Wrestling In The Time Of COVID-19: the new thread

[Ja'moke]

Holy fuck they're caning the shit out of Dominic!!

[Deanjam]

Holy fuck they're caning the shit out of Dominic!!

That was a hell of a beating. Almost felt like an initiation.

[Ja'moke]

That was a hell of a beating. Almost felt like an initiation.

It's what happens when you skip NXT.

[Deanjam]

This cod-Antifa shit is the worst.

[Deanjam]

BT sport advertising UFC just before this Raw Underground stuff gave me a good laugh.

[Deanjam]

Can't help but think that if Ric Flair is so frail that you can't even fake a kick to the head then he really shouldn't be on your show during a pandemic.

[Deanjam]

Jeezus.

[BeardFaceMan]

That was a hell of a beating. Almost felt like an initiation.

Yeah they still have that kind of culture where you have to do shit like this to prove yourself to the boys/Vince.

[up_the_hampipe]

Yeah they still have that kind of culture where you have to do shit like this to prove yourself to the boys/Vince.

The poor lad already got repeatedly beaten by Brock last year. I guess he's just good at taking punishment. Fair play to him, I'm actually looking forward to his match with Seth more than most of the others.

[BeardFaceMan]

Jeezus.

That's a Mick Foley-type desperation to get over that I don't like to see any more. It was only cane shots to the body and not head shots or anything like that, but still. I don't really like to see people be used a punching bag as a way to get over. It's starting to feel like taking a beating is all this kid has going for him as a wrestler and that's not a good sign.

[Deanjam]

[Ja'moke]

I'm just imagining the intern that wrote that thinking, "Shit, have there been kidnappings on campus?!"

[Timothy]

Seems the Cassidy vs Jericho match is still on for tonight. Hope they swerve the fans and have it postponed because Jericho shouldn't be wrestling.

[Ja'moke]

Solid Dynamite.

Did I just read Dream is back on NXT? Those allegations all bullshit or WWE just don't give a fuck?

[Deanjam]

Solid Dynamite.

Did I just read Dream is back on NXT? Those allegations all bullshit or WWE just don't give a fuck?

He's back. WWE just ignoring the accusations. It's always about how much they value the talent.

[Timothy]

So Jericho VS Cassidy actually happened?! They let Jericho in to wrestle?!

Totally irresponsible that Khan let him wrestle. Disappointing to say the least.

[Timothy]

Just watched the match after all the bad reviews, gonna watch the rest of Dynamite later tonight.

And yeah, that was rough. Jericho even botching Cassidy's finisher. He shouldn't have been in the ring yesterday.

Looking forward to see the rest of the show later today.

[hummingofevil]

I thought Dynamite was quite flat. I think the fact they running weekly in Jacksonville weather is taking it's toll out of audience and performers. Lots of good stuff felt more 6/10 than 8/10 and I've defended the lack of women on here before but that Shida bit felt like tokenism. Still will give them the benefit of the doubt but Shida doing an open challenge against the women they are using for the tag tournament would have been a much better idea.

[Ja'moke]

He's back. WWE just ignoring the accusations. It's always about how much they value the talent.

But surely WWE wouldn't want to risk the backlash if it was true. And I can't imagine a lot of the other talent been happy. They released statements on all the others that were accused. So if an investigation was done and proven that nothing actually happened, they should tell us.

I thought Dynamite was quite flat. I think the fact they running weekly in Jacksonville weather is taking it's toll out of audience and performers. Lots of good stuff felt more 6/10 than 8/10 and I've defended the lack of women on here before but that Shida bit felt like tokenism. Still will give them the benefit of the doubt but Shida doing an open challenge against the women they are using for the tag tournament would have been a much better idea.

Yeah, still no feud for Shida heading into All Out. At this point, they need to have a great surprise opponent for her on the night, otherwise it's just unacceptable. But I'm not sure who they could get with PPV surprise pop name value? Other than say Thunder Rosa (who has tweeted she wants the match) or maybe Jazz? I suppose there is Tessa Blanchard, but not sure if they want to open that can of worms.

[Deanjam]

For anyone with the WWE network.

Starting this Saturday, the best independent promotions in the world are coming to WWE Network.

EVOLVE, PROGRESS Wrestling from England, Germany's wXw and Scotland's ICW will debut for subscribers to the award-winning streaming service, giving the WWE Universe the chance to see some of their favorite Superstars like never before. And this is just the beginning! You'll continue to see footage from their libraries, as well as new and exciting content from all of these promotions on WWE Network in the weeks and months to come.

The first drop features a pair of compilations highlighting two of WWE and NXT's top stars, along with full shows from each promotion.

The Best of Drew McIntyre in EVOLVE features the WWE Champion in action before his 2017 return to the company. You'll see McIntyre in thrilling matches against the likes of Ricochet, Johnny Gargano, Roderick Strong, Aleister Black and Matt Riddle.

The Best of Keith Lee in EVOLVE features the NXT Champion coming into his own before making the jump to the black-and-gold brand. In this compilation, The Limitless One takes on Timothy Thatcher, WALTER and Riddle. The special also features a pair of early battles against his rival and close friend, Dominik Dijakovic.

Fans will get a look at Germany's wXw and see different styles of combat on display. wXw AMBITION 11 is a one-night, smash-mouth tournament featuring NXT UK Champion WALTER and Timothy Thatcher setting out to punish the competition. Also featured from the wXw library is a one-night, all-women's tournament, Femmes Fatale 2019.

PROGRESS Wrestling has been hailed as the jewel of the British independent scene, having catapulted Superstars like Pete Dunne, Mark Andrews, Flash Morgan Webster, Toni Storm and Grizzled Young Veterans onto a worldwide platform. PROGRESS Chapter 92 is highlighted by a hard-hitting battle for the PROGRESS Championship between WALTER and Ilja Dragunov.

The WWE Universe will also be introduced to the Scottish underground with Insane Championship Wrestling. Night 2 of Shug's Hoose Party 5 sees WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett take over as commissioner for the evening, NXT UK's Piper Niven in action, as well as viral video sensation Grado.

Check out the full list of shows debuting, and be sure to watch them all, starting this Saturday on the award-winning WWE Network!

EVOLVE
The Best of Drew McIntyre in EVOLVE
The Best of Keith Lee in EVOLVE

wXw
wXw Femme Fatales 2019
wXw AMBITION 11

PROGRESS Wrestling
Chapter 92

Insane Championship Wrestling
ICW Shug's Hoose Party 5 – Night 2

But surely WWE wouldn't want to risk the backlash if it was true. And I can't imagine a lot of the other talent been happy. They released statements on all the others that were accused. So if an investigation was done and proven that nothing actually happened, they should tell us.

I doubt an investigation was done to be honest.

[Deanjam]

[Ja'moke]

WWE moving its shows to the Amway Arena (no fans) in Orlando next week and going live weekly.

[BeardFaceMan]

The Prince of Pro Wrestling is pretty blunt foreshadowing even by pro wrestling standards, Cody's heel turn has to happen in the next few weeks, doesn't it? I've never been a fan of Cody (not bad enough to be a heel, not likeable to be a face) but I've been able to bear him and not actively dislike his stuff. He's a huge mark for himself though and since AEW started and as time has gone on, I'm really starting to dislike Cody's segments and matches to the point where I just don't want him on my TV anymore. Everyone thought he was so magnanimous for losing a match which meant he could never challenge for the world title, turns out it was so that a new championship could be created that he could defend every week against the best in the company, and even the best not in the company.

[confettiinmyhair]

I think AEW could be blindsided by WWE's recent strange booking, this Pit Fighter / Fight Club stuff, the antifa like vigilante group and witchcraft and bizarre horror. It's all meme worthy stuff, which could lead to viewers beginning to turn away from the more traditionally booked AEW content. Shock value has tended to sell well in pro wrestling, and now is the perfect climate for carny escapism.

[BeardFaceMan]

I think AEW could be blindsided by WWE's recent strange booking, this Pit Fighter / Fight Club stuff, the antifa like vigilante group and witchcraft and bizarre horror. It's all meme worthy stuff, which could lead to viewers beginning to turn away from the more traditionally booked AEW content. Shock value has tended to sell well in pro wrestling, and now is the perfect climate for carny escapism.

That's the problem really, meme-worthy is all it is. WWE programming is great to show in small clips to say to people "look how fucking mad/shit this is" but it doesn't work on TV and it certainly doesn't translate into TV viewers. That carny shit only appeals to wrestling fans, not mainstream ones.

Also, was Jericho wrestling hungover? Not even taking into account he botched the finish, he looked awful.

[peanutbutter]

AEW is 2 hours a week, WWE's bullshit could get YouTube clicks but it doesn't take away from the fact you've to sit through 7 hours of the shit  to fish out those moments.


There totally is an opening for wrestling to adapt to the modern environment just outta how passive of an experience watching weekly shows is, I'm just not sure how to do it. Like, people want to put something on in the background, and wrestling being reliable long as fuck and low engagement has the potential to be an easy go to.

[hummingofevil]

Plus it goes like this:

1. Don't know if I can be arsed watching RAW.
2. I'll stick it on as nothing else to do.
3. Ooo... Shane is back in hour three, they rumouring a new Brawl for All. That will be SHIT (must check that out).
4. Oh look it's Shane. Nah this is shit.
5. Don't know if I can be arsed watching RAW.

If you focus on hot shotting and shock factor and purposely shit TV to hold ratings as works above the problem you get is week by week the number of people bothering in first place just continues to slide.

Of course the alternative is give people something to look forward and then make that something actually good. It's a radical idea.

[Ja'moke]

Not that I expect it to continue, but the ratings have been up for Raw the past two weeks.

I enjoyed Shayna beating the shit out of people in Raw Underground. It came across less cheesy than the week before at least. I do think there is some potential there.

The Retribution angle though is DOA. They come across like a bunch of goofs, and I'm not sure it's salvageable at this point. They should have them reveal themselves and immediately have TUE wipe them out.

[BeardFaceMan]

Plus it goes like this:

1. Don't know if I can be arsed watching RAW.
2. I'll stick it on as nothing else to do.
3. Ooo... Shane is back in hour three, they rumouring a new Brawl for All. That will be SHIT (must check that out).
4. Oh look it's Shane. Nah this is shit.
5. Don't know if I can be arsed watching RAW.

If you focus on hot shotting and shock factor and purposely shit TV to hold ratings as works above the problem you get is week by week the number of people bothering in first place just continues to slide.

Of course the alternative is give people something to look forward and then make that something actually good. It's a radical idea.

Maria Kanellis made a similar tweet not long ago, saying WWE are not bothered about making big stars, they want moments. They want shocking things to spike the ratings so they can say to advertisers "look, everything is ok!". She took a lot of shit on Twitter (unsurprisingly) but she made some very good points.

I enjoyed Shayna beating the shit out of people in Raw Underground. It came across less cheesy than the week before at least. I do think there is some potential there.

Lance Storm made a good point about Raw Underground - where do the wrestlers go from here, kayfabe-wise? Once you've seen Shayna go through 3 people in 30 seconds, when she goes upstairs and gets in the ring again, it's not going to make much sense if it takes her 10 minutes to beat one person in a wrestling match. Which kinda ties in with what was said above, it's hotshot storytelling, small-term gain at the expense of hurting the long-term game. Let's spike the rating by doing something different, something meme-worthy that can be shared and that'll bring the viewers in, while giving no thought whatsoever as to where this all fits in with their tv show or storylines going forward.

[Ja'moke]

WrestleVotes: "As part of WWE's new long term residency at the Amway Center, a new interactive experience will be introduced with over 2500 sq ft of LED boards, where fans will appear LIVE on the show, hosted by Superstars & Legends. Applications to appear on screen will open next week."