Jump to content
DVDVR Message Board

DECEMBER 2020 WRESTLING TALK.


Recommended Posts

4 hours ago, Six String Orchestra said:

Old man pauses yelling at cloud to yell at wrestlers.

Their system works as intended, problem is it's Vince who has designed this Rube Goldbergesque machine. Who's next?

I read an article once about how horrifying the workload is on Japanese pitchers from high school on, with some of them throwing two starts a week of 150+ pitches. It gets worse the higher up in the Japanese baseball system you get. Anyway, the quote that has always stuck with me is "succeeding as a pitcher in Japan is being the egg that gets thrown against the wall and doesn't crack." It almost feels that way with WWE developmental at this point. It's a system designed, intentionally or not, to produce failure. It's also crazy to me how quickly the list of guys who could be and have been main event guys somewhere else that WWE has turned into just "guys."

-Cesaro

-Nakamura

-Roode

-Samoa Joe (injuries did him in, tbf.)

-Andrade

-Aleister Black

-Baszler 

-Ripley

-Keith Lee

-War Machine

-Ricochet

-Mustafa Ali

 

That's the short list, and now it appears as thought they're getting ready to torpedo ANOTHER Bray Wyatt push for the sake of heating up Randy Orton. The WWE's roster management is laughably bad, and it's insane to me that with 5 hours of main roster tv time a week, they can't find something meaningful for all these people to do.

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

35 minutes ago, just drew said:

I read an article once about how horrifying the workload is on Japanese pitchers from high school on, with some of them throwing two starts a week of 150+ pitches. It gets worse the higher up in the Japanese baseball system you get. Anyway, the quote that has always stuck with me is "succeeding as a pitcher in Japan is being the egg that gets thrown against the wall and doesn't crack." It almost feels that way with WWE developmental at this point. It's a system designed, intentionally or not, to produce failure. It's also crazy to me how quickly the list of guys who could be and have been main event guys somewhere else that WWE has turned into just "guys."

-Cesaro

-Nakamura

-Roode

-Samoa Joe (injuries did him in, tbf.)

-Andrade

-Aleister Black

-Baszler 

-Ripley

-Keith Lee

-War Machine

-Ricochet

-Mustafa Ali

 

That's the short list, and now it appears as thought they're getting ready to torpedo ANOTHER Bray Wyatt push for the sake of heating up Randy Orton. The WWE's roster management is laughably bad, and it's insane to me that with 5 hours of main roster tv time a week, they can't find something meaningful for all these people to do.

 

And even the successes they do have, Roman Reigns and Bayley, the poster children proudly displayed on the Smackdown On Fox promotional banner ad every time it props up during the live ad copy reads during a football game, have succeeded in spite of the system leaving them dead in the water several times each yet stayed floating long enough to grab hold of some quality flotsam.  [And not coincidental that in both cases it involved them finally becoming Raging Asshole heels]

 

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It’s probably worth pointing out that Bayley was also a 4-year pro before she went to “developmental.”  She had a fair amount of experience working in places like Shimmer before she ever signed with WWE.  Which is probably a factor in why she’s been able to adapt so well to her changing fortunes in WWE—once upon a time, she had to figure out, on her own, how to get/keep herself over in different situations, with different audiences.  That’s impossible to simulate in the PC system.

Edited by EVA
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, LoneWolf&Subs said:

It’s a top topic, but I don’t watch WWE. So for those watching is Keith Lee “Killing it”, or do you see something(Whether it’s the wrestler himself, or the creative) that’s not clicking?

 

I watch Raw pretty much every week and I've said since his first match on the show that Lee seems uncomfortable. I don't know if it is his confidence getting shot or just something with how they run a main roster show but if I hadn't seen his prior work I'd have been confused as to the hype around him. His booking hasn't done him favors but I see a lot of that on Raw and this is something more than just that (Ricochet is booked awful and I'd never say this about him in ring).

 

Oddly I thought the triple threat match with Riddle and AJ was the best he's looked since being called to the main roster and that may have been his last match before this came up but I'd say something has definitely not been clicking beyond "the show is poorly written and people suffer due to it".

  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@username made several strong points. RAW is tough to navigate even when you're in favor. FWIW, I think Lee is liked. They've done a solid job of protecting him, with only his mini feud against Braun being a bit off. They actually gave him a quality new entrance theme to replace his old one, which is more than what others can say. But for some reason, he hasn't quite clicked yet.

I wonder if he's being told to tone down his moveset and he's finding it difficult to adjust. While he still does a lot, I think Ricochet has slowed down enough in-ring to pass that hurdle. I'd be curious to know if Lee is being asked to do the same. And with there being no house shows to get in reps, it's become an even tougher task.

I can't discount @Curt McGirt's mention about weight. I'm pretty sure someone said Lee was told to 'tighten up' before he was called to RAW. Factor in him wearing a tank top now and I can see that being held against him. Same with Otis.

As for why someone like Nia doesn't get sent back to the PC: to my knowledge, they don't send back any women. If a woman does go, it's by her direct request. Lana did some work on the Coconut Loop a while ago, but I think she got pulled away to do weekend house shows with RAW and/or SD, setting back her progress. It's not an accident Lana is improving since she started training with Natalya and Tyson Kidd on her own. Why don't they send women in for refreshers? I have my theories, sadly.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, The Natural said:

Cesaro's still amazes me. Great in the ring against a variety of opponents and is multilingual. He should be a multi time world champion already. Yes, proud member of the Cesaro Section here. Need to wear that shirt again.

 

Go on, Xavier Woods!

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, The Natural said:

Cesaro's still amazes me. Great in the ring against a variety of opponents and is multilingual. He should be a multi time world champion already. Yes, proud member of the Cesaro Section here. Need to wear that shirt again.

Vince is known to hate people speaking with an accent (no matter if it is a southern drawl or a foreign accent).

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, The Natural said:

Indeed. Happened to Luke Harper also. Maddening.

If I recall it was all because while he looked southern, he had a distinctive New York accent. Vince couldn't believe someone could like a truck driver and be from the north.

I forget where I read it a couple years ago (or maybe it was just a joke...but probably true), but someone got in Vince's ear about Becky being "too Irish" with her accent. Of course they didn't expect the whole Man thing to happen so they had to roll with it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I read it’s just an overall dislike of the way the big men in his company perform. But then is that really a re-training thing? To me it’s all on the agents to structure the matches in a very simple way that the company would prefer. 

It might not even be the matches. It might be that Vince just doesn’t like the way they don’t present themselves in the “larger than life” way he likes. 

Edited by LoneWolf&Subs
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Signing a guy like Keith Lee and then not wanting him to look OR wrestle the way he does is as on-brand for Vince as steak wraps and Red Bull. Constantly shifting and bending to the whims of a miserable old man is wild, and I am immensely thankful there's a legit competitor now. I still get my TV wrasslin' fix without watching my favorites flounder or constantly get their legs kicked out from under them/their legs. 

  • Like 8
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, christopher.annino said:

Signing a guy like Keith Lee and then not wanting him to look OR wrestle the way he does is as on-brand for Vince as steak wraps and Red Bull. Constantly shifting and bending to the whims of a miserable old man is wild, and I am immensely thankful there's a legit competitor now. I still get my TV wrasslin' fix without watching my favorites flounder or constantly get their legs kicked out from under them/their legs. 

Every time I hear big guys being told NOT to do things they can do (unless they are killing their opponents with the stuff) it really makes my blood boil. Big guys who can do agile, athletic and/or high flying stuff are my favorites in a similar way that small, muscular guys who can throw those big guys around, are!

The ONLY thing they should tell Keith Lee, is to not be completely clean shaven, that's it! "Grow some facial hair back, and you are main eventing next year's WrestleMania" is the only damn message they should ever have for him at this point.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's never the companies fault, it's always the independent contractor's fault. To use a sports analogy, Vince is Al Davis in his twilight years. Stuck chasing physical skill sets in the NFL draft that didn't apply to the modern game. After all the years of stalling progress through abrupt call ups we still get random guys promoted to stand in catering. Vince didn't like EC3 who looks like someone and talks like someone Vince would fall over like he was Stacy Keibler dancing on the table.

I said earlier NXT functions as they intend it to though. How can you possibly train and prep someone to deal with their scripted promo getting ripped up a hour before they go live because Vince didn't like it suddenly? We had 2/3 falls for every match because he out of the blue didn't want wrestling during commercial breaks. How can you succeed in such a volatile environment? At least when they yanked OVW talent they didn't disrupt a TV show going up against your new competition. 

Anyways, there's true insanity on display tonight with Triplemania free on Facebook/Youtube. Go watch that instead.

  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

29 minutes ago, LoneWolf&Subs said:

I don’t know about that? Facial hair tends to make him look nicer, and older in a TV sitcom dad way. I blame it on his droopy eyes.

Ok, I think he looks less menacing without facial hair, but your mileage may vary. So I guess they should tell him: "Try not to hurt yourself or anyone else when doing your thing and WM main event is yours!" then minute later go: "wait a minute, you're not Big E! Nevermind!"

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Six String Orchestra said:

Anyways, there's true insanity on display tonight with Triplemania free on Facebook/Youtube. Go watch that instead.

Oh shit, that sounds wonderful! Tonight is my "get drunk and sleep in tomorrow," as the wife and I take turns getting up with the 2yo on weekends. Originally I was just going to play videogames but I haven't watched really any Lucha Libre in years. Thanks for the heads up!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Y'know, for all the talk about how Tazz is so short, I'm watching his WWE debut against Kurt Angle... it would appear that they're the same height or very close. And from what I can tell, Tazz's boots don't appear to have lifts in them either. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From reading the SHEETZ this morning, sounds like it might be Bruce Prichard that doesn't like the way the big men wrestle in WWE. How an out of touch podcaster climbed back all the way to the right hand of the father, I'm sure I have no idea. Anyone who can't find a segment for Aleister Black every week doesn't need to be in the sports entertainment business.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...