Noah Southworth

A Ronda Rousey singles match would work a lot better in Japan because the best way to handle a Rousey singles match is to not work it like a traditional pro wrestling match. If they have Rousey go out there and try to work like a pro wrestler for any length of time in a singles match, and you know they’ll want the match to have time, then the thing has a high chance of falling apart, no matter how much they’ve practiced.

A Ronda Rousey singles match has to look like no other match on the card, and I think the way to go is make Ronda Rousey into like a female version of Minoru Suzuki and have her do a bunch of non-cooperation spots, make it seem like Rousey is all “I’m not doing any of that fake stuff”; give the impression that what you’re seeing is not just another part of the show, but is something completely different.

Of course, you can’t do something like that if Rousey is facing Stephanie McMahon, and I don’t WWE putting anyone else in that spot opposite Rousey. It’s just not how they work when it comes to using the big outside names.

15 minutes ago, BomberPat said:

That's always going to be the quandary; how do you make a match with Ronda look legitimate? Anyone going the distance with Rousey isn't going to make the crowd think "these wrestling women are tough, they can hang with Ronda Rousey!", they're going to think, "this is obviously fake, Ronda would have destroyed her by now".

I think the solution is to gimmick the match up - not necessarily run-ins, though that could work, but No DQ, weapons, all sorts of shenanigans to justify her opponent being able to get heat on her. And Stephanie would be a better choice for that position than Charlotte, for me, because she's not hurt by looking like she needs to do all that stuff to win. The other thing is that I would have Ronda grab the armbar in the opening few seconds, but Stephanie immediately make it to the ropes - make it clear that this is the same Ronda Rousey you remember, that she could end it in an instant, but there are different rules here, and she's outside of her comfort zone.

If you want the match to look legitimate, the last thing you do is gimmick it up. That's the one thing guaranteed to take people out of the moment and have it hammered into their heads that it's just another 'fake' pro wrestling match.

The upside to using Ronda’s friends is that it means that WWE get two big matches out of Ronda that have maximum benefit to them in terms of publicity and interest. They get the big Wrestlemania moment of Ronda Rousey making her WWE debut, which is going to get them tons of publicity and stories all over the entertainment media. And when they want to make Summerslam really big, they get the lure of Rousey’s first ever singles match, presumably against Stephanie McMahon, which is going to get just as much publicity because it is Ronda’s first one-on-one match, and for WWE, it means Stephanie only has to share the spotlight with one person, Rousey, and thus she gets a bigger ‘rub’ as a result.  

The eight-woman tag also gives WWE the chance to hide Rousey’s lack of experience, thus not exposing her and devaluing her as an asset. And by holding off on that singles match, it gives Rousey more time to train and prepare, and I think it’s best for all involved that Rousey gets as much time to train for that singles match as she can. I daresay that Stephanie could use that extra time as well. There’s no telling what she’s been able to do in terms of training for a potential singles match.

The Horsewomen vs. Horseman match is five months away. Given that they’re already training for it now, I have no doubt at all that by the time the match happens, Duke, Rousey and Shafir will have practiced their spots enough that they won’t look terrible doing them. Baszler will work the bulk of the match and the other three will tag in to do their heavily practiced spots, putting them in the ring just long enough to not make the fans feel cheated, and then they’ll tag right back out to Baszler. The match will be fine.

1 minute ago, BigJag said:

Who came up with the Dynamic Dudes gimmick?

They were a Jim Herd creation.

1 hour ago, BigJag said:

Is there a particular Halloween Havoc that warrants watching?

Outside of the opener, Halloween Havoc 1993 has strong matches up and down the card. The downside to the evening is that six of the eight matches have screwjob finishes and the only two people who scored clean wins just happen to be related to Dusty Rhodes, who was booking.

23 minutes ago, ColinBollocks said:

This interview got me thinking, if Jones is proven to be a legit cheater, does this DQ him from the GOAT discussion? Chances are this isn't the only time he's done PEDs.

It should, but Anderson Silva failed pre and post-fight drug tests for the Nick Diaz fight, for a variety of drugs, including steroids, and nobody felt that should disqualify him from the GOAT discussion. Granted, this is Jones second in-competition drug test failure, but as likely as it is that Jones has been a long-time PED user, it’s almost equally likely that Silva was also using long before he was finally caught out.

8 minutes ago, ColinBollocks said:

Again, Cody comes across as likeable. I've never been so conflicted

People like that always come across as nice until someone threatens their feeling of being dominant. As soon as that happens, that's when the impulse control goes flying out the window and they lose all self-restraint as they try to reestablish that feeling of dominance. It's what you saw happen every week on TUF; as soon as someone made Cody feel like he wasn't the dominant party, he went completely off the deep end.

54 minutes ago, ColinBollocks said:

Joe Rogan and Schaub have been really good giving some inside info on this.

It makes you wonder how long Jones has been using PED's and whatever else he's been shooting up with. I know the narrative that comes out after a high-profile test failure, usually as a way to rationalize the cheating, is that the majority of fighters are on something, and some of them probably are to a degree although it’s not at the levels it used to be given the testing.

But someone like Jones, who has access to the top-level stuff, has probably been on that top stuff, that’s easier to get away with, for a long time. Even with his first test failure, it wouldn’t have been the first time he was using PED’s, so it really puts into question Jones’ accomplishments in MMA when you have to believe there was a good chance he was on some top-of-the-line PED’s for most of his run at the top.

3 hours ago, Carbomb said:

All of the trash-talk and hijinks in the world wouldn't convince me of it, simply because of the attitude the Diaz brothers seem to have towards getting fights: they want the money fights, but they don't want to fight to get those money fights.

I’ve never been a fan of the Diaz Brothers because they always look to blame other people for their own failings and steadfastly refuse to admit their own culpability. And they bitch all the time. They bitch about not getting paid what they want, but then turn down fights left and right; you’d think someone would clue them in that fighting once in a while would help with that, but that wouldn’t play into their victim mentality. They bitch when decisions don’t go their way and insist the judging was fixed, because it couldn’t possibly because they genuinely lost the fight. They bitch about the drug testing policy, but then around and complain that everyone is on drugs; if you don’t like that people are on drugs, then don’t moan about the procedures in place to curtail drug use.

If Nate and Nick channeled their bitching and incessant need to play the victim into fighting, they’d be world champions.

It's a little late, but I haven't seen it mentioned and it should be. Titan FC 45 (August 18th) was a fairly good show for the first half; the first five fights all ended in the first round, so they whizz by. But the highlight was in the first fight of the night, as it featured the nastiest looking armbar we've seen in a long time, and perhaps the nastiest ever. If you remember the Steve Cantwell/Razak Al-Hassan armbar from the first Tribute to the Troops show, that was nasty, but it pales in comparison this one. There is a gif below, but you probably don't want to eat before watching it.

https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2017/8/25/16199046/mma-judo-black-belt-executes-brutal-armbar-titan-fc-45-news

1 minute ago, CTXRussomark said:

Yeah that makes sense.  I guess I'm just surprised because it's TNA and they've never really shown such good judgement before. 

I would surmise that the new people in charge are wanting to put their foot down over such matters.

3 minutes ago, CTXRussomark said:

So what's the story here then?  Didn't the police clear Del Rio of all accusations?  Not that I'm complaining because a) I haven't watched TNA in ages and b) Del Rio is the fucking worst, but seems odd he's still suspended when he's seemingly been cleared. 

It's the fact that Del Rio has a pattern of behaviour that's troublesome to say the least. He may have been cleared of being in the wrong this time out, but it's the latest in a long and what is sure to be continuous line of incidents.

20 minutes ago, Egg Shen said:

Love how Noah was expecting 'insightful' commentary from Snoop Dogg

I never expected anything insightful from Dogg. But I was expecting something, anything, of entertaining value. There was none of that. Snoop Dogg is, by far, the worst commentator in MMA history.

Chuck Liddell coming back would be a very bad idea. His chin is beyond cracked and his style was built around having an iron chin so he could take several shots just to land the one good shot he needed to end the fight.

2 hours ago, wandshogun09 said:

@Noah Southworth I can't see GSP ever fighting a Whittaker or Romero. I think he's literally only fighting Bisping because he thinks he's a beatable middleweight, with 'high stock' of course, and it's a chance for GSP to bag a second division's title. If Romero or Whittaker were the champ right now I think GSP would be gearing up to face Tyron Woodley instead. That's not a knock on GSP, by the way. He's smart enough to pick his battles and it seems right now he's after the most winnable fights for the most money. Makes sense. I don't think Bisping is particularly 'winnable' for GSP but I get the impression that GSP feels he is. 

If GSP beats Bisping I think he'll vacate and drop back to 170 to go after that belt. With the intention of luring Conor McGregor back to 170 for another massive payday. 

GSP is a shrewd fuck. 

You're probably right, and whilst it's understandable on GSP's part, I have to say I would sour on him a little if he's challenging for a title that he has no intention of defending.

If GSP wins the middleweight title and vacates it, I would guess that Whittaker gets promoted to full champion status. Then maybe Weidman takes on the winner of Rockhold vs. Branch to decide who gets the first crack at Whittaker. In any event, I would like to see the loser of Rockhold vs. Branch take on Romero

If GSP beats Bisping, I can see them doing Bisping vs. Romero with the winner getting the winner of GSP vs. Whittaker. If that's the route they go, I figure Weidman gets the winner of Rockhold vs. Branch for the shot at whoever comes out of the aforementioned mini-tournament as the middleweight champion.

13 minutes ago, Supremo said:

I've seen a lot of comments describing the GSP vs. Bisping fight as something, "no-one wants to see."

That same section of fans said the same thing about Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock II. They said that fight was a fight nobody wanted to see. It then went and drew 775,000 buys on PPV.

4 hours ago, wandshogun09 said:

If he loses to GSP though, the belt is no longer an obstacle and it clears the path for that Bisping vs Romero fight.

I'd rather Bisping get the chance for revenge against Belfort. That's at least a winnable fight for Bisping and he'd go out on top.

Good catch, CB.

The 12th Eddie Bravo Invitational is Sunday night, and it's the first all female show. There is a 16-woman Flyweight tournament and a four-woman Combat Jiu-Jitsu Tournament.

10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu Qualifiers

Eddie Bravo Invitational 12 Countdown Show

If you haven't seen an EBI and are a fan of grappling and submissions, they are worth watching, and in my experience, the women often have better matches than the men so this EBI could be the best one yet.

The fights have been fine, some have been good, but the setting makes for a terrible atmosphere. The crowd is so small and makes so little noise, that it’s like watching fights on TUF. I gave Snoop a chance on commentary on the first week but soon tuned out. He is absolutely terrible. He’s not funny, witty, insightful, and adds nothing at all. It’s excruciating to listen to. And Urijah Faber isn’t much better. Faber’s commentating ability is in inverse proportion to his fighting ability.

On 07/07/2017 at 10:38 PM, Egg Shen said:

Paul Redmond retired Rob Sinclair with a sweet kneebar

That kneebar was tremendous. For those who didn't see the fight, Sinclair was sat with his back against the fence and had Redmond in a guillotine choke. Redmond got his legs around Sinclair’s left leg and managed to pull on the lower leg of Sinclair, and with his own body on the upper legs of Sinclair it created a modified kneebar and Sinclair verbally tapped.

On 07/07/2017 at 10:38 PM, Egg Shen said:

Chi Lewis Parry...fucking size of the guy too, he made David Haye look like a lightweight.

I'd heard of Chi Lewis-Parry, but I didn't know if I'd seen him before, so this was my first time seeing him knowing that I was seeing him. and damn, he made Haye look small. I thought it was because Haye is considered a small heavyweight, but he's not; Lewis-Parry is just that big.

1 hour ago, ColinBollocks said:

I had little interest in this, until I read about 'SnoopCast'. Whoever suggested it is a wonderful person. I'm all over this.

Snoop is who I'll be listening to when watching this. I just hope they let Snoop be himself, say whatever he's thinking, rather than trying to have him be a proper announcer.

3 minutes ago, Egg Shen said:

im not 100% certain how often the shows are happening or if the fights are in front of a live audience or on a set like the Ultimate Fighter, can anyone fill us in on that?

The initial run will be eight weeks, and the fights will take place in front of a closed-studio audience.