The Wrestling Thread

[LeBron]

Don't be embarrassed! It's awesome to watch.

I have a good feeling Lesnar will retain the title. Lesnar has the advantage of being the biggest powerhouse in the match as well as past history from Rumble card matches showing good results for the WWE/World Heavyweight champions (ex. Lesnar retained his title at RR '04, HHH retained at RR '00/'03/'04/'05, Angle retained at RR '01/RR '03/RR '06, JBL retained at RR '05, Cena retained at RR '07/RR '09, and then there's others who've also done that like The Miz, Randy Orton, or Edge.

It seems very unlikely that Rollins wins outright considering he is the holder of the Money in the Bank case, but I could possibly see an angle where Lesnar or Cena win, which is followed right away by the Authority coming out and taking down the champion (Lesnar or Cena), which would then allow for Rollins to seize that opportunity and cash in. I'm not sure if that will happen though.

As for Cena, he probably won't win. The whole thing here is that he's been "distracted" from his match against Lesnar ever since he brought the Authority back a few weeks ago and subsequently led to the kayfabe firing of a few of his friends (Dolph Ziggler, Ryback, Erick Rowan). This rivalry will continue on into WrestleMania separate from the WWE Title. If I were to guess, I think there will be a 6-man tag team match at WM with Ziggler, Ryback and Rowan teaming up to take on the Authority's Seth Rollins, Big Show, and Corporate Kane and if Ziggler & Co. win, they get brought back. Triple H usually likes to wrestle at WrestleMania as well and I think they're setting up a match between Cena and HHH.

Now the Royal Rumble match.....I'm going with Roman Reigns on this one. He's been one of the brightest stars of 2014 and there's been this whole storyline for the past few years since Lesnar's return that he's "unstoppable" and can't be taken down. IIRC, Reigns defeated Kane's long-held streak of how many superstars he single-handily eliminated from the Rumble match and Reigns could be seen as the wrestler who could stand toe to toe with Lesnar. He's just as aggressive and ruthless as Lesnar is. There's also the fact that Reigns is loved by fans while Lesnar is one of the most hated heels (considering he's managed by loudmouth Paul Heyman as well as for ending the Undertaker's streak last year). Lesnar does need to lose the title though, and WrestleMania is the best opportunity to do it. When it comes to mic speaking, he's essentially carried by Heyman, and Lesnar has a contract deal with the WWE where he only makes sporadic appearances throughout the year. I don't care who it is, but get the title off of Lesnar.

I don't think Bryan will win the Rumble though because they're setting up a big Daniel Bryan/Kane feud now for WrestleMania where Bryan will likely win and by doing so will achieve his revenge on Kane after Kane's brutal assault on Bryan last year. I'm not at all a fan of Bryan (I find his gimmick annoying), but he likely will be in the WWE Title picture again at some point this year - just not at WrestleMania.

There's also been talk that WrestleMania might feature the Phenom vs. the Icon. The Undertaker vs. Sting. If you saw Survivor Series (2014) when Sting came to the WWE and made his presence felt in the main event of that night, he did something very similar to what The Undertaker did at Survivor Series (2005). So that might be a small hint that this match might happen. That and every wrestling fan would love to see that match.

As for Savage, it's about time he gets inducted. They've inducted people who don't deserve to be inducted at all (Donald Trump, Mr. T, Mike Tyson) before inducting the one man who wrestled perhaps one of the greatest WrestleMania matches ever (WM 3 - Savage vs. Steamboat). I'm glad Savage is finally getting his induction, though it's sad he's not alive to see this happen.

So Eraserhead, what do you like best about WWE so far? The Authority/Cena rivalry, the return of Bad News Barrett, the Miz/Damien Mizdow trainwreck of a team?

[LeBron]

For those who missed this, it seems WWE is airing the Rumble & the Title match for free on RAW tonight.

Yep, and it's all thanks to Governor Malloy! (And Vince McMahon, who said the "show must go on"). I feel bad for anyone who bought the Rumble last night though now that it's free and airing on Raw.

Also, I don't mean to show-boat, but it turns out I was right in predicting who would win the WWE Title Match and subsequent Royal Rumble match. I wasn't really shocked to see Lesnar retain, though I'm surprised Reigns won given his low statistical odds he had of winning.

[LeBron]

So for those who saw Raw tonight, I should point out that the Authority technically won that main event match. Big Show, Kane and Rollins all were attacked by outside inference which should have resulted in a disqualification, but didn't. I'm calling foul play by that referee.

But anyway, it's going to be Roman Reigns defending his #1 Contender status against Daniel Bryan at WWE Fastlane. The fans really seem to want Bryan here.

They also seem to be pushing Sin Cara and Tyson Kidd which is kind of cool given they've been jobbers for quite awhile. And man do they have talent. Vince shouldn't be wasting them like he did Justin Gabriel (who was recently laid off by the company). :/

[LeBron]

I thought Justin left? And the way he did it pissed off a lot of people backstage?

I was under the impression he was fired, but yeah, I guess he did quit. He had good reason to though. After his time in the Nexus (and the Corre) stables ended, he was thrown to the side, and deserved better.

[LeBron]

Right! I mean the least they could have scripted it was to knock the referee out temporarily in the match so that the referee didn't see the inteference.

So onto another screw job....what do you think of this whole Curtis Axel thing? He never was technically eliminated from the Rumble which was mentioned on social media. But man, it's a shame what happened to him to. Prodigy son of a Legend to a Paul Heyman guy to....a jobber.

Yeah, it sucks but Vince has seemingly always had a motive to push the big guys. He's the same guy who at one point thought the likes of The Great Khali and Mark Henry and Lord Tensai were the future of the WWE. *shutters*

Reigns will probably be booked to win it (or as another scenario the Authority might come out and attack both men leading to a no contest = the three way for the title). I've never been much of a fan of Daniel Bryan. His gimmick has gotten stale for me, and I perceive him as someone with a big ego. The plan does seem to be though that the "ruthless powerhouse" Roman Reigns will be the man to knock off Lesnar.

Regarding Sin Cara, IIRC he was a big rising star when he came to the WWE, but the original luchadore under the mask, Mistico, botched so badly, had bad relations with the company, and it didn't help either that he couldn't speak English and kept on getting injured. Hunico I think is a good replacement for Mistico as Sin Cara (he was after all formerly the heel black-wrestling gear Sin Cara). My best guess here is that Vince feels reluctant to push Sin Cara (Hunico) after Mistico messed up so badly under the Sin Cara name.

That's the problem with Cesaro & Kidd - these things never last. I don't know what it is, but the WWE loves to disband teams as often as possible nowadays - The Real Americans (Swagger, Cesaro, Colter) and the Wyatt Family (Bray, Harper, Rowan) I thought were awesome stables, and WWE got rid of them just like that. Cesaro & Kidd do have a win over the Tag Team Champions though, and I hope they'll put the belts on those two soon.

And one thing on Miz/Sandow. I find this rivalry pretty funny, though I just find it kind of amazing how the creative team decided to re-establish Sandow as a goofball when he previously was known as the "Intellectual Savior of the Masses" and called everyone ignoramuses and such. It looks like such a weird gimmick change.

Wow....I didn't hear that. Rollins posted a dick pic?   Hopefully this goes nowhere. Rollins deserves the World Title more than anybody and plus, as an Authority fan, it would really show their dominance as a team if they could win that (and maybe Kane and Big Show could go after the Tag Titles).

[LeBron]

I used to watch NXT when it aired on SyFy (and it was those first 2 Seasons of NXT that brought the WWE wrestlers with strong potential like Alex Riley, Kaval, Darren Young, Lucky Cannon, and Wade Barrett). Some were used wisely, but others Vince just gave up on. And those first few seasons of NXT brought a lot of great matches and competitions.

But no I don't watch the newer NXT. I actually never bought the WWE Network, and plus I don't think it's something I would be able to get into. I usually only watch Raw, SmackDown, and the "Big 4" PPVs.

[LeBron]

What do you watch the PPVs on?

I have two friends who are also WWE fans, so we usually alternate each other's houses on where we watch the Big 4.

The problem with going to a local sports bar/restaurant to see the "Big 4" is the places are always packed those nights and hard to get a seat, though if there's a really good lower-scale PPV (like Extreme Rules and TLC), then we might do that.

I presume you watch your PPVs for free through WWE Network?

[LeBron]

What do you watch the PPVs on?

I have two friends who are also WWE fans, so we usually alternate each other's houses on where we watch the Big 4.

The problem with going to a local sports bar/restaurant to see the "Big 4" is the places are always packed those nights and hard to get a seat, though if there's a really good lower-scale PPV (like Extreme Rules and TLC), then we might do that.

I presume you watch your PPVs for free through WWE Network?

Haha, if you consider $9.99 a month free...

The Network is basically what sucked me back into watching wrestling (after ignoring it for about a decade) because I initially only subscribed to it in order to get access to all of the classic PPVs and some of the "Beyond The Ring" type shows that break kayfabe.

But with the new PPVs being aired every month on there as well, there really wasn't any reason not to watch them...

lol, not free at all then. I don't know how I missed that considering it's advertised more on TV than WWE Twitter hashtags at this point.

I should get it. I'm just not sure if it's worth while considering the way me and my friends prefer to watch present-day PPVs. Getting all the classic PPVs for free would definitely be the main reason if I get it. Armageddon 2000, Judgment Day 2002, Survivor Series 2002/2003, Taboo Tuesday 2004, Unforgiven 2007.....all such great PPVs I'd like to see again (and more).

I can see how stuff like that can get you back into wrestling. Never seen the Beyond the Ring stuff, though I've heard Legend's House is supposed to be pretty funny and good.

By the way, I'll also be going to a WWE Live Event (aka house show) next Friday at Madison Square Garden with a bunch of my friends from work. It's being billed as "Hulk Hogan Appreciation Night". I'll let you guys know how it is.

Ugh, Hulk Hogan lol. His ring performance whenever he returns is very boring and a "we heard that last time" sort of thing. I respect the guy and all he's done, just he should be more of the Ted DiBiase or Sgt. Slaughter type and come back once a year for a classic WWF moment of some sort.

Have fun though!

[LeBron]

Oh and I got to ask. Do you own/have you ever played WWE 2K15 (for the PS4 or PS3)?

I haven't had the game for long, but man is it addicting. All the match types, choice of wrestlers (I prefer the Miz, and had him win the WWE World Heavyweight Title in the first match I played on it ), and other stuff aside, I've found myself playing MyCareer mode a lot where you start off at NXT with your create-a-superstar and build your way up gaining attributes, fans or hatred from the audience, and rivalries.

Graphics are really nice to and plenty of unlockables. I hate the new grappling system they introduced, but besides that match-play isn't challenging and commentary (usually) feels realistic.

So I would really recommend getting it if you already have one of the system's it's sold for.

[LeBron]

Vince definitely needs to make a last minute change to the results on this match. Usually, the babyface prevails after the main event which the WWE seems to think is Reigns (and my God, that would be so cringeworthy if the night ended with Reigns holding the title and all you could hear is boos). On the other hand, Lesnar has held that title far too long only to be barely be present in the company, and I highly doubt anyone wants to see another "WM moment" where that moment is just more Lesnar demolition. The ending should be unexpected with a cash-in and maybe a face turn by one of the three of some sort. Seth Rollins might be the best possible option to end the night/WWE Title Match with.

Regarding the other card matches, I have a feeling the IC Title Ladder match will be one of the top matches of the night. Crowded ladder matches are always exciting, especially when it features Ziggler, Ambrose, and Cody Rhodes. Interesting storyline, to.

Rusev vs. Cena was a stupid decision by Creative. It's literally WrestleMania 20 all over again when "SuperCena" overcame the odds and beat the "unstoppable" Big Show and won the U.S. Title. That's what this is going to be (assuming Cena wins). If anything, they should have pushed Swagger more and gave him the title shot. The crowd would have loved to see the "anti-American" lose the U.S. Title to the "Real American."

The Andre the Giant Battle Royal should be fun to watch - I'm putting my bets on Big Show winning it, or Sheamus if he ends up being in the battle royal.

Undertaker vs. Wyatt.....the build-up here was weak  (you can only do so much when only one of the two in the rivalry will actually show up). This obviously isn't going to be as exciting anymore without the streak on the line.

HHH vs. Sting I'm looking forward to. I'm pulling for Triple H, and the Authority might get involved in this one to try to rig it for the Game, but I see this match being won by Sting.

Fatal 4-Way for the Tag Team Titles (Pre-Match) - Really, really stupid that they're giving talented stars like these guys the shaft from the main card while they put a freaking divas tag team match in it's place.

LeBron, I do own WWE 2K15, but I have it on X-Box 360. It's definitely a fun game to just pick up and play. I hope they expand the "universe" mode in it next time around though. That could be a really cool mode but it needs some work.

X-Box 360? Boo.

j/k. So anyway, yeah I agree universe mode needs several improvements. I don't play that mode very often (I usually play MyCareer, am working on the 2K15 Showcase, and do online gameplay). MyCareer I've heard actually ends for your created superstar once you win the WWE Title (I don't know if that's really true or not yet), but if that is true, that definitely needs to be fixed for WWE 2K16.

[LeBron]

I'm really happy to see Kidd and Cesaro held onto the Tag Titles!

Bryan winning the IC Title....not so much (though it seemed obvious that Bryan was going to win this one), plus the IC Title naturally does change hands a lot at WrestleMania. I was rooting for Ziggler in this one, and he came so close!

The Authority so far is 2-1 tonight. Big Show won the Andre Battle Royal (and it only seems fitting he does as someone who most resembles a modern-day Andre the Giant) and The Game beat the Icon, while Orton beat Rollins after a very impressive reverse curb stomp into a flying RKO.

Oh and speaking of the Authority, Triple H so far takes the cake for best entrance:



Still crossing my fingers Rollins will cash in tonight.....

[LeBron]

Best possible ending! They listened to the WWE Universe for once and made sure Roman Reigns didn't win the title.

[LeBron]

Overall, I would give WrestleMania a 9/10. The entrances were brilliant, it was action-packed and we saw some big names return. Better than the past few WM's imo.

Also, it's worth a mention that the only champions to be booted from the main card were the only ones who were able to retain their titles at WrestleMania. #CesaroandKidd #FACT

[LeBron]

So what do you guys think of the Sheamus return? I agree with the fans when they started chanting "You look stupid" at him last week (for his new look), though I'm really happy to see WWE brought him back as a heel. I don't know what it is, but Irish wrestlers really work better as heels - it worked well originally for Sheamus and like Finlay sort of was, Sheamus is a vicious brawler and is "tough" on the mic so it does work best that he is back a heel.

I just wish in the process of making his "statement" on Raw last week that he wasn't burying Ziggles (who I feel is being mistreated as of late). Nonetheless, Sheamus does appear to be the next in line for an IC Title match.

On a side note, I'm happy to see Sin Cara and now Kalisto (man does he have talent) are on the main roster finally. With Rey Mysterio, Evan Bourne, Justin Gabriel and others gone now, the WWE does need some more lightweight high-flyers.

[LeBron]

So what do you guys think of the Sheamus return? I agree with the fans when they started chanting "You look stupid" at him last week (for his new look), though I'm really happy to see WWE brought him back as a heel. I don't know what it is, but Irish wrestlers really work better as heels - it worked well originally for Sheamus and like Finlay sort of was, Sheamus is a vicious brawler and is "tough" on the mic so it does work best that he is back a heel.

I just wish in the process of making his "statement" on Raw last week that he wasn't burying Ziggles (who I feel is being mistreated as of late). Nonetheless, Sheamus does appear to be the next in line for an IC Title match.

On a side note, I'm happy to see Sin Cara and now Kalisto (man does he have talent) are on the main roster finally. With Rey Mysterio, Evan Bourne, Justin Gabriel and others gone now, the WWE does need some more lightweight high-flyers.

He does look stupid. But does anyone remember what he looked like before? He looked like Beaker! Sheamus really had to be a heel on his return though. The only strong heel the company has is Seth Rollins. Compare to the babyface side: Bryan, Reigns, Orton, Cena, Ambrose and Lesnar are all your top faces. Compare the heels: Rollins..... Kane and Big Show.... Rusev... The company is face heavy right now, so adding Sheamus as a heel was the right move.

I didn't think it was a burial, because it fits the character he's playing. Now if Ziggler jobs to him in 3 minute matches, then it's a burial. I'm fine with Bryan-Sheamus feuding over the IC strap.

I really like the Lucha Dragons, but good god, putting them in there with the New Day, none of whom have ever worked the Lucha Libre style before and it was asking for trouble. Mistimed moves, which weren't the fault of Kalisto. The Lucha Dragons need to program immediately with the Brass Ring Club (Which is a great name for the Kidd-Cesaro tag team, I think). Both Kidd and Cesaro are familiar with Lucha Libre, especially Cesaro, because back when he was Claudio Castagnoli, he worked for CHIKARA, where most of the guys worked that style.

Since this is the wrestling thread though and not the WWE thread, have any of you guys had a chance to check out some of the other wrestling on TV? ROH, Lucha Underground, New Japan on AXS... All great shows. If you guys are interested in this topic, there's a message board I'm on, called the Craphole forum where we discuss wrestling. I go by the name Schemer on there.

Oh, by the way, those of you, who like me, enjoyed the "Suplex City, bitch" line. There's a shirt with the saying on a site called barbershop window.

I think we can agree he looks stupid with either look. Although a lot of it has to do with his very, very pale complexion. What I do really like is his new entrance music "Hellfire". It sounds cool and he needed a new theme song. And yeah, I agree it was right by the WWE to bring him back as a heel.

It seems like they are bringing Ziggler (and Sheamus) down a notch though if you saw SmackDown. The two are competing in a "Kiss My Arse" match at Extreme Rules which is really degrading since it's more of a "joke" concept that's mainly only been used by Vince McMahon. For the sake of other fellow gay WWE fans elsewhere though, one can only hope Ziggler wins this match.

The Lucha Dragons would work well with Kidd & Cesaro or even Los Matadores (I heard The Usos will be out of action for awhile after Jey Uso got sidelined recently).

I usually don't watch the other promotional shows, except I will occasionally see an episode of TNA on at night (man have they gone downhill). Though TNA does still have that more "hardcore" approach to their matches and segments that the WWE doesn't embrace, so I will give them that, but they continue to remain the company of all superstars that quit/are fired from the WWE. Thanks for the offer of joining that wrestling forum. I'll consider it though I'm not as active in the IWC Community as I used to be. I did look through the Craphole forum though and I have to say it's pretty funny how you guys also have a forum member named "Mr. X" over there as well.

Meh, the line was funny but I don't know if I'd buy a shirt that says it. What I really want to see is if WWEShop or some other site starts selling Dolph Ziggler's new black/light blue zip hoodie. That would be awesome.

[LeBron]

I still really enjoy the Authority storyline, and with Kane as the Gatekeeper during the WWE Title Steel Cage match, I'm really curious to see what happens here. I could see Kane costing Rollins the title and the following night on Raw HHH/Steph "kayfabe" fire Kane as the Director of Operations.

Of course, that would look really weak if they only give Rollins a one month title reign. If Creative was smart, I think Rollins would be the perfect champion to do a JBL-esque sort of WWE Title reign with.

As for the other matches:

IC Title - I've heard this might not be happening. As Cynic said, Bryan's out with a concussion so it really depends if this match will be on the card.

U.S. Title - I think this will be an interesting match (it has the same concept of the Texas Bullrope match which in the past has gotten brutal, bloody and long-winded), but it might just end up being a standard Cena "Never Give Up" kind of win. Meh.

Last Man Standing - These always end up ending in a Double KO. If either one wins, it might be Big Show to show his dominance further in the Authority (and tbh Reigns lately has gotten stale for me), but I ultimately think both won't be able to make it to the count of 10.

Kiss Me Arse Match - I agree with you here, Cynman. I doubt Sheamus is going to lose his PPV return debut. Granted, this is PG still so I have a feeling it won't even involve seeing a bare you-know-what on international TV. They'll find a way around that.

Chicago Street Fight - Expect some CM Punk chants during this. This match hasn't really been hyped as much as the rest, but I'm rooting for my home state favorite!

Tag Team Title Match - A pre-PPV match against The New Day? SMH -______-