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All Pro-Wrestling thread

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Bean
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Re: All Pro-Wrestling thread

Post by Bean »

Not going to lie, I miss having WCW around as an alternative. I'm talking early to mid-90s stuff before the nWo thing went way past its expiration date (much like the HHH show in WWE). Any show that had Sting, Rick Rude, or Arn Anderson on it were always good, and then the Cruiserweight stuff after Hogan came in to ruin things like he always does.

WWE's always been campy, but I liked that southern style WCW had going for it when they weren't doing their own stupid things.
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aka Cthulhu
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Re: All Pro-Wrestling thread

Post by aka Cthulhu »

I wasn't much of a watcher back then, as I think WWE programming didn't air around here on time until I was around my last year of high school, and by that time WCW was long gone. For most part, I've seen clips, watched a match here and there, and read about what had happened. In general, it does seem like it would be nice to have a big alternative to WWE stuff. With just the two main shows, that's 5 hours of wrestling for week, and it's bound to get stale. The current brand split has freshened things up, and there's some general improvement here and there, but it's just too much content from one source. I'd be definitely bored if I tried to watch RAW and Smackdown every week.

Alas, at least on TV, there's not a lot of alternatives to wrestling. TNA was long gone on TV here before it went iffy. The only non-WWE wrestling stuff on TV here is Lucha Underground, which is nice but the channel is just showing season 1 in a loop, not to mention that the English subtitles are covered up by Chinese subtitles.

And while it just sounds plain smarky, RAW's treatment of Roman Reigns is straight up diaper butt. They're still trying to make him a huge deal, which just makes crowd reaction abysmal. I recall some time ago in WWE's youtube channel of a top ten list of the catchiest catchphrases in recent times. I think the number one was the super lame line Reigns had: "I'm not a good guy, I'm not a bad guy, I'm THE guy" or something of the sort. Like... it's not even catchy. The guy can be decent in the ring, but WWE writing and their general narrative of him just makes the dude come off as lame.
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Truhan
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Re: All Pro-Wrestling thread

Post by Truhan »

What a way to kick off the new year. Dixie Carter has FINALLY been ousted from TNA by Anthem, who have now purchased TNA in totality. From what I understand, it is another Ted Turner type of situation where the people at the very top are billionaires not too concerned with how much TNA loses (always supposing it doesn't hit WCW levels of losses, of course), so TNA could be around for a while longer. Unfortunately, Dixie may have successfully failed her way upwards, she's being put in an advisory board in Anthem to help "grow the brand". This is fucking hilarious when you think about how much she managed to "grow" the TNA brand since 2014. In a mere two years, it's gone from being viewed by over a million people to close to a quarter of that. That's growth of -75%. Good luck, Anthem.
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Truhan
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Re: All Pro-Wrestling thread

Post by Truhan »

For those of you that haven't heard, Kenny Omega vs Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 11 is the greatest match ever. Dave Meltzer gave it six stars out of a possible five, and he's been reporting on wrestling for over 40 years.
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aka Cthulhu
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Re: All Pro-Wrestling thread

Post by aka Cthulhu »

Truhan wrote:For those of you that haven't heard, Kenny Omega vs Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 11 is the greatest match ever. Dave Meltzer gave it six stars out of a possible five, and he's been reporting on wrestling for over 40 years.
That's what I heard. Haven't watched it yet due to being busy with stuff lately.

Will probably give it a look on Monday morning, just after the Royal Rumble, I reckon.

The Royal Rumble is often a fun little PPV, though the endings can be rather... groan worthy. Will WWE do it again and cause much fan rage? Gut feeling says... maybe.
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aka Cthulhu
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Re: All Pro-Wrestling thread

Post by aka Cthulhu »

Watched the Royal Rumble yesterday. It was... well, it was there. Woke up late, so I really only got to watch the Royal Rumble match. Didn't really have a surprise entrant. After AJ last year, I was kind of wondering who'd be in there as a surprise, but there was no new faces. It was okay, I suppose. Orton won, though I had to admit it would have been interesting to see the mass anger if Roman had won again. Deflated a bit when Roman showed up as number 30... it was an impossible thought, since he really should not wrestle anymore, but with him being announced to be in the HoF, it would've been great to see Kurt Angle in the ring again. Also, since he lasted that long, I was kind of hoping that Sami Zayn could have been the winner. Another unlikely possibility, for a brief moment I had hoped.

Aside from that, on RAW, Samoa Joe makes his main roster debut. Few days before Asuka retained her NXT women's champion status, still undefeated in NXT. Nakamura's no longer champ... can't help but hope that he'd show up on Smackdown. I wanna see him with a Wrestlemania entrance, dammit!
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aka Cthulhu
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Re: All Pro-Wrestling thread

Post by aka Cthulhu »

Injury bug in the WWE strikes again, unfortunately. In some horrible timing, apparently Seth re-injures his knee during the Samoa Joe run-in. Like, seriously bad timing.
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Bean
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Re: All Pro-Wrestling thread

Post by Bean »

I can't remember the last good Royal Rumble. I want to say 2010 with Edge's return. I know I stopped caring in recent years because 2011 was horrid, 2012's the one I forget in full and the wrong dude won, 2013 was predictable as could be, 2014 was for a part-timer instead of Daniel Bryan, 2015 was the day I stopped watching the WWE, and the last two apparently have also been boring.
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Re: All Pro-Wrestling thread

Post by aka Cthulhu »

Last year at least had AJ Styles debut, and the dude's been killing it since then. One thing about that Rumble I recall was the general complaint about Roman: he got kayfabe hurt during the match and had to be brought to the back by refs, and him coming back was to show how badass he is... despite Dean Ambrose (and Kevin Owens) had a match earlier and they came into the rumble match visibly (kayfabe) hurt and didn't even back down.

This year was so-so, for most part. It just fizzled out near the end. Gotta say, when the last two was Orton and Roman, I had an "oh, crap" feeling due to the possibility of Roman winning again, just because of the reaction it would create. Orton's win was generally well-received, though people are complaining at the possibility of yet another Orton vs. Cena match. Seems like one possible scenario is that Bray Wyatt wins the Elimination chamber two weeks from now (seriously, two weeks from now, too many PPVs lately), and it'll be him vs. Randy.
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Bean
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Re: All Pro-Wrestling thread

Post by Bean »

I'm not an Orton fan. Dude's as boring as can be. He's like the anti-AJ Styles in terms of excitement because he's basically a one-move wonder. John Cena, even though he was always given a shot, at least feels like he earned the right to keep his spot at the top. Can't say the same thing for the other dude.
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aka Cthulhu
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Re: All Pro-Wrestling thread

Post by aka Cthulhu »

Orton's hit-or-miss for me. When he's working well, it's cool and all, but multiple times it feels rather so-so.

Like, his return and lead-up to the Brock Lesnar match was pretty nice. Briefly, I thought that the match would be rather good; better than the somewhat meh match Brock had with Dean. When the match came, it was eh. Perhaps it was due to the recent style of Lesnar squashes, but the build up to the match was a lot better than the match itself.
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aka Cthulhu
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Re: All Pro-Wrestling thread

Post by aka Cthulhu »

Something I found a while ago, a trilogy of songs more or less covering Kevin Owens, while he was still Kevin Steen in the indies, and his feud with Sami Zayn who was still El Generico. First song is a bit eh to me, while it picks up on the second and third. Second one is less about their feud and more about Steen vs. ROH.








And of course, Sin Cara's botchtastic song, set to the tune of Spiderman:

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Zeldamaster12
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Re: All Pro-Wrestling thread

Post by Zeldamaster12 »

Bray finally won the big one last night, so he's going on to Wrestlemania to face Orton. Honestly pretty predictable, but I'm glad Bray's finally getting a main event push, albeit a Wrestlemania main event. Dude's been a top star for around four years without a singles title, and I've been patiently waiting for him to finally get a world title. It's as if the Wyatts lost essentially all their feuds, so thank god (I hope) that's over.

In 2010, we saw Husky Harris (formerly Bray Wyatt) of the Nexus and I'm sure nobody thought that in the coming years, he'd be a world champion.
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aka Cthulhu
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Re: All Pro-Wrestling thread

Post by aka Cthulhu »

Yeah, somewhat predictable, but at this point, finally. They certainly took their time with Bray, and for quite a while it just felt like he was there doing the same type of feud over and over again. Hopefully at this point being champion will provide a breath of fresh air to him.
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SAJewers
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Re: All Pro-Wrestling thread

Post by SAJewers »




Sidewalk Slam Episode on the Rumble.
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aka Cthulhu
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Re: All Pro-Wrestling thread

Post by aka Cthulhu »

Speaking of podcasts, been hearing good things about Bruce Prichard and recently Tony Schiavone's podcast. Haven't given a listen to it yet, as at least on the former an episode can be around 2-3 hours long.
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Re: All Pro-Wrestling thread

Post by aka Cthulhu »

Something random. Looking back, Wrestlemania 30, when Daniel Bryan wins the main event.



One hell of a moment, and I think one of the best Wrestlemania moments in recent time. The crowd going wild, Michael Cole going super pro-Daniel the moment Bryan hits the knee to the Batista and locks in the Yes Lock. And hell, a large chunk of that 'Mania was all about Bryan being the first and last match. Probably the only main event that would have the crowd wild when a few matches back it was Undertaker's WM streak finally being broken.
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Zeldamaster12
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Re: All Pro-Wrestling thread

Post by Zeldamaster12 »

So evidently Orton gave up his main event of Wrestlemania spot, and there's going to be a battle royale next week to determine who is going to face Bray at Wrestlemania.

My prediction? This is going to lead to Bray vs Orton vs Harper. They can't just have Orton win the Rumble, then give up his main event spot. Something's definitely fishy.
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aka Cthulhu
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Re: All Pro-Wrestling thread

Post by aka Cthulhu »

If I were to think cynically, Cena's gonna win the battle royale, and Bray would have Orton join in the Wrestlemania match as back-up, making said match a triple threat. Whether it leads to Orton turning on Bray is up in the air. Hopefully, that's not the case.

Whatever happens, Bray's entrance in WM should be a sight to see. Maybe they'll give him an actual lamp this time and not the silly LED lamp. I mean, if the Rock can go around with a flamethrower last year then it should be fair game.

In the RAW side of things, recent episode was actually on point. The festival of friendship was great; Jericho's "It's art! You don't need pants!" is gold. His heartfelt speech, followed by the reveal that his name is on KO's list... good stuff.
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Re: All Pro-Wrestling thread

Post by aka Cthulhu »

BRAAAAAAAAAAUN. Seriously, Braun Strowman so far has been quite good. Like a much better Great Khali, in the sense of big guy wrestlers in the WWE. Guy has improved since about a year ago when he was just part of the Wyatts with his hair making him look like a giant bearded baby. Cutting off the sides helps him look more intimidating, plus wrestling-wise there's a much bigger improvement on his side. Guy can do dropkicks and can move pretty fast in the ring, which is rather nice to see.

Also, Roman Reigns trying to attack him after the match and Braun just crushing the dude is hilarious. Like, narrative-wise, Roman is supposed to be the face, but the guy just looks like a dick trying to jump Braun who just finished a match clean. Sadly, WWE just ain't doing Reigns any favors in their horrid attempt to try to make him be a face. Dude's definitely better suited as a tweener or a straight up heel right now. Doesn't help that he still wears something similar to his Shield gear and comes out with his watered down Shield entrance music.
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Re: All Pro-Wrestling thread

Post by Zeldamaster12 »

A year ago, I never thought I'd say that I actually like Braun. He's improved immensely, and if I were to be honest, he's one of the best things on Raw right now, especially since JeriKO is over. Crushing his competition week in and week out is awesome and makes you think "man, who can stop him" (but oh boy I'll get to that). I wasn't sure where they were going with Braun when they were doing weekly squash matches with him, but it led up to him crushing nobodies to crushing even the Big Show. My only complaint about what they've been doing with Braun is the Sami Zayn storyline. I loved what they did with it, especially Foley firing up Zayn (loved the I'M WORTH 1000 EVA MARIES comment), and him winning against Braun by surviving for 10 minutes showed that the underdog was able to persevere. However, the Raw after, they had a last man standing match. It was honestly great, but what exactly is Sami doing now? Braun essentially lost the feud (excluding the last man standing match), yet Braun still looks extremely strong and Sami doesn't really have much to do these days. I still want Braun to look strong, but after their feud ended, Sami didn't really go anywhere. The same thing happened after his feud with KO mid last year.

Anywho, it's cool to see Roman get annihilated every week for once, but believe me, we all know where this is going. Roman getting pounded like this will only make him look stronger once he beats Braun at Fastlane, and yes, Roman is most likely going to beat Braun. I don't agree with it, and I hope this doesn't bury Braun's momentum, because as I said before, he's one of the best things on Raw currently.
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aka Cthulhu
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Re: All Pro-Wrestling thread

Post by aka Cthulhu »

I'm honestly hoping WWE gets the clue and actually lets Braun win... ah, who am I kidding? Considering that Roman's been laid flat two weeks in a row, narrative is really pointing towards Roman standing tall on Fastlane. Still, a tiny bit of me is still holding out hope that Braun gets the win on the next PPV. Guy's one of the better monster heel wrestlers in the WWE in recent years.

As for Sami, yeah. Kinda sucks that he's nothing more than an underdog. Not an underdog who wins the big ones... just a guy who looks like he'd pull through but fall short. Sucks that he's currently in that role, after his big match with Nakamura about a year ago and him winning that feud with Owens. Hoping that it would turn up better for him once the JeriKO breakup finishes up.

As for the Cruiserweights. Jack Gallagher has it. Guy has charisma and wrestles quite well. Neville also seems to work better as a heel. Like... I remember his promos during his feud with Sami Zayn back in next. Maybe it's the accent, but guy just doesn't sound smooth at all. On the other hand, talking as a heel has at least given him a certain edge in his voice that at least helps in his promo work.
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Re: All Pro-Wrestling thread

Post by aka Cthulhu »

Also, one cool thing on the recent Braun match. This wasn't included in WWE's clip of the match in their youtube account, but it was still quite a sight: at the start of the match, Braun's roll and kip up to reverse Show's wristlock. For a guy his size, the guy is scary agile.
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aka Cthulhu
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Re: All Pro-Wrestling thread

Post by aka Cthulhu »

Good lord. Third week in a row where Braun has won against Roman in a brawl. It really does feel that Braun will lose on Fastlane. That... would suck.
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Re: All Pro-Wrestling thread

Post by Zeldamaster12 »

That segment with Randy and Bray yesterday was magnificent.

Also AJ Styles is going to Wrestlemania instead of Luke Harper. I really don't get it, since a triple threat match between all the Wyatts would've been awesome, but they'd better be glad that I like AJ.
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