WrestleZAYNia XXXIX - 4/1 & 4/2/2023

[Greggulator]

12 minutes ago, A_K said:

Incredible is the word. Even the celebrity  matches — which in bygone years would have been clunky, fusty, corny pieces — now have the likes of Logan Paul doing standing jumps from apron-to-top-turnbuckle and standing moonsaults, while the low card tag team fluff pieces have Gable germaning Braun then getting legitimate audience pops to catchphrases mid match, a comparatively very weak member of the roster like Dom Mysterio gets over by virtue of great character work and the top of the card bouts steal the show in every way. 
 

Their decision making in who you let go, who to recruit and who to build the company around has been completely vindicated. Wish LA Knight had something big to play with but c’est La vie.

Some really awesome talent just have some bad timing. LA Knight is going to have some huge feud near the top of the card at SummerSlam or Survivor Series and finish in the Final Four at the Rumble or something like that.

They are also ready to pull the long awaited trigger on some fun Mustafa Ali stuff. 

[Gorman]

I cracked up when they showed a replay of Dominick throwing his sister's drink into her face. 

My daughter said, "I get a kick out of how much you love this stuff."

[Cobra Commander]

It’s possible that Stephen A would tower over some current stars if he’s that close in height to the Undertaker and he has some height on an old Flair

[odessasteps]

5 minutes ago, Gorman said:

I cracked up when they showed a replay of Dominick throwing his sister's drink into her face. 

My daughter said, "I get a kick out of how much you love this stuff."

I hope it wasn't tequila. 

[Cobra Commander]

2 minutes ago, odessasteps said:

I hope it wasn't tequila. 

MJF needs to grow out a mullet if he wants to be as over as a heel as Dominik is

[Octopus]

14 minutes ago, Cobra Commander said:

MJF needs to grow out a mullet if he wants to be as over as a heel as Dominik is

MJF says stuff to get heat. Dom IS HEAT

[For Great Justice]

100% on board with “Dominic Mysterio is a better heel than MJF” being a Contentious DVDVR Talking Point (tm). Because it’s true.

It isn’t all bad for Max though. Much better in the ring and almost certainly a better babyface (though we haven’t seen it for an extended period yet).

[Andrew POE!]

5 minutes ago, Octopus said:

MJF says stuff to get heat. Dom IS HEAT

Dom seriously is one of the best heels in wrestling right now. He spends ONE NIGHT in jail and acts like he did five years in prison. His entrance last night was ridiculous, over the top, hilarious and just makes you hate him. He's seriously Eddie Guerrero in 2023 and he can only get better.

Dom doesn't need to spend 20+ minutes to tell you that he switched places with his girlfriend in a car accident or how he had his fiance leave him so now he's unlovable or how he thought about suicide because William Regal won't return his phone calls, he just yells "SHUT UP MOM" and gets booed out of the building.

[A_K]

9 minutes ago, For Great Justice said:

100% on board with “Dominic Mysterio is a better heel than MJF” being a Contentious DVDVR Talking Point (tm). Because it’s true.

It isn’t all bad for Max though. Much better in the ring and almost certainly a better babyface (though we haven’t seen it for an extended period yet).

 

Dominic is a product of this very-well crafted story. He will fade (back) into obscurity over the medium-to-long term once this angle is done. Nothing very distinguishable in-ring/out-of-ring aside from the association with Rey (who even at his advanced age still looks far crisper in the ring). Does not diminish how excellent this chapter has been. History of the product is littered with talent who have one or two strong angles in their locker then little else. Will not be unusual. Still young, but physique alone lends itself neither to cruiserweight nor heavyweight profile. Suspect in the long run he'll find himself a little too far from his peers in either category.

Contrarily, MJF is in a dumpster-fire of a setup where (not dissimilarly to Cody during his last 12-18 months) he likely has next to no editorial hand, with an absolutely hapless booker presiding over proceedings. Will be interesting to see how he performs once he eventually moves company; that said, there's certainly no basis for him cracking anything above mid-card in WWE at present.

Edited April 2, 2023 by A_K

[Niners Fan in CT]

I've been telling some of my friends for months now that Dom Mysterio is the second best heel in the company.  Roman as his peak is still the guy who can elicit the most crowd reaction so he's still #1 but Dom has been on an incredible run.  He's not all the way there in the ring but he's getting better at that.  

Also, his entrance last night might be in my top 5 WrestleMania entrances. 

[Greggulator]

Dom has been fantastic and has the tools to continue. But, yeah, I would not be surprised if this is the best work he ever does. There is no shame in that because he has been great, but it also against his father who is a GOAT babyface candidate. 

It would be great to see Dom carry around a secondary title in the most weasel ways possible. Like Sheamus or gets the one belt that eluded him tonight and Dom steals it tomorrow night with the help of his stable and has a Honky Tonk style reign for a few months would work.

[Cobra Commander]

If they have Rhea dump Dominik ala Sherri/Macho Man only for Rey to make a save, it might not be as emotional as Randy/Liz at WM7 but it’ll get some sort of pop.

Of course Dom would probably be dead in the water quickly post-Judgment Day.

[For Great Justice]

26 minutes ago, A_K said:

 

Dominic is a product of this very-well crafted story. He will fade (back) into obscurity over the medium-to-long term once this angle is done. Nothing very distinguishable in-ring/out-of-ring aside from the association with Rey (who even at his advanced age still looks far crisper in the ring). Does not diminish how excellent this chapter has been. History of the product is littered with talent who have one or two strong angles in their locker then little else. Will not be unusual. Still young, but physique alone lends itself neither to cruiserweight nor heavyweight profile. Suspect in the long run he'll find himself a little too far from his peers in either category.

I’m not so sure I agree on this one. Sure it’s this story that’s gotten him to where he is now, but “ungrateful shithead son of the greatest babyface of all time who thinks he’s hard but is such a little bitch” translates to beyond just the feud with Rey proper to me. Like he can go feud with Montez Ford later this year over the US title but he’s still just as much of a bitch. I think he stays being a heat magnet for a good long while, though he does have a ceiling with the current state of his in-ring. Which isn’t bad but…well, look at the roster they have now.

[dogwelder]

 

[Eivion]

1 hour ago, Cobra Commander said:

It’s possible that Stephen A would tower over some current stars if he’s that close in height to the Undertaker and he has some height on an old Flair

You know when I saw Stand & Deliver yesterday I finally noticed for the first time how damn tall Vic Joseph is when he stood during the opening of Gargano/Waller. I have the exact same feelings now I did then of how the fuck are these two so tall. They just come off so much smaller when sitting I guess due to lankiness but fuck are they giants. 

Edited April 2, 2023 by Eivion

[peterien]

Is there any chance Roman retains tonight? I mean, Cody is pretty much nailed on to win and it’s the right choice but is there an argument for Roman to win? 

[odessasteps]

7 minutes ago, peterien said:

Is there any chance Roman retains tonight? I mean, Cody is pretty much nailed on to win and it’s the right choice but is there an argument for Roman to win? 

No. That makes Cody in 1993 Lex Luger.

[Lawful Metal]

10 minutes ago, peterien said:

Is there any chance Roman retains tonight? I mean, Cody is pretty much nailed on to win and it’s the right choice but is there an argument for Roman to win? 

“You want it that way, but it’s the other way“ - Vince, probably

I don’t know, Cody’s story feels incomplete and everything feels handed to him. Cody facing some adversity before overcoming it while the Bloodline is in tatters. It could happen. 

[Cobra Commander]

1993 Lex Luger is the rare situation where a literal Dusty finish (Lex leaves Summerslam with the title and it gets overturned) would have been better than what they did.

Anyways, for all the talks about splitting titles, there really isn't a clear way of how to split titles when the two shows are being run by the same authority figures.

[For Great Justice]

I mentioned the Dawkins catch but didn’t see anyone post the video 

I mean if you’re a fellow wrestler, that’s the best move of the night. Amazing.

[Lawful Metal]

5 minutes ago, For Great Justice said:

I mentioned the Dawkins catch but didn’t see anyone post the video 

I mean if you’re a fellow wrestler, that’s the best move of the night. Amazing.

Besides his absolute de-cleating of Strowman of course

[DragonZombie]

[Robert S]

The conference between Owens and one of the Usos close to the finish was a LOL moment. I guess some production guy forgot to switch off the ring post microphone after the Sami-Jey dialog.

[Ziggy]

2 hours ago, Greggulator said:

I do not even think there is a question anymore. I think The New Day had the lead for a while because they had match quality, were a stable that filled every part of the card, and also were socially significant because they really transcended racial representation in wrestling. But their highest highs came with KofiMania and then the short-lived Big E. 

As over as the New Day was and still is , the never had The headline feud as a team. Let's be honest, the main reason the Usos have gotten to close PPVs as a tag team is because of the Bloodline. Now slight on the Usos at all because they on an all time great level run, its just that WWE isnt a tag team territory.  Unless your a team paired against one of the aces of company or aligned with one of the aces on TV then chances are slim of a tag team really main eventing. The Usos have surpassed the New Day as overall better working team but most of this Bloodline run each of the 3 have dealt with injuries.

Zayn proved early this year he's a main eventer so I hope WWE would really invest more in the Tag team division as a whole. This can't be like KofiMania where he wins the title in an all time classic moment but don't really invest in him having a good run. These guys should have some good tags and 6 mans and 8 man tags with the Bloodline. 

[A_K]

2 hours ago, For Great Justice said:

I’m not so sure I agree on this one. Sure it’s this story that’s gotten him to where he is now, but “ungrateful shithead son of the greatest babyface of all time who thinks he’s hard but is such a little bitch” translates to beyond just the feud with Rey proper to me. Like he can go feud with Montez Ford later this year over the US title but he’s still just as much of a bitch. I think he stays being a heat magnet for a good long while, though he does have a ceiling with the current state of his in-ring. Which isn’t bad but…well, look at the roster they have now.

Yeah I think the bolded part is the problem for him. So many talented players coming out of or into new significant programs (fingers crossed for LA Knight) that he’ll have his work cut out for him to carve a niche outside of the Rey work. That said, suspect this Rey program continues through at least one more PPV before he eventually goes over.

And speaking of going over, suspect that Roman wins tonight unless he is taking a break. Given Uso’s already dropped their straps there is some mileage in continuing the Bloodline story  w/ Roman as only belt holder and as another poster mentioned Cody having to overcome some adversity. Could be a Wrestlemania 2000 redux where the belt gets dropped shortly afterwards at Backlash / Summerslam. With the ratings so strong, suspect they’ll want to squeeze every last bit of blood from this stone. Cody’s been part of this story for a comparatively small amount of time. 

Edited April 2, 2023 by A_K