The Wrestling Thread~

SLAB

Hall of Famer
I’m just going to start quoting myself at this point.

NXT is so good. It’s impossible to believe this is the same company that creates the drivel that it RAW and SD.
 
NXT finish was spoiled for me by some stupid android alert that hit before it was even 8PDT but whatevs. NXT is currently the better of the two Wednesday shows, both are better than Raw and SD which are not good.
 

SLAB

Hall of Famer
NXT finish was spoiled for me by some stupid android alert that hit before it was even 8PDT but whatevs. NXT is currently the better of the two Wednesday shows, both are better than Raw and SD which are not good.
Hell in a Hell ended my relationship with the “main roster.”

Makes me look forward to and appreciate Wednesday more with the rest of my week not flooded by crappy wrestling.
 
Humorously enough, AEW is dominating NXT in the ratings in every demographic of people younger than me.
If you go back to the attitude era, WCW was still dominating during some of the most creative/best stuff. So no surprise really. I like 90% of what AEW is doing. I think the important part is both allow the ring action to tell the bulk of the story and don't do the 20 minute monologues 3x a night to fill a way too long show.

The NWA show is even doing a better job at that style of story telling, unfortunately they're essentially doing it with TNA rejects.
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
What's funny is how WWE had to essentially re-book Smackdown on the fly, due to half the roster getting stuck in Saudi Arabia, and it ended up being the best episode of Smackdown, by far, since the move to Fox. Probably the best episode in at least a year.
 

SLAB

Hall of Famer
What's funny is how WWE had to essentially re-book Smackdown on the fly, due to half the roster getting stuck in Saudi Arabia, and it ended up being the best episode of Smackdown, by far, since the move to Fox. Probably the best episode in at least a year.
Really a shocker that an episode littered with NXT influence was the best one in ages!
 
I like NXT more but I've been watching AEW just because I prefer to watch NXT on the network and I don't even have to commercial skip.

I'm like 75% sold on AEW but the bad is bad. I also don't buy Shawn Spears (formerly Tye Dillinger) one bit. But the worst is their women's division which is a joke whereas NXT has maybe the best women's division of everything with a TV show (Thunder Rosa's in-ring debut on the NWA show was pretty satisfying as well).
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
Yeah, there are a lot of things at which AEW is, already, objectively better than WWE. But, like, ninety percent of the things they're better at are not the things I like about wrasslin.
 
They've got about 8 guys who kill it and blow the main stories from WWE away and then about 80 minutes of filler. The problem is that some of that filler is unique mid-card guys with some talent and some are just cringey and a lot is just far too much blatant cooperation. I don't mind Orange Cassidy as much as I mind the stuff that isn't comedy doing it.

And their women's division is terrible, which is unfortunate for them because NXT probably has the best women's program in North America right now. But their's is beneath NWA Powerrr and they need to find a legit star or it may as well not exist. If they can steal Thunder Rosa they should.
 

SLAB

Hall of Famer
Undisputed Era versus Revival on NXT was exactly the sort of throwback match that made me first fall in love with tag team wrestling.
You beat me to the NXT praise this week!

Every big tag match in NXT is pure gold. It’s almost unbelievable this is the from same company that makes the same boring formulaic tag matches that litter every main roster show. Tag team wrestling in NXT is magic.
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
Shifting gears, I wonder what it says about what WWE does to its performers that Paige was forced to retire, due to injury, but her mom is still wrestling?
 
I guess that depends on your standard for "fault." She got injured while under contract with WWE, and it wasn't on her off time.
Yeah, but she got hurt with Sasha who doesn't really have a rep as being an unsafe worker and she kinda wasn't operating clearly mentally for much of her tenure. AEW certainly allows more "unsafe" work, hell NXT even. I am thinking WWE has more high profile injuries because they have the most high profile wrestlers and matches.
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
Yeah, but she got hurt with Sasha who doesn't really have a rep as being an unsafe worker and she kinda wasn't operating clearly mentally for much of her tenure. AEW certainly allows more "unsafe" work, hell NXT even. I am thinking WWE has more high profile injuries because they have the most high profile wrestlers and matches.
She wasn't injured in a high profile match, she was injured on a house show. Who's responsible for the wrestlers' ridiculous road schedule?
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
Stupid question time: What the heck is that? (Yes, I'm old.)
Cliff's Notes version: sensory bags contain stuff that can be used to help people who are susceptible to sensory overstimulation (live wrestling events tend to include a lot of people in close proximity, loud noises and bright [occasionally pulsing] lights). They've been found to be particularly useful for people on the autism spectrum.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
Cliff's Notes version: sensory bags contain stuff that can be used to help people who are susceptible to sensory overstimulation (live wrestling events tend to include a lot of people in close proximity, loud noises and bright [occasionally pulsing] lights). They've been found to be particularly useful for people on the autism spectrum.
Whoa. That's way beyond cool, then. :)
 
She wasn't injured in a high profile match, she was injured on a house show. Who's responsible for the wrestlers' ridiculous road schedule?
I have only been to an NXT house show (along with a number of RAW and SmackDown's with TJ) and they worked really safe. I get the schedule is rough and that may have contributed to either the injury or the mental state of Paige but this seems like a thing that could have happened anywhere and any time..
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
Finally got around to watching this week's Backstage. Punk seems like he's going to be a natural fit for this show. I like how, in his one-on-one with Renee, he went out of his way to specify that he was signed to work for Fox, not WWE, and then proceeded to prove it, by ****ting all over the Reigns/Corbin angle.

Also loved how he killed Arquette's promo; I was particularly impressed by how he criticized him for not leaning into Punk's MMA record.