OzExile

I thought KO was really hurt from that Swanton. He probably was. Great match though, the tag belts feel like a big deal again. 

Another good PLE from WWE, but crying out for a cash in on Rollins who is so hard to watch. 

God, that Smackdown turned me into a blubbering mess. It was a fantastic tribute, especially the ending. Maybe we will see the talent deliver video tributes on Raw next week. 

I loved Bray Wyatt. The Wyatt family, the Fiend with Alexa, even uncle fucking Howdy - I wanted to know what was going to happen. Getting his stuff over the way he did is no mean feat in a reality Era. His return at Extreme Rules is my favourite since the America Badass Taker ar the end of the HHH vs Rock iron man (Judgment Day 2000?). RIP BRAY! ☹️

2 hours ago, The King of Old School said:

I hope he can get something going as i think he is fantastic, especially in this current character.

Unfortunately I think he has been booked as a loser for too long for the fans to genuinely care about him.

He's got American Alpha over more than anyone could have imagined. I'm loving his story with Gunther. He's the obvious next Babyface to elevate but they haven't even put over Cody for the belt yet! 

On 8/17/2023 at 7:07 AM, Kamran said:

I didn't want to start a new thread so thought I'd post it here, taken from the Wrestling-Online Newsletter:

I know they'll still sell those ringside tickets but those prices are crazy!

WWE and the UFC have really been pushing their gate size takings lately as record-breaking and pushing them out as positive PR.  I guess following the lead of boxing.  But the media should really be fighting back and pointing out that these are just grim reading statistics, plenty of fans will be priced out of going to WWE shows.  

Yours sincerely, Gordon Brown 

14 hours ago, BomberPat said:

Reading the recap made it pretty clear, as ever, that these shows just aren't for me any more.

Them having Gunther and Imperium do the laziest of "this town smells bad" cheap heat is just a singular misunderstanding of how to present their gimmick, and doing that while also doing classic WWE faction in-fighting is even worse. It's especially irritating because they shouldn't have to resort to any of that when they're in a feud with Alpha Academy.

Otis and Chad Gable are both guys with legitimate wrestling credentials and backgrounds, but who are also a bit goofy and silly - that's the perfect foil to Imperium, who shouldn't be able to stand that they don't take wrestling 100% seriously, and that it's not the only thing they have time for in their lives. It's a natural point of animosity, but also an opportunity for both Chad Gable and Otis to step up a notch and prove that they can hang with the serious wrestlers regardless. It's the most obvious of storytelling, but no, we need the leader of a stable arguing with his underlings on the same show that already has Judgement Day in-fighting, and needs Gunther doing Jerry Lawler quips calling Winnipeg the "armpit of Canada". 

HHH booking.  Get Vince back on gorilla asap. 

The Jimmy swerve had me a little bit down, was bound to happen but it didn't have to be here.  How they stretch a brother vs brother feud out to Mania I have no idea.  Good main event had me gripped like only Roman can. 

But I was more upset with Rollins retaining the belt, that was the worst booking of the night for me. The match was great though. Judgment Day hot potato for the next couple of months would be great TV.  

Lesnar vs Cody was amazing. 

Apart from Logan Paul the rest of the card was average at best, except for the crowd shitting on the MMA rules match. 

If Finn Balor wins the WHC belt, and I think he should, I hope they don't go with the cash in and potential throwing out of Finn from the Judgment Day turn ala Edge on the night.  They need to run with the dynamic of tension in JD for a couple of months. 

I sort of wish they went with Bianca vs Charlotte in a one on one match. 

Surely LA Knight gets his moment at the battle royal? 

The Cody vs Brock feud has been terrible, barely a feud. But reckon they will have a banger. 

Becky has been a tough watch since she came back, she barely makes any sense - I feel like she's trying to cut promos with some Conor McGregor style shtick and its just lazy. Although the feud with Trish was good, looking forward to that rubber match at Summerslam.  

6 hours ago, Supremo said:

Fuck yes Jimmy Uso! The hero all along! Brilliant, brilliant ending. It’s still not on the level of Royal Rumble or Montreal, but it’s pretty fucking close. This was phenomenal. I’m fully back on the Bloodline hook. That visual of Roman selling his world falling apart on the outside, whilst Sami stands tall with the belts? Beautiful. Inject it straight into my veins. Eat shit, Roman!

I wonder if they’ll do a three-way Tag Title match, with Sami and Kevin vs. The Usos vs. Roman and Solo. Like a victory lap of the six lads who saved this entire company.

The Elite reunited. Bloodline cooking again. CM Punk causing tonnes of trouble backstage and he’s not even properly back yet. Balance has been restored to the pro-wrestling industry.

We've got to talk about Seth Rollins though. Equal parts the most obvious winner of the new belt, yet still a really crap choice. He's rubbish. There's no-one in this business that I, "get," less. I genuinely have no idea why anyone rates him. Athletically he can give you a good match, but beyond that, he's the worst. What the fuck even is his character in 2023? Is he a heel or a babyface? What is it about him that makes you care one way or another?

He's this weird amalgamation of about fifteen different characters, none of which were ever fleshed out or explored. He doesn't evolve or go anywhere new or exciting. They just add more shit on top of more shit. He's the Architect, the Kingslayer, the Beastslayer, the Monday Night Messiah, the Visionary and Seth Freakin' Rollins. Fuck knows what any of that means or how you differentiate between them. He wrestles exactly like he did in the Shield, yet now wears silly clothes, does a silly dance, cackles a lot and has shit highlights in his hair. Same for his entrance music; it's still the crap metalcore, but now with added (inexplicable) shouts of, "burn it down!" with an added chorus filled with, "oooooh ooooooh oooooh"s.

Just a messy, unidentifiable character in every single way. Shit endlessly thrown at a wall. He's Trigger's broom in Only Fools and Horses.

Pretty much sums up my feelings on Seth. Every time I warm up to something he's doing, he goes completely the opposite way and I'm left feeling confused. 

Surely some better candidates than him for the inaugural reign. Would have loved to see them put it on Damien Priest. 

You wouldn't put Collision in Korea II past Tony Khan. Forget diplomatic relations, that is pure nostalgia vibes. 

I find the whole U-turn on Vince absolutely incredible. Bigger swerve than Roman retaining against Cody. 

Did anyone spot Cody's quivering lower lip before he got stuck into his promo? That cut deep.  He'll probably win the title in Saudi but he must feel gutted that he'll never get that big moment - unless they do keep him chasing for the entire year.  

Where does Rhea v Charlotte sit in the pantheon of WM world title matches? Seriously, it's up there for me. 

I wouldn't hate it if KO turned on Sami at Mania, and begrudgingly joins the Bloodline because he's sick of them. Keep the story rolling for the eventual Sami pay off when he dismantles them. Though that largely leans on Roman retaining and sticking around. 

Gargano and his bird are tough watching on Raw, as much as I enjoy his matches.  Think he needs to go and watch a lot of Jamie Noble whose gimmicks I think are the way home for him 

Trish getting on the card would be good, there's a legend right there. 

I assume we'll get Edge v Balor one last time. 

I'd be shocked if we get anything other than Lesnar v Lashley, despite what Bray's up to.    

It might lack star power and a huge draw but I reckon this will be the Mania best card from top to bottom in a long time. 

Greetings all.  Apart from a  Whittaker rematch (think Whittaker fights Cannonier soon?) the only fights I could really get on board with for Adesanya are Till if he can put two or three wins together, or a 185-lb Kamaru Usman!  

If Adesanya could get to, say, 25-0, where does he rank amongst the GOATs?  Doesn't seem to get anybody's respect but he's pulled apart the entire division. 

16 hours ago, ColinBollocks said:

What are the rules for this? Boxing without gloves?

 I just watched the fight and I'm not sure. It was weird. Dan Mirgaliotta reffing as well. 

Unpopular opinion but I've lost interest in McGregor fighting anyone that isn't a genuine rival. It has to be a grudge match, a freak show, a big one-off event for me.  Don't see the point of him jumping in with the Raging Real Estate Al or Cowboy.  Even Tony Ferguson, I don't see the point unless Conor wants to enter the division again which he clearly won't.  I want him going at it with Nate, Aldo or Khabib again.  Maybe Max Holloway at a push.   FFS I'd be more likely to buy him vs Paulie than Cerrone.

I thought McGregor would chase the Diaz mega bucks before going back to Khabib. But I guess he'll be obsessed with getting revenge for the loss - unlikely as it is.  I'm pretty sure the majority of fans would pay for that fight ahead of Tony - Khabib, so calling it the fight the fans want to see? Yeah, nah. 

deleted 

I watched the Friends epsisode the other day where Monica's millionaire boyfriend has a go at the UFC. He gets tuned up by Tank Abbott until big John McCarthy calls a stop to it.  Its all very Macho Man vs Spiderman. I guess 20 years is not time at all. 

5 hours ago, the_mole said:

Then you have UFC fighters suing him, his lawyer will have told him not to reply to that stuff. 

Good point Mole. 

Shit, that was difficult to watch. 

Conor's latest tweet makes me moist. I believe this is days away from being announced. I think  I heard Ariel say they are doing a presser in Los Angeles next week - likely there. 

Which leads me to the question - does this does this fight do bigger numbers than either Diaz fight? Has his stock actually fallen? Me thinks nah.