The Wrestling Thread's got...needs - Part 216

[Dr. Evil]

 

[Dr. Evil]

The (soon-to-be) newest residents of Suplex City:

 

[famicommander]

Just set my DVR to record Lucha Underground season 2. That makes it feel so much more real.

Less than a week now. Wednesday night.

Who else is pumped? So far I'm spoiler-free aside from a few names coming in.

 

[Dr. Evil]

 

[Dr. Evil]

 

[sweetre15]

The more I hear about these new signees, the more I want WWE to do a complete brand split and let HHH/Paul Heyman run that show booking guys like Bryan, Zayn, Joe, Styles, Nakamura Aries, Finn Balor, Cesaro etc as well as the tag team division and NXT girls/former NXT girls like Paige and Becky.

It would go really well with the presentation they're trying to give Smackdown with Mauro as commentator and all.

 

[famicommander]

The thing is, I don't think WWE has any intention of trying to make real stars out of most of these guys. They just want to keep them away from promotions that could grow large enough to actually hurt them some day (TNA, ROH, NJPW, AAA, CMLL, AJPW, LU), which is one reason why I'm apprehensive about NXT. Just like major sports leagues have always used minor leagues to fend off independent leagues, WWE uses NXT to draw in fans that would normally support one of the aforementioned promotions. Consequently WWE keeps those promotions from growing as quickly as they otherwise would, and WWE's main product can remain stagnant and continue trying to forcefeed guys and angles that aren't over but Vince has decided should be.

Even CM Punk and Bryan Danielson only got their title runs because the fans kept hijacking the show.

Scott Hall said it the other day, referencing Sting jobbing to HHH in his first WWE match at Mania:

Vince is never going to go with something he didn’t create.

Guys like Kevin Steen and AJ Styles will have to be five times as great and five times as popular as a guy like Roman Reigns to get a world title run, because Vince can't take credit for their development.

 

[runawayboulder]

I'm pretty sure Heyman wants nothing to do with writing or booking at this point.

 

[famicommander]

I'm pretty sure Heyman wants nothing to do with writing or booking at this point.

Not in WWE, anyway. He's been down that road.

He almost took over TNA years back but he wanted the Carters to let him cut a bunch of dead weight and they refused.

I'd kill to see Paulie booking one of the other major promotions, though. All the major promotions have enough talent. A guy like Heyman could put on incredible shows in WWE, NXT, TNA, ROH, NJPW, LU, AJPW, NOAH, AAA, CMLL, etc. Not saying he'd actually do it at this point but it'd be amazing to see.

 

[Dr. Evil]

The thing is, I don't think WWE has any intention of trying to make real stars out of most of these guys. They just want to keep them away from promotions that could grow large enough to actually hurt them some day (TNA, ROH, NJPW, AAA, CMLL, AJPW, LU), which is one reason why I'm apprehensive about NXT. Just like major sports leagues have always used minor leagues to fend off independent leagues, WWE uses NXT to draw in fans that would normally support one of the aforementioned promotions. Consequently WWE keeps those promotions from growing as quickly as they otherwise would, and WWE's main product can remain stagnant and continue trying to forcefeed guys and angles that aren't over but Vince has decided should be.

Even CM Punk and Bryan Danielson only got their title runs because the fans kept hijacking the show.

Scott Hall said it the other day, referencing Sting jobbing to HHH in his first WWE match at Mania:


Guys like Kevin Steen and AJ Styles will have to be five times as great and five times as popular as a guy like Roman Reigns to get a world title run, because Vince can't take credit for their development.

I think the next trend the WWE will go to is former UFC fighters who are pro wrestling fans or who have dabbled in pro wrestling. There is an interest in Matt Riddle, a former UFC Fighter who could have been a champion in the UFC had it not been for his love of weed. Former UFC Female (and one of Ronda Rousey's Four Horsewomen) Shayna Baszler has started to dabble in pro wrestling, competing in a few Indy shows since her UFC release. There were rumors last summer that the WWE would be interested in another UFC Female Fighter, Jessamyn Duke if the UFC ever released her. I know that Chael Sonnen was interested in the WWE, but I don't know if the feeling was mutual on their part. Also, they made a great hire with Mauro Ranallo, who while he's never announced for UFC, he was an announcer for Strikeforce.

Sooner or later, this trend of signing Indy guys will end. However, I could also see a reverse trend if CM Punk's UFC run is a success: WWE guys leaving WWE but not for TNA or the Indies or even Japan, but MMA. But maybe not just WWE guys either....if Punk is successful in UFC, there could be a mass exodus of pro wrestlers from TNA and the Indies who decide to give Mixed Martial Arts a shot because it's much safer on their bodies than pro wrestling (maybe 2-4 fights a year compared to 200-300 dates a year in the Indies and TNA excluding WWE and no shots to head using steel chairs or ladders).

I hope that you are prepared for the day when your favorite Indy guys leave, not for WWE but for Mixed Martial Arts if CM Punk's run is successful.

 

[Slushy]

Botchamania is running wild!

 

[famicommander]

I think the next trend the WWE will go to is former UFC fighters who are pro wrestling fans or who have dabbled in pro wrestling. There is an interest in Matt Riddle, a former UFC Fighter who could have been a champion in the UFC had it not been for his love of weed. Former UFC Female (and one of Ronda Rousey's Four Horsewomen) Shayna Baszler has started to dabble in pro wrestling, competing in a few Indy shows since her UFC release. There were rumors last summer that the WWE would be interested in another UFC Female Fighter, Jessamyn Duke if the UFC ever released her. I know that Chael Sonnen was interested in the WWE, but I don't know if the feeling was mutual on their part. Also, they made a great hire with Mauro Ranallo, who while he's never announced for UFC, he was an announcer for Strikeforce.

Sooner or later, this trend of signing Indy guys will end. However, I could also see a reverse trend if CM Punk's UFC run is a success: WWE guys leaving WWE but not for TNA or the Indies or even Japan, but MMA. But maybe not just WWE guys either....if Punk is successful in UFC, there could be a mass exodus of pro wrestlers from TNA and the Indies who decide to give Mixed Martial Arts a shot because it's much safer on their bodies than pro wrestling (maybe 2-4 fights a year compared to 200-300 dates a year in the Indies and TNA excluding WWE and no shots to head using steel chairs or ladders).

I hope that you are prepared for the day when your favorite Indy guys leave, not for WWE but for Mixed Martial Arts if CM Punk's run is successful.

I'd rather see them try to succeed in a real sport than go to, what is in my eyes, a watered down version of what they're already doing. WWE is a politically correct, TV-PG, slower-paced, over-exposed version of what we're already getting in ROH or NJPW with heavily scripted promos, terrible commentary, goofy ring names, and neutered movesets (when was the last time Steen used a package piledriver? Why did Tyler Black get his finisher taken and replaced with HHH's? Think Nakamura will get to go straight strong style in WWE?). WWE does have its advantages (production values, visibility, history, talent) but as far as I'm concerned there's more quality entertainment in any random hour-long episode of NJPW, ROH, or LU than a whole week's worth of WWE (Raw, Smackdown, NXT, Main Event, Superstars) combined.

I understand guys want to be on the biggest stage and they're going to do what's best for them and their families. I don't begrudge them for it and I don't begrudge WWE for signing them. But to me AJ Styles, Austin Aries, and Shinsuke Nakamura in WWE is like putting Richard Pryor and George Carlin on the Big Bang Theory or James Earl Jones on an MTV original series.

 

[Dr. Evil]

Oh and I highly doubt Ronda Rousey will be at WrestleMania 32.

And I still don't understand why the Rock is going to be there. Is he hosting again and they will announce it soon?

 

[Dr. Evil]

so is this guy going to be a surprise Rumble entrant?

[YT]wgSefgWp3Jg[/YT]

 

[NDX]

Sumie Sakai

She's still wrestling? I remember watching her at USA Pro nearly 15 years ago.

Trevor Lee is good too. Eric Young and Bram are solid, same with Lashley.

I honestly wouldn't mind a Lashley return. His work the last 2 years has had him putting on some good matches. I like what he can do in the ring these days.

Spoiler

AUSTIN ARIES!!!

made his NXT debut tonight!

Vince died and what we see on TV every week is a LMD. It has to be.

 

[nite-owl]

 

[nite-owl]

Also has anyone else heard about TNA trying to sabotage Styles deal with WWE?

 

[Keyser Soze]

Also has anyone else heard about TNA trying to sabotage Styles deal with WWE?

I read a news story about that, I'm pretty dubious to be honest. It sounds like they had talks, but Styles decided to go with WWE instead, and TNA has sour grapes. If they had signed contracts, then this would be going to court, not onto a deleted blog post.

But it's so funny seeing the TNA diehards slam the "ungrateful" AJ Styles for turning his back on the company that "made" him. Yea, maybe at one point TNA helped make AJ a star. But then they underappreciated and devalued him for years, as they are prone to do with all their talent, and by the time they lowballed his contract renewal and drove him away he was practically in the "he coulda been a contender" phase of his career. It was his NJPW run that revitalised Styles and made him a hit property again.

 

[Blitzkrieg Bop]

Do you think the Bomaye is gonna make it in WWE? I don't.

 

[runawayboulder]

And I still don't understand why the Rock is going to be there. Is he hosting again and they will announce it soon?

Spoiler

[YT]TmPKjrh7kN0[/YT]

 

[Wylie Times]

Also has anyone else heard about TNA trying to sabotage Styles deal with WWE?

I mentioned it on the previous page.

It's complete BS because as Keyser Soze if Styles and the others signed contracts and backed out this would be going on in court and not be addressed on TNA's website. I also said it was suspicious timing that they ran that BS story just before Styles is allegedly set to make his WWE debut.

If they hadn't lowballed him in the first place Styles probably would have stayed with them for the remainder of his career. I still think he should seek legal action against TNA for accusing him of backing out of a signed contract, that can hurt a guys negotiating power down the road.

 

[Wheels]

Just set my DVR to record Lucha Underground season 2. That makes it feel so much more real.

Less than a week now. Wednesday night.

Who else is pumped? So far I'm spoiler-free aside from a few names coming in.

Me. I think it's the best wrestling show out there right now because it covers all the bases. Great matches, great characters, Well executed storylines with continuity, and a unique presentation that sets LU apart from every other product.

 

[Dr. Evil]

Also has anyone else heard about TNA trying to sabotage Styles deal with WWE?

TNA is desperate. Next thing you know Dixie Carter will want to fly to Miami to pursue that Dwayne Johnson fella from all of those movies....only to have the door slammed in her face by either his mother, daughter or girlfriend.

TNA might be desperate enough for star power to pursue Dwayne. It's not like he doesn't know that TNA doesn't exist, but the chances of him ever going there is 0% and the WWE knows that. Besides, the WWE made him what he is today. The WWE could have completely buried him when he was Rocky Maivia and the fans chanted "Die Rocky Die" and that would have been the end of his pro wrestling career. Instead, the WWE used those chants to their advantage and a star was born.

There are rumors that WrestleMania 33 is in Orlando and since the Rock is a Florida guy.....well it makes perfect sense for him to headline next year's WWE Hall of Fame and to be inducted by his greatest rival, Stone Cold Steve Austin. Imagine the hype that WrestleMania 33 would have if he goes into the WWE Hall of Fame.

 

[Wylie Times]

TNA is desperate. Next thing you know Dixie Carter will want to fly to Miami to pursue that Dwayne Johnson fella from all of those movies....only to have the door slammed in her face by either his mother, daughter or girlfriend.

TNA might be desperate enough for star power to pursue Dwayne. It's not like he doesn't know that TNA doesn't exist, but the chances of him ever going there is 0% and the WWE knows that. Besides, the WWE made him what he is today. The WWE could have completely buried him when he was Rocky Maivia and the fans chanted "Die Rocky Die" and that would have been the end of his pro wrestling career. Instead, the WWE used those chants to their advantage and a star was born.

There are rumors that WrestleMania 33 is in Orlando and since the Rock is a Florida guy.....well it makes perfect sense for him to headline next year's WWE Hall of Fame and to be inducted by his greatest rival, Stone Cold Steve Austin. Imagine the hype that WrestleMania 33 would have if he goes into the WWE Hall of Fame.

I think when Rock goes into the WWE hall of fame the most likely candidates to induct him are:

Mick Foley
Roman Reigns
Mark Henry
Chris Jericho

If he were still alive Michael Clarke Duncan would be the top choice.

I don't see Austin inducting Rock because while they were great rivals and have a deep mutual respect for one another they were never really friends per se.

I know to some Jericho being on my list might seem weird but when you read Jericho book you really get a feel for how much Jericho respects the Rock and views him as a friend.

 

[Dr. Evil]

Is the Rock even close to Mick Foley anymore?