Wrestling Discussion Thread II

There are some great wrestlers in NXT, and I like the match focus, but I also really like the plot and the pageantry and the fireworks of a WWE PPV.

Exactamundo!

Takeover: Dallas was superb - as good a WWE-produced show as there's been in the last fifteen years. The tag title and women's title matches were both quality, and the NXT title match was Samoa Joe's best performance in years. Shinsuke Nakamura's debut was one for the ages - nothing on WrestleMania is going to follow that.

Aye I think Nakamura is my new favourite wrestler & I honestly don't see how Sami Zayn will recover from those kicks to the face in time for the ladder match.

Wrestlemania chat:

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Of course, nothing on the main show matched this.

I was quite annoyed with the treatment of the Wyatt family (spot seemed better suited for social outcasts) at the time but now I don't think it's something that will stick in people's memory for a long time so won't hurt them as much in the long run.

However them talking a big game and losing every damn time does, a face turn might be best to help combat that.

Drunka's Wrestlemania 32 Matches Ranked

Just got home yesterday, so I haven't caught up on Raw/ Smackdown yet, or read everything I missed on here, but I have just sat and rewatched Mania properly on the TV. What a weird event! Lots of quality fights, but hardly any of them had the result I'd have wanted. And I'm not normally one of "those" fans. Anyway, here's the matches ranked:

The Rock vs Erick Rowan
I liked the build-up, I liked seeing the Wyatt Family share the screen with the Rock, I liked seeing Cena come back... but Rowan deserves to be much more than the chump getting beaten in record time. With this and the stuff with Austin, Michaels and Foley with the League, they seem to think just putting a heel in the ring with a classic face is enough to give them heat, but they need to actually win as well sometimes.

The Usos vs The Dudley Boys
Just dull really.

The André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
It was nice to see some of these guys get a bit of 'mania screen time, but nobody really shone in all that mess.

Triple H vs Roman Reigns
Not a terrible match, though even after all this time I still don't know what they're thinking with Roman. Is he heel? Face? They weren't even trying to hide the boos and signs and thumbs downs this time. The match was good, though, but it didn't have anything special and there were much better straight matches on the card.

The Total Divas Thing
Most of the women looked good and pulled off some nice moves. But 10 people in a ring is always a bit messy and nobody got to really shine.

Chris Jericho vs AJ Styles
A great match for the most part, but did AJ really need to put over Chris "your old dad in his pants" Jericho? Weird?

Kalisto vs Ryback
Fun match. I like Kalisto, and Ryback works a lot better as a big monster heel.

Dean Ambrose vs Brock Lesnar
This was good. Could have gone on longer; for all the build up, I didn't think it was as extreme as all that. But what was there was super entertaining, and my boy Dean stood up strong to the beast.

Shane McMahon vs The Undertaker
I loved this. I love all that jumping off cages, leaping into bins nonsense. Amazing work from Shane. I was hoping he'd win, just to see things mixed up, but Taker is Taker.

The Intercontinental Title Ladder Match
Great moments from everyone, lots of little stories told... and Zack Rider winning! I jumped out of my chair. Love it.

The Women's Championship Triple Threat
Just excellent stuff, from start to finish. I'm glad they've ditched all the Diva nonsense. Everyone looked exceptional. The back and forth was extraordinary. I was on my toes start to finish. What an age we live in.

Overall, an enjoyable mania, but a little disappointing. Imagine the show we'd have had without all the injuries. Still...

Yeah, I've caught up on Raw a bit more now. They do seem to have some good ideas going forwards.
I'll catch up on NXT soon as well, though I'm a bit wrestled out for today. I've heard excellent things about Takeover.

Word has it that Glasgow is getting the RAW and SmackDown! tapings in November, when WWE next tour the UK. I remember going to a house show in Glasgow ten years ago with DX and Umaga in the main event, and thinking to myself that Glasgow would be worthy of a taping on the next tour. It's about time.

Aye that is indeed true, a pal of mine tweeted me the poster for it & they are on the 7th & 8th.

Ah, that would explain why London was only advertising a house show and didn't mention Raw or Smackdown!
(I've just been to Raw and Smackdown).

James Corden's parents?! What was that all about?

I guess they just love dem slams?

How'd you get on, Buska? Good time?

Thoroughly enjoyed it, as ever! There's nothing like seeing Wrestling live. Got to see lots of my favourites multiple times, had good, fun dark matches and generally loved it. A lot of people were disappointed at Smackdown after the Undertaker didn't make an appearance, but I'd heard rumours for a little while and honestly didn't really get what he was meant to be doing, so I was more than happy to see him replaced with extra Shane O'Mac and AJ Styles.

Also, I didn't realise until yesterday that at Raw last year, a year to the day ago, I actually saw Daniel Bryan's last ever match. The post-raw dark match between him, Dean and Dolph, and Luke Harper, Sheamus and Rusev was the one where he got his final concussion.

It's been too long since I've been to a wrestling show - I went to quite a few WWE house shows in Glasgow and Edinburgh in 2004-2009, and I always had a good time too. I don't think I ever got to see The Undertaker or Shane McMahon. I got to see Chuck Palumbo Vs. Orlando Jordan though. And Billy Kidman beating Bradshaw right before he became JBL (and went on to win the title two months later)!

That's pretty cool that you got to see Daniel Bryan's last match. I got to see Chuck Palumbo Vs. Orlando Jordan though.

Spotted on Facebook: the time that Greener and Arcade Magazine had Mankind and the Acolytes round to play WWF Warzone on the Nintendo 64.

The face on Greener!

I never read this at the time, but snippets showed up in the other mags for years.

Extreme Rules
Hot damn! That was one of the best PPVs I've seen in a long old while, not a dud on the card. And unlike last year, it genuinely felt a bit extreme.

It certainly was a fun event overall, though I wasn't as into the Ambrose & Jericho match as I ought to have been & the finish of the woman's match was down right annoying.

That's maybe the best Fatal Four Way I've ever seen. That was unreal - four guys at their absolute peak. WWE doesn't always do multi-man matches like that very well, but it was constructed beautifully. That might have been even better than Zayn/Nakamura, that's how good it was.