Dolfan in NYC Posted May 11 Posted May 11 I'm on my mobile so quick thread set... Jacob "turned heel" last night by attacking Roman Reigns after Roman cheated to retain! (Quelle surprise!) Tonight... He'll... acknowledge him? We'll see! Enjoy the week!
peterien Posted May 11 Posted May 11 I read a comment here or somewhere else around the time of the start of the latest round of cuts where it said along the lines of “the Usos are lucky they’re Romans cousin” and it’s so true because they’ve been in a holding pattern since summerslam, and are surely on a decent contract. Anyway my long winded point is- I wonder will they turn the Usos tonight against Roman and have them align with Fatu to give them something meaningful to do other than follow Roman around.
Curt McGirt Posted May 12 Posted May 12 Public disclaimer: The good Saint Warren has no connection in any way shape or form to this phony ad agency disguised as a wrestling promotion. Thank you.
odessasteps Posted May 12 Posted May 12 5 hours ago, peterien said: I read a comment here or somewhere else around the time of the start of the latest round of cuts where it said along the lines of “the Usos are lucky they’re Romans cousin” and it’s so true because they’ve been in a holding pattern since summerslam, and are surely on a decent contract. Anyway my long winded point is- I wonder will they turn the Usos tonight against Roman and have them align with Fatu to give them something meaningful to do other than follow Roman around. One theory around mania was they could have them join up with Phil and turn on Roman.
username Posted May 12 Posted May 12 Jey moves a ton of merch, he's safe as hell regardless. Jimmy should probably be thankful for his family though. Asuka left again and the official story is basically idk maybe she'll be back someday, who knows. I missed the Street Profits.
Eivion Posted May 12 Posted May 12 Profits/Hendry vs. The Vision was decent while it lasted. Je'Von/Rusev was decent. Enjoyed Judgement Day beating down Brie and Paige. Io/Sol felt like a match with two people not quite familiar enough with each other yet but seemed to get better with time. The action in the last half was pretty nice and helped Sol leave a good impression despite the loss. Dug this one though it feels like a match that probably should not have happened yet. I was pleased to se a clean finish and with the finish in general. I liked Asuka getting a proper goodbye with Io backstage before Io's match. Seems clear Asuka is a least done with WWE. Guessing she does a farewell tour in Japan before actual retirement. The Oba Femi Challenge already frightening away competitors somehow feels right. Poor Los Garzas. Dom/OG El Grande Americano was nice. I suspect it was even better without commercials. The final segment with Jacob gradually taking out the Usos & Roman was pretty good. Its kind of interesting not really seeing the crowd break into face/heel dynamics and WWE not strongly forcing it either. Feels like Jacob is regaining a lot of lost momentum from his injury in the early stages of the Drew feud. Anyway tonight's episode was fine I guess. There was nothing especially egregious, but they have done better and the weak crowd made things worse. They didn't really come alive save for the ending stretch of Io/Sol, Dom/EGA, and the Bloodline drama at the end. Still, I did find those same things easily the most enjoyable things on the show and worth a catch. 1
odessasteps Posted May 12 Posted May 12 (edited) Beau’s wife was an extra backstage tonight on the show. Edited May 12 by odessasteps 1
Peck Posted May 12 Posted May 12 Judging by their Tweets, I'd say it's safe to assume the Garzas were just written off TV for good.
The Natural Posted May 12 Posted May 12 Asuka brought back the face stripe! If Asuka is semi-retired, so glad I got to see her live in November 2019. One of the best women's wrestlers of all time. Fucking criminal she was 0-6 at WrestleMania. The one that really grates is losing her undefeated streak to Charlotte Flair who defended the WWE Smackdown Women's Championship against her at WrestleMania XXXIV. Flair really didn't need that. Still irks me the times Charlotte Flair won WrestleMania matches she shouldn't. Not just WrestleMania but I digress. As a big fan of the Bloodline saga particularly 2020-2024, I don't give a fuck about 2025-2026, moreso this year. 1
Sex Machine Gun Posted May 12 Posted May 12 Outside of a good Sol/Iyo match with a great ending (please change your finisher Sol) there wasn't much to speak of in-ring wise on Raw. Storywise, really absolutely nothing happened besides Asuka leaving. I mean, seriously, there was ZERO advancement of anything. Still no challenger for Liv's belt after almost a month either? Haven't mentioned any of the men yet because there's a complete absence of anything to mention. Got an IC match set for SNME which is okay I guess. Overall it felt like Smackdown despite being a shorter program. That's not a good thing. 1
J.T. Posted May 13 Posted May 13 EVIL's NXT debut was very solid. Very dominant. They got the right dance partner for him in the form of Linc Dorado. EVIL's STO is a lot crispier than Shad Gaspard's and Shad's was pretty badass.. 3
dogwelder Posted May 13 Posted May 13 After thinking about it, I'm wondering if they're setting it up so that Sol has a different regular finisher and saves the Snatcher for the big matches. Because, as visually impressive as the Snatcher is, it seems a bit too easy to mess up the timing of it.
Eivion Posted May 13 Posted May 13 (edited) Tatum/Lizzy vs. Zaria/Lyons was pretty nice before the expected ending with Zaria walking out on Nikkita. Naraku/Lince was decent. Naraku's offense is very basic compared to the rest of NXT, but he does it all well and with some solid oomph. He also has some presence and carries himself well like you would expect form someone with his experience and history. Honestly, current NXT feels a bit small for him unlike when they had Nakamura around. They really do need to have more shows outside of the CWC. Dempsey/Connors/Stacks vs. Prosper/Legacy/Wilder was good. Thought most everyone here looked impressive though WIlder leaves a bit to be desired right now compared to his Speed title contemporaries. Still, I dug the story with his over excitement and looking for his moment costing his team the match. Also it was neat seeing Dempsey actually fall for the rope run drop. I don't want it to happen often, but its nice to see that trip people up like its meant to opposed to the usual chain segments. OTM getting an interview like Carver did last week was unexpected. Kind of like how they are setting the new interviewer apart from others with these. Also seems like a decent way into some of the more weak talkers in NXT. Rook's segment was a decent intro for him with the crowd fully converting his chant and making him feel like a big deal. Drake/Dar was solid as expected. Dar feels like a step behind his old self, but frankly that isn't much of knock as he is still impressive and kept up well with Drake. Didn't care for the DarkState stuff post match though it makes sense with the story they have been building. Kelani/Kendall was damn good. The two had great chemistry and played well to their strengths. Thought this was good show wrestling wise. The main event was easily MOTN, but both tag matches are worth a catch as well. Story wise I thought this was solid with plenty decent smaller character moments and good moves forward on the bigger moments. NXT feels like its settling into a solid place with its current era. Edited May 14 by Eivion 2
hammerva Posted May 13 Posted May 13 I know that NXT strategy seems to be that you can beat some of them to death and still be over (see Je'Von Evans or Blake Monroe) but eventually Kendal Grey needs to start winning on NXT.
The Comedian Posted May 13 Posted May 13 I'm wondering what Mason Rook will do in WWE move wise. I'm only familiar with him from PPW training ring clips that pop up in my Facebook feed where he's doing several variations of piledriver (Barry White Driver, Awful Waffle, etc .) that WWE will not let him use in a million years.
Hamhock Posted May 13 Posted May 13 I can't tell if Mason Rook just looks like he's a giant kid, or if it's just that every standard young adult looks that way to me now that I'm 743 years old. 2
Shartnado Posted May 13 Posted May 13 (edited) For those who are even passably fluent in Japanese, Naraku doesn't happen to translate to "Evil" in English, by any chance? Because that would actually be pretty neat! Nice to see Lince Dorado again. "Hola Lola!" in perfect unison by Wren and Kendal was cuter and funnier than one would expect. I was caught off guard by that one! Lola vs Kendal one on one should be one kick-ass match, once it happens! Zaria is being a total douche by not tagging Lyons but anyone tagging with her now should expect it. Of course, Nikita was kinda forced into the match in the first place. It's nice to see Lexis King wearing the absolute kick-ass vest Pillman was wearing at King of the Ring '96. Despite the crucifix motif in the back, I'd wear the shit out of that thing! @Hamhock Yeah, Rook does look younger than his actual (still young) years, but it sure doesn't help that we are steadily getting up there, as they say! I haven't even passed 600 yet, myself, but still... Main event was really good and I was expecting Kendal not getting the title shot as of yet. Plenty of chaos once again, and I did see Wren getting her leg accidentally smashed once again coming! You know what, anything you give to Izzy Dame, even if it's the NXT Women’s title, I'm fine with it. She's definitely it, even if she's only my top 4 favorite right now! Edited May 13 by Shartnado Rook's a baby! 2
Eivion Posted May 13 Posted May 13 1 hour ago, Shartnado said: For those who are even passably fluent in Japanese, Naraku doesn't happen to translate to "Evil" in English, by any chance? Because that would actually be pretty neat! Nice to see Lince Dorado again. Google says it means hell, abyss, or underworld. 1 1
Shartnado Posted May 13 Posted May 13 5 minutes ago, Eivion said: Google says it means hell, abyss, or underworld. In the vicinity of evil, certainly, so still very cool ! 2
J.T. Posted May 14 Posted May 14 (edited) Naraku (also known as Jigoku) is the Japanese word for the the lowest layer of the six realms of rebirth as per the Buddhist philosophy. The more of an asshole you were before you died, the worse your punishment is in the afterlife. Karma is not paid back in this lifetime. One of my friends is a practicing Buddhist and we talk about this stuff a lot. It's clear that no one talked to EVIL or anyone Japanese (or a Buddhist or religion scholar for that matter) before giving his gimmick that name. The purpose of Naraku is to purify the soul so that it can elevate through the realms of rebirth and eventually reach nirvana (enlightenment) and paradise. Naraku is a place of penance. Malevolent realms of fiery and eternal damnation are more in line with the Christian's concept for Hell. The idea of Naraku doesn't really fit with EVIL's King of Darkness swagger. If anything, you name him "Waru" (the Japanese word for bad / ill / evil), Gōmon-sha (torturer), Kuro Oni ("black ogre") or some shit like that. Edited May 15 by J.T. 1
J.T. Posted May 14 Posted May 14 (edited) Hirohito literally means "great benevolence." The exact opposite of EVIL~! I was thinking that Daimajin ("giant demon") would've been a better fit, but that's the name of a well established Japanese kaiju franchise from the 70's and WWE likes to own shit. I'd have given him the Daimajin name just to hear how many times Booker T. could mispronounce it in a single broadcast. Edited May 14 by J.T. 1
Peck Posted May 14 Posted May 14 "DAYMAJOR! DAYMAJOR!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH YYYEEEESSSSS!!!!" 3
Dolfan in NYC Posted May 14 Author Posted May 14 It's amazing, every angle but the one they used was better
southofheavy Posted May 14 Posted May 14 Kelani/Kendall fucking RULED. They kicked the shit out of each other. This was my first time seeing either of them, and Kelani won me over big time.
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