The Official WWE / NXT Discussion Thread *May Contain Spoilers*

[Wrestling Machine]

I'm soooo happy we will get Cody Rhodes for the WWE championship at Mania once again, I just hope it won't become a three way with The Rock involved. Overall, I enjoyed the show a lot! The roster is stacked both for men and women, they look and act like stars, this 'Mania could be one for the ages.

[Matt_Black]

At least Hogan didn't show up.

[CQI13]

3 hours ago, Wrestling Machine said:

I'm soooo happy we will get Cody Rhodes for the WWE championship at Mania once again, I just hope it won't become a three way with The Rock involved. Overall, I enjoyed the show a lot! The roster is stacked both for men and women, they look and act like stars, this 'Mania could be one for the ages.

Hopefully they have him come out to stop the Bloodline from interfering. Then, Roman perceives him as “costing him the title” and it sets up their match for Summerslam or something. You get Rock involved at WM, crowd pops, and throws babies in the air.

As for the rest of last night, the right people won without making it predictable or boring. Jade looks great. Not sure I want Nia as her first feud, but if that’s what it is, I can live with it. 

Shortest Roman match in a while. I guess we are getting AJ vs LA at Wrestlemania. 

And Paul retaining how he did made sense. Waller and Theory are going to be the official proxy for Paul, but at least you have Sami for back up.

Andrade being back was cool. Guessing Trinity is back full time now?

Edited January 28 by CQI13

[The Blonde Bomber]

I thought the women’s rumble was the worst match of the night. A lot of sloppiness, weak/fake looking strikes, they had difficulty doing anything on the fly looking super awkward. The last few mins of the match was good though. But there was way to many preliminary women and the crowd was silent most of the match .
 

loved the ending of Paul and Owens, they got me hooked thinking Owens would win and then took it away. Really well done keeping Owens strong while keeping heat on Paul. 
 

Mens Rumble was ok the crowd and strong strikes kept me intrigued throughout though.

 

The four way was my match of the night. The ending was done well with AJ looking seriously hurt on the top rope before taking the pin which works with him being a heel. He can complain about losing and blame LA Knight.

[The Blonde Bomber]

2 hours ago, CQI13 said:

Hopefully they have him come out to stop the Bloodline from interfering. Then, Roman perceives him as “costing him the title” and it sets up their match for Summerslam or something. You get Rock involved at WM, crowd pops, and throws babies in the air.

As for the rest of last night, the right people won without making it predictable or boring. Jade looks great. Not sure I want Nia as her first feud, but if that’s what it is, I can live with it. 

Shortest Roman match in a while. I guess we are getting AJ vs LA at Wrestlemania. 

And Paul retaining how he did made sense. Waller and Theory are going to be the official proxy for Paul, but at least you have Sami for back up.

Andrade being back was cool. Guessing Trinity is back full time now?

I know the brand split means nothing but Sami is on raw still.

[CQI13]

58 minutes ago, The Blonde Bomber said:

I know the brand split means nothing but Sami is on raw still.

The perils of not watching the weekly shows and only watching PLEs. 🤣

Edited January 28 by CQI13

[FellaLibby]

This years Royal Rumble was... Alright. And I mean that as the event as a whole.

Women's starting out the night greatly with the return of Naomi, with another TNA Knockouts champion appearance is great to see, wish we got more of Grace and would like to see a legitimate partnership between the companies. Jade debut was handled the best. I'm not sure where to put her, but her appearance and her eliminating Nia was brilliant, she is one strong lady. Bayley winning is great and fully deserved. She's gone through hell and she deserves her Rumble victory.

Undisputed Championship match was chaotic and fun but the winner was never in doubt. Roman pinning Styles, whom he hasn't defeated as current champion helps emphasize he is GodKing and helps sell the men's winner more. Solo being involved mattered only once, but if you ask me, he is hindering Roman significantly. Had he been completely out of this match, Roman could've still won hands down. I like many others are tired of Roman winning with the Bloodline backing him, but he really doesn't need their help. I'd enjoy his reign more if that wasn't what kept the belt on him the most.

US Championship was a pretty standard match with a very clever finish, one that I really liked. Paul trying to use brass knux to only have them taken and used on him, AND KO gets DQ'd for having them just on his hand, that's a finish I have not seen and I thought it was brilliant. Where Owens goes from here I don't know, he got traded to SD without Sami and is feuding against a team of jerks on his own. I don't think he'll face be facing Paul at Mania for a rematch, but I wouldn't mind being wrong.

Men's Rumble was good, opening with Jey and Jimmy was a great choice as I hope it's a preview to them fighting at Mania. Andrade's return felt rather subdued but welcome indeed. I think his actions against Escobar will lead somewhere. No legends, or big returns (except for Sami) or even another TNA appearance which was kind of disappointing. Punks return to a Rumble was fun to see, though he's heel and leaning right on "Grey Jedi" territory. Cody winning felt good, despite everything I think he is the right man to go back to back and actually win this time. There were many red herrings with Rocky, reports, Punk, yadda yadda still. He is the right choice and with Elimination Chamber, Punk will get his Mania match. So win win.

That being said, this was an aggressive middle of the road Rumble event, despite my highlights, there wasn't anything that blew me away. The wrestling was solid as to be expected with the talents involved, but there wasn't anything to be overly memorable aside from Cody winning, Bayley winning, Punk being in a WWE ring again, Jade Cargills debut, TNA stars showing up, Andrade and Naomi's return, its one and done to be honest. See it once, don't need to rewatch.

[Sisma]

14 minutes ago, FellaLibby said:

This years Royal Rumble was... Alright. And I mean that as the event as a whole.

Women's starting out the night greatly with the return of Naomi, with another TNA Knockouts champion appearance is great to see, wish we got more of Grace and would like to see a legitimate partnership between the companies. Jade debut was handled the best. I'm not sure where to put her, but her appearance and her eliminating Nia was brilliant, she is one strong lady. Bayley winning is great and fully deserved. She's gone through hell and she deserves her Rumble victory.

Undisputed Championship match was chaotic and fun but the winner was never in doubt. Roman pinning Styles, whom he hasn't defeated as current champion helps emphasize he is GodKing and helps sell the men's winner more. Solo being involved mattered only once, but if you ask me, he is hindering Roman significantly. Had he been completely out of this match, Roman could've still won hands down. I like many others are tired of Roman winning with the Bloodline backing him, but he really doesn't need their help. I'd enjoy his reign more if that wasn't what kept the belt on him the most.

US Championship was a pretty standard match with a very clever finish, one that I really liked. Paul trying to use brass knux to only have them taken and used on him, AND KO gets DQ'd for having them just on his hand, that's a finish I have not seen and I thought it was brilliant. Where Owens goes from here I don't know, he got traded to SD without Sami and is feuding against a team of jerks on his own. I don't think he'll face be facing Paul at Mania for a rematch, but I wouldn't mind being wrong.

Men's Rumble was good, opening with Jey and Jimmy was a great choice as I hope it's a preview to them fighting at Mania. Andrade's return felt rather subdued but welcome indeed. I think his actions against Escobar will lead somewhere. No legends, or big returns (except for Sami) or even another TNA appearance which was kind of disappointing. Punks return to a Rumble was fun to see, though he's heel and leaning right on "Grey Jedi" territory. Cody winning felt good, despite everything I think he is the right man to go back to back and actually win this time. There were many red herrings with Rocky, reports, Punk, yadda yadda still. He is the right choice and with Elimination Chamber, Punk will get his Mania match. So win win.

That being said, this was an aggressive middle of the road Rumble event, despite my highlights, there wasn't anything that blew me away. The wrestling was solid as to be expected with the talents involved, but there wasn't anything to be overly memorable aside from Cody winning, Bayley winning, Punk being in a WWE ring again, Jade Cargills debut, TNA stars showing up, Andrade and Naomi's return, its one and done to be honest. See it once, don't need to rewatch.

Absolutely agree with all points made. The only thing I would like to add is that I LOVED the R-Truth hot tag spot in the rumble. I actually laughed out loud! 😁

[CQI13]

2 hours ago, FellaLibby said:

This years Royal Rumble was... Alright. And I mean that as the event as a whole.

Women's starting out the night greatly with the return of Naomi, with another TNA Knockouts champion appearance is great to see, wish we got more of Grace and would like to see a legitimate partnership between the companies. Jade debut was handled the best. I'm not sure where to put her, but her appearance and her eliminating Nia was brilliant, she is one strong lady. Bayley winning is great and fully deserved. She's gone through hell and she deserves her Rumble victory.

Undisputed Championship match was chaotic and fun but the winner was never in doubt. Roman pinning Styles, whom he hasn't defeated as current champion helps emphasize he is GodKing and helps sell the men's winner more. Solo being involved mattered only once, but if you ask me, he is hindering Roman significantly. Had he been completely out of this match, Roman could've still won hands down. I like many others are tired of Roman winning with the Bloodline backing him, but he really doesn't need their help. I'd enjoy his reign more if that wasn't what kept the belt on him the most.

US Championship was a pretty standard match with a very clever finish, one that I really liked. Paul trying to use brass knux to only have them taken and used on him, AND KO gets DQ'd for having them just on his hand, that's a finish I have not seen and I thought it was brilliant. Where Owens goes from here I don't know, he got traded to SD without Sami and is feuding against a team of jerks on his own. I don't think he'll face be facing Paul at Mania for a rematch, but I wouldn't mind being wrong.

Men's Rumble was good, opening with Jey and Jimmy was a great choice as I hope it's a preview to them fighting at Mania. Andrade's return felt rather subdued but welcome indeed. I think his actions against Escobar will lead somewhere. No legends, or big returns (except for Sami) or even another TNA appearance which was kind of disappointing. Punks return to a Rumble was fun to see, though he's heel and leaning right on "Grey Jedi" territory. Cody winning felt good, despite everything I think he is the right man to go back to back and actually win this time. There were many red herrings with Rocky, reports, Punk, yadda yadda still. He is the right choice and with Elimination Chamber, Punk will get his Mania match. So win win.

That being said, this was an aggressive middle of the road Rumble event, despite my highlights, there wasn't anything that blew me away. The wrestling was solid as to be expected with the talents involved, but there wasn't anything to be overly memorable aside from Cody winning, Bayley winning, Punk being in a WWE ring again, Jade Cargills debut, TNA stars showing up, Andrade and Naomi's return, its one and done to be honest. See it once, don't need to rewatch.

But honestly, you had what...4 matches, and two were the Rumble? I think there was enough happening without them trying to be too clever by half (Jade winning, Bayley getting screwed, Roman not winning). Maybe it *was* middle of the road, but I also felt it struck the right tone. Nothing was really overshadowed and there were enough possibilities at the end of the Men's Rumble that you could see a few folks winning it. 

[Jaysin]

Jade looked better in the rumble than she did her entire AEW run. She wasn't sloppy and didn't look nearly as green. Thank goodness for the Performance Center. 

My partner fell in love with Jade the second she came out. She kept going "she's freaking ripped!"

My partner is a new wrestling fan and it's fun watching her react to things. 

[CQI13]

Guessing Punk finds a way to cost McIntyre the match at the Elimination Chamber? Drew just doesn't do it for me as champ. Maybe he'd grow on me, but this whole "I couldn't win it in front of fans" just never resonated with me. 

[Wrestling Machine]

This man left 10 years ago mainly 'cause he never had WrestleMania main event, came back and was ready to do it in a potentially terrific feud against Seth Rollins and suffered bad injury that F it up. IT SUCKS! I'm sorry for him, and for us fans too lol such bad luck

At this point, however, I would go all in with a Drew McIntyre win inside the Chamber and at Mania for the World Heavyweight title.

[Scarlet-Left]

My first WWE show in a long time, and I have mixed feelings (apologies for what turned into a rather rambling rant in parts). The women's rumble was fun, at least in terms of the surprise factor and "feeling like a rumble" for lack of a better term. I thought having Jordynne Grace felt like a distinct departure in terms of how the WWE treats the rest of the industry (especially in terms of how the commentary team referred to her). As an aside, the commentators were just awful, and it really doesn't seem like Vince McMahon and Kevin Dunn being gone has improved anything.

Insipid and obnoxious all throughout.

Anyway, apart from the fun surprises, the match was pretty bad in terms of in-ring quality. There were a lot of botches, even from some people who are usually solid. Sometimes these things happen, everyone makes mistakes after all, but there's no excuse for giving Maxxine Dupri, of all people, that kind of spot. There was also something awkward with Kacy Catanzaro and I'm not even sure if it was a botch or just terrible commentary, where she got dumped out but landed in a crowd of people. The commentators mentioned that her feet hadn't touched the floor, but then she just rolled off. Kofi's anti-climactic elimination later in the night reminded me of it vaguely, but I also recall a similar spot where he landed with one foot on a chair and the commentators played it up like he was going to get back in, and then he just never did.

I was surprised to see Nia Jax get so much heat, from an otherwise pretty lifeless crowd, but I assume that's just because I haven't been watching. Kairi Sane was made to look really stupid with her elimination spot, one of the many things that contributed to my impression that Vince's absence isn't really going to change a lot of WWE's horribleness. I really enjoyed the finish, however, and there were a few cool spots, and I ended up preferring this match to the men's, despite the much better in-ring work from the latter.

I skipped the four way because it seemed utterly pointless, and then I skipped Logan Paul (I don't get it, I don't ever want to get it, I want him to go away).

As I said, the men's rumble had much better wrestling in it, and I was broadly pleased with it. The comedy stuff went on way too long, and whilst I can handle R-Truth, the Pat McAfee stuff was wretched. He seemed genuinely popular, which is presumably a cultural thing. It just annoyed me, and seemed like a waste of an entrant. Speaking of entrants, however, I'm glad neither rumble had one of those spots were a wrestler never enters the ring. The commentary got way worse during this match, with the three guys practically mocking the very concept of a rumble, "imagine if" this guy won, "imagine if" that guy won, yes, thanks for reminding me that of the thirty guys I'm going to see, only a handful are currently featured in your long-running action/adventure television storyline.

When I go back to these events, I usually switch the commentary to French.

There were no real surprises, and whilst I'm not someone who thinks a rumble has to give a spot to a legend, they already threw away a spot to an announcer who didn't even take a bump. The lack of fanfare for Kofi's elimination irritated me, and not just because I wanted to see him do a cool spot, but because in general I expected them to maybe start treating him like the former world champion that he is.

I don't think the finish really worked, I guess because I never really bought CM Punk as a serious threat to Cody Rhodes. Like, one of them looks like a million bucks, is the cover star on the video game and has a built-in storyline, and the other one is shorter, slimmer and going grey. Not to say it was bad. I felt satisfied in the end, and generally enjoyed myself. I might stick with it for the WM build.

[OneWarriorNation]

7 hours ago, Wrestling Machine said:

This man left 10 years ago mainly 'cause he never had WrestleMania main event, came back and was ready to do it in a potentially terrific feud against Seth Rollins and suffered bad injury that F it up. IT SUCKS! I'm sorry for him, and for us fans too lol such bad luck

Is it really bad luck, or is it a broken down old wrestler who just can't do it anymore?  Setting aside the behind-the-scenes issues, these types of serious injuries occurred multiple times in AEW and wreaked havoc on their storyline plans.  Even when Punk is healthy, he isn't much of an in-ring performer anymore, if he ever was.  He is certainly a draw, and he can cut promos, but that is about it.  If he can't stay healthy, he doesn't offer a whole lot.

[The Blonde Bomber]

8 hours ago, Wrestling Machine said:

This man left 10 years ago mainly 'cause he never had WrestleMania main event, came back and was ready to do it in a potentially terrific feud against Seth Rollins and suffered bad injury that F it up. IT SUCKS! I'm sorry for him, and for us fans too lol such bad luck

At this point, however, I would go all in with a Drew McIntyre win inside the Chamber and at Mania for the World Heavyweight title.

Drew’s work as a heel has been good but I’ve never been able to see him as a top shelf guy. 

[CQI13]

8 hours ago, Scarlet-Left said:

My first WWE show in a long time, and I have mixed feelings (apologies for what turned into a rather rambling rant in parts). The women's rumble was fun, at least in terms of the surprise factor and "feeling like a rumble" for lack of a better term. I thought having Jordynne Grace felt like a distinct departure in terms of how the WWE treats the rest of the industry (especially in terms of how the commentary team referred to her). As an aside, the commentators were just awful, and it really doesn't seem like Vince McMahon and Kevin Dunn being gone has improved anything.

Insipid and obnoxious all throughout.

Anyway, apart from the fun surprises, the match was pretty bad in terms of in-ring quality. There were a lot of botches, even from some people who are usually solid. Sometimes these things happen, everyone makes mistakes after all, but there's no excuse for giving Maxxine Dupri, of all people, that kind of spot. There was also something awkward with Kacy Catanzaro and I'm not even sure if it was a botch or just terrible commentary, where she got dumped out but landed in a crowd of people. The commentators mentioned that her feet hadn't touched the floor, but then she just rolled off. Kofi's anti-climactic elimination later in the night reminded me of it vaguely, but I also recall a similar spot where he landed with one foot on a chair and the commentators played it up like he was going to get back in, and then he just never did.

I was surprised to see Nia Jax get so much heat, from an otherwise pretty lifeless crowd, but I assume that's just because I haven't been watching. Kairi Sane was made to look really stupid with her elimination spot, one of the many things that contributed to my impression that Vince's absence isn't really going to change a lot of WWE's horribleness. I really enjoyed the finish, however, and there were a few cool spots, and I ended up preferring this match to the men's, despite the much better in-ring work from the latter.

I skipped the four way because it seemed utterly pointless, and then I skipped Logan Paul (I don't get it, I don't ever want to get it, I want him to go away).

As I said, the men's rumble had much better wrestling in it, and I was broadly pleased with it. The comedy stuff went on way too long, and whilst I can handle R-Truth, the Pat McAfee stuff was wretched. He seemed genuinely popular, which is presumably a cultural thing. It just annoyed me, and seemed like a waste of an entrant. Speaking of entrants, however, I'm glad neither rumble had one of those spots were a wrestler never enters the ring. The commentary got way worse during this match, with the three guys practically mocking the very concept of a rumble, "imagine if" this guy won, "imagine if" that guy won, yes, thanks for reminding me that of the thirty guys I'm going to see, only a handful are currently featured in your long-running action/adventure television storyline.

When I go back to these events, I usually switch the commentary to French.

There were no real surprises, and whilst I'm not someone who thinks a rumble has to give a spot to a legend, they already threw away a spot to an announcer who didn't even take a bump. The lack of fanfare for Kofi's elimination irritated me, and not just because I wanted to see him do a cool spot, but because in general I expected them to maybe start treating him like the former world champion that he is.

I don't think the finish really worked, I guess because I never really bought CM Punk as a serious threat to Cody Rhodes. Like, one of them looks like a million bucks, is the cover star on the video game and has a built-in storyline, and the other one is shorter, slimmer and going grey. Not to say it was bad. I felt satisfied in the end, and generally enjoyed myself. I might stick with it for the WM build.

It’s funny because a lot of what you say I have said about workers other people have enjoyed (not getting Bray’s appeal, Edge being presented as a legitimate threat when he looks like anything but) - I guess it’s just a matter of perception or personal taste. Kofi has had a few botches on his Rumble elimination saves before - I don’t remember the last time they made a big deal about his save spot. One of the girls in NXT did it at their show prior to the Rumble in their battle royal. And while I enjoy Kofi, I can’t take him seriously as a champ - not with the pancake throwing, unicorns, etc. Cool for the kids and to move merch but not as a top guy spot.

Again, personal taste.

[Sisma]

23 minutes ago, CQI13 said:

It’s funny because a lot of what you say I have said about workers other people have enjoyed (not getting Bray’s appeal, Edge being presented as a legitimate threat when he looks like anything but) - I guess it’s just a matter of perception or personal taste. Kofi has had a few botches on his Rumble elimination saves before - I don’t remember the last time they made a big deal about his save spot. One of the girls in NXT did it at their show prior to the Rumble in their battle royal. And while I enjoy Kofi, I can’t take him seriously as a champ - not with the pancake throwing, unicorns, etc. Cool for the kids and to move merch but not as a top guy spot.

Again, personal taste.

Agreed. So much comes down to personal taste, it baffles me that people argue about it as if we're talking about facts. (Edit: I don't mean people here, but rather, in general)

 

1 hour ago, The Blonde Bomber said:

Drew’s work as a heel has been good but I’ve never been able to see him as a top shelf guy. 

Like this, for example. To me, Drew looks like one bad ass m'fer, made to be a top heel. But, if someone doesn't see it, then that's that! 😃

Someone who I simply don't get is Charlotte. She seems extremely clunky to me. Yet, she has done very, very well for herself. 

 

 

Edited January 30 by Sisma

[Sisma]

2 hours ago, OneWarriorNation said:

Is it really bad luck, or is it a broken down old wrestler who just can't do it anymore?  Setting aside the behind-the-scenes issues, these types of serious injuries occurred multiple times in AEW and wreaked havoc on their storyline plans.  Even when Punk is healthy, he isn't much of an in-ring performer anymore, if he ever was.  He is certainly a draw, and he can cut promos, but that is about it.  If he can't stay healthy, he doesn't offer a whole lot

I've thought about this, too. This would be the third injury in the past couple of years, right? I guess if you look at it as a company, though, he moves a ton of merch, draws and is great on the mic. As long as he makes them money, he offers quite enough, right? 

[Mootinie]

I thought the Men's Rumble was poorly put together. It was as though certain parts hadn't been considered enough.

The Uso's are supposed to be big deals, they are part of the biggest story this company has done in years. Jey got 1 elimination in 50 minutes, Jimmy got 0 in 35 minutes. By having #3 stay for four minutes, they very quickly made both guys feel like warm bodies just there to make up the numbers. They could have done a thing where Jey chucks out #3 pretty quick, starts fighting Jimmy. Jimmy chucks out #4, starts fighting Jey. Keep it going until they both get eliminated because they're too pre-occupied with one another. Maybe Andrade could have come in at #7 to break the pattern? Or perhaps he should have come in later and been given a couple of eliminations? Instead, Andrade spent 20 odd minutes in there for zero eliminations. A non-factor really. 

Shinsuke Nakamura is a guy they've looked to rehab with a feud against Rollins and then a programme with Cody. But he was in there for 20 minutes and ended his tenure with zero eliminations. A bit odd considering they clearly tried to make him a higher level guy last year.

It felt like the energy and urgency only picked up towards the end because they didn't do much at all throughout the match. I know the commentary was awful but in fairness to Graves and McAfee, I'm not sure what they could really comment on. The match was designed to be a lot of nothing quite a lot of the time.

[Wrestling Machine]

On 1/30/2024 at 12:07 PM, Scarlet-Left said:

I skipped the four way because it seemed utterly pointless, and then I skipped Logan Paul (I don't get it, I don't ever want to get it, I want him to go away).

 

What you don't like about him man? IMHO he's easily the best celebrity to ever compete in the business, he's such a natural

 

On 1/30/2024 at 6:59 PM, OneWarriorNation said:

Is it really bad luck, or is it a broken down old wrestler who just can't do it anymore?

In all honesty, I am afraid you are right ... 

Edited January 31 by Wrestling Machine

[The Blonde Bomber]

I think it’s unlucky. Being off for ten years probably led to this too. His body has not been used to the abuse one takes as a wrestlers so he lost that protective later to prevent injuries. Could this be continuous or could this be the end? Who knows we’ll see when he inevitably comes back and feuds with McIntyre.

[Scarlet-Left]

30 minutes ago, Wrestling Machine said:

What you don't like about him man? IMHO he's easily the best celebrity to ever compete in the business, he's such a natural

I simply have a strong aversion to the character. What would you say is his best match? Perhaps, I should give him a chance.

[Jaysin]

1 hour ago, Wrestling Machine said:

What you don't like about him man? IMHO he's easily the best celebrity to ever compete in the business, he's such a natural

He may be a natural, but I try to give him as little attention as possible. I'd rather sit through Shaq trying to wrestle again than see Logan Paul. I respect his ability as a performer, work ethic, and commitment to training, but I can't separate his real life persona from his on screen character when he's just being his scummy self on camera turned up slightly. 

Edited January 31 by Jaysin

[Dawn]

5 hours ago, Scarlet-Left said:

I simply have a strong aversion to the character. What would you say is his best match? Perhaps, I should give him a chance.

The Roman match in Saudi Arabia. If you don't get why Logan is irritatingly a natural at wrestling by watching that match then you are just naturally bound not to get him as a character/wrestler.

[MightyDavidson]

6 hours ago, The Blonde Bomber said:

I think it’s unlucky. Being off for ten years probably led to this too. His body has not been used to the abuse one takes as a wrestlers so he lost that protective later to prevent injuries. Could this be continuous or could this be the end? Who knows we’ll see when he inevitably comes back and feuds with McIntyre.

He wrestled some pretty intense matches in AEW too didn't he? If so that's likely not helped matters in that regard.