Wrasslin'

[BeardFaceMan]

My problem with watching NXT is that if theres anyone youre a fan of, you know they'll get ruined when theyre called up to the main roster. Ive seen very little of Asuka since she was called up after only reading about her in NXT and I'm a huge fan, she looks incredible in the ring. Its bad enough seeing the shitty way theyre booking her and ruining all the work they did in NXT, I cant imagine how pissed off I'd be if I was a fan of hers from NXT. Is she getting the patented WWE 'put them in their place' treatment, where WWE undo all the hard work and storytelling theyve been doing by jobbing people out for no reason to keep them humble? It feels like thats what theyve been doing to Braun too. I just dont have any kind of faith any more that any wrestling show with a McMahon name attached to it is going to be any good.

[Utter Shit]

Vince has essentially become the embodiment of Hulkamania - he made the industry what it is, but now he really needs to die if the WWE is ever going to be good again. I'm sure it won't be as simple as Triple H (and Stephanie) transplanting all the good work he's done with NXT and making WWE as incredible as NXT is but on a larger scale, but it's difficult to think that there won't be a marked improvement more or less overnight.

[BeardFaceMan]

The only thing that makes me worry about that is Steph, she is very much her fathers daughter. I get the impression HHH cares about the product, Steph cares about the numbers and is very much the businesswoman (you only have to listen to her godawful corporate speak whenever she makes a public appearance). If it were just HHH in charge I'd be more optmistic, but with mini-Vince by his side I'm not sure how much he can change. Because Steph is the kind of gal who sees no problem with not being allowed to go her own show in Saudi if it makes her a boatload of cash.

[Timothy]

What I always dislike is that with NXT main roster debuts sometimes the announcers hype it up as if coming from NXT is amazing and main event worthy and the other moment they act like NXT isnt WWE and they have to start at the beginning of the ladder again.

Its either the one or the other.

[BeardFaceMan]

Just saw this tweet -

"This is pure speculation...but I've had this feeling that we're getting a threeway at Summerslam with Hulk as special enforcer. Lashley wins and the show ends with Hulk raising the hand of the first black Universal champ."

Thats just the kind of idiotic shit that WWE would think they are being clever by doing, I could easily see something like this happen. I mean, why the fuck have they brought him back? Does Vince still think Hulk is a draw?

[leighhart]

I actually watched Raw today.
I love Mickie James, such an underrated wrestler
I see Vince still hates Bayley and Sasha Banks

[leighhart]

Hulk was never gone, they panicked did the initial please the screaming internet folks and just quietly waited out the time necessary.
They invited Snuka back in 89 and he was far less of a draw then Hogan and he quite probably murdered his girlfriend
Vince and Hogan will always come back together, theres too much history and money behind them

[BeardFaceMan]

Hulk was never gone, they panicked did the initial please the screaming internet folks and just quietly waited out the time necessary.
They invited Snuka back in 89 and he was far less of a draw then Hogan and he quite probably murdered his girlfriend
Vince and Hogan will always come back together, theres too much history and money behind them

Thats the thing though, its behind them. How on earth can two out of touch egomaniacs like Vince and Hogan make money today? The only reason he is there is so people will go "yes! I remember him from the 1980s! Hooray!" What else does he have to offer? At least Snuka could wrestle when he came back (didnt Vince speak to the police on behalf of Snuka when he got arrested, kayfabing the cops and telling them he was a savage who couldnt speak English? Ive said it before, if a half-decent investigative journalist had the inclination to look into Vince and the WWE they would have a fucking field day. Vince is just lucky that, despite his best efforts, the mainstream media still think of wrestling as a joke and take no notice of him.) How much money can you make off nostalgia? And I wouldnt be surprised if most of the people who were fans of Hogan when they grew up in the 1980s are not fans of wrestling today, theyre certainly not the audience WWE are  currently targeting with their child-friendly brand of idiocy. All the kids in the audience are going to have to be told who Hogan is, theyll have no idea, they wont be rushing out to buy Hulkamania tshirts. And old fans of Hogan who dont watch any more are not going to suddenly tune in because Hogan is back to cut a few promos so i dont know who this nostalgia pop is for exactly.

[sevendaughters]

Thats the thing though, its behind them. How on earth can two out of touch egomaniacs like Vince and Hogan make money today?

Saudi really wanted Hogan's face on the poster to sell the Greatest Royal Rumble. Regions that are less "into wrestling" will know Hogan and his name will draw big. It's not for people who consider wrestling on forums.

[Utter Shit]

This really made me laugh.

[BeardFaceMan]

Saudi really wanted Hogan's face on the poster to sell the Greatest Royal Rumble. Regions that are less "into wrestling" will know Hogan and his name will draw big. It's not for people who consider wrestling on forums.

But its not for casuals or actual (real world) wrestling fans either. Would they really earn that much pimping him out to Saudi or similar countries? Kind of says it all too that the only people that want him back are the Saudis. Womens revolution! Unless we're offered a lot of money to throw away our morals, natch. So yeah, it wouldnt suprise me actually if they do want him back  just for another Saudi show, money is the bottom line for them, after all. Above everything else.

[Ja'moke]

I actually watched Raw today.
I love Mickie James, such an underrated wrestler
I see Vince still hates Bayley and Sasha Banks

Are they turning Bayley/Sasha into a lesbian storyline? Or did the script and Sasha's delivery just make it come across that way unintentionally?

[Mobius]

Andrade Vs AJ Styles apparently will kick off Smackdown today.

Imagine if they have a 20 minute classic?

It'll probably be quickly interrupted and turned into a tag team match but you never know

[Golden E. Pump]

[Ja'moke]

That was a great episode of Smackdown top to bottom. Really good matches, logical storytelling, Becky proving she's best face promo going, Miz/Bryan kicking off, and disturbed Randy Orton. Thumbs up!

[Mobius]

Yeah that was thoroughly enjoyable to be fair!

[up_the_hampipe]

Are we getting 2009 Orton? I'm up for it! Smackdown did look pretty good this week.

[New Jack]

Gonna watch Smackdown later but I've watched the first episode of this season of Lucha Underground and its ace. A whole episode of wrestling with their Rumble-style match, some good surprises, the ring work is top (not New Japan top, but if you're used to WWE it's boss).

Ace seeing Johnny Nitro / Mundo, King Cuerno, Pentagon and Chavo. I really dig Mil Muertres and Fenix too.

They're still doing the mixed gender booking though. Couple of women entered and fought the men! It can be quite fun when they stick to lucha moves but I don't like it being overly violent in that respect.

Getting a bit of an ECW vibe especially when Tommy Dreamer comes out. Also they had a fat-Italian gimmick dude bringing pizza into the ring with him, which seemed pretty ECW

[Ja'moke]

I really need to catch up with Lucha Underground, I never finished Season 3. It's just finding the time between all the other wrestling, TV shows, work, and the little bit of life in between!

[Deanjam]

New Day on Hogan's return.

[New Jack]

That's a fair shout that New Day Hogan letter. I respect that - they're not kicking off, but they want to see him make more, genuine attempts at change -  fair dos.

I really need to catch up with Lucha Underground, I never finished Season 3. It's just finding the time between all the other wrestling, TV shows, work, and the little bit of life in between!

At 45 mins an episode (on the DL, no adverts) I'm finding it refreshing to slot in between the multiple-hour stuff I slog through - helps I really dig the visual style as well. Worth a go again, the talent they have is actually quite impressive!

Impact is meant to be really decent right now but that's just a show too far for me. Can't imagine getting invested in Impact now. I even miss NXT most weeks - even though I know if I want wrestling that's what I should be watching.

There's so much product! It's a good time to be a fan... but also you can be hit with choice paralysis.

[up_the_hampipe]

Fair enough on New Day for distancing themselves from Hogan. People shouldn't forget how awful his comments were. Almost as offensive as his matches.

[Deanjam]

NXT spoilers are worth a look. Won't say anything here.

[up_the_hampipe]

NXT spoilers are worth a look. Won't say anything here.

Very cool.

Titus has also posted a statement about Hogan https://twitter.com/titusoneilwwe/status/1019715254257737731?s=21

Hopefully this severely impedes Hogan's progress to returning.

[Ja'moke]

The TakeOver Brooklyn IV card sounds immense!

[Z]

Hogan has handled it all so terribly. Given the context of the leak and of of the comments (ie overprotective dad being a total douche about his daughters boyfriend) it would be about as easy as it could be to apologize for an ignorant lapse in judgment.

I wonder how Vince feels about these performer responses? It's almost like a union response of sorts

[boki]

I wonder how Vince feels about these performer responses?

"What's Janus O'Rourke doing in the Impact Zone?!!"

[Ja'moke]

Steph tweeted that she'll be at Raw to make an HISTORIC announcement. Rumours suggest it will be the introduction of Women's Tag Titles, plus potentially an all-women's PPV event.

Apparently the idea would be for the titles to be defended across both brands, which is probably the smart thing to do. The roster isn't deep enough on one brand alone. I expect Bayley/Sasha vs The IIconics to be the final, if it's tournament style.

[Delete Delete Delete]

It might explain the stop/start Sasha Baley feud.

[mikeyg27]

Impact is meant to be really decent right now but that's just a show too far for me. Can't imagine getting invested in Impact now.

I totally understand this sentiment, but if you change your mind Slammiversary was pretty fucking great.