Official WWE/TNA Wrestling Thread

waste of an oppertunity....they gave punk the title so quick, i know they needed to get a title on raw but i don't think this was it...punk going to have a short run...they needed to build him up more imo

 

Bad move in my opinion Punk hasn't done anything lately to deserve the title and asking him to try and carry their brand is probably going to end badly.

I hope that they have Jericho beat Punk and give him a long heel run as champion, but that's wishful thinking.

 

It was still a well executed angle. One of the more exciting ways I've seen the show start out in recent memory. (Admittedly, I've been a spotty viewer for the last 3 or 4 years or so)

WWE seems to be in desperation mode, what with the Million Dollar gimmick, the Draft, and the angle tonight. That's good for business. Vince is always better when his back is against the wall. It's when he gets complacent that the product suffers.

Well, JBL just challenged him for the title, so the Punk reign may only be 2 hours long. It's well within the realm of possibility that JBL will walk out champion. Personally, I'm against that move because it buries Punk and devalues the title at the same time.

As I'm typing this Cena is challenging Punk for the title as well. He's probably a one-night champion, especially if this becomes a 3 way match, which is where it looks like it's heading.

 

i could actually see him winning that match, it would of been better to have Edge vs Raw locker room tonight, since he had to interfere with Raw and have someone win the title.

 

Good thought, HORRIBLE execution on WWE's part. Here is my thinking.

First off you END the show with the crowning of a world champion, not start it. I know they were trying to get the "OMG! I must call my friends!" moment, but that was not the time to do it.

Second, CM Punk is a FACE, faces are not supposed to slink in and "steal" a championship like this. It makes them look weak and undermines their reign. Everything JBL said in character is absolutely true. Punk was not validated as a champion. Faces EARN the title, it is what makes people cheer for them. That ultimately, they take the high road, not the easy one.

The irony of Edge having the same thing essentially done to him that he did to gain his first title (i.e. win the MitB match, slink in on a beaten champ and take advantage) was NOT lost on me, but the WWE FAILED to mention it or provide videotape. If you are going to do that, you might as well point out that Punk turned the tables on Edge, thus Edge got his ironic and justified revenge.

Another reason this didn't work for me was that Edge simply leaves? So he just throws a tizzy and leaves? Really? Just a bad way to transfer the title off of your number one heel to a guy who is, at best the number five face in the company (behind Cena, HHH, Batista, HBK. An argument can be made for Misterio, Jeff Hardy and others as well).

If they were hell bent on doing this match tonight, what they should have done is have it happen at the END of Raw. Hype that JR will be saying goodbye to Raw throughout the show. Then have Edge interrupt and say what he said. Then INSTEAD of having Batista come out and beat the crap out of Edge, simply have Punk come out with a ref and challenge Edge straight up.

Edge is cocky and sends his guys away. They have a nice 10-15 minute match that ends when Batista comes out, distracts Edge and Punk catches him with the GTS. Same result, but the show ends on the highnote, you get an awesome main event with two workers who can go and you save the JBL/Cena BS that seemed forced, for next week and beyond.

Sustained, episodic TV.

Other thoughts:

The show in general was paced badly tonight. This is atypical for WWE as they usually have tremendous timing and production values. They had so many interviews and setup so many angles that it really threw the rest of the show off. Going to commercial during the introduction of your NEW IC champion is inexcusable, along with missing the start of the match.

And when Jericho goes nuts, they really needed Cole to hammer the point home about how heinous he was being. Instead they had complete silence for about 90 seconds as Lawler and Cole both waited for the other to say something. That is the problem when you start mixing and matching announcers with no experience working together on live TV. That will work itself out, but it will take some time.

I like the tag team of Rhodes and Dibiase and their explanation was perfectly fine. Cody, for having that terrible lisp, is actually decent on the mic and he and Dibiase look legit. I am a stickler for tag teams to have matching tights and a name, but I can forgive if they bring the goodness in the ring. I also don't mind feeding them jobbers as neither one has yet to establish an offense and they need to look strong.

I also liked the seemingly new JBL idea of him having personal security everywhere he goes. He is a hateable guy and having him cloaked with hooligans each week is a nice touch to his character who already fashions himself better than everyone else. I just wish he could go better in the ring as I feel a nice storyline is wasted on a crappy wrestler.

Misterio vs. Santino doesn't excite me as Santino has been made to look like a joke. The back and forth was okay, although I would have loved to hear Santino say good riddance to his former tag team partner Carlito by calling him a funny name. It is sometimes the little things like that that standout the most. If the rumors are true about Santino getting a new stable, having an international clique might be kind of cool. Especially if Santino calls them the IHOP (International House of PAINcakes).

One thing I like, The champs on Raw are: CM Punk (29 going on 30) Cody Rhodes (23) Ted Dibiase (25) and Kofi Kingston (mid 20's). That is a big change from just last week where your champs were HHH (38 going on 39), Bob Holly (45), Cody Rhodes (23), and Chris Jericho (37). That is an average of 35.75, down to roughly 25.75 (I had Kofi at 26 years old).

Big change for the WWE and one I hope they embrace and give time to.

 

Well said Samphin, agree with everything.

The only thing I must add is is Priceless' theme song sung by the same guy that did Billy and Chuck's music? I mean seriously that theme is beyond bad, it's too soft and kind of girlie. I don't like it, I hope it changes.

I thought the promo Ted and Cody did was excellent though.

 

Not sure who it is sung by, but a lot of OLD WWF/E themse were done by Jim Johnston. He may very well have put this one together. Listening to the song, it sounds like they were trying to rip off "Money" by Pink Floyd, so they tried to get that sound with the voice as well.

Personally, I don't mind it, but I think it would be cool to have The Million Dollar Man's music updated for his son and used. Nothing beats that laugh and then the girls singing "Money, Money, Money, Money, MONEEEEEEEEY."

 

Here's a pretty cool idea ... WWE is letting fans vote on their favorite matches for an upcoming DVD release highlighting the Intercontinental Title. A lot of these have already been put out on DVD before, but there's some new stuff. It's sorted by decade.

http://survey.wwe.com/intercontinental/

I have to admit, I'm biased a little bit, I voted for the Macho Man matches. I'm still hoping they someday do a Savage DVD.

 

I know its not...but...anyone else think of Gregory Helms when they look at Atlas Ortiz?

 

About the IC DVD, there are some interesting choices in there. Clearly the WWE had to take away tons of great matches in the early 2000s because of Benoit but it seems like a lot of the matches for fans to pick are odd choices. I'm also surprised that the put a lot of matches on the list that have already been on DVDs before (Michaels/Razor Ladder match, Bret Hart/Perfect SS'91, Bret Hart/Bulldog '92) I really hope that those matches aren't included and they other matches instead.

Also it is interesting that there arent a lot of newer IC title matches listed maybe because the belt has become a joke.

 

Watching Smackdown...

Spoiler

Kudos to Triple H referencing the HHH/Steph. McMahon angle.

 

No Problem...

Oh yeah....

Spoiler

I think the Divas Championship Belt makes a case for the most ugliest belt in WWE history. I mean I understand it is a women's belt, but what?

 

Not that big of a shock about Trevor. I actually am happy about HHH and Hardy coming to Smackdown. The show was pretty good this week.

 

Yeah. I enjoyed Matt Hardy's title defense. Especially the end where every attempt to break the pin Hardy has on Chavo happened at Chavo's expense.

Now on another note....

If ECW wasn't called ECW, but instead something along the lines of.... WWE New Wave, then it would actually be a great show. With Teddy Long exercising the New Talent initiative to its full extent, it would help a lot of the up-and-comers. I like Atlas (though I hope he gets a better finisher), Evan "real name Matt Sydal" Bourne, and the others. But alas....

 

For those who enjoy Japanese wrestling...this is a classic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us1GTlbWgIU&feature=related

 

Gotta love Liger and Muta.

Puroresu has always been my favorite type of pro wrestling. The guys are just so stiff and they utilize a ton of throws and suplexes. Also, if people think training to be a pro wrestler in the states is tough, they should try learning in Japan. What they do to the students would be considereda crime here.

Anyhow, back to the match at hand. Muta was always my favorite worker form overseas. He was just so crisp and beleivable. He also evoked a ton of emotion without ever saying anything. Liger was probably number 2 on that list (just beating out The Great Sasuke and Misawa). Another great match to see is the 94 J Cup finals between Sasuke and the Wild Pegasus (Benoit) Amazing match. Also in that tournament is a masked Eddy Guerrero who is known as the Black Tiger. Also, Dean Malenko, Hayabusa and TAKA Michinoku were also involved in the 94 tourney. That whole tournament was stellar.

95 was pretty good too come to think of it...

 

I've been watching his matches all morning long, the one with him and Tajiri is pretty good too.


At the PT job...nothing else to do but watch youtube..lol.

 

Y'all would love dragon gate.

Here's a match that includes Matt Sydal (Evan Bourne).


http://youtube.com/watch?v=BC9pWaCUC5c

http://youtube.com/watch?v=7R3NevYc6G0&feature=related

http://youtube.com/watch?v=HrS0-O5OwN0&feature=related

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xJfdqHkALUw&feature=related

 

True but I don't see why HHH, MVP, Big Show and Edge were not in action. The superstars are finally there on Smackdown, I just hope they use them better.

MVP should be the next big thing, he's absolutely brilliant.

 

Tajiri? i think he left on his own terms... i believe he wanted to go back to japan to spend more time with his family

 

There's a match on youtube with Tajiri and Muta, excellent match.

 

Well.... the design is starting to grow on me. I still think they should have went a different direction.

 

Like not even create it? There's so many titles already why make a new one that's going to turn into a joke in a month anyway. It's getting to the 'Invasion' era point with all of these titles. Theres only 2 titles that are meaningful really (the two world titles). The 2nd biggest title (IC belt) hasn't even been defended at a WM in what 6 or 7 years?

 

I don't mind the premise of the belt. I felt it was unfair that only women on Raw had the chance to compete for the title while women of brands only wrestle to give the audience a catfight.

 

I guess I feel that the WWE shouldn't even waste their time and ours on these silly cat fight matches and instead give us longer matches with good wrestlers. I'm not saying eliminate women's matches because I thought that girls like Trish, Lita (pre neck injury), Ivory, Beth Phoenix and Mickie James can really work but I don't want or need to see the Sables of the world running around a ring in a pillow fight match.

 

you shut your dirty mouth!!

 

Well, looks like they are starting to see things that way. I mean, the first two wrestlers competing for the belt will be Niedhart and McCool.

 

Kane beating up announcers to turn heel? Hasn't he done that like 3 times already in his career?

Anyway everyone here knows I'm not a huge Kane fan but if they're going to give him a heel turn and I'm guessing a push (although it wouldn't shock me if he lost at the next PPV to Cena or Batista) I hope they give him a new look/outfit. I'm not saying put him back in a mask but just a new/fresh look, maybe have him grow his hair out again.

Judging from the fans response to Kane, it doesn't look him he's going to get even heat though.

 

Nah I got home and put it on just as the main event started.

And yeah of course the fans are oging to cheer when he's beating on Cole, and it was obvious Lawler was going to get beat up so the fans would boo Kane but it came off very weak from both a crowd heat and actual build to it. It's just poor booking, I don't blame Kane (although I do wonder if he's finally stale in majority of the fans eyes).

 

Steph's prego Alen, if thats what your reffering to. I'd still hit it. Raw is lacking something, without HHH there it seems weird.