Wrestling

[Jpan85]

18 minutes ago, iso_55 said:

If Waltman ever had any thoughts at the time of coming back to WWE that video probably sealed the deal for Vince to never take him back.

Has made a few appearances over the past few years

[The Unknown Poster]

14 minutes ago, Jpan85 said:

Has made a few appearances over the past few years

Can't work. Has hep

[Jpan85]

Has not wrestled but has been around for Scott Hall and Kevin Nash's Hall of Fame induction. Also wrestlemania 31 with DX.

[The Unknown Poster]

13 minutes ago, Jpan85 said:

Has not wrestled but has been around for Scott Hall and Kevin Nash's Hall of Fame induction. Also wrestlemania 31 with DX.

Yes for sure. He's on friendly terms. Still a close friend of Hunters. He helps out as a guest trainer in Florida too. 

Tjey just won't let him wrestle because he can't be medically cleared due to HEP. 

[iso_55]

2 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Can't work. Has hep

Really? Whoa.

Edited April 22, 2016 by iso_55

[Goalie]

Man. Anyone watch that last video Chyna posted? Pretty tough to watch it, I know it's morning and she just woke up apparently but man, she seems really out of it. Tough to watch... can just google it i guess but... wow, it's pretty sad what she became actually. Once known really as the 9th wonder of the world, the amazon, the legit amazon, so strong and powerful, just looked so frail and weak in that video. I hope she can find peace in death cuz god knows she never had it in life. 

[Taynted_Fayth]

Lucy Lawless could take her

[Taynted_Fayth]

i was thinking the vaudevillains are probably the crappiest gimmick tag team ever.  but enzo and cass are pretty craptacular themselves, I dont think i've ever been so uninterested in what happens with the tag titles as i am now

[The Unknown Poster]

35 minutes ago, Taynted_Fayth said:

i was thinking the vaudevillains are probably the crappiest gimmick tag team ever.  but enzo and cass are pretty craptacular themselves, I dont think i've ever been so uninterested in what happens with the tag titles as i am now

Enzo & Cass are tremendous!  Will be huge hits on house show circuit. Enzo has unbelievable charisma. Cass is 7 feet tall. And you can't teach that. 

RAW was pretty good tonight. Will probably get decimated in the third hour with Roman vs Del Rio. But the storylines are improving. I have a suspicion the guy who used to book NXT is booking RAW. We actually have real angles. 

Shane vs Steph. Roman vs AJ. A mystery involving Bullet Club.  Miz is completely rejuvenated. Tag team scene re built with entertaining and talented acts. 

 

[iso_55]

Would Vince be dumb enough to fire Shane? Three good Raws in a row.

[Jpan85]

Tag division will only get better when Dash and Dawson come up along with Jordan and Gable.

[The Unknown Poster]

6 hours ago, iso_55 said:

Would Vince be dumb enough to fire Shane? Three good Raws in a row.

As much as the tease of Shane vs Steph is interesting, the set up is pretty ludicrous.  they make a big deal about Shane vs Undertaker with the stipulations, Vince disowns Shane...and then just puts him in charge anyway.  Its rather absurd.  Like they realised Shane is really over and presumably Shane wanted to stick around.

It will be a really interesting angle because I dont want to say there is "heat" but imagine normal family dynamics and competition combined with office politics and the normal wrestling politics.  The reality is really interesting and will be curious to see how much reality they put in.  Because the lead up to WrestleMania saw some interesting promos and changes in plans.  Hunter and Steph basically removed themselves from Shane's angle after Steph did the big promo burying Shane for leaving.  Shane was supposed to retort and had his promo changed right before air time.

The real story is Shane quit WWE when it became clear he wasnt going to be the heir apparent to Vince.  Rumor has it there was some sort of "conversation" where Shane basically made a power play and Vince finally had to spell out the plan...which was Steph & Hunter running WWE, not Shane.  I heard it described as "he quit or was fired but both would be somewhat accurate".

So this could be really really fun.  Especially once Hunter gets involved.  He is very smart and will try to cut Shane's balls off left and right...Im not sure Shane is witty enough to do the same but if anyone has the stroke to "shoot", it will be Shane.

Looking forward, Payback actually looks really interesting.  They are foreshadowing Bullet Club turning on AJ.  I think the more important question is, will Roman turn and be aligned with Bullet Club, will Finn debut and be with them (he just lost the NXT title to Samoa Joe), will Bullet Club attack both and AJ/Roman are together?

[The Unknown Poster]

1 minute ago, Jpan85 said:

Tag division will only get better when Dash and Dawson come up along with Jordan and Gable.

Im not sure Dash & Dawson will get their big break.  Especially with Bullet Club there now.  There are some similarities between them as far as being a tough, not flashy team.

Vaudevillains likely have a short shelf life, but they got over a tiny bit finally on Monday.  Jordan & Gable will be big.  If Im WWE, Im bringing in Angle to debut them.

[Taynted_Fayth]

9 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Enzo & Cass are tremendous!  Will be huge hits on house show circuit. Enzo has unbelievable charisma. Cass is 7 feet tall. And you can't teach that. 

RAW was pretty good tonight. Will probably get decimated in the third hour with Roman vs Del Rio. But the storylines are improving. I have a suspicion the guy who used to book NXT is booking RAW. We actually have real angles. 

Shane vs Steph. Roman vs AJ. A mystery involving Bullet Club.  Miz is completely rejuvenated. Tag team scene re built with entertaining and talented acts. 

 

guess they just arent my cup of tea, i've seen them a few times now, and already find their promos obnoxious.  I think enzo looks like a tool - little too "Scotty 2 Hotty" for my likes with an ugly wardrobe to boot.  Cass looks like a generic big man that we've seen time and again fade away after an early push and i cringe when he speaks on the stick.  I totally get that the crowds would play along to their catch phrases and such, but as a viewer at home, it's hard to watch.

yesterday was the first time i caught the vaudevillians on tv, was completely unaware they are moonlighting as old time wrestlers/ bareknuckle boxers.  i was expecting their entrance music to be that campy old piano music you'd hear in black and white silent films, imo flavor of the week, forgettable the next

[The Unknown Poster]

There is a fresh rumor that Sinclair Broadcasting, parent of Ring of Honor, is interested in acquiring TNA.

[iso_55]

I think Raw has gone a little too NXT with the influx of talent. Love The Bullet Club as well as the possible tie in with AJ Styles though I can't see him turning heel so quickly after he's come to the WWE. Some of the things Taynted Faith says I agree with regarding the tag Team division. The Vaudevillans, yeah I can see them petering out just because they're kind of meh. Not very interesting...

[Jpan85]

NXT has been the better product for the past year or so I would hope they would be pulling stuff from there. Anyone saying its to NXT actually watch NXT.

[iso_55]

I admit that I don't watch NXT. I'm not saying don't bring up talent but the influx after WM to the roster imo is a little much. Why do we need to see the Vaudevillains?

[The Unknown Poster]

Id guess they brought up the Vaudevillains because they wanted a heel tag team that were decent workers who wouldnt get cheered for being cool or badass.

There are rumors of a brand split coming which, if true, would explain the influx of talent but its probably more likely they are just freshening things up. 

[iso_55]

I agree with the freshening up part, no doubt. Your explanation about the real life Shane McMahon split was interesting. Wonder why Vince felt that Shane couldn't handle running the WWE as his successor?

[Taynted_Fayth]

I thought we talked about shane a while back in the other wrestling thread, didnt he himself have a desire to carve his own path vs just taking the reigns from vince?  if there is some truth to that, i could see vince being reluctant to hand it over to him. Say what you want about steph but she'd be the safer bet if your vince thinking about the interest of the company,  especially if vince could mold her exactly how he'd want things to go after he stepped down.  she's been pretty commited to the family business the most next to vince

[The Unknown Poster]

7 minutes ago, iso_55 said:

I agree with the freshening up part, no doubt. Your explanation about the real life Shane McMahon split was interesting. Wonder why Vince felt that Shane couldn't handle running the WWE as his successor?

There have been stories that Shane just didnt have the same level of creativity as Vince & Steph or at least on the same wavelength as Vince.  That Shane's ideas were goofy and designed solely for top guys or his friends whereas Steph looked at creative for everyone.  Now knowing what creative looked like with Steph in charge, its hard to believe Shane would be worse.

Shane pushed for more adult storylines before the Attitude Era, like ECW, was a fan of MMA before it got big (he tried to convince Vince to buy UFC when it was for sale) etc.  But Shane seemed like someone who had a life outside wrestling whereas Vince never sleeps and he detests anyone who is sick or misses work.  Steph is more like Vince in her view of the business and life/business being the same thing.

Once Steph married Hunter, the writing was really on the wall because Hunter was already attending production meetings (where talent were generally not permitted).  In fact, Austin had heat with Hunter over Hunter ingratiating himself into production.  Hunter was known to sit in meetings and bury ideas for guys he didnt like and push ideas for his friends.  But Hunter was more like Vince then Shane so once Hunter/Steph were a couple, it was pretty much a lock that the keys to the kingdom would be theirs.

Shane was very talented in negotiating and sealed many of their international distributions deals.  He was very well liked and was a good PR guy.  He built the New Media department from scratch which is a big money maker for WWE.  His division was considered the highest morale and his employees were devastated when he quit.

He had ideas ahead of their time.  He wanted to create an internet only development promotion that he would run.  NXT is this now.

Shane, more than the others, is a fan at heart.  He would routinely sit in the audience at live shows to feel the crowd and how they were reacting.  He believed in bringing in anyone who was cool or over or could make money, for example Scott Steiner.  And we know Steiner was HUGE when he debuted and then ran into the freight train known as Hunter.

Ive talked to people that have spent time with Shane and he's always described as one of the boys.  I dont think Steph has ever been referred to that way.

There is value in Shane as an executive.  He's smarter than Stephanie, or so it seems, in business and negotiations and just how he relates to people.  Steph's role is really just glorified PR now, she isnt in creative and doesnt hold a corporate position outside of Chief Brand Officer.

There was speculation about a succession plan as Vince is in his 70's.  He has tried to rapidly teach Hunter business and part of the idea behind NXT was giving Hunter his own big projects to prove his worth to shareholders.  But if Vince died tomorrow, there is risk the share price would plummet and Hunter might not be accepted as CEO.  Whereas Shane might settle nerves since he's a McMahon, has a business degree, spent his life in the business, was an exec VP for years and CEO of a separate business.  So you never know.  But Shane basically left because he wasnt going to answer to Hunter & Steph.

[The Unknown Poster]

Ratings down 6% from last week.  Under 3 million for the third hour, barely above for the second.  Yikes.

[iso_55]

56 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Ratings down 6% from last week.  Under 3 million for the third hour, barely above for the second.  Yikes.

Reigns vs Del Rio as a main event. Why? Guess the LON is dead.

[Atomic]

I don't get why people like American Alpha and the Revival so much.  Both teams are boring and unlikeable.  I don't see either one being on the main roster any time soon.

I like Enzo and Cass.  The Vaudevillains are a fine heel team and I expect they will be filling The Ascension role for awhile.

NXT has actually been really weak lately.  "No Way Jose"?  Gimme a break.