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Stomping Grounds - Tacoma, WA - 6/23/2019


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42 minutes ago, The Outsider said:

 in what planet is Baron Corbin more important than a world title match inside of a steel cage? 

Seth and Becky are their two biggest stars. Kofi and Dolph are just guys. The match order made perfect sense,

The problem with the main event was soon as Lacey came out you knew Becky was gonna too. They needed to do something like an injury angle or even just have heels lock her in the bathroom or something to explain the delay. It continually amazes me that a show with 75 producers/writers, they constantly mess up basic storytelling details.

But good shows with bad main events happen. The two tag matches and Ricochet-Joe were excellent. The cage and Roman matches were pretty good, too. Now back in the day, would I have paid $49 for this ppv? No. But as a random bridge show between major shows to watch on a Sunday night, it was quite enjoyable.

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1 hour ago, hammerva said:

Imagine another Corbin main event in Philadelphia.  

If you take away the last 2 matches this was a very enjoyable show.  But man those last two matches.  That main event was reasons 1, 2 and 3 why most people don't watch RAW that much.  Well at least the RAW that doesn't involve AJ Styles vs Ricochet.  Please let that start the show

Maybe I'll watch this and pass on the last three matches.

Edited by Nice Guy Eddie
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6 minutes ago, Web Conn said:

I really enjoyed the show, the undercard was really good everything was great until Roman-Drew then it all went downhill from there. Kofi vs Dolph wasn't bad per say but just the whole escape the cage style of cage match is kind of silly. But that Main Event boy oh boy that was not good.

I had the show on as background fodder, but I ended up really getting in to the New Day/Ricochet/Bryan matches, I thought all three made the show worth watching.  That last hour was brutally boring aside from the Kofi escape.

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The triple for the cruiserweight title was good fun. Its good to see Drew finally with the belt.

Both women;'s titles matches were solid if nothing special. Becky/Lacey was the more fun of the two matches.

New Day vs. Sami/Owens was good. As was Bryan/Rowan vs. Heavy Machinery.

Roman/Drew ended up pretty good by the end. Things would be so much better if Shane was just a manager in this feud.

The world title matches were really the only weak parts about this show. Kofi/Dolph was heatless and didn't really play to either's strengths. The match itself was still decent, but just hard to get into. Seth/Baron was a poor attempt at Austin/Dude Love. There just isn't enough support for anyone involved for that to work. It would have worked out better if Becky had just murdered Lacey before the match began, and we got a regular match as a result.

If not for the last two matches I would have labeled this a good show, but it  was at least still enjoyable.

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If you are puzzled by the lack of reaction to the cage match: it was built to by having the heel demand the cage stip to prevent the babyfaces from interfering. I don't think that has ever happened before because nobody was ever stupid enough to do that.

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Focusing on the positives, I really enjoyed the Bryan/Rowan/Heavy Machinery match. They seemed to be flowing well and having a good time, the crowd included.

Joe’s and Drew’s matches were fun too, although *again* two of my fave 5 take the L.

Baron Corbin has a place in the ensemble. This is not his place. 

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5 minutes ago, Custos said:

Baron Corbin has a place in the ensemble. This is not his place. 

I honestly think there's a good chance he doesn't anymore. Not because he's completely awful, but because after all these months of over exposing and over pushing him, giving him an hour of screen time once on RAW, and 30+ minutes multiple other times, etc... They've ruined any chance the fans will ever accept him as somebody they want on their TV.

He's mediocre in the ring, and, while he's proven at times to be pretty good off the cuff, he's absolutely terrible at delivering the (admittedly bad) dialogue they write for him.

As a midcard bully heel and maybe gatekeeper, yeah, he had a place. But after all this? I'm not sure he still will.

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1 hour ago, pipGofern said:

Seth and Becky are their two biggest stars. Kofi and Dolph are just guys.

Wait, what? Kofi and Becky were clearly the two most over people on the roster at Wrestlemania (with Kofi probably in first place). You could make a case for Seth being third, but it was a distant third. Has Kofi cooled off that much since then?

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I'll say it again; Seth Rollins isn't a main eventer. He isn't capable of carrying the load for his company. I thought the Lacey thing was a good idea in theory, but she's just so thoroughly mediocre. Everything about her seems so forced, both in the ring and when she was the referee.

 

Bayley and Alexa have good chemistry. Was it a scientific masterpiece? No. Was it a fun story with some good spots from both women and a finish that advanced the Nikki Cross/Alexa deal? Yeah.

 

That Ali video was weird as fuck.

 

I liked using Kofi's athleticism in the finish. I really hope that's the last meeting for the two, but I have a feeling it won't be.

 

Heavy Machinery/ Eco-Warriors was awesome. Not a workrate spectacle, but a good way to use one super-over performer to get three other guys over, albeit to varying degrees.

 

I liked Ricochet/Joe, too.

 

 

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26 minutes ago, Brian Fowler said:

As a midcard bully heel and maybe gatekeeper, yeah, he had a place. But after all this? I'm not sure he still will.

I still feel that he’s useful as a utility guy who can be imposing and is reasonable enough on the mic to fit into the mid card. But you may be right that the goodwill of the people has been burned through with the incessant spotlight.

Absence would certainly make the heart grow fonder. An excursion to brutalise the NXT-UK crew perhaps? 

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I was not expecting much from this show. "Classic 90's In your house" was the perfect description going in and then the WWE did the impossible. They rattled off five straight really good matches to start the show. That had to be Lacey's best match. Don't know if it was a combo of Becky willing to let her shine or Lacey finally clicking in the ring, but it was a lot better than anyone thought it would be. I really hope based on the events of the main event, this feud keeps going straight through Summerslam.

Bryan/Rowan vs. Heavy Machinery was everything I hoped it would be and than some. Otis looked like a million bucks and so did Tucker. This is another feud that has to keep going.

The show hit is peak for me with Bayley/Alexa. Rest of the show was what it was. Why they think anyone would care about a Ziggler title match, in a steel cage no less was confusing. But Kofi diving out for the win was pretty cool.

I wish they had the guts to of had Becky as the referee. Force her to be unbiased because if she wasn't, she'd be stripped of the title or something. Corbin isn't actually that bad when he has to have a straight match. They had to of known that the crowd wanted Becky to be the ref. I guess we're getting an mixed tag with them all at some point. Brock needs to cash in all ready.

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Some random thoughts...

- The show exceeded the admittedly low expectations and turned out to be decent entertainment.

- There was a moment where Becky was visibly irritated where Lacey Evans was out of position for a top rope kick. I also hadn't noticed til recently how loud Becky is when calling spots.

- Before anyone blames Vince or the writers, I think that Ali video was all his idea. I seem to recall him having a similarly shot video on his social media a year ago.

- Kayfabe wise, Corbin is the dumbest wrestler ever. How do you not get a win tonight when you're stacking the deck that much. Why did he pull in a regular ref at the end? Or make it no DQ? I can't stand him on my TV but I like the idea of WWE's Most Hated Couple so I hope they continue that team. Just further down the card would be nice.

- If you've decided to run Corbin v Rollins, I'd prefer it to be the angle stuff we got tonight rather than a straight up match so no complaints there. This held my attention at least.

- The ending made me wish they hadn't announced their relationship previously because it seemed like it would've been a really good moment to have their two top stars gradually fall for each other and then do the kiss celebration after a save like tonight.

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11 minutes ago, The Natural said:

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And still WWE Smackdown Live Tag Team Champions.

I’m going to go back, and clock Rowan’s in-ring time in that match. If it’s under 3 minutes, then Bryan needs to start doing the “I’m the World Tag Team Champions” bit again. 

I howled in laughter when after 30 seconds of lumbering offense Rowan immediately tagged Bryan back in. Dude barely sweated when the final bell rang. His biggest contribution/detriment on offense was breaking up Heavy Machinery’s finisher too early at the count of one. Probably made Papa Shango blush with that early attendance.

Edited by LoneWolf&Subs
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Here’s a good takeaway I have about the papered/discounted crowd. A lot of those people in attendance were probably first timers, and first timers are always the best crowds for getting heat. You watch the early Nitro’s from Jacksonville, or any other bumfuck town they ran that was  probably papered, and they always gave great reactions, even for the random Scott Norton squash matches. So no shame in having crowds that are papered, and can generate excitement out of curiosity. Though only for free TV you shouldn’t feel shame. PPV on the other hand...

Edited by LoneWolf&Subs
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I guess Seth is feeling the pressure because now he is going on twitter bashing fans for crapping on the product.    He is constantly telling people how this is the best roster in the business today.  Maybe it is but when you have a main event featuring completely on Baron corbin and Lacey Evans the argument is completely meaningless.  Maybe it is but when you have commentary so awful you listen mostly on mute it is completely meaningless. 

The really funny thing is that all he has to do is look at his history.  I mean when he was passed over for the Ring of Honor championship in late 2008/early 2009 they had one of the best rosters in the world.  But again awful booking killed it and the bookers desire to push Jerry Lynn because The Wrestler came out made it meaningless.  

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2 minutes ago, hammerva said:

I guess Seth is feeling the pressure because now he is going on twitter bashing fans for crapping on the product.    He is constantly telling people how this is the best roster in the business today. 

When did Seth go to work for NJPW?

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1 minute ago, OSJ said:

When did Seth go to work for NJPW?

I would argue that the WWE still has a better overall roster.  Mostly because they just have more of them.  Sure the main guys are better than the WWE because that is because of much better booking around them.  Which Seth doesn't seem to get or gets and can't just admit it.    

 

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4 minutes ago, hammerva said:

I would argue that the WWE still has a better overall roster.  Mostly because they just have more of them.  Sure the main guys are better than the WWE because that is because of much better booking around them.  Which Seth doesn't seem to get or gets and can't just admit it.    

 

I would have to agree with you in terms of sheer volume of talent. However, that poses the question, if I have an orchestra with the best horn section in the world and all I ever have them play are compositions for stringed instruments is it still the best orchestra?

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