Pro Wrestling Discussion

[dl316bh]

So much for Cena and Bryan forming the Brothers-In-Law of Destruction.

Originally Posted by Coola Yagami

Unless it's all a work that is.

I don't think WWE'd do that. It offers nothing of value that would trump Wrestlemania 33, which they clearly hoped to be a modern Macho and Liz moment that could be in the video packages forever. The two were almost never acknowledged as being together on WWE TV anyway. Only the reality shows dealt with it.

[ZariusTwo]

Super Star Shake-Up saw Miz moved back to Smackdown (ripe for a feud with Bryan), the Riot Squad, Dolph, Drew Mcintyre, Breezango, Sami and Kevin, Bobby Roode and Jinder moved to RAW also.

[dl316bh]

I was a little surprised at first that no main eventers moved, but then I remembered Smackdown only has, like, three or four of those and one of them happens to be the champion. They really did not have a very deep bench this past year. At least a couple top level guys have to be moving over tonight.

Might be good news for Miz, though. Being a bigger fish in a smaller pond means he might be able to finally transition back into the main event scene. It's the best shot he's had in years. Especially if Daniel Bryan manages to regain the WWE championship again at some point.

Super Star Shake-Up saw Miz moved back to Smackdown (ripe for a feud with Bryan), the Riot Squad, Dolph, Drew Mcintyre, Breezango, Sami and Kevin, Bobby Roode and Jinder moved to RAW also.

A couple were announced after the show too, like Chad Gable. I'm hoping Gable tears it the hell up and eventually manages to get the Intercontinental title. I wouldn't be opposed to an American Alpha reunion at some point either.

[ZariusTwo]

The big jumps from RAW to Smackdown were Jeff, Joe, Big Cass and (predictably) Asuka. Joe I'm relieved with, he can do the job to Reigns at Backlash and then just concentrate on tearing through everybody and hopefully getting the WWE belt, which is the one that matters.

I heard The Bar also jumped

[ssjup81]

I'm going to miss Jeff and Asuka moving to Smackdown...yeah... That makes her loss at Wrestlemania 34 kind of pointless, imo. They could've set this up better. See, I figured they were keeping her on Raw, hence the loss. If she'd won the match and then continue with what's her name cashing in and stuff, dunno, seems that would've worked better. I dunno, just hate HOW she lost.

[ZariusTwo]

ITV are back with World of Sport. New tapings will be recorded in Norwich across the 10th, 11th, and 12th of May

http://www.mandatory.com/wrestlezone...ings-confirmed

[The Deadman]

WWE Reportedly Hopes Undertaker Will Wrestle ‘4 to 5 Times’ in 2018
https://411mania.com/wrestling/wwe-r...-5-times-2018/

IMPACT Wrestling "Redemption" results from last night
– AeroStar defeated Drago @ 11:40 via pin [***]
– Impact Tag Team Title Match: Eli Drake & Scott Steiner defeated Champions LAX @ 8:00 via pin [**¼]
– Cage defeated Ishimori, Dezmond Xavier, El Hijo del Fantasma, DJZ, & Trevor Lee @ 12:58 via pin [***¼]
– Taya Valkyrie defeated Kiera Hogan @ 8:00 via pin [**]
– X-Division Title Match: Champion Matt Sydal defeated Petey Williams @ 11:58 via pin [***]
– House of Hardcore Match: Ohio Versus Everything defeated Tommy Dreamer, Moose, & Eddie Edwards @ 13:00 via pin [***¼]
– Knockouts Title Match: Champion Allie defeated Su Yung @ 7:17 via pin [**½]
– Impact World Title Match: Pentagon defeated Champion Austin Aries and Fenix @ 16:15 via pin [***¾]

[ZariusTwo]

Paul Heyman will not be accompanying Brock to Saudi. Likely because of his Jewish heritage.

https://411mania.com/wrestling/wwe-n...-war-premiere/

Zack Ryder injured during Main Event taping, he's been pulled from participating in Greatest Royal Rumble.

http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/...n-event-match/

[ZariusTwo]

Kicking off the PPV is HHH vs Cena

[ZariusTwo]

Greatest Royal Rumble Results:

John Cena defeated Triple H
Woken Matt and Bray Wyatt defeated The Bar to win the vacant RAW Tag Titles
WWE Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers retained against The Usos
US Champion Jeff Hardy defeated Jinder Mahal
Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins defeated The Miz, Samoa Joe and Finn Balor
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander defeated Kalisto
WWE Champion AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura ended in a double count-out
WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar defeated Roman Reigns in a steel cage match when Reigns speared both him and Brock through the cage (in controversial fashion, Reigns' feet hit the ground first, but the ref didn't see it and made the call for Lesnar to retain)
Brauwn Strawman won the Greatest Royal Rumble

[dl316bh]

Originally Posted by ZariusTwo

Brock Lesnar defeated Roman Reigns in a steel cage match when Reigns speared both him and Brock through the cage (in controversial fashion, Reigns' feet hit the ground first, but the ref did'nt see it and made the call for Lesnar to retain)

I legit can't believe they had him lose again. I lost my s*** watching the finish. So freaking funny. They're going to continue with Romans "something stinks around here" thing on Monday, I'm sure, as if that'll turn it around.

What I'm hoping for is this actually sticking to Romans character. Have him grapple with the fact that, for all his boasts, his talk about being the Big Dog and yards and such, he just can't beat Brock. He couldn't get it done at Wrestlemania 31 - WWE's tried to act like he came "so close" but he got whupped before Seth showed up - he got pinned in the Fatal Four Way at Summerslam last year, he got pinned at Wrestlemania and now he lost here too. You can do interesting things with that. Part of Romans problem is he's never really felt vulnerable. I don't know if that salvages him with crowds, but s***, it's worth a shot, isn't it?

Brauwn Strawman won the Greatest Royal Rumble

He also got to break Roman Reigns elimination record, too, coming in at thirteen.

D-Bry got to break the longest time spent in a Rumble at an hour and sixteen minutes. And man, dude looked like a freaking warrior. He got tore up so bad during the Rumble he had bruises all over his chest and arms.

[ZariusTwo]

Originally Posted by dl316bh

What I'm hoping for is this actually sticking to Romans character. Have him grapple with the fact that, for all his boasts, his talk about being the Big Dog and yards and such, he just can't beat Brock. He couldn't get it done at Wrestlemania 31 - WWE's tried to act like he came "so close" but he got whupped before Seth showed up - he got pinned in the Fatal Four Way at Summerslam last year, he got pinned at Wrestlemania and now he lost here too. You can do interesting things with that. Part of Romans problem is he's never really felt vulnerable. I don't know if that salvages him with crowds, but s***, it's worth a shot, isn't it?

Agreed, Reigns needs to start letting this affect him and showcase some sympathy and vulnerability. A little of what we saw at this year's 'Mania when he did his walk of shame. I felt a bit for him when he did that. The real problem with subsequent rematches is that not all of them can be 'Mania, so there's less blood, less f-5s, less mayhem...and it gets to a point Reigns defeating Lesnar ultimately falls kind of flat.

D-Bry got to break the longest time spent in a Rumble at an hour and sixteen minutes. And man, dude looked like a freaking warrior. He got tore up so bad during the Rumble he had bruises all over his chest and arms.

I saw that, boy his chest looked it'd been cut open by wild animals.

[ZariusTwo]

ROFL, the "Best of Both Worlds" ad got WWE in some trouble with the Saudis last night, particularly when footage was shown of Carmella

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-43934934

http://wrestlingnews.co/wwe-news/wat...-royal-rumble/

[ZariusTwo]

This was a nice surprise....Muhamad Hassan made his in-ring comeback last night

[MikeandRaph87]

Is there any documentary about the wrestling boom of the 1980s'?

[dl316bh]

Originally Posted by ZariusTwo

Agreed, Reigns needs to start letting this affect him and showcase some sympathy and vulnerability. A little of what we saw at this year's 'Mania when he did his walk of shame. I felt a bit for him when he did that.

It's certainly worth a shot. He's really not a very sympathetic character, because he never feels like a person you would actually feel for. He always has this edge of smug or superiority to him - a lot like Cena in some of his worst Super Cena days, arguably worse - and while that's great for a heel, it's not so good for getting crowds behind you when they already think you're a hand picked corporate product. Then, his promos make him sound even more up his own ass. That walk of shame at 'Mania might have been good if he didn't come out the next night hinting at conspiracies, making excuses and immediately killing any possible sympathy.

Thirty years ago, what they've tried might have worked, because back then there were a lot more casuals, but as Dave Meltzer brought up last year, a lot of them have dropped off for various reasons and WWE's left with the hardcore fanbase. Really, they need to get away from the "face of the company" mold, because you can't really manufacture those. Sometimes you're going to have lulls. They had to try numerous guys after Hogan, plenty of them great wrestlers - Bret Hart and HBK - and some garbage - Diesel/Kevin Nash - before Stone Cold and Rock hit. You'd think a wider variety of beloved top guys would do well for them.

The real problem with subsequent rematches is that not all of them can be 'Mania, so there's less blood, less f-5s, less mayhem...and it gets to a point Reigns defeating Lesnar ultimately falls kind of flat.

I don't even feel like they can do it anymore. I mean, they can do whatever they want, but it's not going to help Roman any, because he's lost four times now. Even if he were to suddenly win soon, it's hollow. Brock clearly has his number.

Their only other option's Braun, though, so we'll see what they do. I'd have said Joe, but he's going to Smackdown. And probably losing to Roman at Backlash. Other than that, who else is even a believable threat to Brock on the Raw roster? Bobby Lashley, maybe?

I saw that, boy his chest looked it'd been cut open by wild animals.

It was crazy. Made him look like the toughest man going, too. Stuff like that can really add to the matches storytelling. Sheamus has always been good with that. His skin is so light that after matches, his skin's often red where pulled strikes connected. He's always looked like he came out of an actual fight, especially when he was in there with a hoss or someone who wasn't as great at pulling their strikes. Remember the times Mark Henry lit him up, including the one time with the belt? It's one of the best things about him.

Is there any documentary about the wrestling boom of the 1980s'?

I'm not a hundred percent sure. I assume you're looking for an independent documentary. It's hard to say, because a lot of them these days come from WWE directly.

[Coola Yagami]

WWE (or at least Vince) is never gonna give up. For some reason they have it in their mind that Roman Reighs IS the face of the company. I assume years from now when they do those history packages, they're gonna show Cena, The Rock, Stone Cold and Roman Reigns will be included as if he was one of the faces of the company, despite the fact that noone wanted it and he was booed all the time.

[dl316bh]

Originally Posted by Coola Yagami

WWE (or at least Vince) is never gonna give up. For some reason they have it in their mind that Roman Reighs IS the face of the company.

Oh, I didn't say they were going to give up on him, more the point that having Roman beat Brock for the title now is pointless, because he looks like a goober compared to Brock, especially after he talked such a big game. But give up? No, I'm sure they won't. But then, I was sure Roman was taking the title at Wrestlemania and then the Greatest Royal Rumble, so honestly, what the hell do I know?

But honestly, I think the main reason they don't just give up on him entirely is a bit more practical. They want a guy to replace Cena and Roman's the only one who ticks every box they have, plus I think they don't want to admit to themselves that they squandered a once in a lifetime guy who probably should have been the most over star in the company while simultaneously ticking all of those boxes. The only other guy they've got is Braun, who doesn't have Romans looks and build (Braun's got a build McMahon historically loves, but it's not the Sammartino/Hogan/Austin/Rock/Cena build). Everyone else with the face heat they want or the marketability are in their forties or a step away from it and they can't just keep Cena in the spot anymore because he's in his forties now and part time, given Hollywood's come knocking.

I assume years from now when they do those history packages, they're gonna show Cena, The Rock, Stone Cold and Roman Reigns will be included as if he was one of the faces of the company, despite the fact that noone wanted it and he was booed all the time.

Well, they kind of have to now. Failure or not, whether we hated him or not, he has been the face of the company for the past four years. They made him that way. Giving up on him doesn't change that, it just makes him a failed face of the company. But they've still given him a Hall of Fame career in four years, even if the accolades are asterisked. He's a three time WWE champion, but combined they barely equal three months with the belt. He's a former Intercontinental champion, but he held the belt for two months. He's a former United States champion with what's hilariously his second longest title reign at three months and change, but none of it was memorable. His best title reign is his tag title run with Rollins from the glory days of the Shield when they never put on a bad match, which came before they decided he'd be the overpowered company face. He's thusly a Grand Slam winner. He won a Royal Rumble. He main evented four straight Wrestlemanias, even if he got booed out of the building every time.

It's partly pride that'll have him in the video packages, but also simply the fact that he is an important part of company history now, even if a bad part, that you kind of can't just wash away without some kind of real life thing necessitating that you wash them away.

[The Deadman]

WWE Paying Female Talent For Greatest Royal Rumble
https://411mania.com/wrestling/wwe-p...-royal-rumble/

[ZariusTwo]

Originally Posted by The Deadman

WWE Paying Female Talent For Greatest Royal Rumble
https://411mania.com/wrestling/wwe-p...-royal-rumble/

Well technically they did appear in an ad