Jump to content
DVDVR Message Board

June 2022 Wrestling Discussion


Recommended Posts

9 hours ago, Yo-Yo's Roomie said:

I really hope it's true. Since I refuse to give WWE my time, my money or my eyeballs, I've really missed watching her wrestle.

This is how I feel about pretty much everybody in that company. I don't wish them any ill will - get that bag, buy a house with it, etc. Still, I miss seeing these incredibly talented performers and hope that in time they leave Stamford and head to Jacksonville. 

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think it needs to be said here but Sasha Banks is an incredible worker and historically important. 

I think she was the first of The Four Horsewomen to really break out in-ring and make everyone realize something very special was happening. They had started to nail the character part of the equation with Summer Rae and the BFFs and Bayley. Paige and Emma were both really good. But Sasha's in-ring work was just a next level beyond what Paige and Emma were doing, along with having an awesome character as The Boss.

I think a lot of us forgot just how good the match with Becky Lynch was at whatever big NXT event that was. That was the first time Becky stood out personality wise although her ring work was solid. I'll also gladly take (and even make) the argument that Sasha's two classics with Bayley were the best matches in NXT history. On top of the work being stellar, they were historically important. You don't get to women main eventing WM without those two matches happening first.

There was just so much great work she's done on the main roster. I can't even remember it all. There was the iconic moment when she Eddie Guerrero'd Dana Brooks out of a match with Charlotte, beating Charlotte in a classic Last Woman Standing match via a Banks Statement through the railing, all her recent stuff with Bianca (a made woman because of Sasha), etc. And Sasha and Bayley straight-up carried the promotion during the pandemic with their awesome two-woman power trip and then eventual breakup. 

No matter if her getting released or still being buried is true -- Sasha Banks is a Legit Boss and on the short list of most important wrestlers of the century. That's not hyperbole. 

  • Like 17
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm a big Sasha Banks fans ever since 2015 with the Four Horsewomen Four Way at NXT TakeOver: Rival, with Becky Lynch at NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable and two ***** vs. Bayley at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn and NXT TakeOver: Rival. I'm in that camp preferring the Iron Woman match.

For that reason, I was gutted she wasn't on the house shows I attended in November 2015 and April 2016. I finally got to see her in November 2016, then November 2019 even though it was a RAW house show as she was a Smackdown Live talent and November 2021.

Sasha Banks biggest strength is match quality. I think she definitely has Bayley, Becky Lynch's, Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair, Ronda Rousey, Nia Jax and Asuka's best matches.

Criminal Banks only had one long reign as a WWE Women's World Champion on the main roster when she held the WWE Smackdown Live Women's Championship. Too much hot potato between Banks/Charlotte in 2016. Banks should have been the first WWE Women's World Champion vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch at WrestleMania XXXII but it stupidly went to Flair.

My top ten Sasha Banks matches:

10. Sasha Banks vs. Ronda Rousey. WWE Royal Rumble 2019.

9. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch. WWE Hell in a Cell 2019.

8. Sasha Banks vs. Asuka. WWE Post Royal Rumble 2018 RAW.

7. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley. WWE Hell in a Cell 2020.

6. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair. NXT TakeOver: Rival.

5. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch. NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable.

4. Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair. WWE WrestleMania XXXVII, Night 1.

3. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte Flair. WWE RAW, 28th November 2016.

2. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley. NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn. *****.

1. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley. NXT TakeOver: Respect. *****.

Edited by The Natural
  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My only issue with Sasha going to AEW is that this should be Statlander’s time to shine. So you either setup Sasha with a high profile feud that doesn’t involve a title or you have Sasha put Statlander over.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think there are really only a handful of no-brainer WWE pick-ups for AEW, even considering the state of their roster. In no particular order, it's Reigns, Owens, Big E, Asuka, and any of the 4 Horsewomen. There are others that would be good, or fun, or interesting (or petty!) -- but those are the only names I can think of where it would be worth moving heaven and earth to bring them in. I think Sasha would blend into AEW just fine (though, I cringe thinking of whatever her new name will be) and wouldn't upset the balance of the women's division all that much. She comes in, she can feud with Athena or Britt. She could bump around for Jade or Statlander. She could put on clinics with Toni Storm or Rosa.  I'm not sure who ends up losing their spot if she shows up, to be honest. It might slow down some of the momentum Jamie Hayter has been building or keep Ruby in limbo, but that's all I can think of. It's not like the division is overrun with former WWE talent as it is.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are a lot of good women’s wrestlers in AEW but Sasha is so much better than everyone else. She would be everyone’s best match pretty quickly. She works as her character better than anyone except for maybe Britt, but she’s also the most talented in-ring, too. 

That is not to besmirch anyone they already have. I love Jade, Britt, Ruby, Stat and Rosa. Deeb is a great technician. But Sasha is IMO in the absolutely top-tier all-around workers we’ve seen. 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Possible hyperbole...If, and this is a big if, they bring in Sasha and have her go over Statlander then that would be no different than TNA bringing in Angle and having him go over Joe.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

25 minutes ago, Craig H said:

Possible hyperbole...If, and this is a big if, they bring in Sasha and have her go over Statlander then that would be no different than TNA bringing in Angle and having him go over Joe.

I love Statlander, but this is a pretty crazy statement.

Statlander is over and very good in the ring. Sasha is at least a level or two above her tho (due to time, experience, & exposure). Joe was a fully formed totally main event act when Angle went to TNA. Statlander is in the middle of the pack for the women's mid card title. Having a Wrestlemania main eventer come in and beat a middle of the pack mid card title level competitor is not Joe vs Angle. Joe may not have been TNA champion a that point but he was ROH's longest raining champion and a huge star with multiple PPV main events in multiple companies.

I love Statlander dude. She's great. But she isn't penciled in to have a run any time soon. She's not beating Jade. She's not involved in the world title story. Sasha coming in and beating her, or going 50-50 with her is an improvement over just being Athena's backup against the baddies.

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

25 minutes ago, Craig H said:

Possible hyperbole...If, and this is a big if, they bring in Sasha and have her go over Statlander then that would be no different than TNA bringing in Angle and having him go over Joe.

I know we are all basically fantasy booking with a lot of contingent ifs hanging in the balance, but I think how AEW dealt with CM Punk (and Bryan, too, honestly) has been a great template for how to bring in a star from another company and not have it overshadow your homegrown talent. Come in, put on a bunch of high-end matches with people who deserve to be showcased and then slowly build to a title win once the dust has settled a little. Hell, that's sort of what WWE is doing with Cody (kind of! Probably!).

I know people give her a hard time for the perception of pouting or half-assing it when she's not going over, but I think Sasha's WWE run has proved (if nothing else) that she is willing to lose over and over and over again and it never seems to take much shine off her. I think this is especially underlined by how she made Bianca. I am mostly pulling this out of my ass, but I'd bet she would be a lot more willing to put over young talent than say, Charlotte or Ronda for the twentieth time. 

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, Pete said:

If it's stuck in my head, it'll have to be stuck in yours too:

 

This one is LITERALLY The Jam:

I have the big Shabba Ranks record on vinyl. I love that era of hip-hop/dancehall.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

DVDVR's monthly thread turning into a Shabba Ranks dancehall retrospective is both the most unexpected thing that's happened so far this year and also delightful. 

  • Like 9
  • Thanks 1
  • Haha 9
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, For Great Justice said:

I kind of feel like Paige/Emma was the kickoff to the womens revolution stuff that no one ever talks about 

It was. That first NXT show probably had a lot of eyeballs on it because it was the Network's test-run for their first streaming WM. 

I also would like to point out that WWE really wasted Emma, too. When she went back to NXT and was a bully heel with Dana Brooke as her second, she was having dope squashes where she'd beat the shit out of jobbers and looked like the meanest piece of shit around. It was clear about three months into that second run that they should do something with her on the main roster. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Every time Cole used to say "Some would say Paige started the Divas revolution" I always heard the Mooninites "Some would say the Earth is our moon...."

When AEW launched I had a short list of people I desperately wanted there (Her, Revival, and Claudio/Cesaro) but until the booking in that division improves... like I'd love to see here there but it's hard to imagine her being "The Boss" there. I just feel like she'd have the big debut like Athena or Ruby then.... maybe pop up on Rampage once a month?

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Nineteen said:

Every time Cole used to say "Some would say Paige started the Divas revolution" I always heard the Mooninites "Some would say the Earth is our moon...."

When AEW launched I had a short list of people I desperately wanted there (Her, Revival, and Claudio/Cesaro) but until the booking in that division improves... like I'd love to see here there but it's hard to imagine her being "The Boss" there. I just feel like she'd have the big debut like Athena or Ruby then.... maybe pop up on Rampage once a month?

The stature of established star they'd be acquiring (compared to Ruby or Athena) would likely force them to find something for her. Now whether that means more time for the division as a whole or her just wholesale taking other people's TV time...

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, SirSmellingtonofCascadia said:

I also would like to point out that WWE really wasted Emma, too. When she went back to NXT and was a bully heel with Dana Brooke as her second, she was having dope squashes where she'd beat the shit out of jobbers and looked like the meanest piece of shit around. It was clear about three months into that second run that they should do something with her on the main roster. 

Co-signed. Emma/Asuka from Takeover London in Dec 2015 is one of my all time favorite NXT matches. Real gem of a match. Emma & Dana were magic together. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, For Great Justice said:

I kind of feel like Paige/Emma was the kickoff to the womens revolution stuff that no one ever talks about 

It was definitely part of the escalation of women's wrestling in WWE from the dreadful attitude days, but Sasha/Bayley at Brooklyn was THE tipping point no questions asked. The real forgotten heroes were like Melina, McCool, and Beth (although she at least got HOF) who were having real matches regularly (and sometimes very good ones) that were still an afterthought in the context of the overall programming. The Bellas/Nattie/AJ era was the next step up, with Paige and Emma building off that and setting the table for the 4HW. Everyone in the timeline is important, but Sasha gets the credit because her run from R-Evolution through Respect is easily the best single year women's run in North American history, and her match with Bayley stole a workrate oriented show (and Summer Slam weekend really) in front of a legit major crowd. That was the match that made everyone realize women could main event. At no point prior to 2015 would anyone have seriously suggested women main eventing a WWE ppv, and that's happened quite a few times since 2016 including Rumbles and Manias.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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