WWE Fastlane

[Matt D]

 

 

Just got home from Maltese Falcon. Playing catch up. Did they build up the half crab at all to make it seem like a potential danger spot for Charlotte? Has anyone tapped out to a half crab since Lance Storm was in WCW in 00?

I don't think that was the point, it was just an opportunistic counter. Brie had the Yes Lock on but Ric was looking to put Charlotte's leg on the rope, so Brie grabbed the leg to transition to the crab to keep her away from the ropes, and Ric.

I literally came in on the crab so that makes sense. Thanks.

[Jimmy Redman]

Funny, in an entire match full of tributes, it was probably the most Bryan-like thing she's ever done.

[JerryvonKramer]

One tiny thing I was thinking about is of the leverage on the figure 8 would actually hurt more than the figure 4.

[The Chief]

I really, really, really don't like Game Genie Brock Lesnar. I miss watching him wrestle actual matches.

[JaymeFuture]

Scattered thoughts after watching the show last night:

 

Network feed was easily the worst it's been for any PPV show I can remember.

 

Brie's cradle was a disgrace to Mr. Small Package

 

The New Day/E&C stuff was going alright until they felt the need to shoehorn in the League of Nations for a useless cameo. Felt like it fell off a cliff as soon as they came out.

 

Glad Styles went over, and the match with Jericho was damn good, but I can't help but feel that they don't work smoothly together. In fact, it looked like a potato/receipt fest almost the whole way thought. Then again, Jericho tends to lay it in and AJ's always snug as a bug, so maybe it's just natural. Either way, bit of clunkyness at times, but hellafun.

 

I laughed my ass off at Show, Kane and Ryback inexplicably winning and it looking like the Wyatts were just falling apart at the end, with Rowan clutching his knee on the floor like he was legit injured, Harper dropped right on his shoulder at the finish and screaming "OWW!", and Brown Snowman just getting laid to waste. I can't be the only one that saw this show and thought they had second thoughts on Wyatt/Lesnar. Assuming Snowman eliminates all three of these in the Andre Battle Royal.

 

I wonder what the $1.6 million man thought about losing in the pre-show, watching Tamina and the Social Outcasts make the PPV.

 

I actually really liked the main event. Didn't have the creativity or spectacular highs of the Rumble 3 Way, but that was a remarkable standard to be compared too (for my money it's one of the best triple threats ever done). The crowd was exactly as expected - Lesnar getting over like God by acting like him in the match, Ambrose getting far more support than Reigns. I think all the talk of Reigns' goose being cooked is premature - it's not like we didn't know this would happen as soon as they announced this match, we got exactly what we expected. The thing that fucks it is that I don't know what metric they're really looking at to gauge Reigns as a success or failure. They seem blissfully in denial with the state of the Raw ratings, I don't hear that his merch does particularly well, house shows are steady but that's about it. If things go up, we'll know about it. If things stay on the existing course, even if its downward course, I don't see them changing much because malaise is the auto-setting right now.

 

Still, you look at Reigns and HHH at the end and think "that's the big match for the Mania that's supposed to break the record. Huh".

[Grimmas]

I see a lot of people complain about the feed and I never have issues. My internet isn't that great or am I just lucky? I think a lot of people blame the network for their spotty internet or maybe they are using the internet for a lot of other things which would slow down the network. I'm not sure.

[JerryvonKramer]

I didn't have a single problem last night.

 

I also ended up watching all of the Edge and Christian show before I passed out. Mild(est) recommendation actually.

[The Man in Blak]

In my experience, the Network performance is really uneven across devices - I never have any trouble with my Roku or my phone, but the PS3 frequently stutters and jumps backwards in the broadcast. Even now, as I'm rewatching the PPV, it's jumping around a fair amount on PS3. (Which is unfortunate, since the PS3 version of the Network app might have the best interface out of all of them.)

[Scarlet-Left]

The network was on the fritz for me, it kept jumping backwards and then forwards by fifteen seconds at random intervals. I didn't get to see much of the pre-show match, but it certainly felt like it deserved to be on the main show.

 

I've just finished watching it now.

 

...

The women's tag match was enjoyable and, in terms of being easy to watch, maybe the best thing on the show (it didn't go too long, everyone looked credible and there was more than enough heat). Have booking duties passed to someone else, because this is miles ahead of those cluster-fuck three-way six man tags from last year?

 

...

I hate Ziggler's look. Even the denim was better than this. As a Curt Hennig fan, it's painful to see him in this position. He's someone who could, easily, be booked to look strong and get heat (he's got the body, the smart fan appeal, the solid basics, it's all there). God! Also, why did the champion come out first? This is the second time in a row they've done this to KO!

 

...

The six man was good, in and of itself. But it feels so pointless! Basically, they're telling us that Wyatt picked a find with a random bunch of guys (two of which should probably have retired by now) and lost, even with a man advantage. To borrow a phrase from Jim Cornette, where are we?!

 

...

The divas' (Christ!) match was good enough, for what it was. Charlotte deserved to retain, and I was a little worried they'd give Bella a quick reign. Some weak offence from Bella, but not too much; we aren't talking about the second coming of Survivor Jenna.

 

...

AJ Styles is still the best in the world. Chris Jericho, however, is not. If this'd have been AJ versus 1995/6 WAR Jericho, I'd have blown my load. I hate, hate, hate the commentary for Styles' matches. They're likening him to, essentially, a rookie who just had a big break in Japan, as opposed to an established name who went there when he was already a big deal. They don't even have to mention TNA by name; they could say he worked for Jerry Jarrett or "the competition" or something.

 

I hope this feud ends soon, and they put AJ in with someone who can keep up. I'm being one hundred percent serious when I say I'd prefer him to work with Stardust. But there's loads of guys who could give him great matches; Owens, Neville, Breeze, Ziggler (if they pull him out of the hole he's been buried in), ADR, Balor (once he's up), Kofi, Sandow and Darren Young.

 

Also, I stand by the fact that Styles versus Undertaker is money.

 

...

R-Truth versus Curtis Axel sucked. It felt like the opener of an episode of Superstars. Why did they get a match on the main show? It shouldn't have even been on the pre-show. I'd have put Tyler Breeze versus Stardust on the pre-show (why weren't either of them on the card?) and given this spot to Del Rio. It, honestly, felt like one of the previous matches must've just blown their finish, and the road agents threw this out there to kill time.

 

...

The main event, in terms of in-ring action, was good. In terms of booking, it was a mess. Who're we supposed to root for? Brock Lesnar was the underdog, overcoming the odds, and Dean Ambrose was the home-state hero. Did they expect people to cheer for Roman Reigns? I've said it before, and I'll say it again, how does Hunter versus Reigns sell even a single ticket that Hunter versus Ambrose couldn't? Why won't they pull the trigger on Dean? What have they got to lose?

 

After watching this show, which is, essentially, a go-home show for Wrestlemania (especially for fans, like me, who can't/don't keep up with Raw and Smackdown properly), I'm less interested in the prospective card than I was going in. That's bad.

[DMJ]

Went to the show last night, so here's a "live report"...

 

* Packed house. Not a legit sell-out, but the majority of quality seats were filled up. Lots of New Day chants before and after the show, which is really something considering that the last show I went to (MITB in Columbus last July, I think) had the same chants going on. New Day have been over for a long, long time.

 

* Surprised so many people on this board enjoyed the divas tag match. Tamina looked awful out there, I thought. Fans definitely wanted to see Sasha turn on Becky.

 

* Ziggler was announced from Hollywood, FL, which confused just about everyone. Is he just a heel now or what? Not getting announced from Cleveland (actual birthplace) seemed like a purposeful attempt to make sure he did not get as much crowd support as he usually gets…or Lillian screwed it up. Either way, crowd seemed 60-40 in favor of Dolph, but there were sizable Kevin Owens chants.

 

* AJ/Jericho got a half-hearted "This is Awesome" chant but lacked a real story. The crowd desperately wanted to love this match, but it was just good-not-great. Also, as over as AJ was/is, there were just as many Y2J fans. Maybe it came across better on TV...

 

* During the 6-man, it seemed like a quarter of the audience went to the bathroom, to the smoking patio, to get food, or to buy souvenirs.

 

* Lots of confusion about why Truth/Axel happened. Nobody saw it coming or enjoyed it.

 

* Edge & Christian and New Day had a great segment that crowd was enjoying until League of Nations showed up. It also seemed to end awkwardly with E & C and New Day being buddy-buddy after just hurling insults at each other moments before. After the League showed up, I think there was a feeling that some baby faces were going to come and help E & C clean house, but that never materialized.

 

* Brie Bella gave Tamina a run for sloppiest in-ring performer of the night. Flair got lots of Woos, but crowd was pretty much dead for the actual bout.

 

* Crowd woke up big time for main event - especially for Lesnar and Ambrose. I was genuinely surprised as to how loud the boos were for Reigns as Cleveland is generally not a "smart" town, usually giving Cena huge ovations with very little mixed reaction. I feel like last time WWE was in town, Reigns got plenty of cheers…but on this night, he was just positioned poorly against Ambrose (somewhat of a local guy as he's from Cincinatti) and Brock Lesnar (the absolute biggest star on the active roster). I'm not sure how it came across on TV, but Triple H's arrival got a mixed reaction of some cheers and some boos - but the boos weren't pro-Reigns as much as "This shit sucks" boos. I was one of those people that felt like Reigns was only getting jeered in places like Chicago and NY and that he was over like gangbusters in the midwest and elsewhere and that, essentially, the WWE just needed to ride things out, but after last night, I'm not sure I feel that way anymore. Last night's crowd was full of little kids, full of families, full of casual fans and die-hards and while Reigns had his supporters, Ambrose and Lesnar had more of them. It'll be interesting to see what they do with Reigns post-Mania because feuds with Ambrose, Lesnar, or a returning Cena or Rollins are only going to get him booed more. Hell, I'm not sure Owens wouldn't get 50% crowd support against him at this point.

 

 

Leaving the show, I don't think people were happy (shades of last year's TLC show). I think there was an expectation that there was going to be some sort of Mania build and there wasn't. I think everyone knew that Reigns would win, but didn't want to see it happen. I think there were fans expecting Taker, Cena, or Bryan to be there. I think there were fans, like myself, expecting The Miz to come out because it was his hometown and he was heavily involved in the AJ/Y2J feud. I think certain fans were surprised at how little Bray Wyatt did as most expected him to be involved in the main event. The inclusion of the Social Outcasts match made the show seem thrown together and not like an important special event. The match order was whack - the fans I talked to agreed that ADR/Kalisto, a US Title Match, deserved to be on the show over the 6-man or the Truth/Axel match or even the divas tag. There were just a lot of bad tastes left in people's mouths as they exited the show, many openly complaining about it.

[Scarlet-Left]

Ziggler was announced from Hollywood, FL, which confused just about everyone. Is he just a heel now or what? Not getting announced from Cleveland (actual birthplace) seemed like a purposeful attempt to make sure he did not get as much crowd support as he usually gets…or Lillian screwed it up. Either way, crowd seemed 60-40 in favor of Dolph, but there were sizable Kevin Owens chants.

Considering that the narrative of the match, according to the commentators, was that Ziggler just got humiliated in front of his friends and family, is there someone in the back who's got it out for him?

[Migs]

 

I don't know what it is, but even when they're not that good, the women's matches have been to only ones lately where I didn't feel like I was watching everyone work a match laid out for them by someone running TNM7. Different road agents?

 

 

Dolph Ziggler matches would have been an automatic **** on TNM7.

[Bix]

I didn't have a single problem last night.

From what I could gather on Twitter, European users weren't having any major issues. Deterrent servers and all that.

[Bix]

Odd to go after Ambrose for his performance in that match sense it's the least comical he's looked in months in a match.

I feel like he hadn't been doing the muscle spasm crowd appeal stuff that much?

[C.S.]

The reason Dolph isn't going anywhere - if I had to guess - is probably because he's a spoiled, pouty toddler. I do understand his frustrations, and he is not entirely wrong, but he acts like a whiny baby about them IMO.

 

Look at this vid, where he made Daniel Bryan's retirement all about his own grievances:

 

 

Someone pointed out that he was wearing his "jobbing frown" during the Owens match (I can't remember if I read that here or elsewhere). I didn't notice that because I'm no expert on Dolph's facial expressions, but it wouldn't surprise me.

 

Also, HBK hit the nail right on the head during the Stone Cold Podcast when he said Dolph tries to be like him (and others) but has never evolved past that. While I'm not sure that Dolph is an HBK clone necessarily, I do agree that he's the "greatest hits" of several of his favorites, but much lesser versions of all of them.

 

Edit: No problems with the feed here (Roku 3), but I started the show ten minutes late because I was cooking dinner.

[goodhelmet]

I see a lot of people complain about the feed and I never have issues. My internet isn't that great or am I just lucky? I think a lot of people blame the network for their spotty internet or maybe they are using the internet for a lot of other things which would slow down the network. I'm not sure.

 

 

I didn't have a single problem last night.

 

I also ended up watching all of the Edge and Christian show before I passed out. Mild(est) recommendation actually.

 

Foreigners

[Death From Above]

You guys are trying really hard to make me feel bad about having genuinely enjoying this show but I'm holding out so far.

[Bierschwale]

I really, really, really don't like Game Genie Brock Lesnar. I miss watching him wrestle actual matches.

 

Remember when Brock used to actually take bumps in his original run? Holy shit, was he a great bumper.

[Scarlet-Left]

Is the Edge & Christian show any good? I really like both of those guys, but it didn't look funny from the adverts (especially when there were other people involved).

 

Also, since they weren't doing anything physical, why couldn't the New Day have taken the Titans' spot in the six man? It seems like the crowd would've cared a lot more, even if they knew it wasn't really going anywhere. Then again, I'm assuming the Titans aren't going anywhere. Is Ryback versus Wyatt really on the cards for Mania?

 

Also, if those guys are Titans, which one's Cronus? Which one eats babies?

 

It seems to me like this card was thrown together at the last second. I thought someone said that WWE wanted the event to be a big deal. If that's the case, then why did it feel like a b-show?

 

The more I mull it over in my mind, the worse it gets.

[fakeplastictrees]

Dolph has always been announced as being from Hollywood, FL for as long as I can remember. Not sure why it was that confusing.

[Scarlet-Left]

Dolph has always been announced as being from Hollywood, FL for as long as I can remember. Not sure why it was that confusing.

It's the disconnect, I think, between the commentators talking about him as a home-town hero (saying that his "friends and family" are there live) and him then being introduced as residing in Florida. It seems like the kind of thing a heel would do.

[Grimmas]

 

Dolph has always been announced as being from Hollywood, FL for as long as I can remember. Not sure why it was that confusing.

It's the disconnect, I think, between the commentators talking about him as a home-town hero (saying that his "friends and family" are there live) and him then being introduced as residing in Florida. It seems like the kind of thing a heel would do.

 

It is pretty silly to talk about someone competing in their home town, but announcing him from somewhere else.

[Robert S]

I quit the show after Ziggler vs. Owens. Maybe I will watch the rest of the show tomorrow or so but Ziggler is so bad that he can kill any show for me now. I think would rather watch Cameron vs. Eva Marie in a 60 minute iron man match than another 15 minute Ziggler match.

[DMJ]

I double-checked and at the 2014 TLC PPV (the last PPV in Cleveland), Ziggler was announced as coming from Cleveland. He got a massive response for his entrance that made last night's very modest reception even more glaring in comparison.

[FMKK]

 

Dolph has always been announced as being from Hollywood, FL for as long as I can remember. Not sure why it was that confusing.

It's the disconnect, I think, between the commentators talking about him as a home-town hero (saying that his "friends and family" are there live) and him then being introduced as residing in Florida. It seems like the kind of thing a heel would do.

At the last PPV they had in Cleveland (TLC 2014) they announced Ziggler as being from his hometown prior to the ladder match vs Harper. He was a lot more over then.