Coffey

I didn't even think the wrestling was good. I didn't even think it was average. It was all, to me, completely forgettable. It's like the PPV could have never even happened & nothing would have changed. It felt like if you pick a random Smackdown, any show, from the past five years. Just pick a date. That's what Survivor Series felt like. Matches that weren't impressive. Outcomes that didn't matter. Nothing really happened. Nothing that someone would go out of their way to see. Nothing was offensive, nothing was downright awful. Nothing was good, memorable or even fun though. It was like a hole in space. Just there. I mean people are talking about the highlights of the show being Xavier Woods' hairstyle and an 8-bit video game commercial for TLC. That doesn't exactly say good things about the matches or the work...

The Prime Time Players & Goldust Vs. The Cosmic Wasteland (Stardust & The Ascension) was a lot of fun. So was the pre-match backstage skit with Stardust & Titus O'Neil.

I don't really see how it's any worse than the Mania deal that most people seemed to love. In fact it's better because they at least had a real finish to the main event. It did completely negate the whole tournament we just watched play out over multiple weeks on multiple shows. A tournament which Sheamus was in himself & eliminated from. The briefcase deal sucks.

No one in wrestling gets "real" heat anymore. If anyone is a good heel, the crowd just cheers them. The only heat that seems to work is if a wrestler sucks. Kayfabe is dead & everyone has Twitter accounts. Hard to hate someone when you know they're doing Make-A-Wish, etc. when away from the camera.

I'm a firm believer that there's no such thing as X-Pac Heat or Go Away Heat myself. If anyone getting up & leaving the show or not buying a ticket to the show because Eva Marie is on TV or getting a title shot? Of course not.

I read that Austin Aries was spotted at an NXT taping? That would be really cool news for me as I'm a pretty big Austin Aries fan.

EDIT - Ugh, can't post the pic for some reason. But wow. Looks like the pic was taken during the opening segment, and there is literally one person sitting in the risers hard camera side. I saw pictures on the Observer board. There is absolutely no positive way to spin that attendance. I read it was due to a tornado warning in that area. I'm not sure about the validity of that claim, nor do I know if it would cause that many empty seats & the performers still performing if true.

Not to mention it's a match that I don't think anyone, anywhere cares about. I'm not seeing the support for Charlotte from the live crowds. If anything, the fans seem to like Paige more, even if she is supposed to be the heel. If this was their solution to get people to cheer Charlotte and boo Paige, I don't think it's gonna work. As has been mentioned earlier in the thread as well, how many people even knew who the hell they were referencing? It just wasn't worth it. If just feels like WWE doesn't care about Survivor Series at all this year & it really showed, to me, on the shows. Even with the Seth injury unexpectedly happening.

I'm giving up on WWE until Royal Rumble. I just can't do this anymore.

Speaking of the Honky Tonk Man, I asked on Twitter the other day & never got an answer: It seems unlikely to me, but was HTM the first pro-wrestler to use a guitar as a weapon? There had to have been someone before him, surely? Also, fun fact, Honky Tonk Man blocked me on Twitter. As for the discussion at hand, I always thought it was weird when career WWF midcard guys, like Jim Duggan or Rick Martel would show up to WCW & not even really get used. Like, Rick Martel won the US Title... how many people even remember that? The Ultimate Warrior comes to mind of course.

I never disliked Ronda myself but I can recall actively rolling my eyes on several occasions when reading people making ridiculous claims like she could beat Floyd Mayweather in a fight & shit like that. Just recently Paige of WWE, jokingly or not, insinuated that Ronda could beat the entire locker room, including the men. She was a very successful fighter & this most recent fight exposed her. If that leads to the more over-the-top comments being hindered, then bravo for that. The rematch between the two will certainly make a lot of money. My issue was never with the fighter herself, it was with the way fans put her on a pedestal.

So true. So simple. So completely lost on WWE.

He's on my list...

Sable got real big during the Attitude Era, when I was a teenager & she was a large reason how I found out that I wasn't attracted to breast implants. So there's a random, worthless tidbit. I preferred Sunny because she was actually entertaining. True story, her name is part of the reason why I initially got into ECW as well. It's easier to get into a new product when you recognize some of the names/faces & hers was one I remembered.

There's a thread in the Suggestions folder where some many posters share their stories such as this. It's a really fun read! Here's what I wrote about myself in the random Meng nomination thread: So I am closing in on almost thirty years of watching pro-wrestling & WWF/WWE. With only a little break sometime around 1993/94 to 1996/97. The internet is responsible for me being a fan now moreso than the product. Just having like-minded individuals to discuss your hobby with makes it feel so much more rewarding. I have not been to a live show in several years. Last time I think was either a Smackdown brand house show or an ROH show in Ohio when The Embassy was still a thing & they brought in Abyss.

Coincidentally, I linked a friend to this thread today so he could read about El Dandy, as his only exposure to him thus far had been as a jobber in WCW's Cruiserweight division. Unbeknownst to me, all of this petty drama was unfolding at the back end of the thread. I hope he doesn't read the thread that far...

I kind of wish the Wyatt Family would attack The Authority. Make it seem like the show is in chaos & no one, even the Powers That Be, are safe. Anything to get us away from the authority figures.

Misawa, Kawada & Kobashi are all in my top ten. With Kawada usually #3 & Misawa & Kobashi flip-flopping back-and-forth depending on how I feel that day. Right now, Taue isn't in my Top 50. He'll be in my Top 100 somewhere in the back half but I have him way, way behind the other three. He's certainly been in some great matches but I just don't think he's on their level. I think he's also in the greatest tag team match of all time... with those other three guys & him being the weakest link in the match.

I feel like the only person on this forum that doesn't want Bryan to come back & be slotted in the main event again. He never got his run due to injury but let's be real, WWE didn't seem to have great plans with him going forward anyway. His first feud lined-up post 'Mania was with Kane. Last time he came back, he was in the IC picture. I mean, I'd take him over Del Rio but I honestly think I'd rather have Reigns than Bryan at this point on top.

What they could do is have Ambrose cost Reigns his match against Alberto Del Rio. Then have Ambrose beat Owens & have Reigns get his revenge against Ambrose setting up a match by costing him the match against Alberto Del Rio. But then ADR/Ambrose would pretty much be heel Vs. heel & ADR would be a double-champ (as would Owens). So I think the only logical thing is Reigns winning. Although before thinking about Ambrose turning, I thought it was going to be Reigns/Owens in the finals. I don't know. I'm just pretty sure it's coming down to those four. Maybe they could have Ziggler "upset" Ambrose & that becomes his breaking point to sellout to the Authority or whatever. They should just have Reigns win. No on turn. Brock win the Rumble. Brock/Reigns at Wrestlemania. Reigns retains. Then turn Dean if they want to do it. Doing it now, it wouldn't mean anything. Del Rio just came back & I already feel like people don't give a fuck about him again.

Triple H promo was good. Big Show going that long was bad. Owens/Titus could be fun. Commercials are killing me tonight. It's also very apparent that WWE is editing the crowd.

The one break I took from wrestling was right around 1993 when Hulk Hogan was phased out of the WWF main event, with the steroid trial & him eventually going to WCW. From the end of his WWF reign until the nWo angle started, I think I missed all of wrestling. Then WCW got hot & I came back & started watching that. I went from being a kid loving Hogan as a comic book style super hero, to being a young teenager kinda over wrestling to being an older teenager cheering for Hogan as a bad guy. So the break for me, not necessarily a Jumping-the-Shark moment was Hogan leaving WWF. Which instantly made me think of him winning the title again from Yokozuna after Bret Hart lost which was a super Jumping the Shark moment. People were tired of the same old shit.

I just saw them... and shook my head. A couple interesting matches though, which I'm sure they'll want me to watch Smackdown to see.

I would guess it's eight people. Roman Reigns, Alberto Del Rio, Dean Ambrose, Sheamus, Ryback, Bray Wyatt, Kevin Owens & Dolph Ziggler. Not many exciting names. Not any exciting or fresh match-ups. They'll use the early rounds to eliminate the wrestlers that they have other Survivor Series plans for, like Bray.

This is someone that I'm interested in checking out. Anything easily available, via YouTube or whatever, that you would recommend?