NEWM

Forgot to say, that tucked-in-head knee in the corner Tomasso Ciampa did was bloody brilliant. Has the potential to become a big high spot for him, and set up his finisher like it did in that match.

 

I think he's got loads and loads of potential on this roster when the main shows purge the top rung of current guys.

What a blinding show. Phenomenal closing portion of the main event and top heel and babyface work from the women in the tag match. A Double's first interview hit all the right notes, (and I could watch that Corbin beatdown all day long for the rest of my life, think it's the best I've seen in years) and though I wouldn't know Nakamura if he passed me in the street and showed me a shit video of him on a big screen, the audience reaction and commentary certainly made me give a toss about the match.

 

Well done everybody. Keep waiting for the NXT bubble to pop, so glad it continues not to.

Was Jordan from the UK on the latest Bauer & Pollock anybody off here?

Yeah, I thought the first E&C episode was absolutely balls, but it turned a corner pretty quickly. It even got a big laugh out of me for something silly - I think it was episode 3 where they were mimicking 90's entrances. They both took a gentle stab at Gangrel's swaggery grinning walk he always did, it looked really funny.  

 

I'm surprised myself, to be honest. The trailers made it look horrific, but I'm now on board.

In that Champion of Champions segment that the fans hijack to cheer for Bryan, Cena is utterly incredible at keeping things on point to do the job he's out there to do, but satisfying the fans' need to anoint Bryan as their new hero. Talking about 'work' by using D-Bry to do a little Q&A and then offering him the shot if he wins on Sunday.

 

I'll take all his kiddie script-reading ones week after week for the times when he brings the goods. Cena is in my top 5 promo guys, piss easy.

This website looks a bit wanky but they explain it all here: https://dailyddt.com/2016/03/03/wwe-nxt-discussing-mention-bullet-club/

Usual good show from NXT this week, but I was blown away by the Corbin/Aries beatdown. I know it was AA coming in because of Twitter going apeshit when it was first taped, but I had no idea Corbin piled on straight away. Really aggressive from him, lots of fire which is unusual. "Pissed off that he's overlooked a lot" seems to be the 'real personality turned up to 11' formula for him he's so far not been able to harness. The ironic thing is, he'll have to put him over strong when they have their big match, but I've got faith they'll be great together and Aries' babyface arrogance will play brilliantly off him. Excellent stuff. 

 

EDIT: Forgot to mention the blatant exposition in the form of off-hand commentary about the Bullet Club during Finn's entrance. Surely they're turning up on NXT soon, WWE rarely - if ever - does internet-y stuff like that just for the craic.

The card would barely notice the dent. Shane/Taker will probably go 45-odd minutes and steal the show out from under everything, leaving HHH to be in a silent Mania title match at the end of the night for the 3rd time in his career. Between now and the show they'll beef it up with enough midcard dross and maybe something good with AJ Styles - or if we're super lucky, John Cena - to fill the time.

 

I'm also a big fan of what they've done with Ambrose/Lesnar, by the way, but I disagree that Ambrose will be a made man on the other side... unless he wins. He's as over as a result of this programme now as he's ever possibly going to be, because it's WWE and when Brock fucks off, Ambrose will constantly be half-pushed like he has been the last year. The fans were apeshit when he was down to the final 2 in the Rumble, and you know there's going to be a near-fall at WWE T-Junction or whatever the network special is called where we all lose our mind and think he's won the belt.

The HHH/Ambrose match certainly ramps up discussion for possible implications on both singles matches, but it does make me wonder if last Monday's Reigns beatdown was the final fork in the road, and they're going to take both singles matches and make a fatal four way for the title. You've then effectively got two heels and faces, a guy who's never won the belt with Ambrose, three people for Brock to chuck about, and some real intrigue over the outcome.

The new WWE.com website might look a load of shit, but they've done what's basically my dream feature - guys in different coloured gear! Blue Kane, Purple Goldust, Away Kit Steve Austin?! Get in.

 

http://www.wwe.com/gallery/ring-gear-color-change-photos#fid-40003054

Reading the book was a bit like reading the magazine itself for me. Found everything from the early 90s - 2005 really engaging, then gradually lost patience with his groaning indifference to WWE and impenetrable hatred of John Cena. Surely a wrestling fan just cannot be so ignorant to SOME of Cena's abilities, regardless of some of the old criticisms? Fin also carried his sly pissynesss with Bret Hart over from the magazine too which was sometimes quite overbearing.

 

All that said, I enjoyed it overall and found his PS tales quite interesting, but I've absolutely no motivation to hear what he thinks about wrestling ever again. As a journalist or commentator on it, he feels light years behind those I'd choose to read or listen to on podcasts now.

Corbin is ever-so-gradually growing on me too, but I'm often distracted by his very long, closed, flat belly button that looks like he's had his appendix out.

 

Now I hope you guys are too.

Good to see that even in a run-in and beatdown, Nia Jaxx is absolutely fucking useless. It is developmental for a reason I suppose, but when the good on NXT is world class good, her shite doesn't half stick out. Those rotten Hulkbuster legdrops and her seemingly accidentally sabotaging poor Eva Marie doing such a piss job holding Carmella up for her to deck her.

 

What a terrific main event, despite that. Could have had another few minutes of that.

I'm surprised at the reaction in here to the Rumble stip. Can people explain why it's SO bad? I'm more excited for the match than I was the prospect of the standard Rumble/Reigns defence combo. It's the belt, man. There's no way the last 5/6 minutes of the match won't be hot as fuck and the rest of the match have entertaining high stakes. Plus it leaves the title match possibilities open longer when we don't know who else they might have in their back pocket for Mania.

You're right there ColBol. Vince in particular had what is clearly (judged on his abysmal performances the last few years) his last truly great moment as a character in that contract signing segment - even when it all went a bit 'you wanna shoot, Phil' or whatever it was, he knew to show his arse and keep in character. HHH could be an absolute cunt when he wasn't in the mood for that sort of thing.

Nash vs HHH in the payoff was not shit, either. A gazillion trillion years better than anything they did in their 2003 run, and a bit of mouthwash for the sometimes-slightly-dull WWE 'quite good' match formula these days. I remember a few of us in chat for that, and t went down just fine live, thanks very much.

Did Hasbro make those awful rubber ones where Piper had red underpants and you got to put your thumb up Iron Shiek's arse? They were shit.

I had a near full collection, but couldn't get a few toughies like 123 Kid, Dusty, red Hogan etc. once I got into wrestling, outside of games consoles they were just about the only toy I played with, so it was an easy win for people around Christmas and Birthday time.

 

Probably only half were first hand though, I had great luck at car boot sales around 93-95 where the fad had obviously passed. I remember another usual loot around a box of a million Pipers, Bulldogs, Hogans etc I noticed loads of accessories kicking about that I'd never had. So I ended up buying guys I already had to justify their little gimmicks. Picture Jim Neidhart in an ill-fitting Demolition mask, Big Bossman and his famed parrot Frankie and purple trunk Randy Savage's Accoustic Equaliser.

 

I recall, absolutely fucking years ago, doing aong post on here recounting all my favourite storylines I did as a kid, with the still-sentimental of Undertaker shooting Warlord dead, allowing for a monster pop from the imaginary crowd when he returned later that year.

Indeed. SUCH a misfire that was. Regal's mint and obviously beloved but I was there too and it didn't feel like anybody in the crowd wanted that. Especially in ten seconds or whatever it was. That's the finish you do when he's one week before breaking the record as a total weasel. Or not at all, if the run was to turn him full babyface, which I bet it would have.

Yeah, I don't think there's any chance they can keep getting him cheered, so it would be pointless to try. You might as well get a couple of Sheamus-level guys and Triple H beat whilst he has reasonable babyface momentum, because at the moment Lesnar, Cena, Bryan or any true genuinely liked top level face starts sniffing around again, he'll be toast.

 

He can still be the WWE's great future hope, but I reckon they've actually got over the biggest hurdle just getting him over again. Over as a face, or heel, it's all gravy for the time being. The long, Hogan/Austin/Cena face run they desperately want from him doesn't have to be right now.

 

Oh Roman...

 

All the best Champions hold their titles upside down.

 

Great Raw, and great finish. I'm less optimistic they won't flush all of this good will towards Reigns down the drain, but as it stands it's hard to argue with putting the belt on Sheamus after all. He really was such an awful choice to have it, I honestly feel part of the reaction is just because Reigns has took it from him. Hopefully Reigns doesn't find himself as the heel in all of his upcoming programmes.  

 

Is Daniel Bryan (secretly) fit as a fiddle and good to go for the Rumble? I'd love Reigns to despatch HHH at the Rumble, then have those two as your title match for Wrestlemania. You wouldn't even need to give Bryan his fairytale comeback, they could even turn Reigns heel out of desperation for keeping the title. If Bryan's not in good condition, I'd want Reigns/Lesnar 2 for the title, personally. Brock as a surprise Rumble winner isn't out of the question is it?

Didn't Bulldog and Repo have a TV one? Or was that just the opener to the angle where he knocked him about with that rope?

 

I remember that summer well though - I used to get tapes off my Dad's mate who had Sky with a few weeks telly on, and after watching a big May bulk with some heavy duty pushing of Beverly Bros/LOD, Taker/Bezerker, Shawn/Bret, Flair/Savage and Warrior/Shango, the next thing I got was Summerslam and I was badly missing context for half of it!

Yeah sorry Pity, won't happen again. In my last post I briefly thought about how great it would be if money and ego were cast aside and CM Punk was brought back in. I think I must be coming down with something.

Haha, yeah you're right. The fuck was I thinking?

 

I guess the bigger point was that if you have someone who once upon a time had pedigree, in theory they understand how to get themselves, the programme and most importantly, their opponent over. I'm pulling names out of my arse here, but let's just say a Bubba Ray Dudley or Jeff Jarrett was in a position to put one of the current half decent babyfaces over nice and strong at Mania, maybe if booked well it would at least look like a marquee match for their giant show. Jericho was just the first person who seemed available or possible who slotted into that idea really. That's a challenge in itself, who's even out there to perform such a task?

I'm no fan of his whatsoever, like, at all, but if they could think of a really good topline programme he could sink his teeth into, Chris Jericho would probably be a great get for them for Mania.

 

His diminishing returns have been VERY diminishing, but it's an indictment of how smalltime everybody feels on the show that in the right story with the right opponent, he'd could be in a match resembling a proper main event.

 

EDIT: What about going long in the Rumble and actually winning it. That's credibility for your World Title match at least. And as much as Jericho gets on my tits, he's really good at long Rumble appearances, even if the announcers are shite at properly putting stuff like that over these days. His surprise one in 2013 (or 14? You know the one) was mint.