The WWE Thread

[famicommander]

Impact isn't good at all right now either.

Wrestling is pretty fucking terrible outside of ROH right now across the board.

[Reaper G]

All four shows have done something this calendar year at least as stupid as Samoa Joe getting kidnapped by ECW ninjas.

What, pray tell, has NXT done that was that dumb?

Karen Q is a 1000 year old Chinese mythological character for one.

One silly thing on the most wrestling-centric show, that's not even featured every week, and it's worse than Russo's madness. Gotcha.

[famicommander]

'member when I said NXT was still bad developmental and not a real third brand?

Well apparently WWE agrees.

[famicommander]

Dave Meltzer reported on exact wording from a memo that was sent out about the changes, “‘No more midgets, no one starting in their 30’s.’ They want people that can be box office attractions and main characters.”

[Shanahan]

Dave Meltzer reported on exact wording from a memo that was sent out about the changes, “‘No more midgets, no one starting in their 30’s.’ They want people that can be box office attractions and main characters.”

This is good news for AEW/ROH/Impact/NJPW/Indies.

[GODSON]

So yall don't really watch wwe on here? Lol

[Montana]

Interesting strategy for WWE to put Kevin Owens in a world title match Jan 1st, when his contract is up at the end of Jan.

Based on the rumors, it seems like he’s highly likely to go to AEW, but maybe not. WWE typically buries guys on the way out, however maybe that’s an old stigma they are trying to change.


Also, interesting to see Vince and Austin Theory working together. Kind of like the odd couple. I think it works.


WWE needs work on their multi-man/women matches. Feels like they train so much one on one or tag matches, larger tag matches for the women on raw was a bit of a cluster.

[NewROHFan2020]

I don’t watch WWE, but they just announced Impact Knockout Champ and NWA affiliated person Mickie James will be in the womens Royal Rumble. That is crazy. Intrigued

[roacheyyy]

I nearly fell off my chair when McAfee said she was the current Impact Women's Champion

[kovs27]

I saw this mentioned online and was surprised.

I've seen clips online of what Brock Lesnar has been doing lately, including interactions with Sami Zayn and I have to say I really enjoyed it.

[Reaper G]

I nearly fell off my chair when McAfee said she was the current Impact Women's Champion

With just that, Pat McAfee did more to put over Impact than Tony Khan ever did.

[tigermask7.0]

With one sentence, wwe just dragged you jojo's back into the fold.

[kovs27]

With one sentence, wwe just dragged you jojo's back into the fold.

Haha, all I do is look for whatever Brock did on Youtube. I'm enjoying my 10 minute investment.

[Montana]

I'll admit it... i still watch/follow WWE. (Long ramble...sorry)

While i dislike the same of what many others do about the WWE (stale booking, repetitive matches; 3 hours Raw wtf, bigger guys getting pushes, cutting 100+ people)

I'm not going to waste my time; stating how WWE needs to change. They suck, blah blah blah. They either will/wont change; and it's clear they are going to keep doing what they are doing.

WWE has quietly been tightening things up since 2019 with AEW coming on board in my opinion. Roman Reigns is the dominant star; #1 draw. Brock is Brock.... but having fun; and happy to be there , which is nice. They've built up Bobby Lashley, BIg E and Drew Mcintyre in Legit main eventers. Rated RK-Bro is a great tag team; and the best Orton has been in years. Uso's have improved as well. They actually DO episodic booking; so like they have angles ; that progress week by week; often ending in about a month. They've been using guys like Seth, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and AJ Styles in a bigger way; and also helping build newer talent. Edge is back. Pat Mcafee is great. WWE has great video packages, i love their PPV's are essentially free; with peacock. WWE Network is great for free. Enjoy their documentaries and interviews on the network. (Brock/Sami was lots of fun; but i was hoping they would shoot an angle with Brock abducting Sami and taking him to his neck of the woods to hunt) .... OH and Sheamus... If you haven't been watching; he's been putting on banger matches for like the last year. He's been great; and probably a future world champion again. (Alpha Academy as well have been doing some good stuff)

They hit the reset on NXT; and while many dislike it; i think in the long run they'll be better off. They had 5-10 Superstars waiting in the wings; while AEW paid up for the Undisputed Era, Punk, Danielson; they have guys like Bron Breaker, Harland, Carmelo, Grayson Waller, Tony D, the Creed Brothers just sitting in the wings, for a fraction of the cost. Probably a few others i'm forgetting.

Yes; there's tons of negatives with WWE; but it's not half as bad as the IWC claims it to be. There wouldn't be over double the amount of people watching Smackdown over Dynamite still; if it's a bad as people make it out to be.

AEW is doing good things as well. I feel like they harder to please the fans; which many fans like. The match quality is very good. I think i actually prefer WWEs booking style in some ways; over AEW... as odd as that seems. Like take Andrade or Jay Lethal for example.... Like at least Andrade was ON raw; almost weekly. Your lucky if you see an Andrade match every 4-6 weeks in AEW. Or Jay Lethal; wrestler of the decade; first to the TBS champ night 1; then zero follow up. Countless meaningless squash matches. At least WWE has matches; that are good match ups; even if it's the 2nd/3rd time we've seen it. I do like AEW's long term booking for the most part; although it makes things very predictable. Not to make this an AEW vs WWE thing. I just like them both for different reasons.

[Reaper G]

I'll admit it... i still watch/follow WWE. (Long ramble...sorry)

While i dislike the same of what many others do about the WWE (stale booking, repetitive matches; 3 hours Raw wtf, bigger guys getting pushes, cutting 100+ people)

I'm not going to waste my time; stating how WWE needs to change. They suck, blah blah blah. They either will/wont change; and it's clear they are going to keep doing what they are doing.

WWE has quietly been tightening things up since 2019 with AEW coming on board in my opinion. Roman Reigns is the dominant star; #1 draw. Brock is Brock.... but having fun; and happy to be there , which is nice. They've built up Bobby Lashley, BIg E and Drew Mcintyre in Legit main eventers. Rated RK-Bro is a great tag team; and the best Orton has been in years. Uso's have improved as well. They actually DO episodic booking; so like they have angles ; that progress week by week; often ending in about a month. They've been using guys like Seth, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and AJ Styles in a bigger way; and also helping build newer talent. Edge is back. Pat Mcafee is great. WWE has great video packages, i love their PPV's are essentially free; with peacock. WWE Network is great for free. Enjoy their documentaries and interviews on the network. (Brock/Sami was lots of fun; but i was hoping they would shoot an angle with Brock abducting Sami and taking him to his neck of the woods to hunt) .... OH and Sheamus... If you haven't been watching; he's been putting on banger matches for like the last year. He's been great; and probably a future world champion again. (Alpha Academy as well have been doing some good stuff)

They hit the reset on NXT; and while many dislike it; i think in the long run they'll be better off. They had 5-10 Superstars waiting in the wings; while AEW paid up for the Undisputed Era, Punk, Danielson; they have guys like Bron Breaker, Harland, Carmelo, Grayson Waller, Tony D, the Creed Brothers just sitting in the wings, for a fraction of the cost. Probably a few others i'm forgetting.

Yes; there's tons of negatives with WWE; but it's not half as bad as the IWC claims it to be. There wouldn't be over double the amount of people watching Smackdown over Dynamite still; if it's a bad as people make it out to be.

AEW is doing good things as well. I feel like they harder to please the fans; which many fans like. The match quality is very good. I think i actually prefer WWEs booking style in some ways; over AEW... as odd as that seems. Like take Andrade or Jay Lethal for example.... Like at least Andrade was ON raw; almost weekly. Your lucky if you see an Andrade match every 4-6 weeks in AEW. Or Jay Lethal; wrestler of the decade; first to the TBS champ night 1; then zero follow up. Countless meaningless squash matches. At least WWE has matches; that are good match ups; even if it's the 2nd/3rd time we've seen it. I do like AEW's long term booking for the most part; although it makes things very predictable. Not to make this an AEW vs WWE thing. I just like them both for different reasons.

You're not the only WWE watcher here. Yes, it's fun to rip on Vince and his product, but there really are good wrestlers, personalities, matches, and storylines on Raw and Smackdown despite his oft-bizarre vision of "sports entertainment."

I do have reservations about NXT 2.0. To play devil's advocate, NXT was originally supposed to be a developmental brand, and HHH turned it into his version of ROH. And it was great. But he wasn't necessarily prepping those guys for the main roster, and losing the ratings war to AEW Dynamite has given Vince a chance to return it to its roots. To be sure, there are great talents there, and I want to follow their careers like I have Danielson, Punk, Joe, Steen, Generico, Black, and others who have become future Hall of Famers. But cutting so many veterans, as wrestlers and coaches, will limit how good Breakker, Wagner, Waller, et al may be.

[Montana]

I'll admit it... i still watch/follow WWE. (Long ramble...sorry)

While i dislike the same of what many others do about the WWE (stale booking, repetitive matches; 3 hours Raw wtf, bigger guys getting pushes, cutting 100+ people)

I'm not going to waste my time; stating how WWE needs to change. They suck, blah blah blah. They either will/wont change; and it's clear they are going to keep doing what they are doing.

WWE has quietly been tightening things up since 2019 with AEW coming on board in my opinion. Roman Reigns is the dominant star; #1 draw. Brock is Brock.... but having fun; and happy to be there , which is nice. They've built up Bobby Lashley, BIg E and Drew Mcintyre in Legit main eventers. Rated RK-Bro is a great tag team; and the best Orton has been in years. Uso's have improved as well. They actually DO episodic booking; so like they have angles ; that progress week by week; often ending in about a month. They've been using guys like Seth, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and AJ Styles in a bigger way; and also helping build newer talent. Edge is back. Pat Mcafee is great. WWE has great video packages, i love their PPV's are essentially free; with peacock. WWE Network is great for free. Enjoy their documentaries and interviews on the network. (Brock/Sami was lots of fun; but i was hoping they would shoot an angle with Brock abducting Sami and taking him to his neck of the woods to hunt) .... OH and Sheamus... If you haven't been watching; he's been putting on banger matches for like the last year. He's been great; and probably a future world champion again. (Alpha Academy as well have been doing some good stuff)

They hit the reset on NXT; and while many dislike it; i think in the long run they'll be better off. They had 5-10 Superstars waiting in the wings; while AEW paid up for the Undisputed Era, Punk, Danielson; they have guys like Bron Breaker, Harland, Carmelo, Grayson Waller, Tony D, the Creed Brothers just sitting in the wings, for a fraction of the cost. Probably a few others i'm forgetting.

Yes; there's tons of negatives with WWE; but it's not half as bad as the IWC claims it to be. There wouldn't be over double the amount of people watching Smackdown over Dynamite still; if it's a bad as people make it out to be.

AEW is doing good things as well. I feel like they harder to please the fans; which many fans like. The match quality is very good. I think i actually prefer WWEs booking style in some ways; over AEW... as odd as that seems. Like take Andrade or Jay Lethal for example.... Like at least Andrade was ON raw; almost weekly. Your lucky if you see an Andrade match every 4-6 weeks in AEW. Or Jay Lethal; wrestler of the decade; first to the TBS champ night 1; then zero follow up. Countless meaningless squash matches. At least WWE has matches; that are good match ups; even if it's the 2nd/3rd time we've seen it. I do like AEW's long term booking for the most part; although it makes things very predictable. Not to make this an AEW vs WWE thing. I just like them both for different reasons.

You're not the only WWE watcher here. Yes, it's fun to rip on Vince and his product, but there really are good wrestlers, personalities, matches, and storylines on Raw and Smackdown despite his oft-bizarre vision of "sports entertainment."

I do have reservations about NXT 2.0. To play devil's advocate, NXT was originally supposed to be a developmental brand, and HHH turned it into his version of ROH. And it was great. But he wasn't necessarily prepping those guys for the main roster, and losing the ratings war to AEW Dynamite has given Vince a chance to return it to its roots. To be sure, there are great talents there, and I want to follow their careers like I have Danielson, Punk, Joe, Steen, Generico, Black, and others who have become future Hall of Famers. But cutting so many veterans, as wrestlers and coaches, will limit how good Breakker, Wagner, Waller, et al may be.

I agree the move to NXT 2.0 wasn't popular; but think it was ultimately the right call in some sense. Don't agree with firing everyone; but changing the focal point. Who knows how long Roman Reigns will be around. They need to find the next big thing. While i think you could argue someone like Adam Cole; could carry a show (Raw/SD) Vince didn't think so, is my guess. I'm sure they made him a very good offer to stay though.

Anyways; with cutting the veterans/wrestlers/coaches potentially hurting Breaker/Waller/ Harland/Creed Bros Etc; I think they actually still have a good amount of veterans around on/off camera. Certainly something to be concerned about. They still have guys like Roddy working with the Creed Bros. You got Chiampia working with breaker; Gacy and Harland; Waller working AJ ; Wagner was with Kyle o Reily. Cameron Grimes with Duke. Carmelo with Trick. Cameron Grimes; and Carmelo Hayes. So i feel like they kinda have just enough; and assume they switch dance partners soon. HBK still working backstage at NXT, and a sure a handful others. Certainly more is better; BUT if it's at the expense of ring time/tv time; maybe not.

I don't see much in Wagner, personally. Maybe in time.

*********************************************

So Royal Rumble; Thoughts/Predictions

Lashley vs Brock Lesnar (Should be pretty great i would think)

Reigns vs. Rollins (Another really good title match)

Royal Rumble ( Think its a toss up; Think Big E might be a favorite; but maybe Kevin Owens, ... very outside chance; but could see a legend like Stone Cold or The Rock to return/win)

[Montana]

I normally don’t mind some WWE, but this is probably the worst opening hour in WM history. At least of recent memory.
Hope they got something up their sleeve for the rest of the show.


Update: OK, Night 1 turned around. Two solid women’s title matches, Cody’s and Steve Austin’s return. Both moments that people will remember for a very long time. By the end, you almost forget how poorly it started. Nice to have Austin have one last solid match. Great way to end the show.

[DougN]

Did not watch, but was told it was a SOLID show. Good for Cody if he's happy and I did see his match -- true banger. But his comments in all the interviews are just ridiculous.

[Mike0284]

[Montana]

Night 2 was definitely a fun show. Much better start than night 1. I was a little worried, that they did all the surprises on Night 1; but they managed to throw some in for Night 2 as well. This is going to sound a little crazy, but i thought the Johnny Knoxville match, was super fun, and easily more entertaining than say the bad bunny match. In terms of fun and entertainment, that might have been a 5 star match imo. I don't even like the jackass guys; but both guys did really well. Probably my favorite match of the night. Crazy huh?

Edge/AJ was probably the best match/match on night 2. Brock and Reigns was exactly what you'd expect. The Pat Mcafee, Vince, Theory, Austin stuff was pretty entertaining as well. Vince should NOT be in the ring though.


The idea of celebrities and WWE is interesting. As we've seen with Bad Bunny, Logan Paul, Johnny Knoxville... you can train these guys have a serviceable match. To use these guys at the expense of your "wwe superstars" certainly is questionable. But i wonder if WWE doesn't continue to lean further to celebrities wrestling in the future at mania. Especially on a 2 night mania; where you can add someone like Austin Theory to the card in a marquee match up; and lose; with like everyone forgetting about it in a few weeks.

I also wonder if we get more Steve Austin at some point. Time will tell what other legends WWE goes after.