Dolfan in NYC Posted December 11, 2023 Share Posted December 11, 2023 On to this week! HBK announced that Carmelo Hayes is representing NXT in the US Title tournament on Friday. (This is, of course, his soft launch on the main roster, for which he is more than ready.) CM Punk will decide which brand he wants to torture with his special brand of personality tonight as Raw comes from Cleveland. Will it be Raw or Smackdown? ... or NXT? But I don't know about any of you, but seeing CM Punk smiling this much is.... terrifying? Though the prospect of CM Punk hazing all of the NXT kids for their entire time there while he rules over them with a cruel iron fist would be a lot of fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolfan in NYC Posted December 11, 2023 Author Share Posted December 11, 2023 The way Cora can't help but break character and then snaps back. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted December 11, 2023 Share Posted December 11, 2023 1 hour ago, Dolfan in NYC said: On to this week! HBK announced that Carmelo Hayes is representing NXT in the US Title tournament on Friday. (This is, of course, his soft launch on the main roster, for which he is more than ready.) CM Punk will decide which brand he wants to torture with his special brand of personality tonight as Raw comes from Cleveland. Will it be Raw or Smackdown? ... or NXT? But I don't know about any of you, but seeing CM Punk smiling this much is.... terrifying? Though the prospect of CM Punk hazing all of the NXT kids for their entire time there while he rules over them with a cruel iron fist would be a lot of fun. Hope you had a good birthday, bud xxx. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorman Posted December 11, 2023 Share Posted December 11, 2023 If Punk is just announcing his brand, then how will he keep up his tradition of bad things happening to him whenever he comes to Cleveland? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 I was all ready to watch the six man and they brought out the Miz. Great Job! Anyway, what I saw of the main looked pretty good (except for Cody's Bionic Elbow, sadly), and I also caught the FAT BOY MATCH which was super cool. That superplex changed the whole physics of the super-hard WWE ring and turned it into a trampoline. Insane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 Oh yeah. Looking at Punk's smug face again just made me think "Man, I think I really don't like that guy." He was talking and I had the sound off even. Just looking at him made me want to slap him. Usually he hasn't bothered me like that. Maybe adding Seth Rollins to the equation rubbed off on him. 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eivion Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 Drew/Jey was pretty solid. Dug the finish a decent bit. Drew is getting meaner each week, and I like it. Rhea/Maxxine was kind of a nothing squash. Maxxine can be fun but she clearly wasn't ready for this. I do hope they do more with Ivy and Rhea after that post match staredown. Skipped around some of the Punk signing, but it was pretty solid after Seth came out. Will be interesting to see if either actually turns heel when the feud fully goes down. The crowd got behind Seth a decent bit though when calling Punk out though they never turned on Punk at the same time. Bronson/Ivar was another fun battle of monsters. Was surprised to see the superplex end things, but I kind of dug it with the impact it had. The Judgement Day/Truth segment was a nice way to give the Creeds a hero moment saving R-Truth. Katana/Kayden vs. Candice/Indi was a decent showcase for the KCs. Happy they won. DIY/Miz vs. Imperium was good. This was probably the match that got the crowd the hottest all night with both Miz and Gargano hailing from Cleveland. The Becky/Nia segment was solid. Kind of like the idea that its a match Becky needs more than Nia. Cody/Nakamura was shockingly good for a first time ever. The bs ending actually worked well since you didn't quite see it coming until it hit. Thought there was a decent bit of good matches and solid segments moving stories forward here. Punk going around making his rounds was sensible. I dug Punk meeting Kofi again. I love that Kofi is the one guy Punk has never hated. Biggest issue was probably that the crowd kind of sucked save the 6-man tag. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godfrey Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 Live: Drew/Jey was solid work worked solidly, although McIntyre has a habit of leaning way too into punches sometimes. Hey, Yeet isn't blurred, that was a fast resolution. Feels like both guys are on the upswing right now, I think Jey is one new finisher away from being ready because his spear is not dynamic enough (like Christian's). And Drew is a main event dude, I hope he gets another run as a face at the world title level eventually because I still remember his crowning moment defeating Lesnar in an empty and silent performance center and dude deserves a redo If HHH ever gets away from skits and more towards promos that can accomplish the same thing and would be way more entertaining, I'll have real hope for this new regime Ripley/Dupri was no good, Rhea was still awesome in it so that's something Oh good, I don't have to wait all night. Punk's last stop on his apology tour promo (I hope) was pretty good, I thought Seth started rough but really brought it home at the end. Seth got into Punk's rep and we finally got a little game face and edge to CM. I can get into this run because Punk was always a WWE guy to me and I wasn't even a fan of his until his AEW stuff. I didn't watch ROH as it came out and what little of his stuff I saw I wasn't that into (dude was deep into his 20s and still cutting promos about highschool), in WWE I was focused on Daniel Bryan so Punk was just a decent wrestler with a lip ring and sloppy elbow drop until his world title reign that went into his feud with the Rock. I get not liking Punk's hypocrisy, to me Cody was far more hypocritical when he went back to WWE so it's a matter of perspective (Cody's theme song still talks about having to sacrifice a cushy job for his freedom and he's back in that job) Hell yeah, big dude fight! Once Logan Paul is done with it, make the US title the superheavyweight belt yo Carter and Chance is a good name for a detective duo and they're an okay wrestler duo too. Indi looked like a giant next to them. Very much enjoying Natalya's beret phase Next Day: 6-man was a lot of fun, it might have have been death without some hometown guys Rhodes/Nak was good, not as much of a clash as I'd thought and Shinsuke continues to get heat. Cody's first move was to throw himself to the mat for a punch, still one of the more idiotic pieces of offense going today. This Mania season will be an interesting one, I'm not going to be happy if they run with Cody again (and he wins two Rumbles) but I'm not sure who else is really viable at the moment besides Orton (who I can't imagine them going with, unless it's to get Roman another Mania defense) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Cincinnati Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eivion Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 Damn, was hoping it would be on tv when that happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 Could be one of the house shows they show on .peacock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Cincinnati Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 I’m thinking tune-up for a match on the New Year’s Day show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikoBaltimore Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 I caught the end of Rhea/Maxine and I feel the idea of Maxine as a wrestler on TV should be near its end. It looked awkward as hell and Rhea was getting increasingly annoyed. Maybe taking her off TV and have her work house shows for a good while could be of use. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eivion Posted December 13, 2023 Share Posted December 13, 2023 4 hours ago, NikoBaltimore said: I caught the end of Rhea/Maxine and I feel the idea of Maxine as a wrestler on TV should be near its end. It looked awkward as hell and Rhea was getting increasingly annoyed. Maybe taking her off TV and have her work house shows for a good while could be of use. That was surprisingly the worst Maxxine has looked. She was ok in other matches. Maxxine on tv is fine. She just doesn't need to wrestle until she gets more reps in on house shows. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonzombie Posted December 13, 2023 Share Posted December 13, 2023 Meltzer on Twitter/X wrote about Raw TV negotiations are going greatly now that CM Punk is with WWE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Cincinnati Posted December 13, 2023 Share Posted December 13, 2023 5 Bill Phil 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
username Posted December 13, 2023 Share Posted December 13, 2023 Maxxine had a very "you don't get to wrestle on TV anymore" kinda match, it appears she simply doesn't know how to be slammed and while it is impressive they've avoided that this long she's clearly lacking certain basic skills one needs for this job. I don't know what to do with the fact that Bronson Reed and Ivar are now the two best wrestlers in the world but they are the only ones who realized you can just finish off of something like a massive hurty looking superplex so it is the only conclusion I can come to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted December 13, 2023 Share Posted December 13, 2023 Is there anything I need to go watch on NXT? I only tried to watch Tyler Bate vs. Dragon Lee and Bate was making me feel like I was watching an acrobatics exhibition, despite some cool dives from both guys, so I turned back to the computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eivion Posted December 13, 2023 Share Posted December 13, 2023 (edited) Meta-Four vs. Briggs/Jensen/Henley was good. Lash got in a nice moment or two to showcase her power, Jensen was a solid FIP, and I dug how the finish played out to give Briggs a big triumphant moment. Will be interesting to see how the eventual heritage Cup match between Briggs and Dar turns out. Oba/Myles was fine with Oba power moments being the standout. King taking out a tournament member and getting rewarded with his spot feels weird. Thought it was strange King wasn't an announced participant. I guess this was a nice way to show him off as a dick, especially in his conversation with Ava backstage. Still has strange logic wise though I guess that is wrestling. Bate/Lee was good as expected. Nice showcase for both and a good first defense for Dragon Lee. It does feel weird to hear Lee's plan to basically hang back around in NXT to defend the belt like Wes did considering Dragon was already moved up. Curious to see who challenges next among the Kemp/Gulak/Dempsey/Myles group. Gulak would give the best match, but it would be a good learning experience for the other three. Dijak/Thorpe was just a brawl taking a bit to actually begin officially and ending not too long after. The strikes could be a bit weak at times though Dijak being bloody helped this out a decent amount. Not sure why they felt this was needed for presumably another stip match. The feud was already heated enough to justify one. Riley/Carver was a great showcase for both guys. They fed into each others' styles way more than Femi and Bourne did earlier. Blair/Cora vs. Lyra/Nikkita was solid. Cora and Nikkita looked fine despite the long time off. Dug the finish as well with Cora continuing to steal the spotlight. The post match with Tatum coming down, throwing Lyons out, and crawling to over to comfort Lyra was all wonderfully creepy. The final segment with Trick and Ilja was sold up until Melo came out to blame Ilja for attacks on both himself and Trick. Hayes just sounded so unconvincing. To be fair that might have been the point though it felt just like bad acting on Hayes's part. Enjoyed most of the matches tonight with the mixed tag and Bate/Lee being the standouts. The segments were a bit more hit or miss but nothing too terrible. Decent episode tonight though we have had better before, be that matches, segments, or both. Edited December 13, 2023 by Eivion 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerva Posted December 13, 2023 Share Posted December 13, 2023 (edited) Maybe this is just long term booking that is really longer than usual but I wonder if they are trying to build Tiffany Stratton and Fallon Henley as the next future rivalry that will be the WWE for years and years Putting Lexis King in a tournament where the vast majority of them just started months ago seems stupid but I guess we aren't really supposed to know that Pillman has been working for about 3 or 4 years already. Edited December 13, 2023 by hammerva Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eivion Posted December 13, 2023 Share Posted December 13, 2023 1 hour ago, hammerva said: Putting Lexis King in a tournament where the vast majority of them just started months ago seems stupid but I guess we aren't really supposed to know that Pillman has been working for about 3 or 4 years already. The Breakout tournament is for people new to NXT, not necessarily wrestling as a whole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worldcupfever Posted December 13, 2023 Share Posted December 13, 2023 8 hours ago, Eivion said: The final segment with Trick and Ilja was sold up until Melo came out to blame Ilja for attacks on both himself and Trick. Hayes just sounded so unconvincing. To be fair that might have been the point though it felt just like bad acting on Hayes's part. Man, things went down the drain once Melo came out. His theory wasn't awful, except that it doesn't fit Ilja's character at all. Like you said, maybe that was all the point but it was terrible and dragged so badly. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted December 13, 2023 Share Posted December 13, 2023 Wrestling has taught me the person making the accusations is usually behind them by the end. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolfan in NYC Posted December 13, 2023 Author Share Posted December 13, 2023 21 hours ago, John from Cincinnati said: And based on the text I just got, Punk's first match in WWE will also be against Dom, at the 12/26 house show at MSG. Oh boy, did that just become a hot ticket all of a sudden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoeCristyV.1.6 Posted December 13, 2023 Share Posted December 13, 2023 If it's nearly as good as Rey VS Punk back then, I'll watch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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