JULY WRESTLING DISCUSSION

[The Nature Boy]

The old Vince would have just made AJ's life hell and put her in an on-screen romance with I don't know, Bastian Booger? Boogeyman?

 

Vince has gone soft. The old Vince would've put HIMSELF in an on-screen romance with AJ. 

[Victator]

I didn't want to start a new thread for this because I don't think this deserves one, but you know, I'm starting to feel like wrestling's passed me by, and whatever WWE's slinging just isn't for me anymore.

 

It sucks because I've been a wrestling fan since 1996, to such a degree that it's shaped my perspective on the world.  I used to keep it under my vest for YEARS, only to find out when my friends and I were adults, that they were fans too.  I never got to watch an ECW show live (I was a kid then, and my folks would have never let me go to that nuthouse), which is one of my biggest regrets, but WWE, WCW, I went to almost every show that came to Philly for many years.  I met one of my best friends at a Bret Hart DVD signing.

 

But now, I guess I'm jaded and just fed up with what's going on these days.  Like I said in a previous post, I've become the token "Vince is the devil" smark, with the aversion to giving him a dime anymore, and all I can muster up as excitement goes these days is the occasional "told ya" whenever the WWE does what I expect them to do, and hearty laughs at TNA's own ineptitude.

 

A friend, the same I met at the Bret signing, who has even let me use his WWE Network account, suggested I start taking a different approach to watching wrestling, to re-evaluate how, and even WHY I watch it (this was after a breakdown I had when I made an off-hand comment on how Davey Richards and I have some common ground, only to realize how accurate that was).  And that it was possible that I've simply outgrown it.

 

Yikes.  That was a lot.

You are just burnt out, take a break. You'll be fine. 

[Super Ape]

 

 

I didn't want to start a new thread for this because I don't think this deserves one, but you know, I'm starting to feel like wrestling's passed me by, and whatever WWE's slinging just isn't for me anymore.

 

It sucks because I've been a wrestling fan since 1996, to such a degree that it's shaped my perspective on the world.  I used to keep it under my vest for YEARS, only to find out when my friends and I were adults, that they were fans too.  I never got to watch an ECW show live (I was a kid then, and my folks would have never let me go to that nuthouse), which is one of my biggest regrets, but WWE, WCW, I went to almost every show that came to Philly for many years.  I met one of my best friends at a Bret Hart DVD signing.

 

But now, I guess I'm jaded and just fed up with what's going on these days.  Like I said in a previous post, I've become the token "Vince is the devil" smark, with the aversion to giving him a dime anymore, and all I can muster up as excitement goes these days is the occasional "told ya" whenever the WWE does what I expect them to do, and hearty laughs at TNA's own ineptitude.

 

A friend, the same I met at the Bret signing, who has even let me use his WWE Network account, suggested I start taking a different approach to watching wrestling, to re-evaluate how, and even WHY I watch it (this was after a breakdown I had when I made an off-hand comment on how Davey Richards and I have some common ground, only to realize how accurate that was).  And that it was possible that I've simply outgrown it.

 

Yikes.  That was a lot.

Have you considered watching more of these guys?

 

 

Iiiiiii'm afraid I don't follow you.

[jaedmc]

Indeed, from a match stand point the WWE is doing stellar stuff for the last few years. 

 

However, for some, the story going into and out of the match becomes kind of important. Seeing Daniel Bryan win at Wrestlemania was probably among the greatest feel good moments in the company's history. Part of that was because of the storyline that Lil B+ Player wasn't supposed to be anywhere near that main event. He wasn't supposed to cleanly defeat Triple H after kicking out of a Pedigree. He wasn't supposed to overcome two seemingly genetically engineered dream WWE prototype wrestlers.

 

Now, if you watch say Triple H vs. Daniel Bryan without any backstory, you'll still get a really good match. Just like if you just watch Oberyn vs. The Mountain from Game of Thrones you'll still have a crazy experience. But you throw in everything leading up to it and the experience is exponentially better. Alberto Del Rio matches are great in a vacuum. But once you factor in that he does nothing, will go nowhere, and has nothing going on, whether he wins or loses means little - other than Kewl Match, Bro.

 

People talk about the rasslin' business being cyclical from a financial standpoint. I think it's more apt that wrestling is cyclical in terms of a company having a fucking story that's interesting. WWE's cycle moves kind of quickly. Sometimes so quickly that you can go from being "HOLY SHIT THE BOOM PERIOD IS BACK PIPE BOMB~!" to "HOLY SHIT THIS COMPANY HATES MONEY PUNK EATING JACKNIFE POWER BOMBS~!" in a matter of weeks. Hell it's so fast the Daniel Bryan's story went from "Bryan Beat Cena EVERYTHING IS AWESOME" to "FUCK THIS BORETON MOTHERFUCKER I HATE THIS COMPANY" to "Daniel Bryan is going to win the Rumble!" to "BOOTISTA GODDAMN IT" to "OH MY GOD HE DID IT." over the course of several months. Sometimes the the height of the cycle coincides with a good pay off and it's great. Sometimes it's the fucking Nexus angle.

 

This is of course the thought process one has when sticking with the WWE. I just watch ANYTHING else during the down periods and comeback when the good stories come back. 

[Super Ape]

I'll be honest; I didn't even bother watching Mania because there was no way I could be sure the whole shebang wouldn't end with HHH winning the belt, or even Cena doing a Hulk-Hogan-at-WrestleMania-IX and winning it from Orton.  The matches are good (and have been consistently improving since... I'd say around 2005 or so, once Vince got his bodybuilder fetish under control and we all started fawning over Superstars matches), but the storylines are at best incoherent and inconsistent to the point where you aren't sure what the hell kind of story they want to tell (hell, sometimes it feels like THEY'RE not so sure themselves), and at worst Hornswoggle as anonymous GM.

 

I think that's what my thing is.  I already watch puro and the occasional INTERNET MATCH OF THE YEAR in a vacuum, but when it comes to the 'E I want to be able to follow along.  Someone suggested lucha for that reason (it wouldn't be as much an issue following that because I actually speak a little Spanish), but I haven't really been able to buy into it beyond the flippy-do stuff (which it admittedly does exceptionally well).  And really, watching nothing but matches in a vacuum is a lot like watching fight scenes from movies in a vacuum; kinda cool, but it seems like it's missing the point.

[Patrick B.]

I sympathize with you, Super Ape.  I'm feeling the same way these days.  WWE's in-ring product is as good as it's ever been, but I just can't bring myself to care about the storylines any more.  Last night was the first time in years that I just went to bed early rather than watch Raw live all the way through.  Admittedly, I overload myself and have probably burned myself out...I watch WWE, TNA, ROH, and all the indy feds in my area.

[Niners Fan in CT]

I'll be the first to admit that WWE's been shit lately but to be so excited headed towards Mania and for that show to deliver to now GIVE UP on watching only a few months later? That's extreme. Yes, WWE was dealt a shitty hand with Bryan and Barrett going down with injuries. Yes, creative has done nothing with Wyatt and Cesaro. It's all very frustrating but as others have stated, there is still a lot of good shit going on inside the ring and I think they'll bounce back and have a nice SummerSlam. I thought Battleground was pretty awful but then I watched RAW and they sucked me back in because Heyman/Lesnar is just TOO GOOD.. That promo was awesome. The stuff with HHH/Stephanie was pretty funny too but not for everyone. Cesaro/Ambrose had a sweet match. It'll turn back around guys. I think my biggest gripe is that they cannot keep the momentum going. They have a few great months and follow it up with crap. Then they do something cool again. Then more crap. There's no consistency and I think that starts with Vince because stories and characters are dropped left and right with no explanation. His fingers are glued to the panic button.

[John Austin]

I'm with you guys while match quality the WWE is doing good stuff, I'm not really interested. I get my wrestling joy watching the independent shows that are on YouTube now. Though I have to say, the thread reliving AJ in the 90's has me going back and rewatching those matches posted, though I suck as a writer and match analyst so I just read the postings and enjoy them

[L_W_P]

I'll be the first to admit that WWE's been shit lately but to be so excited headed towards Mania and for that show to deliver to now GIVE UP on watching only a few months later? That's extreme. Yes, WWE was dealt a shitty hand with Bryan and Barrett going down with injuries. Yes, creative has done nothing with Wyatt and Cesaro.

 

The thing is though; Bryan, Wyatt, Cesaro, Barrett etc were the reasons we were all getting excited in the first place. We see people like Big E star in NXT and then get called up without any chance at all of showing the same flair or personality. How can we all universally love these people and yet, "creative" drop the ball so hard?

 

Yes there is still alot of good from week to week, but when you lose so much upward progress on so many guys all at once it's just hard to keep getting up in the short term and this feeling carries over. We can invest alot in Reigns, Rollins and Ambrose but in 12 months time we will probably be in the exact same place and that's hard to get excited about.

 

I'll keep recording it and flicking through to find the good bits, but Im not going to sit here and act like I care about WWE as a whole right now. It's a long way to fall from the high of Mania 30 but that should be a reflection of how poorly handled things have been since then. So many star making moments landed in their lap and we end up with a main event where 3/4 participants are Cena, Orton and Kane.

 

At least you guys all get the network to pick through stuff. The rest of the world is still waiting on that haha

[BrianS81177]

I'm kind of feeling the same as Super Ape. I still enjoy a lot of the in ring product that WWE is putting out, but by and large their storylines just aren't doing anything for me. Ambrose vs Rollins was getting me hooked, but I feel like they took a lot of the steam out of it by not having the match. I mean hell it could have ended with Rollins running away and being counted out or something. Now it just seems like it's going to be another month of "Ambrose jumps Rollins in parking lot, Ambrose jumps Rollins in locker room", etc. Steph vs Brie is fun but in a campy sort of way and I doubt it's going to be any good once it finally takes place in the ring. 

 

TNA hasn't interested me in months. Until I can be assured that I will not see anyone with the last name Carter on my screen, I watch Impact with the fast forward going. 

 

Has there been any word on that AAA/El Rey promotion? Is the idea of it that it would be licha libre but with english commentary?

[notoriusvig]

He should've just parked at Titan Towers and locked his keys inside his car when he decided to just stop showing up. He might not have got himself into a legal situation if this were planned better. That, or show up to TVs and gut a fish in the Gorilla Position. Either scenarios are good.

Yea and crazy Vince would think he still worked there since he saw his car there all the time.  They'd think he was the hardest working guy there.

[MORELOCK]

The sad thing about Alberto is that he's a legitimately charismatic guy but WWE seems reluctant to push him again. They need to give him his car back and give him a valet. Eva Marie isn't doing anything, just have her Alberto's arm candy for a while. Let him be the rich, aristocratic heel again. 

 

I fail to see how anything about Del Rio would be different if Rodriguez were there and he were to arrive in a vehicle now. He's playing the same character either way. And it sucks whether they spend thousands of dollars a week on a rental car or not.

[L_W_P]

 

The sad thing about Alberto is that he's a legitimately charismatic guy but WWE seems reluctant to push him again. They need to give him his car back and give him a valet. Eva Marie isn't doing anything, just have her Alberto's arm candy for a while. Let him be the rich, aristocratic heel again. 

 

I fail to see how anything about Del Rio would be different if Rodriguez were there and he were to arrive in a vehicle now. He's playing the same character either way. And it sucks whether they spend thousands of dollars a week on a rental car or not.

 

 

I mean, Flair didn't need the suits and the rolex and the private plane or his limo or his groupies of the month hanging off each arm... Ric Flair from Charlotte was more than enough of a hook right?

 

Well... uhhh... Cena! Now there's a guy that got over on personality. He didn't need any gimmicks to break through. It was just ruthless aggresion one night and then BAM! WWE Champion... shit.

 

Being serious though - Del Rio could've been a huge star for WWE. He had the look, the gimmick and the motivation to succeed. Then they killed it all deader than a dodo and left him to flounder. If we could rewind to his Mania match with Edge; He should've gone over. I don't know if they knew about Edge's neck and felt he deserved to retire as champion but it doesn't change the fact that the crowd was HOT for ADR and they slowly killed it over time by taking away the hooks that the character had sunk into people.

 

He was getting heat for winking FFS!

 

Once he went from "Aristocratic Mexican" to "All American Everyman" he was dead in the water.

 

Add him to the list with Swagger, Cesaro, Ziggler, Kofi, Sheamus and Miz of guys who could still be seen as main eventers but who were handled so badly at their peak that they have become channel surfing/fast forward material to alot of people.

 

The Wyatt family are well on their way to that list as well.

 

The Shield are doing ok but on form Reigns will win the title from Lesnar at Mania, fight Kane for 2 months followed by Orton and Cena before dropping the title to an interim heel so that Cena/Lesnar/Orton/Punk can win it back for the run to Mania 32. Wouldn't want someone that isn't "mainstream" doing the press from January through April.

 

/rant

[thee Reverend Axl Future]

I didn't want to start a new thread for this because I don't think this deserves one, but you know, I'm starting to feel like wrestling's passed me by, and whatever WWE's slinging just isn't for me anymore.

 

It sucks because I've been a wrestling fan since 1996, to such a degree that it's shaped my perspective on the world.  I used to keep it under my vest for YEARS, only to find out when my friends and I were adults, that they were fans too.  I never got to watch an ECW show live (I was a kid then, and my folks would have never let me go to that nuthouse), which is one of my biggest regrets, but WWE, WCW, I went to almost every show that came to Philly for many years.  I met one of my best friends at a Bret Hart DVD signing.

 

But now, I guess I'm jaded and just fed up with what's going on these days.  Like I said in a previous post, I've become the token "Vince is the devil" smark, with the aversion to giving him a dime anymore, and all I can muster up as excitement goes these days is the occasional "told ya" whenever the WWE does what I expect them to do, and hearty laughs at TNA's own ineptitude.

 

A friend, the same I met at the Bret signing, who has even let me use his WWE Network account, suggested I start taking a different approach to watching wrestling, to re-evaluate how, and even WHY I watch it (this was after a breakdown I had when I made an off-hand comment on how Davey Richards and I have some common ground, only to realize how accurate that was).  And that it was possible that I've simply outgrown it.

 

Yikes.  That was a lot.

Just because you didn't mention it, I am assuming that you haven't been to any indie shows lately. I am outraged: you (still?) live in Philly and haven't tried out any of the dozens of South Jersey groups (On Point Wrestling is fun), CZW, House of Hardcore, that great Masked Republic lucha card a couple months ago, or even some of the silly Extreme Rising shows? If live wrestling doesn't rekindle the fire, then take a sabbatical. If you want to watch again in a few months then do so. What you wrote is as if somebody said to me "gee, I really don't enjoy music lately", and I come to discover that they only listen to pop radio. There's is a whole world of alternative, underground, grass-roots, DIY, indy, cutting edge, etc sounds out there being made, over the inter Webs, on CD/vinyl/cassette and most importantly LIVE. Hell, there is more music than one can listen to in a lifetime that's already been produced. Put a bit of effort into it and you will be rewarded. If the Pizza Hut on the corner is making you sick, then don't tell me you don't like food - get off your duff and try the local pizzeria down the block, or the pub, or the seafood restaurant or buy a cookbook.

Not to blame the victim, but since you posted up here for advice or a solution or commiseration, I feel the next step is to be more pro-active, or step away for awhile. I enjoy the WWE, I think it's been fun lately, and I feel like $9.95 is a fair amount to give them a month for what I get back. When I am not enjoying something, I FFw it or turn it off. If I am in the mood for rasslin', I have the rest of the WWENetwork, youTube, tapes, DVDs  and so on. On the Roku and 'net I can find indy, Japanese and lucha as well, and there are plenty of shows on the weekends to round up a passel of friends for and go enjoy. It's a fine time to be a fan.

pshaw,

RAF

p,s, - I still love thee, Mr. McMahon.

[Newb82]

What's a good Roku channel for non-WWE wrestling?

[Spritenaut 32]

Didn't Del Rio tell the company that he was leaving when his contract expired?  Hence his lack of push?  Or was that just a (false) rumor?

[thee Reverend Axl Future]

What's a good Roku channel for non-WWE wrestling?

The Prowrestlingchannel has the free matches of a middling indy group with an option to subscribe (I haven't) and MaddyGTV carries the often festive AAW There is Ringscoops as well, never watched it and TVbyDemand,com has Loco Wrestling. I think there is one more, I gotta check. When no one is around, i have been known to watch OPW on my TV via YouTube.

- RAF

[Super Ape]

Axl, you're not wrong, but I have a three-year-old daughter and a full-time job. If I'm not at work, I'm either taking care of things around the house when my wife's working, being a dad, or we're going out doing stuff as a family.

I am in fact going to a show on Saturday; Right Coast Pro in Newark, DE. Low Ki and Daniels are the main, and the rest of the card is mostly made up of home-grown Delaware boys, so I'd say that's pretty grassroots. Of course, it's the first time I have the time or money to go to one of these shows, and I live five minutes away from the National Guard Armory where HoH did it's last show here.

[Newb82]

What's a good Roku channel for non-WWE wrestling?

The Prowrestlingchannel has the free matches of a middling indy group with an option to subscribe (I haven't) and MaddyGTV carries the often festive AAW. I think there is one more, I gotta check.

- RAF

I found ACE, which might be the other one you're thinking of. GFL has free content... none of which will load.

[odessasteps]

Axl, you're not wrong, but I have a three-year-old daughter and a full-time job. If I'm not at work, I'm either taking care of things around the house when my wife's working, being a dad, or we're going out doing stuff as a family.

I am in fact going to a show on Saturday; Right Coast Pro in Newark, DE. Low Ki and Daniels are the main, and the rest of the card is mostly made up of home-grown Delaware boys, so I'd say that's pretty grassroots. Of course, it's the first time I have the time or money to go to one of these shows, and I live five minutes away from the National Guard Armory where HoH did it's last show here.

I didnt realize anyone was running in DE besides ECWA, since i drive by the B&G Club in Bear every weekend.

I may have to investigate this, esp if Daniels is working.

[RandomAct]

I've been saying the same thing as Super Ape for almost 2 years.  The work is generally good, but I mentioned sometime back, that WWE doesn't work in a vacuum.  Someone will put over a match that everyone went crazy about, I'll watch it and say "that was fine", because I have no attachment to anyone on the roster, or the stories going in.  Ambrose might literally be the only guy on the roster I find interesting right now, and from what it looks like, the company is already doing what they can to make sure they don't have another "Daniel Bryan" on their hands.

[Matt D]

 

 

What's a good Roku channel for non-WWE wrestling?

The Prowrestlingchannel has the free matches of a middling indy group with an option to subscribe (I haven't) and MaddyGTV carries the often festive AAW. I think there is one more, I gotta check.

- RAF

I found ACE, which might be the other one you're thinking of. GFL has free content... none of which will load.

 

 

I read that as GLF and I was wondering for a second if it was just a big clock on the screen.

[ivpvideos]

Burnout is a very real thing. I have no idea how people watch all three hours of RAW each week. I usually get home from class at about 9 and just start from there. If anything big happened in the first hour they will replay it half a dozen times. I haven't watched Smackdown in years, TNA is dead to me and besides the ROH and return of Chikara PPV I haven't watched any Indy Feds in forever. My backlog of Puro to watch is ridiculous.

If you aren't enjoying it, take some time off. If you skipped Mania because of fear of HHH winning then you are definitely self-sabotaging yourself. Take a month off and come back refreshed

[Newb82]

What's a good Roku channel for non-WWE wrestling?

The Prowrestlingchannel has the free matches of a middling indy group with an option to subscribe (I haven't) and MaddyGTV carries the often festive AAW. I think there is one more, I gotta check.

- RAF

I found ACE, which might be the other one you're thinking of. GFL has free content... none of which will load.

I found an OVW channel too, but it crashed everything first time I tried it.

[cwoy2j]

Burnout is a very real thing. I have no idea how people watch all three hours of RAW each week. I usually get home from class at about 9 and just start from there. If anything big happened in the first hour they will replay it half a dozen times. I haven't watched Smackdown in years, TNA is dead to me and besides the ROH and return of Chikara PPV I haven't watched any Indy Feds in forever. My backlog of Puro to watch is ridiculous.

If you aren't enjoying it, take some time off. If you skipped Mania because of fear of HHH winning then you are definitely self-sabotaging yourself. Take a month off and come back refreshed

 

Same here. There’s just too much filler and pointless rambling. I usually fast forward through the usual 20 minute opening monologue unless something big is happening. There’s no way I could get through RAW without my DVR.