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

[Woodsmeister]

I have to say it wasnt predictable as Triple H, Cena, Edge, Batista or Shawn Michaels all had storylines going into it. I really thought Cena was going to win which would have been painful as I dont hate him like some people but i really wanted Michaels to win it, but once he went i was pulling for Jericho or Edge but i cant see where they are going to go with it as I cant see him main eventing against anyone with it being classed as the main event.

 

Edge vs Taker has been done

Edge vs Sheamus doesnt scream main event

Edge vs Christian i doubt it because its the ECW title

Edge vs Cena has been done to death

Edge vs Triple H has been done

Edge vs Michales would be the best bet in my book although it has been done

 

I think they could have Jericho win the title on Smackdown! or at Elimination Chamber from Taker so it sets up the only match i would want to see out of the options. Also Michaels could screw Taker over getting his match

 

Also its going to be Sheamus vs Triple H in my opinion although I would prefer Orton vs Cena vs Triple H vs Sheamus

[Moe Hunter]

How is something that not one person predicted highly predictable?

 

People have been predicting Esge's win since he got injured. It doesn't make it bad, it just makes sense and "predicting" something that makes sense just means that WWE are making some good decisions.

[The Shape]

Don't take this the wrong way...but you're all liars.

 

Everyone predicted Edge to Eliminate Jericho and that was it. If you seriously called the WWE making Edge, who is shaking off injuries and Ring rust, the most important guy on the roster you were probably mad.

 

 

Realistically, everyone has already been "done". The only guy who might have justifiably won and is a "new" guy is Morrison. No one else was really ready, not even Kofi.

 

Morrison is nowhere near ready to main event mania xD

 

Another option for Punk at Mania btw, if Jeff gets his life sorted at least for now, is Straight Edge Society vs. Hardys for the tag belts. I'd prefer that to Punk vs. Rey. Either way I really, really think his stable can be the best in a long, long time.

 

Edge vs. Jericho is, I maintain, a must. They could do Cena/Taker, but then where does Batista go? Maybe against Rey again? Shrug...I'd like Cena/Taker and HHH/HBK more than HBK/Taker 2, but everything else needs to be considered xD

 

Plus if it's Edge/Jericho WHC then Taker is losing the belt at EC. Which is easier if he's to face HBK. Maybe Cena next year lol Or Edge goes for WWE Title and faces Orton perhaps. Or Taker/Cena is non title. But surely that'd have to be THE main event.

[jjohns44]

ha-ha, Cena. What was that you were saying about promising the fans you won't lost a match until you get your title back?

[Sensai of Mattitude]

As somebody who watched wrestling for the first time for two years about a month ago, and has avoided spoilers (what ruined it for me in the first place) since he started watching it again, I didn't see Edge returning at all. And I thought it was awesome. With two left I was certain that the remaining two were Batista and Santino.

[Tha Black Phenom]

People have been predicting Esge's win since he got injured. It doesn't make it bad, it just makes sense and "predicting" something that makes sense just means that WWE are making some good decisions.

 

Of course they have, it's common to always peg some oddball outcomes to occur. If it doesn't happen, nobody's gonna remember your prediction and it'll easily be shrugged off, but if it does happen - "totally called it".

 

Not that this result was completely unpredictable or anything, with a bit of leeway you could somewhat see it coming but labeling it flat-out 'predictable' is pushing it, at least IMO. As opposed to HBK, Cena or Triple H taking it. The WWE can never win on that one until they do something outlandish, and that's when ironically, the haterade begins.

 

Watched the Rumble this morning and it looked quite solid, loved Beth Pheonix and I somewhat wish she had spent more time but alas. I wonder if they wanted to make it look like a SmackDown! vs. Raw's Royal Rumble on purpose.

[Franchise22]

jericho wins wwe title at EC.

 

jericho v edge wwe title at mania

 

michaels wins smackdown EC for shot.

 

taker v michaels world title.

 

these are my mania title thoughts.

[Self]

I didn't like the Rumble. I found the whole thing very bland. I didn't expect Edge to win (fairly sure he was going to be in it though) but as for the little battles within the Rumble, it was nothing I haven't seen a million times on free TV for the past few years. McIntyre fought Morrison. CM Punk talked. Triple H, Shawn Michaels and John Cena did stuff. Mark Henry slamming the Big Show is an awesome feat of strength, but I've seen it before. There was just nothing all that special or memorable, and it kind of felt like a waste of an hour to me.

 

+ CM Punk talking. Heard it all before, but I dug it.

+ Beth Phoenix. Just great

+ HBK's freak out. I don't care about HBK/Taker at all, but cool performance

+ After Cena eliminated Batista, seeing an out-of-focus Edge pop into frame behind him, gearing up for the spear. I marked out.

 

I dunno, last year I had someone I was "cheering on" which was John Morrison (I'm a heel mark and... those abs, man) once he was thrown out, I stopped caring. Here, I didn't really care about anyone. Could have cared about Zack Ryder or Matt Hardy, but they were both out in 30 seconds so I didn't have time to get emotionally invested.

[PeterHilton]

I think tonight's Raw and the aftermath of HBK/HHH at the Rumble will go a long way towards determining who Taker waces at WM

 

The match last year was great, but this build has been a little TOO obvious IMO and it wouldn't surprise me at all if HBK had nothing to do with Taker until well after this year's WM

[LoganRodzen]

Curious what you guys think of this:

 

It was announced today by WWE's office in Tokyo, Japan that Antonio Inoki will be inducted into this year's Hall of Fame class. It was also announced that Stan Hansen will be inducting him.

 

To my knowledge, he never wrestled in the WWWF, WWF, or WWE and it seems Vinnie Mac is stepping over hid boundaries when it comes to the WWE HoF these days. I understand putting this guy in there because he's a legend of the sport. It's there HoF and they can do anything they want with it, but shouldn't they release some type of criteria for entrants?

 

Perhaps I'm just upset that Savage still hasn't been inducted.

[The Masked Orange]

I didn't like the Rumble. I found the whole thing very bland. I didn't expect Edge to win (fairly sure he was going to be in it though) but as for the little battles within the Rumble, it was nothing I haven't seen a million times on free TV for the past few years. McIntyre fought Morrison. CM Punk talked. Triple H, Shawn Michaels and John Cena did stuff. Mark Henry slamming the Big Show is an awesome feat of strength, but I've seen it before. There was just nothing all that special or memorable, and it kind of felt like a waste of an hour to me.

 

+ CM Punk talking. Heard it all before, but I dug it.

+ Beth Phoenix. Just great

+ HBK's freak out. I don't care about HBK/Taker at all, but cool performance

+ After Cena eliminated Batista, seeing an out-of-focus Edge pop into frame behind him, gearing up for the spear. I marked out.

 

I dunno, last year I had someone I was "cheering on" which was John Morrison (I'm a heel mark and... those abs, man) once he was thrown out, I stopped caring. Here, I didn't really care about anyone. Could have cared about Zack Ryder or Matt Hardy, but they were both out in 30 seconds so I didn't have time to get emotionally invested.

 

I'm in the same boat, I pretty much agree with most of what you said.

 

Plus "totally called" Edge

 

I think this royal rumble is the perfect example of why peak and valleys are important in wrestling, there was noone who was in a long time, there were surprises (Edge, beth Pheonix) but after predicting Edge (to my friends, on here I said HBK because one of my friends (LIED!) told me that Edge was going in for another surgery, just to throw me off choosing Edge for our bet.) the surprises weren't OMG! huge. The eliminations were too quick and there wasn't a big peak towards the end. My favourite rumble of recent times (post Batista ) was 2008 at MSG, with 2007 getting honourable mention.

 

I was dissapointed they didn't let any young guns have a really long stay, like Rhodes last year. I really thought Ziggler would be one of the last 5 when he first came out. But the lack of HOF nostalgia really let me down, don't Ultimate Warrior and Randy Savage have (some) overness and big wallets?

[justtxyank]

1) Inoki is a former WWF World Champion

 

2) Koko B Ware is in the Hall of Fame. Does it matter at this point who else they induct? It's a joke and is meant only as a way to give fans a dose of nostalgia. It isn't like it's a real honor or a career aspiration.

 

If however, it were a REAL hall of fame, would Dusty Rhodes, Bill Watts, The Funks, the Von Erichs, Eddie Graham, Gordon Solie, Harley Race, Pete Maivia...

 

etc, belong in the WWE Hall of Fame?

 

It is clearly just a nostalgia trip and nothing more so we should not get bent up about who is or who is not elected.

[PeterHilton]

To my knowledge, he never wrestled in the WWWF, WWF, or WWE and it seems Vinnie Mac is stepping over hid boundaries when it comes to the WWE HoF these days. I understand putting this guy in there because he's a legend of the sport. It's there HoF and they can do anything they want with it, but shouldn't they release some type of criteria for entrants?

 

Perhaps I'm just upset that Savage still hasn't been inducted.

 

We did the whole 'criteria' debate in another thread a few weeks back, so I won't go too much into it, but there are quite a few performers who either a)didn't work for the WWF/E b)worked there, but not during their prime or c) worked there but weren;t what most people would consider "stars" (ala Koko B Ware)

 

Based on what the WWE is doing with their HOF, Inoki is certainly no less worthy than quite a few of the other entrants.

[jesterx7769]

How about this, who cares about the WWE HoF since it represents NOTHING? After all this is a storylined form of entertainment so its basically a "Who we gave the right gimmick to and pushed to moon" hall of fame if you want to try judge peoples criteria. I dont care who they put in, its just nice when they put in some big stars that you get to see on tv that you haven't in awhile

[PeterHilton]

How about this, who cares about the WWE HoF since it represents NOTHING? After all this is a storylined form of entertainment so its basically a "Who we gave the right gimmick to and pushed to moon" hall of fame if you want to try judge peoples criteria.

 

I think that's an unfair attitude to have considering the amount of physical punishment these guys take and the amount of legitimate talent it requires to get yourself over.

 

I mean..you don't honestly think it's as simple as "great gimmick who got pushed to the moon"?

[foolinc]

After thinking about it some more, here is my full Wrestlemania Card:

 

The Undertaker vs. John Cena

Last Money Mania match Taker has left. Might as well do it now since Cena is out of the title picture and Taker is still in good enough shape to put on a main event caliber match.

 

WHC: Edge vs. Chris Jericho ©

If this isn't the WHC title match, I might actually think Vince has finally lost it. The history is perfect for Mania and the Elimination Chamber match provides a way to get Jericho the title without hurting Taker one bit. It also frees Taker to face Cena.

 

Last Man Standing: HBK vs. Triple H

HBK losing it at the Rumble made this match a lock in my mind for Mania. HBK is ripe for a heel turn and the two how never feuded with HBK as the heel. Much like Taker/Cena it's the perfect place and the perfect time for this to happen.

 

WWE: Sheamus © vs. Randy Orton

WWE has been teasing an Orton face turn with his match at the Rumble and the fans ate it up. What's really nice about this is that he isn't going to have to be shoe horned into a squeaky clean babyface this time around. RAW already has Cena and Kofi for that, so Orton can be free to be the loose cannon anti-hero, a role he should be really good at.

 

Mask/Hair: CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio

Punk's shaving angle is clearly going to lead to some big match that is going to result in Punk's head getting shaved. It's just a matter of who. Who better than a masked man? Sure this match has been rumored to take place, but that's because it makes sense.

 

ECW: Christian © vs. Yoshi Tatsu

ECW is all about making new stars and what better way to do that than to have someone win a title from a 8+ month champion? There is also a nice mentor, protege story to be told with Christian and Yoshi, not to mention it seems that both WWE management as well as the fans really like Yoshi.

 

WWE Unified Tag Team: The Hart Dynasty w/Bret Hart vs. The Legacy © w/ Vince McMahon

Since HBK is turning heel, here is where I see the Bret Hart and Vince McMahon's story will be told. I know The Hart Dynasty are heels right now, but something tells me that they are going to turn on Vince and join up with Bret Hart (I could see Vince trying to humiliate Bret by signing/trading the Dynasty to RAW and ordering them to attack the man that trained them). In anger Vince joins up with the still heel Legacy (makes sense since Orton is the face of the feud) and helps them win the Unified Tag Team titles (furthering the breakup of DX).

 

Money In The Bank: MVP vs. The Miz vs. John Morrison vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. R-Truth vs. Kofi Kingston vs. The Big Show vs. Beth Phoenix

I'm guessing that they are going to continuing Beth's equality fighter gimmick, so I'm putting her in this match to allow her to mix it up with the boys. I could also see her in the Women's title match or some undercard match with a guy like Zack Ryder. Otherwise this is the normal setup of the MITB match complete with a main eventer that isn't doing anything else (Big Show).

 

Women's: Mickie James © vs. Serena

With Phoenix turning face and fighting men and the McCool being more or less over, Serena as the challenger to Mickie James's title makes sense. Plus it can be tied in with Punk/Mysterio.

 

No Holds Barred: Batista vs. Kane

Batista and Kane need something to do and the match makes sense on paper. Batista is still going to be mad at not winning the Rumble and face the Undertaker and the Kane is Taker's brother. Batista complains about being screwed and puts down The Undertaker and Kane comes out. Add in something like Kane pinning Batista in the Chamber and you can slap on a Hardcore gimmick to it to give people a taste of what is to come with the Last Man Standing match between HBK & HHH.

[LoganRodzen]

After thinking about it some more, here is my full Wrestlemania Card:

 

The Undertaker vs. John Cena

Last Money Mania match Taker has left. Might as well do it now since Cena is out of the title picture and Taker is still in good enough shape to put on a main event caliber match.

 

WHC: Edge vs. Chris Jericho ©

If this isn't the WHC title match, I might actually think Vince has finally lost it. The history is perfect for Mania and the Elimination Chamber match provides a way to get Jericho the title without hurting Taker one bit. It also frees Taker to face Cena.

 

Last Man Standing: HBK vs. Triple H

HBK losing it at the Rumble made this match a lock in my mind for Mania. HBK is ripe for a heel turn and the two how never feuded with HBK as the heel. Much like Taker/Cena it's the perfect place and the perfect time for this to happen.

 

WWE: Sheamus © vs. Randy Orton

WWE has been teasing an Orton face turn with his match at the Rumble and the fans ate it up. What's really nice about this is that he isn't going to have to be shoe horned into a squeaky clean babyface this time around. RAW already has Cena and Kofi for that, so Orton can be free to be the loose cannon anti-hero, a role he should be really good at.

 

Mask/Hair: CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio

Punk's shaving angle is clearly going to lead to some big match that is going to result in Punk's head getting shaved. It's just a matter of who. Who better than a masked man? Sure this match has been rumored to take place, but that's because it makes sense.

 

ECW: Christian © vs. Yoshi Tatsu

ECW is all about making new stars and what better way to do that than to have someone win a title from a 8+ month champion? There is also a nice mentor, protege story to be told with Christian and Yoshi, not to mention it seems that both WWE management as well as the fans really like Yoshi.

 

WWE Unified Tag Team: The Hart Dynasty w/Bret Hart vs. The Legacy © w/ Vince McMahon

Since HBK is turning heel, here is where I see the Bret Hart and Vince McMahon's story will be told. I know The Hart Dynasty are heels right now, but something tells me that they are going to turn on Vince and join up with Bret Hart (I could see Vince trying to humiliate Bret by signing/trading the Dynasty to RAW and ordering them to attack the man that trained them). In anger Vince joins up with the still heel Legacy (makes sense since Orton is the face of the feud) and helps them win the Unified Tag Team titles (furthering the breakup of DX).

 

Money In The Bank: MVP vs. The Miz vs. John Morrison vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. R-Truth vs. Kofi Kingston vs. The Big Show vs. Beth Phoenix

I'm guessing that they are going to continuing Beth's equality fighter gimmick, so I'm putting her in this match to allow her to mix it up with the boys. I could also see her in the Women's title match or some undercard match with a guy like Zack Ryder. Otherwise this is the normal setup of the MITB match complete with a main eventer that isn't doing anything else (Big Show).

 

Women's: Mickie James © vs. Serena

With Phoenix turning face and fighting men and the McCool being more or less over, Serena as the challenger to Mickie James's title makes sense. Plus it can be tied in with Punk/Mysterio.

 

No Holds Barred: Batista vs. Kane

Batista and Kane need something to do and the match makes sense on paper. Batista is still going to be mad at not winning the Rumble and face the Undertaker and the Kane is Taker's brother. Batista complains about being screwed and puts down The Undertaker and Kane comes out. Add in something like Kane pinning Batista in the Chamber and you can slap on a Hardcore gimmick to it to give people a taste of what is to come with the Last Man Standing match between HBK & HHH.

 

I'm curious where McIntyre is? I've grown way too frustrated with the IC belt being kept of WrestleMania. It was on it last year for the first time in a long time... but it was a joke match anyway. I'm getting out of this thread before my WWE frustrations explode!

[sabataged]

Anyone thought about Taker vs HBK vs HHH? They could play it that Taker doesn't have to get pinned to lose the match and break the streak. HBK and HHH could be at each others throats about which one is going to break Takers streak. Then we could get Edge vs Jericho for the SD! title and Sheamus vs I guess Orton again for the Raw title all though I don't want to see that one again personally.

[foolinc]

Anyone thought about Taker vs HBK vs HHH? They could play it that Taker doesn't have to get pinned to lose the match and break the streak. HBK and HHH could be at each others throats about which one is going to break Takers streak. Then we could get Edge vs Jericho for the SD! title and Sheamus vs I guess Orton again for the Raw title all though I don't want to see that one again personally.

 

It could work, but were would that leave Cena? I guess you could move Cena back into the WWE match against Sheamus and have a Legacy 3-way, but that would kind of hurt Orton's face turn and hurt Sheamus. By losing to Orton, Sheamus still can say that Cena can't beat him and use it to keep himself in the upper reaches of the card after he loses the belt.

 

I'm curious where McIntyre is? I've grown way too frustrated with the IC belt being kept of WrestleMania. It was on it last year for the first time in a long time... but it was a joke match anyway. I'm getting out of this thread before my WWE frustrations explode!

 

Good point. So the 11th match is officially, Drew McIntyre vs. Bryan Danielson for the IC belt. Why? Why the hell not.

[MrOnu]

Since I absolutely hate R-Truth, I would have suggested to swap him out for McIntyre, but an IC defense against Danielson is also a good option. Anyway, you have an overall good card proposition Foolinc.

 

I finally watched the Rumble and I kinda liked the rumble match itself. It felt genuinely different from other Rumbles and it worked for me. It was very story driven, not really focused on ring action and it served its overall purpose. That's one way to reinvent the match and I'm all for try different things every year. We've had double winners, people lasting the whole match, people surviving 30 near-eliminations in the same Rumble and what else over the years ? I think the 2010 Rumble match will have its own identity, positive or negative depending on every fan.

 

Rest of the PPV was okay. Nothing special, nothing fancy, nothing subpar, just your average WWE. Since I don't watch ECW very often, I was surprised by Ezekiel Jackson. He's not a great wrestler by any stretch, but he showed enough in this match to get me thinking "hey, there's something to do with this guy". I still can't get why the Smackdown GM could make a match between two RAW superstars, but every WWE night needs its illogical little moments.

[The Shape]

Has Orton really turned face? It'd be awesome if so, but I'm not sold that it's gonna full happen. Still, he'd be the best face character on the roster by a long way. Just...him against Sheamus for a title at Mania really doesn't work I don't think, especially when they've done it already how they have.

[ubernoob]

I think HHH hurt his quad again, so I'd rule him out for Mania.

 

Just sayin' that's what it looked like to me, so...

[Sensai of Mattitude]

I think HHH hurt his quad again, so I'd rule him out for Mania.

 

Just sayin' that's what it looked like to me, so...

 

I thought the same thing, just before Cena came in.

[ubernoob]

Yeah, I think it was on the cut or something...

 

He grabbed his leg in the area where that's a good likely injury possibility, he was talking to HBK, Cena's reaction to seeing him go out... It just didn't look good at all. That would suck. Quick thinking by HHH/HBK though.

 

I also think he was going to eliminate Shawn, and Michaels' tantrum was not supposed to be directed at the ref. That's just speculation though.

[foolinc]

Yeah, I think it was on the cut or something...

 

He grabbed his leg in the area where that's a good likely injury possibility, he was talking to HBK, Cena's reaction to seeing him go out... It just didn't look good at all. That would suck. Quick thinking by HHH/HBK though.

 

I also think he was going to eliminate Shawn, and Michaels' tantrum was not supposed to be directed at the ref. That's just speculation though.

 

 

I doubt it. He's left quad was worked on throughout the Rumble and I am pretty sure that the character of John Cena would be shocked to see HBK superkick Trips so early in the match.