2015–16 Official Pro Wrestling Thread (WWE, TNA, etc).

[superfly]

So the surprise non-roster entrants were Bubba Ray (predicted), DDP (didn't hear anything about), and one of my favorite wrestlers/characters of all time, The Boogeyman. Usually they put one of the surprise non-roster invitees towards the latter part, in the 24-28 range; understandably since Bubba Ray wasn't any surprise he went early, but surprised (unless I wasn't aware of it being leaked) that DDP wasn't slotted in that 24-28 range.

 

Curious as to what kind of reaction The Boogeyman got.

 

Love Boogey, from what I could tell it was a good one, but Bray quickly sent him packing.

[patrickgpe]

I really was hoping Bryan or Wyatt would have won the RR. Reigns and Lesnar will put on a good match but both are brutal on the mic.

 

I wonder if Vince will have a change of mind and through Bryan in the title again.

 

CancelWWENetwork was the top trending tweet in the US last night, so much so that the server crashed. Vince will always do whats best for his pocketbook.

[jerichoholicninja]

Didn't watch it but read the results and wondered if they sent Rock out at the end just so the Philly fans wouldn't riot.

[brwrsfan]

All in all, it was a very, very mediocre PPV. I'd rate it a C, and that's only because the triple threat match was spectacular.

 

The RR itself was pretty boring and quite frankly sucked. A lot of it was booking, a lot of it was the fact that hardly any of the big superstars were even in it. Cena and Rollins could have been but weren't. Others like Orton, Shaemus, etc weren't available I guess. The bookings of Bryant, Ambrose and Ziggler were horrible too. All of them were basically an afterthought and the crowd lost everything and turned when DB got tossed. I still can't figure that decision out.

[patrickgpe]

don't understand what wwe gains by having their top guys knocks unconscious and thrown over the top rope like a rag doll.

[Invader3K]

I didn't watch the show, but I'm wondering why the crowd went so anti-Roman Reigns? I was under the impression he was popular right now, but maybe not quite as much as Daniel Bryan? Maybe I'm wrong and Reigns isn't well liked by the WWE crowd right now? Just curious.

[brwrsfan]

I didn't watch the show, but I'm wondering why the crowd went so anti-Roman Reigns? I was under the impression he was popular right now, but maybe not quite as much as Daniel Bryan? Maybe I'm wrong and Reigns isn't well liked by the WWE crowd right now? Just curious.

 

The crowd WAS very big into Reigns over the summer, but he's lost a lot of steam since then. He got hurt and missed time, he's done some very, very bad mic work and Daniel Bryan has returned. It's not that Reigns is bad, but more than fans don't like it when someone gets shoved down their throat, which is very clearly being done by the WWE. I think fans are fine with Reigns, but to push him to the main event at WM at this point seems very premature IMO.

 

But the crowd was pretty much going to boo anyone not named Bryan winning last night - just like last year. The WWE is seemingly failing to listen to the fans and clearly didn't learn anything from last year. Not that Bryan had to win persay, but he definitely should have been in it until the very end. But having your most popular superstar enter the RR at 10 and lasting only a few minutes (Jack Swagger was in long for crying out loud) is pretty stupid.

 

This article sums it up pretty well too:

 

http://www.sbnation.com/wrestling/2015/1/26/7902259/roman-reigns-wwe-royal-rumble-john-cena-daniel-bryan-wrestlemania

[BrewCrewForever]

The Rumble match was pretty bad, but it won't overshadow for me how incredible the triple threat was between Lesnar/Rollins/Cena. That was as good as it gets for a triple threat match. Better than the HHH/Benoit/Michaels at WM20 and better than Orton/Bryan/Batista at WM30. And those two were really, really good.

[LouisEly]

I think people forget that last year Bryan wasn't even in the Rumble and he ended up in the main event at WM. Winning the rumble isn't the only way to get there. It is strange that he didn't last longer or wasn't one of the last few, but maybe he had a setback with his injury and they don't know if he can do the type of match that is expected of a WM headline.

 

Maybe this is the signal to the WWE to change the winner of the Rumble headlining WM because after all is said and done no one could have been the winner except Bryan.

[Raw Biz]

Maybe this is the signal to the WWE to change the winner of the Rumble headlining WM because after all is said and done no one could have been the winner except Bryan.

 

I don't think that's necessarily true. I think it was more the way that the match was booked. Once it was down to Show, Kane, Rusev, and Reigns, everybody knew what was going to happen (if they didn't already know that Reigns would win from the beginning). Vince is so out of touch, it's ridiculous.

 

I think the fans would have gotten behind any one of Ziggler, Bray, Ambrose, and of course, Bryan winning. Even if Reigns won but 2 or 3 of those other guys were in the final four, the backlash would not have been nearly as bad. But there was horrible booking from the start of the match. It really is shocking that Vince and the top brass can't see what the fans want.

[patrickgpe]

I think people forget that last year Bryan wasn't even in the Rumble and he ended up in the main event at WM. Winning the rumble isn't the only way to get there. It is strange that he didn't last longer or wasn't one of the last few, but maybe he had a setback with his injury and they don't know if he can do the type of match that is expected of a WM headline.

 

Maybe this is the signal to the WWE to change the winner of the Rumble headlining WM because after all is said and done no one could have been the winner except Bryan.

no way they do it 2 straight years, after two years of public outrage over the winner of the rumble.

[Raw Biz]

Now I hear Vince no longer wants numbers attached to each Wrestlemania because it makes it sound too old. Instead he wants logos. So are we referring to this year as "Wrestlemania Press Play Icon" and next year as "Wrestlemania Star?" I don't think the Super Bowl or UFC have any problems numbering their events, this shouldn't be any different.

 

I hate to say it but things probably won't get better until Vince is gone for good.

[LouisEly]

After watching the Rumble last night (thank you snowstorm), I'm not sure that Reigns is the one that is getting the push. I think it might be Brock Lesnar.

 

After watching Lesnar toss guys across the ring with supplexes - and some of them certainly weren't clean - I'm not sure that is the guy you want wrestling Bryan who is coming off of neck surgery. This may actually be a long-sighted move and not a short-sighted one; put Bryan in the ring with Lesnar and if Bryan's neck isn't fully healed all it takes is one bad supplex and Bryan's career could be over and one of your biggest draws is done forever. Same with the Rumble; put a bunch of random guys in the ring and if one guy isn't careful it could be curtains for Bryan as well, thus the relatively short stint. Reigns can feud with Lesnar for a while until there is more evidence on how Bryan's surgically repaired neck holds up, then have Bryan go for the title at Summer Slam.

[Raw Biz]

After watching the Rumble last night (thank you snowstorm), I'm not sure that Reigns is the one that is getting the push. I think it might be Brock Lesnar.

 

After watching Lesnar toss guys across the ring with supplexes - and some of them certainly weren't clean - I'm not sure that is the guy you want wrestling Bryan who is coming off of neck surgery. This may actually be a long-sighted move and not a short-sighted one; put Bryan in the ring with Lesnar and if Bryan's neck isn't fully healed all it takes is one bad supplex and Bryan's career could be over and one of your biggest draws is done forever. Same with the Rumble; put a bunch of random guys in the ring and if one guy isn't careful it could be curtains for Bryan as well, thus the relatively short stint. Reigns can feud with Lesnar for a while until there is more evidence on how Bryan's surgically repaired neck holds up, then have Bryan go for the title at Summer Slam.

 

While it makes sense on the surface, it isn't really in Vince's nature. I've read numerous reports that Vince really doesn't think Bryan is a top notch star. And he obviously thinks Reigns is, which is why he is personally writing all of his promos (another reason why people aren't on the Reigns bandwagon anymore, his promos are horrible).

[patrickgpe]

Now I hear Vince no longer wants numbers attached to each Wrestlemania because it makes it sound too old. Instead he wants logos. So are we referring to this year as "Wrestlemania Press Play Icon" and next year as "Wrestlemania Star?" I don't think the Super Bowl or UFC have any problems numbering their events, this shouldn't be any different.

 

I hate to say it but things probably won't get better until Vince is gone for good.

 

I agree that this seems like an odd strategy. In the past, announcers, talent and fans have always referred to each wrestlemania by its number, for example, my favorite wrestelmania match was hogan - rock at wrestlemania 18". I don't see this changing, it just won't be part of the official logo.

 

There seems to be alot of Vince doing what he wants, he knew that Reigns winning the RR wouldn't go well, so much so that they brought out the Rock to try to appease the fans. The fact that Vince can't see that the fans clearly wanted Bryan to win, and bringing the rock out for 5 minutes will not make them happy, amazes me.

 

I understand that wrestling wouldn't be good if they did everything the fans wanted, but for over a year we have been watching the authority squash every face in the organization, which is very tiring to watch.

[tmwiese55]

What about having Lesnar defend at the next PPV against someone like Cene or Rollins. If Cena or Lesnar the wins then Rollins uses the money in the bank and the administration goons help him win. Could be a way for Lesnar to lose the belt without having to actually lose. Then Rollins vs reigns could go to WM and they could use Reigns in the Cena role of overcoming every obstacle thrown at him. It would free Lesnar up for a Bryan david/goliath match at WM.

 

Also, any chance they would use the briefcase after the WM main event? I think something good be done but I don't if they would want WM to have that as a finale (let me know if it's happened in the past, I can't remember for sure). After what happened with Reigns this week they could start to play him as the heel and start pushing Lesnar as face. Have Lesnar win but then have Reigns and Rollins team back up and beat him down, letting Rollins win the title. They can then use Lesnar as a face (kind of the old Cena role) in opposition to the authority, if he feels like sticking around WWE for a while. Can use Wyatt/Bryan/Cena all in that role actually. Problem of course is this would elevate rollins above reigns and it seem Vince doesn't want that, although the RR might have forced his hand.

[patrickgpe]

Lesnar's contract calls out for a limited number of appearances. In the past, the championship was defended at Elimination Chamber, doesn't sound like Lesnar will be part of Fast Lane.

 

I think no matter happens between Lesnar and Reigns, Rollins is leaving WM with the belt.

[Raw Biz]

Lesnar's contract calls out for a limited number of appearances. In the past, the championship was defended at Elimination Chamber, doesn't sound like Lesnar will be part of Fast Lane.

 

I think no matter happens between Lesnar and Reigns, Rollins is leaving WM with the belt.

 

I've heard that Lesnar actually wants to appear more. He just wants to be paid.

[superfly]

Lesnar's contract calls out for a limited number of appearances. In the past, the championship was defended at Elimination Chamber, doesn't sound like Lesnar will be part of Fast Lane.

 

I think no matter happens between Lesnar and Reigns, Rollins is leaving WM with the belt.

 

 

I'd rather see that bimbo Adam Rose with the belt than Rollins...and Rose is 200% useless to me.

[patrickgpe]

bumping for Fast Lane Tonight.

 

Looking forward to the Reigns - Bryan match tonight, although its pretty obvious that its going to be Brock vs Roman at WM. The Cena vs Rusov fight will be good as well.

 

Finally seeing Goldust vs Cody Rhodes tonight should be good as well. Adding Sting making an appearance in a WWE ring, makes what I thought was a throw away PPV to a must see.

[superfly]

bumping for Fast Lane Tonight.

 

Looking forward to the Reigns - Bryan match tonight, although its pretty obvious that its going to be Brock vs Roman at WM. The Cena vs Rusov fight will be good as well.

 

Finally seeing Goldust vs Cody Rhodes tonight should be good as well. Adding Sting making an appearance in a WWE ring, makes what I thought was a throw away PPV to a must see.

 

Nah...Bryan is gonna win. "Overcoming the odds" is his character.

[brwrsfan]

They'll have some sort of interference or double count out that will lead to a triple threat match at WM. I think the rest of it will be marginal but I'm hoping to be surprised.

[patrickgpe]

clean finish for the main even as I expected, really only surprise was uso's dropping the belts.

[brwrsfan]

Wasn't great. The cena finish was predictable...sets up for him to win at WM now. I thought the Sting segment could have been much better too. Curious to see how they lineup the card for WM. They have three matches set but otherwise don't have much going and very few story lines setup right now. I'm guessing Rollins vs Orton gets setup. And maybe Ziggler vs Bryan as neither of them have anything to do.

 

I'm not a huge fan of Reigns but hopefully he wins. Having a champ that's never around and a title only defended 3-4 times a year has no appeal for me.

[superfly]

Having a champ that's never around and a title only defended 3-4 times a year has no appeal for me.

 

 

I don't see how it changes with Reigns as champ. WWE rarely schedules any title matches anymore on RAW or Smackdown...they might as well cancel the shows and just hold promos because nothing interesting happens anyway.