Hunter Rider is now available as a DLC on the Wrestling Thread -- Part 80

[ImWithTeamConan]

I think it was my favorite match in a while. I was bored the night of the PPV so I ended up watching it and was pleasantly surprised at how good Sheamus/Show and Cena/Ziggler were but the TLC match made it for me.

I typed this the night of, I'm amazed at how that was booked, every person in the match (including Bryan) looked strong. The heels weren't cowardly, they were competitors who went after the heroes. I loved Ambrose' mannerisms, it's all the little things with him (and I loved how he sold getting slammed on the ladder) and he's a lot more physically imposing than I thought, for some reason I always thought he was more in the Daniel Bryan size range but he's taller.

Seth Rollins took the biggest bump in a while and he seems to be The Shield's leader to me, you can hear him during the match pump up the other members of his team or command the others on what to do. Grantland's Masked Man wrote about him being a mix between CM Punk and Jeff Hardy and he fit the bill that night.

Roman Reigns is the one I'm really impressed with, knew nothing of him before The Shield but he looks like a promising talent. Kane and he are natural dueling partners, when he took Kane thru the barricade it was an awesome moment.

 

[Calavera]

seth rollins and dean ambrose are great too though. dean was like the joker in in the indies. thats how he really is supposedly too

 

[Slushy]

As long as Vince is around the former WCW title will always take a backseat to the WWE title

Very sad. The World Heavyweight Title hasn't main evented a PPV since Hell In A Cell 2010!!!

Rematch clause?! It could be anything. Vince will just come out on RAW and announce it.

This. I do believe that's how Orton Vs. Helmsley Vs. Cena came to be a triple threat match since RKO got himself disqualified against Cena at No Way Out.

Re: Triple H

If Lesnar Vs. Undertaker doesn't take place (you know the very match got millions of people interested in Lesnar's WWE return to begin with) all because Hunter wanted to get his win back, I'm going to be absolutely livid that we got trolled again by The Game!

 

[TheFuture]

Rematch clause.Also he got a title shot without earning one.

Well, you could argue that he did as he won one of the biggest matches ever in WM history.

 

[Van Petrol]

Re: Triple H

If Lesnar Vs. Undertaker doesn't take place (you know the very match got millions of people interested in Lesnar's WWE return to begin with) all because Hunter wanted to get his win back, I'm going to be absolutely livid that we got trolled again by The Game!

You just know it's going to happen. It already seems a foregone conclusion.

 

[Van Petrol]

seth rollins and dean ambrose are great too though. dean was like the joker in in the indies. thats how he really is supposedly too

Did he do the 'lip smacking' too?

 

[Lobo]

So of all the recent talent brought up, who do you guys see with the brightest future?

Sandow? Cesaro? Rollins? Ambrose? Reigns? Langston? Maddox?

I'm going with Roman Reigns I just thinkhe has "it".

 

[Pink Ranger]

I see Roman Reigns becoming the new Batista: a big man who is spiritually a midcarder, but can transition to and from the main event when needed.

Ambrose might end up being the next "rated R" Edge; he's a larger man than I initially thought he was (he's taller at least, which is important for TV). He has the personality, the in-ring salesmanship, all the psychological tools are there.

Rollins I am a bit ambivalent about, mainly because he's just so close in appearance and style to CM Punk, his talent might be overshadowed by that. Sandow as a current character is a mid-card situation only, but he can easily shed that gimmick to become a more serious player. Cesaro, I'm still not sure about. He may as well be one of those phenomenally talented workers who just doesn't fit with the WWE at a given time.

Langston I don't see anything special in right now. He has less appeal to me than Bobby Lashley did, I just don't "get" what he's supposed to be right now, and I don't think he or the WWE creative have any idea what he's supposed to be either.

 

[Lobo]

I liked Metallo's idea of a new "Doom" except instead of Lashley I'd have Ezekiel Jackson and Langston with masks and maybe an Armando Estarda type as their manager.

I said earlier I could see Reigns in the current Sheamus spot. I'm still highly anticipating when Bo Dallas gets the call up.

Sandow to me should be the next MitB winner

 

[Hunter Rider]

I don't give a **** about Taker vs Lesnar, the Deadman is broken down and Lesnar works an unusual MMA hybrid style, neither wrestle often enough to make it work IMO.

Well, you know, they couldn't get Robert Pattinson, so they went for the next best thing.

Are you saying TNA are hard up for sexy men or that you have thing for Bully and his jorts?

And that damn Robert Roode! The dude is awesome.

He really is, for me he's TNA's most complete performer.

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.

WWE is very much about getting a big name on side if you are going to have a shot, HBK probably saw that Punk's talent exceeded his attitude much like himself.

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.

Haitch learned that from Hogan only he is less subtle with it than the Hulk who at least gives the guy the rub of tagging. Basically as much as he denies it due to his friendship with HBK I still think Triple H is size focused, both his pet projects (Sheamus and Batista) are "destroyers" as he likes to call them, I know he was behind Sin Cara but that was about wanting a new Rey for the Latin audience which is obviously a good revenue stream.
He's supposedly behind Maddox so we shall see but so far his push has consisted of getting squashed.

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.

This is pretty much what is driving older fans away IMO. It used to be that from 97 or so onwards that if you got over you got pushed, Christian was the first victim of the return to Vince's way or the highway post-WCW buyout and there has been many since. Roidback is all Vince as well, even Triple H wouldn't get behind him with so little charisma and his clumsy in ring work.

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.

Punk is unique, he got WWE by the balls and got most of what he wanted from them and no matter how hard they try they can't bury him or downgrade him in the eyes of 90% of the fans whose balls have dropped.

He was always gonna pay for the things he said and as soon as the MITB and Summerslam buyrates weren't huge they used it to take some of the spotlight off him. Truth is the people Vince needed Punk to win back were never gonna lay their money down after 6 weeks of good Raw's, they needed sustained proof that change had arrived.

He outsold Cena in merch and his promo got more media buzz for WWE than anything they have done since the Attitude era including Dwayne's return. However as soon as the chance came they turned him heel, now granted from reports he was happy to go with it as he accepted he couldn't win the battle to be the top face in Vince eyes and of course WWE wanted Punk vs Rock but they didn't want pipebomb Punk, they want cowardly heel Punk vs Rock so Rock can spout his silly jokes and Punk will sell them, then put Rock over.

It stinks but overall Punk has had more success on his own terms than virtually anyone else either side of the attitude era.

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.

Exactly, this was the line they tread with Jeff Hardy as well but in this case there is no reason for such caution, Dolph is ready and wont get pulled up on a drugs bust a week after he's given the title, he will work himself into the ground as a champion.

 

[Van Petrol]

@Lobo: I need to see more of Reigns (predominantly on the mic, promos, etc) before I can make a proper evaluation of him. In comparison to Rollins and Ambrose at the moment, he just seems to be the more less spoken powerhouse assassin type.

 

[Van Petrol]

Haitch learned that from Hogan only he is less subtle with it than the Hulk who at least gives the guy the rub of tagging.

Sorry to intrude, but I can't quite grasp what you're saying here. Are you saying Helmsley or Hogan is less subtle with the siphon procedure?

 

[Lobo]

He's saying Helmsley is less subtle

 

[Van Petrol]

He's saying Helmsley is less subtle

Ah yeah, I see it now, thanks. Sorry I was speed reading on an iPod and wasn't taking it all in gradually at the time.

 

[Hunter Rider]

He sure does have Rudes swagger.

He also has that crispness to every strike and hold that Rude had.

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.

Well Devon did allude to some sort of reveal for them in 2013 in his promo to Hogan the other night, they really need a big time player for the central role, Devon is a mid carder at best and looks out of place wrestling the top guys.

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.

Agreed, TNA's title scene is really looking bright right now, especially with Sting and Angle out of the picture. The company has seemingly turned a corner when it comes to how they book and I think the fact they are not showcasing one guy as more important than everyone else is a big plus.

Bully and Daniels have reinvented themselves late in the game but they are the best they have ever been and a feud between the two would be good, although I suspect Bully will turn on Hogan sooner rather than later, I just hope Daniels is the guy to take the belt off Hardy, he's earned a world title run.

Well, you could argue that he did as he won one of the biggest matches ever in WM history.

It was only one match though, not really meriting of a WWE title shot.

So of all the recent talent brought up, who do you guys see with the brightest future?

Sandow? Cesaro? Rollins? Ambrose? Reigns? Langston? Maddox?

I'm going with Roman Reigns I just thinkhe has "it".

Ambrose if he is booked well, he is unique and that is a rare commodity, he's bigger than I thought as well which is a bonus in WWE.

Rollins I think can be a big face star in the long run, he's a fantastic athlete and once he starts to show that he'll have a similar rock star quality to Jeff Hardy.

Reigns is someone I think you have pegged right as a Sheamus level guy but with the potential to go higher given his look and heritage.

Sandow will have to evolve his gimmick to be a main eventer, how that transition is done will be the key to how far he goes.

Cesaro is in the same position as MVP was in, he's got the wrong gimmick, they have dipped into the old stereotype bag but picked out the wrong one, he should have been a cold and ruthless machine with menacing music and a manager, he should be booked as a beast showcasing his amazing physical abilities, instead he's like a modern version of Frenchy Martin.

 

[Van Petrol]

He really is, for me he's TNA's most complete performer.

I've longed for Roode to come to the WWE and be the true heel that they have lacked for so long. But in truth, they'd most likely ruin him.

 

[Hunter Rider]

I've longed for Roode to come to the WWE and be the true heel that they have lacked for so long. But in truth, they'd most likely ruin him.

I feel the same, I was all for a Roode to WWE move because he is a true heel, Punk is doing the role well from what I've seen but they are going against the grain and it's not really working, but after seeing the booking of both companies over the last year Roode is better off where he is.

 

[Dr. Evil]

It's a damn shame that Brock Lesnar won't be competing for a World Championship at Wrestlemania 29.

If the WWE really wanted to shake it up before Wrestlemania 29, have Lesnar win the Rumble. Then have him beat whoever the WWE Champion is at WM 29 and let him keep the title for a while.

Provided of course, he signs a new WWE deal. I don't know about you guys, but Lesnar winning the Rumble would make me interested in Wrestlemania 29, without a doubt.

Of course, the WWE isn't smart enough to have Lesnar win the Rumble, instead it'll be someone like John Cena or Sheamus.

 

[the_ultimate_evil]

I'm not a fan of cesaro and had noises why, but I think hunter hit it on the head. If they had given him a gimmick like shamrock or Blackman and using someone like asanka(sp) as his mouth piece he may have got over better

 

[Van Petrol]

Chain-a or Rob Van Goldberg will win the Rumble, imo. I can't see Sheamo winning it two years in a row.

 

[Van Petrol]

I feel the same, I was all for a Roode to WWE move because he is a true heel, Punk is doing the role well from what I've seen but they are going against the grain and it's not really working, but after seeing the booking of both companies over the last year Roode is better off where he is.

I agree.

 

[Calavera]

So of all the recent talent brought up, who do you guys see with the brightest future?

Sandow? Cesaro? Rollins? Ambrose? Reigns? Langston? Maddox?

I'm going with Roman Reigns I just thinkhe has "it".

i dont see whats so special about reigns.

as soon as he starts cutting loose id say dean ambrose will be. and maybe seth too. he has improved by a mile since i saw him in ring of honor


also sandow is a great talker he needs a feud with lanny poffo

Did he do the 'lip smacking' too?

no that was me and you

 

[Van Petrol]

no that was me and you

Cheeky.

 

[cabel]

So of all the recent talent brought up, who do you guys see with the brightest future?

Sandow? Cesaro? Rollins? Ambrose? Reigns? Langston? Maddox?

I'm going with Roman Reigns I just thinkhe has "it".

Haven't seen enough of Langston and Maddox to judge.

All that's really holding Cesaro and Sandow back is that they need to figure out the next evolution for their characters; that defining promo/feud/win/OMG moment. As good as they are in the ring and on the mic, they still seem like they're going through the same collection of mannerisms and catchphrases IMO.

 

[Hunter Rider]