Badlittlekitten Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 They’d be better served on SmackDown for now. Aside from the Revival all of Raws teams are comedy acts. Man I wish the AOP turned out better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted January 15, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 They're still very young, so it's not like they are completely lost. Them pretty much having to ditch Ellering sure made the act be less promising, and the Maverick partnership was a pissing flop. It did gave us a surprisingly good (so far) Roode/Gable title run, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badlittlekitten Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 Yeah Roode and Gable have been a bright light actually. Matching ring gear makes so much difference. They’ve built the revival in the weirdest way, basically as hard done by babyfaces. Can’t wait for the matches between the two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomethingSavage Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 4 hours ago, C.S. said: Lashley sucks, but people wanted Brock vs. Lashley for whatever bizarre reason, so I agree they screwed that up when it was still a viable option. I don't know, man. I think we just value very different things in our wrestling. Lashley was a phenomenal main event performer in Impact - cranking out strong matches against a WIDE variety of guys, ranging from Drew and Aries to Eddie Edwards and even EC3. Dude's legit. Same goes for Drew. Both should have been ready-made challengers for Brock, with very minimal effort required to prep them for that spot. You also find Seth Rollins inoffensive, believe Chris Hero sucks based on NXT, and judge Excalibur's commentary based on his ring name. So yeah. We're worlds apart on these things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Redneck Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 5 hours ago, C.S. said: Lashley sucks, but people wanted Brock vs. Lashley for whatever bizarre reason, so I agree they screwed that up when it was still a viable option. I agree. IMO, this was always the plan. I don't see Balor winning. I suppose we could still get Brock vs. Braun without the title, but I doubt it. Lashley wasn't bad in TNA/Impact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FMKK Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 39 minutes ago, SomethingSavage said: I don't know, man. I think we just value very different things in our wrestling. Lashley was a phenomenal main event performer in Impact - cranking out strong matches against a WIDE variety of guys, ranging from Drew and Aries to Eddie Edwards and even EC3. Dude's legit. Same goes for Drew. Both should have been ready-made challengers for Brock, with very minimal effort required to prep them for that spot. You also find Seth Rollins inoffensive, believe Chris Hero sucks based on NXT, and judge Excalibur's commentary based on his ring name. So yeah. We're worlds apart on these things. I don't know how they didn't bring Lashley in and immediately do a Lesnar match with a pure sports MMA-type build. It would have at least broken up the monotony of Lesnar doing endless Reigns and Strowman matches that even he was tired of doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomethingSavage Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 17 minutes ago, FMKK said: I don't know how they didn't bring Lashley in and immediately do a Lesnar match with a pure sports MMA-type build. It would have at least broken up the monotony of Lesnar doing endless Reigns and Strowman matches that even he was tired of doing. No kidding. The handling of Lashley since returning has been baffling, to say the least. Not only has the guy grown & shown improvement as an in-ring performer during his time with Impact, but he's still built like a brick shithouse. AND not only does he look like a Vince fantasy in person, but Lashley looks like a promoter's fantasy on paper as well. National collegiate wrestler. 3 years of service in the US Army. AND the dude was training for the Olympics, only to have his dreams shattered when he royally fucked up his knee as he tried to help stop a bank robbery. You can't write a better human interest story if you tried. Their writers certainly can't. And, with WWE thirsting to death for any positive PR they can get these days, you'd think they'd jump all over that and publicize the shit out of it. But nah. Let's let Lashley languish for several months. Then have him beat Roman. But then lose to Roman. And then climb a rope or run an obstacle course or whateverthefuck. It's bizarre that they didn't get behind the guy like it was 2007 all over again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 It's because he's 42 and Vince has a phobia of putting anyone he considers "old" in positions of importance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted January 15, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 To be fair, the obstacle course did get him over, or at the very least the crowd was cheering at him plowing his way through and showing off while doing it. He does have more going for him right now, though. His partnership with Lio is great - and Rush himself is getting himself over by doing his stunts - and it has a huge shelf life. Showing his butt, as silly as it is, is simple and effective heeling, and so is his manager yelling "LASHLEY!" In-ring, despite some odd quirks like him running the ropes like he's in TNA, he's pretty dope. Can't really go wrong when he can throw 90% of his opponents around like ragdolls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomethingSavage Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 I've actually enjoyed some of the stuff with Lio. But it took months & months of nothingness to lead them here. I forgot to mention that Bobby's also been great on social media for years. Dude's a steady stream of positive messages & upbeat reinforcement. He just seems like such a genuinely positive guy. Vince's fixation on age has always been one of his notable quirks - with his insistence on replacing guys before their actual expiration date or pushing guys primarily based on how much longevity he believes they may have ahead of them with the company - but I feel like he's shooting himself in the foot if he's letting it limit his options to such a strict degree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 If I was a betting man, I'd wager Lashley was a guy signed by WWE just so no one else could have him (especially considering how he was getting over in Impact). I would be surprised if there were ever any plans for him before they decided to pair him up with Lio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 4 hours ago, KawadaSmile said: Sort of. They are indeed very kid friendly, with a straight man/cuckoolander dynamic, but they can go in the ring and both are actually really young, so both have room to improve. Tucker was actually part of the Greatest Royal Rumble, so it seems they trust him enough to be on his own. Otis is just the greatest. Like Edger said, you can give them a good title run, without making them the focus of the division. While comedy acts are not necessarily a bad thing - New Day is legit one of the best tag teams ever and only got over as much as they did after they became a comedy act - they still aren't that skilled. Still, me and @Zoo Enthusiast probably are the happiest ones with those call-ups. I'm excited for Dozer. He's the only guy from our little indy promotion here in Colorado to make it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted January 15, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 That's incredible, dude. Dozer is one of a kind, really. The moment I laid my eyes on that absolute unit, I was hooked. Tucker might be the more well-rounded wrestler, but Doz has those mannerisms that you just can't train and he's exceptionally charismatic. Plus he's really fucking strong and I can't imagine how crazy matchups against Big E could be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMJ Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 58 minutes ago, SomethingSavage said: No kidding. The handling of Lashley since returning has been baffling, to say the least. Not only has the guy grown & shown improvement as an in-ring performer during his time with Impact, but he's still built like a brick shithouse. AND not only does he look like a Vince fantasy in person, but Lashley looks like a promoter's fantasy on paper as well. National collegiate wrestler. 3 years of service in the US Army. AND the dude was training for the Olympics, only to have his dreams shattered when he royally fucked up his knee as he tried to help stop a bank robbery. You can't write a better human interest story if you tried. Their writers certainly can't. And, with WWE thirsting to death for any positive PR they can get these days, you'd think they'd jump all over that and publicize the shit out of it. But nah. Let's let Lashley languish for several months. Then have him beat Roman. But then lose to Roman. And then climb a rope or run an obstacle course or whateverthefuck. It's bizarre that they didn't get behind the guy like it was 2007 all over again. Also just wanted to add: Showing footage of Lashley celebrating with Trump might get a negative response by some fans, might get a positive response from others, but how many guys with all the credentials listed above also wrestled a major WrestleMania match with the POTUS as their second? I'm not saying Lashley needs to wear a MAGA hat, but if they had built him up with all the hype described above and, in the inevitable video package, also showed him getting his arm raised by Trump, it would've made him seem like an even bigger star. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FMKK Posted January 16, 2019 Report Share Posted January 16, 2019 1 hour ago, sek69 said: It's because he's 42 and Vince has a phobia of putting anyone he considers "old" in positions of importance. For most of the last year Brock Lesnar and AJ Styles have been the champions and they're the same age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted January 16, 2019 Report Share Posted January 16, 2019 20 hours ago, fakeplastictrees said: I'm not trying to be the uncool dad in the thread telling everyone not to drink and smoke doobies, but what's the deal with the Alexa Bliss segment? It's completely weird to see something like this on WWE TV in the midst of the Evolution/shoot nude photos leak era? I am not sure what purpose it served? Has WWE ever cut to the back while Baron Corbin is putting on his pants? What about Shane McMahon in mid zip-up and adjusting himself? Two steps forward and one step back. The clip WWE uploaded to YouTube (featuring Alexa covering herself up as a thumbnail) managed to get over 2.3 million views, just barely behind the clip of Braun flipping over the limo. So as tone deaf as it was, there's clearly an audience for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted January 16, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2019 Heavy Machinery/New Day/Becky interactions to open Smackdown I got no words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.S. Posted January 16, 2019 Report Share Posted January 16, 2019 3 hours ago, SomethingSavage said: I don't know, man. I think we just value very different things in our wrestling. Lashley was a phenomenal main event performer in Impact - cranking out strong matches against a WIDE variety of guys, ranging from Drew and Aries to Eddie Edwards and even EC3. Dude's legit. Same goes for Drew. Both should have been ready-made challengers for Brock, with very minimal effort required to prep them for that spot. You also find Seth Rollins inoffensive, believe Chris Hero sucks based on NXT, and judge Excalibur's commentary based on his ring name. So yeah. We're worlds apart on these things. At no point did I ever judge Excalibur's commentary. What I did say was that the name is ridiculous for a commentator, which it is. Chris Hero has been completely and utterly useless in NXT to me as a viewer. He's a player-coach, fine, so why not do that in dark matches? Ditto for Lashley in WWE. He has been rancid. His baffling creative direction hasn't helped - I'll grant you that. Even I think they should've gone with Brock-Lashley when people wanted it, and I'm no fan of either. To be honest, most of the TNA "darlings" - outside of AJ and Drew - have left me completely cold once they jumped to the WWE. Roode, EY, EC3, etc. I'm not into any of them. As for Seth, if it makes you feel better to think I'm his biggest fan and cheerleader, go ahead. Never said that either. You must've missed the post where I completely shit on him for being an imbecile and liability to the company for his idiotic Twitter comments referring to Louis C.K.'s recent comedy set as "funny" (the horrible one about the Parkland kids, LGBTQ, etc.). I hope this causes him to lose his rumored WrestleMania main event spot and he ends up jobbing on the pre-show instead. "Inoffensive" is absolutely the wrong word to use regarding my feelings about Seth Rollins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted January 16, 2019 Report Share Posted January 16, 2019 2 hours ago, KawadaSmile said: That's incredible, dude. Dozer is one of a kind, really. The moment I laid my eyes on that absolute unit, I was hooked. Tucker might be the more well-rounded wrestler, but Doz has those mannerisms that you just can't train and he's exceptionally charismatic. Plus he's really fucking strong and I can't imagine how crazy matchups against Big E could be. Dozer has the amateur credentials, as well. I pulled this from wikipedia. Quote He attended Superior High School, where he was a successful amateur wrestler. He was a champion at the 2009 Greco-Roman junior Nationals. He placed third at the 2009 Junior Freestyle championships. Originally committed to the University of Wisconsin, he wrestled at collegiate level for Augsburg College and Colorado State University-Pueblo. He won the national title in Greco-Roman wrestling at the Junior Pan-American Games in 2011 and a Greco-Roman bronze at the 2014 Pan-American Games. He was at one point considered a prospect for the U.S. Greco-Roman wrestling team at the 2012 Summer Olympics and spent some time training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado He actually had a 60 minute Iron Man match here on his way out. It used to be on youtube, but I can't find it. He was still green, and they killed a lot of time with bullshit and gaga to start, but it ended up pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted January 16, 2019 Report Share Posted January 16, 2019 I can only imagine Vince's thoughts the first time he saw Otis in person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted January 16, 2019 Report Share Posted January 16, 2019 1 minute ago, sek69 said: I can only imagine Vince's thoughts the first time he saw Otis in person. " He should just be called Dozer, dammit!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted January 16, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2019 I'm LOVING those NXT cameos. You integrate them to the main roster, getting their characters across and sometimes getting them over quickly without giving away too much. They did something similar with Elias and he's absurdly over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted January 16, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2019 Leave it to Rey Mysterio to make headlock segments entertaining Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted January 16, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2019 REY MYSTERIO IS THE BEST WRESTLER EVER HOLY FUCKING SHIT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FMKK Posted January 16, 2019 Report Share Posted January 16, 2019 God bless Rey and his synthetic knees for still doing shit like that when he's like 45 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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