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Is there anyway that Cena wins tonight, tying Flair's record and then, eventually, beating it before he retires, or...do they resist that temptation, 'saving' it for Wrestlemania, or beyond?
Is there anyway that Cena wins tonight, tying Flair's record and then, eventually, beating it before he retires, or...do they resist that temptation, 'saving' it for Wrestlemania, or beyond?
Big match John doesn't need the belt at the minute. They may wait break that record, build it up a bit in the fans minds over the course of the next few PPV's. If they go that route you can pretty much see Ambrose as a bit player since it would make sense for a cocky AJ to keep the belt with Cena grabbing a title tilt at WM at the Rumble.
I see Cena in the mix only because of a lack of competition for him and the lack of star power coming off of Ambrose.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Alpharius wrote: But wasn't it this angle - or right around it - that also gave us the forever to be cursed 'What?' shtick that's never gone away?
No, that was post Invasion. (aka the money burning angle)
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/10/09 17:16:40
Is there anyway that Cena wins tonight, tying Flair's record and then, eventually, beating it before he retires, or...do they resist that temptation, 'saving' it for Wrestlemania, or beyond?
Big match John doesn't need the belt at the minute. They may wait break that record, build it up a bit in the fans minds over the course of the next few PPV's. If they go that route you can pretty much see Ambrose as a bit player since it would make sense for a cocky AJ to keep the belt with Cena grabbing a title tilt at WM at the Rumble.
I see Cena in the mix only because of a lack of competition for him and the lack of star power coming off of Ambrose.
I agree. I think they will have him tie with Flair (maybe not beat him) but it should really be at one of the big 4 ppvs. And I think they'd be wise to build that up for a while until the crowd can get right behind it. At least as much as possible.
Really can't see anything other than AJ retaining tonight.
Possibly Ambrose could win?? If only to build a big angle between him and cena on the back of cena's excellent promo on Talking Smack the other week.
So, a recap of the last couple weeks? Although I've only caught bits of it.
No Mercy happened.
Few surprises (other than the card order), but a decent show?
The tag title match was good. The world title match was pretty good.
Miz - Dolph was very good.
It would've been nice to see that match close the show rather than Orton - Wyatt, if only to give the IC title a bit of a lift.
Since then Smackdown continued on with those same fueds. The Wyatt Orton fued hasn't grabbed me. I like Wyatt (and I think he's been unfortunate with injuries), but he just seems to be running the same storylines over and over - pick a strong face, mess with their heads for a few weeks, pick up a few wins with the help of the lighting director, then eventually lose to said face at PPV. Can't see this fued going anywhere different.
Cena is off on holiday it seems, which is fine. Ambrose and Styles are continuing their story with the help of James Elsworth which has been kinda fun (despite Elsworth nearly dying to the styles clash last week ). Still get the feeling that Ambrose's character isn't quite right yet, but Styles is doing a great job.
Over on RAW...
Goldberg is back!
I enjoyed his appearance. Feels like this Lesnar match could be exciting (where the last few really haven't). It'll be nice to see (and hear) the whole crowd behind him during that match, rather than them being split as in his previous few matches.
Rollins, Owens and Y2J are still doing their thing. Still entertaining. It would've been reall interesting to see that triple threat championship match at HiaC come to fruition, but I don't mind that they're continuing the JeriKO thing for a bit longer. I like them together.
And Hell in a Cell is next week.
Any thoughts? Any excitement? Does that type of match really carry the same appeal in the PG area, particularly when used fairly regularly now? I remember back in the day feeling genuine trepidation before some of these matches.
Does the women's title match have any chance of being special? (Seems like the talent want it to be....http://whatculture.com/wwe/vince-mcmahon-rejects-charlottes-request-to-moonsault-off-hell-in-a-cell)
The burning question though.... Is anyone else liking the new Bo Dallas? Because I am! Get him on Smackdown with his brother.
In personal news, I've had to give up my ticket for ICW Fear and Loathing, I'm travelling away for work the day that it's on. Very disappointed that I'm missing my chance to see Kurt Angle in the flesh. To cheer myself up, I've bought Smackdown live tickets (it was a close toss up between SD and RAW). Still not sure how good it's going to be. Hoping against hope that American Alpha will appear. The only confirmed appearance at the moment is the Becky Lynch Alexa Bliss title match. I've a funny feeling it will headline. Can't say that I'm excited by Bliss but I think Becky will be able to make a decent match of it. I think she'll be up for it.
And finally... because I really like linking these weekly WC articles.... this.....
I really enjoyed the event, but Christ, didn’t it start poorly? That American title match was awful, felt long too. Was it just me?
I’ve tried not to get too down on Reigns, I don’t like hearing someone get booed as relentlessly as he does. I understand that a lot of what fans don’t like about him is out of his control. WWE’s awful booking of this feud for instance - here was this really unlikable, uncharismatic thug (and current champion) spending weeks bullying a man and his wife… and he’s supposed to be the super babyface for us all to rally around? WWE’s insistence on having him be some sort of unstoppable superman doesn’t help either. Watching him power out of that chain assisted camel clutch? My eyes rolled so hard that I thought I might never see again. And the body armour? Why? Why is it allowed, and why did Rusev think that beating an armoured man in the chest with a stick would achieve anything?
It’s all just a bit gak. And silliness aside, there really was very little technical ability or even strength on show. Easy for an armchair fan to say, I know, but if Rollins can suplex Owens (on the apron) and Sasha Banks can suplex Charlotte (thrice), why can’t either Rusev or Reigns manage one big power move between them? I think there was one Samoan drop? It was an awful match to watch. Some serious changes need to happen with both of these guys I think.
Fortunately however, things then picked up. There were the filler matches (Brook – Bayley, E&C – A&G, which were what they were. The remaining title matches though, I enjoyed them all.
Tag Title match was good. I think we knew that New Day would retain, but it was an entertaining match. Hopefully the Seamus, Cesaro bus continues to roll on for a while yet.
Universal Title Personally, I thought this was one of the best matches I’d seen for a good while. Owens and Rollins are both just terrific performers, in every way, and they’ve produced a cracker here. The tempo was great, there were some great spots - the little quick routine with the alternate kicks and ending with the big clothesline was fantastic, Owens hit an AWESOME DDT, the running powerbomb into the cage, the tables and chairs spots. Honestly, I thought the match was great. Sometimes interruptions can really sour a match, but I thought this one worked even if the sequence leading to the opening of the cage was all a bit obvious. I’m OK with that. Owens retained, which was the right outcome, and Rollins looked the strong underdog. Everyone wins....
Cruiserweight Title Well, except TJ Perkins and Brian Kendrick who had to follow it. They did all right though. It was a decent enough match. Bit of a silly finish, but I’m glad Kendrick won. It’s been a decent little storyline, and it should continue OK for a while. I like both guys, and TJ’s 16bit entrance music always brings a smile.
Women’s Title First women’s Hell in a Cell match. First women’s match to headline a PPV.
I think it lived up to, even surpassing, most expectations. There was a lot of action, both women worked very, very hard. There were a few big, well executed spots and the whole match was pretty captivating. Perhaps the ending was a bit abrupt? And I don’t think the crowd expected the title to change hands. I don’t mind Charlotte as champ though. I think she’s very good at it. She should be holing it until at least Wrestlemania I reckon.
A really good match, but goodness, Sasha took some mad bumps again. That powerbomb through the announce table was stiff as all feth. Poor Sasha, she’s so light that you have to throw her really hard to break furniture, as evidenced at the end where that table refused to go on two occasions. I imagine both performers were rather tired by then. According to Ric Flair, they removed two other big spots from the match (http://www.cagesideseats.com/2016/11/2/13504688/ric-flair-wwe-changed-charlotte-hell-in-a-cell-match-avoid-sasha-banks-injury). I think I’m probably quite happy that they were. That was just about as physical (brutal) as I like my wrestling matches these days.
A good PPV in my opinion. Thoughts?
Also in WWE this week…
Dolph Ziggler threw out an open challenge to the RAW roster for his IC Championship. I like this. Who’s is throwing their hat in the ring? Sami Zayn? He has a hat. Anyone else?
Miz and DB had another fine tête-à-tête.
American Alpha squashed the Spirit Squad (Yay!). Please, please, please let AA be on the card for Smackdown Glasgow.
Strowman squashed lots of people to get on the RAW team for Survivor Series.
Anything else?
Anything interesting happening outside of WWE? I’ve not really managed to see or read anything other than ICW and WCPW’s twitter feeds. And I’m struggling to keep up with the TNA stuff, although I see that they lost their UK TV deal though. Shame, though it was very rare that I tuned in.
On that note, can anyone recommend a favourite wrestling news site to check out? One covering all the main promotions? I’d be interested to know.
I agree with pretty much everything you've written!
1) Reigns is tired, and won't get over as long as he's getting booked back into his Superman persona, ala John Cena.
2) Owens/Rollins was good - but I can't wait for one more run with Jericho as Champ!
3) Cruiserweights - was OK, but they continue to not wow me as much as I thought they would.
4) Women's Title - was fun, but yes, please, STOP having Sasha take so many insane bumps in matches with Charlotte. Yikes! I didn't like taking the title off her here either. A bit too much back and forth between this two in terms of title 'runs', though Sasha never seems to get much of a 'run'.
5) The Club - wish WWE would stop dicking around with them. I'm more than ready for someone else other then The New Day get to have a go at the titles too...
As for news sites, Bleacher Report does an OK job with WWE stuff, and a very poor job of 'everything else'.
I'd like to know of one that does them all justice/good/ok too, please!
Alpharius wrote: I agree with pretty much everything you've written!
1) Reigns is tired, and won't get over as long as he's getting booked back into his Superman persona, ala John Cena.
Agreed. As I said, I don't like hearing him getting booed like he has been (even in Glasgow last night apparently), so hopefully WWE come to their senses and change something. Is there any chance of that happening?
What I'd like to see is have him disappear for a good long while (Maybe off the back of a sound thrashing, play it like a serious injury), have him spend ~6 months in training, learning some actual wrestling moves, then have have him (with an outfit change) run in at Summerslam helping the Usos screw American Alpha out of the tag titles. I dunno, something like that. Won't happen though.
2) Owens/Rollins was good - but I can't wait for one more run with Jericho as Champ!
Maybe. I fething love Owens. Whether Jericho wins or not (and I'm not too fussed either way), the inevitable break up of their friendship and subsequent title match is going to be great.
There's great footage on twitter of the dark segment from Glasgow with those two, Seth and Enzo and Cass. It looked brilliant. Really fun. Sorta regretting my decision to buy Smackdown tickets rather than RAW . Although, it seems like the show itself wasn't too great with little actual wrestling (haven't watched it yet), so maybe not such a bad decision. Smackdown will be good, but it would've been awesome to have been there for that bit last night.
3) Cruiserweights - was OK, but they continue to not wow me as much as I thought they would.
Yeah, they've definitely been toned down from the Cruiserweight Classic. Which is a real, real shame. The lack of storylines and mic time is also hurting the interest in them I think. But there is this the new "205 Live" show starting, so we'll see what that's like. It does indicate investment in the division though, so somewhat encouraging.
4) Women's Title - was fun, but yes, please, STOP having Sasha take so many insane bumps in matches with Charlotte. Yikes! I didn't like taking the title off her here either. A bit too much back and forth between this two in terms of title 'runs', though Sasha never seems to get much of a 'run'.
As well as the women's division is doing, it is pretty thin. Particularly since the brand split. So as much as I like heel champ charlotte, and Sasha Banks I am worried about it all getting a bit stale. They seem to be pushing Bayley into the picture though, and Nia Jax is now getting beyond squash matches, so hopefully a four-way title picture can develope and keep us going for a while before this happens..... https://whatculture.com/wwe/10-women-wwe-must-sign-in-2017
There's plenty of talent out there it seems.
5) The Club - wish WWE would stop dicking around with them. I'm more than ready for someone else other then The New Day get to have a go at the titles too...
Yeah, I'd be ready for that too. The Club though? Not while WWE are treating them the way they are. Sadly, they aren't aanywhere near as credible as the should be. I'd actually quite like to see Cesaro and Seamus do it.
So yeah, ~10 hours until I hit up my first live wrestling show (I have no excuse for not even managing an ICW show before now). Super excited
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/11/08 09:42:25
Oh man! Why did I not see this thread sooner. Haven't been back into wrestling too long (just under a year), but I tend to stick with mostly American indies and NJPW. Watch a bit of WWE when it's something big like Wrestlemania.
How was the ICW show? Wasn't Matt Cross at that promotion recently?
DR:80+S++G+M+B+I+Pwmhd11#++D++A++++/sWD-R++++T(S)DM+ Ask me about Brushfire or Endless: Fantasy Tactics
Alfndrate wrote: Oh man! Why did I not see this thread sooner. Haven't been back into wrestling too long (just under a year), but I tend to stick with mostly American indies and NJPW. Watch a bit of WWE when it's something big like Wrestlemania.
How was the ICW show? Wasn't Matt Cross at that promotion recently?
Hey Alf,
Yeah, he was on their mini UK tour last week.
It wasn’t the ICW show I was at. Their big show is on the 20th, but I’m being sent away with work so I had to get rid of my ticket. To console myself I bought tickets for Smackdown on Tuesday night there.
It was fun. A good night. Not as much pure wrestling as I’d like, but still very enjoyable. Got to see both American Alpha and AJ Styles in dark matches which was great (even if the AA match was over in about 5 minutes).
However, I didn’t realise how obvious it would be that you’re simply in the live audience for a television show, rather than in the crowd for a live wrestling show. There’s a distinction there, know what I mean?
They do a regular Friday night show in Glasgow though, 20 minutes from my house. I need to be going to that. It’s to my shame that I haven’t bothered yet.
But if you’re interested in ICW, for the next day or two they’re offering a free 7 day trial on their ondemand service. Definitely worth checking out. Link below….
https:icwondemand.pivotshare.com
If you’re wanting a taste of the kind of crowds/atmosphere they can generate, this is a lovely moment from one of their big shows last year.
Apologies for the thick accents…
This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2016/11/10 10:42:17
Dude, I love Grado he's been to my local independent promotion a few times. They had him up against Colt Cabana back in September (night before UFC 203). Was a good, lighthearted match.
Alpharius, isn't TNA up for sale?
Edit: Any of you seen BOLA 2016? Picked up the blurays a few weeks ago, gonna start digging into that tonight.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/11/11 00:49:03
DR:80+S++G+M+B+I+Pwmhd11#++D++A++++/sWD-R++++T(S)DM+ Ask me about Brushfire or Endless: Fantasy Tactics
NJPW World, their streaming service, is feast or famine, May/June and late July/August was a lot of NJPW wrestling to take in with Best of the Super Juniors and G1 Climax and then like September was basically nothing but road to shows. Also it's only about 9/10 bucks a month. I did stop ity subscription because I didn't watch it all of October, I'll probably re-up it in time for Wrestle Kingdom.
DR:80+S++G+M+B+I+Pwmhd11#++D++A++++/sWD-R++++T(S)DM+ Ask me about Brushfire or Endless: Fantasy Tactics
TNA Wrestling has been experiencing a lot of craziness, but they might have just officially lost it. We know at this point that Anthem Entertainment, the people responsible for the Fight Network and helping TNA get out of debt, is sort of taking over. This is knowledge we have already. However, it seems that TNA is not eyeing any ideas to help their company presently and may be trying to focus on their future a bit too much.
According to PWInsider, TNA held a conference call yesterday to talk about the issues going on in the business. This is where they confirmed Anthem being a huge part of the business by introducing Eric Nordholm to the TNA board of managers. Eric has been with Anthem for a while, and the board will apparently be directing the company moving forward.
Dixie Carter would go on to praise Anthem for helping the company financially, as she obviously should considering the massive amount of debt TNA continues to rack up. Carter claims Anthem will help bring TNA to the next level. Of course, Nordholm didn’t want to miss the chance to praise the roster, and he did so. He claimed that the new agreement with TNA — which tells us there is something bigger in the planning — will help both TNA and The Fight Network moving forward.
There were a lot of questions about the creative staff, which Dixie Carter put to the rest. Of course, we know by now that Dave Lagana resigned from TNA Wrestling last week, which meant that creative was a worry for the company. She would claim that Billy Corgan was no longer part of the business yet again. Of course, Corgan is still fighting to get his money and claimed if he didn’t get it, he would turn his owed money into TNA ownership. So the fight should still be interesting, with both TNA and Corgan going forward as they attempt to move away from the Smashing Pumpkins frontman.
Dixie Carter claimed creative would be a bit of a collaborative effort between John Gaburick, Matt Conway, and former TNA Knockouts Champion Madison Rayne. Carter claimed that TNA was probably going to hire more people to help out in creative for the business moving forward.
The big thing that got people talking was an idea about an OTT streaming network using TNA content. That said, TNA may be trying to move down the same path as WWE and eventually have their own network. Obviously, unlike WWE, it may not be helpful for them to do so. They have very little money, and WWE lost money when they first tried this out. Vince McMahon, however, was a billionaire, and he still profited on a lot of things despite the initial financial loss. Now it has worked out for them, but it took a while for people to go with it.
If TNA went with this idea, they would need a lot of backup profit to help out with the initial loss that the network would cause them exactly as WWE had. TNA also mentioned that they were looking to get back into touring soon, which is good to see since they very rarely do live events these days. They also mentioned that they would like to strengthen their relationship with their Indian TV partner, Sony Six. TNA seems to do relatively well in India, so it makes sense that they would want to keep that relationship pretty tight.
Interestingly, the conference call came to what PWI claimed “an abrupt end” the moment an automated message said the call was being recorded. Of course, TNA never claimed there should be no recording. However, it is quite interesting that they wanted to keep all of this under wraps, considering TNA has claimed to be open about everything going on with the business. Did they plan to talk about more private information regarding the business, or was the conference call going to come to an end soon anyway?
Anthem.
Maybe Anthem can right the ship?
Anthem Statement on Investment in TNA Impact Wrestling
Toronto – Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp. ("Anthem"), the parent company of Fight Network, today confirmed that it recently made a working capital loan to fund the operations of TNA Impact Wrestling. Fight Network is a licensee of TNA programming for broadcast in the U.S., Canada and other international markets, and is also the exclusive licensee of TNA for streaming Internet-delivered TV.
Fight Network has also offered to provide TNA Impact Wrestling with funding to repay the loans made by Mr. Billy Corgan and is positioned to provide additional transitional assistance to the company.
"TNA is a strong property for Fight Network and as a licensee and global distribution partner we have a keen interest in seeing the company not only survive but continue to grow and thrive, alongside our own growth," said Leonard Asper, CEO of Anthem. "We are hopeful that the company can soon get back to doing what it does best, which is to produce great wrestling content."
Also, Chris Jericho on The List!
The current run, creation of “The List”:
“I think when I turned heel and it seems like such a long time ago, it might almost seem that I’m not telling the truth but go back and watch when I turned on AJ Styles and I talked about giving him the Gift of Jericho, drink it in man, that got huge boos. Big, big boos. The scarf, when I started wearing the scarf before I turned heel, people were hating it, that’s so stupid, what is he doing? He looks ridiculous. The stupid idiot, when I said stupid idiot, that used to get major heat but what happens is those things become so entertaining that people start embracing it to where now stupid idiot is a term of endearment. The gift of Jericho, drink it in man, gets a huge response.
“So what happened was the gift of Jericho and I wish I could take credit for saying I came up with it but Jimmy Jacobs, who has become a writer in WWE, his name is Chris Scobille but his wrestler name is Jimmy Jacobs, no stranger to anybody who is a fan of Ring of Honor or any of those big independent companies. He said I’ve got this idea of the List of Jericho and you put a couple names on it. Oh yeah, that’s a great idea and we did it. Of course you do it once and it was kind of funny, that’s pretty funny, let’s do it again. So we do it again the next week, it gets a little bit of a buzz and then I go to the props truck and say can you make me big, thick list in case I want to use it to hit somebody over the head with and engrave something on. Then, they just put a red piece of paper on it that said the List of Jericho. Meanwhile, this thing is growing. Then, the one week where I said you just made the list and people cheered, it’s like holy (expletive) this is not what we expected. Then, the week we were in there with New Day and I put all three of them on the list, I said the secret is when I put you on the list, you have to sell it like it’s a horrible thing and Woods was great. If people are laughing at it, then it doesn’t get over but because it’s a serious thing, to be on the list is horrible then suddenly we have this whole new world of stuff to deal with.
“I was talking to Vince the other day and I said the list is more over than half the roster and he said yeah, I wish the list could work. The entity of this thing that doesn’t even exist and is now a character on the show. The best gimmicks and best things that work always happen organically. You can’t shove something down people’s throats. It just happens and it becomes a thing. The only thing I can compare this to is the angle I had with Shawn Michaels back in 2008. That was supposed to be just a one night thing that turned into a 7 month angle, culminating in a battle for the world heavyweight championship. That was not supposed to happen, that was never the plan. It was nothing more than a drop of the bucket sort of thing and that’s kind of what this whole character has been, especially the list. Now, the other day when I came out with the list, it’s like people are going nuts for it. Just a quick story, I was in Edmonton and Calgary the other day. I was in Edmonton, still a heel so I’ve got to be a heel, I don’t want to be a cool heel and I don’t want to embrace it because then I’m a baby face so I’m still doing what I can to stay a heel and I’m doing good. I’m threatening to fight Wayne Gretzky, I’m doing all this stuff in Edmonton, I go are you going to boo me, you know what happens when you boo me, you just made the list and suddenly, people just pop huge. So what do I do? The next night in Calgary, I start insulting the Harts, I’m going to beat up every Hart family member, girls, guys, kids included. Big boos. You know what happens when you boo me? People are starting to build. Oh, you thought you were going to be on the list? No, I’m sorry, you’re not worthy of being on the list. The fine people of Edmonton last night, they belong on the list. Calgary, no chance and that got boos so now not being on the list is the new being on the list and I did that last night on Raw for the first time where I refused to put Roman on the list and I refused to put anyone in Hartford on the list. That made me a heel for the night so you just never really know what’s going to get over but you have to take advantage of it when it does.”
I like how now not being on The List is the new being on The List!
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/11/11 16:19:03
The main heels in WWE at the moment (y2j, owens, styles) are just far too loveable to be effective in their roles. The poor faces have absolutely no chance.
Anyone looking forward to survivor series? Can't say that I've really enjoyed the build up (I did enjoy the 16 man tag match on SD, but that might just be an American Alpha thing). Although I quite like the format, can't say that I could really give a gak whether raw or sd come out on top. And the build up has done some weird things to regular storyline fueds which we're supposed to be invested in.
Just hoping for entertaining matches I guess. Could be OK.
Definitely more looking forward to the CW and IC matches. They should both be good matches, and they make much more sense, while carrying genuine repercussions.
Not sure what to expect from the lesnar/goldberg match.... Lesnar will win. Hopefully the match bares no resemblance to his last match.
NXT Takeover on the other hand, looks interesting. The tag match and joe/nakamura could both be excellent.
I'll be travelling all day on Monday and have plans on Tuesday then back to work on Wednesday, so it might be a while before I manage to get caught up on everything WWE this week.
I will, however, manage to see the ICW show (on a 7" tablet sadly). Paid for their on demand services, so I've been watching some of the build up to that this week.
Thoughts on this coming week?
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/11/18 11:50:46
Random Survivor Series thoughts, in no particular order!
* Will they really move the Intercontinental Title over to RAW? I...don't think so? Miz retains!
* I have no interest in the giant Brand vs. Brand Tag matches, male or female or tag teams. I suppose the only interesting thing to come out of any of them will be 'who will screw over who on their own team' in terms of moving stories forward. Because right now, the ridiculous 'Brand Loyalty' they're having people show is, well... ridiculous!
* Cruiserweight match - I actually DO see them moving it to Smackdown! as, for me, it has been a letdown to date on RAW. So, Kalisto wins!
Lesnar v Goldberg - I've long since grown tired of the Invincible Part time Indestructible Warrior and so I'd really rather have Goldberg win this one. But, since this seems to be a "One and Done" for him, I guess Lesnar wins here? But...who knows how? Or if? I can see a stupid schmozed up DQ finish. Not a beatdown ala Orton v Lesnar but...Orton gets involved, gets 'revenge' and Lesnar gets the DQ win?
I think Miz will retain. And I like the title on Smackdown. Think they might need to inject someone else into the picture though. I liked the ziggler/miz fued, but I don't think they can just keep repeating it. Not sure who though.
It'd be a shame for Sami Zayn though, he's struggled to find a place after the Owens fued. Pity.
I think the Cruiserweights will go to Smackdown. Ties in too well with the new "205 live" thing on Tuesday nights. Although they weren't as exciting as I'd hoped on RAW, they were still worth watching. Worried how they'd now fill that extra ~30minutes.
I'd like Goldberg to win as well. Just can't see it. Can't see anything other than a clean lesnar win, but hope I'm wrong. Goldberg's appearance does very much seem like a one off though. As long as it's not a rerun of the Orton match.
Like you, I'm also pretty tired of lesnar. Unbeatable, unlikeable, part timer. They've built him to a point where he weakens the actual Champ. It just wouldn't seem credible for the likes of Owens, Styles, Rollins, Orton, etc to be beating him. This can't be a good thing.
I don't like his style (as much as I love a good suplex). I really disliked the finish to the Orton match. When I want to watch MMA, I'll watch MMA. I don't need it in my wrestling.
I'd rather 'taker went back to his purple gauntlets as well.
As I said after he beat Orton, I've no idea where they can go with him.
@Alpharius: I see no decisive finish to Lesnar vs Goldberg unless there is a very screwy finish with run ins/a DQ/ or shenanigans. It is a no win situation really as neither man should be losing. If the venture has re-gained any of the lost WCW audience then they will be immediately turned away by a Goldberg defeat whilst so much strong booking has been invested in Brock (ending the streak, destroying Cena/Orton et al) that it makes no sense for him to lose.
I just hope that Goldberg's body can stand up to the task and that they put up a good match.
As for the battle for brand supremacy... meh. It just feels like nothing is on the line.
I probably am looking forward to Takeover more in spite of the recent call ups having depleted the roster somewhat.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2016/11/18 21:55:43
If anyone lives near St. Louis or Alton, Illinois, ROH/NJPW wrestler Michael Elgin has been sidelined from wrestling until he's medically cleared.
While he's out of wrestling, he's setting up the ground work for his own indie promotion. They've got their first show on February 19th, 2017 in Alton. If you're close, can't hurt to check it out.
Also I've heard the tag team matches at last night's NXT Take Over in Toronto were some awesome matches, anyone confirm?
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/11/20 23:04:44
DR:80+S++G+M+B+I+Pwmhd11#++D++A++++/sWD-R++++T(S)DM+ Ask me about Brushfire or Endless: Fantasy Tactics
Not heard anything. It's 13:00 on Monday and I'm trying to avoid Takeover and Survivor Series spoilers.... until about Thursday hopefully
Managed so far. Staying away from Twitter.
I did stream the ICW show. It was pretty good. The women's match particularly. Looks like one of them, Carmel Jacob might be off to bigger and better things as well.
I'm nowhere near ohio I'm afraid, but hopefully this guys show goes well. How is it looking?
His show is very barebones at the moment. Only official announcement is Ethan Page, who's a pretty good wrestler and I can see him getting into the pros in the next five years or so.
DR:80+S++G+M+B+I+Pwmhd11#++D++A++++/sWD-R++++T(S)DM+ Ask me about Brushfire or Endless: Fantasy Tactics
Hands up, who did not see that coming in the Survivor Series main event...but I liked it. The main Raw vs Smackdown match was excellent, some brutal spots and a fair bit of intrigue as well. Overall a highly enjoyable event, so now onto January and the Rumble and the road to Wrestlemania.
The Takeover tag title match was excellent, I am really glad that the Revival are helping to bring tag team wrestling back to where it should be. The main event and Ride and Nakamura entrances were epic as well.
Went to a local wrestling show here in Cleveland on Friday. Took a few pics, got one with The Swolverine Brian Cage, MDogg Matt Cross (Son of Havoc on Lucha Underground), and a few pics from the hardcore match for the AIW Absolute Championship belt between Josh Prohibition and Tim Donst. http://imgur.com/a/RGWyA
DR:80+S++G+M+B+I+Pwmhd11#++D++A++++/sWD-R++++T(S)DM+ Ask me about Brushfire or Endless: Fantasy Tactics
Angels Amaranthine - growing slowly
Currently 200pts 
). Still get the feeling that Ambrose's character isn't quite right yet, but Styles is doing a great job.
am! Get him on Smackdown with his brother.
. Although, it seems like the show itself wasn't too great with little actual wrestling (haven't watched it yet), so maybe not such a bad decision. Smackdown will be good, but it would've been awesome to have been there for that bit last night.
