Board 8 > All-Purpose Wrestling Topic 493: New Beginnings in Los Ingobernable Era

(+) Yeah! (+)

Steiner posted...

if they put all the NXT titles on Mania and still defend all of the Raw and Smackdown titles isn't the show 7 hours long before you even add in any non-title matches or battle royals?

I mean not every match is gonna go long. Remember last year when Joe choked out Rey in like a minute?

I'm sure you could do "Braun kills Shin in a minute to win his first proper singles title" and not bother with a women's tag title defense because who the fuck cares. Or hell, since those belts can be defended anywhere, put them on Takeover.

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XIII_rocks posted...

Sure, I get what he's trying to do and I respect the hustle in a way

It's just the posts he's made don't amuse me at all. They're not funny. They don't entertain me, or really interest me, I don't think they were...I dunno, witty in any way. I think if you do what Riddle did right - and "right" in this case is entirely subjective - then maybe Strife and I and others would think differently about it, and him.

And I don't think I disliked it purely because he's going against the grain or against Goldberg or against WWE or some shit like that.

And that's fair, but to me that sounds like an individual lack of interest in Riddle in this context on your part, which is a very different take than "he's being a prick."

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Yeah I realized later that prick was kind of the wrong word to use

Just generally posting things I was either disinterested in or actively disliked

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TheRock1525 posted...

I mean not every match is gonna go long. Remember last year when Joe choked out Rey in like a minute?

I'm sure you could do "Braun kills Shin in a minute to win his first proper singles title" and not bother with a women's tag title defense because who the fuck cares. Or hell, since those belts can be defended anywhere, put them on Takeover.

you're right, but they already had to do that last year and you want to add 4 more titles.


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Steiner posted...

My solution to that is this year, only put one NXT match on Mania, and next year scrap Mania Takeover, have a 2 night Mania and mix NXT in there

There were reports they were considering making Mania a two night event this year but now it's been pushed back to 2021.

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Why they haven't already done 2-night Mania I have no idea, btw. The shows are so, so long

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Steiner posted...

you're right, but they already had to do that last year and you want to add 4 more titles.

Well one of those titles is the CW title which they had last year.

I say put Cole and Rhea on the main show, Keith Lee, UE, and Devlin on Takeover.

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Sting shouldn't wrestle any more.

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TheRock1525 posted...

Well one of those titles is the CW title which they had last year.

I say put Cole and Rhea on the main show, Keith Lee, UE, and Devlin on Takeover.

no it isn't

nxt
nxt (women)
north american
tag

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you named 5 people immediately after how did you-

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I forgot about the NA title.

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for about 7 seconds before you wrote keith lee?

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He just wants Keith Lee title or no title bay bee

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Don't forget, this is the first Mania since the 24/7 title got activated. You just know Vince is gonna have some zany backstage segments with that!

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My post started some shit I see.

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I really enjoyed my 3 days at Metlife Stadium for Wrestlemania 35

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Steiner posted...

for about 7 seconds before you wrote keith lee?

Yais.

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Is the UK title still a thing?

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Yes
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Been renamed too, now the NXT UK championship.

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So NXT has 5 titles.

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NXT has 5 titles
NXT UK has an additional 3 titles

Plus Womens Tag is across all brands
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I didn't realize how good the Orton/Edge segment was yesterday.

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Post-Royal Rumble episode of Monday Night Raw:
2016: 4.10 million
2017: 3.62 million
2018: 3.40 million
2019: 2.71 million
2020: 2.40 million

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And that 2.4 is an UP number thats the best theyve done in a while

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TheRock1525 posted...

I didn't realize how good the Orton/Edge segment was yesterday.

I really enjoyed it. I totally got worked with the brief Rated RKO reunion tease. Everything he said leading up to that like calling him his brother etc., was a great way to build towards that twist. You got me Randy.
.

Agreed. I admittedly haven't cared much for Orton in recent years, but that segment got him some serious heat.

Edge vs Orton is obviously at Wrestlemania. It fits right in with Edge's part time schedule, and it gives Orton something to do. Besides, the last time Orton wrestled for a world title at Mania, we got one of the worst matches of said year (though most of that was Wyatt's fault)

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here's some Linear Championships ZSig isn't tracking, including the NJPW Linear Ace;

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xOfNrg8CJQGtxfcrRrp9gfTqgbgHveEEZt5ldWqTQjA/edit#gid=0

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Admittedly I started ECW with the stip that it could also change hands if someone was pinned in a tag match, but it ends with Edge retiring. Obviously yours makes more sense.

I kept that stipulation for the European title, since Shane won it in a tag match. It got tough when Hogan took it to TNA in 2010, though I might reroute that to see how it looks under single match-only stipulations.

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Luke Harper expected to sign with AEW and debut in his hometown on 3-18 using Brodie Lee.

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Hell yes!
Please give me Harper vs Luchasaurus

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TheRock1525 posted...

Luke Harper expected to sign with AEW and debut in his hometown on 3-18 using Brodie Lee.

Noice.

Also Steiner, I finally updated/finagled with my linear WHC file to where it only changes under 1 vs 1 rules. All world titles eventually find their way to Brock. Starting with Orton deactivating the world title in 2013...

Orton at TLC
Kofi
Del Rio
Batista at EC 2014
Del Rio
Ziggler
Christian
Sheamus
Batista (holds this for a lonnnnnnng ass time, 5 years to be exact)
Triple H (retired Batista at WM35)
Orton at Super Showdown last year
Kofi at Clash of Champions last year
Brock in 8 seconds

Drew Mac going for the invisible gold at WrestleMania!

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Lmao Russo

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Starting now, WWE is cutting way back on domestic house shows since those are the biggest negative financial item for them.

Typically there have been 4 every non-PPV weekend, two for each brand.

For the entire month of February there are only 5, three of which are dual-brand
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Daves top rated matches of the week:

****1/4
Imperium vs Undisputed Era
Mens Royal Rumble
Omega/Page vs SCU

****
DIY vs Moustache Mountain
Fiend vs Bryan
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Alrighty, it's pretty much the end of January and I've officially managed to watch every bit of wrestling I was interested in from 2019, so what say we take a look back at the best 50 of the year as told by Iceman?

I rated a grand total of 255 matches at 4 stars or better in 2019. 32 promotions (33 if you count NXT and NXT UK separately) managed to get at least one in. Of those promotions, 15 have representation in this top 50, which is pretty nice coverage I think.

I don't know how much or how little I'm gonna have to say about any of these matches, but if there's one you're interested in and haven't seen, feel free to PM me - I can provide a link to a good portion of these.

We've got 25 matches at 4.5 stars, 21 at 4.75, and four at the full five snowflakes. I figure I'll roll five out every day in true Board 8 ranking fashion, so we'll be done in about a week and a half unless I unexpectedly get really busy.

#50 - Jay White vs Will Ospreay - NJPW - 47th Anniversary Show, March 6th
This is, to say the least, not the last you'll be seeing of Ospreay on this list. I'll talk more about his incredible year with later matches, though, because I want to give some shine to White here.

Look, I get why people don't like the guy. I groan and roll my eyes when his matches devolve into shenanigans, too, although I also have to admit he plays that role to perfection. That sort of thing was kept to a minimum in this showcase, though, and he was allowed to remind everyone that when he's turned loose there's no one in the world right now who wrestles quite the same as he does with his heavily defensive style. He gives the appearance of someone who spends a ton of time thinking about how to counter other guys' moves just in case he ever gets to wrestle them, and he does it so smoothly that it sometimes takes the crowd a second to even register what happened, like when he turns the Oscutter into the Blade Runner in this match.

I hope we get a face run from White someday, because if we could get output like this more frequently, there's no reason he wouldn't be looked at as one of the best in the world.

#49 - Young Bucks vs Lucha Bros - AEW - Double or Nothing, May 25th
This is kind of a weird one for me, because I'm not a big Lucha Bros fan, and I've seen this specific matchup so many times now that I'd really be okay with never seeing it again. But both teams brought their A-game for DON - they knew they had to - and gave us what to me feels like the best match they're capable of having with each other. Super clean execution, just the right amount of high spots, crowd into it the whole way through, and as someone who's been watching the Bucks for a decade now, I had a big ol' grin on my face watching them bust out some of the moves of their biggest career rivals.

It's no secret I've been profoundly disappointed with the direction AEW's gone in since this show, but on that one night, it really felt like it was gonna be the revolution they claimed it would be, and this match was a huge reason why.

#48 - Will Ospreay vs El Phantasmo - NJPW - King of Pro-Wrestling, October 14th
ELP was on my APWT Awards ballot this year for Best Personality, Best New Character, and Most Improved. This time last year he was plugging away in RevProas a talented but extremely boring midcarder, to the point that the wrestling world collectively sighed when he was entered into the Best of the Super Juniors. Well, he shut us up but good. His alignment with the Bullet Club brought out charisma that pretty much no one thought he had, and by the end of the tournament he was the most over heel the NJPW junior division has seen in some time. He'll never be a transcendent worker, but he's so good at getting people emotionally invested in watching him get beat that that'll never matter.

This match had a simple premise - Ospreay the mega-face looking to finally get revenge on mega-prick ELP for all the bullshit grief he'd caused him over the course of the year. And like pretty much every Ospreay match in 2019, it worked splendidly.

#47 - Zack Sabre Jr. vs Will Ospreay - NJPW - G1 Climax Night 11, July 30th
Tired of Will yet? Sorry.

These two are simply incapable of having a bad match with each other. They were the absolute highlight of a stacked WrestleMania weekend in Dallas a few years ago back when both of them were more or less in the middle of their breakouts, and now here on an exponentially bigger stage, they went out and had almost the same exact match. It was a little more methodical and thus wasn't quite as exciting, but when you give twenty minutes to two masters of their craft who have great chemistry with each other, there's no way it's not going to end up as one of the best of the year.

#46 - ACH and the Besties in the World vs Sami Callihan, Zachary Wentz, and Trey Miguel - AAW - Unstoppable, November 30th
Alright, here's a fun one to cap off the initial five. There's been a lot of discourse lately about the state of indie wrestling these days, particularly in America. In effect, it's not good. Most of the talent has been scooped up by bigger companies, and in absence of the dream matches that littered the scene just a few short years ago, a lot of promotions have gone heavy into niche stuff, predominantly comedy and what is sometimes referred to as "ironic" wrestling. This stuff, while often popular with the small crowds that attend these shows, isn't really my speed.

AAW, though, is one of the few companies that's managed to more or less maintain their identity over the last few years. They just present straightforward storylines and solid, consistent wrestling in a variety of styles (although they do have an affinity for the car-crash chaotic brawl) and generally book good wrestlers to pull it off. They're not often great but they're never bad, and their shows are always easy watches if nothing else.

This match was a great example of what indie wrestling was for a while and could still be with some changes in philosophy. ACH was a surprise appearance, this being just his second match since his much-publicized exit from WWE, and he came off like a superhero and a megastar. He got real pro wrestling pops, not the kind of pops guys like Joey Ryan and Orange Cassidy get for their shtick-heavy acts (not knocking them, they gotta eat too, but there is a difference). He has the opportunity to single-handedly revive the scene if he can get out of his own way enough to do it. Sami Callihan, who I'm always hot and cold on, played up his slimy and vulgar persona to the max to act as his perfect foil. Wentz, Miguel, and Mat Fitchett contributed the high speed and beautiful dives that put them on the map to whatever extent they are. Davey Vega was also in t

hey cool one I didn't see, I'll check it out
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Davey Vega in a top tier MotY

*sniff*

Dont forget the Submission Squad
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So, 12 more Ospreay matches to go?

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Haven't counted but there's a fair few. I'm not sure even I quite grasped just how great his year was.

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I'm surprised I've seen three of these so far. I assume I'll get some crazy obscure stuff later though!

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Jakyl25 posted...

Starting now, WWE is cutting way back on domestic house shows since those are the biggest negative financial item for them.

I thought those were supposed to be significant money makers? Did something change or was I just very confused about the business model?

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scarletspeed7 posted...

I'm surprised I've seen three of these so far. I assume I'll get some crazy obscure stuff later though!

Glancing through, there's maybe a half dozen matches that I'm fairly confident no one else here watched, plus maybe another half dozen than only Steiner would've also seen. So it's not an overabundance of the super obscure.

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Tom Bombadil posted...

I thought those were supposed to be significant money makers? Did something change or was I just very confused about the business model?

They were supposed to be but when you start drawing RoH numbers and the merch doesn't sell....

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Tom Bombadil posted...

I thought those were supposed to be significant money makers? Did something change or was I just very confused about the business model?

Theyve been losing money ever since attendance started cratering

It all depends on how well you draw!
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two two most powerful people in WWE behind Vince himself, George Barrios and Michelle Wilson, the company co-presidents, were seemingly fired today.

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I would like to thank George and Michelle for their 10+ years of service and contributions to the organization, Vince McMahon said in the press release. I am grateful for all that was accomplished during their tenure, but the Board and I decided a change was necessary as we have different views on how best to achieve our strategic priorities moving forward.

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4Q earnings report is coming next Thursday, and my guess is they arent good!
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The move has had a major shockwave effect on WWEs pricing. The stock closed at $62.30 on Thursday, up $1.36 (2.23%) from the previous closing price, at 4:00 ET. The Barrios and Wilson departure was announced at 4:36 PM ET and in the hour since as of this writing, the stock has plunhed $12.79 to $49.51 in after-hours trading. That is the lowest price for the stock since May 16, 2018 when the price closed at $43.59.


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Was just about to post that.

So how close are we to falling into the offical WCW-style death spiral with no escape?


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