2024 Pro Wrestling Thread

Cody never brushed with Sting in a match. Sting's AEW debut, when he saved a Cody beatdown, may have been the only time they were on screen together.

According to Cagematch, Cody and Flair were only in the ring once: for a WWE house show battle royal in Anchorage in 2008.

Lawler wrestled Dusty 1v1 on four occasions: twice in the '70s, twice in the '00s.

Lawler only wrestled Cody once on his post-WWE indie run, but a handful of times in multi-man matches, including the infamous Lakers vs. Nuggets match when Raw got kicked out of the Denver arena.

Duggan only faced Cody in tag or multi (including with Lawler). Faced Dusty a bunch, including SIX first-blood matches on an NWA loop in 1983.

R-Truth has faced Cody and teamed with Dusty in a 10-man Guitar on a Pole match for TNA with Road Dogg, Larry Zbyszko and Konnan against a team led by Jarrett and Shamrock.

 

If you open it up to Rumbles, Styles and Dustin were both in the 2016 RR, so he'd have been in the ring with all three Rhodeses if he and Cody end up squaring off.

 

Well, Dustin himself can sorta count. He was in the ring opposite Dusty once: as part of a tag in Tokyo in 2004. "Dusty Jr." and Corino vs. Dusty and Tom Howard.

In addition to their AEW classic, Goldust, Truth and Kofi vs. Cody, Dolph and McIntyre in 2010 in a dark match the HITC PPV.

 

Rumblings that Rhea may have to vacate tonight after an injury in the fracas with Liv last week.

That would be a horrible kick in the ass if that happens, and right after the big Mania win over Becky. Rhea deserved a Roman-esque reign, as over as she's become -- even as a heel.

 

Nobody should have a Romanesque four-year reign in the modern era. It was fine when you saw the world champ live once or twice a year, but in 2024 when you see the champ live once or twice a week via the television? Nope. Doesn't work. If it's a face, then after a while it's "that guy." If it's a heel, after while it's still "that guy" but for different reasons -- just the fact that nobody can make him go away can make fans tune out. Either way, all the belts need to move on a semi-regular basis, and that's one of the many things that Vince and his cabal forgot.

Personally, I'm tired of Rhea, and of Dom, Damien and Finn Balor. It's not just time to pull the plug on Rhea Ripley for a while, it's getting close to time to pulling the plug on The Judgment Day, which has already outlasted the WWE tenure of its founder. Heel factions need to implode every so often, just because the key points of the heels are (other than talent) narcissism and ego. If you're the character Finn Balor, why should Damien Priest hold the belt? If you're the character JD McDonagh, the longest-reigning NXT cruiserweight champion, aren't you tired of of being demeaned and pushed aside? If you're the character Dominik Mysterio, aren't you tired of being pushed aside and booed out of your socks?

Keep Damien as a heel, but wreck Judgment Day at Summerslam. Time for a new heel faction on Raw.

 

Maybe I stretched it by saying "Roman-esque," but I do think Rhea's reign was still far from its expiration date. I think she is still very over for someone being classified as a heel, even splitting the reaction with Becky Lynch in the Mania build.

I still think the endgame is Damian being a face and splitting with the other guys, who are jealous.

Presuming the fractured Bloodline stays on SD, not sure what faction could reign on Raw other than Judgment Day -- unless the rumored stuff with Uncle Howdy leads to a new Wyatt Family. Braun and Bliss should be near their returns, and there are rumors that Erick Rowan is on his way back because he had to cancel some indie dates.

 

Well, I guess that makes Liv one of the new top heels in the women's division.

 

Glad to see Sheamus back, but it looks like he enjoyed a few extra pints while he was gone.

 

It’s a balance. Nobody is going to get a Bruno or Backlund reign now, but Roman having his three-plus years reign (no pun intended) made Cody beating him all the more sweeter.

You can’t have too many three-year reigns. But once every 10-15 years or so works if you have the right guy. If anything, it makes it realistic that someone can hold the title for that long.

 

As Triple H walks out, Pat says WWE is "Terra Ryzin the record books."

Nice.

 

From the QR code that flashed during New Day's entrance:

uednj51a

 

Definitely. Roman hit a nice balance of being around the scene, without being totally absent like Lesnar was during his long reign. Lesnar was boring holding the title that long, but Reigns managed to stay interesting. Roman was the right guy to do it with.

And it's not like lengthy title reigns have been a foreign concept in recent years. They've had four year-plus reigns since 2011 (Punk, Styles, Lesnar and Roman), plus Rollins held the new World Heavyweight Championship for almost a full year.