Go2Sleep
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Posts posted by Go2Sleep
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Yeah, for a developmental territory, NXT is full of counter intuitive stuff like this. Barron Corbin is not becoming a better worker doing 25 second TV squashes.
I think there's a difference between NXT the tv/internet show and NXT the developmental territory. There's a lot of behind the scenes training at the performance center and non-televised events always feature some experimental stuff. The weekly show is designed to draw viewers to the network, which means playing to everyone's strengths to make the best show possible.
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Both Dana and Solomon looked noticeably better on the SJSU show than this one which was taped a couple months back.
Solomon still had his stupid troll hair this week, which he has since changed. Moveset was better this week, but he's still selling too much in his matches. Right now, he looks like he has Mojo disease, where he acts all high energy, then immediately starts selling and laying around once the bell rings.
Dana is obviously a work in progress. In her match that aired this week, she was obviously nervous and over-thinking everything. Plus she seemed to drastically underestimate how much material she needed to fill her allotted time. All of those things should improve with experience. She's in the same boat as Carmella. She's got some presence, just needs a lot of practice.
Speaking of Carmella, I think the right angle is to have her join Blake and Murphy before the tag title match. They're being more romantic with her, so just have her start hanging out with them. Her official turn can be a "let's just be friends" speech to Enzo, which I guarantee will resonate with the main NXT audience and make her the biggest heel on the show. Especially if they can get the phrase "FriENdZOne Amore" to stick.
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Wow, who knew the bunny costume had been sitting in storage for over a decade?
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In theory, Neville as a feisty rookie losing hard-fought matches against top guys is good exposure for him. He just needs a win against a name opponent by Extreme Rules (and then steadily climb the IC ladder to a series of star-making matches with Bryan on ppv).
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From F4W:
Sheamus vs. Ziggler in a loser kisses the winners ass match was added to the PPV.
Is this a real thing, or just something the writer threw in to see if everyone really reads the entire report?
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The Orton/Rollins stipulations were really smart if you ignore how they presented it on screen. Rollins takes out the move that pinned him last month, Orton counters by giving himself a way to win without hitting his finisher.
Neville's 450 off the barricade was amazing.
Naomi's heel turn was really good. The line "Do wins and losses mean anything anymore?!" was the perfect double-layered reality-era line that should resonate with different segments of the audience for different reasons.
The PTPs continue to be funny. It would be nice if the tag and women's divisions were allowed to have multiple feuds instead of only one title feud going on at a time.
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Not that WWE has a track record to suggest they wouldn't do something stupid, but it is totally possible to turn New Day without making it about race. Right now, they're turning on the tried and true premise that being nice and trying to make the fans happy isn't getting them anywhere. They aren't talking about "being held down" like they were before Ferguson.
Also, holy shit, how fucking sad is it that all the year+ old posts about the impending struggles for Roman Reigns were dead on? Will WWE ever learn?
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So I've been hearing some RUMBLINGZ lately about Khali coming back to WWE and I.. just... I mean, why?
They caught wind of Sim Bhullar and decided they needed to tap back into the India market?
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Were any of the matches this week MOTYC level good, or were they just run-of-the-mill NXT good?
I'm debating whether or not to watch the show outside of the Itami feature.
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Really liked Rollins/Neville. Neville got a good reaction and even trended on twitter, so hopefully he'll stick. I wonder who his first real feud will be with.
Cena/Stardust was looking good until they went 50/50 down the stretch. No one buys Stardust is on Cena's level. Cena with the US title should be face version of Sheamus. He should be terrorizing midcarders under the pretense of "being a fighting champion" and a "proud American" instead of pure spite of course, but it's not gonna mean anything when someone finally steps up to him if all his matches are the same.
The New Day just became significantly more watchable embracing the "heels who think they're faces" act. The "New... Day Sucks" chant is perfect for them. I've also always had an odd interest in seeing Kofi work as a heel for some reason.
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Added: Bryan vs. Sheamus (SD 4/3)
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Unless I'm forgetting something, she won the clusterfuck last year and the tag this year which were her only two matches, right? Her less-than-stellar managerial outings don't count.
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Sheamus' promo about targeting little workrate guys was unnecessarily unsubtle to the point of being silly, but everything else about his new heel character is awesome. His music rules, his new moves rule, his Irish-accent trash talking rules, and his look should prevent anyone from cheering him if he's booked strongly.
Naturally, when paired with Daniel Bryan, he delivered a really good match. You can tell both guys are happy to be in there with someone who wants to be stiff. It was no Roman/Brock, but definitely harder-hitting than your usual tv match. Pretty much everything in this match looked good, and the finish didn't bother me. They're setting up Sheamus/Dolph and Barrett/Bryan for ER, so the non-finish made sense. The blood added a lot, and Sheamus was perfect with his douche-y mannerisms putting little effort into getting Bryan back in the ring and happily settling for the count out win. Honestly, Barrett should take notes from Corey Graves, retire before his arm falls off, and embrace his true calling as an announcer.
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This is great news... Not because I hate AJ, but because I'm genuinely happy for her. She had a great career and gets to retire in good health on her own terms. Not too many wrestlers get to do that, unfortunately.
She's the longest reigning Divas champ ever and undefeated at Mania. Definite HOF'er if the drama between Punk and WWE doesn't spiral out of control.
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A match between two wrestlers is supposed to prove which of those two is the better wrestler. We were going to see a Lesnar-Reigns match, and after that finish, we still don't know who would win a Lesnar-Reigns match. That's why someone would have a problem with it IMO.
That's why it's so brilliant. You split one match no one was really excited about into at least two matches that have intrigue down the road. And all the heat for the delay falls on the top heel(s) in the company, as it should.
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After Monday, I think the biggest money is in Lesnar chasing down Rollins for the beating of a lifetime. Rollins filling time by weaseling his way through singles matches with Orton and Reigns (and maybe Bryan if you need another filler program) could make for a hell of a Summer Slam payoff.
I don't know when Reigns gets the belt for real, but it needs to be a while. Brock is red hot, and even though Roman has proved a lot in his matches, WWE has lot of work to do rehab his image. I won't argue that it's unfair to Roman, but these are the kind of problems you get for over-pushing a guy at the wrong time. Looking back, despite getting the probable MOTY out of Roman, WWE really screwed the pooch by forcing him into that spot instead of Bryan. You could run the exact same match at Mania, and the booking flows so much more naturally. Rollins denys Bryan a second "WM moment," cheats in the re-match which leads to a much smoother de-push for Bryan, and it's at the hands of a guy who is actually supposed to be a heel. Roman gets to ascend more slowly without eating potentially harmful losses or the perception that he's "taking someone's spot." Then, Roman/Brock is still on the table for 32 with a much more favorable outlook.
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Has WWE always used the same archetypes for their wrestlers and I never noticed?
Rollins = Edge the opportunist who only wins when the odds are stacked super high in his favor
Reigns = Cena, the superman who almost never loses
Wyatt = Undertaker, the supernatural creepy dude who doesn't care about titles
Ambrose = Foley, the unstable wildman who is strangely loveable but loses more then he wins
Bryan = Steamboat, the superb technical wrestler who is just outside the top title picture
Those are all pretty basic character models that have been around forever. If you take any given year, you can probably find guys occupying those roles, or ones that are similar. In the last 10-15 years or so, several guys have been each role (also don't forget another common one, the monster).
Opportunist/Sleazebag: Rollins, Punk, Edge, JBL, HHH (early)
Superman: Cena, HHH (later), Lesnar, Rock, Austin
Supernatural: Wyatt, Kane, Taker, Boogeyman
Unstable: Ambrose, Jeff Hardy, Orton, Flair, Foley
Technical: Bryan, Michaels, Mysterio, Angle, Guerrero, Benoit
Monster: Lesnar, Show, Henry, Kane, Umaga, Khali
It's not just WWE either, you could probably pick any year out of the hat for any promotion and fill in the blanks, like let's say 1995 WCW
Opportunist/Sleazebag: Flair, DDP
Superman: Hogan, Sting
Supernatural: Sullivan and friends
Unstable: Savage, Pillman
Technical: Anderson, Guerrero
Monster: Vader, Giant
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As soon as they started doing big stadium shows every year, so 17 probably, but it's been gradual (20 and 22 were smaller venues, but after 23, there was no looking back). Hogan/Rock at 18 was shocking at the time, but would be 100% expected today. They started giving it a real "wrestling Mecca" feel with all the attractions like Axxess, HOF, etc in the mid 2000s and made it more than just another ppv like it was before. The casual fans got priced out and only the most dedicated fans make the pilgrimage. Then you add in the natural backlash toward Cena leading to lots of attention for the fans, the rise of the indies, and it just snowballed from there giving the most hardcore fans more and more reasons to buy up tickets. And hey, if you're spending a couple thousand already for a decent vacation, what's another $100 for Raw tickets?
The post-Mania Raw being a must see event really took off 4 years ago with the start of the "yes movement." Once you acknowledge the fans, it's all over. They know how to get attention (and fame to some degree, honestly) and they'll keep chasing that rush.
Although regardless of what anyone may think of this year's crowd, or the trend in general, WM weekend is super fucking fun, and I highly recommend going some time.
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I could see both sides of the argument for NXT going monthly.
Pros:
- More live show experience for the entire crew (production side especially)
- Fewer matches at each taping, leading to more lively crowds
- More travel opportunities
Cons:
- Weekly pacing thrown off with more rushed matches and angles
- Increased likelihood of non-finishes on big shows
- Diminished importance of the weekly show
Also, I'm late to the party, but the NXT house show in San Jose was off the chain. They should really shoot to do a live special WM weekend next year, and if this show was any indication, it could even be a 3-hour one. Some notes:
Itami/Breeze had one of their best matches, and the pop for the G2S was insane. Itami should absolutely use it full time.
They experimented with Bull as a face and Jason Jordan as a heel. Jordan surprisingly won clean.
Bayley got a good hometown pop, despite much of the audience not being local. Dana Brooke looked passable, could be real good with more experience. For now, her pre-match gymnastics move is her most impressive in-ring quality.
Solomon Crowe did a 180 from his tv debut match and looked a lot more like Sami Callahan against Kalisto. He changed his hair and used the stretch muffler as a finish. Kinda worked as a tweener.
They also experimented with Baron Corbin as a heel against Rhino. Corbin looked fairly comfortable in the role and the match was solid. Corbin won, but Rhino got to pop the crowd with a gore afterward.
Enzo/Cass vs. Vaudevillains vs. Blake/Murphy was the worst match of the night, but the crowd was super into the Enzo/Cass entrance.
Charlotte and Sasha had their usual good match.
Zayn and Owens had an unexpectedly heated dueling promo segment. It's a huge testament to NXT that they could have show this great without either of these two wrestling.
Balor and Neville got the main event spot. It was a toned-down version of their #1 contender's match, solid but not special. Balor was all painted up and got the win.
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Sheamus was the Indy-est looking wrestler I saw all weekend, and I went to Shimmer and WWN.
Lesnar tearing shit up ruled, but it came across even better on tv. Someone get the freeze frame of Cole's face coming down from the F5.
Best crowd chant was during commercial when Lilian was giving the presale code to Raw in San Jose for when they come back in August, and about 3/4 of the arena was chanting "We don't live here."
Cena/Ambrose was forgettable, but it was neat to see Cena work a full match as a WWE-style heel. His best heat spot I believe was during a commercial, where he bailed from a standoff and went to hug a little kid decked out in Cena gear in the front row.
The silver lining to the divas match was a small CM Punk chant getting drowned out with boos, and followed with a loud AJ Lee chant.
The main event was just cruel booking to everyone involved. There's no way they didn't expect that reaction for that uninspired match.
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Added:
Lesnar/Reigns (f. Seth Rollins) (Mania) - New #1
Rollins/Orton (Mania)
Owens/Balor (NXT 3/25)
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I couldn't for the life of me imagine saying 31 was better than 30, but it was worlds better than 27-29 so it definitely stands out in recent years.
Rollins/Orton is getting slept on. I know Orton's stock is really low, the angle was boring, and the result of the main event made it virtually insignificant, but in a vacuum, this match was really good. It's pretty much the ideal result of the "3-hour Raw formula" that's become the norm over the last several years. Great pace, nice counters, very little down time, and minimal overkill. Though it may be an indictment of modern WWE that only one finisher kickout for each guy is considered toned down, but I digress. When Orton's motivated and paired with a top worker, it's hard to go wrong. The camera angle for Rollins' first dive was probably the best angle in the history of suicide dives and the finish is video package material forever.
Reigns/Lesnar was pretty amazing. Brock just knows how to bring it, and Roman was perfect as the overmatched tough guy. Even though that Rock promo dragged, it worked to this match's benefit because it was limited to just the essentials. Too much more time and either the beating becomes tedious and Roman's comeback looks silly, Roman gets more offense and undermines the story, or Rollins' cash-in drags out and he looks like a dope who got lucky instead of a genius cashing in at exactly the right time. There was zero fat on this one and it was Kobashi/Hansen stiff. The cash-in worked to solve the conundrum of keeping everyone strong, and it was completely in line with Rollins' character. I don't know how anyone could say it was a bad finish, except for people's brains defaulting to "run-in = bad."
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in the attitude era, everyone had a catchphrase. the crowd went wild chanting along with it.
"Hey Road Dogg, we're gonna need you to stop doing that thing in your intro, that's not the reaction we want..."
"Hey Rock, we're scrapping your promo time, you're getting the wrong kind of heat..."
"Hey Austin, we want you to cut down the 3:16 stuff, the fans are catching on..."
You'd think they'd learn after 20 years that fans will chant along with any catchphrase. If they don't want that reaction don't give heels catchphrases, pretty simple.
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Okay: What match outcome will really shake up the status quo to any degree?
I'm not sure how likely these are, but potential results that could shake things up:
- Rollins pinning Lesnar
- Rusev beating Cena clean
Oh, and Truth winning the IC...
SmackDown Spoilers for 4/16
in WWE PROGRAMMING
Posted
Fandango is so getting future endeavored this year.
"Hey remember that time you were unintentionally over like 2 years ago and we did nothing with you? Well, now we're gonna use that thing to turn you face! If we force it, it'll be even more over!"
*A few weeks go by and nothing happens*
"Welp, can't think of anything else for ya. Thanks for all the hard work, yada yada."