Go2Sleep
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Posts posted by Go2Sleep
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58 minutes ago, HumanChessgame said:
I like Kross as a wrestler but he, Damian Priest, and Aleister Black have more or less the same character. He and Scarlett's entrance is more corny than anything else.
Eh, Priest is more of a goth partier than a dark arts guy. The comparison to Black in NXT is good though. Much Like Black, Kross' entrance starts to come across as corny because he has no character reason for it, so we're just left to assume he's doing it because he thinks it looks cool, which of course makes it a lot less cool. If Scarlett was still doing her psychic puppetmaster thing, then an entrance that highlights her god complex backed up by a big scary guy who does her dirty work would make perfect sense (in pro wrestling terms).
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Kushida beating Escobar in an impromptu match is perfect booking. Escobar is ready to move up, Kushida badly needs something positive after months of losses, the CW belt doesn't lose any momentum because despite the aforementioned losses, everyone knows Kushida can go and is a very credible champ relative to that division. I have to say I love a good jackknife pin too. Anyone who has ever play-wrestled as a kid knows how little pressure it takes to keep someone down when they're folded up like that. So much more believable as a flash win move than a school boy.
The main event was super fun and if this was WWE testing the waters on more intergender style matches instead of their stupid mixed tag rules, I'm here for it. The women can all hang, and it's pretty easy to do non-uncomfortable intergender pro wrestling when it's all technical stuff. Pro wrestling is all about presentation and if you present the women as equally matched with the men, the audience will buy it.
The only disappointing thing on the show is more Karrion Kross talking like a normal person. If you lean into the supernatural and mysterious aspects of the Kross/Scarlett act as heels, you have money. Kross cutting generic babyface promos while no one can discern his relationship with Scarlett or explain why he acts weird sometimes and normal at others is a recipe for a quick failure of a title run.
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Surprised to see a consensus of night 1 being significantly better than 2. I thought the good stuff was pretty evenly spread out, and night 2 was probably a better overall show on its own.
Lashley/Drew was the opener, but it should not have been worked like an opener. Fine match, but pretty forgettable in the grand scheme of things, which isn't something you want for one of your main titles.
The tag turmoil was nothing but botchamaina material and if they were just gonna do one-off challenger, the Riott Squad would've been way better to give that rub to.
Cesaro/Rollins was solid. That was one of Cesaro's better looking UFOs too, got several hands free rotations in.
Interesting role-reversal in the tag title match. Omos appears to be more on the Khali end of the hoss spectrum, but there's some potential for the act with AJ working behind him.
Shane got too much offense on Braun, but overall was pretty inoffensive as far as Shane McMahon matches go.
Bad Bunny doing a Canadian Destroyer is the nadir of the overuse of that move. Good for him putting the work in, though, not too bad for a couple months of training. Priest doing so little in the match was weird, like he was hurt or something.
Sasha/Bianca was good, though a bit overrated I'm thinking. I think the result being obvious based on the pre-match reactions hurt it. Break character after the match, not before. At least that hair whip will live forever in WM lore.
I have to say I loved the 6-month feud with people coming back from people being set on fire ending with one RKO in the ring. I say this every time Bray loses a feud that went on way too long and I'm always disappointed, but still... I hope this is the last we see of Bray Wyatt.
Women's tag was as good as you could hope for given the participants. Shayna is doing a lot of thankless work these days.
Sami/KO was fun as usual. With as nuts as they were going with moves, they should've just let KO dust off the package piledriver for his Mania Moment.
Sheamus/Riddle was also a nice midcard match. Sheamus looked monstrous and Riddle is athletic enough to always deliver credible offense. Sheamus has found that spark again, and he got a well-deserved win, while Riddle didn't look bad at all in the clean loss.
Shame about Apollo's gimmick, but at least he's finally getting to show some of his skill. Another good midcard match that had big moments without going full overkill. Didn't mind the fuck finish since E should be protected somewhat even though Apollo badly needed a win.
Rhea/Asuka was not as good as I would've hoped. Not sure if Rhea is supposed to be a heel now or what, but the match felt off most of the way. Methodical is not her style.
Triple threat was fine. They still shouldn't have Jey helping Roman win every match, but they haven't stopped for the last 4 months, so why start now? It makes less sense, because KO is exactly the level of guy you have your new heel ace beat clean to establish dominance, and neither of the two guys here really needed protecting. If we can't get rid of Bray forever, I'll settle for getting rid of Edge. I can't think of a less inspiring "legend" comeback, and I enjoyed most of Edge's career.
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I'm scared to ask, but what is a Nigerian Drum Fight?
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So Matt Jackson's "acting" was terrible and that main event angle was cringey af, but it is a necessary step to Mox/Kingston as tag champs, so silver lining there.
I enjoyed how much like MJF had a hard time finding something good to say about Spears, Jericho had a hard time finding something bad to say about FTR. Hopefully they get a "Can't tell us apart? One of us has hair, dipshit" jab back at him at some point.
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Show pretty much played out like I expected with the first half being excellent and the second being mediocre.
Kushida/Dunne was a nice match that would've looked a lot better on Night 2. Great pace, full of smooth transitions and hurty looking moves, and a great finishing sequence. Their biggest problem was that Walter went out and put on a master-class of selling that made their lack of long-term selling look amateurish in retrospect.
The gauntlet thing was a pretty good showcase for everyone involved. Tough to balance a match like that when you need 5 of the 6 to look strong, but they managed. I liked Swerve getting a lot of spotlight here, since he's easily the most under-utilized person on the roster. Grimes is pretty teflon with his new gimmick, you can insert him anywhere. Lumis/Knight is a good feud to splinter off this match. Reed is meh, but fine as a one-off challenger.
Walter/Ciampa delivered as promised. Walter was absolutely masterful again. The little touches like the way he held Ciampa's left arm different in the greco-roman knuckle lock position, the different grips on his powerbombs, or only holding the rope with his left hand showed that long-term selling is not a lost art. Ciampa is always good as a hard-hitting underdog, but this was the Walter show. That finishing sequence of stomp to the throat, that old-school neck twist with the feet, double power bomb, sleeper suplex, then finally uncorking his right hand for coup-de-grace chop was perfect. I sincerely hope that Walter is the next generationally influential pro-wrestler.
The tag match was better than I expected.
Io/Raquel reminded me of Benoit/Orton from Summer Slam 04. Elite vet leads a promising, but "not quite ready to lead" talent to a credible main event match. New star looks like they belong, vet loses nothing even after being pinned clean.
The CW match was hurt by the unnecessary ladder stip which doesn't lend itself to either guy's strengths. It was still fine, but would've been better as a straight wrestling match. At least the right guy won and we got to see la flecha del infierno.
Women's tag was the worst match of the event. Indi is clunky as hell, and neither team has natural chemistry. Shame we got this while Dakota/Raquel dissolved and Kacy/Kayden are second tier. I'd take Xia Li mostly defending the belts by herself until Tian Sha hits the vape of death too.
Gargano/Reed was too long. Gargano's heel promos are great, but he's still Johnny Wrestling in the ring, when he should've changed up his style months ago. Reed is a guy who should be in a big-man tag team, not singles.
Balor/Kross was fine. I think they should've ended it with the flash KO on the elbows to back of the head when Balor went limp instead of dragging out the finish. It ended up too much like a poor man's version of Walter/Ciampa, when the sudden KO would've been a legit shock and better for both guys.
Cole/KoR was the HHH/Michaels-inspired "epic" I expected. There were some good spots, but about 20 minutes of unnecessary time-padding wankery and all the dramatic moments were super hammy and tried way too hard. NXT will be better off without Cole for sure. KoR has a lot more potential in straight matches without tons of forced drama. A rebound feud with Pete Dunne would do him good, I think.
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Night 1 sounds great. Dunne/Kushida, Walter/Ciampa, Gauntlet thing, men's tag titles, and Io/Raquel all within the strict confines of a 2-hour show.
Night 2 doesn't have nearly as good a match listing, and will have license to overkill as the first big Peacock only show.
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So, I'm mulling whether or not I should even bother with Peacock. It's easy enough to watch NXT and ppvs elsewhere, and the only reason I've been a beginning to end network subscriber is for the archives. What all do they actually have on there?
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1. Io Shirai - Just effortlessly good.
2. Sasha Banks - I'll never not love Sasha. So glad to see her getting the ace run she deserves.
3. Thunder Rosa - Great look and natural charisma, a real shot of life into AEW's women's division.
4. Asuka - She's like the Daniel Bryan of the women's division in WWE. Too much ability to stay away from the top for too long.
5. Xia Li - Couldn't have been less interested in her as a blue-chipper face, but as LU-style heel that kicks people's faces in? Give me more.
6. Tay Conti - WWE will regret letting her slip away. She will absolutely flourish in AEW.
7. Shayna Baszler - I burned out on her as NXT champ, but she still has some of the best offense among WWE women, and watching her glue Nia Jax matches together has reminded me how skilled she truly is.
8. Dakota Kai - Definitely someone who deserves more. She's been great as a heel, and the team with Raquel should've gotten a real run with the belts.
9. Britt Baker - Recent death match aside, she's still not that great in the ring, but the personality and effort is there. She'll make it.
10. Kacy Catanzaro - So much athleticism. I hope her small frame can hold up because there's definitely something there. I'm not saying she's Rey Mysterio, but she does have the athletic ability to compensate for the lack of size, and I hope someone sees that and gives her a chance.
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1. WALTER - No bigger "oh shit" threat in wrestling now that Lesnar drained all his good will. He's like AJ Vader, Hansen, and Williams all rolled into one.
2. Finn Balor - I was apprehensive when he came back to NXT, but WWE hasn't had an ace this good since Austin's heyday.
3. Kenny Omega - There are few more overused and inaccurate descriptors in wrestling than "next Shawn Michaels," and ok, Kenny's way too far along in his career for that, but he is doing a damn good job combining on-screen and off-screen 97 HBK into one character right now.
4. Santos Escobar - Has made the CW title look like big deal. He has the look and skill to go much farther.
5. Rey Fenix - Best offense in wrestling.
6. MJF - Tough to imagine a better douchey heel.
7. Eddie Kingston/Jon Moxley - Yeah, I'm putting them together, because their double promo segments are what I care about.
8. Daniel Bryan - Old reliable.
9. Tomasso Ciampa - Somehow his matches and angles usually end up being among the best on the show.
10. Miro - He's been laying low, but few can flip the switch from clown to killer better.
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On 3/27/2021 at 5:47 AM, Tuna Boss said:
Also, I'm surprised at just how much I want to see Rey and his son win the tag titles. Has a father/son combo ever won a set of tag titles anywhere?
Looking through the WCW tag history, I'm surprised they were restrained enough to not do Dusty/Dustin, Ric/David, or Buff/Judy which would have not been unrealistic for the time frames those pairs were on screen together.
I think WWE missed the boat not having Chavo Jr/Sr get a tag title run in 2004. Would've made more sense than Sr's CW title run, and the champion teams of the day were like Rene Dupree and Kenzo Suzuki, so it's not like deserving teams would've been robbed. -
Hopefully not opening too much of a can of worms here, but I've seen it mentioned in passing in some other threads here and elsewhere... Can someone give me a brief run down on why Jericho is toxic now?
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Have they also scrubbed the DX/Nation parody blackface segment? Always seemed weird to me that it not only got a pass, but was actively promoted as a major moment in the attitude era and a top example of "comedy" from that time.
It'll be interesting to see where they draw the line. Jarrett's woman-beater gimmick? HLA? Steph getting married while drugged (can't remember if there was some type of consummation "joke" there as well)? Goldust's early stuff? JR's constant homophobic comments every time Pat Patterson was on screen? Kai En Tai dub segments? HHH's "people like you" promo aimed at Booker T? That's just what I can think of off the top of my head.
Also, if NBC really cares about representation, actions in the present speak louder than actions in the past. Get Hogan off tv and boot Trump from the HOF please.
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22 hours ago, Eivion said:
Could only pay so much attention to Knight/Reed. I like Reed, but they need to admit at someone point he just isn't a star and likely won't be. There was no reason for him to win this. Hell, I don't think he should have beaten Swerve last month either.
Definitely agree with this. He's a fine midcard act that needs to win enough to stay strong, but Knight clearly has more potential even if he's more of a NA title guy. Swerve is the biggest casualty of NXT having too much talent.
First Women's tag finish was good. I'd be ok with a Raquel squash at Takeover.
Cole/KoR promo was so weak. Lamest blood feud in some time, and poor Roddy just relegated to battle royal status in the crossfire.
Walter is the best thing in pro wrestling today. I like Kross, but if Finn disposed of him then dropped to Walter who then holds the belt for a year plus, that would be ideal.
I'm getting the feeling Night 2 might be tough to watch. A Gargano match, a ladder match, an Adam Cole unsanctioned match, and a title match all on one show. No way that won't be overkill city since it's supposed to be the start of Mania weekend.
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I'm surprised more people don't dig Kenny Omega. Maybe it's because I didn't watch a ton of NJ and burn out on him or something. I love his paranoid drugged-out mafia leader act, and he carries himself well as a champ in the ring.
Cezar Bononi is destined to be a jobber anywhere, but Tay Conti was a great pickup off the WWE scrap-heap. She always seemed to have potential, but wasn't going anywhere in WWE's excessively talented women's division. She's already better than a good chunk of AEW regulars, though. It's time to strike while the iron's hot with Britt, but Tay is someone they should protect in the meantime.
I'm here for Pinnacle cutting some old-school heel stable promos with MJF spicing them up with his youthful sense of humor. Hopefully Jericho brings his A-game when he comes back so as not to get embarrassed when that feud goes into high gear.
Cody might have just cut the worst "heel that's supposed to be a face" promo ever. There is a high chance of QT actually getting cheered when he turns if they stay the current course.
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1 hour ago, John from Cincinnati said:
Time is weird and everything runs together. That was 2016.
Oh man, I thought it was before his title win, which I know was 2015. I used to think WWE 2002-07 was blur with how same-y all the presentation was, but it has nothing on WWE 2008-2019.
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Are they have trouble moving the limited Mania tickets, or are not as many people moving to Peacock as promised? As much as I like Bryan and as uninterested I was in Roman/Edge, it really doesn't make a lot of sense to switch to a triple threat, other than as a desperate move to rope in the core audience.
Sheamus/Drew was pretty awesome, though. Best Sheamus has looked since the Cesaro series from 13 or 14?
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I kind of expected Cole/O'Reilly to be the night one main. Sounds like there will be a gimmick, and it would let them overkill away without stepping on the title match, which will be more of a restrained affair.
You can probably also pencil in Gargano vs. Lumis, Walter vs. Ciampa, Candace/Indi vs. Ember/Shotzi, LA Knight vs. Reed, and MSK vs. Burch/Lorcan.
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Can't believe it's been 6 pages and no one (myself included) has mentioned the Diamond Cutter. Perfect name for a perfect move, and inspired many terrible rip-offs for the opposite end of the spectrum (Bubba cutter and Cody cutter come to mind).
I wonder if DDP is proud of the fact that "cutter" is now a generic for the move he popularized.
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1 hour ago, eikerir said:
I just assumed the "From Hell" was because the Acolytes were part of the Ministry of Darkness around the time Taker looked like Satan.
This plus the phrase "from hell" attached to any noun means "way worse than normal." Not sure how people don't know/missed this.
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On 3/8/2021 at 9:49 AM, Dolfan in NYC said:
Randy Orton vs. Alexa Bliss
Not gonna lie, I'm actually interested in this match.
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If you're talking about names for the same move, Acid Drop to Dudley Dog has to be the biggest quality gap.
Also, avalanche anything >>> super anything.
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Shame that Dakota/Zoey had to settle for being the second best women's match of the night. Dakota is really fun when her timing is on.
Walter returning is acceptable compensation for having to watch Jordan Devlin's very inferior CW champion act.
The main event angle was about the worst use of all 4 guys imaginable, and I love all of them. They're killing Kross' mystique by having him talk like a normal person, and he's like the one guy that should absolutely not be in any slopped-together tag match. Burch/Lorcan are great workers but have credibility issues stemming from being a JTTS team for so long, and now being Pete Dunne's goons, so they should absolutely not be taking on the top singles guys thrown-together team. The match was already doomed, but then Burch got hurt and it somehow dug deeper. Balor sold more for Lorcan than he did for Cole or O'Reilly, which makes no sense. Scarlett going from mystical puppetmaster to fragile woman was stupid, and since they've never really fleshed out a personal connection between her and Kross, her bump setting him off rang hollow. Then the champ who has looked unassailable for months, jobs to a tag guy's singles finisher (tough to say if that's actually his finisher since he so rarely wins on his own), and the tag guy doesn't even get a little rub because he immediately gets beaten down by the other singles guy. Just terrible stuff. They got back on track somewhat with the actual beatdown, firmly establishing Kross as the heel, and the Scarlett setup for the Misawa running elbow was nice, but overall, it completely ruined months of great booking for everyone involved. I almost wonder if Vince decided he needed to offer some "input" since it's Mania season because this was a very Raw-like segment that no one who has been following NXT would (or at least should) write.
I watch these shows back to back on Thursdays as my work schedule permits, so I'm not sure of the live timing, but did the aforementioned putrid main event segment go head to head with Britt/Rosa? If so, yikes.
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I'm glad they put that terrible Cody/Penta match on first because the rest of the show was good to awesome. No idea why they decided it would be a great idea to kill Penta's biggest move, and then have him do the exact same turn as Scorpio did on Darby last week.
Good to see Cage breaking away from Team Taz. He seems way too good for that jobber stable, although the problem is that now he has to feud with a jobber stable.
The 10-man did a good job combining a lot of stories into one match.
Mox and Kingston could sell me on anything. Liked the nod to Southpaw Wrestling. I never really cared for the Gallows/Anderson team, but I think this AEW run is the best they've ever looked.
The women's main was a star-making match for both of them. I loved Rosa breaking the submission by just rolling Britt into the tacks. Probably the best use of tacks in 15+ years. I hesitate to say this was Sasha/Bayley level because while the initial spectacle was the same (perhaps even better), it doesn't seem... sustainable? They can't do this kind of stuff every match and there's not really a next level to take it to. It was an amazing one-off and great for both of them, particularly Britt, but I don't think this going to usher in an era of drastically improved women's wrestling for the promotion.
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2021 Post-Mania WWE Purge
in The PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING
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Wesley Blake is like the most generic wrestler ever, but seems like a guy that could mop up on the indies and find his way back to the big time in a few years.
Joe could be washed, or he could be like Kobashi and compensate what he's lost in mobility with charisma and stiffness. Definitely worth a shot for AEW if he's interested.
Had no idea Bo Dallas was still on the roster. Not JTG-level, but an impressive overstay nonetheless.