No matter the outcome of the Wyatt match, Knight is going to be more than fine. Even the crowd are going along with the “yeahs”. Give him two years max if not less and he’s main-event as long as he remains injury-free (easier said than done admittedly) and out of backstage trouble in general.
Early stage Rock just as he transitioned into the heel Nation Rock is probably the best comparison for him now. Down the line he will be cheered.
I actually wouldn’t hate a twist so that Uncle Howdy costs Bray the match. That could feed him more (Bray not Ryback lol) into Mania redemption while giving heat to Knight.
They really have no idea where to go w/ this Bray stuff.
I didn't watch all that much of his NXT stuff, but I do recall his storyline with The Million Dollar Man and Grimes being very good. I am feeling very optimistic that he and Bray will both come out of this Mt Dew Pitch Black match better off than they were when they started. I am thinking Bray needs a win to help justify what they're paying him, but Bray also realizes that the story and the crowd engagement is what is most important. Uncle Howdy is still a wildcard, as is the Bliss involvement. Based on interviews with other wrestlers, Bray is very creative, and plans out a lot of his storyline himself.Originally Posted by Badger
So I would not be surprised if this run with Los Angeles Knight keeps on going through Mania, and I am looking forward to more from both of them.
You work there? Bray's always been about the long term storytelling or have you not been paying attention to anything they've done with him?
On the contrary, I have faith they do. Have some patience, some of us complain they rush stuff but this is one of the few things they’re actually building a slow burn. It’s much more effective debuting at a major PPV than this than say putting Bray in a couple of Smackdown TV matches to build. Let it burn or at the very least reserve judgement til after the match.
This is also getting Knight much more exposure than being stuck in a shit male model angle.
LA Knight save taking on Roman for the title also couldn’t ask for a bigger PPV debut match. This is benefiting both guys
Look at Alexa. They’ve been teasing her with Bray since Crown Jewel. There is a plan involved.
Read somewhere the rumor was Bray vs. Uncle Howdy at Mania. So maybe that's how Knight comes out of this alright, with Howdy fucking things up for Wyatt? Wonder if the Wyatt 6 rumors are anything more than just people speculating on his Twitter handle or is this a stable that's going to take a year to come together? Can't say I'm loving the Wyatt stuff but I'm still paying attention. LA Knight rules and has the potential to be a top guy.
It’s one of the few things the nets/dirtsheets have not found easy to predict. Uncle Howdy being Bo, not sure if they’d do a match such as that at Mania (no disrespect to Bo) but just depends where they take this.
I get it’s been a long time already for Bray to make his in-ring return which may be why some are getting antsy but better this wait than a random TV match. They’ve been doing the teases with Alexa since Crown Jewel so no matter how this turns out, I think there’s been thought even if some may be getting impatient. After this match hopefully, we can judge better but remaining optimistic for the amount of thought they seem to have put into this.
IF Bliss somehow defeats Bianca, she will need help, and a distraction by Uncle Howdy and Bray might be one way to do that. Bliss is talented enough to tell a long-term story, but I feel that Bianca hasn't done that, and her character is mostly about her being the EST blah blah blah. Bianca is just starting to get stale, so I could see them putting Bianca back in the chase role for a bit, where she has really shined. Perhaps Bianca loses in a quick match in the opener due to distraction, then she comes back as a surprise entrant to win the Rumble.
I like the slow burn, and that there are a LOT of ways they can go with the stories. And when the men and women's stories mix well, all the better.
Bianca’s a fantastic worker but have to agree on getting bored of her character.
I feel like a heel turn would serve Bianca well, becoming the condescending “EST” as opposed to the cheap pop “EST”…
WWE need to wait for the hardcore wrestling fan to start booing Bianca and then turn her. I wasn't a fan of her as a heel in NXT but maybe this time around it'll work better. Fantasy booking I would have either Montez turn heel with her and they do a real life heel couple thing like Kross/Scarlett...or the Profits turn heel and they form a stable with Bianca. I mean there's not a lot any of them can do that they haven't done several times over as faces. Why not go the heel route? Still...I would wait until maybe after Mania or when the Cena boos start coming that always follow overly successful babyfaces in WWE.
Bianca and Montez turning heel and pairing up has a lot of potential in my mind. A couple of good looking, fashionable, freak athletes have plenty of characteristics they can lean into for heat. Ford turning on Dawkins thanks to Bianca getting in his ear could be a pretty compelling angle.
Last edited by mth; January 27th, 2023 at 4:29 PM.
Dawkins has really stepped in every way too. I even thought about him turning on Ford. These are very talented people, whatever path they choose would be good imo. But I really like the idea of Montez and Bianca together.
Dawkins is built like a dude who just seems he's meant to be a heel. I imagine him being managed by MVP in his group, whoever else might be there or makes Dawkins the new face of the Hurt Business. Ford's athleticism would seem to make him more of a fan favorite. Meanwhile, Belair has felt stale to me for quite some time. I think a mutual split via draft would do them all good, turn them heel on their own without having to decide who should be good guy/bad guy. Pair up Belair & Ford, play up the real-life relationship stuff with them, they go their separate way from Dawkins but can still have Rumble moments in the future teaming up, Ford & Dawkins.
Profits are a team that I think most of us wouldn't be sour about being split by the draft. There are certain teams you can tell will benefit more if they're together (Dudleyz) and then teams that you can see someone or both branching off (Hardyz).
Full credit to Montez for bulking up without losing any athleticism.
I see Dawkins getting the Big E treatment by being sent to the other brand, merely because the husband/wife duo should stay on the same show.
I like it.
Yes please, the draft splitting them up as opposed to one turning on another.
I was surprised that Rhea challenged Charlotte. Given the success of the Judgement Day on Raw....the lackluster previous Rhea/Charlotte feud, etc.....Rhea vs. Bianca seemed obvious to me.
Fingers crossed, because this should be Rhea's year.
With Rhea going after Charlotte, Asuka better be fucking shit up at EC and going after (and beating) Bianca at Mania.
Would be interesting if Charlotte got a group together to combat the Judgment Day
I think the WWE see Rhea going over Charlotte as kind of a passing of the torch moment if you will. Rhea v. Bianca should be on the Mania 40 card and if it's a 2 night event they should get one of those nights. The era of the 4 Horsewomen and Asuka dominating is coming to an end unfortunately so it's time to get these younger/newer talents up there like Bianca, Rhea, hell even Sasha Banks is still pretty young she could come back and carry that Horsewomen banner as the "vet"
We've talked a lot about how this current generation (4 horsewomen generation) has progressed to another level beyond the group that was there right before them.
Honestly, I'm not sure that the next group of Bianca, Rhea, and the next group to make it up from NXT, aren't going to take it up to a completely other as well.
I think they will. Every "era" of WWE women's wrestling has their pros and cons but the last 10 years I think we as fans are finally getting to where we no longer make excuses for the women. IMO that has helped them step up their game. We praise them and shit on them equally. That can only help the future generations.
Rhea is getting better and better still, but while Bianca has the ring talent and SuperCena push, she doesn't seem to quite yet fully get how to own a crowd. Not sure there's many in that class that have both the ring talent and mic skills - Asuka has the ring presence, and despite the language barrier, she can express emotion on the mic better than most of the roster. Mandy did but is gone now, and perhaps Piper Niven does.
It's certainly a big ask to expect anyone that follows the 4 Horsewomen to even be as good as they are, much less take a step further. Charlotte is arguably the best ever. Becky got crowd pops that rivaled Stone Cold, and Bayley is as good as they come.
I have to 10000% disagree with Bianca not knowing how to own a crowd. These fans are 100% in tune with what she's doing and along for the ride every step of the way. She knows how to get them going from the first sound of that hairwhip to the moment she walks to the back.
Piper Nevin does what? It feels like you were going to continue maybe.
There was a time where nobody thought it would get any better than Bob Backlund v. Ken Patera but here we are. I mean there's a giant % of fans out there who aren't convinced the modern era women are as important as the days of Sable, Trish, Lita, Victoria, even going up to Mickie James. In-ring yes, but drawing ability is still questionable in comparison. Could've just been the times and with inflation they probably make more money off merch than Trish ever did.
She's certainly done that multiple times in her standalone promos during this reign.
She don't own me
I really can't think of any super negatives about Bianca. I'm not high on her pony tail or when she rushes her "est" routine. Other than that she's been on fire. Her progression from college athlete to pro wrestler and how far she's come, I can only compare it to Charlotte.
I also want to prop Cody Rhodes v. Finn Balor. A nice little 15 minute match, loved the ending. I can't wait to see what they can do with an actual program and a few more minutes on PLE.
I thought this was a big step backward for Dom this week. His promo attack on Cody made me think he was challenging his inner Bella - "You know what?" He has been much better with Rhea doing more of the talking for him, or when he was limited to just a few words. I enjoyed Cody vs Finn a lot.
We got several returns at this RAW. Edge, Beth, Asuka and Chelsea were at the Rumble, but this was their return to TV. We also got returns from Boogs and Carmella. Boogs needs Nakamura. Bringing him back for a qualifying match with Miz (who even though he doesn't need wins, has been booked terribly) doesn't do anything for him. But at least Miz is booked better than Dolph.
I love Asuka and her new look. I hope they have something good planned for her. Probably not, though, as they may feed her to Chelsea.
I am glad that Carmella is back. Not only is she pleasing to look at, she is competent in the ring, and she "gets it" more than all but a few on the roster.
Otis potentially becoming a target of Maxine - to the dismay of Mansoor and Mace, actually has me intrigued.
Dom yelling "Mami" as he took the Glam Slam was too much haha. This guy...
Corbin is cooked. You can't lose to Lumis clean and think things are going to stay the same. I wouldn't hate to see him go back to bum ass Corbin, and I imagine this leads to Cameron Grimes getting inserted into the swing of things. Also, I hated this result of Lumis pinning Corbin clean as that cheapens Gargano's win last week to Corbin.
Kudos to Brock, heavily implying he lays the pipe on his wife 4-5 hours a night. Good for him. The interesting part of this is that an already stacked card in Montreal is getting this blowoff match between Lesnar and Lashley. I highly doubt they stretch this to Mania with this, so now I'm curious to see where they go with both of them in April.
Chelsea's current character has a ceiling but she's extremely talented at portraying it.
Absolute magic between Heyman and Rhodes. Wow, wow, wow. That hit so many personal levels and cut really deep. I think it was a frisky choice to have Rhodes outright address the elephant in his and WWE's room with Zayn, but I thought he addressed it well and didn't do anything to undercut Zayn. That happened and then the two maestros on the mic did their thing. That just made me want to see Reigns get even more emboldened after Elimination Chamber and try to put Rhodes in his place only to see Rhodes that more defiant and confident.
I enjoyed Edge's promo, especially as he put Priest, Balor and Rhea over. And Dom is there too. With Mami not around, it was clear that Dom is the most hated member of Judgment Day. I loved Edge helping to build up the inevitable Dom/Rey showdown. I thought Priest recovered from his flub on the mic well enough - he was quick enough to blame Edge for it. Edge mocking Dom's prison gimmick was fun, and so was Dom saying "Mami" before the Glamazon Glam Slammed him.
While Priest winning against Dawkins was expected, both guys looked impressive here. Nice that they got a good amount of time.
Chelsea Green is owning her gimmick. She is fun to watch. Zack Ryder is a lucky man - Woo Woo Woo, You Know It!
Piper Niven is special, but I wonder how far she will get pushed. I think she's the female version of Mark Henry. I have missed Carmella.
Corbin's loss to silent guy was a filler match, but what was far more interesting was JBL's tearing him apart after, "You can't polish a turd - I tried." There has to be more coming, but I dunno where they take this next. It pretty much has to be a step up - doesn't it?
Cody and Heyman was fantastic. I wonder if they ran a little longer than expected, because the cage match that followed felt rushed.
Chelsea is doing a great job with the gimmick but I hate it. I just don't care about a karen gimmick especially one where she is doing like all the stereotypes. Again Chelsea is doing a great job with it because she is good at what she does but I would rather see something else.
The Cody and Heyman segment was gold. Great stuff.
Dom still needs work in the ring and what not but you can't deny that he is getting great heat. He has come along way and this whole thing with Rhea is fantastic and yeah him screaming Mami before getting hit with that Glam Slam was great.
Little surprised that we are getting Lashley/Lesner at EC. I thought that would be WrestleMania unless of course we get one more match with a gimmick at WrestleMania.
Not sure what they have got going with Corbin. Weird.
Nice to see Carmella back and I hope Piper Niven gets a decent push at some point now that she is back to using the Piper Niven name and gimmick.
I wonder where they are going with Becky and Bayley since they are not going to be in the title picture at WrestleMania.
Good show. Some good matches. I like Dawkins and I can see that they think Montez is probably a bigger single out of the two if they were to split them but Dawkins always impresses me when he gets a singles match.
Hopefully this means the end of JBL on TV. Gosh I hate that man. Not in a he's a good heel way. I'd like to see a Dexter/Corbin tag team.
Yeah, totally not a fan of the JBL-Corbin pairing. It wasn't really doing Corbin any good, and he did just fine getting whatever he could out of the Happy Corbin gimmick. As mentioned above maybe this is where you bring in Grimes. I just want Cameron to get his own talk show segment and call it Grimes Time.
It’s Lesnar so he’s not doing anything at Mania that isn’t deemed notable, so that only leaves three options to me:
Tired: Absolutely wasting the premise of the match at EC and running it again with Lashley.
Wired: Austin
Inspired: GUNTHER
I’d probably put it at 65/5/30 in terms of likelihood of happening. I think it’ll be stupid to tease things at the Chamber just to drag it to Mania, but it makes sense based on the key figures. Austin would be wildly fascinating but the scuttle seems to suggest Austin is less likely to work Mania now. GUNTHER would be awesome to give him the rub, but the fallback is a triple threat with the Banger Bros.
After last night I'm thinking we get Cody, KO & Sami vs. Roman, Jimmy and Jey or Solo for Money in the bank. No title on the line so no surprise cash-in at the event.
Since Sami was allowed to sub in in the tag title defense, I don't see why Solo can't be used the same way if Jey doesn't show for Smackdown. Of course, that ever happening will likely be forgotten.
I was under the impression that was what was going to happen.
If I was a betting man, I'd say they're shifting the tag titles at Elimination Chamber so they can do Becky/Lita vs. Ronda/Shayna at Wrestlemania for the belts. Gets Ronda and Becky to 1-1 before finally getting to the singles match next year.
That Cody and Heyman promo was superb. I love how hammy Cody is. Just projects differently to anybody else.
Never really cared for JBL, but I respected his character and what it offered in the Eddie and Cena feuds. Everything in between kind of sucked though.
Austin v. Lesnar would be cool if Lesnar's moveset was a little more dumping you on your head. A street fight could work. I would love to see Gunther v. Lesnar but what kind of match would that be? 4-5 minutes of each guy playing their top 10 hits? I like it better than a match with Lashley or Goldberg.
You can’t help but respect a man who once tried to wrestle Godzilla.
The Chamber Brock match will end up being a swerve and be Brock vs. Omos or a Benjamin/Alexander handicap match I think. Save the final battle for Wrestlemania.
Cody/Heyman confrontation makes it seem that Roman is winning at Elimination Chamber. Maybe they should have saved the promo for the RAW after EC?
I'd love it if Sami won. Sami vs. Cody at Mania. But then what do you do with Reigns.
Sami and the Bloodline story will continue after Mania imo. I feel like Cody and Roman will continue after Mania as well especially if Cody wins. That's even more chapters to write in the book of Roman.
Fantastic once again.
“I made wine in prison!”
“Hold the ketchup he doesn’t like spice!”
“Mami this is a sting operation!”
Also great promo in particular between Sami and Cody too. Loved Sami being passionate, open and honest “I don’t know if I can beat him.” rather than the usual “I’m gonna kick your ass on Saturday!” face shtick.
Last edited by Badger; February 15th, 2023 at 3:23 AM.
This is why he won't lose until at least Mania. The WWE has a solid stack of top tier babyfaces he can work with and some heels that he could as well if he turned babyface or something close to a "good guy". Sami was never supposed to get the better of Roman. What we can hope for is Sami ALMOST wins. Logan Paul took Roman to the limit I don't see why Sami wouldn't be able to and that would cement Sami as a top guy imo.
Thank you, WWE, for making my morning better with this.
Fantastic once again.
“I made wine in prison!”
“Hold the ketchup he doesn’t like spice!”
“Mami this is a sting operation!”
Also great promo in particular between Sami and Cody too. Loved Sami being passionate, open and honest “I don’t know if I can beat him.” rather than the usual “I’m gonna kick your ass on Saturday!” face shtick.
Mami is killing it in these video snippets.
The promo with Cody and Sami was terrific. Sami's refreshing honesty in saying he doesn't know if he will beat Roman, because he understands better than anyone how the Bloodline operates to protect Roman, was sorely needed, and the crowd's reaction shows how invested we all are in this saga. Loved the "You Can Do It!" "No You Can't" chants.
I was not into the Lashley/Lesnar contract signing, because first, contract signings have been played out forever to the point they feel like filler. Second, I don't have a problem with Lesnar getting beaten down to make Lashley look strong going in, but Lesnar looking weak for THAT LONG is very much out of his character that has been built up and protected for years.
I really enjoyed the Miz TV segment with Rollins - they both let the crowd enjoy themselves. When will Rollins clown shoes be available on WWE.com? The
Miz knows how to keep things fresh, and simple, and still can get to the point to keep the story moving along. It was a good way to keep the build on the Rollins/Logan Paul story without Paul being there. We all expected Miz to take a big boot, and Rollins delivered. Anyone who bets on Rollins to take the US title at Elimination Chamber is a fool.
I was wondering how Rick Boogs was going to fare without Shinsuke Nakamura, but I actually enjoyed his backstage segment first with Elias, then his match with Miz. This was a textbook example as to how the commentary team can help a talent's character get over - good job by Cory Graves. Boogs eating cat food made me chuckle for the sheer unexpected stupidity. Boogs curling Miz ten times was impressive as hell - I don't recall seeing a power display like that from anyone before. "Boogin' out" somehow means "look constipated"?
I thought Corbin was perhaps the worst booked male wrestler on the show - but we also were reminded that Mustafa is on the roster, and we saw MVP talking with Cedric and Shelton backstage.
Corbin would have been cut the first year he was on the main roster if this was 15-20 years ago. Nowadays he stands out because he's taller than most of the people he worked with in NXT. And when they do put him with top guys it's terrible. Feuds with Roman and Drew went too damn long.
He's someone that I feel like at this stage you either cut your losses or you put him in a tag-team and go from there. The finishing move is sick and they did a great job protecting it by only having I think one guy ever kick out of it (Drew). I wonder if WWE could go back in time would they have him successfully cash in on Jinder....
I actually kinda like Corbin. Can talk, decent enough look and underrated in the ring, on the whole. Where to go with him is the issue, really. And he's 38 now. Though that's not exactly old these days.
Not seen the last 2 segments of Raw yet, but enjoyed it, overall. All the Cody/Sami/Bloodline segments deliver, Seth is on fire, Miz is always great. A lot to enjoy.
And Judgment Day aren't what I thought they'd be, they're goofy as hell more often than not, but I do enjoy their segments. Dominic and Rhea have been amazing. They look to be having so much fun with this.
Bring back Bum ass Corbin.
You either put Corbin in a tag-team or turn him babyface. At this point we've seen it all from him as a heel. Most of it hasn't really worked and I blame that on WWE giving him way too much tv time especially when he was the constable.
Turning Corbin face might be a challenge, but I don't think they would have had JBL bury him so badly if they didn't have more planned. The audience reacted as though it was JBL getting the face turn, because we agree with everything JBL said.
It was working with the Bum ass gimmick because he sold it well and it was comedic. The crowd was into it and him.
I agree with BG about the bum ass Corbin era. People were digging it, they liked him and Madcap. Corbin, Madcap, and Emma could be entertaining.
Happy Corbin was my favorite version of him but paired with Madcap Moss felt like it was a success, though there's only so much you can do with it. The turn should've benefitted Corbin but Moss was the one who seemed to get out of that pairing better.
Moss is just so bland. Emma comes out with him but doesn't go to the ring all the time. I think if we weren't stuck in this Bloodline hold belts for 10 years story they would've made good champs.
That's not saying much in terms of getting the most out of the pairing because the push into an IC championship match doesn't match where Moss is as a character. His biggest advancement is he has colored trunks and a girl. It hasn't really changed him as a character though. He's got to find his voice and motivation for why he's doing what he's doing...whatever that is.
There's also nothing wrong with having only so much to do with a character. No one is crying for Corbin to be a top guy. If he's going to be on TV, and I think he's worthy of the time (though it's too much), then go with the lane that clearly worked for him. It'll add layers to him and actually make segments with him entertaining.
Problem is not much has worked for him but you might as well get as much out of him before his contract ends. If I were WWE I'd be releasing Jinder and Corbin stat.
Corbin's been a man of short term gimmicks. I can't remember a single Baron Corbin match though, but I like his finish. I'd say send him home and put somebody more captivating in his place.
I like Corbin, but his best days are way behind him.
Releasing Corbin might be the best option. I'm not saying the man should lose his job, become legit poor, etc. But he has wore out his welcome 4-5 different times now. It's painful.
Honestly....I can see why they put him with JBL. It took how many years for JBL to reach the main event? He wasn't exactly someone people wanted to see but it worked I guess for that time. Seriously he was there for 10 years before he beat Eddie for the title, his only singles title minus a Hardcore title win I think here and there up until that point.....But JBL also hadn't been in the main event at all until Eddie. Corbin has worked programs that lasted forever against Reigns, McIntyre, Ambrose, Cena, the list goes on. All that and still the guy could take an L from Jason Sensation tomorrow and nobody would bitch.
The biggest positive about the Corbin experiment is that they never put the top title on him like they did with Jinder.
I like Corbin and there have been times they could have turned him face but they didn't want to so he worked hard to get people to boo him and did a good job at that. However he has had so many changes to his character and never really any time in between and not all of them worked and it has just been a cluster fuck and I don't really blame him for anything. He is not bad in a ring and on the mic. Not the best but not bad and yeah they have just really done a number on him. They should probably just take him off tv for quite a while and come back fresh.
Take him off tv, come back as a babyface. He could make a save for another babyface and boom, see how that works.
- There's an audience that's going to like Lesnar/Omos. I'm not one of them.
- Rhodes/Gable was pretty damn good in the last half of the match.
- We really need explanation as to why Asuka has changed since she came back other than her paint.
- Miz being the host of Mania was expected, but I'd have LA Knight torment him all weekend.
- They're dropping the ball with Gargano in terms of just settling. They're not even doing that good of a job of settling with his role.
- Lita looked sluggish out there.
I get trying to give Omos a rub but can we just end this experiement at this point.
loved the Rhodes/Gable match last night.
Yeah Graves keeps saying Asuka is more aggressive and what not but yeah it would be nice to see more solid explanation or straight up heel turn.
Lita looked a little lost at times last night. She looked way better last year during her brief return. Maybe she just needs to get some ring rust knocked off. Guessing now that Trish finally showed up that it will be a six woman match on WrestleMania and Lita and Becky drop the belts back to Damage Control at some point or to someone else right afterwards.
Damage CTRL had good momentum early on but lately it's feeling flat. At one point you could've had Bayley as the women's champ, Io & Dakota as tag champs. Yeah, Lita looked off more than on during the match last night. Thinking when they lose the titles it should be to Shayna & Ronda. There aren't too many tag teams going but they seem like the best one.
I get having Lesnar on the card as well as pushing Omos simply for his height but this feels like we're getting Giant Gonzalez vs. Undertaker again. I could be proven wrong by match time and he suplexes Omos 44 times and 19 F5's. That was a fun segment between he and MVP last night at least.
The segment with MVP and Lesner was fun. The match coming up. Not so much.
Jimmy opening segment trying to get across the point that the bloodline doesn't have any cracks in the foundation, famiies always argue/disagree, etc but none of us know that they're really all good, was some of Jimmy's best mic work to a crowd. Usually Jimmy is better backstage but after the SmackDown segment with Sami last week and this segment, it's clear that Jimmy has come a long way delivering on the mic in front of the whole crowd.
Street Profits came closer than expected making fun about Jimmy and the silent Sikoa. Match was good and Sikoa's spike looked amazing, but when will the crowd get bored and want Solo to talk?
There's no getting around the fact that Lesnar v Omos is a huge step back from Lesnar vs. Reigns or even Lesnar vs. Lashley. Lesnar is pretty awful at a build by himself, so this is perhaps the biggest challenge of MVP's managerial career - can he get us interested in Lesnar vs. Omos? I like MVP so I will watch along to see if he can help. Omos just induces a bathroom break to me. Brock will earn well over a million bucks for a 5-10 min appearance.
The crowd is still behind Asuka, so I am somewhat expecting / hoping for a heel turn by Bianca. We've talked for a while about her needing to do something to freshen up her act and the EST thing could easily be tweaked to become condescending. Carmella did well even though it was obvious to all of us that Asuka was winning. Since Carmella and Bianca was announced for next week, we won't get a Bianca turn yet. The play up on how much more aggressive Asuka has become lately felt like they are just testing crowd reactions.
Rhodes v Gable was another case of Gable deserves more, but he knows his role and does it very very well.
Otis stuff with the Models is not boring me as much as Dexter seems to not add anything to Gargano.
They are trying to give Corbin a gimmick that his interviews will get interrupted when the interviewer wants to go see a better talent. So next week we will see Corbin v. Owens.
Balor v Edge at Mania is set. They might steal the show if they get 15-20 min.
I am happy the Miz will get a lot of time as the shit stirrer as the Mania host. I hope he starts calling it Miz-Mania, because pompous/delusional arrogant Miz is really fun to watch. I am not opposed to LA Knight pestering him - yeah.
Wyatt vs Lashley seems like it's taking shape, but I don't feel any enthusiasm about it.
Lita and Becky adding women's tag titles deserves congratulations. Lita did look a bit rusty, but honestly, as I recall from her old matches, she was as much of a spot monkey as they come - she was acrobatic and flashy ahead of her time so she was memorable. I think of her like I think of Jeff Hardy - fun to watch, not great on the mic, not always super fluid. It's hard to expect her to change and become Randy Orton. Damage Ctrl seems destined for a female mutli-team #1 contender's match or something.
They already announced KO/Sikoa next week. Point taken, though.
I'll believe it when I see it with Edge. He's come in with the hope of having bangers and they generally have been matches that outstayed their welcome. We'll see here but there's definitely a need for bells and whistles to make this worthwhile, which also hurts the cause of trying to steal the show. They have those bells and whistles available but we'll see.
I think the Lesnar vs. Omos match is a pretty smart play, truth be told. With Reigns/Rhodes, the tag titles, the 2 women's title matches, Theory/Cena and Logan/Rollins, Lesnar is likely 4th from top on whichever night he's on. So do you try and make his match another 'main event', or do you rehab him a bit by giving him a squash? There's only so much you can make matter, especially with Gunther rolling and Edge/Balor getting a long build. And Becky and Ronda! And the Mysterios. I personally would have done the big Lesnar vs. Lashley with the winner getting #1 contender, but maybe the better play is getting both wins going into the summer programmes. Shame Wyatt's involved though.
It would be more appealing to me if Omos came out on top in his feuds with Strowman and Lashley.
Or if he mattered at all this year.
The only way this would turn out good, in my opinion, is if Omos squashes Lesnar. Maybe Lesnar is too over confident.
In another era, Omos would have come out with white face paint, giant stars and moon painted on his belly.
But if he squashes Lesnar, it might be as big an upset as Lesnar ending Taker's streak.
I mean at least Kamala was entertaining in a way and was not a horrible worker. Omos worked with AJ for like a year and has been with MVP for almost a year now. Time to cut your losses on this. Either put him back as a body guard type figure that like never wrestles or let him go.
Lesner is going to win and just seems like you can find a better match up for Lesner. Guess they are struggling to find something for him after Reigns and Lashley
In what world does the WWE or any entity, being, whatever dictate what Brock Lesnar does?
I imagine one of three things: 1. This is a ruse. 2. Lesnar wants a freak show fight. 3. The WWE have big plans for Omos. Regardless, Lesnar gave his stamp of approval. Fucking blows my mind that people don't see this as a positive after letting the possibility sink in. Positive? Yes. "He could be fighting so many others!" Bullshit. I'm looking at this last 5 Manias. Ultimate Warrior could run to the ring and they'd be over before he shakes the ropes. Do we really want Walter v. Lesnar for 2 minutes, 5 moves and a job for either?
Looking back at all the Manias I think of Undertaker @ WM 19. You think Vince TOLD the Deadman he was doing that match? He tried, and Taker said naw fuck this I'm doing this on my own lol. Give me Lesnar F5ing Omos in 2-3 minutes in a "Mania moment" type scenario. Frees up time for other matches/segments they'll do and we won't have to listen to people complain about another Mania wasted on Lesnar's 3 minute Suplex City F5 routine.
I am aware that Lesner approved this match but that doesn't mean I have to like it or think it is a good idea.
I'd rather have Omos vs. Lesnar than some random celebrity vs. Lesnar. My idea was Omos goes in the ATG battle royal, eliminates damn near everybody himself. Just a weird shift from Lesnar losing by DQ, so Wyatt technically still faces the winner.
Lesnar F5ing Wyatt 50 times would've been more fun.
I agree with that. I don't know if it's a good idea for the long term but the visual of Lesnar F5ing Omos, even if Lesnar somehow loses, that's going to be a memory. The part I was disagreeing with you was that last part you said about a better match up and them struggling to find something for him. They're not struggling, he's only fought what, 12 people since he returned if we dismiss the Rumbles and the way EC ended it looked like maybe they changed their mind about Wyatt facing the winner.
So if I look at this from a Mania moment POV it's not so bad. When I think of the matches Lesnar has had at Mania over the last 10 years not many were memorable. His booking has always been weird from losing his return match to Cena to these glorified squash matches with Seth, Goldberg, etc. This would be something you'd see in MMA over in Japan with Bas Rutten and Mauro on commentary.
I love Bianca, but Bayley should have beat her. Damage Control holding all the belts made too much sense. Bianca beating all of them at that one PPV was hella dumb. Are they going to be on the card or are we getting Rhonda/Shanna killing Lita and Becky for RR to get her win back from Becky at WM 35? I would much rather see a six woman match than Rhonda.
The smaller card, you would think would be good, but its lead to a bunch of matches, where I go...ok...I guess. Sammi not being part of the main event sucks. Now, I am hearing Charlotte/Rhea is the Night One Main Event. I can't imagine a more heat less match or heel cheering than that one. I still have this nagging feeling Roman is going to win to hit that stupid 1000 days mark.
In a way I agree about Bayley. It would've been nice to have all 3 with gold. On the flipside I'm not negative to Bianca having a long reign as she's delivered in every way possible. Asuka beating her at Mania would be awesome and that's what I see happening.
I also agree about Charlotte v. Rhea Ripley being a lackluster choice to main event. I feel like the match itself is a hard sell. Charlotte is not that over as a babyface and Rhea is simply over. She could slap Jack Tunney's corpse and people are into it. Problem is you can't turn her babyface because from a character aspect it doesn't really deliver the same way as a heel. That's Charlotte's problem-they think simply switching her opponents makes her a babyface.
Personally, if we're going this route, I would have Zayn/Owens v. The Usos or whatever those 4 are doing should main event Night One.
Yeah, to me Judgment Day is all about Rhea & Dom. The other two are replaceable. Though I felt Priest works better as a heel, a badass face run for him with a longterm US title reign would have been good too. Rhea and Charlotte, awkward pairing and going off history of a match in NXT. It didn't move the needle for me then, not really doing it now. If Dom and Charlotte have interactions where he's used as interference for a Rhea sneak attack, great.... but Charlotte is not in the role she should be in. Baiting Ronda to take the match at the time is such a heel thing, it didn't make sense.
I can't say Balor and Preest are replaceable. I would say Dom and Rhea could go off and do their own thing but if you put two other people with them in this stable it doesn't make much sense. I like Judgment Day.
I can see what you're saying about JD but I think they work and it generally works because it's a moving target faction. It's that in the sense that you can see one playing a more prominent role based on the circumstances. That's great for versatility purposes. They still haven't found the right voice for Bálor as a heel. He was nailing it when he went back to NXT but the crowd loved him so he was a tweener at best. More of that stuff (which was hinted to a bit when he went up against Reigns) would be fun to see.
I agree with BG. Why does Finn have to be 100% heel? Lean into the fact that people like this stable. Preest is another guy who I wasn't high on in ROH, 50/50 in NXT, but seeing how he handled himself with Bad Bunny and the Miz/Morrison feud and now the heel run....dude reminds me of Fender from the movie Cyborg.
Plus let's not forget that while it's entertaining and we laugh at some of it, there's a serious side to it all as well. There's nothing funny about Edge v. Judgement Day. Sure they poke fun but ultimately it's still as real as it gets. Dom v. Rey, you have to have a sense of humor but ultimately when they square off, as we've seen numerous times, people want to see Rey teach Dom a lesson. Give me Dom v. Rey mask v. hair at Mania with Dom losing BUT stealing the mask to hide his bald head... and a ladder match to end it all at Summerslam.
NXT Tweener Finn was my favorite WWE version of him. If I could go back I would have preferred they booted Finn from JD instead of Edge but there were already things to do with the fallout from that for Edge too.
That's brilliant, and I think the only right answer for match stipulation and payoff is mask vs. hair, you know Dom is gonna lose, and it gets him away from the spent-time-in-jail thing into wearing a mask out of shame.
Despite the mantra of "There is no leader in JD" I think that Finn is the defacto leader because of his status in the company.
I am very curious if we'll ever hear if this was the plan all along concerning Edge getting removed so soon, or was there something beyond their control i.e. Cody getting hurt and needing a top tier babyface to replace him. They had AJ Styles right there. The OC is a completely different convo holy shit. It reminds me of when they were trying to make the nWo still exist post Hogan turn but then Hall was fired and not too long after that Nash blew his quad killing the stable.
I'm pretty sure Bálor's second NXT run was under Triple H, so it's kind of weird to me a situation that worked out well hasn't transitioned cleanly with Triple H leading things on the main roster. That, Gargano, and the meandering midcard of the women's division are notable blind spots that seem to have gone awry. I think he's working on rebuilding the women's division, so that's promising. As for JD, I think the sum of the parts are great. Each of them play a solid role.
If the Bloodline actually saw a phase where they full-blown turned, JD would be a great foe.
Triple H probably sees Balor as someone who the fans enjoy so he can work on a few other things while still keeping Balor in a prime position. He's been in this incredible feud with Edge, consistently on tv in a prominent role. I read a few rumblings that we could possibly see a proper Balor World title run in 2023. If anyone is truly "deserving" it's him. He got a raw deal the last time.
His booking has taken a weird journey. He got injured winning the title which out with his control. Then after that for example normal Balor vulnerable but Demon Balor invincible kinda like the Harlem Globetrotters coming back after time. Then Demon Balor had that very strange loss to Reigns via a rope break which was never really explained. Then you have happy smiley face aww shucks Balor. Then you have Prince Balor in NXT, besides the strange Demon loss, this was probably the best version. Then you have current Judgment Day Balor who still is the least interesting member of the group. Big Priest killing it, Rhea/Dom but he’s just there.
I want to get behind him as good of a worker as he is but IMO it’s hard to care as he’s not that interesting right now as a character. He needs work but not sure what more could be done with him. Either a Demon return or sim closer to his NXT Prince character.
Seems like you answered your own question lol.
I like hypophora.
I have to agree that his current character is not at all compelling. Heck, even jobber to the stars Chad Gable, or perpetual loser Baron Corbin has more character than Balor.
It's weird because I feel like Rhea's been the only consistently interesting piece of that puzzle. Part of that is we rarely see women put in a stable in a role like Rhea's. Maybe that's where the Chyna comparison really comes from. Chyna was arguably the most over person in DX. She wasn't eye candy she was a threat that was the ultimate gamechanger if she was in the building. Rhea, same thing.
I think Dom would've been fine as a heel without the Rhea pairing but it's elevated him above Balor and Preest in terms of entertainment. I don't think any of them can touch Balor's in-ring ability. Without him you don't have a very good stable when it comes to the wrestling. Preest and Dom are alright, Rhea's good considering her peers, but Balor is top tier and that's why people still gravitate toward him in this group.
- They're running out of time to make Asuka/Bianca compelling and it feels like they've got no motivation let it be anything but two good wrestlers cook.
- Logan Paul is a heel, finally plays a heel, and it works magically. Go figure.
- Mania has two expired stories in the form of Bálor/Edge and Becky/Damage CTRL. I'm not optimistic that they will be salvaged to feel worthy of Mania. I expect a twist/turn along the way but I don't know how much mileage it will have.
- Getting closer to Bum Ass Corbin, and that's good.
- Cena absolutely cooked Theory. There was a lot of great stuff in there but Cena burying the idea of Theory having to tackle things after Mania regardless of the result didn't really help the cause. The piped-in noise is an incredible burn but that hurts everyone, not just Theory. This also feels like the MITB botch where Theory had to evolve and develop more of a mean streak. Theory is going to have to find another gear because this segment didn't do him a lot of favors. There's a path to character redemption but it's a very narrow path for him to make it through okay on the other side.
- A keen eye needed to see that Rhodes is trying to help Zayn's message resonate with Owens in the sense that a unified front is the best option for everyone going into Mania. The bookend matches for Raw were fine but the closing angle took things up a notch. The pop for Jey hugging Sami felt like a comparable one to San Antonio and the Rumble. We'll likely get the motive for Jey on Friday and it'll make sense. Reigns will feel emboldened and now we see what's the final straw to get KO on the same page with Zayn (and Rhodes). Great stuff.
Last edited by BGMaverick; March 7th, 2023 at 1:56 AM.
-Jey turning on Sami was wild, temporarily kept The Bloodline on the rails. I really want to see the company capitalize while Jey is red hot and give him a singles run. Jey as Kofi’s injury replacement in the five man on SmackDown and dethroning Gunther at Mania? Let’s go!!
-I marked out for Cena, who gutted Theory with that promo. I think Austin does the job in LA.
-Lita, who was a spotfest in her prime, looked a step behind and tentative in that tag match last week.
-Trish looks amazing.
-If given proper time, Edge/Balor will be a banger; too bad it’s on the same card as Rollins/Paul, which will be MOTY-level.
-So Lashley/Wyatt and Lesnar/Omos will be on the Mania card, plus all this RAW filler, but Trips can’t find time to further develop the Elimination Chamber MVP in Montez Ford? C’mon now, that’s horseshit.
-I need a Boogs/Nakamura (and McAfee) reunion, like ASAP.
-I still think Cody does the job at Mania; he wins the WWE title at the next PLE, in a triple threat where the third (Zayn, likely) takes the pinfall.
Last edited by Tyson; March 7th, 2023 at 5:30 AM.
I'm torn on Roman keeping the title but I think ultimately him losing would be a different layer to his story. We've seen the dominance, he's done it all and then some. We need to see what happens when the god bleeds. You don't want Roman to get to a point where if he's not the champion he's not as important. Keeping him in the mix doesn't hurt, but I think keeping him as champion and going over Cody might be bad for the long term. The short term is that Roman smashes Cody, becomes the Dream Killer, and then someone else wins the titles down the road.
I'm still a strong supporter of Drew McIntyre. In his prime, 37 years old, carried the company well during the pandemic era. Looks the part, IS the part, but idk....Whatever the decision at Mania it leaves several options open.
As much as I respect Roman's work, and how many compelling stories the Bloodline has produced, I am ready for Raw and Smackdown to have separate champions again.
There's part of me that wonders, with Roman maybe being the only consistent driver of ratings in wrestling right now, if the current company sale efforts will make people jumpy to pull the trigger on a switch.
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