fakeplastictrees

History does not show this to be true, but I would like to think WWE has smartened up and realized the company can have its 7 hour show and only force the live audience to see 3-4 hours of it. This prevents burn out. Its easy for people watching The Network to 'go do something else', but once you are in the arena...that's it. You are there! Takeover last night was Off The Wall and tonight's SummerSlam looks like Invincible. A product that is overly long, cliche, and shouldn't be the product of someone who is considered an icon and innovator in the business.

Never cared for Adam Cole. I just never 'got' him. I've seen tons of his matches and promos, so the lack of enthusiasm isn't based on a small sample. Same thoughts and feelings for Bobby and Kyle. WWE seems like the place to help takes these guys to the next level as far as gimmicks, etc. are concerned as the in-ring stuff is there and they have all shown (at various times) sparks in other areas of the game as well.

Agreed which is why I REALLY hope this doesn't go down. I won't go on rant here about it, but in short--people need to stop mudding the pool...BACK TO SUMMERSLAM~! This card is stacked and not in a good way. WWE always manages to pull all the worse elements of WM and put them into SS in order to say its a 'big show'. The Universal Title is the only match that has my interest. The card is going to be a chore to get through.

SummerSlam should be fun?! With WWE already 100% committed to doing a 4th year in a row--it would be interesting to see the company's response to any potential backlash. http://gothamist.com/2017/08/18/trump_superkick_party.php Per Article: This year's SummerSlam at the Barclays Center promises plenty of action in the ring, with matches like a fatal fourway for the WWE Universal title to a Kevin Owens/A.J. Styles brawl for the U.S. Title. But there's also going to be some action outside the ring, as a group of WWE fans are planning a weekend of rallies calling on the WWE to remove Donald Trump from the wrestling promotion's Hall of Fame. In the wake of Donald Trump's press conference this week in which he equivocated white supremacists and counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, a group of fed-up wrestling fans will be rallying on Friday at 5 p.m. outside the Barclays Center. The group will be calling on the company to reject racism by tossing Trump from an honored spot with the company. While this isn't the first attempt to get the WWE to disassociate itself from Trump, John Stevens, a 30-year-old Brooklyn resident, told Gothamist that he and a group of friends who are in town for the summer extravaganza decided that they'd had enough of Trump's association with the wrestling promotion and decided to shout it in the streets. "We were talking about how Trump gave that crazy press conference, and then thought about how he's in the WWE Hall of Fame even though Hulk Hogan got kicked out over racism," Stevens told us. "What Trump has done is remarkably worse than what Hogan did, since he's dividing the country by siding with neo-Nazis and white nationalists." While Hogan was never officially "kicked out" out of the WWE Hall of Fame, references to his career with the company and his page on the hall's website were both quietly scrubbed after racist comments he made about his daughter dating a black man were publicized. "I was sickened by that press conference, and his response to Charlottesville," Stevens said. "Basically WWE is endorsing those comments by having [Trump] in their hall of fame. I can't wrap my brain around the fact that they'd leave him in there, take Hogan out and claim they say they care about racism." Stevens said that the protest came together on an email chain that he and some fellow wrestling fans have. With everyone in town for SummerSlam weekend, the group decided to take action. In addition to setting up a website, Stevens said that some of his friends went to an autograph signing held by current WWE champion Jinder Mahal on Thursday night to hand out flyers about the protest. The autograph signing was an apt place to go to spread the word about the rally, since Mahal, the company's first Indian world champion, plays the outdated trope of the villainous minority foreigner. Trump's place in the WWE Hall of Fame, cemented by the fact that he took one of the worst Stunners in the history of wrestling and allegedly once believed that Vince McMahon was literally murdered on air, is somewhat awkward at the moment. In addition to the company regularly publicizing its anti-bullying efforts, longtime face of the company John Cena starred in a PSA extolling the nature of America's diversity: Despite these efforts though, Linda McMahon, the former WWE CEO and wife of majority owner Vince McMahon, serves in President Trump's Cabinet as the Administrator of the Small Business Administration. Stevens said even with that relationship in mind, the WWE needs to make a choice. "It's kind of a gut-check moment for the WWE. If they want to put their fans in this position, especially minority fans, and insult them to their faces by supporting someone who supports white nationalists, they can do that. But the backlash, I think, will be severe." Stephen Miller, a 31-year-old Brooklyn resident and fellow self-described "wrestling nerd" involved with the protest, told us that this is an important moment for the company. "They have two options; leave someone who defends neo-Nazis and white supremacists in the Hall of Fame and accept that their fans will look at them as hypocrites the next time they take a stand about racism, homophobia or other forms of prejudice, or have a spine and stand up to racism. If they choose to leave him in the HOF I will question whether or not I'll continue to watch their product." The website announcing the rally makes reference to the WWE's history of racism both on-screen and off, and while it otherwise focuses on the removal of Trump, Stevens told us Trump is hardly the only issue the company has to deal with. "Now more than ever the evil foreigner thing, it's the last thing we need in the country," Stevens said. "People are eventually going to be sick that the company is associating with this kind of racism," he predicted. Miller also said that it's time for the company to pivot away from racism. "I hope WWE will get their head out of the dark ages and into 2010s," Miller said. While both men predicted that today's rain forecast would drive down the turnout, Stevens said that rallies outside the Barclays Center are also planned before the NXT: Takeover and SummerSlam shows on Saturday and Sunday. And while Stevens is aware that the company could ignore the group outside the arena, it might not be so simple in the actual Barclays Center. "We might protest during the shows, we've got prime seats," he told us. "Where our seats are, you'd definitely see it, you'd hear the chants. WWE could take care of this problem now, or they could have it come up during one of their biggest pay-per-views of the year and have it be on the WWE Network forever." As of press time, a WWE spokesperson did not return a request for comment.Removing Trump from the hall of fame "would be the ultimate act of being a star, if you will" Stevens said, referencing the company's anti-bullying efforts, "and standing up to bullying and racism."

The guys has been a clown since getting in. What would Donald Trump need to do/say to be kicked out or temporarily suspended from the WWE HOF? It seems saying the "N" word would do it, anything else?

JJ is DOA regardless of the country. Its best for WWE to play up the 'You Hate Me Because of Who I Am!' angle. It would essentially steal from the Angle 2000 playbook minus the obvious charisma. Crazier things have worked.

Its rather amazing and unfortunate that WWE blew its load on Smackdown and not wait until the Death March that is known as SummerSlam. Cena/Nakamura would have been an excellent co-mainevet. Aside from the 4 way, nothing else on this show is of any real interest to me. SummerSlam being in Brooklyn for the 3rd year in a row is a snooze to me and the majority of this event will not be watched unless i hear otherwise after the initial showing.

Hate to pile on here, but I agree with the MB talk. I NEVER got it. His WHOLE act is tied to Maria being present and its honestly the only reason took him into the fold. Its an excellent con as they probably come as a package deal with Maria taking the bulk of it. He has always been channel changing stuff for me, so it should be a surprise to no one that I have missed his entire Smackdown run post debut.

Which is so weird. Beat your wife: lose your job Get beaten by your wife: get de-pushed, fall out of favor, and eventually lose your job WWE logic hurts my head.

Huh? You couldn't be anymore wrong if you tried. Lesnar looked like a monster. He beat a top 10 HW in Mark Hunt. He fought smartly. Hunt is primarily a striker and Lesnar just bulldozed him and held him down for 15 minutes. How is that not meaningful? This isn't kickboxing... Were you really expecting Lesnar to stand and bang with Hunt? Also, if you thought that wasn't meaningful, then you must not follow MMA closely. GSP, Matt Hughes, Jake Shields, Jon Fitch, etc. all fight with a similar gameplan and they're some of the GOAT welterweights. Seeing how JDS has fallen, I could see Lesnar taking him down constantly and riding him for 15 or 25 minutes to a decision win. Aside from JDS, Lewis, Struve, Arlovski and Browne are guys Lesnar has a good chance against. Lesnar is a guy with enough name value to warrant a title shot after 1 win, so match him up against Stefan Struve and catapult him into a title shot against Stipe afterwards and he's set. Brock fought the smart fight. He fought the way he should have and the way that myself and others thought he would. I was not surprised by what I saw, however, it confirmed that he is not ready. All the guys you have named who use a 'wet blanket' style of fighting also have something to give on the feet (for the most part). Lesnar does not and turtles and gives up too much ground once hit. These are all problems and do not show a 'beast' especially once you start looking at the top five. There is no way Lesnar is beating any of those guys. Giving him an easy fight and then against Stipe would make no sense unless Cain is still out and Stipe is ready to cash a check. After 200, the magic of Lesnar is gone. I don't want to see it happen.

Lesnar showed in his last fight that he has absolutely nothing to offer in the cage. He was afraid to engage and do anything meaningful. His entire output was defense and nothing else. I would be more than happy if he decides to not go back to MMA. Who in UFC would he fight? Dana/WME isn't going to give him anyone in the top 5 (as they would ALL KO Lesnar) and an 'easy' fight against someone like Lewis, Sherman, etc. would be a waste.

WWE is pretty amazing at keeping shit under wraps. ADR, Paige, both Hardys, and Angle all showed what happens when the WWE PR Team and Vince McMahon are not around to hide your shit. Also, who the fuck carries around coke in an airport in a post 9/11 world?

When? Where? Every time I've seen her come out on Raw it's been to dead silence (and I like Mickie but it is what it is) So after her re-debut she has essentially been booked as another face on the roster. Its interesting that the momentum didn't care over. I haven't really been paying attention to Mickie (as I have never really been a fan of hers), but I assumed she would be at least over if nothing else. But then again if Trish Stratus couldn't do it....I guess Mickie will struggle. Its such a weird hire as she wasn't all the good to begin with, didn't get better while gone, and now is not over and brings no real value apparently.

Jason Jordan has so much talent and if he can develop on the mic, he will be a big star for the company. Good lucks, he can work, and WWE is pretty high on him. It will take a lot for WWE to get itself out of this hole. This isn't Jordan or Angle's fault. WWE is trying to get Angle into something interesting and WWE has AA sitting around doing nothing and not getting over on SD--so why not try something new? Gable will be just fine and has shown that he has no issues with getting himself over. He will be fine as well. I always expect the worse from the fans and await from the slime to come from under the rocks--and thus it has not. Most everyone just shares that equally bummed "that's it?!". WWE in its tone deafness overbooked all of this. In 1950 having a kid (much less one of color) out-of-wedlock, I am sure would be 'controversial' to some idiots. However, in 2017, no one blinks an eye to anything. Jordan arriving created no conflict and with all the build up it shows there was really no real conflict to begin with. Hopefully this doesn't kill off Jordan completely as there really is no reason he shouldn't be champion within the next 5 years. He has all the tools...we shall see. Emma is pretty pissed about sitting on the sidelines for her 5 year WWE anniversary. I guess someone should tell her that is what happens when you aren't over. I enjoy Emma, but let's not pretend she is connecting with the crowds at a rate WWE can see a return. She is talented and I hope she sticks around and catches fire, but with WWE putting all of its eggs in the "new era" of Nia, Carmella, Bliss, Namoi while still keeping the mythology of the 4 Horsewomen alive and all...Emma is really the odd woman out. Mickie James will get a pop because of who/what she use to be and all the good will from her WWE/TNA work. With Askua, Moon, and I am sure The Aussies coming up soon...Emma needs something. Not sure what that 'something' is. I have been hearing rumblings of a 4 way dance at SS this year. Brock, Lesnar, Joe, and Braun in a 4 way battle of big men will only end with the destruction of the world. I hope it happens! I wouldn't be upset to see Lesnar/Joe II and an 80's style Surv. Series Team lead by opposing captains: Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns.

WWE gave Punk his official papers on Punk's wedding day, fired Dawn Marie when she was pregnant, and ran a tribute video to a stunned arena right after Snuka's trial. This company has no heart. I wouldn't be surprised if WWE is just waiting until Paige's contract is up to quietly and quickly decide not to renew.

This is all sad. I don't want to play Pro Wrestling Doctor here, but I think Paige really needs to step away from it all. Its time for her to pull a Dave Chapelle on the wrestling world. No social media, no WWE, just time to step away for a bit. I feel like she is on the road to shaving her head bald and swinging an umbrella.

So Reigns (the face) goes for a spear,misses, lands in the ambulance, and loses the match. He gets out of the ambulance, blindsides Braun, tosses Braun in, drives away, and then backs the ambulance in a tractor trailer. Reigns, like a coward, then walks away while people try to get Braun out of the ambulance. The GM, who is a face, can't believe the actions of Roman. The crowd is concerned for Braun and start chanting his name. The two wrestlers who have to go on to 'fill time' also look like their minds are with Braun's condition. The announcers' concerns are put to ease as soon as Braun emerges from the ambulance (to the delight of the fans) and refuses medical attention as he stumbles off. Exhibit 342230203293 of why Roman Reigns is not over as a face.

I haven't purchased anything in the 2K series. Nothing looks promising. The developer has taken the Kevin Dunn approach to making WWE games and I am not buying. Honestly, I would like to see WWE's main franchise game scale down and get back to basics. The wrestlers in TNA's Impact game looked great and I would like to see something more like that. Having 200 wrestlers is all great and all, but the majority of those do not get played and look like shit. Keeping it to big names, having an AKI/Fire Pro moveset type of engine, and Unreal engine graphics--WWE should be fine. I don't think anyone is really going to miss not being able to set the prices of the hot dogs at the arena or the interaction of the 3rd man with his team in the commentary both. Back to basics. Just big names, no jobbers, no entrances, etc. It seems like such a simple thing to fix. All the commercials for the game are usually pretty lame as well.

We are one day removed from a show featuring: -The Ascension as a SURPRISE -JE winning #MITB -One too many teases of Ziggler winning MITB - Lana cosplaying as SUPERSERIOUSRASSLER1!!11!!!~! -Fashion Police dropping MICHAEL JACKSON REFERENCES~! and of course Orton doing "Orton" things. Now its time for Raw....Roman and Braun have both returned and WWE is building to SummerSlam!

Silver lining...WWE is trying its best not to be stale all around. WWE could have EASILY gone with Charlotte, Orton, and Styles. I would not have been upset with one of those choices, but the other two are definitely old hat (and that's putting it kindly). Mahal, Carmella, and Corbin all winning isn't THAT bad, but when you put all of those wins into context and top on the fact that all of that occurred in conjunction with an Ascension return, Lana being absolutely terrible in all regards, and Maria and Mike walking out like superstars despite not having the resume or fanfare...and it was a bad night for everyone involved.

Despite her only having 3 televised title shots since the draft, it sure feels like Nattie (despite all around stinking) has been hovering around the title for no reason other than for WWE to keep the women busy. Overall The women's MITB is going to be the worse of the two as all WWE multi-person matches turn into one-on-one showcases, but the women usually have the worse transitions. Becky slaps Carmella and this sends Carmella rolling out the ring and holding her jaw for 4 minutes before she gets back in for her shine segment. Hopefully this doesn't lead to EVERYONE rotating finishers and then rushing (all at once) up multiple ladders in order to create 'suspense'. Charlotte winning would be a real waste in creating a real star and taking the division in an interesting direction. Give it to Tamina as it would at least be different and shock the system.

I remember the Roode/Brooks thing. For weeks (months? ), Roode turned down Jimmy Hart, The Brain, Simon Diamond and a few others I believe. He then choose Traci Brooks, because of reasons. Within a matter of weeks, the wheels fell off the train and it became what El-P described. It was painful to watch and went on too long. Russo has a weird way of telling stories. Act 1 is usually 15 minutes, Act 2 is 5 months, and then Act 3 may or may not occur and if it does--it will be a SWERVE~!

Why do you think pro wrestling is in a golden age right now? This would be the 4th (or 5th depending on how you want to look at pro wrestling history) golden age. I don't think we are there yet and only believe 3 (again see above) have occurred. Not trying to be a smart ass or anything, just genuinely curious.

Just finished reading some of the reviews here. Good stuff. My favorite ROH matches of all time involve Morshima/Nigel (all encounters) and Morishima/Danielson. Just overall good stuff and really the definition of ROH to me.

I always hated the term 'freakin' when used in pro wrestling. Its so corny and comes off as a 1st grade school teacher saying 'freakin' and the class going "oooohh!". Its the pissy corporate way of conveying being 'extreme' or 'serious' in some way but not TOO serious and ensuring to keep with decorum. I can understand if someone says it once (and only once) while in conversation, but as a nickname? No bueno.