Current WWE

[sek69]

What makes the Sting/H angle even funnier is that it's being booked for the same smart internet fans Hunter buries in the segment with Booker. A very apt symbol of how WWE always wants to have their cake and eat it too.

[(BP)]

Involving WCW is a good idea as a promotional tool for the network. I'm getting the sense with the "Vigilante" stuff that they're trying to portray Sting as a Batman figure kids can gravitate to, which would create interest in their library beyond the older demographics. Of course, they're doing it in a shitty way with Hunter's snarky promos. I do hope we get a reappropriated version of that awesome troll video package from last year with Steiner, Booker, etc.

[Johnny Sorrow]

The Punk chant was the only thing I remember not liking because I don't see the point. The same crowd were "yessing" at Cena possibly being left off Mania and I'm fine with that cause it makes sense. I also only see the 90 minute HULU RAW. And there may have been some other stuff in even that I didn't like, I don't recall. But generally I prefer to talk about the stuff I like rather than talk about what I dislike. That's a waste of energy. And holy fuck, the fact that some of you get angry that someone enjoys something is a sign of mental illness.

[tigerpride]

The Punk chant was the only thing I remember not liking because I don't see the point. The same crowd were "yessing" at Cena possibly being left off Mania and I'm fine with that cause it makes sense. I also only see the 90 minute HULU RAW. And there may have been some other stuff in even that I didn't like, I don't recall. But generally I prefer to talk about the stuff I like rather than talk about what I dislike. That's a waste of energy. And holy fuck, the fact that some of you get angry that someone enjoys something is a sign of mental illness.

 

Reigns shouldn't be jobbing at all leading up to Wrestlemania and they've already jobbed him twice. He could destroy the bad guys at the end without having to lose.

 

 

 

The Punk chant was the only thing I remember not liking because I don't see the point.

 

It's been explained to you what the point is. It's a way of expressing frustration and also heeling on the people who run the company who drove Punk out.

[WingedEagle]

I also only see the 90 minute HULU RAW.

 

This is not insignificant. On most, if not all, nights, this means you're basically watching a different show. Usually better, but completely different.

[C.S.]

 

I also only see the 90 minute HULU RAW.

 

This is not insignificant. On most, if not all, nights, this means you're basically watching a different show. Usually better, but completely different.

 

 

And whose fault is that? Not his. I can't see any reason why WWE isn't airing the full show on Hulu. It's ridiculous.

[Jmare007]

Very interesting that they taped matches for the Network from tonight's NXT show in Ohio. It came out of nowhere and there's a couple of matches I really wanna watch.

[PeteF3]

Thoughts on NXT Columbus...TL;DR is that this was a kickass show with no dead spots and only a few bad spots.

- They had the full set-up going, with the usual Full Sail entrance and monitor (though no LCD ring apron, I don't think). Packed house that sold out almost immediately after tickets went on sale, so a crowd of 2,200 or so. Also, cameraman were all over the place so this show could well end up in part or in full on the Network.

- Triple H dropped by to open things. Shouldn't have been a surprise in retrospect given that this is tied to the Arnold Classic but the crowd liked it.

- Itami/Balor vs. The Vaudevillains. No body paint for Balor--I was secretly hoping for a Brutus Buckeye motif, but that'd probably be too much to ask for. Short but the most traditional and old-school-feeling match of the night. This was a smark crowd, as you'd expect, but they went along and booed the Vaudevillains--didn't seem malicious as compared to what was to come. Itami teased the GTS--again, and got cut off--again. He worked a short but effective FIP segment and Balor wiped out both guys after getting the hot tag.

- Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks. Bliss is from Columbus so she got the hometown pop and had lots of family there, but Banks was even more over (lots of out-of-towners, too, so not everyone felt the hometown connection nor did they all go along with Corey Graves' "O-H!" chant). Another short match but Bliss busted out a ton of roll-up variations, which was fun. She hit Banks with a baseball slide to the floor and then something happened--unfortunately in the GA section seeing any action on the floor was a longshot, but Bliss won by countout. Crowd didn't like that ending at all, but it was refreshing to see someone *not* get jobbed out at home.

- Tyson Kidd vs. Baron Corbin. Hostile reaction to Corbin with a lot of Kidd fans. Kidd did lots of classic heel stalling for awhile, as the traditional count-the-seconds game petered out, then played hit-and-run. This was actually a good match, but it was a total Kidd broomstick job and the crowd shit on Corbin in a big way. Naturally he won it with the End of Days. For some reason this was the longest match of the first part of the show.

- Big Cass vs. Wesley Blake. Amore & co. were WAY over and the crowd recited their usual rap word-for-word, then Amore asked "the Australian guy" to "didgeridoo himself a favor" and skedaddle-- Amore definitely has a gift for getting over even the cheesiest lines. You can pencil in Blake/Murphy vs. Amore/Cass for the next Takeover show, I'm guessing. That said, while Cass does engage the crowd a bit better, I'm otherwise at a loss as to why he was so over while they shit on Corbin, because he definitely didn't look any better. Cass had Blake down for the Empire Elbow, but Murphy distracted him allowing Blake to roll him up and win. Pretty mild reaction for the tag champs.

- Ryback vs. The Big Show. Or, How to Almost Kill a Hot Show in One Match. Crowd was NOT appreciative of seeing either of these two, and they generally worked lighter and looser than some of the WWF guys I'd see in a half-empty Columbus Convention Center in the late '80s. A sampling of crowd chants: "CM Punk," "Captain Insano," "Feed Me S'mores," and so on. Show, to his credit, rolled with the punches--at one point he addressed calls to retire by bringing up his guaranteed contract, which got the crowd laughing and prompted a "Ten More Years" chant. After about 3 or 4 more near-falls than were necessary Ryback mercifully ended this. This match actually wasn't terrible at all and was well laid out in a vacuum, but it had no place here and the crowd never gave it a chance. Presumably this was booked because Ryback appeals to the juiceheads flocking to Columbus this time of year for the Arnold Expo and so BIg Show could be appreciated by said juiceheads seeing Just How Big He Was Live™.

- Intermission. Buy shit! Not at $25 for a t-shirt, though. *Two* Network ads, because a hardcore NXT audience is one that really needed to be sold on buying WWE Network.

- Kalisto vs. Tyler Breeze. This brought the crowd back--for whatever reason I was expecting a semi-hostile reaction to Kalisto but that didn't happen. Big pop for the entrance, lots of "LU-CHA" chants. Breeze was over too, and we had lots of "Not the Face!" and "That Was Gorgeous!" chants throughout the match. I didn't notice until now that Breeze's phone provides a live feed direct to the NXT video board, which is terrific. I couldn't help but notice by this point that the match layouts were starting to get very samey--shine, heel chinlock, comeback. With almost EVERY transition revolving around some sort of kick. It's replaced the ducked clothesline in the WWE Style. Breeze countered the Salida del Sol and hit him with the Beauty Shot to win.

- Ric Flair surprised everyone by coming out--he remarked that he used to constantly come here to rag on the Buckeyes but as national champions, he couldn't even do that anymore. That led to Charlotte vs. Bailey which was easily the best match of the night to this point. At one point Bailey rammed Charlotte into all four turnbuckles and Charlotte topped it with a Flair Flop. Followed by a neat transition where an overexcited Bailey ran over to high-five Ric, only for Charlotte to level her from behind. Bailey is proof that the "just wants to have fun" character CAN work, if the performer believes in it AND can back it up in the ring, which she can. Charlotte won with the Natural selection.

- Alex Riley vs. Kevin Owens. The reaction to Riley was mostly one of confusion, despite this match being set up on the last NXT show. Owens was over huge, the biggest or maybe the second-biggest pop of the show at this point behind Balor. Just an extended squash with Owens decisively putting him away with a pop-up power bomb. Afterward Balor came out and brawled with Owens, with Owens rolling away and bailing before Balor could hit the double stomp.

- Sami Zayn came out to address the crowd. He wasn't "medically cleared" to wrestle yet, but delivered a pretty fiery and passionate promo in support of NXT that the crowd ate up. He dropped the dreaded "wrestling" word, but asked the crowd not to get him in trouble when a "BETTER THAN RAW" chant started.

- Main event was Adrian Neville vs. Cesaro. I should note that no matches were announced before this, just a list of names appearing, all of which were the usual NXT gang, so Kidd and Cesaro were both surprises. This was the match of the night and is something I hope turns up on the Network so I can get reactions from others--sometimes it's hard to objectively rate a match live, especially one with as much crowd support as this. The usual dueling chants and "This is Awesome" stuff, but the smarky crowd never got overwhelming to the point of me wishing for a Great White-style inferno to consume them, either. Unfortunately I missed the spot that got the biggest reaction, which was Neville attempting a moonsault off the guardrail only for something to happen to him and Cesaro to throw him back in for a near-fall. It got a huge ovation, though, whatever it was. Cesaro did a fucking awesome job tying Neville up into knots and keeping him grounded while also tearing up his back. We got a tease of the Swing, an actual Swing, and a good comeback by Neville climaxing with him hitting a huracanrana off the entrance stage. We started getting a little spotty at this point, as the guys moved into a highspot/lie and sell/highspot pattern, but it worked and the spots hit. Neville tried for a Frankensteiner off the top, but Cesaro blocked it and was about to hit a top-rope Ricola Bomb, only for Neville to counter that and hit the Frankensteiner anyway. Neville popped up and went for the Red Arrow, but Cesaro got up and crotched him on the turnbuckle, then pulled him off and Neutralized him for the pin.

- After ovations for both guys and a thank-you from Jojo, end of show. From the quick ticket sales and positive fan reaction I have to think that if plans continue for NXT to tour outside Florida, that their promise to return to Columbus "sooner than later" will come true. As cynical as I am about modern WWE, I'm all for it. NXT isn't quite perfect but this blew away the two lousy PPVs we got at Nationwide Arena, to say nothing of your average '80s-'90s house show. This was a motivated locker room who were all setting out to perform well, in front of a much larger-than-usual crowd.

[Mad Dog]

You forgot the best part of that Owens/Balor brawl was Owens getting that last stomp in on a beat up Riley as he left the ringside area.

 

Really fun show. Main event was great and I thought the Charlotte/Bayley match was really good while it lasted.

 

The Cesaro vs. Neville spot was, Neville went for a moonsault off the guard rail, Cesaro caught him and then just tossed him neck first onto the guard rail. I was in the balcony on that side so it was hard to see.

[PeteF3]

Yeah, I was stuck in GA which is a mistake I won't repeat next time. Every time the action spilled outside or someone made an entrance, the VIP fans stood up much to our annoyance. I completely missed that Owens stomp for that reason. Hell, I couldn't even tell--was Owens continuing to attack Riley afterward and Balor made a save, or did Balor just come out because he's the Next Challenger?

 

Edit: Rob McCarron of Shake Them Ropes is saying this will air on 4/22. Hopefully it's the whole show (minus Show/Ryback which I'm assuming will be dark). Everyone deserves a chance to see Cesaro/Neville.

[shoe]

Look I watch Hulu. They capture the main event picture. The main thing you don't get from it is how bad they under cut the non main eventers like the Dolphs. Still you realize how bad they've under cut the mid card. The backstage stuff is kept to a minimum. The divas pretty much don't exist. The really bad stuff gets cut unless it's with the main eventers.

[Mad Dog]

Owen was trying to powerbomb Riley on the floor when Balor came out.

[Mad Dog]

I'm hoping if they bring NXT back they would run the Ice Haus. The LC Pavilion was interesting but I think there were too many bad seats.

[cm funk]

Look I watch Hulu. They capture the main event picture. The main thing you don't get from it is how bad they under cut the non main eventers like the Dolphs. Still you realize how bad they've under cut the mid card. The backstage stuff is kept to a minimum. The divas pretty much don't exist. The really bad stuff gets cut unless it's with the main eventers.

 

Johnny would probably have nothing but positive vibes about the full 3 hour shows, and I get being upbeat and positive and not wasting your energy on negativity, I try to be the same way......but a RAW cut in half on Hulu is a completely different thing from 3+ hours live on Monday......

 

I didn't have strong feelings one way or the other on RAW.....but I did think the segment with Steph and Cena was really, really bad.......and I was so burnt out/bored/annoyed by the show that I just turned it off before the main event....because I didn't care. That's very rare for me. There was some stuff I liked on the show......I always find little things to be entertained by.....but overall the direction of the product feels hopeless. I feel bad for Reigns.....but it's not like we all didn't predict this last year

[cm funk]

I did find it interesting that Alvarez HATED this RAW, while Dave thought it was one of the better shows in months (which I don't get at all, but to each their own). When discussing the show Dave did seem to agree with almost all of Bryan's points, but still contended that it was a good show.

[cm funk]

Also, it's amazing how bad they've botched it with Orton. First they have him leaving to do a movie right when the fans are white hot and at a fever pitch for him (did the same with Ambrose as well), then wait way too long to bring him back.....then "swerve" us by having him swerve the authority into thinking he's in their camp.....which in theory sounds good but in practice has just cooled down Orton considerably and crowds aren't buying or into the angle

 

Jon Stewart was great though, I do have to say that

[Fantastic]

Even though it might pose issues with some of the veteran guys, namely the whole "how come they are getting a spot on the biggest card of the year and I'm not?" kind of issue, I think it would be cool to have some kind of NXT showcase at Mania. Perhaps a big tag team match (4v4?) where some of NXT's top prospects take on members of the regular roster. It could be the Mania dark match opener, and would serve to not only introduce a massive audience to NXT, but also the provide the NXT talent the opportunity of working in front of a colossal crowd.

[Mad Dog]

The balcony seating was interesting. My friend and I were at a table in like high bar stools. My back hurts today though.

 

Just as an aside, I saw at least 5 or 6 Bullet Club shirts in the crowd.

[goodhelmet]

Lance Storm made a great point about the idiocy of HHH's trolling of internet fans. In order for the WWE to succeed long term, they need the hardcore, internet savvy fan to engage in their ONLINE NETWORK and support their ONLINE product. He contrasted this with Paul Heyman who made the ECW fans babyfaces and put the fans over, didn't shit on them for not buying what the company was selling. With the exception of Johnny Sorrow and 4 year olds, being bitter at your fans who don't accept your booking decision is a bad long-term strategy in building your network.

[Hollinger.]

Hugh Morrus has stepped down from his role, according to Hugh Morrus.

[Fantastic]

Hugh Morrus has stepped down from his role, according to Hugh Morrus.

 

He also denied the allegations and claimed that this was an act designed to prevent further damage to the reputation of WWE, or something.

 

 

 

I deny the recent allegations made about me, however, to avoid any embarrassment or damage to the WWE, I've decided to step down from my role effective immediately.

 

Clearly, he's resigning because should an investigation probe be launched, it's likely they'll turn up something big in favor of the allegations, which would not only publicize the truth about Demott, but also make WWE look incredibly bad. I'm also getting the "re-sign and we'll take care of you, maybe bring you back when it blows over" vibe from WWE here.

[Coffey]

Lance Storm made a great point about the idiocy of HHH's trolling of internet fans. In order for the WWE to succeed long term, they need the hardcore, internet savvy fan to engage in their ONLINE NETWORK and support their ONLINE product. He contrasted this with Paul Heyman who made the ECW fans babyfaces and put the fans over, didn't shit on them for not buying what the company was selling. With the exception of Johnny Sorrow and 4 year olds, being bitter at your fans who don't accept your booking decision is a bad long-term strategy in building your network.

 

I said it here before Lance Storm ever said it. Grumble, grumble. <_>

 

 

I don't understand Triple H constantly taking shots at "internet fans." I mean, the entirety of RAW has a hashtag in the top left hand corner. WWE shills WWE.com & the WWE app the entirety of the show. Every wrestler that comes out has a Twitter handle. You need the internet to watch the WWE Network.

 

It's just so stupid.

 

Like, does he think "the internet" is still something that only a handful of people have? Their entire viewing audience is on the internet. Everyone with a cell phone has the internet.

 

[Mini Bennett]

You guys are idiots.

 

Triple H insulting the Internet isn't to get you to stop watching. They already have your money and you aren't going anywhere no matter how much you may claim otherwise. WWE are at least smart enough to realise WrestleMania will be full of "smart" fans, so insulting them is just a simple measure of making sure he's booed come March 31.

 

I'm honestly shocked you guys are worked so easily.

[Coffey]

Triple H throws out one-liners insulting the internet because he wants to be booed at Wrestlemania by smart fans. Smart fans that don't give a fuck to watch Triple H or Sting wrestle in the first place. That can surely not backfire.

 

Triple H is, at least partially, responsible for a lot of the success of NXT, which the majority of smart fans seem to really enjoy & give him credit for.

 

I don't think it's that black-and-white. It never is. I'm just an idiot guy getting worked though. Me and Lance Storm.

[Mini Bennett]

"Smart fans that don't give a fuck to watch Triple H or Sting wrestle in the first place."

 

You and Lance Storm are wrong, because this match sure isn't garnered to a casual audience. And yep, you're being worked. 110% and they made it look easy.