Pro Wrestling Discussion

[BubblyShell22]

I haven't been watching SmackDown much due to two other shows I watch instead. Cena's probably busy promoting American Grit which is why he's off right now.

[ZariusTwo]

Best trolling of Gary Linkear since Brass Eye

[GoldMutant]

Samoa Joe guys.

[jbeeman85]

What kind of name is Great Balls of Fire for a pay-per-view? That just sounds awful to me.

[BubblyShell22]

Yeah, I don't think that's a good name either. They must be running out of ideas.

[Coola Yagami]

Blah to spoilers already telling me Samoa Joe would win the night before. I feel bad for Bray Wyatt, he's the least likely to win and I don't really see what he could do against Brock Lesnar. As much as I love the guy, why add someone least likely to win in a fatal five? Why not make all 5 of them contenders. Idk.. Strauman, Corbin, Orton, idk.

[The Deadman]

Was at the PPV last night and that place was loud. The crowd was really into Apollo/Kalisto, booed Bayley a few times, popped when Sheamus and Cesaro lost and really liked Joe winning. Not sure how it came off on television.

[GoldMutant]

There were major issues for Extreme Rules personally.

1. Intercontinental Championship- Shouldn't have Miz try to provoke Ambrose more? It felt like little was done outside Maryse slapping Miz and the referee shove.

2. The Tag Team match's logic baffled me. Jeff Hardy previously escaped, yet when he reentered, he had to exit again. I understand if it's a big risk, but technically the Hardys should've retained if Matt was the only one who had to escape.

I'm still happy Sheamus and Cesaro won, it got tiresome for them to job constantly to Jeff and Matt.

3. Bayley really needs to go back to NXT or Smackdown, the creative team clearly doesn't know how to use her on Raw.

In general, some of the rules were confusing despite being somewhat fun. My favorite match was the submission battle between Neville and Aries.

[The Deadman]

I dunno, sending someone back down to NXT especially after being up on the main roster for close to a year should only happen to someone who's regressing. Sending her to Smackdown wouldn't be good either especially if the rumors are true that Charlotte is gonna be the top woman AGAIN on that brand.

Also with the tag titles, both team members had to be out of the cage at the same time to win.

[BubblyShell22]

I think whoever won for the right to face Brock should win the title and be done with it. Brock doesn't deserve it since he's not on TV that much anyway. Let someone else who actually cares about making appearances and representing the company win it instead of some guy who only wants to appear when he feels like it when he should be there at least every week to build up whatever feud he's going to have.

[AT-Man]

The segment with Joe and Heyman was incredible. Joe's not gonna win the title (yet), but I hope it's not gonna be just another Suplex City match.

[Slade]

Heading to Raw Monday night. First time ever going, looking forward to it.

[AT-Man]

Originally Posted by Slade

Heading to Raw Monday night. First time ever going, looking forward to it.

If there's a legit Lesnar/Joe confrontation, I'm envious. I'm already envious of seeing Alexa Bliss live.

[BubblyShell22]

Have fun, Slade, and be sure to tell us about it when you get back.

[Slade]

So yeah, was a lot of fun being there. Loved the Lesnar segment although it was supposed to be last. Everything seemed rushed in a way though.
I read a review that called it a glorified house show. It def seemed that way to me. Still was a lot of fun being there.
Reigns had a match with Wyatt after the Hardy and Sheamus Cessaro match.it was pretty short. I know people hate him here, but he got probably the best reaction all night. Way more cheers than boos. Could just be around here though.
All in all it wasn't the best raw, but we had a lot of fun.

Going to Mania next.

[Coola Yagami]

Samoa Joe's confrontation with Lesnar convinced me he can hang with the Beast. This shouldn't be a Suplex City Squash.

[MikeandRaph87]

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[GoldMutant]

Money in the Bank felt like a bad episode of Raw or Smackdown. Extremely underwhelming.

Spoiler:

I don't care if it's to make both of them easy to hate, Ellsworth ruined the match by giving Carmella the briefcase. The match had a lot of potential and build, and that's how you choose to end it? That's dumb!

Honestly, my favorite match tonight was Jinder Mahal vs Randy Orton. Dunno why, but it was the only one I bothered to focus on.

The entire show was predictable, I guessed who was going to win too easily. With the exception of Breezango, Smackdown is still in a rut currently until Summerslam and after it. Something needs to give.

[AT-Man]

Originally Posted by GoldMutant

Money in the Bank felt like a bad episode of Raw or Smackdown. Extremely underwhelming.

Spoiler:

I don't care if it's to make both of them easy to hate, Ellsworth ruined the match by giving Carmella the briefcase. The match had a lot of potential and build, and that's how you choose to end it? That's dumb!

Honestly, my favorite match tonight was Jinder Mahal vs Randy Orton. Dunno why, but it was the only one I bothered to focus on.

The entire show was predictable, I guessed who was going to win too easily. With the exception of Breezango, Smackdown is still in a rut currently until Summerslam and after it. Something needs to give.

I feel the exact opposite. Yes, I predicted the winners, but the matches were all good or great.

[GoldMutant]

Originally Posted by AT-Man

I feel the exact opposite. Yes, I predicted the winners, but the matches were all good or great.

To me, not so much.

The only two matches I personally enjoyed were Orton vs Mahal and the Men's Money in the Bank match. The rest either needed more time (Women's MITB) or lacked something. (The tag team matches especially.)

At the least, Backlash was at least... interesting. However, I honestly got more enjoyment out of Extreme Rules, and that had big problems too. Smackdown since the brand split has done so much better. This is easily their worst PPV for me since 2016.

I do wonder how Mike Bennet and Maria are going to configure into Smackdown now outside being a possible replacement couple for Maryse and Miz.