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Is the empire crumbling before our eyes?


flyonthewall2983

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54 minutes ago, Superstar Sleeze said:

I always thought optimistically that Imperium is the Modern Day Holy Roman Empire (Austria, Germany & Italy) and not just the Axis Powers but when Gunther wears that long red coat it makes hard not to think they arent leaning into the Nazi shit which is just gross.  

IIRC he always wore that, even in wXw. At least they mix it up with those spazzy tracksuits.

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His coat changes with their gear, which has been red, black, gray, navy blue, and the old NXT gear with their names and flags on their tights. There's really no way to not get some vague Nazi vibe from the group, but I don't think they lean into it. Certainly not like they would in other eras, at least.

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I mean, Big Daddy Walter was a way worse ring name and look for him than what we are getting. He's in incredible shape, still looks terrifying, and has never had a bad match in WWE so far. 

But yeah, him being all serious and having that "the mat is sacred" stuff is not new. He's been the same for a while now, even prior to WWE. Giving him colored attires actually works to take a bit of that imagery away. He's more in line with the Bloods now!

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On 6/1/2023 at 11:20 AM, Dav'oh said:

The coats are military, the way they stand is military, and I get nervous about a German man addressing 20,000 people with a microphone :ph34r:

Good thing he's Austrian.....*taps ear piece*.......oh I see.....

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Who is WWE's next wave of main eventers? They got lucky with Cody, before he arrived there wasn't anybody at Roman's level on the horizon. It looked somewhat dire. They've pretty much kicked McIntyre to the curb after Cody came in :lol:. Cody saved WWE. I still feel like HHH hasn't had a "hit" yet in terms of making a star. NXT has failed to build any momentum onto the main roster. The indies have dried up.

They still have Brock and Edge, Orton's in limbo, Rey Jr, AJ, occasionally Cena, and Rock/Austin/Hogan/Goldberg might have one...more...match in the tank (although I don't think they're interested in Hogan or Goldberg's retirement). Bad Bunny and Logan Paul are headliners (and assuming that Jake Paul will also eventually come into the promotion). Bray Wyatt is getting new writers.

I really like Theory, I think he will get there eventually. Gable Steveson I think will be a star. If Riddle can stay out of trouble, the crowd wants to cheer him. Rhea is pretty much there, so close. Montez Ford could get there. There's some talent in AEW/NJPW who could follow Cody's path and make a leap to be elevated with WWE (MJF, Ospreay, Omega, Okada). Potential UFC crossovers (Izzy, Colby, Conor).

Who is the "next face" of WWE after Roman, Cody, Becky and Charlotte?

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- Roman has another 5+ years of working part-time and just doing the big shows if he wants to and his body holds up. He's only 38.

- Cody is slightly younger (37) and, because this is his first main event run in the WWE, he is very "fresh," moreso than guys like Owens and Rollins, who are in the same ballpark age-wise. Its kinda like how, when AJ Styles showed up, it didn't really matter that he was near 40 and on the back end of his career because, to the WWE audience, he was new (and, not to downplay it, arguably the best wrestler in the world so it didn't take him very long to live up to the hype and get over with the WWE fans who may have only knew him as "the TNA guy"). So, for Cody, I'd say he has at least 8 years of being a main event guy if he stays healthy and wants to do it. 

- I think the company sees big things in Bron Breakker. He could be in the mix, but you never know. At one point, I thought Braun Strowman would be this era's Big Show/Kane, a guy that's always kind of "in the mix" as a singles challenger for the big belts, but I think we might've seen his peak and Vince/Hunter may have moved on to Omos. 

- Bobby Lashley is 46 and still looks like he can wrestle and perform for as long as he friggin' wants. That's older than Brock, but with the diverticulitis and years in MMA, I think Lesnar put his body through the wringer a bit more. I'm not saying Lashley can replace Roman, but talk about a guy that can be a very useful piece of the puzzle to help bridge the gap between the current main eventers and the ones coming up over the next 3 years.

- Personally, I think Austin Theory has a ways to go and might never get there (kinda like Ziggler). I've got no interest in watching a sex pest like Riddle, but even if he weren't a creep, as an in-ring performer or a promo, I haven't seen any real progression from what he was in NXT save for maybe the feud with Rollins. Which is why I'd put someone like Damian Priest ahead of him (another guy who is 40 years old, but because he's not been in the WWE for long and looks like a million bucks, is still "fresh" enough to get a big run in the next 2-3 years if he can stay healthy and keep improving). 

- I think the next batch of real main eventers is going to be made up of more than a few current AEW talents. Darby Allin talks about how AEW is the only place that will let him be himself, but he's not "just" a deathmatch wrestler and Triple H could woo him over because, ultimately, Darby is a great wrestler, not just a new Spike Dudley or a blood-and-gore guy. Take away the thumbtack stuff and maybe the outside-the-company stunts, what exactly would WWE prevent Darby from doing? They've never prevented anybody from diving off ladders or going through tables. Darby is a great underdog babyface and Triple H and Vince would be blind not to see the marketing potential too.

I think MJF eventually does jump ship, probably Ricky Starks (33 years old), maybe Swerve (32) goes back, maybe even Adam Cole (33). They all have tons of main event potential. I know Guevara is loathed by many, but he's 29, his fundamentals are there...I don't know, we came around to calling The Miz and Mark Henry two of the best heels of their generation, so its not like its impossible that Guevara could put the pieces together in the WWE system.

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@DMJ

- Theory could possibly end up Ziggler'd, I can totally see that comparison. I think Theory's push was way bigger out of the gates than DZ, by going over Cena at Mania and getting the rub from VKM onscreen. I dig Theory's confidence, his energy. He has a good sense of humor, maybe putting The Way back together will bring that out again. Theory hasn't been turned babyface yet, we haven't seen that side of him. Although, I think he's a good heel, too. It's difficult to say what exactly "Theory" is, his ring attire is kind of sci-fi or something, they need to figure it out.  

- WWE needs to get over this "selfie" phone gimmick, enough is enough and it's time for a change. Tyler Breeze, Theory, now they got Waller doing it. Nobody has gotten over with it.

- I was going to bring up what you said, Roman having another decade or more in front of him if he wants it. They've still got time with their current A-List. I probably should've included Lashley on that because he is a semi-main eventer.

- Bron Breakker needs a new name. Felt like a placeholder from the start, they already have a Braun on the main roster, along with Bronson Reed. He needs the Steiner name, we all know he's a Steiner. We just went through this with Cody trying to get over not as Dusty's kid and wasting a lot of time in the process, they can't get around it.

EDIT: Then again, his dad got into some hot water recently so maybe that isn't a great idea atm. Regardless, the name needs an upgrade. They've already worked aspects of the DFG into his look. Maybe a slight adjustment, I could be wrong about the name being an issue right now.

5 hours ago, KawadaSmile said:

Bron, Melo, Waller, maybe even LA Knight are names that can hang around the main event scene. Gunther is also very young, and Ilja Dragunov seems like a great successor for the undersized underdog role Daniel Bryan left.

- Interesting point of how the Rey/Danielson undersized underdog role has to be recycled. Like @DMJ says, maybe Darby could be one of those guys down the road.

- Gunther's great, I didn't include him because I don't think he has much potential as a babyface or merch sales driver.  

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7 hours ago, El McKell said:

He's 35

Young, but not very young. 35 in today's landscape is far from being old news. I mean, Ricky Starks and Hobbs, who are seen as fresh new faces, are around that age range, with 33 and 32 years each. He could realistically go for another 10 to 15 years with his style.

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13 hours ago, MLB said:

- Bron Breakker needs a new name. Felt like a placeholder from the start, they already have a Braun on the main roster, along with Bronson Reed. He needs the Steiner name, we all know he's a Steiner. We just went through this with Cody trying to get over not as Dusty's kid and wasting a lot of time in the process, they can't get around it.

EDIT: Then again, his dad got into some hot water recently so maybe that isn't a great idea atm. Regardless, the name needs an upgrade. They've already worked aspects of the DFG into his look. Maybe a slight adjustment, I could be wrong about the name being an issue right now.

Only message board/wrestling Twitter/Reddit types knew about that in the first place, and almost everyone has already forgotten about it. 90% of WWE's audience has no clue it ever happened. Either way, Rick Steiner being a transphobic jackass should in no way affect his son, who hasn't shown similar traits and is probably smart enough not to publicly. Bron Breakker is an awful name, so I'd welcome a return to Steiner. Like you said, everyone already knows anyway and there's no getting around it.

10 hours ago, Blehschmidt said:

Am I really the only one who doesn't see a damn thing in LA Knight?

Mediocre look, medicore in-ring talent, and highly over rated microphone skills. 

Whoever made the comparison to Mr. Kennedy is spot on.

Don't mistake @KawadaSmile's obsession for anything close to resembling universal appeal.

LA Knight is shit, YEAH!!!

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LA Knight has that charisma that gets over no matter where he goes. It happened in TNA, NXT, and now WWE.  He may not be a technical marvel in the ring (although I'd argue he's as good in ring as he needs to be in his role), but he's got an appeal you can't deny.

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There's a lot of dummies out there who are lost in the sauce when it comes to LA Knight, so lemme talk to ya. On the surface, he appears to be another example (as were Road Dogg and Ken Kennedy before him) of how repeating a handful of catchphrases over and over is just about the easiest way to fool wrestling fans into thinking you have charisma. However, he managed to come out of a feud with Bray Wyatt relatively unscathed, so there's clearly something to him beyond that. I'd take him over Ricky Starks even factoring in the age difference. And that's not an insult, that is just a fact of life. YEAH!

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Not only he walked away from that feud unscathed, anyone who had any interest in that match only did so because he carried it in terms of promos and whatever the fuck. That shit was called MOUNTAIN DEW PITCH BLACK MATCH and he cut a good promo advertising it.

Then he went on a losing streak, only became more over in the process, and that DIDN'T become part of his character. He's clearly above the average.

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