The Wrestling Thread

[storm 1:08]

Dammit hellpop! Get his name right or he won't wrestle!

And that's an interesting rumor. I respect Jericho helping on getting talent over, but as much as I like Fandango (I really do like his cheesy segments), Jericho deserves a little better than him right now. I'd rather see Cesaro vs Jericho at Wrestlemania just to help him get over and have a great wrestling match. Still not sure where Jericho fits in the card but I'd put my money with Barrett.

So Rhode Scholars/Taste & Decency are back? I hope they stick around a little bit longer and become tag champions soon.

[MiniFiend UK]

Just watched Raw myself and to me one of the better ones the only low point I had is the Fandango segment.

Big Show against Shield was ok, Bryan V Ziggler great wrestling match. Rhodes Scholars mocking NOA very well done. At last they seem to have found a midcard opponent for Ryback with Mark Henry. Even the thrown together tag math with Orton, Shameus V Sandow and Rhodes was good.

The stand out for me has got to be CM Punk who without an pipebombs or anything major verbal he was able to get ppl interested in his WM match with Taker. Funny enough I said to my son the other week when this was announced that the urn would pop up. It just fate even though it is bad luck really that with Paul Bearer's passing it can be used nearly perfectly to take this match up that seems thrown together at the last minute to get Punk and Taker onto the WM card to one where the majority of WWE fans want to actually see Punk lose instead of them wanting to see him beat Cena.

I think Punk played the heel role perfectly tonight.

[storm 1:08]

Just finished watching Saturday Morning Slam. If you want to see Bryan vs. Ziggler again, watch this weeks episode. Okay, it's not on par with Monday's wrestling match but it's a different style and I was still very entertained by it. More flashy, more pandering to the crowd, and very PG wrestling but that's SMS. It's different than the other shows and that's why I enjoy it more than Superstars and Main Event.

And it seems like I am MMMV's only Fandango fan...

Anyway, what did you guys think about CM Punk interrupting Undertaker's Paul Bearer tribute? It's not surprising, but I still cringe when WWE does stuff like that. I even cringed when Punk interrupted Mae Young's birthday last week or the week before. I guess that is part of his gimmick now? Disrespect?

[MiniFiend UK]

I didn't mind Punk interrupting the tribute. WWE seem to be having a hard time getting alot of the fan base to boo Punk as a heel. Maybe its because the fans wanted a change and are bored of the WWE at the top just feeding Cena bad guys alot like they did with Hogan back in the day. So Punk is the Antihero that ppl got behind and WWE are having a hard time breaking them away. it reminds me alot of the start of Austin 3.16 when he wrestled it was plain black trunks and boots back when wrestlers where more flashy, he wasnt that overly muscled and he basicly looked like someone you might know that worked in a facotry or garage. fans got behind that. I see that in Punk just someone who may pass you in the street.

So its kinda in the getting heat handbook when a heel wrestler is still getting cheered as a good guy. Get him to attack an announcer ppl like,hit a finisher on a female or disrupt something special.

I enjoyed Punks segments and stealing the urn was icing on the cake. Even as a Punk fan it will be fun to see UT getting his revenge at WM.

[hellpop]

I thought it was a great way to get heat for the match, and honestly, I think it really gives Paul Bearer's death some meaning within the context of the WWE Universe. Personally, I've got much more of a problem with the way Eddie Guerrero's widow has been treated for the past decade.

[Hav]

Paul Bearers Ashes...punks gonna have to be the 1 in 21-0...I would love to see punk win, but as a storyline he has to lose. Oh well...Anyone going to any indie shows Mania weekend in either nj or ny ( or as wwe days ny/nj ) ?

[karamazov80]

Fans were really turning on that angle last night with the ashes thing. I thought it was kinda dumb. Folks know Punk isn't really responsible for where this is going. So instead of really building heat, what it mostly ends up doing is putting a bad taste in fans' mouths and turning them off to WWE in general IMO. Yesterday was way worse than the angle had been previously, with Heyman dressed up as Bearer and the ashes being released.

[hellpop]

I'm so out of it, not only did I not watch the show, I haven't even read the reports yet. This has been the lamest WrestleMania build I can remember.... and I still say that my fantasy booking would make for a much stronger show. And I didn't even know I could use Jericho! Let me tell you, if I'm booking WM and I've got Chris Jericho, I'm not wasting him on freakin' Fandango.

[karamazov80]

Yeah, I've been pretty out of things myself with a new baby in the house, but even then, it feels like this is a lackluster WM. Rock/Cena seems like it should be bigger (and foregone conclusion Cena wins IMO). HHH/Lesnar doesn't feel very important. The UT/Punk match is a foregone conclusion and is clouded by the lame Bearer storyline IMO. They are wasting guys like Bryan, Ziggler, Jericho, Randy Orton, and others in pointless matches no one seems to care about. On paper, some of these matches seem big time, but they don't feel that way to me.

Edited April 2, 2013 by karamazov80

[Hav]

I think they should have done a fatal 4 way with Antonio vs miz vs kofi vs Barrett and the winner is the new I.c champion (ic and us title would be unified)

[hellpop]

The way they book things these days makes those secondary championships so pointless. The WHC is basically what the IC champ was years ago, and the IC and US champs aren't protected at all. Cesareo and Barret never win matches... unless they are defending their titles. It's ridiculous.

[karamazov80]

Yep, and the obvious hierarchy that exists whenever they have non-title matches against guys like Randy Orton or Sheamus who are simply above the 3rd rate, TV-title wannabe US or IC titles. I don't get whatever it is McMahon et al. think they are doing here.

[MiniFiend UK]

I'm a bit behind on my WWE at the moment the only stuff I've kept track of is Punk V UT, but here goes how I see the matches going.

WWE Title Match

John Cena vs. The Rock...To be honest I'm not that interested. I prefer Rock over Cena but the outcome of this is meh to me. I'll go Cena only because he will be around more to generate more storylines and it can free Rock up for maybe a match up with Brock Lesner

World Heavyweight Title Match

Jack Swagger vs. Alberto Del Rio....ADR to retain I would love Swagger to win just for the heat it can cause but I want ADR to retain and Ziggler to at last cash in an take the belt

WWE Tag Team Title Match

Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston vs. Kane and Daniel Bryan.....I'm a big fan of Daniel Bryan but I honestly want Ziggler and Big E to win even though Big E has the charisma of a squashed snail

No Holds Barred Match with Triple H’s Career On The Line

Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H......Plz Plz PLz Brock Lesner win. He needs to be protrayed as a monster and this would be the perfect restarting point an it keeps HHH off tv an concentrating on making WWE better.

Shawn Michaels will be in Triple H’s corner

CM Punk vs. The Undertaker....UT to win I'm a big Punk fan but I just cant see him getting the ultimate rub an beating the streak.

Sheamus, Big Show and Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns....I would love the shield to go over at WM mania clean but cant see WWE putting down 3 of their top end talents who will be working title storylines after WM in favour of the shield who to the mainstream WWE fans havent got a breackout star in the group yet.

Ryback vs. Mark Henry....Ryback plain an simple this match is just to get him his WM moment so I expect some feat of strength move say a press slam or whatever. I just hope he dont fluff it

Fandango vs. Chris Jericho....Fandango to win. this dude is supposedly a big pick of Vinces so thats why I see him winning. as a character/wrestler he just makes me hit fast forward.

Brodus Clay, Tensai, Cameron and Naomi vs. Cody Rhodes, Damien Sandow and The Bella Twins....Team Chubby over Rhodes Scholars and what a waste.

Pre-show WWE Intercontinental Title Match

The Miz vs. Wade Barrett...No interest As a Brit I should say Barrett but he bores me So I'll go with Miz as a reward for his tv interviews and promoting of WWE

I know I put Ziggler to win Tag Titles and Cash in For Smackdown Title and I hope he does I can see him being able to get real heat from the crowd with having both and bragging about it.

This for me has to be one of the weakest PPV's on paper in along while and as a WM card its dire the is only one real match that get any of my attention and thats Punk/UT. I can only hope that the two sleeper matches fir me are Jericho/Fandango and The Tag title Match and they could and I hope they do pull something exellent out of the bag.

[hellpop]

Well, it's all done... and I, honestly, missed almost the whole thing. I caught the very end of Del Rio/Swagger, all of Punk/Taker (which was great, and seems to be the consensus match of the night), and then the very end of Rock/Cena. But having read the live blogs and the tweets and all that, it seems like this was a pretty lame show. No surprises at all, really. None of the undercard matches got any time, and didn't make much of an impression. I'm glad I didn't pay for it. Did anyone else catch the show? Thoughts?

[karamazov80]

I also caught bits and pieces, mostly of the "main events." Saw the latter part (half?) of Punk/Taker and though it was excellent. Crowd was rightly into it. HHH match seemed OK to me, but nothing great. Main event seemed crappy to me, so I was surprised the guy at Figure Four Weekly thought it was very good. Crowd seemed pretty dead for it apart from the occasional boo for Cena. About as predictable as a Wrestlemania could be. Ziggler didn't even try to cash in apparently.

[hellpop]

It was just a lackluster 'Mania. Lackluster build leading to a lackluster show. There weren't really any "I've gotta see that" matches, due in part to the fact that all the big ones were rematches (even 'Taker and Punk, though from years ago). I'll always maintain that Punk should have carried the title into 'Mania for a triple threat, which would have given the show an epic feel. But they basically blew the booking for this year's show the month after 'Mania, when Cena went over Lesnar. They want us to believe that Cena's in a funk after loosing to the Rock, when he wins the next big match he has? Please. They had a chance to FINALLY do something interesting with the Cena character by having him face some adversity, but instead he beat Brock Lesnar, won MITB and the Royal Rumble, and generally won every match that he was in save for title matches. How was that a slump?

[boyd]

If John Cena is not within 15 feet of the WWE title at all times, it's a slump.

[boyd]

Tonight on Raw I want to see Antonio Cesaro, Kofi Kingston, Brodius Clay and Tensai all harass John Cena in backstage segments about being left off Wrestlemania just so John could get his title back and feel "redeemed". Then they all jump him as the show ends as the new Wrestlemania Revenge Squad.

[karamazov80]

So, Cena vs. Cesaro/Kingston/Clay/Tensai in a handicap match at Extreme Rules? That would be a massacre. Cesaro et al. wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell.

[boyd]

Oh, I know. That's why I was thinking after Cena beats the odds and takes out the Revenge Squad, the Shield comes out and tries to beat him down. After a vicious beatdown, Cena comes up the victor (of course) while the Shield retreats. Then "Cult of Personality" hits, and Punk comes out to the ring with a Big Gulp (of Pepsi). Cena suddenly shrugs off all the beatings and prepares to take it to Punk, but Punk grabs a mike and says "Nope, I just came down here to watch you get beat up." Then as Punk takes a sip of his Big Gulp, Ziggler comes running in from the audience and beats the hell out of Cena, and reveals that he's the mastermind behind the Revenge Squad.

Fantasy overbooking at its finest.

[karamazov80]

Cena vs. Hogan vs. Austin needs to happen.

[boyd]

No ring could contain the amount of no-selling moves that would happen in that match.

[karamazov80]

LOL I was just telling my wife the other day about Hogan vs. Warrior from Wrestlemania 6. How Hogan really really really didn't want to lose, so he actually kicked out before the 3 count. It looked to a young Hogan fan as if Hogan was screwed.

[hellpop]

I think the proper smark booking is Cena vs. Hogan, with Ausin coming out to give them both Stunners and pour beer on their corpses (yes, the Stunners kill them. With Hogan, that could actually happen).

[karamazov80]

I think the proper smark booking is Cena vs. Hogan, with Ausin coming out to give them both Stunners and pour beer on their corpses (yes, the Stunners kill them. With Hogan, that could actually happen).

Oh, hell yeah.

Who could forget this?

Dammit I miss Austin so much.