2016 Pro Wrestling Thread

Part of that, though, is that Bayley is the one who should be the ultimate chaser. She's the one who has typically been booked as the underdog. With Charlotte and Sasha, they've usually been at the top of the ladder. You really can't have Sasha be an underdog, have a long climb to the top, then repeat it with Bayley.

The E's been guilty of trying to do the "underdog overcomes the odds" thing too often lately, in trying to replicate Bryan's run to the top. Sometimes it works, such as with Ambrose. Sometimes it doesn't, such as Reigns. And sometimes it gets annoying as hell (i.e. Cena).

Backstage, I think the story is that Sasha was supposed to have a very long run, but got legitimately hurt, so they had to put the belt back on Charlotte. Now, they can do what they'd originally planned to do.

 

Exactly, the real money is in Bayley's chase. That should be slow cooked all the way to Wrestlemania.

Sasha and Charlotte going back and forth is no problem.....the only people the Horsewomen should lose to, in general (Maybe Nikki Bella sometime but work with me on the premise) is each other. They don't get hurt at all by losing to each other and the longer they build Sasha as a babyface the better it'll be when she turns on Bayley

 

Does Charlotte get it back at Cell? If not, where does she fit in the equation if Bayley is doing the ultimate underdog chasing? Are Sasha and Charlotte going to be trading the belt back and forth until WM? Is there a best of seven series upcoming? Ironwoman match at Survivor Series?

This is my concern having split women's rosters so soon after the "revolution" began. There's only a select number of championship/main event-level women on the main roster who are worthy of carrying the average fan's interest at the moment ... Charlotte, Sasha, Bayley, Becky, Nikki and Natalya (maybe but audiences have seen their act before), Alexa is showing promise.

Now take that group and split them up and try to fill 5 live hours and 2 PPVs per month? They're likely going to be hotshotting a lot of great matches and storylines in a short period of time.

And I disagree about Bayley chasing being overkill just after Sasha got done chasing. That's Wrestling 101 over the years. It's been repeated because it works. Just about every memorable title win has been a lengthy chase:

- The boyhood dream comes true
- Austin breaks through
- Steamboat at WMIII
- etc.

Sure, back-to-back lengthy chases with the women's title might seem like overkill, but:

- Sasha chases Charlotte over the next several months. Maybe introduce an injury angle to write Sasha off TV again at some point, therefore you don't overkill one-on-one matches. Have Bayley counter Dana Brooke at times in matches, and even have a traditional Survivor Series match (maybe even mix four women from Smackdown into the match).

- Sasha beats Bayley for the No. 1 contender spot at WM in another epic match (maybe at Royal Rumble, maybe in inadvertent, controversial fashion). But this doesn't cool Bayley's momentum, maybe have her score a few victories over Nia Jax. Her and Sasha are on good terms, and Sasha proclaims when she beats Charlotte at WM, Bayley gets first crack at the title.

- Everything goes to plan at WM. Sasha defeats Charlotte, who heads to Smackdown afterwards as part of the draft to freshen things up for the new season and starts feuding with Becky. Bayley shows her excitement for Sasha winning the title and is there for her championship celebration on Raw the next night. She says she's looking forward to fighting a great champion and adding another chapter to their rivalry (perhaps mentioning her NXT victories subtly), only to be blindsided by Sasha. "Sorry, Bayley, no No. 1 contender spot for you." Sasha becomes a white-hot heel, protective of the title and running from the woman who took her NXT title. Maybe Dana aligns with Sasha now that Charlotte is gone. And the chase begins again with Bayley.

Everything, not just this angle, feels so rushed right now with PPVs almost every other week.

 

But now with everything that's transpired, you're right, Bayley should be the one to have that Wrestlemania championship moment now.

 

I thought they would've gotten a lot of mileage out of Bayley inadvertently costing Sasha the title last night as she tried to fend off a Dana Brooke interference. That way it kept up the simmer between Bayley and Sasha until finally Sasha snaps and we have heel Sasha, which is what made her so popular in the first place.

Also, you have to think after Sasha-Charlotte HITC, there will be some kind of Nia Jax title feud for one of them, while the other feuds with Bayley. Seems logical. Then again, when does Paige come back?

Jericho is ratcheting it up every week it seems with his antics. He's having fun, which is why he hasn't gone back to Fozzy (IMO). I think Jericho, one last time as champion could work, especially if it's against KO. They seem to maybe be building toward KO-Jericho anyway.

Missed the beginning of RAW but was glad not to see Roman-Rusev XVIII . Although, I do hope they do some kind of insane spot at the HITC.

I work Tuesdays now so I don't get to watch Smackdown but I'll be watching the PPV this Sunday.

 

All along I've been thinking Jericho would turn on KO, but given the way it's gone and the complete lack of good faces right now, is there a chance KO's the one who turns on Jericho, making Jericho a short-term face whose place is fill by Balor when he comes back?

People already love Jericho's catch phrases.....he seems to despise being a good guy but its probably the right move at this point

 

Jericho is better as a heel. Much better.

 

What KY said. And from everything I've been hearing/reading, they want to transition Owens into a face.

 

either way, whatever they do, it should be good between those two.

 

Could this open the door for Kerwin White's long-awaited return to WWE, so he can save his old caddie's career?

 

The trouble is if they turn KO and Rollins at basically the same time there are no heels......unless they turn Roman too, which seems like a pipedream at this point. So we'd end up with like KO vs Sheamus or some trash once Jericho's gone.

That Miz thing was awesome, no pun intended but pun totally intended.

 

With Harper back in action for the Raw brand, I wonder if that's who they're going to put up against Braun next week? Maybe base it on some Wyatt family animosity?

411MANIA | Luke Harper Returns to the Ring at House Show