Balor and Priest vs. Dunne and Bate - WWE Tag Team Championship
Lynch vs. Belair vs. Morgan vs. Stratton vs. Naomi vs. TBD - Chamber match
Ripley vs. Jax - Women's Championship
McIntyre vs. Orton vs. Lashley vs. Knight vs. Owens vs. Paul - Chamber match
I would like Dunne and Bate to win, Lynch to win, Ripley to win, and McIntyre to win.
Looks like a solid card. I will be watching at 5 AM since I can't avoid spoilers cause I'm a piece of shit.
Every time they mention Perth I have to remember it’s the Australian one and not the Scottish one I live in lol.
I’m leeeeeaning on Orton to win as think they may do something separately with Sami and Drew at Mania. Orton being the guy to dethrone Seth at Mania would be huge.
Agree with the rest of your predictions though. Hopefully they have Rhea use the Riptide to beat Jax and not something lame like a rollup lol.
I forgot that Rollins has beaten McIntyre lots, so it would be good to see a fresh person in a title match with Rollins. LA Knight would be huge but I think he'll be colliding with Logan Paul. I just can't see Lashley or Owens winning. So I guess you're right, Orton winning would be great.
You'll have to let us all know what it's like to finally watch a PPV live at a decent time.Originally Posted by Badger
Seth/Orton also have Mania history. It’ll be much fresher though since it’s been a while. They could add that to the build.
As much as I would like to see Dunne and Bate when I don't see it happening and honestly I want DIY to take the titles of Judgement Day.
I am guessing Lynch wins to set up Lynch vs Rhea at WrestleMania
I get the feeling they are setting up Drew vs Rollins but I don't want that. Rather see Orton or someone else get the shot.
McIntyre and Knight feel like the two guys who seem like viable options to step up. More murky for Knight in the build but you've got to capitalize on his ability to get over during the last year-plus. The safeguard is just going the US Championship route with Paul but if you want to really go for it, he can step up against Rollins.
We've got to hit the boiling point with Judgment Day. If the Creeds and DIY weren't the option, why couldn't BS--... ... ... sheesh, New Catch Republic be the option? JD needs to go through whatever is going to happen with Priest and the briefcase and losing the titles presumably would be an impetus for that. As for NCR (sigh), if they're very talented singles guys but they're going to be lost in the shuffle that way, having them as a tag team works. With that, might as well let them work with the titles and let them get to catch on with the audience. Let that work and then figure out a story/timeframe where they eventually lose them and split up. Then let them rediscover their magic from Chicago in 2017.
Last edited by BGMaverick; February 19th, 2024 at 3:16 PM.
Interesting note. This is the first ppv/ple where there are more women's matches than men. I don't know why Kabuki Warriors v. Indi/Candace is on the pre-show considering there are only 4 other matches. I get the Chamber can go about 40 minutes but still.
Have you forgotten
I agree with you that they should have found a spot for Kabuki Warriors v. Indi/Candace on the main show. I love the Kabuki Warriors
Is it the pre show that starts at 5AM or the actual show?
I'm sorry, I'm not waking up before 5 AM to see Indi and Candice lose.
lol Yeah I didn't forget the one time they didn't have ANY men's matches.Have you forgotten
I agree with you that they should have found a spot for Kabuki Warriors v. Indi/Candace on the main show. I love the Kabuki Warriors
I'm going to wake up at around 9, go to the bank, stop at McDonald's and watch this banger.
I am still debating if I am getting up like normal time and watching the replay or what.
Australian time throws me lol. Had to check when it starts and it’s UK 10am tomorrow working and I’m working during it then going out so won’t be til later tomorrow night or Sun morning that I can watch it. #sadface
Damn Aussies lol. Nae offense like!
Gotta work all Saturday then going to an indy show that night, then working Sunay so won't be able to watch until Sunday night. Going to have to try really hard to stay off the internet the whole time. Spoiling some stuff seems inevitable.
Yeah I'll be watching live cause I suck avoiding spoilers
When I watch Wrestle Kingdom live it is easier for me to stay up late after like a nap or something since it starts at 1 am. But getting up to start watching something at 4am is going to be a struggle if I try to do that because I won't get to bed early no matter what I do.
You say you want DIY, but you're gonna get Awesome Truth instead
I would take that
Dragged my ass out of bed for the hot aussie crowd.
Stratton has one of the best corner handspring elbows I've ever seen. They usually look so slow but she snaps them off pretty well.
The opening match really showed that the women's division is quite stacked in terms of athletic talent. It's not promising overall to see Raquel return over the last week, and there wasn't a vast clamor to see her back or get back to the top of the card with that return. I always felt like they were doing the bare minimum with her when she was called up, and she ultimately got sidelined. Ideally, things would've been timed right with Mami on top to where Raquel could be ready by that time due to their terrific chemistry together, but that wasn't in the cards for various reasons. Tiffany clearly had her best showing on the main roster in this match. After a bit of a shaky start, she's now on track, and it'll be interesting to see what is in store for her for Mania. Becky was the chalk pick, and there's nothing wrong with seeing her move on to Mania to face the champion. She's done so much over the last year for the division across all three brands.
I found something worse than the New Catch Republic name: their theme. Very mid. Regardless, the match was given ample time, and everyone had a chance to shine. For guys that are either new to the audience or haven't been given a lot of time to show what they can do, Bate and Dunne get over with the crowd every time they are out there. It certainly helps that their matches are given enough time to build, but they bring the goods together each time they're in a match. It was a really entertaining match. I can't say I'm enthused about the prospects of Awesome Truth potentially being the team to dethrone JD, but it seems like what it is shaping up to be.
On paper, the headlines from the Grayson Waller Effect segment sound good: Rollins appears to be out of the woods with his knee injury, Rhodes challenged the Rock. That's good, but the segment seemed a bit drawn out to get there. In addition, there was a tease of Rhodes finally explaining why he was willing to defer to The Rock, but that ultimately wasn't explained. There will eventually be a need to explain that, but I wonder if that happens in a face-to-face confrontation when all key players are involved. Still, imagine the two top faces (Rhodes and Rollins) battle the top heels (Reigns and Rock) for Night 1, but now we've got a setup for a tuneup tag match where Rhodes/Rollins can take on Waller/Theory. Critique aside, Rhodes' entrance for the segment was nothing short of superstar-worthy. They made it a talking point that Waller left Theory to the wolves, so we'll see what comes of that. I still think there's a path where Rock pins Rhodes in the tag match, Rhodes wins over Reigns, and then Rock finally accepts Rhodes' challenge.
If athleticism was the story of the women's chamber, brutality was the story of the men's chamber. These dudes were ripping the hell out of each other throughout the match. The heat/humidity in Australia was prominent in the match, as most of these guys were drenched by the time they were done. Styles flew across the world just to wreck Knight lol. That's some true hate right there. Knight's momentum over the last year was set to peak at Mania. It seemed like Paul was going to be a good fall guy to lead to that, but I guess they wanted to make sure Styles had some path to Mania, too. The story is there as Knight was able to step in while the Bloodline injured Styles. Bitter and jaded, Styles draws the ire of Knight as he steps into Styles' spotlight. Knight is working better as of late, so that's promising. It will be something to see because it feels like Styles hasn't had a banger Mania match, and they just fall short. Based on the presser the day before and the result of the match, it seems promising to anticipate a triple threat between Paul, Orton, and Owens for the US Championship. If not, Orton/Paul would be fire, but that leaves nothing for Owens. Regardless, there was excellent connective storytelling between the three guys within the scope of the match. McIntyre continues to steal wins, leading him to where he ultimately wants to go: another championship shot at Mania. If McIntyre hasn't re-signed, that's the strongest verbal commitment between a company and a talent I've seen lol.
While this wasn't as good as the match against Becky, Nia had another solid match here, this one against Rhea. She oozed a strong sense of confidence throughout the match, and the role reversal of Rhea having to fight from underneath was a good combination. There has been a strong string of momentum for Nia since she returned, but it's presumably hit its peak, and now she likely falls back into the middle of the pack. The stage is set for one of the biggest matches the company has at its disposal, with Becky versus Rhea. The storytelling along the way will be fun to see as both are loveable in the eyes of the audience.
The show was good, but the pacing was a slog.
If they're not plotting how they get a Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill Wrestlemania main event in the next 3 years I'd be shocked. For me you do Rhea vs. Belair next year and crown one of the others against Charlotte or Becky (probably Tiff vs. Becky if I were to choose given the NXT history), then have both leave 42 as champions beating Rhea and Bianca in separate matches. Then you start the build to 43 with those two. Both piss star quality, which has been lacking since Rhea and Bianca broke through. That women's Chamber was great.
It's a credit to H for building some strong champions. Iyo's a bit cold for the Bayley match, other than that the champions should have very heated matches at 'Mania. Logan with Owens and/or Orton will be fun. Gunther vs. hopefully Zayn could be unbelievable with the best underdog vs. the best monster. McIntyre vs. Rollins should be great and potentially a double turn (for the night) as Drew's been doing excellent work. Surely Judgment Day vs. Awesome Truth which the crowd will be well into. Ripley vs. Lynch will be a belter. And Reigns vs. Rhodes feels like the biggest wrestling match in a generation.
Because of the promiximity between Smackdown/Elimination Chamber, I didn’t bother with a Smackdown Badgedown review. It will return as scheduled next week. So I review the PPV instead….I give this…
Fuck Logan Paul!
Good show, great crowd. Found the results to be very unsurprising but still a fun show.
So early Mania thoughts….
Cody vs Roman (well duh lol)
Drew vs Seth (maybe Sami if he somehow squeezes in)
Knight vs Styles
Rhea vs Becky
Iyo vs Bayley
GUNTHER vs ????? (Possibly Sami)
Orton vs Paul (maybe Owens…possibly Mysterio)
Rock/Roman vs Seth/Cody (Night one)
Tag team title multi-match
Couple of bands or solo artist in between
Just aff the tap of my heid….
Reigns vs. Rhodes 2
Rollins vs. McIntyre
Ripley vs. Lynch
Sky vs. Bayley
Gunther vs. Zayn
Paul vs. Orton (vs. Owens)
Judgment Day vs. Awesome Truth
Kabuki Warriors multi-women tag title
Uso vs. Uso
Styles vs. Knight
Bianca vs. Jade, Tiffany or Liv
Mysterio vs. Escobar Mask vs. Hair
Team Lashley vs. Team Kross 6-man No DQ
40 years of Wrestlemania Battle Royal
Then I guess they could do Rock/Reigns vs. Rhodes/Rollins on night 1, but Hollywood Rock not agreeing to wrestle would put more heat on the Bloodline than if they do the match... even though the match itself would be heated.
Get this man on creative.
#Fanny Booker
Tastes as good as it sounds!
Last edited by Badger; February 25th, 2024 at 5:50 AM.
I liked the show overall. Predicable results, but the key detail is to look for how they give us them in unpredictable ways
Didn't have Orton vs Paul on the Mania bingo card. I think Knight and Styles might still be added to this match with Knight getting the belt.
It was a good night for Scotland overall, besides Drew winning, we scored big wins in rugby and football/soccer Saturday too
I’d rather do Bianca/Jade versus the Kabuki Warriors, then have a title change and start a year-long story that culminates with Bianca versus Jade at next year’s Mania.
Last edited by BGMaverick; February 25th, 2024 at 1:49 PM.
Raquel Rodriguez is fucking rotten at wrestling. She has no business at all being in a WWE main roster match. Holy shit. Otherwise these women are fucking WOWWING me right now as I watch the match.
God yes she does. That's how you do that. There are men that could learn from her on how to do that.
So bummed Stratton went out before the final two. MVP of the match. Just wow. She has it. She has IT.
I don't know when they started using him again but good move letting Pete Dunne get in there and be himself. I love that viscous little fucker.
That tag match was incredible. One of the best I've seen in a long time.
Looking for a place to ffw. Sorry Austin Theory. Oops nevermind. Seth...silly Seth. Dang it.
Last edited by Rancid_Planet; February 25th, 2024 at 11:25 PM.
Rhea/Jax was way better than it had any right to be. An awesome main event and Ripley's best match of her reign. Also my match of the night.
Women's EC was also incredible with a great showcase for everyone, and the final 3 was awesome. Unfortunate Naomi was the first elimination, though.
Also Judgement Day/NCR was pretty dope. I was a little annoyed at the double Burning Hammer not being a finish, but eh. Pretty typical for modern wrestling, but that's always an instant finish in my head.
The men's EC was a bit disappointing. It started well and I liked how they handled Knight getting eliminated, but it felt like they went to the well one too many times with the outside interference causing an elimination. In particular, having Drew get two pins with the help of outside interference just seems to diminish his role as Seth's challenger. Like sure, he's a hypocrite, and it plays into his heel role, but it feels like he should have been set up to be an actual threat on his own for Rollins, considering he's already lost to him 2 to 3 times in the last couple months.
Pretty good show overall where the women definitely dominated as far as quality goes. Men's EC sort of a disappointment, but I'm happy with the winner.
Yeah Rhea/Jax was indeed very good.
I REALLY thought BSS were going to win especially after that. I think they could have pulled the trigger on them last night getting the tag titles but I can kinda see why they're keeping them on JD at the moment. Maybe BSS will get another chance at Mania whatever they do with the titles. Thinking multi-man...maybe a ladder involved hopefully but we'll see.
While it was a very predictable show, that's not a bad thing. It's how you get there and it got there very well. Thought everything was good to great.
Women's EC was MOTN. Everybody was guns blazing and got to shine. Disappointed Naomi went out so early but if it's setting something up, it makes sense and she got some nice big spots in before that. Tiffany really is well on her way to being something special and looked a beast. Liv also quite impressed me as she looked better than ever in my mind.
Tag Title match was extremely good but I do think JD kicking out of all of NCR's double team moves did them no favors. Having said that, there were a few good nearfalls I bought into.
Men's EC was serviceable with some decent hard hitting stuff but overall, not that much I'm going to remember outside of a few nice twists with Knight/Styles/Paul/Orton, etc. setting up things I wasn't expecting.
Waller Effect was a fun bit of business, though I would have liked to see Waller turn on his home country crowd like when someone like Christian would heel it up on his hometown ("Great to be here to remember why I left" kind of shit).
Main event was decent, not amazing on match quality but was amazing on star quality 'cuz Rhea came across as a goddamn megastar. I think it should've taken more than one Riptide to end it (also, we've seen her do it to Nia a few times so it was kind of silly they were selling it as IMPOSSIBLE!!1) but it was cool to see Rhea busting out some new moves and Nia looked alright and handled that table spot nicely when the Samoan Drop didn't bust it.
Botchamania was begging for something to happen with an office chair with wheels being the base for Nia to jump off of.
Which probably would’ve resulted in her saying “Ahhhh my HOLE!”
Yeh, i genuinely expected that to bungle up.
I have been pleasantly surprised with Nia since her return. She seems to have taken the time away to "get it". She's doing a lot of little things right
Racquel Rodriguez is not rotten at wrestling, but she does need to be kept in the tag division. They should go back to having her throw Liv at people.
Tiffy is a star in the making. I guess they will put her in a program with Nattie next, which is what they seem to do with every woman coming up to the main roster.
Yeah I’ve been kinda iffy on the Raquel push/main roster myself tbf. I get it, she’s big and strong but since NXT, I felt she’s been underwhelming. I personally would’ve booked Zelina as the last chancer because I feel she was far more deserving especially after Backlash.
However 109% on board if Tiff is getting the rocket strapped on to launch and it seems like they are outfitting her with said rocket.
Please gawd, don't have her feud with Nattie. Based on EC, I reckon she's gonna be busy with Naomi, which I would fully support.
That’s a fair point too.
Nattie’s been around forever, even had the most PPV wins of any women if I remember stats right (because of her tenure).
But yeah…working with her is ultimately not gonna give someone like Tiff or anyone a good rub.
Like the crazy cat/fart lady but….aye.
Hey, when you have a birthday do you call it BadgerMania? Because if not, you should.
She should really feud with wwecw gm Tiffany
Funnily enough, I did call my 30th birthday Baderfest (not a typo, that is my actual surname) lol.
But henceforth, every birthday will be known as Badgermania. *slams gavel*
Baderfest is an unusual last name. German?
Yes. Swiss German on my father’s side. Quite a few of my friends pronounce it “Bayder” which I don’t really mind but technically it’s “Bah-der”
I kinda accept both as I’m flexible. Think of Douglas Bader RAF World War 2 Pilot. Dambusters etc. My father was named after him. If you’ve seen any docs/films about him, THAT’s how to pronounce it. So not like “Vader” or “Darth Vader” if that makes sense.
But yeah can answer to both as not that fussy lol.
Last edited by Badger; February 27th, 2024 at 9:42 AM.
Finally watched the men's EC and I don't know what it was but I wasn't feeling it like I did the women's. Maybe it was just the booking to be honest.
Also I need to give Nia Jax some props. I generally dislike her wrestling but she wasn't terrible in her match with Ripley.
I think the match of the night was the tag match for me though. God I love good tag team wrestling. I could honestly watch nothing but.
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