Ready_Willing_Gable

ergh, this hilarious sarcastic post again. afaic, he can big himself up all he wants in the future if he makes people care about his midcard again, which is the #1 fault in the product atm in regards to staleness at the top and uhm, yes, the midcard. he can call himself god if he fixes that, why would I really give a shit? My personal opinion is that I would rather not have an authority figure at this time, maybe bringing Shane back would be a better fit. I'm not keen on how twwener his role seems to be atm, but you know when people make that point they're purely talking about what he's proven as a booker? No need to be a sarcy turd.

yeah, the storyline is terrible and just shows why you have someone like him at the top, he can make anything entertaining. Better 20 min opening promo than Raw's done in ages. Obviously they spoiled that later in the episode by having a Dollhouse segment featuring A God Damned Gun

I recently watched all WWE 04 PPVs cos I'm made of steel and though there's some good picks for pointless shit; Great American Bash, Armageddon, Survivor Series, but the worst had to be Taboo Tuesday. Just a waste of time, was the only major PPV I actually gave a miss to the next year Also on the topic of Survivor Series, I wouldn't say it fits quite the category of 'pointless' cos the Bret/Owen feud began here, but man was Survivor Series '93 was such a slog, as was most 93 WWF to be fair, but SS was a real chore. The Hart rivalry might have started there but that match stunk. FOUR long elimination slogs, one of them a worst match of year contender Bam Bam, The Headshrinkers & Bastion Booger v Men On A Mission & The Bushwahackers dressed as Doink The Clown - the ugliest match visually ever conceived, Vince probably thought this one up in some kind of evil laboratory. The only mildly enjoyable or interesting bit really was the fact it had a SMW tag titles match on it, which is like.... okay? The opener feat. 123 Kid & Razor could've been passable if they'd built it as main event, rather than the MURRICA V FORRENERS they obviously went for.

She's also, apparently, not great at speaking English. Much like KENTA, before injury, I feel like it is going to hold her back too. I'm not entirely sure why WWE seems so hell bent on trying to make people that aren't good speaking talk all the time. Why does KENTA or Kana for that matter, have to ever cut a promo? Just give them a mouth piece. That worked for years in pro-wrestling. Hell, it still works. Look at Paul Heyman with Brock Lesnar. Brock doesn't have to say a word. I'll take a wait-and-see approach, of course, but I wouldn't be shocked to see WWE kill the mystique of Kana by trying to have her cut an English promo in front of the NXT crowd, like they did with Hideo. Yeah, agreed. It's a real shame managers are getting more and more sparse atm. The business has evolved but it hasn't evolved that much that the odd worker doesn't need a mouthpiece. One of the things I hope to see in the next few years is a new manager-boom. Paul Heyman is not the only guy who can do that job!

Totally agree. Watching him lose the title match in what IIRC was a convoluted NWO rehash with literally zero energy or conviction from Nash & Hall and obviously that offended me more than the result of the match. But by the time he turned heel I was fully facepalming. At least with a shitty NWO rehash you can understand what the hell they were trying to do, cos Brown was still over and only a promoted AJ Styles or at a stretch Jeff Hardy would be a better face contender for the future, even with the loss. With Brown out of the equation it was a bleak outlook. Those early proper PPVs could've been seriously fondly remembered with some sense in the main event scene, even with the lowercards as they were, cos there was a lot of interesting guy v uninteresting guy in there, with obviously mixed results, but the X Division was on point and so were a few of the tag teams. Even when I was a fanboy I couldn't comprehend the main events 90% of the time, mostly just dismissed them. Who knows I could even still be drinking the kool-aid today if they had a World title scene that felt like it mattered at the right time

To actually narrow down to five this time: 1. Dalton Castle 2. Sasha Banka 3. New Day 4. Tomohiro Ishii 5. The Briscoes

Doesn't matter how many times I see it, a bridged german suplex always makes me do a spit-take and usually so does the impending 2 count. And as for a chickenwing.. forget about it, I'm going mad Any big/good modern matches that have a superplex as the finish? I'd quite like to see it from time to time.

I've been revisiting TNA going from their first PPV (not the weekly one's, I'm not made of stone), bearing in mind the last time I watched these it was at the time and I ignored all the pap and still called TNA the best. I can take the shoddy lowercard and that, but man those World title matches. Overbooked grot. It's not even 'oh, fucking Jarrett kept the belt again' cos most of the challengers weren't really cut out to beat him at that time. It was that even if somehow Jarrett and Nash are working a pretty good match, endless ref-bumps and Attitude Era interferences everywhere. Making sure that match was ruined for every single person watching. I even thought this at the time but y'know...TNA! TNA TNA! But in Jarrett's title match with DDP, it's clear they were running out of viable face contenders, so the decision to turn Monty Brown heel at the end of that match was just gobsmacking. It's bad enough they didn't capitalize on his momentum by giving him the title, they fucking turned him heel? He was one of the strongest runs and characters they ever had in a Heavyweight 'TNA guy'... PERIOD! Spotlighting the cruiserweights in such a way WWE wouldn't have dreamt of back then was a solid business plan, no doubt. But they didn't have the vision to see that through 99% of the time. It's a shame ROH at the time didn't get the same exposure as their main event plan was wonderfully mapped out from the first show, and then they would have been able to keep their best if TNA wasn't considered the bigger deal.

BREEAK! BREEAK! BREEAAK!

I won't be able to watch until HULU tomorrow, but I assume a rotund and amazingly handsome bald man hopped the guard rails and proceeded to be incredibly funny and charming? some guy in a mask started walking down the ramp with Rollins for his entrance for a split second Also, shout outs to the guy who gave The Big Show an utterly pointless thump on the arm

I'm just gonna list wrestlers currently wrestling regularly in a major promotion, and I'm judging them on current ability. If I listed people I like to watch and reflect on in general, or even past favourites who are still chuggin on today, I'll be here too long WWE: Cesaro - the man inside the ring in this company right now, I rarely gravitate towards wrestlers who admittedly have little going for them on the mic. But it's cool to see him with a bit of momentum, and carving out a bit of a niche. It's chilled a bit in recent weeks, but still a fav. John Cena - in all honesty, he's a little below absolute fav, but I included him because I nearly always enjoy him and also to balance out the rest of my picks looking 'smarky', cos I'm not like that - don't pigeon-hole me! I think online ingrates spoiling his act just stinks. Great wrestler, and currently the man to beat on the microphone Kevin Owens - Microphone-wise, when he's on, he's on fire. And needless to say a box of tricks in the ring New Day - ANTICS! crazy fun and charisma off the charts. Maybe Cena isn't necessarily the best on the mic atm. Sasha Banks - The most rounded of all the women on WWE's books. If I didn't already respect her having the 2 or 3 best women's matches in company history, hearing her on Y2J's podcast talking about her growing up a wrestling fan, at the same time as I was, witnessing the bra n panties garbage etc. then to actually start her career path, rejecting the 'diva style' and playing a huge influence on the gradual changing of mindsets regarding women in wrestling. She's an innovator, an inspiration to women and a hell of a worker. NXT: Bayley - liked her anyway, great babyface, but I'm a fan for life after Takeover Brooklyn Chad Gable - everyone's compared the guy to Kurt Angle already, for his background, look, wrestling style, humour and charisma but also Kurt Angle was one of the fastest people to take to the industry. From what we've seen, Gable has also picked things up really quickly. Enzo & Cass - again, everyone's compared this team to N.A.O. I think they can better the N.A.O personally. That act always seemed so foreign to me, but weirdly enough with all this Brooklyn garb I don't understand at all, they just connect with me. I think it's because by all accounts they really do seem to BE their characters, nothing phoned in about it. When I first caught their entrance on NXT I was like "huh? people chant every word to this? it's like 30 words! this can't have been going on long, surely?", now I'M chanting every word Kana - this is cheating because I really haven't seen as much as I should have watched, but from what I have seen; the women's division is in for a hell of a shake-up Sami Zayn - His Raw debut actually felt underrated to me - I had no idea which way they were gonna go with it, Zayn pulled out some gold. The intro by Bret. Just a perfect debut, that.. Considering he wore a mask for so long he's so good at showing emotion, he'll be one of the top workers and top babyfaces for quite a while to come I think. Tommaso Ciampa - hasn't wrestled on NXT TV yet but I have high hopes from what I've seen elsewhere. 'Energy' probably best sums up this guy. Couldn't say for sure he's a WWE guy, but I'm rooting for him Tyler Breeze - adore the gimmick. He's perfected it and plays it to a tee. He should be on Raw by now, he's spent like half a decade in developmental now I think. Not sure if everyone likes this idea but I'd consider sticking him in a quick tag tean with The Miz so he can get a leg up on the main roster. I actually like The Miz though so you have to take that into account. TNA: Ethan Carter III - how? How did TNA end up with him in their laps? And even more amazingly, how come they're using him so well? To clarify he's not one of my favourite workers or someone I'll push people over to watch wrestle, but man, those mic skills. It's astounding to me WWE didn't want him. ROH: Dalton Castle - '95 era Golddust....Billy & Chuck....Rico....The Christopher Street Connection... probably loads more I can't recall... your homophobic arses took one hell of a beating! THE gimmick atm in my view. The charisma resonating from this man is unbelievable. Though don't make TNA's mistake and put him with girls instead of the boys. Idiots. Dalton's boys are on the line in his Silas match, and I'm nervous just thinking about it. Now that's a gimmick. "IT'S ABOUT TIME SOMEBODY CAME AND MADE THIS WORLD COLOURFUL!". Jay Briscoe - crazy watching this guy's growth since the start of ROH. Actually I'll name drop both Briscoes here because both transformed from a couple of wrestling brothers to a shit-hot tag team with awesome character value that fans always want to see. And what can be a rarity for tag wrestlers is standing out in the singles scene which Jay has done brilliantly. Jay Lethal - A solid 9 on the mic and 8.5 in the ring. I've really enjoyed seeing his rise in stature over the past year. I loved his TV Title reign with the "this title means the world, because I have it" promos that really helped put over that belt for me. If I was in charge of recruitment at WWE, he'd be the next person I spoke to. Kyle O'Reilly - I like reDRagon but this guy is above all that four corner tag team stuff in my book. The match with KUSHIDA is always gonna stand out but I've seen this guy have some belters. And I really rate him more as a singles competitor than a tag guy, even being in ROH where the tag scene is as good as anywhere atm. Needs work on his promos but I always have time for the scrawny looking wrestler who just goes out and kicks heads in. Cos that's me. Well, the scrawny looking part. NJPW: AJ Styles - I'll admit, 04-05 TNA was a big influence on me in terms of seeking wrestling outside WWE. I resisted adding Joe who has declined a little, and Daniels who is still really good, but the level this guy has stayed at is unreal. I'd never guess he was 38, where as the other two I mentioned do come off as veterans. And while he's not The Rock or anything, his promos and character value have improved immensely since that time. It's both surprising and unsurprising that WWE didn't go for him after he sent feelers out after leaving TNA. Katsuyori Shibata - I'm no MMA nut or anything, but this guy's style connects with me. Possibly the most consistent performer in the last G1 in terms of all of his matches being at least pretty good. He was the best at working the 'man v lamp-post' style matches with Fale etc. He should've probably got a bigger rub out of that tournament, but man am I looking forward to his match with Naito Shinsuke Nakamura - my personal fav of the 'Big 3'. Tana isn't far behind realistically but something about Shinsuke gives him that extra edge in support for me. I'm not even certain why I favour him. I guess his charisma resonates with me even stronger than Tanahashi Tomohiro Ishii - OOF. Quite simply he's had some of the most brutal matches that I've ever seen (that didn't have a drop of blood in them). He just looks the part, the guy looks impossible to knock over. There's a few guys on New Japan's roster who do the strong style and it's like 'eh so what' but Ishii has never come off as lacklustre. His matches with Makabe and Honma rightfully come in for so much praise, but my fav is probably the match with Naito at The New Beginning in Osaka. Also the G1 matches he had towards the end of the tournament, firstly with Honma, then Michael Elgin (who, if he stays in NJPW long-term, he could be making my future list. But if he stays in ROH, he won't). Just crazy I was going to do an 'other companies' section but I can't really think of anybody else I really hold to that standard. Edit - also I didn't read the word 'five'. Well, I ain't unwriting that shit.

Won't Kane be after Lesnar who put him out?

I could kind of sum up what got me into wrestling as a kid and it'd be pretty similar to a lot of the answers here. I think I remained a fan into adulthood (which nearly didn't happen because at one point I felt like I outgrew it, before deciding that attitude was probably a pretentious attitude to have and I got myself to check a WrestleMania and was hooked again) because I simply know so much, took so much information in. It's like how you can never forget to swim or ride a bike once you've learned, you can stop watching wrestling for a bit, return, and the scene has changed so much that it's become even more intriguing than it used to be. I try to explain my new old passion to the uninitiated but it just comes out "Well, they're all these characters fighting. They've got all these moves... And they talk a lot too. Which is important. Look, those two are dressed up like old-time gentlemen. Yes, I take this very seriously" It's difficult to explain why I care, I'd put it down to the sheer variety of people it displays. You still need to be athletic but Ilike you'll have your Spike Dudleys, your Big Shows. I like analysing (or at least trying to) their ability in different areas, and was always fascinated by the crazy real-life element of it too. When you're not tuning into a show like Raw, it's tantalizingly interesting to read how things played out behind the scenes. Like I remember the 2005 Royal Rumble, with the Cena/Batista debacle and Vince's two torn quads. Somehow watching at the time i thought it was supposed to play out like that, only when I read up on it did it become the funniest thing in ages. I'm always fascinated by how close a wrestling match/show tows the line of having one small fuck-up that could pretty much ruin the whole thing.

Rusev vs Dalton Castle main eventing WrestleMania 37! no titles on the line, all for ownership of the boys book that shit, future Hunter

Haha, I vividly remember that Benjamin Zephaniah poem at school too. U mean Tchaikovsky sit down at dah piano an mix a black key wid a white key is a half-caste symphony???????

I agree with you mostly, but getting across on the mic has never managed to ease the Cena heat. If they have Roman what they're teasing he's going to be in future, 'those' fans won't ease on him whether he sounds like The Rock or what

Dramatic Effect

Oh, shaddap mardy arse. They're having fun, we're having fun. And they still play the snivelling heels beautifully

So WWE is just plagiarizing ROH now? EXACTLY the same scenario as the Jay Lethal stuff. Hell, ROH All-Star Extravanganza (a.k.a. the WWE creative team brainstorm) is on 2 days before Night of Champions, may as well copy whatever happens there too. I don't like the tweener Authority stuff either, and Sting's promo stunk considering what happened at Mania. Cena was great though. How fucking bad is the latest Lana/Ziggler developments? Does ANYONE care about this stunted melodrama. The absolute shits. Apart from that and my heart palpitations wondering whether Paige would beat Sasha in 1:40, Raw was fine I guess.

a lengthy 6-person tag =/= a lengthy singles match

I feel like, she's possibly the most complete package since Cena, if that doesn't sound too crazy. I think Charlotte can get really big eventually, booking would be key for that one though Enzo & Cass, Chad Gable immediately stand out to me as superstars New Day could be legendary status already at this point too if kept together. Even if they split, I think Big E and Xavier could have huge futures Not bothered about trying to figure out what nostalgia acts will still be around, it's all pot luck, and apparently nobody ever really retires so that's anybody's guess.

well no, it's evidently Cena in that role, and that's where a good portion, obviously not all, of the backlash comes from

There's lots of people who do exactly that. I see 'em all over places like Facebook, Youtube comments, and every other non-hardcore-fan website which attracts the general mainstream public. We're truly living in a bubble here if we believe that everyone is booing Cena ironically. I never said that, I know he has a lot of genuine haters. Just nor is it a black & white love/hate situation, lots of people have very mixed feelings on him. The genuine haters for a lot of the part are made up of net trolls, and adolescents who just discovered there's another wrestling company called Ring Of Honor. Not particularly the most outgoing types.

I have seen people chanting "John Cena sucks" at the top of their lungs and then the moment John Cena opens his mouth and something entertaining comes out, they're laughing and applauding him with the rest. A big portion of 'Cena sucks' fans don't really think he sucks, they just don't like his position I'm assuming. For reasons like given in the OP. I feel sorry for wrestling fans who pay to go to a show and genuinely think Cena isn't talented enough to be where he is, those lads are generally on wrestlezone.com or something

I wouldn't consider taking those belts off New Day right now, but let's not get all up in arms before anything's happened. It's better than them facing PTP again, and the other teams are basically jobbers in comparison. Enzo & Cass was an option but this was a great way of elevating that division in a split second. Even if Dudleyz won which I agree would be wrong, it's still a better looking scene than it was last Sunday