sports WWE Discussion Thread

[Skiles]

Discuss all things wrestling here, from WWE to TNA, Lucha Underground, indie promotions, what have you.

 

I'd like to start by saying that I may like watching Chris Jericho now more than I ever have.

[Persona40]

 

I'd like to start by saying that I may like watching Chris Jericho now more than I ever have.[/b]

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wLR5u_Tw8lA

[Skiles]

BROTHER PERSONA

 

I KNEW YOU'D COME

[Persona40]

BROTHER PERSONA

 

I KNEW YOU'D COME

 

THEY'LL'LL FADE AWAY AND CLASSIFY THEMSELVES AS OBSOLETE!!!!!

 

I see it now. Broken Skiles and Brother Persona.

[Persona40]

Tommy End and Big Damon to make NXT debut soon, Lilian Garcia starting her own podcast.

 

http://wrestlingnews.co/wwe-news-big-damo-and-tommy-end-to-make-their-nxt-in-ring-debuts-lilian-garcia-update/

[Skiles]

Tommy End and Big Damon to make NXT debut soon, Lilian Garcia starting her own podcast.

 

http://wrestlingnews.co/wwe-news-big-damo-and-tommy-end-to-make-their-nxt-in-ring-debuts-lilian-garcia-update/

I'm not super familiar with Tommy End, but I've seen some of Damo's work. He could be a very good addition to NXT.

 

Also, I hope Lillian Garcia's podcast has some awesome shoot stuff, especially from her, since WWE loves to fuck with their ring announcers for whatever reason. Although by all accounts, she is on great terms with them, so she may not want to burn that bridge.

[Persona40]

I'm not super familiar with Tommy End, but I've seen some of Damo's work. He could be a very good addition to NXT.

 

Also, I hope Lillian Garcia's podcast has some awesome shoot stuff, especially from her, since WWE loves to fuck with their ring announcers for whatever reason. Although by all accounts, she is on great terms with them, so she may not want to burn that bridge.

 

Definitely, especially if she wants to get inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, which I have no doubt that she will.

[Persona40]

NEWS Former WWE/WCW Star Vader Gets Bad News From His Doctor: “I Have 2 Years To Live”

 

http://wrestlingnews.co/former-wwewcw-star-vader-gets-bad-news-from-his-doctor-i-have-2-years-to-live/

[Skiles]

NEWS Former WWE/WCW Star Vader Gets Bad News From His Doctor: “I Have 2 Years To Live”

 

http://wrestlingnews.co/former-wwewcw-star-vader-gets-bad-news-from-his-doctor-i-have-2-years-to-live/

I saw him tweet this a couple days ago. Very, very sad.

 

WWE better do the right thing and induct him into the HOF before he dies.

[inhumanrampager]

Did anyone happen to catch Wrestle Kingdom 11?

[BUU8800]

I read a spoiler an hour before kickoff that had the rumble winner correct. It was tagged, but I now regret my decision to read it. I was hugely disappointed when Reigns, who I already despise, was 30. Even worse he eliminated Taker, my all time favorite, who rumors say he'll fight now at Mania and probably beat. Disappointed isn't strong enough of a word for that. And I feel like if I hadn't known Orton was winning all along him eliminating Reigns would have brought me some comfort. Now I just feel dead inside. Thanks WWE!

[Admin]

I read a spoiler an hour before kickoff that had the rumble winner correct. It was tagged, but I now regret my decision to read it. I was hugely disappointed when Reigns, who I already despise, was 30. Even worse he eliminated Taker, my all time favorite, who rumors say he'll fight now at Mania and probably beat. Disappointed isn't strong enough of a word for that. And I feel like if I hadn't known Orton was winning all along him eliminating Reigns would have brought me some comfort. Now I just feel dead inside. Thanks WWE!

 

yeah especially given that the alternatives for who they could have trotted out at #30, them going w/Reigns just shows how utterly out of touch their writers are. 

 

What's worse:  Reigns had a really really good match with Owens.  A really really good match. 

 

if WWE had just let it rest there, I would be kinda like "well you know, that Roman Reigns isn't so bad, maybe I should give him another chance" But  no - they drag him out to the Rumble at #30, have him look like he's going to win it - and then toss the thing to Orton. 

 

Royal Rumble was actually pretty awesome this year.  What sucks is how the writing staff can utterly destroy the entire mood of a pretty awesome ppv event with one super super stupid ending.

 

Orton had some very nice spots in the RR match, don't get me wrong.  I just think it's dumb as hell how glacially slow they are to change, especially when surrounded by crazy amounts of talent.  The roster is an embarrassment of riches and they keep going to the same wells over and over and over again.

 

I'm hearing Joe is going to get a monster push soon.  WWE really needs that right now.  AJ Styles was very well handled once they figured out what to do with him.  I think Joe, with his NXT storylines under his belt, has even more for creative to draw from.

 

Basically that's Wrestlemania for me right now.  Hoping that Samoa Joe ends up crashing the roster soon enough to actually make it interesting.

[inhumanrampager]

I'm not quite finished with Raw yet, but I love how right you are with Samoa Joe. I was partially hoping for him, and instead got a Samoan named Joe. I honestly was pulling for Sami Zayn to win. I know that the Zayn/Owens feud is Wrestlemania headlining quality. If you don't believe me, look up anything with Kevin Steen (Owens) and El Generico (Zayn....or is it?) - or hell, anything these 2 did in NXT is worth a watch too. Point is, when these 2 get together, it's a barn burner for sure.

 

Here's the thing about Orton winning though. That may have been the (shitty) plan all along. It was a ruse. Get Roman out there to take all the heat, and get us cheering for Orton.... Yet, who won earlier that night, but Cena? That leaves us actually cheering for Orton/Cena - 141 and 2/3rds in a lifetime match. Ugh. THAT is the Wrestlemania main event. It coulda been 2 new guys. Or worse, it coulda been Reigns again.

 

Which yea, brings me to Reigns. He's not a bad performer. But the crowd doesn't like him...and it would make sense, imo, to turn him heel. Hell, I'd move him over to SMackdown, have him rejoin with his cousins in the Usos, and have him redo his gimmick from NXT....only instead of Leakee, it's still Roman Reigns...the big jock d-bag, just like what his cousins are doing now. And for the Usos, it's working very well, I think. I actually kinda give half a shit when they come out...instead of the zero shits before.

 

But yea, the WWE has an INSANE amount of talent on thier roster, but not enough time for them to do well....anything. They would need 3 more shows just to help them all out. And that would atcually help their NXT roster. NXT was supposed to be for the up and comers who were trying to learn, now more than half the roster already has 5 - 10 years experience going in, at the very least. The only people of note within the current and former champions going into Takeover last Staurday that didn't have that experience were Authors of Pain, but even then, their manager has been in the business for what....30 years, on a guess? DIY, Bobby Roode, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Asuka all have a lot of independent/TNA/Japan experience, and suddenly they all get the spotlight over a guy who is still trying to break in, who ends up getting jobbed out. BUt to say they need 3 more shows implies someone would have time to watch all that content. And there's not enough time in the world to watch all the good wrestling there is out there.

[Admin]

Where's the big push for Friendship the Magician?

[inhumanrampager]

He had an AMA on reddit. Apparently he's a legit magician, and not a wrassler

 

Festival of Friendship is probably the greatest segment of all time.

[Skinko]

He had an AMA on reddit. Apparently he's a legit magician, and not a wrassler

 

Festival of Friendship is probably the greatest segment of all time.

I don't want to talk about it. 

[Admin]

I do like the WWE for what it is.  But also I yearn for the day they start using writing/plot/characters more effectively.  that barely peeks through here and there, but it's always squashed beyond recognition in fairly short order.

 

The focus should always be on ring action.  But I think you can do that and still have creative stories built around that.

 

I will say - NXT is the best I think there.  For a "test" brand, they really do build the best feuds and stage the best matches.

 

Smackdown is not doing too bad.  Allllmost seems to be trying to pull up.

 

Raw is terrible.  Of the three shows, Raw is the one basically steeped in old BS that feels stagnant after awhile.  Storylines are dropped without notice, stuff is thrown in that detracts from a story, pushes seem often fairly inexplicable and seem to run counter to what the audience seems to want.  I think they've gotten a little better at it. 

 

But I just would love to see some decent plotlines and character stuff on a wrestling show.  I think it's prime ground for that.

 

My understanding is the backstage politics/writing/booking is kind of a confused mass of randomness.  They haven't yet (even after all these years) found a way to consolidate the concept of "booking" with the concept of writing.  And you can sort of see it on the screen.

 

 

[Skinko]

FASTLANE SPOILER

 

 

Don't worry, though, Admin! Raw is really stepping it up because it's 2017 and Bill Goldberg just beat Kevin Owens for the Universal Title in 22 God damn seconds aaaannnnnnd I FUCKING HATE PRO WRESTLING.

 

[Kudasai]

It's official 

 

 

[Admin]

that kinda made me happy.

 

 

[Admin]

I don't want to talk about it. 

 

basically I think this is, kind of in a nutshell what's wrong with WWE, and Raw specifically.

 

They took a thing that people loved (JeriKO) and sacrificed it on the altar of Goldberg.  Because - had Owens gone into that match with the Jericho thing in tact, the crowd would have booed Goldberg out of the building.

 

BUT -

 

Goldberg is a temp player who is basically slated to drop the belt to Lesnar at Wrestlemania.

 

So - they took something that the fans loved, and that even had a ton of merchandising potential (pulling creativity out of it and just exposing it to the cold light of commerce) and sacrificed it to a very short term player.

 

NOT ONLY THAT -

 

but said short term player will be going out with a whimper probably, as he drops the belt to Lesnar.

 

AND ON TOP OF THAT -

 

Lesnar is also a temp player, only showing up periodically, basically shooting themselves in the foot by removing the championship from play as a plot device for the forseeable future (as long as Lesnar holds onto it).

 

so - they skuttled a pretty decent asset to a temp player who is going to drop the belt to a part timer - I can't conceive of a way they could have handled the Universal Championship any more poorly.  They've managed to, in front of the biggest ppv of the year - make the Universal Championship basically irrelevant as a storytelling tool, completely trashed two of their biggest draws going into the event (Owens and Jericho) and elevated a couple of figures once more that a lot of wrestling fans are just plain tired of.

 

That's basically what WWE does.

 

They kind of stumble into stuff that people like, and then sacrifice them on the altar of giant all-consuming pushes that nobody really wants or cares about.

[Jman]

Lucha Underground Seasons 1 and 2 are now on Netflix.

 

 

You are out of excuses to not watch it.

[Admin]

Lucha Underground is awesome.  I always get nervous when I read reports of WWE trying to grab Lucha Underground talent.  It's like "noooooo don't go there, they'll fucking bury you in a Roman Reigns, John Cena or Randy Orton push or some stupid shit".

 

I really feel like, as all-consuming as WWE is, Lucha Underground has grasped the next phase of "sports entertainment" much more firmly than WWE seems to have the capacity to.

[BUU8800]

So...2 weeks out from Mania is there ANY chance Roman doesn't beat Taker? ANY hope? People were speculating he might lose then go insane and attack Taker in a heel turn. That...I'd be okay with actually, as long as he lost. But with these rumors that he's facing Lesnar for the belt at NEXT year's Mania...I don't see it. He'll probably beat Taker clean, get booed out of the building, and Vince will continue not to care.

 

Oh, and yeah, Paige's leak is a thing that happened this weekend.

[Jman]

Who thinks the Mania crowd is snarky enough to go "New...Day fucks"?

[Admin]

Wrestlemania is pretty boring this year.

 

I mean - Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, John Cena, Brock Lesnar.  Surprised Batista hasn't jetpacked in for some inexplicable last minute push.

 

Meanwhile, AJ Styles is absolutely stealing every bit of spotlight.  Road to Wrestlemania = dumbass booking, and basically everybody I want to see has been more or less buried on the card, or left off the card.

 

If anything I actually DON'T want to watch it because I don't want to see Wyatt hand the belt over to Orton (which I'm sure was the plan all along and the only reason they ever gave it to him to begin with), Goldbert hand the belt over to Lesnar (which I'm sure was the plan all along and the only reason he's holding the belt to begin with) and John Cena and Nikki Bella beat up Miz and Maryse.

 

Don't want to see any of that.  I mean, not only don't want to see it, but will be glad not to.

 

Oh yeah, left out (what is this now year 4 or 5 of this?) Roman Reigns endless push, oh hey I know!  let's feed the Undertaker to Roman Reigns that'll for sure get him over with the fans that hate his boring stupid guts. 

 

Roman Reigns - don't care.  Goldberg and Lesnar - don't care.  Randy Orton - don't care.  John Cena/Nikki Bella - don't care. 

 

I've been sort of not totally on board with every Wrestlemania booking over the years, but this may be the first one I just do not care about and can't wait for it to be over so they can dispense with all the nonsense big money Wrestlemania pushes and I can watch guys like Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, AJ Styles, etc etc steal the spotlight from the stiff fucks that WWE seems to constantly want to shove down our throats.

[BUU8800]

Who thinks the Mania crowd is snarky enough to go "New...Day fucks"?

 

They'd just edit it out on the broadcast like they do Roman's boos. But it would probably be the most entertaining thing at the show since as Admin[/member] pointed out the card looks so horrible. Masochist that I am I'll still watch it though.

[Admin]

AJ/Shane I kind of want to see.  I'm sure the women will put on a pretty incredible show.  there are a few things I would like to see in it.

 

If I catch it at all it'll probably be because I fastforwarded through most of it.

 

I'm actually about 10000x more pumped for Takeover.  Nakamura Vs Roode and Askuka Vs Ember Moon and DIY vs Revival (don't really care about Authors Of Pain, as long as they don't fuck up and injure somebody on one of the other teams, I'm cool with them being in there I guess).

[BUU8800]

I just want Nakamura called up already. Asuka too, but that seems more unlikely right now.

[Admin]

I almost hate to see them leave NXT.  But it would also be interesting to see what they'd do with some of the Raw and Smackdown talent.  Certainly it'd be two more reasons to watch those shows.

 

I thought this was kinda interesting, caught it almost by accident, posted today, a Triple H media conference call.  I really really do like what he's done and what he's doing with NXT.

 

[HardcoreHunter]

I liked when the Ultimate Warrior was being trained by Jake the snake to fight the Undertaker. So Snek had to bury warrior alive so he wouldn't fear death, warrior was screaming like crazy the whole time and called him snek man. Later Snek told Warrior to trust him and locked him into a room with a bunch of sneks. Warrior legit kicked a few of them, then got bitten and died. He wrestled later that night it was pretty epic.

[NaBarney]

Paige's sex videos made me remember WWE exists and lol, what a hilariously awful state it's in. Can't believe these 40+ and 50+ year old cartoon characters are even still around.

 

Goldberg vs Lesnar is the main event? After their WrestleMania match like 15 years ago with the crowd hilariously booing everyone involved the entire time?

 

How is this company still solvent.

[Jman]

Paige's sex videos made me remember WWE exists and lol, what a hilariously awful state it's in. Can't believe these 40+ and 50+ year old cartoon characters are even still around.

 

Goldberg vs Lesnar is the main event? After their WrestleMania match like 15 years ago with the crowd hilariously booing everyone involved the entire time?

 

How is this company still solvent.

 

A premium network with ALL the PPV's, particularly when it was cool.

[NaBarney]

Lesnar, Cena, Orton, Miz, AJ Styles, Bobby Roode, Samoa Joe, Sheamus, the Hardy Boys and most of these other names I'm seeing all have to be at least 40 years old by now right?

 

Triple H, Jericho, Big Show, Batista, Shane McMahon all pushing 50. Undertaker and Goldberg have got to be older than 50.

 

They're not going to have a roster in 5 years, are they?

 

Why is the Roman Reigns forever push still happening?

 

Why do people keep giving this company money? It's just amazing.

 

Also Kane is apparently running for mayor of where I live. Apparently he's a libertarian.

[Admin]

Rhyno was also running for office somewhere.

[BUU8800]

I'd watch old, out of shape Undertaker beat up guys well into his 60s if I could, no matter how awful he looked. Hell, it'd be no worse than Ric Flair. Sadly...Roman...

 

Also RIP JR's wife. Truly awful.

 

Also, also, Shawn Michaels turned down a match with AJ at Mania...that woulda been awesome.

[Jman]

That made me lose my smile hearing that.

 

But if Michaels really wants to stay retired, more power to him.

[Admin]

Recently I've been really into Wolfe and Nikki Cross in NXT.  I love their commitment to the characters, they are truly awesome to watch.  And Nikki is crazy in the ring as well.  Seeing her and Asuka face to face a few weeks back was freakin amazing.

 

Tonight I though Ruby Riot made a great debut going toe to toe w/Cross and the rest of Sanity (joining Dillinger, No Way Jose and Roderick Strong). 

 

NXT had a good show tonight. 

 

I also like the Drifter/Kassious Ohno thing.  Though - didn't Elias Sampson already get kicked off NXT like a few weeks ago for losing some match or something?  I distinctly remember him getting kicked off NXT and going "he'll show up on the main roster, wonder which brand he goes to?"

[NaBarney]

40 year old AJ Styles vs 50 year old Shawn Michaels sucking up 20 minutes of time that should go to anyone under 35

 

What a hilariously shitty idea.

[NaBarney]

They bringing in 60 year old Sting yet? Booker T? Kevin Nash?

[BUU8800]

I was into NXT very briefly. Around the Takeover where Nakamura won the title off Joe. Now I simply don't care.

[Admin]

Wrestlemania Weekend predictions/wishful thinking:

 

starting with NXT Takeover Orlando:

 

Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Aleister Black:  Like em both.

Prediction:  Black.  Wishful thinking:  Also Black 

 

The Authors of Pain vs. DIY vs. The Revival:  Like all three teams. 

 

Prediction:  Authors of Pain retain.  I think we'll see Dash and Dawson show up on Smackdown Live shortly after Wrestlemania

Wishful Thinking:  DIY take the titles, Revival is called up to Smackdown, Authors of Pain go to Raw, leaving DIY to help cultivate a new batch of tag teams, possibly feud with Sanity for awhile, eventually perhaps DIY goes to Smackdown and Sanity takes over the tag titles.

 

Asuka vs. Ember Moon:  Like em both.

 

Prediction:  Hate to even say it, but I think Ember Moon is going to take the belt to free Asuka up for the main roster. 

Wishful Thinking:  Asuka retains, I would love to see her in a knockdown dragout fight with Nikki Cross. 

 

Bobby Roode vs. Shinsuke Nakamura:  Like em both.

Prediction:  smart money seems to be on Roode retaining to free Nakamura up for the main roster.  I'm not so sure given the trajectory of the storyline.  Roode injured Nakamura, they made a HUGE deal/spectacle out of that.  I'm not sure they could jetison Nakamura to the main roster without coming back from that injury and regaining the title first.  So I'm actually going to vote Nakamura here.

 

Wishful Thinking:  I also personally would like to see Nakamura retake the belt.  His storylines work best with back-and-forth struggles (as in his most recent epic feud with Samoa Joe).  Though SO MANY dream matches await him in the WWE main roster.  I'd be surprised if Vince could wrap his head around Nakamura though.  HHH seems to have a wider range of vision regarding talent.  Vince seems to fixate on size.  So it's possible Nakamura would never get anywhere on the main roster.  Though, especially if Balor is back in action, Nakamura/Balor we know is an epic combination.  Nakamura/Zayn also epic.  Nakamura/AJ Styles would be amazing.  so I hope he takes the belt back, and shortly thereafter drops it to ascend to the main roster.  I just don't think it would make sense from a story perspective to have him lose to Roode at Takeover given the buildup.  so maybe his callup won't be immediate, but it does seem inevitable still.

 

 

conspicuously absent:

Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe, Killian Dane and Nikki Cross Vs Tye Dillinger, No Way Jose, Roderick Strong and Ruby Riot.

if somehow added to the card I think Sanity should win the match.  They're the faction that needs the build.  but if forced to predict, I think the indicators point to Dillinger's team.

[Admin]

Wrestlemania 33:

 

Kickoff show:

 

Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal:

Curtis Axel vs Big Show Vs Tyler Breeze vs Chad Gable vs Apollo Crews vs Bo Dallas vs Aiden English vs Epico Vs Fandango vs Goldust vs Simon Gotch vs Curt Hawkins vs Mark Henry Vs Jason Jordan vs Kalisto vs Konnor vs Jinder Mahal vs Mojo Rawley vs Titus O'Neil vs Primo vs R Truth Vs Rhyno vs Sin Cara vs Heath Slater vs Braun Strowman vs Jey Uso vs Jimmy Uso vs Viktor vs Sami Zayn vs Dolph Ziggler:  not a fan of Primo and Epico, Curt Hawkins, Titus O'Neil but love the rest and think they're massively underutilized.

 

Prediction:  Big Show.  his big match fell through vs Shaq this year, and this is reportedly his last Wrestlemania, my guess is they'll send him out with a bang.

 

Wishful Thinking:  also Big Show.  My only fallback is Sami Zayn.  If it's not Big Show, and it's not Zayn, I'll be kinda pissed off unless it's like somebody totally fresh/unexpected.

 

Kickoff Show:

 

Neville vs. Austin Airies:  Like both a lot.

 

Prediction:  Ares

 

Wishful Thinking:  also Ares.

 

 

Kickoff Show:

 

Alexa Bliss vs Carmella vs Mikie James vs Becky Lynch vs Naomi vs  Natalya:  all 6 of these performers deserve the belt.  they're all fantastic.  It's annoying that this match got  bumped from the main show so that Pit Bull could perform. 

 

Prediction:  WWE brass seems to love Alexa Bliss to the exclusion of all others.  But I think the build has been for Naomi to win back the title at Wrestlemania. So Ima go with Naomi.

 

Wishful Thinking:  Naomi.  She beyond deserves it.

 

 

Main Show:

Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. Cesaro & Sheamus Tag Team Championship Triple Threat Ladder Match:  like all three teams.

 

Prediction:  Gallows and Anderson seem a solid pick.  But Enzo and Cass have been carrying a lot of water lately for WWE and selling a lot merch.  So I will go with Enzo/Cass to pick up the belts.  Also it'd be a HUGE audience pop.

 

Wishful Thinking:  Gallows and Anderson make more sense to me as champs, but gotta also to with Enzo/Cass just because of the "event" feeling I think that would accompany that.

 

 

Dean Ambrose vs. Baron Corbin:  Like both a lot.

 

Prediction:  Baron Corbin

 

Wishful Thinking:  I'd kinda like to see Ambrose retain.  Though

 

 

Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens:  Like both.

 

Prediction:  Owens

 

Wishful Thinking:  This one's pretty damn straight up predictable as Wrestelmania matches go.  Might be nice to see any kind of surprise tossed into it.

 

 

Bayley vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax:  Again, all four extremely solid and deserving of the title.

 

Prediction:  hmmmm tough one.  I feel like the momentum is with Jax.  But something's up with Banks.  They may drop the belt on her.  hmmm.  I guess force prediction: Jax.  and hey Flair's not necessarily out of the running either.

 

Wishful Thinking:  Bayley retains.

 

 

John Cena & Nikki Bella vs. The Miz & Maryse:  Kind of into the Miz lately, I think he and HHH are the best heels in the game right now.  Maryse is okay as backup to that.  Not a huge fan of Cena/Bella.

 

Prediction:  Cena/Bella, they've made a gigantic deal out of Cena never proposing to Nikki Bella, so I would venture to guess the big "surprise" ending to the match will be Cena popping the question.

 

Wishful Thiking:  Obviously I'm with Miz/Maryse, but storywise I just don't see this going down any other way than Cena/Bella.

 

 

 

Shane McMahon Vs AJ Styles:  like both.

 

Prediction:  AJ wins an unexpectedly difficult/grueling match

Wishful Thinking:  Styles, like many of the matches on the card, there really doesn't seem to be a lot of wiggle-room for unpredictability.

 

 

 

Triple H vs. Seth Rollins:  Like both

 

Prediction:  Triple H.  He's head of creative and he tends to approach his own matches with a sense of realism.  In the end, I think he'll definitely put rollins over with the crowd, but I think the inevitable victory will go to the uninjured Game.  Also I fully expect to see Samoa Joe show up in this match.

 

Wishful Thinking:  I would love to see some sort of evening of the playing field early in the match, perhaps Triple H sustaining an unexpected injury at the hands of Rollins.  I just don't see the match playing out without Samoa Joe interfering (as he's not on the card anywhere else).  This is another one of those matches (a recurring theme) where I'd be happy to see anything unpredictable pop up.  Ultimately though, again, I see no other conclusion to this story besides Triple H and Samoa Joe destroying the injured Seth Rollins.  unless...

 

I will say this:  Finn Balor is cleared and he will be there, but like Joe, isn't on the card.  so - you never know - could be we see Triple H and Joe try to beat down Rollins, and Balor runs in to make the save.

 

 

Undertaker Vs Roman Reigns:  I like Undertaker, but he's very old for this game, Reigns is okay, but his dead-fish mic presence makes me want to puke.

 

Prediction:  Reigns *yawn*

Wishful Thinking:  Undertaker not only beats Reigns, but seals him in a coffin.  When Reigns returns to the ring, he has lost the power of speech, his voice taken by the dead man.

 

 

 

Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton:  huge Wyatt fan, can't stand Orton.

 

Prediction:  Orton

 

Wishful Thinking:  Luke Harper is also conspicuously absent from the card (not even in the battle royal), so I fully expect to see him pop up in this match to plague both Orton and Wyatt.  Rowan is also cleared, but I don't expect to see him at Wrestlemania (but damn I would be out of my chair so fast if he showed up).  I would love to see Wyatt retain in a grueling free-for-all.  Or somehow maybe DB interrupts the match to make it a three way and Harper comes out with the belt.  I would LOVE to see a Harper/Styles feud for the title.  I think that'd be pretty epic.

 

 

 

Goldberg Vs Brock Lesnar:  who.... gives a shit.  not a fan of either.  I just don't see a lot of story potential in either character.  I get the purpose they serve.  But don't have to like it.

 

Prediction:  Lesnar

 

Wishful Thinking:  Just because this is the hype match of the event, and it's such a shitty idea and so fucking totally predictable as fuck, I would LOVE to see the same fucking thing happen again with Goldberg beating Lesnar in a brief match.  Then shortly after Wrestlemania, Goldberg could drop the belt to Strowman or Balor or somebody else.

 

 

[Admin]

Nakamura hasn't been on the shelf long, but it still feels like forever.

 

 

[BUU8800]

Alright, guess I'll do this too. Too lazy so I'll just quote your template Admin[/member] I guess:

 

Wrestlemania 33:

 

Kickoff show:

 

Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal:

Curtis Axel vs Big Show Vs Tyler Breeze vs Chad Gable vs Apollo Crews vs Bo Dallas vs Aiden English vs Epico Vs Fandango vs Goldust vs Simon Gotch vs Curt Hawkins vs Mark Henry Vs Jason Jordan vs Kalisto vs Konnor vs Jinder Mahal vs Mojo Rawley vs Titus O'Neil vs Primo vs R Truth Vs Rhyno vs Sin Cara vs Heath Slater vs Braun Strowman vs Jey Uso vs Jimmy Uso vs Viktor vs Sami Zayn vs Dolph Ziggler: 

 

Prediction:  Big Show

 

Wishful Thinking:  Strowman, but I wouldn't mind Big Show.

 

Kickoff Show:

 

Neville vs. Austin Aires: 

 

Prediction:  Aires

 

Wishful Thinking:  Neville, his heel run has been the best he's been and Ares does nothing for me. I'd have Neville hold the belt all year if possible.

 

 

Kickoff Show:

 

Alexa Bliss vs Carmella vs Mikie James vs Becky Lynch vs Naomi vs  Natalya:  all 6 of these performers deserve the belt.  they're all fantastic.  It's annoying that this match got  bumped from the main show so that Pit Bull could perform. 

 

Prediction:  WWE brass seems to love Alexa Bliss to the exclusion of all others.  But I think the build has been for Naomi to win back the title at Wrestlemania. So Ima go with Naomi.

 

Wishful Thinking:  Naomi.  She beyond deserves it. We completely agree here.

 

 

Main Show:

Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. Cesaro & Sheamus Tag Team Championship Triple Threat Ladder Match:  like all three teams.

 

Prediction:  Gallows and Anderson seem a solid pick.  But Enzo and Cass have been carrying a lot of water lately for WWE and selling a lot merch.  So I will go with Enzo/Cass to pick up the belts.  Also it'd be a HUGE audience pop.

 

Wishful Thinking:  Gallows and Anderson, Enzo and Cass are all pretty crap in my eyes, Enzo especially. I wish Sheamus and Cesaro would win but they won't.

 

 

Dean Ambrose vs. Baron Corbin:  Like both a lot.

 

Prediction:  Baron Corbin(though Dean is due for a Mania victory)

 

Wishful Thinking:  Corbin needs this. He's on the rise and the more I see the more I like. It wouldn't hurt Ambrose to lose either.

 

 

Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens:  Like both.

 

Prediction:  Owens

 

Wishful Thinking:  This one's pretty damn straight up predictable as Wrestlemania matches go.  Might be nice to see any kind of surprise tossed into it...yup.

 

 

Bayley vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax: 

 

Prediction:  hmmmm tough one since they all bore me, but I'll say Sasha.

 

Wishful Thinking:  Charlotte for the lols of already 5 title reigns.

 

 

John Cena & Nikki Bella vs. The Miz & Maryse:

 

Prediction:  Cena/Bella, they've made a gigantic deal out of Cena never proposing to Nikki Bella, so I would venture to guess the big "surprise" ending to the match will be Cena popping the question.

 

Wishful Thiking:  Cena/Bella. Miz is great at he does, including making me wanna see him get his comeuppance.

 

 

 

Shane McMahon Vs AJ Styles:

 

Prediction:  AJ wins an unexpectedly difficult/grueling match

 

Wishful Thinking:  Styles, like many of the matches on the card, there really doesn't seem to be a lot of wiggle-room for unpredictability.

 

 

 

Triple H vs. Seth Rollins:  Like both

 

Prediction:  Rollins, Triple H will job as the big baddie 2 years in a row.

 

Wishful Thinking:  Ehhh...still Rollins I guess. Joe and Balor will interfere.

 

 

Undertaker Vs Roman Reigns:  I like Undertaker, but he's ALWAYS FUCKING AMAZING REGARDLESS , Reigns is SHIT, AND his dead-fish mic presence makes me want to puke.

 

Prediction:  Reigns 

 

Wishful Thinking:  Undertaker not only beats Reigns, but seals him in a coffin.  When Reigns returns to the ring, he has lost the power of speech, his voice taken by the dead man...if only.

 

 

 

Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton: 

 

Prediction:  Orton

 

Wishful Thinking:  Luke Harper is also conspicuously absent from the card (not even in the battle royal), so I fully expect to see him pop up in this match to plague both Orton and Wyatt.  Rowan is also cleared, but I don't expect to see him at Wrestlemania (but damn I would be out of my chair so fast if he showed up).  I would love to see Wyatt retain in a grueling free-for-all.  Or somehow maybe DB interrupts the match to make it a three way and Harper comes out with the belt.  I would LOVE to see a Harper/Styles feud for the title.  I think that'd be pretty epic.

 

 

 

Goldberg Vs Brock Lesnar:  who.... gives a shit.  not a fan of either.  I just don't see a lot of story potential in either character.  I get the purpose they serve.  But don't have to like it.

 

Prediction:  Lesnar

 

Wishful Thinking:  Just because this is the hype match of the event, and it's such a shitty idea and so fucking totally predictable as fuck, I would LOVE to see the same fucking thing happen again with Goldberg beating Lesnar in a brief match.  Then shortly after Wrestlemania, Goldberg could drop the belt to Strowman or Balor or somebody else.

 

Best thing about this train-wreck is gonna be how much food I stuff myself with during it.

[BUU8800]

Also was saddened to hear all the Mauro Ranallo/JBL depression backstage stuff. Mauro's easily my favorite of their current announcers so it sucks this happened and he's likely on his way out.

[Admin]

when he missed his second show I was kind of seeing the writing on the wall there.

 

but what pisses me off the most is - like so - they have Renallo in there, and if you have Mauro, you really don't even need anybody else.  Tom Phillips is a nice balance to that and then JBL is a good color/heel announcer.  But so - they cram David Otunga in there too.  which - ?  He basically just sits there show after show with a dumbass expression on his face like he doesn't understand facial expressions so he just plasters a "smile-like" countenance on his face.  And whenever he opens his mouth, his voice is so soft you can barely hear him and he only says pretty much pointless/inane things.  He's literally a waste of space.  Every time they show the announce table, it looks ridiculous with four guys crammed into that space, especially with Otunga sitting scrunched off to the side with that dumb look on his face. 

 

One of the things I hate about WWE is - like guys like Damian Sandow and Jack Swagger are shown the door and guys like Otunga do nothing and are just there every week.  doing nothing.

[BUU8800]

I hated them having 4 guys too, and while I don't disagree with you on Otunga being shit it was actually Phillips' addition I hated most. Probably because he pretty much only got added to promote upcoming stuff, which normally you'd think would be Mauro's job like Cole on Raw. Maybe I'm too protective of Mauro, but when Phillips was added it definitely felt like a slight to him for me. Ideally it would just be Mauro and JBL, were JBL not such a bully and insufferable prick. Mauro and Bryan's CWC announcing last year was easily the best I'd heard of anyone from WWE in years. So I guess they woulda been the true ideal pairing, but not feasible with Bryan as the GM.

[Admin]

I would say of all 4, Mauro is the one I would keep if I had to pick just one of them.  And so - of course he's the one out the door.

 

Mauro has what JR had.  that ability to call an exciting and informative match, injecting some emotion in there when required.

 

There really isn't another announcer on the payroll that can call matches anywhere near as good as Renallo.  Not even in the ballpark.

[BUU8800]

Pretty much my thoughts entirely.