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Survivor Series 2018


MonteCarl

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1 minute ago, tbarrie said:

Thanks Natural. I don't really watch enough wrestling to comment on best in the world myself (from your list, I've only seen a smattering of Okada, one Omega match, and no Tanahashi, Naito, or Dunne). But the list of WWE guys I'd rank ahead of Styles is pretty long, and includes some names that would cause some people on this board to doubt my sanity.

Cheers, tbarrie.

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3 hours ago, tbarrie said:

Well, he's obviously extremely talented at the purely mechanical aspects of wrestling. His execution is superb. I sometimes think he can do anything in the ring, except make me give a rat's ass about the outcome of his matches. Problem is, that's IMO the most important part of being a pro wrestler. So I don't think pointing out his deficiencies in that area qualifies as nitpicking.

Well,  one man's opinion.  You are certainly entitled to it but the overwhelming majority of 'casual' fans give AJ Styles a louder reaction than pretty much everyone else in the company and the overwhelming majority of 'hardcore' fans whether it's here or over at the WO boards or PWO have rated Styles in-ring work at least over the last five years as some of the best in the world. People are invested. 

Also,  Nakamura..    has been a flop in WWE.  We've seen enough now. The question was always going to be either A. will he give a shit and put forth a strong effort or B. will his body hold up over the course of a WWE schedule and I think it's clear we have our answers. I don't blame AJ Styles,  nobody has gotten anything out of Nakamura since Sami Zayn. 

That said,  his heel character work has been hilarious. 

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26 minutes ago, West Newbury Bad Boy said:

I feel the need to shout Mustafa Ali's name at all of you.

If he were on a show anyone fucking watched he'd be most people's Top 5 of the year.

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33 minutes ago, Rick said:

Mustafa Ali is definitely in the conversation. If only there was a tournament around March time that could be resurrected to settle the debate.

It took me way too long to realize you weren't talking about the cruiserweight tournament from earlier in the year where Buddy got knocked off in the second round by Mustafa Ali. ;) 

The kickoff matches are afterthoughts these days even when the bouts are decent. I hope Ali and Buddy deliver the goods on Sunday. They have brilliant chemistry. 

I would suggest that Buddy's rep benefits from showing up at the 205 reboot and being shockingly awesome out of nowhere. Ali meanwhile has more quietly and gradually established his bonafides as one of the best babyfaces in the game. But they've both been fantastic this year. 

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1 hour ago, MORELOCK said:

If this hilarious "casual fans cheering loudly makes someone one of the best workers in the world" logic is really applied, then Shane O'Mac actually has a legitimate claim to the Best In The World title.

Where does it say here that loud reactions =  "Best in the world."  The poster said people aren't invested and if people aren't invested then AJ couldn't possibly be Best in the World. I said that people are invested and that many people still believe he is putting out excellent ring work. 

"the overwhelming majority of 'casual' fans give AJ Styles a louder reaction than pretty much everyone else in the company and the overwhelming majority of 'hardcore' fans whether it's here or over at the WO boards or PWO have rated Styles in-ring work at least over the last five years as some of the best in the world. People are invested."

 

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I think Mustafa Ali cuts really good natural promos. He's definitely under-utilized, but he's a cruiserweight in WWE...welcome to the club. 

The problem with cruiserweights in WWE is that they are C-level performers on a C-level show and they are treated as such. They are curtain jerkers or Kickoff show level at best. And dollars to donuts that most of those guys are going to get bored playing cruiserweight after a time and not getting to be on the big show. See Neville. 

In NJPW, the jr. heavyweights are generally treated as a big deal and usually given a major spot on the card. They are a more featured attraction. 

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Nese/Alexander/Murphy/Ali, all of those guys are as built and/or weigh more than Daniel Bryan or AJ Styles, for example. The entire roster is synthetically categorized into divisions and the only thing separating the perceived ''cruisers'' to the other divisions is the illusion of being lesser or weaker than the rest and the audience knows that and treats them as such. The fact Murphy & Ali have excelled in an already obstructed ''weight division'', in Murphy's case with work-rate and match quality, and in Ali's case character development makes it that much more impressive. Murphy and Ali are your WWE aces, they thrived within a broken framework. 

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On 11/15/2018 at 3:33 PM, West Newbury Bad Boy said:

On a long enough timeline, I suspect 205 doesn't last and standouts get transitioned over to Raw and SmackDown. Lucha House Party, Spud, and Rush already have roles on Raw. Some wishful thinking, but I assume it's only a matter of time until Ali or Murphy are IC or US champ. 

Tony Nese and Drew Gulak would be a welcome addition to Raw's thin tag division. I think Kendrick, TJP,  Mike, and Maria would make a pretty good faction on either show. I'd love to see Nakamura and KENTA kicking the hell out of each other over the US title. I don't know if they've ever faced each other but I'd also like to see Nakamura vs.Tozawa. Jack Gallagher is an obvious fit for the UK show. Cedric would fit on either show, challenging for the IC or US title.

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On 11/15/2018 at 3:04 PM, Niners Fan in CT said:

Where does it say here that loud reactions =  "Best in the world."  The poster said people aren't invested and if people aren't invested then AJ couldn't possibly be Best in the World. I said that people are invested and that many people still believe he is putting out excellent ring work. 

As the poster in question, I should point out that my argument was more that I'm not invested, so he can't be the best in the world.:) I mean, if I were a WWE shareholder or something I'd probably judge him by how well he seems to connect with the fanbase in general, but as individual consumer/commenter, all I care about is my own reaction. And generally, I don't have one. When he's feuding with somebody like Joe or Cena who can cover for his deficiencies it can be pretty great, but absent that his matches just seem like technical exhibitions with no story.

That being said - I'm not entirely convinced that he is in fact over with casual fans. Isn't it generally accepted that the crowds at televised events these days are dominated by "hardcore" fans? To see how he's playing to the larger fanbase, I'd want to look at the numbers. How have Smackdown's ratings been with Styles on top? House show attendance?

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48 minutes ago, tbarrie said:

That being said - I'm not entirely convinced that he is in fact over with casual fans. Isn't it generally accepted that the crowds at televised events these days are dominated by "hardcore" fans? To see how he's playing to the larger fanbase, I'd want to look at the numbers. How have Smackdown's ratings been with Styles on top? House show attendance?

I don't know I've been to several shows over the past couple years and there are a lot of families/kids at these shows. There was a point during Styles first run as champion that SDL house shows and live TV were outdrawing the RAW side.  Styles is also top 3 in merchandise sales. 

But lately live attendance has been terrible for both brands. 

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I don't think theres an actual real draw in WWE anymore.  There's the merch sellers, the over ones,  but no one making people fill up the crowds. Not like WWE cares anymore, they got revenue and other sorts of money options. (merch profits)

Roman sells merch but wasn't over much like D-Bry is. But D-bry and Becky who are over don't really sell out branded show buildings. 

 

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