The Wrestling Thread

abwchris

Active Member
Noticed there isn't one dedicated thread to pro wrestling so it'd be nice to have one thread dedicated to everything pro wrestling whether it be WWE, NJPW, ROH, TNA, etc.

To me this Wrestlemania season has lagged behind pretty much every Mania season I can remember since the mid 90's.

Reigns just is not ready for the WWE throne yet.He doesn't have a grasp of who his character is yet and neither does management.

Bryan and Ziggler deserve a singles match at Mania and to not be thrown in a cluster**** of a match for the IC title.

The Battle Royale will likely be boring, the Divas tag match could be good but its still a Divas tag match.

Sting/HHH is 10 years too late, Rollins/Orton pretty much had their blow off last night with Orton destroying Rollins. That is the one feud that had the most potential but the poor booking since Orton came back has destroyed the heat for the rivalry.

Wyatt/Taker could be good but Taker looked soooooooooo old last year. I just hope he can still bring it. But either way some of the spectacle is gone with the streak ending.

The best case scenario if Lesnar leaves is to have Reigns beat him and have Rollins cash in.
 
I have the WWE Network, but primarily use it for watching old wrestling matches (mostly Flair, Steamboat, and Rude matches).

I'm actually looking forward to the Hunter/ Sting match, even though it's ten years too late.

For the Reigns/ Lesnar bout, I'm hoping that Paul Heyman turns on Lesnar and aligns himself with Reigns.
 
I can't comment on WWE anymore, I really haven't watched it since Bret Hart left. But I love me some AJPW, NOAH, NJPW and the Japanese Indy's. In my opinion the greatest wrestling matches in the industry took place in 1990's AJPW. I had been completely finished with Pro Wrestling until I discovered Mitsuharu Misawa. His professional and personal rivalry with his high school friend Toshiaki Kawada rejuvenated my love of wrestling. Also started getting into the wrestling games like Fire Pro Wrestling and the King of Colosseum series and eventually became more versed in Puroresu than western wrestling. Couldn't tell you a thing about what's going on stateside, but I'm still simulating full leagues through Fire Pro Wrestling Returns.

If WWE2K16 fixes the neutered CAW mode 2K15 has I 'may' give it a try. If I like the game I could start watching WWE again.
 
Oh god I'm so mad at WWE.

So like I live in the bay area, right, and of course I bought tickets to 'Mania early.

Not only am I a huge Daniel Bryan fan, because, duh, everyone is a huge Daniel Bryan fan, but I've loved the Japanese style forever and watched him in ROH. Saw his dark match before RAW (the night Jericho put HBK through the Jeri-tron), and have been following his WWE career ever since. Not only was it the right thing to do for the FANS, it was the logical storyline since Daniel Bryan never lost the title. Lance Storm pointed out in his commentary too, that WWE basically set up the backlash against Roman Reigns themselves from last year's storyline which was all about the Authority choosing "the face of the WWE," over Bryan. Now flash forward to this year, where Bryan returns and is still SUPER over and a lot of people are seeing a repeat.

They had better resign Lesnar. But even then I'm worried about the quality of the match. Reigns had his best match against Bryan, because duh, he's Daniel Bryan. He can't work a 20 minute match. Brock can, but unless I'm mistaken, he's not exactly known as a "ring general," who calls matches. Reigns sure as hell isn't.

Misawa was the ****. Even when he was old and fat he still put on better matches than most. My favorite Japanese wrestler is still Hayabusa though.

The new nXt product on the network now is actually pretty good. Solid focus on in-ring action. They have Finn Balor (aka Prince Devitt), Kevin Owens (aka Kevin Steen), Sami Zayn (formerly El Generico), and Hideo Itami (aka KENTA) wrestling down there now and it's pretty good stuff.
 
Misawa was the ****. Even when he was old and fat he still put on better matches than most. My favorite Japanese wrestler is still Hayabusa though.

Two great wrestling tragedies right there. Misawa was so close to retiring when he died. Eiji Ezaki seems to be doing pretty well these days though. Considering his situation he got off really lucky.
 
I'm thinking that the highlight will still be the Wyatt/Taker match. From the BTS stuff I've read, WWE has the confidence that Wyatt can work the match well enough to make Taker look good. The match he had with Bryan last year was a highlight for me.

I grew up watching NWA here in NC, & Blackjack Mulligan was my all time favorite. I got to see him wrestle Tony Atlas at the Dorton Arena in Raleigh, when I was about 7. To see Bray carry on the tradition is a great thing in my book.
 
Well I grew up with wrestling in the mid 70s, through the 80s to 1990.

Hulkamania was running wild, "Hot Rod" Roddy Piper was the baddest of the bad, and it was more about what happened in the ring than the drama between matches.

My favorite wrestlers were the British Bulldogs and in particular The Dynamite Kid. I loved their matches against Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake and the Hart Foundation. I was gutted when The Dynamite Kid ruined his back and could not wrestle anymore.

One of my favourite fueds was the Macho Man/Ricky Steamboat bouts- The finale at Wrestlemania III definitely was one of the best matches I ever saw. That was 1987.

By 1990 the Bulldogs were gone, Hulk Hogan took a break, and I had become disinterested in wrestling. I took a twelve year hiatus from watching. Missed all the Degeneration X stuff.

In 2002 I started watching again... Just in time to hear about the death of Davey Boy Smith- one half of my favourites the Bulldogs. I watched for another year or so in the "Attitude" era, (I did enjoy the "Tough Enough" reality competitions) then stopped completely once again.

I bought myself a replica WWF 80s era Intercontinental Championship belt and 2000s era Tag Team belt... One of these days I'll spend a small fortune on a Winged Eagle Heavyweight Championship belt. :)


Kevin
 
If WWE2K16 fixes the neutered CAW mode 2K15 has I 'may' give it a try. If I like the game I could start watching WWE again.

Unless something changes, stay far, far away from WWE right now. I am only watching through 'Mania season and then I am taking a break. In a different forum I basically said that other than a few hiccups here and there I have watched WWE continuously for 25 years now and they do not appreciate me as a customer with the way the company has been booked lately.

Reigns is in no way shape or form over enough to be the face of the company. Say what you want about Cena, I know I have, but the dude was super over when he was first pushed to the moon and could talk a great game. Reigns has the talking ability of Mike Adamle.....

They have a guy in Bryan who is more over than anybody since the Attitude Era and yet Vince denies the fans what they want because of his ego.

The relationship between WWE and myself was always a fun one until about 2005. Since then it has become broken. I equate my relationship with WWE to this: Over the last decade I order 1 cheese pizza a week from the same place but 9/10 times they send me a sausage pizza. When I call to complain the owner screams at me and tells me I am wrong and that I don't want a cheese pizza, I want a sausage pizza. But for some reason I keep ordering from the same place....

I'm taking a WWE break after Mania (except NXT) and sticking to the indies and some Japan stuff here and there.
 
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Well I grew up with wrestling in the mid 70s, through the 80s to 1990.

Hulkamania was running wild, "Hot Rod" Roddy Piper was the baddest of the bad, and it was more about what happened in the ring than the drama between matches.

My favorite wrestlers were the British Bulldogs and in particular The Dynamite Kid. I loved their matches against Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake and the Hart Foundation. I was gutted when The Dynamite Kid ruined his back and could not wrestle anymore.

One of my favourite fueds was the Macho Man/Ricky Steamboat bouts- The finale at Wrestlemania III definitely was one of the best matches I ever saw. That was 1987.

By 1990 the Bulldogs were gone, Hulk Hogan took a break, and I had become disinterested in wrestling. I took a twelve year hiatus from watching. Missed all the Degeneration X stuff.

In 2002 I started watching again... Just in time to hear about the death of Davey Boy Smith- one half of my favourites the Bulldogs. I watched for another year or so in the "Attitude" era, (I did enjoy the "Tough Enough" reality competitions) then stopped completely once again.

I bought myself a replica WWF 80s era Intercontinental Championship belt and 2000s era Tag Team belt... One of these days I'll spend a small fortune on a Winged Eagle Heavyweight Championship belt. :)


Kevin

I love the replica belts I had. Bought an Attitude Era World and ECW World. Sold them right after college when I needed some quick cash. Since I have regretted it and plan on getting some replicas eventually. The Winged Eagle and 80's-90's IC title's were always my favorite.
 
Oh god I'm so mad at WWE.

So like I live in the bay area, right, and of course I bought tickets to 'Mania early.

Not only am I a huge Daniel Bryan fan, because, duh, everyone is a huge Daniel Bryan fan, but I've loved the Japanese style forever and watched him in ROH. Saw his dark match before RAW (the night Jericho put HBK through the Jeri-tron), and have been following his WWE career ever since. Not only was it the right thing to do for the FANS, it was the logical storyline since Daniel Bryan never lost the title. Lance Storm pointed out in his commentary too, that WWE basically set up the backlash against Roman Reigns themselves from last year's storyline which was all about the Authority choosing "the face of the WWE," over Bryan. Now flash forward to this year, where Bryan returns and is still SUPER over and a lot of people are seeing a repeat.

They had better resign Lesnar. But even then I'm worried about the quality of the match. Reigns had his best match against Bryan, because duh, he's Daniel Bryan. He can't work a 20 minute match. Brock can, but unless I'm mistaken, he's not exactly known as a "ring general," who calls matches. Reigns sure as hell isn't.

Misawa was the ****. Even when he was old and fat he still put on better matches than most. My favorite Japanese wrestler is still Hayabusa though.

The new nXt product on the network now is actually pretty good. Solid focus on in-ring action. They have Finn Balor (aka Prince Devitt), Kevin Owens (aka Kevin Steen), Sami Zayn (formerly El Generico), and Hideo Itami (aka KENTA) wrestling down there now and it's pretty good stuff.

I got to see Bryan wrestle his last indy match against Moxley (Ambrose) in Milwaukee at a DragonGate show. First time seeing him live and it was amazing.

As for Reigns/Lesnar, the crowd is going to be 100% behind Lesnar. The venom that is going to be hurled at Reigns will be ridiculous. IMO I believe there are only two ways the crowd won't crap on the outcome: Lesnar resigns and beats Reigns and then they properly build up Reigns over the summer to a main event level. The other outcome, and more realistic if you ask me, would be Reigns beating Lesnar and Rollins cashing in.
 
I love the replica belts I had. Bought an Attitude Era World and ECW World. Sold them right after college when I needed some quick cash. Since I have regretted it and plan on getting some replicas eventually. The Winged Eagle and 80's-90's IC title's were always my favorite.

I would love to own a replica of the NWA's World Heavyweight Championship Belt, aka "The Big Gold Belt", aka Flair's belt. Wooooooooo!
 
I would love to own a replica of the NWA's World Heavyweight Championship Belt, aka "The Big Gold Belt", aka Flair's belt. Wooooooooo!

Me too! I hate how the WWE had devalued the "World Heavyweight Championship" before they unified them. That was always one of my favorite belts. The Winged Eagle is a classic too. Bret Hart was my fave as a kid and that was HIS belt (to me anyway).
 
I find the new world title to look ridiculous. I wanted the spinner to die a horrible, horrible death, and while the new one is better, it is only marginally better. Belts like the Winged Eagle, 80's-90's IC, European, Big Gold, WCW US, etc, were all awesome titles. Glad they at least brought back the classic IC.
 
I find the new world title to look ridiculous. I wanted the spinner to die a horrible, horrible death, and while the new one is better, it is only marginally better. Belts like the Winged Eagle, 80's-90's IC, European, Big Gold, WCW US, etc, were all awesome titles. Glad they at least brought back the classic IC.

if I remember correctly, it was Cody Rodes that lobbied hard to bring back the classic look, and even paid to have one made. I'm glad that the "E" is attempting to bring back the prestige that title once held.

What kind of bugs me about the Reigns situation is that people went crazy when he didn't win the Royal Rumble back in 2014 to go on to Wrestlemania. Now that he is the guy to face Lesnar (after an impressive match against the Goat), the IWC is upset. Is he ready? Most likely not, but neither was Dwayne when the WWF pushed him hard on the fans.
 
Nah, but people were still more upset in the 2014 Rumble that Daniel Bryan wasn't even in it. That's how Mysterio got booed so hard when he came out at #30. People kept thinking they were going to send Bryan out, but they didn't. I think Roman got the rub from Bryan not being in it, that Ziggler, Ambrose, etc, got this year from Bryan being dumped. They were the only guys that got good pops after Bryan was dumped.
 
Shouldn't people just be angry at the fight choreographer and not the wrestlers themselves for putting on a lackluster show?
 
Shouldn't people just be angry at the fight choreographer and not the wrestlers themselves for putting on a lackluster show?

That's not how wrestling works. Aside from a few notable exceptions (Steamboat vs Savage, Wrestlemania III being the most infamous), matches aren't choreographed as such. Different people will work a match differently, but generally speaking, the match is "called" in the ring. Sometimes there are specific sequences planned out, and nowadays there's usually a specific ending sequence, but getting from point A, to point B, to point C, is generally at the discretion of the wrestlers in the ring. They have to react to how the crowd is reacting to the match to either ramp up, or slow down the action.
 
That's not how wrestling works. Aside from a few notable exceptions (Steamboat vs Savage, Wrestlemania III being the most infamous), matches aren't choreographed as such. Different people will work a match differently, but generally speaking, the match is "called" in the ring. Sometimes there are specific sequences planned out, and nowadays there's usually a specific ending sequence, but getting from point A, to point B, to point C, is generally at the discretion of the wrestlers in the ring. They have to react to how the crowd is reacting to the match to either ramp up, or slow down the action.

Okay. Well I worked video crew with Wrestlemania XIX and remember The Rock and Steve Austin all buddy/buddying going over their moves in the ring long before anyone was let in the center along with Undertaker practicing his entrance via motorcycle and Fred Durst doing some intro he was involved in back in the day.It looked pretty rehearsed to me, but maybe they were just working out portions of it then....

I know physically they are doing stuff to each other and it definitely takes a big toll on the body, that's for sure.
 
Some NSFW language, but I thought those of you in here would get a kick out of this

 
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There's no denying the dangers of things going wrong in the ring or the toll it takes, just look at the Iron Sheik for that one. I miss the old WWF of the 80s and early 90s. The silly over the top storylines and characters who weren't all dark and serious. I need to see if the old wrestlemanias are on dvd. I remember sundays around 1 or maybe earlier WWF would be on and some guy in red shorts nobody heard of would get smacked around by a big name and then you'd have a few big names against each other. My dad and I went to a match on the YSU campus in the late 80s i guess it was and we got 4th row from the ring. It was back when Big Bossman was still wrestling and doing ball and chain matches.
 
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