|
Post by J12 on Sept 11, 2018 15:50:10 GMT -5
Well, Mixed Match Challenge is getting an extended broadcast window, which means 205 Live is going to run even shorter pretty soon, at least during MMC's 14 week run. It wouldn't be surprising at all if they were just moving to phase it out.
|
|
|
Post by J12 on Aug 21, 2018 9:27:01 GMT -5
Coming off a Summerslam that I really enjoyed, I thought that show was, by and large, hot garbage.
|
|
|
Post by J12 on Aug 20, 2018 15:58:59 GMT -5
Alexa standing toe to toe with Ronda would have been a laughing stock. I love Alexa Bliss and genuinely think she's one of the most complete characters on the entire roster (man or woman), but last night went exactly as it needed to. Alexa is touted as resourceful and athletic against the rest of the women's roster, but not particularly skilled. Her skills simply would not, and should not match up well against Rousey.
Rousey is going to plow through women and it's going to be fine, because she's a huge star and her simply being there is elevating the division as a whole. Could it lead to people turning on her? Absolutely. The way she's being booked requires careful attention to detail, which isn't WWE's strong suit. But, they've gone a great job so far, so we have to assume she's being handled with care until we see evidence that she isn't.
|
|
|
Post by J12 on Aug 20, 2018 15:49:58 GMT -5
I thought it was a largely good show with some great and some bad. Definitely on the higher end of Pay-Per-Views this year, though, to be fair, that isn't exactly saying much. I didn't have terribly high expectations going in, because, to be honest, I've been very checked out over the last couple of months. But, with that in mind, I thought the show delivered.
I loved Rollins/Ziggler, Styles/Joe, and Bryan/Miz.
The main event was what it was. It felt like the entire crowd let out of a collective sigh of relief when Roman won. Not because it's a positive indicator of what's to come, but because anyone who has suffered through the last three plus years should've been begging for this moment to finally happen so we can just get on with it already. Reigns still possesses all the negative connotations he did going into the match, but at least they can tell a different story now. As expected, though, the match simply didn't matter and neither did the payoff. They waited far too long and beat the horse into oblivion and it was perhaps even more anticlimactic than I expected. They got off easy with the Brooklyn crowd, who was far more receptive to the match than it deserved, quite honestly.
|
|
|
Post by J12 on Aug 14, 2018 9:34:34 GMT -5
It's sort of sad how meaningless Reigns pinning Lesnar is going to be.
|
|
|
Post by J12 on Aug 13, 2018 11:08:54 GMT -5
I'd say it varies wrestler to wrestler, but by and large, character development and promo work is going to be better and more consistent when the wrestler has a large say in what's going on. That isn't true for everyone, but in general, I think they more involved they are, the better off they become.
With all that being said, you can't place blame solely on creative. They're writing to please one man, and one man only. Hundreds of good ideas are left behind because it's not what he wants.
|
|
|
Post by J12 on Aug 7, 2018 15:08:08 GMT -5
Paul turning on Lesnar at Summerslam and joining forces with Reigns is so clearly the right move that you know they're not going to do it. But yeah. Reigns. Easily Reigns. No one else even comes close. It fell right in their laps, too. I'm not going to believe it until I see it, though. We saw Cena not turn heel year-after-year. But this scenario easily sets up Roman to main event WrestleMania, again. Either with Braun cashing in honorably for a match or with Rollins winning the Rumble and running Reigns down. It's such a natural fit that it couldn't be any more perfect. But as you said, we can't trust them to not screw this up. While I think overall, I still would've preferred a scenario where Rollins beats Lesnar clean and Roman turns on him in frustration, this is the next best thing. Heyman aligns with Reigns to topple Lesnar, and then Roman and Paul run through the roster for the next eight months before being toppled by Rollins at Wrestlemania. Don't see it happening, though.
|
|
|
Post by J12 on Aug 7, 2018 10:14:01 GMT -5
Paul turning on Lesnar at Summerslam and joining forces with Reigns is so clearly the right move that you know they're not going to do it.
But yeah. Reigns. Easily Reigns. No one else even comes close.
|
|
|
Post by J12 on Jul 31, 2018 10:30:27 GMT -5
I thought Almas was a total failure in NXT until they brought Zelina into the mix. At that point, he became one of the most integral and entertaining pieces of the roster.
After the match at Takeover with Gargano, I don't think I could ever talk down about the guy. That was too good. As long as Vega is by his side, the sky is the limit.
|
|
|
Post by J12 on Jul 26, 2018 13:12:48 GMT -5
It makes sense, but as punksnotdead pointed out, there are some really talented guys who have drawing power who simply wouldn't be in the same position without their partner. Just because someone can't work as a singles, doesn't mean they should be prevented from making themselves, and their company a bunch of money. It comes down to having over acts at every level of the card. WWE has been so focused on only caring about what's happening at the top of the company for so long that entire divisions often suffer, and the tag teams often catch the brunt of it. You don't really need to look any further than the New Day to see a money making machine. Those guys have operated primarily in the tag team space for years and they're hugely over and they make the company money. There's undoubtedly value in tag team wrestling. All of that aside, there's also the simple fact that money is no object for WWE anymore. Bischoff's point is such a blip on the radar in the grand scheme of the company's profits that it's hardly worth mentioning. They could afford to provide drastic raises across the board for the entire roster, plus health insurance, and they'd still be pulling in more money than any time in company history. It's a moot point.
|
|
|
Post by J12 on Jul 25, 2018 9:42:48 GMT -5
They have to pull the trigger this time. Then again, they really had to pull the trigger at Wrestlemania. And the Greatest Royal Rumble.
Truthfully, it doesn't matter anymore.
|
|
|
Post by J12 on Jul 24, 2018 15:32:12 GMT -5
Every morning. I'm probably in the shower for 5-7 minutes, but my pre-shower routine takes a little longer. Even though I shouldn't, I tend to linger outside the shower for a bit and just zone out. The water running is super relaxing to me.
|
|
|
Post by J12 on Jul 20, 2018 10:18:16 GMT -5
Carmella has brought the title back down to diva-era levels, without question. Beautiful blonde who can't work. She's a good talker, but that's about it. The Smackdown Women's division is low-card comedy fodder right now.
|
|
|
Post by J12 on Jul 19, 2018 9:52:18 GMT -5
He's just a guy in the mid-card on a show ruled by bigger guys. He'd greatly benefit from a move to Smackdown.
|
|
|
Post by J12 on Jul 19, 2018 9:51:12 GMT -5
I couldn't stand Lashley during his first run and was ecstatic when he left.
I know he's improved greatly. I have no problem with him being back in the company. Have I been particularly impressed with anything he's done since his return, though? No. Not at all.
|
|
|
Post by J12 on Jul 18, 2018 12:49:25 GMT -5
The contrast between Raw and Smackdown is really striking right now. Smackdown is a solid, self-contained, focused wrestling show that may not always be great, but you can generally trust that they'll rebound soon enough (with the exception of the women's division, which is a total disaster.)
|
|
|
Post by J12 on Jul 17, 2018 9:28:47 GMT -5
I somehow found AFR back in '99/'00 because I loved wrestling and I loved wrestling figures. Migrated here after AFR shut down. Stopped collecting around '04 but always stuck around.
|
|
|
Post by J12 on Jul 17, 2018 9:26:55 GMT -5
I've had a pretty good summer of shows thus far:
June 7th - The Wonder Years (with Tigers Jaw, Tiny Moving Parts, and Worriers) June 21st - Paramore (with Foster the People and Soccer Mommy)
Upcoming:
July 22nd - Foo Fighters July 27th - Taylor Swift July 29th - Underoath August 24th - All Time Low & Dashboard Confessional
|
|
|
Post by J12 on Jul 17, 2018 9:23:27 GMT -5
I think that's pretty much it for me and Raw for a while. Time to step away and cleanse my pallet. Wake me up when they finally just get it over with and put the title on Reigns so we can just move on.
It's not even about whether or not he should be the guy anymore (he shouldn't, but that's beside the point.) It's the fact that they've done irreparable damage to he, Lesnar, and everyone else who has stepped foot in either of their paths because Vince can't crap or get off the pot. They should have pulled the trigger at Wrestlemania. They should have pulled the trigger at the Greatest Royal Rumble. They didn't, and that should have been it. That was an admission of failure, and at that point, they needed to pivot. They had Seth Rollins fall into their lap and set up the perfect scenario and they blew it.
Roman Reigns is dead in the water. Bobby Lashley is dead in the water. Brock Lesnar is dead in the water. The Universal Title is dead in the water. By default, the Summerslam main event is dead in the water. It just doesn't matter anymore. You're seeing it in the ratings, you're seeing it in the reactions, and none of it matters because they just got billions of dollars to keep on coasting and making a mockery of themselves.
|
|
|
Post by J12 on Jul 16, 2018 11:18:33 GMT -5
At the end of the day, the problem with the reaction to the Rollins/Ziggler match is that it's just reaffirming for Vince. He can very easily look at that through the lens of "the crowd doesn't care about Seth Rollins", and honestly, that's probably what he'll do. WWE did the right thing last night by putting Rollins and Ziggler on last, and the crowd crap all over it. and yet he will continue to make excuses for Roman by telling the fans that he's "the most polarizing figure in company history!" flat out ignoring the visceral hate 80% of their audience gives the guy week in and week out in every city in the country. but yeah Rollins, Balor, etc arent "over" It's the self-fulfilling prophecy conundrum. We've been seeing it for years. Totally different standards depending on Vince's level of commitment.
|
|