The Smackers Thread

[Nick James]

I have no issues with more women being brought in. It's long been a complaint that there aren't enough women to have two women's divisions and a tag division. Along with repetitive matches and feuds, some fresh people to give some variety isn't really a negative.

I draw the line at Eric fucking Young coming back, though.

[FUM]

3 hours ago, Nick James said:

I have no issues with more women being brought in. It's long been a complaint that there aren't enough women to have two women's divisions and a tag division. Along with repetitive matches and feuds, some fresh people to give some variety isn't really a negative.

I draw the line at Eric fucking Young coming back, though.

I don’t think anyone is necessarily complaining at the people being brought back. It’s the assumption that we all have a clue who these folk are. NXT wasn’t a third brand no matter how much they want to pretend it was, it was a development league that a massive percentage of viewers won’t have seen. This isn’t AJ’s or Samoa Joe’s they’re trying to get fan reactions for - it’s wrestlers who we don’t have the first idea about and wouldn’t have recognised them if we walked by them in the street.

[BomberPat]

I love Tegan Nox and I'm glad she's getting a shot at a proper WWE run, but it feels like "music you don't recognise starts playing and a female wrestler debuts/returns" has been a part of every show since Summerslam, which combined with the fact that a lot of the wrestlers in question haven't really been given a USP or a reason for the audience to care about them being back (beyond "do you remember?"), gets pretty exhausting.

In the six months or so since Triple H took over, they've brought back Tegan Nox, Emma, Mia Yim, Dakota Kai, Sarah Logan, B-Fab and Candace LeRae, called up Io Shirai, and also had Alexa Bliss and Bagley return from wherever they had been. It's great to have more roster depth, but it's better to spend some time getting to know a character and understand why we should care about them.

[Statto]

Bringing back a previously released woman every week will mean they don't have to use as many total randoms to pad out the Rumble, and I don't really know if that's a good thing.

[DavidB6937]

Yeah there's definitely a good few names there that never really got a decent crack at a main roster run so I'm glad to see them back..

..but they need to be given a better chance than just being thrown out there to sink or swim based on a few people potentially remembering them.

WWE have the time to dedicate to documentaries or short vignettes. They've been doing it more recently anyway with Cody, Charlotte and a few others. But these newbies/returnees would benefit from them even more.

[Frankie Crisp]

8 hours ago, Supremo said:

Stay for the brilliant main event and, most importantly of all, the double Uso handshake. Five stars.

Sami is legit one of the few humans on the planet - in any industry - to make me snort with laughter on a regular basis. The Usos are a great foil but the man is just magic.

The rumours of The Rock winning the Rumble to set up WM39 with Roman are disheartening, so I’m hoping it’ll be Sami and KO failing to win the tag belts only for Sami to somehow wangle a match with Roman after he’s won the main event. Sami winning it with shenanigans galore.

Screams. Cheers. Tears. Fireworks. We all die happy and On-Topic is retired because wrestling has peaked.

[Fatty Facesitter]

Every credit to Triple H for sticking with people he helped through NXT and giving them a shot on the big stage. I think it's a massively admirable trait and I've no issue with his perceived stubbornness about it. 

These reactions are less an indictment on him bringing back NXT stars and more an indictment on Vince not having a clear direction for them on arrival and not actively trying to give them a platform to prosper. Over time, these reactions will get better once the stench of Vince is finally gone. 

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. We want new stars! We want big names from the past to return! He'll never win. 

[The King of Old School]

I'd like to see Sami win the Rumble and then Roman convinces him to use his title shot at the EC saying how he deserves his moment in front of his home town etc, how they will have some fun but says at the end that Sami will do the "right thing". Cue them all beating the shit out of him after the match with KO making the save.

Or we could just have The Rock win the Rumble for no reason at all.

[The Dart]

If KO vs. Reigns is to happen at Rumble - KO loses, Sami wins the Rumble.    Reigns convinces Sami to use his title shot at EC in his hometown, but then at the show he tells Sami he has to lay down.   Sami refuses to, KO helps Sami win.   Then KO turns on Sami just like he did when Sami won the NXT title - jealous that he couldn't beat Reigns.  KO turning on Sami in Montreal would also be a mega moment, the crowd would go crazy.   Then KO vs. Sami at Mania for the title - how cool would that be given their history.    And then just Reigns vs. Rock somehow, no title involved.

If it is Rock v Reigns at Mania and if it is for the title - how are they going to get to that without having Rock in the Rumble.   The only way I can think is having Sami win the Rumble, but Reigns convinces him to use the shot at EC - but then Sami loses and Rock just comes out the next show and challenges Reigns.   Boring.

[DavidB6937]

2 hours ago, Fatty Facesitter said:

These reactions are less an indictment on him bringing back NXT stars and more an indictment on Vince not having a clear direction for them on arrival and not actively trying to give them a platform to prosper. Over time, these reactions will get better once the stench of Vince is finally gone. 

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. We want new stars! We want big names from the past to return! He'll never win. 

Thats not really true though is it? Far too easy to default to blaming Vince and how he did things. If he did things wrong then why isn't HHH trying to do things better for these people he's bringing back?

He's got a second chance with so many of them so why not use it properly? He doesn't have to shove them out there with surprise returns to deadly silence most of the time.

Blame Vince all you want for whatever happened before. But what about what's happening now?

[Fatty Facesitter]

It's incredibly easy to default to Vince and blame him for how he did things because he was terrible at managing the majority of NXT call-ups. 

Using them 'properly' is subjective. By all means go the Bray Wyatt route and do a bunch of vignettes. But equally, by having them return and make a splash or an instant impact right out of the gate - immediately looking like they can mix it up with current talent (a bizarre concept!) - accelerates that process and throws them straight into the mixer. 

The crowd reactions are disappointing but I think that's more of a reflection on how they've been previously conditioned. Too often NXT callups would be given a name change and a mini-push before they'd be forgotten about by Vince and left to rot. Yes, there's a difference between Raw/SD's reach and NXTs reach, but they consistently failed to accentuate the positives of how Triple H had built them up in NXT. 

By presenting this latest contingent as a threat, it's a win-win situation. Again, a mad concept but if you actually present people as a threat and actively do so, audiences will take them more seriously. It'll take time initially, but the next generation of callups will hopefully benefit as a result. They also need to introduce these people with some immediacy to refresh the talent pool and to make up for lost time. A surprise debut is a good way to do this and throw therm immediately into the public consciousness.  

Also they're not going to expect a Tegan Nox to get a Hogan-style pop in the first week, or even two weeks. These things take time. But at least he's actually sticking with the people he saw potential with in NXT and is determined to help them be successful. I'd be interested to see the reactions in 12 months time under his tenure with this in mind. 

[FUM]

2 hours ago, The Dart said:

If KO vs. Reigns is to happen at Rumble - KO loses, Sami wins the Rumble.    Reigns convinces Sami to use his title shot at EC in his hometown, but then at the show he tells Sami he has to lay down.   Sami refuses to, KO helps Sami win.   Then KO turns on Sami just like he did when Sami won the NXT title - jealous that he couldn't beat Reigns.  KO turning on Sami in Montreal would also be a mega moment, the crowd would go crazy.   Then KO vs. Sami at Mania for the title - how cool would that be given their history.    And then just Reigns vs. Rock somehow, no title involved.

If it is Rock v Reigns at Mania and if it is for the title - how are they going to get to that without having Rock in the Rumble.   The only way I can think is having Sami win the Rumble, but Reigns convinces him to use the shot at EC - but then Sami loses and Rock just comes out the next show and challenges Reigns.   Boring.

Some on here think there is no chance of seeing Sami v Roman as the main event of Mania for the title and you’re trying to sell Sami v KO?

[RedRooster]

With talk of Austin wrestling another match, there’s surely an outside chance of him being the one to team up with Kevin Owens to face The Usos at ‘Mania, freeing up Zayn to face Reigns. 

I do have a fear, though, that Cody Rhodes will be the pick, should Rock be unavailable. Nothing against Cody, but I’m just so bloody invested in seeing Zayn be the one to win the title from Roman. 

[FUM]

2 hours ago, Fatty Facesitter said:

The crowd reactions are disappointing but I think that's more of a reflection on how they've been previously conditioned. Too often NXT callups would be given a name change and a mini-push before they'd be forgotten about by Vince and left to rot. Yes, there's a difference between Raw/SD's reach and NXTs reach, but they consistently failed to accentuate the positives of how Triple H had built them up in NXT. 

It’s nothing to do with how Vince forgot them or they were previously conditioned. The audience haven’t a clue who the likes of Tegan Nox or Candice LeRae are for them to be turning up in the manner they did. They’re being treated like surprise returns who spent lengthy amounts of time on the main roster when I’m not convinced either of them even had a spell there before they turned up. He’s making assumptions that everyone watched NXT after its small boom period when the truth is hardly anyone did.

[simonworden]

4 hours ago, The King of Old School said:

I'd like to see Sami win the Rumble and then Roman convinces him to use his title shot at the EC saying how he deserves his moment in front of his home town etc, how they will have some fun but says at the end that Sami will do the "right thing". Cue them all beating the shit out of him after the match with KO making the save.

Or we could just have The Rock win the Rumble for no reason at all.

Only way the Rock thing makes sense and in my opinion works is if they could get the Rock making a few public head of the table digs etc and have Reigns come to him. Give him a slap at a press conference of even stage it in a Hollywood restaurant. Rock gets into the rumble and wins with Sami Vs Roman at the chamber. 

Based on the reaction there you could have Rock Roman on night 1 and either the tag match or the 3 brother Usos Vs Sami, Kevin and ....... (Austin?) With Sami getting the shot on night 2 if they win. As an alternate to Austin I'd use Drew or a returning Cody who can turn heel on araw to set up a decent first challenger if Sami did win.

Failing that have Roman beat Rock on night 2 after throwing powder in his face and then Sami comes out to make the save while Rock shouts "go get him Sami". The eventual Sami Rock match never happens but Rock moans about it forever.