Dolfan in NYC Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 I was really hoping they were going to save Naomi-Bayley for Mania, but her winning the title at SSD would also make sense since they can build either to Bayley finally taking Naomi out at Mania or have Sasha win it there and build a very interesting heel vs heel jealousy angle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eivion Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 The 8-man tag was good. The Symphony of Destruction match was pretty darn fun. Poor Braun and Elias both got cut/bruised, but at lest they won. The backstage segment with Bryan, Gulak, and Heath was fun. I liked that Heath actually did get a semi-competitive match out of Bryan via the holes Drew likely pointed out to him backstage. We better be getting a nice 10+ Bryan/Drew match soon. That could be soooo damn good. The little segment between Gable and Apollo was interesting. Would be nice if this was the beginning of them doing something with Apollo. The interview with Renee and Lacey was a good way for Lacey to own up to her past year as a heel. I'm kind of surprised the Smackdown women are seemingly gettign a Elimination Chamber match as well. Figured it wouldn't happen with the men and Raw women gettign ones. The Mandy/Otis stuff was nice. I like that its almost a certainty that either Sonya or Dolph were the ones who screwed Otis over. Otis getting all the love from the audience while Tucker went of about Mandy breaking his heart was good to see. Its a little surprising to see this angle getting so much love, but I'm happy for all involved. Naomi/Carmella was a little awkward at moments but generally decent. The two just don't seem to have the most natural chemistry despite a solid match being set up. I'm rigidity to recall if they have faced each other in singles before now. It also would have been nice if the ref didn't shout the finish out so damn loudly right before it happened. I'm not super happy Naomi is getting her shot at SSD. I don't expect great reactions and it means she likely will lose. The Goldberg/Fiend segment at the end was pretty decent. Its amazing how little Goldberg finds the time to say yet comes off so much better than 90% of the roster currently. Hopefully more get the freedom to speak more naturally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HumanChessgame Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 When Gulak showed up with Bryan I hoped it meant we'd get a match between them, but it looks like they're setting up an actual program instead of just a one off. A Bryan/Gulak match (or series) that gets a decent amount of time would make me a happy camper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Guy Named Tracy Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 15 minutes ago, Eivion said: The Symphony of Destruction match was pretty darn fun. Poor Braun and Elias both got cut/bruised, but at lest they won. I’m surprised you didn’t mention Nakamura. I think he was legitimately injured on the powerslam on the piano. I tuned in solely for the Mandy and Otis storyline. At this pace, they are definitely stretching it out to WrestleMania. I assumed Dolph was behind everything, but now I’m leaning towards Dolph and Sonya being in cahoots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peck Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 41 minutes ago, A Guy Named Tracy said: I’m surprised you didn’t mention Nakamura. I think he was legitimately injured on the powerslam on the piano. Considering the back of his head was busted wide open I'd say you are correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sydneybrown Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 Heath will totally pin Bryan. I don't remember the podcast (I think it was Jericho) Daniel five-six years ago pitched an angle with Heath and it is happening right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nofuture Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 Any word on what that static feed interruption they've been doing for the last 2 weeks? It was a lot more obvious this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eivion Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 2 hours ago, A Guy Named Tracy said: I’m surprised you didn’t mention Nakamura. I think he was legitimately injured on the powerslam on the piano. 2 hours ago, Peck said: Considering the back of his head was busted wide open I'd say you are correct. I figured the piano bump hurt, but I totally missed Nakamura getting busted open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamal Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 11 hours ago, Eivion said: Naomi/Carmella was a little awkward at moments but generally decent. The two just don't seem to have the most natural chemistry despite a solid match being set up. I'm rigidity to recall if they have faced each other in singles before now. They’ve wrestled a few times but I think those matches were helped by the fact that Carmella was clearly playing heel back then. I’m surprised commentary didn’t mention that they actually tagged together for a brief moment too. Glad to see Naomi pick up the win here as I was expecting Bayley shenanigans to lead to a 3 way at Super Showdown. Not sure what this means for Mania but a cool opportunity for Naomi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scatterheart Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 (edited) The Fiend vs Goldberg stand-off was brilliant. Can’t wait for Goldberg to destroy The Fiend. The Bryan/Gulak stuff is fresh and interesting. Don’t know why people hate on Drew’s PowerPoint shtick, it’s great! Naomi sucks outside of her entrance. Weird match with all the blatant communication, guessing they had to cut time. Three elimination chamber matches? Christ, talk about overkill! Not enough Sami Zayn. The best thing about Smackdown by far. Edited February 22, 2020 by scatterheart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MORELOCK Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 Them not building a clear Mania match for the women's title seems like an indication that they'll do a multi-woman match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lo-Risk Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 2 hours ago, MORELOCK said: Them not building a clear Mania match for the women's title seems like an indication that they'll do a multi-woman match. At this point I’m assuming there’s no women’s battle royal this year, and instead we get Bayley defending against everyone left on the main roster outside of the other two title matches, sort of like AJ at Mania 30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StretchMediatedHypertrophy Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 I know nothing means anything, but Seth Rollins sold The Fiend gimmick so much that they completely ruined his face run. Goldberg, an old man who could have basically died during his last competitive match, completely, utterly completely, no sells the gimmick. Just insane. But yeah I dig the Gulak/Bryan/Slater program. Shorty G needs to be the one that turns heel - he basically looks like he's on the verge of a nervous breakdown; it's quite painful to watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eivion Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 (edited) 8 hours ago, ComingToAmerica said: I know nothing means anything, but Seth Rollins sold The Fiend gimmick so much that they completely ruined his face run. Goldberg, an old man who could have basically died during his last competitive match, completely, utterly completely, no sells the gimmick. Just insane. Seth's face run was ruined by the long feud with Corbin, his dumbass tweets, and Seth being a terrible face in general. Goldberg doesn't believe in the hocus pocus and sees Bray as a dude playing minds games. Bryan saw Bray in a similar vein and wasn't afraid. Bryan just acknowledged the crazy as well. Edited February 23, 2020 by Eivion 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StretchMediatedHypertrophy Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 (edited) I will acknowledge that Seth's face run had other problems. The thing is, The Fiend *is* a supernatural character. So Goldberg is basically breaking kayfabe. Cena did similar things (not to Wyatt, he actually always sold Wyatt's gimmick iirc), and we mostly complained about it. But he was at least a full-time main-eventer. Edited February 23, 2020 by ComingToAmerica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MORELOCK Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 Goldberg's character is no-selling fearless wrecking machine. He doesn't cower. The idea that this is somehow breaking kayfabe is ludicrous. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scatterheart Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 All the allure of The Fiend died a long time ago anyway. He looked like a complete clown sharing the ring with Goldberg. Can’t wait for the match. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StretchMediatedHypertrophy Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 1 hour ago, MORELOCK said: Goldberg's character is no-selling fearless wrecking machine. He doesn't cower. The idea that this is somehow breaking kayfabe is ludicrous. Yeah, because Goldberg really looked like that in his last Saudi Arabia match lol. The thing is this....they didn't actually have to do this confrontation, it didn't make anyone buy the network, it almost certainly didn't spike a rating, it didn't do anything for anybody except undermine The Fiend, and by proxy the rest of the actual full-time roster. The ludicrous thing is trying to defend this as somehow sensible. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MORELOCK Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 I mean, there's a post right above yours indicating that someone is excited for the match. You can assign your opinion to other people if you insist, but that doesn't make it a fact. I didn't say anything was sensible - WWE's booking has been trash for years. It's just well within the confines of kayfabe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StretchMediatedHypertrophy Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 You can assign your opinion to other people if you insist, but that doesn't make it a fact. Thanks for that. Going to keep that one in my back pocket. Doubt it will stay there too long! I didn't say noone could possibly enjoy the segment. Clearly there are Goldberg fans - I sincerely doubt they are moving the needle much, and you haven't demonstrated any real reason to believe otherwise...but pandering to them is peeing in your pants to keep warm in Winter. The Fiend is ridiculously resilient like 'The Beast' from Split/Glass (i.e. Wyatt's only that resilient as The Fiend). That's the gimmick. Anyone who thinks that you undermine that gimmick in order to protect the gimmick of Goldberg is a moron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MORELOCK Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 The Fiend exists as a monster to be slain by a babyface. That has always been the purpose of the gimmick. And nothing is undermining it. Just because Goldberg isn't going full damsel-in-distress like Rollins, doesn't take away from the fact that Fiend has been booked stronger than anyone since Roman or Brock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 33 minutes ago, MORELOCK said: The Fiend exists as a monster to be slain by a babyface. That has always been the purpose of the gimmick. And nothing is undermining it. Just because Goldberg isn't going full damsel-in-distress like Rollins, doesn't take away from the fact that Fiend has been booked stronger than anyone since Roman or Brock. He'll look all the stronger for beating a Goldberg that didn't back down. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StretchMediatedHypertrophy Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 (edited) 8 hours ago, MORELOCK said: The Fiend exists as a monster to be slain by a babyface. That has always been the purpose of the gimmick. Quote You can assign your opinion to other people if you insist, but that doesn't make it a fact. Bray Wyatt Surpasses Becky Lynch And Roman Reigns To Become WWE’s No. 1 Merchandise Seller LOL Edited February 23, 2020 by ComingToAmerica 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kang Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 Can't wait for Goldberg vs The Fiend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MORELOCK Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 11 minutes ago, ComingToAmerica said: Bray Wyatt Surpasses Becky Lynch And Roman Reigns To Become WWE’s No. 1 Merchandise Seller LOL I don't even know what argument you're trying to make. That Fiend's character was constructed to sell merch? The plan for Mania was for Reigns to slay the monster, until recently when it looks like it may be Goldberg beating him instead. That isn't my opinion. It was reported by Our Lord Meltzer. Either way - the long term booking points to The Fiend existing as a monster to be slain, just like every single monster heel in the history of the company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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