Paid Members IANdrewDiceClay Posted November 22, 2013 Paid Members Share Posted November 22, 2013 As far as match quality goes, 2013 is probably the best year WWF/WWE has ever had. Even in 2000 and 2003, you weren't getting the types of matches you get for free like we do every week now. You'd get them spread out over Raw and Smackdown and stuff, but this year seems to have delivered quality every week. People are genuinely angry when there isn't a 4 star main event on Raw these days. Its almost become Raw's trademark these days. Â A lot of the credit should go to The Shield. They are a ridiculously good unit. You can break them up throughout the card and the quality isn't going to dip. But sticking them in a six man is more or less guaranteed to get a awesome bout out of them. Since they showed up, they've brought it every week. The fact is, they were put into a massive position for people of their age and experience when they first debuted and they did so well with it. I dont think they get half the credit they deserve when it comes to stepping up and not bucking. So many people would have bottled the spot they were put in. Ambrose has lived up to the hype people were giving him, Reigns has improved tremendously, but for me Rollins has been the star of those tag matches. When Bryan and Rollins get tagged in, the willy grows slightly. I'll not lie. Rollins is quite a special worker I reckon. He's so fast paced and exciting. He's dark horse I think. You could see him joining Punk and Bryan as a main event level act once the Shield break up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Fatty Facesitter Posted November 22, 2013 Paid Members Share Posted November 22, 2013 Rollins is my favourite Shield member by a distance. In the earlier matches they had in particular, where they were wrestling at a completely frenetic pace (That Elimination Chamber bout has a mental tempo) and it seemingly never slowed down, he was throwing himself at the opponents in an almost kamikaze like fashion, essentially to live or die trying for his group's cause. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sphinx Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 Ambrose has let me down actually. He's not as good as I expected in the singles matches. Saying that, their six mans are great matches. Like Pitcos, the more I see them, the less they mean to me. I never tune in to see their matches specifically. I sound ungrateful, but they do all blur into one a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Flair's Divorce Lawyer Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 The Shield have been awesome. Has anyone had a better lot of matches as a group in their debut year like The Shield? That TLC match last December was a belter. I cannot remember a better debut match than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Whole Show Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 For another couple of years I'd say. They're still not even a year into their run. The act is over. And there's more you can do with them. A Cena vs Shield program would be good for starters. What better adversary for this superman character than a three-headed monster? Booked smartly, it's a money feud. Â Id imagine there either gonna head in the direction of The Shield vs The Wyatt Family or in the direction of them breaking up, possibly with both. They seem set on making Reigns and will more than likely hot shot him to the top. Even though I would like the WWE try and make single stars out of the guys I also feel there is a lot of potential in them as a group yet. Â More matches with Cena would excite me and Punk hasn't had much interaction with them in ring either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Butternut Squash Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 Shield vs Wyatt's will be hot as fuck even if it's done just half right. Has to happen surely. I think people are ready to cheer the Shield, even if babyface Dean Ambrose is a strange looking idea. Maybe he can continue being a beautiful cocky prick, making out that he's the leader, causing the other two to get sick of him and end the group. I'd rather see that than the likely route of Ambrose/Rollins suddenly becoming shit wrestlers that get pinned every week, leading to Reigns saying "sod this" and heading on to better things. The Shield should be about making three new singles guys, not one. The world title scene desperately needs more fresh faces. Post-Mania, Reigns should be chasing Orton and his (or whoever it is) WWE belt while Ambrose seeks out Cena and his title. Rollins should join Big E in being a credible midcard guy. Him and Ambrose swapping loses with Curtis Axel and Kofi Kingston for two years can fuck off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators PowerButchi Posted November 22, 2013 Moderators Share Posted November 22, 2013 I think Ambrose's stock has dropped the most, for me. I can't really see him being anything but in a Wade Barrett position now. Certainly not as a top guy anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members IANdrewDiceClay Posted November 22, 2013 Paid Members Share Posted November 22, 2013 (edited) Its happening at WrestleMania, according to the regulars. And to be fair it seems obvious thats where its headed. Its why they are doing teases now. The perfect gear change in their dispute has to come at Royal Rumble. I think they'll explode Warrior/Hogan style when all of the are in the ring at the same time. Or at least they should. They did a Wyatts/Shield face off during the commercials on Raw the other week and people went ballistic. So they've dropped the idea of breaking the Shield up for now because that program seems to have legs. Edited November 22, 2013 by IANdrewDiceClay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Statto Posted November 22, 2013 Paid Members Share Posted November 22, 2013 Reigns should be simple. Keep those cool wrist pads/glove things he has, stick him in black trunks, boots and knee pads that suit his wrist pads. Sorted. One badass motherfucker. Â Reigns had some lovely gear in NXT, IIRC. Much like you've described but with some lovely horseshoe/horse head designs in deep reds, bronzes & golds to go with the Thoroughbred nickname he had at the time. Â They should totally bring that nickname back post-Shield, it's perfect for him in every way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Butternut Squash Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 I can't stand the abdominal stretch. So ugly and unnecessarily awkward looking. It's only good when heel tag guy does it in front of the ropes so that his partner can grab his hand and have a pull. Â Manami Toyota does my head in in general but that 'roll' can fuck off as well. What's the point in wearing yourself out all the time with the extra rolling when you're as likely to score the pin with a normal roll up? And it looks silly. As much as I love him Kobashi always let himself down a bit when he would do that shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane O' Mac Version 2 Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 (edited) Just been watching Vengeance 2003, which was the first Smackdown-exclusive PPV, and it was ridiculously stacked. How stacked? Undertaker vs Cena was third from the top. And the Raw wrestlers weren't even involved! This got me thinking, has there ever been a better talent pool than 2003 WWE's roster?  Pretty much every era and major promotion are represented during this time. Your main event stars are comprised of Attitude Era guys with an infusion of new talent and WCW/ECW acquistions.  Hulkamania Era Hulk Hogan (first half of 2003, first as Hulk, then as Mr. America), Roddy Piper (first half of 2003)  New Generation Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash  Attitude Era Stone Cold (active wrestler until Mania, authority figure after), The Rock (until Backlash), Triple H, Undertaker, Kane, Big Show, Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Hardys (Jeff bailed in April).  WCW Goldberg, Ric Flair, Booker T, Scott Steiner, Rey Mysterio, Ultimo Dragon, Billy Kidman  ECW Rob Van Dam, Dudleys, Rhyno, Tajiri  Ruthless Aggression/Universe Era (yeah, I'm using WWE's lame terms to split the eras, easiest way to do it) Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Randy Orton, Batista, WGTT  I've probably missed some key names and some guys, like Hogan and Nash, belong in multiple categories, but have we ever had a talent pool as rich and diverse as this at one time in history? Edited November 22, 2013 by Shane O' Mac Version 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members IANdrewDiceClay Posted November 22, 2013 Paid Members Share Posted November 22, 2013 (edited) And ironically enough, a piss poor year for business where they realised they desperately needed to make new acts. Â Also Mick Foley was around in 2003. Edited November 22, 2013 by IANdrewDiceClay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane O' Mac Version 2 Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 (edited) I thought 2004 was way worse, but you probably have stats that say otherwise. I really enjoyed the product at the time, and it's holding up now watching it again. Pity if the buyrates went down, but WWE was always a good watch in my household then. WWE were scrambling way worse for names after Austin, Rock, Hogan, Lesnar and Goldberg all up and left- though I suppose that started occuring in 2003 and followed through to WMXX. The fact that Bradshaw became a main eventer showed that they didn't have a contingency plan once the major stars were out. Â I thought of Foley, but he didn't wrestle at all in 2003, did he? I'm sure guys like Piper at least had a match or two. Edited November 22, 2013 by Shane O' Mac Version 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted November 23, 2013 Paid Members Share Posted November 23, 2013 I can't stand the abdominal stretch. So ugly and unnecessarily awkward looking. It's only good when heel tag guy does it in front of the ropes so that his partner can grab his hand and have a pull. Manami Toyota does my head in in general but that 'roll' can fuck off as well. What's the point in wearing yourself out all the time with the extra rolling when you're as likely to score the pin with a normal roll up? And it looks silly. As much as I love him Kobashi always let himself down a bit when he would do that shit.  See, I really like the abdominal stretch - done well, it looks nasty and painful, especially when it's done by a big guy who pushes the victim's head downwards at the same time.  The ground-pin/roll-around version was a bit odd, but I'm thinking the logic behind it is similar to the aeroplane spin - disorientate the opponent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted November 23, 2013 Paid Members Share Posted November 23, 2013 (edited) Also, since we're on about Triple H. His 97/99 DX schtick is so bloody cringe-worthy, I always remember thinking Triple H was least cool member of DX and watching clips back of what he was doing, I can understand why. He seemed to spend his time doing rubbish innuendos about his knob, which only Jerry Lawler seemed to react to. Â This 100%. Watching back old Raws from 98/99 recently I was amazed at how crap he was. Road Dogg and Billy Gunn were so funny, energetic and cool and X-Pac was so easy to get behind and root for. Triple H comes across like their lame older brother who hangs out with them because he doesn't have any mates of his own. He has really crap ring attire and awful hair. He's just embarassing. Â Also, I never understood his "let's get ready to suck it" line. It makes no sense and is super gay. Edited November 23, 2013 by LaGoosh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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