OT: The WWE Thread

[ctorres]

The official Realgm Knicks forum WWE Thread. If you're not a pro wrestling fan or only opened the thread to respond with some sort of "wrestling is fake, grow up" remark, you need to GTFO. Plenty of Knicks fans here who also happen to be pro wrestling fans so we don't need anyone to come in and spoil the good vibes here.





It's a pretty good time to be a WWE fan right now:

- John Cena is out of the picture for a while as is Sheamus
- Daniel Bryan is getting the push that he deserves
- Triple H doing a pretty solid job as a heel as is Randy Orton
- Dolph Ziggler and Cody Rhodes are on a steady rise. Hopefully they are developed as top faces of the company
- AJ Lee is the best Diva the WWE has had since the Lita and Trish Stratus days
- Pretty good consistency with the roster now. Most of the old washed up has-beens as well as the young prospects that didn't pan out are gone. Most of the wrestlers left on the active roster who get a considerable amount of tv time are watchable. It felt like the WWE had been in a rebuilding phase for a while (switch to PG rating and extending Raw to 3 hours), and it's just now starting to pay off.
- Other than calling it the PG era, apparently it's now being called the "Reality Era". Like Stone Cold Steve Austin's King Of The Ring win in 1996 was the start of the Attitude Era, the Reality Era began when CM Punk laid down his infamous pipe bomb 2 years ago. I'd say it was CM Punk who got me back into the intricacies and artistry of professional wrestling after I had lost interest for a really long time.

[brooklynbrawler]

was wondering when this would pop up, it really is a good state for WWE now

[ctorres]

was wondering when this would pop up, it really is a good state for WWE now

It's not a perfect show, but it's fairly entertaining now. Storylines are flowing pretty well for the most part.

[kingquan316]

To me it was a positive at summerslam, and I was excited for the direction of this new corporation with hunter, but man this weeks raw was bad to me (specifically the ending segment). I get the point of it, build as much heat on the heels, but did the audience have to see big show weep for like 10 mins? They are making the babyfaces have no balls right now. The original corporation angle worked cause Austin, DX, and others defy the so called bosses of the company. They were cool wrestlers, and the audience gravitated to them. How can anyone relate or cheer for these guys? Also Daniel Bryan is looking like a wimp by the writers. Austin got his sometimes, but you would NEVER see him constantly killed by the heels. If I'm going to take Bryan seriously, you can't make him seem like he is a loser. For some reason I think the storyline is more about Big Show, than Bryan, and that is a mistake. It's like the Big guy needs to save the little guy. Austin never needed anyone to "save" him. I won't stop watching it though, but I've been shaking my head since the last raw ended.

[Bill Pidto]

My top 15 in no real particular order:

Shawn Michaels
Bret Hart
Mr. Perfect
Owen Hart
Mick Foley
Kurt Angle
RVD
Chris Benoit
Macho Man
Ric Flair
Million Dollar Man
Stone Cold
The Rock
Eddie Guerrero
Chris Jericho

[Kn1cksNation]

My top 15 in no real particular order:

Shawn Michaels
Bret Hart
Mr. Perfect
Owen Hart
Mick Foley
Kurt Angle
RVD
Chris Benoit
Macho Man
Ric Flair
Million Dollar Man
Stone Cold
The Rock
Eddie Guerrero
Chris Jericho

No Undertaker? He's by far my favorite of all time, I like your list though.

[ctorres]

To me it was a positive at summerslam, and I was excited for the direction of this new corporation with hunter, but man this weeks raw was bad to me (specifically the ending segment). I get the point of it, build as much heat on the heels, but did the audience have to see big show weep for like 10 mins? They are making the babyfaces have no balls right now. The original corporation angle worked cause Austin, DX, and others defy the so called bosses of the company. They were cool wrestlers, and the audience gravitated to them. How can anyone relate or cheer for these guys? Also Daniel Bryan is looking like a wimp by the writers. Austin got his sometimes, but you would NEVER see him constantly killed by the heels. If I'm going to take Bryan seriously, you can't make him seem like he is a loser. For some reason I think the storyline is more about Big Show, than Bryan, and that is a mistake. It's like the Big guy needs to save the little guy. Austin never needed anyone to "save" him. I won't stop watching it though, but I've been shaking my head since the last raw ended.

I think it's going to be a slow build until Bryan gains the momentum to fight back and some of the rest of the roster gains the confidence in defying "The Administration". Also, keep in mind that the storyline is going to have to extend to multiple PPV's (6 within the next 4 months). I think having Daniel Bryan get completely beat up at the end of every show will end soon enough.

[kingquan316]

To me it was a positive at summerslam, and I was excited for the direction of this new corporation with hunter, but man this weeks raw was bad to me (specifically the ending segment). I get the point of it, build as much heat on the heels, but did the audience have to see big show weep for like 10 mins? They are making the babyfaces have no balls right now. The original corporation angle worked cause Austin, DX, and others defy the so called bosses of the company. They were cool wrestlers, and the audience gravitated to them. How can anyone relate or cheer for these guys? Also Daniel Bryan is looking like a wimp by the writers. Austin got his sometimes, but you would NEVER see him constantly killed by the heels. If I'm going to take Bryan seriously, you can't make him seem like he is a loser. For some reason I think the storyline is more about Big Show, than Bryan, and that is a mistake. It's like the Big guy needs to save the little guy. Austin never needed anyone to "save" him. I won't stop watching it though, but I've been shaking my head since the last raw ended.

I think it's going to be a slow build until Bryan gains the momentum to fight back and some of the rest of the roster gains the confidence in defying "The Administration". Also, keep in mind that the storyline is going to have to extend to multiple PPV's (6 within the next 4 months). I think having Daniel Bryan get completely beat up at the end of every show will end soon enough.

I know it will end, and Daniel Bryan will get an upper hand eventually. But the build up to it has been bad in my opinion. I just think there are so many creative ways into building up Daniel Bryan as the underdog, and not have the same ending 3 weeks in a row. Big show crying should not be the main ending segment for 2 shows in a row. Say this happen in 98 with Austin getting beat up, and you see the Undertaker crying not wanting to hurt him. That sounds so lame. If it was me, I would not have the locker room going out on stage looking all emo watching daniel bryan get beat up. I would make Dolph be a sarcastic a-hole to the McMahon family, while having Bryan stand tall on a raw by now. You can slowly add more faces against them, but I would never make them look depress.

There are things I like about the show though. I like the CM punk, and Heyman storyline. I'm meh on Axel, but you need someone to help Heyman. I would hope Heyman has another guy that will interfere to help him, and prolong this storyline for at least another month before CM punk finally puts him in his place. Punk also has to be in this corporation storyline, he is a perfect foil to the McMahons. What do you think they are building up to at Mania?

[HixNixKnicksTix]

was wondering when this would pop up, it really is a good state for WWE now

It's not a perfect show, but it's fairly entertaining now. Storylines are flowing pretty well for the most part.

jk.

i was a legit fan during the attitude era. now i'm a casual fan. my younger brothers get all the paperviews and i watch those and the occasional RAW/Smackdown. it seriously is the best show on earth, though.

[ctorres]

What do you think they are building up to at Mania?

Main Event: Daniel Bryan vs CM Punk for the WWE Championship

[kingquan316]

What do you think they are building up to at Mania?

Main Event: Daniel Bryan vs CM Punk for the WWE Championship

I would buy the show if that was the main event, regardless of the rest of the card. I don't know where that leaves Cena, and Triple H at mania though. What I think will happen is

1) Wwe title-Punk vs. Bryan (but I keep thinking it could be Bryan vs. Triple H also)
2) Taker vs. Cena
3) Brock vs. Rock

[Bill Pidto]

My problem with wrestling today is still the quality of matches more so than it is the writing (which isn't spectacular or all that compelling either). The WWE is not working with nearly the same amount of talent that they used to be in the 90s/Attitude era. You can tell that most guys now a days are scared to take a good bump (ever watch John Cena take a choke slam?). Their expressions and body language in the ring make it obvious that they're faking it. And that ruins most of the fun.

Even the lower tier of workers on the old WWF rosters were long-time pros and practiced the fundamentals of putting on a good, believable looking wrestling match. The guys you see working today - including some of the WWE's biggest stars - have no sense of artistry in the ring. Just out there trying to remember and execute their spots and get the match over with without getting hurt. As avid of a fan as I used to be, sometimes it's painful to watch and that's not just because I'm now older and less impressionable.

Cena, Randy Orton, Punk, Del Rio, Sandow, Miz... none of them could shine the shoes of Bret Hart, Mr. Perfect or Shawn Michaels who were masters of making it look like they were getting their asses kicked. It's not about being the biggest and coolest looking guy. Or even how many moves you have in your arsenal. Being able to sell your opponents moves and tell a story in the ring so that the audience believes what they're seeing is the mark of a great performer to me. And when you have two guys in the ring who understand pacing and are both selling each other, you wind up with a great match. And it's been a while since I've seen something that was truly great on a WWE broadcast.

[ctorres]

What do you think they are building up to at Mania?

Main Event: Daniel Bryan vs CM Punk for the WWE Championship

I would buy the show if that was the main event, regardless of the rest of the card. I don't know where that leaves Cena, and Triple H at mania though. What I think will happen is

1) Wwe title-Punk vs. Bryan (but I keep thinking it could be Bryan vs. Triple H also)
2) Taker vs. Cena
3) Brock vs. Rock

I think Triple H vs Daniel Bryan will happen prior to Wrestlemania. Hard to say who Triple H would face at Wrestlemania that makes sense for him.

Another dream match in my eyes would be Cody Rhodes vs Dolph Ziggler for the WHC, but that one might be too unlikely.

[Bill Pidto]

My top 15 in no real particular order:

Shawn Michaels
Bret Hart
Mr. Perfect
Owen Hart
Mick Foley
Kurt Angle
RVD
Chris Benoit
Macho Man
Ric Flair
Million Dollar Man
Stone Cold
The Rock
Eddie Guerrero
Chris Jericho

No Undertaker? He's by far my favorite of all time, I like your list though.

Taker is probably top 20 for me. Without a doubt, a great performer and one of the top 5 greatest characters/gimmicks in the history of the business. But speaking strictly in terms of the work they've done in the ring, those 15 guys just barely beat him out based on artistry, creativity, believability and grace. Things that make a match fun to watch.

If you go back and watch a bunch of Taker's matches, he's had a lot of great ones, but he was usually the beneficiary of having someone great to work with who hit all the big spots and made those moments as memorable as they are (HBK, Mankind, Austin). A lot of his earlier stuff was awkward and just seemed incredible at the time because I was a child... and Taker's look was just other-worldly.

[Fury]

I like the Daniel Bryan storyline, but the dude needs a W ASAP.

Spoiler:

Randy Orton stood over him to end Smackdown again

If he doesn't get the advantage on RAW, this is dipping into nWo territory.

[HixNixKnicksTix]

face paint needs to come back. i'm dead serious.

my favorite was probably sting

[blueNorange]

they need to sign kevin steen

[DowNY]

face paint needs to come back. i'm dead serious.

my favorite was probably sting

Word is, Sting has already promised Triple H that he'll finally come on over after current TNA contract is up.
My guess, Royal Rumble. I think he should face Undertaker at Mania since that's the match everyone wants.

[DowNY]

Kurt Angle needs to return eventually also.

Could also see Samoa Joe end up in WWE eventually as well. He & CM punk can renew their classic match chemistry a few more times, if not just team up & dominate.
Can you imagine:
CM Punk & Samoa Joe vs. Curt Axel & Brock Lesnar with Paul Heyman.

[DowNY]

Oh, & definitely digging the Cody Rhodes push. Bout time.

Ziggler is a star as well. Minus his stuff with the Spirit Squad, he's been money. He even sells the moves done to him perfectly.