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JANUARY 2019 WRESTLING DISCUSSION


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54 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Can you blame KENTA? It will be interesting to see what he chooses to do. If Ambrose leaving is legit, which I think it is and KENTA, those would he huge scores if AEW can sign them.

I don't think KENTA would be that big a score for AEW.

If the "KENTA seems loyal enough to NOAH I would even be shocked if NJPW gets him" thing isn't there- the fact that...well, AEW can get actual top Japanese names to show up for them, especially with trying to work with NJPW. 

That killed KENTA as much as the injuries- once Nakamura signed with WWE, suddenly "he's your favorite wrestler's favorite wrestler! See, he doesn't just do Punk and Bryan's moves- Punk and Bryan stole them from him!" wasn't that cool*.

 

*-I reserve the right to have my mind changed when WWE signs David Starr.

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Itami should have been so much bigger then he was, but injury after injury deep sixed that poor bastard. While he looked good at the rumble, if there was ever a textbook example of a guy on auto pilot, it would be him. Hopefully he can regain some traction in Japan because the guy still can go. Best of luck to him.

And speaking of autopilot, Dean Ambrose. Who the hell can blame this man for being mentally checked out and just done? Anything and everything after the initial heel turn has been DEATH. I don't know if anyone could have made that work. On top of the grueling schedule he was on before nearly dying, I'm sure he's done with all this. He strikes me as a guy who loves the performing aspect of wrestling, the interviews, the matches, but not the extra stuff that comes with it. I personally would love to see him in AEW but I can see him just making indy appearances as he sees fit

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1 hour ago, DreamBroken said:

I wish Itami won the cruiser title last year, him vs Strong was my favorite ever 205 match. Thought he looked good at the Rumble but I guess they were never going to do anything more with him.

God that match was so fucking good. Strong had an insane run of great matches the first few months of last year, and that was probably the best of them.

I really liked the Itami/Ohno match as well.

If more money is about to flow through NOAH, this is real good timing for him.

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6 hours ago, West Newbury Bad Boy said:

The idea that injuries alone did Itami in is silly. He's had many chances to get over and never really did at any level. Best for everyone involved to move on. 

The crowd never gave a fuck about him. Part of that is definitely due to NXT/WWE's (understandable) hesitance to give him a consistent push, but even the NXT die-hards that hijack main roster crowds seemed to be sitting on their hands whenever Itami did anything.

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I'm probably as blinded by KENTA fandom as anyone, but there's no case to be made that WWE wasted Itami. It was always going to be an odd fit, since most of his charisma has always been transmitted by somewhat recklessly stiffing people, and then the injuries happened. Still, Itami/Strong is one of the best matches I've ever seen in person, so I'm glad for that, and excited to see where he lands. New Japan's junior ranks just lost KUSHIDA and Ospreay; NOAH has new ownership and could certainly use his name; or he could just freelance for a while, kicking people from Nomura to Miyahara to Ashino.

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Wait wait does anyone here think that Renee/Graves thing is a shoot?  Come on, my dudes.  Just like with every pre-written promo, they're talking in a way that real people never talk.  And their delivery, especially Renee's, is more wooden than an 18th century dildo.

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Graves and Renee are best buds behind the scenes anyway.

It's kinda funny that a lot of people on this board want to see a shoot when it's a work (here) and a work when it's a shoot (Ambrose)

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Not to get all Vince McMahon-y here but I was somewhat shocked at how - for lack of a better term - soft Itami looked in that pre-Rumble match. I don’t see 205 Live but you look at guys like Murphy who are completely cut, the guys like Ali, Tozawa and Kalisto who are in great shape and standing next to them Itami looked like a guy who used to play high school football but doesn’t have time to get to the gym with his full time job and family life getting in the way.   I’m not saying it affected his performance but when you’re working for a company where the top people (Vince, HHH, Stephanie) have all done shoots for muscle mags, you’re not going to get very far when you look like Itami did.  I’m guessing he’s been mentally checked out for a while with the injuries and 205 slot.  

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Regarding that Graves/Renee thing, I think I was one of the ones hoping Deans heel turn was gonna be Renee’s idea. Like, she’s in his ear about him being shoved aside for Seth and he takes Seth apart as a result. 

 

If the rumor that Dean didn’t want to do the heel turn was true, I can see why he’s been sleepwalking. Also, it’s gotta be tough seeing guys who can’t promo their way out of a piss-soaked paper bag getting chance after chance while he’s coming to the ring in a fucking gas mask. 

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9 hours ago, Phil4126 said:

Itami should have been so much bigger then he was, but injury after injury deep sixed that poor bastard. While he looked good at the rumble, if there was ever a textbook example of a guy on auto pilot, it would be him. Hopefully he can regain some traction in Japan because the guy still can go. Best of luck to him.

A big problem is that he already had some bad injuries before he even was signed and was already somewhat broken down and he probably just is not a guy who adapted that well to physical limitations.

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KENTA never recovered from debuting Balor as his partner in NXT. Finn came in with way more steam and immediately overshadowed him and injuries kept him from getting on a roll again. And yes, he definitely LOOKS like he hasn't cared in a while.

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4 hours ago, Technico Support said:

Just like with every pre-written promo, they're talking in a way that real people never talk. 

Just thinking about what I wrote there...what is the consensus on how WWE writing works?  I know that everything comes down to Vince in the end, but does he get down to the level of rewriting every single interaction on the show?  Or are the writers just that bad?  Or are they just so beaten down and good at knowing his tastes that they write in the exact way he would?  The dialogue in that YouTube video comes off as speechifying at best and, at worst, like an alien trying to approximate human interaction.  The delivery (essentially it's acting by people who are not actors) does it no favors, but this writing is Star Wars Prequels level bad.

:18 seconds in is just cringeworthy.  "Obviously I'm in a bit of a precarious situation with this...listen, no one is entitled to know what goes on behind closed doors between an husband and wife!"  Who would say that, as opposed to, "it's none of your business?"  Nobody, fired up and having a confrontation, speaks like this and it's fucking awful.

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5 hours ago, MORELOCK said:

The crowd never gave a fuck about him. Part of that is definitely due to NXT/WWE's (understandable) hesitance to give him a consistent push, but even the NXT die-hards that hijack main roster crowds seemed to be sitting on their hands whenever Itami did anything.

Even then, that just ties to the same problem- casual fans were never going to GET Hideo Itami, and hardcore fans are more casual than they think.

Hardcore fans knew "Daniel Bryan stole the Busaiku Knee Kick and CM Punk stole the Go 2 Sleep from him", but in WWE kayfabe, those moves were seen first by CM Punk and Daniel Bryan...and as a result, even if we knew he did them first, all you get in WWE storylines is "kind of charismaless-but-talented Japanese guy who does CM Punk and Daniel Bryan's moves."

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He's a guy with hard strikes and quiet swagger but he tends not to work a style that gets people off their asses like a lot of his peers do. That's been true of him at both the NXT and 205 level. He's been in a lot high-profile feuds and matches on both brands but nothing seemed to move that WWE audience for long.

I enjoyed his work last year against Ali, Strong, and Alexander. I liked his last NXT run as a dick heel against KO. But during both runs, you could sense the brands moving on without him and him never catching up. 

This separation has been a long time coming. As was said earlier, it was always going to be an odd fit. 

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1 hour ago, Technico Support said:

:18 seconds in is just cringeworthy.  "Obviously I'm in a bit of a precarious situation with this...listen, no one is entitled to know what goes on behind closed doors between an husband and wife!"  Who would say that, as opposed to, "it's none of your business?"  Nobody, fired up and having a confrontation, speaks like this and it's fucking awful.

A slight counterpoint, that I'll preface with the admission that I don't buy the outrage from Renee.  But I do know from personal experiences that, when you have tempers flare at the workplace, you have to be extremely careful what you say or any verbal misfire - no matter how minor - can be used in an HR case.  Often, you find yourself trying to find as many gender-neutral, non-insulting, in no way condescending words and phrases as you can to avoid getting your ass chewed out.  And it gets worse if the argument isn't quickly resolved and emotions continue to flare.

I got the sense that Renee was trying to convey "professional trying to express her mounting frustration, getting the sense that this asshole isn't listening to her".  I give her a 4.5/10.

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If you've ever had any interaction with any proper aristocratic, blue blooded upper upper class people, they get really theatrical when they're angry. It's extremely amusing.

No, I'm not telling you how I know that.

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2 minutes ago, AxB said:

If you've ever had any interaction with any proper aristocratic, blue blooded upper upper class people, they get really theatrical when they're angry. It's extremely amusing.

No, I'm not telling you how I know that.

How do they eat candy bars? Fork and knife? 

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