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[switchback27]

I disagree with NickFire and Dthomp, maybe I'm a bit more sentimental towards underdog stories, but yesterday's segment between the New Day members and VKM was pretty well done, I thought. It felt real, felt genuine, and made me want to see Kofi have success--and that's all I ask, a genuine reason for me to care and root for (or jeer) a character. And the part about Bryan calling Kofi a B+ player--turning into what he hated several years ago--was a pretty subtle callback, I thought.

It gets even better when you compare it to the clusterfuck that was the Batista-HHH promo. Not sure what they were going for there, and they even got to use pissed-off Triple H, a genuine badass character for promos! The only explanation I can come up with is that they wanted a new Dave Batista meme that involves spitting.

 

[Dthomp]

I disagree with NickFire and Dthomp, maybe I'm a bit more sentimental towards underdog stories, but yesterday's segment between the New Day members and VKM was pretty well done, I thought. It felt real, felt genuine, and made me want to see Kofi have success--and that's all I ask, a genuine reason for me to care and root for (or jeer) a character. And the part about Bryan calling Kofi a B+ player--turning into what he hated several years ago--was a pretty subtle callback, I thought.

It gets even better when you compare it to the clusterfuck that was the Batista-HHH promo. Not sure what they were going for there, and they even got to use pissed-off Triple H, a genuine badass character for promos! The only explanation I can come up with is that they wanted a new Dave Batista meme that involves spitting.

I'm all for an underdog story, but as a fan I have a hard time ignoring that this was the Mustafa Ali story featuring Kofi. Maybe if this Mania didn't already have 2 other underdogs overcoming the odds in Seth and Becky I'd at least be into it. My fear is that we will have so many "Overcoming the odds" moments during Manias 15 hours that by the time we get to the end with Becky people are going to be burnt out on it and sit on their hands. I also think maybe I'm just over the underdog story, WWE just goes back to it more then I'd like.

I love memorable title runs and this heel Bryan run is fantastic and for me, Kofi is a Christian style transitional champ at best and that is a waste to be the guy to knock off this version of Bryan. I would rather see Bryan retain til after the brand split and if you are going to do a title change you bring over Finn Balor or Drew and you really put one of them over big. Kofi doesn't fit what the WWE loves in a champ, as in a guy that can go out and open a show and ramble on for 15 minutes and sell a program, so unless the buildup is yelling Bay Bee loud Kofi doesn't bring alot more to the table verbally.

I fully agree with you on the HHH/Batista thing. Talk about a feud that literally only Batista wanted. The build is bad, and there is literally zero reason for this feud to happen. If you want HHH to really hate and want that match, at least have Dave take out Shane and Vince to finally push him over the edge and accept the challenge, or come out and ruin a main event or two. Do something!

I feel like that's not the only feud though that is just kind of coming out of nowhere without good build. Randy/AJ also fall in there, along with Womens Tags and Asuka will just be made in a week with no build at all. If guys can just decide they want a match at Mania why isn't Zack Ryder coming out and challenging somebody to have a Mania match?

 

[switchback27]

I'm all for an underdog story, but as a fan I have a hard time ignoring that this was the Mustafa Ali story featuring Kofi. Maybe if this Mania didn't already have 2 other underdogs overcoming the odds in Seth and Becky I'd at least be into it. My fear is that we will have so many "Overcoming the odds" moments during Manias 15 hours that by the time we get to the end with Becky people are going to be burnt out on it and sit on their hands. I also think maybe I'm just over the underdog story, WWE just goes back to it more then I'd like.

I love memorable title runs and this heel Bryan run is fantastic and for me, Kofi is a Christian style transitional champ at best and that is a waste to be the guy to knock off this version of Bryan. I would rather see Bryan retain til after the brand split and if you are going to do a title change you bring over Finn Balor or Drew and you really put one of them over big. Kofi doesn't fit what the WWE loves in a champ, as in a guy that can go out and open a show and ramble on for 15 minutes and sell a program, so unless the buildup is yelling Bay Bee loud Kofi doesn't bring alot more to the table verbally.

I fully agree with you on the HHH/Batista thing. Talk about a feud that literally only Batista wanted. The build is bad, and there is literally zero reason for this feud to happen. If you want HHH to really hate and want that match, at least have Dave take out Shane and Vince to finally push him over the edge and accept the challenge, or come out and ruin a main event or two. Do something!

I feel like that's not the only feud though that is just kind of coming out of nowhere without good build. Randy/AJ also fall in there, along with Womens Tags and Asuka will just be made in a week with no build at all. If guys can just decide they want a match at Mania why isn't Zack Ryder coming out and challenging somebody to have a Mania match?

Different strokes, I guess-and that's perfectly fine! I don't watch Raw or Smackdown as it broadcasts, I catch the highlights and the clips--perhaps that's why I feel a bit less burnt out by the WWE's storylines.

The underdog stories that I remember fondly are Austin (because he's up against the company boss, regardless of how badass Austin was, Austin was the underdog in my view) and Bryan, and those worked because you felt like there was actual disdain between the boss/authority and the underdog; with Becky and with Kofi, it feels not like disdain/animosity, but a forced scenario made to portray them as underdogs. The reason I feel different about Kofi is entirely subjective, I guess--I am a sucker for the storyline that invokes family and the responsibilities of being an adult, perhaps because I'm a father of a young son. When Kofi emphasized "11 years" and trick-or-treating, it came at me on a more personal, down-to-earth level. I understand that's a highly subjective viewpoint.

Randy/AJ I'll personally give a pass, as it is the ultimate form of fantasy booking--the career WWE guy who views everything else in the wrestling industry as inferior, versus they guy who's done virtually everything under the sun in that same industry before coming to the WWE and killing it. Their promo showdown was pretty good, I thought--subtle digs between two proud guys who know that they're damned good. It definitely could have used a bit more buildup, but I think with those two, they can make something magical out of it.

On a side note, I loved Jessie McKay's look (now Billie Kay) when she was on the indies--WWE really needs to lay off the makeup gun on Billie. Also, I can kinda force in my head that of the Tag Teams in the WWE, the IIconics were the only "real" team--the others were singles competitors just kinda thrown together. You could make an argument that the Riott Squad and the remnants of Absolution also fit the bill, but the IIconics are the legitimate "team" in that division. They've targeted tag gold all along--so I can see them seeing the scenario as "this is our domain".

Asuka......no comment. They dropped the ball on that one hard.

 

[Dthomp]

Yeah I can't stand the look of Billie, WAY to much makeup. At least Peyton is finally looking good after the callup. Love her current look.

 

[switchback27]

Yeah I can't stand the look of Billie, WAY to much makeup. At least Peyton is finally looking good after the callup. Love her current look.

Peyton's looked good ever since she ditched the leotard. Wasn't a fan of her new hair at the beginning, but it's grown on me. Prefer the later stage NXT look, but it's a good look still.

And they need Heyman to be Ronda's mouthpiece--hell, with Lesnar already a Heyman client, they could play up the MMA part even more (gah, pains me just typing that).

Finally, I wonder what RKO spot they will come up with for this year's Mania.

 

[Bullet Club]

On a side note, I loved Jessie McKay's look (now Billie Kay) when she was on the indies--WWE really needs to lay off the makeup gun on Billie.

Agreed. Back in Shimmer she was quite nice but she looks a bit rough these days.

TNA should have hired her 8 years ago to play Dixie Carter's illegitimate Australian daughter.

 

[Dthomp]

God, is that Billie before WWE? Jesus who thought that change was a good idea?

 

[Bullet Club]

God, is that Billie before WWE?

It is.

Jesus who thought that change was a good idea?

Vince likes them plastic.

 

[NickFire]

I disagree with NickFire and Dthomp, maybe I'm a bit more sentimental towards underdog stories, but yesterday's segment between the New Day members and VKM was pretty well done, I thought. It felt real, felt genuine, and made me want to see Kofi have success--and that's all I ask, a genuine reason for me to care and root for (or jeer) a character. And the part about Bryan calling Kofi a B+ player--turning into what he hated several years ago--was a pretty subtle callback, I thought.

It gets even better when you compare it to the clusterfuck that was the Batista-HHH promo. Not sure what they were going for there, and they even got to use pissed-off Triple H, a genuine badass character for promos! The only explanation I can come up with is that they wanted a new Dave Batista meme that involves spitting.

All is good. I do agree that this week's Kofi / New Day angle with Vince was really good. In fact, I could genuinely relate to both sides. Kofi being the company guy who has sacrificed everything, and Vince being the owner who is also right that Kofi's HOF entry would, as of now, be as part of New Day and not individually. Kofi's lack of compelling promo's in his past (that I recall at least) reinforce Vince's position to me. But I still am not excited for this match with Bryan at all. IMO the angle has potential, but I would book it more as a slow build towards Kofi (and/or New Day) going mega heal, like really mean heal who takes what he wants. Maybe this match is designed for Kofi to lose and start down that path. That would make sense to me. Kofi as a face champion right now just doesn't excite me or intrigue me, and this match does not does nothing for me at the moment. I just don't get drawn in by good guys who don't have great mic skills.

 

[switchback27]

All is good. I do agree that this week's Kofi / New Day angle with Vince was really good. In fact, I could genuinely relate to both sides. Kofi being the company guy who has sacrificed everything, and Vince being the owner who is also right that Kofi's HOF entry would, as of now, be as part of New Day and not individually. Kofi's lack of compelling promo's in his past (that I recall at least) reinforce Vince's position to me. But I still am not excited for this match with Bryan at all. IMO the angle has potential, but I would book it more as a slow build towards Kofi (and/or New Day) going mega heal, like really mean heal who takes what he wants. Maybe this match is designed for Kofi to lose and start down that path. That would make sense to me. Kofi as a face champion right now just doesn't excite me or intrigue me, and this match does not does nothing for me at the moment. I just don't get drawn in by good guys who don't have great mic skills.

Fair, I usually don't take a long-term view of angles, so all I wanted to say was that the SmackDown segment between New Day and VKM was good--which we are in agreement on. I will say, though, that I hope Kofi proves the doubters wrong and grabs this opportunity, showing that he is main event material not just in-ring, but also as a character.

Switching gears, I wonder what kind of ridiculous shenanigans will be had between HHH and Bluet--I mean, Batista. No holds barred between two older guys usually means something wonky will happen that involves someone else, so I wonder if they really are thinking about having Ric Flair crawl out from under the ring and deliver a trademark mule kick to both of them.

 

[Bullet Club]

 

[cryptoadam]

So where does everyone think WM shakes up for the few remaining spots?

I think the title match is going to be a 4 way with Bryan, Owens, Kofi, Ali.

Joe, Rey, Truth, Andrade will be in some sort of combination of a match. All though I could see them add Owen + Ali into maybe a ladder match and make Bryan Kofi 1 v 1.

Uso's vs Hardy's seems like a lock, though again I could see the Bar or Nakamura+Rusev getting involved somehow.

Ricochet/Black could be involved on all 3 brands. They might face the War Raiders at Takeover, are involved with Rooble+Revival, and for some reason keep getting mixed up in the SDL tag team scene.

Balor still doesn't have a match but just lost the IC belt. Drew/Baron/Roman are all off the card. I guess Ambrose isn't getting one last WM pay day? Maybe Balor + Ambrose+ Reigns vs Drew/Corbin/Lashley. O shit forgot about Braun so he needs to get on the card somewhere.

Now that I think about it, how about a TLC match for the womens tags? And will Asuka get a match at WM, I hope so.

 

[Y2H]

As a follow up to my previous post on the Ric Flair Vs. Ricky Steamboat Trilogy here is the Brucie Bonus house show match that happened 30 years ago today and earned a 6 star rating from Dave Meltzer. The quality of the footage isn't great but the match is still worth watching if you're a fan of either bloke or just want to see some good wrasslin'.

 

[Bullet Club]

 

[Dthomp]

Gotta say, WWE isn't doing anything at all on either show this week to make me any more excited for WM. So many matches that are just like "huh?" with the buildup. Every week the steam we had for Becky/Ronda gets lesser and lesser. They have done so much to make me not care about the match, and it will be at the end of a likely 10 hour event so the crowd will be nice and dead by the end.

 

[switchback27]

Gotta say, WWE isn't doing anything at all on either show this week to make me any more excited for WM. So many matches that are just like "huh?" with the buildup. Every week the steam we had for Becky/Ronda gets lesser and lesser. They have done so much to make me not care about the match, and it will be at the end of a likely 10 hour event so the crowd will be nice and dead by the end.

They've botched the angles involving women so goddamn much. Asuka, Bayley/Banks, Becky/Ronda......

 

[switchback27]

Man HHH really decided to tap into his memory bank today, didn't he? Jobbing to an envelope, channeling Spice Girls while taunting Drax........

And whose brilliant idea was it to send Kurt Angle off with a match against Baron fucking Corbin. Seriously!?

Lastly, farewell Dean. There's only so much chicken salad you can make with chickenshit.

 

[Bullet Club]

 

[switchback27]

Welp, they just buried Asuka......again. So much for buildup.

 

[Bullet Club]

LMAO

 

[Bullet Club]

John Oliver discusses how the WWE takes care of its wrestlers — and how it doesn’t.

Proxy link:

https://us7.proxysite.com/process.p...K7YvrKYfvjovmGVzOvBLQSjwZRRcQjR&b=1&f=norefer

 

[NickFire]

Has Wrestlemania ever felt like a let down a week before it even happened before?

 

[ThatStupidLion]

that john oliver bit was great. its shocking how little responsibility the wwe has for its employees. NFL gets so much shit for concussions and yet no one is batting an eye at the direction of wwe.

probably Dwayne Johnsons fault is him not bringing enough attention and light to this subject.

 

[switchback27]

Has Wrestlemania ever felt like a let down a week before it even happened before?

Feels like it, doesn't it? At this rate, I'm just hoping for some iconic images to remember WM by--Kofi riding on the shoulders of the New Day after winning, a handshake of respect between a longtime "indies" guy (Styles) and WWE lifer (Orton), a broken but triumphant Rollins clutching the title over Lesnar's body.

And if they really do that Four Horsewomen bit that's been discussed on Reddit since last week, I will be really sad. Not because the four women don't deserve it, but because all the bullshit that went on just to force that image at WM35 will be forgotten into history.

 

[Bullet Club]

Sweet Dreams, Ronda

 

[Bullet Club]

 

[switchback27]

Sweet Dreams, Ronda

Shit, this song was stuck in my head after watching that Quicksilver scene far too many times--this is perfect.

SWEET DREAMS ARE MADE OF KNEES~

 

[Bullet Club]

 

[Bullet Club]

 

[brap]

*tackles a 61 year old man in your path*

Apparently he's gotten in trouble for stalking multiple times and his twitter makes him seem crazy. Always tagging vince and hunter and expecting them to reply.

 

[Kagey K]

I haven’t missed a Wrestlemania, since it was a thing, but for the first time in 30 some years I’m considering skipping it.

It just seems so long with so many I don’t give a shit matches, this might be the first wreslemania I just ignore.

 

[Bullet Club]

That's the advantage of living in Australia, I can't really watch it live so will watch it later in the evening and fast forward through the shit.

And it's lucky that crazy fucker that jumped Bret didn't have a knife.

 

[VulcanRaven]

I haven't watched WWE regularly in a long time but I have always watched Wrestlemania. I'm not very excited but I hope Undertaker appears.

 

[Halo0629]

I just saw bret hart got attacked. There like are dozens of wrestlers there and he goes after an old and defenseless man who was also a stroke and cancer survivor. What a pathetic human being and he doesn't deserved to be an mma fighter. Good thing dash wilder got a shot at time.

 

[switchback27]

Just to avoid any hard feelings.....

Spoiler

Rollins won! The Brock Lesnar hostage era is over! Thank the fucking Lord!

Kofi won! He got his moment! They actually pulled the trigger! YAY!

The IIconics pulled off a chickenshit heel win! YAY!

 

[abstract alien]

The match order in this 'mania seems all over the place.

I just saw bret hart got attacked. There like are dozens of wrestlers there and he goes after an old and defenseless man who was also a stroke and cancer survivor. What a pathetic human being and he doesn't deserved to be an mma fighter. Good thing dash wilder got a shot at time.

That was indeed a pussy ass move, but I guess we should expect that in this day and age. People just want to be talked about.

 

[Halo0629]

Just to avoid any hard feelings.....

Spoiler

Rollins won! The Brock Lesnar hostage era is over! Thank the fucking Lord!

Kofi won! He got his moment! They actually pulled the trigger! YAY!

The IIconics pulled off a chickenshit heel win! YAY!

I heard brock is going back to the ufc.

 

[abstract alien]

Lashley out here with Atom Bomb's contact lenses.

 

[brap]

BOBBY WAS ROBBED
Don't care about the rest of this lmao. That Haitch vs Dave match was so fucking hard to watch. Slow ass motherfuckers. Both of them need to retire.

 

[abstract alien]

BOBBY WAS ROBBED
Don't care about the rest of this lmao. That Haitch vs Dave match was so fucking hard to watch. Slow ass motherfuckers. Both of them need to retire.

Dave almost killed himself trying to get into the ring during his intro. Probably good to retire when the ring ropes become opponents.

 

[abstract alien]

Wait.....why does Becky's shirt say "The Man"? I haven't watched it like a year.

 

[Paracelsus]

Wait.....why does Becky's shirt say "The Man"? I haven't watched it like a year.

That's her gimmick now, Stone Cold wannabe.

 

[abstract alien]

That's her gimmick now, Stone Cold wannabe.

Really? That's pretty bad lol

 

[brap]

Dave almost killed himself trying to get into the ring during his intro. Probably good to retire when the ring ropes become opponents.

Yeah, I saw that lmao.

That's her gimmick now, Stone Cold wannabe.

And ronda is a piper wannabe and charlotte is a flair wannabe?
I really hope charlotte wins anyway so ric can die happy. He seemed really excited earlier and he's like 80 years old.

 

[Xaero Gravity]

First WM I've ever skipped. Just couldn't get excited for any of the matches

 

[switchback27]

Wait.....why does Becky's shirt say "The Man"? I haven't watched it like a year.

Basically an unconventional way to say that she's the ace. And she's pulling pages from Attitude Era Stone Cold.

There was a Twitter spat with Rousey where Becky said "the man" does not need to mean "the best male," just the top dog or something along those lines. I thought it was a nice twist, personally.

Kinda like how they called Goldberg "da man" back in his WCW unbeaten run.

 

[switchback27]

I heard brock is going back to the ufc.

He most likely is, Cormier wants a piece of Lesnar as his final match.

I respect Brock and what he's done in MMA and WWE, but they needed to get the title off him to make it relevant in the storylines again.

 

[Paracelsus]

I didn't watch the whole kickoff but:
Men's battle royal: it was okay, gimmick finish, right winner
Women's battle royal: botchfest, being a homewrecker gets you over with the office
Seth vs Brock: shocking timing and finish, DUD match
AJ vs Orton: Nakamura vs AJ part II. Boring RAW match, 2** 1/2 at most
Smackdown men's tag titles: Raw match slightly more gimmicked up, winners didn't do sh** most of the match. It was serviceable. Ricochet's flippy stuff was okay if you're into it
Shane vs Miz: match of the night, finish was shocking and it didn't help the loser one bit. It extends the feud, that's it
Women's tag title: a few botches, but it was okay, good winners
Miz vs Kofi: Kofi felt nervous, he botched quite a bit initially, Bryan carried him beautifully. Right winner.
Samoa Joe vs Rey: squash
Roman vs Drew: DUD, sell sell sell sell win. And they have to mute the booos, again.
HHH vs Batista: better than what I thought it would be (even thought anything involving HHH has to do with brawls and weapons), a bit too long but it's because they rested quite a bit both being gassed after 1 minute.
Baron vs Angle: DUD, useless rub because nobody gives a flying **** about Corbin
Finn vs Lashley: short, did the minimum to put Finn over.
Main event: nothing special, a few rough spots, botched finish.

 

[brap]

>when you can't even break a table
Terrible. And the finish was even botched. Ronda didn't have her shoulders on the ground for 3 seconds. Just ugh.

 

[NYR]

Garbage main event. Pure trash, full of botches and poor decisions and build up. This was a case of one awesome wrestler, one mediocre wrestler and one rookie in the ring together, bad mesh.

People on resetera calling people incels if you dare speak ill of the match - not all, just one or two insane people.