The NEW wrestling thread

[GhostMachine]

I hate Edge. And not in a good way. I used to be a fan, but the way he was pushed as a heel for a long time, plus the fact his Spear is the worst I've ever seen (I've actually seen comedy wrestlers do better at times!) has more or less killed that. Him winning a title in an elimination chamber thanks to Vickie....and the win not being overturned.....more or less killed that. The only thing that would cure my attitude toward him would be a loooooong run as a face, with a different finisher. The Running Hug Of Doom is second only to Scotty 2 Hotty's W-O-R-M (opponent should be back up and kicking the snot out of him by the time he hits O in the dance.....and its just a chop!) and only slightly ahead of Jeff Jarrett's Stroke (opponent's hand is clearly absorbing the impact) on my list of worst finishers.

I've already explained why I think turning Cena would be a bad idea (the lack of enough faces, the fact it would likely hurt merchandise sales), but I'm all for it if:

1. He joins Nexus and destroys it from within by causing some infighting or turning some members face. Meaning he's actually a face pretending to be a heel.

or

2. (This is unlikely) He actually turns heel and either gets a new theme or goes back to using `Basic Thuganomics'. I never have liked `My Time Is Now', while `Basic Thuganomics' is in my top ten list of entrance themes with lyrics. (Its no `Real American' or `Badstreet USA', though.

Rumor is the WWE may `retire' Jillian, with her going to FCW as a trainer. Too bad, because I'd like to see her get a run as a face without a stupid gimmick.

As for Bobby Lashley, I can give you one reason he may never have made it as a WWE champion: His voice. If there's any wrestler in WWE (not WWF, WWE) history who should have had a manager and never spoken a word, its him. Lashley looks pretty bad a, but he's too soft spoken.

Failed makes a good point about Randy Orton. But I'd also like to point out that Orton does not work well as a face. He's a natural heel, and when he was a face before he was absolutely boring on the microphone.

[Failed_Hero]

I was a huge Edge and Christian fan, as well as Hardy Boyz (then again any guy out of NC I give a chance because I like to see guys from my state make good).

I wish that Edge would get a new finisher.  The spear being used by a guy his size has always been a point of contention with me.  Edge had plethora of moves that were finisher levels, the Downward Spiral (Flatliner), Edgecution (Lifting DDT Facebuster), heck even the Edgecator (Inverted Sharpshooter). And they kept having him use the spear, I just wish he could channel some of is charisma and turn face, perhaps against CM Punk. 

Ghost, you are dead on about Kermit the Lashley.  His first promo, my friends and I were watching, we thought he was a being voiced by Jim Henson.  Had he been Goldberg'd kept quit and just dominated for a while and then had him speak had a longer run in the WWE.

[GhostMachine]

The problem with Edge's Spear isn't just his size. Its his execution of it. He's hit some rather lousy looking Spears that would have been unbelievable as a match finisher even if a 380 lb 7 footer had hit them.

Late last year there was a multi-man tag (I believe it was 3 on 3), and the finish was Edge Spearing Kane for the win. The problem wasn't just that Edge Spearing someone that size shouldn't be believable as a finisher, but the fact it literally looked like a running hug more than a Spear.

And just a few weeks ago, Edge finished a match with a `Spear' that was more or less a shoulder block from about 2 feet away from the victim rather than anything resembling a Spear in the slightest.

Edge does still use the Edgecution some, but I believe it rarely is used as a match ender. There's been a few times where he's hit it but still had to use the Spear anyway. Frankly, I prefer the rarely used implant DDT version that was closer to the Impaler move from the Brood era to the usual facebuster version.

Goldberg has said he'd wrestle again if the money was right - even for the WWE - because his wife and kid(s) have never seen him wrestle and he'd like to give them the chance. If the WWE actually did sign him to wrestle, a great way for him to return would be to have him Spear Edge out of his boots from out of nowhere. Maybe even have Edge cough up blood from the hit.

I used to have a WCW Goldberg t-shirt that said `Fear the Spear' (the only wrestling t-shirt I've ever owned, incidentally, though I'd still love to get my hands on a yellow and red 80's era `Hulkamania' t-shirt). An appropriate one for Edge would be `Jeer the Spear'. 

[GhostMachine]

Edge was traded to Smackdown on RAW this week, but they didn't say who he was traded for.

The rumor going around is that he was traded for CM Punk. I read spoilers for Smackdown this week, and Punk isn't on it, so that could very well be true.

[thalaw2]

Is Under Taker planning to retire soon or is this all just a work up for another Kane vs. Under Taker Wrestlemania?  Who would UT fight in a retirement match anyway?  I would choose HHH over Kane. I can't think of anyone else with enough seniority to retire the deadman.   

[Failed_Hero]

is anyone else disappointed at the anti-climax that was bound for glory. The monkeys that write Jersey Shore could tell a better long term story line

[GhostMachine]

Failed, the thing you have to realize, if you haven't by now, is that TNA is run by idiots.

The only reason TNA still exists is because Dixie Carter is a total mark who wanted to be in the wrestling business despite having no experience whatseover, and she's more or less starstruck. If anything bad happens to Dixie or she gets bored with it, TNA will be stone cold dead unless someone buys them out. And I doubt someone would be willing to buy them out, because TNA is a money pit.

When wrestling promoters/bookers/wrestlers take a dig at fans who think they could book wrestling, I point to TNA. Because I honestly think fans could book TNA better than the people booking it.

[Mr. Hamrick]

Failed, the thing you have to realize, if you haven't by now, is that TNA is run by idiots.

The only reason TNA still exists is because Dixie Carter is a total mark who wanted to be in the wrestling business despite having no experience whatseover, and she's more or less starstruck. If anything bad happens to Dixie or she gets bored with it, TNA will be stone cold dead unless someone buys them out. And I doubt someone would be willing to buy them out, because TNA is a money pit.

When wrestling promoters/bookers/wrestlers take a dig at fans who think they could book wrestling, I point to TNA. Because I honestly think fans could book TNA better than the people booking it.

The problem is Ghost that the booking for both TNA and WWE is ruined by the internet.  I'm sorry but it's truth.  I read it best when someone said on another site: "What the heck do you want exactly?"  (a rhetorical question in this case, I don't care what you want.)   

I get what TNA was trying to do with the "They" angle but the thing was spoiled by internet marks.  And honestly, internet marks who think they can book better than everyone ARE amongst the cancer in the wrestling business.  They are not true fans anymore, they are whiners in most cases who really are not as smart to the business as they think they are.  That's the truth rather you agree with me or not.

Turning Jeff Hardy was ingenious to an extent though I don't think the execution went off exactly as planned.  There were a few subtle hints.  The bigger issue is that there are several "news sites" and "fans" who hate a mindless hate of TNA because of various factors.  They either gripe about how "their favorite star isn't booked like he was in another promotion" or "They hate Russo" or "They hate so and so getting pushed."  What most fans don't understand is that NOT everyone can be on the top of the card.  Not everyone is going to can get the level of push that this fan or that fan or their biggest fan thinks they deserve.

A clear example of this would be Tyson Kidd, Natalya, and David Hart Smith over in WWE who I happen to be acquainted with all three of.  As TJ (Tyson) put it too me a while back, he "doesn't care about the win-loss record that he gets in the WWE, he cares about how the match looked.  He cares about how well he and the other guy (or guys) in the ring looked."  Another words, even in the matches that he jobs, he has a goal to do in that ring.    Another example, would be a guy who use to be with NWA Anarchy named Ace Rockwell.  Ace and I were chatting about a match he actually booked.  During that conversation, he explained to me that the match was being booked the way it was because of various factors.  In this order: The way the fans would respond to it, the way the guys involved should be able to work with one another, and then who was actually being pushed in the match.  Now, this is not the way every promotion does it.  However, it's a good bet that most fans do not think about all those factors or they over analyze it. 

It's fine to disagree with the way a promotion is booking.  I've quit supporting NWA Anarchy for the most part over the matter.  However, the BLIND HATE for all things TNA is idiotic.  The "THEY" group isn't really reflect on Dixie Carter at all yet she is getting the blame for it.  It's a Bischoff and Hogan project.  It's a project designed to emulate The NWO, of which the copyright is owned by Vince McMahon.  Bischoff had gold initially with that concept.  However, I don't think he will repeat it.

That said, you are free to "honestly think fans could book TNA better than the people booking it."  For the most part, I honestly think and KNOW you'd be wrong with regards to a VAST MAJORITY of the "FANS" out there. 

[GhostMachine]

I never said ANY fans could book TNA better. I said SOME fans. And I'll admit right now that I am not one of them.

And I don't have a blind hate for TNA. The problem is the booking has been sketchy way too often in the past, which is why I believe there are fans out there would could book it better. They've done really stupid things as:

Run matches where they ended up completely ignoring the stipulations. (Fortunately, that has only happened a few times, but even once in one time too many).

Dropped angles/feuds with no resolution or explanation why. (Its like `well, this isn't working, so lets just forget about it and hope the fans do, too')

Done heel turns that made no sense in the way they were executed. Example: The MEM angle. Sting was more or less acting like a face while Samoa Joe was acting like a total heel. Yes Sting ended up being the heel and Joe the face throughout the whole build up to the MEM's debut.

And lets not forget some old crap with Jeff Jarrett. Such as that time he fought the members of 3 Live Kru in a gauntlet match and won in a superhuman fashion, DESPITE being a heel. And especially what went down when fans were chanting "DROP THE TITLE!" week after week when Jarrett was the champion. What did they do? They let Rhino win the title....then put it back on Jarrett a month later! And rumor is that when Kevin Nash was supposed to be the opponent in the match (Rhino replaced him due to Nash having a staph infection, if I remember right), they were going to have Jarrett retain! I'm sorry, but when the fans can't even stand your champion so much they chant "DROP THE TITLE!", the last thing you do is keep the belt on them OR put it back on them that fast. That's not good heel heat, its almost X-Pac "Please go away and never come back" heat.

The problem with TNA since Hogan and Bischoff came in - even before, really - is that they're trying to emulate the past way too much. You can only catch lightning in a bottle so many times, and what worked in WCW may not necessarily work in TNA. Fans are going to know that they're rehashing old gimmicks and angles.

Fortune is a good idea, despite a lot of fans crapping all over it as a Four Horseman ripoff. The only thing Fortune has in common with the Four Horseman is that its a heel stable and Flair is involved. Its a good way to push some of TNA's talent, by associating them with Flair who is giving them the rub by managing them, while keeping him from wrestling too much.

But at the same time EV 2.0 and "They" are bad ideas. Most of the ECW guys are too past their prime to be of much use (hence why Kendrick was involved at Bound For Glory, and why certain ECW guys didn't do much of anything at Hardcore Justice), and Fortune beating them up isn't as much of a rub as you'd think.

I agree with you that the internet has ruined wrestling. But TNA's booking has always been spotty and shady. TNA is too much like WCW Lite in a lot of ways, and that's not a good thing (and I was a huge WCW fan, so I'm not knocking WCW). And that comment has nothing to do with Hogan and Bischoff's involvement; TNA was too much like WCW Lite way before either of them were even mentioned in the same breath as TNA.

The Jeff Hardy turn I think is a good thing in some ways, bad in others. I'm not sure he'll be able to back it up on the mic, because lets face it, Jeff Hardy has charisma but he's never had great microphone skills. He's certainly no Chris Jericho, for instance. It won't be as detrimental to TNA as it would be to WWE if they turned John Cena, for instance. I've read people whining that it should have been Anderson or RVD in Hardy's spot, but I just shake my head and ignore those types of comments.

I generally compare TNA and WWE this way:

TNA has better wrestling than the WWE, but is badly booked. WWE has better booking, but tends to shove who they want down the fans' throats rather than pushing who the fans want.

The WWE also seems to have forgotten how to push anyone new/relatively new as a face. Heck, if they ever break up the Hart Dynasty, I'll be surprised if one of them (Tyson or DHS, that is) doesn't go heel and get pushed while the one who stays a face ends up being a jobber or stuck in the midcard if they both stay on RAW.

[Mr. Hamrick]

The thing with putting The Hart Dynasty against each other is that they can work matches with one another.  The turn you mentioned is already set to happen.

The "blind hate" for TNA runs across the internet community for the most part.  I wasn't trying to direct it solely at you or at you period.  However, you do tend to jump on that band wagon.  It's an easy one to jump on, though. 

The Sting turn with the MEM made sense.  TNA knew the fans were gonna cheer Joe initially.  Sting knew it.  It was easier to get over with the fans that Sting was joining this bunch of "old timers" and have him be pushed away from them by conflicts with Angle.  The purpose of the angle was to get over some of the other talent on the roster.  The notion being ran with is that some of the talent in question could be gotten over without having to "be dominate in a feud."  Was the MEM successful?  Not really.  However, this can be blamed on guys like Steiner and Booker T than Sting and Angle.  And it should be.

How many times has the booking team changed since the Jarrett and 3 Live Cru stuff?  That said, Jarrett did go away from the in ring stuff when his wife got sick and eventually died. 

As for Fortune and They being a bad idea.

Spoiler

Forture are a part of THEY along with Hogan, Jarrett, Bischoff, Hardy, and Abyss.

It's not a bad idea at all.  As long as...

Spoiler

Some is turned face out of the group.

That said...

Spoiler

It might be easier to build a few new faces than needed to turn anyone heel.

I agree with you on Hogan and Bischoff's tactics being predictable arguably stale.  However, they are angles and gimmicks that have been around for years.  WCW was not the first to use an "out invasion" into a company.  The only thing they did different was turn Hogan heel.  The thing here is that "They" are not "The NWO v3.0",  they are a different thing with different motives.  (Will be explained on IMPACT.)

The biggest thing that I have against Bischoff and Hogan is the complete disregard for the Knockouts division.  They came and managed to run off three of their best workers with one of those workers nearly filing a lawsuit.   They have meanwhile managed to demean the strong women's division that TNA had when they got there. 

The biggest reason that TNA will always be seen as WCW light is that they are an alternative for guys let loose from WWE.  ROH is becoming one but not in the same way that TNA has been.  WCW had worse booking issues than TNA has ever had minus the Jarrett issue you mentioned and that is the ONLY thing to rival the bad booking there.   And it's the fact that fans still wanted WCW back that has led to the "blind TNA hate".  The fans realized that it wasn't quite what they thought they wanted.

[Failed_Hero]

My heavens wrestling fans having a conversation about TNA without it turning into haven for trolls.

I was a huge TNA fan when they got the Spike TV deal.  I only had limited exposure before then, I quickly became a fan of Samoa Joe, AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels. I also became a fan of Abyss when paired with James Mitchell. 

I was really swerved with BFG I was expecting something substantial, and walked away disappointed.

I admit there is great deal of poison in the water with me regarding Hulk Hogan, Eric Bishoff, and Vince Russo as I view that their booking and presence led to the demise of my favorite promotion in WCW.  Eric is a great marketing man, Hulk in his prime was superstar across the universe, and when Vince he had an editor he could really sell an angle.  But these guys together do scare me.

I love Fortune, these guys have massive potential and talent, with Ric Flair in a proper role as a manager not a wrestler, this stable could be great.

I totally agreed about the knockouts division, these women made me care a about a women's division because was action and diversity, what it has become is sort of a joke even with the recent addition of Mickie James.  The same situation is happening with the X-Division, even with the clinic Jay Lethal and Douglas Williams put on at BFG.

[GhostMachine]

Don't even get me started about the treatment of the Knockouts division. I happen to enjoy women's wrestling - when the women can actually wrestle, unlike most of the WWE Divas - and the state of the Knockouts in TNA is pathetic.

I don't have as nearly many problems with the WWE Divas as I do with the TNA Knockouts. The problem with the Knockouts is that TNA has either run off or let too many of their best female wrestlers go, so that the focus has been on the feud between The Beautiful People. And now Tara (Victoria) and Mickie James are in the hunt. There's also really no point in a female tag team title right now, sadly.

My only problem with the WWE Divas is the unification of the two titles while Michelle McCool has it. Should have waited until either Laycool broke up or someone else was the Divas champ. But I suspect they may keeping the belt on McCool until Beth Phoenix returns. Was disappointed that Natalya won the title match by DQ, so she didn't get the title, but I can understand why. (The two main Divas I don't want to see with the title are Melina and Alicia Fox. Melina needs to be kept away from it because she's injury prone, and Alicia Fox is a walking botch machine)

If you want to see some good women's wrestling, look up Joshi (Japanese women's wrestling) on Youtube or other sites like Dailymotion. ESPECIALLY if the WWE and TNA have been your main exposure to women's wrestling. Most Joshi wrestlers would blow 90% of the women you see on tv here out of the water. (I recommend checking out Manami Toyota, Mariko Yoshida, and Ayumi Kurihara especially.)

[thanoson]

Ok, I've followed TNA since the wed ppv days. I liked it as they spotlighted wrestlers I had never seen before. This unknown Talent was using moves unseen before on regular television (SAT's Spanish Fly), Styles Clash and the Siakoples Now. Jarret, Elix Skipper and Shamrock were really the only names I knew of. It suffered a bit with groups like the Dupps, but it was fun to watch. Jerry Lynn, Amazing Red, Low Ki, Abyss, Aj Styles, Alex Shelly(dark AJ) and AMW were awesome. Then Russo got involved and it changed. S.E.X was formed along with XXX. Ron Killings became champion. Jarret and AJ switched roles of face/heel. And Jarrett was getting the god push. I felt that was actually the decline of the good times. Still, I followed it when they did both their moves, hoping for something new. Daniels, Samoa Joe, Robert Roode, Eric Young were all good starts. But we started getting the refugees then as well. Talent from ECW, WCW and WWE started coming in by droves. The original talent that made this company so awesome was now being put in the background by guys from other companies. It took some of the power away from the company. Don't get me wrong, I marked out when Angle's silouette appeared and he showed up at the end of that ppv. I understand the need for named recognition. But look at all the original guys from TNA and where are they in the importance of this company?

[ubergreendragon]

Well Survivor Series come and gone ...

Spoiler

Orton retained Cena was fired but was allowed to make a farewell speech on RAW is he really gone or is this some injury and surgury he needs and will be back in 6 months?

Spoiler

On Raw Wade Barrett was granted a rematch Nexus jumped Orton before the match and injured his leg. He still won the match but afterwards The Miz appeared to cash in his money in the bank briefcase and is now the new champion

[GhostMachine]

A wrestler has been killed.

Chris Long, who worked in Lucha Libre USA Masked Warriors as Solid, was working as security in a strip club in Georgia this weekend when he and the other bouncers tossed three people out of the club. Unfortunately, they returned with guns and started shooting, and he was shot and killed. He was 33 years old and married with two kids.

Solid was the manager (if you can call a guy who stands outside the ring during someone's matches and doesn't actually do anything a manager) and tag partner of Marco Corleone, aka Mark Jindrak. (The name `Solid' was sort of a joke, as he was fat, not ripped)

[Mr. Hamrick]

A wrestler has been killed.

Chris Long, who worked in Lucha Libre USA Masked Warriors as Solid, was working as security in a strip club in Georgia this weekend when he and the other bouncers tossed three people out of the club. Unfortunately, they returned with guns and started shooting, and he was shot and killed. He was 33 years old and married with two kids.

Solid was the manager (if you can call a guy who stands outside the ring during someone's matches and doesn't actually do anything a manager) and tag partner of Marco Corleone, aka Mark Jindrak. (The name `Solid' was sort of a joke, as he was fat, not ripped)

Chris was a good guy.  He and I had a mutual friend not in the wrestling business but I didn't know him personally.  I got to hear from the mutual friend a bit about the guy.  He seemed like a really good guy and it sucks that this happened to him.

[GhostMachine]

Don't know if anyone follows (or followed) Combat Zone Wrestling (I don't), but...

'Combat Zone' wrestler wanted in S. Jersey bank heist

Inquirer Staff Report

Officials are looking for a professional ultra violent wrestler known as Nick Gage on charges of robbing a bank in Collingswood last week.

Gage, whose real name is Nicholas Wilson, 30, allegedly stole $3,000 from the PNC Bank on Haddon Avenue about 1:40 p.m. Dec. 22, Camden County Prosecutor Warren Faulk and Collingswood Police Chief Richard Sarlo said in a joint statement.

Officials said Wilson handed a teller a threatening note saying he would shoot her if she did not hand over the cash.

Wilson's last known address is Lakeshore Drive in Camden.

In 2005, he was burned in a Combat Zone Wrestling tournament when he was thrown out of the ring into a platform of burning plywood.

In a YouTube video that apparently was supposed to be a public service announcement warning children not to imitate extreme wrestlers, he goes off on Combat Zone Wrestling and claims he was dead for 8 minutes after one bout.

Anyone with any information is asked to call Sgt. William Townsend of the Camden County Prosecutor's Office at 856-225-8400 or Det. Frank Lee of the Collingswood Police Department at 856-854-2401.

Funny thing is, at another board someone posted a picture of the robber and pointed out that it looked like Nick Gage, and we joked about it. I even made a joke about Gage facing two cops in a handicap Handcuffs On A Pole match. And now it turns out it really was him!

And in other news, John Cena suffered a hip pointer injury at a house show that may keep him out of the ring for a few weeks, so I expect an injury angle from the attack at the end of this week's RAW. Big Show  has been moved to the RAW brand to fill in for the Cena at the house shows (though I'm guessing he'll still be on Smackdown and not RAW on tv), and they're now doing Edge vs. CM Punk vs. Kane for Smackdown house show main events. Apparently Cena was injured taking Wade Barrett's lame Wasteland finisher, and he reportedly can't even breathe heavy or laugh without it hurting.

[Marmeille]

That 2-21-11 promo clip during RAW tonight...

That's Sting, right? Tell me it's the Icon finally getting in the WWE before he can truly retire.

It could be for the Undertaker (but that would be kinda lame), it could be for Awesome Kong (I guess) or even Jericho making his 3rd coming (probably not hehe), but it has to be for Sting, I mean it just has to be.

[thalaw2]

Considering Diesel and Booker T were in the Rumble it could very well be Sting. 

[Mr. Hamrick]

Only problem with it being Sting is that he's practically coming in to lose to Undertaker at Wrestlemania.  Assuming that it's Undertaker that he is coing in to feud with.

I'm more interested in the story I heard on Undertaker and Barrett (but only if it's true as it involved Taker passing the torch to Barrett) than I am seeing Sting job to Taker for no reason.

However, if it is Sting then he is certainly coming in to be inducted into the WWE HoF.  There is a chance that Booker T and Nash might go into the HoF too.

[GhostMachine]

I'm a huge Sting fan, and I'd rather see him come in to team with Undertaker rather than face him. But I see one huge problem with Sting coming in: There's absolutely no way they let him use the Scorpion Death Lock and the Death Drop is actually a fairly lame finisher. Most WWE fans, or even the announcers, would rip on Sting for using Bret Hart's move, despite the fact that Sting actually used it first. In fact, Sting's version is actually the properly move while Hart's is a variation, as it was first used by a Japanese wrestler named Riki Choshu and its original name translates into English as `Scorpion Hold'.

And I thought it was cool that Nash entered the RR as Diesel. Apparently the plan was for him to come in as Diesel the last time he was with the WWE but they had decided against it because the fans already knew he was coming in and they only wanted to go that route if his return had been a surprise. I actually first saw Nash wrestle as Oz (Live; I was actually at Clash of Champions XV), but became a fan when he was Diesel. And Diesel being the lowest drawing champion should be blamed on how he was booked, not on him.

I don't know about Kevin Nash, because I've heard a few different things, but apparently Booker T being in the Rumble wasn't a one time deal. He may be back with the company, and word is he may be being groomed for a possible announcing gig. BAAAAD idea if true. Nash would make a better commentator than Booker T, but the problem with that is Nash would spend more time putting himself over than anyone else! I've always thought Nash could have a bright future in wrestling after he retires from the ring, because he's one of the best wrestlers to work a mic, and could make a decent commissioner, color guy or manager.

[Mr. Hamrick]

I'm a huge Sting fan, and I'd rather see him come in to team with Undertaker rather than face him. But I see one huge problem with Sting coming in: There's absolutely no way they let him use the Scorpion Death Lock and the Death Drop is actually a fairly lame finisher. Most WWE fans, or even the announcers, would rip on Sting for using Bret Hart's move, despite the fact that Sting actually used it first. In fact, Sting's version is actually the properly move while Hart's is a variation, as it was first used by a Japanese wrestler named Riki Choshu and its original name translates into English as `Scorpion Hold'.

Teaming with Taker might be interesting.  And could work to with what is being described as a potential problem with Taker being 100% for Mania.  But why have his teasers end up on Raw then?  Though there are other advantages to Sting and Taker teaming.  The primary being that Sting would suffer from coming in merely to job to Taker.

Another possibility is that Sting could face Bret in a Sharpshooter vs. Scorpion Death Lock.  Long shot given Bret's health but would be a possibility.  Bret would not lose anything by losing to Sting.

[deano_ue]

nash has signed a legends deal, eg figures dvds games etc. and rumours are he's taking a seat on creative

[thanoson]

FINALLY,THE ROCK HAS COME BACK.......to Monday Night Raw. It's so weird to hear a decent promo nowadays. It was like it was 2004 again. Nice that he called out John Cena and they are going to work that program that Cena's been elluding to for years. Question is though, is he really gonna stay and wrestle? He sounded like he was.

[GhostMachine]

He said before that he wasn't going to wrestle again, so it may just end up being a war of words or the Rock being the special ref for a Cena match.

I loved it when he made fun of "You can't see me" and did that voice. Its right up there when he ripped the Diesel gimmick (and I am/was a huge Diesel fan) on RAW when he confronted Hogan, Nash and Hall the night after he beat Hogan at Wrestlemania.

[Mr. Hamrick]

The Rock has come back... and I could care less.

Don't get me wrong, I use to be a Rock fan and still am one more or less.  BUT... his coming back to "host Wrestlemania" is not enough to make me want to purchase the PPV or even a ticket to the show and sit in the nosebleeds (as it's in Atlanta).

I'm not sure anything would actually get me to drive down to the GA Dome to the PPV actually. 

I might go watch it somewhere like I did last year but even that is doubtful at the moment.

[Cyber Burn]

Necro post...Sorry.

I have to say that both WWE and TNA are both really disappointing me with their women's rosters right now, no real diversity there.

TNA's Aces and Eights, this is just a poor man's NWO invasion and has been going on for long enough, time for a conclusion.

[GhostMachine]

Couldn't agree with you more about both women's divisions. I actually think the WWE's is worse right now, but both are pretty disappointing.

Someone taped the episode where the Aces & Eights masked leader had Hogan and Sting held prisoner and made the deal for the match where the stable got access to TNA if they won. They used software to prove that the masked leader was Eric Bischoff.

Which makes me question if they'll go with someone else as the leader when they do the eventual reveal. If they reveal Bischoff as the leader, it will make no sense whatsoever that his son Garrett is a member, considering what Eric put him through beforehand.....unless Garrett turns out to be a mole, which I doubt.

As for the WWE.....

The Undertaker showed up at a house show in the Texas a few nights and tagged with Sheamus against Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes. There is video out of part of his entrance, and screenshots from the match.  He's got a bit of a gut on him but otherwise looked pretty good. Strange thing is, he had his usual entrance but no entrance gear on. He came out ready to wrestle. And yes, he still has the crewcut mohawk.

I like where they're going with The Shield, but Ryback is a poor man's Goldberg rip off. I'm glad they didn't bring him back as Skip Sheffield, but they need to make Ryback stand out more instead of acting like a Goldberg wannabe with a garbage catchphrase ("FEED ME MORE!" sounds like he has an eating disorder. Seriously.)

[Cyber Burn]

In regards to the Aces and Eights:

Spoiler

Bully Ray being involved was pretty much a no brainer. Which was really disappointing at best.

Still think that the women's roster of both TNA and WWE need some life brought back into them, and no,

Spoiler

the Bella Twins

don't really cut it for me. They weren't that great before, I don't see where bringing them back will improve anything.

[Mr. Hamrick]

In regards to the Aces and Eights:

Spoiler

Bully Ray being involved was pretty much a no brainer. Which was really disappointing at best.

The only reason that it was disappointing is that we are in the Internet Age where everything is speculated and spoiled online then griped about afterwards.  I find it amusing that the same people griping the most about it are still tuning in the next week to gripe about it further.

Still think that the women's roster of both TNA and WWE need some life brought back into them, and no,

Spoiler

the Bella Twins

don't really cut it for me. They weren't that great before, I don't see where bringing them back will improve anything.

Nothing that WWE or TNA does will satisfy the internet fans.  NOTHING  And I think because of that, creative has stopped trying and most of the divas have accepted it as well.  They have opted to go out and do their thing and to let the fans cry on their keyboards about it later.  Meanwhile, Kaitlyn is improving with every outing she has.  So is Aksana.  Tamina and Natalya are legacy talent.  Out of the people you have left, there aren't many who have the experience for Kaitlyn (most notably) to have wins against that mean anything.

And don't give me Beth and Eve coming back.  They left of their own accord, on good terms with the company, for their own reasons that had nothing to do with booking.  The only reasons that the Bellas were lured back so quickly is that they aren't getting the offers they expected to in the entertainment world AND they are (or were last I heard) dating Daniel Bryan and one of the other stars respectively (don't recall if it is Cena or Ziggler). 

As for AJ, she has a defined role.  She is running with it.