WWE/NXT/AEW/NJPW Thread

[Derek]

A lot of the “positive” is how she looked for her first match.

Flat out, that match was incredible. Second best match of the weekend.

It was a good match, but I'm not seeing what you saw. There were 4 matches better than it Saturday night in my eyes.

 

[tocov]

Ronda's match was pretty average, with very tired and cliched points they hit that seem like they're taken from the attitude era.
And come on, you can NEVER in a million years sell me on the idea of Ronda punching Triple H while he shakes in the corner like a spastic. It's just not believable and I wish they would avoid that quite obvious and expected moment.

That being said, I was very surprised with the way Ronda sold both the actual moves and hits, and the story itself. I think this is the part many people who come to the WWE without pro wrestling experience usually struggle with the most. Telling a story not only during promos but through the matches. Ronda did that surprisingly well and it pushed the match a couple of levels higher to me.

My favorite match was Charlotte and Asuka. I was sad to see Asuka lose her streak, but was 100% sure they weren't going to put the title on her. The match was brilliant and deserved a couple more minutes. I would rather Asuka break out of the figure 8, and then see Charlotte find a different, creative way to beat her. But it was really great.
I guess I'm just afraid they will have nothing to do with Asuka now that basically her entire gimmick (the streak) vanished, and we'll see her disappear.

Shinsuke and AJ deserved way more time. I agree that they were just getting me all hyped up when suddenly it ended. That's the only reason I would rate it less than the SD women's title match. Can't wait to see Shinsuke and AJ feud for an entire year even.

I didn't even bother to watch Strowman vs the Bar and the Universal title match. What a sleeping pill.

USA title, both title matches and Universal title match dragged what could be a great WM way down, and I give it an overall of 6.5/10.

 

[Jack Brickman]

A lot of the “positive” is how she looked for her first match.

Flat out, that match was incredible. Second best match of the weekend.

Second best match of the weekend would mean it was better than Gargano/Ciampa, Almas/Black, and the six man ladder match, and I don't think it was better than any of those three. It was probably better than Moon/Baszler, but that one's pretty close.

I have it tied with the IC Title match for best of last night, but those two and Asuka/Charlotte were the only ones I'd put in three and a half to four star range from Wrestlemania. Everything else was three stars or worse.

 

[DJTJ]

Second best match of the weekend would mean it was better than Gargano/Ciampa, Almas/Black, and the six man ladder match, and I don't think it was better than any of those three. It was probably better than Moon/Baszler, but that one's pretty close.

I have it tied with the IC Title match for best of last night, but those two and Asuka/Charlotte were the only ones I'd put in three and a half to four star range from Wrestlemania. Everything else was three stars or worse.

Maybe it’s how much stock I put into storytelling.

Gargano/Ciampa
Rousey
Black/Almas (Almas is incredible as a heel).

Don’t include the ladder match because it’s essentially a spot fest, but it was really fun.

 

[Jack Brickman]

Maybe it’s how much stock I put into storytelling.

Gargano/Ciampa
Rousey
Black/Almas (Almas is incredible as a heel).

Don’t include the ladder match because it’s essentially a spot fest, but it was really fun.

The ladder match was definitely a spot fest, but I thought it was a fantastic one. They started early with every guy trying to make it up the ladder to win. They kept failing, so they all turned to trying to murder each other. That's exactly what you want to see from a ladder match. It wasn't a masterclass of storytelling, but it was very good for what the match needed, and the crowd was eating it all up and loving every minute of it.

I'd rank them:

Gargano/Ciampa - ***** Classic, MOTY so far, one of the best matches I've ever seen. Thirty-seven minutes but felt like fifteen.

Ladder match - ****1/2 Fantastic match with amazing spots and guys giving everything they had to put on an incredible show.

Black/Almas ****1/2 I'd rank this slightly below the ladder match even though I rated them the same. Still great, though.

Rousey Match - **** Very good storytelling and generally booked to perfection to hide the limitations of everyone. Felt very much like an Attitude Era spectacle.

 

[Jack Brickman]

I read that Lesnar got into a heated altercation with Vince after the match last night. Apparently he was livid over something. My guess is it was probably that the horrible booking of the match had the crowd chanting "this is awful" and "this is boring." Lesnar knows those chants weren't his fault, especially after last year when most expected the audience to shit all over Goldberg/Lesnar, but the fantastic booking hooked in the crowd and had them eating it up.

Second guess would be that they changed the ending stretch after Reigns got busted open, and Lesnar was pissed they cut it short.

Either way, it appears my prediction last night was correct and that Lesnar will be dropping the title to a returning Lashley. I'm assuming Lesnar decided he'd rather put over Lashley than Roman and Vince, always afraid to oppose him, actually went with it.

 

[LennoxLewis]

There's reports of Lesnar resigning with WWE, wonder if it's just him picking up his option, or a whole new deal.

 

[Jack Brickman]

I'm re-watching the Takeover main event right now and man...it really illustrates how important a hot crowd is for a major wrestling event. Comparing this match, where the crowd was living and dying on every nearfall, with the main event of 'Mania...it's night and day. I really think Gargano/Ciampa is one of the five best matches I've ever watched.

 

[Derek]

Interested in seeing where they're going with Zayn/Owens

 

[Jack Brickman]

Some interesting analysis on the main event and Brock's alleged altercation with Vince afterward.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVVlvzsIhnE

 

[Jack Brickman]

Fucking Pentagon Jr. is now Impact champion. What a time to be alive.

 

[Tornicade]

Interested in seeing where they're going with Zayn/Owens

Since they made a point of showing that Stephanie "hired" them back I would expect a Angle/Jordan storyline with Jordan turning on his dad at the end.

perhaps there is a Chad Gable twist

 

[Derek]

Since they made a point of showing that Stephanie "hired" them back I would expect a Angle/Jordan storyline with Jordan turning on his dad at the end.

perhaps there is a Chad Gable twist

I posted that prior to them getting re-hired

 

[Jack Brickman]

Holy shit, guys. Michael Cole's horrified pause after saying Messiah on commentary during the Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia is the funniest fucking thing I've ever seen.

 

[tocov]

I can't believe how shit GRR was. It was literally a fucking house show.