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Post by ahunter8056 on Apr 18, 2018 13:43:12 GMT -5
No, it's a terrible idea. With the sheer size of today's roster, there are so many talented stars that aren't going to be given the exposure that they've worked for, on a consistent basis. At this point, WWE should either go back to brand exclusive PPVs, or reduce the size of their roster. This a problem that WWE should be working to prevent, rather than cause.
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Post by ahunter8056 on Apr 17, 2018 9:24:59 GMT -5
Yeah, it's definitely different from what we see today. It's a nice coincidence that this thread was made, because over the past month I've decided to go back and watch NXT from it's beginning (obviously reality show NXT doesn't count), and watch every single episode until I'm up to date, as I'd never watched a full episode of NXT before. And it's been really interesting to see the origins of the big names today. It's fascinating to watch the show and the show's roster evolve over time. Even in the space of it's first year, NXT changed so much. One thing I can say, is that I think Baron Corbin looks awful with short hair. Long hair definitely suits him. Jason Jordan looks out of place with a good amount of hair, having been used to seeing him with shaved hair. Original Ascension were ing weird. It's interesting and quite funny how for NXT's original 2012 roster, it seemed half of them were second generation. I didn't realise were at the time that he was in WWE that Justin Gabriel was a second generation wrestler. Richie Steamboat, Michael McGillicutty, Paige, Justin Gabriel, Raquel Diaz, Jake Carter, Bo Dallas, Bray Wyatt. And I'm probably forgetting a couple too. Big E Langston was absolutely amazing in NXT! It's such a shame on reflection on how watered down and wasted he was as a singles star on the main roster. In NXT, he had distinct, unique characteristics, huge fan support, great vignettes on a weekly basis. On the main roster...he was just a generic big guy. Just makes you think how awesome he would have been if they put the same amount of effort into him on the main roster as they did on NXT.
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Post by ahunter8056 on Apr 16, 2018 8:12:53 GMT -5
Seeing a lot of responses on social media of "time for Dolph to cash in!". Am I missing something here?
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Post by ahunter8056 on Apr 15, 2018 8:16:05 GMT -5
I always thought Dolph Ziggler and the Miz would make a great tag team. Two similar characters, good friends in real life. Seems that they would go together really well. I'd give them the team name of "Awesome Perfection".
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Post by ahunter8056 on Apr 15, 2018 8:11:41 GMT -5
It absolutely is hypocrisy, and I for one will not be watching this event. I'm shocked by the responses in this thread, to be honest. I expected most people to have a problem with this, but instead I'm incredibly disappointed. If being appalled by WWE's complete lack of morals whilst promoting a movement that is completely contradictory to Saudi Arabia's beliefs is "moaning over nothing", then I'll happily moan over "nothing".
WWE is a business, I get that. They were paid a lot of money to go over and do this show, I get that. But they cannot promote women empowerment and then go over and happily put on a show in a country in which women have virtually no rights at all. It is absolutely hypocritical, and anyone disputing that is flat-out wrong. It's disgusting, and a company with so much influence that a lot of people look up should be better than this. By happily putting on this show, they're essentially promoting discrimination against women, while simultaneously trying to promote women empowerment. How are people not seeing this as a big problem?!
As far as I'm concerned, Saudi Arabia does not deserve this, by any means. They're a country with laws stuck 2,000 years in the past, and those laws do not deserve to be respected. Until Saudi Arabia's laws begin to catch up with the rest of the world, WWE should not go there. Why anyone believes that their culture of treating women as inferiors deserves to be respected is beyond me.
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Post by ahunter8056 on Apr 14, 2018 8:32:03 GMT -5
You mean 25th anniversary. 30 won't be until 2023! Anyway, the 24 episode was boring? Ah 25th right. And yeah probably the worst of the 24 series they’ve done. To be honest, I feel like the last couple of 24 episodes just haven't been as good as previous ones. I don't know what it is, but they just don't seem to be as interesting as the episodes on WrestleMania 30, or Finn Balor, for example. I'm hoping the quality once again reaches the heights it once had, but the WrestleMania 33 and RAW 25 episodes just weren't as great as I hoped they'd be. Even so, the series is still well worth it, always great to take a look behind the scenes. It's just that previous episodes set the bar so high, it's disappointing when recent episodes don't meet that bar.
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Post by ahunter8056 on Apr 11, 2018 16:19:02 GMT -5
I think this version I stumbled upon YouTube would be very fitting for a sinister/vicious Nakamura. Honestly, JAYDEGARROW'S work is always amazing. I'd highly recommend them to all.
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Post by ahunter8056 on Apr 11, 2018 12:53:25 GMT -5
Beyond thrilled that Paige is the new SmackDown Live General Manager! When she retired on RAW, it was really saddening that it looked like she'd be gone from WWE TV. But now she'll still appear every week, in a new role, and I am really excited to see her as General Manager. It will be very refreshing and interesting to have a female GM for a change.
Pretty nice to see Peyton Royce and Billie Kay called up. But "the Iconics" is a stupid name that doesn't make grammatical sense. What was wrong with "the Iconic Duo"?
Nice to see Carmella finally cash in and become champion, even given Mike Chioda's stupidly long hesitation. I get why they had Chioda hold off for so long, trying to stall as a way of showing compassion for Charlotte, but the whole point of MITB is striking when the champion is at their weakest, and no referee should try to hinder that. Regardless, it'll be interesting to see where Carmella goes from here and how long a reign she'll be given.
Absolutely loved Shinsuke Nakamura's work last night! His response to Renee Young was brilliant, and they really are going all-out for heel Nakamura.
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Post by ahunter8056 on Apr 10, 2018 13:46:50 GMT -5
I REALLY hope Drew McIntyre returns tonight. I would also love to see Peyton Royce and Billie Kay called up. I also can't wait to see what's next for Daniel Bryan.
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Post by ahunter8056 on Apr 10, 2018 13:40:10 GMT -5
Stunned that Paige announced that she is leaving WWE. I assumed she'd stay with WWE, managing Absolution for a good long while. On commentary for WrestleMania, she seemed to imply that her in-ring career was not over, stating that she hoped to be part of next year's battle royal. So I assumed that she was taking time off her in-ring career to rest, rather than actually being forced to retire. However with the sad official announcement that she has actually been forced to retire, that just makes me very sad. However as she mentioned, Daniel Bryan was able to make a comeback after being forced to retire, so there is hope for her future! Regardless, I hope she finds success outside of WWE. She's not leaving the company, it was just her finally making the announcement that her career as a wrestler is done. Apparently she'll be returning for the next Total Divas season, and once the movie about her life is released, she's likely going to be popping back on TV to help promote it. And while it could be great to see her make a Daniel Bryan type return, I doubt it, as the neck is usually a career killer type of injury. Even if you manage to make some kind of return, you don't usually have much of a long career ahead of you (see Austin for example.) Her profile has been moved to the Alumni page on WWE.com, and there were plenty of signs that she is now gone from WWE TV. Sure, she's likely to pop up again in the future, but it definitely looks like she won't be a regular on WWE TV anymore. I should have used more accurate terminology, that's my bad, but I meant that she's gone in terms of making regular or even semi-regular appearances on WWE TV.
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Post by ahunter8056 on Apr 10, 2018 8:37:41 GMT -5
Any news on where to watch it in the UK? Will it be put on the WWE Network?
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Post by ahunter8056 on Apr 10, 2018 7:56:01 GMT -5
I'm really glad to see Ember Moon called up to RAW. Before RAW, I was really hoping Ember and McIntyre would get called up, and I'm glad to see that Ember was. Hoping for McIntyre to get called up on SmackDown Live. Can't wait to see where Ember goes. Happy to see Authors of Pain called up. Never watched them, but they always sounded cool. Given how irrelevant the RAW tag team division has been for months, hopefully this is the first step to get it back on track.
Happy to see Jeff Hardy and Samoa Joe back. Loved the backstage interaction between Matt, Jeff & Bray. Happy to see Lashley back. I hardly watched anything of his initial WWE run, but the constant return rumours over the past few months seem to have gotten a lot of fans excited, and somebody with fan support behind them has got to have something.
Stunned that Paige announced that she is leaving WWE. I assumed she'd stay with WWE, managing Absolution for a good long while. On commentary for WrestleMania, she seemed to imply that her in-ring career was not over, stating that she hoped to be part of next year's battle royal. So I assumed that she was taking time off her in-ring career to rest, rather than actually being forced to retire. However with the sad official announcement that she has actually been forced to retire, that just makes me very sad. However as she mentioned, Daniel Bryan was able to make a comeback after being forced to retire, so there is hope for her future! Regardless, I hope she finds success outside of WWE.
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Post by ahunter8056 on Apr 9, 2018 12:00:56 GMT -5
Charlotte Flair's and Shinsuke Nakamura's were both incredible, and are definitely among the greatest WrestleMania entrances of all time for me.
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Post by ahunter8056 on Apr 9, 2018 11:55:47 GMT -5
Even given the disastrous main event, that was an incredible WrestleMania! Almost every match delivered, full of memorable moments, wonderful entrances. I would definitely call it the greatest WrestleMania of all time. Such a shame it ended so disastrously. Although the main event initially darkened my opinion of the entire show as a whole, now that some time has gone by, I don't feel that way anymore.
1. Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal - It was good. Bray's return to help Matt was fantastic, and I cannot wait to see what happens next with these two.
2. Cruiserweight Championship: Cedric Alexander VS Mustafa Ali - This was the only match on the entire card that I didn't care for beforehand. But this match was incredible! Both men showed themselves to be amazing talents, and I may actually start watching 205 Live after seeing their performance.
3. Women's Battle Royal - It was good. Loved that so many NXT superstars were included, especially seeing "the Big Dawg" Dakota Kai involved in a match at WrestleMania! It was great to have Paige on commentary, and she clearly stated that her career is not actually over, given that she hoped to be part of next year's. But I was not a fan of having Naomi win it. To start with, it's a travesty that Sasha and Bayley weren't given a one on one match at WrestleMania, given how long they've been building up their storyline. It's a much bigger travesty that they didn't do anything with their story in this match either. If I were booking, I would have had either Bayley or Sasha win the battle royal, and then the one who didn't win fully turn heel, brutally attacking the winner. Why they didn't bother to finally give their feud the pay-off it deserved at WrestleMania is beyond me. And if they didn't want either Sasha or Bayley to win, why on earth did they not go for Becky Lynch?! Lynch is easily the most undervalued female superstar in WWE, and should be on top of the division, rather than languishing at the bottom.
4. Intercontinental Championship: The Miz VS Finn Balor VS Seth Rollins - To start with, I just have to say how much I loved Balor's LGBT Balor Club entrance. I just love the fact that Finn deliberately wants to send such a positive message. The match itself was pretty good. Honestly, although I was rooting for Balor to win, I would have been happy with any of the three winning. All of them are brilliant talents, though I do think Miz held the title long enough. Happy with Seth winning the title.
5. SmackDown Women's Championship: Charlotte Flair VS Asuka - Holy crap! Charlotte's entrance was jawdroppingly amazing! The match itself was incredible, and it was such a shock that they ended Asuka's streak! I honestly sat there in shock for a good minute, because I didn't think they'd end it. I expected them to continue her undefeated streak for another year, so Rousey could end it at next year's WrestleMania. Honestly, I was shocked in the best possible way! I'm not a big fan of Asuka's undefeated streak, I personally find it slightly dull and I think that it hinders booking. It was great to see them hug after the match too. Cena's sprint up the ramp after the match was hilarious!
6. United States Championship: Randy Orton VS Bobby Roode VS Jinder Mahal VS Rusev - Solid match. Disappointed that Bobby Roode made a regular entrance, I expected a unique WrestleMania entrance for Roode. I also really hoped Roode would win the title back, so that was a disappointment that he did not. However, the match was solid enough that I didn't mind Jinder winning. At least they're presumably going to actually build Jinder up now, rather than catapulting him back to the main event.
7. Mixed Tag Team Match: Kurt Angle & Ronda Rousey VS Triple H & Stephanie McMahon - This match was absolutely incredible! I would definitely call it match of the night, which is so surprising. I don't think anyone expected it to be anywhere near as great as it turned out to be. I love how they drew out Rousey getting tagged in. Brilliant psychology. Even given how weakly Rousey delivered a good amount of her moves, she still made an impressive debut. Can't wait to see where she goes next.
8. SmackDown Tag Team Championships - The Usos VS The New Day VS Bludgeon Brothers - Solid match. Surprised at how quickly it was over, but served the Bludgeon Brothers very well, and I'm a fan of them. At least the Usos have now had a match on the main card of WrestleMania.
9. The Undertaker VS John Cena - I quite enjoyed this little match, despite how much I didn't care for the idea beforehand. At least they made it a quick little back and forth match rather than a long drawn out match.
10. Daniel Bryan & Shane McMahon VS Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn - Good match. It was wonderful to see the pop for Daniel Bryan. He showed that he is still amazing, and I love how they structured the match. Just like the Mixed Tag match, brilliant psychology again. I expect we'll see Zayn and Owens back on RAW now.
11. RAW Women's Championship: Alexa Bliss VS Nia Jax - I'll proudly say it: this was my personal highlight of the night. Going into this match, I desperately wanted both Nia to finally become champion, and for Bliss' reign to finally come to an end. Over the past year I've become a big fan of Nia. She's a truly unique standout in the division, I've no problems with her in-ring work, and her recent face turn has made her character far more compelling than the supposedly dominant monster heel that constantly tapped out a year ago. And outside of the ring, Nia comes across as such a dedicated, genuine, kind-hearted person, making it very easy to connect with her character. So I've wanted Nia to become champion for a while now. And as for Alexa Bliss, I'm just so tired of her being constantly pushed for the past 18 months as the face of the women's division. Every single woman she's feuded with has come out looking like a joke. Don't get me wrong, I think Alexa Bliss is good, but the way they've handled all of her feuds as so one-sided, her 18 month long reign of dominance has been really tiresome. As for the match itself, there some really tense moments for me, where the constant eye raking looked as though Bliss might retain. When Nia finally got the pinfall, I felt pure elation. If anyone was to finally put Bliss' reign to an end, I'm so glad it was Nia. I hope now they cool off Alexa Bliss for a few months, like they did with Charlotte in 2017. And as for Nia, I hope they give her a lengthy, strong reign.
12. WWE Championship: AJ Styles VS Shinsuke Nakamura - Nakamura's entrance....holy crap! Both Charlotte's and Nakamura's are easily among the greatest WrestleMania entrances of all time! The match was solid, but relatively uneventful, and it really did not live up to the hype at all, and failed expectations. The ending Styles Clash was awesome though. However, Shinsuke's heel turn! When AJ began helping Shinsuke up, I just knew that any second Nakamura was going to attack AJ to turn heel. That was a brilliant heel turn, and it's really intriguing where Shinsuke goes next. The most important question is this: what happens to Nakamura's entrance?
13. RAW Tag Team Championships: The Bar VS Braun Strowman & Nicholas - Although I was disappointed that Braun hadn't recruited a surprise returning superstar, it was pretty funny to see Strowman wandering through the crowd, looking for a partner. When I saw No Way Jose, I assumed Braun would pick him. Although yeah, this match did make a mockery of the tag team division, it was nonetheless entertaining, and it's nice that they made a kid the star of the match.
14. Universal Championship: Brock Lesnar VS Roman Reigns - This was disastrous. There really is no other way to put it. Without a doubt, the worst WrestleMania main event of all time. This was such an abomination, it gives Brock Lesnar VS Goldberg at WrestleMania 20 competition for worst WrestleMania match. I don't think it is at all coincidence that Lesnar was involved in two of the worst WrestleMania matches of all time. I can only assume that perhaps Lesnar was unwilling to cooperate with Reigns, and so they set out to put on the worst performance possible. That's the only way to explain what happened here. Kicking out of SIX F5s is on a whole other level beyond ludicrous. Lesnar absolutely murdering Reigns with his elbow was disgusting, barbaric, and an utter disgrace. There is simply no reason to deliberately subject another wrestler to such severe blood loss. 18 months or so after doing it to Randy Orton, he does it to Roman Reigns. If Lesnar wants to do crap like that, he should bugger off back to UFC. I don't believe there is any place for it in modern WWE. Beyond that, I thought that we'd finally be rid of Brock Lesnar as Universal Champion. It's always been a complete and utter joke that a part-timer held the World title ransom for so long. If you have a World title, the champion should show up every week, defend at every PPV, etc. Reigns was a good candidate to take the title off of Lesnar. Yet now, Lesnar's reign continues. That is a complete and utter joke. At this point, I just want Lesnar to go away.
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Post by ahunter8056 on Apr 8, 2018 6:25:43 GMT -5
Personally I've become a big fan of hers over the past year. I've wanted her to become champion for a few months now, and I'm thrilled that she finally has the chance to do so. She's a truly unique stand-out in the division, I've no problems with her in-ring skills, and her recent babyface turn seems to have really endeared her, and seems a great fit for her natural personality. Her personality outside of the ring makes it really easy to connect with her.
I agree with the screaming though. The segment a couple of weeks ago with Nia standing in the locker room screaming to camera was awful. But personally I'd put the blame for that on the writers for writing that in. As for the screaming she has been doing while chasing Alexa at ringside, I'd expect her to stop that when the storyline is done. I think she's just doing it because the story is that they had such a personal friendship that has made the character of Nia Jax an emotional mess.
I wasn't convinced with her at the start of the year though, when she was supposed to be a dominant monster heel, yet was constantly tapping out.
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Post by ahunter8056 on Apr 7, 2018 13:49:24 GMT -5
Oh my, so much greatness in the new promo video for upcoming content on the WWE Network! Mae Young Classic 2, King of the Ring, Edge and Christian Show Season 2, all the new 24s, new 365. I cannot wait!
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Post by ahunter8056 on Apr 7, 2018 1:23:27 GMT -5
What on earth was that stuff shooting out of the set from 0:40?!
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Post by ahunter8056 on Apr 6, 2018 4:26:37 GMT -5
I've got tickets and a table booked at a local club to go watch WrestleMania on a 132" screen. Going to be going with flatmates and friends. The place is serving food until 2AM, so considering Mania won't end until around 5AM, it should be enough.
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Post by ahunter8056 on Apr 5, 2018 15:49:23 GMT -5
Provided they would also sell them in the UK, I'd be all for 1/6 scale figures (unless it had a ridiculous price tag). There's a company in the UK called Big Chief Studios who specialise in producing and selling 1/6 scale figures. They started off purely making their own, but now the majority of it's products appear to be imports of 1/6 scale figures produced by Hot Toys. I've bought some Doctor Who 1:6 scale figures off them, and they've all been around ÂŁ220. Provided WWE get a company to produce the same kind of products for a similar price, I'd be all in for it. If they made non-articulated statues, that would be even better (as I don't tend to move mine after setting them up). Accessories aren't really a necessity either. I love my Ultimate Warrior Title Collection statue, and I just wish they had made a lot more characters.
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Post by ahunter8056 on Apr 5, 2018 7:34:18 GMT -5
Honestly, definitely not a popular choice I know, but the match I am most excited for is Nia Jax VS Alexa Bliss for the RAW Women's Championship. That's the match I am most invested in, for a few reasons: 1) I am so ready for Nia Jax to finally be given the spotlight! From following her social media, and listening to her on Lillian Garcia's podcast, she comes across as such a kind-hearted, passionate, genuine, likable person. Right from the start, Nia has always stood out in the women's division. She is truly unique, and she's been chasing the title long enough. It's finally time for her to be given a run with the RAW Women's Championship. I really, really hope she wins. It’s honestly probably the one match on the main card that I have zero interest in. This is a wrestling promotion. Just because someone is “nice”, “genuine” and “passionate” on social media doesn’t mean they deserve to be champion. If that was the case, 95% of the roster deserves to be champion. Nia will flop as champion and is only in the position she’s in because of her family connection. Same thing as Roman.This match should’ve been Bayley vs. Sasha Banks. With Sasha either winning the title off of Bliss months ago, or in the Chamber match... after screwing Bayley out of her victory (as we saw). I didn't say that was the only reason that I want to see Nia as champion, and I don't appreciate you trying to twist my words. She's truly unique in the division, I have no problems with her in-ring work, and her likeable personality makes her newly babyface character compelling. That's why I want her to be champion, and how she comes across outside of the ring just makes it even better, and provides an easier connection to her character. If I wanted everybody to be champion based on how they came across outside the ring, I'd want Tyler Breeze and Dana Brooke to be champions. And I don't want that. Can't help but disagree in the extreme for the bold portion of your post. The fact that people still feel the need to drag the hard work of others down simply for being related to big stars is just shameful. Did Roman and Nia have easy routes into the WWE because of their relation? Yes. Would they still be here if they weren't completely dedicated and putting in their hardest efforts? No. If Roman didn't have what it takes, they wouldn't have tried to make him 'the Guy' (regardless of how it was received, which is far more down to creative than Roman). If Nia didn't have what it takes, she wouldn't have made it past Performance Centre try-outs. They're still here and shining years later because of their dedication, because of their passion, because of their hard work, because of their talent. Trying to tear them down for the sake of it is something you should be ashamed of, quite honestly. Provided creative don't screw it up, Nia will absolutely not flop as champion. As long as she's booked to be dominant for a multi-month reign, it should work out fine. Regardless of what you think of her, I think she has enough talent and passion to work well on top of the division. The only part of your post I agree with is that we should have seen Sasha VS Bayley. But regardless, you can keep your negative opinion, and I'll keep my positive opinion. I won't be interacting with you anymore, but I'd encourage you to not try to turn the positive opinions of others into negative opinions, simply because you don't share it.
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