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Wrestling thread
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Calling it unsanctioned but still having a ref and it being on ppv was a bit far fetched. Should have just a no holds barred match instead0
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Friend Or Defoe said:I'm late to the party here, and as great as heel turn it was it is nowhere near Bash At The Beach '96 level IMO. That had people launching rubbish into the ring and returning Hogan merchandise. I agree Cena's facial expressions and Rock's hand gestures were incredible, you can see why those two have had such success in Hollywood. No random rapper at Daytona either! The turn also gave WCW a gap lead on the ratings which as proven recently is an incredible feat.
May just be me though, as I hold the Ruthless Aggressive Era in a really low regard and Cena was the face of that time. I thought they should have turned him back then as I couldn't stand the cheesie 80s era face, as you may have noticed with my view on Cody! It was also absolutely clear that Cena had the ability to be a great heel and perhaps turn back to a face later on like The Rock, and recently Roman. I then found out his merch sales and his Make A Wish work, which puts him in the hall of fame of great people and fully understood why a heel turn wasn't to be. Do wonder where the turn leaves Make A Wish?
My wrestling Mount Rushmore is Flair, Hogan, Austin and The Rock. If Cena was in a different era perhaps he would be there instead, hopefully at Hogan's expense!
The strange thing is as a part-timer he's was finally getting the cheers he deserves! I think as a full timer he was averaging over 300 matches a year, then you factor in the media work and charity work. The bloke's a machine. I guess that helped with the shock factor with turning him heel this time, it was less expected and Cody's been getting a mixed reaction.
The turn makes Cody V Cena a lot more interesting, but not the turn isn't Hogan level IMO.
Last year's 'mania was one of the best ever. There's a genuine chance they top it!
Yeah, it was an awesome angle and turn, but when you consider Cena's current status with Hogans at the time it's far less shocking and much less of a risk.
Once it was clear the Rock and Cody were coming out after the chamber I assumed the winner would be aligning with the Rock, but thought there was more storyline reason (and hints) for it to be Punk. However, as moments go, going with Cena is huge. I'd assume he has to win the title at Mania and there be a lengthy chase as well, before probably switching back face at the end of his run this year.
Really fun ppv in general, and I thought the first chamber match was easily the best women's one they've done too.0 -
Prime example of story meaning more than a five star match.thenewbie said:Also, the "unsanctioned" match was fantastic in its own right, you have to feel a bit bad for Owens/Zayn that they put their bodies through that and absolutely no one is talking about it because of the main event.
Which yes is the nature of the business but still...2 -
One key difference between the Hogan turn and the Cena turn:
People had stopped cheering for Hogan in the same way they had in years gone by. Whereas John Cena is more beloved now than he ever was, and the audience was ready to go on the journey with him to the 17th world title on his retirement run. That celebratory moment will have been robbed now.So whilst the risk/historical context may be judged differently, the level of pure shock for what happened in that moment puts Cena’s on top for me.23 years in the making. It’s unheard of for a star of that level.If fans weren’t glued to their mobile phones in 2025 then maybe they’d be chucking stuff in the ring too 😂3 -
The biggest different is Hogan's turn was good for business whereas I suspect Cena wanted a heel turn as it is something he didn't do when he was on top and he's earned the right to make these calls. Not turning heel is a slight mark against his career.
Maybe it was pitched to him and he loved the idea but that's my suspicion.
I think you're under playing how big a face Hogan was. The PG era following the attitude era hampered Cena from getting to that level IMO not Cena's talent.0 -
If this is true, and not a work, makes the call even more ridiculous.
https://x.com/BleacherReport/status/1896985953664950749?t=nerZ5rsE_8ClvDbQktoAhQ&s=19
https://x.com/SAS_Kingdom/status/1897042011141620190?t=_pkhPzizwB4PyYbhbQ4uRQ&s=19
That moron had no business being in there.1 -
Insane. He couldn't even hold Cody's arms for the belt wip. I hope that's the end of him. It took away from a special moment.
Seems C M Punk v Seth is getting blown off next week. Which makes you wonder who will Punk face at 'mania. Now he's still has a favor from Roman who doesn't have an opponent either...1 -
But what are the stakes? Unless Roman has a rematch clause that he hasn't cashed in yet, and CM Punk challenges him for that?Friend Or Defoe said:Insane. He couldn't even hold Cody's arms for the belt wip. I hope that's the end of him. It took away from a special moment.
Seems C M Punk v Seth is getting blown off next week. Which makes you wonder who will Punk face at 'mania. Now he's still has a favor from Roman who doesn't have an opponent either...0 -
Have a feeling the Punk/Seth feud will go all the way to Mania - they've left it too late to have either of them change course completely in mid-March surely?
Not sure how they do it, but maybe a case where Rollins wins the cage match and they need a rubber match for the trilogy.0 -
To me a third rubber match with the previous 2 being quite recent lacks the big mania match feel and i still see a cage match as a feud ender. As for the stakes and how they get there, I have faith in WWE to dot the dots.
To be honest i don't see Gunter v Jey as 'mania match but they can probably win me over still.0 -
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Feels like they are keeping Jey out of the spotlight until Mania to keep his reactions hot0
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Already bored of Jey vs Gunther, feel Gunther needs a far better dance partner. He's getting better and better on the mic and his promos are great, he's carrying that rivalry.
I don't know how true it is, but I've heard it's going to be a squash match, be amazed if that's true but some wrestling geek told me when I was in Smyths 😂1 -
Gunther v Bron is the dream match but they are expertly keeping them away from each other until the time is right. Gunther v Jacob could be a banger to do before then.
I can't see anything other than Jey going over. 🥲
I think mania world title should be single matches, but i'm fine with Rhea v Iro v Bianca. The Jade Naomi angle could be interesting as well.0 -
The question is does Jade go after Bianca, and it turns out she ordered the hit on Jade? Or was Naomi working alone?Friend Or Defoe said:Gunther v Bron is the dream match but they are expertly keeping them away from each other until the time is right. Gunther v Jacob could be a banger to do before then.
I can't see anything other than Jey going over. 🥲
I think mania world title should be single matches, but i'm fine with Rhea v Iro v Bianca. The Jade Naomi angle could be interesting as well.0 -
Its probably for the best, considering his promo work is so one-dimensional. They announced the match about two months before Mania and he doesn't have that storytelling ability to carry a feud for that period of time.BigRedEvil said:Feels like they are keeping Jey out of the spotlight until Mania to keep his reactions hot
Not excited to see his title run at all.1 -
A few years ago we wouldn't have cared! Now with the product being so hot and the imo the storylines being the best they've ever been, especially in terms of depth a basic who done it angle has our attention.sam3110 said:
The question is does Jade go after Bianca, and it turns out she ordered the hit on Jade? Or was Naomi working alone?Friend Or Defoe said:Gunther v Bron is the dream match but they are expertly keeping them away from each other until the time is right. Gunther v Jacob could be a banger to do before then.
I can't see anything other than Jey going over. 🥲
I think mania world title should be single matches, but i'm fine with Rhea v Iro v Bianca. The Jade Naomi angle could be interesting as well.
Talking of depth, the watch Cena used on Cody was the Rolex Dusty pawned. The commentators haven't even mentioned it yet.0 -
Have to say I was expecting a little bit more from Shinsuke's run when they gave him the new look and bought him back but I don't think he made a single clean defence and now dropped the title back to Knight anyway.
Seems a bit pointless.2 -
Doesn't matter who's running things, certain parts of WWE will always remain the same, the blonde bombshell with bolt ons will get pushed, they won't know how to handle foreign wrestlers, especially Japanese and Mexican ones, and the Brits will almost always be heels.thenewbie said:Have to say I was expecting a little bit more from Shinsuke's run when they gave him the new look and bought him back but I don't think he made a single clean defence and now dropped the title back to Knight anyway.
Seems a bit pointless.0 -
Some of the worse acting i've ever seen in wrestling and that's saying something! Jade has smashed Naomi twice now so not sure where it's going. Naomi as a face because she knows something about (heel) Jade and Bianca wouldn't listen? The acting in the segment has distinguished most of the interest i had.sam3110 said:
The question is does Jade go after Bianca, and it turns out she ordered the hit on Jade? Or was Naomi working alone?Friend Or Defoe said:Gunther v Bron is the dream match but they are expertly keeping them away from each other until the time is right. Gunther v Jacob could be a banger to do before then.
I can't see anything other than Jey going over. 🥲
I think mania world title should be single matches, but i'm fine with Rhea v Iro v Bianca. The Jade Naomi angle could be interesting as well.
I reckon Tiffany goes over Flair.
WWE are only good at promotion Japanese women.
Shame there was no Rock video on Smackdown "sorry i can't be there i'm in Holywood" blah blah, Cena is there but doesn't say anything just has that stern look!0 -
Best bout of wrestling I have seen for many years at Stockport today.
The Stockport defenders had it off to a fine art and the pros should watch a re-run of the game to pick up a few tips.3 -
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That’s one hell of a promo from Cena4
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Do love these Europeans crowds. Turned an average Smackdown in a good one. Crowd was ridiculously fired up for opening segment.2
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I thought the Barca fans got screwed with the short Cody promo and what Heyman said. Perhaps it's why they had a title change. Incredible atmosphere though.SouthWest_Addicks said:Do love these Europeans crowds. Turned an average Smackdown in a good one. Crowd was ridiculously fired up for opening segment.1 -
stackitsteve said:That’s one hell of a promo from Cena
Yes that ticked all possible boxes.That kid's face in the Cena gear who he picked out
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Loved it, felt like he’d had that bottled up for yearsstackitsteve said:That’s one hell of a promo from Cena1 -
The best promos are the ones where it feels and sounds real, and you can imagine that everything he said, could be real1
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Wasn't sure how much of a heel Cena would actually be.
That's a phenomenally good promo1 -
So, so good.And very impressive considering he has not had to play that role in practically forever. Once he really got going you could feel him getting more and more comfortable in it.Most heels taking jabs at a crowd sound scripted and cliched. This one felt viscerally real.0
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I like it and it was mission accomplished as Cody walked out looking like the good guy, and Cena was definitely the bad guy.
I have to say though, a funnier angle would have been Cena coming out as normal and running down to the ring only to get angry when Cody's theme hits 😂0 -
Jey Uso is absolutely awful part 20.
They give him a squash match against a credible wrestler, he only has to hit 2 moves, and completely botches both of them.
It's going to be ridiculous if he beats Gunther, he's genuinely one of the worst wrestlers on the roster.1
