Linus

Eva Marie injured Carmella last night. *sigh*

Because NJPW World is worldwide, they only have Japanese rights for some songs. So they dub or silence those ones

The big issue with Raw, and one of the big problems with WWE in general, can both be solved by the same thing.

 

Accepting Raw has to stay at 3 hours (which is its biggest problem), it's how you use those 3 hours which is an issue. And not creating new stars is the big issue facing WWE. So, instead of seeing the same people over, and over, and over again across those 3 hours, they should give the mid-carders more time. Not more match time, necessarily (although a three-minute Neville-Stardust match does nothing for anybody) but time to get themselves over.

 

How do you do it? There's no easy answer, but I'd say that NXT - witness how Chad Gable was introduced and slowly built - points the way a little.

It was the show that really got me back into wrestling and that's because it's an easy watch, and the booking is the common sense stuff that's worked for sixty-odd years. Who are these people? Why are they fighting? Who will they fight next? It's simple questions asked and answered, week on week. It's not a perfect show, but it has many more hits than misses. The announcing is competent (which shouldn't be a plus but is compared to Impact & Raw & Smackdown) and the matches (mostly) simple and accomplished.

Decent show this week but a couple of things stood out for me:

 

1) That the promo work by the NXT guys is streets ahead of the main roster guys. Promo classes do work!

 

2) That Crews, Gargano & Ciampa are good but they don't connect with the audience beyond "look at this move!" Ciampa, particularly, needs to slow down and let what he does sink in before doing something else.

Is it just me that thinks he looks horrible?

Bryan Alvarez made the point that everyone on the show is a child. Except for HHH & Stephanie. And John Cena. They're the adults.

I refer you to his "I'm going to Heaven" promo. No bigger geek.

It might be more a point about the preceding weeks but I didn't think Raw was any worse this week than usual. In fact, the sheer goofiness of the Kane stuff - and a strong start and strong finish - probably lifted it above recent efforts.

 

The biggest problem for me is Rollins. He's being booked so weak that the world title is a joke. With a weak world champion, not programmed against Cena, there's no incentive to stick around and watch him.

I think maybe the worst excesses of the FWA crowd might have been after I left, in 2002, but it's definitely something I have an issue with at PROGRESS at times. But for me, and I can only talk for me, other than the "we are awesome!" chant, I can't put the NXT fans on anywhere near that level.

 

And they add to the show in a lot of ways: the adulation for Zayn & Bayley, the adoption of cheesy gimmicks like BullFit and Perfect 10, and the booing of actual heels and cheering of actual babyfaces, which is rare these days.

Eh, I think you have a bigger problem with "smarkwanks", whatever they are, than with the age-old problem of a shitarse getting a push. Each to their own, but maybe NXT - as long as it's taped at Full Sail - isn't for you.

It doesn't matter when they were signed, it's what they've done - and been seen to have done - since they signed. Some worked hard, others didn't. Even if that's not strictly true, that's the perception.

 

Okay. I don't see it but it might be me. I think I can count the times they've been unfunny or annoying on one hand in the year I've been watching. Opinions!

 

Are chants of 'All Botch Everything' or 'You can't wrestle' funny?

 

It's funny because it's true.

 

Elsewhere on the board, people have talked about the successor to John Cena, and how important it is that it not be forced, pushed down people's throats. Yet that's exactly what they're doing with Eva Marie. And because it's Full Sail, the assumption by some of you is that they're being smarks, rather than genuine fans who see someone being put on their show - which has lower ability thresholds than the main roster - who hasn't put in the work, and isn't ready. Dana Brooke is green as hell. Carmella, too. But they're green after years of training at the Performance Centre. They've put in the work and the Florida fans have seen it at house shows. Eva Marie? Management project who sucks. I'd be chanting shit at her, too.

I've got Dr Wagner Jr & The Assassin (I or II, doesn't matter) on my arm. I showed Wagner the tattoo in the middle of a match and he too-sweeted me.

 

That's kinda amazing, but there's no chance in hell I'd ever get a wrestling tattoo/

That's TERRIFYING

Okay. I don't see it but it might be me. I think I can count the times they've been unfunny or annoying on one hand in the year I've been watching. Opinions!

She's the bleedin image of one of me mates, is Paige.

You're mates with Vampiro??? I kid, I kiiiiiiiid!

We get NXT. I just don't like shit unfunny fans and their shit unfunny chants.

But, playing Devil's advocate here, aren't the Full Sail fans a part of NXT? Aren't they playing our role for us, by chanting "Super Dragon" at the Queen of Botch? And are they really that shit or that unfunny?

Which was covered by the second half of my post...

I sometimes wonder if you lot don't get NXT or if I think it's something completely different to the rest of you

What is with tubsters who would be fuck-all use in a proper fight against anyone with any training wearing these Tap Out tops? I see them in Piccadilly Gardens all the time. Proper fat bastards with tits.

I saw three generations of a family wearing them in a Burger King in Poole.

The Asuka segment was pretty underwhelming. The heels' promo about chasing away Charlotte and Becky... well, no, they made it to Raw and one won a championship. Asuka's smile was great though and the segment did do it's job in that I wanna see Asuka absolutely slay these two now.

You mean heels lie?

 

Asuka is going to kick their ass-ka.

I saw the crowd at Summerslam '92

Wait til they do a Summerslam in Sofia...

I know it's not DVDs, but there's a guy who puts up pretty much every BJPW, DDT, Noah, AJPW, Dragon Gate, and tons of other shows, on a mixture of Dailymotion, Vimeo & Veoh accounts. I find I can watch pretty much what I want using that wonderful guy.

Hahaha!

 

 

 

 

I love goofy shit like that!