The Smackers Thread

[TheScarlettChad]

I don't think Dwayne being an arse hole is a sign of the boom period dying. But Cody being the corporate champ as a heel is kinda hilarious. He's already that guy. Just not as a heel. He wears suits, him turning wouldn't be shocking or impactful. He'd be a great bad guy mind you but it's not this drastic change. 

[air_raid]

4 hours ago, LaGoosh said:

Surely it's just the logical end point to the "this isn't wrestling, this is a story"/"this is cinema" bollocks they've been spouting so hard the past few years?

Yeah, why not? We’re hurtling towards a story chapter in the WWECU where the WWE Champion is turning up for a chat rather than a match, and the “World Champion” is doing (checks notes) absolutely nothing for the second straight PLE. Sure feels like the Ant-Man 2 you sit through so Avengers Endgame makes slightly more sense but otherwise you’d skip and will never revisit.

Men, anyway. The women’s is a pick ‘em. Liv has the story with Ripley but it feels rather finished. My personal preference would be Alexa and it would be freshest of the actually-almost-likely matches i.e. not including The Juicy, but my gut says Belair. She’s lost her way a little since SummerSlam 23 but a collision with (and victory over) Rhea could do well to restore the path they seemed to be on to making those pair the twin aces of “their generation” as long as the next draft separated Ripley from that belt and they don’t fight again for about two years. And neither has to lose to fucking Charlotte.

Re : Dwayne, for me it goes one of two ways. Either he wins the belt from Cody at SummerSlam in a delayed edition of the match he’s thought to have wanted for Mania 41 originally, and defends it against Reigns at 42, or they forego any title distraction and go straight to Rock vs Reigns at point indeterminate because Romans slighted by Rock seemingly choosing Cody over him. And we try and forget this “soul” bollocks ever happened.

[Sphinx]

The Rock/Cody promo was awful, but where did all this about The Rock doing ket come from?

Also, hoping for a bit of this post-Mania:

Edited February 22, 2025 by Sphinx

[Captain SlackBladder]

One positive I can think of, and that's R Truth still being hilarious. Especially with the tag to Miz.

Sad that that, along with the incredibly correct KO promo, this was a highlight. 

 

 

[Supremo]

2 hours ago, Sphinx said:

The Rock/Cody promo was awful, but where did all this about The Rock doing ket come from?

The bonkers, erratic behaviour, both on and off screen. If he’s not on something then he’s just an actual nutter. I wonder, after exclusively pissing in bottles, if he’s now just necking them straight afterwards.

During his appearances on the Raw after Wrestlemania and Bad Blood last year, he set into motion what everyone assumed was the direction for Wrestlemania, facing either Cody or Roman. January 6th he rocked up as a babyface, noshed off a bunch of Netflix executives, and flushed away a year’s worth of storyline by ignoring everything that came before it, deciding to suddenly be best mates with Cody and acknowledging Roman as the Tribal Chief. 

Six weeks later, after the company has been (badly) scrambling to recover and make sense of this year’s Wrestlemania season, on a random Thursday night, he informs them he’s changed his mind again and fancies coming back to re-ignite his storyline with Cody. Now, on the same show that they’re determining Cody’s Wrestlemania opponent - Elimination Chamber - there’s now an adjacent storyline that he claims won’t result in a match, about whether Cody will sell his soul to The Rock. And the promo itself was an absolute K-hole of a performance. Portraying about six different versions of himself, losing his train of thought, flip flopping between heel and babyface, chatting absolute shit. “I know your daughter!” “Your mum is nice!” “How many Instagram followers you got, lad?” “I want your soul.” Wild to go with the creepy body language, too. Does Cody have to shag him in order to turn heel next Saturday?

It’s those new fans I feel for, who’ve jumped on board these last few years and had the time of their life. Suddenly, everything is turning to shit because the most powerful man in the company has a brain made of scrambled eggs.

Edited February 22, 2025 by Supremo

[RedTwoster]

3 hours ago, Captain SlackBladder said:

So... just for clarification... has big Dewey gone full Bi-Polar Satan? Can't decide if he's face or heel and wants to steal Cody's soul. ? 

I read it as him being an insincere heel, offering Cody the world, if he sells his soul. I don’t think the logic behind the segment was out-there either - Rock outlined why he wanted Cody. Cody stood up to him, and now he wants to own him; to essentially admit he’s subservient because Rock has more power than he does. Like any bully, Rock needs to feel like he’s the one in control. 

I reckon this has the potential to turn out really well, and become something extremely interesting. 

[Doog]

As ever the reactions on here have been to the extreme. If it's something we don't like it's "the worst thing ever, the product is dreadful, boom period is over, resign Triple H, Rock is on drugs, WWE is finished", if we like it it's "the best era ever, the World is amazing, knight Triple H, we're living our best lives, everything is hitting, my God I'm crying and fist pumping at the TV".

Either of the above can be applied on a show by show basis, same with the AEW thread.

Some people will like it, some won't, its certainly not been half as bad as some have made out on herd and as RedTwoster says this could actually turn out really good. If not, it is what it is and there's still plenty to enjoy.

Edited February 22, 2025 by Doog

[DavidB6937]

If you think the opinions are extreme on here never look anywhere else.

[Chili]

4 minutes ago, Doog said:

As ever the reactions on here have been to the extreme. If it's something we don't like it's "the worst thing ever, the product is dreadful, boom period is over, resign Triple H, Rock is on drugs, WWE is finished", if we like it it's "the best era ever, the World is amazing, knight Triple H, we're living our best lives, everything is hitting, my God I'm crying and fist pumping at the TV".

Either of the above can be applied on a show by show basis, same with the AEW thread.

Some people will like it, some won't, its certainly not been half as bad as some have made out on herd and as RedTwoster says this could actually turn out really good. If not, it is what it is and there's still plenty to enjoy.

Well it's a discussion forum and most of the posters are absolutely using a bit of hyperbolic sarcasm to inject humour in their replies. Some might like it, some might not, be a fucking dull as dishwater forum if we all just had a 'lets wait and see' milquetoast reply to everything. 

[Doog]

It's not a "i don't like it" though is it, that's fine, not everyone is going to agree and be on a let's see basis.

It's the hyberloic statements, and let's not kid ourselves, it isn't sarcasm. We've already decided everything has gone to shit, and it's the worst thing ever. It's the same when something decent happens, some of it is enthusiasm, aye, but a lot ia over the top.

Sometimes, (most of the time) things can be just good or not good, it doesn't have to be AMAZING!! or DREADFUL!!. 

[JLM]

The show had some good bits and some bad bits. The good bits were quite good but NOT that good, chill out guys. The bad bits were bad but lets not get crazy. I'll give it the customary rating of "It is what it is" out of 5 and move on to the next one. If you could please memorise and apply this to all future episodes of wrestling TV for all promotions it'll save us all a lot of time and energy. It may not make for the most thrilling discussion threads, but they won't be quite as bad as everyone is making out either. They'll be what they'll be. 

[DavidB6937]

2 minutes ago, JLM said:

The show had some good bits and some bad bits. The good bits were quite good but NOT that good, chill out guys. The bad bits were bad but lets not get crazy. I'll give it the customary rating of "It is what it is" out of 5 and move on to the next one. If you could please memorise and apply this to all future episodes of wrestling TV for all promotions it'll save us all a lot of time and energy. It may not make for the most thrilling discussion threads, but they won't be quite as bad as everyone is making out either. They'll be what they'll be. 

Don't want to up or down vote this. Where's the middling vote.

[Doog]

Ok then. Lets wank ourselves silly when something goes well then, and when we don't like it let's get on here and tell everyone where the dogs are and call the samaritans.

There is a middle line, it doesn't always have to be a Bi Polar fest depending on how much we enjoyed the show. If people genuinely are enjoying shows as much as they are/were then disliking bits as much as they are on a weekly to monthly basis then there are some serious issues.

As it is, it's just that people are overreacting to every single thing that happens, obviously. But aye let's post shit like above and be dickheads about it.

[JLM]

2 minutes ago, Doog said:

. If people genuinely are enjoying shows as much as they are/were then disliking bits as much as they are on a weekly to monthly basis then there are some serious issues.

 

This is exactly what I'm getting at though, dickhead or not. There are absolutely not serious issues and that should be obvious.. We're talking about the creative direction of pro wrestling television. This place is an outlet to spout off about this silly form of entertainment and it's ultimately harmless to get a bit over the top with it. Makes the posts a bit more engaging to read and more fun to write, it sparks discussion. A lot of people here don't talk about wrestling in real life, so reeling off a "what the fuck was THAT shit?" type of post in a space full of broadly like-minded fellow enjoyers of this stuff can be a fun thing to do. 

Ultimately I'd advise taking it all with a big old pinch of salt, safe in the knowledge that these middle aged men with families and kids etc. are not really about to commit domestic terrorism over the episode of Smackdown they just watched. 

[Supremo]

I’ve now finished the show. I give it a ten, “Let it Play Outs,” out of ten.

I do genuinely hope it turns into something good. Maybe it can be a swerve, Cody steals The Rock’s soul and they do a Dr. Who-style regeneration, with The Rock turning into Ricky Saints.

Fucking hell though. When they make the inevitable documentary about the Rise and Fall of this boom, I reckon there’ll be an entire chapter dedicated to sending out Ciampa and Gargano directly after Rock shat the bed so badly. Fuck me. Finger Poke of Doom stuff. I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of people suddenly switched off Netflix simultaneously.

Pretty Deadly as babyfaces, cleaning house as their music continued to boom, was probably the highlight of the show. Always knew they had the potential to be the next New Jack. Yes boy! Another shitty non-finish though. Sighs in Road Dogg.

Kevin’s promo was great. Horribly creepy. This is the only thing that feels like a Wrestlemania feud, and there’s every chance it ends at Elimination Chamber. Madness, if true. To think, we could have had Kevin and Sami for the Winged Eagle Title at Wrestlemania. The ultimate Bullseye, “here’s what you could have won,” that I worry will only get worse in time.

On the subject of only THE COOLEST DUDES dealing in extremes and hyperbole because it’s a good laugh, I wonder if the Sami Zayn home invasion is a way of eventually debuting Kevin’s massive Gary Barlow-style son? Would be hilarious if Sami tried to get revenge, broke into Kevin’s house, only to be stopped in his tracks by the Tenth Wonder of the World.

“Uncle Sami, I suggest you leave right now, before I give you a Chokeslam that causes ten times the damage my Dad’s Package Piledriver did.”