The Smackers Thread

[Hannibal Scorch]

2 minutes ago, Lion_of_the_Midlands said:

There are some shit tattoos in wrestling but Cody's while jarring peaking out of a collar isn't in the top 10. 

Respectfully disagree. I don’t even think the design is THAT bad, but it’s placement is ridiculous 

[d-d-d-dAz]

6 minutes ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

Respectfully disagree. I don’t even think the design is THAT bad, but it’s placement is ridiculous 

Can’t hide it in a polka dotted or star spangled leotard, brother!

[Lion_of_the_Midlands]

16 minutes ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

I don’t even think the design is THAT bad, but it’s placement is ridiculous 

That's how I feel about Orange Cassidy, but let's not go down that route. 

[Devon Malcolm]

As brilliant as Cody's been since returning, and he was superb again this week, Roman Reigns just gets better week on week, to the point where he's clearly too good for all this by now and looks out of place because he is so much better than everyone else in the industry right now. WWE must be wondering whether they really should take the title off him - because then they give him an excuse to not be around anymore, or not nearly as much. And I don't think they can afford that.

Edited March 4, 2023 by Devon Malcolm

[DavidB6937]

Its crazy how much the atmosphere changes as soon as his music hits. Everyone comes alive. In that one second it all goes up a gear. You know you're about to see greatness and Roman is just so fucking good from the moment he comes through that curtain. Im gutted that he probably won't be around for the UK shows because that would be one of my favourite live experiences. I think the last time I saw him was in the Shield doing something with the Undertaker but I might have made that up in my head.

[Lion_of_the_Midlands]

11 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said:

WWE must be wondering whether they really should take the title off him - because then they give him an excuse to not be around anymore, or not nearly as much. And I don't think they can afford that.

That is a very good point. We could just be in year 3 of Roman Sammartino's 8 year run with the belts. Start building someone now to beat Roman in 5 years time. 

[Devon Malcolm]

It would have made WWE's position a lot easier if fans had starting booing Cody, in the aftermath of the Sami Zayn stuff or not. Then they'd have a get-out clause to keep it on Reigns. But they're not, they absolutely love him and he's helping that by being so good since he returned. But we all know that when he wins the title it's all downhill and they will need to keep the Bloodline stuff very strong to keep Reigns around afterwards. Good to have these possibilities to contemplate in wrestling these days, though, it almost never happens now.

[JLM]

Really strong episode this week I thought. Moved at a great pace, all of the Roman/Bloodline/Sami/Cody stuff hit all the right notes. It almost feels redundant as we're all doing it, but I still feel the need to praise Roman's performances week to week. Sensational stuff from him every single time, what an incredible talent. As good a job as they're doing with Cody, I'd take Roman as champion for another year just so I can keep watching him work at this level. 

I never check if any matches are announced ahead of time, so it was great when the Solo vs Sami graphic popped up as the main event and I felt a genuine "ooh that's gonna be spicy" flutter of anticipation about it. How are they ever going to top this storyline, it's been an absolute masterpiece. 

It's a testament to Escobar's ability that he is such a natural heel, he has spent a very long time crafting this cartel boss character, and yet he's been able to 180 turn into fiery principled babyface so seamlessly. I still don't like it much as a direction for him and I think it's been a bit rushed, but he is nailing it. Dom continues to kill it in this role.

Good win for Rhea and I loved her hitting Riptide on Escobar too. They're keeping her strong, but still a bit awkward when she's a heel in all aspects aside from the mania match they're building her for, where all signs suggest she should be the underdog babyface against a very unlikeable champion who isn't taking her seriously. None of that is Rhea's fault though, and she continues to be excellent in any role they give her. 

I love Gunther so much. Whoever wins the clusterfuck to face him at Mania had better lose. 

Lashley being the voice of the UKFF against Bray is wonderful. I have never been more behind him. I don't want to engage in this spooky bollocks, just fight me you ridiculous clown of a man. Bray and Howdy being heels against a babyface pointing out that they are pure wrestlecrap is the most tolerable presentation of Bray for me right now. Still feel for Lashley that he's saddled with this at all though. 

But yeah, much stronger than last week for me overall. Good Smackers.                                                        

Edited March 4, 2023 by JLM

[WyattSheepMask]

11 hours ago, Gay as FOOK said:

I'm not saying it's Rock & Austin, but fuck me. 

You could just about cut a My Way edit at the end if they started trading shots. 

All glory to The Plan. 

Got to wait for the blows to come for the chorus, but at we’ve got the intro

Edited March 4, 2023 by WyattSheepMask

[Supremo]

The greatest tragedy is that Roman became this in what feels like the twilight of his in-ring career, before he inevitably jumps to Hollywood. The years we could have had of him as this top tier heel, and instead they made him wear blue contact lenses. Criminal.

But yeah. Whisper it quietly. I think I want Roman to retain at Wrestlemania!

Edited March 4, 2023 by Supremo

[d-d-d-dAz]

35 minutes ago, Supremo said:

The greatest tragedy is that Roman became this in what feels like the twilight of his in-ring career, before he inevitably jumps to Hollywood. The years we could have had of him as this top tier heel, and instead they made him wear blue contact lenses. Criminal.

But yeah. Whisper it quietly. I think I want Roman to retain at Wrestlemania!

He’s the same age Cena was when he started going missing for long periods of time.

I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s gone until at least Summerslam after Mania to be honest, as I think it’s been known for a while that he’s desperate for some time off and you have to think at this point Hollywood will be all over him.

Given he’s had a recurrent, serious health issue in his life I absolutely wouldn’t blame him for wanting to have big chunks of the year on an easier schedule where he could see his kids.

I don’t want him to retain, I’m still on the Cody train, but I’m horrified by the prospect of a WWE without him.

On the Hollywood note, it’s interesting how all of the recent wrestlers who have made the move have had distinct ‘personalities’ in the roles they’ve taken. I can’t wait to see what sort of actor Roman becomes.

Edited March 4, 2023 by d-d-d-dAz

[Pinc]

Definitely agree about the energy for that Cody/Roman segment. I haven't watched as closely the last few years, but I'm struggling to think of the last segment they did where it was so clear you were seeing the top two stars in the industry. And extra marks for the fact it didn't involve Cena and/or someone from the Attitude Era.

I didn't think Cody quite held up his end of it once they actually started talking, and my eyes rolled hard when he told Roman he had 'superseded hyperbole'. But yeah, this is the best mise en scene they've had around a Mania main event in absolutely ages.

Supremo is right, it's such a shame we only got a few years of gaslighting mob boss Roman, and so many of sad eyed Bossman Roman.

[Fatty Facesitter]

Cody's brilliant. Roman's brilliant. The Bloodline is brilliant. Sami's brilliant.

It's all subjective but what makes the whole thing entertaining for me is that there's no wrong way this could have developed - had they pulled the trigger on Sami beating Roman, it would have an epic pop and I still believe they'd have found their way to a good story for a rematch, a triple threat, etc. Or Roman defending both titles on both nights, or, as they have done, the original plan.

WWE is better at the moment than it has been in a long, long time. 

[Loki]

Big pop for LA Knight this week.  He’s getting serious crowd reactions.  When the product is hot everyone gets over, but even so I think they’ll pull the trigger on him this year post Mania.

Edited March 4, 2023 by Loki

[Lenin]

Another week and another quality segment involving The Bloodline. This story arc tops Kenny Omega/Adam 'Hangman' Page now. It's incredibly hard to retain people's attention, especially so when the titles have been on the same person for such a long time but Roman Reigns and co. have navigated this beautifully. 

I can't remember the last time someone got themselves over on their own and DIDN'T get their moment of glory but it's absolutely the right decision to have RR unbeatable heading into Wrestlemania. I never thought for a minute that Cody would or could be THE guy to end Roman's reign but credit where it is due, he's more than delivered since he came back. 

As they're likely to separate the titles again I could see Sami going over Cody, with the help of Jey, as a last nod to being family. I think that could be a satisfying way to get a title on each brand, tie up The Bloodline/Zayn story AND allow Cody to the main man on the main brand. 

Bray Wyatt. Good grief. I don't know why he was brought back. The clue hunt leading up to his  with the QR codes etc. was exceptionally well done and kept the buzz going a lot longer than I thought possible but it's all just a Potemkin village, absolutely nothing behind it.