Joined: Sat Oct 23, 2004 11:36 am Posts: 23903 Location: Classified
Re: Wrestling (WWE, IMPACT, NXT, AEW)
Just found out Limp Bizkit is playing in Vegas the night before Double or Nothing. There's no way that Tony lets Fred Durst leave the city without doing something right??
It should come as no surprise, but Triple H made it official that he's never wrestling again. Honestly this is on par with me with Undertaker. Just a huge presence gone from the ring. It was before my few years away from wrestling that I saw him as Hunter Hearst Helmsley (saw him live with that gimmick too), I saw a bit of the beginning of DX, then I came back to wrestling in 2002 when he became a huge singles star (for better or worse, I know why he got the spot but you can't deny his talent in the ring and on the mic either). He got a bad reputation for burying people (maybe deserved that rep too), and protecting guys he liked (Orton and Batista in particular, plus Ric Flair). Still can't deny his talent. Had some awesome feuds with Batista, HBK, Taker, Orton.
That said, I wasn't the biggest fan of Evolution. That was the peak of "Triple H controls everything and buries everyone". And less of a fan of the DX revival. Both had their fun moments but both felt like pale imitations of better stables. DX 2.0 was only fun to see H and Shawn have so much fun in the ring.
So is that pretty much it for the 90s guys? We got Sting (insane how his career has now outlived so many, in both career lifespan and actual lifespan) and Chris Jericho. I know certain guys have been wrestling since the 90s, like AJ Styles, Edge or the Hardys, but I consider their most prominent eras in the early 2000s.
Now that I think about it, I'm not sure there's any era of Triple H I do like besides his singles run. The Blue Blood, DX, Evolution, The Authority, DX 2.0, The McMahon-Helmsley Regime (although I didn't see that live). He just was so good on his own, he made the best of everything. And it was his feuds and actual matches that made him special for me.
You could probably go back in this thread (it's almost 20 years old, holy shit) and see where I said "Triple H is the most overrated piece of shit", but he's easily one of the best overall.
_________________ Ecks Factor: Cancelled too soon
Fri Mar 25, 2022 3:52 pm
Alex Y.
Top Poster
Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 4:47 pm Posts: 5708
Re: Wrestling (WWE, IMPACT, NXT, AEW)
Besides his in-ring retirement, i wonder if HHH will be retiring from his stressful EVP responsibilities. With Shane gone, and if Stephanie may want to spend more time with HHH and kids at home, WWE being sold may happen sooner than we think.
Fri Mar 25, 2022 5:57 pm
Corpse
Don't Dream It, Be It
Joined: Wed Aug 02, 2006 12:45 pm Posts: 37152 Location: The Graveyard
Re: Wrestling (WWE, IMPACT, NXT, AEW)
It's strange he didn't make his retirement announcement in the ring... I have to imagine it's from some bad blood with Vince and others.
I don't even remember the last time he was on TV. It's been at least 1.5 or 2 years, hasn't it? Hearing his music hit one more time would have drove the audience wild.
And yeah, I think this out-of-ring retirement is another hint (on a pretty long list now) that Vince is selling WWE in the near future. I don't really know about Shane, but Paul and Stephanie certainly seemed pretty passionate about the company, so it feels like a dick move by Vince.
“Gods are great ... but the heart is greater. For it is from our hearts they come, and to our hearts they shall return.” “We were like gods at the dawning of the world, & our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other.” “There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.” “You have to pretend you get an endgame. You have to carry on like you will; otherwise, you can't carry on at all.” "Paper is dead without words / Ink idle without a poem / All the world dead without stories."
Fri Mar 25, 2022 7:54 pm
Shack
Devil's Advocate
Joined: Sun Jul 31, 2005 2:30 am Posts: 38234
Re: Wrestling (WWE, IMPACT, NXT, AEW)
Felt inevitable that Triple H would never wrestle again since I heard about his heart incident. His last two real matches worked out pretty good by chance, Wrestlemania - Batista, Super Showdown - Orton. Hope he has a future speaking role although it seems ominous that he didn't do this with a big speech on Raw.
This video is an amazing tribute to HHH, I've watched it like ten times by now over the years
“Gods are great ... but the heart is greater. For it is from our hearts they come, and to our hearts they shall return.” “We were like gods at the dawning of the world, & our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other.” “There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.” “You have to pretend you get an endgame. You have to carry on like you will; otherwise, you can't carry on at all.” "Paper is dead without words / Ink idle without a poem / All the world dead without stories."
Fri Mar 25, 2022 9:50 pm
Shack
Devil's Advocate
Joined: Sun Jul 31, 2005 2:30 am Posts: 38234
Re: Wrestling (WWE, IMPACT, NXT, AEW)
Mister Ecks wrote:
So is that pretty much it for the 90s guys? We got Sting (insane how his career has now outlived so many, in both career lifespan and actual lifespan) and Chris Jericho. I know certain guys have been wrestling since the 90s, like AJ Styles, Edge or the Hardys, but I consider their most prominent eras in the early 2000s.
Goldberg, Mysterio, and some of the AEW elders like Dustin Rhodes and Billy Gunn
Joined: Wed Aug 02, 2006 12:45 pm Posts: 37152 Location: The Graveyard
Re: Wrestling (WWE, IMPACT, NXT, AEW)
Goldberg aside... all of them are still pretty good too. Sting is the most surprising because he's still pretty active, having a match most weeks. He just turned 63 last week and is nearing 40 years in the ring. Unless he has some injury or health issue, he still performs like he has several years left too, especially in recent months.
“Gods are great ... but the heart is greater. For it is from our hearts they come, and to our hearts they shall return.” “We were like gods at the dawning of the world, & our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other.” “There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.” “You have to pretend you get an endgame. You have to carry on like you will; otherwise, you can't carry on at all.” "Paper is dead without words / Ink idle without a poem / All the world dead without stories."
I don't even remember the last time he was on TV. It's been at least 1.5 or 2 years, hasn't it? Hearing his music hit one more time would have drove the audience wild.
He appeared in January 2021 on RAW in an unofficial match/brawl with Randy Orton, which ended with the lights going out, his sledgehammer catching fire and Alexa Bliss appearing to shoot a fireball in Randy's face.
In retrospect, goofy stuff aside, they really made a huge deal of The Fiend vs. Orton. It's crazy it went the way it did.
I'm fascinated by Triple H's complicated history. He married the boss's daughter, he was supposedly a dick to people backstage with The Kliq/HBK, he became a top star while being married to Stephanie, people complained he buried a lot of talent and only put over his friends.
Ryback (who I always trust to be a shining beacon of truth and honesty) said yesterday Triple H actively held him back from becoming a star lol. But I know a lot of guys have that same opinion, and it's a fair argument to be made. Even if he wasn't directly involved in pushing people, it's still fair to say he got his spot unfairly and used his position to influence.
Which brings me to NXT. It felt like NXT was his way of trying to redeem himself. Because a lot of people who were or are in NXT having nothing but good things to say about him. That felt like his way of developing stars after years of holding certain people back. To complicate it further, 98% of the stars made in NXT went on to fizzle out and/or get released by WWE.
_________________ Ecks Factor: Cancelled too soon
Sat Mar 26, 2022 9:55 am
Corpse
Don't Dream It, Be It
Joined: Wed Aug 02, 2006 12:45 pm Posts: 37152 Location: The Graveyard
Re: Wrestling (WWE, IMPACT, NXT, AEW)
Rollins' mystery opponent guesses?
Cody appears to be the heavy favorite but also seems too obvious and would probably be a lot less "shocking" than intended at this point.
I'm almost expecting it to not even be a match with Taker squashing him, similar to Cena, a few years back.
“Gods are great ... but the heart is greater. For it is from our hearts they come, and to our hearts they shall return.” “We were like gods at the dawning of the world, & our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other.” “There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.” “You have to pretend you get an endgame. You have to carry on like you will; otherwise, you can't carry on at all.” "Paper is dead without words / Ink idle without a poem / All the world dead without stories."
Tue Mar 29, 2022 12:11 am
Flava'd vs The World
The Kramer
Joined: Sat Oct 23, 2004 11:36 am Posts: 23903 Location: Classified
Re: Wrestling (WWE, IMPACT, NXT, AEW)
Rumor is that Shane is coming back for the weekend. If true, that is definitely Rollins' opponent.
Vince will introduce him as a dashing member of wrestling royalty.
Wed Mar 30, 2022 1:42 pm
Corpse
Don't Dream It, Be It
Joined: Wed Aug 02, 2006 12:45 pm Posts: 37152 Location: The Graveyard
Re: Wrestling (WWE, IMPACT, NXT, AEW)
That'd be very, very Vince...
Great Dynamite tonight. Bryan vs Yuta, Moxley vs Lethal, and Andrade vs Darby ( ) were both pretty great. Cool to see Toni Storm. Pretty obvious she was going to be the new debut tonight but still nice to see her here.
Also, current Jeff Hardy's swanton bombs might be the most difficult move to take these days... He probably goes for, what, 225 or so, and he's just crashing down full weight atop everyone lately. Wouldn't surprise me if some ribs end up broken at some point.
“Gods are great ... but the heart is greater. For it is from our hearts they come, and to our hearts they shall return.” “We were like gods at the dawning of the world, & our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other.” “There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.” “You have to pretend you get an endgame. You have to carry on like you will; otherwise, you can't carry on at all.” "Paper is dead without words / Ink idle without a poem / All the world dead without stories."
Austin with the biggest pop anyone has gotten since forever.
Lmao no one comes close to him
_________________
Tongue Pop!
I kneel with Magnus.
Sun Apr 03, 2022 4:32 am
Flava'd vs The World
The Kramer
Joined: Sat Oct 23, 2004 11:36 am Posts: 23903 Location: Classified
Re: Wrestling (WWE, IMPACT, NXT, AEW)
Annnd right back to normal. Some fun stuff tonight but nothing all that great and the same ole Roman story continues on until next year's Wrestlemania.
Mon Apr 04, 2022 2:41 am
Flava'd vs The World
The Kramer
Joined: Sat Oct 23, 2004 11:36 am Posts: 23903 Location: Classified
Re: Wrestling (WWE, IMPACT, NXT, AEW)
OK so maybe Night Two wasn't so terrible. The raw tag titles was about the same as smackdown except no one got horrificly injured. I preferred Drew v Corbin, but Lashley v Omos accomplished the same thing of showcasing one of their top guys. The celebrity matches were about equal, with both Paul and Knoxville putting in credible work. And while it is ridiculous that Vince McMahon got a pinfall victory in the year 2022, the segment was still fun and McAfee/Theory put on a solid match before it.
I just can't get over that they sacrificed an entire year of programming to build up the Most Stupendous Wrestlemania Match Ever and then ... that was it. The same ole Roman v Brock match we've seen a hundred times. And now we have to waste another year building up Roman v Rock.... and then probably another year after that building up to Roman v Gable Steveson/Bronn Breakker.
WWE has shown they have the talent to put on a great show, but this insistence on always showcasing the same guys (and Charlotte) is just frustrating.
But I guess I should just be happy with the one great event we got. Like the Austin match, the entire first night went way beyond what any of us were expecting.
Mon Apr 04, 2022 2:01 pm
Corpse
Don't Dream It, Be It
Joined: Wed Aug 02, 2006 12:45 pm Posts: 37152 Location: The Graveyard
Re: Wrestling (WWE, IMPACT, NXT, AEW)
Sounds like Night 1 was indeed really good. The clips I watched looked good too. Surprised Charlotte won. Would have bet money on Ronda. It's just rumors, but they're saying Ronda had some problems about not going on last, so I wonder if that played a factor in her losing (to a big boot). And all the clips I saw of Austin/Owens looked great. I'll have to watch that one (as well as most of Night 1) at some point.
Night 2 seemed to deliver with the celebrity matches, but nothing else. So, based on that, no regret on skipping Mania this year. Personally, I'm glad Reigns won. Doesn't sound like it was a good match (just a 10-minute exchange of finishers?), but I think once Reigns does drop the title, it's going to be hard (or impossible) for them to build him back up. WWE also doesn't have anyone to take his spot as the face of the company right now. His reign may be growing tiresome now (this marked... two years? as champion now, right?), but letting it end to Brock wouldn't have sit right with me.
And not sure about Gable Steveson and his future. He'll probably be pushed to be a big star, but the sexual assault case he got off on because his victim was too intoxicated is making the rounds now. In MN, if you were too intoxicated and someone raped or sexually assaults you, then it's your problem... So the charges against him were dropped. (MN has since changed this ridiculous law).
But there are also issues with Theory and Riddle, so... probably won't amount to much regarding his WWE career.
“Gods are great ... but the heart is greater. For it is from our hearts they come, and to our hearts they shall return.” “We were like gods at the dawning of the world, & our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other.” “There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.” “You have to pretend you get an endgame. You have to carry on like you will; otherwise, you can't carry on at all.” "Paper is dead without words / Ink idle without a poem / All the world dead without stories."
Mon Apr 04, 2022 3:35 pm
Corpse
Don't Dream It, Be It
Joined: Wed Aug 02, 2006 12:45 pm Posts: 37152 Location: The Graveyard
Re: Wrestling (WWE, IMPACT, NXT, AEW)
That might have been the most bland RAW after Mania ever, or at least in the Bottom 3.
Veer finally came after 6 months. We'll see what happens. I'm predicting he'll squash the Mysterios for a few weeks/months, and then it'll be 50/50 if he remains afterward.
Rhea and Liv were just starting to become an interesting tag team, after being randomly thrown together, and now it looks like Rhea's about to turn heel... I'm all for a heel Rhea, but still a pretty sudden split (assuming it happens soon-ish). Oh, and the match they lost tonight was a title qualifier, but they still get a title shot next week. What?
Also, why has someone been coming to the ring before the women even make it back down the entrance or even out of the ring after their matches? Owens did tonight. Seth did once, maybe twice recently. It's probably happened earlier too, but I just realized it.
And why do Balor and Ricochet, champions, keep losing? I don't think they've won a single match since winning their titles. And they take the pins in tag matches, too. They weren't even on the Mania card despite it being two nights...
“Gods are great ... but the heart is greater. For it is from our hearts they come, and to our hearts they shall return.” “We were like gods at the dawning of the world, & our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other.” “There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.” “You have to pretend you get an endgame. You have to carry on like you will; otherwise, you can't carry on at all.” "Paper is dead without words / Ink idle without a poem / All the world dead without stories."
Mon Apr 04, 2022 11:26 pm
Corpse
Don't Dream It, Be It
Joined: Wed Aug 02, 2006 12:45 pm Posts: 37152 Location: The Graveyard
“Gods are great ... but the heart is greater. For it is from our hearts they come, and to our hearts they shall return.” “We were like gods at the dawning of the world, & our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other.” “There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.” “You have to pretend you get an endgame. You have to carry on like you will; otherwise, you can't carry on at all.” "Paper is dead without words / Ink idle without a poem / All the world dead without stories."
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