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

[Big Roguey]

So uhm, I'm watching the UFC 181 PPV, and they announced that CM Punk signed a multi-fight contract with the UFC. He's expected to debut sometime next year.

 

By announced I mean he just appeared alongside Joe Rogan by the Octagon, couldn't hear what he said because I'm at a bar. But hey, why not lol.

 

Unless I missed something, wasn't one of Punk's complaints about Ryback being that he essentially shootkicked him?

 

So, with this in mind, why is Punk signing with UFC? Is he looking for more things to complain about?

[Jaysin]

Unless I missed something, wasn't one of Punk's complaints about Ryback being that he essentially shootkicked him?

 

So, with this in mind, why is Punk signing with UFC? Is he looking for more things to complain about?

 

From ESPN

 

At 36, CM Punk acknowledges that time is not on his side.

 

"My professional wrestling days are over, it's awesome to be here," he said. "This is something I've wanted to do for a long time.

 

"I felt like it was now or never. I have a limited window most fighters don't have. I'm either here to win or get my ass kicked."

[BHK1978]

I am thinking that thirty-six might be a tad bit old to be entering MMA. Granted he has trained for it and he is a professional athlete so he might have a decent run.

 

I wanted to add yes I know there have been fighters and other athletes that have excelled as they got older (George Foreman, Kareem, Pete Rose, etc.). That being said he is entering an entirely new sport so I am just not sure if he will have what it takes. I hope he does, I am just not sure he will.

[RKOwnage]

I am thinking that thirty-six might be a tad bit old to be entering MMA. Granted he has trained for it and he is a professional athlete so he might have a decent run.

 

I wanted to add yes I know there have been fighters and other athletes that have excelled as they got older (George Foreman, Kareem, Pete Rose, etc.). That being said he is entering an entirely new sport so I am just not sure if he will have what it takes. I hope he does, I am just not sure he will.

 

Well Batista was 41 when he started. Granted he only had one match (a win) but still. I think Punk is just crazy and committed enough to do pretty well. It should be interesting at the very least.

[packerman120]

http://strawpoll.me/3140337

 

I just want your guys opinion on this. I've heard people say both.

[The Swanton825]

http://strawpoll.me/3140337

 

I just want your guys opinion on this. I've heard people say both.

 

I don't see how, they don't exactly try for the same audience. There are some crossover fans yes, but most of those watch both anyways.

[Dawn]

I think that this fits here.

 

''Wrestling legend David Ferrier, better known as Jimmy Del Ray in WWE and Jimmy Graffiti in WCW, passed away last night due to what is believed to be a heart attack. He was only 52.

 

Del Ray appeared in WWE with Jim Cornette and Tom Prichard as The Heavenly Bodies and lost to The Steiner Brothers at SummerSlam 1993. Their last WWE pay-per-view appearance came at Survivor Series 1994. The team later appeared for ECW and Del Ray went on to WCW as Jimmy Graffiti.

 

In recent years, Del Ray had been running a flooring company in Florida. He made his final wrestling appearance this past summer, reuniting with Cornette and Prichard at the Mid-Atlantic Legends Fanfest.''

 

Damn...one more this year...may he rest in peace.

[Rone Rivendale]

R.I.P. David

 

Punk is going to get his ass kicked in UFC. He was an amazing pro wrestler, no doubt, but that isn't anywhere close to the same thing as MMA.

 

Brock was able to do it because he was/is a beast of a man. Punk is an average sized man. Other Middleweights (as I've heard he's entering) are going to have WAY more muscle mass. They will have known MMA their entire lives for the most part, and aren't just moonlighting like Punk is.

 

I realize Dana White can just throw a can in the octagon for Punk, but even then I'm not sure he could win. Guys fight their hearts out in the lower tiers for a spot at the UFC. The worst UFC fighter could still hand me my ass in 30 seconds.

[SeanMcFly]

R.I.P. David

 

Punk is going to get his ass kicked in UFC. He was an amazing pro wrestler, no doubt, but that isn't anywhere close to the same thing as MMA.

 

Brock was able to do it because he was/is a beast of a man. Punk is an average sized man. Other Middleweights (as I've heard he's entering) are going to have WAY more muscle mass. They will have known MMA their entire lives for the most part, and aren't just moonlighting like Punk is.

 

I realize Dana White can just throw a can in the octagon for Punk, but even then I'm not sure he could win. Guys fight their hearts out in the lower tiers for a spot at the UFC. The worst UFC fighter could still hand me my ass in 30 seconds.

 

The difference is Punk has a background in martial arts so at least he has a base, and it's not like the guy isn't an athlete. Comparing a normal person who isn't a professional athlete (because face it, that's what professional wrestlers are) to a UFC fighter isn't the same as comparing Punk to a UFC fighter, I don't know if you've trained in any of the disciplines associated with MMA or if you are an athlete in another sport, but sorry, it just isn't. It's not that Brock was a beast of a man, it's that he had a strong base in wrestling prior to joining the WWE and eventually the UFC. It's not like the guy isn't going to get into the gym and train either, if he's signing with the UFC seriously he's not going to sit back and be a novelty act, he's going to gear down and work hard so that people don't look at him like a wrestler who's just there to make some more money. It's hardly moonlighting, if the guy wants to make a career out of it then he can most certainly make a career of it.

[TakerNGN74]

Okay first off let me say this before I say anything. Most of you know me as someone who doesn't like CM Punk but now that I have gotten that out of the way I honestly wish him the best of luck in the MMA world. The guy seems happy and like he wants to be there to which I will say good for him. Also AJ Lee tweeted out a picture of Punk apparently signing his UFC contract so she's obviously happy for him which she should definitely be.

 

Here is where I get a bit negative though but just hear me out. CM Punk kind of comes off as a hypocrite in all of this. Reason being that when he was in WWE he would always complain that a part timer was coming in and "taking his spot" which I definitely agree was happening, but isn't Punk doing the exact same thing? Former wrestler looking to do what Brock Lesnar did but I doubt it will have the same effect as it did with Brock. Again I hope I'm wrong and I hope he does well there I just find it a bit weird.

 

Also I'm hoping that he gets mad at someone during one of his fights and grabs a microphone and sits down in the middle of the octagon to cut a promo. And will he use the name CM Punk by itself? Or will it be referred to as Phil "CM Punk" Brooks? Either way I look forward to seeing how things go for him.

 

By the way has anyone noticed that since Punk signed his official contract with the UFC that there appears to be a lot of people that like MMA now all of a sudden? #BandWagonJumpers

[Blackman]

This discussion should move to MMA now.

 

I agree that he's probably going to get his ass handed to him, but Punk is da dedicated guy and I'm sure he's going to try his best. If MMA is a thing for him, he might even succeed in winning some. He's also got the smarts to do well. And greatness in one discipline can transfer relatively quickly in greatness in another. But I doubt he's got the chin. But like someone mentioned: the guys who've been gunning for the UFC from their childhood really fight their heart out and have been cross-training longer. The odds are against him. Of course he will get cans (which is a win-win situation for UFC either way), but even then it's going to be a hard fight for him.

[milamber]

http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2014/12/7/7348031/cm-punk-on-wwe-reaction-to-his-ufc-signing-theyll-pretend-they-dont-know

 

You know I think because obviously the world of pro wrestling somebody picks the winners and the losers and after a while it kinds of wears on you, you know it's a very bipolar business. I would just like to get back what I give and I never felt I got that back. I felt I would be giving 100% and I'd get back maybe 30%, you know, and then when your checks start to go down and nothing is fun anymore, it's time to move on. I realise a lot of people are going to say he's 36, he's this, he's that, but, you know, if I was to step foot in the cage tomorrow, I think the only credit that I could possibly receive is that I had the balls to do it. I have the balls to do it and I also have the wherewithal to prepare for it, so, you know, it's training, training, training, training, I'm going to be prepared.

 

WWE's response to all this:

 

"WWE wishes Phil Brooks (aka CM Punk) the best of luck in his newest endeavor."

 

Punk sounds like he's been itching to do MMA for years so good luck to him. Whether or he does well or not at least he's doing what makes him happy.

[milamber]

The Slammies were LOL worthy as usual. Superstar of the Year was hilarious.

 

The best parts of the show were Miz & Mizdow, AJ putting over the NXT women, Steamboat (who needed Ziggler get the lame crowd to cheer him). Charlotte was a nice surprise but they ruined it having her lose to Natalya right before Takeover.

[TakerNGN74]

The Slammies were LOL worthy as usual. Superstar of the Year was hilarious.

 

The best parts of the show were Miz & Mizdow, AJ putting over the NXT women, Steamboat (who needed Ziggler get the lame crowd to cheer him). Charlotte was a nice surprise but they ruined it having her lose to Natalya right before Takeover.

 

This, It made absolutely no sense that they had Charlotte lose to Natalya prior to Thursday's Takeover R-Evolution because she has beaten her before. It made her look extremely weak and made me feel like I'm not supposed to take her seriously as a threat if WWE wont do it.

[Teh_Showtime]

Are we surprised though?

 

This is the same company who decided to beat Ziggler for the IC belt just before he was going to have a miracle run on the PPV the next week.

 

Nobody with any sense would have a person show up to promote a show and job that person in a short match. She could have squashed Cameron or Rosa or any of the horrible and unused females if they didn't want to have Nattie lose. Or better yet they could have let her and Nattie have a great match that gets both of them over like they've done before...but who are we kidding

[Fleisch]

Unfortunately WWE doesn't really cater to the die hard fan. They prefer to stick a random show out each week, rarely with any continuity from the week before and sell merchandise. Which is clearly good for their business model, but unfortunately the sort of fans they cater to these days soon get bored and move on to something else. There needs to be a middle ground, something the die hards can get behind (that isn't then squashed after a couple of weeks) and something for the casual fans. WWE do not have that. The stories are mundane rubbish that the die hards have seen 20/30 times before but it's ok, because Johnny come Lately who just bought a John Cena T-Shirt and Hulk Hogan foam hand hasn't had the pleasure of sitting through an evil authority vs. the plucky not so underdog before.

 

I find maybe 20 minutes of Raw interesting these days, I don't watch Smackdown! and I catch NXT once in a while (mainly to see KENTA, PAC and Prince Devitt). It's a shame because I've been a fan since 1990 but just can't watch the crap they spew out any more. You may get 1 interesting storyline every few months, but just when a decent storyline is taking off, they put John Cena in it to kill any momentum the guys were getting or just abruptly end it. No one really has personality and most of the rosters gimmicks are easily interchangeable with anothers. It's probably why people like Damien Sandow, Bray Wyatt and Dean Ambrose so much, because they're different from the rest of the roster. I loved Seth Rollins until he turned into Randy Orton Jr. Looks like Roman Reigns might come back as... er... insert generic bad ass gimmick here. No doubt he'll come back to huge fan fare and then turn heel before Wrestlemania get's here.

 

Sorry for the negativity but just annoyed at not getting to watch something I used to like because it no longer appeals.

[DaMegaFish]

I loved Seth Rollins until he turned into Randy Orton Jr.

 

Randy Orton never was apart of anything as cool as The Shield 2.0.

 

I'm all for J&J Security+Rollins. There is just something hilarious about their triple powerbomb that I love to watch.

[milamber]

This, It made absolutely no sense that they had Charlotte lose to Natalya prior to Thursday's Takeover R-Evolution because she has beaten her before. It made her look extremely weak and made me feel like I'm not supposed to take her seriously as a threat if WWE wont do it.

 

Not to mention Natalya is lower on the diva totem pole than AJ, Paige and the Bellas and Charlotte was booked as a heel. Should have had her lose to Nikki instead (with help from Brie). Would have given Charlotte more credibility while still portraying the main roster as the major leagues and NXT as the minor leagues (which is the only explanation I can think of for this type of booking).

 

The Ascension are suffering from this as well. They will have lost in the last 2 NXT PPVs before being called up as a "devastating" tag team.

[Teh_Showtime]

Randy Orton never was apart of anything as cool as The Shield 2.0.

 

I'm all for J&J Security+Rollins. There is just something hilarious about their triple powerbomb that I love to watch.

 

I still am baffled as to how Mercury has shrunk since the MNM days. Noble has always been small, even in ROH, but Morrison was like 6'2 and Mercury didn't ever look out of place next to him

 

Maybe nobody ever noticed it because MNM was amazing

[Jaysin]

On Wikipedia, it lists Nitro as 6'1", Mercury at 5'9", and Melina at 5'4" but the height difference between Melina and Mercury seems just as small as mercury and Nitro in this picture. It was the best I could find though.

 

http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090915223154/prowrestling/images/7/77/Mnm2.jpg

[RKOwnage]

On Wikipedia, it lists Nitro as 6'1", Mercury at 5'9", and Melina at 5'4" but the height difference between Melina and Mercury seems just as small as mercury and Nitro in this picture. It was the best I could find though.

 

http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090915223154/prowrestling/images/7/77/Mnm2.jpg

 

Well the differences are 4" (Nitro to Mercury) and 5" (Mercury to Melina) which wouldn't be that much of a difference anyway

 

They don't look 4 and 5 inches apart though.

[Jaysin]

Well the differences are 4" (Nitro to Mercury) and 5" (Mercury to Melina) which wouldn't be that much of a difference anyway

 

They don't look 4 and 5 inches apart though.

 

I was meaning more the them not looking that drastically different in height. Not sure why I worded it the way I did.

[djthefunkchris]

I was meaning more the them not looking that drastically different in height. Not sure why I worded it the way I did.

 

What makes it look weird knowing the heights, is Melina's boots are adding to her height. At least to me, if you shrunk her down a few inches, it would appear more varied.

[Blackman]

Funny the way the NXT fans did the Peter Griffin "aaaahh...aaaahh" during Charlotte's embarassingly short match with Mia. Or was that already a reference to something else?

 

Overall a good show, though they could've turned the tag match up a notch.

[Rickymex]

Funny the way the NXT fans did the Peter Griffin "aaaahh...aaaahh" during Charlotte's embarassingly short match with Mia. Or was that already a reference to something else?

 

Overall a good show, though they could've turned the tag match up a notch.

 

It was the previous show where Sasha and Becky attack Bailey's knee. Then Bailey comes out in crutches to trash talk her worst enemy 5 feet away from her.