The Official Pro Wrestling Thread

[ThePhanastasio]

Anyone presently on the boards still watch wrestling (WWE mainly, but I'll check out TNA and ROH when I get the chance)?

I actually think the WWE are stepping up their game and taking a big step in the right direction right now. Chris Jericho is currently making one of the most interesting returns I've seen in quite some time, if not one of the most interesting ever. Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan) is holding a strap, as are CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, and Zack Ryder. Interesting to see that they're giving young guys time to shine, instead of leaning on their established champions (Cena, Orton) too much.

Also, the PG-era seems to be coming to an end. Kane is back, and as dark as ever, and I've actually seen bloodshed in non-PPV matches. Plus, holy ****, John Cena is doing more than three wrestling moves - he's still not great by any stretch of the imagination, but at least he's not just doing those same moves over and over...

TNA is doing better than they had for much of 2011, with Bobby Roode holding the strap and being challenged by Meth...I mean Jeff...Hardy.

Pretty interesting stuff lately, and I've been pleasantly surprised on a few occasions.

[ThePhanastasio]

Again, I'm going to post.

If only in the hope that pro wrestling smarks like myself have something to say.

Chris motherfreaking Jericho has one of the most interesting gimmicks of my lifetime, and seeing this wholly underlooked goes not against me, but any fan of wrestling.

CHRIS motherfreaking JERICHO is back. He is doing the most interesting gimmick I have yet seen in my life, and it is FANTASTIC.

[FRED HALE SR.]

Originally Posted by ThePhanastasio

Again, I'm going to post.

If only in the hope that pro wrestling smarks like myself have something to say.

Chris motherfreaking Jericho has one of the most interesting gimmicks of my lifetime, and seeing this wholly underlooked goes not against me, but any fan of wrestling.

CHRIS motherfreaking JERICHO is back. He is doing the most interesting gimmick I have yet seen in my life, and it is FANTASTIC.

Had to brave the Honda Center event last week with my friends boy. Hes in jail so I offered to take him. I'm not a huge fan of wrestling but people seemed to enjoy themselves and the place was sold out. Chris Jericho came out to wrestle in a three way tag team match and then walked off when the crowd didn't make enough noise for him. I would call his performance very un-inspiring. People really seem to like CM PUNK, and people were rooting for Kane to kick Cena's ass. I used to watch wrestling back in the 80's, was always partial to the Road Warriors myself and of course Andre the Giant. I've clearly outgrown wrestling, but my friends kid had a great time and thats what matters in the end.

[14232949]

Ah, we DO have a pro wrestling thread. Awesome.

I wouldn't go as far as saying Y2J has the best gimmick ever. He's just not saying anything lol.
It'll all be to set up a Punk/Jericho feud heading into Wrestlemania, built upon the angle of who really is the best in the world.
This could kickstart with Jericho winning the Rumble which looks likely, but I don't feel is necessary.

In my opinion the Rumble has four stand out potential winners.
-Jericho
-Sheamus
-Barrett
-Orton

Obviously it's going to depend largely upon who the WWE has as champions going into Mania, but I reckon Punk/Jericho is pretty much a given.
I've went for three Smackdown guys because it is hard to say whether or not Bryan will head into Mania as WHC, personally I don't see it happening, he'll probably drop it at the Elimination Chamber to either Orton or Barrett.

[ThePhanastasio]

Jericho did finally speak yesterday. A mere sentence: "At the Royal Rumble on Sunday, it's going to be the end of the world as you know it."

Smile.

Blackout.

Cue sparkling.

I do agree with your potential rumble winners. My personal conviction is that it will either be Barrett or Jericho, but Sheamus and Orton would definitely make a lot of sense, too.

And nah, I don't think it's the *best* gimmick ever, per say, I'm just excited that someone is doing something this weird. I mean, you've got Chris Jericho, a man who can cut a promo up there with the best of 'em, known throughout his career for outstanding mic skills...and he comes back essentially silent.

Granted, my thinking is that he just came back and was trying to get some heat while the Ziggler/Punk thing plays out...so that when that's been wrapped up nice and tidy, he can really dig into a good Punk feud.

I don't know if I see Bryan going into 'Mania with the strap either. I think he's going to win his match at the Rumble, because they're really trying to fully get him over as a legitimate heel...he's getting good heat, but the announcers are still treating him like more of a 'tweener at the moment.

I HAVE heard that Regal would like an opportunity to wrestle Bryan for the title - teacher vs. student - so that he can finally hold the WHC and be a Grand Slam champion.

Also, I really wish they would do something interesting with Swagger, instead of leaving him as an Angle clone...or that he could learn to cut better promos. The guy's chock full of talent, he's got a good look, but he's not exciting. And that's unfortunate.

Cody Rhodes, however, has been impressing the hell out of me as of late. He, in my opinion, really started to be something special when he was completely committed to that horrible undashing, hideous face with the clear mask gimmick. Now that the mask **** is off of his face and he's getting good heat by speaking ill of his daddy and brother (speaking of people who are good on the mic: The American Dream Dusty Rhodes is hands down the best, in my opinion) and saying he's the last hope for the Rhodes family.

I'm actually interested in Cena right now, honestly. He was so stagnant and I hated him so much for so long...but whenever I see him now, my interest is legitimately piqued. And what of that horrible face he made at the camera yesterday? Haha!

[Urban Hat€monger ?]

Stuff I Like right now....

WWE

Dolph Ziggler - Just gets better & better & more entertaining every time I watch him.

Punk vs Laruinitis - They seriously lost the plot with Punk after MITB, the whole HHH feud thing bored me to tears. They seem to have picked things up with Punk again now.
Punk vs Jericho is rumoured for Wrestlemania so I expect Jericho to be involved in Punks match somehow at the Rumble to start this feud off.

'Funkasaurus' Brodus Clay - I'll get bored of it in a couple of months but this'll be fun for a little while.

Wade Barratt - Good on the mic, Getting better in the ring. Have him destroy Orton & give him a title sometime this year after Wrestlemania. There's a video on WWE.com where he's going around backstage interviewing people which shows just how funny this guy can be.

'Heel' Daniel Bryan - Should have done this months ago

Epico & Primo - Give them some decent talent to work with ...... please.
Speaking of which......

Rosa Mendes - Can't do sh*t but I like her being on my TV. God, the things I'd do to this girl.

Beth & Nattie - About the only good thing about about the divas right now. Khama & Layla can't come back soon enough.

William Regal's commentary - Please retire Lawler & put Regal on Raw.

TNA

Austin Aries - Keeping the X Division afloat single handed.

Alex Shelly - Finally he's back

Bully Ray & Scott Steiner - Their promos are just comedy genius. I never ever thought I'd ever say this but Bully Ray is the best heel in the company and deserves to be in the world title picture based on what he's been doing for the past year.

Kazarian - I don't get this guy. he always puts on amazing PPV matches but on TV he's dull as hell.

Madison Rayne - Everybody goes on and on about Velvet Sky but Madison is easily the most entertaining & funniest knockout and plays her part brilliantly.

Magnus & Samoa Joe - I like this team, Magnus is improving all the time & looks like he could become a good talent in a couple of years & it's about time someone did something constructive with Joe.

I think i'll do a list of things I hate tomorrow.

[ThePhanastasio]

^
I agree with pretty much everything you've said, but in lieu of retiring King and replacing him with Regal, I'd say just bump Michael Cole over to Smackdown exclusively, and keep my Monday nights Cole-free.

[14232949]

I'm not sure whether they'll play with Jericho as heel or face, I think he could work as either.
The fans seemed to be completely behind him upon his return, and a face/face feud with Punk may be more interesting than a conventional Heel Vs Face angle.

I really can't stand Punk though. He comes across as really arrogant and obnoxious, and I skip forward whenever he sits down in the ring to cut another 10-15 minute promo about how he is the catalyst of change, when in reality he's only holding the championship because Cena is embroiled in other feuds and Mysterio's injured.

As for his feud with Johnny Lauranitis, I prefer the Interim GM. He greatly amuses me every time he shows up to announce his full job title and to troll the crowd by telling them he knows exactly what they want and booking the opposite.
When you think in retrospect, of all the animosity Punk has towards him, until recently, it has just been based on Punk being a loud mouthed twat and signalling out Johnny for bullying, despite Johnny being nothing but impartial.

I'm pretty confident Bryan will retain at the Rumble. It is clear they have no long term plans for either Henry or Big Show, or they would not have had both men drop the title when they did.
In my mind, Bryan hasn't had his truly defining heel moment yet, which I think will come at the Rumble, where we can all sit up and say: Yes, this is the moment where Bryan is officially heel.

However, if Barrett wins the Rumble expect Bryan to drop the title before Wrestlemania. A heel Vs. Heel feud would be rather pointless. If Sheamus or Orton wins, I see Barrett taking the title at Elimination Chamber, as Bryan just doesn't look like a strong enough champion to go into Wrestlemania as the guy to beat.

On a side note, when Bryan turns completely heel, does Cole have to go back on everything he said, and start supporting the guy?

I heard that Regal wanted a match too, perhaps if Jericho wins the Rumble, they'll have a No.1 Contender elimination chamber match for Smackdown, similar to what they did for Raw last year and have Bryan go over Regal, who isn't exactly a legitimate challenger any more, but would still get a good match out of Bryan.

On the subject of the Swag man, I think he is in his correct position. To me, he does not have the main event potential, as was proven with his horrendous WHC title reign.
He's got a good look, despite looking like an oversized child and is a good in-ring worker, however, his lack of promo skills (I think he may have a lisp too) as well as his never changing persona holds him back.

However you have to have midcarders in a wrestling promotion, and that is where he thrives, he should do well as U.S. Champion.
Not everybody needs to be a top guy and have championships slapped on him. Mr Ass and Road Dogg were always over, but nobody demanded they be pushed as WWF Champions.
I'm assuming as the WWE claimed Ryder had broken his back, that he won't be back to claim his rematch anytime soon.
I forsee a possible Kingston/Swagger feud or perhaps a feud with Brodus Clay.

Speaking of Kingston, I think we'll see a return to solo action for him again, as Evan Bourne got himself suspended, AGAIN, for violation of the wellness policy.
His current ban will keep him off TV for 60 days, and I don't see him returning after that.
They obviously had faith in him and Kofi, as they let them keep the belts following his last suspension, but this time, they didn't even feign injury to write him off TV, and had Airboom drop the titles at a house show.

On a final note, I find myself looking forward to the Rumble with great excitement, I've really enjoyed the Kane/Cena feud, and am interested to see how it plays out, I always enjoy Ziggler in the ring, and it'll be good to see him get a 20-25 PPV main event slot.
Also, the Rumble itself looks like it is going to be great.
I think it's a good thing that they've knocked it back down to 30 guys, in my opinion 40 competitors was just a big mistake.
So, yeah. Looking forward to the Rumble and the unpredictably it brings.

[ThePhanastasio]

Jericho can definitely play either a heel or a face, and brilliantly, but he's so much fun as a heel. I'd prefer to see heel Jericho, if not immediately, at some point during this run. Face Jericho is more of a rarity though, and I know he likes to switch things up.

As far as Punk - personally, I really like him. I think he's a good in-ring worker, but I'd much rather he be a heel. Yes, I know, I have a soft spot for heel wrestlers. But really, at this point he's really over as a face, in spite of having heel-like tendencies...so it'd be a chore to get him over as a heel. Remember Stone Cold? The only way they were able to turn him heel was aligning him with McMahon, and even then...he still got a pop. I'm not saying Punk's quite as loved as Austin was, but the man makes the WWE lots of dough with merch, so he's pretty well-loved.

The Laurinaitis thing is something I'm loving. Weirdly enough, I've begun to see Johnny as almost sympathetic in a sad, pathetic way. He feels the need constantly to remind people that he's got power and clout, but he doubts himself and resents people who he sees as legitimately successful. His character is a sad, sad, man, and I've felt bad for him a few times. Probably not the intended effect, but I have.

Looking forward to the Bryan / Henry / Show match at the Rumble. I do believe that Bryan will retain as well, and love that the main complaint about him before was, "He's probably one of the best if not the best in the ring, but he's bland," and now he's cutting some great promos. Really excited for the guy. He deserves this.

I don't think that Barrett will win at the Rumble. I'm thinking it WILL come down to Barrett, Sheamus, Orton, and Jericho, but Y2J has never won a Rumble, and this may be his last run in the ol' WWE...so I think they may want to give him that, although I don't know if it's what Jericho wants. He's weird.

As far as the Cole thing, I think he's already starting to go back on what he's said a little. He said something in Bryan's favor on Smackdown, although I can't remember for the life of me what it was. I'll have to watch that clip again.

I'm also thinking they will let D.Bryan and Regal have a title match, which is one of the reasons I think that Bryan will retain. That actually kind of messes up my Rumble prediction for the final four, though: I think that if Regal is a surprise entrant in the RR, he'll take the place of Sheamus in the final four, probably Orton's in the final three. If he's in the Rumble, I'm feeling a Jericho/Barrett/Regal finale, with Regal probably having been #29 or #30 to enter the ring.

I would have no issue with a Kofi/Swagger feud, assuming they find a way to a.) Keep Vicki away from Swagger, please God, and b.) He learns to cut a better promo.

I do like that Primo and Epico are holding the tag team titles, but wish that if they had been considering using Kingston in ANOTHER tag stable, they'd have paired Yoshi with him. Yoshi has been horribly misused by the organization. He should at least have been fighting regularly in the low card; not completely buried and absent until being teamed up with Santino...who, I will say, isn't honestly a horrible wrestler, but he's hard to take seriously.

I am also looking forward to the Rumble. My friends and I are actually buying it this year instead of streaming it online...we usually only actually purchase 'Mania. With that card and the surprisingly interesting storylines they've got going, we decided it would be foolish not to buy it.

[14232949]

I think it has been made almost a formality that Bryan will retain now. Having watched Smackdown, it looked as if Henry picked up a legitimate injury.
I don't think it was the original plan to have the main event finish off-air, so I'm assuming the injury was too serious for Henry to continue. If it is, I doubt he will make the Royal Rumble.
I also have heard that Big Show is carrying an injury.

I don't see Regal being a major player in the Rumble. If that were so, I'd have expected him to have some momentum coming into the event, instead he just danced with Clay two weeks back and has otherwise remained anonymous.
He doesn't need a good Rumble showing to get a match with Bryan, a simple backstage segment between the two one Smackdown would provide enough reason for it.

Kofi was the only person that came to mind for a possible US feud with Swagger but I do feel he is much better suited in the tag division.
Perhaps a team of Kofi & Dibiase? I don't know, it seems like just chucking two random faces together for the sake of making a team, but then again that was my original thoughts when Bourne & Kingston got together and it worked well to begin with.

The only other possible rivalries I could see for Swagger are either Alex Riley or Mason Ryan, and I know that I wouldn't like to see either of those, so we could be in for a potentially long Swagger title run, which doesn't bother me at all.

I don't know about Yoshi, it's hard to tell what direction they're taking with him, I'd much rather see him heel. He just seems like a Funaki wannabe currently.