A New Era for the Wrestling Thread

[Dr. Evil]

Okay Ilja, you can get drafted now.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Kevin Nash in his basketball heyday!

 

[Hunter Rider]

Just watched Ospreay vs Danielson, fantastic match. it's not like the usual indie dream match where it drags on over 45 minutes and has endless headdrops and an overkill of finisher kick-outs, instead it's perfectly paced with a crisp mix of technical wrestling, striking and highspot offense, Danielson looked to ground Ospreay and trap him in a submission, while Ospreay consistently sold between his bursts of super athletic offense as he tried to pick off the more methodical Danielson. The finishing stretch featured an incredible Busaiku knee counter to Ospreay's springboard cutter and the I loved the final moments with each man propped up in the opposite corner like two gunfighter's in the final showdown, Ospreay outdrawing Danielson as he beats him to the punch with Hidden blade and then finishes him off with a Tiger driver and an (unnecessary), less impressive, Hidden blade as Danielson sells an injury from the Tiger driver despite clearly landing perfectly.

It's not the greatest match in the history of the business or any of that hyperbole, but it's a damn good match and better than those overblown, overhyped Omega/Okada matches from a few years ago. Ospreay is a special talent, his balance, athleticism and timing are incredible, there's a mix of Shawn Michaels and AJ Styles in him, I just wonder if he can actually carry a big money drawing angle, as opposed to just having a bunch of matches that appeal to AEW's niche smark audience.

 

[Lobo]

Cody's on Smackdown and Seth had surgery I believe, and is out for the foreseeable future. So the top face spot on Raw is up for grabs. Which is why I believe LA Knight will be moved. Punk is also recovering from injury, and when he comes back he'll face McIntyre. So outside of Jey Uso who is there to challenge Priest for the whc?

As for the draft the champs are ineligible. They're staying where they are. There were some other rules but I didn't read then all.

Bring Dijak to the main roster also

 

[Kane52630]

 

[Hunter Rider]

I saw a clip of the gooftroop and Tony Kahn's segment....... the building they were in looked ROH sized and the low budget NWO angle rip-off was like kids cosplay. The last thing Tony needs to do is make himself an onscreen character, he's got no personality and he's not 80's Hulk Hogan, coke fueled promos won't work.

I watched the Raw clips on YouTube, Chad Gable is a full on Kurt Angle regen, his promo dressing down Alpha Academy was very much in the mold of Angle's earlier smug heel work, I hope they give him a proper push.

I also hope they're going to give Bronson Reed a push as well, he can really move for a mammoth, I first saw him as Jonah in TNA after @NDX Pointed him out, and as @Lobo says he's reminiscent of Bam Bam Bigelow in how he works at his size. A feud with Sami over the IC title is a good opportunity for him.

Gunther wanting to reestablish King of the Ring is an interesting new direction for him but it's a pity the event is taking place in Saudi Arabia. I wasn't expecting Kaiser's turn, I wonder if he's going to get a singles push as he looked like a star on Raw, and maybe Imperium will add a new team to the group. 🤔

Damien Priest's promo was solid and he looked strong in taking out Andrade and Ricochet.

The Sheamus/Drew showdown was amusing, Sheamus is right about McIntyre getting good at the one liners but "I can lose the weight, you can't lose the stupid" saw Sheamus win this round.

The battle royal for the vacant Women's World Championship was given plenty of time and it gave a chance for several women to get some shine. Becky's life must have flashed before her eyes when Nia was wobbling about next to her with Piper on her shoulders, I don’t know if she's not as strong as she looks or her lifting technique is just poor, in general she always looks on the brink of a mistake, she might be an Anoa'i but she's closer to a female version of Mable than Yokozuna.

Becky's celebration with the fans was a cool close to the show, it was great to see young boys as well as young girls enjoying her victory with her it's a far cry from the "puppies!" days. With her and Liv as the final 2 in a close contest the feud for the title is set up nicely.

 

[Lobo]

Massive Publishing Launches Luchaverse, with Rey Mysterio and Tinieblas Jr. - Comic Book Movies and Superhero Movie News - SuperHeroHype

"Booyaka!" Rey Mysterio and Tinieblas Jr. bring the heat to a new series of lucha-centered comics from Massive Publishing.

www.superherohype.com

I'll probably buy this

 

[Lobo]

Carmelo Hayes vs Cody tonight.

Jey Uso and Seth Rollins stay on Raw
Bianca stays on Smackdown and Carmelo Hayes officially called up to SD

 

[Lobo]

Teddy Long is here. That can only mean someone is about to go one on one with The Undatakah!

 

[Dr. Evil]

Kiana James being called up is an interesting choice as there are others who I would think would be drafted before her.

Most of the draft picks were the brands keeping people that they already had.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Teddy Long is here. That can only mean someone is about to go one on one with The Undatakah!

In a tag team match!

 

[Lobo]

LA Knight staying on Smackdown sucks for him. He can't be the top babyface with Cody there, and he'll always be behind the Bloodline as a heel and a heel Randy Orton would also overshadow him. There was more opportunity for him on Raw. Hopefully he gets a US title run, but I don't see Logan Paul losing that for awhile.

So the top face for Raw is wide open. Who will step up? Punk is out injured. Seth just had surgery and will be out fir the foreseeable future. Right now it's Jey Uso. Surely someone will step up

I also think Kaiser goes to Smackdown. Or Tiffany to Raw since they're a couple and they usually keep couples on the same show.

 

[Lobo]

In a tag team match!

Holla holla playa playa

Long did actually get to announce a tag team match! Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga vs Kevin Owens and Randy Orton at Backlash

 

[blue scholar]

LA Knight staying on Smackdown sucks for him. He can't be the top babyface with Cody there, and he'll always be behind the Bloodline as a heel and a heel Randy Orton would also overshadow him. There was more opportunity for him on Raw. Hopefully he gets a US title run, but I don't see Logan Paul losing that for awhile.

So the top face for Raw is wide open. Who will step up? Punk is out injured. Seth just had surgery and will be out fir the foreseeable future. Right now it's Jey Uso. Surely someone will step up

I also think Kaiser goes to Smackdown. Or Tiffany to Raw since they're a couple and they usually keep couples on the same show.

Bron Breakker most probably.

 

[Lobo]

Bron Breakker most probably.

That's a really good call

 

[Lobo]

Announced on social media --

SmackDown: Baron Corbin
Raw: Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn
SmackDown: The O.C. (Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson & Michin)
Raw: Ivar
SmackDown: Cedric Alexander & Ashante "Thee" Adonis
Raw: Shayna Baszler
Raw: Zoey Stark

 

[Hunter Rider]

Another good Smackdown, solid first promo exchange between Cody and AJ, and I liked how it flowed straight into the first draft picks. Carmelo Hayes getting drafted to Smackdown is a good move for him and I like how he sauntered out and challenged Cody, he even shut the "Whoop that trick" chants down effortlessly, good start to his main roster career.

I liked how they had stars of yesteryear come out to do the other draft picks, it was fun to see the Dudley's together again and I loved the pop they got when they put their glasses on.

I think the triple threat set-up for the women's world championship was fine but Bayley as a face is a bit bland at the moment, and now she's going to have to avoid getting injured by Nia. I think Naomi has been performing well since she returned and it feels just a matter of time before Stratton wins the title.

Clearly Elektra has been in touch with Tony Khan about how to acquire security camera footage, Carlito's response to being revealed as Dragon Lee's attacker was pure Scooby Doo villain!

A tag match between the Bloodline and Owens/Orton is a good idea, and even though its been a decade since I've been following WWE, I see some things never change, Randal Keith Orton still apparently sits around backstage in full ring attire.

The Cody vs Carmelo main event was a bit awkward and that comes from the modern style of wrestling, doing a lot of narrow margin of error springboard highspots is difficult when the 2 guys have never worked together before. They didn't botch anything but the match didn't flow smoothly. Carmelo did hit the springboard DDT beautifully though and his sell of the disaster kick was some Shawn Michaels style bumping. All in all a good first night on the main roster for Carmelo, it's going to be interesting to see how they present him going forwards as he's smaller than I thought, even Cody was noticeably bigger than him.

Lastly I was pleased to see Kianna James get the call-up, she stood out to me in the 6 women tag match at Stand & Deliver, how she carries herself, good in-ring timing and crisp offence.

LA Knight staying on Smackdown sucks for him. He can't be the top babyface with Cody there, and he'll always be behind the Bloodline as a heel and a heel Randy Orton would also overshadow him. There was more opportunity for him on Raw. Hopefully he gets a US title run, but I don't see Logan Paul losing that for awhile.

So the top face for Raw is wide open. Who will step up? Punk is out injured. Seth just had surgery and will be out fir the foreseeable future. Right now it's Jey Uso. Surely someone will step up

I also think Kaiser goes to Smackdown. Or Tiffany to Raw since they're a couple and they usually keep couples on the same show.

Logan Paul being the US Champion is why Bron had to be moved to Raw as like you say I don't see Paul dropping that belt anytime soon. I'd build towards Bron vs Gable for the Intercontinental Championship.

I think the plan ultimately will be for Punk to be the top face on Raw, but right now it'll be interesting to see what they plan to do with Damien Priest as right now I could see them going either way with him in the Judgement Day split.

I think Stratton will stay on Smackdown as that's where she's more likely to get a title win, as on Raw the Becky/Liv/Rhea storyline is likely to dominate the title picture well into the summer. They really need to add another singles title for the women, I'd go for the TV title and have it that the Champion can defend on Raw and Smackdown.

 

[Hunter Rider]

 

[Hunter Rider]

 

[Lobo]

So any guesses on what the hell MFT is supposed to mean? My best guess is something along the lines of Most Feared Tribesman or something like that. Or Man From Tonga?

Also for the love of God no more LDF vs LWO they've had 262 matches already. Let everyone involved do something else

 

[Dr. Evil]