The Wrestling Thread must be burned down so it can be reborn!

[TheNextNolan22]

Unless his matches take a steep nosedive in quality, he's on his way to being NJPW's MVP for this year. Hopefully he gets a good run in the G1.

You have a pick for best of super juniors?

TAKA Michinoku.


Seriously though, I have Taguchi or Kenny Omega winning.

 

[OnTheAir]

 

[Lantern Venom]

I love that everytime a big guy gets into a fistfight with a smaller guy, the smaller guy usually wins.

Yet Vince and the management continually question whether certain smaller guys would look credible in the ring against bigger guys.

I wouldn't say "usually". There are plenty of opposite examples: Hawk-Savage, Eddie G.-Angle, Bret-Shawn, Mark Henry-Michael Hayes, etc..but I agree with your basic premise. Size is a huge advantage in an actual encounter, but it can be negated with proper training.

 

[Hunter Rider]

- New WWE United States Champion Sheamus was reportedly involved in a physical altercation with Sin Cara at this week's WWE TV tapings in New York.

No other details are confirmed at this point except for that Cara got the better of Sheamus.

The Hunico version?

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

- WWE has changed their mind regarding plans to break up The Shield. Apparently they won't be going through with the break-up plans any time soon.

- WWE has changed other plans going forward. WWE, right now, is looking at the top four singles babyfaces for down the line to be John Cena, Daniel Bryan, Cesaro and Sheamus. This was the plan as of a little more than a week ago. The last time an internal list was made, Orton, Batista and Roman Reigns were near the top, right behind Cena and Bryan, with Sheamus as the big names planned as the top faces for down the line.

I hope they stick to this and keep The Shield together, I am a big believer that all three guys can be main event stars but right now they are stronger together than apart. They can work singles matches while still being a unit.

I think the mistake in this piece is that's a list of guys they intend to push in the main event not a list of guys who they want to push as top faces. Not all of them will be faces as if they were there'd be no heels for them to work with.

- WWE reportedly called Chris Jericho this past week to see about making a return. He told them he had too many schedule commitments on other projects to come back right now.

Damn. I wonder if they wanted him to come in and work a program with Bryan.

- The idea of giving WWE talents time off to recharge and heal up has been talked about as a strategy down the line. The feeling right now is that may be a good thing but the weak roster depth doesn’t allow it. There is concern right now about the idea of consistently running shows without either John Cena or Daniel Bryan as the advertised headliner.

This along with his continued position as Raw's top numbers puller should squash the recent rumour that some in WWE don't think Bryan is over.

 

[TX85]

Great new episode of countdown on the wwe network,Greatest Villians

 

[Dr. Evil]

The Hunico version?

Yes.

 

[The Sage]

Damn. I wonder if they wanted him to come in and work a program with Bryan.

Likely. And they probably reached out to him in the last week or so when the Batista leaving early scenario started.

Jericho keeps himself busy with his band other ventures. They should've called him earlier, maybe even prior to Wrestlemania 30 and locked him in and planned ahead. But they were still trying to figure out their Mania main-event around that time most likely.

 

[Lantern Venom]

Yes.

Isn't he the only Sin Cara now? I thought read somewhere that Mistico was let go.

 

[Dr. Evil]

Isn't he the only Sin Cara now? I thought read somewhere that Mistico was let go.

He is the only Sin Cara now.

 

[cabel]

TAKA Michinoku.


Seriously though, I have Taguchi or Kenny Omega winning.

Don't diss TAKA.

At the moment I'm going with El Desperado.

 

[TheNextNolan22]

Don't diss TAKA.

At the moment I'm going with El Desperado.

I'm still waiting on my TAKA/AJ Styles Title match.


Oh and El Desperado is another one I'd go with too.

 

[The Sage]

- We noted earlier via The Wrestling Observer that Sheamus and Sin Cara were involved in a physical altercation while backstage at this week's WWE TV tapings. The only details that were available were that Cara got the best of Sheamus. The WWE United States Champion responded to the report on Twitter tonight:

"Must be getting punchy. Don't remember being beaten up by Sin Cara backstage... It's just how Mexicans & we Irishmen hug it out fella "

http://www.pwpix.net/pwpixnews/headlines/401525440.php

 

[SpideyFan866]

- The idea of giving WWE talents time off to recharge and heal up has been talked about as a strategy down the line. The feeling right now is that may be a good thing but the weak roster depth doesn’t allow it. There is concern right now about the idea of consistently running shows without either John Cena or Daniel Bryan as the advertised headliner.

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Oh I wonder why.

 

[The Chris]

Great new episode of countdown on the wwe network,Greatest Villians

Yeah that was fun. Randy Orton was way too high though. (Over triple h? There was no villain I hated more when I was 12) No ric flair is crazy.

 

[H.U.S.T.L.E.]

Likely. And they probably reached out to him in the last week or so when the Batista leaving early scenario started.

This is what I feared would happen if they moved HHH/Batista/Orton away from feuding with Bryan. We're seeing that without those top heels to work against, there's really no one else credible to challenge Bryan at the moment. I also thought that having Batista tap out at Mania was a bad decision, because that was a loss he really didn't need to take & Orton would have been perfect as the fallguy considering he screwed Bryan way back at Summerslam anyway. Now it's proven to have bitten them in the butt a little bit, if these rumors of Batista not wanting to job three PPVs in a row are true.

So Bryan won the title & they immediately moved all of the logical rematch options off the table by hotshotting to Evolution vs. Shield. Evolution reformed in what, two weeks? That's a terrible build and symptomatic of the way WWE has rushed feuds when they didn't need to... think of the PPV main events we could have had instead that all led up to Evolution reforming:
- Bryan/Orton (rematch clause)
- Bryan/Batista (if Orton had eaten the pin at WM, Batista could have claimed he never lost)
- Bryan/HHH (WM rematch but the title is at stake now)

I think with them knowing all along that Batista was leaving after Payback to do media rounds, that's why they went ahead and did the match with The Shield at Extreme Rules... but I still would have saved that for Summerslam. Unfortunately, there's so many missed opportunities already with the way they rushed the booking along.

And now there's a real problem in that there are no strong contenders for Bryan - I know that Bryan's rise to the top was aided by having strong heels as a foil (the Authority), but I think at this point they're better off booking him against up-and-comers. Let his reign be about giving guys the opportunity to step up and face the best... I think now that he has the belt, he'd still be a draw as a pure wrestler and he doesn't need traditional heel/face feuds to stay over with fans. I know that old timers like JR probably would disagree and say you need a strong heel to go up against the babyface champ... but there are no strong heels outside of Evolution and they're busy right now, so I'd just pit challengers against Bryan who could put on the best matches with him.

 

[NDX]

I've been saying wrestling needed an "off season" for years now. Somewhere between Survivor Series and Royal Rumble, giving their wrestlers time to recover and replenish. Of course, stagger it between wrestlers to allow for enough main event wrestlers to keep stories going while other take necessary time off.

 

[bullets]

It's been talked about for years. I doubt it will ever happen. The only time it could have really worked was when the brands were split. The raw roster could have covered for a month while Smackdown stars were out and vice versa.



Wrestlemania rewind for Savage vs Dibiase was awesome. I just checked that out. CM Punk said Macho Man was the real Mr. Wrestlemania.

 

[H.U.S.T.L.E.]

Also, the report saying that they'd like to give guys time off "but the weak roster depth wouldn't allow it" is so frustrating. Because it's not that roster depth is weak - in fact, I'd say it's probably the strongest talent pool in years - it's that they haven't given consistent pushes to enough guys to fill that void. Since last year's Wrestlemania, the three acts that have truly clicked & become main event players are Daniel Bryan, the Shield & the Wyatt Family.

With all the crap that happened to Bryan between Summerslam & the Rumble, it's easy to forget that he was featured heavily leading up to his title match with Cena. Even after his series of matches with Orton, it's not like he was pushed way down the card either - he was still working a program with the Wyatts, another act WWE has pushed heavily since their debut. And then there's The Shield, who've been booked strongly ever since their debut in 2012. Now look at the list of guys they've allowed to gain steam, then completely undercut since 2012: Ryback, Fandango, Ziggler, Sandow, Cody/Goldust, Big E.

I understand not everyone can have a spot at the top of the card, but they've let a bunch of guys get near the very cusp of having a key role and then poof... they disappear for weeks at a time or suddenly go on a streak of losing 3 minute matches on Raw. It's crazy. And then they wonder why the roster is weak? Please.

 

[OnTheAir]

So, wait a minute...the creepy kid..."Little Johnny"...

is the NFL Play 60 kid???

Huh...learn something new every day!

[YT]TKphr02LRZ0[/YT]

 

[TheNextNolan22]

Rumor is Bad Influence are going to be in ROH in time for Best In The World?

 

[PyroChamber]

Great new episode of countdown on the wwe network,Greatest Villians

Is there anywhere you can see Countdown episodes online without the Network?

 

[The Sage]

WWE officials have been evaluating the main roster Divas division as of late. One of the goals with AJ Lee being out is to see what they have with the talent that have been given limited opportunities.

While some Divas continue to improve, the results of the evaluation have been said to be poor so far. This has made AJ’s stock in the company go up. She’s expected to keep her spot as a top star when she returns.

Going into this week’s tapings, it was said that there’s starting to be some concern about how fans aren’t accepting Paige as the top WWE women’s star. Word is that those concerns also include a lack of reaction at live events, with one observer reporting she isn’t engaging the crowd.

At the same time, the Divas division in NXT continues to impress officials and there has been a lot of talk about upcoming call ups.

Many have been wondering what’s next for Big E after suffering some notable losses and dropping the WWE Intercontinental Title to Bad News Barrett at Extreme Rules. Word is that WWE creative is focused on looking for the “next step” for Big E.

It’s been reported in the past that Big E has many supporters including Triple H and John Cena. WWE officials now feel that he has peaked and a heel turn for Big E could be coming soon.

http://dailywrestlingnews.com/wwe-diva-discussions-backstage-news-aj-lee-paige/
http://dailywrestlingnews.com/backstage-news-whats-next-big-e-wwe/




Man, I could go to town on what the issue is with Big E and Paige. It's not their fault--it's the officials and Creative. Neither are given time to reveal their character to the crowds or talk. Throwing belts on talents aren't going to get them over, and Paige's reign was abrupt, not organic.

Trish Stratus had said herself in interviews and on podcasts that the main problem with the Divas division is the audience isn't given time to know the characters. They can't get over by just going out and wrestling. And if they bring anymore NXT Divas up in the same manner, it'll be the same.

 

[H.U.S.T.L.E.]

Man, I could go to town on what the issue is with Big E and Paige. It's not their fault--it's the officials and Creative. Neither are given time to reveal their character to the crowds or talk. Throwing belts on talents aren't going to get them over, and Paige's reign was abrupt, not organic.

Trish Stratus had said herself in interviews and on podcasts that the main problem with the Divas division is the audience isn't given time to know the characters. They can't get over by just going out and wrestling. And if they bring anymore NXT Divas up in the same manner, it'll be the same.

Totally agree. In the case of Paige, there's also the issue that there's no one in the Divas division right now with any semblance of heat. But yeah, the single biggest issue is that neither talent is allowed to speak or show their personality outside the ring.

As good as all the extra programming can be for showing you different sides of these performers, I maintain that it really only moves the needle if it's shown on Raw. Just look at Barrett - the guy was given weekly segments on Raw to establish the Bad News persona, and it worked. Why the hell don't they see why things click? And the fact that they constantly pin failures on the performers drives me crazy... show some accountability for crying out loud & say you didn't give them the best chance to succeed.

EDIT: To add to this, don't they remember how AJ gained her status as top diva in the first place? It was by being given a prominent role & gaining exposure by working with some of the top talent on the show. If they really want Paige to succeed, why don't they put her in some tag matches with other higher profile guys? The only recent intergender tag matches we've seen have been more about comedy (Santino/Emma & Fandango/Layla) than actual wrestling. Heck, put Paige into some 6-person matches paired with the Usos & that raises her profile too. This isn't rocket science, but they sure treat it like they're 5th graders taking calculus sometimes.

 

[Donnie Darko]

Granted, I am not there for live events, but it seems like Paige has been getting a pop recently for her matches. Maybe, just maybe, the divas should start getting some mic time.


I don't see the roster depth issue. You could easily give Cena and/or Bryan time off and still have the roster to support house shows.

Let's say Cena has a week or two off house shows. Well, that means Bryan works one city while The Shield works the other city. Then, when it's Bryan's turn to rotate off, Cena works one city while The Shield works the other. It seems pretty simple to me.

 

[runawayboulder]

I get why they did what they did in the Paige situation. AJ asked for time off and the belt had to go somewhere for 2 months. It's an indictment for the rest of the female roster that they had no one else to pin it on. At least this way, Paige gets 2 months with the title and AJ comes back for the first real match between the two (which I expect AJ to win) and extend the feud.

Hopefully by then while Paige is working her way back to another shot, Emma escapes from that s**t feud she's in so her and Paige can battle back and forth a few times over the #1 contender spot.