Paid Members air_raid Posted April 16 Paid Members Share Posted April 16 Still think "World" next to the title names is rubbish and there is nothing wrong with "Raw" and "SmackDown" as prefixes for midcard titles - especially with the Womens. "Raw Womens Champion" and "SmackDown Womens Champion" are far more logical than what they have now - they were the champions of their respective shows. Today, there's a Womens Champion of WWE, and a Womens Champion of "the World." Huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted April 16 Paid Members Share Posted April 16 I didn’t rate this stuff when Bray was doing it, but could at least admit he had some interesting ideas, even if they never went anywhere or concluded satisfactorily. Bo Dallas, and now potentially Matt Hardy, continuing it? Ooof. My hopes are not high. Sami Zayn’s entrance was the stuff of legend. Reminded me of that time Eddie Guerrero did something similar. Do you think Kevin Dunn watches Raw tutting and rolling his eyes? Or does he sigh softly, admitting to himself that he’s a rubbish director who created dog shit television for decades. For a medium in which everyone fights in their underwear, I can’t explain the intangible nature of it. But every now and then, someone just looks like a Dad at the swimming baths. I love Sheamus, but unfortunately that’s exactly how I’d describe his new look. “Twenty five lengths? Think I’ve earned myself a KFC!” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted April 16 Paid Members Share Posted April 16 9 minutes ago, air_raid said: Still think "World" next to the title names is rubbish and there is nothing wrong with "Raw" and "SmackDown" as prefixes for midcard titles - especially with the Womens. "Raw Womens Champion" and "SmackDown Womens Champion" are far more logical than what they have now - they were the champions of their respective shows. Today, there's a Womens Champion of WWE, and a Womens Champion of "the World." Huh? I hate both, to be honest. I never liked "RAW Champion" and "Smackdown Champion"; so what, you're only the champion of two hours on Friday night, while someone else gets to be the champion of the World? It's branding over prestige, and has always sounded naff to me. The other problem is with having a "WWE Champion" (or Universal Champion) and a "World Champion". The Must See Matches podcast recently highlighted the commentary on Cena vs. Punk at Money In The Bank 2011 saying, "CM Punk is an X time World Champion, but has never held the WWE Title", and surely when you start saying stuff like that you realise that your championship situation is daft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted April 16 Paid Members Share Posted April 16 8 minutes ago, BomberPat said: The other problem is with having a "WWE Champion" (or Universal Champion) I don't think there's anything worse than "Universal Champion". The stupidest title name in wrestling and it's their top belt! Inexcusable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted April 16 Paid Members Share Posted April 16 what's worse is that they were still announcing Roman Reigns as the "undisputed" Universal Champion. I think when you have to introduce another World Title to make up for the existing one being subsumed into a title that never gets defended, you lose the right to call either of them "undisputed". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d-d-d-dAz Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 12 minutes ago, BomberPat said: I hate both, to be honest. I never liked "RAW Champion" and "Smackdown Champion"; so what, you're only the champion of two hours on Friday night, while someone else gets to be the champion of the World? It's branding over prestige, and has always sounded naff to me. The other problem is with having a "WWE Champion" (or Universal Champion) and a "World Champion". The Must See Matches podcast recently highlighted the commentary on Cena vs. Punk at Money In The Bank 2011 saying, "CM Punk is an X time World Champion, but has never held the WWE Title", and surely when you start saying stuff like that you realise that your championship situation is daft. On the latter point, I actually think that the way they make sense of it is to lean into it more than they have done previously. Make the Universal Championship exactly that. The top belt. The Champion of everything. The Champion of the Universe. Then the World Title is a slight rung below it. and then the US/IC title below that. But yeah, two world titles of 'equal' value is a no from me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRooster Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 2 hours ago, Devon Malcolm said: Rhea's title reign has been shite, through no fault of her own. She's been great despite it. A year of Matches with no feuds or decent angles. Appallingly booked. There's an argument to be had that she didn't need the title because all her great stuff has been Judgement Day related. I think there's something to be said for a champion who feels the part, and utterly owns the role. That's why I've enjoyed Rhea's run - she's swept aside the competition, and the belt felt like a bigger deal for being in her possession. In addition to that, I think being champion enhanced her character, and really helped position her not only as the de facto leader of Judgement Day; but as one of the biggest stars in the company. 19 minutes ago, Supremo said: I didn’t rate this stuff when Bray was doing it, but could at least admit he had some interesting ideas, even if they never went anywhere or concluded satisfactorily. Bo Dallas, and now potentially Matt Hardy, continuing it? Ooof. My hopes are not high. 100% with you here. Whatever the plan was with Bray Wyatt prior to his death, the stuff he was involved in was pretty awful; the idea that Vince McMahon was the person dragging his ideas down seemed to be disproven. Either that, or he'd run out of good ideas. I really liked the 'Bo-lieve' Bo Dallas character, and I'd much prefer to see that return, as opposed to a continuation of the Wyatt universe. As for Hardy, I don't want to see him anywhere near WWE or AEW programming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted April 16 Paid Members Share Posted April 16 the Bray Wyatt character was already a confused and muddled mess of references by the end, what did QR codes and glitches have to do with the character he was playing in the first place, aside from knowing that the people who obsessed over the minutiae of his gimmick would eat it up? And as someone pointed out on Twitter earlier, the people who think that AEW having a wrestler from another country wrestle on television is impossibly complicated and alienating, and couldn't possibly stop and listen to the commentators explain who they are, or hop on Google and find out for themselves, are content to freeze-frame an episode of RAW to decode messages and follow QR codes to get one line of meaningless text. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d-d-d-dAz Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 2 minutes ago, BomberPat said: And as someone pointed out on Twitter earlier, the people who think that AEW having a wrestler from another country wrestle on television is impossibly complicated and alienating, and couldn't possibly stop and listen to the commentators explain who they are, or hop on Google and find out for themselves, are content to freeze-frame an episode of RAW to decode messages and follow QR codes to get one line of meaningless text. Â Can you Tweet-reply to this person that the endless whataboutery is utterly fucking tedious, and not every discussion about wrestling needs to descend into factional 'us vs them' shite. IF Matt Hardy does turn up, that should be wrestling's version of the game of football on the battlefield, where we all down our weapons and agree that Matt Hardy is completely shit and something we're all collectively guilty in enabling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 It seems a bit nitpicking to critique Ripley's reign when having the belt for a year AND being part of a major faction has made Rhea Ripley into the biggest female wrestling star in the world.  It's worked brilliantly, and if the sacrifice was a few extra matches with Liv or whoever it's definitely been worth it. It's a pity she's had to vacate but they had no way of predicting that.  In retrospect they should have had her lose at WM but that's hindsight. 13 minutes ago, BomberPat said: what's worse is that they were still announcing Roman Reigns as the "undisputed" Universal Champion. I think when you have to introduce another World Title to make up for the existing one being subsumed into a title that never gets defended, you lose the right to call either of them "undisputed". This has been bugging me for a year now, but it's obviously deliberate as they've had many opportunities to rebrand it.  I think it's a WWE bubble thing, those inside the company just don't see the issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted April 16 Paid Members Share Posted April 16 10 minutes ago, d-d-d-dAz said: Make the Universal Championship exactly that. The top belt. The Champion of everything. The Champion of the Universe. Then the World Title is a slight rung below I'm sorry but someone being Champion of the universe while also having someone who's "only" Champion of the world is just so insane and stupid I can't get my head around it at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted April 16 Paid Members Share Posted April 16 15 minutes ago, RedRooster said: I think there's something to be said for a champion who feels the part, and utterly owns the role. That's why I've enjoyed Rhea's run - she's swept aside the competition, and the belt felt like a bigger deal for being in her possession. In addition to that, I think being champion enhanced her character, and really helped position her not only as the de facto leader of Judgement Day; but as one of the biggest stars in the company. Every one of her matches up to this year's Mania were pointless. She didn't face a single person in that time who even felt remotely a threat to taking the title from her because they didn't make the effort to make any of them a credible threat. Raquel Rodriguez has disappeared. Zoey Starks is in a comedy tag team. Zelina Vega is a valet. Nia Jax has disappeared. That's just off the top of my head. A procession of 'oh we need someone to wrestle Rhea, who hasn't lost to her yet?' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted April 16 Paid Members Share Posted April 16 It’s something straight out of the school playground. “If you’re Champion of the World, then I’ll be Champion of the Universe!” You could see over Wrestlemania weekend that enough people want to get rid of the stupid, “Universal,” moniker though. Samantha Irvin didn’t even say it when announcing Cody was the winner. So typical of them to still use the word, “Undisputed,” though, when they’ve spent the last year pushing that there’s now two belts that are supposed to be of the same importance. Sounds quite disputed to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheScarlettChad Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 Broken Matt in WWE in a new Wyatt Family just sounds completely horrid. The Broken shit was stale in 2018. Six years. ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRooster Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 5 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said: Every one of her matches up to this year's Mania were pointless. She didn't face a single person in that time who even felt remotely a threat to taking the title from her because they didn't make the effort to make any of them a credible threat. Raquel Rodriguez has disappeared. Zoey Starks is in a comedy tag team. Zelina Vega is a valet. Nia Jax has disappeared. That's just off the top of my head. A procession of 'oh we need someone to wrestle Rhea, who hasn't lost to her yet?' I think that's fair - and it certainly speaks to a lack of depth in the division. However, I'd disagree with the idea her matches were pointless; for the same reason that I don't feel that way about Roman Reigns' run or even Gunther's - it was all building up to that brilliant moment where she actually does lose the belt. I'm not sure we've had - certainly not as far as I can think - a moment in WWE like that with a female wrestler; where there's been a dominant champion in which it felt like a big deal when she dropped the belt. I really buy into the idea behind that. I really like a dominant champion, who feels a step above everyone else. 7 minutes ago, TheScarlettChad said: Broken Matt in WWE in a new Wyatt Family just sounds completely horrid.  I might be wrong, but I think he's grifting slightly. It does sound horrid, which is why I don't think it's going to happen. We'll see, I guess. I'm certainly not relishing the prospect of anyone carrying on a Wyatt-universe gimmick, so even if he's not involved, I don't imagine it'll be good television. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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