WWE

[Jericode]

Kofi being a fighting champion and succumbing to Braun down the line would be my guess.

[jump]

36 minutes ago, Andre91 said:

Kofi will have a month long reign, I think. A heel needs to take it off him and my choice would be Bryan winning it back. For the love of everything good in the world, don’t let it be boring Randy Orton. I can’t stand him. 

Rollins will hold the belt until Summerslam where he should lose it to Drew. 

The shakeup next week will be interesting. I think AJ will go over to RAW. I don’t want AJ as champion again any time soon, though. I think he’s a really boring champion. 

Braun needs to be utilised over on SmackDown properly and be a WWE champion before the end of the year. 

It wont be Bryan, he refuses to do the Saudi Arabia shows (which make more money than 'mania?!?!?) which are coming up soon. I would like to see the feud continue tho as there's untapped points it can lead to still. 

[A-Rob]

3 hours ago, pink_triangle said:

DX were also perfect for the time. It was very much the American Pie/South Park era. I can see why some think it doesn't work now, but it worked perfectly then.

Yes those were the days, before the political correctness took over and everybody started getting offended for nothing

[DareToDibble]

Interesting that the conversation of DX and NWO has come up in this thread. When watching Mania I asked my mates who they think are the top 3 wrestling factions ever - DX and NWO were actually in all of our top 3 but we disagreed on the 3rd.

 

[jump]

4 minutes ago, DareToDibble said:

Interesting that the conversation of DX and NWO has come up in this thread. When watching Mania I asked my mates who they think are the top 3 wrestling factions ever - DX and NWO were actually in all of our top 3 but we disagreed on the 3rd.

 

Obviously it's The Spirit Squad...

The Four Horsemen are probably the one most people would say but Evolution, Bullet Club, The Shield, The Corporation, The Fabulous Freebirds and The New Day are all worth a mention but personally I like Nation of Domination and Too Cool.

[pink_triangle]

The hart foundation with Brett, Owen, bulldog, anvil and Pillman for me.

Edited April 11, 2019 by pink_triangle

[pink_triangle]

6 hours ago, jump said:

Why do wrestling fans always bring it back to the attitude? 

When it comes to HOF discussions most years it is headlined by so someone from that era, so it's not off topic.

In general a couple of reasons. Firstly nostalgia sells, look at the current popular podcasts and conventions. Also wrestling was super popular then, it's fair to ask the question why is it different now.

[pink_triangle]

3 hours ago, A-Rob said:

Yes those were the days, before the political correctness took over and everybody started getting offended for nothing

It's swings and roundabouts, the current and the past have pros and cons. Now they are more athletic, but there is less character.

Loads of people then were probably more creative due to the amount of chemicals they were consuming. The modern wrestler spends all day on video games and social media and will live a longer, healthy life.

There is a case of political correctness, but there was a lot of racism, sexism and homophobia in the attitude era. It was a different time and people reacted differently, but it doesn't all age well. 

[jump]

5 minutes ago, pink_triangle said:

It's swings and roundabouts, the current and the past have pros and cons. Now they are more athletic, but there is less character.

Loads of people then were probably more creative due to the amount of chemicals they were consuming. The modern wrestler spends all day on video games and social media and will live a longer, healthy life.

There is a case of political correctness, but there was a lot of racism, sexism and homophobia in the attitude era. It was a different time and people reacted differently, but it doesn't all age well. 

I'm not buying that.

It's well known the current crop of WWE wrestlers aren't allowed creative control anymore, it's only the likes of Cena, Trips, Bryan etc where there are big enough names that they are allowed to write their own lines, give ideas over to creative. It's the main reason Ambrose has left as he couldn't stand the "hokey shit" they create for him as well as others like Cody Rhodes.

WWE wrestlers have a ghoulish tour schedule where they are constantly on the road, they aren't sitting on the arse playing games all day and wrestlers are under orders to post shit on social media after seeing how the likes of how Zack Ryder and The Young Buck got massive from it.

[WS_Jack_III]

Talking of the current crop playing games and such, watching Up, Up, Down, Down (Xavier Woods YouTube channel if you don't know) is fantastic to see a different side to the superstars (their actual personalities I guess)

[pink_triangle]

17 hours ago, jump said:

I'm not buying that.

It's well known the current crop of WWE wrestlers aren't allowed creative control anymore, it's only the likes of Cena, Trips, Bryan etc where there are big enough names that they are allowed to write their own lines, give ideas over to creative. It's the main reason Ambrose has left as he couldn't stand the "hokey shit" they create for him as well as others like Cody Rhodes.

WWE wrestlers have a ghoulish tour schedule where they are constantly on the road, they aren't sitting on the arse playing games all day and wrestlers are under orders to post shit on social media after seeing how the likes of how Zack Ryder and The Young Buck got massive from it.

Austin wasn't allowed full creative control when he first came in, he had to fight for it and earn it. If a star gets big enough they will also get it.

You listen to the Jericho and Austin podcast's and it's clear the lifestyles are miles apart to when they were around. Note they also had the huge travel schedule. I have no doubt that the drink and drugs lifestyles facilitated a greater level of creativity. It also has resulted in many of them no longer being with us.

I don't use the fact they are playing video games and social media as a negative. They will probably lead longer and healthier lives.

[jump]

Just now, pink_triangle said:

Austin wasn't allowed full creative control when he first came in, he had to fight for it and earn it. If a star gets big enough they will also get it.

You listen to the Jericho and Austin podcast's and it's clear the lifestyles are miles apart to when they were around. Note they also had the huge travel schedule. I have no doubt that the drink and drugs lifestyles facilitated a greater level of creativity. It also has resulted in many of them no longer being with us.

I don't use the fact they are playing video games and social media as a negative. They will probably lead longer and healthier lives.

It's not the 90s anymore, the "creative" process is completely different now.

[pink_triangle]

1 minute ago, jump said:

It's not the 90s anymore, the "creative" process is completely different now.

The creative process may be different, but the fact remains the higher up the chain you get the more influence you will have. If a wrestler can get to the level where they are causing ratings to increase, increasing network subscriptions, getting huger following on social media, selling high merchandise etc they will have influence on their creative as well. At present pretty much everyone is expendable.

[jump]

19 minutes ago, pink_triangle said:

The creative process may be different, but the fact remains the higher up the chain you get the more influence you will have. If a wrestler can get to the level where they are causing ratings to increase, increasing network subscriptions, getting huger following on social media, selling high merchandise etc they will have influence on their creative as well. At present pretty much everyone is expendable.

I've already mentioned Ambrose, one of the biggest current wrestlers in the company quitting as they haven't got creative control.

[pink_triangle]

15 minutes ago, jump said:

I've already mentioned Ambrose, one of the biggest current wrestlers in the company quitting as they haven't got creative control.

The reality is they don't need to give him creative control as he doesn't move the needle. They won't lose any money by him leaving, he will be quickly forgotten.

[jump]

Just now, pink_triangle said:

The reality is they don't need to give him creative control as he doesn't move the needle. They won't lose any money by him leaving, he will be quickly forgotten.

That's not true, just before the brand split he was made champ as his house shows and merch were outselling Romans also there's The Shield which does business.

[Andre91]

Wrestling fans in general need to stop comparing present day to the past. It’s gone. Focus on today’s crop of stars. Constantly comparing them to stars of yesteryear isn’t going to change anything. Just enjoy WWE for what it is today. Yes, it might not be as dazzling as your favourite years from the past, but there is still plenty to like (as has been mentioned above in terms of athleticism, work rate etc.). 

This is also something that WWE needs to embrace. Example: Elias is a star in the making. Having him squashed by The Undertaker in a throw away match for a glorified house show doesn’t achieve anything. However, having Elias going after and winning the Intercontinental Championship in the near future does achieve something. This is why DX vs. The Brothers of Destruction at the tail end of that year was surprisingly fine in the sense that all of the stars of years gone by were facing each other. No current or potential stars had to suffer a loss to an old man. Likewise with Batista vs. Triple H at Mania. 

Nostalgia sells but it shouldn’t come at the detriment of your current roster who are there week in week out. 

Edited April 12, 2019 by Andre91

[pink_triangle]

19 minutes ago, jump said:

That's not true, just before the brand split he was made champ as his house shows and merch were outselling Romans also there's The Shield which does business.

I think thats different to what I said. I have no doubt that Ambrose can sell a lot of merch, but it's not at the level where it's a game changer. Nor do I believe WWE fans will stop buying WWE merch because he has gone.

My guess is that in a parallel universe where he stays there is no significant difference in any metric.

[Andre91]

Ambrose was boring as both a heel and a face. I never ‘got’ him really. 

[jump]

6 minutes ago, Andre91 said:

Ambrose was boring as both a heel and a face. I never ‘got’ him really. 

I thought he was great when they first split the Shield and he was going after Rollins all the time, then he went downhill. I pinpoint that feud with Lesnar where it started, simple enough story of does Ambrose + chainsaw = the might of Lesnar but Lesnar couldn't be arsed with it, apparently there's beef between the two over it.

Ambrose was a hardcore wrestler when WWE doesn't want to do hardcore so instead they shoved goofy stuff like being afraid of germs and James Ellesworth onto him.

[jump]

58 minutes ago, pink_triangle said:

I think thats different to what I said. I have no doubt that Ambrose can sell a lot of merch, but it's not at the level where it's a game changer. Nor do I believe WWE fans will stop buying WWE merch because he has gone.

My guess is that in a parallel universe where he stays there is no significant difference in any metric.

So if only the MEGA MEGA stars can influence creative the it's hardly surprising the roster isn't actually that creative then.

Speaking of creative...Road Dogg has quit as head booker/writer of Smackdown, apparently he's pissed with Vince changes all the time. That's a shame as Smackdown has been consistently good under him.

Edited April 12, 2019 by jump

[WS_Jack_III]

Not so sure we need a shake up by the way. They're already mixing the rosters again anyway and in October, Fox are throwing a spanner in the works by wanting all the top talent on Smackdown.

[pink_triangle]

32 minutes ago, jump said:

So if only the MEGA MEGA stars can influence creative the it's hardly surprising the roster isn't actually that creative then.

Only the Mega stars can throw their toys out of the pram and get their own way completely. I have no doubt others lower down the totem pole can be involved to some extent. However I do feel that most of the current roster are interested in creating a "this is awesome" moment than a character.

[pink_triangle]

59 minutes ago, Andre91 said:

Ambrose was boring as both a heel and a face. I never ‘got’ him really. 

I think Ambrose is fine, but you can't push everyone. There are others I would invest in before him.

[pink_triangle]

1 hour ago, Andre91 said:

Wrestling fans in general need to stop comparing present day to the past. It’s gone. Focus on today’s crop of stars. Constantly comparing them to stars of yesteryear isn’t going to change anything. Just enjoy WWE for what it is today. Yes, it might not be as dazzling as your favourite years from the past, but there is still plenty to like (as has been mentioned above in terms of athleticism, work rate etc.). 

The trouble is I think a product based on athleticism and work rate will never become a hot mainstream product again. 

However to counter that for all that people complain WWE is making loads of money, so maybe making more money from less people is the future.