Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

[[Q]]

It was nice to see adr back. I loved his original gimmick with Rodriguez and the car. Wwe cut back on the extras and he got kinda got stale so it's good to see him back after a break. He must have gotten the Daniel Bryan temporary firing

Interesting to see how much Brock loves to intentionally bust himself open the hard way

The cell still has the foot holes cut out from last year's match when they climbed to the top

[Andrew]

I've read that it's likely due to the medication he'd be on following his bout with diverticulitis and subsequent surgery. Apparently, it makes you more susceptible to bruising and breaking your skin open.

[[Q]]

I've read that it's likely due to the medication he'd be on following his bout with diverticulitis and subsequent surgery. Apparently, it makes you more susceptible to bruising and breaking your skin open.

It seems like he's doing it on purpose though. Like in his bouts with Cena, he'd basically plan a spot where he'd let Cena actually hit him.
The spot where he hit his head in the corner did not look unintentional

[Andrew]

It's possible, knowing that he can do it without needing to blade.

[koberulz]

Yeah, I saw some discussion on it somewhere, and it was basically concluded that people know they're not allowed to blade, know their matches need color, and thus plan hardways.

[Andrew]

Here's some fun from the past: Leaked: Hulk Hogan's Contract With WCW

[Andrew]

Seth Rollins on the shelf after tearing his ACL, MCL, and medial meniscus at a house show in Dublin.

[[Q]]

I think this is a good thing. It'll force them to change things up (probably move Roman's title win up) but at least it should bring new players into the spotlight.
Personally, I think his reign had gone too long. Every feud was the same deal where he'd weasel his way into retaining the title.

[Andrew]

I don't think one of the top young stars suffering a serious injury is ever a good thing.

[bigh0rt]

I think this is a good thing. It'll force them to change things up (probably move Roman's title win up) but at least it should bring new players into the spotlight.
Personally, I think his reign had gone too long. Every feud was the same deal where he'd weasel his way into retaining the title.

There's generally a lot of that with heel reigns. Help, cheating, weaseling; it's an easy way to make someone unlikable, and Seth plays the role well. If he tore all those things, he's going to have a hell of a long road to recovery.

My main issue right now is I don't think there's a single thing in the entire organization I'm really interested in, other than seeing if this Bray angle turns out to be stupid or well done. Really hoping for the latter.

[Andrew]

A push for Ambrose would be interesting. Since we've seen an Authority champion, it'd be good to see an anti-Authority champion, in the vein of Stone Cold. However, that's going to require HHH to look foolish and get bested on camera from time to time. After all these years, I'm not sure he's really up for that.

[[Q]]

I think this is a good thing. It'll force them to change things up (probably move Roman's title win up) but at least it should bring new players into the spotlight.
Personally, I think his reign had gone too long. Every feud was the same deal where he'd weasel his way into retaining the title.

There's generally a lot of that with heel reigns. Help, cheating, weaseling; it's an easy way to make someone unlikable, and Seth plays the role well. If he tore all those things, he's going to have a hell of a long road to recovery.

My main issue right now is I don't think there's a single thing in the entire organization I'm really interested in, other than seeing if this Bray angle turns out to be stupid or well done. Really hoping for the latter.

Who was the last great (full-time) heel champion? Alberto Del Rio? Too many John Cena reigns have my memory clouded
I dunno, there were better ways of doing it. It was my personal opinion. I was a bit tired of the act myself.

At this point I think it's that old sports saying "next man up" and they got a lot of good options to fill the spot. Maybe not in HHH or vince's eyes, but there's some good underutilized talent there.

[Andrew]

Randy Orton, probably.

[bigh0rt]

Batista waiting in the wings.

[deihatein]

Who was the last great (full-time) heel champion? Alberto Del Rio? Too many John Cena reigns have my memory clouded
I dunno, there were better ways of doing it. It was my personal opinion. I was a bit tired of the act myself.

Edge? JBL?

I have a feeling they are going to give the belt to Reigns now (or they have Cena back even though he is currently on a break)

[Andrew]

Edge, definitely. JBL, not so much.

[Andrew]

phpBB [video]

[JaoSming]

oh, that's what Brad Maddox has been up to

[Andrew]

On the plus side, he finally gets some TV time!

[deihatein]

Edge, definitely. JBL, not so much.

I legit despised JBL back in the day so I guess he did his job

[Andrew]

That's a fair point, at least he was a heel. I just don't feel he was the right guy to get a long world title reign, though.

[[Q]]

So not a big surprise: Reigns vs Ambrose for the title. Is this one match or are they setting up the next feud and turn?

Would be awesome if they turned Reigns to appease fans (probably not happening) or even crazier, turn Ambrose

[JaoSming]

annnnd they turn...

neither of them. Sheamus cash in, and the mild continues

All in all, a super safe PPV by them. Look at the dynamics throughout the entire roster, nothing really changed tonight.

[zz21]

When you realize you had your childhood dream taken from you because you haven't suffered enough for the booker's mistakes.

[Andrew]

No doubt!

Solid show for the most part. If you're tired of The Undertaker then you probably weren't thrilled to see him in action, or be victorious. And I'll agree that the match was nothing special. It was nothing bad though, had a couple of cool moments, and Bray Wyatt was protected. Taker's entrance was awesome; combined with an OK match and the victory, it was a fitting tribute on his 25th anniversary. This appears to be something of a retirement tour for him, and I think he's earned that. If you don't want to see him...well, I guess a three hour show needs a bathroom break somewhere. I'm enjoying what is likely the last ride, no pun intended.

I really enjoyed Charlotte vs. Paige. The crowd wasn't right into it - Paige's questionable line about Reid's death didn't seem to generate the heat that WWE obviously wanted - but the ring work was good. Both ladies have very creative movesets, not only compared to the other Divas, but to the whole roster, period. Charlotte needs to get better on the mic and solidify her character a bit more, but she can go in the ring. Those two have a bright future, and can definitely carry the division.

5-on-5 tag match was fun. Kind of liked that it took a while for there to be any eliminations.

Breeze vs. Ziggler...well, Breeze got the win to help with his push, I suppose. Nothing wrong with it, but to me, it was the cocky guy vs. the other cocky guy, with the cocky guy winning. For me, that's the problem: they're a bit too similar in the underlining trait of their gimmicks. I think they need to feud with characters who compliment them a little better. It reminds me of some of the Undertaker/Austin matches in 1998. Two all-time greats, great workers, but they didn't come off as well as everyone hoped. As Stone Cold himself has pointed out, on top of both being faces, they were both badass anti-heroes that people liked, but didn't necessarily feel sympathy for. Similarly, Breeze's character is a cocky jerk, but Ziggler's still is too, kind of. Again, I think they both need to feud with someone a little more different to themselves.

The semi-finals matches in the title tournament were both very good in my opinion, a fine way to open the show. The title match itself left a little something to be desired though. It wasn't horrible, but a bit anti-climactic. It didn't feel like the epic battle it should have been, though I'd still say it was above average. The ultimate finish, though...

Yes, this can build towards something else, perhaps something at Wrestlemania 32. But it's not showing confidence in building the new stars, and it's putting the title on someone who just isn't a bona fide main eventer. I actually don't dislike Sheamus, and think he's a solid upper midcard worker who can moonlight in the main event when a face champion needs a fresh heel challenger to go over, but I don't think he can carry the show as the champion. It was also too similar to the ending of Summerslam 2013, and kind of telegraphed with him losing earlier in the night, and there being so much time left after Reigns vs. Ambrose. The best thing I can say about it is they didn't turn Reigns or Ambrose, which probably didn't need to happen (certainly not Ambrose), and neither needs to join The Authority, so points for not doing that I guess. Still...I think they should've taken a chance, and not on Sheamus being "The Man".