Pro Wrestling Discussion

[BubblyShell22]

Wasn't she on Lucha Underground at one point? I thought I saw her when I watched it the first season or so.

[dl316bh]

Originally Posted by BubblyShell22

Wasn't she on Lucha Underground at one point? I thought I saw her when I watched it the first season or so.

She's been a consistent part of it. But with what's happened, I guess we'll see if she's too much of a liability to the show, if it returns for a fourth season. Actually, I'm fairly interested in who would even come back. Some of the mainstays have had very real problems with AAA. I believe Lucha Underground contracts people separately, but AAA is still involved in the show, as they supplied half the talent.

[The Deadman]

She was Lucha Underground Champion a while back if im not mistaken.

[Hamato Yoshi]

Flair vs Rude , Halloween Havoc 93

Flair vs Starrcade 93

Good matches......which Flair matches are must see ?

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by dl316bh

I'd be okay with that, believe it or not. If we absolutely must do Reigns vs Lesnar at Wrestlemania - because, you know, WWE doesn't learn - this kind of works out for all parties. Braun becomes one of the few people to defeat Brock Lesnar since Brock powered back up to peak Lesnar post-Triple H feud. Braun wins a world title while the iron is hot. Bonus points if the reign is dominant. WWE has its main title on the show for the four months Lesnar is out and they've built a new star in an organic fashion. Brock wins the title back and Braun doesn't lose much because the guy has been fairly well protected and it's Lesnar. Brock is usually around for most of Wrestlemania season, so there's that problem taken care of. Then they get to do their... sigh... big Reigns victory everyone will boo out of New Orleans.

I think the only thing I'm worried about is WWE not pulling the trigger on Strowman while the time is right. I remember how TNA screwed up Samoa Joe; dude got over early on, wrecked dudes and then had programs for their title. But TNA didn't go for it, things cooled off and by the time they actually gave him a run it was too late. Braun hasn't won any other titles yet, sure, but he's a guy you could buy going right for the top title. Whether it was their intention or not, they got him over hard and it would be a shame not to solidify things. I mean, he got over in a way WWE wishes Reigns did.

I guess the problem is, they have their plots for PPVs in advance and they're set in stone, even if unexpected stars suddenly go over like crazy, they're too stubborn to rewrite their scripts to accommodate for that.

[dl316bh]

Originally Posted by The Deadman

She was Lucha Underground Champion a while back if im not mistaken.

She was indeed champion for a cup of coffee before Johnny Mundo murked her a week later. At the time, it was a feel good moment. With what's happening now the best thing you can say about it is that they're probably the first semi-major promotion - or one with a television show, at least, as Chikara did do this before them with Princess Kimberlee - to have a woman win their top title and at least that's significant.

Originally Posted by Hamato Yoshi

Flair vs Rude , Halloween Havoc 93

Flair vs Starrcade 93

Good matches......which Flair matches are must see ?

The trilogy with Ricky Steamboat is the go-to answer.

Originally Posted by Coola Yagami

I guess the problem is, they have their plots for PPVs in advance and they're set in stone, even if unexpected stars suddenly go over like crazy, they're too stubborn to rewrite their scripts to accommodate for that.

The WWE can be stupidly stubborn, but it happens, with Wrestlemanias 30 and 31 prime examples. Not as often as we'd like, of course. But then, you also have to keep in mind that WWE rarely has anything in mind beyond vague ideas and they change all the time. Spend any time reading or listening to the inside baseball and you realize last minute script rewrites and Vince changing his mind at the eleventh hour is stupidly common. He's the polar opposite of his father, who'd give a guy the date they were winning the WWF title and the day they were losing it in advance. You want to talk rigid, Superstar Billy Graham got super over when he was champion way back when, to the point it would have been smart to keep the title on him longer, but they still went and had him drop the belt, which sent Graham into depression.

I will say that I'm not sure Braun was a hundred percent unexpected. You don't protect a guy as much as they have with Strowman since the draft if you're not trying to make something out of him. They likely didn't expect him to be quite this over, though. They could also really screw it up, but so far so good. We'll see what happens, I guess. I'm pulling for BRAAAAAAAAUN but Lesnar keeping it is not exactly unlikely.

[BubblyShell22]

Ah, I see. So I was right about Sexy Star. Good to know.

[The Deadman]

JBL Stepping Down as Smackdown Commentator

[tmntfannumerouno]

Originally Posted by The Deadman

JBL Stepping Down as Smackdown Commentator

Yep he's gonna be working with at risk kids as penance for being an asshole the majority of his life.

[BubblyShell22]

I'm glad he's going to help kids, but I did enjoy him as a commentator as he was always amusing. I just hope they don't get someone mediocre to fill his spot.

[ZariusTwo]

JBL was the reason Raulnallo wasn't there right? Just call him back up from NXT.

[GoldMutant]

Originally Posted by ZariusTwo

JBL was the reason Raulnallo wasn't there right? Just call him back up from NXT.

While I wouldn't be surprised if JBL's comments didn't hurt Mauro, I think it's also Vince McMahon. Do you guys remember how when the WWE Network was constantly shilled in 2015? Michael Cole had unused commentary one day with getting annoyed at it and wanting to stop before continuing; I assume Vince warned Cole.

It's a possibility, but I feel Vince controlling what his announcers say might've hurt Mauro too, at least work wise. There has been decent commentary from time to time, but there have been times where it does feel phoned in or not done at all. I noticed that with Raw lately with a lack of commentary at specific points.

I wouldn't be against bringing Mauro back to Smackdown, especially if he teamed with Jerry Lawler (heel Lawler) or Corey Graves again. However, if my assumption is right, I think him staying on NXT is the better option.

Don't put David Otunga back on as a solution to JBL leaving.

[dl316bh]

JBL's such a hard guy to pin down or even know how you feel about him. He's a noted bully, in the days he wrestled and beyond. Yet he clearly feels very strongly about his pet charities, devoting a lot of time and effort to them, when most folks will donate some money here and there but not a whole lot else. He's not a guy I would ever want to deal with, regardless.

Originally Posted by GoldMutant

While I wouldn't be surprised if JBL's comments didn't hurt Mauro, I think it's also Vince McMahon. Do you guys remember how when the WWE Network was constantly shilled in 2015? Michael Cole had unused commentary one day with getting annoyed at it and wanting to stop before continuing; I assume Vince warned Cole.

I've tried to cut Cole a lot of slack over the years for just that reason. A lot of other commentators have made note of how Vince will scream in your ear over a lot of things and Cole apparently bears a fair bit of it. There've been a couple times off air comments were captured and you can tell the guy is annoyed with some of the things asked of him. Good to remind you the guy thinks the constant shilling and dumb things he has to say are as idiotic as we do. But hey, we - and his own feelings - do not pay his bills, so he's got to do what the boss wants him to.

I wouldn't be against bringing Mauro back to Smackdown, especially if he teamed with Jerry Lawler (heel Lawler) or Corey Graves again. However, if my assumption is right, I think him staying on NXT is the better option.

Don't put David Otunga back on as a solution to JBL leaving.

Jerry Lawler... eh. His commentary got pretty bad as the years went on. I mean, arguably it was always bad and especially regressive when it came to the women, but the Ross/Lawler duo is pretty iconic. I think Ross was always an important piece of the puzzle with Lawler, as Ross had a dry sarcasm and wit that disarmed some of Lawlers tendencies on commentary. Lawler would make some kind of dumb comment and Ross would deadpan some impressively sarcastic line where you could practically hear him rolling his eyes. It's easy to underestimate chemistry, which those two definitely had.

I'd like Mauro back on Smackdown, so long as he pulled back on some of the needless pop culture references. Say what you want about the guy, but he always sounded legitimately into the product and excited. Sometimes he went too far and it sounded fake, but still. It's sort of eye opening how much that helps, sometimes. If someone else is into something, you want to be too. That's one reason I never think of Vince McMahon among the worst commentators. He rarely called moves and "whattamanuever" was an old standby, but he made damn sure he sounded like he was wowed, excited and into the flow of the match.

[BubblyShell22]

I was never sold on Mauro but I definitely think he'd be better than Phillips who seems pretty bland at times and not really interesting. Saxton tries but JBL is what made that team and I always enjoyed watching SD for that reason. Otunga wasn't too bad and I think he was supposed to be RAW's main commentator but has been filming a movie which is why Booker T. has been filling in. I'd love to see Booker go back to SD though.

[dl316bh]

Originally Posted by BubblyShell22

I was never sold on Mauro but I definitely think he'd be better than Phillips who seems pretty bland at times and not really interesting. Saxton tries but JBL is what made that team and I always enjoyed watching SD for that reason. Otunga wasn't too bad and I think he was supposed to be RAW's main commentator but has been filming a movie which is why Booker T. has been filling in. I'd love to see Booker go back to SD though.

I feel bad saying it about Tom Phillips, because he's not bad or anything, but man, that guy is just there. The first couple weeks he was on commentary, when there were around four guys in the booth, he said so little I forgot he was even there. He only really spoke up to do the advertising. I hope he can figure it all out.

I haven't enjoyed JBL much in recent years. I think it's because I was exposed to his initial run, where he was a constructive part of the show while still a heel, and seemed to call matches better than Michael Cole did. The run that just ended seemed rife with nonsensical calls and shouting without purpose. I think that's just what somebody in the back wanted heel announcers to be for a while there, because Michael Coles heel run had him yelling all the time.

Otunga wasn't aggressively terrible, but he also didn't have a ton of presence either. I wish he were better, because for some reason I've never been able to figure out, I like Otunga and wanted him to do something productive.

Booker is weird in that he's not great but I also kind of like it for that reason. He doesn't even seem to know where he's going with a point sometimes and it's kind of hilarious. My favorite call he ever made was one year when the Rumble winner came out and he said something to the effect of "He's got the golden ticket, but is he gonna cash it in at Wrestlemania? I'm calling it!" Amazing. A masterpiece.

[BubblyShell22]

Yeah, I think Booker just wings it at times, but that's what makes him so entertaining to listen to which is why I like him. He doesn't try too hard. I do think Jim Ross was the best because he really called the moves as they were and really sold the matches. He and Jerry definitely had the best chemistry.

[dl316bh]

Corey Graves is taking over for JBL on Smackdown. He's not leaving Raw, either, instead pulling double duty. This is probably the best possible move, because Corey Graves is the best color commentator WWE has had since at least JBL's first commentary stint, maybe as far back as JR. He feels like an actual human being with opinions who, while he may prefer heels, has some faces he roots for and some heels he can't stand.

It reminds me a lot of Jesse Ventura way back when, where he was still a Macho Man fan even after he went face, though noting he wasn't wild about the Macho Mans attitude or demeanor at the time. Sometimes it's the small things like that which will make the difference. For a while there, it really seemed like WWE's definition of a heel announcer was "likes all heels, hates all faces, will immediately flip on a person the second they change alignments". Unless the character itself is a total butthole that makes sense for - Bobby Heenan, for example, who just hates do-gooders and made an entire career out of hating them and managing heels - it doesn't work.

Originally Posted by BubblyShell22

Yeah, I think Booker just wings it at times, but that's what makes him so entertaining to listen to which is why I like him. He doesn't try too hard. I do think Jim Ross was the best because he really called the moves as they were and really sold the matches. He and Jerry definitely had the best chemistry.

That team worked so well back in the day because Jim Ross was such a great foil for Lawler. Looking back, Lawlers commentary was so cringeworthy and is hard to listen to, but JR frequently disarmed it all with some dry sarcasm or a well timed comment. He was the straight man, really. On top of that, JR was such a fountain of wrestling knowledge he'd make great calls all the time and could more than handle that part of the booth on his own while King worked color.

[Autbot_Benz]

So WWE is gonna be live on Christmas. I swear Vince treats his talent like Circus Animals. Just let the talent be with their families. Vince is one Greedy M-fer.

WWE‏Verified account @WWE 1h1 hour ago

BREAKING: For the first time ever, #RAW will broadcast LIVE on Christmas night, Dec. 25, and New Year’s Day, Jan. 1.

[The Deadman]

Sexy Star Gives Her Side of TripleMania/Rosemary Incident

[Autbot_Benz]

Originally Posted by The Deadman

Sexy Star Gives Her Side of TripleMania/Rosemary Incident

Sexy Star is full of Sexy crap She did it and is trying to spin the story. she screwed herself royally. I believe Rosemary and GFW