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

[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.  

[Matt_Black]

He went 45 minutes with MJF (on TV no less!), and while that was an excellent match, it's not exactly what I personally would recommend to a wrestler coming back after a long hiatus.

[CQI13]

So was the tricep injury a freak accident? Certainly didn’t seem like a botch. But I guess either way it probably affected what he could do at the end of the match. Credit to them though - it all looked like it was part of the story they were trying to tell.

[overthetop2]

https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2024/2/2/24059953/roman-reigns-vs-the-rock-wwe-wrestlemania-40

So is it now fashionable to say what I've said before in this thread?  By which I mean that the WWE no longer knows how to book, and Cody will never be allowed to hold the companies top title or have as much heat as he did at Wrestlemania 39 where he should've won in the first place.

[DinoKea]

Normally I'd say booking has been generally pretty good and although not giving Cody the title at Mania was a mistake, it's a rare one. I would like to say I was wrong. That has to be one of the stupidest calls I've seen and just makes no sense.

[Wrestling Machine]

I can't imagine a better scenario for WrestleMania than Cody Rhodes winning the WWE Championship in the main event. All the stars lined up for this perfect huge Mania moment and still they decided not to pull the trigger. I'm honestly shocked.

The World Heavyweight strap is NOT the main belt, it's not prestigious, it doesn't have that energy ... Let's face it really is the loser bracket title, why is Cody going at it? Mehhh they f' this up.

The ultimate babyface with white hot momentum winning the WWE title > Rock vs Roman imho.

[Sisma]

I can't imagine they didn't see this reaction coming. I wonder if there's more to come or if they'll try to course correct.

I always try to give them the benefit of the doubt, but this looks like a decision made by people who don't know anything about wrestling. As if some board members saw this match as the ultimate money grab and decided that the story told so far can just be ignored. Still, let's wait and see what happens during the next few weeks.

[Mootinie]

I'm sure their thinking is that Rollins had nobody to fight once Punk went down. But all that speaks to is their lack of faith in the rest of their roster to step up.

[Jaysin]

20 minutes ago, Mootinie said:

I'm sure their thinking is that Rollins had nobody to fight once Punk went down. But all that speaks to is their lack of faith in the rest of their roster to step up.

I've seen people suggesting Truth get a shot somehow and I'd love that. I know it lacks the big fight feel of Rollins vs Punk, but the match could be a lot of fun. 

I also know it'd never happen, especially at Mania.

[Mammoth]

56 minutes ago, Jaysin said:

I've seen people suggesting Truth get a shot somehow and I'd love that. I know it lacks the big fight feel of Rollins vs Punk, but the match could be a lot of fun. 

I also know it'd never happen, especially at Mania.

This wouldn't work now if Cody is indeed set to battle Rollins because people would crap all over it if Cody doesn't walk out of Mania with a title, but I was thinking they might do something with Damian Priest and R-Truth given the Judgement Day storyline. Have Priest cash in on the winner of Rollins versus X and win the title, and then have Truth come out with a random briefcase that he claims is a Money in the Bank briefcase to steal the title. It would capitalise on Truth's popularity and give him a good send off as he obviously nears retirement, and Priest could obviously win it back on the following RAW too to give him his heat back - and his deserved run as champ. It would have been fun and one of those feel good moments Mania is made for.

[guyver3]

I feel like Drew might’ve shot himself in the foot by having not resigned yet. He would fit into this situation perfectly by taking on Seth beating him because Seth isn’t 100% and be the champ when Punk comes back to have that big feud. I know it’s not like he could’ve known this is how things would shake out though if it were me I’d have offered to sign on Monday 

[CQI13]

If the plan is for Cody to win at 41, then they need to stop talking about finishing the story. It lacks any semblance of heat at that point, like Drew crying about not winning in front of fans. 
 

We all know Roman is winning this, so it’s easy to skip. And if he doesn’t win, you just took a dump on the roster who couldn’t beat Roman for 3 years.

[The Swanton825]

It feels like they've been "finishing" this story for years now. At this rate, Star Citizen will be finished before he wins the title.

[Wrestling Machine]

It’s been almost 24 hours and I’m still freakin pissed about it lmao they fumbled it so bad

[Blodyxe]

I get that they want to involve The Rock for WM, but do they actually need him to have a match to make giga numbers? WM sells itself.

Since I don't follow WWE that much, what would be the preffered option for you? In a world before this 'promo'?

1) Rock is a speical enforcer or ref, blocking all Bloodline BS and setting up a mega match with his fam for Summerslam, where title-less Roman is no longer a heavy favorite. Cody wins ofc to get the monkey off the back and evolve as a character

2) Rock tries to take the spot, but Cody is not a putz and says 'Dwayne, you gotta earn it. Want this spot? Fight me for it'. They have a match at EC or whenever, where Bloodline makes it a no contest, thus resulting in a triple threat match for WM. Rock gets his rest spots to mask his age, and is protected by not being pinned. Again, goes on to face Roman at Summerslam one on one, no title

In current scenario, there's no development for Cody or Roman's characters. Just same old stuff

[CQI13]

1 hour ago, Blodyxe said:

I get that they want to involve The Rock for WM, but do they actually need him to have a match to make giga numbers? WM sells itself.

Since I don't follow WWE that much, what would be the preffered option for you? In a world before this 'promo'?

1) Rock is a speical enforcer or ref, blocking all Bloodline BS and setting up a mega match with his fam for Summerslam, where title-less Roman is no longer a heavy favorite. Cody wins ofc to get the monkey off the back and evolve as a character

2) Rock tries to take the spot, but Cody is not a putz and says 'Dwayne, you gotta earn it. Want this spot? Fight me for it'. They have a match at EC or whenever, where Bloodline makes it a no contest, thus resulting in a triple threat match for WM. Rock gets his rest spots to mask his age, and is protected by not being pinned. Again, goes on to face Roman at Summerslam one on one, no title

In current scenario, there's no development for Cody or Roman's characters. Just same old stuff

Option 1 is what I would go with. At Elimination Chamber you have Bloodline assist Roman - to make people think that The Rock will win. At Mania, Cody is about to win (just like the one before) and the Bloodline comes out to interfere, and The Rock comes out and makes sure they can't interfere. You can then have that shot of Reigns on his knees looking around confused waiting for the help to arrive, The Rock yelling and pointing at him, and then Cody hits a finisher or two.

The following Monday (or you can wait until Friday if you want the storyline to be Smackdown exclusive), Roman is livid. You could even have them ready to attack Rock's daughter, and when The Rock comes out to save her, she turns and joins The Bloodline. Then, you have him get a severe enough beating where the next time he comes out is in the build up to Summer Slam. Of course, TKO would then have to put out a message saying that The Rock was not actually badly beaten because most investors would probably believe it's true.

Then again, I had thoughts on how Reigns could lose the belt ever since he won both but before he unified them.

[DinoKea]

2 hours ago, Blodyxe said:

I get that they want to involve The Rock for WM, but do they actually need him to have a match to make giga numbers? WM sells itself.

Since I don't follow WWE that much, what would be the preffered option for you? In a world before this 'promo'?

1) Rock is a speical enforcer or ref, blocking all Bloodline BS and setting up a mega match with his fam for Summerslam, where title-less Roman is no longer a heavy favorite. Cody wins ofc to get the monkey off the back and evolve as a character

2) Rock tries to take the spot, but Cody is not a putz and says 'Dwayne, you gotta earn it. Want this spot? Fight me for it'. They have a match at EC or whenever, where Bloodline makes it a no contest, thus resulting in a triple threat match for WM. Rock gets his rest spots to mask his age, and is protected by not being pinned. Again, goes on to face Roman at Summerslam one on one, no title

In current scenario, there's no development for Cody or Roman's characters. Just same old stuff

Option 1. The Triple Threat doesn't feel as good because it feels like mixing two storylines together rather than actually having something and Dwayne won't want to turn heel. Special enforcer/referee makes perfect sense, prevents Bloodline interference but doesn't get in the way of Cody's moment.

[overthetop2]

19 hours ago, Wrestling Machine said:

The ultimate babyface with white hot momentum winning the WWE title > Rock vs Roman imho.

We can only conclude that Triple H is still playing TEW 2005, where one does not need to worry about time decline, momentum or storyline heat, instead getting an automatic A* every time you mash two of your most over workers together.

[eayragt]

This decision isn't about the WWE Title, unfortunately. WWE wanted Cody Vs Reigns and Punk Vs Rollins as the two main events. It's an anniversary year, it stacks up, and there would have been a Brock match, and probably a Rock appearance.

WWE would prefer Cody Vs Rollins and Rock vs Reigns rather than Priest / Drew Vs Rollins and Cody Vs Reigns (with a Rock appearance and no Brock). This also, in isolation makes sense.

The issue, of course, is they've done a good build for Cody Vs Reigns II. In a way they're unlucky, as if Punk's injury was known about first all they needed to do was throw Rock in the Rumble, and although there would have been dissent it would have been far less.

But Cody Vs Rollins / Rock Vs Reigns is a set of main events which will sell more. I get the feeling that they're not even sure how fit Rollins will be in April, so have ensured that he's against a vet that could work with him injured to still pull out a great match. I've gone through other scenarios in my head, and whatever I come up with no other scenario makes the World Heavyweight Title worthy of headlining Day 1 of WrestleMania. It shouldn't matter as WWE should trust Bailey / IYO, Rhea / Lynch, or Gunter / someone to be able to Main Event, but it's an anniversary year, and they're shooting higher.

Personally, I don't mind it. The only thing I wanted to see out of Cody / Reigns II was a title change - I'm not sure if the match up and feud justified two WrestleMania main events in a row. Personally, I'd have Priest cash in his title shot while Rollins was injured to make it Priest Vs Cody at WrestleMania, adding Rollins if he is properly fit. Either Cody wins, or an injured Rollins costs him the match, setting up the two to feud to SummerSlam. A titleless Cody would go into Rumble 25 looking for the threepeat but just miss out, before winning at Elimination Chamber and winning at Mania 41. If Cody has the title Reigns wins the Rumble or (preferably) Elimination Chamber, and they meet for it at Mania. Of course, a lot could go wrong before then.

Edited February 4 by eayragt

[Woodsmeister]

I have read Roman isn’t doing double duty so won’t happen but…

Night One: Reigns vs Rock in Tribal Combat - if Rock wins he is now head of the table, and he faces Cody or Seth in Night two to unify (read that is a possibility for SummerSlam so why not do it now).

Result: Rock wins thanks to Jey inteference as he lost to Jimmy earlier thanks to Solo. Cody beats Seth.

Night Two: Cody finishes the story winning both belts. Roman takes some time off and can return as a baby face down the line.

 

 

Edited February 4 by Woodsmeister

[CQI13]

5 hours ago, eayragt said:

This decision isn't about the WWE Title, unfortunately. WWE wanted Cody Vs Reigns and Punk Vs Rollins as the two main events. It's an anniversary year, it stacks up, and there would have been a Brick match, and probably a Rock appearance.

WWE would prefer Cody Vs Rollins and Rock vs Reigns rather than Priest / Drew Vs Rollins and Cody Vs Reigns (with a Rock appearance and no Brock). This also, in isolation makes sense.

The issue, of course, is they've done a good build for Cody Vs Reigns II. In a way they're unlucky, as if Punk's injury was known about first all they needed to do was throw Rock in the Rumble, and although there would have been dissent it would have been far less.

But Cody Vs Rollins / Rock Vs Reigns is a set of main events which will sell more. I get the feeling that they're not even sure how fit Rollins will be in April, so have ensured that he's against a vet that could work with him injured to still pull out a great match. I've gone through other scenarios in my head, and whatever I come up with no other scenario makes the World Heavyweight Title worthy of headlining Day 1 of WrestleMania. It shouldn't matter as WWE should trust Bailey / IYO, Rhea / Lynch, or Gunter / someone to be able to Main Event, but it's an anniversary year, and they're shooting higher.

Personally, I don't mind it. The only thing I wanted to see out of Cody / Reigns II was a title change - I'm not sure if the match up and feud justified two WrestleMania main events in a row. Personally, I'd have Priest cash in his title shot while Rhodes was injured to make it Priest Vs Cody at WrestleMania, adding Rollins if he is properly fit. Either Cody wins, or an injured Rollins costs him the match, setting up the two to feud to SummerSlam. A titleless Cody would go into Rumble 25 looking for the threepeat but just miss out, before winning at Elimination Chamber and winning at Mania 41. If Cody has the title Reigns wins the Rumble or (preferably) Elimination Chamber, and they meet for it at Mania. Of course, a lot could go wrong before then.

And while you make sense 100%, I don’t have to like it. 🙃

The only thing is they cannot keep talking about “finishing the story” that whole time, not when it looks like Cody willingly chose to not finish his story. Stop with the term until Cody builds up steam in the next Rumble.

[The Blonde Bomber]

Cody-Roman unification match summerslam

[MightyDavidson]

5 minutes ago, The Blonde Bomber said:

Cody-Roman unification match summerslam

Let's hope fans still give a toss by that point.

[The Blonde Bomber]

Not in twitter, had no idea the backlash was so strong. Could see something changing with Mania. Cody could get to finish the story… What a way to turn The Rock heel. Have Rock join Roman now against Cody. Cody beats Roman at Mania. Cody beats Rock at Summerslam.

Edited February 4 by The Blonde Bomber