Quote :

"Finn Balor’s reign as the first WWE Universal champion is ending before it really got a chance to begin. After Balor suffered a shoulder injury in his match against Seth Rollins at SummerSlam, WWE.com reports that Mick Foley and Stephanie McMahon will accept Balor's forfeiture of the title on Monday's episode of Raw. Foley tweeted, “Due to his injury, @StephMcMahon and I jointly accept @FinnBalor relinquishing of the @WWE Universal Championship. #Raw” Dave Meltzer reported on Monday morning that Balor suffered the injury during the match after being powerbombed into the barricade by Rollins. WWE later confirmed the injury, and revealed that an MRI taken on Monday showed a possible labrum tear in Balor’s shoulder. WWE’s ringside physician Dr. Chris Robinson noted that the recovery time for the injury could take anywhere from four to six months. Tonight's Raw has apparently been rewritten and there will be a series of matches that will lead to the determination of a new champion."

Are you fucking kidding me?

8/22/2016 11:43:47 PM

Sickening. That's devastating for WWE. Balor is a star.

So help me Gawd if they put the f'ing belt on anyone but Rollins or KO...

Wrap AJ in bubble wrap b/c that's SD's biggest star.

8/23/2016 1:30:29 PM

Well, they've finally started down the Daniel Bryan comeback trail, and they've done it via an INCREDIBLE Miz promo. Talking Smack, like WWE.com exclusive promos, are the best thing going in the company.

http://www.cagesideseats.com/2016/8/23/12619528/wwe-miz-promo-video-destroys-daniel-bryan-possible-comeback-talking-smack?utm_campaign=cagesideseats&utm_content=chorus&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

[Edited on August 24, 2016 at 1:49 AM. Reason : G]

8/24/2016 1:48:54 AM

good lord, that's the best promo he's ever done by far

8/24/2016 8:32:00 AM

Amazing work.

8/24/2016 8:54:10 AM

The Miz just gained a ton of respect back for me.

8/25/2016 2:11:39 PM

Check that...that was Roddy Piper/CM Punk pipe bomb type stuff. That was AWESOME.

8/25/2016 2:17:16 PM

Mr. Fuji dead.

8/28/2016 11:26:51 PM

WON:

Quote :

"Jose Alberto Rodriguez, better known as Alberto Del Rio, will not be returning to WWE after the conclusion of his 30-day suspension for a wellness test violation. WWE may make the announcement shortly, but Rodriguez being removed from all house shows he had been advertised for, even after his suspension was over, was WWE's indication that he is leaving. Sources say he and WWE have come to terms on a release, leaving him free to work in Mexico and internationally imminently. He would also be free to work in the U.S. in a few weeks."

8/30/2016 10:13:09 PM

Just a quick post since my damn smoke detectors went off for no apparent reason at 2am and I can't get back to sleep...

Went down a wrestling youtube hole today thanks to WhatCulture 10 Things lists. Stupid youtube keeping me from doing productive work. Haven't watched since college, so about 15 yrs ago, but I'll check in on this thread from time to time and will flip it to Raw on occasion before quickly turning it again after realizing Reigns is the face of the company now. He's bad. I learned the PG era isn't just a reference to how crappy the show is now, but bc they actually changed their tv rating to PG. And I watched the infamous Punk pipe bomb which was pretty funny - made me feel justified in giving up the habit when he called out all the fans in the audience. And I learned about the Metzer 5 star rating system which also made me feel justified since he's only ranked WWE one match 5 stars since I stopped watching.

8/31/2016 4:55:09 AM

^^i've always liked ADR. What is this, his second departure from WWE in less than 3 years?

8/31/2016 8:12:33 AM

They were never able to get ADR over.

Love KO as UWC. Don't love that he had to have Hunter's help. We'll see where they take it.

8/31/2016 12:39:44 PM

I hope the angle is a "Hunter's handpicked" NXT invasion deal that ends with Bryan's return to defend the main roster folks, but I sincerely doubt it.

9/2/2016 12:57:06 AM

That CWC final mane. They gotta bring it back next year.

9/14/2016 11:14:24 PM

Quote :

"Two-time NCAA Heavyweight Champion Nick Gwiazdowski was ringside for WWE Backlash this past Sunday. WWE is rumored to be interested in Gwiazdowski, but probably won't make an overture to the athlete until after the 2020 Olympics."

9/15/2016 12:30:13 PM

That special Raw episode last night was terrible.

9/26/2016 7:49:01 AM

Potential worst-ever rating for Raw tonight. Going back to a 1.8 rating for Raws back in October 1996.

9/26/2016 2:08:20 PM

9/26/2016 10:05:37 PM

Who's writing RAW and who's writing Smackdown? The former has all the talent stockpiled and seems to be mailing it in week to week. Smackdown is the much better program with 1/3 the talent.

9/28/2016 11:15:05 AM

That's because the central focus of Raw is Stephanie McMahon and Triple H. Stephanie can't wrestle the guys or be hit by them but still has to emasculate them, both faces and heels. And Triple H in true Hulk Hogan fashion probably won't come back until football season is over so the big ratings jump is down to him.

Meanwhile you have a Kevin Owen's-Seth Rollins feud where Rollins the face is upset Hunter and Stephanie like Owens more.

9/29/2016 11:16:23 AM

Newsflash WWE had always had terrible writers.

9/29/2016 11:27:54 AM

RIP TNA?

9/29/2016 12:33:20 PM

Whoa, Billy Corgan is the president of TNA. I don't watch wrestling but heard him talking about it on the radio today. Never would have guessed that.

9/29/2016 2:01:42 PM

Serious rumors of WWE talking to Goldberg for probably a Lesnar-Goldberg match at Survivor Series in Toronto, November 20th.

You know, when you can't develop a star now, get a guy your dead opposition developed 18 years ago...

[Edited on October 5, 2016 at 7:41 AM. Reason : .]

10/5/2016 7:37:33 AM

I mean, who else can Lesnar face? Owens? AJ Styles? Someone from NXT? Guy has mowed through everyone

10/5/2016 8:49:03 AM

Great opponents for Lesnar:

Owens
Styles
Nakamura
Joe

Shitty opponents for Lesnar:

Goldberg
Curt Hawkins
Santana Garrett

People Lesnar should murder:

Mojo Rawley

10/5/2016 1:20:09 PM

Billy Corgan puts in a lawsuit to Dixie Carter and TNA. Another party has as well.

I believe the end is near.

Quote :

"TNA PRESIDENT BILLY CORGAN FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST TNA, DIXIE CARTER AND MORE by Mike Johnson @ 2:30 PM on 10/13/2016 After months of speculation of what was going to happen with the company, it's ownership and it's finances, TNA President Billy Cogan filed a lawsuit against TNA Impact Wrestling, it's parent company Impact Ventures LLC, TNA Chairman Dixie Carter, TNA Chief Financial Officer Dean Broadhead and Carter's husband Serg Salias on 10/12 in the Chancery Court of Nashville, TN. PWInsider.com is currently working on acquiring details of the lawsuit. Requests for comment from Corgan's attorney and TNA's Public Relations were not returned as of this writing. Corgan, the frontman for Smashing Pumpkins and a long-time fan of professional wrestling, began investing in TNA this past June, helping to finance the TNA Slammiversary PPV and subsequent TV tapings as part of a deal that saw him purchase a minority share in the company. Additional investments in the company led to Corgan acquiring a larger share in the company and on 8/12, TNA issued a press release announcing that Corgan had replaced Dixie Carter as the President of the company and would be handling the day to day operations of the company while Carter would "focus on long-term planning, strategic partnerships and global growth." In the press release touting Corgan being named President of the company, Carter stated, "Billy is a visionary, an iconic artist and savvy businessman with an incredibly gifted creative mind. He has built a decades-long successful global brand, and also has a deep passion and understanding for professional wrestling. In working with Billy over the last 16 months, he has impressed me to the point that I’ve been in discussions with him to take an elevated strategic leadership role within the company. The more we discussed our vision for the organization, the clearer it became that position needed to match his commitment." Shortly after being named President, Corgan announced his intentions to purchase the company and potentially change it's name from TNA. During promotional appearances to push the Bound for Glory PPV, Corgan admitted that he had financed the three previous rounds of TNA Impact Wrestling tapings, describing those deals as last minute agreements where the "ink was drying" as talents were heading to the ring. Corgan had been in negotiations to purchase the company, but had been unable to close a complicated deal that would see Corgan not only buy the company from Dixie Carter, but other minority owners including Aroluxe Productions and The Fight Network. Corgan made it clear he would not be financing the Bound for Glory PPV tapings and subsequent TV tapings, noting on a SiriusXM interview that he had done everything in his power to make sure that Bound for Glory took place from a personal and financial level - noting that he was using money from "his own pile" to attempt to purchase the "majority ownership" of TNA - and that he had put everything in place on his end. In that interview with "Busted Open", Corgan said that funding the PPV and tapings were part of the negotiations and the question was what are the people funding the show getting for their money? Corgan said that where it got complicated was that it was one thing to fund the company, but it's another to set the company up to be solvent and successful. At the time Corgan said he didn't want to be having the same conversation three months after the PPV because what would be the point. At that time, Cogan also stated that in conversations with TNA talents he had spoken with, they were all on board with him taking over the company and that they were hopeful he would "win" and steer the ship from that point on. "Enough air has gone out of the balloon," Corgan said last month. "It's time to put air back in the balloon and let this thing be what it can be." In the end, Bound for Glory and the October TV tapings indeed took place, but questions that were left (which we had been raised here on PWInsider.com) included who funded the tapings and what deal did Dixie Carter make in order for the tapings to take place. In a locker room meeting with TNA talents on 10/4 in Orlando, Carter told her roster that the PPV was never in danger of not taking place but did admit the company had to do some "scrambling" in order for everything to fall into place. What that "scrambling" was has never been explained or revealed publicly. During PWInsider.com's reporting of the locker room meeting, we noted that Corgan declined to be in the meeting despite being invited to do so. A number of TNA personalities noted over the course of the BFG PPV and October TV tapings that there was obvious tension between Corgan and Carter and wondered how it might be resolved, especially if Corgan is supposed to be overseeing the day to day business of the company. What the resolution will be remains to be seen, it appears that it will get uglier before it gets better and that that resolution may very well take place inside a Nashville courtroom."

[Edited on October 13, 2016 at 10:31 PM. Reason : /]

10/13/2016 10:30:08 PM

Matches announced for NXT Takeover Toronto:

NXT Championship: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Samoa Joe
Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Final
NXT Women's Championship: Asuka vs. MICKIE FUCKING JAMES

10/14/2016 3:14:55 AM

Central focus point of Raw last night: GOLDBERG!

Central focus point of Smackdown tonight: James Ellsworth.

James Ellsworth WWE Champion Anticipation Station.

10/18/2016 8:04:13 PM

James Ellsworth.

Better promo than Randy Orton.

10/18/2016 9:08:52 PM

Smackdown/Talking Smack does so much more than Raw with so much less.

AJ and Ellsworth match was very entertaining. Ellsworth could teach Sami Zayn how to play the ultimate underdog.

10/18/2016 10:35:05 PM

So, who will be the next WWE Hall of Famer to be elected president of the USA?

11/9/2016 9:34:02 PM

My Worst in Wrestling Awards for 2016:

Jabronie of the Year
Dixie Carter. Nobody else deserves this dishonor. Period. On June 10, TNA CFO Dean Broadhead had to make 80 phone calls—eighty—to get the production trucks running once Aroluxe demanded payment. Without his hard work, there would have been no Slammiversary—and TNA would have gone out of business (credit Angry Marks).

Yet four months later, the company was teetering on the brink again when Bound For Glory was around the corner. Billy Corgan and American Express were among those who took her to court. She started the year as majority owner and ended it with zero control. She was so fucking horrible as an owner that her wealthy parents had to cut her off in February.

I really do wonder if Anthem Entertainment is wasting its money by keeping this zombie organization alive. TNA, which once topped the UK market, lost their TV deal in the fallout of the Corgan-Carter lawsuit/injunction. Think about that shit, folks. The promotion that as recently as 2014 was tops in Britain will essentially be a nonentity in 2017 as World of Sport is revived by ITN and WWE holds a tournament to crown a new UK Champion thanks to Triple H.

2016 was by far the year to write off TNA as the successor to WCW.

Most Deteriorated Wrestler
Alberto Del Rio. His return to the WWE in the fall of 2015 was hyped up. By the summer, he was not only gone again but a nonfactor business wise.

Worst Wrestler
Mahabali Shera

Worst Tag Team
The Shining Stars. No amount of repackaging will get Primo and Epico over. Furthermore, the only reason why they still have jobs is due to Primo’s dad having such close ties with the company.

Worst Female Wrestler
Shelly Martinez. See the next category.

Worst Match of the Year
Rebel vs Shelly Martinez at One Night Only: Knockout Knockdown on April 22. Shelly cut a bad promo before the match, which was as bad as described. Shelly is even worse than Rosa Mendes because Ms. Martinez started wrestling at the end of 2000—16 years and she put on that pathetic of a performance? Get the fuck outta here! Everybody knew how green Rebel was and yet Shelly failed to carry her. Don’t even get me started on her wardrobe.

Worst Bookers
The Raw team. There’s a reason why people are flocking to the blue brand and abandoning the “flagship” in droves. Three hours of bullshit! Raw’s ratings reached record lows back in the late summer-early fall because the writing team was not listening. They’re only getting bailed out by the Royal Rumble buildup and a much better than expected run by Goldberg.

Not to mention that the face of Raw, Roman Reigns, is still the one-dimensional character that he was when the Shield still existed. Fans, announcers, and Hall of Famers alike have practically begged the company to add more depth to Reigns but the response from the bookers is to double down, which has resulted in even more boos—maybe go away heat in heel friendly cites.

Worst Wrestling Move
Joey Ryan’s “finisher.” A year later and I’m still not impressed that Ryan uses his dick to finish off his opponents (not to mention, I was equally unimpressed that his fiancée used her vag to do the same to him).

Worst Decision
WWE’s selective forgiveness. Writing off Brock Lesnar’s failed drug test related to UFC 200, Vince throwing a such a shit fit that he almost fired Titus O’Neil, Bo Dallas getting a push in spite of his conduct at an airport, punishing Roman Reigns for failing a drug test and then unpunishing him by handing him the US Title, do I need to continue?

Worst Angle
Grado’s firing and rehiring

Worst Feud
Nia Jax vs Alicia Fox

Worst Gimmick
The Steve Harvey Miss Universe imitations by Bram and R-Truth. As soon as the calendar flipped from ’15 to ’16, the Steve Harvey stuff got old quickly whether it was Bram thinking it was 2006 or Truth forgetting what week it was. Just plain U-N-F-U-N-N-Y I say.

Most Overrated
Mike Bennett. Yes, he was spot on in ripping Dixie when he and the roster were firmly in Billy’s corner, but Bennett went from having so much potential to be the next superstar to being an afterthought.

Worst PPV
Wrestlemania 32

Biggest Disappointment
WWE’s cruiserweight division. So much promise flushed down the drain. WWE does know that 205 is a relegation, right? The obvious move would have been moving them to Smackdown. Otherwise, they should be pushing this thing to the moon.

Worst Authority Figure or TV Personality
“William” Corgan

Worst TV Show
The April 19 Impact

Worst Phrase
“I’m not a bad guy, I’m not a good guy, I’m the guy” by Roman Reigns during his spring WWE title run

Dishonorable Mention
Adam Rose. This guy had everything going for him—most notably, a lot of good press in the wake of a 2015 E60 documentary--and he ruined everything by being hooked on Adderall and attacking his wife.

Baron Corbin going from being “injured” to disrupting the Cruiserweight title match at Survivor Series. The whole jist is that Corbin “injured” himself on the November 8 Smackdown in a match against Kalisto, rendering him ineligible for Team Smackdown in the 10-man elimination match at Survivor Series. Yet, at the PPV, he laid to waste the entire cruiserweight division, and he did so without showing any signs of injury. That kind of shit is the reason why I have all but refused to suspend disbelief ever since the Monday Night Wars ended.

Triple H meeting with NWA boss Bruce Tharpe over the rights to the Houston library. Tharpe should have told Son in Law to jump off a cliff. As for Hunter, he and chairman father in law should just deal with the fact that the NWA defeated the WWE fair and square for the Houston Wrestling library in mid-2015 and that then-EVP of content Lisa Fox Lee’s failure to secure those rights just resulted in Vince scapegoating her.

Matt Sydal jailed in Japan on drug charges. It would have been nice if Matt had, you know, checked with the country’s drug laws before deciding to toke up. In any case, his past failed drug tests in WWE led to the company dumping him and to me awarding him the 2012 Jabronie of the Year. If he does anything with ROH in 2017, it would be a minor miracle

Jeff Jarrett and Global Force Wrestling. Another year went by and things just got worse for GFW. The fact that Double J had to resort to a pyramid scheme to get people to keep their eyes on his fledgling promotion is an indictment of the second generation wrestler. Where’s the TV deal? I still don’t see one. Not even crowning Cody Rhodes as the NEX*GEN Champion could make things better.

1/4/2017 1:32:39 AM

and best?

1/4/2017 9:59:20 AM

The fact that Roman is STILL being pushed to the moon shows how f'ing tone deaf the RAW writers are (and probably how much Vince is still the final say on that show). Ironic, RAW is still very much their flagship, but now it's getting it's ass kicked. The response continues to be lazy.

If they put RR in the Main Event of Mania AGAIN, they deserve whatever repercussions may come. This would be the third year in a row, and after he was boo'ed out of the building last year. Having him square off against Goldberg would be a disaster.

1/5/2017 2:27:27 PM

I also think they've got to be smart about who they have win the Rumble this year. They've made some terrible calls on their winner going all the way back the last 5 or 6 years. I think you have to try and select a stronger winner coming out this time around.

2011: Alberto Del Rio
2012: Sheamus
2013: John Cena
2014: Batista
2015: Roman Reigns
2016: Triple H (won title)

1/5/2017 3:35:59 PM

^^ They're considering having Roman Reigns-Braun Strowman at Mania...

Main event may be Cena-Undertaker though.

[Edited on January 8, 2017 at 4:50 PM. Reason : .]

1/8/2017 4:49:59 PM

I don't mind the YouPornPlex. He uses it on small indies and in DDTPro, a promotion that has people wrestle in kayaks and where referees have flashbacks mid-match. Also, it looks better than a corner catapult ever has.

1/9/2017 1:21:38 AM

The 3 locked on 100% matches for Mania at this point are:

Hunter vs. Rollins
Big Show vs. Shaq
Lesnar vs. Goldberg

The "Japanese WrestleMania" was on January 4th from the Tokyo Dome. Everyone has mightily raved about the main event, Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega.

1/9/2017 11:35:17 AM

Okada/Omega was really good, but too long. First fifteen could've been cut and it wouldn't have changed anything in the psychology. Shoutout to my boy Juice Robinson screaming "I'm in the motherfucking Tokyo Dome!!!"

1/9/2017 1:09:32 PM

Latest WM rumored card, according to Meltzer:

-Bill Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar
-Triple H vs. Seth Rollins
-Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho
-Shaquille O’Neal vs. Big Show
-The Undertaker vs. Roman Reigns
-Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton
-Charlotte Flair vs. Nia Jax vs. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks

Also comments that it's likely Owens & Styles will NOT be champions at the show.


With Elimination Chamber being a Smackdown show, my guess is we see the title change hands there.

I think it's a given we see Samoa Joe at the Rumble on Sunday (and I think he'll be Smackdown). My guess is the put him against Styles or Cena (or a 3-way) at WM. Still wondering what they do with Corbin; think he will factor in considerably for the WHC as well.

My guesses for the EC in February:
Styles (WHC)
Corbin
Bray
RKO
Joe
Cena


I still say it would be fuckin LIT if they found a way to get Bryan in the ring against Miz at WM. I'm holding out hope for a dream match with that one

1/26/2017 2:30:16 PM

1. They are desperate to push Reigns as #1 face, and they think people will cheer him vs. Undertaker. Dear God, just make him a heel.
3. 4-way for the women's title waters it down IMO.

1/27/2017 8:25:01 AM

I believe Balor will also be back for the Rumble. I also believe we will see Kurt Angle, as he was pulled from a match this weekend.

1/27/2017 8:57:33 AM

If they wanted to get Ziggler some nuclear heat, they should have Shawn Michaels' music play for one of the picks, only to cut backstage when no one comes out. They can show him knocked out but in his ring gear as if he was really going to come out of retirement for this one-off match. Then instead of Shawn coming out, it's Ziggler with a smug look on his face, basically taking responsibility for the attack and ruining Shawn's 'comeback'.

1/27/2017 11:10:58 AM

1/30/2017 9:04:31 AM

Hopefully they're planning an RR heel promo tonite. I mean, he's goin in to WM a heel vs. Taker, whether they like it or not. Shit, just embrace it. The reaction vids of his #30 entry are hilarious (and sad).

EC should be interesting - I don't think there's any way in hell you make Cena/Orton your WWE title match.

Got to thinking...Balor & Joe's return/debut was better off on live tv. No real issue there.

1/30/2017 2:56:00 PM

I think they've completely given up on Dolph.

Does anyone else not care at all about Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt?

1/30/2017 9:45:29 PM

of course I go to bed early and Samoa Joe debuts in the closing segment

1/31/2017 8:39:50 AM

This was my first Rumble in a very long time, and I was wondering if I just had nostalgia and was remembering the old Rumbles in too positive of a light compared to this one. So I went back and watched the 1990 and 1991 Rumbles...holy shit, the star power in those matches absolutely embarrasses the current Rumble. Insane how many HoF wrestlers they'd have in the ring at any given time, the iron man endurance angles, the crazy eliminations, the teamwork elements, feuds it setup, etc. This year's rumble was downright boring and ultimately a waste of time. They basically threw all of the "stars" out in the last 7-8 wrestlers, and even then the performance was lackluster. Never felt like the ring got full enough or had enough people to keep me entertained. The 1990 and 1991 rumbles would get up to like 10-12 dudes in the ring at a time and relied a LOT less on having the over-powered dudes walk in and clear the ring just to "put them over".

Though to be fair the end of the 1991 Rumble was pretty terrible and over-the-top when Hogan basically put in a "God Mode" cheat and won haha.

Was also crazy to see Taker's first Rumble appearance in 1991 and then see him still in the rumble in 2017 haha.

1/31/2017 9:12:34 AM

^yeah, the Braun Stroman elimination was the best part IMHO. Taker is definitely looking his age.

1/31/2017 9:16:57 AM