Official Pro-Wrestling Thread (WWE, TNA, ROH etc.)

[masterblaster]

I think "feud" is the wrong word for the Malenko Benoit angle. I forsee it being a match of respect not hatred. It will be made "for Eddie" and thats the way they will work it.

As for tomorrow night, if it wasn't for the Triple threat on top the card would be dead. I will be staying up as usual but honestly there is little in there at all.

Mickie v Trish has been a great feud and should be another good match and RVd v Shelton is bound to be a corker but I fear a dodgy DQ ending.

But come on...the HBK v vince feud had its blow out match at Mania and should be over. There is no life in it at all and apart from Vinces comedy there is nothing interesting about the feud. What they will do about "God" is something no one can precit. There will be "divine intervention" in the match but likelihood is it will be awful. Kane v Big show....Yawn. Big show is the most tedious worker in the WWe today and Kane isnt far behind. They finally got them some momenteum as a tandem and then split them up for the purpose of filling the card out and getting Kanes movie promoted.

Carlito v Masters will be interesting but Master limitations will ruin the match as a wrestling bout and Umaga v Ric Flair....remind me of why we are supposed to care?

Saying that WWE always entertain me come PPV time (bar last years No mercy) and all my intial doubts will be set aside come 1am tomorrow

Yeah I agree with you 100%, Backlash seems like a really poor card apart from the Triple Threat match.

The chemistry between Edge, Triple H and John Cena has been really good and the presence of Edge and Triple H has made Cena (somehow) tolerable. We have to pay around $30 for it down here and really I don't think I'll be getting this PPV.

My prediction is though that John Cena walks out of Backlash, still WWE Champion. Although I'm hoping that somehow creative has enough confidence in Edge to give him a second run with the gold.

 

[masterblaster]

Completely agree with your thoughts on Orton. He has an attitude problem and that won't go down well with the other wrestlers (Triple H, Undertaker, etc).

The Malenko - Benoit fued is really something too look forward too as well.

Yeah me too, if Orton doesn't have the professionalism and attitude that contributes towards a company's success, then he shouldn't be in. As a young up and coming perfomer, you don't want to get Triple H or the Undertaker upset. But I hope he learns something though, because I think inside the ring, he's got a lot of potential, but it's his idiocy that keeps costing him.

 

[duffer]

Yeah I agree with you 100%, Backlash seems like a really poor card apart from the Triple Threat match.

The chemistry between Edge, Triple H and John Cena has been really good and the presence of Edge and Triple H has made Cena (somehow) tolerable. We have to pay around $30 for it down here and really I don't think I'll be getting this PPV.

My prediction is though that John Cena walks out of Backlash, still WWE Champion. Although I'm hoping that somehow creative has enough confidence in Edge to give him a second run with the gold.

Definitely agree with the prediction, and yes this feud is coming along nicely, and the parity booking used has meant no-one looks weak going into the PPV. Meltzer also seems to believe that Cena will win it and maybe put RVD over at ONS.

More from his newsletter:

The current plan is Cena vs. RVD at the ECW PPV.

*HHH's decision is to postpone winning the WWE title until either Vengeance or Summerslam.

*Dave thinks having Vengeance headlined by Flair challenging for the WWE title would be best. (Vengeance is in Charlotte this year)

*This may all force a Cena turn because whoever faces RVD at the PPV is a heel, and the same, but more so, goes for whomever Flair would face at Vengeance.

*Thinks we could see hot shotting the belt from Cena to RVD to Flair to HHH as it’s easy booking by giving happy endings to all the PPV’s, but it would cheapen the title by having five title changes in eights months.

*It’s not a lock that RVD is winning.

The gist of Randy Orton’s problem is that he has no problem with women who treat him like God, but he is said to be “totally unable to cope” with women who don’t or those who reject, and he goes off on them with blunt language. He’s done it to women who work for and with WWE, and has openly joked about how much he has been fined. Orton would have been fired for sure if he wasn’t hand picked to be the company’s next Rock.

Some PPV numbers, remembering that over one-third of the numbers are from international buys:

Taboo Tuesday: 240,000
Survivor Series: 390,000
Armageddon: 315,000
NYR: 295,000
Royal Rumble: 520,000
No Way Out: 220,000

*WWE are looking for more women in addition to the Diva Search competition. They’re going to modeling agencies looking for women who are, beautiful, fit, and don’t’ mind being in front of people in a bathing suit.

*Howard Stern on 4/18 was talking about the “Dancing with the Stars”, because his girlfriend was offered a spot on the next season and talked about the money people get, and with how far Stacey Keibler got she probably made in $350,000 to $400,000 ranger, which is about double what she made for a year in WWE.

*Kevin Fertig (Mordecai) is expected to be signed to a developmental deal as part of WWE’s policy of signing ‘naturally’ big guys.

*With Orton gone and the US Title change, it’s now Benoit vs. JBL and Rey vs. Angle vs. Henry at house shows.

*WWE has kept up the billboard advertising in the UK, with big soccer-themed billboards outside of a number of major soccer stadiums.

*HHH filmed a Miller Lite commercial with Burt Reynolds and Jerome Bettis.

*Ken Kennedy's dad passed away of cancer at 52 recently.

credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Bad news about Kennedy's dad, and interesting how Vince would believe Flair is capable of ME'ing in his condition, especially with a pretty avergae worker like Cena, who wouldn't exactly make him look good in the ring. Hoping for a Cena heel turn, and a bit PO'd about WWE re-signing horrible talent like Mordecai and bringing back more bimbos who can be whored out to Playboy in the future.

 

[oz_fan]

I wouldn't mind seeing Flair hold the title one last time. He always seems to get some of the biggest fan ovations when he comes to the ring.

Found this article here:http://www.wrestlinginc.com/v2/wi/stc/nws/2006/4/29/17253.shtml
Big Injury News: Kurt Angle Suffers Cracked Rib

From WWE.com: Kurt Angle has suffered a cracked rib. As a result of the injury, the Wrestling Machine will now be out of action for an undetermined amount of time.

The injury originally occurred on the recent European tour when Mark Henry delivered the World’s Strongest Slam to Angle during a match in New Castle. “At that point, I wasn’t even sure if I was going to be able to compete against Mysterio for the World Heavyweight Championship,” Angle later admitted to WWE.com. But being the intense competitor that he is, Angle kept his injury to himself and fought valiantly for the title he feels he rightfully deserves.

Unfortunately for Angle, the final straw came when Henry, perhaps realizing he injured Angle earlier in New Castle, dismantled the Wrestling Machine on SmackDown with a near 400-pound splash through a ringside table.

Just as he did to former World Heavyweight Champion Batista, Henry injured Angle to the point where he will now be out of action indefinitely, meaning he must forfeit his spot in the King of the Ring tournament. As a result, Booker T advances to the final round.

Smackdown is going to be a very weak brand if Angle is out for an extended period of time.

I read somewhere that the main event for Judgement Day will be JBL against Mysterio.

 

[duffer]

MARK ****ING HENRY!!!!!!


Honestly why does this guy have a contract. This means that JBL and Benoit have to move up the card now, and we could see guys like Lashley or Booker thrown right into the fire. Sink or swim time for some of these guys. Get well soon Big Dave.

 

[masterblaster]

I wouldn't mind seeing Flair hold the title one last time. He always seems to get some of the biggest fan ovations when he comes to the ring.

Found this article here:http://www.wrestlinginc.com/v2/wi/stc/nws/2006/4/29/17253.shtml
Big Injury News: Kurt Angle Suffers Cracked Rib

From WWE.com: Kurt Angle has suffered a cracked rib. As a result of the injury, the Wrestling Machine will now be out of action for an undetermined amount of time.

The injury originally occurred on the recent European tour when Mark Henry delivered the World’s Strongest Slam to Angle during a match in New Castle. “At that point, I wasn’t even sure if I was going to be able to compete against Mysterio for the World Heavyweight Championship,” Angle later admitted to WWE.com. But being the intense competitor that he is, Angle kept his injury to himself and fought valiantly for the title he feels he rightfully deserves.

Unfortunately for Angle, the final straw came when Henry, perhaps realizing he injured Angle earlier in New Castle, dismantled the Wrestling Machine on SmackDown with a near 400-pound splash through a ringside table.

Just as he did to former World Heavyweight Champion Batista, Henry injured Angle to the point where he will now be out of action indefinitely, meaning he must forfeit his spot in the King of the Ring tournament. As a result, Booker T advances to the final round.

Smackdown is going to be a very weak brand if Angle is out for an extended period of time.

I read somewhere that the main event for Judgement Day will be JBL against Mysterio.

The injury is a work my friend. Angle needed time off to allow his neck to heal. The shoulder injury is a work and WWE are reporting it in story mode. His real injury problem is his neck, and because of WWE's new drugs policy, Angle is not allowed to take that many pain killers as he used to. So finally the pain is catching up with Angle, and because he's notorious in wrestling through the most crippling injuries, Vince and co. have decided to give him a break.

So it's his neck that's the real injury, the shoulder is the storyline injury.

 

[masterblaster]

MARK ****ING HENRY!!!!!!


Honestly why does this guy have a contract. This means that JBL and Benoit have to move up the card now, and we could see guys like Lashley or Booker thrown right into the fire. Sink or swim time for some of these guys. Get well soon Big Dave.

Don't worry mate, Mark Henry's 10 year WWE contract expires in August of this year. I don't think Vince and co will renew this particular contract.

 

[GotSpin]

Don't worry mate, Mark Henry's 10 year WWE contract expires in August of this year. I don't think Vince and co will renew this particular contract.

Wow, a 10 year contract!

 

[DanielFullard]

I am very very suprised Vince and the WWE were ok with Joy Style's cracking promo. Apparently Joey wrote it himself and okayed it with the creative team. It was the best WWE promo in a long time as Styles was obviously allowed to "shoot-from-the-hip". Whether Styles himself feels that way or not, which from his past writings you would assume he does, he said what a lot of people are thinking. In fact, I am very very shocked WWE allowed such close-to-the-bone criticism to appear on its own show

 

[DanielFullard]

Don't worry mate, Mark Henry's 10 year WWE contract expires in August of this year. I don't think Vince and co will renew this particular contract.

According to Wrestling Observer Henrys contract ended a few days after Mania. they brought him back at the start of the year to just try and get something out of the money they have plunged into him, and also keep Batista tiding over until the planned Orton match at Mania, but apparently WWE thought Henry did very well so gave him a rolling contract

 

[DanielFullard]

There is no way they are going to cheapen the title by switching it from Cena to RVD to Flair to HHH. Meltzer damn sure comes out with some crazy stuff. I dont think WWE have any intention of giving Flair another title run. Maybe there will be some sort of 3+ man title match at Vengeance and they could tease a flair win in the run up but giving him the title would not be of any benefit to the company.

Over the past year WWE made thier titles mean something again by having long-runs. This means the switches are all that more special. In WCW when they used to switch 5 times a day it meant nothing but take NYR for instance, that was such a great moment because Cena and JBL's long runs had made the title special and made the title switches rare and thus special. Batista did a great job with the World Title and if not for injury would have carried it to Mania. Switching to Angle then Rey and now seemingly JBL won't ruin things too much but still the World Title carries some sembelance of prestige

 

[duffer]

I am very very suprised Vince and the WWE were ok with Joy Style's cracking promo. Apparently Joey wrote it himself and okayed it with the creative team. It was the best WWE promo in a long time as Styles was obviously allowed to "shoot-from-the-hip". Whether Styles himself feels that way or not, which from his past writings you would assume he does, he said what a lot of people are thinking. In fact, I am very very shocked WWE allowed such close-to-the-bone criticism to appear on its own show

Apparently, they made him add in the "And I'm sick of the fans who buy into this crap" bit at the end, a line which he didn't want to use. Probably to turn him heel, but I don't know who they're gonna partner him with when they launch their ECW brand, so whether or not he actually has turned is a bit of a mystery.

Nonetheless, a top shoot from Joey, I rate it up there with Heymans ONS promo last year, where he told Bradshaw "the only reason you're champ is because Triple H doesn't want to work Thursday nights." If Heyman books it, this brand might do okay.

 

[masterblaster]

I am very very suprised Vince and the WWE were ok with Joy Style's cracking promo. Apparently Joey wrote it himself and okayed it with the creative team. It was the best WWE promo in a long time as Styles was obviously allowed to "shoot-from-the-hip". Whether Styles himself feels that way or not, which from his past writings you would assume he does, he said what a lot of people are thinking. In fact, I am very very shocked WWE allowed such close-to-the-bone criticism to appear on its own show

Agreed. It was a stellar promo by Joey Styles. I personally really liked Joey and his commentary and you can tell the man has a lot of talent on the mic when he delivers a promo like that. But it was surprisingly scathing of the WWE, which makes me even more surprised that Vince, Stephanie and WWE Creative gave it the go ahead.

It seems that the WWE are 100% behind making ECW seem genuine and not some watered down WWE subdivision. If Paul Heyman's got Vince's money and backing and still has complete creative power over ECW, then i'm sure it'll be a success.

 

[masterblaster]

There is no way they are going to cheapen the title by switching it from Cena to RVD to Flair to HHH. Meltzer damn sure comes out with some crazy stuff. I dont think WWE have any intention of giving Flair another title run. Maybe there will be some sort of 3+ man title match at Vengeance and they could tease a flair win in the run up but giving him the title would not be of any benefit to the company.

Over the past year WWE made thier titles mean something again by having long-runs. This means the switches are all that more special. In WCW when they used to switch 5 times a day it meant nothing but take NYR for instance, that was such a great moment because Cena and JBL's long runs had made the title special and made the title switches rare and thus special. Batista did a great job with the World Title and if not for injury would have carried it to Mania. Switching to Angle then Rey and now seemingly JBL won't ruin things too much but still the World Title carries some sembelance of prestige

I doubt that as well, the title won't be changed that often. But, maybe it's just me but I hate title reigns that last over 6-8 months. I just find every PPV World Title bout to be very, very predictable. There was a time though where just about anything could happen with regards to the World Title, now a days if John Cena wins it, you can be rest assured he'll win just about every match for the next 12 months. That's not exciting and it takes away from the charm of watching a PPV.

I think ideally that a person should hold the title for about a minimum period of 3 months and a maximum period of 6-8 months tops. After that, the show is just too predictable. I'm finding this out especially with John Cena's reign. His act with the belt has gotten really stale and it's time for a change (which will hopefully come soon with RVD).

 

[Buddhmaster]

I was also surprised Styles was able to say everything he says. But it does show us that Vince is serious about the ECW coming back and becoming what it was once was.

 

[sledger]

just watched the wrestlemania jsut gone on video, and my word was it shocking, the entrances for HHH and Cena in the main event were just awful, whoever wrote the script for that one should be sacked, how ridiculous, awful wwe, changes needed...

 

[oz_fan]

From http://www.wrestlinginc.com/v2/wi/stc/nws/2006/5/4/17381.shtml
Huge Updated New ECW Roster, Major Names Confirmed
By Tim Brown, WrestlingInc.com Staff
Here is an updated rundown of the new ECW roster.
Confirmed: - The Sandman - Sabu - Francine - CW Anderson - Tommy Dreamer (He will be both wrestling and doing behind-the-scenes work.) - Masato Tanaka - Roadkill - Balls Mahoney - Axl Rotten - Rob Van Dam - Little Guido - Al Snow - Jazz


Possible part-time appearances: - Terry Funk - CM Punk - Masato Tanaka - Tajiri - Mikey Whipwreck - Joel Gertner - Roadkill - Kid Kash - Super Crazy - Lance Storm - Justin Credible

Announcers: - Joey Styles (play-by-play) - Steven DeAngelis (ring announcer)

Booking: - Paul Heyman - Tommy Dreamer - Ed Koskey (Koskey has yet to be confirmed as a booker for ECW, however is being considered for a part-time position.)

 

[sledger]

looks like a good show, bound to be better than anything wwe have thrown up recently.

 

[alternative]

sledger i have to agree with that, Raw has been awfully crap of late.. too much of this "GOD" stuff..

 

[sledger]

yeah indeed, the god rubbish is just awful, but smackdown is in a far worse state of affairs imo, they need to have serious thoughts about ending this smackdown/RAW divide, its just got to the point that they dont have enough high profile superstars to keep it going.