The Wrestling Thread

[Gamerforlife]

I think Daniel Bryan has become what Kurt Angle was to the WWE before he left for TNA. He's one of the best wrestlers and workers in the company, and he has developed a strong personality to compliment his in ring skills. He's sort of the butt of everyone's jokes like Kurt used to be, but you had to take him seriously between the ropes.

[Gamerforlife]

First off, Nathan, awesome video with Morrison. I remember hearing that Keith's 'cousin' made that Undertaker/HHH rap video with Morrison so I'm guessing that's the source of the hook up. Whatever the case it was a great watch.

Raw tonight was awesome, and AJ is shaping up to be a great choice for GM. I laughed so damn hard at the end when Punk came back out and the conversation went:
Punk, "I'm the WWE Champion!"
AJ, "I'm the GM."
Punk, "I don't care if you're the G-you're a bad GM! You're crazy!"

LMAO

[edit]
Gotta mention Bryan's little pissy-fit in the ring too, lol, that was hysterical.

I think this dynamic between AJ, Bryan, and Punk is just awesome. It's been well built up over the past few months. I love how she turned the crazy gimmick on Bryan. I also love how they kind of worked R Truth's craziness into that angle. I also love how AJ and Bryan trade off using the YES chants and NO chants. That has really caught on with the audience and it's just something you kind of associate with both of them now.

I'm guessing Punk no longer digs crazy chicks

Also Ziggler and Jericho's interactions were awesome. I really, really hope we get some kind of match stipulation where Ziggler puts his briefcase on the line. I see Jericho getting the briefcase, trying to cash it in on the champ, and having Ziggler show up and screw him over, continuing their feud into another pay per view. Cena has already set a precedent now for Money in the Bank winners not always successfully cashing in.

CM Punk tearing apart Lawler and his announcing skills was great because it's true. I really wish I could see him rip apart Booker T too. Lawler did get one or two good lines in on Punk though, like when he said that the title deserves respect, but that doesn't mean that the one who is holding it does. That was good. Honestly though, I think Punk really DOES sound better on commentary than Lawler

[BurningDoom]

Wooo!

[BurningDoom]

Did anyone watch this week's Impact yet? Most of it was just pushing along the storylines for the PPV this Sunday.

But the stand-out moment of the night had to be A.J. Styles vs. Kurt Angle. What an amazing match! If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and YouTube it or something. Awesome. PPV quality. It was as good as last week's Bully Ray vs. Kurt Angle match.

[Gamerforlife]

Did anyone watch this week's Impact yet? Most of it was just pushing along the storylines for the PPV this Sunday.

But the stand-out moment of the night had to be A.J. Styles vs. Kurt Angle. What an amazing match! If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and YouTube it or something. Awesome. PPV quality. It was as good as last week's Bully Ray vs. Kurt Angle match.

I think TNA's overall product is better than the WWE right now. The show has more of a professional look than it had in the past, the live crowd adds a lot of energy to the shows, the in ring product is good, and there's a lot less nonsense and silliness when compared to the WWE. TNA presents itself as a serious wrestling product, not a show for kids or a show that is built completely around advertising and social media nonsense. Things like Gut Check and the Bound for Glory series really make it feel like there is a real, genuine sense of competition in TNA, where matches actually matter.

Really, the only thing that makes WWE worth watching at all right now is the holy trilogy of Punk, Bryan, and AJ who have been carrying the company on their backs for a couple of weeks now. I'll throw in a nod for Ziggler too since the WWE is starting to really push him now with a well booked Jericho feud. In a few months he may be getting just as much of the spot light as Punk, Bryan, and AJ are getting right now. Jericho is his ticket to being a legit main event guy. Aside from those four though, there's not much to get excited about with the WWE right now. I think Punk, Bryan, AJ, and Ziggler all deserve a raise. These guys need to be pushed as the faces of the company going forward, along with Miz and Cody Rhodes. These are the best young talent in the company right now

[NesimLE]

Did anyone watch this week's Impact yet? Most of it was just pushing along the storylines for the PPV this Sunday.

But the stand-out moment of the night had to be A.J. Styles vs. Kurt Angle. What an amazing match! If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and YouTube it or something. Awesome. PPV quality. It was as good as last week's Bully Ray vs. Kurt Angle match.

I think TNA's overall product is better than the WWE right now. The show has more of a professional look than it had in the past, the live crowd adds a lot of energy to the shows, the in ring product is good, and there's a lot less nonsense and silliness when compared to the WWE. TNA presents itself as a serious wrestling product, not a show for kids or a show that is built completely around advertising and social media nonsense. Things like Gut Check and the Bound for Glory series really make it feel like there is a real, genuine sense of competition in TNA, where matches actually matter.

Really, the only thing that makes WWE worth watching at all right now is the holy trilogy of Punk, Bryan, and AJ who have been carrying the company on their backs for a couple of weeks now. I'll throw in a nod for Ziggler too since the WWE is starting to really push him now with a well booked Jericho feud. In a few months he may be getting just as much of the spot light as Punk, Bryan, and AJ are getting right now. Jericho is his ticket to being a legit main event guy. Aside from those four though, there's not much to get excited about with the WWE right now. I think Punk, Bryan, AJ, and Ziggler all deserve a raise. These guys need to be pushed as the faces of the company going forward, along with Miz and Cody Rhodes. These are the best young talent in the company right now

I agree with pretty much this entire statement. If it weren't for Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler, I probably wouldn't follow WWE at all anymore. And yeah, TNA just put on another above average PPV...hopefully their ratings begin to reflect the improvements they've been making recently.

[BurningDoom]

I'm done with WWE. I looked at my DVR this week and noticed 2 weeks worth of WWE programming built-up. I didn't really want to watch it, and I don't feel excited for Raw tonight at all. What's the point if you're not enjoying it? It's all just too bland, predictable, and just plain boring. And Raw stretched out to 3 hours is too much of it.

On the other hand, I'm loving TNA lately. The last couple of months I've seen many high-quality matches and the storylines in general are getting better (Crackhead Claire notwithstanding). It was getting pretty bad for a while with the Immortal storyline dragging on and on. Thank god we've gotten past that. I just hope TNA sticks with this new direction, and doesn't change direction mid-stream (which unfortunately is their usual MO).

[Gamerforlife]

The only thing that concerns me with TNA is that I hear rumors that they are underpaying everyone and bringing down locker room morale. That's why people like Velvet Sky left, and they may lose Bully Ray too. The thing is, a lot of guys can't go to WWE because of a lawsuit TNA filed against them, so TNA thinks they can screw them on pay since they've got nowhere else to go

With the product so good right now, TNA shouldn't be pissing off its talent.

[BurningDoom]

The only thing that concerns me with TNA is that I hear rumors that they are underpaying everyone and bringing down locker room morale. That's why people like Velvet Sky left, and they may lose Bully Ray too. The thing is, a lot of guys can't go to WWE because of a lawsuit TNA filed against them, so TNA thinks they can screw them on pay since they've got nowhere else to go

With the product so good right now, TNA shouldn't be pissing off its talent.

Figures. TNA always manages to find a way to shoot themselves in the foot right when things start looking up.

[Gamerforlife]

The only thing that concerns me with TNA is that I hear rumors that they are underpaying everyone and bringing down locker room morale. That's why people like Velvet Sky left, and they may lose Bully Ray too. The thing is, a lot of guys can't go to WWE because of a lawsuit TNA filed against them, so TNA thinks they can screw them on pay since they've got nowhere else to go

With the product so good right now, TNA shouldn't be pissing off its talent.

Figures. TNA always manages to find a way to shoot themselves in the foot right when things start looking up.

I hope they smarten up and start paying their talent properly. They're in a really good place right now and need to keep building on the solid foundation they've made. You can't do that if you're not keeping your talent happy. Frankly, I need TNA to keep doing well. I really need a WWE alternative given how that company seems to get worse and worse with every passing year.

Speaking of which, the Brock/Triple H feud has gotten so bad now that even Shawn Michael's involvement can't save it. That's really saying something. They made Brock look like a typical, bitch WWE heel tonight. A sneak attack on HBK, then running scared when Triple H came to the ring. Ugh, horrible, horrible booking and writing on this feud. I feel like it's pretty much guaranteed now that any story line involving Triple H is going to suck. Retire him already. He's really making me hate him. His only good feud in the past two years was with Taker, and that was entirely because of HBK's involvement. I wish the roles were reversed and Triple H was the retired guy showing up on TV to support a still active HBK. Shaun Michaels actually knows how to get feuds and other wrestlers over.