before or after the show?