2012 Pro Wrestling Thread

But he's not part of HHH's super-duper clique in the way Nash, Hall and HBK were, which I think is the implication. Otherwise we wouldn't have watched Sheamus look like an idiot in his first world title reign and skid straight to the midcard, all the way to the regrettable King Sheamus days. That Mark Henry feud was the only thing to save him from a Swagger-like fate.

 

D'oh. Point remains: there's a certain class of internet fans who define themselves by their dislike of the WWE's booking, and giving them 85% of what they want won't dissuade them from insisting it's all the same old stuff.

 

I was so convinced that Cena would win last night that when the 3-count fell for The Rock I actually said "YES!" loudly lol

 

Daniel Bryan (c) vs Sheamus - World Heavyweight Title
The more that I think about it, the more this match cracks me up. Bryan has been playing the cowardly heel perfectly the last several weeks, and it backfired on him last night. I didn't mind the squash aspect, but wish they'd have done it on one of the other matches (Show-Rhodes, for one). They've been pushing Sheamus to the moon (again), so I'm glad to see him get a run with the title again.
1 1/2 stars

Randy Orton vs Kane
This match was better than I expected it to be, with some great spots thrown in. Although I'm not sure why they would bury Kane after his loss to Cena only to give him this win. Unless they're planning to give him one last run with the WHC, this makes no sense to me.
2 1/2 stars

Cody Rhodes (c) vs The Big Show - WWE IC Title
I really wanted to see Rhodes retain here, but hopefully this a sign that he's being elevated to the top of the card for a feud with Sheamus soon. If not, what a freaking waste of a match this win. Though it was nice to watch Show relishing the win afterward.
3 1/4 stars

Kelly Kelly and Maria Menunhoweveryouspellit vs Beth Phoenix and Eve
Good God, this match sucked. But Kelly Kelly, Maria and Eve -- even Beth, to a lesser extent (and what the hell was she wearing on her head?) -- were all smoking hot.
1/2 star

The Undertaker vs Triple H - Hell in a Cell
The storytelling throughout this match was superb. Some of the best work by all three men. This match had me drawn in from the word 'go.' HBK and Taker are two of my all-time favorites, with Trips not far behind. Those three have done so much for the biz over their careers that it was hard not to mark out for all of them. From the false finishes to Taker yelling at Trips to stay down (role reversal from last year), this match was fantastic. I thought Trips honestly had it won and the streak was over after HBK hit Sweet Chin Music into the Pedigree, but I'm glad to say I was wrong. The ending was excellently booked as well, and HBK's mannerisms throughout the match were great. Then they added the touch of HBK helping Taker up, and those two carrying Trips to the back. If this truly was the end of the Attitude Era, those three guys delivered one helluva final match.
5 stars

Team Johnny vs Team Teddy
One of the guys I watched this with last night said it'd be hilarious if Vince or Stephanie or even Shane had come out at the end and said April Fools to Johnny. But no. We can't have that much fun.
1 star

CM Punk (c) vs Chris Jericho - WWE World Title
This match was fantastic from a wrestling standpoint. I didn't mind the slow points because these guys are two of the most technically sound guys going to day. And they're two of my favorites, too, so that didn't hurt. Loved seeing Jericho break out the Lion Tamer and almost get the win. I figured this match would come down to a submission, and I'm glad it did. Excellent match.
5 stars

The Rock vs John Cena
The first 5-10 minutes of this match (the actual wrestling, fwiw) absolutely sucked. There was no energy at the start, and I felt that was reflected by the crowd's lack of reaction. It really got going toward the middle of the match when each guy hit their signatures and finishers. Then Cena goes for the People's Elbow -- which I loved -- but gets countered into the Rock Bottom for the pin. That last sequence was hilarious, from Cena's 'oh well' shrug to Rock jumping up to hit the Rock Bottom. Cena's actions at the end were great as well. But this match was lacking a little something after a year-long buildup.

3 1/4 stars

 

I think because this booking is kind of the same old stuff. A couple years ago, Chavo Guerrero got pinned for the ECW title in something like 30 seconds by Kane. It's the same old WWE booking - Big guy beats small technical wrestler and chicken heel at Mania in about 30 seconds. It would have actually been surprising if Daniel Bryan (or in the later match, Cody Rhodes) got a squash victory over a big guy, which I don't think we've ever seen happen.

 

I'll agree with what has been said often on here...they need to do *something* with Cena tonight, and I don't really care what it is. Something drastic needs to happen with his character after jobbing to a guy who now has wrestled twice in 8 years...and it needs to happen immediately. He can't just go back to business as usual and maybe wait for a heel to knock off Punk.

Let's put it this way: my girlfriend has been watching wrestling for about 5 months now, and she even thought having Cena job was bullshit. We agreed on our approval of the Sheamus/Bryan quick finish, mainly because it was a chicken heel taking his eye off the ball and getting caught. It doesn't bury him...it, in fact, provides a chance to develop the character moving forward.

 

The last guy this happened to, kind-of, was Christian, who engaged in a fruitless bid for the title again for a couple months, got hurt, and has been an afterthought since because of health. Before that, it was Chavo, who lost the ECW title and then jobbed for the 1+ year he was in the WWE. And with Rhodes losing the IC belt, I wouldn't be shocked if they're slotting him into that top tier, with Daniel Bryan doing some weird and uncomfortable domestic violence angle with AJ.

 

True fact: The match where Daniel Bryan won the title was shorter than one in which he lost it.

 

It was a Money in the Bank cash-in though, right? Those are always short, except for the two minutes or so it took Cena to take multiple spears from Edge.

 

Miz beating Orton lasted something like 3 or 4 minutes. Miz even referred to it in some of his shoot interviews in which that helped both him and Orton.

 

And so begins the heel turn...

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/252507-wwe-hyping-that-john-cena-is-nowhere-to-be-found-at-raw

 

And that "return" was underwhelming.