SorceressKnight Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 On 5/16/2016 at 0:18 PM, thee Reverend Axl Future said: Sasha and Enzo are both in one of those cavernous RotLA WWE warehouse, encased in lucite like a mint golden age comic book, awaiting the next PPV. Why do they (or are rumored to do so) keep workers off TV to preserve them for the PPVs? Both of them, especially Enzo, could be using the mic to build up the matches. Is it an insurance/lawyer concussion issue? Wasn't everyone in agreement before that if anything, they show some top stars too much on free TV and need to save some of them for PPVs or make people miss them more, to the point of bringing back jobber matches to see the top stars fighting a little less? If they're trying to minimize how much you see some of these names and make you want it more, how's that a bad thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cristobal Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 My initial thought is Dallas, at least partly because nothing on Brooklyn for me touches Zayn/Nakamura, but let me take a longer look. Ranking the matches in order: Zayn/Nakamura - DALLAS Bayley/Sasha - BROOKLYN Balor/Joe - DALLAS Asuka/Bayley - DALLAS Joe/Corbin - BROOKLYN American Alpha/Revival - DALLAS Balor/Owens - BROOKLYN Vaudevillains/BAMF - BROOKLYN Liger/Breeze - BROOKLYN Aries/Corbin - DALLAS Crews/Dillinger - BROOKLYN There's arguments for some of those higher or lower, but really I think Brooklyn was only half good-to-great (Women's match, Ladder match, Joe Corbin) while in Dallas only Aries/Corbin disappointed, and Zayn/Nak is basically better than anything ever. I pick Dallas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted May 17, 2016 Author Share Posted May 17, 2016 I guess for me in regards to your list would be how low Balor/Owens is Yes - it ended up having to follow Bayley/Sasha but I think I said at the time that it was going to end up being a forgotten great match. I would at least put it ahead of both Asuka/Bayley and Joe/Corbin (I would move the Dallas tag match up with it though) Joe/Corbin to me was a perfectly fine match - I think I liked the buildup more than the actual match (especially since it did a great job of starting Corbin on the character path he is currently on) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red is Dead Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 Joe vs Corbin was a fantastic match for what it was. A way of cementing Corbin on his heel turn, making him look like a dude who could go with Samoa Joe. For all his squashes in the build up, he was touted as a man who couldnt wrestle. Then he pulls out a big lads match with Joe. Loved that match. For me, it has to be brooklyn. You had a match for the decades with Bayley and Sasha, the afore mentioned big lads match, Liger being Liger, Owens being Owens and Balor showing it wasnt just a fluke. Need to rewatch Dallas. Tag match and Shini Zayn aside, the matches themselves felt kinda there...nothing spectacular, but there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cristobal Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 If your 4-7 looks like this: 4/5 American Alpha/Revival and Balor/Owens in some order. 6/7 Asuka/Bayley & Joe/Corbin in some order, then you're in the same boat as me with 3 of your top 5 and 4 of your top 7 all being Dallas matches. Myself, I think Joe/Owens at #7 is right. Yes it followed Sasha/Bayley, but Asuka/Bayley at #4 followed Zayn/Nakamura, which I liked better than Sasha/Bayley. Tough acts to follow in both cases, but I think what we got were very good matches on a list where "very good" doesn't get you into the top 3. My big problem with Balor/Owens is that Balor was still in the middle of his paint-by-numbers period where we all wanted to see something different from him and he wasn't giving it to us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonteCarl Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 Where does Takeover: RIVAL stand with everybody on this list? I'd put that near the top of Takeover events myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cristobal Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 Kinda forgettable, other than the 4-way. I mean it's a good show, but all the Takeovers are that, so eh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikoBaltimore Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 Those are great arguments for why Dallas is better than Brooklyn. I guess for me it was the combination of Bayley/Sasha in a sold out main roster-size arena that sticks with me. I'm not saying it was a one-match show, but in my mind it is. Dallas might be the objectively better show, but Brooklyn is by far my favorite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caley Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 9 hours ago, MORELOCK said: Ugh. Two strikes. I'm not sure how any WWE fan could be against the Nattie-Charlotte feud? The matches are solid enough, and the storyline itself has totally drawn the fans in to where they're chanting things like "Cheater" and "You tapped at" at the heel champ instead of sitting on their hands. It's probably the most successful WWE Women's angles they've done in years. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonnyLaw Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 RE: Sasha - I think they've learned from Bryan. Rather than have him around and have fans hijack the show, they're just keeping her on the shelf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zakk_Sabbath Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 I also would have hated the Montreal finish in almost any other context except Lil Naitch being the perpatrator. That was a nice nod to those of us old enough to remember. Bret and Nattie had a nice moment at the end with the stereo sharpshooters which I enjoyed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HumanChessgame Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 I think Dallas was better from a wrestling standpoint, but Brooklyn just had a much more special feel to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go2Sleep Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 How the FUCK has everyone forgotten R-Evolution??? I mean if you put the matches from that show and Brooklyn or Dallas side by side, it might come up a little short but definitely not by much. Combine that with all the great storyline stuff on the show, and I'd easily rank it as the best NXT show ever. You had Kevin Owens debuting as a massively over face in a surprisingly fun match with CJ Parker that had hardway blood and everything. You had the first ever "demon" sighting from Finn. You had a breakout performance from Sasha Banks. You had the Zayn/Neville title match that I'd put among the best matches in NXT history and played out with a perfect feel-good moment. Then you end the show with an epic turn that leaves the crowd in stunned silence, as Owens went from the next big face to the only big heel in seconds. Not to mention the great production trick of doing it all after the copyright graphic had shown. It's one thing to line up a show that's just "great match, great match, great match," but a show that has great matches with this level of storytelling and breakout moments that really set the tone for the future of a promotion... That is pro-wrestling at the highest level. Rival is underrated for similar reasons. The women's 4-way is the ultimate "horsewomen" match and put over Sasha strong and Owens/Zayn was another masterful piece of storytelling and excellent character work from both guys. My top 5 would be: R-Evolution Brooklyn Rival Dallas Respect 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetrolCB Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nate Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 3 hours ago, Go2Sleep said: How the FUCK has everyone forgotten there's an NXT thread??? Ftfy. Hahaha I'm just kidding, y'all enjoy your discussion. I just couldn't resist. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thee Reverend Axl Future Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 9 hours ago, SorceressKnight said: Wasn't everyone in agreement before that if anything, they show some top stars too much on free TV and need to save some of them for PPVs or make people miss them more, to the point of bringing back jobber matches to see the top stars fighting a little less? If they're trying to minimize how much you see some of these names and make you want it more, how's that a bad thing? Not exactly my point - I was mocking the concept of keeping Sasha/Enzo hidden to protect them from injury. It's not the Monday Night Wars anymore. I agree: too much is given away on TV and the big shows aren't so special anymore. The main problem is with the pacing/storytelling of the angles and feuds. There often isn't a climax and a wrap-up. The quest for ratings can be partially blamed for the modern evils of 50/50 booking, over-exposure, reliance on nostalgia and unwillingness to push the new talent effectively. If Sasha & Enzo are in the midst of an angle, or need to be kept hot, there are lots of ways to keep pushing them without them facing their primary foes in the ring each week. Video packages (history of the wrestler of feud), clips of matches from house shows, backstage or in-ring promos/interviews, squash matches, guest announcing, having their opponents talk about them and even the announcers put them over all are classic ways of doing so. I look at Georgia Championship Wrestling/UWF era for ways to keep the main eventers hot whilst selling house show tickets. The angles were strong enough that airtime had to be spent on them without giving away too much in the ring. And yes, I really do miss squash matches... - RAF 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick B. Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 7 hours ago, JonnyLaw said: RE: Sasha - I think they've learned from Bryan. Rather than have him around and have fans hijack the show, they're just keeping her on the shelf. So should fans stop cheering people so that WWE doesn't de-push them? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niners Fan in CT Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 18 hours ago, Mr Harms said: ... Which fragmented... Into her... Spinal column trainers referees EMT's down 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GodzillaPerez Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 "People say I eat too many chocolate bars or don't wash my face." Sorry, wrong PSA, Carry on. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niners Fan in CT Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 4 minutes ago, GodzillaPerez said: "People say I eat too many chocolate bars or don't wash my face." Sorry, wrong PSA, Carry on. "That's right. Rockin' and rollin', struttin' and strollin' doesn't include smokin' " 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nate Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 I'd quote a commercial from thetruth commercials but I zone out when they're on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zakk_Sabbath Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 Those commercials make me want to smoke more 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuerrillaMonsoon Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 Tobacco is whacko if you're a teen or British! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Harms Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 8 hours ago, Niners Fan in CT said: trainers referees EMT's down I thought Shane might've been... knocked out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zakk_Sabbath Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 You know what I really miss?? The "I'm not an athlete?" spots. Broken bones... Suffered concussions.. DAMN NEAR BROKE MY NECK. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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