WWE/NXT/AEW/NJPW Thread

[kookoo]

Gargano and Ciampa did it again. Holy shit was that a great match.

It's unbelievable to me that the best product from the company is NXT. Maybe because the guys are hungrier. Maybe because they have less pressure. Maybe because there aren't as many eyes on it, so they're not afraid to take risks. But the worst NXT shows are better than the best main event shows. The storylines are much more compelling (Gargano/Ciampa is the best feud the WWE has had since the Rock and Austin IMO). Hell, even the build up is better. Short term and long term. Women's matches are also infinitely better. I am really hoping the terrible main roster is 90% because of Vince and once he's done (or dead, which might both come at the same time), Paul will takeover (pun intended) and right the ship.

I am terrified of guys like Omega and the Young Bucks coming over only to feud with New Day for a few months then get pushed off to the side after losing a 3 on 1 to Roman or some BS. From the NJPW rumours (which are greatly exaggerated), I would much prefer if there were ever a crossover for it to be NJPW vs NXT.

 

[Jack Brickman]

It's unbelievable to me that the best product from the company is NXT. Maybe because the guys are hungrier. Maybe because they have less pressure. Maybe because there aren't as many eyes on it, so they're not afraid to take risks. But the worst NXT shows are better than the best main event shows. The storylines are much more compelling (Gargano/Ciampa is the best feud the WWE has had since the Rock and Austin IMO). Hell, even the build up is better. Short term and long term. Women's matches are also infinitely better. I am really hoping the terrible main roster is 90% because of Vince and once he's done (or dead, which might both come at the same time), Paul will takeover (pun intended) and right the ship.

I am terrified of guys like Omega and the Young Bucks coming over only to feud with New Day for a few months then get pushed off to the side after losing a 3 on 1 to Roman or some BS. From the NJPW rumours (which are greatly exaggerated), I would much prefer if there were ever a crossover for it to be NJPW vs NXT.

I think that the reason the quality is worse on the main roster is because, once you get there, you really have no incentive to try, at least not after a while. It doesn't matter how hard you work once you're on the main roster. All that matters is whether or not Vince likes you, and so I think you see guys slowly start to check out after a while. We saw it with Owens. His first year on the main roster, he had a ton of great matches. Now it's a surprise if he has anything other than a mediocre to good match. Same with Styles. He used to be a five star machine. Now he's just going through the motions.

In NXT, if you get yourself over, you just might get pushed. See: Velveteen Dream. He got himself wildly over and now he appears on every Takeover. He may not always win, but he's treated like a big deal. Further, I feel like every person who wrestles on a Takeover is encouraged to go out and try to steal the show in the time given, which means you end up with five matches where everyone is doing their best to make their mark and put on the best match possible. On the main roster, I feel like they actively sabotage the lower card guys and discourage them from upstaging the main eventers.

 

[Jack Brickman]

My ratings:

Undisputed Era vs. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch - ****1/4
Great opener. High energy from bell to bell. Felt like a star-making performance for Lorcan and Burch. They were given time and they went out there and fucking delivered. Not much needs to be said about O'Reilly and Strong. They were great as always.

Velveteen Dream vs. Ricochet - ****
Thought this one was really good, but not quite as good as the opener overall. These two struggled a bit early on, with Dream just a bit too slow to keep up with Ricochet. It picked up down the stretch, though, and we got some fantastic spots. Another great match for Dream and a very nice Takeover singles debut for Ricochet.

Shayna Baszler vs. Nikki Cross - ***
It was a perfectly fine match without much in the way of memorable moments. Cross really needs to work on her submissions and her strikes, though, because she is just awful at them. Her headlock early in the match was John Cena's STF awful.

Aleister Black vs. Lars Sullivan - ***1/2
Fun match. Sullivan came out of it looking good, as it took everything Black had to win. Black, meanwhile, continues his streak of quality Takeover performances.

Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa - *****
This match was wildly different from their last match but every bit as good. I thought they did a good job with the street fight stipulation. I thought it might be too similar to their previous no DQ match, but they did a lot of little things to make it different. A lot more weapons were used and they wrestled in street clothes, which is always a touch I like for this stipulation. No idea how neither of these guys gets hurt in these matches, because they just seem like they beat the absolute fuck out of each other. Here's hoping for a Hell in a Cell blowoff match at Brooklyn III in August.

 

[Real Deal]

Wrestling on demand via the Kodi may rest in peace... the repos have been terminated. Was such a great addon in general for everything wrestling.

Such a shame. Really enjoyed the archives of past shows and of course the live streams of NXT.

 

[kookoo]

Vince seriously needs to die so main card booking can actually start making sense.

 

[Derek]

Strowman winning MITB is pretty baffling and disappointing. He doesn't need it, and winning on a sneak attack cash-in doesn't fit his character.

Rest of the card was pretty good though IMO

Good:
Rollins/Elias
Styles/Naka
Bliss winning MITB and the title setting up Rousey feud

Meh:
Bryan winning was good, but I'd like Cass to go away
Carmella beating Asuka was fine, I like her schtick. Asuka being awestruck by Ellsworth in a mask was confusing.
Strowman winning MITB

Bad:
Reigns was getting booed against Mahal, doesn't get much worse than that
Lashley needs to go heel and Zayn needs to be put in a position to do what he does best, and that's put on good matches

 

[Jack Brickman]

Bryan winning was good, but I'd like Cass to go away

So apparently Big Cass got released today.

 

[Derek]

So apparently Big Cass got released today.

Saw that. Weird since he was just in a fairly high-profile feud. Must have pissed somebody off.

 

[kookoo]

Lol, I feel like Cass/Bryan wasn't considered a high profile feud by Vince...

Last night's Raw was especially shit. They are losing me.

Braun winning was unnecessary as discussed.

Styles beating Nak was also a little frustrating. Are they going to find a way to have a 4th match without a Shin win? Apparently the reason was because of Styles being on the game cover. Which, why the fuck would that matter? I think this is going to push Shinskue into the mid-card and buried there.

I was fine with the Carmella win because it was an interference. But they made her look unbelievably strong. Asuka had points of barely getting a hit in, and was countered constantly. And yes, that mask stuff was so stupid. And then she was still staring at him after he revealed the mask, looking shocked... Why?

A slight conspiracy theory is that Vince is trying to send an FU to New Japan...

I think Lashley has to get the win at Extreme Rules. Rumblings are that Summerslam might be Lesnar's last match, and do we really want him going out to Roman? Lashley was supposed to be competitive, and maybe they can reinvent his character. Maybe steal the F5...

On a side note, though Rousey needs a ton of acting work and to be separated from Kurt (like some BS angry daughter acting out) she did an excellent job against Nia and she is 100% showing that she can take bumps as well as be physical. Colour me impressed.

 

[LennoxLewis]

 

[LennoxLewis]

Lol, I feel like Cass/Bryan wasn't considered a high profile feud by Vince...

Last night's Raw was especially shit. They are losing me.

Braun winning was unnecessary as discussed.

Styles beating Nak was also a little frustrating. Are they going to find a way to have a 4th match without a Shin win? Apparently the reason was because of Styles being on the game cover. Which, why the fuck would that matter? I think this is going to push Shinskue into the mid-card and buried there.

I was fine with the Carmella win because it was an interference. But they made her look unbelievably strong. Asuka had points of barely getting a hit in, and was countered constantly. And yes, that mask stuff was so stupid. And then she was still staring at him after he revealed the mask, looking shocked... Why?

A slight conspiracy theory is that Vince is trying to send an FU to New Japan...

I think Lashley has to get the win at Extreme Rules. Rumblings are that Summerslam might be Lesnar's last match, and do we really want him going out to Roman? Lashley was supposed to be competitive, and maybe they can reinvent his character. Maybe steal the F5...

On a side note, though Rousey needs a ton of acting work and to be separated from Kurt (like some BS angry daughter acting out) she did an excellent job against Nia and she is 100% showing that she can take bumps as well as be physical. Colour me impressed.

Agreed with everything, just wanted to add that Braun winning and Alexa winning and cashing in was very meh to me. Braun didn't need it, and they pretty much let Alexa drop the title at Mania to give Rousey a title shot without taking an L if that makes any sense.

Thank goodness for New Japan, especially with G1 coming up.

 

[Jack Brickman]

Pretty sure the whole story with Lashley is a result of Vince punishing him for having the gall to succeed with another promotion. They did the same thing to Styles when he first joined WWE and had him job to Jericho at his first Wrestlemania even though it made absolutely no sense for Styles to lose there.

The problem is that they've basically just committed character assassination on Lashley. He came in as an instantly credible main event guy and it's taken like two months for WWE to turn him into a grinning jackass.

 

[kookoo]

Pretty sure the whole story with Lashley is a result of Vince punishing him for having the gall to succeed with another promotion. They did the same thing to Styles when he first joined WWE and had him job to Jericho at his first Wrestlemania even though it made absolutely no sense for Styles to lose there.

The problem is that they've basically just committed character assassination on Lashley. He came in as an instantly credible main event guy and it's taken like two months for WWE to turn him into a grinning jackass.

Sounds like every player that gets coached by Ty Lue... Am I right people?

 

[Derek]

Lol, I feel like Cass/Bryan wasn't considered a high profile feud by Vince...

Last night's Raw was especially shit. They are losing me.

Braun winning was unnecessary as discussed.

Styles beating Nak was also a little frustrating. Are they going to find a way to have a 4th match without a Shin win? Apparently the reason was because of Styles being on the game cover. Which, why the fuck would that matter? I think this is going to push Shinskue into the mid-card and buried there.

I was fine with the Carmella win because it was an interference. But they made her look unbelievably strong. Asuka had points of barely getting a hit in, and was countered constantly. And yes, that mask stuff was so stupid. And then she was still staring at him after he revealed the mask, looking shocked... Why?

A slight conspiracy theory is that Vince is trying to send an FU to New Japan...

I think Lashley has to get the win at Extreme Rules. Rumblings are that Summerslam might be Lesnar's last match, and do we really want him going out to Roman? Lashley was supposed to be competitive, and maybe they can reinvent his character. Maybe steal the F5...

On a side note, though Rousey needs a ton of acting work and to be separated from Kurt (like some BS angry daughter acting out) she did an excellent job against Nia and she is 100% showing that she can take bumps as well as be physical. Colour me impressed.

It was more or less Bryan's return feud, that's high-profile. If they were just planning on releasing him they would have done it before bringing him back from the ACL tear, something happened recently to sour the relationship.

I like Styles beating Nak. They've had a good feud, and Nak has done well with the heel character, but Styles has established himself as the best, and most over guy currently in the WWE. I'd love to see him move onto a program with Joe while keeping Nak in something with maybe Bryan.

They can't put Reigns over Lesnar at this point, we have to be close to scraping rock bottom regarding Reigns's crowd reaction. His MITB match was brutal.

Lashley needs to be heel. Bringing him in a cheesy face was a huge misstep.

 

[Jack Brickman]

RIP Vader. Dude was kind of a POS in real life but man he was fun to watch when I was a kid.