I hope the crowd and the players threw their arms up during Balors entrance music
WWE Royal Rumble (2019)/NXT TakeOver: Phoenix Thread
- Thread starter jdoggivjc
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With the McMahons in charge of the shows and all changes, will they make Brock Lesnar show up each week as the Raw champ?
Fun Fact about Ali, he may not have been here if it wasn't for a wrestle making weight for the CWC. He was an alternate.
Now he's on Smackdown and pinned the WWE champ clean.
Bryan was okay (when Ali hit the 054, Ali's knee caught Bryan's head), he did a segment for SD next week because SD will be on Christmas, they did this for Raw as well
Major spoiler from next week's show
Now he's on Smackdown and pinned the WWE champ clean.
Bryan was okay (when Ali hit the 054, Ali's knee caught Bryan's head), he did a segment for SD next week because SD will be on Christmas, they did this for Raw as well
Major spoiler from next week's show
Rusev beat Nakamura for the US title
I can give a few thoughts.
First, while it’s sorely needed, WWE picked a terrible time to do a soft reboot - week before Christmas, Christmas week, New Year’s week. Even though Raw’s ratings were up 15% on Monday, it’s not an easy time to get people to watch. They might be using this time to close out old storylines as they start to roll out the “new WWE” (which is why you might be getting the Nattie-Ronda match next week).
Next, the McMahons. While it’s kind of nice that the McMahon family is face again (especially considering what Stephanie and HHH do away from the main roster), and it was fun to watch the McMahons completely bury GM-elect Corbin, this is supposedly “the fans are the Authority”. Were any of us asking for more McMahon-centered involvement, even if it’s as face?
Here’s what worked with Teddy Long, William Regal, and Paige: nothing centers around them. They are simply there to begin new feuds, facilitate existing feuds, and bring closure to stories. They are supporting characters, not the stars of the show. Both Monday and Tuesday the McMahons made this change about them in the midst of saying this change was about the fans. Perhaps this needs to be McMahon-heavy while they make the transition. But several weeks down the road, if the McMahons are still making this show about them, even as faces, this is going to fall flat.
There was one interesting theory about this online, though, and it has to do with how Vince looked both Monday and Tuesday. For the first time he looked old. And especially on Monday people were saying he was looking a little melancholy. People are beginning to theorize that we may have finally entered Vince’s swan song, especially with WrestleMania in New York metro and with XFL starting up this coming year. Perhaps he’s decided it’s finally time for him to hang it up and pass it on, but he wants to go out as a face, and no one should want to blame him for that.
If anyone wants spoilers for next week's shows
Opens with in ring Elias promo, Lio and Lashley interrupt, Miracle on 34th Street Fight starts, Elias wins
Roode and Gable retain the Tag Team titles over the Revival via Roll-up
Finn Balor vs Dolph Ziggler vs Drew McIyntire, Drew wins
6 Man Tag featuring Fox, Brooke, and James vs Banks, Bayley, and Moon, the faces win and the Riott Squad attacks from behind afterwards
Heyman sings a Xmas Carol about Lesnar, Strowman interrupts
Rousey retains over Natalya with an Armbar
Slater vs Mahal is next, Ends in DQ after the Singh brothers attack, Santa comes out to save the day, turns out to be Rhyno.
Rollins wins the main event over Corbin
Roode and Gable retain the Tag Team titles over the Revival via Roll-up
Finn Balor vs Dolph Ziggler vs Drew McIyntire, Drew wins
6 Man Tag featuring Fox, Brooke, and James vs Banks, Bayley, and Moon, the faces win and the Riott Squad attacks from behind afterwards
Heyman sings a Xmas Carol about Lesnar, Strowman interrupts
Rousey retains over Natalya with an Armbar
Slater vs Mahal is next, Ends in DQ after the Singh brothers attack, Santa comes out to save the day, turns out to be Rhyno.
Rollins wins the main event over Corbin
Usos and The Club beat The Bar and Sanity
R-Truth and Carmella are in the ring, Bryan interrupts, DANCE Break, Bryan attacks R-Truth
Mustafa Ali beats Andrade Almas with the 054
The Miz hosts Shane McMahon, they finally bury the hatchet and are a Tag Team.
Jeff Hardy beats Samoa Joe via DQ, Joe locks in the Coquina Clutch after
Rusev beats Shinsuke Nakamura for the US title
R-Truth and Carmella are in the ring, Bryan interrupts, DANCE Break, Bryan attacks R-Truth
Mustafa Ali beats Andrade Almas with the 054
The Miz hosts Shane McMahon, they finally bury the hatchet and are a Tag Team.
Jeff Hardy beats Samoa Joe via DQ, Joe locks in the Coquina Clutch after
Rusev beats Shinsuke Nakamura for the US title
“Mean Gene” Okerlund has passed away
https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2...lund-dead-age-76-wwe-hall-of-fame-interviewer
https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2...lund-dead-age-76-wwe-hall-of-fame-interviewer
With WK13 being over now, without being too "spoilery", let the "silly season" for Kenny Omega begin. Will he stay with NJPW? Will he take the (rumored) $3.5 million of Vince's money to join WWE? Will he join the Young Bucks, Cody and Brandi Rhodes, and Hangman Page in taking Tony Khan's money to help found All Elite Wrestling?
The thing is - nobody truly knows. Many are familiar with Omega's love for Japan and everything Japanese culture, but with all those players leaving to form AEW, he's suddenly very alone at NJPW (Kota Ibushi aside). Then again, NJPW, ROH, and AEW are meeting this week about potential working relationships. Omega was also notably absent from the press conference announcing AEW - notable because you would have thought Omega would have been there, and I'm still kind of shocked he wasn't. Finally, seven figures worth of Vince's money is very hard to turn down, especially if they give him the AJ Styles treatment and New Day creative freedom, not to mention if they work with him to do something similar to Xavier Woods' "UpUpDownDown" YouTube program, since he wants to do something with gaming.
The thing is - nobody truly knows. Many are familiar with Omega's love for Japan and everything Japanese culture, but with all those players leaving to form AEW, he's suddenly very alone at NJPW (Kota Ibushi aside). Then again, NJPW, ROH, and AEW are meeting this week about potential working relationships. Omega was also notably absent from the press conference announcing AEW - notable because you would have thought Omega would have been there, and I'm still kind of shocked he wasn't. Finally, seven figures worth of Vince's money is very hard to turn down, especially if they give him the AJ Styles treatment and New Day creative freedom, not to mention if they work with him to do something similar to Xavier Woods' "UpUpDownDown" YouTube program, since he wants to do something with gaming.
Bianca Belair has the Takeover title shot vs Shayna and I'm so happy she does.
Will be huge if she beats her
Will be huge if she beats her
Watching various old wwe/f clips on youtube. Watched a clip of NXT back when it was the tv show with rookies and their pros. Clip I was watching was the season where Byron Saxton was on the show as a rookie. Never knew he was a wrestler prior to seeing him as a commentator.
It’s reported all of the announced callous sans Nikki Cross (EC3, Lars Sullivan, Heavy Machinery, and Lacey Evans) are backstage tonight. Then again, this is Orlando.
Wonder if the Strowman opportunity strip is because he isn't cleared medically yet. Would love if at Royal Rumble we could get Beast vs The Demon.
Technically she debuted on SmackDown shortly after Becky won the SD Women's title, but I know what you're saying.
Also, EC3 and Heavy Machinery appeared.
And the Women's tag titles are 1000% better looking than the men's.
I've never been a huge fan of her but I got into NXT right after Sanity was (seemingly) a major player in the brand, so maybe I missed her best moments.
She's supposed to be an unhinged, loose cannon type of character.
Nikki Cross reminds me of Daffeny from WCW. I was just glad we got someone new in that match. I thought when they had to "find a partner" that is was going to be predictable and be Ember Moon.
Her character is someone that's completely unhinged to the point of being a raving lunatic. Think the characters from A Clockwork Orange or the Joker. The difference between her lunatic character and Dean Ambrose being Ambrose wants to punish people using psychological warfare, whereas Nikki is psychologically deranged and wants to make opponents suffer for her mental anguish. Or at least that's how it worked when she was a heel. She ended up getting incredibly over and they had no choice but to turn her face. It's not so bad as long as she has strong heels to work with (Her feud with Shayna Baszler went incredibly well, and at then end when she winds up in the Kirifuda Clutch, and as she realizes she's not escaping it, a gigantic smile comes across her face and allows herself to be put to sleep. It was some of the best in-ring storytelling I've seen.). As a face if she doesn't have a strong heel to work with like she did with Baszler and Becky Lynch last fall, she's going to come off as goofy, which is what happened last night.
She's actually an incredibly good wrestler that's having her in-ring style being affected by the gimmick she's playing. A technically-proficient style is not appropriate for the role she's playing.
Same goes with her in-ring gear. Someone like her is going to be inappropriately dressed coming to the ring in essentially a bathing suit.
Well NXT is awesome and Raw is a **** show so basing your opinion of her off one Raw appearance probably isn't the best way to go.
