Wrestling thread

cafctom said:

Hope they bin off this Forbidden Door stuff in years to come.

I just don’t care for the Japanese talent they bring in and throw into matches without any real build. However good the likes of Okada or Tanahashi supposedly are, unless I’m a NJPW fan then why should I care in the slightest? 

If you’re a wrestling fan whose main interests over the years have been WWE, WCW, AEW etc, then the random Japanese names coming in just seem quite dull in comparison. Their in ring work might be sublime to those with a trained wrestling eye, but that can only carry so much weight in an industry where interest is built around personalities. The commentary will try and force excitement about these names, but many people will have no interest. 

I liked Omega and Ospreay, even if it did start to veer towards ridiculousness towards the end. They did a good job of making it feel like a blood feud. But again, it’s not served well enough if that story is hardly being told on AEW television. 

What do you mean no build up? They have a NJPW wrestlers on the ramp and Excalibur says 'look it's *insert NJPW wrestler' and they do a face off. It's a great concept but AEW do a lousy job promoting it. They're lucky that their fan base knows who they are but it's not going to get them into the mainstream.

SouthWest_Addicks said:

Now Cena went and done it. Floating the idea of Wrestlemania in London. Just take my money and get on with it please.

Apparently HHH has shot it down! Probably don't deserve it due to Bailey chant.

They missed a trick not hosting MITB in a bigger stadium this time around. If we don't get WM we should get Summer Slam again

He was on Sunday Brunch this morning. 

Gravesend_Addick said:

Thought MITB was really good.

Start saving guys cause I think WM 41  is gonna be at wembley!!!

Brock Lesnar's "retirement" match, will be in Minneapolis because of that I reckon

Maybe the year after that though

So.....a Wrestlemania in London? 

The touch paper has been lit. If there isn't already some sort of planning involved, there's clearly an interest from WWE to try and make it happen. Flying over the biggest name in the company to hype up the idea with a surprise promo isn't without reason. 

If they've seen that AEW have the ability to sell out Wembley (or at least come very close), then they'll know they can pack the place out for big, big money over two nights. 

Wouldn't surprise me if they're trying to apply some pressure to encourage the city of London to pay to host the event.

Wembley Stadium would make the most sense for a range of reasons, but the only thing that I could see as a stumbling block is the timing of the calendar. Is an outdoor entertainment show viable in a stadium with unpredictable weather around March/April time?

I don't think the time zone difference is as much of an issue as initially thought. WWE Network/Peacock/streaming in general makes that less of a problem. And as has been shown with the Saudi shows - for the right pay day, WWE will make it happen. 

sam3110 said:

They can cover the ring area with a canopy, they've done it before (WM In Miami I think)

Wembley holds 90k, but if they do the staging right and not take up an entire end of the stadium with it, they could use maybe 80k seats and another load on the floor, the attraction of WM in the UK means they can charge pretty much whatever they want and people will pay it, and make an extraordinary amount of money off it

isn't 90K a conservative estimate? that's for a football game around a huge pitch- pretty sure it could hold way more for wwf event? 

Rousey is leaving hence the bizarre turn.

Manic_mania said:

sam3110 said:

They can cover the ring area with a canopy, they've done it before (WM In Miami I think)

Wembley holds 90k, but if they do the staging right and not take up an entire end of the stadium with it, they could use maybe 80k seats and another load on the floor, the attraction of WM in the UK means they can charge pretty much whatever they want and people will pay it, and make an extraordinary amount of money off it

isn't 90K a conservative estimate? that's for a football game around a huge pitch- pretty sure it could hold way more for wwf event? 

When Tyson Fury fought Dillian Whyte there last year the attendance was 94k.

The fight was also held there in April which answers the earlier question about the viability of holding an event there at that time of year. They just cover the ring.

Cafc43v3r said:

Friend Or Defoe said:

cafctom said:

Was an OK PPV.

Think the finish took people a bit by surprise though, as a Roman loss by this point should equate to an all time level (*cough* Wrestlemania*) pop. 

Damian Priest…..Hmmm. I just don’t quite get it. On paper he has everything to make a good heel, but just lacks that special something to make him feel like a proper main event star. Can’t put my finger on it. 

I agree it was an OK PPV. It would be nice if we could go 5 years or so without a multi man ladder match, I think we've seen it all now. The briefcase is a great gimmick though.

Priest ticks every box and winning it makes things interesting with Judgement Day. LA Knight was the most over in the ring by a mile.

I think the UK will get a stadium show which isn't 'mania. A Crown Jewel/Clash At The Castle type event.

It would be nice if we had 1 multiple person ladder match, not 2 in the space of 3 hours.  Same with the royal rumble.

The money in the bank concept is a great plot device and Priest makes a ton of sense, I think it would have done LA Knight more harm than good winning it.

18 months ago they were scratching around for genuine, credible, title contenders now they have got 5 or 6.  I think it's great, the product is the best it's been in years because they have let things breath and given stuff time.

I really hope they don't start hotshooting it again and giving everyone "moments".

Knight winning would have been a bad move, it's hard to tell if he's just flavour of the month. A mid card (US) title reign would be a good move at this stage.

I'm guessing if Rousey is leaving she's probably done with wrestling for the foreseeable. 

cafctom said:

LA Knight definitely has something about him. He has the look and feel of a throwback to an Attitude era type star. He’s over.

WWE’s trick is usually to have someone like that lose some big matches to try and build the support for them even more. Keep people clamouring for the big push. 

Quite surprised how over he's got. He was entertaining in Impact (remember them?) but EC3 was the stand out that time by a distance and he didn't really deliver.

Gravesend_Addick said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-66095481

It definitely feels closer than ever to happening.  I'd love to see it

Reading all the opinion pieces today I am almost certain it won't happen.  The weather is an issue and Cardiff, the only roofed stadium in the UK, isn't set up to take 4 days and all the side shows.

I had to cancel a 2 day meeting in Cardiff because we couldn't get hotel rooms due to cold play playing one night.

I would bet money that we get a Summer Slam at Wembley or a Rumble/Suvivour Series in Cardiff in the next 18 months though.

Mox's tattoo, フロレス (Furoresu) perhaps he ment puroresu (pro wrestling) which is プロレス as フロレス means nothing.

Anyone been watching Collision 💥 

Anyone still think the WWE dropped the ball by keeping the belt on Roman?

Friend Or Defoe said:

FTW v Bullet Club Gold was sensational.

Anyone still think Punk V MJF was better than the Bloodline storyline?

The 1st match was brilliant the second was better.

Yes but it only lasted about 3 weeks 😜 

Cafc43v3r said:

What the absolute outlaw, mudshow, indie bullshit is this?

James Jordan should have stuck with Strictly !!