Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

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Re: Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

Postby Andrew on Sun Apr 08, 2018 12:53 pm

So, Wrestlemania 34 predictions?

Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal: WOKEN Matt Hardy...unless a new form of Bray Wyatt appears to eliminate him.
WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal: Sasha Banks, furthering her feud with Bayley in the process.
Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali: Uh...let's say, Cedric Alexander.
Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Nia Jax: Alexa Bliss, with a dirty finish.
The Miz (c) vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Bálor: The Miz, pinning Balor after Rollins hits his finisher, only for Miz to take him out to steal the fall.
Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Asuka: Asuka to keep the streak going and become champion, then a MITB cash-in by Carmella to end it and steal the title.
Cesaro and Sheamus (c) vs. Braun Strowman and TBD: Braun Strowman, with whatever gimmick or partner they end up going with for him.
The Usos (Jey and Jimmy Uso) (c) vs. The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and/or Xavier Woods) vs. The Bludgeon Brothers (Harper and Rowan): The Usos, in a wild finish amidst confusion.
Randy Orton (c) vs. Bobby Roode vs. Jinder Mahal vs. Rusev: Bobby Roode, to give him a significant win at Wrestlemania and keep the feud going.
Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn: Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, with either Bryan or Shane turning. WWE are probably dumb enough to try to turn Bryan, but I'd still pick Shane.
Kurt Angle and Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon: Kurt Angle and Ronda Rousey. Booking it any other way would be incredibly stupid; possible, but I think they'll protect Rousey.
AJ Styles (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: AJ Styles, as I'm not sure they're ready to strap Shinsuke, and also because the other world title will change hands.
Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns: Roman Reigns, because the other title is staying put, but mostly because this is what they've been building to for a couple of years now.

I'm also guessing there'll be a John Cena segment where he calls out The Undertaker one last time, with The Undertaker either winning an impromptu match or otherwise getting the better of him somehow.
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Re: Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

Postby Lean on Mon Apr 09, 2018 2:45 am

I'd wake up at around 5am to start the pre-show. But before I get to my predictions, let me say that TAKEOVER IS SO DAMN AWESOME.

...now that's off my chest. I'd list them down as I'm just posting from my phone.

- Matt Hardy
- Becky Lynch or Paige
- The Usos
- Strowman and mystery partner who I'm guessing it's either Elias or Ellsworth
- Bálor
- Rusev
- Alexa Bliss
- Asuka (plus a failed Carmella cash-in)
- Angle/Rousey
- Bryan/Shane if they're gonna have another shake-up, Zayn/Owens if not
- Undertaker in his American Badasa persona
- Nakamura
- Reigns

To me, the winners of both main Smackdown titles (World title and Women's title) won't matter so long as both matches are given time to tell a good story (see: Gargano vs Ciampa at Takeover New Orleans).
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Re: Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

Postby [Q] on Mon Apr 09, 2018 9:30 am

I could see them giving Ali the title. He has a good story that they've been pushing

I dunno, I think Carmella's mitb reign has been a waste. I feel like it would've been better served for Becky Lynch to regain the title at one point but it doesn't work because she's not a believable Championship level talent as of yet and of all people to beat asuka would they really "waste" the streak on a cheap win by Carmella? Having her blow the opportunity like they did to punish Corbin doesn't really do any good either. What would make more sense would be to have Charlotte end the streak in a crazy back and forth match and have Carmella capitalize afterwards

I could see them putting the title on nakamura and we'll have a rematch of the dream match possibly on TV or at the next ppv. Then I hope they give us nakamura vs bryan
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Re: Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

Postby Lean on Mon Apr 09, 2018 10:36 am

Not even mad with the Smackdown Women's Championship result. I think it was a good match. Same with the IC title match.
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Re: Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

Postby Andrew on Mon Apr 09, 2018 11:01 am

I don't know. The ultimate payoff for Asuka's streak was another feather in Charlotte's cap? It was unexpected I guess, but where to now for Asuka?

Angle/Rousey vs. HHH/Stephanie was a pretty exciting match, though I still felt it was a bit rich than Stephanie got as much offense in as she did. I think she also lasted longer in Rousey's holds than all of Rousey's UFC opponents combined, which is a bit egotistical. At least Rousey went over, though. It honestly wouldn't have shocked me if they had her lose. They've made blunders that are just as big before.
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Re: Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

Postby Lean on Mon Apr 09, 2018 11:48 am

I think Asuka losing would either lead her back to Raw, and would be a storyline element in the future. I think the undefeated streak was fine to go on but I'd rather see her lose to Charlotte than to a Carmella cash-in.

The mixed tag match turned out way better than I expected. And I think Ronda woukd get better if she goes on full-time.

That Cena segment was great, too.

So far it's a good WrestleMania for me.
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Re: Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

Postby Andrew on Mon Apr 09, 2018 11:48 am

Taker/Cena match was short and sweet, and Taker actually looked the best he has in a couple of years. Not a bad send-off...I'm assuming. Hats off to Cena, too. A lot of top guys pout at the idea of jobbing at all, let alone in glorified squashes where they barely get in any offense. Love him or hate him, the guy's a team player.
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Re: Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

Postby [Q] on Mon Apr 09, 2018 11:56 am

The feather in Charlotte's cap isn't surprising given the way they've booked her up to this point.

HHH is disgusting how he continues to leverage himself into the spotlight. It would have been idiotic to have Ronda lose but I wouldn't have been surprised if that happened either. I'm shocked he didn't put this as the last match of the night. The lack of rules/tags was a little annoying but the match was pretty entertaining overall
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Re: Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

Postby Andrew on Mon Apr 09, 2018 12:17 pm

Agreed. HHH has a great vision for the business in some respects, but a blind spot when it comes to his own character and career. Good point about Charlotte.

Bryan/Shane vs. Owens/Zayn was another good one, with the right result. I'm glad I was wrong about Shane turning on Bryan to give Owens and Zayn the victory. Obviously, they're heading to RAW.

It's been a really good Wrestlemania so far. WWE's in-ring product gets bashed a lot, and some of the criticism is admittedly fair, but everyone's brought their A game for this one.
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Re: Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

Postby [Q] on Mon Apr 09, 2018 1:16 pm

Ehhhh, so I thought there was a tiny possibility of a turn but not the person that I thought it would be
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Re: Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

Postby Andrew on Mon Apr 09, 2018 1:40 pm

Shinsuke went Chris Jericho there. Meanwhile, Strowman deserves better than that cornball stuff.
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Re: Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

Postby Lean on Mon Apr 09, 2018 1:44 pm

That finish of the WWE title match was very very well done. Plus the turn was unexpected.

I expected Ellsworth to be Braun's partner! Maybe that was a Make-a-Wish?

It's the main event, and maybe it's time to go back to sleep now.
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Re: Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

Postby [Q] on Mon Apr 09, 2018 1:46 pm

Yeah, I'm thinking about just going back and watching pre-show stuff
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Re: Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

Postby Lean on Mon Apr 09, 2018 2:05 pm

Oh they brought back the music video recap at the end.

Also, Nicolas > Roman Reigns.
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Re: Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

Postby [Q] on Mon Apr 09, 2018 2:08 pm

It was interesting, as a lot of the people I thought were going to win didn't. Looks like Vince made a call to Dana to help work the fans on a move to the UFC. I could see him still fighting in the UFC since he only needs to show up for Summerslam after Wrestlemania is over.
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Re: Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

Postby Andrew on Mon Apr 09, 2018 2:22 pm

A great Wrestlemania that ended with a thud; first the cornball RAW tag title match, and then the main event. I'm tired of Lesnar. I don't like the way Reigns is booked, but at least he's a full-time talent and the belt would be on TV each week. Basically a finisher fest, and the crowd let their displeasure be known (not that you'll know on the replay/Blu-Ray/DVD). It was going to be a controversial and unpopular finish either way, but I'm just so sick of Lesnar. Sure, this ending was unpredictable, but now every title match through to Summerslam is going to be as predictable as the past twelve months have been. A bad end to an otherwise great show.
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Re: Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

Postby [Q] on Mon Apr 09, 2018 2:42 pm

As much as I dislike reigns, it would have been nice to have an actual champion around. The IC title is like the real championship on raw.

Lol did Aiden English shave his head after taking the L in the battle royal?
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Re: Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

Postby Andrew on Mon Apr 09, 2018 3:12 pm

The Universal Championship is a joke, it has no prestige. The only good thing about the brand split is that at least one world title is on TV, and it's the one with an actual lineage of note.
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Re: Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

Postby [Q] on Mon Apr 09, 2018 4:57 pm

Watched the parts I missed and I'm not sure about the Bludgeon Brothers win. They're not very interesting, shown by their third reboot and when they lose their monster push and finally lose, what will they have left? Also I agree Taker looked way better than he did the last two years. Didn't he have hip surgery or something? He looked old and immobile before but today he looked at least like a decent wrestler or someone you'd actually want to watch and not lumber through a match. I thought it would have been cool to have Kid Rock do a performance and then have Undertaker come out on the motorcycle during American Bad Ass. To have the Undertaker character "die" or stay retired after leaving his stuff in the ring but then have the American Bad Ass come back

For the record, there were five heavy betting underdogs that won tonight (Brock, AJ, Charlotte, Jinder, Naomi), so it did feel a little like they booked matches or changed it to swerve people but at the same time it does follow their pattern of continuing the long pushes for Brock, AJ and Charlotte at least

I did really like the guitar entrance for Nakamura instead of doing the violin only thing again. I guess with Bryan back and Owens to Raw, they have an imbalance of main event heels to faces which could explain the turn

I also did like Lizzy Hale singing Ember Moon's entrance theme, though I thought it was weird they had her drop the belt so soon after getting it. I thought she'd be champ for a long time.

Not sure if I like Adam Cole and his group winning everything. I guess they're doing their job if they are just to easy to dislike.

Ricochet is super athletic and had some cool moves, but I feel like I've seen a lot of that stuff already in the cruiserweight division every week
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Re: Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

Postby Andrew on Mon Apr 09, 2018 6:20 pm

Taker did indeed have hip surgery last year. He held off until after Wrestlemania so that he could work the match and put Reigns over, and it was assumed it was basically career-ending. It seems to have rejuvenated him though, at least to the point where he could come back and have a moment where he didn't look as old and beat up. I'm glad; he's my all-time favourite, and this was a much better note to potentially end on.
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Re: Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

Postby Lean on Mon Apr 09, 2018 8:51 pm

The Smackdown tag title match would have been better if it was only the Usos and The New Day. The Raw counterpart I believe was a last-minute change and I really thought the mystery partner was either a returning talent or Elias.

I wished that Biker Taker would've returned as I thought that him leaving his hat and coat in the ring last year was also a symbolism that the Deadman character is gone. It's good to see him in better shape than he was last year.

I thought AJ-Nakamura was a good match but could have been better, and the crowd seemed to be tired at that point. The turn post-match was great but I don't know where Nakamura goes from this unless he wins the title from AJ on the next PPV.

EDIT: To add on Q's post, I think Roddy Strong would get the UK title at some point in the future once Bobby Fish returns.

Takeover was fantastic, with the Women's match being the weakest. The ladder match was a brutal spot-filled contest. I like Adam Cole winning, and the turn on the Tag Team Championship match.

I kinda felt bad for Almas though I also like Aleister Black. I like how so much interference from Zelina Vega cost Almas the match and the title but I think it wouldn't hurt Black's momentum should Almas retained.

EDIT 2: Gargano and Ciampa main eventing Takeover made me think that Johnny will lose and would have been a send-off but holy crap was that match special. My favorite spot from that match was the powerbomb to the floor.

Shane, Sasha and Bayley were on the front row during Takeover but none of them were given proper exposure on-camera unlike the several moments at Wrestlemania where they focused on Cena while a match is going on and I felt that was very distracting. I also didn't like that Cena jumped off the barricade and ran through the ramp and stage during Charlotte's title celebration.
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Re: Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

Postby Andrew on Mon Apr 09, 2018 9:26 pm

He returned under the Deadman character at RAW 25, though. It's far more iconic than Biker!Taker anyway, so I'm actually glad he didn't return under that gimmick. I think last year was truly meant to be his retirement, but plans obviously changed when he had the surgery and ended up feeling like he could work another match.
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Re: Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

Postby shadowgrin on Mon Apr 09, 2018 9:52 pm

I think Bray's gonna turn on The Woken One in the future, similar to how Orton turned on Bray.

Ha, a uterus trophy.

After that fat-shaming angle, would be amusing if they made Nia Jax into a bully now that she's champion.

The Miz not winning is an absolute disgrace for the WWE.

I don't mind Asuka's streak being ended by Charlotte, it's like the Taker's streak being properly ended by someone like Cena or Reigns instead of a part-timer like Lesnar.
What I don't like is how she lost by making her tap, feels like a Triple H bury.
You build this character by not losing for almost 3 years and she lost because she gave up easily to a submission move? Nah, I'm not having that.

That tag match with Strowman was stupid, otoh from what I read about Braun it seems to align with his real life personality to do something like that, he maybe even thought of the idea, in any case good for the kid.
If WWE brings the kid along for a tag run I imagine it'll be the angle of a 'monster protecting something precious to him'. Like Shrek.

I feel like they're trying to make the Bludgeon Brothers into a new Road Warriors or something.

The Modern Day Maharaja winning a belt makes it up for The Miz losing his gold, a little bit.
Expect more factual and rightful insults to America now that a foreigner is holding the US title.

Daniel Bryan looked good out there, even better than Owens imo. Money Shane never disappoints.

That mixed tag match was the peak of WM34 in terms of crowd involvement, it was downhill after that, crowd just never got into the matches after.

Compared to their WK10 match, Styles-Nakamura was disappointing tbh, but ignoring their previous match the WM match is decent on its own. Now that Nakamura is a heel I want to see him fight Daniel Bryan in a singles match.

Eh, Brock signed a new WWE contract with that win I guess and we will continue to get more Reigns as an underdog and still doing his thing to claim his yard. Yay...

lmao Cena squash, though good to see that he put Taker over that way in WM to set things right with the way Taker's been booked in previous WM's.
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Re: Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

Postby Andrew on Mon Apr 09, 2018 10:21 pm

You' can't help but wonder whether that was intentional with the trophy.

I've read that the kid is the son of one of the WWE referees, and/or that it was possibly a Make-a-Wish situation. If that's the case, it makes it a bit harder to be a grump about it, but it's still not great. Great for the kid, of course, but I think they need to be careful with Strowman moving forward. I think they've already blown a couple of opportunities in terms of making him a main eventer and capitalising on how over he is, I hope they don't completely blow it moving forward.

Good points about Asuka. It's also egregious considering that Charlotte managed to withstand Asuka's armbar despite the kayfabe damage to her shoulder, and her being able to get the submission victory bridging on just one arm just adds to the notion of putting her over at Asuka's expense (and at the expense of the streak). Could've been handled better.

I'm seeing comments about how fans are unpleasable, complaining about WWE booking being predictable, then turning around and complaining when there's an unpredictable finish in the main event. There's some validity to that, but there's good and bad ways to be unpredictable, and unpredictable for the sake of it usually isn't good. Furthermore, while the finish to Lesnar/Reigns went against expectations, Lesnar's booking through Summerslam (at least) is likely going to remain predictable, rendering this one unexpected moment moot as the show goes on and angles continue.
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Re: Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

Postby zzcoolj21 on Tue Apr 10, 2018 12:55 am

Morning after Mania...
Bray got burried on the preshow to save Matt :lol:

Ronda is a natural and somehow had match of the night at her first wrestlemania

Taker is in the best shape he's been in all decade, but i still dont want him doing anymore 30 minute matches for his sake. Can't believe he killed some random fan in a 4 minute squash match

Alexa no sold a samoan drop off the top rope after her match

AJ vs Shin was only ok. They really didnt let them do anything special. But then Shin killed AJ and now I hope we see a return of his more "strong style" moveset

Tag matches. Meh.

booked themselves into a corner with the lesnar reigns match. Nobody would be happy with the result either way.

Like Andrew said on twitter, great mania bad ending.

Takeover > Mania

Edit: STOP BUILDING WOMEN UP JUST TO FEED THEM TO CHARLOTTE
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