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

[Barney Rubble]

ECW was solid again tonight with the big news being that the son of Davey Boy Smith, DH Smith redebuted on ECW aligning himself with Tyson Kidd and Natalia and of course they are now being pushed as 'The Hart Trilogy'.

Pretty cool I must say. I also marked out for the return of The Peep Show to WWE and Christian was hilarious in his promo with Jack Swagger. It was a much better show than Raw yesterday. It'll be interesting to see how 'The Hart Trilogy' go in upcoming weeks.

Yeah, I think they'll be pushed as a stable rather than a tag team, given the name. I don't necessarily like 'Trilogy' as a name for a three-person stable, but still, it's good to see DH Smith given a new name that actually makes sense (David Hart Smith) and back on TV.

I also can't see them being pushed as a tag team given that there are no other tag teams on ECW, and if the WWE are set on there being little interaction between brands from now on, they need to keep the Trilogy on ECW. Could be a pretty interesting period on ECW now.

 

[honestbharani]

I'm not basing it on anything more than the fact that they've been building an Edge-Punk feud over the last two weeks on SmackDown, and if Edge doesn't have the title then that makes the feud irrelevant.

I'd expect that we'll probably get gimmick rematches of Edge-Jeff and Punk-Umaga at Extreme Rules (Edge vs Jeff Ladder Match anyone? EPIC WIN) and then we'll get Punk feuding with Edge over the title for real once Punk finally cashes in, with Umaga out of the way.

Jeff may well have the title later in the year - if they pull the trigger on a Punk heel turn then Punk vs Hardy would be all kinds of awesome - but for the moment, SmackDown needs Edge as champion for a few months after all the chaos of recent times. That's my take, anyway.

Plus they are building up how Edge wins the title in an event and then loses it at the next... Surely they wont be pushing it so hard if he is going to lose again...

 

[Barney Rubble]

Plus they are building up how Edge wins the title in an event and then loses it at the next... Surely they wont be pushing it so hard if he is going to lose again...

I'm not sure actually, I'm starting to think differently about the title scene.

Judgment Day is in Chicago. Jeff's not winning the title, but could we see Punk cash in the briefcase after Edge retains?

 

[masterblaster]

Smackdown was absolute quality again, what a great wrestling show this has turned out to be. From the opening tag team match between Morrison/Punk vs Benjamin/Haas, to the promo work of Chris Jericho and Edge and the Chris Jericho vs Edge match, everything on Smackdown was great from start to finish.

Whoever in the company decided that Smackdown should be the 'wrestling' show and that Raw should be the 'entertainment' show has made things a lot more enjoyable. Sure Raw is just a complete waste of time now, but I don't think I remember Smackdown being this great since around 2003. It's become the must watch show now in WWE.

 

[masterblaster]

I'm not sure actually, I'm starting to think differently about the title scene.

Judgment Day is in Chicago. Jeff's not winning the title, but could we see Punk cash in the briefcase after Edge retains?

I think so too, they are playing up the Edge wins and loses card. Maybe CM Punk continues the trend only for Edge to win it back again later on making him a 10 time World Champion. At this rate I think Edge if he stays healthy might end up with more World Championship reigns than Triple H and possibly even Ric Flair.

 

[GIMH]

Smackdown was absolute quality again, what a great wrestling show this has turned out to be. From the opening tag team match between Morrison/Punk vs Benjamin/Haas, to the promo work of Chris Jericho and Edge and the Chris Jericho vs Edge match, everything on Smackdown was great from start to finish.

Whoever in the company decided that Smackdown should be the 'wrestling' show and that Raw should be the 'entertainment' show has made things a lot more enjoyable. Sure Raw is just a complete waste of time now, but I don't think I remember Smackdown being this great since around 2003. It's become the must watch show now in WWE.

Just caught up on this week's Raw/Smackdown, not seen ECW though

Raw was pretty meh I agree. I'm not as down on it as you guys but it is pretty short on ideas at the minute. What will happen next month? Cena-Orton? There don't seem to be too many possibilites.

MVP & The Miz aside, of course. Let's see them both pushed, enjoying it.

Just now watched smackdown, brilliant. I actually think, though, that Smackdown covers off the entertainment side better than Raw, as well as the wrestling side. It is a great watch from start to finish, and a look at the Judgment Day card really bangs home which brand is stronger at the minute. Great to see CM Punk right up there, I don't think he will cash in tonight though as the card seems full enough, dunno though, I am usually wrong about these things. Gonna check the card now actually and post back my tips, surprised to see you haven't already done it masterblaster

Oh, just to really confirm my point, Smackdown is the best show on TV at the minute, full stop, bar none

 

[GIMH]

Okay so there are actually only seven matches on the card so a cash-in is possible, I suppose. Decent card though, it really is. Shame I won't be watching it, hopefully I'll be able to see it later in the week or whatever but I'll probably just look the results up in the morning tbh. Anyway, here are my calls.

John Morrison v Shelton Benjamin
Didn't know this was on the card until just know when I logged on to wwe.com. It's been a decent feud these past couple of weeks and Morrison has got over as a face with no problems. Morrison has had the upper hand so far which would seem to point to a Shelton win. But Morrison seems likely to be receiving a push. Tough call, reckon Morrison will take it.

Randy Orton V Batista (for the WWE title)
Not dreading this as much as some of you lot (probably because I don't really mind Batista itbt) but it's certainly the weaker of the two world title matches, by quite some way. Orton does seem to have lost a bit of the momentum that he had back in Feb/March, and it's getting a bit tiresome watching Legacy run in every week. Something needs to be done to make sure this title reign is a success as I am a fan of Orton - can it happen tonight? Probably not, but it would be disastrous for Raw if Batista was to win tonight, and I can't see it happening. What would be awesome is if Orton does it cleanly, can't see it, but Orton FTW

Edge V Jeff Hardy (for the WHC)
The mark in me really, really, really wants Jeff Hardy to win tonight. When he won the 4-way the other week I did think, "Edge V Jeff - um, again?" but I like the way it's been built up, in fact from a Smackdown PPV the build-up has been immense with five or six people all mixing it up against each other rather than focusing on specific rivalries. I've read in places that Edge is going to turn face - I think it would be a shame but I am inclined to agree that it is going to happen, a few little things have pointed to that recently. such as his "I respect Jeff Hardy" and his berating of Jericho. He was certainly getting a few cheers on Smackdown. Anyhow, what will happen here? I don't know! Do they really want to have the belt changing hands again, it's being passed around like the hardcore title used to be! The build-up has me leaning slightly towards Jeff, but I'm leaning towards Edge overall, I reckon he'll retain it this time.

Christian v Jack Swagger (for the ECW title)
I've missed ECW the last two weeks so it's hard for me to make a call based on anything I've seen. I reckon Christian will keep the strap for a little while though, so calling it for him. I just hope they have another match as good as the one they had at Backlash.

John Cena V Big Show
Really not interested in this one. I'm a fan of Cena as I've said before, but I might also have mentioned that Big Show bores me. Cena to win, please.

Rey Mysterio V Chris Jericho (for the IC title)
This will be the best match on the card. I think I mentioned a couple of weeks back that my first experience of both of these came in a rare opportunity to watch Nitro back in 1997 and I have been a fan of both since (mainly Jericho, admittedly). I think they will put on a good match and as masterblaster (I think, or was it Barney) said, it's good to see the IC belt elevated up to a status of importance again. Jericho winning tonight would make sense with his latest angle - 9 IC titles, the face of Smackdown etc, and also if they are planning to have these two feud for a while then I wouldn't mind seeing the strap go back and forth a few times. Jericho could have 10 or 11 by the time they are done that way, hell have them swap it at house shows! . But seriously, I thought RMJ would take it until I read the post above which said they would be feuding for a little while. On that basis, Jericho to take the gold.

CM Punk V Umaga
Well, I've said I'm not a fan of Umaga but I like the way this one has been built up. I really thought CM Punk was going to win the gold the other week when Umaga came from nowhere to attack him - obviously I expected it this time out, but it's been intriguging. It will be good to find out why Umaga has taken to attacking Punk, of course past experience tells me that we might not find out a reason! Nonetheless, I think this could be a good match, Punk has been on great form since Mania and I would back him to have a good match with pretty much anyone at the minute. A win here will really help his push along, CM Punk to win.

Will he cash in MITB though? As I said before, I don't think he will, but I wouldn't be shocked if he did

 

[masterblaster]

Okay so there are actually only seven matches on the card so a cash-in is possible, I suppose. Decent card though, it really is. Shame I won't be watching it, hopefully I'll be able to see it later in the week or whatever but I'll probably just look the results up in the morning tbh. Anyway, here are my calls.

John Morrison v Shelton Benjamin
Didn't know this was on the card until just know when I logged on to wwe.com. It's been a decent feud these past couple of weeks and Morrison has got over as a face with no problems. Morrison has had the upper hand so far which would seem to point to a Shelton win. But Morrison seems likely to be receiving a push. Tough call, reckon Morrison will take it.

Randy Orton V Batista (for the WWE title)
Not dreading this as much as some of you lot (probably because I don't really mind Batista itbt) but it's certainly the weaker of the two world title matches, by quite some way. Orton does seem to have lost a bit of the momentum that he had back in Feb/March, and it's getting a bit tiresome watching Legacy run in every week. Something needs to be done to make sure this title reign is a success as I am a fan of Orton - can it happen tonight? Probably not, but it would be disastrous for Raw if Batista was to win tonight, and I can't see it happening. What would be awesome is if Orton does it cleanly, can't see it, but Orton FTW

Edge V Jeff Hardy (for the WHC)
The mark in me really, really, really wants Jeff Hardy to win tonight. When he won the 4-way the other week I did think, "Edge V Jeff - um, again?" but I like the way it's been built up, in fact from a Smackdown PPV the build-up has been immense with five or six people all mixing it up against each other rather than focusing on specific rivalries. I've read in places that Edge is going to turn face - I think it would be a shame but I am inclined to agree that it is going to happen, a few little things have pointed to that recently. such as his "I respect Jeff Hardy" and his berating of Jericho. He was certainly getting a few cheers on Smackdown. Anyhow, what will happen here? I don't know! Do they really want to have the belt changing hands again, it's being passed around like the hardcore title used to be! The build-up has me leaning slightly towards Jeff, but I'm leaning towards Edge overall, I reckon he'll retain it this time.

Christian v Jack Swagger (for the ECW title)
I've missed ECW the last two weeks so it's hard for me to make a call based on anything I've seen. I reckon Christian will keep the strap for a little while though, so calling it for him. I just hope they have another match as good as the one they had at Backlash.

John Cena V Big Show
Really not interested in this one. I'm a fan of Cena as I've said before, but I might also have mentioned that Big Show bores me. Cena to win, please.

Rey Mysterio V Chris Jericho (for the IC title)
This will be the best match on the card. I think I mentioned a couple of weeks back that my first experience of both of these came in a rare opportunity to watch Nitro back in 1997 and I have been a fan of both since (mainly Jericho, admittedly). I think they will put on a good match and as masterblaster (I think, or was it Barney) said, it's good to see the IC belt elevated up to a status of importance again. Jericho winning tonight would make sense with his latest angle - 9 IC titles, the face of Smackdown etc, and also if they are planning to have these two feud for a while then I wouldn't mind seeing the strap go back and forth a few times. Jericho could have 10 or 11 by the time they are done that way, hell have them swap it at house shows! . But seriously, I thought RMJ would take it until I read the post above which said they would be feuding for a little while. On that basis, Jericho to take the gold.

CM Punk V Umaga
Well, I've said I'm not a fan of Umaga but I like the way this one has been built up. I really thought CM Punk was going to win the gold the other week when Umaga came from nowhere to attack him - obviously I expected it this time out, but it's been intriguging. It will be good to find out why Umaga has taken to attacking Punk, of course past experience tells me that we might not find out a reason! Nonetheless, I think this could be a good match, Punk has been on great form since Mania and I would back him to have a good match with pretty much anyone at the minute. A win here will really help his push along, CM Punk to win.

Will he cash in MITB though? As I said before, I don't think he will, but I wouldn't be shocked if he did

Agree with all the above. My predictions are exactly the same as yours. Edge turning face would be a nice change and I think he'd do better in the role than he did back in 2002 and 2003. Chris Jericho winning the IC title makes sense as do Randy Orton and Christian retaining their respective titles. Won't be able to catch the show live either, but I'm looking forward to watching it later.

 

[masterblaster]

Good PPV tonight with some great matches. I definitely enjoyed watching the show tonight and I thought the show was pretty well booked.

CM Punk vs Umaga was a good solid opening match up. I guess all of us in this thread have to stop picking CM Punk to win as he tends to lose. CM Punk losing doesn't bother me too much as he's already over and a loss at Judgment Day won't stop his progress. Umaga on the other hand is just returning from a serious injury and he needed the win to build his momentum.

Christian vs Jack Swagger was a great match with a terrific story of the smart veteran outsmarting and defeating the strong, young rookie. Christian win the ECW Championship gives it a big time feeling and adds so much more prestige and respect to the belt. Looking forward to Christian moving onto maybe Tommy Dreamer or Vladimir Kozlov. Another rematch with Jack Swagger wouldn't be out of of the question either.

John Morrison vs Shelton Benjamin was absolutely awesome. Two of the best young wrestlers in the world today having a great match. Both have tremendous amount of potential and both are future World Champions. Morrison winning is the right decision as WWE are getting behind him as a face.

Miz's promo was great as was Santino's interruption. Miz can get over by using his excellent promo work and I can see some similarities between Miz and when Christian was breaking out his Captain Charisma character in 2003.

Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho was a solid matchup and I was somewhat surprised to see Rey Mysterio retaining the IC title. Rey Mysterio and Chris Jericho have such great chemistry and I hope these two have a long program. Jericho's charisma and excellent work on the mic will carry Rey Mysterio and both guys excellent wrestling ability will maintain audience interest in a long program.

Randy Orton vs Batista was terrible and they continue to make Batista look good despite him being so limited in the ring. Ric Flair comes back and takes out two rising stars in Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase, which is bad booking. Boring match and boring ending, although it was a nice surprise to see Ric Flair.

Big Show vs John Cena was a decent match. I've never been a fan of Big Show's ring work, but Cena and Big Show work okay together. Cena winning was the right decision.

Edge vs Jeff Hardy was pretty awesome as you'd expect with these two. Edge going over here was the right decision and I'm glad CM Punk didn't cash in his MITB. Edge and Jeff Hardy always work well together and this was a solid main event match up.

 

[alternative]

Nice write up guys, pretty much saved me from ordering the PPV.

 

[GIMH]

Nice write-up masterblaster, saw some bits of it but will try and catch it in full by the end of the week. It looks like we might see another Jeff-Matt match at Extreme Rules, wonder what they'll go for this time?

RE Batista - they have to make him look good really. He's so over with the kids I guess. A few young uns were playing wrestling outside the shops across the road from me last week. I asked them who their favourite wrestler was and they all answered Batista - I expected at least one or two to say Cena or Hardy, but no. I actually don't mind him at all but can understand why people don't like him and I'm glad he's on Raw not Smackdown where all the talent is.

Orton's title reign is a joke, win's it in a 6-man tag, loses by DQ in his first defence, great. He'll probably drop the belt at Extreme Rules.

So where do we go from here? What matches are we tipping to take place at Extreme Rules?

Flair on Raw tonight btw

 

[Barney Rubble]

The fact that we got some Matt-erference in the Edge-Jeff match at Judgment Day makes me think that the Jeff Hardy contract issue thing is, in fact, real.

The account on Facebook that supposedly posted details of his contract situation was obviously fake, but it must have been based on something - which means I was entirely wrong in claiming last week that it was all a fabrication.

I reckon they'll go with one last Hardy vs Hardy match at Extreme Rules, probably a Loser Leaves WWE stipulation. It'd be nice to see the two have a straight-up wrestling match with no gimmicks, as I think that'd be really good.

It'd also give Matt a good rub going into the next phase of his development on Raw, having been the man who 'ended Jeff's career'.

 

[masterblaster]

The fact that we got some Matt-erference in the Edge-Jeff match at Judgment Day makes me think that the Jeff Hardy contract issue thing is, in fact, real.

The account on Facebook that supposedly posted details of his contract situation was obviously fake, but it must have been based on something - which means I was entirely wrong in claiming last week that it was all a fabrication.

I reckon they'll go with one last Hardy vs Hardy match at Extreme Rules, probably a Loser Leaves WWE stipulation. It'd be nice to see the two have a straight-up wrestling match with no gimmicks, as I think that'd be really good.

It'd also give Matt a good rub going into the next phase of his development on Raw, having been the man who 'ended Jeff's career'.

Yeah I wondered why you had written that as news going around has been that Jeff Hardy has not signed another contract. I think the situation is tailor made for Matt Hardy to send Jeff Hardy packing out of the company. It would do Matt Hardy a lot of good as a heel to be known as the one who drove Jeff Hardy away from WWE.

I decided to give Raw a shot today. I'm not a John Cena fan at all but I marked out somewhat when the Word Life song hit, only for The Miz to come out. To be fair to him though, he delivered another good promo and that whole segment was entertaining.

 

[masterblaster]

ECW was another great show this week and I'd encourage you all to check it out. Christian vs Paul Burchill was such a great match. Paul Burchill has been made to look like a joke so far in his career, but Christian made him look like a million dollars.

Christian hardly ever has a bad match with anyone and todays match was no exception. Burchill came off looking like a legitimate threat and Christian came off looking like a fighting champion. Brilliant booking and great match.

I also marked out for hearing the Bret Hart theme once again as the Hart Trilogy made another appearance. These kids have so much potential and I'll be interested to see how they go. DH Smith looked good out there against Finlay and I'm glad the WWE have decided to get behind these three.

 

[GIMH]

Just watched Raw now, was an improvement on the last few weeks. Dare say Orton & Batista in a cage won't be too bad, on the other hand the Show in a submission match stinks IMO.

Thought Lawler's bit was hilarious, loving Miz at the minute

 

[duffer]

ECW was another great show this week and I'd encourage you all to check it out. Christian vs Paul Burchill was such a great match. Paul Burchill has been made to look like a joke so far in his career, but Christian made him look like a million dollars.

Christian hardly ever has a bad match with anyone and todays match was no exception. Burchill came off looking like a legitimate threat and Christian came off looking like a fighting champion. Brilliant booking and great match.

I also marked out for hearing the Bret Hart theme once again as the Hart Trilogy made another appearance. These kids have so much potential and I'll be interested to see how they go. DH Smith looked good out there against Finlay and I'm glad the WWE have decided to get behind these three.

Hmm, might try and get a torrent of this. Sound sgood.

 

[GIMH]

I can't remember Jeff ever being this over. jeez I hope he signs a new contract

 

[GIMH]

Ladder match yayayayayayayayayayayayayay

LOL, 5 matches announced for Extreme Rules, all rematches from Judgment Day

 

[GIMH]

Jeff-Edge and jericho-Punk were great matches tonight. Smackdown's upper-midcard and main event picture is great, can't remember enjoying wrestling this much in some time

 

[GIMH]

Watching the British Invasion on TNA at the minute. Looking good. Pretty sure the one that was a gladiator is trying to make his accent more 'British' though, maybe I'm imagining it, dunno