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

[Barney Rubble]

When does Superstars get taped?

They tape one match from each show, so it's one match on Monday and two on Tuesday.

 

[GIMH]

And ECW gets taped with Smackdown, right?

 

[GIMH]

Smackdown was decent tonight, nothing special. Was chatting with my bro on msgr, he asked me what matches I thought there would be on backlash, i said I was veinly hoping for a Jeff-Matt HIAC (would either be awesome or epic fail) and then they came and announced the I Quit literally two minutes later. yeah, that should be a good match, calling Jeff to go over this time

Oh, also, tipping Morrison to win MITB next year, probably be an epic fail like most of my predictions, just want it on record somewhere that that's what i am thinking!

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

And ECW gets taped with Smackdown, right?

It used to. There was also a time it was taped with Raw. I think it is still taped with Raw.

 

[GIMH]

It's being taped with Smackdown next week, but that might be because it's in England

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

I think that might be a permanent change now that Raw is stacked.

 

[GIMH]

IIRC that pretty much means that ECW will be taped and then shown an hour later in the States.

Doesn't air here until Thursday mind you, and then it's at a crap hour. Sky's coverage of wrestling is generally very good but ECW doesn't get much in the way of decent airtime.

 

[Barney Rubble]

And ECW gets taped with Smackdown, right?

Yeah, it does. It did get taped with Raw for a bit, but now it's back with SD permanently.

Smackdown was decent tonight, nothing special. Was chatting with my bro on msgr, he asked me what matches I thought there would be on backlash, i said I was veinly hoping for a Jeff-Matt HIAC (would either be awesome or epic fail) and then they came and announced the I Quit literally two minutes later. yeah, that should be a good match, calling Jeff to go over this time

Oh, also, tipping Morrison to win MITB next year, probably be an epic fail like most of my predictions, just want it on record somewhere that that's what i am thinking!

The I Quit match is gonna be awesome, I'm really enjoying the Hardys feud and the idea of an I Quit match between the two of them is mouth-watering. This'll be the end of it, I'd say - which is a shame, but they can always revisit it later if Matt remains heel (which he definitely should, given his performances in the role).

TBH, I don't think Morrison will need MITB next year - I think we'll see him in the title hunt by the end of 2009. He might not win it, but with Undertaker, Jeff Hardy and CM Punk as SmackDown's top faces, Morrison is now probably 4th on the list of heels, behind Edge, Jericho, and Kane (who's not gonna be getting any title shots any time soon). I think we'll see Undertaker vs John Morrison for the World Heavyweight Championship at some point this year, and I think it'll be awesome.

 

[GIMH]

Yeah, you could be right about Morrison. wouldn't be surprised to see him rise sooner

 

[masterblaster]

TNA Lockdown is on tonight and quite honestly it looks like it's going to be a great show. Mick Foley has really stepped up his game and the build up to Sting vs Foley for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship has been terrific. The return of Christopher Daniels will also make the show really interesting.

Plus the other big question is that has TNA signed Taz? Will he show up tonight? TNA are also teasing that they've signed another World Champion. Could it be someone like Bobby Lashley? Perhaps, but my feeling is that they've signed former WWE Women's Champion Victoria to a contract.

Either way it'll definitely be an interesting PPV to watch.

 

[Barney Rubble]

TNA Lockdown is on tonight and quite honestly it looks like it's going to be a great show. Mick Foley has really stepped up his game and the build up to Sting vs Foley for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship has been terrific. The return of Christopher Daniels will also make the show really interesting.

Plus the other big question is that has TNA signed Taz? Will he show up tonight? TNA are also teasing that they've signed another World Champion. Could it be someone like Bobby Lashley? Perhaps, but my feeling is that they've signed former WWE Women's Champion Victoria to a contract.

Either way it'll definitely be an interesting PPV to watch.

I've just watched it. It was horrible, in my humble opinion.

The two World Champions were Lashley - fair enough, not a massive acquisition but not a bad one either, and a good call from yourself - and former ECW World Tag Team Champion Stevie Richards, who had been with the company for ages anyway under the name 'Dr. Stevie', but not officially unveiled. The usual TNA bull****.

There was a horribly botched finish to the Knockouts Title match - which, despite Awesome Kong doing a 450 Splash (!!!!!!!), sucked a lot, and the Xcape match was a bit disappointing.

That doesn't compare, however, to either the general lack of interest the even managed to spark from the Philly crowd - usually one of the hottest crowds around - or the fact that Mick Foley has just walked out the TNA Champion after beating Sting.

I could understand them giving the belt to Foley if it was a "last stand before retirement" thing; recently, however, Foley has become one of the 'owners' of TNA, and isn't even a regular active competitor. What does it say about the rest of the guys on your roster when a guy who's probably up there with the least physically capable men in wrestling these days is your World Champion? I mean, eight months ago he was employed by WWE as a full-time commentator, FFS, and TNA goes and recruits him as a non-wrestler only to give him the title six months later? Ridiculous.

Even by TNA standards, trying to put Foley over as a credible champion at this stage of his career is grade A bull****. I've said it before, and I'll say it again - if Kurt Angle leaves TNA when his contract expires in September, the company will go out of business within two years. They really have nothing else holding them up right now.

 

[masterblaster]

I haven’t been able to watch the show since I’m at work but I’ve been following it online. I think the undercard matches have a chance to be pretty good. How were the X Division matches and the tag matches with Motor City Machine Guns, No Limit and LAX? How was the Lethal Lockdown match? Although I pretty much agree with your verdict on Mick Foley being TNA Champion. It just seems like a desperate move by TNA.

As for Bobby Lashley signing with TNA, that was unexpected. It was a pretty wild guess from my part and I definitely thought Taz would be one of the people who signed. Was Stevie Richards seriously the other ‘World Champion’? For one Stevie I don’t think has ever been World Champion and we all knew he was with the company ages ago.

Lashley seems like an okay move on the surface and they really needed a big name star to join them after Christian left. Quite honestly a Lashley vs Kurt Angle match could be pretty good if booked correctly. Knowing TNA they’d probably rush it and make it feel less exciting than it should be.

As for your comment on when Kurt Angle leaves TNA it will collapse within two years, I don’t think there is a chance in that. TNA has started to become a profitable company and is by all accounts making money.

They were a better product before Kurt Angle and I think Angle despite being one of the very best wrestlers in the world has made TNA worse by constantly being in the spotlight and not putting over young talent. Ever since Kurt Angle has come to TNA it’s become the Kurt Angle show.

With talent like AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Booker T, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin I think TNA can continue to thrive long after Kurt Angle has gone. The brand awareness is there, they have a stable financial partner and they have the support of Spike TV and other investors who want to see them grow. I think your overreacting when you say they will go out of business if Kurt Angle leaves.

 

[Barney Rubble]

I haven’t been able to watch the show since I’m at work but I’ve been following it online. I think the undercard matches have a chance to be pretty good. How were the X Division matches and the tag matches with Motor City Machine Guns, No Limit and LAX? How was the Lethal Lockdown match? Although I pretty much agree with your verdict on Mick Foley being TNA Champion. It just seems like a desperate move by TNA.

As for Bobby Lashley signing with TNA, that was unexpected. It was a pretty wild guess from my part and I definitely thought Taz would be one of the people who signed. Was Stevie Richards seriously the other ‘World Champion’? For one Stevie I don’t think has ever been World Champion and we all knew he was with the company ages ago.

Lashley seems like an okay move on the surface and they really needed a big name star to join them after Christian left. Quite honestly a Lashley vs Kurt Angle match could be pretty good if booked correctly. Knowing TNA they’d probably rush it and make it feel less exciting than it should be.

As for your comment on when Kurt Angle leaves TNA it will collapse within two years, I don’t think there is a chance in that. TNA has started to become a profitable company and is by all accounts making money.

They were a better product before Kurt Angle and I think Angle despite being one of the very best wrestlers in the world has made TNA worse by constantly being in the spotlight and not putting over young talent. Ever since Kurt Angle has come to TNA it’s become the Kurt Angle show.

With talent like AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Booker T, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin I think TNA can continue to thrive long after Kurt Angle has gone. The brand awareness is there, they have a stable financial partner and they have the support of Spike TV and other investors who want to see them grow. I think your overreacting when you say they will go out of business if Kurt Angle leaves.

Stevie Richards was the other 'World Champion', yeah.

The undercard matches were all okay, just disappointing - Lethal Lockdown was ruined by all the Jeff Jarrett swerve bollocks, despite not being that bad on paper.

My comment about TNA going bust isn't really based on any interpretation of their finances. It's more based around the fact that over the next two years, the likes of Sting, Foley, Nash, Steiner, Team 3D and maybe even Booker are going to retire - in the midst of all that, Angle will be the company's biggest draw.

To my mind, the company hasn't done anywhere near a good enough job putting over its young stars. To create a sustainable and successful wrestling company, you need guys who are going to draw in fans outside the usual demographic of indy wrestling fans who are going to watch just for the ability of the performers - for all the talent they have, of all the 'TNA Originals', Samoa Joe is the only one who has an image that's any different from 'talented indy darling deserving greater exposure', and they're in the process of ruining him right now.

AJ Styles, Daniels and the Guns are all extremely talented, but I'm not convinced any of them have the capacity to draw PPV buys if they're not facing off against one of the big names. For example, a match between Styles and Daniels headlining a PPV would make the indy lovers salivate, but the casual fans? They'd rather see Styles vs Sting or Styles vs Foley, no matter how much worse it may be.

As much as people criticise TNA for an over-reliance on ex-WWE talent, it's the only way they can draw in a more casual fanbase. Look at ROH - their roster has all the talent in the world, but they've got no-one whose name is recognised among people who don't follow promotions other than WWE.

Everyone knows that TNA likes bull**** stipulations, everyone knows that one of their best assets is the X-Division, everyone knows that they have the much stronger Women's Division - but who buys a PPV just to see the undercard? Blood feuds and title matches sell PPVs, and once TNA has no household names left to fill those spots on the card, they'll find life very tough.

 

[Retox]

Stevie was not the other world champ, It was said they would began to debut him if you watched the show you would have seen Joe talking to someone then coming out and doing heaps of suplexs (Taz?) So the other world champion is still to come

 

[masterblaster]

Stevie Richards was the other 'World Champion', yeah.

The undercard matches were all okay, just disappointing - Lethal Lockdown was ruined by all the Jeff Jarrett swerve bollocks, despite not being that bad on paper.

My comment about TNA going bust isn't really based on any interpretation of their finances. It's more based around the fact that over the next two years, the likes of Sting, Foley, Nash, Steiner, Team 3D and maybe even Booker are going to retire - in the midst of all that, Angle will be the company's biggest draw.

To my mind, the company hasn't done anywhere near a good enough job putting over its young stars. To create a sustainable and successful wrestling company, you need guys who are going to draw in fans outside the usual demographic of indy wrestling fans who are going to watch just for the ability of the performers - for all the talent they have, of all the 'TNA Originals', Samoa Joe is the only one who has an image that's any different from 'talented indy darling deserving greater exposure', and they're in the process of ruining him right now.

AJ Styles, Daniels and the Guns are all extremely talented, but I'm not convinced any of them have the capacity to draw PPV buys if they're not facing off against one of the big names. For example, a match between Styles and Daniels headlining a PPV would make the indy lovers salivate, but the casual fans? They'd rather see Styles vs Sting or Styles vs Foley, no matter how much worse it may be.

As much as people criticise TNA for an over-reliance on ex-WWE talent, it's the only way they can draw in a more casual fanbase. Look at ROH - their roster has all the talent in the world, but they've got no-one whose name is recognised among people who don't follow promotions other than WWE.

Everyone knows that TNA likes bull**** stipulations, everyone knows that one of their best assets is the X-Division, everyone knows that they have the much stronger Women's Division - but who buys a PPV just to see the undercard? Blood feuds and title matches sell PPVs, and once TNA has no household names left to fill those spots on the card, they'll find life very tough.

I agree with you here. The reason why WWE is the big leagues and the best is because they market it as so and they are by far the best marketed wrestling promotion in the world. The way they get their guys over through their marketing, promotion and merchandise is nothing short of tremendous. TNA can't seem to market their talent unless they are ex WWE talent which is a huge shame.

By all accounts AJ Styles should be a big deal, Samoa Joe should be a big deal, Christopher Daniels should be a big deal but unfortnately apart from TNA fans or hardcore wrestling fans the casual fans aren't aware of who these very talented guys are. Hopefully these guys and the likes of Robert Roode, James Storm, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin can become big players in the future, but TNA need to market them and promote them as big players.

Robert Roode for example is one guy I think can lead TNA into the future once the big names retire. I think Roode has all the potential to become a main eventer. TNA will find life tough, but for the sake of the wrestling business I'm hopeful that they will improve their marketing and will develop bigger stars.

 

[masterblaster]

Stevie was not the other world champ, It was said they would began to debut him if you watched the show you would have seen Joe talking to someone then coming out and doing heaps of suplexs (Taz?) So the other world champion is still to come

I haven't seen the show but that makes sense. It does look like Taz is making his TNA debut soon.

 

[Jono]

I've just watched it. It was horrible, in my humble opinion.

The two World Champions were Lashley - fair enough, not a massive acquisition but not a bad one either, and a good call from yourself - and former ECW World Tag Team Champion Stevie Richards, who had been with the company for ages anyway under the name 'Dr. Stevie', but not officially unveiled. The usual TNA bull****.

There was a horribly botched finish to the Knockouts Title match - which, despite Awesome Kong doing a 450 Splash (!!!!!!!), sucked a lot, and the Xcape match was a bit disappointing.

That doesn't compare, however, to either the general lack of interest the even managed to spark from the Philly crowd - usually one of the hottest crowds around - or the fact that Mick Foley has just walked out the TNA Champion after beating Sting.

I could understand them giving the belt to Foley if it was a "last stand before retirement" thing; recently, however, Foley has become one of the 'owners' of TNA, and isn't even a regular active competitor. What does it say about the rest of the guys on your roster when a guy who's probably up there with the least physically capable men in wrestling these days is your World Champion? I mean, eight months ago he was employed by WWE as a full-time commentator, FFS, and TNA goes and recruits him as a non-wrestler only to give him the title six months later? Ridiculous.

Even by TNA standards, trying to put Foley over as a credible champion at this stage of his career is grade A bull****. I've said it before, and I'll say it again - if Kurt Angle leaves TNA when his contract expires in September, the company will go out of business within two years. They really have nothing else holding them up right now.

Foley is Go(o)d

 

[GIMH]

By my count, it's been nearly ten years since his last world title reign. Trying to think of other wrestlers who've gone similar (or longer) periods of time between reigns.

Have thought of Bob Backlund so far

 

[Barney Rubble]

By my count, it's been nearly ten years since his last world title reign. Trying to think of other wrestlers who've gone similar (or longer) periods of time between reigns.

Have thought of Bob Backlund so far

There can't be many. Can't think of any myself.

I've just read confirmation that Stevie Richards was not the second World Champ, so that makes things a little better. I'd be surprised if the other one was Taz, though, given that his reason for leaving WWE was "to recharge his batteries", and I doubt Vince would have let him leave if he thought he was just going to jump ship. He'd be burning all his bridges if he lied about his reasons for leaving, and what can TNA offer him that WWE can't?

I think it's got to be someone else. Sid Vicious has been rumoured to be looking to get back into the business full-time; Ron Simmons (former WCW Champion) is a free agent; Goldberg is always looking for a quick buck; RVD is technically available, although unlikely to commit to a long-term contract.

Having thought about it, none of these actually seem likely, and Taz would fit the role of Samoa Joe's manager really well - but I still don't think he'd be likely to leave WWE right before WrestleMania if he wasn't legitimately taking a break from the business.

 

[masterblaster]

There can't be many. Can't think of any myself.

I've just read confirmation that Stevie Richards was not the second World Champ, so that makes things a little better. I'd be surprised if the other one was Taz, though, given that his reason for leaving WWE was "to recharge his batteries", and I doubt Vince would have let him leave if he thought he was just going to jump ship. He'd be burning all his bridges if he lied about his reasons for leaving, and what can TNA offer him that WWE can't?

I think it's got to be someone else. Sid Vicious has been rumoured to be looking to get back into the business full-time; Ron Simmons (former WCW Champion) is a free agent; Goldberg is always looking for a quick buck; RVD is technically available, although unlikely to commit to a long-term contract.

Having thought about it, none of these actually seem likely, and Taz would fit the role of Samoa Joe's manager really well - but I still don't think he'd be likely to leave WWE right before WrestleMania if he wasn't legitimately taking a break from the business.

TNA even though it is growing still has a significantly lighter schedule than WWE. Christian did the same thing and he needed to recharge his batteries as well. He’s been welcomed back into the WWE with open arms too.

Plus from what I’ve heard it was more the fact that like Mick Foley, Taz got sick and tired of being yelled at in his ear by Vince McMahon. Taz was with WWE for almost 10 years and commentated for about 8 of those. I don’t blame him if he wants to look for a change. I can’t imagine working for a company for 10 years myself! When there’s an alternative option, why not!

That being said, I definitely think its Taz and I think that either he will be part of a three man commentary team with Mike Tenay and Don West or that he will be Samoa Joe’s manager. At TNA Lockdown, I think they showed Samoa Joe backstage talking to someone who was offering him instructions before his match. During his match he then proceeded to do plenty of the suplexes that are of course Taz’s speciality.

As for your other options, you can count Goldberg out as he’s officially done with wrestling. Plus Goldberg’s a smart man, and having just signed Bobby Lashley signing Goldberg would be counter productive. Ron Simmons is not a draw at all especially in today’s day and age, plus isn’t he like an ambassador for WWE even though he’s officially not on their payroll?

RVD has said that if he ever returns it’ll be for WWE since they are the big leagues and the best. Plus I don’t think RVD left on bad terms so I don’t think it’s him. I don’t think it’s Sid either as he really wouldn’t have much impact in TNA at all. He was a big name like 15 years ago and the new wrestling fan does not know who he is. He’s still a better chance than RVD and Goldberg though.

From all accounts it is definitely Taz and it’ll be interesting to see what role he has with TNA.