turk128 Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Owens being a swell guy towards Zayn during Comic-con. http://streamable.com/06tr http://streamable.com/zrem 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramsey Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 To be fair, there's only two or three people on the main roster working on a level close to her. I'd go so far as to say that Sasha is one of the top 10 workers in the world right now. The fact that she's as young as she is and works at such a high level is nothing short of astonishing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCM Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Poor Sami I'm looking forward to see what they do with that feud on the main roster because those two have special chemistry. It's interesting that the roles will be reversed from the NXT feud where Zayn was the established one. Is there a better way to debut Zayn than as a surprise in the Rumble eliminating Owens? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go2Sleep Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Awesome Kong in TNA. She didn't have much to work with outside of Gail Kim, but she was must-see tv. TNA dropped the ball by not giving her a run with the X-Division title. Kong had quite a few advantages, her size being one and she was booked as a monster. Sasha is dominant despite her size and she's amongst the best sellers out there; she doesn't come off invulnerable and she actually looks just as good operating from the bottom (everyone knows she can turn it around when she needs it). Sasha's better on the mic and her character is so much more versatile. I don't think you can hold those first two things against her. When it comes to size, you work with what you've got. And it's not like Sasha hasn't been booked really strong too. I'd agree Sasha has a higher ceiling due to her age and environment, and she may well be more talented right now than Kong ever was. But the question was "when was the last time a female wrestler was so highly regarded in the US?" and the answer is Kong. Kong also had a good rep on the indies before she got to TNA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technico Support Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Is there a better way to debut Zayn than as a surprise in the Rumble eliminating Owens? Any scenario that ends up with what is essentially Kevin Steen vs El Generico at Wrestlemania is amazing 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Those Kong/Kim matches are some of the best TNA ever ran. But I think Sasha is better. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick B. Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 It's amazing just how much of a game-changer that Sasha-Becky match was. It got both women over huge. It was almost unanimously regarded as the best match on a show that included Bálor-Breeze and Owens-Zayn. It went from "well, that should be a good match" to "wow, maybe a women's match CAN headline a live special". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikoBaltimore Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 I think credit should also go to Charlotte/Natalya from last year's special. With Ric and Bret and their corners it definitely was a big deal, and a pretty damn good match to boot. It wasn't Sasha/Becky by any means, but it's still worth remembering. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Man Known as Dan Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Amusingly, the last time I viewed a female wrestler at such a high standard as Sasha Banks is now.... it was Rebecca Knox back in the mid 2000's. Banks is clearly better now though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirSmUgly Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 One of the things that I like most about Banks/Lynch is something that someone pointed out; they used differences in physical makeup of women as a positive, not a negative. They didn't try to brute force the style of that match into what two guys would do. They took the flexibility of the women and built a match around it. That double-chickenwing that Sasha had on Becky where she stepped on one arm and slowly pulled the other back was actually painful to watch. Like, my shoulder hurt after seeing that spot. In a larger sense, Sasha's offense is so good because a number of her spots rely on this. People who get double-kneed in the corner bend up like accordions in a way that guys just can't sell that move. The Bank(s) Statement looks nasty because Sasha can bend her opponent farther backward than a male could bend. The agents for NXT Women's matches recognize how to book compelling matches from an athletic/movez standpoint for females specifically. I think Sasha would be a star anyway because she can talk and has great presence in the ring, but her offense is specifically tailored to being a great women's wrestler, too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Moose Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Two quick points: 1) I really liked Dana's sell of the Backstabber. Something about how she flipped and landed flat made it look much more devastating than usual. 2) Sasha recently did a twitter Q&A where she said her dream opponent was Sami Zayn. I'm pretty sure that would be an easy MOTDC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorman Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Thosr self-scan machines are confusing, all right?!? It's not her fault. Fuck those machines I always go to a person's lane to checkout. I do too. My theory is... "Nobody's paying me to run the checkout aisle." 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Two quick points: 1) I really liked Dana's sell of the Backstabber. Something about how she flipped and landed flat made it look much more devastating than usual. That sequence was so awesome, leading into the Bank Statement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Evans Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Went to the NXT house show tonight and the main event was Balor vs Baron Corbin. Another real good heel Corbin match. He's a natural bad guy and I really hope they put Zahara as his valet. The Tough Enough contestants were in the crowd and ZZ easily got the biggest pop. He was also one of the only ones taking photos with fans so that might have something to do with it. Lita and Billy Gunn sat in the crowd and I thought for sure they were gonna book Lita vs Sasha but it wasn't meant to be. Sasha had a fun match with Carmella of all people. Dana faced Cassie who now has a last name. Macintosh. Big fan of shit talking Dana. Fun show but being in a building with no AC in July in Florida is no good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turk128 Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Kong had quite a few advantages, her size being one and she was booked as a monster. Sasha is dominant despite her size and she's amongst the best sellers out there; she doesn't come off invulnerable and she actually looks just as good operating from the bottom (everyone knows she can turn it around when she needs it). Sasha's better on the mic and her character is so much more versatile. I don't think you can hold those first two things against her. When it comes to size, you work with what you've got. And it's not like Sasha hasn't been booked really strong too. I'd agree Sasha has a higher ceiling due to her age and environment, and she may well be more talented right now than Kong ever was. But the question was "when was the last time a female wrestler was so highly regarded in the US?" and the answer is Kong. Kong also had a good rep on the indies before she got to TNA. Yeah, Kong really was highly regarded. It's a freakin shame she dropped the ball so hard in WWE. I would say Kong's indie rep was also an advantage because I don't even remember even hearing about Sasha's indie work in passing, if anything her 'cousin of Snoop' is more a detriment for her starting off. Damnit, just remembering how Kong dropped the ball is pissing me off now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hail Sabin Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 I think credit should also go to Charlotte/Natalya from last year's special. With Ric and Bret and their corners it definitely was a big deal, and a pretty damn good match to boot. It wasn't Sasha/Becky by any means, but it's still worth remembering. Charlotte's no selling of her knee in that match pisses me off to no end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Ray Von Erich Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Yeah, Kong really was highly regarded. It's a freakin shame she dropped the ball so hard in WWE. I would say Kong's indie rep was also an advantage because I don't even remember even hearing about Sasha's indie work in passing, if anything her 'cousin of Snoop' is more a detriment for her starting off. Damnit, just remembering how Kong dropped the ball is pissing me off now. I didn't think getting pregnant was considered dropping the ball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCM Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 If she had dropped them she wouldn't have got pregnant. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Man Known as Dan Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Charlotte is weird. Some people call her a great worker, and she's had some good matches, but in every single one of those matches I thought she was the weaker performer in basically all of them. I wouldn't even have her in the top 5 of NXT Women assuming you count Emma. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomAct Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Yeah, Kong really was highly regarded. It's a freakin shame she dropped the ball so hard in WWE. I would say Kong's indie rep was also an advantage because I don't even remember even hearing about Sasha's indie work in passing, if anything her 'cousin of Snoop' is more a detriment for her starting off. Damnit, just remembering how Kong dropped the ball is pissing me off now. I didn't think getting pregnant was considered dropping the ball. I think "dropping the ball" here is the fact that she had a miscarriage and never disclosed it to the company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie M. Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Kong's broken down. Her in WWE wouldn't have lasted long anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skelemania Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 To be fair, there's only two or three people on the main roster working on a level close to her. I'd go so far as to say that Sasha is one of the top 10 workers in the world right now. Now we're getting ridiculous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOTNW Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 To be fair, there's only two or three people on the main roster working on a level close to her. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mco543 Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Charlotte is weird. Some people call her a great worker, and she's had some good matches, but in every single one of those matches I thought she was the weaker performer in basically all of them. I wouldn't even have her in the top 5 of NXT Women assuming you count Emma. Being Flair's daughter is by far her biggest benefit but it's also at the same time her biggest hindrance. If she was in NXT and her name was Charlotte Jones or something with no association to Flair she'd be better off. She'd have a much more natural character because she wouldn't have a famous dad she can borrow schtick from, and do it horribly, and her trajectory would be considerably more organic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 But, if she wasnt Flairs daughter, would she even have gone into wrestling? Finished her college volleyball career and gone into the real world? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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