Lets Discuss All Things Wrestling - Even The T-Shirt Company AEW!

[Dr LBC]

4 hours ago, iknowcool said:

He changed his mind because The Rock got disrespectful and Cody Rhodes realized The Rock (in kayfabe) would just be more of the same, another but even more powerful Tribal Chief.

Whether they pivoted or this was the plan all along, either way I thought they pulled it off.  The only way to save this was always going to require The Rock to be a bad guy, which I didn't think he would be willing to.  But yeah, safe to say I was wrong about that.

And if you want to turn Roman Reigns to a face in the future, Rock is the perfect guy for him to do it against.  Because The Rock is the one man who can make Reigns feel small, he's the only one who can usurp him as Tribal Chief and get the likes of Heyman and Solo to answer to him.  

I'll make a rough prediction that this is likely a storyline that ends up getting changed or tweaked multiple times before ever actually reaching their desired end (if it ever does get there).

I think (and it's weird that I agree with Eric Bischoff) but I think they planted little easter eggs tonight that lead to an eventual Rock/Roman match with actual story to it besides just ego.  I hope it's not at Mania, but if they're smart they use Roman losing the title at Mania as a catalyst towards that.  Basically, you need Roman to do something so despicable that it actually does fulfill Cody's "prophecy" so to speak, that his grandfather would actually have been genuinely ashamed.  The big thing that comes to mind is that Samoans are HUGE on family - which is why this story works so well.  So naturally Roman would have to glaze over (worse than he's done before - like to the point that he puts someone out for a (kayfabe?) long injury pause) someone that's actually blood... maybe Jimmy?  Maybe Solo?  Maybe Jey?  And the fact that he'd actually cross his own blood to the point of threatening their career... that's what puts Rock over the edge.

Make no mistake, if Rock flips face with purpose, people will get behind him again full-throated.

If they haven't already, TKO and Trips need to put the full-court press on getting Dustin back.  But even in that absence, there are enough other "Royal Families" that Cody can get backup in this and it would fit storyline wise perfectly.  The Ortons (though it would push off a Randy heel turn that I think a lot of us want, but that's solvable by putting Cody on Smackdown to start), the Harts (go... get... Davey Boy Jr!), and (I know they've recently inked with AEW so far as I'm aware) get the Von Erich boys, you could even in an interim (I think he presents too perfect an opportunity to make a swerve/screw heel turn if initially presented as a babyface - and it would fit to character) Brian Pillman Jr. option if they elevated Lexis King sooner than later (he's ready and barring him getting an NXT championship run that I don't think he's going to get).

I think the common theme is going to be for folks to expect Rock to be pressed into the Cena (booed by smarks, still cheered by casuals) role that still pops off of surprise reveals, but I honestly have reached a point where I believe they will aim to keep Rock away from ever being perceived as an irredeemable heel because that hurts his money draw for the limited ability he'll likely be able to work (they'll probably get somewhere closer to the Goldberg of the Goldberg/Lesnar schedule out of him, discounting any injuries).

And ultimately, I think when Cena does finally retire, whenever that happens, that will start the clock on when Roman becomes the new Cena, which will be the pressure to pull off the Roman face turn.  Fortunately, they've got enough monster heels coming through the pipeline in various stages that that shouldn't be a problem (i.e. Gunther, Bronn, Oba Femi).

[BetterCallSaul]

Rock/Reigns vs. Cody/Rollins in Perth.

Reigns/Cody at WM.

Reigns eventually gets turned on by Rock. Face Reigns beats Rock at SS or WM next year. Probs Mania. 

[Fresh Prince]

I wouldn’t mind the idea that Cody uses help from members of different Royal family’s to help him against the bloodline.

[bcb1213]

The easiest path is rock being in reigns corner but not allowing interference when solo so reigns can prove he's the true head of the table.   He loses, solo and Jimmy see roman has been winning cause of them, instant next fued.  Rock saves face, bloodline disbanded

Strange thing I noticed though is that four of the next five ppv are not in America.  Odd scheduele

 

 

Edited February 9 by bcb1213

[StLunatic88]

57 minutes ago, bcb1213 said:

Strange thing I noticed though is that four of the next five ppv are not in America.  Odd scheduele

Not exactly, I know we make fun of them alot, but Canada is part of America

Not to mention the One you are counting as "in America" is the biggest show of them all, two full days of WrestleMania

And there's the little thing that they still have yet to announce Summer Slam, which will most likely be in America, and take place before Berlin.

[Texansfan713]

WWE did a great job trolling us.  I'm glad Cody will face Roman.  Rock basically turned heel too so that's always good as he is a much better heel than face.

[bcb1213]

Also means Gunther has a 0% chance of retaining at mania with his inability to leave the country

[StLunatic88]

2 minutes ago, Texansfan713 said:

WWE did a great job trolling us.  I'm glad Cody will face Roman.  Rock basically turned heel too so that's always good as he is a much better heel than face.

They didnt troll us. They (the TKO board) for sure thought they could pull this off and the fans would just go along with it.

I full heartedly believe that Hunter and Cody tried to warn them, and even possibly spun some of these actions since they first got wind of this "plan to save WrestleMania". Things like Cody pointing/calling out Roman after winning the Rumble, heck probably even the decision to keep Coday as the back-to-back winner of the Rumble. And then small things like Cody not ever commiting to anything before last night,

This move screams of nothing more than hubris from those at the very top, and then their reaction to the fan backlash to that decision only makes me believe that even more. \

Hunter has pulled the plane out of the nose dive, but there are alot more potholes between now and the N2 Main Event of Mania. 

[StLunatic88]

2 minutes ago, bcb1213 said:

Also means Gunther has a 0% chance of retaining at mania with his inability to leave the country

It was only for a certain amount of time, he is just trying to establish residency in the US, its not some ban.

I believe it only goes through WrestleMania, it was for like the next 6 months when this was discovered, and the EC in Australia was the only one he would miss.

 

Not trying to pick on you here, but this is a pretty important distinction

[Edge]

Bret Hart commenting on the Vince situation.

Here is the entire article: 

https://slate.com/culture/2024/02/wwe-vince-mcmahon-federal-investigation-janel-grant-bret-hart.html

 

Btw. did anybody watch Dynamite? It was a fantastic show. Hangman vs. Swerve was a great match. I absolutely loved it, especially the timing on the finish for the Time Limit Draw. I also loved the ending. What a performance from Sting at almost 65 years of age. What a legend and Big Bill also impressed a lot in that match. Great stuff. The aftermath was beautiful, until the Bucks attacked, but it fitted right into the story. Great oldschool beatdown by them. I loved it. The middle part was solid to good. BCC vs. CMLL is a cool story, especially for someone like me, who followed CMLL closely during the last year. Some spots didn't went so well, but overall it was a good match. They are also doing their job in the Toni vs. Deonna story. That finish was nice, considering the finish at the last episode of Dynamite. It's not the biggest story, but i like it as a good little Women's World Title story. The only thing i didn't like was Jericho. He needs to take some time off. But i'm happy Take****a won with the Walls of Jericho. Especially considering he won his first match in Japan back in the days with that move. A beautiful detail, if you followed his career. So overall it was a great show. 9/10 i'd say.

Edit: Funny that Take's name is getting censored.

Edited February 9 by Edge

[bcb1213]

29 minutes ago, StLunatic88 said:

It was only for a certain amount of time, he is just trying to establish residency in the US, its not some ban.

I believe it only goes through WrestleMania, it was for like the next 6 months when this was discovered, and the EC in Australia was the only one he would miss.

 

Not trying to pick on you here, but this is a pretty important distinction

In theory, he might have it for may. .  But you're assuming the government does it in a timely manner and it doesn't get extended

[StLunatic88]

1 hour ago, bcb1213 said:

In theory, he might have it for may. .  But you're assuming the government does it in a timely manner and it doesn't get extended

I believe when establishing residency, it’s really about the time(days) spent in the US (more specifically Florida where he’s doing it). And when you hit that mark, you’re pretty free to do what you want.

Obviously when you are talking international travel there are probably rules that I’m not totally aware of. But he isn’t the first guy to do this, I’d imagine they have this process pretty down

[Edge]

Another disgusting news in regards to Ashley Massaro.

"During my time with the WWE, I had observed Vince McMahon making-out with other divas in the locker room, but he never paid attention to me, and I assumed I was not his type. This changed after my Playboy cover was released. I was fortunate enough to be allowed to fly on the company jet and stay at the same hotels as the executives for a period of time so that I could get home faster to spend more time with my daughter. On one of these occasions, Vince was attempting to get me alone with him in his hotel room late at night and I felt extraordinarily uncomfortable. He began calling the hotel room phone and my cell phone nonstop. I called Kevin Dunn to explain the situation and he said I should tell Vince I was not feeling well and would see him on TV the next day, so I did. Immediately after that night, Vince started writing my promos for me. Vince does not write promos for female wrestlers—that is the job of the creative department—and he certainly wouldn’t have, under any normal circumstances, written a promo for me. But he did, and the promos were written with the clear intention of ruining my career. I brought the first script Vince wrote for me to the WWE employee in charge of Creative at the time, Michael Hayes, and he said, ‘you’re not saying this, who the [expletive] wrote this?’ and I told him that Vince did. He said, ‘Well kid, these are the breaks,’ meaning that Vince wanted to end my career and destroy my reputation on my way out. He is known for this type of behavior and also did this to [REDACTED] upon her departure from WWE. In addition, after that night, each time I walk by him he would make vulgar sexual comments that were clearly designed to make me uncomfortable."

https://www.vice.com/en/articl…ince-mcmahon-sexual-divas

[Edge]

That's an interesting comment by Andrew Zarian.

 

[Dr LBC]

6 hours ago, Fresh Prince said:

I wouldn’t mind the idea that Cody uses help from members of different Royal family’s to help him against the bloodline.

It would have been something that Vince absolutely never would have done, but that can just add to a giant running list of reasons to be thankful he's gone.

What's rough is that the Bloodline doesn't have a female member - also Charlotte is injured - so there isn't a male Flair family member with any utility - and no... don't even mention David Flair's name to me.

We can rule out a full Legacy reunion because Ted Jr was recently criminally charged in a welfare scandal - so I doubt the E is going to be touching him anytime soon.

If Bray were still alive this would have been a badass way to have him involved in a major angle - that he might have actually been willing to break character for. I don't know that shoehorning Bo Rotunda in there has anywhere near a similar effect.

Outside of Harry (Davey Boy Jr.), I don't know that the Harts have a male talent that the E would touch - cuz they're not going anywhere near Teddy.  Maybe Matt (Smith Hart's son), but he's nothing impressive to look at.

It could be good further exposure for Bron, even though he doesn't really need it; though calling the Steiners a Royal Family of wrestling is a bit of a stretch - it's doable; and they've already recognized his lineage in-kayfabe.  And the sooner I get to see a Bron/Solo match the better!

There's not really a viable Guerrero outside of Chavo, that I'm aware of.  And the less said about Alberto Del Rio the better - though that would have been a sick nod to a wrestling Royal Family that people rarely think of considering Del Rio's uncle.

I have no idea where Dory Funk IV is at in his training and development.  He made his pro debut in 2010, but I haven't heard hide nor hair of him since.  There are a number of other kids out there some that E has had contact with in the past, some not (and how ready they would be would be a true stretch): Cody Hall, Tim Zbyszko, Colt Toombs (Roddy's son; though he's been a slow-climber in MMA), Dylan Eaton (both Bobby Eaton's son and Bill Dundee's grandson).