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Post by Jonathan Karate on Jan 13, 2019 14:08:03 GMT -5
A lot of matches I expected to be higher are now dropping out. This is going to be interesting.
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Post by Jonathan Karate on Jan 10, 2019 6:54:20 GMT -5
Cena vs Punk should have been the main event of WM29 and Rock should have faced Taker. facts As much as I agree with this, I don’t think I would give up the Punk/Taker match. It is genuinely the last great match from The Streak. If Rocks showing against Cena that year was any indication Rock/Taker would have been a disaster.
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Post by Jonathan Karate on Jan 9, 2019 22:26:29 GMT -5
There are already 19 confirmed spots in the men's rumble, that won't leave too much space for surprise entrants. I seriously hate that New Day is taking up three spots again. It sucked last year and it’ll suck this year. Seriously, if you go back to last years show. Once Kofi comes out after E and Woods the crowd just didn’t care by then. Sure they popped for the spot with Kofi getting launched back into the ring but that could have been done with just him entering. It’s a minor gripe but I still hate it.
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Post by Jonathan Karate on Jan 9, 2019 21:14:29 GMT -5
Taker never facing Austin, Rock, Foley, Angle or Jericho at Mania.
I legitimately can’t think of anything else. Maybe HHH/HBK in a singles match?
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Post by Jonathan Karate on Jan 6, 2019 2:52:36 GMT -5
I see talk of WWE jobbing out top guys from other promotions. I mean... AJ Styles was WWE Champion for a year. Daniel Bryan is the current champion. Samoa Joe may not have won the title, but he's only really lost to top guys and has headlined multiple PPVs. Finn Balor is literally undefeated in singles PPV matches. He has been directionless, but not a jobber. Kevin Owens has been a top guy since arriving on the main roster. Sami Zayn was never going to be a guy who goes unbeaten or anything like that and was consistently a main part of TV. Shinsuke Nakamura never won the top title but is US Champ, has a clean win over Cena, and only lost to about four or five guys. I'm not seeing it. I’m so glad you came back.
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Post by Jonathan Karate on Dec 27, 2018 23:43:58 GMT -5
Dunno if these qualify as random, but without a doubt some of the worst: Big Dick Johnson, Terra Ryzin, The Ding Dongs, Shark Boy, Curry Man, Meat, Jimmy Wang Yang, Sparky Plug to name a few. Wrestling is weird... Hey.....Meat follows me on Twitter. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t speak so unkindly about one of the GOAT.
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Post by Jonathan Karate on Dec 17, 2018 7:03:21 GMT -5
WWE TLC December 16th, 2018 | SAP Center in San Jose, California
WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Buddy Murphy [c] vs. Cedric Alexander This went on early. It was 3:17 in the afternoon in San Jose when the entrances began. These are two of the best wrestlers of 2018 and putting them together is always magical. Here, they knew they didn’t have a ton of time, similar to their Super Show Down match. Again, they packed a lot into the time but it never felt rushed. It’s a beautiful thing to get it right. While I wouldn’t put this on the level of their previous two encounters, it was still very good. Cedric hit the Lumbar Check for a great near fall. Murphy only survived because he got his foot on the rope, not by kicking out of a finisher. I appreciate that. I also liked Cedric desperately moving him from the ropes and grabbing his leg, but not getting enough to prevent that result. Buddy retained in 10:26 with Murphy’s Law. One hell of a way to start the show. They had the crowd engaged and loud, even if the arena was half empty this early. [***¾]
Ladder Match: Bobby Lashley w/ Lio Rush vs. Elias A guitar hung above the ring. All I wanted from this match was to not bore me and for Lio Rush to take some kind of big bump. They failed on both ends. Somehow, a ladder match that only goes 6:16 felt like it went about 20 minutes. It plodded along and nothing of interest happened. Even the one bump Lio took didn’t get me excited. Lashley looked upset during his entrance, probably pissed that he was on Kickoff Show duty. Elias retrieved the guitar, but had it used on him. Lio’s post-match frog splash was the only good thing. [DUD]
Mixed Match Challenge Finals: The Fabulous Truth vs. Mahalicia w/ The Singh Brothers The Fabulous Truth sported some San Jose Sharks inspired attire. I love their colors, so I was all in. While this season of the Mixed Match Challenge has been a mess, these two teams were consistently entertaining. Their personalities made this work. From the Singh Brothers getting involved in the Fabulous Truth dance break to Alicia arguing with Truth about being the captain, there were enough fun moments to go around. In the end, Carmella blocked a rollup and won with the Code of Silence in 5:46. They botched some of the ending, but I found myself enjoying the wackiness of the match. [**]
In a funny post-match moment, Truth said he submitted their all-expenses paid vacation request for WWE Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. This duo is so much fun.
WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship: The Bar [c] vs. The New Day w/ Big E vs. The Usos Serious MOTN potential from these teams. It was surprising to see Big E left as the odd man out for New Day. His power matches up well with the champs. The Bar had a great strategy. They isolated Xavier Woods, the smallest man in the match, while also freezing out The Usos. More than five minutes into the match and The Usos had yet to enter the ring legally. When The Usos finally got in, they threw a barrage of superkicks. It got a standing ovation as it was just the right amount of them without going overboard. From that point forward, the match had a wild pace to it and featured some of the best tag team action you’ll find anywhere. The finish kind of came out of nowhere in a good way. When things were at their peak, Woods walked right into a Brogue Kick and The Bar retained in 12:20. The first half was great, strategic tag team wrestling, and the back half was all out excitement. A banger. [****]
TLC Match: Baron Corbin vs. Braun Strowman A Corbin win makes him permanent GM. A Braun win kicks Corbin out of power and gives him a shot at Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble. Anyway, Baron and his buddies injured Braun last month so he wasn’t supposed to be here. Of course, Braun showed up, but had his arm in a sling. He reminded us that TLC matches have no disqualifications and that anyone sick of Baron could legally help him. Out came Apollo Crews, Bobby Roode, Chad Gable, and Finn Balor with chairs. Heath Slater, the referee for this match, removed his shirt and threw it at Corbin before leveling him. Everyone then beat on Corbin. He tried leaving but Kurt Angle arrived and fought him back to the ring. Corbin took every finisher and Braun covered to win in about 7:25. Hard to call it a match, but it worked as a segment. [NR]
Tables Match: Natalya vs. Ruby Riott w/ Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan The Riott Squad brought out their weird Jim Neidhart decal table. The story of the match, besides Natalya’s obvious desire for revenge, was the numbers of the Riott Squad. Liv Morgan took a BRUTAL looking table bump to save Ruby. Natalya also took out Logan with one, leaving it down to herself against Ruby. That’s when the Anvil table came into play. They did some creative stuff, like Nattie putting the Sharpshooter on in front of the Anvil table, only for Ruby to crawl to it and knock it over, hitting Nattie and breaking the hold. Eventually, Natalya brought out a table with Ruby’s picture on it. She wasted time putting on her dad’s jacket and it nearly cost her. However, she managed to powerbomb Ruby off the top through a table to win at 12:38. That was a really good match with some smart spots set up around a storyline that was weird. They took something that probably shouldn’t have worked and did wonders with it. Ruby is a star and needs to be a Women’s Champion in 2019. [***½]
Drew McIntyre vs. Finn Balor HANDSOME BATTLE! This is one of those matches that suffers from being built on Raw. I really like both wrestlers involved, but the stuff on Monday nights has done nothing to get me interested or invested. The match ultimately followed the story I expected. Drew dominated almost as soon as the bell rang. His size advantage was clear and he’s just a vicious brute. Finn refused to die, surviving a lot of what was thrown at him, including an avalanche Air Raid Crash. Balor made his babyface comeback but ran into more trouble. Dolph Ziggler appeared and hit Drew, but had a steel chair booted into his face. Drew brought it in the ring and Finn was prepared, catching him with a dropkick. A Coup de Grace later and Finn pulled out the upset at 12:07. For a guy who is “buried,” Finn’s only PPV losses this year were in multi-man matches. The match was good, told the right story, and both men came away protected. [***¼]
Chairs Match: Randy Orton vs. Rey Mysterio A Chairs Match can certainly be hit or miss. For the good, look at Corbin/Kalisto in 2016. Now, I didn’t care about this feud in 2006 and I don’t care much for either guy in 2018. However, they’ve done some cool stuff in the build and Rey is usually a safe bet for something good. Randy looked like he was having a blast in this match. Like the Jeff Hardy Hell in a Cell, he seemed energized at the thought of getting to be violent. Though Randy gave us his usual few moments of slow, plodding stuff, they managed to bring out a handful of cool spots. I liked the baseball dive with the chair, Rey landing brutally on the chair on an apron dive, and the tree of woe spot. Randy’s sadistic nature got the best of him in the end. As he set up something big, Rey found an opening to smash his head on a chair and roll him up in 11:35. That was fun, creative, and smooth. [***¼]
WWE Raw Women's Championship: Ronda Rousey [c] vs. Nia Jax w/ Tamina I don’t like anything about Nia Jax. Still, I can’t lie. Her vs. Ronda at MITB was way better than it had any right to be. Like that match, this was worked in the smartest possible way. It played to their strengths. Nia attempted to be the monster she’s known for, while Ronda used her wits and submission skills to combat her. I thought the layout to the match worked so well. The atmosphere played a major part, too. The fans wanted Nia as far away from the title as possible. That meant that her close calls late got top notch reactions and added to the drama down the stretch. Ronda blocked the “face breaker” punch and applied the armbar to keep the title in 10:52. Again, like the MITB math, this was really good. Ronda is frighteningly good for someone in her first year. Especially someone who isn’t working consistent live events. [***½]
Backstage, Becky Lynch came up to Nia and punked her for all the trash she’s been talking. Becky laid her out and warned her, “Keep my name out your mouth.”
WWE Championship: Daniel Bryan [c] vs. AJ Styles The match where Bryan captured the title from Styles was great (****). They bested it in the rematch. Styles was dying to get his hands on Bryan, but the champion stalled and played mind games early. There was a lot to love about this. They played well off their previous match with callbacks, yet also threw in some stuff to remind you of matches they had with others. AJ is at his best as the fiery babyface and even though he’s the bigger guy here, Bryan’s persona was a perfect foil. Bryan was ruthless, precise, and the right amount of aggressive. It’s like I’m watching bits of his ROH heel run. Often, AJ’s slow build matches this year have missed the mark, but this worked expertly from start to finish. Everything they did mattered and felt like it had a purpose. That needs to happen more often in matches. Not just doing stuff for the sake of it. Styles would hit big blows, like the springboard 450 splash, but had so much damage done that he couldn’t capitalize and Bryan remained alive. The Calf Crusher close call was outstanding. Then, the most perfect moment of all came in the finish. AJ missed the Phenomenal Forearm but went for the small package. However, Mr. Small Package countered into one of his own to retain in an outstanding 23:54. It’s a finish from a favorite match of mine (Bret/Perfect at KOTR 93) and also made sense given how Bryan won the title. The best WWE Championship match in 2016. [****½]
WWE Intercontinental Championship: Seth Rollins [c] vs. Dean Ambrose Like McIntyre/Balor, this was a match that should’ve been more excited in the build, but Raw let it down. Unfortunately, this was the one match on the card that I could truly consider a disappointment. Considering the Bryan/AJ match was a slow building match, having another right after was a bad decision. Also, this needed to be a fight. Not one with weapons (considering the main event), but one filled with aggression. Instead, they had a traditional wrestling match that bored the crowd to tears. It was tough to get through at points. The actual stuff in the ring was largely fine, it just never felt like it mattered. We just got a hollow match between two guys who should be in the midst of a bitter feud. Dean continually cut off Seth’s comeback attempts. That’s typically a good way to go, but it happened so often that the match never truly hit that next level. Anyway, Dean won the title with Dirty Deeds in 22:53. [**½]
WWE Smackdown Women's Championship TLC Match: Becky Lynch [c] vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte There was absolutely a big fight feel here, giving this a unique atmosphere. The women were not only put into their first TLC match, but given a PPV main event and delivered big time. At no point did this slow down or feel boring. They went all out for the entire duration. All three women took MAJOR bumps. Charlotte nearly had her ribs crushed by a Becky senton off a ladder through a table. I thought she was legitimately hurt, but she was up shortly after and wrecking everything. She hit a somersault through a table on Becky and speared Asuka through the guardrail. On that note, I loved the barricade spot in this one as it felt more realistic than usual. The “C” in this TLC seemed to stand for canes, as the women used kendo sticks often. It made sense since that was part of their build more than chairs. The match was brutal, laid out brilliantly, kept escalating, and had a MOLTEN crowd throughout. After a handful of teases for each winner, Becky and Charlotte battled atop a ladder. Out came Ronda Rousey to tip their ladder over and send them crashing to the floor. I love that Ronda didn’t do anything else. Short and simple. Asuka climbed and won the title at 22:31. One of my favorite matches all year. Also, a top five TLC and top five women’s match I can recall. From a booking standpoint, it was phenomenal as well, with Asuka getting the big win, while her opponents stay strong and keep their feud with Ronda going. [****¾]
Overall: 9/10. What a wrestling show. Coming in, I knew it had a great card, but they still managed to exceed expectations. Dean/Seth was the clear disappointment, while Elias/Lashley was trash. Other than that, everything was good to great. Even the Mixed Match Finals was fun and the Corbin segment did what it needed to. Ruby/Nattie, Ronda/Nia, Drew/Finn, Rey/Randy, and the CW Title were all very good. The SD Tag was great, while AJ/Bryan was a classic. Add a main event that is an all timer and you’ve got the main roster show of the year. I missed you ya sexy son of a bitch. You doing a MOTY list this year?
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Post by Jonathan Karate on Dec 15, 2018 9:03:55 GMT -5
I said it on day one.....Nick Miller was holding Shane Thorne back. I’m VERY excited about this.
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Post by Jonathan Karate on Dec 11, 2018 20:04:49 GMT -5
Yo idk why this is happening but this is lit.
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Post by Jonathan Karate on Dec 8, 2018 1:52:28 GMT -5
Yep. There’s a lot of guys low-key in that movie. Cesaro makes an appearance in the background at one point as well. That I did not know, gonna have to go back and revisit it soon. Yeah it was mostly filmed at Indy shows in the tri-state area. Mainly ROH and CZW. At the CZW show you’ll see random guys like The Blue Meanie in the background even lol.
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Post by Jonathan Karate on Dec 6, 2018 20:50:09 GMT -5
There's a TON in the The Longest Yard remake.... Stone Cold, Nash, Goldberg, Great Khali... am I missing some? Also, quite a few in The Wrestler (believe it or not!) Ernest the Cat plays Mickey Rourke's main rival in the movie. That Dwayne Johnson guy from all those Furiously Furious car movies looks an awful lot like a former pro wrestler too... R-Truth was in the Wrestler too if I remember correctly. Yep. There’s a lot of guys low-key in that movie. Cesaro makes an appearance in the background at one point as well.
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Post by Jonathan Karate on Dec 3, 2018 11:18:38 GMT -5
What Would King Do?
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Post by Jonathan Karate on Dec 3, 2018 4:02:49 GMT -5
2019 ROH is going to be interesting.
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Post by Jonathan Karate on Nov 29, 2018 14:52:38 GMT -5
Orton and Cena's first matches with Nakamura should've been PPV matches. If that Cena/Nakamura match happened on PPV I think it would have helped his face run on the main roster tremendously.
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Post by Jonathan Karate on Nov 28, 2018 4:15:34 GMT -5
That triple threat TLC is going to be WILD.
So random but god I love it.
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Post by Jonathan Karate on Nov 26, 2018 18:48:28 GMT -5
Apparently WWE has pulled everyone in NXT UK from all of their upcoming shows except for Progress.
This is where NXT UK starts to become a bad thing.
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Post by Jonathan Karate on Nov 24, 2018 5:30:00 GMT -5
I enjoyed the Bryan promo honestly.
It sort of reminds me of his ROH heel run at some points.
We ever going to stop judging things one or two weeks in?
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Post by Jonathan Karate on Nov 24, 2018 5:21:22 GMT -5
If AJ/DBry get the TLc or Ladder stip it would be ing awesome. AJ always tears it up in matches like that, and DBry hasn’t really done many other than multi-man ladders.
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Post by Jonathan Karate on Nov 22, 2018 4:57:10 GMT -5
Dude.....I just wanna know how he manages to look stoned ALL NIGHT.
What’s your secret bro......stop holding out on me.
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Post by Jonathan Karate on Nov 21, 2018 11:14:41 GMT -5
Did they not use this SAME EXACT “injury” during the initial feud with Reigns?
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