Alucard Posted June 8 Report Share Posted June 8 I thought Lyra was doing her best mic work yet during this Becky feud. In-ring I've been a big fan since her NXT UK match against Meiko Satomura some years back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted June 8 Report Share Posted June 8 2 hours ago, Embrodak said: Say what you will, I don’t think anybody predicted R-Truth being a significant facet of Cena’s last run. Whether it was an audible or a genuine “we tricked the dirtsheets” swerve, it’s kinda fun! Per Bryan Alvarez, Truth's deal legit ended on June 1 but after the "we want Truth" chants were on every TV show afterwards it was decided to bring him back. Especially after Cena cut the "you can't handle the truth" promo at the end of Smackdown in response to the chants. In the post show press conference Hunter is trying to spin it like it was all part of the show the whole time instead of them realizing they made a mistake letting him go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted June 8 Report Share Posted June 8 So watching SRS's "was this a work?" video it seems like Hunter was given a directive to eliminate X amount of salary and made the decision to let Truth, Carlito, and Valhalla's deals end without renewal. I can't imagine he had no idea how beloved he was in the locker room, and when the fan backlash started it seems like the choice to bring him back was made above his pay grade. His whole "well did you enjoy the show?" really comes off as him trying to save face in light of it all blowing up on him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMJ Posted June 9 Report Share Posted June 9 Full review will go up on my blog eventually but some notes... * Not a terrible show, but not an all-timer. I've said it before but the talent level in WWE (and AEW for that matter) is so high that you rarely get an outright bad match these days. It's not like 20-25 years ago when you might get a Mideon match on a PPV or an awful "comedy" match with the Funkasaurus and Lord Tensai. Even when the WWE does do something gimmicky, like Chad Gable's current "El Grande Americano" thing, its still Chad Gable doing Chad Gable things. * Speaking of Chad Gable...the amount of time spent by the commentary team talking about him during the Men's MITB match really, really bothered me. I'm not sure who is producing Cole backstage these days (it used to be Vince so I assume its Triple H), but whether it was someone in his ear or Cole himself, it doesn't really matter. Had Cole devoted even a *fraction* of the time he spent on Gable's El Grande Americano storyline as he did on the growing tension between Fatu and Solo Sikoa, it would've helped contextualize Fatu's turn so much more (especially for those of us who don't watch SmackDown weekly). IMO, that turn was really poorly executed, though I'll also admit that the crowd did love it (which means, yeah, I'm "wrong"). To me, Solo came off as sympathetic. When Fatu essentially handed him the victory, Solo wasn't ungrateful, he wasn't bossy, he wasn't disrespectful - he came off as appreciative in the moment. I think they could've got a bigger "moment" if Solo was doing something *heelish* in the moment that caused Fatu to finally snap. Instead, it comes off as a calculated decision by Fatu to screw Sikoa over, a premeditated act rather than a crime of passion. I think babyfaces doing something to screw over someone else should almost always be a "in the moment" decision so that it doesn't come off as conniving (but maybe that's just me). * I know its not the first time but another reason I disliked the Fatu/Solo segment taking over the final 5-8 minutes of the match? Not only did it require the 5 other participants to play dead on the outside, by that point, the number of people sitting back and doing nothing also included JC Mateo, Bronson Reed, and Bron Breakker, all relatively "fresh." Oh, and also the Creed Brothers, who were explicitly shown backstage being told by Gable that they should help "El Grande Americano." That's a whole lot of people who basically disappeared. * Speaking of disappearing acts, after a really great performance, I feel like Penta's "shine" from this match was almost entirely erased once the match became about the Fatu turn and, before that, Rollins' being aided by his new stablemates. * Triple H saying that the R-Truth fiasco is "all part of the show" is hilarious and so lame. I can't believe anyone could think this was a "work." I'm not saying we know every detail or that we ever will. Were there any negotiations prior to the announcement that they weren't renewing his contract? Did they offer a new contract but it was a paycut? Did they offer to let his previous deal "roll over"? Did they offer him a new deal with only a nominal raise and Killings thought he was worth more? What is this new deal? But the answer to these questions doesn't really matter. From a PR perspective, the WWE looked bad and they needed to fix it and it had nothing to do with "the story." * And, weirdly enough, R-Truth's return being part of Cena's "story" is the one thing that I don't think ANYONE asked for. Sure, it makes storyline sense that R-Truth would want some revenge on Cena, but R-Truth hasn't been presented as a serious character for years. Him getting this sort of role is just...not what people were asking for when they said "We Want Truth." It also, to me, overshadows the Cody return a little bit. * Speaking of the main event, Jey Uso and John Cena can add another clunker to their 2025. It was like a competition over who could telegraph, position themselves awkwardly for the next spot, or overact more. And the sad part is that the guy who won the briefcase is someone else I don't really enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted June 9 Report Share Posted June 9 Who is even goobling up the "alternative facts" that Paul Levesque is spilling out at "pressers" these days ? The R-Truth debacle is yet another case of WWE just being embarrassing. Speaking of which, the fact a 53 years old jobber/comedy worker 4 life being not renewed then re-signed because of public (and private inside the company) outburst being the most talked about stuff concerning John Cena's latest PLE match (well, apart from the fact it was apparently yet another clunker) speaks loudly about how the booking of the "once in a lifetime heel turn" has been a complete failure (not talking about business, WWE is still selling overpriced ticket so people can Yeet! to support their favorite crappy nepokid) That being said, R-Truth being "great at 00's WWE comedy" is the biggest faint praise ever. The guy being another member of the "I love Vince McMahon" crowd, he can eat shit and AEW better never touch him (why the fuck would they want to anyway ?) once his 6 months renewal is up and he goes to TNA. In other news, Konnan announcing a Stephanie Vaquer match is one hell of a fuckery (like, really, and I heard it was even worse than it sounds on paper). Gotta love people who never watched a second of AAA ever being so excited about it now. The real "interesting" first show will be Triplemania in Mexico, not this fake cross-promotion show (I have no doubt Gabe vs Vikingo was awesome. BTW, how is Fénix's new career doing ? That star making push was worth the drama I'm sure). I also have no doubt in less than a year AAA is turning into NXT Mexico (just watch the amount of cooptation and cucking that is going on in TNA, and they don't even technically own it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted June 9 Report Share Posted June 9 1 hour ago, El-P said: Speaking of which, the fact a 53 years old jobber/comedy worker 4 life being not renewed then re-signed because of public (and private inside the company) outburst being the most talked about stuff concerning John Cena's latest PLE match (well, apart from the fact it was apparently yet another clunker) speaks loudly about how the booking of the "once in a lifetime heel turn" has been a complete failure (not talking about business, WWE is still selling overpriced ticket so people can Yeet! to support their favorite crappy nepokid) It should be noted that Smackdown the week before last did a shockingly low rating despite featuring Cena and Cody and having no NBA playoff competition. Raw is also doing disappointing numbers on Netflix. The big shows are still doing monster business, which is interesting because ratings have historically been a lagging indicator of popularity. Still, there are signs that WWE is starting to cool off somewhat. If nothing else, Vince's insistence on never turning Cena heel has been thoroughly vindicated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted June 9 Report Share Posted June 9 5 hours ago, NintendoLogic said: It should be noted that Smackdown the week before last did a shockingly low rating despite featuring Cena and Cody and having no NBA playoff competition. Raw is also doing disappointing numbers on Netflix. The big shows are still doing monster business, which is interesting because ratings have historically been a lagging indicator of popularity. There is a world where WWE becomes a big show only business. Like I said in the other thread, it's not like TKO are wrestling people on top. Well, you got Dwayne. But apart from him, you think Mark Shapiro cares one bit about what pro-wrestling is ? He'd fire Levesque in a heartbeat the day he's not satisfied with his ever-growing greed. Also, if I haven't said it a dozen times already I haven't said it once, but Levesque has been totally exposed, again. He got the easiest job *ever* as a booker, getting what was becoming a red hot WWE again thanks to seeds planted by the last months of Vince's era. His first Mania main event which was Cody vs heel-turned Cena (for his retirement year mind you) was universally panned. The guys has just inherited the biggest privileged situation ever, and that's the only reason he maintains this illusion of being a great booker (which, by now, should be shattered). And his PR is nothing but catastrophic and still reaks of insecurity and pettiness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Thread Killer Posted June 9 Report Share Posted June 9 18 minutes ago, El-P said: But apart from him, you think Mark Shapiro cares one bit about what pro-wrestling is ? I’ll do you one better, Mark Shapiro is such an idiot, he doesn’t even understand MMA either. As you probably know, the UFC runs their monthly PPV’s in the same kind of arenas that WWE runs their shows in. They also run regular “Fight Night” shows in arenas internationally. But at least once or twice a month, UFC runs TV shows in a small little complex in Las Vegas called the UFC Apex. The Apex is essentially the same as the WWE Performance Center. It’s a tiny little industrial workspace, which maybe fits a couple hundred fans, if that. It literally doubles as a training center, and gym. The shows that UFC run from the Apex are traditionally pretty horrible with absolutely no atmosphere because there is barely anybody in the room and the acoustics are terrible. I can honestly say that I don’t ever remember seeing a good UFC show from the Apex. The only good thing about that place is that it’s where they film their reality show, The Ultimate Fighter. But otherwise it’s basically like if AEW or WWE filmed their weekly TV show in a gym or a warehouse. Mark Shapiro has gone on record in public as saying he doesn’t understand why TKO/UFC doesn’t run ALL of their shows at the Apex, since they are essentially a TV product and the cameras can only show what is happening in the Octagon. Since they already have a TV studio at the Apex, he thinks they should run every single show there, including the PPV shows, because it would save them money. He literally can’t understand the difference in atmosphere between running a show in a packed arena in front of 20,000 fans, and filming it in a TV studio in a warehouse. He’s a total moron. He has no product knowledge on either side of the TKO portfolio, and I won’t be one little bit surprised if he eventually ends up getting fired. All he cares about is the bottom line and making as much profit as he can, but he is so damn stupid. He’s eventually going to do something that’s going to cost him his job. Hopefully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaufman316 Posted June 10 Report Share Posted June 10 On 6/7/2025 at 6:46 PM, Blehschmidt said: So I watched and enjoyed the Worlds Collide show (except for the Psycho Clown match, cause I can't stand that guy) but I just decided to look at the 411 review of the show, and Holy Shit, the people they have reviewing shows now are out of their fucking minds. I know star ratings are subjective, but seriously.... Iguana/Aerostar/Octagon vs Lince/Del Toro/Dragon Lee - 4 1/4 Vaquer/Vice vs Dalys/Tormenta - 3 1/2 Legado vs Psycho/Pagano/Wagner - 3 1/2 Page vs Evans vs Laredo vs Fenix - 4 3/4 Vikingo vs Gable - 5 Looks like the Meltzer Scale for rating AEW PPVs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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