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

[Donnie Darko]

Maybe I am overestimating The Shield's drawing power, but I really think they work as a solid main event face group right now. Book them against Wyatt family when Cena is off (I know we've seen it a lot, but you can run it at house shows), and when Bryan is off, book them against Evolution/Kane.

 

[Donnie Darko]

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.

I'm just hoping they book AJ-Paige as an actual feud/story, and not just a series of matches with no build-up or promo time.

 

[The Sage]

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.

Exactly, not everyone is going to tune into Backstage Pass or Post Special Event segments. My goodness, when I watched the the Post Extremes Rules interview with Big E after his loss, he showed more personality in two minutes than he has in several months. He should be doing that on the flagship show, not extra segments on the Network.

And I totally agree about AJ.

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.

Maybe I am overestimating The Shield's drawing power, but I really think they work as a solid main event face group right now. Book them against Wyatt family when Cena is off (I know we've seen it a lot, but you can run it at house shows), and when Bryan is off, book them against Evolution/Kane.

No I think you might be right. You could probably sell some house shows with Shield vs Wyatts as the main-event, and let the rest of the roster get featured on the card.

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.

I can already guess AJ will be cheered when she returns and Paige will get booed. It'll be the same scenario as Bad News Barrett vs Big E, with the more developed and therefore over challenger against the underdeveloped champion.

 

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

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.

I understand it to an extent, but the way they'd set it up they had been teasing Tamina turning on AJ anyway. They could have done that instead and allowed for a brief reign while Paige is built up. I could have lived with a two month Tamina reign if they'd built Paige up to take the title from her at Payback, then we'd see a Paige/AJ feud throughout the summer.

More importantly though, I think they need to decide what they want their Divas division to represent. Do they want it to be about wrestling or reality TV? If it's about wrestling, they need to trim the fat from the division - bye bye Cameron, Eva Marie, Rosa Mendes & Aksana... hello to real pushes for Emma, Summer Rae + debuts from Sasha Banks & Bayley. Everyone else (Bellas, Naomi, Alicia Fox, Natalya) has shown substantial ring improvement to the point where they're useful enough to help newer ladies look good in the ring or even a mini-push of their own.

 

[Lobo]

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.

Agreed with everything you said, and the bolded section is my thougt process at the moment

 

[zeroapoc]

Wasn't Paige's debut her only time on the mic?

 

[Dugath]

Honestly how many people watch NXT ?

I would like to say I am pretty well into Wrestling, not as much as I used to be. But I still watch it.

I have to say I have seen NXT once.

Never actually seen Paige in action until she won the title and I believe most fans are in the same boat.. who is this and why did she beat AJ.

This is why she gets no reaction, no one knows or cares who she is.
If she was a super hot athletic women then that might get a lot of guys attention lol.. be really she is average looking at best.

She needs more talk time to get over.. but really... winning the title your fist match.. more or less the kiss of death nothing to do but lose the title and go down hill... ask Gail.

 

[Kaleb]

my guess is the reason Paige hasn't done a promo yet since her first match is because Vince doesn't like her accent,trust me it will be something stupid like that circulating on the rumor mill.

 

[zeroapoc]

Honestly how many people watch NXT ?
If she was a super hot athletic women then that might get a lot of guys attention lol.. be really she is average looking at best.

Like hell!

 

[sweetre15]

From what I've seen and heard on TV with my own ears she actually does get decent reactions during her matches but they NEED to let her speak and be her NXT self. Giving her no mic time is not going to do her any good.

 

[sweetre15]

- Matches taped for tonight’s WWE NXT include Emma vs. Charlotte in a Women’s Title tournament match, Alicia Fox vs. Alexa Bliss in a tournament match, Camacho vs. Captain Comic from Adam Rose’s Rosebuds, Kalisto & El Local vs. Sylvester Lefort & Marcus Louis, The Ascension vs. Buddy Murphy and a partner plus a battle royal to crown a new #1 contender to Adrian Neville’s NXT Title.

- KENTA leaving Pro Wrestling NOAH came as a huge shock to everyone in the Japanese wrestling community. We noted before that it was being reported in Japan that KENTA was indeed headed to WWE. There’s a feeling that KENTA realizes his body has suffered from years of the Japanese style and that if he was going to go to WWE, now is the time. Japanese wrestler Katsuyori Shibata, who is close to KENTA, said it was KENTA’s dream to go to WWE.

Partial source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

 

[Donnie Darko]

Like hell!

We have both seen that the perverts love Paige.

 

[OnTheAir]

From 411mania.com:

Reasons Why NWA, WCW and UWF TV Have Not Been Added to The WWE Network Yet
Posted on 05.08.2014

Details on the process to get footage ready for the network…

- Many fans have been wondering why NWA, WCW and UWF TV (Mid-South) TV has not been added to the WWE Network at this time. There are a few reasons why they haven't been added.

• The first thing is that all of the material that WWE has digitized has to be cleaned up.
  
• Once that is done, WWE legal has to check the footage to make sure there are no issues with music rights.
  
• Then the footage is sent for any additional editing as well as the footage being closed captioned for the hearing impaired.
  
• Once all of that is done, the footage is then uploaded to the data base that houses the footage for the network.

Also keep in mind that WWE will never upload "everything at once" on the Network. They will constantly cycle through the footage and what is available.

Credit: Pwinsider.com

 

[zeroapoc]

We have both seen that the perverts love Paige.

I resemble that remark.

 

[Hunter Rider]

I know Paige got a great reaction when she won the title but I did say back then that I worried that the cold debut could hurt her once she was outside of smark central. I also thought having her be all meek and shy when talking to AJ was a mistake, she should have been confident and aggressive. I know the storyline logic will be that AJ wouldn't have been so cocky agaisnt a confident character but I think it was the wrong first impression to give of Paige.

As for Big E, mic time, mic time, mic time, MIC TIME! and on top of that let him actually be his quirky self when on the mic, generic "I'm gonna do my best" babyface waffle is not gonna cut it these days.

- KENTA leaving Pro Wrestling NOAH came as a huge shock to everyone in the Japanese wrestling community. We noted before that it was being reported in Japan that KENTA was indeed headed to WWE. There’s a feeling that KENTA realizes his body has suffered from years of the Japanese style and that if he was going to go to WWE, now is the time. Japanese wrestler Katsuyori Shibata, who is close to KENTA, said it was KENTA’s dream to go to WWE.

I really hope WWE do well by KENTA, he's got talent and charisma, they just need to find the right hook. Shibata should follow him, I think he could do well in WWE.

 

[chamber-music]

I don't understand why the WWE doesn't just hire talented women from the indies who can already wrestle to give a bit of depth to the divas division.

I get they like taking model or athletic women for promotional purposes and training them to wrestle but it wouldn't hurt to have a few experienced women who are already skilled wrestlers to help elevate the division.

I don't get why they don't hire a couple women from Shimmer. Sara Del Rey and Paige mom Saraya Knight could hook them up with a few women wrestlers so paige isn't stuck wrestling Alicia Foxx and Askana over and over again because the roster is so thin with heel divas.

 

[chamber-music]

The viral shovel girl gets the WWE commentary treatment t:
[YT]/lUZjdgyrkfk[/YT]

 

[JabarR]

*SPOILERS* TNA IMPACT WRESTLING TAPINGS RESULTS (AIRING 5/22)

Spoiler

TNA taped the May 22nd episode of Impact Wrestling on Wednesday night in Orlando. Below are spoilers, thanks to Eric:

* MVP, Bobby Lashley and Kenny King kick off Impact. MVP rips on the fans and talks about having power. King and Lashley also cut promos. The Wolves interrupt and attack them but get beat down. Eddie Edwards takes a spear fro Lashley. They end up beating them to the stage and Lashley spears Davey Richards off the stage through a table.

* Eric Young comes out and has words for MVP. MVP comes back out with Lashley and King. Austin Aries ends up making the save for Young to a big pop. Aries and MVP cut promos on each other.

* Austin Aries beat MVP by DQ when King and Lashley interrupted. Eric Young made the save but got beat down. MVP announces Lashley vs. Young but Dixie Carter and Ethan Carter III interrupts. Dixie wonders why MVP won’t return her phone calls. This leads to Bully Ray coming out with a pipe. He chases Dixie and Ethan to the back. Ray ends up getting into it with MVP and knocked down by King. Ray gets triple teamed. Dixie comes back out with Ethan and orders him to set up a table. Ethan goes to put Ray through it but gets blocked. Dixie distracts Ray and Ethan puts him through the table any way.

* Backstage segment with The Beautiful People.

* Willow defeated Magnus in a Falls Count Anywhere match. The newcomer Bram interfered twice.

* Eddie Edwards called out MVP, King and Lashley. Davey Richards is injured and was taken away to a hospital. King comes out and lays Edwards out.

* Another backstage segment that was missed.

* Angelina Love comes out for an open challenge that’s answered by Brittany. Angelina retains her Knockouts Title over Brittany after help from Velvet Sky. The Beautiful People smeared lipstick and put a brown bag on Brittany after the match until Gail Kim made the save.

* Bobby Lashley defeated Eric Young in a non-title match when King and MVP interfered. The referee went to call for the bell but MVP stopped it. MVP played like the referee was in on it. Austin Aries ran out but got beat down by Lashley. Impact ended with Lashley, King and MVP celebrating.

 

[PyroChamber]

I don't understand why the WWE doesn't just hire talented women from the indies who can already wrestle to give a bit of depth to the divas division.

I get they like taking model or athletic women for promotional purposes and training them to wrestle but it wouldn't hurt to have a few experienced women who are already skilled wrestlers to help elevate the division.

I don't get why they don't hire a couple women from Shimmer. Sara Del Rey and Paige mom Saraya Knight could hook them up with a few women wrestlers so paige isn't stuck wrestling Alicia Foxx and Askana over and over again because the roster is so thin with heel divas.

Seems to me like the only way a Diva can get some success and show what she can do in the ring is if she's on NXT. They talk about the crowd not warming up to Paige, well maybe they would if they just give her the damn mic and let her speak, also how many times has she faced Aksana and Alicia Foxx so far? I'm sure they can do a Paige vs Emma match, hell does Lana wrestle at all?

And everyone has said it before but because of Trish's success the WWE will FOREVER do the "turn a model into a wrestler" thing. You see they just hired 3 more models this week, even though one of them is related to The Rock; the only thing they can do is be good in the ring and hope they don't get future endeavored quickly look what happened to Shaul Guerrero.

 

[Dr. Evil]

I know that the Rock has been hinting at playing a DC Character, but I think he would be good as this Marvel villain in the next X Men movie:

 

[Pink Ranger]

I don't understand why the WWE doesn't just hire talented women from the indies who can already wrestle to give a bit of depth to the divas division.

I get they like taking model or athletic women for promotional purposes and training them to wrestle but it wouldn't hurt to have a few experienced women who are already skilled wrestlers to help elevate the division.

I don't get why they don't hire a couple women from Shimmer. Sara Del Rey and Paige mom Saraya Knight could hook them up with a few women wrestlers so paige isn't stuck wrestling Alicia Foxx and Askana over and over again because the roster is so thin with heel divas.

Not that I am defending the WWE, or really care about models or not, but there may be a valid reason for that from an operations perspective. It might be easier to train up a WWE-style female wrestler from zero rather than trying to change someone's ingrained working style (similar to how it's hard for any of the TNA originals to break into WWE). Plus, you have the financial bonus of having a talent who, while unskilled in wrestling, knows how to do photo shoots, publicity appearances, etc. And let's be frank, when it comes to female talent, that stuff means more to the WWE as a business perspective than amazing women's wrestling.

 

[Dr. Evil]

The WWE hired Sara Del Rey, who has years of Indie experience as a trainer in NXT.

They are rumored to be bringing Victoria back.

 

[PyroChamber]

They had Mickie come back for a little bit, maybe they should have convinced her to stay a while longer.

 

[TheNextNolan22]

I really hope WWE do well by KENTA, he's got talent and charisma, they just need to find the right hook. Shibata should follow him, I think he could do well in WWE.

Shibata, KENTA, Cesaro, AND Lesnar as Heyman guys?

 

[JabarR]

I know Paige got a great reaction when she won the title but I did say back then that I worried that the cold debut could hurt her once she was outside of smark central. I also thought having her be all meek and shy when talking to AJ was a mistake, she should have been confident and aggressive. I know the storyline logic will be that AJ wouldn't have been so cocky agaisnt a confident character but I think it was the wrong first impression to give of Paige.

This was the point I was trying to tell you all, WWE tried to make Paige likeable to the crowds, but so far, it hasn't been working at all. AJ has become their most bankable Diva since Lita and Trish put together. Paige's best bet to get over with the WWE Universe is full on heel turn, despite what anyone says on here about what I think.