Saturday Night Nostalgia

[FLips]

Thought the show was finally that hype middle ground between TV and PPV quality they've just missed hitting since it came back.

Nia Jax vs Rhea Rhipley was actually decent right up until the finish which I wasn't a fan of. There was no reason for Jax to go for a second Annihilator and even less reason for Ripley to be up off the ground hitting an electric chair drop. It needed a pin attempt or to be missed in the first place to make any sense.

Sheamus vs Breakker was a decent sprint. Hard hitting and intense. Would have liked to see Sheamus do the grand slam but I get why they didn't.

Contract signing was fine. Maybe it leads to an Owens/HBK match or maybe it was just to get an easy sweet chin music pop and rile Owens up more.

Star-making performance for Jacob Fatu vs Braun Strowman. Get all your big beefy spots in then kill Strowman for a stretcher angle. Absolute beast and the crowd going wild chanting FATU is gonna be a turning point for him.

Gunther vs Jey was a weak main event. I haven't seen a Gunther match worth watching since the triple threat with Drew and Sheamus 2 years ago and while Jey has next to nothing going on in-ring there's no denying he has a star quality Gunther lacks and the huge crowd reaction for him lately should have been an easy decision to put the belt on him. Not only did this do nothing for Gunther but it did even less for Jey. Another dud finish too with Jey running headfirst between Gunther's legs to powerbomb himself?

Overall though a really solid show with 3/4 matches worth watching but an oddly missable main event with the wrong outcome. It feels like SNME has found it's flow though and that's the main thing.

Edited January 26, 2025 by FLips

[d-d-d-dAz]

11 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

I think introducing Shawn and Bret in an Owens/Sami title feud would likely water it down to be honest, potentially placing a focus on something outside of the Sami/Owens story - something which kind of sells itself.

I mean... does it?

Like, I know we're all cockahoop about the idea but does it 'sell itself'? Or does it just cater to a very specific section of the audience.

I love both KO/Sami, but I definitely think it could be taken up a level with some seasoning. Neither of them are established main eventers. Rock/Roman, Roman/Punk or Cody/Cena sell themselves, but I wouldn't be against sprinkling some extra stardust on KO/Sami if it meant they could have a world title feud.

Edited January 26, 2025 by d-d-d-dAz

[TheScarlettChad]

HBK vs Owens at SummerSlam is something I never knew I wanted. Not happening though. 

[RedTwoster]

4 minutes ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

I mean... does it?

Like, I know we're all cockahoop about the idea but does it 'sell itself'? Or does it just cater to a very specific section of the audience.

I love both KO/Sami, but I definitely think it could be taken up a level with some seasoning. Neither of them are established main eventers. Rock/Roman, Roman/Punk or Cody/Cena sell themselves, but I wouldn't be against sprinkling some extra stardust on KO/Sami if it meant they could have a world title feud.

I would say it does, yes - and that the ‘extra stardust’ is the World title. The selling point is Zayn winning his first title, and both men are so good at telling a story, that people would be sucked in. You add two legends to the mix, it becomes less about Sami, and I don’t think that’s to the benefit of the story. Tell a great story, and people will watch and you can even main event a show with it if you want - case in point, Owens/Zayn vs The Usos for the tag team titles. Present that match out of context, and who would ever have thought it could main event Wrestlemania? Same goes for Daniel Bryan vs Kofi Kingston. That obviously didn’t main event, but easily could have such was people’s investment in it. Add two legends to the story of the wrestlers in either match, and they’re likely weaker for it.

[d-d-d-dAz]

9 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

I would say it does, yes - and that the ‘extra stardust’ is the World title. The selling point is Zayn winning his first title, and both men are so good at telling a story, that people would be sucked in. You add two legends to the mix, it becomes less about Sami, and I don’t think that’s to the benefit of the story. Tell a great story, and people will watch and you can even main event a show with it if you want - case in point, Owens/Zayn vs The Usos for the tag team titles. Present that match out of context, and who would ever have thought it could main event Wrestlemania? Same goes for Daniel Bryan vs Kofi Kingston. That obviously didn’t main event, but easily could have such was people’s investment in it. Add two legends to the story of the wrestlers in either match, and they’re likely weaker for it.

Yeah, the issue is the two examples you've given don't really work. Daniel Bryan v Kofi didn't main event and wasn't a huge deal, and Owens/Zayn vs The Uso's existed in the Bloodline/Cody universe.

I mean, I initially made a lighthearted point and I actually don't think there's anything you can do to make Sami/KO ready to main event Wrestlemania this year BUT the idea that the feud sells itself is probably a bit of wrestling fan group think in action.

There's definitely levers they could pull if they ever did want to push that feud to the absolute top of the card and onto the TV promo circuit and whatnot. 

[DavidB6937]

I really enjoyed the show. It's always one of those weird ones because it's a clear set up for other stuff while trying to be a decent show in itself. They got the balance pretty good this time.

I'll always remember it for the arrival of Jacob Fatu. Strap a damn rocket to that man and we're all in for a hell of a ride.

Rhea and Nia work well together so that was pretty decent all things considered.

I'll never get bored of Sheamus and anyone beating the shit out of each other. Poor guy is never getting that IC title is he?

Please don't show me sexy boy Shawn videos and then drag out a bald man pretending to be HBK. No need for it. I refuse to believe he's aged that much because that means I have too.

Cody sucks eggs. Perfect. I so wish we could have a proper KO title run at some point but if they won't even put the other title on Jey then they're not giving Kevin this one are they?

They did have me a couple of times in that main event though. So close. Genuinely thought it was a possibility which I guess is always important if you have people buy into it. I still don't think it would've hurt to have Jey win here but there you go.

FATU FATU FATU

[d-d-d-dAz]

Jacob Fatu looks the absolute business now he's started eating again. Still looks athletic and mobile, but looks like an absolute monster with it.

[RedTwoster]

7 minutes ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

Yeah, the issue is the two examples you've given don't really work. Daniel Bryan v Kofi didn't main event and wasn't a huge deal, and Owens/Zayn vs The Uso's existed in the Bloodline/Cody universe.

I mean, I initially made a lighthearted point and I actually don't think there's anything you can do to make Sami/KO ready to main event Wrestlemania this year BUT the idea that the feud sells itself is probably a bit of wrestling fan group think in action.

There's definitely levers they could pull if they ever did want to push that feud to the absolute top of the card and onto the TV promo circuit and whatnot. 

To be clear, when I say ‘sells itself’ I don’t mean immediately - what I mean is that I have every faith that it would sell itself through the build-up. I did acknowledge the fact that Bryan/Kingston didn’t main event - but it absolutely could have, given the level of investment at the time. I’d say Usos vs Zayn/Owens also works - because it was about the strength of the story. The fact the story was the Bloodline saga is kind of irrelevant - the wrestlers involved are why that ended up as hot as it was. Zayn/Owens for the title would feel like a huge match if people felt like they were about to see Zayn win his first World title.

13 minutes ago, DavidB6937 said:

They did have me a couple of times in that main event though. So close. Genuinely thought it was a possibility which I guess is always important if you have people buy into it. I still don't think it would've hurt to have Jey win here but there you go.

I didn’t think they’d have Jey win, but if the plan really is to have Logan Paul challenge for the World title at Wrestlemania, Jey seems like a better choice of opponent to me than Gunther. I love Gunther, but he’s been a bit more bland as champion than I’d have expected he’d be.

[Chili]

If anyone is wondering about where the shit beer promoting racist Hulk Hogan was, he was at his son's wedding, which he was more than happy to miss until the last minute when plans changed and he wasn't gonna be at SNME. Probably wanted to avoid some of the God karma or something he bangs on about. 

That old style microphone was gorgeous, Jesse busting out the Plato's Retreat top, Steptoe Shawn Michaels. Jacob Fatu is great isn't he, I hope he isn't as fucking mental in real life as he's booked on TV. I'd rather not see Shawn Michaels wrestle again, can you imagine how much overkill his amateur dramatics would be now everyone is encouraged to do it.

Edited January 26, 2025 by Chili

[DavidB6937]

27 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

I didn’t think they’d have Jey win, but if the plan really is to have Logan Paul challenge for the World title at Wrestlemania, Jey seems like a better choice of opponent to me than Gunther. I love Gunther, but he’s been a bit more bland as champion than I’d have expected he’d be.

I'm not sure the booking has helped. Previously when he's won a title he's made it feel significant and important. This time round it has often felt like an afterthought simply because there has been more important things going on. So probably just a timing thing more than anything.

[Supremo]

Disgusting to see a high ranking official like HBK attacking Kevin Owens. Disrespect to the max. Maximum disrespect. Hoping justice is served at The Rumble.

All Jacob Fatu matches in 2025 should consist of him screaming a promo during his entrance, then his opponent left in a bloody mess. Amazing. Was like watching a murder.

Jacob Fatu was absolutely destroy Brock Lesnar in a fight. Leave him in a puddle of his own piss. Which would probably give Brock a stiffy.

[DavidB6937]

2 minutes ago, Supremo said:

All Jacob Fatu matches in 2025 should consist of him screaming a promo during his entrance, then his opponent left in a bloody mess. Amazing. Was like watching a murder.

And the best thing is I genuinely don't know what the hell he's talking about half the time but he says it with such an intensity that I'm scared for everyone. I'll take that over robotic promos anyway.

That security team was useless though.

[LaGoosh]

I watched Fatu vs Strowman. Fatu looked great, Strowman's knees are presumably held together with pure faith going by the way he runs. Loved Fatu's promo and his ludicrous selling. For a big dude Strowman bumps and sells like a fucking goober. The ending was good except for the massive problem that not one of his running arse attacks looked like it came close to hitting Braun even once. Luckily his intensity and charisma saved it though.

[Merzbow]

Jesse going mental about the ref counting three was hilarious, he took that way way too far just to get himself over, the old carny. That spear on the outside though, Rhyno levels.

Heard random bits of Charli XCX playing in the background on this show... Get her to play at Wrestlemania and give someone a Brat gimmick.

[Onyx2]

I really enjoyed that. Lots of bashing about, slightly weak main but it's Jey Uso. 

Over the decades I've always been a fan of playing 'spot the backstage official' when they try and fail to break up a schmozz. The Tony Gareas, the Chief Jays, the Jamie Nobles, the Joey Mercurys. 

But who are the two I've circled? They look really familiar but I can't place them. One on the left looks like Seth Green.