General Pro Wrestling News and Discussion Thread Part Deux!

[Ghost Bones]

Raw was quite good by recent standards. Henry vs Punk was better than at least half the matches from Wrestlemania. The longer it went on, the more I thought "God no, Punk's gonna SuperCena" but he didn't. It's good to see Mark firmly on the push again. Albert's match was a snore. But it's nice to see chants of "yes yes yes" and "Daniel Bryan" becoming popular. Why would anyone go to the ring to promo with Sheamus? He'll kick you in the face, we get it. Brock's return was the biggest mark-out since Kane's return. Things are looking up on the whole, yo.

Rock wants to be WWE champion? Piss off.

 

[Sheep]

EDIT: Didn't realize the video was already posted above.

Holy crap, I knew the Miami crowd was crazy hot but when did Bryan get so over? I thought his buildup as jackass heel was a slow burn but he had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand like he was the Rock.

 

[Ghost Bones]

I'd like to believe it's crowds smarking. Maybe Ziggler will get big face pops next.

 

[Admiral_Young]

The crowd was putting him over and showing their displeasure with the 18 second bull shit all night last night. They love his douchy character As you can see by the parade of boos that AJ got lol.

 

[Satyrquaze]

OH, so this is where the thread went!

All I have to say about Monday is: "YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!"

 

[indianatrekker26]

i think we'll get Cena vs Lesnar for sooner than people expect, maybe even at Extreme Rules. Monday's angle reminded me so much of the raw after mania 19. Big star(Austin) said his goodbyes. Then the end of the show, a big name came in to take his spot(Goldberg) who laid out Rock.
Well, monday night we saw Lesnar lay out Cena. That following ppv in 03 was Backlash, which mainevented with Rock vs Goldberg. I could see a repeat happen this year.

 

[Mr Silver]

Funnily enough, John Cena also took on Brock Lesnar at Backlash 03 for the WWE Championship.

I'm thinking that Brock vs. Rock II will be the main event of this year's Summerslam. It will mark the 10 year anniversary of their last match, in which Lesnar became the youngest WWE Champion (a record which he still holds to this day).

It's been made clear that Lesnar's contract goes to Wrestlemania XXIX, so I guess we might FINALLY get the much anticipated encounter between Taker and Lesnar! Of course, I'd be just as happy to see Brock take on Rock or Brock take on Cena, given that Lesnar has a track record of having outstanding matches with just about anybody. And I'm quite confident he won't have lost his touch in the 4/5 years he's been away from professional wrestling - this guy is an outstanding athlete who has had success in multiple sports (sure, he didn't make the NFL, but was still good enough to make the trials!)

The thing that bothers me though, is that Cena is probably going to come out next week at Raw and make fun of the angle last week. He'll just say something like "Well I guess I deserved that and it's good that Brock is back to his old self" which is just lame because WWE doesn't seem to realise that Cena's diplomatic lines are what makes the crowd boo him most. It's obvious desperation at trying each and any way to get the cheers going for Cena, but then there is the whole "I don't care whether you love or hate me" which is comparable to someone brushing off rejection by saying "It's cool either way".

WWE is so contradictory of itself sometimes...

 

[scnj]

I was really offended by the company's treatment of Bryan. One of their greatest technical wrestlers in his Mania debut gets squashed by Sheamus? And now with the return of ADR, he doesn't even get his rematch clause? That's shitty.

I love how over he is now, with the "yes" chants, but I really hope that creative don't decide to turn him face again. His gradual face/heel turn was masterful, and his arrogance has been perfect every time he cuts a promo. If it were me, I'd put Bryan on midcard, and have AJ rise up in the diva ranks. Then play out the story where Bryan becomes more and more resentful until he snaps and blames her for his Mania loss.

And yeah, I was marking like crazy when Brock returned, even though it was spoiled slightly by the "we want Lesnar" chants. Still a bit miffed at The Rock beating Cena though, especially since Cena's been out-promoing him week after week during the feud buildup.

 

[Mr Silver]

The rematch clause is meaningless and only comes out into play when WWE need a heel to get some heat or a reason for a face to have another match for the title.

As for ADR, given the rumours that he's into his "politics", one could discern that he wanted back in a world title programme and wasn't happy to just work the upper- midcard/main event. Since CM Punk and Chris Jericho are involved in the WWE Championship picture, the next available spot would be the WHC - since WWE seems to view Daniel Bryan as flexibile. Of course, it could all be down to WWE solely and wanting to give Del Rio a boost in the momentum department.

Let's re-review the apparent pecking order of full time performers in the WWE:

John Cena - This has been his position since 2010
CM Punk - Punk's current run with the WWE Championship puts him here
Chris Jericho - WWE Championship number one contender status puts him here
Sheamus - His status as World Heavyweight Champion puts him here
Randy Orton - His status as the "face" of Smackdown puts him here
Alberto Del Rio - His status as WHC number one contender puts him here
Daniel Bryan - His position could drop dramatically at anytime, but for now his status as the number one heel on Smackdown keeps him on the pecking order.

As you can see, it's a very temperamental list with only John Cena being a fixture.

 

[Admiral_Young]

^ Once again you've somehow left out Mike...who has fallen the most, and has gone in the direction Sheamus went in 2011 until his face turn. Yet Miz still continues to do mic work and be in all the little packed videos, because creative and Vince know he can talk and sell their company for them. Anyway sorry about that i still consider Miz a big part, he is just being punished right now.

Yeah I remember Cena/Brock from '03 I'm sure this will be touched on....or maybe not since WWE likes ignoring things if it suits a current story line.

This was missed:

Chief Jay Strongbow died yesterday reportedly:

http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/quicknews/article_59960.shtml

 

[Mr Silver]

It's a shame about Chief Jay Strongbow - one of the early legends of the WWE (then known as the WWWF)

The big news making the rounds today is the rumoured contract that Brock Lesnar is going to recieve. Apparently, Brock will recieve $5 million to work a minimum of 2 dates per month for a year! If this is true, it would be the most lucrative contract ever offered by WWE to a non-celebrity (obviously Brock is famous, but he's a trained professional wrestler and not just somebody coming in to have an exhibition match - a'la Floyd Mayweather).

 

[Chaos Descending]

Do you think that "Hands of Stone" Ronnie Garvin really has a shot against Ric Flair for the NWA World Title? Personally I'm not too sold on this feud.

Oh wait, what year is it again? I was having flashbacks!

 

[Admiral_Young]

@Admrial M someone posted the details about Brock's contract on the last page I think the only thing not mentioned in the article posted was the dollar amount which does not surprise me one bit. I'm actually curious about the contract that Dwayne signed. I'm assuming that it a "special" contract like the one Shawn Micahels currently has.

 

[Mr Silver]

As far as Rock's contract goes, it's probably similar to Lesnar's in layout - but without the massive downside. It's been said that the downside Lesnar is recieving, is due to his drawing power in UFC and previous drawing history in WWE.

The Rock is probably on a contract that allows leniency for his film career, but with the stipulation that he makes his agreed upon appearances. It might be that WWE wants Rock to work Extreme Rules in a non-wrestling role, so they meet to organise or make alternative arrangements and an agreement is made if Rock's schedule permits it - Rock must then fulfill that agreement by appearing in the agreed role.

As for financial terms, I expect Rock is paid a generous sum for every PPV appearance (he could have easily made $1 million or over, just for Wrestlemania XVIII) and WWE pays for his transportation, accomodation, etc. I don't know whether he would have a downside, but it's a safe bet that he takes around the same amount of money that the likes of John Cena make.

Lesnar's contract is a big deal because he'll recieve a substanial amount of money from merchandise sales and PPV bonuses. $5 million for a minimum of 24 appearances? I'd say he's looking at double that when you add everything else into the equation!

I can imagine that Vince and Co. have begged Dwayne Johnson to do the Marine 3...

 

[Admiral_Young]

One could say Brock's contract is the Next Big Thing!!! Sorry, couldn't help myself.

 

[Mr Silver]

You should be ashamed of yourself for that one!

The current main events for Wrestlemania XXIX are rumoured to be:

WWE Championship: Brock Lesnar vs. The Rock
John Cena vs. The Undertaker
CM Punk vs Steve Austin

They'll have a hard act to follow at the 30th anniversary if this is the card! What could possible top this?

 

[scnj]

One could say Brock's contract is the Next Big Thing!!! Sorry, couldn't help myself.

"Here comes my pay"

I'm so sorry.

 

[Admiral_Young]

I have said this for a while now...I'm pretty convinced that Mark is going to retire this year. Rumours were swirling around the weekend that he and Michelle are expecting their first child. Nothing confirmed of course. I've read about the Rock Vs Lesnar match. Stone Cold Vs Punk would be cool, since they already kind of have had encounters with each other you could build a match around. But as Admiral M reminded me regarding Austin's physical condition when I suggested the Austin/Lesnar match...it is all about if Steve can go or not.

The possibilities I think are pretty awesome given Lesnar's return now and who or what he wants to go with. I think we are gonna see MAYBE Undertaker/Lesnar this year sometime if Undertaker returns after the program with Cena. This planning a year ahead stuff though, I don't know if it is a good idea. Cena/Rock I guess was well received but I don't think it was the huge block buster match WWE was hoping it would be, or many fans were. That being said Rock did look good and proved he could get himself in shape. The physical film roles he has been playing lately have to have helped as well.

 

[Jetfire]

I look forward to A-Train & CM Punk feud.

[edit] AWESOME!!! End of an ERA! http://www.wwe.com/videos/wwe-superstars-react-to-the-end-of-an-era-26012861

 

[Mr Silver]

Q: What does Dolph Ziggler have in common with Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Buddy Rogers, Randy Orton and The Rock?

A: They all hold the distinction of becoming a world champion without actually winning the title in a match.

Buddy Rogers: Innagural WWWF Champion - supposedly won a tournament in Rio Di Janeiro, but in actual fact he was simply made champion as a result of his popularity.

Shawn Michaels: See Montreal Screwjob, where Vince McMahon stopped the match without there being an actual pinfall or submission or any kind of finish - Hart was simply stripped of the WWF Championship and it was given to Michaels who was then recognised as champion.

The Rock: Was given the vacant WWF Championship after Vince McMahon once again stopped a match without an actual finish of any kind, in a nod to the previous year's screwjob.

Triple H: Was simply presented with the World Heavyweight Championship and recognised as first champion.

Randy Orton: Was awarded the vacant WWE Championship following John Cena (his scheduled opponent and WWE Champion) being injured and unable to perform.

Dolph Ziggler: The World Heavyweight Championship was stripped from Edge and presented to Dolph Ziggler because Edge had used the Spear (which was banned) in a prior match.