*Official* Pro-Wrestling Thread II

[Athlai]

The last year or so has been my favourite so far as a wrestling fan.

• AJ's run in the WWE
• Brand split rejuvenating Smackdown. I can now largely ignore RAW because of this.
• Talking Smack becomes a thing
• 2016-2017 John Cena is best Cena
• Miz had the best year of his career
• Naito's rise to the top culminating in beating Okada for the title.
• Omega moving from junior to heavyweight, winning the G1 after two spectacular matches vs. Naito/Goto. Then main eventing Wrestle Kingdom in one of the all-time great matches.
• New Japan's resurgence just in general has been so much fun to watch.
• Legit women's wrestling is becoming popular again in the WWE and with Io Shirai/Stardom.
  

There's probably a dozen other reasons but we are genuinely in a golden period at the moment. Okada, Omega, Styles, Tanahashi, Naito, etc. are some of the best ever.

All of this IMO and I'd mention Takeovers all being great and Jericho having one of his best ever runs in a stellar career. DB also the best on-screen authority in years.

 

[honestbharani]

Na it's different, people boo Reigns but they keep watching and buying tickets. He's a draw, Luger wasn't.

Not to say a popular face of the company wouldn't be better than Reigns but there's a reason they're persisting.

I would put it down to choice, tbh. Fans then had WCW to turn to, now they dont have that option. And you can argue the SD Vs RAW ratings kinda show that fans are really not THAT into him.

 

[indiaholic]

Na it's different, people boo Reigns but they keep watching and buying tickets. He's a draw, Luger wasn't.

Not to say a popular face of the company wouldn't be better than Reigns but there's a reason they're persisting.

Not to mention that booing Reigns is a meme. Hasn't done anything that deserves all the booing he gets these days. Poor guy just got caught up in the DBry circlejerk.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Na it's different, people boo Reigns but they keep watching and buying tickets. He's a draw, Luger wasn't.

Not to say a popular face of the company wouldn't be better than Reigns but there's a reason they're persisting.

You can't qualify that statement at all because apart from Cena, no one is really a ticket seller on their own today. Totally different environment.

Point is, they genuinely used to consider fan feedback as one of their main parameters to judge whether a guy will be successful. Whether luger drew or not is irrelevant. They dumped him because he got tepid reactions compared to Brett.

 

[indiaholic]

Reigns doesn't get tepid reactions.. Nuclear heat if anything.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Not to mention that booing Reigns is a meme. Hasn't done anything that deserves all the booing he gets these days. Poor guy just got caught up in the DBry circlejerk.

Again, that's irrelevant. I'm not saying the bloke deserves it. Just that if reigns got these reactions in any other era, there's no way he'd still be booked as a top face. Zero chance.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Reigns doesn't get tepid reactions.. Nuclear heat if anything.

Baby face gets booed, you turn him. This has been what they've always done.

The annoyance is not that he's booked as a top guy. It's that he's booked as a top face. Honestly how do you guys not get this? The "forcing him down our throats" complaint isn't that he's at the top of the card. It's that they're forcing people to like him as a face, despite it having failed. Tickets sales have zip to do with it. He'd draw just as much if not more if he was a heel.

 

[indiaholic]

Lol, true. I am probably biased because:

 

[sledger]

Not true the reality era was worse than now or ruthless aggression.

Depends on the eyes of the beholder surely. The ruthless aggression era had Katie Vick, Heidenrape, the Lita rape/miscarriage storyline, and "Hot Lesbian Action".

 

[Athlai]

All great storylines.

 

[Mike5181]

Nathan Jones was a thing as well, so that was obviously great.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Snitsky kicking Lita's baby into the crowd was an atg moment.

 

[Agent TBY]

Can't believe none of you mentioned Kane electrocuting Shane's balls.

 

[honestbharani]

Wait.. I thought HLA was an "Attitude" thing?

 

[Dan]

HLA was Bischoff, no? So like the 2002/03 "I'll fire Lita for not doing Playboy" period.

 

[Compton]

HLA was post-Invasion IIRC.

 

[Compton]

If they're persisting with this ridiculous notion that Undertaker-Reigns is a thing people want to see, then they have to turn Reigns.

Like, they can't just ignore it like they did for his Rumble win or WM Title win. They NEED to turn him, and they don't even need to be clever about it either.

Ref KO. Reigns wins thanks to Owens/Joe. Post-match annialates Undertaker with a steel chair.

Raw post-Mania he has joined Triple H/Joe/Owens and wears a suit jacket with nothing underneath it. Wears sunglasses all the time. The whole shtick.

 

[sledger]

I don't think it needs the suit and tie job really. The last thing the E needs is another authority type stable.

Reigns either needs to turn heel before the match and win. Or lose the match and immediately turn face and beat the hell out of Taker in the manner you describe. There's no need for the match to have any outside interference either way though imo.

 

[Athlai]

Vince to truly put over the new authority be giving the company to HHH and Roman.

 

[honestbharani]

Stables are just Trip's answer to everything, isn't it?