Paid Members Jazzy G Posted January 30, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted January 30, 2018 I wonder whether 'Taker is working as a road agent? He'd certainly know how to lay out some things like that, and it'd explain why Michelle McCool looked so dominant at times in the women's Rumble. They could certainly do a lot worse than using him in a role like that given his experience.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobby dazzler Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 Charlotte fucked up on the pre show when asked who she would like to see win the Royal Rumble and face at Wrestlemania and she answered "Nikki Bella". I bet Nikki was over the moon that her big surprise return was ruined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Statto Posted January 30, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted January 30, 2018 That was a highlight of the pre-show for me, but it didn't top the ring announcer having to ask the referee what Kalisto & Gran Metalik's tag partner was called in order to be able to finish his announcement. (it was Lince Dorado, BTW). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane O' Mac Version 2 Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 12 hours ago, The King Of Swing said: Graves isn't particularly consistent. He'll be all ripping on the faces one second and burying Elias the next. It's like he's inherited all of JBL's worst traits. I hear this kind of thing a lot, but I don't see it as being bad. It's Graves staying true to the character he had in NXT (don't know how much of it was how he is in real life), where he was a bit counter-culture and had this "too cool for school" vibe. The Saviour of Misbehaviour and all that. So, for him, it's not about being a heel or a face, it's having a well rounded personality. If you pay attention, the people Graves really rips into- Sasha, Enzo, Elias... they're all people who he sees as being "try-hards". He'll say positive things about The Bar, The Revival, The Hardys, The Club, doesn't matter if they're heel or face. He'll praise Finn Balor and Kevin Owens, or AJ Styles and Jinder Mahal, on the same show, because while having separate alignments, he respects different things about them, their athletic ability, their cunning, their ability to show heart. But he'll bury the fuck out of Sasha, Enzo, Elias... throw Bayley in there, because they're not the kind of people that Corey Graves respects, whether it be down to ego, or not showing toughness/edge, or your mouth writing checks your ass can't cash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted January 30, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted January 30, 2018 Yeah, I like Graves because he's consistent, if nothing else. He reminds me a lot of Jesse Ventura. On that "too cool for school" front, he used to bury Becky Lynch in NXT for being a wannabe punk, back when she was still headbanging her way through her entrance - and I think that had a genuine influence on her changing up the character, and her look, to something that fit her personality better. I love that, no matter what, he hates Enzo, he hates Elias, and he hates New Jersey. I much prefer that to a commentator suddenly loving or hating someone because they turned face or heel this week, after years of burying them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted January 30, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted January 30, 2018 17 minutes ago, BomberPat said: I love that, no matter what, he hates Enzo, he hates Elias, and he hates New Jersey. I much prefer that to a commentator suddenly loving or hating someone because they turned face or heel this week, after years of burying them. Yeah I really like that about him, as you say- the consistency. Ventura was great at this sort of thing- he'd always bring up Hogan's underhand tactics, always call Tito 'Chico' and little things like that. Re Graves, I also loved how obsessed he was with Eva Marie too. Looks like he's transferring that obsession onto to Mandy Rose now. The Elias one was always interesting, I think it stemmed down to Graves being frustrated in NXT that he could never nail down Elias for a worthwhile interview or conversation to find out more about the 'drifter'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted January 30, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted January 30, 2018 19 minutes ago, PunkStep said: The Elias one was always interesting, I think it stemmed down to Graves being frustrated in NXT that he could never nail down Elias for a worthwhile interview or conversation to find out more about the 'drifter'. I think he also was trying to plant that the seed that the whole "Drifter" act was a fraud; early on in the gimmick, he'd talk about how he'd spoken to people at homeless shelters in Pittsburgh (their mutual hometown) and how no one their had ever seen Elias before, and call into question how Elias could be booked on international shows; "did he drift all the way to the UK?", that sort of thing. Now, admittedly, Graves is the heel commentator so perhaps that should have been coming from a babyface and Graves should have been on Elias' side, but I think that when a heel announcer likes the odd babyface, or dislikes the odd heel, it makes them sound more human, and more legitimate as a result. Similarly, Graves being from the same city as Elias, and having a gimmick that you'd associate with alternative music and underground scenes and so on, lent the whole thing a bit more credibility than if it had been Percy Watson trying to call Elias out on his shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members ColinBollocks Posted January 30, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted January 30, 2018 Add me to the list of Graves fans. He's far from perfect, but in the sterile, flip flop and buzzword-heavy world of WWE commentary, he's the best they've had in absolute ages. Similar to when CM Punk was doing it, he seems to get that there are people listening to him every week, so may as well try and make what he says somewhat interesting and entertaining. Never forget how fresh Raw felt the moment JBL was demoted to SD and Graves was given the Raw position. Fully highlighted how bad JBL was for so many years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted January 30, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted January 30, 2018 Has anyone on the main roster regressed more in terms of their gear than Seth Rollins? Slowly but surely his gear has gotten more and more like something an Indy geek would wear in CZW in 2003. He’ll have baggy pleather on by the end of the year, mark my words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Bus Surfer Posted January 30, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted January 30, 2018 I haven't been bothered with Rollins for a while, but seeing him laugh off being eliminated from the Rumble by Reigns was kinda goofy. Plus he comes off as a right prick (again) during the 24 doc that came out yesterday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted January 30, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted January 30, 2018 5 minutes ago, Silky Kisser said: I haven't been bothered with Rollins for a while, but seeing him laugh off being eliminated from the Rumble by Reigns was kinda goofy. Oh God, that was awful. That sort of, "oh, you got me!" reaction is something best reserved for a midcard babyface tag team, not two blokes with a (kayfabe) reasonable chance of winning the thing. Between that, a stinker of a tag match in front of an understandably dead crowd, and the state of his tights, Seth had a right shocker of a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Jazzy G Posted January 30, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted January 30, 2018 I thought it was funny when he came in and started hitting slingblades on everybody like some kind of kid who's just watched a Tanahashi match and gone to play wrestling in his mate's back yard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted January 30, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted January 30, 2018 Does anyone else hate that Slingblade move? I absolutely despise it. It just looks really shit. Doesn't matter who hits it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nero Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 I probably enjoyed the women's Rumble more than the men's. Disappointed the Bella's came out so late and wonder if its only because of who they're dating/married too that they get the "attention" that they do! Trish looked in good shape but wayyyy too much cosmetic surgery, she looked cat like! Nice touch by Lita to have Luna and Chyna's names sharpied on her arm What happened to Booker after the exchange he had with Graves about "tag teams", he wasn't around after that match Rey looked better now than in the latter days of his WWE run And Nakamura winning was a bit blah to me. I just dont get him. Half the time he looks constipated or a borderline sex pest Overall 8 out of 10 for the PPV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awards Moderator HarmonicGenerator Posted January 30, 2018 Awards Moderator Share Posted January 30, 2018 It was a shame that several of the entrants in the women’s Rumble were met with crowd reactions that were all about their husbands. Happened to both Bellas as well as Lana, I think McCool got it as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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