Official Pro-Wrestling Thread (WWE, TNA, ROH etc.)

[masterblaster]

While not offically pro wrestling per say, but the biggest Pay Per View in history is going down at the moment. UFC 91 featuring Brock Lesnar vs Randy Couture for the UFC World Heavyweight Championship is on right now with that main event to start really soon.

Tipping Brock Lesnar to win the belt. Lets see what happens.

 

[masterblaster]

Haha. Christian can overshadow whoever he likes, the man's a hero. Can't wait for the moment he and Edge come face to face again (or face to heel...sorry, awful joke), will mark out like mad.

Speaking of which, I'm intrigued that we've almost got several matches set in stone for WMXXV already - should be some interesting and long build-ups going on.

World Heavyweight Championship Match - "The Rematch of the Century"
Batista (c) vs John Cena

WWE Championship Match
Triple H (c) vs Jeff Hardy

Grudge Match
Edge vs Christian

Plus:

Some sort of 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin appearance, or maybe even a match
A Santino Marella promo/match/appearance
Some sort of Legends Showcase, perhaps a Legends Battle Royal
Possible Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels match
Matches involving Big Show, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, CM Punk, Matt Hardy, Rey Mysterio, Kane, JBL and others who are guaranteed to appear
Money In the Bank Match, probably involving the likes of Morrison, Benjamin, Kendrick, Kennedy, MVP et al
Some sort of celebrity match

Wouldn't be surprised if this was a five-hour spectacular like WMXX was, TBH. They've got so much to fit in. Am stoked already.

Looks like a great card right there. Although I think Cena vs Batista can go on without the belt. Batista could turn heel this Survivor Series and cost Cena the title against Jericho. But with the lack of faces available to work with Jericho, I think you're right. The Cena vs Batista match at Wrestlemania will be for the title.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Dunno if there is an MMA thread, but well done to Lesnar! He's copped a lot of stick, but I reckon he's a class act and this will stick it up his doubters.

 

[masterblaster]

Dunno if there is an MMA thread, but well done to Lesnar! He's copped a lot of stick, but I reckon he's a class act and this will stick it up his doubters.

Lesnar was dominant. Well done to him, new UFC World Heavyweight Champion.

 

[sledger]

The Wrestling Observer is reporting that former Raw General Manager Mike Adamle was very upset when he learned that he was to be written off television as the GM. When Adamle arrived to the building the morning of the Raw broadcast, he was informed by creative that it would be his last show as the General Manager and that there was no current plan in place to have him continue with the WWE as an on-air personality. His reaction later that night on television was genuine, as he became very emotional on the air and was said to have been emotional about the creative decision all night.

Aw, feel sorry for the guy, like him or not I always thought he seemed like a nice enough guy and despite not often getting the results it seemed like he always put the effort in, shame they decided to axe him.

 

[Barney Rubble]

Aw, feel sorry for the guy, like him or not I always thought he seemed like a nice enough guy and despite not often getting the results it seemed like he always put the effort in, shame they decided to axe him.

Yeah, feel bad for him TBH. He did his best.

On another note, well done to Brock Lesnar. I think the man has found his calling in MMA, his athleticism and aggression is frightening, and it's quite a sight to see him destroy guys like Couture, who are supposed to be at the peak of their profession. Of course, this title win now means that he'd be a bigger draw than ever if he were to return to WWE, so Vince will no doubt be on the phone once the media circus dies down.

Wouldn't rule out some sort of jointly-promoted event involving WWE and UFC, TBH - Vince has already stated openly that he doesn't see the UFC as competition, and they both clearly have a lot to gain from one another.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Won't happen IMO. Both seem to treat each other with contempt. An example being:

- WWE has an article up on Brock Lesnar's UFC Heavyweight Title victory. While they congratulate Lesnar, they also take the chance to take a shot at their PPV competitor:

"Critics have noted that many of the fights on the UFC pay-per-view ended in the first round, leaving UFC producers scrambling to fill the three-hour event with content. The dearth of hearty competition left many viewers to watch less prestigious under-card fights and only served to bolster claims that UFC pay-per-view events can often be a "crap shoot" in regards to filling the full three hours."

They have removed it since, though.

 

[sledger]

Haha I saw that earlier, was a pretty stupid thing to say imo, but it did make me laugh, clearly just a jibe made at UFC.

 

[Barney Rubble]

Haha, never saw that. Fair enough, I had heard one quote from Vince that was fairly complimentary about Dana White, but I guess maybe he's not a fan.

If the UFC's presentation skills are the only thing he has a problem with, however, then that can surely be rectified. I'm sure there's a lot the two companies can learn from each other.

RAW last night was a bit "meh", but there was one outstanding moment - John Morrison hitting Sweet Chin Music on Shawn Michaels for the second time in very recent memory. Like that they're really pushing Miz and Morrison, having them go over HBK and Rey was a huge step.

 

[sledger]

Would like to see Morrison have his gimmick changed to make him a more credible character and then pushed as a singles competitor....unfortunately this would probably mean the demise of Miz which would be a shame.....but still, Morrison has what's required to make him a very decent character imo.

 

[duffer]

Man, Santino's rap was incredible even by his lofty standards, loved seeing Acorn (Akon) get a laugh out of it too. Punk's promo was excellent too for mine shame he had to lose on the back of it.

Also has anyone seen this?

Hate Bobby Lee but though it was

 

[sledger]

Man, Santino's rap was incredible even by his lofty standards, loved seeing Acorn (Akon) get a laugh out of it too. Punk's promo was excellent too for mine shame he had to lose on the back of it.

Also has anyone seen this?

Hate Bobby Lee but though it was

Haha oh god...that vid has a link to this.....http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=dhzPndRnC-8&feature=related

 

[duffer]

Haha oh god...that vid has a link to this.....http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=dhzPndRnC-8&feature=related

And that one links to this one. That wrestling match was truly wtf.

EDIT: But yeah that Trips one is hilarious.

 

[pinchy81]

Would like to see Morrison have his gimmick changed to make him a more credible character and then pushed as a singles competitor....unfortunately this would probably mean the demise of Miz which would be a shame.....but still, Morrison has what's required to make him a very decent character imo.

Disagree with this tbh i find his charcter very well done and credible possibly my favourite gimmick in the WWE atm tbh (haven't seen Jeff's new one yet)

 

[sledger]

Disagree with this tbh i find his charcter very well done and credible possibly my favourite gimmick in the WWE atm tbh (haven't seen Jeff's new one yet)

I find his gimmick to be very glitz and glam and not at all serious, despite coming across as a serious in ring performer I always find his out of ring work to be very much on the comedy side of things rather than taking a serious tone, obviously being paired up with Miz does not help this...A complete change of gimmick probably isnt neccesary, but a reform of character would not go amiss imo.

 

[Barney Rubble]

I find his gimmick to be very glitz and glam and not at all serious, despite coming across as a serious in ring performer I always find his out of ring work to be very much on the comedy side of things rather than taking a serious tone, obviously being paired up with Miz does not help this...A complete change of gimmick probably isnt neccesary, but a reform of character would not go amiss imo.

To an extent I agree with this, but then look at the line of performers that Morrison is quite obviously taking his inspiration from:

'The Nature Boy' Buddy Rogers ---> 'The Nature Boy' Ric Flair ---> 'The Heartbreak Kid' Shawn Michaels ---> 'Y2J' Chris Jericho ---> 'The Shaman of ***y' John Morrison

All hugely successful gimmicks in different eras of professional wrestling, because the performers in question were talented enough to make them work. Heel gimmicks that rely on over-extravagance and showing off are always going to get over, particularly these days when clean heel wins are so rare and very few heels have genuine wrestling credibility anyway. Morrison has the talent to make his gimmick work for him, and I think once we do see the breakup of Miz and Morrison (which is still some way off yet, IMO), he'll be pushed to the moon.

One other thing I'd like to say about Morrison is that they should without a doubt continue having him use Sweet Chin Music as an occasional finisher. Not only would it build nicely to an inevitable (and inevitably awesome) feud between the two, but it would also be a nice tribute to a man who has obviously influenced Morrison's in-ring style, character and promo work, and would help get him over in a big way. Also, he performs it better than Michaels does these days.

 

[sledger]

To an extent I agree with this, but then look at the line of performers that Morrison is quite obviously taking his inspiration from:

'The Nature Boy' Buddy Rogers ---> 'The Nature Boy' Ric Flair ---> 'The Heartbreak Kid' Shawn Michaels ---> 'Y2J' Chris Jericho ---> 'The Shaman of ***y' John Morrison

All hugely successful gimmicks in different eras of professional wrestling, because the performers in question were talented enough to make them work. Heel gimmicks that rely on over-extravagance and showing off are always going to get over, particularly these days when clean heel wins are so rare and very few heels have genuine wrestling credibility anyway. Morrison has the talent to make his gimmick work for him, and I think once we do see the breakup of Miz and Morrison (which is still some way off yet, IMO), he'll be pushed to the moon.

One other thing I'd like to say about Morrison is that they should without a doubt continue having him use Sweet Chin Music as an occasional finisher. Not only would it build nicely to an inevitable (and inevitably awesome) feud between the two, but it would also be a nice tribute to a man who has obviously influenced Morrison's in-ring style, character and promo work, and would help get him over in a big way. Also, he performs it better than Michaels does these days.

Mmm to an extent I agree, but all the characters you mentioned were gimmicks that retained an element of seriousness and originality, the problem I have with Morrisons gimmick is that from it's origin it was clearly intended to make him a parody of Jim Morrison, and whenever I see him I kind of get the feeling that he is playing a kind of spoof character...I dunno....he's good and all.....but at this stage I don't think I could see him as a credible upper card performer.

 

[sledger]

Just seen his version of sweet chin music on HHH, pretty awesome.

 

[Barney Rubble]

Mmm to an extent I agree, but all the characters you mentioned were gimmicks that retained an element of seriousness and originality, the problem I have with Morrisons gimmick is that from it's origin it was clearly intended to make him a parody of Jim Morrison, and whenever I see him I kind of get the feeling that he is playing a kind of spoof character...I dunno....he's good and all.....but at this stage I don't think I could see him as a credible upper card performer.

Well, that's true in that Morrison's character is in essence a spoof, but I think it's a very specific spoof that only people with a knowledge of Jim Morrison himself would get, as opposed to a spoof like 'Black Machismo' Jay Lethal, which anyone with a basic knowledge of wrestling would get.

You've got to bear in mind the average WWE audience member - not only is anyone under the age of 16 in 2008 probably not gonna get the Jim Morrison reference in the slightest, but the number of people for whom Jim Morrison is the first thing that springs to mind when they think of John Morrison is going to be even smaller, as it's restricted to people who are more than just vaguely familiar with Jim Morrison's life and work.

I know Morrison has come in for some criticism backstage over the past year or so for playing his character for laughs and not for heat, so I do think it's a while before he's given a ball to run with as a singles performer again - however, I don't necessarily think that when that time comes, any real gimmick tweaking will be necessary, as the gimmick will be established enough to stick without constant reinforcement of the fact that he's a walking Doors reference.

 

[Barney Rubble]

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=XGnO1oQk2_w

The official trailer for Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler. Have to say, it looks fantastic.

In an ideal world, this movie would kick-start a wave of public interest in wrestling - it's unlikely to in the long run, but I'd be willing to bet that in the few weeks after its release at least, ratings for all four major wrestling shows (RAW, SmackDown, ECW and iMPACT) are up.