For Edge to get kicked out of the group he formed, shouldn't he at least have gotten pinned on Sunday? Just have it make sense instead of doing it for the sake of a swerve.
For Edge to get kicked out of the group he formed, shouldn't he at least have gotten pinned on Sunday? Just have it make sense instead of doing it for the sake of a swerve.
I think too many of us are so used to the same formulas over and over for the last God knows how many decades that when something different happens we panic instead of having patience.Originally Posted by Sasori
Was this done for the sake of a swerve or is there meaning behind it?
This is very interesting. We don't see what happened last night very often. At least not when we're only 2 months in to this stable. For all we know Edge is hurt. Let's put the smart mark hat on the rack, we don't always need to be able to figure everything out in advance 12 hours after it happened.
You would think...
I think the idea perhaps might be that Balor was so impressed by their unity he’d want to get in and take over. If Balor was able to beat them, why would he want to join a losing group?
As for the theory of Edge possibly being hurt, well it could still be the case but I’d have thought that it’d be out in the news by now.
Yeah it's just one of many theories as to why Edge was booted. I get that patience isn't something many of us fans have as we like to play fantasy booker and spoiler all in the same breath.
What's expected isn't always what's best. Sometimes a swerve works. I'll be honest, I'm on the fence about the stable in general but I'd rather see something interesting, something out of the box instead of the same 3 formulas for a stable.
I found it interesting.
It potentially makes Finn more devious. He talked them into it, after Edge pinned him.
There's several rationales that work for why they did it. There's a resentment, etc. Don't forget Finn acknowledged that it was Rhea who "saved" Edge. And Edge needed to stay strong to be a face.
Think it was the right call for Edge to score the pin.
It was interesting and I think I was watching the same show as everyone else where they didn't exactly explain themselves. And that's what kills so many wrestling fans. They just have to know everything OR it has to be something they've already seen because God forbid A-we wait to see what happens next and B-something different actually happens.
Whether that was a good decision or not we'll have to wait and see.
What if Edge comes out next week applauding these 3 for what they did? His whole mantra has been take take take. If you're not getting what you deserve, do what he did, create an OPPORTUNITY. That's Edge, they have beat that aspect of his character to death. So what did these 3 do? Created an opportunity. Taking out the leader? That's ballsy as fuck.
Plus--many of us including Edge have been wanting that Balor match.
I don’t think Edge is hurt, isn't his new contract for like 9 matches a year? Maybe they just need to write him off for a bit so they can use him for some other shows.
It was just a "for all we know it could be 100 reasons" as to why they did what they did with Edge. It literally just happened. People need to dial it back.
I really thought that Balor joining them was going to be him temporarily joining to try and dismantle the group, but the attack on Edge was a nice surprise. I still hope they add a fourth to the group, but was happy it wasn't Ciampa (yet) as rumored.
Should've never cut his name down to Theory, just seems really bland and unnecessary but as a singles character he's developing nicely on his own. I was wrong about him. The booking for him has been solid and not really to the detriment of anybody else at the same time.
I thought the same thing about Finn and was pleasantly surprised when they turned on Edge. But it’s a little strange that Edge is the weak link after being 5-0 on premium events this year.
While valid, this is not the company to use that as a major talking point right now lol.
Edge is the weak link because he's a relic of the past. While Finn and Priest aren't that much younger, they haven't been around as long as Edge in the WWE. It's their time now.
Came back as a face and feuded with Randy, I guess the Mania build with Reigns/Bryan was tweener at best but could count as a heel turn considering his tactics, came back as a face to go solo against Roman and was face against Rollins, turned heel against AJ and get into the Judgment Day, and according to the latest insider news, he's listed internally as a face after last night. So yeah, I guess it's only one or two but for some reason it's felt like more.
I get the fact that there could be many reasons and we won’t get the answers now. At the same time, speculation is also fun and well that’s kinda what we do lol. It could be fun to look back once things have played out a bit.
Oh I get it for some reason it does feel like more. I would say WM is perspective if anyone considers him a heel, I can understand why for sure. I just didn't see him doing any nefarious to Daniel that he wasn't to Roman as well. In a way I was thinking Daniel was going to be the bad guy as he honestly did not fit in that match at all. But it's better than what they probably wanted to do-another match with Sheamus.
I will say that I am a little sour about Edge not being in the stable. Balor's reasoning for joining and the others turning on Edge will definitely set the tone for what's to come.
Quick note--Maryse was looking FIRE. I'm a fan of the mid/upper card scene of Raw. I was high on Ciampa attacking Riddle. I like that him and Miz seem to have this weird relationship. Maryse....wow. My best friend goes "Are those from being a mommy or are they fake?" I said a little of both and that's ok, very magical. Shout out to Mike Mizanin. He went from Cora on his nuts to Maryse.
It does seem like Edge getting booted was premature as the stable's really just started establishing itself and only just got its first win as a unit, but I guess I can dig it as a springboard for the trio to really get going strong off the back of him, assuming the three of them really do go hard as a group going forward. Will be curious to see if they're still even together when he comes back and if so, does he make a new group to oppose them?
I'll be honest....I wouldn't mind a babyface stable. We don't get them too often. Usually a babyface stable used to be heels. Wolfpac, Shield, even The Union were from the Corporate Ministry or whatever the fuck lol.
Here's something else to think about....Are AJ Styles and Liv Morgan going to be part of this storyline moving forward? Does this turn into AJ v. Balor??? That'd be fucking great.
Do Liv and AJ get a new third and if so, who? I vote Ali.
Do you require atleast 4 members for a stable? Because Id say New Day, Team Extreme and DX were 3 of the most popular stables of all time.
No and read what I posted again. I didn't say there were no babyface stables and I didn't talk about their popularity either. I actually mentioned that USUALLY, not always but USUALLY, a babyface stable starts out as heels. New Day and DX are prime examples of that.
Ultimately I think you misread or just misunderstood what I was saying.
I'm not even sure they're part of this story. I imagine they will be but I could see JD going in a different direction. That's what I like about this...Unpredictable.
Finn was a big surprise, watching Balor/Priest/Ripley turn on the HOFer was probably a bigger surprise. Edge get Evolution Ortoned (unnecessary and premature removal from the stable) has the old man’s fingerprints all over it.
Two brilliant points.
He didn’t have to work in the ring, he could have easily been the mouthpiece/devious ringside obstacle in Priest or Ripley’s favor through Mania without putting the tights on.
For real though, Finn getting a high profile spot on TV and a potential match with Edge? Sign me the fuck up…
While I do question the suddenness of the decision, I'm in agreement with online sentiments that Balor fits better as the groups leader. I'm perfectly willing to let it play out especially if it gives Balor more tv time. It's a situation where the booking might not make the most sense, but the outcome makes up for it.
If Balor pinned Edge, he could convince Damien and Rhea to follow him instead. Emphasize how Edge let them down and how he'll lead them to bigger things. It's not an uncommon story telling device.
It's not? I'm not a wrestling scholar but it doesn't seem like we've seen your scenario happen very often. I think the problem some are having, which I've stated a few times already is that you are so used to certain formulas that when something is slightly different people just can't handle it.
And I don't see how it doesn't make sense when we haven't been given all the details. It's like reading 2 chapters of IT and thinking you know how the other 12 are going to go because of common story telling devices. Which again I don't really remember all these stables where the leader was beaten and the guy who beat him then convinces the rest to let him be the leader.
Curious what you mean by this. It reminds you of what happened to Orton so that means Vince had his hands in it? I mean we all know Vince has the final say in literally everything we see on screen so that's an observation that's a little odd to me.
Also Orton was in the group for over a year. And he wasn't the leader. And he won the World title, so the rest of the group, including the leader, turned on him. So where Orton and his departure from Evolution comes from is beyond me.
The comparison with Orton / Evolution is that there was a stable with multiple great storylines, one of the best things they've done, where everyone came out of it looking better. Finn has been wasted for a few years despite the fact that we all know how good he is in the ring. He is 1000x more interesting now. Priest more than held his own, he looked more comfortable delivering the explanation to Edge than he has at any point so far.
It seemed Priest was destined to take a back seat to Edge, but the character development and his execution here have earnedv him high marks. So he and Finn can run together for a bit, it won't matter who gets Edge first, because they both will be coming out of this story with their profile raised. And Rhea is not just - there, but her actions actually mattered.
Prior to the HIAC PLE, and even following it, I was kinda bored with this storyline. Now, they have stepped up and more than caught my attention.
You shouldn't speak for people. Ever.
Tyson made it clear what he meant, that Orton was removed early from Evolution-despite him being in the stable for over a year. JD has been around for 2 months so I get what Tyson was meaning about Edge getting the boot too early. Everything you brought up trying to speak for Tyson made his comment sound like he's an idiot-which he's not. He literally said what he said and I understood completely-it was just wrong in the sense that Orton was in Evolution for a year. He also wasn't the leader.
Crazy part is I don't disagree about Orton being prematurely removed from Evolution but it was a totally different scenario by every stretch of the imagination.
I'm hearing that there were discussions over the weekend about adding more supernatural elements to Judgement Day which Edge wasn't interested in. Him getting kicked out of the group is making more sense now.
You know I read that too and obviously I take everything with a grain of salt until I hear from the actual talent involved. If that was the case I'm curious what kind of supernatural elements are we talking about here because as we've seen over the years, sometimes that shit works, sometimes it doesn't.
So yeah I'm curious what those elements might be...especially when we're talking about a guy who debuted as having half vampire blood in him, who was in the Ministry....But that doesn't necessarily mean what he or the WWE had envisioned for this group needs some Fiend action going on.
Or....and just ride with me on this one. Maybe they figured since Edge was on shows like Haven and Sanctuary that they were like shit this guy is all about the fantasy stuff and this stable could be our next Ministry? IDK.
Edge was also in Highlander: Endgame. Give him a sword and have him challenge Drew in a "There Can Only Be One" match. They did an "Eye For An Eye" match so beheading isn't that much of stretch, lol.
Throw in Berzerker and you've got a mean Triple Threat Sword on a Pole Match.
No recaps this week. Enjoy.
Slacker!
BGMaverick does a much better job of recaps than I do, but here goes.
The opening promo with MizTV and guest Paul Heyman was good. I loved Miz saying he can't possibly suck because he's not from Kansas. Riddle didn't look out of place with two of the best on the mic in the entire industry. I didn't quite understand why for storyline reasons they added a stipulation to the Roman/Riddle match that Riddle had already earned. I get that they want to keep Riddle strong so when the Uso's and Heyman all interfere to help Roman get a cheap win, Riddle won't have any recourse as he won't get any title shots again while Roman Reigns.
Jimmy Uso and Montez Ford reminded us that they can handle themselves as singles wrestlers as well as anyone. I guess we will see Jey vs. Dawkins next week.
Becky vs. Brooke was a shame. At least we got to see Brooke on TV again. Bliss and Morgan qualifying for the MITB while Doudrop continues to be misused. And Nikki ASH has new gear? I thought she rocked the yellow/blue almost a superhero gear, but she was wearing yellow/black.
Owens looks like a fool for getting himself counted out, but Zeke needed a win, even a cheap win. I am cautiously optimistic about Elias' return next week. Zeke / Elias will never be considered a great in-ring talent, but this has been entertaining so far.
I am glad they showed the John Cena visit to Misha, the kid with Down Syndrome whose mom told him, as they escaped from Ukraine, that they were going to meet John Cena. #NeverGiveUp.
Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles was the match of the night. If they do a cross-brand second chance qualifier multi-man match, with all of the guys who didn't make it (AJ, Drew, Sheamus), with more to come it could be fun.
Cedric losing to MVP. I didn't think his career was going to fall lower. Then again, we'll probably see Cedric get a win back against MVP when they rebook this next week.
If anyone thought Riddle was losing to Ciampa, they likely have never seen wrestling ever before.
Belair's promo was quick, and so was the Judgement Day explanation as to why they took out Edge.
Gable over Ali, not a surprise. Gable takes a lot of losses, despite being very very good in the ring, and they aren't doing anything with Ali. Another situation where I expect that next week 50/50 booking will reverse the results. When was the last time Otis wrestled?
Rey did his best to make Veer look strong.
Disappointing main event was a posedown. Theory is getting more hate each week, but this was not a good segment. I fell asleep and watched it this AM, and was sorry I did. I kept thinking of how much better posedowns have been in the past (Jesse the Body vs Tony Atlas, Rick Rude vs. Ultimate Warrior), and how some have been as bad as this (Lashley v. Apollo Crews, HHH vs. Big Poppa Pump). You'd think they would learn that the only pose downs we want are the divas.
A pose down is the most WWE segment you could ever do.
Fun fact for Seth. Last night was his first televised win since him and KO beat Alpha Academy on Feb 28th........I was sitting here wondering if AJ and Seth ever had a real feud. Doesn't seem like it. MITB 2019 they fought for the belt but that's about it.
Not full-blown, but quick thoughts:
Judgement Day seems to be operating under the presumption there isn't a leader. Styles probably should be ticked that Bálor bailed but we've got nothing there yet.
Liv is my early pick to win the Women's MITB.
Cena/Theory at Summerslam seems likely.
Not perfect but they're doing a nice job heating Riddle up for Reigns. Not sure about that theme tweak though.
Oh yeah meant to say. First few minutes of the show in the UK, we had (what sounded like) loud Chinese commentary for the first few minutes so couldn’t hear the opening promo. It was sorted quick and apparently a problem with the global feed with the wrong audio being sent out to broadcasters.
Also, this seems like a bland use of Rey Mysterio.
With Cody out, this would be a great time to insert Rey back at the top of the card. Raw is seriously lacking babyfaces right now especially with Balor turning heel.
The top tier are Riddle, AJ Styles, and I guess Ezekial?
Rey is so old, they should start calling him Grey Mysterio
You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Donald again.
Rey has been doing this forever. And I really appreciate his style, even if the suspension of disbelief in his matches is often strained. I forgot to mention the one thing I liked about his work with Veer is that they haven't asked Veer to magically fall into the ropes to set himself up for the 619 - like just about every other wrestler does every time they face Rey. Veer stands up on the floor, next to the apron, to take the 619.
You must spread.
Rey Myst-very-old
I mark out for MYST still to this day.
Five takeaways from Raw:
Sucks that Rhea is out. Hopefully she comes back soon. Carmella is cold as can be as an opponent, but the finish with her winning the championship opportunity against Bianca seems to indicate that they’re preserving the competitors for MITB. Still think this opens things up for Liv to leave with the briefcase.
Seems weird WWE wouldn’t announce Vince appearing on Raw after doing so on Friday. Just as baffling, Vince’s appearance here was just as bland as he promoting that Cena would be on Raw next week. He struggled to get in the ring and nearly fell out of the ring, so there’s that. No addressing of the scandals again. It’s propaganda in a way that helps keep an audience on his side as he’s in the midst of a difficult time. Neither appearance did harm or help his cause in terms of the real news surrounding him. No news, other than the lack of actual news with the appearances. He fed into WWE programming and didn’t fan the flames of the news cycle, so he probably saw this as successful appearances.
The stuff between KO and Elias/Ezekiel continues to be stupid but really sold with sincerity by each of them. If this was the pandemic era, I imagine they production value would’ve been even higher with a cinematic match between KO and Ezekiel.
Lashley had an impressive outing, running the gauntlet to earn a championship match against Theory at MITB. Lashley/Gable was pretty dang good for what it was. After months of dormancy, we’ll go back-to-back PLEs with the US Championship. Guess they found the right guy for it in Theory. Safe to assume we’ll get the trifecta by facing Cena at Summerslam.
Asuka and Becky had an incredibly solid main event. Asuka won and earned a spot in MITB. Make sense. I imagine we’ll get a spot where Asuka is close to winning the briefcase and Becky will cost her. Becky unraveling after the match was nice character work.
I didn't notice Vince almost falling out of the ring but I went back and rewatched it and that was pretty funny.
Elias' return went as well as I had expected, except I had hoped he would have said that he wants to get in the MITB match himself, along with Zeke. Would have blown KO's mind.
The Female Five-Way was a nice surprise to start the show, and was probably the best match of the night. Carmella was out of place but the others made her look good, especially in the early stages. She certainly isn't the worst in the ring, and has gotten better over the years, but nobody's picking her to beat Bianca.
Riddle had a tough night. Nice touch of the WWE to tape his ribs up following the match with Roman last Friday, which combined with his great selling made Omos' bear hugs look all the more painful. Then Rollins for the post match beatdown just added to his heat.
Theory is owning the crowds of late. Bobby getting a little payback for last week with the "baby oil" was expected. Gable is making the best of his screen time and really deserves something better. Nice job by commentary putting over how Bobby couldn't get the hurt lock on massive Otis.
I can get behind Styles vs. the Miz, if that's where they're going. Two veterans who really get it. Not sure what they're doing with Ciampa.
Kudos to the crowd for giving Veer the "What?" treatment as he spoke partially in Indian. This was a decent interview with Veer - I liked his reaction to Kevin Patrick saying something like "Some are saying your actions are brutal", and Veer responds with "Some?" They've kept Veer mostly silent so far, but he handled this brief, live segment just fine.
Asuka has suffered too many losses of late, and I think she needed a strong win, which was all the more impressive as she beat Becky clean in a terrific match, with something at stake. She and Becky working double duty is worth the price of admission.
If Elrod debuts next week, I might have to make the “Who Wants To Plod With Elrod?” thread.
Last edited by Badger; June 21st, 2022 at 11:44 AM.
Judgment Day on Main Event lol.
The best Shield v. Wyatt Family match was on Main Event.
With that said, kind of weird but sometimes they have to put bigger names on that show or it's worthless.
I can't wait to see Kevin owens face when elias and Ezekiel appear live at the same time.
Elias and Ezekiel should do another couch segment, but they should use the magic of technology to show KO sitting between them.
Five Takeaways:
Pretty good battle royal and nice to see they didn’t rush through it. Once Riddle was announced in there, it felt a little too obvious that he was going to be the winner. I guess alls well that ends well after the mystifying booking of him last week by losing like he did to Omos, coming off the big championship match with Reigns. Quite notable that the crowd was very hyped with the presumed final two of Styles/Riddle before Miz ruined things. Think that reaction is a testament to Styles in some ways but primarily due to the fact that they’ve done the work to get Riddle over and it’s taken with the audience.
There is a universe where Montez Ford/Jey Uso could rightfully main event an episodic show on WWE. They’re really good and I’m glad we got this matchup in the build to MITB. I highly doubt we see a title change on Saturday but the match should be hot and good. Based on where we are in the calendar, I won’t be surprised if we see Ford as a MITB qualifier next year.
They ran a five-minute video retrospective on John Cena’s career. And you know what, it probably could’ve gone longer and still been good. Fitting song, and good on them to really cover the facets of Cena’s career with the actual wrestling career, the Make A Wish giving, the Hollywood stardom. WWE’s forbidden door was opened here as Paul Wight, Bryan Danielson, and Chris Jericho were part of the congratulations video towards Cena. As for his actual appearance, Cena was making the rounds, giving words of wisdom to the locker room until he was put on blast by Theory. First, face-to-face, Theory holds up size wise next to Cena. To me, Theory has been okay on the mic when given time but left more to be desired until this segment. Theory pretty much played the hits for those running down Cena but you could see Theory could sink his teeth into the material he was throwing at Cena. He had full command of the crowd when he came out to the ring (and was introduced by Vince), and the crowd went nuts for him. He spoke from the heart and thanked the audience that’s been honest to him for 20 years. A good time was had by all here.
We were blessed with Asuka on commentary for Liv/Alexa. She was zany as she usually is. I’ll feel silly if I’m wrong, but I’m further convinced Liv is taking the briefcase. She did the babyface move of saying she was going to win, and beat Alexa in this match. She did beat Alexa, thus taking the steam off Alexa’s undefeated streak since coming back. Asuka also said she’s more concerned about Liv as a competitor in MITB. Regardless of the signs, we’ve reached a point where they need to go ahead and see what Liv can do and the briefcase will help lead to the breakout.
Becky was painted in the obvious role, like Riddle in the opener, as the presumptuous favorite in the last chance elimination match for a spot in MITB. This match made me also think, especially in light of the absences in the division, that the likes of Doudrop, Shayna, and Nikki should have more legitimate roles. There can be midcard stories to tell and they likely would thrive in them. As for the Women’s MITB field, looks quite good and the match should deliver.
Bonus takeaway: An unknown interviewer had an “exclusive” interview with Cody Rhodes. He did a great job putting over all of the competitors in the MITB match. Rhodes still has eyes for Rollins and revenge.
It was odd how Miz and Styles didn’t get entrances considering they were in the last three.
Also Dom heel turn on Rey next week in San Diego? WWE loves having bad shit happening in hometowns!
Last edited by Badger; June 28th, 2022 at 8:23 AM.
Good idea, would like to see a The Judgment Day makeover of Dom to join their group. Could see something like a cross between Ascension and Headbangers for his appearance. Mostly to the face though.
Give me Rey Mysterio v. Finn Balor in a feud.
I thought John Cena was money. It was great seeing the video package, the interaction with other wrestlers, that fuckin shirt is fire. Cena's best shirts are always the NES themed ones (Pro Wrestling, Super Mario 3, now WrestleMania). Also-I think many of those shouts from his peers were the short versions because Shawn had a really funny one and it seems like they only kept the very last 20 seconds he did.
Montez Ford is money, but Angelo Dawkins I think is going to be the Christian of his team. Same could be said about Jey. A lot of times it felt like Jimmy was being positioned for a singles push and Jey showed he could do it on his own no doubt. I'm hoping Profits get the win as the Viking Raiders just returned as a heels and the tag scene needs a strong babyface team. Right now that's SP.
I’m glad they let John Cena say his piece; I was really cringing at the thought of Theory interrupting a very special moment to set up their rumoured SummerSlam match, something that Austin isn’t quite ready for.
Like/love/hate him, Cena probably should be included in the pro wrestling Mt. Rushmore discussion; Brock and Roman are really good, but they both are a tier below. My decidedly unscientific hypothesis suggests that if Cena is at the Hogan/Rock/Austin/Flair level, Lesnar and Reigns are at the Taker/HBK/HHH/Foley level (that would be an interesting thread, BTW).
Last edited by Tyson; June 29th, 2022 at 4:26 AM.
Put Bret and Savage in that 2nd tier and take out Foley and it is spot on.
Rock is the most interesting historical ranking because of peak vs. tenure.
You youngsters forget about how good Bruno really was, as a performer and a draw. Yeah, it's hard to compare eras, but nobody holds a candle to Sammurtino.
It is hard to compare eras especially when you say NOBODY holds a candle to Bruno. Bruno was mega over. I was watching the steel cage match between him and Stan Hansen just 2-3 days ago on the Network. The crowd was so hot for this match, cheered Bruno practically the entire match it seemed. And that was 1976. He had a long run no doubt but he also had a run during a very different time not just in wrestling but entertainment and the world itself.
WWE's Mt Rushmore should have Bruno on it no doubt. Bruno, Hogan, Austin, and John Cena. If that Mt Rushmore is solely about drawing ability and impact on the industry itself, those have to be the 4 imo. I know some folks want to put The Rock instead of Cena but Cena has held it down for almost 20 years. Even with him being gone the last 5 years more often than not, people are still trying to catch up.
I imagine 20 years from the argument I'm making about Bruno not being lightyears better will be the same argument someone makes about John Cena or Austin.
Only WWE, not all of Pro Wrestling, I have a hard time leaving Taker off.
And if we're making sure not to just limit our discussion to the post WM era....I mean the territories had a pretty big draw once.
It's absurdly hard to get any list down to 4.
Bruno, Hogan, Austin and Cena is the WWE Rushmore. They're the 4 synonymous with the 4 distinct drawing eras in the companies history - Bruno as the one that put them on the map, Hogan who took them into the mainstream, Austin who put them back, and Cena who transitioned them into the modern corporate conglomerate that they are now. Next tier is larger, you'd go Morales, Backlund, Andre, Savage, Shawn, Bret, Undertaker, Rock, Orton, Triple H, Lesnar and Reigns. Guys who had extended top runs. To round out the top 20, probably Punk, Angle, Batista and Warrior. Though Warrior is interchangeable with about 10 others.
I was thinking Vince should be on there, but then again, he built the mountain.
I can definitely see people including Andre the Giant. I just don't know if I personally feel like his overall career was as big of a game changer and influence as the others mentioned. I think with the territories, that's why Bruno gets the nod. He was imo the most over wrestler of all time when it was the territory days. You'd also have to give Gorgeous George a nod too because he was the first real sports entertainer.Only WWE, not all of Pro Wrestling, I have a hard time leaving Taker off.
And if we're making sure not to just limit our discussion to the post WM era....I mean the territories had a pretty big draw once.
That's why we need like 8 Mt Rushmore's in the US lol. Are the 4 people we have currently the end all be all?
Like FB said Andre is in that 2nd tier with guys like The Rock, Savage, Flair. The Rock....you know we give Austin a ton of praise but damn The Rock should really be the 5th head, maybe on Austin's shoulder lol.
What we really need is a Mt. Rushmore pyramid, where the heads get progressively larger as we go up.
It kind of would be fun to run a 50 greatest Pro Wrestlers (US/Canada), if you could set it up in a voting tool, and do tiered rankings.
I might look into that.
Tag teams seem to be in flux underneath the title picture. Judgement Day absolutely lost whatever momentum they had after the beatdown of Edge. I guess Rhea’s absence has really stalled things. Bálor, and his new tights, with Priest took a DQ loss to The Mysterios (they also had a DQ loss in the match on Main Event two weeks ago). They finally paid off on the bit that Ciampa has been doing the dirty work of The Miz by having them take out Styles after Styles beat The Miz. I doubt anyone would’ve guessed we’d have a tag match of Miz & Ciampa against Styles & Logan Paul at Summerslam but that certainly appears to be on the horizon.
Liv got her championship address to lead off the second hour. The crowd loved her, and she loved them. This feels like the makings of a plucky title reign. That fits for her but that may not mean this is a very long reign.
Rollins might be the skeleton key to unlock above-average matches against Elias and his family. The match with Ezekiel was better than I anticipated. Rollins got the win, as he should, but then he got greedy. He tried to go the extra mile with another beatdown but Riddle ran in for a sudden RKO. That collision course seems to be inevitable for Summerslam. That should be a really good match.
Lashley is over like a MFer. It appears that he might be the biggest face in the company right now. Cena’s comment last week about not knowing when he’d be back might not have been a red herring as they went ahead and announced a rematch between Lashley and Theory at Summerslam. The six-man match of Lashley & The Street Profits against Theory & Alpha Academy saw a great display of athleticism across the board, including an impressive pounce by Dawkins onto Theory.
Nice touch by Asuka to come out changing her usual mask to a Jason one, prepping for the No Holds Barred Match. The two put together a nice match. I’m not surprised they had this match but I am surprised they didn’t save it for Summerslam. With Becky getting the win and newfound momentum, do they go back to Bianca since it’s still up in the air on when Rhea will come back? Lots of moving parts in this situation.
Raw was pretty good. Asuka/Becky and the 6-man tag were solid.
Summerslam seems pretty open for quite a few of these champions. The way MITB played out with Bianca and Carmella it seems like they might be continuing that story. Is Liv going to rematch Ronda, triple threat maybe with Nattie? Gunther probably won't defend on the ppv since there seems to be a running joke about not having the IC title on ppv.....Usos v. Profits in a stipulation?
Profits vs. Usos in a TLC match, please.
I actually think Liv vs Nattie, or Liv vs Nattie vs Ronda could be a really nice match. Triple threat is a great idea! Liv trains with Nattie and her husband regularly, so I bet they'd put on a great show. I'm just hoping that WWE doesn't ruin this momentum by having Charlotte return and take the title at SS.
Liv won't hold the title very long. She may get a successful defense against Nattie, maybe Tamina, Doudrop, Nikki ASH, or Shayna as well. If they are serious about Liv, they would have Charlotte come back and lose to Liv. But I hope Liv will lose her title to a returning Bayley. Mostly because I miss Bayley, but also because I think faces look better chasing the title.
I wonder where Ronda goes from here?
Probably a rematch with Liv and then maybe some time off.
The pounce from Dawkins on Theory was ace.
Bobby has been getting very strong reactions these past 2 shows. Love it.
Thoughts on RAW -
Brock's opening promo was pretty good, and Heyman is always able to hype a big match. The story they are building with Theory waiting for the opportunity after these guys beat the hell outta each other is coming along nicely. Which probably means Lashley will pummel Theory so much in their US title match that Theory won't be able to cash in that night.
Alpha Academy deserves better than being made to look like Brock food. They have fallen a lot since being in great matches as tag champs not long ago. But Otis taking the table spot was an impressive visual.
Judgment Day needs more of a direction than recruiting Dominik, who loses all the time. And since they are drawing out this story, who else thinks they will wait to turn Dominik until Rey's 20th anniversary of being in WWE? Balor needed the win, especially since they replayed how he lost to Rey using Eddie's chair deceipt last week.
Carmella should have been having matches like this before she got the title shot. She's worked hard to make her matches watchable, and she did her part be celebrating the ending as if she won the title. I expect that Carmella will win again next week, probably getting Bianca DQ'd for choking with her hair. Then they add Carmella to make it a 3-way with Becky and Belair, so Carmella can take the loss to Becky. A face like Bianca is better chasing the title than defending it.
Miz TV was okay. I don't know if anyone cares about Ciampa, who looks like an idiot knowing he's Miz's second choice for tag partner, then getting himself DQ'd for punching the opponent while he was not the legal man.
Crowd was dead for the Bliss/Asuka vs. Nikki ASH/Doudrop tag match. Which is probably why they haven't mentioned the ladies' tag tournament for several weeks. Or maybe the crowd is dead because the WWE has told us women's tag scene doesn't matter.
R-Truth should be on TV doing stuff like this more than being in the 24/7 division. Dude totally owns a crowd. I loved his struggle with taking the ref shirt off. Match itself was fun. Omos getting the pin was expected, but I think everyone thought Truth would be taking the pin.
Riddle/Lashley tag vs Rollns/Theory was solid. I could have done without the Ziggler interference/face turn but Theory needs something to do.
What is the purpose of the Judgment Day now? I read the report they were moving to a supernatural direction and that's why Edge was taken out of the group. Is that still happening? Is Edge going to come back and beat Balor and Priest and end the group? It just seems like Judgment Day became lifeless since the Edge swerve.
Watch, Edge returns and then becomes head of Judgment Day again.
The Balor Club with Finn, AJ, and Liv had way more potential then whatever they're trying to do with Judgment Day.
It seems that with Liv hurt they were gonna have Priest and Balor simply tread water for a bit. But now that it seems she's out for more than just a little while, they probably realized that they will need someone else to make them important again. They seem to have faith in both Priest and Balor, but I have the feeling they won't still be together this time next year.
I have a hard time seeing this group going past the fall. It's just connecting at least for me. There is something missing and maybe they need a new member with Ripley being out and I don't think Dominick is the answer. Will Edge returning give them a jolt?
Is it Edge that they're having those promos for? I caught the last one, with the RKO shirt, a Cena hat I think, and what looked like some old Cactus Jack flannel.
Yeah it’s basically a list of Edge’s past “victims.” Angle’s medal is in there too and Dudley glasses have been featured too.
Finn in pants makes me sad.
It does look weird. And the purple sash makes him I dunno... jobberish.
I meant the bulge is missing
Explain.
IDK, reminded me of Jeff Hardy always having that white shirt/towel whatever the fuck. Now that I think of it jeff was mainly doing that when he was jobbing. Fuck.
Raw thoughts / comments for 7/18
Opening segment with Titus was a nice speech about bringing people together and highlighting some of the great community service stuff they are involved with. I guess Titus is from the area, and it was nice to see him again. The piles of school supplies/backpacks they showed reminded me of what my living room looks like after school supplies go on clearance, as my wife and I have donated a lot over the years. I am hoping that there were tables set up in the concourse with info on how to volunteer and/or make a donation.
Becky's promo about how she's gets the winner at SummerSlam was solid, and Bianca matched her. I liked Carmella's line that she's a bad ass with a great ass. At first, I was thinking they might give Carmella another win and add her to the championship match at SummerSlam to give Becky someone to pin without having to have Bianca take the loss directly, but then Carmella announced that she'd win the title it Belair is counted out, so it was clear Bianca was winning. I still think Carmella is much better than people give her credit for, and despite the fact that they've been booking her as an afterthought, she and Bianca have gotten pretty solid crowd reactions.
The KO Show was fun and reminded me how much we have missed KO. The tease for a potential Bro-KO team has me intrigued, because they potentially can get some great stories out of this, with so many directions that they could take it on a week to week basis. Riddle's response saying he didn't like KO talking bad about his best friend Randy was fine, but Seth's interruption/attack on Riddle was a good way to get classic heel heat.
Judgment Day again bested Rey, no surprise, and Dominik finally agreed to join them to save his dad, only to be told by Priest that it doesn't work that way. They are setting up Rey's 20th anniversary with WWE next week at MSG. Who else thinks Rey gets love from the crowd, and maybe we get another, worse beat down on Rey with the conchairto, only to call for Edge's return in a face role?
Rollins vs. Zeke was just done recently, and the crowd was dead again. Rollins did his best to carry Zeke, but Zeke can only be carried so far.
Dawkins vs. Omos ended with Omos getting DQ'd to set up a tag match, which was fine. But to follow it up with a short tag match where the faces win by DQ doesn't do anything for anyone. I think they are trying to build heel heat on the Uso's but as a fan myself, I am cheering the Uso's.
Veer was interviewed by one of the pretty small backstage interviewers, I forget her name, but Veer only said "Boo!" and laughed. The most interesting part of that to me was that it was followed up with Miz coming by, where he said "I think he likes you". Miz reminded us that Logan Paul would be on MizTV later that night.
Theory came to the ring, and was given a lot of time for his promo about how he plans to cash in MITB on whoever is last man standing. Styles was good standing up to him, especially the line that "We don't have enough time on Raw to list all the reason we don't like you!" Their match was fine, but drawn out. I didn't like commentary belaboring the point wondering why is Dolph out there, what is Dolph's motivation, when DOLPH IS SITTING RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM! JUST ASK HIM YOU IDIOTS! Anyway, one thing I liked was how well executed the superkick Dolph gave Theory, especially how well Theory sold it, followed by the slip trying to get back into the ring, then he rolled in just after the ten count. Theory made it look like he was legit still trying to get into the ring.
There was a long video about Becky/Bianca's year-long feud. I am sure we will see it again before their SummerSlam match.
Women's 6-person tag being interrupted by Reggie, Tozawa, Nikki ASH, Alexa Bliss, Doudrop, Tamina, then Brooke again winning her title back was terrible. Not sure why the regular announced 6 person match didn't end when Brooke defeated Tamina - as both were announced match competitors. Asuka getting the win just made me feel bad for her and Bliss being involved in this garbage.
Miz won the MVP of the MLB celebrity All-star game. I am sure he had fun, and we may see more on Miz and Mrs.
The MizTV segment with Logan Paul should not have been the main event. The fans don't want to cheer Paul but do want to boo Miz. We will tentatively get ImPaulsive TV next week - unless WWE realizes that fans will boo the shit out of Paul. Going with the Tiny Balls chant, followed by Ciampa, is not something that qualifies as main-event worthy. But Miz has accepted Paul's SummerSlam challenge.
There was a lot of talking this week and very little ring action. When there is no MLB to compete with because of the All-Star break, the WWE really should have given casual fans more of a reason to regularly tune in.
Edge definitely saves Rey next week. Most likely his vignette will interrupt them and the writing will finish with something like Im coming to Raw or to get judgment day and then his music will hit.
Would like a Face Edge vs. Heel Balor match. Similar to Edge/Styles, even though I wish the roles were reversed it's nice to see the change for Balor. Only thing missing is him being more aggressive (like Priest) to sell the heel role more convincing. Ripley being out killed some of the energy because these are two guys above being a tag team, yet here they are.
Balor Club:
- Three popular babyfaces who were somewhat directionless before joining together.
- Balor and Styles have the Bullet Club connection, but were in the group at different times. On paper this should be a dream team.
- Balor and Styles could be contenders for not only the Tag titles, but the Undisputed title as well. If they can't dethrone the Roman Empire, who can?
- Liv said Finn and AJ asked for her to join them since they thought see deserved to be seen more.
* This is a moot point now with Liv as champ, but prior to her MITB win she would have gotten allot of TV time from the partnership.
Judgment Day:
- After months, the group still seems to have no direction. While Balor Club writes itself, this group is still developing. Are they the Brood? The Dark Ministry? What?
- It seemed to start out as a group of young superstars that Edge could mentor, but with him out of the picture, what's the point? Not saying Balor can't fill the same role to a certain degree, but with a lack of strong babyfaces, I don't think turning Balor was the best way to go.
It seems more often between Raw & SD that Raw is the show that goes with unnecessary heel turns. Priest has grown into the role but had some good momentum as a face at the time of the tease.
Ciampa as Miz's guy feels goofy and a weird fit, especially since chopping his name down to a last name. Miz doesn't need Ciampa and Ciampa is going to look dumb being the roadblock for people to get through before battling Miz.
Was Balor a strong babyface though? Was he really thriving as a babyface? I don't even remember him ever being heel in the WWE so I welcomed that change. I was actually hoping this would've turned into Balor v. AJ Styles feuding as opposed to them being wasted in a tag-team. They would've been great no doubt, but personally I like them as singles.
If Balor/Styles can't beat Roman who can? They're the bar? I mean Lesnar killed them both and if LESNAR can't beat Roman, what makes you think Balor or Styles had a chance?
I think "Balor Club" as you called them had zero potential as a trio. It was cool seeing babyfaces team up like that but I prefer where they're at now. You're right about the lack of strong babyfaces. But we don't have that many truly strong heels, FRESH heels. Plus we probably have Edge coming back soon as a babyface which I'm 50/50 about as I'm not really a fan of Edge regardless. It definitely feels like the injuries Cody Rhodes and Rhea Ripley suffered altered the direction of these characters imo.
Rey heel turn next week, perhaps. Reason being, Dominik was weak to say he'd join The Judgment Day etc etc.
Stranger things have happened.
That Theory segment went on forever, it felt like a Triple H promo from 2004. I don’t even know what he said or if it’s ended yet.
Pfft. That’s like comparing reading Spot the Dog to a Stephen King’s novel. Nowhere near as long and epic as The Gaaameeee-uhhhh!!! opening promo.
Long segments are fine when there's something to be said that we haven't heard before. This felt longer because Theory has been saying this over and over and over since he won MITB.
It is working though because he is drawing heat.
Comparing him to HHH though who did this for years and years right @Hacksawseems a bit of a stretch. Theory’s a pup in comparison and had everything handed to him on basically a silver platter. HHH was well on top already and bragged about it so no quite the same.
I can't even blame Triple H. I blame Nitro. They would always have those long talking segments start the show after the nWo took off in mid-late 96. Or they would start the show with a CW match, and THEN we'd get the 20 minute segment with Hogan and the boys.
Maybe even blame ECW. All those ppvs that would start out with a 20-30 minute segment that would usually start off with Joey Styles in the ring and by the end of it Chris Chetti and Nova were in a triple threat match with fuck knows who else.
Triple H just jacked so much from everyone especially Shane Douglas. The long promos, the leather hat, suddenly jacked to the gills with an annoying as fuck brunette with him that just so happened to get called slut, whore, and PS-SHOW YOUR TITS!
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