2022 Pro Wrestling Thread

[sgreenwell]

i think Reigns and Cena are just diffetent guys. Reigns is more like Rock, who played both face and heel. Cena was all about the make a wish stuff, although its said he bought 100 Ric Flair robes to turn heel and then Vince nixed it because he didnt think they could take the merch sales hit

I can't remember if it was Ambrose or Rollins or someone else, but I think one of them said that he donated his gear from a nixed heel run to guys in NXT, ha.

 

[nietsroob17]

This is a great interview. A great mix of genuine stories and MJF recollecting them in the depths of his character.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Reading about his interview online, it sounds like he was near death. Hopefully he lives a lot longer with a lot less stress.

 

[Batman]

i think Reigns and Cena are just diffetent guys. Reigns is more like Rock, who played both face and heel. Cena was all about the make a wish stuff, although its said he bought 100 Ric Flair robes to turn heel and then Vince nixed it because he didnt think they could take the merch sales hit

The dirty little secret with Cena was that he was already the biggest heel in wrestling by being the biggest babyface imaginable — and he and everyone else knew it. Cena leaned into it well when he wanted to or needed to, like in the famous "If Cena wins, we riot" match or the Punk feud.

 

[Batman]

Reading about his interview online, it sounds like he was near death. Hopefully he lives a lot longer with a lot less stress.

Given his health issues, this is not a huge surprise that he's done as a competitor. Kinda sucks that he didn't get one last big match to go out on his own terms, though. Whatever you thought of him, he'd earned that.
What was his last match, anyway? One of the Saudi shows? An MSG house show match? I don't think it was a high-profile one, whatever it was.

EDIT: Just read it in one of the stories. It was a house show tag match in Tokyo with he and Shinsuke vs. Robert Roode and Samoa Joe. That's a trivia question nobody would have ever gotten.

 

[nietsroob17]

Given his health issues, this is not a huge surprise that he's done as a competitor. Kinda sucks that he didn't get one last big match to go out on his own terms, though. Whatever you thought of him, he'd earned that.
What was his last match, anyway? One of the Saudi shows? An MSG house show match? I don't think it was a high-profile one, whatever it was.

A Tokyo house show with Shinsuke vs. Samoa Joe/Bobby Roode in June 2019. His last true TV match was a Saudi show vs. Orton a few weeks earlier.

He also had a match that was more angle in January 2021 against Orton, which was when evil Alexa Bliss threw the fireball in Orton's face.

Speaking of Bliss -- all these moments where we see NXT wrestlers called up to be extras in Mania entrances, Triple H had three future Hall of Famers on this one.

 

[nietsroob17]

Put that in the blooper reel. The SD ring announcer spoiled Xavier Woods' return by introducing him on the mic before Kofi could announce the "surprise."

 

[nietsroob17]

This could be the case of Vince not approving the script until 5 minutes before showtime, but so far we've had (1) the ring announcer botching Woods' return, and the graphics setting it up as Kofi vs. Holland, and (2) the graphic and Cole setting up Ricochet vs. Humberto, but we get vs. Angel.

 

[nietsroob17]

Ricochet is defending the IC not at Mania, but against a tag team on SmackDown, while the US champ is in the Andre the Giant Jobber Battle Royal.

Ugh.

 

[JimmyHoward33]

This could be the case of Vince not approving the script until 5 minutes before showtime, but so far we've had (1) the ring announcer botching Woods' return, and the graphics setting it up as Kofi vs. Holland, and (2) the graphic and Cole setting up Ricochet vs. Humberto, but we get vs. Angel.

came across to me as Kofi giving his spot to Woods to pull one over on the newsies

 

[JimmyHoward33]

The dirty little secret with Cena was that he was already the biggest heel in wrestling by being the biggest babyface imaginable — and he and everyone else knew it. Cena leaned into it well when he wanted to or needed to, like in the famous "If Cena wins, we riot" match or the Punk feud.

he was such a heel on the total divas/total bellas shows. Best kept secret in wrestling was his heel work on that stupid show making Nikki sign a live-in contract and making Daniel Bryan wear a suit and smoke a cigar.

 

[nietsroob17]

Brock drop-kicking a security guard like he was a Street Fighter character. That was great.