Impact was pretty good last Thursday. The Aces and 8's thing continues to spin its wheels but Hardy and Aries had a great match. Those two have excellent chemistry.
And that damn Robert Roode! The dude is awesome.
Tara vs Mickie rivalry should be the WWE's basic model for Eve vs AJ. Its not that hard, Vince. Funny since Mickie was alos a crazy stalker type for a while.
Bully and Brooke Hogan making out made me throw up in my mouth a little bit. Don't know why they think people want to see that.
Glad Stings on the way back though.
Eve is supposedly taking some time off soon. So it could be AJ vs Kaitlyn and then Eve returns somewhere on the road to Wrestlemania where her and AJ will finally have a one on one match.
I just don't understand turning AJ. The one good thing that could come of it is what it could do for Ziggler. Just being with her could get him heel heat and both have a lot of talent to pool. But I think a sizable portion of the audience will still love her.
Plus if she DOES face Eve in a title program it makes more sense for AJ to be the face and Eve to be the heel. AJ's the plucky girl next door underdog while Eve is the bigger stronger more experienced diva with the poise and traditionally desired "looks." Its believable that someone like her would look down on AJ. I think Eve is better at playing heel than face anyway and AJ wouln't have to work as hard to get poeple to hate Eve as she would getting people to cheer her.
Now I could also understand if they turned AJ heel to carry the more green divas like Kaitlyn in matches in classic Ric Flair fashion but theres not one face diva even half as over as AJ. WWE would have to get them over from the ground up.
And that's why their name should have been team friendship
I picture Martin Prince skipping around Kane and Bryan in circles shouting it.
Im curious to find out what's holding Ryder back. It doesn't make any sense to me. At least we're seeing new talent get called up to the main roster but it only takes one person in the inner circle to doubt you and hold you down
I think thats it. Remember the Punk/Shawn Michaels story? How no one behind the scenes would stand up for Punk in creative meetings and they only began to reconsider how he could be used until Michaels went to bat for Punk.
At putting everyone to sleep.
Yeah I only want Orton in the title picture again if he's a heel.
I think AJ is the one who took Out Kaitlyn and Layla likely was in on it. Layla does heel better then face.
That doesn't make much sense. Didn't they say it was Aksana that was involved? Aksana and Eve make more sense.
Sheamus is a great worker, I recently watched his matches with Show and the one from HIAC was particularly good, but I think it will be Punk vs Taker at Mania.
Yeah his matches with Show impress me too. Not easy for a big power guy to have great matches with monsters. He reminds me a little of Hogan in that respect only more athletic.
I'd like to see him and Mark Henry have more matches. Big Marks come into his own now and it would be good if he could help Sheamus get more over.
Triple H and Vince probably don't get Ryder at all and given his gimmick is so comedic and he had the audacity to get over on his own they probably decided not to even bother seeing if they could tap into his popularity and evolve his gimmick.
This. We saw the trouple Triple H and Vince had elevating Hardy and Punk when they didn't "get" them. They don't like it when someone gets over on their own and isn't in Vince's traditional mold. Triple H did everything he could to work with Hardy and siphone off some of his heat to stay relevant but NOT put him over. The same thing happened with Punk.
There was a time when Ryder was making WWE more money than Ryback but this ****ty roided up fusion is getting rammed down peoples throats at the expense of more talented people.
I've seen some veterans speak out about the current roster implying they don't step up or try hard enough. Meanwhile if someone does they seem to be buried for it. I know Ryder doesn't fit the mold . Vince and Triple H want "destroyers". They could of made more money with Ryder. It's just a waste of talent , imo.
The whole stepping up thing used by the veterans is often BS. Look at Dolph, he's over, he's busted his ass making chicken salad out of chicken****, he constantly puts on great matches, he's improved his promos, and yet his name is not among the big Mania matches while Sheamus who has struggled to really connect, Roidback who is garbage and Orton who has failed 3 wellness tests are all featured.
Stepping up means kissing the right a**. Punk stepped up and Nash and Haitch tried to bury him. Then they had Cena overshadow him in the main event.
Ryder stepped up way more than anyone expected. Doesn't matter how hard you try if the right people don't think you have "it" and you don't kiss their a**. Thats why Sheamus got pushed as early as he did and why Ryback is getting pushed now. They are what Vince wants and Sheamus was H's boy. To hell with what the audience wants in Vince's mind.
Like Hunter said I think certain veterans talk about stepping up to hold certain other guys down.
The worrying thing is that Ziggler has no place in any of these rumours. I'm not the guy's biggest fan but it must be terribly demoralising seeing their finger hover over the button for this long.
Ditto. He's more talented than a lot of guys getting pushed ahead of him. If they don't pull the trigger soon he could be a never was. The longer it takes the more someones momentum and credibility is damaged. The crowd might end up looking ad Dolph like that through no fault of his own.
Classic
- With Alberto Del Rio flirting with a babyface turn, his romance with Rosa Mendes has been dropped.
Mistakes all around. He should be a heel and she should be with him. I thought it was one of the few good ideas they had for Del Rio.
- Chris Jericho recently contacted WWE about returning for a short run leading up to WrestleMania that would involve Jericho putting over young talent. The sides are still talking, but as we've seen in the past, the major issues holding up the deal are Jericho not being able to commit to a full-time schedule (due to his outside projects) and Jericho wanting full control over said outside projects.
I wish WWE would stop being such controlling a**holes here and just take Jericho up on his offer. They need veterans to teach all these rookies coming in and put over estableshed midcarders and right now they have almost none. Cena is always overshadowing everyone else even when they have him work with midcarders to try to build them up. Triple H can't be bothered since he only shows up to bury rising stars and save face against other veterans. Taker only wrestles once a year.
One thing you have to give TNA credit for is not interfering with the talents outside projects. I know WWE is fearful of people they've invested in being lured away but i think the rewards outweight the risks. They get to keep talent happy and on good terms with the WWE family. By trying to be control freaks look at how many people they've run off. Kelly Kelly was their top diva for a bit but she's probably still be there in some capacity if WWE was willing to work with her.
Vince talks about getting WWE exposure in other media well letting the talent do other things could do that. Would someone like Eric Young even be allowed to do an animal/outdoor show in WWE? Of course not.
-WWE United States Champion Antonio Cesaro continues to work with torn tendons and broken fingers in his right hand.
He's one tough hombre.
- For what it's worth, it's said that whatever plans WWE had worked in for WrestleMania 29 were changed over the past week. Apparently major changes went down and the only match that wasn't touched is Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H.
Great.
The one match that SHOULD be changed...isn't. What a waste of time.
- WWE is currently in negotiations with at least one investment company about partnering up for the WWE Network. Word is that people will be stunned when they find out the current programming vision, which has reportedly changed greatly.
WWE rarely takes on partners in their business ventures because Vince McMahon doesn't like answering to other people and has a joke about how they don't play well with others.
In the negotiations, WWE is pushing that the Network would have extremely low programming costs compared to other networks since the bulk of the programming would be their old wrestling tape library that they own and don't have to buy any licensing fees for.
The fact that they are having such a tough time getting this thing off the grounds shows what a bad idea it is right now. McMahon will stubbornly push it til the end though when he should be worring about the programming he has on the air right now.
Screw the 2008 retirement stipulation and book Punk vs. Flair at Wrestlemania. Look how over that segment was Monday. Wrestling retirements aren't taken seriously anyway and it's not like Flair would appear at every WWE event from TV to house shows. You can still spin it as he retired from a fulltime schedule in 2008. Anyway, it's the perfect feud. Flair always said to be the man you gotta beat the man and that weaves in with Punk's desire for respect. Punk is straight edge and Flair is basic hedonist. The two men have never faced off and I am high on having new matches at Wrestlemania. We are getting Rock/Cena and Triple H/Lesnar again, so Punk/Flair could complement that. Plus, Punk still needs a clean win over a legit opponent. Flair is old, but he is still Flair. I doubt Flair would have a problem putting over Punk clean. This would take Punk to another level. Besides, I always thought Flair should have made someone in his last match. HBK obviously didn't need made. Go Punk/Flair.
Really? Flair looks great for his age but it was bad enough when Punk had to wrestle Lawler. Punk should be able to beat these guys with ease since they are literally twice his age and he's at his peak. It devalues him when he has a hard time with social security cases. Even Miz shouldn't have had THAT much trouble with Lawler and Punk is ten times the wrestler Miz is.
Punk wrestling Flair would look like what it is...the WWE champion beating up a great -- but retired -- old man. Someones grandpa. Theres not much honor or glory in that. Flair would have more to gain than Punk would.
Like Sage said its not going to top Flair vs Michaels 08 so why bother? Punk would be better off being put over by someone like Triple H or Taker or Lesnar or Rock.
I'm sure he wanted to go out at the time, but once he got divorced again, he had no choice, but to go to TNA.
Agreed. Its Flairs own fault he's in the financial mess he's in but the guy had to earn a living and WWE were being control freaks and wouldn't let him stay and earn some extra money on the side. I can't really blame him for going to TNA even though I hated seeing him wrestle.
FFS, he's 63 years old! Let it go.
THIS. Do some people want to see Flair end up like Hogan? Barely mobile and in constant pain? Flair should quit while he has his health.
Santa...I know what I'd like to unwrap for Christmas
Flair vs. Punk really does nothing for punk.Flair isn't who he once was and unlike Taker, no longer has that main event mystique anymore.Honestly, and I know this won't happen because WWE has no sense, the booking for WM29 should be used to put Rock,Punk and Cena on equal footing. This is how I would book it.
RR-Rock beats Punk/Cena wins Royal Rumble
Elimination Chamber-Punk last eliminates Rock to win back the title.
WM29-Punk vs. Cena vs. Rock triple threat
This scenario takes care of a few things
1.Cena and Rock can wrestle again while still preserving the once in a lifetime tag from last year.
2.Adding Punk adds to the quality of the match as Rock/Cena was nothing to write home about.
3.The Rock gets his title run
4. Punk Headlines Mania as he should for being the company workhorse for a while.
5.Cena can get his win back at mania, but Punk will also have a pinfall over Rock as well.
I honestly think this is the only option WWE has as far as the main event.But I fear they'll just go with Cena/Rock II and call it a day.
Good ideas but damn I still hate seeing Punk lose to Rock under any circumstances. There's just something about it I hate.
Another decent Impact, the stupid finishes for Devon vs Angle and Mickie vs Tara were irritating but the match quality of the latter was good. Aries vs Hardy III was excellent and went down as I expected, Aries being trained by the guy that trained Rick Rude was news to me.
He sure does have Rudes swagger.
I'm glad they've made it clear that the 1.3.13 vids are for Sting as it was obvious, but in truth Aces & 8's have already been downgraded when they lost at Final Resolution and then 5 of them got their assess kicked by Hardy and Storm last week in the tag match, so there isn't much for Sting to come back and face.
Unless they make a big reveal on who is behind A & 8's soon I see it dying on the vine just like The Nexus did. They've lost credibility.
I know the recent brainfart to gas wrestling is that love angles will draw female viewers, but Bully Ray the romantic lead?
I ssid the same thing. And enough with the romance angles unless they're well done and work in the storylines like Savage/Elizabeth.
I do like that TNA are already setting up big angles for 2013 with Roode vs Aries and AJ's journey back to the title, plus I think Bully will feud with Morgan for Hulk to gain his trust and then turn on him, and I see a Daniels vs Hardy title program happening as well.
They seem to have finally gotten over the hump of trying to make new stars...which is refreshing in this business. I don't see them going back to the way things were even if there is still too much Hogan on tv.
I'm glad they haven't forgotten abut Roode. I think it shows they know what they have in him. I think if Morgan can hit his stride and grow and Styles can regain momentum TNA has a strong potential main event scene with Aries, Roode, Hardy, Bully Ray, Styles, Storm, Morgan, etc. Stronger than WWE's IMO. WWE's beein trying a new youth movment lately but in the main event they keep doing it and then backing off. TNA seems to have been commited fully for a longer period of time.
And I never thought I'd say this in 2013 but I'd like to see Bully Ray vs Daniels. Both those guys have reinventied and reinvigorated themselves this year. And at forty plus no less.
