Wrestling Thread: the New Generation

[Deanjam]

I probably wouldn't have recognised Dain on his own. It's only because I know he and Nikki have been a couple for years.

They got married today. Or maybe engaged. Something with rings. Hence the old picture, it was their first photo together apparently. (All from Nikki's Twitter, I'm not a staker or anything. Honest.)

[hummingofevil]

AEW needs to learn from the recent mistakes of WWE and match the current watchable storytelling of Lucha Underground. Essentially wrestling is good vs. evil, David vs. Goliath. If you can't book that and try to be too clever than nobody beyond the smarks will care. I don't think 5 star Meltzer ratings will be enough. It needs to be a good show to even reach WCW level.

Sorry going to be total hypocrite and waste my energy here. I agree that this is exactly the potential problem. How they are going to balance the role of Bucks and Cody as VPs with them as talent. If they hold belts will look all a bit lame but if they don't then what happens to idea that The Elite is the elite.

Im less arsed about how they going to get around idea of setting up feuds when they all are mates (including SCU etc). A quick heel turn that is the staple of all wrestling ever soon sorts that out.

[Timothy]

Interesting interview with Cody:
https://www.sescoops.com/cody-young-bucks-aew-booking/

Cody first addressed the Observer report and appears to dispute that Tony Khan will be head of creative. Cody clarifies that Tony is handling the booking side of things and the "brain trust" of the AEW product is he, Matt and Nick Jackson.   

[Deanjam]

The guy signing the cheques is in charge, regardless of job titles. We'll see how it all falls in time.

[gmoney]

I don't see how that necessarily follows that that is bad thing. Vince has been signing the checks and having the ultimate say in terms of creative since he took over. the WWF in the 80s They were still in business last time I looked. Wrestling companies fail for a massive variety of reasons. WCW had a money man who had absolutely nothing to do with the product and that still went off the rails.

[hummingofevil]

My impression is Tony Khan is a total fanboy and will be happy enough to go along with whatever his VPs suggest. He's might look like a kid with a rich daddy but he's a smart cookie in his own right. Yeah Fulham and Jags aren't going brilliantly at the moment but he's a sports analysis guy who's track record is strong on business and delegating to people who appreciate his input.

[Ja'moke]

Really good interview with the Bucks here, goes into the WWE deal and their vision for AEW: https://miami.cbslocal.com/2019/01/17/young-bucks-nick-matt-jackson-turn-down-wwe-all-elite-wrestling-plans/

[Moribunderast]

Really good interview with the Bucks here, goes into the WWE deal and their vision for AEW: https://miami.cbslocal.com/2019/01/17/young-bucks-nick-matt-jackson-turn-down-wwe-all-elite-wrestling-plans/

Them talking about focusing on continuity is a huge tick for me. One of WWE's greatest weaknesses is I can't buy into any story because they're apt to just drop a storyline or ignore plotholes at any given point. If AEW's creative team has a clear focus on everything making sense, that's great. It's why NXT is so great: simple storytelling that rewards the viewer.

[hummingofevil]

Again this is hardly revolutionary. Like anybody whose invested more than 3 hours of their lives watching WWE, I fucking love/loathe Vince and it's clear he's off his head when it comes to booking in last 10 years or so. But the idea that simply doing the opposite is a recipe of instant sucess is bullshit and the AEW lot know that. These interviews are saying nowt more than anything that's true in NJPW. impact and mylocal working man's club promotion. It's non-news. The success oh AEW is all about the how and not the what. They have a huge head-start with very popular guys and as McGregor, Mayweather have proven it's where the money is if they get the model right. If I was then I'd go for a UFC / boxing style model of mega shoes with the only real interest being the main event and a moderate undercard.

[hummingofevil]

..

[phantom_power]

I went to see WoS wrestling the other night. It was great fun. Crater would destroy all those WWE wimps

[Deanjam]

We've now got 30 entrants to the Rumble sweepstake so I closed it off. Here they are:

Deanjam
Ja'moke
Timothy
up_the_hampipe
boki
BlodwynPig
Swoz_MK
madhair60
hummingofevil
confettiinmyhair
Mobius
rjd2
Delete Delete Delete
chveik
Golden E. Pump
bgmnts
lebowskibukowski
Moribunderast
kitsofan34
gmoney
mikeyg27
Wentworth Smith
Huxleys Babkins
An Actual Propeller
Mantle Retractor
cakeinmilk
Osmium
thecuriousorange
Old Thrashbarg
ToneLa

Draw will be later.

[Ja'moke]

Rey v Andrade 2 out of 3 falls on SD. Magical.

[up_the_hampipe]

Who is winning the Rumble then, d'ya reckon? Seth Rollins probs innit.

The ladies Rumble? Couldn't tell ya, mate.

[Deanjam]

Seth & Charlotte. With Becky being added to the Asuka/Charlotte match later.

[Ja'moke]

Yeah, I think Rollins and Charlotte seem the most likely. I still expect Becky (and Sasha for that matter) to be in the Rumble despite having title matches earlier on the card because there are still about 7 or 8 slots that need filling.

I could maybe see them doing a Lex Luger and Bret Hart double-elimination/dual win type thing with Becky and Charlotte.

[up_the_hampipe]

Ah, finally a big break for that underutilised Charlotte Flair.

I wonder if they'll play into Seth's ironman gimmick and have him go from #1 to win it. They haven't done that since Chris Be- I mean, Shawn Michaels.

[Timothy]

Finn and Rousey
         Or
Rollins and Rousey
         Or
Omega and Cross

[up_the_hampipe]

Please don't get your hopes up about Kenny Omega, sir.

[Ja'moke]

Omega is under contract with New Japan until Jan 31st, so even if he is signing with WWE (which I don't think he is), he couldn't debut until after the Rumble anyway.

[up_the_hampipe]

Omega is under contract with New Japan until Jan 31st, so even if he is signing with WWE (which I don't think he is), he couldn't debut until after the Rumble anyway.

Don't get worked, jabroni.

[Ja'moke]

Who do we think will be surprise entrants this year? (if there are any)

I think Pete Dunne will be in the men's Rumble, seeing as the NXT UK guys are in town for the Axxess show. And also Velveteen Dream seeing as he isn't on the TakeOver card.

For the women's, I'm going to say Shayna Baszler and Toni Storm. And maybe Melina for a 'legend' spot? The women's rumble obviously has more opportunity for surprises given that the roster still isn't big enough to fill 30 spots.

[Timothy]

I know I know. Just wanted to make it my third prediction so I can yell TOLD YOU SO when it happens with two more safe and logical predictions above. :-P

Surprise entrants:
Young Ted Dibiase
Santino
Jericho (again, third prediction clausule)

Velveteen will debut at the Rumble.

Is Black already back on NXT?

[Ja'moke]

Black is on NXT yes, he's facing Ciampa for the title at TakeOver this Sunday.

[Timothy]

Then I expect him to debut at the Rumble as well.

The fanboy in me wants him to cost Finn the match and win the Rumble to face Finn and Lesnar for the title.

[Utter Shit]

Alisteir Black, Pete Dunne (or Tyler at a push) and Velveteen would be my three picks for NXT lads turning up in the Rumble. But only if they're actually going to be made to look good. Imagine if they threw Alisteir, he made paste of everyone and then almost won it (or, fuck me, if he actually won it). Instant main roster star.

[Timothy]

Aleister and Ciampa are the perfect wrestlers to debut from NXT and win the thing. Imagine Black coming out at 27 and eliminating Truth and Rollins, only to be thrown out by Ciampa at 30.

Ciampa vs Lesnar vs Finn
Rollins vs Black
Rousey vs Asuka
AJ vs Bryan
Drew vs Cena
Etc

Great Mania.

[hummingofevil]

Zero chance of Jericho at the Rumble. 0.000%

[Deanjam]

Aleister and Ciampa are the perfect wrestlers to debut from NXT and win the thing. Imagine Black coming out at 27 and eliminating Truth and Rollins, only to be thrown out by Ciampa at 30.

Sadly we already know Truth & Carmella are #30, which since neither has a prayer in hell of winning is a bit of a waste. I'm hoping for a twist, with Truth being taken out backstage and someone much better put in his place. But I doubt it.

[ToneLa]

Sadly we already know Truth & Carmella are #30, which since neither has a prayer in hell of winning is a bit of a waste. I'm hoping for a twist, with Truth being taken out backstage and someone much better put in his place. But I doubt it.

Absolutely praying for one of those naff "entrant found knocked out and his place gets taken by his attacker!" angles