2010 Pro Wrestling Thread

Baron: Batista is now a Raw wrestler because he made a deal with McMahon to get a shot at Cena in exchange for beating up Bret a few weeks ago. That's why he walked out on the CM Punk Elimination Chamber qualifier a few weeks ago and tried to bail on the match with Edge last week, because he didn't give a shit about trying for a Smackdown EC spot knowing he could cherry pick the winner of the Raw EC afterward.

Also, both champs had to be there because Edge said he was making his choice about which one he'd face at WM that night.

I didn't mind the Batista-Cena ending that much because they're trying to make Batista look like the World's Biggest Asshole, and having him let Cena win by DQ only to kick his ass immediately after does it. Batista hasn't been this interesting since the slow-boil breakaway from Triple H and Evolution.

 

From what I've read, the original plan for last night WAS to have Cena beat Sheamus to claim the No. 1 contender spot, but Sheamus suffered a concussion Sunday night at the PPV, hence the rewrite for Raw.

As it was, I thought the angle played off fine. Batista had a chance to prevent Cena from even getting a title shot, but instead, he was so arrogant that he thought he could get himself DQ'd last night and just beat Cena at WM anyway, using last night's match to just cheap shot him and give him a beatdown instead. As monster heels go, that's pretty good stuff.

As for Undertaker-HBK, I'd be surprised if Michaels actually wins this year. He's been talking retirement for a couple years now, and this would be a pretty dramatic way for him to go out.

 

Agreed. *Love* Batista as a monster heel.

Any thoughts on the Legacy breakup? Orton/DiBiase apparently next week.

 

The best part about the latest phase of Batista's heel turn is, he's done it without cutting a true promo. He had the great one on Smackdown where he said nothing; McMahon explained why Batista did what he did during Raw's intro; and then Batista beat the shit out of Cena without speaking. He's getting over on actions alone, which is incredible.
Is this the first time since maybe Evolution that Batista has been a true heel? Seems like he's been a face, or at least a tweener, the past few years.

And count me among the stoked for Wrestlemania. Three fresh main events -- they've done well keeping HBK and Taker, and Cena and Batista from each other for a while, and I can't remember Edge and Jericho feuding -- make this one intriguing. I bought the last two for HBK's matches. By the time this thing is fleshed out, I might be buying it for the whole card.

 

Ah, I see. At least they explained it. But wasn't it just a couple of months ago that Batista had a big announcement that he was going to Smackdown?

Either way, I wish they'd just stick to the brand separation, except maybe once a year for a PPV.

The Legacy breakup would have been better if they weren't teasing it for the last year, and treating Rhodes and DiBiase like equals to Orton instead of his lackeys.

Other thoughts:

I was unaware that Sheamus had a concussion. Now it makes sense why they just had Cena fight Batista. I also admit that Batista's heel turn has been pretty effective without him talking. He's pulled it off well enough that the fans are booing him even though he's kicking everyone's ass.

I still think the kick in the crotch ending was pretty lame. A better way to have done it would have been for Cena to make his entrance, then Batista come out of nowhere and beat him down. Then Cena could crawl into the ring, ref rings the bell, then Batista gets the chair and blasts him. DQ. Cena wins.

 

Watched the premiere of NXT tonight.

It's not really a reality show, at least, from what the first show was. It was more of a wrestling show where the rookies would come out to the ring with their mentors, with their mentors' music. The mentors are all in character.

It was funny seeing Punk and the Straight Edge Society acting all serious with their rookie, who was a flashy Pope Dinero type. Flashy rookie is doing his little dance in the ring and Punk is just staring a hole through him.

Danielson, er, Daniel Bryan is definitely getting pushed. Him and Miz are not getting along from the beginning. Danielson had a good match with Jericho, and took a nasty bump when he suicide dived onto Chris from the ring. Jericho caught him and flipped him into the edge of the announcer's table. Danielson had a nasty welt on his back from that. Jericho also used the actual Lion Tamer hold, although Cole continued to call it the Walls.

Cole also was acting like a bit of a heel announcer. He and Josh Matthews were getting into it, with Cole demanding the rookies show the veterans respect, and was dissing Danielson's background a little.

All in all, it seems like an interesting way to try to get the young guys over. Like I said, it's not like a reality show, where you see them behind the scenes. Each rookie does have a brief intro segment where they talk about their actual background.

 

Of course Cole would fuck up the Lion Tamer bit...

That has me thinking, though: Jericho has changed his promo style a considerable amount (less downer, more Y2J of old...at least on RAW). I wonder, between that and going back to the Lion Tamer, whether the WWE has decided it's better off with Jericho being himself. Considering the rivalry with Edge, and how skilled/entertaining both are on the mic in or out of a set character, I don't see that as a bad thing at all.

 

I think they've had to scale Jericho back a bit for a gradual turn, similar to Orton, because they're both getting a lot of cheers depending on what arena they're in. Jericho plays his character, face or heel, so well that smart fans almost always cheer him. I think Punk is headed this way as well; he plays the crazy cult figure so well that I can't wait to see his promos.

 

Agreed on Punk playing his character well. We'll disagree on not being able to wait to see the promos...I can't F-ing stand him.

 

haha, But he's at least getting legit heat with you. It's not XPac-style "go away" heat. </fake smart wrestling fan>

 

It's "go away and come back with a new gimmick" heat.

 

Supposedly, Punk was getting legit heat with the fans a couple of weeks ago. I think it was during the Serena hair-shaving skit, although I could be wrong. The show was in the south (Greenville S.C.?), and the fans were getting upset that Punk was acting like a saviour, yelling out Tebow's name instead.