2010 Pro Wrestling Thread

Yep. And it would be a nice touch if, at some point after that, Cena comes running out to the rattle and the horns of his own music, only for it to switch as he's about to salute.

 

They kinda sorta did that with the battle royal last week, when Cena's music came on but he didn't come out. Then the Nexus music came on, the four remaining original members walked out, and Cena trailed tenatively.

Funny how they've already lost half their makeup from the original invasion: Bryan (fired, then rehired and put in non-Nexus programs), Sheffield (hurt), Tarver (kicked out of the group and MIA) and Young (kicked out of the group, comes back to distract Barrett in a match a few weeks ago, then takes part in the battle royal and is eliminated -- during a commercial break).

Harris/McGuillicutty will presumably join Nexus officially next week. Not sure why Barrett is making their beating Cena/Orton a condition of their employment, then insinuating that Cena will "do the right thing", but whatevs. That was one intense final segment, especially since you knew full well the earliest they can do a split is the PPV main event.

 

I also read a report on the internets somewhere that Tarver also was nursing an injury, so they wrote him out. Too bad, he actually looked like he had some potential.

But yeah, Nexus is starting to look a little thin with just four guys. Why they can't have Sheffield appear on crutches (outside of money) is beyond me. Have him drill a guy or two with the crutch.

And I wish they would have kept Bryan in the group. They could have just had the choking episode become part of the storyline, and then have Bryan come back as a take no prisoners heel with Nexus. Instead, they had him in the one match, and that's been it. Lame.

 

Tarver might have potential, but he's wicked green. He needs at least another year in Florida. So does Otunga, when the Nexus angle runs its course, though his impending marriage to Jennifer Hudson makes him more desirable to WWE, which is always looking for mainstream exposure.

Bryan really makes more sense as the cold, calculating technical heel in that group, as opposed to the vaguely goofy face he's playing now. Though I can't imagine they'd play up the choking thing (too Benoit-ish).

One thing I noticed was that Barrett went out and said the only thing he cares about is the WWE title, not Raw or Smackdown. They've been leaning in this direction for a couple of weeks now, but that will likely lay the foundation for the eventual breakup of Nexus, since now they've strayed from being this young group hoping to trigger revolution in WWE to a group of thugs watching Barrett's back. Of course, Barrett is the only one I have any interest in seeing after Nexus goes away (maybe Gabriel for a feud with Evan Bourne).

 

That's been one of the disappointing things about the whole angle, becauses in the beginning, it looked like a total invasion. Now, with only half the guys, it wouldn't be very workable.

And with Danielson, I'm wondering if at some point, (Wrestlemania?) they'll have him come out to "The Final Countdown" and totally destroy whoever he's facing.

 

I may be the only one on this board who isn't seeing it with Daniel Bryan. I know a lot of you follow wrestling more than I and have seen him elsewhere, but dude just looks like a big-headed, goofy-faced average wrestler. Just painful to listen to when they give him the mike, zero charisma. Sounds like he's reading straight from the script. Like I said, I just don't see it with him.

 

You're not alone. I know he's got an almost cult-like following on the internet, but I find myself getting bored enough to change the channel when he's on.

 

I think Daniel Bryan fills the Benoit / Lance Storm / Shelton Benjamin role. He's a good mat and technical wrestler who might never be able to talk enough to be a world champion, unless he's packaged very, very carefully. If you just have that guy hyped up as being great in the ring and limit his time on the mic, I think you can eventually book them to be a world title guy. However, the WWE hasn't really done that well recently.

 

Dare I say it? The main event for Bragging Rights is looking pretty very enticing. I'm really beginning to dig Cena being forced into joining Nexus. Given that Barrett is challenging Orton for the title, which could be a very good match, it'll be interesting to see if Cena does indeed interfere.

I can't really see Barrett getting the WWE Championship, but knowing the WWE, they'll have Cena interfere and get Barrett DQ'ed, or something like that.

It'll be interesting if Cena and Orton square off against one another in their tag match against Harris and Curt Henning's kid, whatever his name is.

Oh, and instead of a huge list of questions. I have one for you all:

(1). Where does Triple H land on your list of all-time great wrestlers? I mean everything from ring performance, charisma, mic skills, etc.

Cause let's figure, Triple H is pretty much done. Reports have had Triple H returning in December, but new reports have claimed that Triple H is in no rush to get back into the ring, if at all. That's probably bullshit, but I think we've seen the last of Triple H working a full-time schedule again.

I've been watching wrestling since Triple H began in WWE. Definitely realized we've seen the come and go of a great performer. Shit. Triple H could draw heat to him like no one else.

 

I don't know who said it, but I heard someone in a shoot interview say that "Triple H isn't the guy that draws money, he's the guy that you put with the guy that draws money." He's had a great run, but he's never been THE top guy. My favorite match of his was vs. The Rock for the IC title. I think it was a PPV in MSG. The group he's most famous for, DX, was at it's peak when the New Age Outlaws were involved.

I just don't see him as one of the all time greats.

 

I've always thought that he was very good, but I never could see him among the all-time greats, just for the sole reason that he married into the McMahons and it seemed like half the time, his push resulted from his influence.

That's not to say he wasn't great. In many ways, especially as a heel, he was. But since he's been gone, I haven't missed him, unlike say, Austin, or the Rock, or Angle (with WWE) or even Michaels.

 

I guess it depends on how you measure someone as an all-time great, but he's been an effective face and heel (probably more so a heel) at the top of the card for more than a decade. He always generates good reactions, is decent with the mic, and actually had a stretch in the early-mid 2000s where he was a very good worker. A lot of his negatives are pegged to the backstage stuff, dating back to the days of the Clique, and he's certainly buried his fair share of people, but at the same time, he put over Sheamus pretty good, took three straight PPV losses to Benoit and tried on a number of occasions to get Shelton Benjamin to the next level.

One of my favorite wrestlers? Not really. All-time great? Again, depends on how you measure greatness -- he's doesn't have the charisma of a Rock or the workrate of a Flair, but it's hard to argue the impact he's made on modern professional wrestling, for better or worse. Definite hall of famer.