• 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.

December Wrasslin' |OT| This title has been held by all the greats...and Triple H

  • Thread starter Deleted member 47027
  • Start date
S

Snowman Prophet of Doom

Member
Watching Raw now. Are you fucking kidding me with this Barrett repackage? Jesus, what the hell?

Edit: Punk vs. The Shield should be fun. And Big E Langston talking about having a Skip-It Contest with Ziggler was funny. Watching Bryan v. Rowan now, should be fun. Why did they decide to drop the whole "Bryan kidnapped and brainwashed" thing?
 
K

Kaladin

Member
I found my classic E C F'N W shirt today. It's one of the old school ones, not the WWE reproductions. On the back it has something like "THE BIG TWO SUCK, WE SET THE F'N TONE." I might wear it out Saturday.
 
S

Snowman Prophet of Doom

Member
Goddamn, Bryan still has the crowd eating out of his hand, even wrestling a shit like Rowan. He truly is the lemonade makingest guy I've ever seen. Here's hoping an actually decent title reign is coming in the next year for him.

Edit: Goddamn, Rowan blows. Bryan just elbowed him in the head three times, he didn't sell a one.

Double Edit: Goddamn, those boots to the head are brutal. Rowan kinda sucks, but he gets a good strike in once in a while.
 
G

gurudyne

Member
Snowman Prophet of Doom said:
Watching Bryan v. Rowan now, should be fun. Why did they decide to drop the whole "Bryan kidnapped and brainwashed" thing?
Click to expand...

I assume they figured out one week isn't enough time to tell that story (assuming that's a route they want to go down). Not sure how far you are into the match, but
Bray said he was wrong in his approach and wants to seduce Bryan back to insanity and aggression rather than force him there.
It's really interesting stuff. Eager to see how it all plays out because either way, it's progress for both characters.
 
S

Snowman Prophet of Doom

Member
gurudyne said:
I assume they figured out one week isn't enough time to tell that story (assuming that's a route they want to go down). Not sure how far you are into the match, but
Bray said he was wrong in his approach and wants to seduce Bryan back to insanity and aggression rather than force him there.
It's really interesting stuff. Eager to see how it all plays out because either way, it's progress for both characters.
Click to expand...

Bray's promo was really good. It was the first time he felt like he was talking ABOUT something, rather than just rambling.

Edit: Haha, R-Truth's shitty entrance music is so good. Are we getting a Tons of Funk heel turn? How odd. That makes no sense to me, and yet it somehow makes perfect sense.
 
O

Officerrob

Banned
Just finished RAW, and I can't remember a time when I've been so disinterested in the product. I have gone from watching live to waiting until the show is over and fast forwarding anything that doesn't involve The Shield, Cody and Golddust, Cesaro, Bryan, and Punk. Unfortunately, even the storylines for those guys aren't very interesting right now.

Raw summary:

Bryan and Punk are in 3 on 1 "storylines" with little to nothing going for them (except for a great promo by Bray)

Ziggler and Sandow in a #1 contenders match for the IC belt, WHY? All these two do is lose!

Diva's match, yawn. AJ is stuck in a rut and going nowhere fast. They have done nothing to evolve her character and she's quickly turning into just another "diva", which is a bad thing

#BadNewsBarrett, seriously? How the fuck is this supposed to get over?

Brodus Clay on his way to turning heel, nobody gives a shit. Also, it looks like he's gained even more weight

ADR loses to Huni-Cara, and is going nowhere fast. Nobody has ever cared about him, and he just lost to a redebuting botch character who hasn't done shit on TV in months. If RAW wasn't three hours, ADR would/should be on Main Event.

Goldust & Cody Rhodes & Big Show vs The Shield was fun because five of the guys in this match were great. Big Show was OK, but should be used as a special attraction at his age.

Miz turned heel, no babyface, no heel, no baby...oh, nobody fucking cares!!

Puking segment: do they seriously not understand that the Titus puking segment on Smackdown was awful?

The epic contract contract signing for the biggest match in WWE history (or some such shit): Whatever, I'm rather watch the Survivor Series diva's elimination match on a loop for 24 hours than pay to watch these two in the main event in 2013. Fuck off WWE.
 
S

Snowman Prophet of Doom

Member
-Honestly, I "get" Xavier Woods with R-Truth. Xavier will probably never be a main event player, but he can be a great undercard staple with his charisma, sense of fun, and solid in-ring skills. And it's great that he's gotten to keep his 90s gimmick to at least some extent.

-Brodus has awful man-boobs. Wait, does he have spines on the back of his singlet? What the fuck, have those always been there?

-Oh, thank God Sin Cara is taking on Del Rio. Fast forward!

-WWE really wants to sell Cena vs. Orton as some kind of "epic" feud. Stop trying to make this happen, WWE. It's never gonna happen.

-Oh God, the crowd is filled with Cena marks.

Edit: Well, at least they've confirmed one guy will emerge as unified champion. At least they won't do the "switching titles" thing.

Double Edit: SO THEY FUCKING BUILD THE BIG SHOW UP FOR THREE GODDAMN MONTHS, AT THE EXPENSE OF THE HOTTEST WRESTLER OF 2013, JOB HIM OUT AFTER ONE PPV, AND HE'S JUST ANOTHER GUY IN A SIX-MAN? WTF?

Triple Edit: Brock plant makes the commercial for the 20th Anniversary collection?
 
F

FallingEdge

Member
Snowman Prophet of Doom said:
-Honestly, I "get" Xavier Woods with R-Truth. Xavier will probably never be a main event player, but he can be a great undercard staple with his charisma, sense of fun, and solid in-ring skills. And it's great that he's gotten to keep his 90s gimmick to at least some extent.

-Brodus has awful man-boobs. Wait, does he have spines on the back of his singlet? What the fuck, have those always been there?

-Oh, thank God Sin Cara is taking on Del Rio. Fast forward!

-WWE really wants to sell Cena vs. Orton as some kind of "epic" feud. Stop trying to make this happen, WWE. It's never gonna happen.

-Oh God, the crowd is filled with Cena marks.

Edit: Well, at least they've confirmed one guy will emerge as unified champion. At least they won't do the "switching titles" thing.

Double Edit: SO THEY FUCKING BUILD THE BIG SHOW UP FOR THREE GODDAMN MONTHS, AT THE EXPENSE OF THE HOTTEST WRESTLER OF 2013, JOB HIM OUT AFTER ONE PPV, AND HE'S JUST ANOTHER GUY IN A SIX-MAN? WTF?
Click to expand...

Sin Cara isn't Sin Cara fyi
 
S

Snowman Prophet of Doom

Member
Even if you DID watch that show, it's not altogether obvious that Barrett would go on live TV doing such a gimmick. I think we were all expecting a "serious" repackage, not something so, well, stupid.

Watching Henry beat on Fandango. I really do like Fandango. I wish he had a gimmick that could be something other than a joke.
 
B

British Monsoon

Member
Happy Birthday to Riki Chōshū, 62 years old today and still going strong!

iTCu2y1gEfJMg.jpg


Chōshū plans to retire next year, upon the 40th anniversary of his legendary in-ring career that saw him invent the sharpshooter (Sasori Gatame), win the 1996 G1 Climax and hold the IWGP Heavyweight Title on 3 separate occasions.

Here's his iconic theme song, 'Power Hall';

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F6t_wm3bqA

And his somewhat-questionable pop single 'Oath of Tomorrow';

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5664CHl6zY

And a selection of matches;

Riki Choshu vs Bob Backlund - (NJPW 08/24/84) - a proper grappling contest, even with the screwy Backlund ending. Also, this may be about Choshu, but damn...that Backlund deadlift. Wow.
Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu - (AJPW 02/01/85) - one of Meltzer's ***** rated matches.
Riki Choshu vs Genichiro Tenryu - (AJPW 09/03/86) - one of the best matches from the long-standing rivalry between these two all-time greats.
Riki Choshu vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara - (NJPW 06/09/87) - Choshu doesn't much like Fujiwara. What a bloodbath.
Riki Choshu vs Big Van Vader - (NJPW 08/19/90) - Choshu gets a taste of revenge against the big man.
 
S

Serpentine

Banned
Raw was shiiiiiiiiiiiit, but there was some good stuff, i.e. the 6-man tag, Punk doing coked out promos (lolwtf), and Bryan/Rowan (well, decent).

Brodus is probably the worst wrestler on WWE TV. He's worse than Erick Rowan, and Xavier Woods is no Daniel Bryan. We were discussing how WWE lacks veterans just a few days ago, but you can't just pretend that Brodus is some kind of main event vet putting young dudes in their place. I suppose he does have to worry about his regular Wednesday night spot being taken though.
Snowman Prophet of Doom said:
Even if you DID watch that show, it's not altogether obvious that Barrett would go on live TV doing such a gimmick. I think we were all expecting a "serious" repackage, not something so, well, stupid.

Watching Henry beat on Fandango. I really do like Fandango. I wish he had a gimmick that could be something other than a joke.
Click to expand...
The bareknuckle brawler thing was totally dead, though. They killed any interest I had in seeing Barrett over the last 8 months that a comedy-ish gimmick repackage is more entertaining to me than Fight Club Wade.
 
X

Xater

Member
Just started watching RAW. Did the seriously censor Punk saying douche bags? Can't even say that on PG? Man what has wrestling on TV become... :(
 
B

British Monsoon

Member
The bareknuckle brawler thing was more of a nickname than an actual gimmick - they never DID anything with it. There has always been sod all unique about his move-set that placed him apart from the rest of the roster, maybe it's because he's meant to be a striker who isn't that great at striking in a promotion that doesn't have a lot of striking. WWE need a Shibata.

Also, New Japan World Tag League Day 9 is live;

http://www.ustream.tv/njpw
 
X

Xater

Member
What the hell are they doing with AJ? Character doesn't make sense and they are jobbing her out like crazy.

Oh man the crowd us so dead during this Brodus Clay match. No one gives a shit about any of this.
 
R

Recall

Member
ROH Rising Above PPV – 29th December 2007
Brent Albright vs. Delirious = Grade: D, Weak.
Adam Pearce & BJ Whitmer vs. Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black vs. El Generico & Kevin Steen vs. Ruckus & Jack Evans (Tag Team Scramble) = Grade: B, Fun.
Lacey vs. Daizee Haze vs. Sara Del Ray = Grade: C, Passable.
Erick Stevens vs. Davey Richards = Grade: C, Passable.
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chris Hero = Grade: C, Passable.
Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima (Relaxed Rules) = Grade: C, Passable.
Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Rocky Romero & Roderick Strong (2 out of 3 Falls ROH Tag Team Title Match) = Grade: C, Passable.
Nigel McGuinness vs. Austin Aries (ROH World Title Match) = Grade: A, Exciting.

Review: ROH PPV’s always took an interesting approach to avoiding the issue with licensed music by simply cutting to the match once the wrestlers were in the ring or just creating situations where the music can be skipped such as ring rushes etc. This time we have ring rushes, promos between matches, “live” backstage feeds, picture in picture, wrestlers jumping their opponents, sneak attacks, matches melding into the next and plain old cut to the ring the match is starting, it is a little jarring doing all these on a single show but they did what they could...I guess.

The first three matches effectively were just extensions of each other and it made for a very chaotic and exciting start to the show. The Tag Team scramble was sheer madness with bodies going everywhere and each team shining by hitting their big moves and nonstop action. The women’s match slowed down the pace but regardless it still did what it wanted and helped push the whole faction warfare further. With a total of 8 PPV matches I’m not sure if they have too many matches for a 2 hour PPV, and if we will start seeing some more high energy sprints to get everything shown in time though I guess with no ring entrances they are saving time.

Stevens vs. Richards was as solid and sound as they come but doing a distraction angle was dumb especially for the sake of Daniel Puder. Blegh. Claudio vs. Hero really lacked that oomph for what was billed as a big feud. They certainly tried their hardest but it just lacked that finesse and clarity to make the near falls and finish matter.

Now for a match with a lot of history behind it and it begins with Danielson doing a pretty gnarly blade job off a table thrown at his head. Overall that was quite energetic and for some reason one of the shortest matches of the night though I guess it was justified with its brawling nature rather than a full fledged wrestling match. I did not like the finish, it was super dumb for what was billed as a “relaxed rules” match. So far this show has been booked in either a peculiar or deliberate way as we are currently an hour into the PPV and we’ve had 6 matches. You could have cut the previous 2 encounters and given us a longer fight so I’m just going to assume there is a reason we’ve blown through so many matches so quickly and see what the next 2 matches give.

We get a run down by the commentators that the Briscoes have won 4 previous 2 out of 3 fall matches in 2 straight falls, so it will be interesting to see if they bury this team too. Instead we finally get a match that was given the time it needed yet the crowd didn’t care and the finish was pretty underwhelming all things considered. My biggest complaint is the complaint I have against all American indy style pro wrestling is the constant pinfall attempts off everything that hits. Instead of using the momentum to follow up or work over the opponent in a submission or use it to their advantage as a team they just go for a pinfall which is obviously kicked out of and then out of nowhere the opponent has control. Rinse and repeat. It lacks structure, which in turn kills the chance to build up the heat and just nullifies almost all off your own offense and halts any potential true comeback. It felt like I was watching moves for the sake of it and no bigger story or exciting dynamic. There are certainly times when a move fest works but for a prolonged period it sort of weighs thin leaving you wanting them to do something more meaningful.

The show so far has very much found that place where it is all round perfectly acceptable and nothing is out right bad yet the contests haven’t really shone and all it would have took is the most basic of things to turn them around. I still can’t believe Danielson vs. Morishima was as short as it was. Oh well, main event is up next.

We have a crowd that is very much alive and extremely vocal about all the interactions between both men. Seeing Nigel get both a concussion and busted open so early it is a true testament of their knowledge as they still managed to entertain wonderfully well. I really liked how they changed it up as everything had more meaning as the pace was slower, they played off previous moments in the match and it was all far more deliberate resulting in exciting near falls, something which was missing from the previous bout on the card. They just worked so hard, took the bumps, built up the crowd and the pay off was excellent.

That main event saved the entire show and was easily my favourite encounter between Aries and McGuinness. There we have it, another PPV and another quality encounter to add to the must see list. There really should have been one less match to help keep the momentum from the Tag Team Scramble and Danielson vs. Morishima should have had more time but regardless it all still entertained.
 
A

Aiii

So not worth it
As expected, as per Meltzer, Original Sin Cara is likely to get fired soon and go back to Mexico. Hunico is likely replacing Sin Cara because merchandising is still selling (did really well on the Euro tour) and since he beat Del Rio he's likely getting a push. I liked Hunico's last run as Sin Cara. Meltzer thinks he'll suck and won't get over with the kids because he's less flashy. But I disagree, for one, Hunico can actually speak English and cut a promo here and there. I look forward to seeing what he can do. At least it's something.

Raw didn't suck this week, but what do you expect from the go-home show. Next week is the Slammy's show, so that's gonna be throwaway. Did see they added a Total Divas catagory, so I hope Vinny wins and becomes BEST TOTAL DIVAS THING EVER. I will laugh if they replaced Best Diva with Best Total Diva, because they need to not have AJ win.

Bit surprised about the emphasis on the Unification Match, pretty much guaranteed to actually happen now and not have a screwball ending. I guess they were aware pretty much everyone was expecting a shit finish again and had to assure us. Bit odd to do it on a B-PPV still, but hey, at least it's something to make TLC worth purchasing for viewers.

Rapstah said:
A minor brawl to set up an enormous match is okay, but Cena just won over Orton.
Click to expand...

So Orton wins the PPV match, rule #2 of WWE booking: Win on go-home show, lose on PPV.
Rule #1: Win non-title match, become #1 contender.
 
R

Rapstah

Member
Isn't it kind of disrespectful by the commentators to mention how "Sin Cara" had comic books made about him in Mexico when it's not actually Místico under the mask?
 
S

Striker

Member
Dark Ninja said:
its 2007 all over again somebody let me off this ride
Click to expand...
Triple H involved too, so it's the Raw main event scene that lasted forever. Now, seven years later...

DominoKid said:
Natalya is surprisingly (at least to me) sloppy.
Click to expand...
She comes off to me as one who likes working with the WWE and the traveling. Since they have not used her much or pushed her, she most likely doesn't give a shit about improving her conditioning or ability. Can't say I blame her - it seems as if every diva on the roster has held the title at some point or another. Definitely was that way a few years ago. Had McCool, Melina, Maryse, Eve, Beth Phoenix, Mickie, Layla, etc. and really all of them held it and every so often when Vince got in the mood he'd push one and the others would just job or do random shit. Seems like the male side of it, too, in the midcard.
 
B

British Monsoon

Member
The New Japan show was a lot of fun - all the world tag league matches are worth a watch and the undercard was pretty good as well, even the Rob Conway & Jax Dane match. Serious.

Also, Ishii is amazing;

iGmAWJbX4FaDW.gif


*edit, as is Minoru Suzuki;

ib0d3WqpXkcyrL.gif
 
R

Rapstah

Member
The poll for what they should call the new champion was probably rigged too. Note the "WWE" option and the "WHC" option both getting 31% like their rigged fucking 50/50 poll yesterday.
 
A

Aiii

So not worth it
Rapstah said:
The poll for what they should call the new champion was probably rigged too. Note the "WWE" option and the "WHC" option both getting 31% like their rigged fucking 50/50 poll yesterday.
Click to expand...

If it was rigged they wouldn't have said that management would take the poll result under advisement, it was obviously not their pick. They were hoping for an overwhelming WWE Champion result so they could use that belt without question.
 
T

TheWarrior

Banned
I gave up on Raw after the first hour and a half, pretty sure the Del Rio match put me to sleep on the couch. Looks like I didn't miss much.
 
I

Ithil

Member
Alucard said:
Which divas are actually capable of wrestling? Any of them?...AJ?...
Click to expand...

AJ, Paige, Emma, Bayley, Sasha Banks to a degree...eh, I don't know who else. Summer Rae and Alicia Fox aren't terrible, (especially given Summer has almost no experience and has gotten a lot better in the last year), they're ok. Natalya has been good at times, but she lost it a couple of years ago and hasn't gotten it back.

Xater said:
What the hell are they doing with AJ? Character doesn't make sense and they are jobbing her out like crazy.

Oh man the crowd us so dead during this Brodus Clay match. No one gives a shit about any of this.
Click to expand...

WATCH TOTAL DIVAS! NOW ON E!

That's what they're doing.
 
T

TheWarrior

Banned
Ithil said:
AJ, Paige, Emma, Bayley, Sasha Banks to a degree...eh, I don't know who else. Summer Rae and Alicia Fox aren't terrible, (especially given Summer has almost no experience and has gotten a lot better in the last year), they're ok. Natalya has been good at times, but she lost it a couple of years ago and hasn't gotten it back.



WATCH TOTAL DIVAS! NOW ON E!

That's what they're doing.
Click to expand...

From what I have seen of Alicia Fox, I would say she can definitely hold her own, she has some nice power moves.

Bellas have gotten a lot better too
 
D

Data West

coaches in the WNBA
Ithil said:
WATCH TOTAL DIVAS! NOW ON E!

That's what they're doing.
Click to expand...

They make a compelling case
6cqiFd7.gif


Also, does anyone who takes womens wrestling seriously watch WWE? Like, if you just really like female wrestling, historically speaking, you would have been watching stuff like Aja Kong and Manami Toyota instead of Trish and Lita.
 
S

spindashing

Banned
I still cringe when Alicia Fox is involved in a match; I fear her seriously hurting someone someday but I guess I haven't been keeping up with her recent inring stuff.
 
A

Aiii

So not worth it
Is it just me or did AJ and Punk make a bet last night where she had to skip around the ring for an entire match and he had to randomly sing on live TV?
 
D

Deleted member 47027

Unconfirmed Member
Dragonzord said:
They make a compelling case

Also, does anyone who takes womens wrestling seriously watch WWE? Like, if you just really like female wrestling, historically speaking, you would have been watching stuff like Aja Kong and Manami Toyota instead of Trish and Lita.
Click to expand...

You can like it all though, it's not mutually exclusive.
 
A

Aiii

So not worth it
I think there is sometimes a disconnect where there's people that mostly enjoy the wrestling aspect of pro wrestling and the people that need the sports entertainment aspect of pro wrestling in this thread.

I couldn't watch wrestling if I didn't get the outside-of-the-ring storylines and promo-work. If I didn't have that it would just people doing acrobatic things in a ring and I likely wouldn't give a fuck.
 
I

Ithil

Member
That's why I like NXT a lot. You get Sami Zayn vs Adrian Neville, but you also get wacky promos with Bayley or Enzo Amore or whoever, and good programs with the NXT title.
 
F

FallingEdge

Member
I enjoy both but for me, there has to be solid in ring action. It is why I can just watch 80s/90s AJPW or NJPW matches even if I don't know why they are wrestling. Other than to just beat each other up and win the match :p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

NJPW G1 Climax 27 [OT] It's a Real-Life Tournament Arc!!!!!
47 48 49 50 51
3K
159K
Anth0ny replied
NJPW G1 Special in USA [OT] Billy Gunn Main Events in 2017
35 36 37 38 39
2K
106K
Empyrean Heaven replied
March Wrasslin' |OT| The March to Wrestlemania XXXIII!
397 398 399 400 401
20K
718K
FlammableD replied
NJPW Dominion 6.11 in Osaka-jo Hall [OT] Legend of the Seven Stars
21 22 23 24 25
1K
59K
HashtagLapsed replied
  • Locked
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome [OT] The Omega Weapon
18 19 20 21 22
1K
77K
avengers23 replied
Top Bottom