Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

[Lean]

I thought Extreme Rules was a good PPV, apart from the ending. Standout matches for me were Aleister Black vs Cesaro and Ricochet vs AJ Styles. The End of Days to Becky Lynch was definitely surprising.

[Andrew]

Yeah, Lesnar cashing in and becoming champion again is just...yeah. I'm not surprised, just dismayed. Same old shit.

[[Q]]

Lmao Nakamura and Balor were on the pre show. I'm glad Shinsuke finally is out of the tag matches and back in championship form.

Lacey Evans still sucks, she threw the chair and hit Becky in the head with it!

[Lean]

And Becky no-sold it like a badass!

[shadowgrin]

Only now do I realize why Teddy likes tag team and 1-on-1 with the Undertaker matches. Playa.

[Lean]

Just noticed: the championship belts used on WWE broadcasts don't use snaps anymore, they now use velcro.

[[Q]]

Lol what

Interestingly enough, anybody notice that at one point during the last ppv after Nakamura won the IC title on the preshow, the WWE had like 4 black champions and a Japanese champion. And then the Street Profits and Velveteen Dream in NXT. Sure, still no diversity in the main title picture but it's progress. Last minority "contender" for the main title I can remember is R Truth vs Cena

[Andrew]

Well, R-Truth does have something like ten reigns with the most prestigious and best booked (angle-wise) title in the company. So there is that!

[[Q]]

Oh yeah I forgot about that one but yeah he seems to be the permanent 24/7 champ

[Andrew]

Now Maria is the first ever pregnant 24/7 champion (it's also her first championship in the company, if you can believe it).

[Lean]

Oh wow, I didn't know that. I really thought she won either the original Women's or Divas' title before.

[Andrew]

For some reason I assumed she'd had a brief run with it as well, but thinking back, I realised I couldn't remember a time when she did. And indeed, she didn't.

[[Q]]

Not sure about the Velcro belts, it could be just a new black backing. I took a good look at the IC belt on Smackville and there were definitely snaps but didn't get a good look on the regular shows

[bigh0rt]

The first belt I noticed the velcro on was Daniel Bryan's Eco-Friendly title, which I assumed was part of the gimmick. It seemed like Brock's on Monday also did not have snaps, though. I hadn't noticed it with any others, but I've really missed the vast majority of shows the past few months.

[Andrew]

I hadn't noticed that myself. I have been thinking a lot of the belts look like toy replicas, though. I think it's the thickness, or lack thereof.

[Andrew]

RIP Harley Race. A true legend, a shame he's been so poorly for quite some time. By all accounts, one of the toughest men in the business.

[Andrew]

Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross win the tag titles. At least the IIconics got some offense in before they were eliminated. They deserved a better run, and not to be scapegoated for the terrible writing/booking by having them not want to wrestle in kayfabe. Their pre-WWE work, and even what they were doing in NXT, demonstrates they're more than capable in the ring. That being said, they did get a long reign - the longest to date, in fact - but it wasn't nearly as good as it could've been.

Again, they deserved better, and even though it was a dream come true for them, I do feel kind of sorry for them. I saw Peyton post a Tweet a couple of weeks ago that said "I like to wrestle", so I imagine it's been frustrating for them to not get to work matches on TV and have to look like complete and utter incompetent cowards instead of just being sneaky heels with a bit of a yellow streak. Following the two of them on Instagram, I've noticed that they changed the names on their accounts to Jessica McKay and Cassie Lee, while keeping the billiekaywwe and peytonroycewwe handles respectively. It makes me wonder if they want out so they can go somewhere where they can actually get a chance to wrestle and not just cut promos, but then a lot more wrestlers are using their real names in addition to their WWE handles on social media, so it may be nothing.

Anyway, it was awesome to see them win at Wrestlemania and get to hold onto the belts for a few months, but man, they've been done a disservice all the same. I blame the Wild Card rule as much as anything, as it's cut down on everyone's TV time except for the few that get featured prominently on both shows, making the brand split as irrelevant and pointless as it's ever been.

[[Q]]

Brand split doesn't help, but it was tough to be champions for both shows in a split

[Andrew]

Definitely. It's not like the other midcard belts have been treated better. Hell, the Universal title is back on Lesnar for the third time. Freshness, good booking, and quality writing has been painfully absent post-Wrestlemania 35. Not that it was great before that, but at least we could get invested in Becky and Kofi's chase.

[[Q]]

I thought the were teasing Asuka and Kairi for the tag titles for a while and I figured there would be a payoff, but they just love their blondie way too much to keep her on the sidelines. I am happy for Nikki though. She has worked hard and had to carry NXT without getting the title when Sanity left her behind

I think the Iconics could be a good face team with a little break. I don't think they can come back with the same gimmick after this loss.

[Andrew]

I'd love to see them toughened up a bit and brought back as faces. They have the charisma to pull it off, and they come across as pretty likeable when out of character (or at least, dropping the bitchy versions of themselves that they have on camera). Even Paige broke kayfabe on Twitter to put them over as champions despite the disappointing booking. I get the impression they're quite well-liked and respected backstage, even if there are some supposed smarks who think they've only been in the industry a few years and are green as grass.

In any case, I assume they will get a short break as Peyton is marrying Shawn Spears (the former Tye Dillinger) this month, and surely has some time off for that.

[Lean]

Yeah I've seen that, too. Even Alexa Bliss tweeted something putting over The Iiconics.

I honestly didn't like them at first but when they teamed up in NXT and began to be featured more prominently in that show, they grew on me. That tag match was seemingly a last-minute thing added to Raw and Bliss/Cross winning the belts seem to be out of nowhere when The Iiconics were feuding with Kairi and Asuka.

Anybody updated their WWE/WWE Network apps on your devices? Did it become worse with constant lags and pauses? Because I experienced that since the update and I couldn't watch an episode of NXT without it lagging for a bit.

[Andrew]

That's the thing. Not only did The IIconics get screwed over with the booking, but other duos with a longer history and cohesiveness as a team missed out as well. I do like Alexa Bliss, but her booking is up there with Charlotte. I like Charlotte as well for that matter, but not the booking that comes at the expense of everyone else (save Becky Lynch, post-SummerSlam last year).

Yeah, the updated Network app doesn't perform as well for me on PS4. More lag, and even navigating the menus feels slower. I also preferred the old timeline approach where I could jump ahead to the finish.

[JaoSming]

I feel like we're in a potential true golden era for wrestling that can be looked back upon for decades in a positive light.

WWE has been, if nothing else, consistently entertaining for the past couple of weeks. Not perfect, not where I really want it to be, but definitely more good than bad. Especially since Brock has been appearing on TV. Nevermind 205 which has been great weekly for months, then NXT with Mauro and a completely different feel & NXT UK like good indie with WWE production.

AEW has such promise. The YouTube promos, bringing in the legends like Jake the Snake for the womens' Casino Battle Royale announcement this week, just the dang polish with their non-wrestling but still having riveting in-ring action. I really hope that somehow they beat WWE in ratings just to bring mainstream legitimacy to AEW.

MLW has been damn good, thank god for the official weekly YouTube uploads. They have a definite ECW feel and the Contra Unit takeover was done very well. And Tony Schiavone on commentary, so nostalgic but still feels current.

And now NWA is claiming weekly TV. Hopefully they do actually have a TV deal and also don't get lost between AEW and WWE, but based on what was said in the announcement video, I'm game.

On top of all of that, Impact has evidently been very good storyline wise and in-ring, NJPW has never been more accessible, ROH is doing something at least, GCW has emerged as the new deathmatch company, and YouTube allows shows to be promoted from indies like Riptide Wrestling with their cinematic cameras and small gym.



I don't think I've ever been as into or happy with wrestling as I am right now. So many options and so much talent.

[[Q]]

I'm really hoping for good things with AEW and "Wednesday Night Dynamite". Hopefully competition will cause WWE to step up their game

UFC fighter and Conor McGregor wannabe Colby Covington comes out to Kurt Angle's music for his main event fight and gets the You Suck treatment lol

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