The King of Old School

12 hours ago, Callum1993 said:

Sasha/Bayley is a possibility I would say. 

Yeah that's a good shout, I presumed Bayley/Sky for the Smackdown women's title would be the way they go for Bayley to be honest.

1 hour ago, RedRooster said:

Naomi is currently Knockouts Champion in Impact/TNA, so unless her contract is up before then, I wouldn't think that would even be an option. 

Haha didn't know that, unlikely then!

6 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said:

Rhea's title run has been awfully booked. Has she had one opponent during that entire time who has been a legitimate threat? I obviously want to see more of Ivy Nile but this is just the same as every other opponent she's had since she won the belt.

I imagine we'll get Rhea/Becky as the big women's match at Mania, unfortunately I think she is just plodding on until then.

I think Sane/Auska take the Womens tag belts fairly soon, and defend them against a returning Sasha/Naomi team at Mania.

57 minutes ago, Matthew said:

I’d say Sammy is a safer bet surely?

Be a bit strange to bring him out as a face again but who knows

12 hours ago, Duke said:

The positive news is hopefully that Ricky and Big bill can move on to feuding with someone else and we can get the AEW tag team and trios divisions moving again. In the start tag teams were the highlights of the whole company and they've been a total afterthought lately.

I bet Ibushi subs for Omega and teams with Jericho against Starks and Bill.

5 hours ago, Loki said:

AJ Styles dropping the elbow on Smackdown 2023 (colourised)

It looks like AJ found HHH's old stash backstage somewhere, Jesus.

In other news, LA Knight continues to get the biggest pops of the week.  Clearly their Wrestlemania title plans involve CM Punk and Randy Orton, but they need to find something big for Knight as otherwise their crowd will start to get pissed off - the fans want to see Knight as a champion sooner rather than later.

Always thought Logan Paul/LA Knight would be the plan for Mania.

Also don't see Randy Orton in a title match at Mania, not sure what he does to be honest. Lashley maybe?

Think Orton goes heel and will be Cody's first challenger after Mania if that's the direction they go in.

I see a Orton/Knight/AJ triple threat happening soon with the winner facing Roman at the Rumble.

19 minutes ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

It’s been reported recently the WWE ‘think it’s a possibility’.

Was reported by Fightful first I think, then Meltzer, and then The Independent and Daily Mail ran it (but off the previous reports, so it doesn’t add any extra credibility).

It’s the match, though. They should move heaven and earth to do that. Let Seth fuck about with Gunther or something.

Completely agree with this, Gunther destroying Seth in the opener of night one and Punk/Austin headlining would be a dream.

I just can't see the latter happening at all.

Punk/Austin 😂

That's never happening.

1 hour ago, Supremo said:

The absolute non-reaction to his big line is amazing. You’re not in Kansas anymore, Punk. This is not the crowd you think it is.

”It’s two thousand and twenty three, ladies and gentleman…”

Indeed it is, Phil. And you feel like someone who’s time travelled from 2012. A man completely out of time, chuckling at his own joke because nobody else got it or cared.

Fascinating run, this.

Must be watching different things, a loud CM Punk chant started after that line. People often see what they want to see.

Incredible how this company now has babyface's that are ridiculously over. Punk, Rhodes, Orton, Seth etc.

This company had none about 4 years ago!

Reigns/Punk at Mania 😍

Every wrestling company will work with anyone, regardless of what they have done in the past again at some point in the future.

It really shouldn't come as a surprise anymore.

Could have at least waited until Wrestlemania 40, that would have a good cut off point i feel.

I genuinely can't think of a world where there would be many people invested in a Priest/Drew World Title feud/match with all the other potential options they could have, maybe it's just me though.

I would still like to see Gunther win the Rumble and take the title of a knackered Seth at Mania in fairly quick time, but I imagine we'll get Rollins/Punk now unless they hotshot that to the Rumble.

14 minutes ago, WyattSheepMask said:

At the risk of sounding like Fantasy Booking, which is always shit, I reckon Priest cashes in at the Royal Rumble.

- Rumble Match opens the night with Drew winning. 
- Rollins retains against whoever (Balor perhaps?) and is all “OK, so that’s me v Drew at Mania”. 
- Priest cashes in so you’ve got Priest v Drew instead, and you can do Punk v Rollins at Wrestlemania because that’s what people decided was happening as soon as Punk got fired from AEW

I’m not saying it’s perfect, but it’s what I reckon we’ll end up with

I know you can get away with it now as there are two world title's again, but christ, that as a Mania 40 title match is up there with the Swagger/Del Rio's of the world.

Punk/Austin has to main event night one of Wrestlemania.

From being ridiculed by Jungle Boy to facing the biggest star of all time at Wrestlemania within 9 months would be some going.

9 hours ago, jazzygeofferz said:

I have this awful feeling that Sting's last match is going to be against Flair, when it should be against Darby Allin with a view to passing the torch. 

I imagine it will be a tag/trios match, won't it?

Sting hasn't had a one on one match since joining AEW so I don't see him doing one for his last match, even though it would be miles better. Would actually like to see Sting/Darby.

Yeah Moxley is a great shout actually, would be huge if that ever happens.

The last 15 year's or so has been pretty wild for returns to the WWE for big names, some at the time you probably thought you would never see in a WWE ring again.

2011 - The Rock

2012 - Brock Lesnar

2014 - Ultimate Warrior

2014 - Sting (Not a return I know but still)

2016 - Goldberg

2017 - Kurt Angle

2020 - Edge

2022 - Stone Cold (Wrestling anyway)

2023 - CM Punk

So my question is, is CM Punk the last "big" return that could possibly happen now?

Or have I missed someone obvious somewhere? (apart from Zack Ryder obviously)

1 hour ago, Gay as FOOK said:

It's newz, obviously, but I'd be genuinely so excited for this. Overproduced? Full of snarky promos? Reigns goes over? Don't care.

It's like a really weird dream feud that seemed all but unthinkable. The current man versus the guy who was sort of but not really the man. Both from the same era but only sort of. It's just such an odd dynamic that makes complete sense still. So much you could do here. 

 

Punk wins the Rumble

Uses his title shot at EC in Feb, beats Seth at the said event.

Super Duper Unified Undisputed World Universal WWE Title match at Mania -  CM Punk vs Roman Reigns.

I'm here for it.

1 minute ago, BomberPat said:

the promo was so bad and nakedly disingenuous that I can only assume, given the "here to make money" line afterwards, that it's by design. 

The problem isn't that he didn't do worked shoot stuff, the problem is that they signed someone who's biggest selling points are his mic work and the hold he has on the Chicago market, and he cut a dog-shit promo to crickets in Chicago. If it wasn't intentionally the start of a "sell-out Punk" angle, or at the very least a rehash of what AEW tried to do with him saying that he was happy to be there and work with upcoming talent while wrestlers who knew him called him out as a hypocrite, then it's a really bad start. If it is the start of that angle, it's still a bad promo.

When?

MJF being injured will hopefully force them to be creative, but I imagine though he squeeze's past Joe at Worlds End and then the Devil and his cronies take him out to write him off.

Cue a TK special in a tournament to crown a new Worlds Champion at Revolution or something with Adam Cole winning it for his pal Max, with Cole being revealed as the devil a few months down the line.

4 minutes ago, FUM said:

Or you could just do a triple threat and have someone else eat the pin to Gunthers anger and dismay?

Vacating titles you don’t need to vacate is something a moron would do and I wouldn’t see him as anything less. There’s an argument to say Dolph Ziggler never even got his cult audience back after it because it’s so ridiculously stupid to do as Champion.

Not for me.

Think it's worked perfectly for Joe in AEW.

On the Gunther debate there is no way he should get pinned for the IC title and then win the World Title a couple of months later.

Let him win the World Title while he is IC Champion and have him vacate the latter due to "World Champion commitments".

Or it will be, "well Jey Uso beat him last month for the secondary belt how are we meant to believe him as a World Champion?"

Keeping him undefeated while he is World Champion keeps him and the belt important, and gives a huge rub to whoever dethrones him later down the line. The IC title doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

https://twitter.com/wrestlelamia/status/1728651002658910511?s=19

😂

15 minutes ago, Jacko said:

What’s the over/ under on this going all tits up? I’m going 8 months 

Absolutely and we're all here for it.

Probably won't make Mania 😂