WWE TV 07/03 - 07/09 Poor Roman Reigns

[Dale Wolfe]

Watched the Shayna promo on the old socials and that was enough to turn her face for me, i take it all back 

[Zoo Enthusiast]

9 hours ago, Dav'oh said:

I admire but don't envy the good brothers here who can watch three hours of RAW, week-in, week-out.

I’m going to Summerslam so I’m going to watch the TV. However, the old stand-by 90 minute Hulu Raw is always the way.

[DMJ]

Thank god they didn't try to position Rousey as the babyface.

Now I'm just hoping that Rousey gives 100% being the heel. I don't think it was a terrible idea to have Shayna "win" that first exchange, but Rousey should definitely regain the upper-hand in decisive fashion and put a hurt on her in response. 

In my blog, writing about their tag match (before the Shayna turn and before learning that she was leaving the WWE), I mentioned how Rousey has both *lost* some of her star appeal/uniqueness but, in that same time, has become, to my eyes, a more versatile worker. In other words, she went from being this Big Match Only-style attraction to, for better or worse (often worse, but not always), feeling like part of the roster and not above it. That shift meant we never got the big Ronda vs. Becky match that seemed inevitable 4 years ago...but it also means we now get a Shayna vs. Rousey match where it doesn't seem like Shayna, whose basically been a midcarder since leaving NXT, is totally outmatched. Rousey not being booked as an absolute killer means things are less predictable even if it also means the thing that made her so special is no longer really there. 

As for Shayna, well, she was due for getting babyface reactions eventually. Vocal portions of the WWE audience have consistently been cheering for folks they feel have been "held down" or "underused" for years now and, sooner or later, people were going to remember that Shayna has worked her ass off for the past 3 years and hasn't been pushed since her main roster debut, when she was immediately thrust into a main event spot (which went horribly, but also happened during the pandemic era and was her first program after leaving NXT). Her tag team with Nia Jax was either the first or second best thing Nia ever did. She's put over everybody and anybody on TV with seemingly no ego (she went 14-63 in 2022 according to Cagematch, which is fucking absurd even in a fake sport where being a legitimate martial artist shouldn't matter). And, despite being 42, still feels like someone who hasn't hit their ceiling or had their moment. Kinda like with Rhea Ripley earlier this year, in a world where the lines between cheering for a character and cheering for a person are so blurred, its really hard not to root for Shayna Baszler (for another example, no matter what he does or who he's against, I'm probably never going to actively cheer for a sex creep like Matt Riddle because while the character is a fun babyface, the person seems like a scumbag).

[TheDuke]

Wow I am surprised that Shayna is older than me. She seems so young.

[KawadaSmile]

Ronda putting her friend over as her contract runs out would be Actually Good on her part.

[KawadaSmile]

This is BEASTLY

[sek69]

That match was good shit, pal. Plus Gable tossing around dudes like they were nothing was impressive. If dude has any charisma at all he's going to be huge. 

[sek69]

Dang, Lyra got some serious mat burn on the side of her face 

[sek69]

I kind of feel bad for Bron. He sounds so much like his uncle that you can't help but think of Big Poppa Pump when he heels it up, and no one can live up to those standards. 

[KawadaSmile]

On 7/5/2023 at 1:08 AM, sek69 said:

That match was good shit, pal. Plus Gable tossing around dudes like they were nothing was impressive. If dude has any charisma at all he's going to be huge. 

Watched the whole thing, couldn't help but laugh out loud when Gable was holding his medal to motivate Eddy Thorpe and Booker was like "this medal can't help him, what the hell are you doing?"

Shame Gable Stevenson is involved in some shady shit and only escaped because of a legal loophole, because otherwise I would be pretty excited for him. Still, Thorpe and Kemp more than held that match on their own. Gnarly suplexes all around.

 

Also, was a big fan of Kelani's debut. She was out there busting cool stuff with incredible speed, and my fave Tatum Paxley looked good as a base. Next week we'll have a dream match! Ivy Nile vs Tiffany Stratton. Should be a fun romp.

The Creeds are fucking unbelievable, man. Julius was out there doing a one-legged kip up, Brutus doing a springboard 450... they are Steiners with better grasp of match structure and whose motivation doesn't rely on "how can I beat the shit out of this guy". A top tier tag team in the making.

[NintendoLogic]

1 hour ago, KawadaSmile said:

The Creeds are fucking unbelievable, man. Julius was out there doing a one-legged kip up, Brutus doing a springboard 450... they are Steiners with better grasp of match structure and whose motivation doesn't rely on "how can I beat the shit out of this guy". A top tier tag team in the making.

Do they really have a better understanding of match structure or are they just executing what's been laid out for them? Ronda Rousey looked like a prodigy when all of her matches were extensively rehearsed, but her work fell off a cliff when she had to do it night-in night-out without benefit of pre-planning.

[KawadaSmile]

21 minutes ago, NintendoLogic said:

Do they really have a better understanding of match structure or are they just executing what's been laid out for them? Ronda Rousey looked like a prodigy when all of her matches were extensively rehearsed, but her work fell off a cliff when she had to do it night-in night-out without benefit of pre-planning.

For all we criticize NXT, I think it does have a solid, if uninspired and basic comprehension of beginning, middle and end. Ronda was working quite steadily from 2018 to 2019, and she faced people like Bayley and Sasha more often, and she tagged with the most "by the numbers" wrestlers out there, Natalya. When she came back, she had way worse dance partners overall, which I think also contributes to the match quality falling.

Likewise, I feel that the Creeds wouldn't have that same problem because the tag division is stacked. It's one thing for a newbie in the business to be facing someone like Sonya, Shotzi or Raquel (who I even like, but c'mon), and it's one thing to be facing people like Imperium or The Usos.

[NintendoLogic]

Ronda produced bangers with Nia Jax, Alexa Bliss, and the Bella Twins during her first run, so it can't simply be laid at the feet of her opponents.

[KawadaSmile]

MSG is sold out! I can't believe those vultures want to see Roman Reigns put on trial that bad!

[sek69]

8 hours ago, NintendoLogic said:

Ronda produced bangers with Nia Jax, Alexa Bliss, and the Bella Twins during her first run, so it can't simply be laid at the feet of her opponents.

Bliss and the Bellas were decent to good in the ring, and Nia had to reign in her asshole tendencies against someone willing and able to beat the shit out of her if need be, 

[KawadaSmile]

The Bloodline arc remains batting 1.000

[KawadaSmile]

Charlotte must pose, bubbas. I fear she may cost Iyo's cash-in attempt

[KawadaSmile]

Grayson Waller looked great against Edge. Austin Theory sweating bullets.

[KawadaSmile]

They made Jey Uso look fucking golden as a singles star. 

[sek69]

3 hours ago, KawadaSmile said:

Charlotte must pose, bubbas. I fear she may cost Iyo's cash-in attempt

God I hate that you're probably right 

[sek69]

Jey was great but you can see the real end game is the slow burn with Solo. I just wonder how they are going to handle it when he finally has enough of Roman's shit after destroying his brothers multiple times. It would kind of make the Usos look like chumps to just act like everything's good after all that. 

[The Thread Killer]

It is a real shame that for a couple of big reasons (the ongoing MLW lawsuit, personal issues/WWE corporate culture, etc.) that other members of the actual Anoa’i family who are active in the business right now can’t be introduced to this storyline to add some interesting new dimensions.

Specifically, it would be great to see Lance Anoa’i and especially Jacob Fatu get involved in this whole thing. But that looks like it can’t happen, and that really sucks. Even if there was not a major lawsuit going on between MLW and WWE right now, that news that came out recently about Jacob Fatu basically ripping off a couple charities. WWE were already leery enough of Jacob Fatu because of his criminal record and his age…this is kind of the icing on the cake. But imagine if he got introduced to this whole deal? It could be a shot in the arm which could extend the entire thing for months.

[KawadaSmile]

1 hour ago, sek69 said:

Jey was great but you can see the real end game is the slow burn with Solo. I just wonder how they are going to handle it when he finally has enough of Roman's shit after destroying his brothers multiple times. It would kind of make the Usos look like chumps to just act like everything's good after all that. 

Solo can still be a heel and take over Roman's spot as the bad guy of the family. Or, at the very least, him being a loner would be consistent with what his character has been presented as so far.

[Zoo Enthusiast]

On 7/7/2023 at 8:07 PM, KawadaSmile said:

The Bloodline arc remains batting 1.000

Getting around to Smackdown now.  Just great shit.