Jackpot

 

So of course WWE put the cruiserweights on RAW.

I was waiting for someone to bizarrely moan about the cruiserweights not being on Smackdown.

 

And you missed out the part where I was talking about the commentary. Excellent work soft lad.

I'm not moaning about it being on RAW, as you clearly misinterpret (as per usual I might add). The gripe is that Ranallo and Bryan have done a great job building the Cruiserweight Classic, yet they decide to put another commentary team on it. JBL, Cole and Saxton commentating on it (if indeed they keep the same commentators for both shows following tonight's draft) will be a complete disaster.

But you keep following me around pal if it makes you feel better. And being an Arsenal fan, you'll need that little bit more help feeling better about yourself so carry on.

One of the best things about the Cruiserweight Classic has been the commentary, both of whom are now on SmackDown (at time of posting). So of course WWE put the cruiserweights on RAW. Cole, JBL and Saxton commentating on it, doesn't sound great to me but the action should at least be enjoyable.

The overall show was good though, with the main event being shite with an even shitter finish.

 

Rollins and Ambrose in the same ring is always enjoyable. To give Ambrose all the credibility in the world, he has to be the number one pick in the draft.

 

Unless they are having two champions, no one will get to pick Ambrose in the draft as he will be on both shows.

Not necessarily.

In fact, having just one world champion and having that champion exclusive to one show would make that show feel more important because they've got the champion. But the champ could turn up on the other show's PPV's to defend his title against their number one contender as they try and win the title back for their brand.

For weeks they've been telling us they're making Darren Young great - AGAIN! And his much anticipated (slight exaggeration) return to the ring, he doesn't even get an introduction to the telly viewers. I didn't even notice him in the match until Cole pointed out Backlund was there to watch him. I do like the way he won though, it was different rather than get to the last three, x wrestler eliminates y while z runs in behind to eliminate y. JBL confusing Apollo Crews for Titus O'Neill, good fucking god! Miz was Miz on commentary and is doing a great job as IC champ, I hope he retains against Young.

Had a horrible thought Del Rio would win it when they were banging on about him being outside the ring but not eliminated. Expected him to knock about outside the ring then do the sneak attack and win. 

Sheamus and Ryder is an odd one. Sheamus is kicking shit out of Ryder for the benefit of Rusev, who just a couple of months had a big falling out with Sheamus with the League of Nations thing. Sheamus, only a few weeks ago, had issues with the stars of the "new era" yet he's now got a paddy on with Ryder who's been on the main roster longer than he has. 

Breezango picking up a victory was a welcome sight and they weren't in the same ring as Golden Truth, another welcome sight. Lucha Dragons most definitely going different ways in the draft with Kalisto getting a renewed push of sorts and Sin Cara probably going back to NXT or another low-rung tag team. Breeze and Fandango could have a wail of a time with little skits though.

Rollins and Ambrose in the same ring is always enjoyable. To give Ambrose all the credibility in the world, he has to be the number one pick in the draft.

Owens not going out to wrestle until Zayn was removed from commentary was the sort of chicken shit heel move that isn't used often enough anymore. Then taking pleasure in waving Sami goodbye was great as well, as was Sami going right after KO. The match with Cesaro was a good wrestling match but with nothing riding on it, nobody really cared. Disappointed at no Jericho involvement after he's sort of been entwined with this feud for a while now. Cesaro is just stuck going nowhere.

Titus going up against Heath Slater is worth watching for nobody in all honesty. Has the reason they're called the Social Outcasts ever been explained? The Oddities looked odd and like they were social outcasts, Slater, Dallas and Axel don't. Or is it in relation to social media? Either way, the name doesn't fit.

Having not seen the Final Deletion match between Matt and Jeff Hardy, I didn't see how New Day and the Wyatt's compared. What I will say though, I liked the idea but not the execution. It looked cheap and just shit really. More things like this is a good idea as long as they're executed better. 

Enzo & Cass against the Club shows the faith they have in the recent NXT call ups. Get them over in a similar way that the Outlaws did, give them schtick that the crowd can get involved with. It's amazing how many times those sort of things work. The finish to the match was predictable in all honesty but the surprise of Cena wasn't - hence surprise. And the crowd were well into it, which always help any part of any show.

Sasha and Dana are just worlds apart in terms of quality so having them go at it again is not all that inspiring. Nor was Vince's decision at the end of the show. It could be seen from a mile off that it was gonna be Shane on one show and Steph on the other. When he said "commissioner" I did get hopeful it'd be Regal or at the very least Foley. But nah. My choice for GM's would be Bischoff on RAW, Heyman on SmackDown.

The masterminds behind WCW and ECW fighting for telly ratings for the mastermind of WWE.

Is Triple H draftable (if that's a word)? So Steph names him as her GM, though I can't see him being happy with that, then the following week Shane picks him as his number one pick wrestler to completely fuck Steph's plans.

Brock Lesnar loses cleanly at SummerSlam to Darren Young.

Lesnar is forced to tap to the cross-face chicken wing.

Darren Young is great again!

 

Wyatts v New Day is a terrible idea, not going to work one bit. I really don't get it, Wyatts were clearly heading for a face turn when they took out the League of Nations on the post-Mania Raw.

The League of Nations doesn't exist now. The Club are feuding with John Cena. Who would your babyface Wyatts be feuding with?

 

Vaudevillans. 

Mouthwatering prospect isn't it?

The "dude" and the "guy" are two of the shittest nicknames they've come up with.

I reckon the Battleground triple threat will end with Triple H coming out to help Ambrose retain by pedigreeing Rollins to set up their feud for SummerSlam. Following night on RAW (which Triple H will be running at this point) Ambrose tells The Game to fuck off, so getting a cob on with it he calls up Lesnar to take the title off The Dude at SummerSlam. All the while Reigns is pissing about on SmackDown.

If they are going to have two world champions with the brand split, can the Money in the Bank winner still cash in on both or does he have to wait to see where he's drafted before he can decide what he's going after?

Speaking of Triple H, I work with some "young" people at work, some of whom like wrestling. When I say young, i mean like 18/19 upwards, but the other day I was asked "You'll know....what does Triple H stand for?" , which then led into a giant discussion about them not knowing about his Hunter Hearst Helmsley days, and it made me feel very old.

 

on a similar note, I once asked someone of a similar age who Steve Austin was, and they said "oh he's that guy that comes out and drinks beer", clearly not knowing who he is in terms of "one of the best of all time/former champion etc".

And yet if you ask somebody else who Steve Austin is, you could just as easily get the reply that he's The Six Million Dollar Man. 

Ambrose will win MITB but will refuse to cash in on his "brother" Roman Reigns.

Then after about six months of saying he won't do that, he will eventually turn heel by doing what he said he wouldn't to the biggest pop of his career.

 

For those that don't know who AJ is, it's harder to cheer for him when he's siding with clear heels in Anderson and Gallows.

 

Your sentance has more to do with Reigns than it does with AJ. I reckon with the Cena type of crap JBL has been told to say saying such as "whether you like him or hate him, he always gets a reaction", your post is exactly what WWE want isn't it? The people that don't know AJ to cheer Roman, and the people that do know AJ to boo Roman. I really think they're deliberately going for the 50/50 crowd split for Roman.

 

Not really, WWE want everybody to cheer Reigns. They want their top babyface to be universally loved which is why, in my opinion, they've paired AJ with the heels. He's been on the roster for just under six months and already gone from face to heel for the sake of Reigns. 

For those that don't know who AJ is, it's harder to cheer for him when he's siding with clear heels in Anderson and Gallows.

I miss Kane and Big Show in this "new era"

Crush says "brother" more often than Hulk Hogan.

Watching the go-home show before the 94 Rumble and he's on commentary with Vince. It's practically every other word from him.

None of these releases will have any sort of impact on WWE. The only thing I would question, is why have Barrett take a kicking from the League of Nations calling him the weak link just to disband the LON a couple of weeks later anyway?

But the majority of these, I thought had already gone. 

Could they keep the Styles/Reigns feud going right through to Survivor Series? Even if not for the title all the way, just keep them in each other's business. AJ costing Reigns the title against Wyatt or something like that. And then at Survivor Series have a traditional five on five match of Bullet Club v a Samoan 5 - bringing in the debuts of Balor and Samoa Joe. As well as a welcome return to the Rock, 20 years after he himself debuted at Survivor Series. 

I'm not sure who the fifth member of Bullet Club would be however, whether they can bring in another member from NJPW or recruit somebody within WWE. For storyline purposes, it'd be interesting if it was Ambrose.

Styles, Balor, Anderson, Gallows ??? v Reigns, Rock, Joe, both Uso's

One thing I did like about Cesaro yesterday was when he interrupted the Miz, they made it appear like he actually came through a door rather than just walking into the shot from where a wall would have been. 

I don't know why but Bray looked a lot smaller as a face than he ever did as a heel. 

Still a very enjoyable RAW

Having gone through this thread from start to finish (not in one go, I might add) I can safely say this is by far my favourite picture in it. Just incredible.

Is it Jim Duggan turning up next week for Ambrose then? Giving him the 2X4 and a fistful of tape. Or maybe Sandman will endorse him by giving him a kendo stick. Or maybe William Regal will bestow upon him his brass knucks. Or he finds Boss Man's night stick just lying around. 

But you know what, at least they're trying other things for the three biggest matches on the card. Ambrose doing out of the arena skits, the hype package for Shane McMahon as well as the talking to the legends about his match with Taker and the whole Triple H/Reigns thing. They're trying if nothing else. 

Even the intercontinental title, that was essentially what the show was built around. Too often people take a dig that the title is pushed away, they dedicated most of RAW to it. Fair enough it didn't work out that well and Owens was made to look like a cunt by the end thanks to Steph. But I'd rather of been Owens on that RAW than US champ Kalisto. It was more than wrestler a cuts promo in the ring, interrupted by wrestler b who then cuts their promo.

Moving away from Reigns, slightly, what if Shane cuts a promo over the next week or two about how he's going to give new guys a go and the man to take his place inside the cell is a returning Cesaro.

Cesaro, beating Taker at WrestleMania in the Hell in a Cell match, would instantly catapult him up the card to a position most think he deserves to be. He can then dethrone Reigns as champ.

Roman Reigns = Grins An' More

Why are the APA inducting the Godfather to the Hall of Fame. 

Faarooq makes sense from a Nation point of view but Bradshaw? Did I miss the period in time where they were a unit or is it an off-screen relationship thing? Faarooq, Rock and Mark Henry could induct him as the Nation. 

RAW shaped WrestleMania into a very intriguing card. Can't wait for D-Von, Bubba and Spike against Jimmy, Jey and Rikishi. They're bringing everybody back, so fuck it go the whole log. 

Shane with Linda against Undertaker with Steph, while Vince plays the role of Foley from WrestleMania 17 and puts himself as the special guest referee. Linda twats Steph, lays out Vince and hits Taker with a low blow before making the count herself. 

Triple H goes over Reigns to set up his feud with babyface Seth Rollins - he's the big return on the RAW after Mania!

Brock and Ambrose just beat the fuck out of each other to the point there's no result. They're just fighting all over Dallas. Cameras keep cutting back to them throughout the show and they're still going at it. 

Cole planted the seeds of yet another ECW reunion, by making out it was Heyman who'd ordered the Dudley's to attack Reigns. Can't wait to see Sabu and Tazz turn up on SmackDown to cost Reigns and Ambrose the victory.