Log

Darby vs Jericho could be really awesome.

Also, Michaels' "I love you, I'm sorry" has led to bullshit like Gargano's "acting" and "This isn't who you are!" Not cool, Shawn.

Totally agree. I'd add that he was the first wrestler I can remember that talked about "putting on a great show" for the fans. That's become my least favorite thing in modern wrestling.

That leads me to think that they had that tweet set to go out at a certain time, as that was the original plan. Now, based on reaction from last night, they're rethinking that.

I'm not unfamiliar with them. The segment just made no sense. They said some catchphrases in a taped segment, then they said some catchphrases in a live segment, then Lucha Bros said a catchphrase and then they fought. That's what happened.

A couple stray observations: When Guevara came out, my 8-year-old daughter commented, "That guy doesn't look like he could beat anybody up." The SCU segment was the only downright-bad thing on the show. It was embarrassing. My wife had wandered in during it and said, "Oh, this is that new promotion. Looks like it's not any good, huh?" Their NAO schtick is tired. Most of the stuff they were saying didn't even make sense. Just a bunch of disjointed catchphrases. All three guys are veterans and should know better. During the Jay and Silent Bob segment, the interviewer needed to say who Jack Evans and Angelico were. A couple of my friends who were tuning in for the first time were confused. I liked the show, though. Like someone else mentioned, it was probably good that they were a little restrained in this first week. Gotta be able to go up each week.

Are both hours of NXT on USA now? I checked Hulu this morning, and the Oct 2 episode of NXT was 59 minutes. Are they cutting it down like they do/did Raw and Smackdown?

One little thing that they did right with Hager was to have JR refer to him as an undefeated MMA fighter from Bellator instead of a former WWE guy. Also, I was very happy to see Dustin. I hadn't heard if he was sticking around or not, so it was nice to see him.

Agree with all of this. You could tell a few times that they weren’t sure where to go after a segment, but overall solid show. The He biggest plus for me was that it moved. WWE’s biggest issue right now is how much their shows drag. This was far from perfect, but it didn’t drag.

Hager looks like Andre in there. He’s huge.

Exactly. And isn’t that why Punk left in the first place?

I was watching tv this morning. I saw a commercial for Wendy's that said, "No one does spicy chicken like Wendy's!" Uh, I've had better spicy chicken at numerous places. Wendy's will be out of business in a year going around saying stuff like that.

The problem with a lot of announcers now is that they think they need to get themselves over. The job of a commentator is to get the stories and characters over. When JR was at his best, he added color to what was happening in the ring. We remember what he said, but we also remember what it was in reference to. You might remember some of Mauro's quips, but what was he referring to in the ring when he said it? The guys on NXT UK do a good job of calling the action, moving the story along and adding a bit of color to what's happening. That's what a good commentator does.

Omega is promoting his company. Rollins was promoting his company. Have you ever heard an announcer say, "Get ready for the third-best wrestling promotion in the world to come to your town!"? "This match might main event some smaller shows somewhere in the country!"? "Tune in to see some of the most middling wrestlers in the world compete!"? No. You say your promotion is the best. The other one is not up to your standard. Your wrestlers are the best, not the ones on that other show. Yeah, we can watch both, and I will. But I'm glad they're not being all polite with each other. Jesus. This is wrestling. Where's the fun in, "Yeah, those other guys are really good too."? Let them talk shit. Then let them try to back it up with a quality show.

Next week, Alexander wins the Universal title, calls out Brock Lesnar and taps him in 30 seconds.

That's great stuff. Now I'd like to think that Shayna greets everyone by pushing them down.

I'm partial to the Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis. St. Louis obviously has a history as a great wrestling territory, but really it's because this was where I saw my first show. It was a WWF show in '86. It had the Sam Muchnick Memorial Tournament and Hogan vs. Orndorff. I vividly remember walking up those steps and thinking those big bears were so cool (I was 8). I also remember being a little scared when Orndorff and Heenan came out for the main event and full cups of beer started flying toward the ring. I went back the next year for a show headlined by Savage/Adonis/Race vs. JYD/Steamboat/Piper in an elimination match. I had seats close to the aisle for that one. It was so cool.

He has no clue what he's talking about. I'm glad I knew about this video already. It saved me the usual sick feeling I have when I see that this thread has been updated and I worry that he's died.

That's fascinating stuff, Jerry. Thanks!

Everyone speaks better if they know what they're talking about and have some bullet points. Even people who are really good at public speaking can do terribly when they try to recite something from memorization. You miss one word, and you're thrown off completely. I always think of the Michael Hayes (I think) thing about how a good heel really believes what they're saying. I think that goes for anyone cutting a promo. First, think about the point that needs to be made. Then, believe it. It'll come then. These people aren't good enough actors to be reciting scripts.

You know, man, I’m about as anti-WWE Epic as they come, but I liked the Bate/Walter match. Yeah, it was long, but it didn’t seem like they were trying for an epic, if that makes sense. Check out the Walter/Trent Seven match from NXTUK tv a couple weeks ago. I liked it a lot too.

That was a fun match. Ilja needs to stop with the weird breathing shit, though. It’s bush league.

Lol. That match was really good. Props to them for not starting with their stock entrances and lock-ups and shit. They just went at each other with the punches.

I went to an ROH show years ago in Dayton. There was a dude behind me that would just yell random wrestlers' names. "Golddust!" "Honky Tonk Man!" Stuff like that. Just their name, no other comment or joke with it. His friend thought it was hilarious. I ended up moving.

Enzo on NXT is a great way to get me to not watch it.