Your Current Favorites From Every Brand/Show/Promotion

[Stuttsy]

Inspired by a thread over at DVD-VR where the question was asked why you love Smackdown. Simply put, who are your current favorites and why? For me, personally:

 

Smackdown: William Regal & Dave Taylor are definitely my favorite act on the show right now. I love when WWE presents someone as a wrestler, as if to say "this guy is a REAL wrestler, unlike what we normally do" and they are the perfect twosome to be a no-nonsense rough tag-team. Long time love for Matt Hardy, Finlay and Benoit too, though Benoit vs. Chavo has been a really boring feud for me because I'm not down with the whole Vickie Guerrero deal. Kendrick & London and Gregory Helms have been my other favorites for the last several months, I've been really into both long title reigns and think they've done a fantastic job carrying the belts and actually giving the aura or being genuine champions.

 

Raw: Jeff Hardy has been great since his return and the recent reunion of Haas & Benjamin gives me hope that they might be my favorites on the show again soon. I'm also a really big mark for Trevor Murdoch's whole shtick and Umaga/Estrada. Umaga squashing John McChesney was one of the most memorable matches I saw on WWE TV all last year. But the one who absolutely has my attention every time they are on the screen? Maria. She just has presence, that can't be taught or learned. I've known people who were casual (at best) fans that mentioned her to me because they were flipping through the channels, landed on her doing an interview and stopped. The eyes, the face, she comes off as cute and sexy and sweet all together and she's pretty much perfect at her ditzy shtick, though that has been toned down lately. The trial of Eric Bischoff skit was a shining example of how awesome she can be.

 

ECW: Similar to Maria, Shelly Martinez as Ariel commands attention. Her and Kevin Thorne are probably my favorite act on the show doing the vampire gimmick. Shelly is perfect as the creepy sex vixen, the facials, the fangs, the huge tits, whole package is very cool. Thorn's facials, mannerisms and presence are right on. He comes off very calculating, cold and methodical, with an understated viciousness. Without swinging chairs at people, he comes off like someone who could do some damage. They're perfect in their role. I always watch CM Punk's matches too and am mostly enjoying his stuff but I do agree with some of his critics that he does come off sort of mechanical sometimes. The last several weeks I've been really digging Elijah Burke's shtick too. I was a big mark for him in OVW but never saw him work heel and have been really liking his promos and overall shtick since his ECW debut.

 

ROH: Delirious. Everything about his shtick just comes off as funny, fresh and entertaining. At first I basically dismissed him as another Willow the Whisp indy type but the whole Deliriese language and his mannerisms totally set him apart. The promo he cut after getting his hand sliced open by Bryan Danielson is another thing that really sticks out as a highlight of 2006 for me. He was barely speaking in words but it was so hugely effective and well done. I am a huge mark for his stuff. I've also really liked Emo Jimmy Jacobs and the whole Jimmy loves Lacey story arc. He's really fantastic in the role and while I initially didn't like the involvement of Colt Cabana in the story, seeing it actually unfold on the DVD's kinda won me over and I enjoyed most of it.

 

TNA: Tough pick these days as you've got the stars like Joe and Daniels who have done their best career defining work elsewhere and really there hasn't been anyone sticking out since Russo got there and brought his whole fucked up TV format to the show. So Cal Val honestly has more presence than anyone on the roster except for maybe Joe and in my opinion has the most potential to be a huge star, and they just have her as the ring girl. If TNA ever truly takes off and then inevitably crashes, I can totally see her being to TNA as Torrie Wilson was to WCW, the one who WWE picked up and then turned into a huge star. Val has so much presence, she just walks by and you notice her. Plus she's good on the mic and actually gets the business, I could totally see her as a Sunny type who stands out amongst all the other female talent. Besides her, there really isn't that much going on these days. LAX were unquestionably the best act in the company, but even that stuff has been really watered down and Russoized in the last several months. I am a big mark for Abyss and think he works the gimmick perfectly but in some instances I almost feel like his presence and timing are wasted on what so many people see as a one-dimensional knock off gimmick. Lately the only things really worth checking out have been the Paparazzi segments, which I think Shelley, Starr, Nash, Sonjay have shined in.

 

Feel free to add your own promotions as well.

[Tim Evans]

Smackdown: I'm a big fan of the Regal/Taylor vs London/Kendrick feud. That along with Finlay and JBL's Commentary has brought the spark back in the smackdown product for me. I also really like Gregory Helms.

 

Raw: I agree with you Stuttsy in Maria. It's not even about her being hot. She is very entertaining. I don't know why but she is. I also like Cryme Tyme, Rated RKO, Umaga and even Cena. Cena is a lot like Bob Backlund circa 1984 to me. He's so popular that you watch to see him lose.

 

ECW: I watch for Punk and Thorne/Shelly. I usually turn off when the main event starts because it's so boring. I'm beginning to like Monty and Elijah Burke.

 

ROH: American Dragon and Homicide. I also like Chris Hero.

 

TNA: Christian Cage and So Cal Val. I wish Val was on more because she is pretty good as a manager. Way better than Gail Kim or Jackie Gayda.

[Stuttsy]

ECW: I watch for Punk and Thorne/Shelly. I usually turn off when the main event starts because it's so boring. I'm beginning to like Monty and Elijah Burke.

I could not agree more. ECW I usually watch was its happening and by 10:45, when the intros are happening for the main event and I know that everything we've seen is all we're going to see, I find something else to watch usually. Part of the intrigue about ECW for me is not knowing 100% what to expect. I like looking forward to the possibility of another cool Thorn/Ariel promo or a random Shannon Moore cameo or whatever. Or Monty Brown's debut. You never really know who is going to get sent there so you never knew who might show up. But by the time the main event is being intro'd, you know there's nothing more to see here. It was like that for me with Big Show and it's like that with Lashley.

[Bix]

Smackdown: The usual suspects, pretty much. I also dig the Boogeyman, as he has sooo much charisma and he's protected enough that his weaknesses are covered up very well.

 

Raw: Cena has vastly improved in the ring and I really enjoy watching him. His biggest fault right now is that the overly scripted & cutesy promos don't suit him at all. His strength is serious Dusty-ish promos. Johnny Nitro is improving every week. When MNM was split up in May, the brilliance of Joey Matthews was exposed, but Nitro's been steadily improving and it's gotten faster since Fall or thereabouts. He has a great look & some good charisma, takes great bumps, works his showoffy highspots into his cocky act, etc. Umaga is great as a throwback that's treated seriously and booked well. ITA Re: Maria.

 

ECW: Punk, sometimes the vampires, and RVD/Sabu in trainwreck mode. Otherwise eh.

 

TNA: Joe is kinda blah there and SoCal Val looks like she has fetal alcohol syndrome to the degree it creeps me out.

 

ROH: Nigel McGuinness is the guy. He has everything down tremendously well at this point.

[Dylan Waco]

ROH - Well I guess Danielson is on hiatus, so he's out which makes Homicide and the pending NOAH "feud" if you can call it that my favorite things.

 

TNA - LAX is pretty much the only thing I don't hate at this point. Well that and Don West who is pretty much my favorite thing about North American pro wrestling. FWIW if they brought back Jarrett I'd likely add him to the list.

 

RAW - Umaga and Jeff Hardy. I still mark for Flair at times.

 

SD! - Pretty much the whole show, but lately I've been a huge fan of London/Kendrick as tag champs and I hope they go far with it.

 

ECW - Brad Armstrong on commentary is seriously more exciting and intersting to me than most things they do on the brand at this point. I think Burke has potential but I'm not totally sold yet. A part of me wants to like some of the other guys (Striker, Thorn, et.) but everything on the show just seems unimportant.

[whp]

Even though I'm pretty down on all WWE brands there are still wrestlers whose work I really enjoy.

 

RAW

 

John Cena - like others have pointed out he has improved dramatically over the last year or so thanks to his feud with Edge. One of the best promos as well when he's not hindered by the "writers" giving him shit to say on TV.

 

Umaga - old school monster heel and a great carrier of the wild/savage samoan tradition

 

Edge - the future of the WWE, especially if Hunter isn't able to come back from his latest injury (unlikely but you never know)

 

Cade/Murdoch - such wasted potential but whenever they are on TV they are always entertaining, I hope they get sent to Smackdown soon

 

Smackdown

 

Fit Finlay - just an outstanding wrestler even at his age and someone who shows that less is more, he doesn't do any flying nor does he cut any super-intense promos. He just goes out there and beats the shit out of people. And anyone who can take a midget and make him a positive instead of a negative is a genius

 

Regal/Taylor - what needs to be said that hasn't already been mentioned before

 

Gregory Helms - JBL nails it on the head when he calls Helms SD's best kept secret. If the old ECW was still around Heyman would have pushed him to the moon and he would taken the ball and ran with it. Helms is a complete package, he knows how to work, cut promos, everything

 

Kendrick & London - WWE's best tag team in the last 5 years

 

JBL - wrestling's finest commentator, he knows what and how to get things over. Sure he sometimes buries guys he doesn't like but usually the guys he buries I don't give a shit about anyways

 

ECW/TNA - stopped watching both

 

ROH

 

American Dragon

Nigel McGuinness

The Briscoes

 

New Japan

 

Hiroshi Tanahashi

Koji Kanemoto

Naofumi Yamamoto

Manabu Nakanishi

 

NOAH

 

KENTA

Yoshihrio Takayama

Takeshi Morishima

Akira Taue

SUWA

 

All Japan

 

Minoru Suzuki

Voodoo Murders

Kensuke Sasaki

 

Dragon Gate

 

Masaaki Mochizuki

Tozawa-juku

 

Zero-ONE Max

 

Ryouji Sai

Kohei Sato

Daisuke Sekimoto

[Guest FlairPinnedMe]

Smackdown: Mostly the BlueBloods and Finlay. Finlay had an amazing 2006, and I hope he continues the awesomeness into 2007. He made me care about Smackdown again. Regal and Taylor have had a lot of fun matches. Likewise with London and Kendrick. Kennedy has also been a breath of fresh air, he'll never be an amazing wrestler; but he's fun to watch. I'll always love Benoit, but he hasn't seemed to care all that much recently. JBL's commentary is just so awesome. The fact that he puts himself over and a lot of the guys too is just great.

 

RAW: Not much on Raw lately, besides maybe Edge. Cryme Tyme were funny as hell initially, but I guess the novelty has worn off. Umaga is awesome.

 

TNA: Only started watching this again. PCS was awesome. Besides that, not too much stands out.

 

ROH: Haven't got any DVDs in a while.. but Danielson will keep me checking it out.

 

NOAH: SUWA, Shoisaki, Morishima, Marufuji.

 

New Japan: Nagata, Suzuki, Tanahashi.