2011 Pro Wrestling Thread

I watched the Ryder promo three times last night.

So damn awesome.

 

WWWYKI

 

I just don't get the fascination with Zach Ryder.

 

Pretend like you do or you can't be a hipster smark.

 

He's a curiosity in the vein of Santino in his early heel days. Plus he has no problem pandering to his fans with the Broski of the Week. Plus smart marks like to feel as though they're gaming the system by cheering for people they aren't "supposed" to be cheering (this also fuels some of the hatred of Cena). Plus he's cultivating his following through social media and (until now) under the WWE radar, so it makes his fans feel like they're a few steps ahead of the commoners.

He's not a bad worker and the Jersey Shore gimmick isn't the worst thing ever -- he does it better than Robbie E, at least. But take away the stuff I mentioned above, and how is he different from Cody Hawkins or Trent Barretta?

 

Super Shredder. Nice.

 

This pretty much nails it down.

Ryder isn't a future World or WWE champion, unless he suddenly comes up with an incredible heel gimmick that shoots him into the stratosphere. But he's someone who seems like he has a fun personality. Which in the WWE world these days is actually pretty unique, outside of Santino. Everyone else is so dark and intense, or they try to be light and funny and come off as lame (i.e., Cena).

Ryder was a heel, who showed a different side on his Youtube show. That show also humanizes him, so we can see him as a real person instead of a WWE character. That's what's drawn fans, along with the defiance of cheering for someone they want us to boo.

 

... and the WWE will treat him like a comedy act and not really let him get over at all. See: Santino, Charlie Haas, etc. I don't mind characters like this, and I think they could be booked in ways to elevate them from comedy act to at least a midcard talent, but the WWE has been really reluctant in recent years to even bother with that.

 

Don't know if this is legit or part of the storyline, but the WWE website says Nash was released:

http://www.wwe.com/inside/kevin-nash-released

And yes, it did say they wished him well in future endeavors.

 

For what it's worth, someone told me that the original plan was for Nash to wrestle, but health problems forced the WWE to change the angle to Punk vs. HHH.

Nash also filmed an episode about the NWO for Legends of Wrestling, the WWE's panel show about the industry. The other members of the panel were Jim Ross, Mean Gene, Michael Hayes and JJ Dillon - A really solid hour-fifteen of television if you're into wrestling history.

According to Nash, Scott Hall jumped to WCW for $750k a year, he'd only have to work half the dates, and he had a favored nations clause in his contract. So when Nash jumped, Hall immediately got a raise. A few weeks later, the WWF advertised that "Diesel and Razor Ramon" would be back the next week, and WCW panicked because all they had on paper from the two were preliminary agreements to join, not ironclad contracts. They both got an extra $400k just to put it firmer in writing.

 

Could be legitimate. Could be part of the story (we last saw him sharing a limo with Johnny Laryngitis as they left the arena Monday). Could be a legitimate firing as cover for a storyline firing (Brian Pillman and to a lesser degree Daniel Bryan Danielson). Nash had signed a Legends contract, so I don't know if he was working with two contracts (one for in-ring, one for Legends) or not, and which one (or both) this applies to.

That's the beauty of the worked shoot. It's also the curse of the worked shoot when done improperly, TNA

 

Prone to think Nash will return at Night of Champions, perhaps to powerbomb Trips, perhaps to powerbomb Punk, perhaps with Scott Hall (who someone said up above, I think, is in training to return) or Shawn Michaels, perhaps just to flub lines. Why? Because "We wish Kevin the best in all his future endeavors" is too much of a nod to fans who pay attention beyond the shows. Creative has used multimedia and social media well as of late, with little Easter egg here and there. This feels like an Easter egg, especially with Punk involved.