KawadaSmile

YESSSSS FIRE AND DESIRE VS BOSS N HUG

I'm liking this so far. Not great by any means but the participants involved had their time to shine

Sonya and Liv are Hashimoto and Yamazaki

Murphy's title reign being an improved version of what Neville was doing will never amuse me.

Murphy getting "This is awesome!" chants is dope. Tozawa is incredible too, of course.

Who are you to doubt Mandy??

I want Naomi and Carmella to win the not because they are my faves, but oh boy would the social media shitshow be amazing.

Bix never reported that sort of thing tho. I don't think he's even aware of what's happening right now

I get that he has attires that look like Rude's/Savage's, but at the same time I don't think the similarities go far beyond that (and the elbow drop). I mean, it's kind of saying that he was impersonating Marc Mero at one point. Dream at this point is his own thing, I think. He *is* more Prince than Macho Man, and still his look is distinct enough that he isn't pigeonholed as a tribute act like Iaukea was. What Stiva said worries me more tbh.

Well, Gargano/Ciampa kinda sucks so I hope they never revisit that. It was good when the turn happened and we all were heartbroken but then Gargano never got his win and then went full edgy 90s comic book character and now they are pretty much partners again. What the fuck is the endgame there? Gargano snapping back to being a face and finally winning the NXT Title? And imagining they go to the main roster, it would be better for them to do some Sting/Luger dynamics than reenacting that... horrible storyline.

Getting good money without needing to bump and make that long-ass entrance? Shit he's more than earned this.

It seems that they are booking Bayley closer to what she used to be and her confidence is restored. The past few weeks where she was basically wrestling handicap matches and either winning or making a valiant effort is what she's supposed to be all about. And the crowd is responding in kind, too. I mean, I'm not saying they are doing a perfect job, but at least most of the time they are trying to write the characters like they were in NXT. When it doesn't work, usually they make changes that are improvements.

I strongly disagree with this one, because I think that more often than not, they at least try to give the original gimmick a chance to work. Alexa Bliss was very much an NXT creation and she also rocks in the main roster. The 4HW are also greatly used on Raw/SD without major changes from who they were on NXT. Becky is the outlier and Charlotte had that shitty face period, but other than that they're still the same people we grew to love. In spite of acts like The Revival taking a long time until they finally are put to good use, some are indeed pushed right out of the gate and it just doesn't work, and it's not because the writing team sees them as minor league or as "unworthy". American Alpha got the SD Tag Titles pretty early into their run and were met with crickets. AOP were champs for a while and also generated nothing. In AA's case, one could argue that the main roster writing did them more favors than anything - Jason Jordan being the doofus son of GM Kurt Angle and Chad Gable maturing as a singles star was dope. Paul Ellering couldn't be on the road with AOP, so they tried with Drake Maverick in the manager role (which is OK), and the recent Akam injury hampers them - much like the Revival being injured at different times did. Baron Corbin being a lone wolf emo with terrible hair was met with silence on the main roster, and that's exactly who he was in NXT. They changed his gimmick and he's a pretty effective heel, and grew loads as a promo. Balor, despite not really a NXT creation, was over as fuck in NXT and remained over in the main roster. You could argue that the Demon gimmick is better booked now than it was on NXT. All in all, while there are acts that work better on a smaller stage, like Blue Pants, CJ Parker, Bugenhagen (so far), Tyler Breeze and the such, I think that the main writing team is willing to use the gimmicks when they get called up other than just flat out rearrange things their own way. Also, come on. People say how wrestling - or at least WWE - needs distinct, larger than live characters, and people are complaining about Velveteen Dream? I think there's almost zero chance he won't work on the main roster due to people being unable to write for him. If anything, disciplinary issues could hamper him more, but in terms of presentation he's grand.

Well he kinda worked the fans to buy Y2AJ shirts that one time...

Lana on Twitter saying Rousey is overrated, can't move the ratings, and she would rather see Ruby as champ. The chicken, or the egg?

The Revival just became Tag Champs after voicing their discontent, guys. Maybe the problem is not that clear cut?

Ali would've been made there. That sucks.

This is maybe Kofi"s best performance ever?

Kofi Kingston is amazing. I wonder if Ali was getting a similar kind of rub in the gauntlet, though.

This crowd is on fire. And so is this McMiz/Usos segment. WWE is doing it again!

Carmella and Naomi. I got no words.

While it isn't WCW levels of control over his own stuff - and that's a good thing - if you watch regularly, it's obvious he's having the say in his awesome heel run. The point is that him being used as a cautionary tale in this context is... inaccurate, to say the least.

...he got creative control?

I don't know. While it is a possibility, Charlotte IS an incredible heel and the criticisms were there long before the build to this WrestleMania, so if they play into this situation correctly, it could lead to her being the #1 heel in the company, and even more of an all around act than what she was circa 2015/16.

We are forgetting that we are two months away from WM and we still have Fastlane. Honestly adding some good twists and turns is what's making this build very good. Can't have weekly Rousey meltdowns while Becky smirks. For instance, they kind of addressed @NintendoLogic's point about her being stubborn. Triple H and Steph didn't really make her life miserable even after getting punched, and to me they managed to present both sides well. Vince, on the other hand, saying that Charlotte is the corporate pick is a fantastic way to give the feud the longevity it needed. Can't wait for Flair's birthday celebration. Imagine the 4HM bumping for her.