Professional Wrestling

...Back on ITV

http://www.itv.com/news/granada/2017-03-24/world-of-sport-wrestling-to-slam-preston/

Also, next week is Wrestlemania.

Thoughts on Wrestlemania

A farily satisfactory 'Mania for me, better than last year

The results are a bit questionable...out of all the champions (on the main show, not the kick-off), only Owens, Bayley and Naomi aren't nostalgia acts. Hardyz return was the worst kept secret in the business this week but it's nice that the culmination of their expedition of gold story-line across the promotions culminated at Wrestlemania. I don't know what was up with that Orton/Wyatt match...were they actually treating it like an MMORPG at several points? Really felt like Wyatt should have gotten the best of Orton and outmaneuvered him mentally.

HHH vs Rollins told a solid story and I'm glad the match was kept specifically to them and Stephanie with no intervention from Balor or Joe or whatever. It kept the attention on Rollin's plight and made his comebacks more engaging. Love Stephanie taking her annual 'Mania bumps, and she was smoking hot coming down on HHH's motorcycle.

Reigns vs Undertaker was as good as it could be given the circumstances...kind of deflated near the end, 'Taker was gassed. and Reigns was largely in charge of the match...you'd think that was commendable of him to take control of the yard, but I think he botched an attempt at a reverse tombstone at one point

Thoughts on the post-Wrestlemania RAW

I like that Brawn Strowman has quickly recovered from being eliminated in the battle royale and put straight back into contention with Reigns and possibly Lesnar. It should keep Reigns busy in the spring months and get on with business as usual without turning. And then there's the draft coming up. Reigns was rumored to be heading to Smackdown, so that would not free him up for a universal title shot unless shenanigans.

It was wise to close the show out on a feel good NXT graduate showcase and a Balor return also. I think they can build to a Balor/Lesnar match at Summerslam), and maybe give Reigns his win back on Balor also at some point after

And now Shinze Nakamura has been called up from NXT to Smackdown Live

I've not seen wrestling in years, but I was a bit of a fan of it (as were my friends) back in the WWF days with The Rock, Tripple H and Kane. I recently saw that The Undertaker has retired.

Yeah, though Undertaker probably should have retired when he extended the now-broken streak to 20-0 in 2012 or at least did the favour to CM Punk (Punk probably would have stayed on with the company if he had that kind of momentum)

I don't know if you've ever seen 5 Dollar Wrestling but I recommend watching whatever you can find. They don't make them any more and it was an "ironic"-on purpose so bad it's good type of thing by low level comedians. Freight Train was the man.

That was great, it ran away with itself, loved it when he stood up to cut some of it before sittting back down...bald guy reminds me a bit of Paul Ellering.

Wrestling's been shit since the end of the attitude era.

Zarius wrote:

Only watching for Taker vs Cena and the tag match with Kurt Angle and Ronda Rousey.

Couldn't give a single, solitary fuck about the rest of the card.

Do you think he'll come back as the biker character? Kid Rock's in the Hall of Fame this year so it'd make sense for him to just run down on the motorcycle and mow Cena down

Boofer wrote:Wrestling's been shit since the end of the attitude era.

Do you think he'll come back as the biker character? Kid Rock's in the Hall of Fame this year so it'd make sense for him to just run down on the motorcycle and mow Cena down

I sincerely hope not, since I absolutely HATED Taker's biker gimmick. It completely killed his mystique and made him look like a middle-aged dad going through a mid-life crisis. It was simply cringe worthy. Plus, it would look even MORE ridiculous now since he's over 53 years old.

I really hope Kid Rock going into the Hall of Fame this year is just a coincidence. Because seeing a 53 year old Taker riding down the ramp on a Harley would just make me vomit.

I quite liked badass Taker.

The problem post-Kliq is that no-one was gonna buy true fantasy kayfabe, not even ironically, so Taker couldn't have come out as the same character, especially in an era full of drama and human angles.

I find the current era pretty unwatchable now. I like edgy shit, and not toytown crap.

I find the current era pretty unwatchable now. I like edgy shit, and not toytown crap.

Tell me about it. WWE has been the absolute drizzling shits for the past twelve years or so now. Trying to sit through an episode of RAW nowadays is pure psychological torture. Compare the roster of today to the roster in 2002 and it's extremely depressing just how ludicrously downhill this company has gone. Undertaker is pretty much the only reason I still follow Professional Wrestling. When he retires for good I can finally put this shit stain of a company behind me.

I stopped staying up late for RAWs in 2012 and stopped watching most PPVs after 2016, I only stay up if the main event appeals to me or if it's the Royal Rumble or Wrestlemania. My brother keeps trying to get me into NXT, but I'm not one for glorified indie shit..besides, once those people get called up to the mainstream roster, they tend to get lost in the shuffle or they can't capture the magic they had with their niche audiences

Apparently, WWE are holding a special PPV event later this month on the 27th in Saudi Arabia. "The Greatest Royal Rumble". The first ever 50 man Royal Rumble match in history.

Sounds like an absolute clusterfuck, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested.

They're bringing back King of the Ring too, and holding it in the UK at the Royal Albert Hall apparently.

Thank fucking christ Taker didn't come back with that godawful biker gimmick. Seeing a 53 year old Undertaker riding down the ramp on a motorcycle with Kid Rock blaring in the background would have been absolutely cringe-inducing.

American product that preaches violence and capitalism. Hate it.

Yup, WWE fans have always been a notoriously violent bunch. Whenever I'm walking down the street and I see someone wearing a Hulk Hogan or John Cena shirt, I immediately cross over to the other side of the road in fear that they might go berserk and suplex me right there on the sidewalk.

So the next big show is in Saudi Arabia in two weeks.

ITV are definitely bringing back World of Sport now

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-43893207

Two weeks of WOS have passed...anyone watching it?

The editing really doesn't do it any favours...at one point there's a ladder match and they cut virtually any time someone's face smashes against it. Commentary is also pretty bad, no real oomph to them except maybe former WWE guy Stu Bennet (who's also the heel manager)