2023 Pro Wrestling Thread

Precisely.

 

Stopping Finn was 10000% the right thing I just thought it was policy that they stop every thing no matter what these days

 

The difference with Brock: I'm going out on a limb and think this was a rare occasion where they WANTED him to bleed. It plays into Cody's story of getting his vengeance on Brock, and god knows PR loves its bloody matches.

That's why they didn't stop it, other than to give Brock a towel to wipe off. And the last few minutes of the match had Brock with his back to the hard cam, so WWE could say they had blood, but didn't have to show it to camera to keep sponsors happy.

 

The last great story arc from the black & gold era. Johnny and Candice were always great as the neurotic "parents."

I'm hoping they'll get to dabble in it some more now that they're all (sans Theory) reunited on Raw.

 

Watching Iyo-Bianca now, and Belair probably won't be trying that one-handed gorilla press much any more after dropping Sky on her face.

 

Speaking of The Way...

 

A PPV where everybody on the card is an HOFer or deserved HOFer...

...and Disco Inferno.

 

They went through a phase when they were stopping matches because of any blood, even if it was just an accidental trickle. Then fans were booing and now they use their judgment.

Jericho has told this story of how, in the late 2000s, Vince had banned blood from matches. But Batista decided on his own to get color in a cage match with Jericho on Raw. Vince was pissed, and not only fined Batista, but also Jericho, the referee (I forget who) and the agent for the match (I think Malenko).

Jericho was pissed because he didn’t know what Batista had planned and felt it was unfair that he was getting fined along with the ref and Dean (who were hit for $5K each, a big amount for them). Batista declared he would pay the fines for everyone, which earned him a lot of respect in the locker room.

 

Disco Inferno vs. Jacqueline. A main event anywhere in the country.

WCW actually did a good job pushing Jacqueline. She was over with the crowd.

 

Cody in JAX might as well be like an ECW original in Philly, and he even gives a little veiled love to AEW to open Raw.

 

First happy-go-lucky cowboy Brock, now demented killer Brock? Who knew all those years with Heyman that he had these promo chops?

 

And all is right with the world, with The Way together again.

Johnny says "He's coming back soon." Either it's Ciampa, or it's joking about Theory, which would play off his neurotic NXT dad character, after Theory was "abducted" and brought up to the main roster.