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Post by Cap on Mar 30, 2021 11:29:24 GMT -5
It is just around the corner. I watched part of Fastlane and have been keeping up from a great distance. On paper it looks like a card with a lot of promise, but I'm not sure how much faith I have in it delivering beyond "being wrestlemania"
Thoughts on this?
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Post by bossrock on Mar 30, 2021 17:23:53 GMT -5
Sasha-Bianca and Reigns-Bryan-Edge should both be good. Other than that, I really don't care about anything else.
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Post by Cap on Mar 30, 2021 19:23:37 GMT -5
Agreed. Those are probably the two I am most looking forward to.
Drew v Lashley COULD be a great bomb throwing match if they lean into that.
I will also always look forward to KO v Zayn, but I am NOT looking forward to Logan Paul being involved.
Asuka v Ripley could steal the weekend if they let it happen. Same goes for Cesaro v Rollins (even though I am maybe at an all time low on Rollins right now).
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Post by bossrock on Mar 31, 2021 15:53:29 GMT -5
Haha, as soon as I made my last post I thought "Wait, Asuka-Rhea is happening too!" That should be good too.
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Post by mvz on Mar 31, 2021 17:40:44 GMT -5
The matches you mention should be good. I am also hopeful that Sheamus gets a chance to shine, he has been on a roll for a few months.
I suspect I have been watching more week to week In the last year or two than some on this board. If you have skipped the weekly tv you should be commended. I have started to disconnect in favor of the nominees on this board and have not regretted it.
Nevertheless, it is wrestlemania, these are talented wrestlers, and I am sure I will get more excited the closer we get.
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Post by Cap on Apr 5, 2021 7:41:56 GMT -5
Sheamus v Riddle is set now, right? I assume we are going to get something hard hitting out of that.
Wrestlemania is so strange. It is so hard to predict what will be good at Mania anymore. On paper there is always more than enough great looking matches, but in execution they are often so focused on "moments" and production and/or what is next that matches are like the 3rd or 4th priority or they are trying entirely too hard to create something special that it comes off contrived. It is almost always fun... but in kind of a different way and I almost always let myself get hyped for the matches. I may. not be super into the main roster product now, but there is a TON of potential on this card in reality. I'll feel lucky if we get one moty candidate or two really good matches that are worth going back to. I'll watch and I'll probably overall enjoy the show because its wrestling, but it would help if I can keep my expectations measured this year haha.
To mvz's point (and it is maybe a larger issue to discuss elsewhere), I really wish I could follow. I love diving into these matches from here obviously, but I also really like having wrestling that I follow in the moment. It adds so much to enjoyment. Fortunately I have another promotion that is speaking to me, but it definitely feels weird going into Mania more or less cold. I watched a few matches from fastlane but that is it. It isn't even just a quality thing. Smackdown has looked solid and my boy Bryan is in the main event scene. I should be more into this (maybe I'll go cherry pick all that leading up). It is just that there are only 24 hours in a day and until someone wants to pay me to watch wrestling... I don't have time for it all haha.
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Post by bossrock on Apr 5, 2021 19:00:59 GMT -5
I haven't watched Raw in years but judging from clips it's a complete disaster of a show. I pretty watch at least most of Smackdown every week and the booking is still mostly dumb (Bianca and Sasha eating losses to Tamina and Nia is ridiculous) but whatever Roman is doing and everything around the Universal Title has been solid.
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Post by mvz on Apr 5, 2021 21:02:40 GMT -5
Raw's storylines going into mania have mostly been nonsensical and a couple of matches feel DOA. Smackdown has been better, but nothing is as hot as it should be going into Mania. Nevertheless, I am hopeful for a few good matches this weekend.
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Post by Cap on Apr 6, 2021 8:37:07 GMT -5
I have to kill some time doing work right now so... Here are my predictions for the top 10 matches under the wwe banner.
1. Bryan vs Reigns vs Edge
2. Walter vs Ciampa
3. Shirai vs Gonzalez
4. Asuka vs Ripley
5. Owens vs Zayn
6. Banks vs Belair
7. Riddle vs Sheamus
8. Cesaro vs Rollins
9. Lasley vs D-Mac
10. Cole vs O’Reilly
Notes
Bryan/Reigns/Edge has the highest ceiling and maybe the highest floor. Plenty of matches could out do it, but it feels like the safest bet and it doesn't hurt to have the actual goat in the match.
I'm going to be the worst and group all the women's matches together. It is really because I think they wall be very good and could steal the weekend, but I think my order is a little counter intuitive based on what I am seeing on the twitter nightmare machine. As much hype as the two main roster women's matches are getting Io has been somewhat quietly the best female. wrestler in the world for some time in my estimation. I think this is Gonzalez's crowning moment and I think Io goes out with a big bang. I also have cooled a great deal on the conventional favorite among the women's matches in Belair vs Banks. I have only seem bits and pieces and heard reviews, but it doesn't feel hot going into the ppv and I'm not convinced this isn't a flashback to last year (Bayzler/Lynch and Ripley/Flair) where whatever momentum is left for the rising star gets stopped dead. I think it will be quite good, but I suspect it is still disappointing compared to what it COULD be. Asuka and Ripley feel like they have something to prove. I expect some stiffness. Could exceed even my somewhat lofty expectations.
Zayn and Owens gets the average of what expect and a little good faith bump on top of that. It could be the match of the weekend because of their chemistry. It could be a dud because WWE may or may not give it time and they will likely make Paul fairly involved. This is one of my favorite rivalries ever... in all of wrestling so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.
Cole vs O'Reilly could be another great one, but given how they often do big Cole matches in NXT, I suspect this one to be a little "try-hardy". O'Reilly recent form I think has grounded similar tendencies from the company with wrestlers like Balor and given us matches that I see lots of flaws in but still quite enjoy. Balor and Cole suffer the same plight to me. They are immensely talented, but SOMEONE behind the scenes wants them to be HBK.
I left Balor vs Cross off here, but it really is like 10b. It is stunning how much NXT has cooled me on Balor in the last year or so. I'm not sure how I am supposed to feel about the guy. He is supposed to be this bad ass tweener (I think), but more often than not he sounds sort of just like a dick and/or kinda petulant. He might be the posterboy for how leaning too much on workrate destroys a character, especially in the wwe where everything that indie wrestlers often use to set themselves apart often gets washed out in the micromanagement and repetitive tropes. Bell to bell I'll probably enjoy this... unless, again, they try too hard.
Cesaro and Rollins feels like it is a can't miss match... but I'll believe they let Cesaro shine at WM when I see it.
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Post by nintendologic on Apr 7, 2021 14:09:20 GMT -5
Asuka/Ripley could be a MOTYC if given enough time. Drew/Lashley should be pretty good as well. I literally couldn't care less about anything else.
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Post by nintendologic on Apr 8, 2021 11:06:09 GMT -5
I guess I'll have to eat my words, because WALTER/Ciampa greatly exceeded my expectations. In fact, I thought it was even better than the Dragunov match from last year. Those of you who joined in on the watch party a few weeks ago may remember me being critical of WALTER getting his hand worked over in every match. I don't think I made it clear, but my main issue is that it always ends up meaning nothing in the end, like Hansen getting his lariat arm worked over. Here, it meant something. Not only did WALTER consistently sell the hand throughout, the damage actually forced him to meaningfully alter his game plan (i.e., by throwing elbows and left-handed chops). Probably the best body part psychology I've seen in years.
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Post by bossrock on Apr 8, 2021 22:08:43 GMT -5
I posted this in Comments That Don't Deserve a Thread, but since we're talking Takeover I'll just say that I think O'Reilly wrapping the chain around his boot was a tribute to Dynamite Kansai, ha.
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Post by Cap on Apr 9, 2021 6:18:11 GMT -5
Walter vs Ciampa was really good. Definitely the most nuanced and complete use of the hand work i have seen in a Walter match. I even really like that he used it for the finish. It was one last shot at putting and keeping Ciampa down. Certainly the best match of NXT this week, though I haven't watched Cole v O'Reilly yet. Excited to see a Dynamite tribute spot though!
I also really liked Io vs Gonzalez. Gonzalez has come so far. It is nuts. Io is one of the absolute best in the world in my book. It is genuinely amazing how she jumps around (from kind wonky angles and positions sometimes) with such precision. Gonzalez has become a solid base-adjacent wrestler for Io and her power moves are really starting to pop in all the right ways. I still have it behind the Walter/Ciampa match, but really good stuff all the same.
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Post by nintendologic on Apr 9, 2021 8:33:51 GMT -5
The only way I'm watching an Adam Cole match is if you pay me $1000 for every minute past 20 it goes.
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Post by Cap on Apr 9, 2021 9:15:23 GMT -5
My impression is this one is relatively condensed..... but yeah, point taken. I'm hoping for the best version of these two but my actual expectations aren't that high.
HOWEVER.... I highly recommend Barnett vs Moxley from Bloodsport. It is right in my wheelhouse (blood, shooty violence, technique), so I'm sure I'll be higher on it than most (might be my MOTY so far), but it is well worth your time and is a relatively tight and compact match.
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