• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

April Wrasslin' |OT| A Max Landis Production

C

Caderfix

Member
They are trying to push Roman over for more than 2 years. Now they realized he won't get over with most of the fans, so they will make it looks like the crowds are butthurt because he is better than their darlings, painting them are haters.

Why do they like the idea of shoving things down the audience's throats so much? Why does Roman needs to be everything right now, instead of giving him more time to build up a character?

Most of the hate comes from the fact that it is ALL Roman all the time. Just slow down a bit and people might be able to get rid of the sour taste in their mouths and accept him, or at least not hate him as much as they do right now.

Roman can't lose clean, no one else get's to be built and the title is always orbiting around him. It's not a surprise people got sick and tired of him.

The cruiserweight belt would be an amazing addition and possible solution for this "there can only be one" issue. Rotate between the champions, one week focus on the heavyweight champion, the next one focus on the cruiserweight champion, always giving the week off to the other champion, with no appearance at all. Give people time to breath a little.
 
B

British Monsoon

Member
"Roman's not turning heel, but he’s the old-school champion like Dory Funk Jr., Jack Brisco or Lou Thesz in the sense they become heels because they defend against faces with the psychology fans want to see a title change. But they never behaved themselves like heels, and just did a few subtle things in the matches to play that role."

The difference being that the fans respected Dory, Jack & Lou as the very best in the world, even if they didn't like them, and all those guys more than had the skills to back it up. Also, as much as I'm sure Vince would like to believe it so, the WWE title ain't shit these days compared to the NWA belt back then.
 
UberTag

UberTag

Member
Bert409 said:
I don't get it, if Roman's not going to be a kid-friendly Cena type then who is supposed to cheer for him?
Click to expand...
Vince McMahon will cheer for him.

Caderfix said:
The cruiserweight belt would be an amazing addition and possible solution for this "there can only be one" issue. Rotate between the champions, one week focus on the heavyweight champion, the next one focus on the cruiserweight champion, always giving the week off to the other champion, with no appearance at all. Give people time to breath a little.
Click to expand...
This idea only works if Roman gets to face each new cruiserweight champion and beat them clean as a whistle to assert which title actually means something before they go off on their little 50/50 tap dance with their partner of the month. Vince doesn't want someone looking more strong than "the guy".
 
B

blackaroni

Member
So many homeowners in the WWE these days. If we got a Mania performance from Flo Rida then there wouldn't be so much confusion on who's house it was.
 
B

bjork

Member
MoonsaultSlayer said:
Can WWE be done with the authority stuff? It was nice watching Raw without Steph's sour puss and with Vince being semi-respectful.
Click to expand...

It was pretty nice when the only time you'd see a non-ref authority figure was when Tunney needed to rule on a match or something. And even then, it would mostly be done from his office, not coming out for some 20 minute promo.
 
B

Browny

Banned
JavyOO7 said:
Sin Cara has some muscle in him whenever he does that. Its great.
Click to expand...
I remember the first time I saw him do that - and I don't think it was a small guy either. Impressive.

In other news, Stunnin' Steve is retired in favour of the hopefully-not-soon-to-be-berried Enzo. SAWFT.
 
Luschient

Luschient

Member
Laws00 said:
Triple-H-Entrance-Wrestlemania-32-595x346.jpg
Click to expand...

Imagine if Finn's mask had accidentally fallen off during that entrance. Crowd would've shat.
 
B

Bluekaveli

Member
Caderfix said:
Right? I do the same for Hogan and Flair as well.
Click to expand...
I also forgot, I always read it with Austin's mannerisms, same with Hokkan. Flair, I read them screaming for vengeance.


Metzler said some really great stuff but the thing that really captured me the most was that Bayley is 26 and how her gimmick isn't going to hold up very long. Maybe until she's 30,the comparison to Cena is real but they made sure his shit stayed the same and they'll possibly do the same if Bayley comes to maim roster and sells merchandise like a made lady.


Here's the full state of NXT thing


But evaluating it after the act, it’s weird. The guy on the show that fans thought was the least like a star, Baron Corbin, was the one being brought up with a push to the main roster. Corbin has potential and he’s the exact type of guy who should be touring in developmental so that when he comes to the main roster, he’s ready for a top spot. On this show, he was the only guy who couldn’t perform at the top level. Apollo Crews, who can perform at a top level, was also less over than most.

It’s pretty clear that Balor, Joe, Nakamura, Zayn, Asuka, Bayley, Austin Aries, Jordan & Gable should all not only be on the main roster, but most should be top tier stars. Balor should be one of the top guys, and as a high flier who is 34 with a lot of miles on him, he shouldn’t be wasting his remaining bump card for a salary with one less zero at the end. In a company weak on top heels today, the idea of bringing up Corbin instead of Joe, who at 37, also shouldn’t be wasting his remaining best earning years both for himself and for the company when he’s probably the best opponent on the entire roster right now for Brock Lesnar, as well as a strong opponent for Roman Reigns, and even a viable opponent for The Rock, as well as every other top babyface. Joe, just standing there, has a face and carries himself the closest to Lesnar as anyone.

When it was announced that Nakamura was starting in NXT, a lot of people thought it was insulting, since he may be the best wrestler in the world. I didn’t agree, because there are things about WWE that are very different from New Japan and there is a transition period that you need.

The problem is, it was clear in one match that the thing that is difficult for most technically good wrestlers when coming to WWE, which is a natural charisma that plays in big buildings, well, he’s got it more than anyone on the roster. Him being in the secondary brand makes as much sense is sending Stephen Curry to the D-League, have him debut by scoring 50 points in his first game, and then keep him there while the franchise team is playing .500 ball.

WWE just called up two women from developmental, Emma and Eva Marie, while leaving Bayley and Asuka here. Asuka is easily the best woman wrestler in the company, and is as good as any of the men as far as the wrestling aspect goes. The men with more charisma can be counted on one hand. When the entire idea is to rebuild the women’s division to be taken as serious athletics and Eva Marie and even Emma are brought up ahead of her, well, that’s just mind boggling talent judgment, and I’m glad Emma was brought up. But in watching this show from far away, Asuka does have a weakness in that her game doesn’t translate as well in a big arena as a small arena. But in NXT, where except for a few times a year you’re playing small arenas, she’ll never close that weakness. Nakamura has experience in big buildings, but I didn’t know about his style translating without needing some time to figure out the differences between Japan and the U.S. But he’s already figured out how to get over in the ring in the U.S. more than guys who have worked 20 years in the U.S. Jordan & Gable as a team also translate just as well in the big arena, but Dash & Dawson really don’t.

Bayley is a different situation. She and Balor are the faces of the promotion. There’s also a really good chance the talent evaluators who see Eva Marie as a top star even though she’s got nothing but a killer body and very limited talent will totally miss the boat on Bayley. She’s a very good wrestler, but her key is she’s got the perfect face for her role and if they play their cards right she has more value to the company than any woman on the roster. The problem is her appeal is to little girls and to a segment of guys. That appeal isn’t going to work when she’s 30. She may be able to transition into an effective character at 30, but this character works as long as she can pass for big sister or cool young tomboy, and not as mom’s friend or just another 30-year-old girl. She’s already 26, but can pass for 18, but that won’t be forever. Her time clock for her peak as a merchandise seller and in being a superstar to a demo wrestling has never hit big with is limited.

Jordan & Gable are a fantastic team. They are the best team in the company. Enzo & Cass, who were just brought up, have a great act, and can be excellent show openers. Jordan & Gable can be a tag team that main events and carries a show, like a modern Stevens & Patterson or Stevens & Bockwinkel. They won’t grow stale in time like the Road Warriors and Rock & Roll Express acts were naturally going to. It’s just a different level of potential. The Vaudevillains were just brought up, but we’ve already seen in NXT that they have a limited shelf life.

Shown and identified were Kota Ibushi and Bobby Roode. They wouldn’t have shown them if they didn’t believe they were going to be debuting them soon. It’s hard to go wrong with either of them, although Ibushi already has a bad neck and if he’s coming to the U.S., shouldn’t be wasting too many bumps on one less zero in the paycheck. Roode would be a solid benefit to NXT in the sense he’s a veteran who can help teach the best of the young guys. Ibushi should be main roster bound quickly. The English is a problem. He knows it somewhat but isn’t fluent in it. He has charisma, but he doesn’t have Nakamura-level charisma. But for quota reasons, since so many decisions are based on quotas in WWE, they may be reluctant to push more than one super working Japanese male on the main roster at the same time.

One thing very different this year from the similar show last year, which also had a super hot crowd, is the reaction to WrestleMania and WWE. In San Jose, to the NXT crowd, it was cool to hate on WWE, with chants of “Better than Raw,” Better than Mania,” chants ripping on the Divas and stuff that hurt Vince McMahon’s feelings. This year, with all the complaints about the buildup, there was no negative vibe on WWE at this show. Videos regarding WWE were all cheered. The only thing, which was obviously going to happen, is when they showed the video for HHH vs. Reigns, that fans booed the hell out of Reigns and cheered HHH. Also notable is that unlike the Takeover shows and last year’s show, there was no HHH. Apparently Vince made the call that he didn’t want HHH out and playing babyface at any point on this show. Stephanie was shown at ringside before Bayley vs. Asuka with the idea she’s behind women getting their chance to vote 96 years later. Fans did boo Stephanie but she took it well.

For Nakamura, at least so far, he’s keeping his first name. It can change on the main roster, but given part of his value is to help penetrate the Japanese market and beat New Japan for the top spot there, changing a name that famous doesn’t make marketing sense in the big picture.

He’s not keeping his music, but we knew that going in. He’s also keeping his bom a ye finish, although for whatever reason, not the name bom a ye. I have no idea why, although the new name is the Kinshasa.

That has a back story. Bom a ye comes from the Muhammad Ali vs. George Foreman “Rumble in the Jungle” fight on October 30, 1974. The fight was in Kinshasa, Zaire, and when Ali came to Zaire to train, everywhere he went, the fans in Kinshasa chanted “Ali Bom Ba Ye.” After Ali fought Antonio Inoki in 1976, Inoki took the fighting spirit from Ali and his entrance music started out, “Inoki Bom Ba Ye,” and people chanted that at Inoki matches for the next 22 years. When Inoki became a promoter, his big cards were called Inoki Bom Ba Ye, whether in pro wrestling or MMA. Nakamura named his finisher after Inoki, so when the name got nixed for whatever silly reason, the name he came up with was the birthplace of the name
Click to expand...
 
Z

ZombieSupaStar

Member
So is this the year the wresting game will be good? Didnt hear much about last years being bad except the god awful sub system.

I wish they would get rid of the health bar though, reminds me too much of attitude/warzone
 
S

slightconfuse

Banned
Court Bauer announced that Chris Cruse and Hugo savinovich are doing English commentary for the AAA show that will air on the Fight network in Canada.
 
M

Mahonay

Banned
ZombieSupaStar said:
So is this the year the wresting game will be good? Didnt hear much about last years being bad except the god awful sub system.

I wish they would get rid of the health bar though, reminds me too much of attitude/warzone
Click to expand...
It will still be a sub-par video game. Probably won't change as long as 2K and WWE keep the Yukes team on development to make these games on the cheap.
serenewarfare said:
Meltzer saying we're getting a Becky Lynch/Emma program. This excites me.
Click to expand...
Yeeeeeessssssssssss. Should be fucking great.
 
C

Caderfix

Member
ZombieSupaStar said:
So is this the year the wresting game will be good? Didnt hear much about last years being bad except the god awful sub system.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't bet on it, really. Last year's game had a lot of issues, from graphical ones to gameplay decisions. Also, the career mode is not good.

I don't believe it'll be good until 2K19 or so.
 
M

Mahonay

Banned
You know, WWE might have shit booking and worse writing, and a champion we don't want, but fuck it's nice to see them finally building a roster of all new guys, even if they were pretty much forced into it. Now if they could resist bringing back guys like The Rock and Stone Cold solely to crush said new talent for no apparent reason we'd be in business.
 
B

Browny

Banned
Mahonay said:
You know, WWE might have shit booking and worse writing, and a champion we don't want, but fuck it's nice to see them finally building a roster of all new guys, even if they were pretty much forced into it. Now if they could resist bring back guys like The Rock and Stone Cold solely to crush said new talent for no apparent reason we'd be in business.
Click to expand...

I think it's entirely probable that the quality of the actual matches themselves is the highest they've ever had (due in no small part to the quality of the guys and girls they have now, and how hard they work). It's time for the quality of the writing and booking to match the level of the matches. I find myself enjoying the matches, but pretty much skipping and ignoring everything else so as not to be disappointed.
 
S

serenewarfare

Banned
Mahonay said:
Ugh. Paige. She has been so bad since her call up.
Click to expand...

I think Paige gets a bad rap because she has had no one to work with and was consistently in the title programs for her entire main roster run up until about three months ago because she was the only one good enough and over enough to be in that spot until the NXT women came up.

I think she'll have a much, much better showing now that the roster is more talented and she has better people to work with.
 
B

British Monsoon

Member
Get on board the Nikki Storm hype train now, friends - I can see her showing a lot of people up, not only with her wrestling skills, but with her character and bearing. She's a bit like Asuka in that sense, she's got the psychology of her character down to a tee.
 
J

JavyOO7

Member
Bluekaveli said:
I also forgot, I always read it with Austin's mannerisms, same with Hokkan. Flair, I read them screaming for vengeance.


Metzler said some really great stuff but the thing that really captured me the most was that Bayley is 26 and how her gimmick isn't going to hold up very long. Maybe until she's 30,the comparison to Cena is real but they made sure his shit stayed the same and they'll possibly do the same if Bayley comes to maim roster and sells merchandise like a made lady.


Here's the full state of NXT thing
Click to expand...

There's a lot going against Bayley, but man, I hope she hits it out of the park whenever she comes into the main roster.
 
M

Mahonay

Banned
serenewarfare said:
I think Paige gets a bad rap because she has had no one to work with and was consistently in the title programs for her entire main roster run up until about three months ago because she was the only one good enough and over enough to be in that spot until the NXT women came up.

I think she'll have a much, much better showing now that the roster is more talented and she has better people to work with.
Click to expand...
I dunno man, even when the few times they've put her with capable workers since her call up she's just been super duper bad compared to NXT. I'll regain my trust in her when I see it with my own eyes.

At least her matches make me laugh, with her constantly yelling out the next spot in the match.
 
T

TarpitCarnivore

Member
Mahonay said:
Now if they could resist bringing back guys like The Rock and Stone Cold solely to crush said new talent for no apparent reason we'd be in business.
Click to expand...

They wont because of the pops they keep getting. Most people are saying the Rock thing sucked, but yet it was LOUD when he came out and people in the arena seemed to love it.

What is going to be telling is if/when they call up the rest of the NXT stars (Joe, Nakamura, Bayley, Jordan & Gable, etc) how fans will react. Fans, here and wreddit, complain about booking and writing but also want some of these guys to instantly go champion. I mentioned this in the ratings thread but with the way the modern fan works they want every guy they like to be the champion at the same time. Completely forgetting that for so long so much of what made some strong wrestling segments were total package shows. Guys like Taker, Brett, Owen, etc didn't always carry a belt.
 
UberTag

UberTag

Member
TarpitCarnivore said:
They wont because of the pops they keep getting. Most people are saying the Rock thing sucked, but yet it was LOUD when he came out and people in the arena seemed to love it.

What is going to be telling is if/when they call up the rest of the NXT stars (Joe, Nakamura, Bayley, Jordan & Gable, etc) how fans will react. Fans, here and wreddit, complain about booking and writing but also want some of these guys to instantly go champion. I mentioned this in the ratings thread but with the way the modern fan works they want every guy they like to be the champion at the same time. Completely forgetting that for so long so much of what made some strong wrestling segments were total package shows. Guys like Taker, Brett, Owen, etc didn't always carry a belt.
Click to expand...
I don't think it's so much that fans want their guys to "instantly go champion" so much as they want them to have something of relevance to do on the main roster and to be built for something of substance down the road and the very nature of main roster booking being directionless, rife with 50/50 outcomes and no storytelling of any kind has helped fuel this "champion or bust" mindset.

Perhaps once the realization that Roman will either be champ or main eventing for the next decade sinks in people will learn to enjoy the little pleasures of a 50/50 program against Jericho where their chosen one loses. Taker, Bret and Owen may not have always carried a belt but they at least had a story to play out and a multitude of opportunities to tell that story via promos and organically developed feuds that flowed from beginning to end... even if some of them got a little derivative like Taker's urn getting stolen all the time.
 
S

serenewarfare

Banned
Mahonay said:
I dunno man, even when the few times they've put her with capable workers since her call up she's just been super duper bad compared to NXT. I'll regain my trust in her when I see it with my own eyes.

At least her matches make me laugh, with her constantly yelling out the next spot in the match.
Click to expand...

She has had a few really good matches with Sasha and some fine matches with Charlotte. Plus now she has Emma to work with again and they are always good together.
 
M

Mahonay

Banned
TarpitCarnivore said:
They wont because of the pops they keep getting. Most people are saying the Rock thing sucked, but yet it was LOUD when he came out and people in the arena seemed to love it.

What is going to be telling is if/when they call up the rest of the NXT stars (Joe, Nakamura, Bayley, Jordan & Gable, etc) how fans will react. Fans, here and wreddit, complain about booking and writing but also want some of these guys to instantly go champion. I mentioned this in the ratings thread but with the way the modern fan works they want every guy they like to be the champion at the same time. Completely forgetting that for so long so much of what made some strong wrestling segments were total package shows. Guys like Taker, Brett, Owen, etc didn't always carry a belt.
Click to expand...
lol what kind of marks do you think we are? I don't really give a fuck who holds the imaginary championships as long as they give me a reason to be invested in their story. That's the problem with Reigns, there's ZERO investment for a lot of us. The bad writing and booking is directly connected to that. When they don't tell stories, we have to make them for ourselves. And guys fighting for the belt is pretty much all we get these days.

In NXT, The Revival were certainly not my favorite tag team, but they got me invested. And that's what I want out of pro wrestling.

Also I really don't think one huge pop at Mania is worth making the talent that will actually be there the other 365 days of the year look weak as hell.
 
S

slightconfuse

Banned
Mahonay said:
lol what kind of marks do you think we are? I don't really give a fuck who holds the imaginary championships as long as they give me a reason to be invested in their story. That's the problem with Reigns, there's ZERO investment for a lot of us. The bad writing and booking is directly connected to that. When they don't tell stories, we have to make them for ourselves. And guys fighting for the belt is pretty much all we get these days.

In NXT, The Revival were certainly not my favorite tag team, but they got me invested. And that's what I want out of pro wrestling.

Also I really don't think one huge pop at Mania is worth making the talent that will actually be there the other 365 days of the year look weak as hell.
Click to expand...

Not to mention it's ether main event or 50/50 club.
 
P

plagiarize

Banned
JavyOO7 said:
There's a lot going against Bayley, but man, I hope she hits it out of the park whenever she comes into the main roster.
Click to expand...

I think Bailey is like Sami, in that both are just so naturally likeable, that they're going to get over as baby faces no matter what.

As far as her age, I think she's going to retain a youthful look for quite a few more years. She's a literal baby face in the physical sense too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

K-Drama |OT| A Swoonworthy Community
36
2K
near replied
PS Blog |OT| Your full guide to the all-new PlayStation Plus
|OT| Hype 2 3 4
155
16K
Nitty_Grimes replied
Wrasslin' Thread 20XX |OT| New Age WrestleGAF
Sports 167 168 169 170 171
9K
471K
NickFire replied
May Wrasslin' |OT| May I Fancy You To A Nice Arse Whipping?
395 396 397 398 399
20K
844K
giancarlo123x replied
May Wrestling |OT2| We watch it so you don't have to
125 126 127 128 129
6K
326K
H1PSTER replied
Top Bottom