Pro Wrestling Thread

[Sports Guy]

Cena talked about how he has to win....that tells me win anyway possible.

Still think a heel turn is likely.

[ShaneDawg85]

I just heard on Raw that Santino beat Swagger for the U.S. title. Now, I'm not a Santino fan. I know, he's for comedic purposes by and large, and that's fine. I've laughed myself stupid at comedic guys over the years like the Outlaws, but I just can't see it with Santino. That said, it's a good thing for WWE. The guy is over, and when a guy is over, as much as you may want to develop talent and new guys, you have to give the guy whose over a bigger push. Swagger from what I've read and seen on a limited basis is a good talent, but he has zero personality, zero presence, and frankly the crowd only boo's him because he's with Ziggler and Vicki. I'm not saying Santino will add relevance to the U.S. title again, because all of the belts outside of the WWE title are worthless right now and treated like 3rd class fodder. But, it'll get people talking, and hopefully lead to something better.

[Sports Guy]

I just heard on Raw that Santino beat Swagger for the U.S. title. Now, I'm not a Santino fan. I know, he's for comedic purposes by and large, and that's fine. I've laughed myself stupid at comedic guys over the years like the Outlaws, but I just can't see it with Santino. That said, it's a good thing for WWE. The guy is over, and when a guy is over, as much as you may want to develop talent and new guys, you have to give the guy whose over a bigger push. Swagger from what I've read and seen on a limited basis is a good talent, but he has zero personality, zero presence, and frankly the crowd only boo's him because he's with Ziggler and Vicki. I'm not saying Santino will add relevance to the U.S. title again, because all of the belts outside of the WWE title are worthless right now and treated like 3rd class fodder. But, it'll get people talking, and hopefully lead to something better.

Santino is just awful...funny at times but awful. Agree that Swagger has zero charisma or relevance. Good talent in the ring though.

The Cobra is a worse finishing move than Hogan's leg drop.

BTW, the Rock's last skit was pretty funny but still, his whole schtick about how everyone is sick of Cena is more of the fault of Vinnie Mac than Cena IMO.

[Skeletor]

Swagger is one of those guys you can point out that would have benefitted greatly from the old territory system. He's got a great gimmick and he's a solid wrestler. He's just not entertaining.

[adamwolff11]

Another solid Raw in IMO. I'm loving all the Rock/Cena stuff.

WWE is actually building this PPV properly. Plenty of focus on the HHH/Taker, Rock/Cena, and Punk/Jericho matches. We're still a month away, but with the amount of build they've done, it feels like the PPV should be this Sunday. This is how a PPV is supposed to be..when two guys fight it's supposed to feel like FINALLY we get these two in the ring and get the big payoff. I think that's what we should get with all 3 of those matches, and to a lesser degree, Bryan/Sheamus.

I also think they GM vs GM tag match could be good if they book it properly.

[MikeAD]

Agree on all fronts about Swagger. I can't believe they haven't found a way to make him more over with this stable. They need to find a way to get the crowd to hate him more, but it just hasn't worked. Really don't like Santino as US Champ. What the heck is with this push?

The HBK special ref thing is sort of boring.

[Dipper9]

Typically I am not a fan of a comedy act winning a major title, but two things here. One, the US title has been meaningless for quite some time, and two, the crowd popped for Santino like it was Steamboat beating Savage at WrestleMania 3. The only thing missing from Howard Finkle and his "Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew, United States Champion...." shtick.

I agree that Vince is building Mania up properly, the way they used to build PPV's back when there were only the big four, or five if you include King of the Ring. I love when they book an event 6 weeks in advance. The Punk / Jericho feud is building great, as is the Triple H / Taker rematch. I have to say, Cena and the Rock are kinda boring me right now. I don' know if Rock is just rusty, but he's not "bringing it" as he likes to say. Its the same old catch phrases from 10 years ago, and Cena is just owning him right now. The crowd is actually starting to get behind Cena even stronger than ever, which leads me to believe....that SG is right. Cena will do whatever is necessary to beat Rock at Mania, thus sealing his heel turn. Or we can hope, anyway!

I love HBK, and he's still better than most of the roster on the mic, but why do you need a special enforcer in a Hell in a Cell match? The only thing the ref does is count to three at the end. Which leads me to believe that HBK superkicks Taker and MAY actually give Trips the victory here. They can end the streak but say that it took both Trips and HBK to get it done. The only thing is, what good does that do? Unless Taker is done and cannot go anymore, ending the streak effectively ends a Main Event match for next year's Mania. It ends the possibility of Taker vs Rock and Taker vs Cena. And it gives the win to Trips who is basically retired, and HBK who is retired. It doesn't build anything. So the flip side is HBK superkicks Taker, Taker STILL kicks out, and the DX buddies ride off into the sunset knowing they can't get the job done. OR...and the most likely scenario, HBK superkicks Trips and we have ONE last HBK match at next years Mania with HBK vs Trips. So Mania 29 could have Trips/HBK, Taker/Rock, and maybe Punk/Austin all booked well in advance. That would be some star studded card.

The GM thing is aggravating to me. At first it was just a nuisance. Now, their bickering and involvement is taking away from the matches and costing champions their belts. And the worst thing is....nobody gives a rats arse who wins their feud.

[ShaneDawg85]

Typically I am not a fan of a comedy act winning a major title, but two things here. One, the US title has been meaningless for quite some time, and two, the crowd popped for Santino like it was Steamboat beating Savage at WrestleMania 3. The only thing missing from Howard Finkle and his "Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew, United States Champion...." shtick.

I agree that Vince is building Mania up properly, the way they used to build PPV's back when there were only the big four, or five if you include King of the Ring. I love when they book an event 6 weeks in advance. The Punk / Jericho feud is building great, as is the Triple H / Taker rematch. I have to say, Cena and the Rock are kinda boring me right now. I don' know if Rock is just rusty, but he's not "bringing it" as he likes to say. Its the same old catch phrases from 10 years ago, and Cena is just owning him right now. The crowd is actually starting to get behind Cena even stronger than ever, which leads me to believe....that SG is right. Cena will do whatever is necessary to beat Rock at Mania, thus sealing his heel turn. Or we can hope, anyway!

I love HBK, and he's still better than most of the roster on the mic, but why do you need a special enforcer in a Hell in a Cell match? The only thing the ref does is count to three at the end. Which leads me to believe that HBK superkicks Taker and MAY actually give Trips the victory here. They can end the streak but say that it took both Trips and HBK to get it done. The only thing is, what good does that do? Unless Taker is done and cannot go anymore, ending the streak effectively ends a Main Event match for next year's Mania. It ends the possibility of Taker vs Rock and Taker vs Cena. And it gives the win to Trips who is basically retired, and HBK who is retired. It doesn't build anything. So the flip side is HBK superkicks Taker, Taker STILL kicks out, and the DX buddies ride off into the sunset knowing they can't get the job done. OR...and the most likely scenario, HBK superkicks Trips and we have ONE last HBK match at next years Mania with HBK vs Trips. So Mania 29 could have Trips/HBK, Taker/Rock, and maybe Punk/Austin all booked well in advance. That would be some star studded card.

The GM thing is aggravating to me. At first it was just a nuisance. Now, their bickering and involvement is taking away from the matches and costing champions their belts. And the worst thing is....nobody gives a rats arse who wins their feud.

HBK swerving Taker is too obvious. Everyone kind of expects that would happen, so HBK swerving HHH would make more sense. There's always been the underlying question of who is better between the two, they've feuded on and off as much as they've been united, and HBK came closer to ending the streak than anyone before HHH. All that added up would set up HBK screwing HHH. Plus, HBK already screwed Taker out of the title in 1997, not that the kids would know that anyway.

[Sports Guy]

Taker isn't going to lose.

[MikeAD]

Taker isn't going to lose.

Right, there would be absolutely no point. What would be the value to him losing to HHH? HHH could say hes the best ever? I mean, Undetaker streak defines him, he hasn't really held a ton of titles and has always been an off and on player. He had moments where he was top 3 in the industry but HHH carried the company at times.

I really hope they don't do some no contest finish. Ugh. I just hope this is a great match that goes 35 minutes and Taker wins. HBK might pull one over on HHH but what I don't want is some feud where HBK comes back in some capacity against HHH. I like that hes retired.

[Dipper9]

Right, there would be absolutely no point. What would be the value to him losing to HHH? HHH could say hes the best ever? I mean, Undetaker streak defines him, he hasn't really held a ton of titles and has always been an off and on player. He had moments where he was top 3 in the industry but HHH carried the company at times.

I really hope they don't do some no contest finish. Ugh. I just hope this is a great match that goes 35 minutes and Taker wins. HBK might pull one over on HHH but what I don't want is some feud where HBK comes back in some capacity against HHH. I like that hes retired.

I like that he's adhering to his "retirement" stipulation, but I hate that he's retired. I would still love to see more matches with HBK vs Jericho, Punk, Ziggler, Trips, Rhodes, Bryan, etc. HBK had a lot left to give in the ring. His retirement stipulation came way to soon.

[ShaneDawg85]

I like that he's adhering to his "retirement" stipulation, but I hate that he's retired. I would still love to see more matches with HBK vs Jericho, Punk, Ziggler, Trips, Rhodes, Bryan, etc. HBK had a lot left to give in the ring. His retirement stipulation came way to soon.

Going back to the dream matches question from a while ago, Bleacher Report had an article on dream matches we'll never see, and #1 on the list was Rock vs. HBK. I had to stop myself to realize that the two never competed in a singles match. It makes sense after I think about it, given that HBK was gone most of the years when Rock was at his peak. Honestly, I'd think about buying a ppv if I could get that match. Forget any other dream match out there, nothing could top that in my mind. Of course, that's why it will never happen.

[Dipper9]

Going back to the dream matches question from a while ago, Bleacher Report had an article on dream matches we'll never see, and #1 on the list was Rock vs. HBK. I had to stop myself to realize that the two never competed in a singles match. It makes sense after I think about it, given that HBK was gone most of the years when Rock was at his peak. Honestly, I'd think about buying a ppv if I could get that match. Forget any other dream match out there, nothing could top that in my mind. Of course, that's why it will never happen.

I never thought of that. HBK vs Rock would be huge, even now!

How about:

80's Hogan vs 90's Austin
Mr. Perfect vs Dolph Ziggler
Bret Hart vs Chris Jericho
CM Punk vs Randy Savage
Andre the Giant vs Big Show
80's Sting vs 90's UnderTaker
80's Ric Flair vs 90's HBK

[Sports Guy]

The feeling among most backstage at RAW in Boston Monday night was that John Cena has won the war of words with The Rock two weeks in a row now

Not surprising.

[Sports Guy]

The Rock's song tonight is hilarious.

But who wrote it for him? You see him looking down and reading it. Cena didn't have cue cards.