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January Wrasslin' |OT| It's a New Year, Yes It Is!

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A

Aiii

So not worth it
Bluekaveli said:
When you say "misdirection" are you referring to them mentioning it on wwe.com?
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No, I am referring to new reports where these people have no contract, not even an offer, not even had any contact with WWE yet. Despite all leaving good New Japan deals behind and apparently choosing unemployment just for the fun of it.
 
S

Sephzilla

Member
Made in the USA Lex Luger, even as a child, felt like one of the most dead on arrival things I had ever seen. I still laugh at how the crowd gave minimal fucks about Luger when he landed on that boat to hiptoss Yokozuna.
 
D

Data West

coaches in the WNBA
kane is a thousand times better daemon gimmick than finn. at least kane doesn't turn it off as soon as hes in the ring
 
S

Sephzilla

Member
Data West said:
kane is a thousand times better daemon gimmick than finn. at least kane doesn't turn it off as soon as hes in the ring
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he turns it off once he gets outside the ring

XXKo0ln.gif
 
B

Bluekaveli

Member
Aiii said:
No, I am referring to new reports where these people have no contract, not even an offer, not even had any contact with WWE yet. Despite all leaving good New Japan deals behind and apparently choosing unemployment just for the fun of it.
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I understand now.

Striker said:
^ It would look incredibly daunting to see a 5'11, 195 lb guy facing off against someone whose only loss in the past several years has been Brock Lesnar, and has nearly ten inches and over 100 lbs on him.

Theoretically it can work, but they need to do some heavy build up for Finn in the process.

Because it was forced. He could've stayed heel and had a main event program with Bret.
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I'm glad you see this shit too. How do you have Brain backing this guy then he disappears for a few weeks and all of a sudden he's the big hero. It's dumb and made no sense. Bret could've made him a top heel but Vince was hungry for new muscle(literally).

Sephzilla said:
Made in the USA Lex Luger, even as a child, felt like one of the most dead on arrival things I had ever seen. I still laugh at how the crowd gave minimal fucks about Luger when he landed on that boat to hiptoss Yokozuna.
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It was stupid but people only cheered because Yoko was a huge heel(no pun intended). They were ten years behind and blind, that American made shit wasn't going back over, that's why they got tired of Hogan, partially.
 
A

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
Aiii said:
No, I am referring to new reports where these people have no contract, not even an offer, not even had any contact with WWE yet. Despite all leaving good New Japan deals behind and apparently choosing unemployment just for the fun of it.
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I mean I guess we could be getting worked but it doesn't seem like WWE typically makes a bunch of random comments through official channels about people they aren't doing business with
 
N

Ninja Scooter

Member
serenewarfare said:
I mean, a short (and fat) dude from NXT got hotshotted and two weeks later beat Cena clean in the middle on his first night, so I think the idea of anything being off the table is ridiculous.
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Owens has the moveset of a power/big guy. He's a convincing brawler despite his body shape. Second, I think a matchup with Takwr is a step up from Cena. It's great for KO that they put him over against Cena, but Rusev and Del Rio both have done the same recently. Taker is a step above that and seems reserved for much more established guys. The closest is maybe Bray, and even he had a good build up and Taker eventually squashed him. Expecting them to give an unproven guy a win over Taker is crazy. Finn might get there but this years WM is too soon. Hell he might not even debut in WWE until after Mania.
 
S

slightconfuse

Banned
WWE is relying on a super strong core audience spending more money than ever on a product that has less casual interest than at any time except the dark ages (1992 to 1996) in modern history. But even so, they are doing okay. It’s not the optimum. They are two huge stars away from the optimum, but in creating the brand as the draw, they’ve sacrificed the days of selling out shows on a regular basis and creating major difference making stars, the likes the business was built on.

The company seems to have two unique paying fan bases. They have the 3,000 to 7,000 fans in the small and semi-major markets who like to see live wrestling. They buy merchandise, cheer who they are supposed to and have a good time. It’s a good base, and it’s enough to exist on and make money.

They have the second audience that comes to big shows. That audienc is sometimes is into protesting. When it comes to those shows, they make all the difference in the world as to whether the shows come across well. They can also create an illusion of sorts, sometimes based in reality, oftentimes not, of who should and shouldn’t be featured and who is really popular and should be on top. Sometimes they are listened to. Sometimes they are given the push back by a promotion that doesn’t want to be dictated to. This past year was a unique battle between the promotion and the audience over who is in charge. At the end of the day, while the audience is told they are in charge, they clearly aren’t. In fact, much of this year, with Reigns as the pawn, has been about that battle.

Still, whether satisfied or dissatisfied, the vast majority of that fan base is not going to support another pro wrestling product, and wrestling has strong enough cultural roots that the dominant group having no competition is going to do okay. Wrestling has always been big on television, but now television pays significant money for wrestling, giving it a cushion it never had in the past. The entire history of wrestling would be very different if the current economics of television were around 30 years ago, or even 15 years ago.
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On point
 
S

Sephzilla

Member
Here's how you build up Balor vs Taker and make it work.

-You introduce Finn Balor around the Rumble, build up all of the history he has in Japan and shit.
-Establish early on that he's going to fight Undertaker at WrestleMania
-Build up how mismatched Balor appears to be physically against Undertaker
-Have Undertaker do all of his spooky shit the weeks leading up to it
-Tease Demon Balor the final Raw before Mania
-Reveal Demon Balor at Mania, have Taker be caught off guard by being out-spooked.
-Demon Balor defeats Taker (play it as a major upset)
-Taker does a passing of the torch thing to Demon Balor, Demon Balor gets Taker's powers
-Taker retires
-Raw after Mania = Bray Wyatt starts a feud with Balor, Wyatt is jealous because he wasn't able to get Taker's powers and feels Balor is unworthy.
 
S

serenewarfare

Banned
Meltzer confirming that the original plan was for AJ to be a surprise entrant in the Rumble, though that could change now that the news got out.
 
N

Ninja Scooter

Member
Sephzilla said:
Here's how you build up Balor vs Taker and make it work.

-You introduce Finn Balor around the Rumble, build up all of the history he has in Japan and shit.
-Establish early on that he's going to fight Undertaker at WrestleMania
-Build up how mismatched Balor appears to be physically against Undertaker
-Have Undertaker do all of his spooky shit the weeks leading up to it
-Tease Demon Balor the final Raw before Mania
-Reveal Demon Balor at Mania, have Taker be caught off guard by being out-spooked.
-Demon Balor defeats Taker (play it as a major upset)
-Taker does a passing of the torch thing to Demon Balor, Demon Balor gets Taker's powers
-Taker retires
-Raw after Mania = Bray Wyatt starts a feud with Balor, Wyatt is jealous because he wasn't able to get Taker's powers and feels Balor is unworthy.
Click to expand...

Taker is over as fuck and a face, even when he is kicking dudes in the dick. Putting a noob baby face in against one of the most popular guys in the sport is doing him a disservice. It would just be a confusing build up. Why are these feuding?
 
S

Sephzilla

Member
Ninja Scooter said:
Taker is over as fuck and a face, even when he is kicking dudes in the dick. Putting a noob baby face in against one of the most popular guys in the sport is doing him a disservice. It would just be a confusing build up. Why are these feuding?
Click to expand...

Balor wants to make a name for himself. Taker wants to fight some younger kid because he's sick of getting wrecked by Brock.

Or they could just go with a more simple feud which is that Balor is the NXT Champ and Taker wants to see if this new kid can go.

Not everything needs a super huge feud/build up, either, to be honest. Especially when Undertaker WrestleMania matches for the last 6 years have more or less been "______ wants to see if he can beat Undertaker at WrestleMania".
 
S

slightconfuse

Banned
Albert Einstein is often credited with saying, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.”

Now, there is no evidence Einstein actually said this, but if he lived long enough to watch TNA wrestling, he probably would have.
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Meltzer burn
 
C

Cagey

Banned
WWE is relying on a super strong core audience spending more money than ever on a product that has less casual interest than at any time except the dark ages (1992 to 1996) in modern history. But even so, they are doing okay. It’s not the optimum. They are two huge stars away from the optimum, but in creating the brand as the draw, they’ve sacrificed the days of selling out shows on a regular basis and creating major difference making stars, the likes the business was built on.
Click to expand...

I've said that a lot in the past: there are more WWE fans than pro wrestling fans. They're impervious to other wrestling promotions as a threat because of that.

DMczaf said:
Just do it anyway, fuck. Not everything has to be a god damn surprise
Click to expand...

According to the crack writing staff at Cracked.com, a top five reason why fans are leaving WWE is because there's no surprises. Despite, you know, wanting behind-the-scenes info immediately to spoil all surprises. I wish I didn't read about the news or hear about the news from friends or Cheap Heat, but it's my own damn fault for finding the news interesting to hear/read/discuss.

Who am I to complain after that about a lack of surprises?
 
A

Aiii

So not worth it
Angry Grimace said:
I mean I guess we could be getting worked but it doesn't seem like WWE typically makes a bunch of random comments through official channels about people they aren't doing business with
Click to expand...

PWI gets worked like this a lot. Basically WWE has "an insider" leak news to them and some other outlets to counteract something that legit leak as damage control.

The big difference with someone like Meltzer is that Meltzer generally dosn't report something unless he has multiple credible sources confirming something and he also likes at least one of them to be non-WWE.
 
N

Ninja Scooter

Member
Sephzilla said:
Balor wants to make a name for himself. Taker wants to fight some younger kid because he's sick of getting wrecked by Brock.

Or they could just go with a more simple feud which is that Balor is the NXT Champ and Taker wants to see if this new kid can go.
Click to expand...


That could work once Balor is established. I'm not saying he can never get to that level. For all intents and purposes Balor doesn't exist in the WWE universe. To expect him to go from that to one of the most coveted spots in the company (a Mania match against Taker) in 2 months is asking too much, especially from WWE's current creative team.
 
D

Deleted member 47027

Unconfirmed Member
balor vs taker? people seriously talking about this?

never.
 
S

Sephzilla

Member
Ninja Scooter said:
That could work once Balor is established. I'm not saying he can never get to that level. For all intents and purposes Balor doesn't exist in the WWE universe. To expect him to go from that to one of the most coveted spots in the company (a Mania match against Taker) in 2 months is asking too much, especially from WWE's current creative team.
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Considering literally all of their main event talents besides Roman are hurt, they might have to.
 
S

slightconfuse

Banned
overall, it was as if they learned nothing. Josh Matthews in week one of the reboot on the new station went out there to destroy his credibility as lead announcer. A credible voice putting over the younger talent and storylines is desperately needed for a promotion like this. When I watch Kevin Kelly, for example, he comes across as a nice guy who likes wrestling and he’s not out there lying and being full of it when he’s selling the talent or the angles. I don’t have that same feeling at all listening to Matthews. He comes across fake, there’s no conviction or feeling of realism in his voice, and instead, he comes across as a guy totally full of it, which is exactly what you wouldn’t want from a lead announcer. There’s no connection at all with him and the listening audience. The full of it part is likely the fault of TNA, and he’s just doing his marching orders

If anything, the last thing you’d want in starting up again on a new station is listeners instantly thinking the lead commentator is totally full of shit. He was out there with his imaginary trending of Twitter statements, and going on and on about how an average at best final match with Carter vs. Matt Hardy was an early candidate for 2016 match of the year. None of that helped. It only hurts. You have to save those platitudes for matches that at least approximate that level. Saying it for anything less than a great match makes the promotion look bush league and insults viewers’ intelligence.
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Flame emoji
 
B

Bluekaveli

Member
serenewarfare said:
Meltzer confirming that the original plan was for AJ to be a surprise entrant in the Rumble, though that could change now that the news got out.
Click to expand...
So I guess he went from being a surprise entrant to surprise winner 😂

DMczaf said:
Just do it anyway, fuck. Not everything has to be a god damn surprise
Click to expand...

Cagey said:
I've said that a lot in the past: there are more WWE fans than pro wrestling fans. They're impervious to other wrestling promotions as a threat because of that.



According to the crack writing staff at Cracked.com, a top five reason why fans are leaving WWE is because there's no surprises. Despite, you know, wanting behind-the-scenes info immediately to spoil all surprises. I wish I didn't read about the news or hear about the news from friends or Cheap Heat, but it's my own damn fault for finding the news interesting to hear/read/discuss.

Who am I to complain after that about a lack of surprises?
Click to expand...
It would be nice if not everything got leaked because I too miss surprises. Oh well, who even knows if he'll be there but it'll still be shocking.
 
S

somedevil

Member
serenewarfare said:
Meltzer confirming that the original plan was for AJ to be a surprise entrant in the Rumble, though that could change now that the news got out.
Click to expand...

Just do it. The crowd now knows he is coming and anticipation of him being in the match is high right now. Not putting him in it will just lead to the Rumble turning heel again for the third year in a row.

This discussion on Undertaker fueds. Remember Punk storyline with the Undertaker started with him wining a match to face him and had like a month build.
 
N

Ninja Scooter

Member
Sephzilla said:
Considering literally all of their main event talents besides Roman are hurt, they might have to.
Click to expand...

No they dont. The ME and Taker matches are probably too prirotiy and everything else works its way down. They don't have to resort to plucking dudes straight out of NXT to fill those spots. Hell they'd probably do Kane v Taker. Balor likely isn't even on their radar.
 
S

Sephzilla

Member
Ninja Scooter said:
No they dont. The ME and Taker matches are probably too prirotiy and everything else works its way down. They don't have to resort to plucking dudes straight out of NXT to fill those spots. Hell they'd probably do Kane v Taker. Balor likely isn't even on their radar.
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>Taker match is important
>Put Kane in it

Well, you're definitely thinking like a member of WWE creative
 
N

Ninja Scooter

Member
Sephzilla said:
>Taker match is important
>Put Kane in it

Well, you're definitely thinking like a member of WWE creative
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Well that's sort of been my point. The reason it won't happen is because WWE creative won't even entertain the idea and to them, Balor has a ton to prove due to his size and lack of great promo skills. I think he will be great, but I don't think they view him as the sure thing a lot of fans do.
 
M

Menome

Member
Ninja Scooter said:
Taker is over as fuck and a face, even when he is kicking dudes in the dick. Putting a noob baby face in against one of the most popular guys in the sport is doing him a disservice. It would just be a confusing build up. Why are these feuding?
Click to expand...

Taker goes to Finn: "I need an apprentice to pass my power on to. It could be you, but prove it by defeating me".

Finn is cocky, takes on Taker as normal Finn, loses.

Loses a second time as normal Finn.

Finally defeats Taker in demon-mode.

Taker looks strong by not being beaten straight away by the new guy and by deliberately choosing the guy he wants to beat him. Finn looks strong having worked up to beat Taker, instead of rushing in and pinning him off the bat.
 
S

serenewarfare

Banned
Natalya returned from a broken ankle on the 1/3 show in Corpus Christi, doing a run-in. She broke it in November, but apparently for most of the past two months, she wasn’t even aware of it. She hurt it, I believe while in the U.K. She thought it was a sprain and was walking around on it and figured she’d need maybe a week off. But it didn’t get better. Eventually she had it examined and found out it was broken. She wasn’t used at TV this week but should be back wrestling imminently.

Sasha Banks is also out of action with an undisclosed injury.
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Sasha needs to get healthy for that WM title win.

Vince McMahon said:
Are you saying Meltzer said "plans change"?
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"Plans could change". Much different, obviously.
 
K

klonere

Banned
somedevil said:
Just do it. The crowd now knows he is coming and anticipation of him being in the match is high right now. Not putting him in it will just lead to the Rumble turning heel again for the third year in a row.

This discussion on Undertaker fueds. Remember Punk storyline with the Undertaker started with him wining a match to face him and had like a month build.
Click to expand...

Taker/Brock WM30 - One month build
Taker/Wyatt WM31 - One month build WITH NO UNDERTAKER TILL THE MATCH
Taker/Brock SummerSlam - One month build
Taker/Brock HIAC - One month build
Taker/Wyatts SS - One month build

Considering what they did with Cena/Owens this year there is 100% precedent for both a 1 month build and hotshotting an NXT guy to beat a huge star.

They need to do something really big to build a new dude, especially with someone with as many years on the clock as Balor.
 
D

Deleted member 47027

Unconfirmed Member
Taker match needs to be with Kane so they can both fuckin retire. Casket match. They both win and lose. Both retire at the same time. Very simple. Taker is "taken" care of.
 
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