The PPV Discussion Thread

[Stevencc]

I wouldn't be surprised if Daniel Bryan and The Miz have some sort of altercation which sets them up for WM. plus with Roman losing the IC title this surely sets him up for the main event.

Do you think the WWE doctors categorically forbidding Bryan from wrestling or taking any bumps due to concussion related seizures is a work? Or that they've made a dramatic u-turn?

 

[T.A]

Do you think the WWE doctors categorically forbidding Bryan from wrestling or taking any bumps due to concussion related seizures is a work? Or that they've made a dramatic u-turn?

I really don't know, there just seems to be a lot of rumours that he will be in the rumble. I just don't see him being in the rumble without a storyline in the future! Then again this is WWE and they could use him for a cheap pop.

 

[iesty wfc]

Takeover solid as usual, not the best but they know how to tell a story unlike the main roster, each fight had a meaning, even the random velveteen dream vs kassius ohno

 

[iesty wfc]

I actually posted that before the main event.... wow!

 

[Luke]

Not a bad PPV, had a quid on Rusev first entry at 25/1 which was a nice little start!

Mens rumble lacked any major surprises (Ziggler was obvious), Hurricane & Rey were nice unexpected additions but better than previous years and the right man won.

 

[Stevencc]

I enjoyed it.

Very happy with both of the rumble winners.

Spoiler: Surprise/Unannounced Entrants

Loved seeing Sane, Almas, Cole and Mysterio. Rey's appearance was probably the highlight, I didn't expect that at all. Vickie's appearance made me laugh, so job done on that front. Trish Stratus looked like a candle, very strange.

Spoiler

I was a little disappointed not to see Rousey enter the rumble but that was sorted after the match itself. It was a bit of a crap segment in the way it was handled but still, it's massive.

 

[Libertine]

Yeh - really enjoyed it. Loved the way they did the final four in the men's match - the two smark guys versus the 'company' guys. Was so relieved when Ziggler got eliminated.

Spoiler: Spoiler

Was a little odd for Rousey not to debut in the match, but from rumours today she might be in a mixed tag match vs HHH/Steph, so it wouldn't make sense if she's not going to win it.

 

[iesty wfc]

finally caught up with the Rumble and my self exile from this sub forum

again, a solid PPV. Royal Rumble undercards are never a highlight, but all matches were solid enough, although I skipped the third tag match (I am including the handicap match in that) after the rumble as I just couldn't be bothered to watch it.

my on big bug bear of the Rumble was that the mens Rumble wasnt the last match of the PPV. I half understand why they had the womens Rumble match on last, but it wasn't a classic. too many ex wrestlers returning, eliminating someone, then getting eliminated themselves. oh and they totally fucked up Rouseys return. Camera didn't go to the entrance and her music was playing for at least a minute before the tv decided to go to her, while the crowd was reacting to what they could see

as for the Rumble, I feel for Slater, he has kids dammit! wasn't expecting Rey at all, given he is wrestling for the new 5 star wrestling in Liverpool on Thursday. apart from that not many surprises. no Roode though?

and then the triple threat match. was good considering it was a 3 big man fight. Strowman must be lined up to face him at Wrestlemania now that Nakamura is going after AJ

 

[T.A]

Anyone know where Samoa Joe was? Is he injured? Has a mini fued with Reigns and I'm sure he said he'd be in the rumble but there was no sign of him.

 

[Stevencc]

Foot injury, apparently.

 

[Scott Barton]

I thought they did a great job with the show, the men's Rumble was fun and i think the overall winner was great because who doesn't want to see Styles vs. Nakamura. I wasn't expecting the Usos to win a clean sweep over Gable/Benjamin, the Bar winning the titles helped the story of Jordan/Rollins. The Universal title was brutal and possibly the stiffest match i have ever seen, the WWE title did it's job.

On to the women's Rumble, i kind of assumed it would of gone on last but i didn't understand why they had so many women leave the ring and come back in to it. I completely lost track on who was in and who was out, great to see some of the older women, even if Torrie Wilson looked to have injured herself straight away. My general feeling towards the women's rumble was that it was a bit sloppy, but i can only assume Charlotte/Rousey and Asuka/Bliss is the way as Bliss has been trying to hide from Asuka for a while so would make more sense.

Overall, great show.

 

[Luke]

Fucking hell its quiet in this section these days, not a post about Mania tomorrow bar the predictions.

The card actually looks pretty decent, let's hope they can deliver.

Will taker/cena happen?

Is Shane gonna turn heel?

Will heyman align with Roman?

Will Carmella cash in?

Who's Brauns partner?

Will AJ/Nakamura tear the house down?

Is it Rusev day? Of bloody course!

How booed will Roman be?

 

[Stevencc]

Fucking hell its quiet in this section these days, not a post about Mania tomorrow bar the predictions.

The card actually looks pretty decent, let's hope they can deliver.

Will taker/cena happen?

Is Shane gonna turn heel?

Will heyman align with Roman?

Will Carmella cash in?

Who's Brauns partner?

Will AJ/Nakamura tear the house down?

Is it Rusev day? Of bloody course!

How booed will Roman be?

Yes.

Yes.

No.

Yes.

Ellsworth or Mysterio.

Yes.

Yes.

Very.

 

[Libertine]

Gargano v Ciampa last night was fantastic.

 

[Stevencc]

There were a few surprising results at Wrestlemania.

 

[Stevencc]

Yes.

Yes.

No.

Yes.

Ellsworth or Mysterio.

Yes.

Yes.

Very.

I meant Nicholas.

 

[Libertine]

Loved the Braun match - just a fun, silly moment and not in the least a burial of the tag titles or anything like that that people will inevitably bitch out.

Ending was a bit shocking! Pity the match was shat over completely - not just booing Roman. Interesting to see where they go tonight on Raw.

 

[Luke]

Some really unexpected results, put a few quid on Flair at 4/1 so pleased about that!

Mahal, Lesnar, AJ, Naomi all complete shocks to me and I would never have predicted any of them to win.

Nakamura heel turn, never saw that coming either!

Where does this leave Brock, I thought he was going back to UFC? Have WWE given up on Roman by having him lose?!

Overall a decent enough show, thought it started well with the IC Title match which was probably the best of the night for me, Asuka/Flair was very good, US Title 4 was ok, mixed tag was fun and eventful and lets be honest did you all think at one point Steph & Triple H are going to win arent they, cos I bloody did. Good to see Bryan back in action, where does this leave Sami & KO? Nakamura/Styles wasn't as good as it could be to me, Brock/Roman wasn't great.

Last but not least, Taker over Cena so quick, what was that about? Leading to a rematch later this year/next year Mania?!

I'm assuming Oaf Didn't go this year!

 

[Fompous Part]

The wrestling MOTN was the IC title match, which was a great opener. The sports entertainment MOTN was the mixed tag, which was about 10 times better than I expected it to be. Too silly in places (e.g. MMA expert Stephanie countering arm-bars!), but generally it was great fun and the crowd were super into it.

Styles vs. Nakamura was technically good, but the pace was too slow (watch their Wrestle Kingdom match to see the pace they can work at) to engage a flagging crowd. That match needed to be 20 minutes of counter-heavy strong style performed at breakneck speed. It wasn't. The heel turn was an interesting twist, but the match itself was very disappointing IMO.

I was loving Charlotte vs. Asuka until they ended it prematurely. 10-12 minutes in, I thought they were building a classic and were on course to have the best women's match in WWE history. A minute or so later it was over. I don't mind the streak being broken (though I wouldn't have booked that), but it seemed very anticlimactic to have Asuka tap after only 12-13 minutes. Many matches/segments were given too much time. This one needed a bit more.

Main event wasn't a terrible match, but a mixture of crowd tiredness (they really need to cut the running length of this show) and apathy made it come across terribly. Surprise ending. No idea where they're going with it. Not sure I care either.

Cena vs. Undertaker was a waste of time. Wish they hadn't done it.

It was a 5/10 show, I reckon. Far too bloody long, and IMO the disappointing stuff outweighed the good. That said, I do love the fact that even in modern day, family-friendly, PC-virtue-signaling WWE (nods to LGBT inclusion, body-shaming being vilified, etc.) they still see nothing wrong with three black guys shucking and jiving to the ring with a bunch of midgets dressed as pancakes. Never change, Vince.

 

[Stevencc]

The wrestling MOTN was the IC title match, which was a great opener. The sports entertainment MOTN was the mixed tag, which was about 10 times better than I expected it to be. Too silly in places (e.g. MMA expert Stephanie countering arm-bars!), but generally it was great fun and the crowd were super into it.

Styles vs. Nakamura was technically good, but the pace was too slow (watch their Wrestle Kingdom match to see the pace they can work at) to engage a flagging crowd. That match needed to be 20 minutes of counter-heavy strong style performed at breakneck speed. It wasn't. The heel turn was an interesting twist, but the match itself was very disappointing IMO.

I was loving Charlotte vs. Asuka until they ended it prematurely. 10-12 minutes in, I thought they were building a classic and were on course to have the best women's match in WWE history. A minute or so later it was over. I don't mind the streak being broken (though I wouldn't have booked that), but it seemed very anticlimactic to have Asuka tap after only 12-13 minutes. Many matches/segments were given too much time. This one needed a bit more.

Main event wasn't a terrible match, but a mixture of crowd tiredness (they really need to cut the running length of this show) and apathy made it come across terribly. Surprise ending. No idea where they're going with it. Not sure I care either.

Cena vs. Undertaker was a waste of time. Wish they hadn't done it.

It was a 5/10 show, I reckon. Far too bloody long, and IMO the disappointing stuff outweighed the good. That said, I do love the fact that even in modern day, family-friendly, PC-virtue-signaling WWE (nods to LGBT inclusion, body-shaming being vilified, etc.) they still see nothing wrong with three black guys shucking and jiving to the ring with a bunch of midgets dressed as pancakes. Never change, Vince.

"If we have to pretend to be nice guys, we're going to do it my way, damn it."

 

[Leewilson]

Excellent Mania. One of the most enjoyable in recent years. The only let downs were the two World title matches. I thought everything else delivered. That being said, I do like the Nakumura heel turn.

First two matches were top quality. Intercontinental in particular was outstanding but I thought Charlotte/Asuka was a very good watch too. I hate myself for it but I loved the Ronda Rousey match. I thought I was going to hate it but the suspense of not quite knowing what Rousey was going to do was the best bit. She'll do well in WWE.

I'm a huge Undertaker fan so of course I loved the Undertaker bit. I thought it was perfect. They didn't need a long match. The pay off was him just being there. A short match in the middle of the event where he looked physically very good was exactly right. If it builds towards a career vs career type match next year, then that's fine by me as he surely doesn't have many Manias left now (although I've been saying that for 5-6 years).

Thought the Bryan match was meh but just seeing Bryan wrestle again was great.

An 8/10 Mania for me.

 

[Libertine]

Brock has resigned and surprise, surprise...

Spoiler

Brock v Roman steel cage title match at Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi in a few weeks Purely a slightly delayed coronation

 

[Luke]

You think they are doing that as Roman will probably get a better reception in Saudi then he would of at Mania?

I'm getting bored with Brock as champion now, a champion in my view should be on every Raw and be involved in matches.

That Saudi event is shaping up quite nicely though, IC title ladder match will be good and think it is on at 5pm our time which is a bonus. Wonder what the reward will be for winning that rumble, surely a title shot?

 

[Fompous Part]

.
I'm a huge Undertaker fan so of course I loved the Undertaker bit. I thought it was perfect. They didn't need a long match. The pay off was him just being there.

I'm a huge fan, too. But the dude is 53 years old and retired last year. I know the match with Reigns was a turd, but IMO the post-match stuff was perfect. The grizzled veteran realises he can't quite hang with the younger guys anymore, so he leaves his gear in the ring and makes a sad but dignified exit. Perfect.

Taker wrestling again 12 months later ruins what was and should have been a very fitting end to his in-ring career. I know false retirements are common in pro-wrestling, but I hate it when they do it with a veteran after making such a big deal out of it. Taker coming back to squash Cena is as bad as Flair returning to the ring a few months after that amazing retirement match at WM24.

Very few people want to see Taker plod and wince his way through another 20-minute match. Clearly a large section of the fanbase still want to see him, but all they really want, I venture, is the occasional cameo. They want the entrance. They want a few signature spots. Sunday's match is one way of providing that sort of fan service, but there are better ways. No need to book him in a match and devalue that retirement angle. Just book a non-wrestling segment where he comes out and tombstones some geek (e.g. Elias). The fans will still go home happy.

If they weren't willing or able to do Cena vs. Taker properly, they shouldn't have done it at all. Cena is still a valuable commodity. Stupid to squash him that way.

Just my two penny worth. Suspect I'm in the minority.

 

[Luke]

I would have to agree with you FP.

Just seen this https://whatculture.com/wwe/the-und...match-confirmed-for-wwe-greatest-royal-rumble that he is down to face Rusev in a casket match at that Saudi Arabia show, surely not.

Another burial of Rusev on coming if the above happens.

 

[Leewilson]

I'm a huge fan, too. But the dude is 53 years old and retired last year. I know the match with Reigns was a turd, but IMO the post-match stuff was perfect. The grizzled veteran realises he can't quite hang with the younger guys anymore, so he leaves his gear in the ring and makes a sad but dignified exit. Perfect.

Taker wrestling again 12 months later ruins what was and should have been a very fitting end to his in-ring career. I know false retirements are common in pro-wrestling, but I hate it when they do it with a veteran after making such a big deal out of it. Taker coming back to squash Cena is as bad as Flair returning to the ring a few months after that amazing retirement match at WM24.

Very few people want to see Taker plod and wince his way through another 20-minute match. Clearly a large section of the fanbase still want to see him, but all they really want, I venture, is the occasional cameo. They want the entrance. They want a few signature spots. Sunday's match is one way of providing that sort of fan service, but there are better ways. No need to book him in a match and devalue that retirement angle. Just book a non-wrestling segment where he comes out and tombstones some geek (e.g. Elias). The fans will still go home happy.

If they weren't willing or able to do Cena vs. Taker properly, they shouldn't have done it at all. Cena is still a valuable commodity. Stupid to squash him that way.

Just my two penny worth. Suspect I'm in the minority.

That’s fair. Can’t disagree.

 

[Libertine]

Looking forward to the GRR to be fair. Nice to watch something at a reasonable hour for once.

 

[iesty wfc]

I would have to agree with you FP.

Just seen this https://whatculture.com/wwe/the-und...match-confirmed-for-wwe-greatest-royal-rumble that he is down to face Rusev in a casket match at that Saudi Arabia show, surely not.

Another burial of Rusev on coming if the above happens.

changed their mind now. replaced Rusev with Jericho, after 'Lana pleaded with the WWE not to let her husband fight in the match, as it would spoil Rusev Day'

 

[Luke]

Changed their mind again now and Rusev is back in the match

 

[Libertine]

Changed their mind again now and Rusev is back in the match

Yeh, this is getting weird.