WWE: The Content Years. Good, bad, eh?

[TheScarlettChad]

This almost brings me to tears. It was a really solid time for WWE, Well Smackers was anyway. Mad to think its been almost a decade since the second brand split.

[DavidB6937]

Yoshi Tatsu had a banging theme though.

[TheScarlettChad]

Five years ago, this month. 

How Reigns didn't quit after this is unreal. The low point of the late 2010s.

Edited December 6, 2024 by TheScarlettChad

[Dr. Alan Grant]

It’s the only good thing about him. A lot of the early NXT themes are forgettable. But then there’s this…

You haven’t heard it for years, and you thought it had left your head forever. Well now it’s stuck there again. In the words of Damien Sandow, you’re welcome. 

I think I began watching NXT from the first Takeover, so I’m seeing a bunch of people who debuted and disappeared before that for the first time. Names like Audrey Marie, Axl Keegan, Bronson, Sakamoto, Raquel Diaz, Oliver Grey, Memo Montenegro and Kenneth Cameron. Some have had multiple appearances and even wins, but I’ve never heard of them before. Most are shit to be fair, but Raquel Diaz stood out from the rest of the divas. 

Who are these people? Where did they come from? Where did they go? Does anyone here even remember them? Apart from Air Raid, he probably has dossiers on them all.

 

[FLips]

The show was so bad I stopped watching altogether for years. Not Rumble, not Mania, nothing. I didn't start watching wrestling again until NWA/AEW and then didn't get back into WWE until Cody went there. Some really really terrible shit.

[Callum1993]

Speaking of Emma remember when they did vignettes for months building up her re-debut as Emmalina. Then she came out and said she was going to now re-debut as Emma then was off TV again for months. That was shite

[TheScarlettChad]

Just now, Callum1993 said:

Speaking of Emma remember when they did vignettes for months building up her re-debut as Emmalina. Then she came out and said she was going to now re-debut as Emma then was off TV again for months. That was shite

And then she wrestled Asuka in 2017, I think?

[simonworden]

1 hour ago, TheScarlettChad said:

Five years ago, this month. 

How Reigns didn't quit after this is unreal. The low point of the late 2010s.

Thinking back to that end of 2019 time period is always bizarre for me. They glitzed up the sets for the new networks but the content was utter dross. 

If it wasn't for COVID I do wonder when reigns would have packed it in or done anything similar to the Bloodline. It gave him the best opportunity to say sod this, do what I want or I'm not coming back. 

Like so many that whole 09 to 20 period has massive blurs and gaps in it where I didn't watch. So much WWE just became dull, bland and unexciting while there was TNA, New Japan, UK shows and my own  adult like taking hold.

You've got exciting peaks like Summer of Punk, Rock/Cena, yes Movement, Sting, Shield, Women's revolution but the week to week consistent programming just takes a turn for the bland. 

Speaking of the women. A fair while ago I found myself reading up on Wikipedia on a few lower end Divas careers (Rosa Mendez and the like) it felt like the writer had done such a through job outlining their WWE storylines that I'm sure it took me longer to read the article than the segments ran all put together. 

You can almost timeline it with the increase in PPVs from as early as 06 where things get rushed, into 3 hr Raws, NXT becoming a super indy and the reboot of Smacky D in 2016 for the second brand split attempt. Filling gaps with long matches and promos. 

They still have all this content now but shove a load of ads in there which is annoying in itself but at least there's less to digest. 

 

[Statto]

1 hour ago, Dr. Alan Grant said:

Names like Audrey Marie, Axl Keegan, Bronson, Sakamoto, Raquel Diaz, Oliver Grey, Memo Montenegro and Kenneth Cameron. 

Who are these people? Where did they come from? Where did they go? 

Raquel Diaz is Eddie Gurrerro's daughter. She wasn't in the wrestling biz all that long, believe she's now a burlesque artist?

Sakamoto very briefly made the main roster as Lord Tensai's second. Tensai beat him up for somehow failing him after about 3 weeks and he was never seen again. 

Memo Montenegro is Alberto del Rio's brother, which was presumably why he got hired as he was crap. 

Kenneth Cameron went on to be Bram in TNA, now Thom Latimer in NWA. He was married to Charlotte Flair for a bit and is a bit of a wrong un. 

Oliver Grey came back over here, reverted to his old ring name of Joel Redman and think he's still out there on the scene somewhere.

Audrey Marie was in the very first Bray Wyatt vignettes, as part of the group of followers that was portrayed. That's about all I really remember about her. 

I remember the names Axl Keegan & Bronson and think I can picture them both (former long greasy black hair, shit goatee, kinda skinny, latter short stocky and bald) but that's all I've got other than one or both might also have been an extra in those first Wyatt vignettes. 

[TheBurningRed]

15 minutes ago, Statto said:

Kenneth Cameron went on to be Bram in TNA, now Thom Latimer in NWA. He was married to Charlotte Flair for a bit and is a bit of a wrong un.

He’s married to Kamille now. 

Axl Keegan retired due to a neck injury. But I don’t recall seeing him in the ring. 

Wasn’t Bronson the guy who won Tough Enough? Called himself The Yeti. I believe he appeared briefly on an episode Raw after he won Tough Enough. His career was done after two years.  

[Dr. Alan Grant]

You’re bang on the money with Keegan and Bronson. Good memory. 

Surprised to hear that Diaz is Eddie’s daughter. I shouldn’t be though, Dom is great so it clearly runs in the genes. 

I’m tempted to start a thread about these early NXT years. I’ve had a Rusev appearance, a bland as anything Angelo Dawkins, Big Cass and a black haired Enzo Amore who completely stole the show as a lumberjack. FTR Bald is teaming with a bloke called Garrett Dylan as a pair of rednecks. They’re managed by Sylvester LeFort, cosplaying as Randy Savage in the Botchamania send for the man clips. Highlights are Emma, Big E, the Wyatt’s and Sami Zayn. Sami’s first promo with Renee Young (swoon) was super weird and creepy though. Bayley now has the side parting and her first backstage promo with Renee (swoon) began with the opening line “I like robots”. Fantastic. The lowlights are Jake Carter still disappointing big daddy Vader, Cesaro showing up in silly hats and Derrick Bateman refusing to get off my tv.

Edit: Axl Keegan has changed his name to Mickey Keegan, which sounds like a guy in the pub who can get you a deal on an air fryer. 

Edited December 6, 2024 by Dr. Alan Grant

[The Dart]

Bronson wasn’t from Tough Enough, he was an indy guy.

One of my more obscure wrestling related claims is that I spent an evening socialising with Sakamoto once.   Nice guy.

[TheBurningRed]

11 minutes ago, The Dart said:

Bronson wasn’t from Tough Enough, he was an indy guy

I see. Just googled him. Never seen that guy before. 

 

36 minutes ago, Dr. Alan Grant said:

I’m tempted to start a thread about these early NXT years

Big shout out to Dante Dash from those early days. A guys name stuck out to me more than his in ring work ever did. 

[Chili]

The Authority angle(s) that I swear culminated after years that felt like fucking decades at some Wrestlemania with Triple H riding down on his nazi tricycle to lose to Seth Rollins.

They are very lucky to have this recent boom period, they almost don't deserve it.

EDIT: Just remembered Heath Slater getting himself absurdly over in 2016 with his 'Free Agent' gimmick. Absolute champion work to take a joke of being undrafted, getting over through sheer fun likeability and somehow getting Rhyno popular again too. Heath really deserved that.

Edited December 7, 2024 by Chili

[Joe Blog]

Yeti guy was called Josh wasn’t he?