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Official Match/DVD/Show Discussion Thread (And Stairs)

269K views 3K replies 131 participants last post by  Brad Boyd 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Section got all screwy, here's the latest edition of the thread.

and STAIRS
 
#183 ·
Zayn getting to add in the facial reactions to go along w/his body language selling is an advantage that WWE has opened itself up to. Yeah, I wouldn't necessarily say there's been too much of a change from his indies to now as far as growing more from an already defined BITW status to me. Same kind of follows suit w/Rollins, except for both I don't deny that WWE has given them new life in the promo department. Now this is where Black to Rollins sees a MASSIVE change. Generico had presence always, and it transferred over well to Zayn w/o the mask and easy to root for persona, confidence. But my gosh, does Rollins now have presence. A natural command of things that while always top notch, he didn't exactly have even while as champion in ROH. Charisma and appeal were there, sure. I was hooked to his work from the very start, but I think most will understand what I'm talking about here. He's much more complete today in that regard.

When Rollins did the tope spot at MITB I did have a moment where I stopped and thought "that was pointless" b/c you know it was going to get a pop when he's the heel and Reigns is the babyface. It's def bothersome. But at the same time, that's exactly the iffy stuff I expect from WWE these days, unfortunately. Even by those I "love to watch", like Rollins, for example. Half of this is an example of the fans causing wrestlers to work the way they want, not the other way around. Which is endlessly problematic & not the way wrestling should be done. One complaint I'm usually left w/, even if there are a few areas where this sort of gets blurred and I can cope w/. Reigns at MITB was ruthless, to the point where it was maybe potentially "too" aggressive for a babyface shine, but I thought context provided him some padding. W/the reactions he was getting, however, it could leave the less than informed viewer thinking the opposite. Didn't think Rollins helped him out much by the way he worked the majority of the match.
 
#184 ·
When Rollins did the tope spot at MITB I did have a moment where I stopped and thought "that was pointless" b/c you know it was going to get a pop when he's the heel and Reigns is the babyface. It's def bothersome. But at the same time, that's exactly the iffy stuff I expect from WWE these days, unfortunately. Even by those I "love to watch", like Rollins, for example. Half of this is an example of the fans causing wrestlers to work the way they want, not the other way around. Which is endlessly problematic & not the way wrestling should be done. One complaint I'm usually left w/, even if there are a few areas where this sort of gets blurred and I can cope w/. Reigns at MITB was ruthless, to the point where it was maybe potentially "too" aggressive for a babyface shine, but I thought context provided him some padding. W/the reactions he was getting, however, it could leave the less than informed viewer thinking the opposite. Didn't think Rollins helped him out much by the way he worked the majority of the match.
What?
 
#187 ·
Watched Zayn/Rollins. Thought it was a lot of fun and Zayn almost getting him with the rollup killed me. You blink and you miss the finish though. I had to rewind it to make sure I didn't miss something else happening, but I didn't. It was just over. Short & fun sprint. *** 1/4

Cesaro/Del Rio was good too. Cesaro's selling is always top notch.
 
#192 ·
If you guys haven't read yet, they're expanding the PPV schedule once the brand split happens and bringing back some old names. Here's the new schedule (which has been confirmed by multiple sources now)

* WWE SummerSlam, August 21st in Brooklyn (both brands)
* WWE Backlash, September 11th in Richmond (SmackDown event/ WWE Network exclusive)
* WWE Clash of the Champions, September 25th in Indianapolis (RAW event)
* WWE No Mercy, October 9th in Sacramento (SmackDown event)
* WWE Hell In a Cell, October 30th in Boston (RAW event)
* WWE Survivor Series, November 20th in Toronto (both brands)
* WWE TLC, December 4th in Dallas (SmackDown event)
* WWE Roadblock, December 18th in Pittsburgh (RAW event)

Backlash in Richmond. So enticing to make it a trio of PPVs for me on the year. :lol Have to see what the Smackdown roster is first. Hopefully Survivor Series feels more special now. Dallas getting another PPV is a joke and so is doing ANOTHER Roadblock in the same year.

Royal Rumble will be at the Staples Center in L.A. as well.
 
#195 ·
If you guys haven't read yet, they're expanding the PPV schedule once the brand split happens and bringing back some old names. Here's the new schedule (which has been confirmed by multiple sources now)

* WWE SummerSlam, August 21st in Brooklyn (both brands)
* WWE Backlash, September 11th in Richmond (SmackDown event/ WWE Network exclusive)
* WWE Clash of the Champions, September 25th in Indianapolis (RAW event)
* WWE No Mercy, October 9th in Sacramento (SmackDown event)
* WWE Hell In a Cell, October 30th in Boston (RAW event)
* WWE Survivor Series, November 20th in Toronto (both brands)
* WWE TLC, December 4th in Dallas (SmackDown event)
* WWE Roadblock, December 18th in Pittsburgh (RAW event)
That is ludicrous. 8 PPVs in four months. What the hell is next year going to look like?
 
#193 ·
I still get all warm and fuzzy inside seeing Survivor Series in Toronto. I can't wait for a ticket release date.
 
#194 ·
WWE taped the first round of the Cruiserweight Classic a couple nights ago. No one really knows what order they're gonna be aired in, but here's the order they taped them in. They'll air weekly starting on July 13th. I believe the semi finals and finals will be live. Haven't seen an actual bracket yet either.

* Gran Metalik (Mascara Dorada) vs. Alejandro Saez
* Ho Ho Lun vs. Ariya Daivari
* Clement Petiot vs. Cedric Alexander
* The Brian Kendrick vs. Raul Mendoza

* Tajiri vs. Damian Slater
* TJ Perkins vs. Da Mack
* Lince Dorado vs. Mustafa Ali
* Akira Tozawa vs. Kenneth Johnson

* Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tyson Dux
* Drew Gulak vs. Harv Shira
* Tony Nese vs. Anthony Bennett
* Kota Ibushi vs. Sean Maluta

* Rich Swann vs. Jason Lee
* Noam Dar vs. Gurv Shira
* Jack Gallagher vs. Fabian Aichner
* Johnny Gargano vs. Tomasso Ciampa
 
#196 ·
Those were some great posts about how WWE has changed their in ring style.

I think the best illustration would be to go and watch Roadblock from earlier in the year. Watch what Triple H does in the ring and then watch what everyone else on the card does. I know there are some differences of opinion on how good he was or is but it's startling when you compare him to everyone else going today. His matches with Ziggler and Ambrose illustrate what wrestling could be like today instead of what we get today.
 
#197 · (Edited)
Man I'm so glad you mentioned that Triple H/Ambrose match. A lot of people didn't like it, and that's fine everyone has their own tastes, likes and dislikes. To me though, that match was a breath of fresh air, which is something I NEVER thought I'd ever say about a Triple H match, especially a Triple H match in 2016.

Hunter forced Ambrose to just fucking wrestle. No bullshit, no "Lunatic Cringe", no dumbass nonsensical high spots, just a good, solid, perfectly paced, classically structured, professional wrestling match.

It was by no means an all time classic, ****1/2+ type match. It was just a really really good main event world title match, the type and style of match we used to get multiple times a month in years past. It stood out to me because we just don't see that type of match on a regular basis anymore. We might get a handful, AT MOST, during an entire year. It was like one of those 1993-1995 Bret Hart title defenses against Davey Boy, or Owen, or Hennig, or Waltman. It wasn't as good as those Bret Hart title defenses or anything, but it had the same feel, the same sort of vibe, as those wonderful matches.

That's what I love to see, and I hope maybe the brand split might bring some of that back. I know it'll never happen but, man I could totally see Cesaro being that guy, that no nonsense World Champion who has the impeccable reputation as the best WRESTLER in the world, who had the World Heavyweight Championship BECAUSE he's the best wrestler, and it shows in his work. The kind of champion/character who uses his guile, his experience, and his technical ability to win matches without shenaOxiOxiOxiOxins, without a bunch of unneeded horseshit.

All right, I'm don't ranting and shitting on today's wrestling. I know that's not what people want to read when they come here, and I don't mean to be that negative guy who only shits on stuff and I worry that's what it's coming across as. I just love professional wrestling the way it was done for ages and ages and wish we could get some more of that style, mixed in with the newer fast paced, flashy, spotty, poorly structured type stuff that most people outside this thread seem to love and enjoy these days. That's all. Give me some plain old vanilla or chocolate to go with all this rainbow sprinkles cotton candy birthday cake flavored ice cream.
 
#198 ·
Oh my God, I just noticed about the existence of a live show on Wednesday w/this card:

John Cena vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Brock Lesnar vs. Kevin Owens
Charlotte vs. Asuka
I haven't seen a WWE MR show of any kind since WM 32, but I'm down for THAT.
 
#200 ·
Zayn vs Rollins was fine. Glad it was only sub 8 minutes, keeps it fresh for the future. (and hopefully not simply tonight's RAW) Some neat exchanges, which were to be expected, fans felt quite involved, Zayn nabbed two great nearfalls out of it. The schoolboy one was very believable, even for an exhibition on SD. The downside here being the finish was awful. Zayn hits the tope, rolls Rollins in the ring, who no sells the damage to hit the Pedigree on a whim and get the win. Zapped a lot out of me there. Could have given Zayn another nearfall tease, attempt a sequence there, then have Rollins counter into the finisher to win. T'was dumb the way it panned out.
 
#206 ·
Considering my obtuse starting place on these RAW 2004 viewings, got my first good Evolution tag match out of what seems like plenty on the year. Trips, Flair, & Batista vs Benoit, Orton, & Benjamin. Tag match magic works for the billionth time. Trips finally had a match that didn't suck or wasn't purposely a feud advancer. The heels all work so good w/each other. I like Evolution a lot more looking back, even if Trips & Batista are p. trash. The aura of the faction itself worked, even w/those two. Minus the force feeding of Trips as a second coming of Flair booking, the idea of it was well done. And it produced a good, significant heel unit that worked week in and week out. Orton was out of it for most via a mid match injury. Not sure why they bothered w/that booking, but hey, he was SUPER over when he returned later on. Guess that was the goal? RKO is always such a great finisher considering the reactions it can get. Not gonna fall into the "too bad he fucking sucks today" spiel. This is 2004, I'm letting it speak for itself. Benoit was the star here as far as one significant performance goes. Should I even have to point that out? It's Chris Benoit. Have to say that's probably assumed. Those Benoit vs Flair interactions always rule. Might be his most awe inspiring headbutt I've ever seen too. Hang time was absurd. Not kidding; was more noteworthy than the usual spot. Smart match to move Benjamin back into once he returned from injury. He started off the match having Trips' number, which kept that year long story continued. Showing that he & the angle hasn't missed a beat. Gosh I love matches like this. Such fun & great purpose for filling out TV en route to bigger destinations.
 
#219 ·
Have you seen the 20 min sneak peak that's posted on the Network? I desperately wanted to avoid watching it so as not to spoil it when the full doc is released, but last night I found myself unable to sleep and nothing to watch, so I buckled and watched it.

Well, I needn't worry about it spoiling anything, all it did was get me even MORE excited for the doc to finally be released. I don't want to say it's going to be the best doc since Foley's or Punk's just yet, because you know, it's WWE they have the ability to ruin just about anything they come into contact with. However, those 20 minutes or so made this doc look EXTREMELY promising, and they didn't even cover a single second of his WWE run as Razor Ramon or his return to WCW as Scott Hall. It was all early days stuff, but it was still fantastic.
 
#211 ·
Someone posted the Owens vs. Nakamura match from Hawaii on YouTube but it got pulled by WWE. Anyone catch it or have another link for it?
 
#222 ·
Cesaro vs. Rusev was good stuff (as expected). Loved the struggle and desperation in the submission attempts late in the match and Cesaro tapping quickly was a really nice touch. *** 1/4

Assuming we'll see this Cesaro/Del Rio TV feud continue the next couple weeks.
 
#227 · (Edited)
This is apparently the lineup for the July 4th RAW. The USA vs. The World match is a direct ripoff of CMLL's Grand Prix.

* Non-Title Champion vs. Champion Match: Dean Ambrose vs. The Miz
* Sixteen-Man Elimination Match: Team USA vs. Team World
* United States Title Match: Rusev vs. Titus O’Neil
* Cena seeks payback against The Club

also breaking point 2009 . need to see how bad it is
That's actually not that bad of a show. I don't like Cena/Orton too much but other people seem to like/love it. Christian/Regal gets praise as well and I personally love the DX/Legacy tag. Cal probably likes the main event more than anyone else. :p
 
#225 ·
@Obfuscation You didn't like any of the Ambrose/Owens matches? (I haven't seen any bar the first one they had on a house show, which was pretty good but not great iirc, but I've heard many good things about them)
 
#229 ·
Kenny the only thing you need to watch from Breaking Point is Christian vs Regal. Or the shithouse DX vs Legacy match just to see if you can spot Kevin Owens sitting in the audience when they're brawling to the back. Total highlight of that match, there.



They're all terrible.
 
#232 ·
I liked Ambrose/Owens from Survivor Series last year. A good sprint. Last Man Standing wasn't bad either, although I didn't like as much as some other people and I've already read all the complaints on this forum. :p Rest of their matches have been kinda meh.

Different for WWE, at least i guess.
Definitely is and I'm looking forward to the match, but boy they've been directly copying a lot of stuff from the lucha world this year. :lol

A shitload of possibilities for teams though. Should be fun.
 
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