WWE TV April 6th through...

[Dale Wolfe]

Im sorry im sorry 

This made me laugh so much for fucks sake. 

[MoS]

Bret clearly > Shawn although I think both are overrated.

I think the last few years have also shown that Jericho has a good argument to be better than Shawn. Jericho's worst stuff is worse than Shawn's, but the way he has "got" wrestling since 2018 is a huge point in his favour. Shawn was excellent at doing Shawn things to get matches and angles over, but while he could get away with all the drama, that style has made for some of the worst wrestling experiences in the modern era for me.

[Stiva]

I cannot imagine the sheer lack of taste anybody would need to find any part of Gargano and Ciampa anything other than a cringe-inducing embarrassment. Fake Christian Shawn Michaels’ attempts at bombastic, melodramatic redemption as displayed through amateur dramatics and tortured match lengths are a black mark on modern professional wrestling.

[FMKK]

35 minutes ago, MoS said:

Bret clearly > Shawn although I think both are overrated.

I think the last few years have also shown that Jericho has a good argument to be better than Shawn. Jericho's worst stuff is worse than Shawn's, but the way he has "got" wrestling since 2018 is a huge point in his favour. Shawn was excellent at doing Shawn things to get matches and angles over, but while he could get away with all the drama, that style has made for some of the worst wrestling experiences in the modern era for me.

Jericho isn't great in the ring any more (still decent though) but I feel like he does a way better job of getting his opponent over than Michaels for the most part. His promos are on another level from Shawn too.

Having rewatched Bret vs Owen at Mania recently, I'm also firmly on the Bret > Shawn train having not really cared either way before.

[Matt D]

On 4/13/2018 at 5:31 PM, Matt D said:

The NXT taping sheet from last week that leaked out had Michaels and Taylor producing the Gargano match. I am going to infer that Michaels had a hand in this, as I first thought, and reiterate how I have always said that Michaels would be a better director than an actor because he lacked emotional subtlety and range. He had ideas in his late career that transcended most wrestling matches in a way that leaned towards the WWE cinematic ideal, but lacked the ability to execute them.

So... two years later, I'm obviously proven brutally, shamefully wrong.

[Dale Wolfe]

Watched it again possibly even funnier than i thought 

[Mad Dog]

At one point Gargano was one of my favorite guys to watch. Now I find him so tedious that it's almost impossible to find any enjoyment of anything he does. That first Almas/Ciampa match ruined him and also NXT. They have been chasing that dragon ever since and it's just ruined the promotion.

[sek69]

I will say I am intrigued at the possibilities with Evil Candace (it was kind of weird she was still a face when Johnny went so hard heel). Plus I popped for her wearing HBK inspired gear to make sure she got maximum heat on PWO 

[Strummer]

Looks like the mitb ppv has been cancelled

[SirEdger]

Cancelled from the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore. Haven't seen anything on WWE.com suggesting it won't take place. They'll probably do it from the PC.

[MoS]

15 hours ago, Matt D said:

So... two years later, I'm obviously proven brutally, shamefully wrong.

I think you were right about Shawn's limitations. I don't think pro wrestling as a genre lends itself to Shawn's idea of apex storytelling. But he was so charismatic and so good later at just being WWE Legend Shawn Michaels, he could get away with it personally. 

[FMKK]

Revival have officially been released. 

[NintendoLogic]

Looking forward to them teaching the Young Bucks and Lucha Brothers how to work.

[C.S.]

1 hour ago, FMKK said:

Revival have officially been released. 

1 hour ago, NintendoLogic said:

Looking forward to them teaching the Young Bucks and Lucha Brothers how to work.

They'll end up being just as unhappy in AEW. They seem like malcontents to me.

You can certainly make a case for them not being used nearly as well as they should have been in WWE - but that applies to every tag team there, and really every wrestler there.

The reality is, they were used about as well as tag teams usually are in non-peak eras - not great but not horribly either. 

[KawadaSmile]

The Revival in NXT was the bomb, and really were responsible for some of the highest of high-end matches in 2016 or so if I'm not mistaken, but even then they felt thin on the character side of things.

WWE later on made many mistakes with them, but very few NXT tags could get a reaction on the main roster. If we compare them to American Alpha, they got lucky...

[Boss Rock]

Their 2016 might be my favorite run of any tag team ever. Shame injuries followed by bad creative prevented them from recreating that success.

[Jmare007]

Yeah, Revival's peak run in NXT made them the only tag team I would've put above Strong BJ in the mid 2010's. They were fucking incredible. I don't think they have lost that touch unless 90% of their matches were on the agents working with them...and I don't buy that "theory" until proven otherwise during the run they'll have in the next couple of years.

 

Also, LMAO at watching that Gargano and Ciampa match. No thanks.

[FMKK]

1 hour ago, C.S. said:

They'll end up being just as unhappy in AEW. They seem like malcontents to me.

You can certainly make a case for them not being used nearly as well as they should have been in WWE - but that applies to every tag team there, and really every wrestler there.

The reality is, they were used about as well as tag teams usually are in non-peak eras - not great but not horribly either. 

They're malcontents for wanting to leave the company that used them terribly to go somewhere that will likely use them better and for being deflated about having a hot run in developmental being squandered when they got called up? Maybe more people in there ought to be malcontents instead of just being marks for the brand.

[SirEdger]

The Revival asked for one thing; they wanted tag team wrestling to be featured prominently and as seriously as the singles division. That was their main point of contention with Vince. And with the emphasis that AEW has put on tag team wrestling since their inception, I don't think they'll ask for being the AEW World Tag Team Champions for most of their stint there if they go there. They'll have plenty of teams to work with: the Bucks, SCU, Lucha Bros, Best Friends, Private Party, Dark Order, etc....They can be featured there without being the World Tag Team Champions. Hell, a feud vs the Young Bucks would probably even supercede whoever the tag champs are at that moment.

[NintendoLogic]

https://www.espn.com/xfl/story/_/id/29021347/xfl-suspends-operations-lays-employees-no-plans-return-2021

What do you know, another McMahon business failure. It's not even his fault this time, though. It was probably doomed in the long run regardless, but it seemed to be pretty well-run before everything went to hell.

[Slasher]

The Revival are in for a big surprise if they go to AEW.

[C.S.]

2 hours ago, FMKK said:

They're malcontents for wanting to leave the company that used them terribly to go somewhere that will likely use them better and for being deflated about having a hot run in developmental being squandered when they got called up? Maybe more people in there ought to be malcontents instead of just being marks for the brand.

Except they were used far from terribly.

Were they used awesomely? No.

But the same can be said for 99% of the roster.

They were given multiple title reigns, used in storylines, etc. That's the best a tag team can realistically expect in WWE - unless the entire business is hot ('87 with the Bulldogs and Hart Foundation, '97 with the TLC crew).

2 hours ago, SirEdger said:

The Revival asked for one thing; they wanted tag team wrestling to be featured prominently and as seriously as the singles division. That was their main point of contention with Vince. And with the emphasis that AEW has put on tag team wrestling since their inception, I don't think they'll ask for being the AEW World Tag Team Champions for most of their stint there if they go there. They'll have plenty of teams to work with: the Bucks, SCU, Lucha Bros, Best Friends, Private Party, Dark Order, etc....They can be featured there without being the World Tag Team Champions. Hell, a feud vs the Young Bucks would probably even supercede whoever the tag champs are at that moment.

Which is a fair point about WWE and tag wrestling, but decades of history told The Revival what they were in for. 

AEW does put more of an emphasis on tag wrestling, but I personally find their tag and women's divisions massively overrated - especially the women's. 

With that said, AEW can build and improve upon all of its divisions - and The Revival would definitely be a nice piece of that puzzle for the tag scene.

[sek69]

I don't think it's quite fair to scold WWE talents with "you knew what you were getting into" when they  get their heads filled with hype about being the next game changers in the industry, only to have every attempt made to advance their characters and/or creative gets passed on or given to someone else.  If someone complains then resigns, that's on them I agree, but we should be supporting folks who call BS on WWE being the land of opportunity for the brass-ring-grabbers. 

[FMKK]

11 minutes ago, sek69 said:

I don't think it's quite fair to scold WWE talents with "you knew what you were getting into" when they  get their heads filled with hype about being the next game changers in the industry, only to have every attempt made to advance their characters and/or creative gets passed on or given to someone else.  If someone complains then resigns, that's on them I agree, but we should be supporting folks who call BS on WWE being the land of opportunity for the brass-ring-grabbers. 

Exactly. It's not on the talent that Vince has absolutely no idea how to make stars and make the best out of his acts anymore. Besides, most of these guys signed when there was kinda no other game in town. Now there's another national TV promotion and New Japan expanding their business in the West both in need of drawing acts.

[C.S.]

34 minutes ago, sek69 said:

I don't think it's quite fair to scold WWE talents with "you knew what you were getting into" when they  get their heads filled with hype about being the next game changers in the industry, only to have every attempt made to advance their characters and/or creative gets passed on or given to someone else.  If someone complains then resigns, that's on them I agree, but we should be supporting folks who call BS on WWE being the land of opportunity for the brass-ring-grabbers. 

I assume you mean re-signs. I agree with that. People like Mike Kannellis need to STFU.

I never said WWE was the "land of opportunity" and I'm fully aware that the "brass ring" stuff is all BS.

I'm just saying The Revival was used reasonably well - multiple title reigns, storylines, etc. - all things considered.

I hope they're happier and used even better in AEW, but I can't say I care about AEW's tag division at all right now. Maybe these guys will be the game-changers in regards to that, maybe not.

22 minutes ago, FMKK said:

Exactly. It's not on the talent that Vince has absolutely no idea how to make stars and make the best out of his acts anymore. Besides, most of these guys signed when there was kinda no other game in town. Now there's another national TV promotion and New Japan expanding their business in the West both in need of drawing acts.

Japan was always an option though. Whether it was a realistic option based on NJPW's hiring practices, I can't say, but if CJ Parker can get hired and pushed after being an NXT jobber, I have to think The Revival wouldn't have had a problem getting their foot in the door.