CI Wrestling Thread #56

[MoreheadEagle]

I wonder if Samoa Joe is going to get the call up soon. What else is there for him to do on NXT besides eventually get the belt off Balor and feud with Nakamura.

We know Anderson and Gallows have been signed but there haven't been any sightings of them at NXT or WWE events that I know of. We've seen Balor club shirts and the Bullet Club was aknowledged on NXT a couple of weeks ago. Conventional wisdom says that Balor goes heel and creates the Bullet/Balor Club but I have a wild idea. What if Joe was the one to take out Hideo Itami (he debuted that night) and what if Joe is the leader of a stable with Gallows and Anderson? You could build up a feud of Joe, Anderson and Gallows vs. Balor, Itami and Nakamura that somehow includes a championship match at Beast in the East II with Nakamura or Itami winning.

 

[catsfanbgky]

This may not be a popular idea, but if I am WWE, when contract reup comes with Lesnar, I tell him, "either wrestle and appear like everyone else, or bounce." Not like UFC is calling or is a possibility, and there is not another brand that can afford him.

 

[KingOfBBN]

Brock is a huge draw and in my opinion, the biggest face on the roster, which is weird because he's not really a face or heel but fans love him.

He's also, third in merch sales. I think he's a must have on the roster and that guy would totally be content to stay home and hunt so I don't think you can play hardball with the guy.

 

[krazykats]

Just watched Sting insincere HOF speech. I know he never wrestled really in WWE but Waffle House, tbird, and retiring are not HOF type speech.

And if you think he is done the joke is on you.

I don't care who runs the show, just make sure it's running good because this stuff sucks! Please just keep it simple and actually predictable for 2 months.

 

[KingOfBBN]

^ I only watched half of the Hall of Fame. Vader acted like he was being inducted into the Hall of Fame and so did Flair.

Flair went off on so many damn tangents, you forgot he was inducting Sting. I actually think Flair is crazy as hell and losing his mind.

Can you believe JR lost his job simply because he couldn't control Flair at the 2K 14 event. Flair gets drunk and keeps his job but Ross gets punished for it?

 

[krazykats]

Maybe there was more to it. One of those it's really time to go decisions and something stupid is the reason. Just being JR really isn't worthy of the difference in pay for whoever they brought in I'm sure.

 

[KingOfBBN]

Hey Jason, what's your thoughts on Emma dating Zack Ryder and Carmela dating Big Cass and Alexis Bliss dating the taller guy in her tag?

Weird...weird couples.

 

[School boy]

Those shooter HBK Nash Edge made ya think they were pissed for real.

I think Bert Hart was the slowest to learn this. But he gotten better in 97 once he turn heel. But he was a better face however.

 

[KingOfBBN]

Does anyone ever listen to Bret Hart's interviews or comments on everything? That guy is one of the most bitter and negative guys out there. I'm a fan but he's a huge mark for himself and bashes everyone.

 

[TransyCat09]

I'd call him honest (or honest to what he believes) with a lack of a filter. He isn't like Honky Tonk Man or Nash who spreads nasty, false rumors about people or **** talks on shoots then begs for spots from the same people on podcasts or wrestling shows.

His stroke also plays a big part in his attitude

 

[krazykats]

Bret is from a more technical side of the business. So he does have a chip on his shoulder toward those that do not try to be better crafted.

He is also old school and had to wait his turn and thinks no one waits anymore but that is the nature of the business now.

 

[KingOfBBN]

Yeah, that's just the way it is nowadays. We're not very patient at all. The crowd is probably the most impatient it has ever been.

I've had this discussion a couple of times this week. It was people saying the product is total garbage. That may be accurate with booking but I believe this is probably the best in-ring work WWE has ever had and the roster is so deep with talent.

I was watching NXT Takeover again last night and it's really cool to see how things have changed. No longer would anyone give an eff about Hogan and Warrior stinking up the joint with their horrendous in-ring skills. You can actually get excited about guys that are 190 pounds that can wrestle like crazy. Not a knock on big guys that are athletic but the stiff ones that are just roid monkeys (Ryback) are total trash.

 

[krazykats]

I joke a lot about your reigns fandom but I'm dead serious about this.......the roster is weak. It isn't close to the best it's ever been but I won't say it's the weakest or even close.

Even if creative was doing a good job this roster has limited capabilities.

 

[KingOfBBN]

It's not the Attitude Era or Golden Era but I definitely think it's better than the mid 90s and what it was like 6 years ago.

The problem might be characters but the talent is there when it comes to in-ring work. If WWE would let go of some control, it would help these guys out tremendously especially on the mic. But seriously, look at this roster and tell me there isn't tons of talent.

Finn Balor (I think this guy could be "the guy" on the main roster and sell a ton of crap as well)
Shinsuke Nakamura
Kevin Owens
Seth Rollins
AJ Styles
Brock Lesnar
Roman Reigns
Dean Ambrose
John Cena
Randy Orton
Sami Zayn
Cesaro
Samoa Joe
Austin Aries

The women is better than they have ever been with Sasha, Becky, Charlotte, Asuka, Emma, Paige and Bayley.

 

[krazykats]

First off you can cut the women out and realize quickly they don't mean jack.

There is more to wrestling than in ring work or Brad Armstrong would simply have been the next Ric Flair.

6 yrs ago I managed to watch shows, and not have to flip channels. Now I barely care if I miss a whole show.

 

[KingOfBBN]

^ Normally I would agree but that match at Mania was one of the best on the card and they have come a long way and many male fans are down with Sasha, Becky, Bayley and Asuka and it's not just for T and A.

 

[krazykats]

Yes it is, men may be masking it better but it's all T&A

 

[JHB4UK]

Just like modern day football/baseball/basketball, today's rasslers are vastly superior athletes than those in the past

 

[Strokin_Bandit]

Never thought Hall was great on the mic like others did. In the NWO Nash was the talker for both in the Outsiders manly because he was the best at this. Hall just stood and asked if your here to see WCW or the NWO crap he did.

Nobody matches Nash on da mic. Still looking for someone close.

In Hall's defense, he was probably hammered out of his mind that entire time.

 

[KingOfBBN]

Did you guys ever see Triple H's speech at Lemmy's memorial? He tells the story of coming in with Lemmy and topless girls with blow at the Staples Center and it's hilarious.





Listening to Triple H on Jericho's podcast from last year and his rivalry with The Rock came up. It's one of the more underrated rivalries. I was a huge Rock mark and didn't appreciate HHH at the time but man, I re-watched their 1998 SummerSlam ladder match and it was great.

 

[KingOfBBN]

Can't stand to listen to Bret talk about wrestling.


Yes it is and it always will be.

Some of it but not all of it. Bayley and Asuka in NXT are good examples. Neither of those two are some hot piece but people enjoy their matches.

There will always be the typical Divas though like Eva Marie and Lana though.

 

[krazykats]

I don't watch a second of the females. Also I'm not knocking their ability but it's still T&A no matter how good/bad they perform.

I look at it like I look at Daniel Bryan. No he shouldn't be champ but it's fake so what ever if the crowd is happy I get it. No they shouldn't be out there but if it makes the crowd happy then so be it.

 

[Cuck Finn]

Just get rid of the matches. I actually like the valets like Luna & Sherri. But let's stick with the men in ring, am i right?

 

[krazykats]

Pretty much, then when they do tussle it's a cat fight and that is entertaining!

 

[kyboy1998_rivals34276]

What wrestlers would you all say you have the biggest connection to? Or had the biggest influence on what kept you interested in the game? For me...

Jerry Lawler-

As a kid I thought he was the baddest man on two feet and he was the "King" of the south. I never understood back then why he just didn't come to the ring with the strap down and avoid all of the abuse.

Fabulous Ones-

Jackie Fargo's masterpiece and cool as hell to me then.

Jimmy Valient-

Was a big strut fan and got jacked up when he came out.

Macho Man

Thought he was crazy when I first saw him and he scared me as a kid. He was able to maintain the same character for over 30 years and got me interested in other promotions.

Ric Flair

I remember him being billed as a real world champ and treating "our" Lawler like he wasn't anything. He seemed bigger than life to me, and my Dad hated him and told me he was a generic Buddy Rogers. Like Macho he helped me transition from the local territory wrestling to the big stuff.

 

[krazykats]

Lawyer and Dundee

Can't just give Lawler the credit because Dundee was the most underrated #2 at any promotion. You talk about Flair/Sting back stabbing but it all started with Memphis! I've spent many nights as an adult watching old shows and feuds involving those two.

Rock n Roll Express

Maybe I have a thing for normal looking wrestlers but these two were always I dogs but always show stealers. Their ability to work mixed with Ricky's mic work and antagonistic ways was pure gold.

Sting

As a kid I would have flat jumped in front of a moving car to help this dude. Dead serious. If I watched a Saturday TBS show and he wasn't on I was pissed. The horsemen were great but they had a slew of opponents, but Sting was immortal and always was my dream match vs Hogan while others wanted flair........Sting is the one person that I put above flair overall. Flat out bottom line done deal, all of the above! Only one man called Sting.

I loved Hogan but as a kid I hated WWF. Champs were never on tv, every match included a jobber, and one of their shows(forget the name now) was essentially RAW before RAW except it was old matches from house shows. So it didn't even fall in line with current feuds. I really started to follow WWF when Rude, The Snake, Honky Tonk Man, UW, Demolition, Road Warriors etc etc became a part. Still it was only good for 3-4 shows a years. And when WWF stars started joining WCW I didn't watch for years! Never even gave them a peek in the MNW.

 

[kyboy1998_rivals34276]

I was actually going to mention Dundee. He and Lawler created as gods of a fued as you could.

I was going to mention the Rock and Roll Express too. That period of time had four really memorable tag teams for me with the Fabs, RRExpress, Moon Dogs and the Sheep Herders.

I was trying to mention just a few above but that period of time can't be topped. Austin Idol, The Dirty Dutchman and the list can go on. It won't ever be that good again.

 

[MegaBlue05]

Glad to see I'm not the only one who will never care about the women's matches.

Wrestlers who influenced me:

As a little kid in the 80s-early 90s my main guys were Jake Roberts because I thought he really carried that snake everywhere, Sting because of his energy and ring work and Flair because he was my grandpa's favorite.

I quit watching in about 93 and didn't come back until 1998 (I also quit watching from 2003-2007 solely because I hated HHH so much.) Steve Austin is my GOAT because he got me watching again and is the only wrestler whose merch I bought repeatedly. The others from that era that kept me interested were Rock, Taker and the cruiser weights in WCW.

 

[KingOfBBN]

Three people have always been my favorites...

Macho Man
The Rock
Steve Austin

Those will never change. They made wrestling so much fun for me. I also, took a ridiculously long break from wrestling. I missed out on everthing from like 2002/2003-2010. I had other interest and things going on. Now I'm way more invested than I've ever been before.

 

[KingOfBBN]

Glad to see I'm not the only one who will never care about the women's matches.

Wrestlers who influenced me:

As a little kid in the 80s-early 90s my main guys were Jake Roberts because I thought he really carried that snake everywhere, Sting because of his energy and ring work and Flair because he was my grandpa's favorite.

I quit watching in about 93 and didn't come back until 1998 (I also quit watching from 2003-2007 solely because I hated HHH so much.) Steve Austin is my GOAT because he got me watching again and is the only wrestler whose merch I bought repeatedly. The others from that era that kept me interested were Rock, Taker and the cruiser weights in WCW.

Jake and Macho were always my favorites. I used to have that toy snake and sack that Jake would put Damien in....

Your timeline is very similar to mine. Watched in late 80s and quit around 1993. Didn't watch again until 1997/8ish and quit again in 2002 and didn't come back until 2011 so I missed a lot of that Cena being dominant stuff and Evolution and all of the new guys.

My brother is older than me so he was into the Rockers, Rock n Roll Express, etc.

 

[MegaBlue05]

Jake and Macho were always my favorites. I used to have that toy snake and sack that Jake would put Damien in....

Your timeline is very similar to mine. Watched in late 80s and quit around 1993. Didn't watch again until 1997/8ish and quit again in 2002 and didn't come back until 2011 so I missed a lot of that Cena being dominant stuff and Evolution and all of the new guys.

My brother is older than me so he was into the Rockers, Rock n Roll Express, etc.

I was way more of a Savage fan than Hogan. I had a Macho Man wrestling buddy doll. The Attitude Era brought me back from my early 90s hiatus.

When I came back in 1998 I became obsessed with the business. It helped having a buddy whose parents would order every WWF, WCW and ECW pay-per-view and "charge" us $5 apiece, and that included pizza or burgers and all the soda, chips and cookies we could shove down our throats. Hell of a deal.

I started watching again in 2007 because I was bored one Monday night in the summer and decided to flip on Raw, and by the time football season rolled around I was back in. Now, I watch as much wrestling as I did in the 90s. I'm a regular viewer of Raw, Smackdown, NXT, Lucha Underground and TNA. I don't get the channel ROH comes on or I'd watch it too. I guess it's my non-sports hobby.

 

[krazykats]

I never liked Austin because I saw him suck in WCW first hand and never could take him serious. I got it though because he was an ultimate beer drinking rebel jerk.

I did like the Rock and truth be told I liked HHH. But other than those two and Ken Shamrock I didn't follow that period at all. I honestly never knew Goldberg was in WWF after WCW until about a year ago I saw some YouTube stuff.

 

[TransyCat09]

I never liked Austin because I saw him suck in WCW

[laughing] Yeah, those matches with Steamboat were awful. And the Dangerous Alliance was garbage too [eyeroll]

 

[krazykats]

Didn't like him at all, but I'm glad you remember it too! Makes me feel better about it, actually.

 

[krazykats]

Look at Pillman carry is horrible wrestling! This was as TV champ and as commentator states he is ranked then as high as he ever was. Just awful.

Stone Cold was completely different and a punching maniac.

 

[TransyCat09]

I was being sarcastic. Austin was good in WCW.

Not amazing or Stone Cold level (obviously), but he wasn't garbage. That match you posted was from his 2nd year ever in wrestling.

 

[krazykats]

I picked up on your sarcasm however you did not pick up on my smartassery!

So I'll give you good, although I truly think he was carried by Pillman and had the look so WCW tried him and the crowd just didn't buy in. Not entirely his fault because "Stone Cold" would have went over like hot cakes......

Down side to that is then we never get redneck DDP.

 

[CrimeDawg18]

I grew up watching in the 80's and I was a straight up NWA guy, along with Memphis so it was the following

Dusty
Flair and the 4 Horsemen
Road Warriors
Midnight Express
Lawler

Did not watch the WWF much and did not care for Hogan, liked Macho Man, and later Bret Hart and Mr. Perfect

 

[krazykats]

Yea Curt Henning for me was awesome. One of the first I knew about in the small market that made it in WWF. I always hated that he wasn't more in WWF but with Hogan/Warrior/Flair as the main draw types with Macho in the back ground as lead heel it made sense.

That Perfect Plex though was legit.

 

[Laparkafan]

Mr Perfect was awesome for the following reasons...
1. Perfect plex
2. The perfect vignettes (basketball/baseball,etc.)
3. Standing drop kick