Speaking about NXT, NXT Takeover: Blackpool was on today.
Walter debuted....
Speaking about NXT, NXT Takeover: Blackpool was on today.
Walter debuted....
It still blows me away how much better NXT Takeovers are than any other WWE PPVs. I have never watched an episode of NXT UK, and yet during Blackpool I was still was more invested in their matches than anything Raw or Smackdown has done in almost forever. Also, a bit of a random thought. Charlotte Flair would be a much better wrestler if she never did a moonsault again. She keeps talking about how it's her destiny to Main Event Wrestlemania and all I can think about is how she cannot do a proper moonsault.
NXT Takeover: Blackpool Reactions:
- Tag Title Match: Tyler Bate is a star, and I am already looking forward to the time when Trent Seven turns heel on him and Bate retires him. Mark my words. Gibson and Drake are a great heel team for a fresh face team to chase.
- Devlin vs. Balor: Perfect call here with working the beat down angle and getting Balor involved, though I wonder if this would have better served in a different spot on the card. Regardless a fun match and Devlin really shone.
- Mastiff vs. Dennis: Mastiff is good, but Dennis really stood out for me as a helluva wrestler. Not the only one who thinks this, but he really needs to update his gear.
- Storm vs. Ripley: I'm a huge Toni Storm fan, but I've gotta say that Ripley is the next big thing in the WWE's women's division. Since her heel turn at last years MYC, she's really taken it to the next level. Happy for Toni, though, given all the crap she's had to put up with the past few weeks.
- Coffey vs. Dunne: Excellent match for the first 25 minutes; Dunne did some phenomenal work here as his facials and storytelling were top notch. Coffey stepped up to the plate in a big way, too. Unfortunately, I was really was taken out of it by the two top rope botches in the closing sequence. WALTER's flawless debut almost made up for it, but for some reason, I couldn't quite get those top rope slip-ups out of my mind.
Overall Grade: A
Random - my favorite WWE theme is the one that Downstait made as a tribute to Seth Rollins. This is obviously unused and the instrumental version, but it beats the holy hell out of his current WWE theme. I'm glad they kept the Meshuggah guitars in the intro as well.
ive come full circle now, im at the episode which saw my first taste of wrestling , the list of Jericho
I hate the Heel commentators. I thought JBL was an ass and I think Graves is an ass too. Seems i cant win now.
I like Graves or at least did. For awhile he was probably the best one. JBL would say some of the most irrelevant, random things. None of which applied to what was going on in the ring. The central focus of the show and his job. Graves was good at really highlighting the stars and putting them over (like they're supposed to). Now, Graves is pretty much doing what JBL did. WWE commentary is a joke.
Solomonster once recommended an option on the network where could mute them. I'd be all for it. They contribute nothing.
I had 3rd row floor seats for a Smackdown house show last night and saw one of the best matches I have ever seen in person, Styles v Bryan. I wasnt suprised as they are two of the best of all time. Bryan of course got the pinfall, but he cut an in ring on AJ as he was walking back to the locker room, causing an enraged Styles to rush back and deliver a beating and a devastating Styles Clash that Bryan sold so well he collapsed twice outside the ring as the ref helped him.
Other good matches were Flair v Lynch v Auska and Rusev v Nakamura. I finally got to see Samoa Joe but he jobbed it to Jeff Hardy in 30 seconds.
WWE house shows are always so good, so much actual wrestling! Its a shame the televised stuff rarely stacks up.
(thats why I mostly watch the stuff I grew up on, 1995-1997)
My girl announced her in ring return at the Royal Rumble! So excited!!!
Last edited by Space Suicide; 01-21-2019 at 09:43 PM.
Alright pro graps fans, what are your Rumble card predictions?
Cruiserweight Championship - I like Kalisto or Itami on this one. I'm leaning more towards Itami because he's worked his ass off through injuries and it's time to reward him for that. He's earned it.
Rusev vs. Nakamura - Rusev retains. Can we get these guys out of the pre-show and figure out what to do with the US title? It's the only thing Smackdown gets wrong, IMO.
The Bar vs. Shane & Miz - This is stupid, but I think Shane and Miz win this. Meh.
Ronda vs. Sasha - I'm looking forward to this one because I think Sasha does awesome things when she's in situations like this. Rousey retains, though. They're making too much of a big deal around Ronda's technically first loss via the tag team match so they'll 50/50 book this one.
Asuka vs. Becky - Asuka retains. I expect this to be a Takeover-quality match.
Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles - DB retains. This new AGGRESSIVE AJ thing is kinda dumb, but I think Bryan holds on.
Brock vs. Finn - 1. First of all, we haven't talked about this match in this thread, but this is a major upgrade from Brock vs. Braun happening again. Second, I think this will be a potential MOTN contender simply because Brock does do well working with the smaller guys, and because Brock has been wanting this match for a year now. Brock retains, but this shoots Finn up quite a bit.
Men's Rumble - I think it's Seth. I think Seth goes on to challenge Lesnar for the Universal title at 'Mania.
Women's Rumble - I think it's either Charlotte or Becky. The winner is gonna challenge Ronda for the Raw Women's title at 'Mania. Becky would make the most sense, but I could see it being Charlotte now with Becky finding a way to get in there at some point during the next two PPVs.
*BONUS NXT Takeover Phoenix Predictions*
Matt Riddle vs. Kassius Ohno - Riddle and Ohno finally have their big match and Riddle still wins.
Undisputed Era vs. War Raiders - I think the Raiders get the win and the titles here. It's been building up for a while so I think it's time.
Ricochet vs. Johnny Gargano - Johnny Wrestling finally wins a singles championship. This will be an amazing match.
Shayna Baszler vs. Bianca Belair - I think Shayna holds on and wins this one, albeit with interference from Jessamyn and Marina, again.
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Aleister Black - Aleister takes the belt off of Tommaso and kicks him in the head, like, 19 times.
Seth winning the Royal Rumble will make my head deflate.
How dare you not predict Alexa winning the Women’s.
NXT:
Ciampa retains.
Raiders over Undisputed Era
Shayna retains
Riddle over Ohno
Gargano over Ricochet
Rumble:
Ronda over Banks
Asuka retains
Bryan over AJ
Shane and Miz over Bar
Becky wins Rumble. Could be Charlotte or some screwy 94 finish.
Brock over Balor. I give Balor a 40% shot though. Not a total lock.
Rollins is the likely win, but I'm not counting Braun out.
Rusev over Nakamura.
Not sure why, but my mind keeps wondering about a surprise Reigns return and win. Doubt it will happen. But my mind keeps going there.
Last edited by Piko; 01-23-2019 at 03:49 PM.
Lol...i never thought Sheamus and Cesaro would be so amusing together
I'm just going to dream book this weekend knowing where they might be headed and that WWE never goes totally in the direction everyone is expecting. 99% of this won't actually happen which will be frustrating. While I fully believe there is a 0% chance Kenny Omega is going to WWE anytime soon, much less showing up on Sunday, I for one would need a whole new pair of pants if going into Wrestlemania we're looking at Finn Balor vs. Kenny Omega for the Universal Title.
Ciampa retains.
War Raiders over Undisputed Era. UE shows up on Raw Monday.
Bianca Belair captures the title after a restart of the match due to outside interference.
Riddle beats Ohno again.
Gargano wins, probably match of the week.
Hideo Itami wins. The guy needs it and deserves it.
Rusev wins. Nakamura DQ'd after a low blow.
Asuka retains.
Miz and Shane win. They'll lose at Elimination Chamber or Fastlane and be facing off at Mania.
Ronda wins, turns heel, beats down Sasha post match, Bayley out for the save.
Women's Rumble -Final 4 Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, Bayley, and Sayna Baszler. Charlotte and Bayley are eliminated by the team of Shayna, Jessamyn, and Marina. Alexa Bliss wins after eliminating Shayna in the chaos. Alexa vs. Asuka at Wrestlemania. Teased it last year.
Balor vs. Brock. Shockingly Balor wins. Strowman's injury moved plans forward and instead of winning the title at mania will do so at the rumble.
Men's Rumble I'm expecting Seth Rollins to win, but my gut is saying Ambrose is going to screw him over. Unexpectedly Drew McIntyre gets the huge push for a Wrestlemania Main Event.
I'll likely be 100% wrong.
Forgot about Drew. He has a shot for sure. I see him in the final two tbh.
Last edited by Piko; 01-23-2019 at 07:53 PM.
NXT:
Ciampa retains.
Raiders win tag belts.
Belair over Bazler.
Gargano over Ricochet (MOTN/Weekend/Year(?))
Riddle over Ohno
Rumble:
Murphy retains.
Rusev retains.
Shane & Miz over the Bar.
Rhonda over Banks. (MOTN contender)
Asuka over Becky (MOTN contender)
Women's Rumble: Becky jumps someone (Carmella?) to win.
Balor over Brock. C.L.E.A.N. (MOTN)
Men's Rumble: Drew McIntyre wins. Challenges Balor.
Other guesses/speculations:
Black debuts in the rumble and clears the ring, putting on a clinic and having a hell of a run. Can see him going to Smackdown to feud with Daniel immediately.
Some shenanigans go down in the two women's title matches. Something has to give there.
Like @ThinkIcouldburn said, I'd LOVE to see OMEGA debut and eliminate Drew and challenge Balor at Mania. Could you imagine?
This is one of the most unpredictable, and strongest, cards I can remember in a long while. Very excited for this weekend.
Takeover:
Riddle beats Ohno
Big Dumb Guys beat Undisputed Era, who are sadly main roster bound where they’ll be misused.
Baszler beats Green-EST. Might be a decent match since neither can work a faster pace.
Ricochet retains causing Gargano to crack further into the heelness.
Ciampa retains and Black goes to the main roster, where he will be misused.
Rumble:
Itami beats Murphy, claiming long overdue gold
Rusev retains over Nakamura in a match that’ll get 5 minutes.
McMiz beat The Bar via shenanigans. I don’t know why.
Rousey retains over Sasha, who will hopefully leave this shithole for AEW ASAP.
Asuka retains via some kind of bullshit but it’s cool because...
Becky attacks Eva Marie backstage and steals her surprise Rumble spot then wins it.
Hero Daniel Bryan retains over Alt Right AJ
Master Blaster retains over Balor in a match people will claim elevates Finn but they’re just trying to comfort themselves.
Seth Rollins wins the Rumble and challenges Master Blaster. Two men enter, one man leaves.
Last edited by Swykk; 01-24-2019 at 09:19 AM.
I keep forgetting that Neville is British.
- Cruiserweight Championship: Hideo wins
- Rusev wins
- The Miz and Shane win
- Ronda Rousey retains
- Asuka retains
- AJ Styles wins
- Brock Lesnar retains
- Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch both win the Women's Rumble (similar to Bret Hart and Lex Luger in 94', Becky will steal Carmella's #30 spot)
- Seth Rollins wins the Men's Rumble
You know, watching these episodes and going back to when you guys were posting them when it was new...im convinced that you guys hate everything and wont settle for anything thats not perfect...lol
Or I've been watching for a very long time and have seen a lot of good stuff along with the bad. Best roster they've ever had but booking is about as bad as 93-95.
Yeah, i've been watching since 98' and i can assure you since 2015 the WWE started to get progressively worse
I think I'm changing my Rumble winner pick. A bit of talk stirring about a major surprise that isn't Kenny Omega leaves me thinking Roman Reigns is cleared to return to the ring. Between us never knowing what kind of prognosis he received, a 1-4 month treatment window being possible (It's been over 3 months now), and that photo of Roman filming the next Fast and Furious movie with The Rock, I have to believe we might see him. I've got some mixed feelings about this. On one hand, it'd be fantastic news. Cancer is fucking shit and any time anyone beats it, it's a major hooray. On the other hand, Roman vs. Brock is not what I want to see AGAIN at Wrestlemania. I also fully expect WWE to do the whole "He overcame CANCER and beat BROCK LESNAR." moment at Wrestlemania. Sure we'll cheer him for it, but we'll see what the reaction is on Monday night after Wrestlemania.
I will be angry if Roman Reigns returns and wins the Royal Rumble. Yes leukemia sucks and all but fuck, take a back seat already. Don't think I can handle ANOTHER Lesnar/Reigns match at a WrestleMania (or at all).
TakeOver: Phoenix is going well so far. Upset that Undisputed Era lost to War Raiders (don't care for them) and the Ohno/Riddle Match was good. I'm not a super fan of either man but they had a good showing.
I can't wait to see Baszler take out Bianca Bel Air. Going to be glorious.
As for the rest of the card I hope Gargano wins and Black regains the NXT Championship since his reign was robbed from him due to injury and that 2018 Gargano/Ciampa feud.
Sam Roberts was told to say a truthful thing and wrestling Twitter fell for it.
Boring Baszler vs Green-EST was probably the worst match on a TakeOver. How the fuck do you have Kairi, Io, Mia and Candice fucking LeRae and these are the two you have fighting for the Women’s title on your show? It had to be in Ronda’s deal that her friend Shayna would get a monster push. The timing lines up. As for Belair? I do not get it. At all. She (and Baszler) move like molasses and sell like shit.
Ricochet and Gargano had a killer MOTN. The rest of the card was good enough. It was not a high tier TakeOver.
Last edited by Swykk; 01-27-2019 at 11:40 AM.
Not sure what to think about Belair. Still very green. There's a potential there. I look at it as trying to build a new star and someone for Shayna to beat but give a rub at the same time.
As mentioned, while you have Io and all these other girls who are far better than Belair. Io just came in and they probably don't want her losing so soon. Not sure what the deal with Candice is, they barely use her it seems. Kairi had her time. Plus, I feel like Belair might have been a shoe-in for Dakota Kai (who's injured) Because of all that, I can't really hate on it too much.
Match-wise, it wasn't bad. It wasn't great either. Very average compared to most women's matches at takeover. But I see what they're doing or at least trying to do. Too soon to tell whether it will work or not though.
Last edited by Piko; 01-27-2019 at 12:25 PM.
Its not really that. Maybe im just easy to entertain and I dont think its as bad as people make it out to be. Like a few days ago, me and my mom watched the Royal Rumble 2017 and we both loved it, we thought it was great, and I always check back to though dates to see your guys opinion of it. Im pretty sure i saw one of you guys cancel their subscription to the network from it. I was like. "geez it wasn't even that bad" IMO.
Backing up, I watched i think it was Survivor series 2016, it was whatever the PPV with Goldberg and Lesner. The only thing you guys talked about was that he beat him in like, what was it? a 1:28? I was honestly laughing my ass off because of me finally seeing Brock eat shit for once.
One last thing is that when i mentioned the list of Jericho, Piko told me it was one of the best segments with Jeri-KO and it was...but looking back and i may have not reached that point yet but i don't recall seeing any of you guys mentioning it at all.
now im not saying your opinion of it is wrong, im just not really seeing how bad it is and i have watched some of the old stuff. I mean there was a few stupid things ive saw that was really bad (S U F F E R I N S U C C A T A S H S O N and whatever the hell the old day was) but as of FEB 06, 2017, i have yet to see an episode that has really disappointed me completely.
Though its also worth noting that it is VERY hard to make me dislike something. I do everything I can to find some merit in anything i watch or hear.
Again im not trying to sound like an ass or anything.
Also Batista is down