Go2Sleep
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Posts posted by Go2Sleep
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Totally agree with the above posts. The other thing about ending matches on non-finishers is it protects the entire card. Any time there's a big spot in a high profile match, no matter how cool it looks, you know it's just a "2 count and rest" spot. It takes a lot of the drama out of the epics.
In the Asuka/Nia match at the last Takeover, I was very pleasantly surprised when the match ended on a vicious running kick. That was the perfect spot to end the match, and it would've been worse with more spot-trading after that point. Now Asuka has another move with nearfall cred, and the audience is conditioned to thinking big non-finisher moves can end the match for at least a little while. You do that over time, and I guarantee the overall match quality goes up for any promotion because it's easier for the fans to get invested at more points during any match.
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5 hours ago, Tromatagon said:
Season 3 debuts September 7.
40 episodes.
Thank goodness. Won't give that blah ending to S2 any time to linger.
Also, let the record show I was at the front of the Killshot bandwagon.
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Looks like ZSJ is gonna be the most divisive guy on the roster. I like him, though. There's a few tweaks he could make, but I like the general idea of his style. He has the makings of a babyface who can switch between sympathetic and badass in a heartbeat. He would benefit from having lots of different finishers and mixing in more ragdoll bumping, so he could be like a Colin Delaney that could tap you out at any second. Also he should tell his opponents to struggle in his holds, so his transitions make more sense. They look cool and all, but why switch holds if the guy isn't getting out of the one you have him in? I feel like Gulak should bring out the best in him next week.
Nese looked like he was over the 205 limit, or maybe there's just some really small dudes in this tournament and my size perception is getting skewed.
The main event was easily the best match of the tourney so far, and possibly a low-end MOTYC. Mendoza won the crowd over by hitting all his stuff fast and clean. Kendrick pitched in some solid heel work, especially that rope kick that cut up Mendoza's mouth. This was the first match where it felt like the favorite was really caught off guard and struggling against an unknown, instead of just letting the other guy hit some offense because he has to.
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Orton's punt too.
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Dolph Ziggler's MITB cash-in on the Raw after Mania 29.
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Owens killed it in that first match interacting with Rusev. "Do your flip" and "Come on, I'm right here" as Rusev goes for a pin after a double team.
Those two should have to do a backstage promo together where the first one to laugh loses (or second one to laugh after Renee Young).
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56 minutes ago, Craig H said:
That makes me think he'll do that, combined with the dumb WWE fighting spirit, springing up, superkicking Ambrose, and then they both collapse.
Eh, WWE didn't invent that. That's an old Japan trope that got overdone in the 2000s indies and only made its way to WWE in the last several years as more and more high profile guys have come from there.
I guarantee you'll see a rebound into a superkick into another rebound lariat, though.
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On 7/26/2016 at 9:01 AM, AxB said:
Is there anyone who does Akira Taue's moves? The Atomic Drop Slam, the spinning rocket launcher Chokeslam, that 'Put your head on my hip, then swing my leg up and stomp the ground' thing Baba used to do... chops to the top of the head, even. It's odd, everyone wants to do Misawa's moves, or Kawada's moves, or Kobashi's moves, or Akiyama's moves (and Steve Williams' & Johnny Ace's too), but even though Taue is in all of those tag matches (and singles matches), everyone looks through him.
Probably because most of his moves weren't very good, and only have a chance of looking decent if you're way taller than your opponent. Taue was a good worker, but not because of anything he had going for him athletically. Lots of people still do the sit-out powerbomb, though.
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Well, it's good to know I can continue not watching SD for a while.
All we need is Raw to trade Roman, Sheamus, Show, Shining Stars, and Henry for AJ and Alpha, and the women not named Eva or Nattie. Also, when they're ready for NXT call-ups send Joe, Nak, Bayley, and Asuka to Raw, while SD gets the fresh game-changing talents of Blake, Murphy, and the Drifter.
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In an odd twist on the brand split concept, SD gets all the big names and titles, while Raw puts together a workrate roster and uses some solid old-school booking techniques to maximize the shit out of it.
I don't even hate the name "Universal Championship" that much. I would've been more annoyed if they went back to "world championship" after they just unified it a couple years ago. I'm interested to see what the belt looks like.
Corey Graves in the announce booth helped a ton, as expected. Cole's as good as whoever's around him, and Corey knows how to play off Byron's dorkiness without burying him like JBL. Byron actually felt like a contributor this week instead of a meek third wheel that just gets shouted down every time he tries to talk. There were a couple times I could tell Corey was being fed lines he wouldn't normally say, but for the most part, he sounded pretty much like he does in NXT. Such a vast improvement over the ever-shitty JBL.
The stage looked pretty decent, I thought. A little Bischoff era-ish, but definitely has more character than the sterile one they'd been using the last few years. The logo also looks a lot better in motion than the still-shot that was used for the announcement.
The show was booked very effectively and felt like a big deal. I loved the squashes, especially the chinless jobber who got a pre-match promo and everything. The 4-ways were alright and the right people went over. Sami winning would've been cool, but I think Roman made a better foil for Finn. Speaking of Roman, I think the Dolph/Cesaro "close but not quite" role is a perfect fit for him. Keep him there for a while and they might just get another chance with him. Count me in the group that's looking forward to Finn/Seth.
The women's match was great, probably the best those two have had together. Sasha's Eddie tribute was amazing, and I'm glad she got a big moment as a face where she could really soak up a good crowd reaction. If they're smart, she'll hold that belt until they're ready to bring up Asuka. Sasha could be a big money-maker for them if they keep protecting her like they have since her debut.
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The ring apron doesn't have the new Raw logo.
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Re-watching the Zayn/Owens match, it seemed like the ropes were pretty loose. I'm surprised Sami tried the Arabian press dive after he struggled to do his usual flip bump on the suplex into the ropes spot earlier in the match.
Best finishing run of any match this year in WWE for sure, and really only facing competition from the Mil/Cuerno death match in LU for overall. The best thing about Zayn and Owens is for all the matches they've had together, they still manage to make some subtle adjustments to give most of them a different feel. Unlike a lot of WWE series which only escalate by more finisher kickouts, these two actually pace themselves emotionally and don't try to tell the whole story in the first match. At Rival, it was about Owens establishing himself and cementing that he gave no fucks about Sami. In their multiman interactions, it's Sami getting tunnel vision to both of their detriments. At Payback, it was a fight that was a long time coming but not necessarily expected to settle anything. At Battleground, it was Sami finally finishing things in a way he felt was satisfactory.
Hopefully they do a handshake and go their separate ways to hammer home the finality of that match. WWE actually had an easy opportunity to un-fuck one of their biggest draft mistakes by making this a "loser leaves Raw" match.
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I'd have to say Zayn is my front-runner for MVP right now since he's in 3 of my top 4. You can slot him anywhere with minimal build and he'll get the crowd invested. Bayley, Nakamura, and Owens are also in contention.
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4 hours ago, Wyld Samurai said:
Nia Jax comes off as such a lovable softie when she's not in character.
She does in character too. She always sounds like she's trying to be mean but can't. It's too bad she's pigeon-holed into the monster heel role, because her personality screams babyface all the way.
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Not sure what Del Rio expected exactly coming back to WWE. He hasn't seemed motivated at all since the LON angle, so leaving is probably best for everyone.
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11 minutes ago, Dewar said:
Clearly I missed something. How did Cena try to "leech" Enzo's heat?
When he went in to raise Enzo's hand during the middle of his promo for no reason. I'm sure Cena thought he was giving a rub, but it felt pretty tacky and the crowd reaction in that brief moment reflected that.
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1 hour ago, El Dragon said:
This is great. Total New Day or E/C vibe where you can tell they're real friends having a blast together. Too bad WWE doesn't have women's tag titles.
Overall this was a good show. We got Bayley of course, Zayn/Owens did their thing, and the main was solid and had the right finish. The only thing I didn't like was Cena shamelessly trying to leech Enzo's heat. Jesus John, you've been in the spotlight for 11 fucking years, sit in the corner and let the kid have a moment. I'm not sure if Darren Young confusing the cobra clutch with the crossface chickenwing is a good or bad thing, but damn I laughed my ass off at that part.
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1 hour ago, Matt D said:
One thing that's come from all of these podcast interviews is that Lita is apparently the most influential wrestler in the history of womankind.
She had a totally different look and style which probably made her more relate-able to young girls than someone like Trish who was presented as an idealized sex symbol more than an actual wrestler (and also had more of a "chosen one" vibe). Whether or not those things hold up to historical scrutiny is another issue, but given their presentation at the time, I can see why Lita is very popular among women that are in their late 20s now.
Lita also crossed my mind as the mystery partner, but I'm going to (probably foolishly) pick WWE to do the right thing and use Bayley. Also the women's mystery partner angle is by far the most intriguing part of this show.
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7 hours ago, hammerva said:
Looks like the next dump of shows on the Network is RAW 2006 as half of the year is now up.
Re-live that amazing Spirit Squad run.
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Is the Raw logo supposed to look like a velvet patch?
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If Nikki replaced Nattie, that would be a tremendous upgrade.
Her biggest problem is that she has a lot of "old-guard stink" on her despite not being very old, kind of like Roman or Bray.
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39 minutes ago, Sky Blue Sam said:
She's irritating enough to get actual heel heat, she's been presented as a big enough deal that beating her actually means something, and she's developed into a solid power worker.
So Nikki's the female Roman Reigns?
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I thought this show was disappointingly mediocre. It felt like it was written by WWE writers, which is probably the most insulting thing I've ever said about LU.
The trios title match was really good, though. The Johnny/Jack/PJ team was definitely the highlight of S2. This match was the fun, chaotic style you'd expect with good heel work and quality nearfalls. Aerostar's reverse shooting star backwards dive to the outside was nuts. The belt guitars and triple head crusher was a great spot too.
The Azteca/Lotus match was interesting. I hadn't seen any of Lotus' work, so I didn't know what to expect at all. It looked like they were protecting her with a lot of choreographed spots, but she moved well and Azteca is agile enough to make his misses look like he was really going for something. The ending was beyond stupid, though. You don't bury two people in a major angle on your biggest show, and you definitely don't do it for someone who isn't gonna be the ace by night's end. Azteca and Lotus looked like chumps for absolutely no reason.
Then you had a mediocre brawl with Matanza and Pentagon Dark (name change is neither here nor there, by far the least offensive part of his booking on this show). Pentagon no-sells him the whole way which would've been fine if he wins and is the new scary face of LU, but it doesn't make for an exciting match. Then of course it becomes even worse when the current scary monster needs help from Vampiro to score a cheap flash pin then run away. That seriously might as well have been a "music plays distraction roll-up" finish... In a title match on the biggest show of the year. I know we all love LU and Pentagon, but let's be honest with ourselves and call this whole segment what it was: Total shite.
Ivelisse/Taya was ok. It definitely seems stupid for them to be fighting over being the best woman in LU, with zero mention of you know, the woman that won the GotG belt last week. Another stupid finish with the lights out interference from Catrina who I guess is gonna finally pick up her feud with Ivie that they should've been building all season after UL 1 and the first episode this year.
Rey/Puma was a fine match that I couldn't really get into. Maybe it was just the rest of the show being bad, and I need to watch it solo. I don't think it'd be in my top 5 for the season on first watch. Rey definitely brought it, but Puma was helping him out a lot by taking ridiculous bumps for everything. Not crazy about Rey going over a cornerstone of the promotion at this point in his career, but if Puma's gone after next season, whatevs.
Then Pentagon comes back and attacks Vampiro because we totally need to repeat feuds in a company that literally has had like 70 hours of tv for its whole existence. And with all the talent they have, why is old-ass Vampiro in a featured angle (again)? Then there was very limited follow up on Dario's angle, and no awesome montage like last year.
Anyway, while this season was a disappointment overall, there were still plenty of highlights. So here are some positive reflections on the season:
Season 2 MVP: Johnny Mundo
Best Newcomer: Taya
Biggest "Holy Shit" Moment: Dario splattering Cisco's brains all over his office
Best matches:
- Mil vs. Cuerno (UL part 2)
- Mundo/Jack/PJ vs. Rey/Puma/Azteca (Enter the Mundo)
- Pentagon vs. Mil vs. Puma (Death Comes in Threes)
- Mundo vs. Cage (Cage in a Cage)
- Rey/Puma/Azteca vs. Mundo/Cage/Taya (Three's a Crowd)
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This episode was way better than last week. You had a two fun spotfests and two Japanese pros working smart matches around green opponents. I wouldn't mind seeing all 8 of these guys again at some point, which is something I definitely did not think at any time last week.
Was TJ one of the guys NXT scooped up? I was never too crazy about him on the indies, but the WWE style seems like it would highlight his best qualities.
JULY 2016 WRESTLING DISCUSSION THREAD
in The PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING
Posted
Hot Take: The Miz is an average pro wrestler.