Greggulator Posted August 6, 2022 Share Posted August 6, 2022 I didn’t see the show but man not looking forward to Kross. That dude in NXT was as minor league as it got despite him looking like a world beater. Everything about him in NXT was so lame. I actually got out of being a NXT super fun because of him. The entrance was pretty cool until they got in the ring and the song became some thrash metal thing and Scarlet or whatever her name is thrashed around like she was drowning at Action Park. Why was Kross wearing a suit doing press conferences but dressed in BDSM gladiator leather? Was he a gladiator or just a mean prick who was a slightly better Ryback in-ring? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVA Posted August 6, 2022 Share Posted August 6, 2022 (edited) Yeah, all the people talking about how HHH is going to get Kross “right” after what Vince did to him must have memory holed his NXT run, in which HHH failed spectacularly at getting him over as a top guy. One of the only times I can think of, maybe besides Bo Dallas, where the NXT fan base just abjectly refused to buy who HHH was selling on top. As washed as Vince was by the end, I think it’s fair to say he accurately assessed that Kross was a big zero. Edited August 6, 2022 by EVA 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eivion Posted August 6, 2022 Share Posted August 6, 2022 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted August 6, 2022 Share Posted August 6, 2022 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Moneghetti Posted August 6, 2022 Share Posted August 6, 2022 Hilarious that a guy who was fired a year or so ago showed up unannounced on the show and the production truck somehow still managed to get his entrance theme and video cued up before his surprise attack. That’s some next level preparation right there. Wonder if they keep Giant Gonzalez’ theme handy in case he jumps a rail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Moneghetti Posted August 6, 2022 Share Posted August 6, 2022 How long did the women”s gauntlet match last? Meltzer said yesterday that they were expecting to give it an hour. I had it on as background noise and didn’t pay too much attention but it seemed fairly short. Did it even go 20 min? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramo2653 Posted August 6, 2022 Share Posted August 6, 2022 I'm not sure what happened between Kross' Impact and NXT runs that made him flop (might be the entrance since it's waaaaaay to much) but dude is talented and they might need to tweak some things to make it work. Also Cole just destroyed him in that one promo which didn't help matters. But they need new match-ups and bringing back some folks might be a better strategy compared to calling someone up too early. Dug the rest of the show and I think we'll keep getting subtle changes over time and I'm glad the womens tag titles are being brought back. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caley Posted August 6, 2022 Share Posted August 6, 2022 It's really dumb because it's bascially the same show with a couple mild surprises, but this last week was the most optimistic and fun I've had watching WWE TV since...I think when they hired Heyman and Bischoff to take over Raw and Smackdow. I remember those Heyman Raws as....interesting. Guys with new pushes and gimmicks that left things at least hard to guess (Rowan with the box with the giant animatronic spider!) if not necessarily...good. I'm not saying the shows are fixed or even better, but at least things feel a little less obvious. I wondered how Smackdown was going to end this week: Would Sami Zayn stand by MacIntyre's side? Maybe Zayn would jump Drew? Maybe the Creeds would come back up Drew? Maybe Brock comes back to stand with Drew? Maybe Drew gets the upper hand? Maybe Drew just gets stomped? Nowhere on that list of possibilites was a return of Karrion Kross to destroy Drew, complete with Scarlett in tow. So, at the least, things are unpredictable right now which is always better than stale. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kang Posted August 6, 2022 Share Posted August 6, 2022 (edited) Seems Triple H wants to do away with those old WWF 1980's style talk shows in the ring. Or will greatly reduce them. Have to see how Triple H handles the usage of DQs, count outs, rollups going forward. Edited August 6, 2022 by Blue Dragon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMJ Posted August 6, 2022 Share Posted August 6, 2022 Kross' return, to me, feels like a "We don't have _____ but we can get _____" decision. I'm neither of their biggest fans but that segment comes off as a much bigger deal if its Bray Wyatt or Braun Strowman. Also, if Kross' involvement is a way to somehow get one of the titles onto Drew at Clash at the Castle without Reigns having to eat a pin...what a sad, lame whimper of an ending to Reigns' unified championship run (and unspoken admission that it was, like everyone said at the time, a bad decision that would book them into a corner). Complaining about the credibility of a championship in the WWE is a bit like whining about water being wet, but at this point, to me, any sort of "screwing" over of Reigns by technicality will be off-putting. If it were me, I'd give someone the rub of beating Reigns straight-up for both titles. Could be Cody Rhodes, could be Riddle, could be someone else you build up - doesn't matter the who. The point is, you give someone the rub. Then, that person drops one of the titles to de-unify them. For example, Riddle wins both titles (in this scenario, The Usos would be neutralized by a returning Orton) by beating Reigns. Then, on SmackDown, a heel take umbrage with Riddle being a "RAW Superstar" and challenges him for SmackDown's title (whichever the blue one is). Let's just say its Zayn (because I'm the one fantasy booking this). The next week on SD, its Riddle vs. Zayn for "the blue title"...and Zayn wins with help from a RAW heel (Seth Rollins, for example). From here, you've done the most important thing (de-unify the titles) and have some options without having to get waste the rub that someone should get from beating Reigns straight up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted August 7, 2022 Share Posted August 7, 2022 9 hours ago, EVA said: Yeah, all the people talking about how HHH is going to get Kross “right” after what Vince did to him must have memory holed his NXT run, in which HHH failed spectacularly at getting him over as a top guy. One of the only times I can think of, maybe besides Bo Dallas, where the NXT fan base just abjectly refused to buy who HHH was selling on top. As washed as Vince was by the end, I think it’s fair to say he accurately assessed that Kross was a big zero. Karrion Kross had the "Hey, hey, goodbye" song and "Jeff Hardy" chants directed at him when he dropped the NXT Championship to Samoa Joe at NXT TakeOver 36. Says it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreamBroken Posted August 7, 2022 Share Posted August 7, 2022 6 hours ago, Tarheel Moneghetti said: How long did the women”s gauntlet match last? Meltzer said yesterday that they were expecting to give it an hour. I had it on as background noise and didn’t pay too much attention but it seemed fairly short. Did it even go 20 min? It was around 22 mins total I believe. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEAN Posted August 7, 2022 Share Posted August 7, 2022 35 minutes ago, DreamBroken said: It was around 22 mins total I believe. I don't think you'd want it much longer than that. It was basically Raquel Rodriguez plowing through the division. It was like the tag team gauntlet match with the Creed Brothers. They dominate but they can't make it all the way through to set up a natural match against Pretty Deadly. WWE Gauntlets are useful tools in their booking arsenal. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kang Posted August 7, 2022 Share Posted August 7, 2022 Jerry Jarrett thinks Triple H will be switching WWE from Sports Entertainment to Pro Wrestling. https://pwinsider.com/article/161816/legendary-promoter-says-triple-h-informed-wwe-roster-company-will-try-a-new-way-going-forward.html Me, I dont expect changes to the presentation, any change will just be for the main brands booking and removing more Vince-isms. Sports Entertainment will be whatever Triple H and co wants it to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoFistsJustFlips Posted August 7, 2022 Share Posted August 7, 2022 21 hours ago, Tarheel Moneghetti said: Hilarious that a guy who was fired a year or so ago showed up unannounced on the show and the production truck somehow still managed to get his entrance theme and video cued up before his surprise attack. That’s some next level preparation right there. Wonder if they keep Giant Gonzalez’ theme handy in case he jumps a rail. This is a weird complaint. You know in 2022 we have these things called hard drives. They are big and store lots of stuff. So the answer to your question actually is yes. They do have Giant Gonzales' theme on hand. The production truck has built in storage for all themes and trons they've ever used. Now Giant Gonzales is dead mind you so why would they have it on hand? Well enhancement guys working dark matches need music too. In the Vince days who knows if he'd get a bug up his ass seeing a really tall enhancement guy and wanted to give him that music. I get your complaint. Having his music cued up seems like it breaks kayfabe. Like how is this a surprise when the company has music cued up. But I think you're over thinking it. In kayfabe, sure it was a surprise to the guys in the ring. But not to management. They signed him to a contract and knew him showing up was a possibility at some point (in kayfabe). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Moneghetti Posted August 7, 2022 Share Posted August 7, 2022 Lol, it was mostly a joke. Though I do hate the trope of guys waiting till their entrance music hits before they do their surprise run-in. It’d be more effective if the production truck didn”t know Sting was about to come running from the back to save Luger from a beatdown. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shartnado Posted August 7, 2022 Share Posted August 7, 2022 21 hours ago, Tarheel Moneghetti said: Hilarious that a guy who was fired a year or so ago showed up unannounced on the show and the production truck somehow still managed to get his entrance theme and video cued up before his surprise attack. That’s some next level preparation right there. Wonder if they keep Giant Gonzalez’ theme handy in case he jumps a rail. What if everyone who has ever signed a WWE deal ever, has some sort of microchip implanted into their arms or necks that automatically cues up their music and entrance video once they pass a certain point at Gorilla, or indeed, hop the rail? Knowing what kind of stuck in his ways lazy-ass bastard Dunn is, he may have insisted on something like that, so he has less work to do. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blitzkrieg Posted August 7, 2022 Share Posted August 7, 2022 It'd be great if next week Sami had heat with the Bloodline because they're questioning if he was in cahoots with Cross considering he had gone to the production truck and the production truck knew about Kross. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StretchMediatedHypertrophy Posted August 8, 2022 Share Posted August 8, 2022 On 8/7/2022 at 3:35 AM, The Natural said: Karrion Kross had the "Hey, hey, goodbye" song and "Jeff Hardy" chants directed at him when he dropped the NXT Championship to Samoa Joe at NXT TakeOver 36. Says it all. That does sounds a bit like heel heat to me. I'm reminded of the early ROH fans chanting 'You're not over' at the 2nd ROH Champion Xavier. Tbh I do think the gimmick is a bit of an albatross around his neck, and indeed around Scarlett's. I think coming out with hair was the right move, and with the right opponents he can have good matches. Hourglasses don't tick-tock mind. I suspect HHH might be tempted to have Kross take the briefcase form Theory, probably would be the right move. Personally, at the risk of fantasy booking, I'd put the Raiders with Kross as well - preferably dialling down the Viking aspect of the gimmick. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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