2014 Pro Wrestling Thread

Well, doesn't look like it's going to be too creepy. Usos retain in a bit of a stunner. Inasmuch as you should bet on professional wrestling, I'd have put money on the Wyatts taking the tag titles.

For the title match, if the long-range game plan is to feed the champion to Lesnar at Summerfest, what are the odds Sheamus comes out on top?
Wyatt, Reigns and Cesaro have too much to lose with a short-term title reign.
Orton makes sense as champ, but seems like he can carry a feud with Reigns without the title. Same with Cena, whoever he next feuds with.
Kane is Kane.
That leaves Sheamus and Del Rio. If they need a face to go against Lesnar, that eliminates Del Rio.
Which leaves us with Sheamus. He's an afterthought, but could also be a credible two-month champion. It'd also be funny to see someone try to carry three belts to the ring at once.

 

Yep. Yay.

 

Will Boston riot?

 

The crowd seemed a bit too apathetic to riot. Cena got his usual mixed reaction, which seems half-hearted these days. He hasn't been booed out of the building since the post-WM Raw. Still, a great ladder match even if the ending was nearly really in doubt with cynics like me.

 

Really didn't see Cena winning, although it (again) does make sense if they're feeding him to Lesnar in relatively short order. He can absorb a loss better than anybody, and a feud between he and Lesnar won't be terrible.
Also didn't see him winning as the match progressed because he was mostly a non-factor. Sheamus, Orton, Reigns and Cesaro were the workhorses. Cena pretty much cherry-picked the finish and, other than his brief showdown with Reigns, didn't do a whole lot.

Some other thoughts...
1) Give Orton a ton of credit for not only finishing that match, but carrying a large part of it. He was a freaking mess by the end. If it had had another five minutes, I wonder how long he could've gone? It's been a while since we've seen that much blood in a WWE ring.

2) Cesaro is a beast. The spot with he and Sheamus hanging above the ring was incredible enough, but for him to hang up there by one arm was ridiculous.

3) The huge ladder teeter-totter was fun, but weird. I'd love to hear the conversation that led to that one. I think it took five guys to pull it off (Cesaro wedging the ladder; Del Rio actually accomplishing something in this match by pushing it through, which looked like a botch initially; then Reigns to push it all over, and Cena to right it again).
Seriously, was somebody playing with an Erector set to come up with that one? How did the hell did they work that out to know it would come off just like that, without the whole thing tipping over or collapsing because it was unbalanced or the wedged ladder wasn't tight enough?
These are the things you think about when you've been watching wrestling for 30-plus years.

4) Rollins had two of the spots of the night -- the superplex off the ladder, and then the pinball move to the mat. I'm not sure the latter (no pun intended) was entirely what they had in mind, but it looked cool as hell.

 

Also, it should have become obvious that a title split wasn't going to happen as soon as the camera caught a glimpse of the gimmicked straps. And if that didn't do it for you, how about nearly 600 pounds of wrasslers hanging from leather straps with metal snaps that should have gave way almost immediately once they dangled 15 feet above the canvas.

Anyway, the Rollins/Ambrose suplex off the ladder was sick. Ambrose flipped himself over, and it looked cool as all fuck.

 

Cena wins. lol

Saw it coming, but it still sucks something fierce.

 

Final thought: anyone else pleasantly surprised at Rusev/Big E or was it just me?

 

It wasn't as good as Lana's cleavage. But few things are.
That was another one that I wonder if Rusev was legitimately hurt. Looked like he busted up his ribs on E's suicide dive to the floor, and that he might have been coughing up some blood by the end of the match.

 

Cena winning, as predictable as it was, is probably the right call if they're going to Lesnar with the belts at Summerslam. If they need a transitional champ, better it be Cena, who clearly is going to be Cena with or without a title, than to have Roman Reigns or Bray Wyatt cut off with a quickie run.


I dunno why, but I suspect Rollins will keep the briefcase for some time. It'll help add dimension to his character.

 

Very true. I'd rather see Cena in that role than one of the young guys, and I have a feeling a lot of smarks will see it the same way.
This might be one of the few times the IWC is OK with a Cena title reign.