The General Wrestling Thread

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

Opinion Question...

How big of a return is Batista? If at all.

Will he pop a rating? Will he pop a buyrate?

Thoughts?

FWIW...not sure if this was the right time to bring Batista back. After Guardians of the Galaxy would have been smarter. Perhaps WWE getting an itchy trigger finger for Mania season.

 

[dave]

dave apparently doesn't read Voices of Wrestling.

True. I don't. I just watch wrestling (occasionally), I neither over-analyze it or pretend to be a war hero watching the WWE's tribute to the troops.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Opinion Question...

How big of a return is Batista? If at all.

Will he pop a rating? Will he pop a buyrate?

Thoughts?

FWIW...not sure if this was the right time to bring Batista back. After Guardians of the Galaxy would have been smarter. Perhaps WWE getting an itchy trigger finger for Mania season.

He's on his way up the Hollywood ladder. I think he can bring some casual fans back, but I don't think it's going to pop a great buyrate, but hey, it can't get any worse than the buys for Survivor Series this year.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Opinion Question...

How big of a return is Batista? If at all.

Will he pop a rating? Will he pop a buyrate?

Thoughts?

FWIW...not sure if this was the right time to bring Batista back. After Guardians of the Galaxy would have been smarter. Perhaps WWE getting an itchy trigger finger for Mania season.

He's on his way up the Hollywood ladder. I think he can bring some casual fans back, but I don't think it's going to pop a great buyrate, but hey, it can't get any worse than the buys for Survivor Series this year.

 

[s@ppisgod]

So, Jeff Jarrett is out from TNA. As if he hadn't been for a while, but regardless...

At what point does cleaning up the books equate to leaving an empty cupboard for the potential new owners? They barely have a roster or anyone on the books with real experience, they've soured a ton of people on working there, and the indy scene has been mined out by the E lately. At this point, I'd think they don't find a buyer and are out of business by this time next year....

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

The speculation is that Jarrett resigned from TNA because he is involved in some manner with the sale, and had to leave the company now to avoid a conflict of interest.

He was the point man in the AAA & W-1 talent exchanges and nothing on that front has changed.

 

[EmpireWF]

Brother talked me into going to the MSG house show on Thursday. Then I realize they're doing a split crew deal and Punk/Bryan/Shield/others are not going to be on the card.

On the bright side, Goldust/Cody defend the tag gold in a cage match so that's cool.

Opinion Question...

How big of a return is Batista? If at all.

Will he pop a rating? Will he pop a buyrate?

Thoughts?

FWIW...not sure if this was the right time to bring Batista back. After Guardians of the Galaxy would have been smarter. Perhaps WWE getting an itchy trigger finger for Mania season.

I don't think anything short of something like Cena/Hogan (and even that to a degree) is going to pop a buyrate outside of WM. Obviously, they're promoting the 1/20 RAW return to get the rating....is he going straight into a program with Orton? Assume so, maybe he starts off with someone in the upper midcard, gets a big showing in the Rumble and they go that route with him.

Whatever it is, I'm glad he's back.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

The speculation is that Jarrett resigned from TNA because he is involved in some manner with the sale, and had to leave the company now to avoid a conflict of interest.

He was the point man in the AAA & W-1 talent exchanges and nothing on that front has changed.

Not what I've read, but you have more access to things than I do so I will take your word from it. I'm hearing everything was abrupt and caught people off guard, and some are thinking it's storyline related.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Not what I've read, but you have more access to things than I do so I will take your word from it. I'm hearing everything was abrupt and caught people off guard, and some are thinking it's storyline related.

Meltzer is saying Jarrett has something lined up "in wrestling", but sort of blew off the notion that it's AAA related (US expansion coming in 2014) when pressed by Bryan Alvarez.

It's not part of a storyline. He legit quit. Could he comeback? Sure.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

The infamous "hammers hamil", who was notorious for breaking major MMA news on the UG message board a few years back, showed up out of nowhere today and said Lesnar wants to return to the UFC cage for big $$$ fights in between WWE matches.

Lesnar (or more likely, Heyman) must see the writing on the wall with his diminishing returns as a WWE draw, so is setting the table to grab some MMA cash. He's been gone long enough that his return fight will mean something.

 

[s@ppisgod]

The infamous "hammers hamil", who was notorious for breaking major MMA news on the UG message board a few years back, showed up out of nowhere today and said Lesnar wants to return to the UFC cage for big $$$ fights in between WWE matches.

Lesnar (or more likely, Heyman) must see the writing on the wall with his diminishing returns as a WWE draw, so is setting the table to grab some MMA cash. He's been gone long enough that his return fight will mean something.

Why? He wouldn't come back and face Cain. And he's been worked over pretty good his last couple of fights. I can't see him being that big of a draw without the right match-up or a big fight. The shine is off of Brock. If he comes back against someone like Hunt, it's a lose-lose situation. He isn't gonna draw like he did and he would probably lose. He better have a good agent, because Dana could lowball him. He's still an impact maker on PPV, but he long ago reached a point of dimishing returns.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Why? He wouldn't come back and face Cain. And he's been worked over pretty good his last couple of fights. I can't see him being that big of a draw without the right match-up or a big fight. The shine is off of Brock. If he comes back against someone like Hunt, it's a lose-lose situation. He isn't gonna draw like he did and he would probably lose. He better have a good agent, because Dana could lowball him. He's still an impact maker on PPV, but he long ago reached a point of dimishing returns.

Forget Cain, that isn't happening. He's a special attraction at this point, not a title contender.

Like I said, I think he's been gone long enough that he would draw again. He wouldn't have drawn if he stuck around after the Overeem loss. But I think if you book him vs Mir or Hunt or somebody who can talk like Roy Nelson, it will do good business.

He is probably being advised that WWE is not going to renew him for big money because he's drawn less & less each time out (that's WWE's own fault, but that's a different discussion). Brock doesn't love wrestling or fighting, he's all about the money, and there is more potential money for him in UFC moving forward in all likelihood. It helps that UFC has like one reliable draw at the moment, and he might lost again next week.

 

[s@ppisgod]

Forget Cain, that isn't happening. He's a special attraction at this point, not a title contender.

Like I said, I think he's been gone long enough that he would draw again. He wouldn't have drawn if he stuck around after the Overeem loss. But I think if you book him vs Mir or Hunt or somebody who can talk like Roy Nelson, it will do good business.

He is probably being advised that WWE is not going to renew him for big money because he's drawn less & less each time out (that's WWE's own fault, but that's a different discussion). Brock doesn't love wrestling or fighting, he's all about the money, and there is more potential money for him in UFC moving forward in all likelihood. It helps that UFC has like one reliable draw at the moment, and he might lost again next week.

Yeah, I think Brock should just cherry-pick a fight or two. Because he's lost a lot of his rep as a sideshow by being made to look like a punching bag a couple times. He needs to save what's left of his ability to draw against someone that A) will put up a good number and B) not beat the ever loving shit out of him and in doing so remind people that he's not as scary as he looks. Bigfoot would be a great fight for him. I could see him taking Silva down laying on him, and either the hammerfists get through or he gets subbed. Either way, he doesn't lose his luster. And it'd be a total freakshow draw. Step right up and see the giant fight the animal. Hunt would pound on him, and I can't see people paying to see that fight. Mir would be good, as a rubber match. Good build, Mir can talk a little, and his striking has lost quite a bit. Nobody pays to see Nelson fight.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Meltzer is saying Jarrett has something lined up "in wrestling", but sort of blew off the notion that it's AAA related (US expansion coming in 2014) when pressed by Bryan Alvarez.

It's not part of a storyline. He legit quit. Could he comeback? Sure.

Then the question is what does his ownership stake in TNA mean at this point?

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

 

[Kuzzy Powers]

Should the legendary Hulk Hogan be unable to compete alongside John Cena at WrestleMania XXX on April 6, 2014 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, John Cena will face Bray Wyatt. That match will be the main event.

WWE chief Vince McMahon recently stated to the writers and producers that "Cena is the main event until his time is clearly up. That man feeds us!"

 

[IamMedellin]

Besides WrestleMania 29, which is annually WWE's top video release, WCW nostalgia has been driving WWE's DVD sales.

According to WWE business numbers released last week, WCW titles rank as the second, third and fourth top WWE video releases of 2013. Through the end of November, the most shipped DVDs have been WrestleMania 29 (174,000), The Best of WCW Monday Nitro, Vol. 2 (121,000), WWE: Goldberg - The Ultimate Collection (86,000), WCW War Games: WCW's Most Notorious Matches (80,000), WWE: The Top 25 Rivalries in Wrestling History (64,000) and WWE: For All Mankind- The Life and Career of Mick Foley (59,000).

It should be noted that the Goldberg DVD had only been out for less than two months, with 74,000 sold in the first month. It greatly outsold the Triple H video released two weeks prior, Triple H - Thy Kingdom Come, which was not ranked as a top-seller.

interesting ...

 

[ThomasTomasz]

I heard that earlier today, and I can't tell if that is a serious report or not. I'd rather watch Orton and Big Show again. Wyatt and Cena in a Wrestlemania main-event would be the ultimate in drizzling shits.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

That Cena/Wyatt match is making the rounds because it was in the Observer yesterday:

With all the top guys seemingly taken, that would still seem that Cena is in for something to do with Hogan in some form, since Cena should be involved if they do a Hogan final deal type of show. As of last week, Cena vs. Bray Wyatt, believe it or not, was the main event planned for the show. Vince McMahon stated to the writers and producers that “Cena is the main event until his time is clearly up. That man feeds us!”

That one I could see changing because it would require them to have confidence Wyatt has gotten over to that level, and right now that’s going to be tough. It’s great positioning for Wyatt when it comes to establishing him as a long-term top guy, although Miz was in a similar position in one of the biggest Manias of all-time, and look at how that ended up.

The booking is based on the idea Hogan won’t be able to do a match or pass the medicals. That still leaves a Bryan vs. Michaels spot open (as noted, everyone internally is being told Michaels will not work another match, as are friends of Michaels, but even so I wouldn’t reject that possibility 100%) as well as a lot of other guys not accounted for. Sheamus doing a heel turn could be a backup plan for Cena if they don’t think Wyatt is ready for that spot, but that would be tough to put as the main event. It’s a match that was done for months straight and as a main event program, and while it’s foolish to think that Mania has to be all new matches, Cena vs. Sheamus doesn’t feel like a Mania main event. Sheamus’ shoulder hasn’t recovered yet, which may cut into the time to get him over enough to be in that position, if that can even be done at this point, unless there was a great idea to heat him up.

My gut says they will never pull the trigger on it.

With that said, it doesn't leave much left for Cena, with everybody else accounted for.

Lesnar/Taker
Orton/Batista
Triple H/Punk
Bryan/HBK

*ADR, Sheamus, Roman Reigns in the mix for a top match and also unaccounted for

HBK supposedly has not agreed to come back yet, so they sort of booked themselves into a corner with Bryan, because if HBK won't do the match you have nothing for Bryan. In that scenario, I could see moving Cena into the Triple H match as Vince's guy, and doing a "workrate" match with Punk vs Bryan. Or, Meltzer said the backup plan for Vince's man vs Trips is Reigns.

If Reigns doesn't turn by then, it's Reigns/Langston.

Sheamus could easily fit in almost anywhere to fill a hole, but does he really excite anybody right now?

They really, really need Hogan & HBK to work the show, or a bunch of dominoes will fail to fall.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Also, don't assume Orton/Batista would be for the title. That match would clearly be 4th or 5th on the pecking order (3rd at best), and after making such a big deal about having one champion now, i'm not sure they want to bury their title match 5th from the top at the biggest show of the year. Plus, Orton clearly has zero box office appeal, not that that matters at Mania, but it does for everything else.

Personally, I would do Wyatts vs The Shield on the show, and that is where I would do the Reigns turn, for maximum effect at the biggest show with the most eyeballs watching.

Cena/Hogan vs ??? (Doesn't really matter, honestly. Ryback & Axel would be fine, or just about anyone. Opponents would be props.)
Taker/Lesnar
Trips/Punk
HBK/Bryan
Orton/Batista
Shield/Wyatts
Rhodes Boys/Show&Mysterio
Sheamus/ADR? Ryback?
Langston/???
Women's nonsense
(Possibly Ryback/Goldberg, but not if they get Hogan or HBK or both)