I can't say with absolute certainty, but my impression is: Totally nonexistent. Matt Riddle wouldn't sign with WWE because they initially suggested he might have to stop smoking weed. Allegedly, and I am not a reliable source, he's receiving a signing bonus equal to the amount he'd be fined for regularly testing positive for weed. Billy Gunn was busted for HGH and such, got fired, and was immediately in NJPW.
Creed of the Happy Pessimist:Always expect the worst. Then, when it happens, it was only what you expected. All else is a happy surprise.
Role Model
Well Ronda vs. Becky at Survivor Series is cancelled due to Becky got bloodied by a broken nose & concussion and the person who give the stiff was Nia Jax, of all people
Leader of the Holey Brotherhood
So that's why she had the bloody nose.
Geez, shit like this has been happening like crazy.
Cancelling Bryan vs Styles at Crown Jewel. Roman going out due to Leukemia.
And now this. Shame too, because Becky vs Ronda might have been a good match.
One Strip! One Strip!
Role Model
I heard Nia caused the bloodied nose, but the concussion too? That sucks. And yet sadly, part of me wonders if maybe they'll hurry up and finish the Nia and Tamina vs Ember Moon feud so Ember can do something better with her time.
Does anyone actually care about AJ vs Brock 2?
Bryan vs Styles was cancelled (accelerated) due to Bryan not wanting to perform in Saudi Arabia, not due to injury.
Edited by wanderlustwarrior on Nov 13th 2018 at 5:43:39 AM
The sad, REAL American dichotomy
Leader of the Holey Brotherhood
I was aware of that. My point was that even though the circumstances behind why it got cancelled were different, it was still a match they were building up to that got derailed.
One Strip! One Strip!
Well it's official
DBry channeled his inner Gargano last night. WTF
Edited by Alexbulgin17 on Nov 13th 2018 at 10:04:05 AM
Well after watching Survivor Series last night was pretty much saying a "Fuck you" letter to Smackdown while ironically RAW is the worst televesion show of 2018 that it's questionable booking and quality is becoming worse since RAW went 3 hours.
Leader of the Holey Brotherhood
So...
New Smackdown Women’s Champion: Asuka!
Looks like we’re finally ready.
One Strip! One Strip!
I think this needs to be added to the Genre Shift trope when the WWE Divas Division which originally consisted mainly of former models with the purpose of being eye candy and Fanservice to the WWE Women's Division which focuses on more talented female wrestlers similar to Shimmer, WSU and other independent women's wrestling promotions. Thoughts?
Role Model
Well that shift happened a couple years ago, but sure.
I recently found out that Rousey hasn't wanted a match against Sasha yet because she recognizes that she's not good enough yet to give Sasha the match she deserves.
The sad, REAL American dichotomy
Leader of the Holey Brotherhood
Sounds like Ronda is taking this seriously.
That's good to hear.
What are the overall thoughts on her so far? I haven't had much chance to see her payperview matches yet, and I've barely been watching Raw to be honest.
One Strip! One Strip!
Role Model
Honestly I stopped watching WWE tv after Evolution, because:
- Fuck Hogan
- RAW has been bad
- I've been watching more NJPW programs but less wrestling events in general. Recaps of Raw and Smackdown are enough.
Overall, I'd say she's fine. She has the passion, and has handled a rocket to the main event just like Jinder did last year: Giving it her all. Her promos aren't badly delivered, just not very good material. She has talent in the ring but lacks the confidence to lead a match.
The main difference is she has star power that WWE actually books in favor of, and is a face.
One interesting comparison is how since her joining the roster, and since his return, how their matches as champion have been structured.
Jinder: Deferred match structure to his opponent and Vince, for better or worse.
- Orton: Lazy and uncreative in the ring, so the matches had near-identical structure and relied on gimmicks.
- Nakamura: Even newer to the WWE style. They were both unsure of how to work with each other and I feel weren't given freedom/opportunity to create.
- AJ: consummate professional, who worked to Jinder's strengths (which he stated there definitely are). Best matches either had in the latter half of the year (AJ vs Brock was the same match as AJ vs Jinder, just with a more popular opponent).
Rousey: Deferred booking to some combination of Vince, Stephanie, and Hunter.
- Hunter/Stephanie: as experienced as you can ask for, played to Ronda's strengths. But, Ronda was used sparingly in singles matches early on.
- Bliss/Bellas: limited in the ring, relied on same gimmicks WWE uses for the Trish mold. Ronda's opponent got a not-believable amount of offense in, but at least the Bellas used twin interference for a reason.
- Nia Jax: more limited in the ring and not adapting well to the WWE style. I don't think they were given freedom/opportunity to create.
- Natalya: next opponent. This will probably be Ronda's best match, because Nattie will bring the best out of her. But I'm thinking that this might become a month(s) long feud.
That post wound up longer than I'd planned. Maybe I'm seeing parallels where there aren't any, or maybe I'm just trying to convince people to give Jinder a chance. I dunno.
The sad, REAL American dichotomy
Role Model
So this is happening:
Leader of the Holey Brotherhood
Role Model
Wrestle Kingdom 13 currently on. I've gotta call it a night so I'll watch the last three matches over the weekend. Some matches so far didn't live up to expectations because they were booked around obvious reasons (AEW).
The sad, REAL American dichotomy
Leader of the Holey Brotherhood
I'm massively torn on Hogan being back on television again, but I also think he's probably one of the best choices to talk about the late Mean Gene.
We'll see how this goes though.
One Strip! One Strip!"On tonight's Raw, Hulk Hogan!"
What!?
"To pay tribute to Mean Gene Okerlund."
... I'll allow it.
Leader of the Holey Brotherhood
I'd say he did a pretty good job.
I mean, hearing well let me tell you something Mean Gene! one more time felt good.
....He's still a racist punk.
...Also, I am...ashamed to admit I either forgot or didn't know Bobby the Brain Heenan had died too.
Role Model
I have no nostalgia to that era, so I have no joy in his return. I understand that others do.
At least Cageside Seats took care to correctly describe him as "Noted Racist Hulk Hogan" in their recap. I've been liking their reviews.
The sad, REAL American dichotomy
Leader of the Holey Brotherhood
Heh. That's fair enough.
I do remember a bit of that time, though I was pretty young during it.
As I said it was a nice tribute, and now he can disappear again.
One Strip! One Strip!
I was watching some Reality Of Wrestling earlier in the week. There was only one wrestler in the match I was interested in, that same wrestler being the only one I thought was very good. But as the match went on I realized, no one, not even the rookie, was bad in the slightest, the crowd was into everything they were doing, the commentary team was funny and clever, why have I not been watching more pro wrestling lately?
Oh right, to save time and money, yet there I was getting roped into another pro wrestling show when I said I was only going to watch one match(curse you Booker T, and your smart promotional tactics!). It even got me thinking of this place and what tropes applied to everyone's actions in the ring. I'm lucky don't make connections very well or I'd never get anything done at all.
I'm bringing this all up because it also reminds me why pretty much every wrestler is someone's favorite. My apologies to all the Jami Jameson fans I may have offended.
Edited by IndirectActiveTransport on Jan 10th 2019 at 4:48:18 AM
Were you in attendance at the Diamondplex, or watching a broadcast? I've only made it to one of their shows so far. They're a bit further away from me. Jami Jameson is a competent "hoss" wrestler and Couture does well for all that I'm not a big fan of the Gorgeous George gimmick.
Anyone know anything about PED polocies in ROH, NJPW, and other non-WWE promotions and the indies?
The sad, REAL American dichotomy