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

[sledger]

In a lot of ways having a strong mid-upper mid card is every bit as important as having main eventers. They can give you quality minutes on both shows and if kept relevant can be good stepping stones for genuine ME talent to credibly go over.

Really shouldn't be losing too many guys like that, it seems they won't have many soon either, what with anyone who ever starts to look good being made to job to someone or other.

Yeah I agree with this entirely, WCW perfected this formula for ages throughout their strong years, start the show with a load of cruiserweight action before moving onto the ME, that said, I never much cared for the WCW ME.

 

[sledger]

Haha **** me, finally something good on RAW.

-HHH losing to Cody Rhodes CLEAN, FML, finally a good booking, though imagine he will be squashed next week. HHH also teasing the return of HBK for a DX reunion, will be nice to see him back but cba with the whole DX thing again.

Cena being attacked by Jeremy Piven sounds quite amusing, but otherwise nothing remarkable about the show.

 

[masterblaster]

Haha **** me, finally something good on RAW.

-HHH losing to Cody Rhodes CLEAN, FML, finally a good booking, though imagine he will be squashed next week. HHH also teasing the return of HBK for a DX reunion, will be nice to see him back but cba with the whole DX thing again.

Cena being attacked by Jeremy Piven sounds quite amusing, but otherwise nothing remarkable about the show.

That opening segment with Jeremy Piven was the most dreadful segment I've ever seen on Raw. The entire opening segment gave me a headache and I stopped watching. What was up with the mistake of calling the next PPV Summerfest?

Summerfest? Seriously? You'd think that an actor like Jeremy Piven would actually do some level of research and remember that the next PPV is Summerslam. It's not even that hard a name to remember!

That opening segment was some seriously bad television. For the first time in a long time, it made me wish that I was watching WWF Raw is War from 2001 and not this pile of garbage in 2009.

 

[sledger]

That opening segment with Jeremy Piven was the most dreadful segment I've ever seen on Raw. The entire opening segment gave me a headache and I stopped watching. What was up with the mistake of calling the next PPV Summerfest?

Summerfest? Seriously? You'd think that an actor like Jeremy Piven would actually do some level of research and remember that the next PPV is Summerslam. It's not even that hard a name to remember!

That opening segment was some seriously bad television. For the first time in a long time, it made me wish that I was watching WWF Raw is War from 2001 and not this pile of garbage in 2009.

Yeah it's received absolutely dreadful feedback, and I'm not surprised, I'm tempted to youtube it just so I can laugh, but I don't really want to put myself through it. Car Crash TV indeed. Any idea who the host is for next week?

 

[masterblaster]

I'm feeling nostalgic, but remember the good old days of WWF television? I think this Raw intro from 2001 is just a small reminder of how awesome Raw used to be.

Raw Intro 2001 HD

 

[sledger]

I'm feeling nostalgic, but remember the good old days of WWF television? I think this Raw intro from 2001 is just a small reminder of how awesome Raw used to be.

Raw Intro 2001 HD

Yeah totally agree, though I think the current intro by Papa Roach is pretty catchy.

 

[masterblaster]

Yeah totally agree, though I think the current intro by Papa Roach is pretty catchy.

It was more than the theme though, just look at all the wrestlers that were in that awesome intro video. An in his prime Triple H, The Undertaker, Steve Austin, The Rock, a young and hungry Chris Jericho, young and entertaining Edge and Christian, Kurt Angle the list just goes on. I'm not surprised at how high quality the shows were back then. Just look at the roster they had. They had an amazing amount of talent at their disposal as well as a pretty good writing team.

 

[sledger]

It was more than the theme though, just look at all the wrestlers that were in that awesome intro video. An in his prime Triple H, The Undertaker, Steve Austin, The Rock, a young and hungry Chris Jericho, young and entertaining Edg and Christian, Kurt Angle the list just goes on. I'm not surprised at how high quality the shows were back then. Just look at the roster they had. They had an amazing amount of talent at their disposal as well as a pretty good writing team.

Yeah indeed, watching that video it actually reminds me how I felt genuinely excited to tune in to RAW, with a sense of massive anticipation at what might happen. Now I tune in (when I can be bothered) with a sense of hope rather than expectation, that we might see some decent matches and a show that is not entirely rubbish.

Is there a place where you can download episodes of RAW from pretty much 1999 onwards? If so then that would be absolutely awesome, if I had the time I would sit down and try and watch pretty much all of them up till around 2005.

 

[masterblaster]

Yeah indeed, watching that video it actually reminds me how I felt genuinely excited to tune in to RAW, with a sense of massive anticipation at what might happen. Now I tune in (when I can be bothered) with a sense of hope rather than expectation, that we might see some decent matches and a show that is not entirely rubbish.

Is there a place where you can download episodes of RAW from pretty much 1999 onwards? If so then that would be absolutely awesome, if I had the time I would sit down and try and watch pretty much all of them up till around 2005.

Yeah, it'd be awesome if you could download all the shows from the past and just relive those great moments. You're spot on with regards to the level of excitement and anticipation that was in the air before the shows started because even if you had read spoilers or news, the creative team would still surprise you and the shows would be so much more enjoyable.

What I most enjoyed back then was that both the in ring work and the promos both had no limits. You saw a lot of great improvisation both in the ring and in terms of promos and that often lead to the greatest moments. Everything just seems so formulaic and contrived now from the matches to the promos. Not to mention that the likes of Cena and Orton even as talented they may be don't come close to Steve Austin and The Rock.

 

[sledger]

Yeah, it'd be awesome if you could download all the shows from the past and just relive those great moments. You're spot on with regards to the level of excitement and anticipation that was in the air before the shows started because even if you had read spoilers or news, the creative team would still surprise you and the shows would be so much more enjoyable.

What I most enjoyed back then was that both the in ring work and the promos both had no limits. You saw a lot of great improvisation both in the ring and in terms of promos and that often lead to the greatest moments. Everything just seems so formulaic and contrived now from the matches to the promos. Not to mention that the likes of Cena and Orton even as talented they may be don't come close to Steve Austin and The Rock.

Yeah, there was a genuine "Star presence" about characters like Austin and the Rock, you felt excited just to see then, or hear their music hit. These days the only one's remotely close to that are HBK and Undertaker, and they are a dying breed. HHH perhaps once had this as well, but has totally lost it since his streak of burying everyone began.

Edge, Jericho and Cena are all stars, but just not on the same level, which is a shame, but then again, there is no point trying to replicate Austin and the Rock, as that would just result in failure.

I agree that everything is too formulaic, or just plain stupid. I mean another example from RAW the other night was the Carlito/Primo match. I fail to understand why the creative team would break up one of the best tag teams they have on the roster, to have a terrible 3 week feud, culminating in a 3 minute blow off match that makes neither of them look any good. No doubt neither of them will have much singles success either, which is a crying shame as they are both good workers, Carlito in particular looked grea about 3-4 years ago, but like Shelton Benjamin his push was just suddenly ended and was made to job for ages.

The main feud pattern is just awful as well, generally speaking every feud goes something like this.

Promo by A > A's Promo interupted by B > B is later cost a match by A > Next show B cut's promo about A > A responds, challenges to match > a few more weeks of generic promo cutting and run ins > brawl a few times > match an PPV > end, and rise and repeat.

Obviously as it is a wrestling show feuds will inevitably follow some sort of pattern similar to this, but as you say, back in 2001 the way this was done was just so much more varied, exciting and interesting rather than the utterly mundane way it is done at the moment.

 

[sledger]

Below are some of the highlights from the very candid and revealing interview with Ken Anderson from the Pro Wrestling Report on 540 ESPN Radio. The 90 minute interview can be found in it's entirety at Pro Wrestling Report.

Here are some of the highlights of our exclusive interview with Ken Anderson from the August 3rd edition of the Pro Wrestling Report on ESPN Radio.

Regarding the circumstances of Anderson's release from WWE - "To be quite honest with you, I really don't quite understand all the stuff that led up to it. It was a bunch of different things. I had some detractors in WWE obviously. I made some mistakes along the way and I will take full responsibility for those mistakes. The line I was given was that they were not happy with the things that happened that Monday Night and they decided not to go with the Ken Kennedy Character anymore."

"You get the people who say, he's just pointing fingers...I worked my ass off for the company. I did everything on my end for the company besides opening my mouth when I should not have."

"To be honest with you I kinda had a weird vibe all day. Randy Orton and I had become very good friends...we rode together, we were tight, we were buds...when I got to the building I ran up behind him and gave him a big bear hug from behind and he treated me like I was just an acquaintance of his. And then the fact that he made such a big stink about supposedly dropping him on his head. He literally blew up in front of all the talent including Vince and Stephanie and began to lecture me about how I had to be careful and his health was very important. It just doesn't make sense to me."

"It got to the point where everything I did was wrong"

Regarding the allegations of a botched suplex on Randy Orton leading to his release - "Randy jumped really, really hard. In wrestling it's give and take....It was a matter of either I drop him on his head or I help him through this. His neck never even touched the mat which makes me wonder why he even went to the trainers room to get his neck taped up. He was so injured that he went on to wrestle three nights in Mexico."

Regarding the WWE environment and planning - "Your never told anything. It kinda sucked being the talent being in the dark all the time. When certain guys get injured they make a big deal about their return. When I came back I had a match with Scotty Too Hotty, not much of a splash."

"There are two mountains in the WWE, the mountain that the Undertaker stands on and the mountain the other guy stands on...and it's not just HHH...You can't compete with Sunday Brunch"

"You hear all the horror stories about how WCW died...that's the way it is now in WWE. Sometimes shows continue to be written after the show has started"

Regarding lack of consistent enforcement of the WWE Wellness Policy - "I can neither confirm or deny. All I know is I was tested regularly...it was random...I was the one that was always on the list. I was tested probably 10 times in a year."

Regarding WWE's view of TNA - "I don't think that WWE views TNA as a threat at this point. I do think that TNA is very close to breaking through that glass ceiling. There is always room for change. They are about one or two stars away from being a major competitor."

On whether or not he will go to TNA - "I have absolutely no idea at this point...there's been some talks...it's just pleasantries at this point. Yes, I would go to TNA...TNA gives guys opportunities...I want an opportunity to show that I can entertain. I want an opportunity to work in that environment"

Anderson made it a point to say the following - "The stuff that I have said so far is not just coming from me...there are a lot of guys in the locker room that are just frustrated"

Interesting interview with Mr Kennedy there, seems to confirm a lot of the things most people suspect about the WWE, also seems to confirm that Orton is a bit of a jackass irl, though obviously this has to be taken with a punch of salt.

On a side note Smackdown! This week is apparently sounding like a very decent show. Apparently John Morrison vs Tyson Kid was an excellent match, and Chris Jericho vs JTG also sounds like a good one.

Annoyingly though it seems the blow off match at Summerslam between CM Punk and Jeff Hardy will be a TLC match, really wish they had kept this a non-gimmick match, could have brought the house down if they had really let both guys cut lose.

Also Matt Hardy returned on SD and made the save for Jeff Hardy, so I guess his run as a heel is over and a Hardyz reunion is in the works, blah.

Summerslam card is actually shaping up quite nicely mind you, tempted to stream. Imagine DX vs Legacy will be added to that card mind you, which will no doubt mean a burial for Cody Rhodes and Ted.

* WWE Unified Tag Team Title Match: Chris Jericho and The Big Show © vs. Cryme Tyme
* WWE IC Title Match: Rey Mysterio © vs. Dolph Ziggler
* WWE Title Match: Randy Orton © vs. John Cena
* World Title TLC Match: Jeff Hardy © vs. CM Punk

 

[GIMH]

Spoilers, you tool

 

[sledger]

Haha, sorry, I thought you didn't read the thread till you had watched the shows, my apologies, I shall put them all in a light font next time.

 

[GIMH]

Well seeing as I already knew what happened on Raw, no harm in visiting it, you know, seems as Smackdown airs on a Friday

 

[sledger]

Think I'll take up your reccomendation on it mind you, or at least youtube the matches, as it does sound like it was a really decent show. It's actually getting to the point where it's staggering how bad RAW has become in comparison to Smackdown, not all that long ago it was the complete opposite, just hope that there aren't any injuries which mean guys from Smackdown get moved over to RAW to make up the numbers. In fact, in some ways I really hope this awful guest host crap pulls in the ratings so SD can go on in this vein and not be interefered with.

 

[GIMH]

Sorry for the random pic, but was this little gimmick the best ever? Yes, IMO

 

[Majin]

I'm gleefully awaiting the day that the two of them break out another 5 second pose. Totally reeks of awesomeness Edge and Christian were gods amongst men

 

[Majin]

On a random note, apparently my little town in cornwall today was flooded with Japanese and German wrestlers out of nowhere. There was a wrestling show on not far from here. Pretty gutted I only found out about it 15 minutes before doors opened, would definitely have gone if I'd have known there were gonna be some Japanese guys there, have always wanted to see the stiff-style japanese stuff live.

 

[duffer]

I love Entourage and Piven so I tuned in to RAW this week. I'd like that 2 hours of my life back tbh. How you could take a 3 time Emmy winner and naturally hilarious guy and force him such low brow scripts with the guy who got his willy out in The Hangover is beyond me.

Him saying Summerfest instead of Summerslam was bad, but Cena getting on the mic and flat out saying "miz isn't very good." Wow, if you're going to give someone that much air time to make them look terrible you might as well put someone else in there who you could possibly try and get over. I've seen burials but what the **** was this?

When Chavo mistaking Piven for Joe Rogan and Mark Henry entering the ring in a leprechaun hat are the high points of the show then it is really really nasty. I've seen some seriously bad episodes of WWE programming but this one is right there with the worst of them. It was Billy and Chuck bad, without Rico doing his best to save it.

 

[sledger]

Haha always had a soft spot for Rico, thought he did a good job a lot of the time, horrible gimmick though.