***Official Pro Wrestling Thread*** (8 Viewers)

[lardonastick]

Amazing how he can hold the crowd in the palm of his hand the very second he arrives. As a guy that hasn't done this for a living full time for over a dozen years.....

He really makes the rest of their roster look so so so bad. And makes you wonder WTF they're doing with these promos classes at WWE&NXT. And New Day is probably one of their best acts going. Usos don't even belong in the same building as Rock.

He looks like a star. Talks like a star. Makes guys like Kevin Owens, Dean Ambrose, Sami Zayn, Sloppy Joe, Finn Balor, and every other cookie cutter clown coming out of NXT (none of whom LOOK like stars nor stand out on the mic) look like a complete ####### joke. BUT WOOHOO FOR 5 STAR MATCHES!!! Good luck with turning around the business with that.....Going to be waiting awhile.

I'm not sure you can teach what the Rock has. You can't just take anybody and teach them to be Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers.

But that is the problem with bringing in the Rock. He makes everyone else look bad in comparison. And he's allowed to ignore the "standards and practices" restrictions placed on all the other performers.

to the bolded above. Bringing the Rock in for a one-spot deal makes for an entertaining segment, but then what? It didn't do anybody any good in the long run. That's also not turning the business around any time soon.

 

[Courtjester]

And they have to decide how they are going to play it. Rock comes from the Attirude era and there is no way they would let any of the current roster say things like Rock did last night (lama penis?!)

You can't have one guy going PG-13 and the other guys going golly gee without diminishing them and making them look stupid at the expense of a part-timer

 

[Peak]

And they have to decide how they are going to play it. Rock comes from the Attirude era and there is no way they would let any of the current roster say things like Rock did last night (lama penis?!)

You can't have one guy going PG-13 and the other guys going golly gee without diminishing them and making them look stupid at the expense of a part-timer

Altho New Day got away with saying lama penis about 6-8 times as they acted in shock and awe in the words that Rocky just uttered.

 

[Keith R]

The end-game was definitely something - not sure what yet. Would've been a great time to elevate Ambrose, but that's obviously not the story they're telling. Brock was handled weird, too. They seem to be keeping him away from the title scene. Hard to do that when he is far and away the biggest, most special and legit dude in the company.

The problem with Lesnar is that he could be a title killer much like Undertaker has been and Andre before that. Unless you have a challenger of roughly equal size, you have to either 1) kayfabe screw him out of it or, 2) keep him out of the title picture altogether. All 3 guys I've mentioned do not need the belt to get over. Think about it; when was UT's last title match? Much like Andre had his overall unbeaten streak, UT had his WM unbeaten streak that defined his career.

To answer my own question, UT's 4th and final World title reign ended July 21, 2002.

It's crazy that arguably the best performer of all time has barely held the title, at least compared to guys like Flair, Hogan, Cena, HHH, Orton, etc. He's had 4 title reigns totaling 238 days over a 25 year career. It goes to what you're saying about some guys not needing the belt or it not being a good fit for them.

Taker's last title reign ended at Elimination Chamber in 2010 when he got pinned by Chris Jericho. I don't remember the exact date but that led to the career vs streak match vs Shawn Michaels at WM 26.

 

[Jeremy]

And they have to decide how they are going to play it. Rock comes from the Attirude era and there is no way they would let any of the current roster say things like Rock did last night (lama penis?!)

You can't have one guy going PG-13 and the other guys going golly gee without diminishing them and making them look stupid at the expense of a part-timer

Altho New Day got away with saying lama penis about 6-8 times as they acted in shock and awe in the words that Rocky just uttered.

I found that really entertaining. Putting the Rock on with New Day was a no-brainer. I love when New Day does that owl thing. Who? Whoo? Hoo...

I enjoyed most of the Rock's bit last night, especially the back stage stuff. Dude must have had like 10 cups of coffee before he showed up. I hate it when he takes those long pauses, though, I guess to soak in the adulation. Speak!

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

Amazing how he can hold the crowd in the palm of his hand the very second he arrives. As a guy that hasn't done this for a living full time for over a dozen years.....

He really makes the rest of their roster look so so so bad. And makes you wonder WTF they're doing with these promos classes at WWE&NXT. And New Day is probably one of their best acts going. Usos don't even belong in the same building as Rock.

He looks like a star. Talks like a star. Makes guys like Kevin Owens, Dean Ambrose, Sami Zayn, Sloppy Joe, Finn Balor, and every other cookie cutter clown coming out of NXT (none of whom LOOK like stars nor stand out on the mic) look like a complete ####### joke. BUT WOOHOO FOR 5 STAR MATCHES!!! Good luck with turning around the business with that.....Going to be waiting awhile.

I'm not sure you can teach what the Rock has. You can't just take anybody and teach them to be Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers.

You're probably right. I'm just looking for someone to stand out. Anyone.

I think Xavier Woods is really pretty good on the mic. Their wouldn't be a New Day w/o him. Big E isn't bad in short doses. They should just leave Kofi off the mic completely. He hasn't learned to cut a (good) promo in 10 years in the company, it isn't happening. Let your ring work do the speaking.

And after seeing Stephanie McMahon in her promos recently (alongside Vince), it's no wonder none of these guys are standing out. Someone please tell me these Steph/Vince promos have not been atrocious recently. They just make you cringe. She's a prominent company public speaking figure but is just terrible with her acting & promos.

I was actually happy Reigns didn't come out after Vince/Steph were done. They are sucking the life out of the arena with these absolutely horrific segments. And Reigns just isn't good enough at this point to save them.

 

[Tom Servo]

I needed some unwind material last night, so I turned on TNA Anyhow, here's my thoughts on what I witnessed.

• So Jeff Hardy wants to confront Matt Hardy about the way he won the TNA belt from EC3 last week. Apparently, Matt's a heel now. Matt comes out with his wife Reby Sky and Tyrus, who is holding the Hardy's 6 month old son Maxel. Tyrus carrying a 6 month old boy looks like me carrying a 5 pound bag of flour. Not only that, but Reby has got her boobs jacked up to where you lay a board on them and easy set a couple of knick-nacks without them falling off. I thought that was unusual until I saw...
• Velvet Sky taking on Awesome Kong. Apparently, there's a TNA bra that lifts your boobs to where they're like 6 inches under your chin. Seriously, it looks jacked up. Anyhow, Kong apparently speaks now as the leader of the Dollhouse and speaks in ebonics. Sky gets crushed as you might expect, and then Madison Rayne attempts a rescue. I say "attempts" because there's just two of The Beautiful People and four of The Dollhouse - one of whom is Kong, who has to be checking in at 3 bills. I don't think Rayne and Sky together weigh as much as Kong. You'd think if you were ripping off the Diva's Revolution, you'd make the sides even. But hey, what do I know?
• Oh, hey - there's Kurt Angle! First he tells Jeff he's got his back, and then goes to confront Matt. Must-see TV
• The one thing TNA does that I like is the Feast or Fired segment. Except, now all the wannabes in the company battle for the four suitcases. IIRC, it used to be 4 guys fighting over which suitcase they were going to get. Anyhow, still not a bad concept.
• When we get to the reveal ceremony, it's hosted by Jeremy Borash, who is either retaining water or getting fat...I'm not sure which. They draw this segment out much longer than it had to be. They'd reveal a briefcase, then go to commercial. Come back, and then we get interrupted by The Miracle and Maria Kanellis then we go to a match. I went to bed before finding out who got what briefcase.

 

[Smack Tripper]

I needed some unwind material last night, so I turned on TNA Anyhow, here's my thoughts on what I witnessed.

• So Jeff Hardy wants to confront Matt Hardy about the way he won the TNA belt from EC3 last week. Apparently, Matt's a heel now. Matt comes out with his wife Reby Sky and Tyrus, who is holding the Hardy's 6 month old son Maxel. Tyrus carrying a 6 month old boy looks like me carrying a 5 pound bag of flour. Not only that, but Reby has got her boobs jacked up to where you lay a board on them and easy set a couple of knick-nacks without them falling off. I thought that was unusual until I saw...
• Velvet Sky taking on Awesome Kong. Apparently, there's a TNA bra that lifts your boobs to where they're like 6 inches under your chin. Seriously, it looks jacked up. Anyhow, Kong apparently speaks now as the leader of the Dollhouse and speaks in ebonics. Sky gets crushed as you might expect, and then Madison Rayne attempts a rescue. I say "attempts" because there's just two of The Beautiful People and four of The Dollhouse - one of whom is Kong, who has to be checking in at 3 bills. I don't think Rayne and Sky together weigh as much as Kong. You'd think if you were ripping off the Diva's Revolution, you'd make the sides even. But hey, what do I know?
• Oh, hey - there's Kurt Angle! First he tells Jeff he's got his back, and then goes to confront Matt. Must-see TV
• The one thing TNA does that I like is the Feast or Fired segment. Except, now all the wannabes in the company battle for the four suitcases. IIRC, it used to be 4 guys fighting over which suitcase they were going to get. Anyhow, still not a bad concept.
• When we get to the reveal ceremony, it's hosted by Jeremy Borash, who is either retaining water or getting fat...I'm not sure which. They draw this segment out much longer than it had to be. They'd reveal a briefcase, then go to commercial. Come back, and then we get interrupted by The Miracle and Maria Kanellis then we go to a match. I went to bed before finding out who got what briefcase.

can jeff wrestle or is he getting knee reconstruction?

 

[Tom Servo]

Seeing Maxel Hardy on TV last night reminded me of a wrestling story...My GB and I used to go to House of Pain shows in Hagerstown, MD every Tuesday night. They were free shows, and were used to help the trainees get used to working the crowd and performing in front of people. Anyhow, due to the demand you had to reserve your seats ahead of time. (You have to know Hagerstown, it's redneck city and those people are on anything free like a bum on a ham sandwich.) My GB and I would see this young couple, and the wife is very much in a family way. I mean, it looks like she could've given birth during one of the shows. Well, one week, they're not there and we figure the wife is having or has just had the baby. We thought they'd be gone for a bit.

WRONG! The very next week they're back, with their days-old baby in tow! And it's this time of year, which even in central MD can be cold at 6:30 on a Tuesday night. They bring the kid every week to the matches. Unfreaking believable.

 

[Tom Servo]

I needed some unwind material last night, so I turned on TNA Anyhow, here's my thoughts on what I witnessed.

• So Jeff Hardy wants to confront Matt Hardy about the way he won the TNA belt from EC3 last week. Apparently, Matt's a heel now. Matt comes out with his wife Reby Sky and Tyrus, who is holding the Hardy's 6 month old son Maxel. Tyrus carrying a 6 month old boy looks like me carrying a 5 pound bag of flour. Not only that, but Reby has got her boobs jacked up to where you lay a board on them and easy set a couple of knick-nacks without them falling off. I thought that was unusual until I saw...
• Velvet Sky taking on Awesome Kong. Apparently, there's a TNA bra that lifts your boobs to where they're like 6 inches under your chin. Seriously, it looks jacked up. Anyhow, Kong apparently speaks now as the leader of the Dollhouse and speaks in ebonics. Sky gets crushed as you might expect, and then Madison Rayne attempts a rescue. I say "attempts" because there's just two of The Beautiful People and four of The Dollhouse - one of whom is Kong, who has to be checking in at 3 bills. I don't think Rayne and Sky together weigh as much as Kong. You'd think if you were ripping off the Diva's Revolution, you'd make the sides even. But hey, what do I know?
• Oh, hey - there's Kurt Angle! First he tells Jeff he's got his back, and then goes to confront Matt. Must-see TV
• The one thing TNA does that I like is the Feast or Fired segment. Except, now all the wannabes in the company battle for the four suitcases. IIRC, it used to be 4 guys fighting over which suitcase they were going to get. Anyhow, still not a bad concept.
• When we get to the reveal ceremony, it's hosted by Jeremy Borash, who is either retaining water or getting fat...I'm not sure which. They draw this segment out much longer than it had to be. They'd reveal a briefcase, then go to commercial. Come back, and then we get interrupted by The Miracle and Maria Kanellis then we go to a match. I went to bed before finding out who got what briefcase.

can jeff wrestle or is he getting knee reconstruction?

Jeff says he was cleared. In fact, they had a match on last night's show. Went to bed before that happened.

 

[Tom Servo]

In fact, here is a picture of Tyrus holding a baby.

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

Watched Hour2 of Impact last night. Didn't think it was too bad. I actually watched nearly a whole of hour consecutively which I never do anymore. At least they're going backstage in different locations.Big improvement over match after match after match (FIVE STARS!!!)

Pretty sure Jeff Hardy was (in case you want to watch the rest of show in the next few days....)

Spoiler

written off TV last night as Eric Young piledrove Hardy off the apron onto a table to end the show. That and they didn't have him actually wrestle that match vs. Matt. And the fact TNA 're-signed Jeff' (probably at a discount as he's on the mend) in the last day or two

I like Feast/Fired though it was pretty obvious what the results would be.

==========================

I believe Lucha Underground Season 2 debuts tonight. Gonna try to remember and catch that.

 

[Tom Servo]

I believe Lucha Underground Season 2 debuts tonight. Gonna try to remember and catch that.

 

[mr fancypants]

I believe Lucha Underground Season 2 debuts tonight. Gonna try to remember and catch that.

Lucha!, Lucha!,Lucha!

 

[Brady Marino]

Spoiler

At the NXT tapings tonight, they announced Shinsuke Nakamura vs Sami Zayn for NXT Takeover: Dallas!!!!

 

[RBM]

Spoiler

At the NXT tapings tonight, they announced Shinsuke Nakamura vs Sami Zayn for NXT Takeover: Dallas!!!!

Wow

 

[hagmania]

Christ, Nia Jax is a monster.

 

[hagmania]

I've never seen an end like that. Granted, I don't watch a lot of wrestling.

NXT is pretty good, first time I tuned in.

 

[Tom Servo]

I believe Lucha Underground Season 2 debuts tonight. Gonna try to remember and catch that.

Lucha!, Lucha!,Lucha!

I'm going to hold off posting about last night until I know Craig has seen it. But the opening segment with Vampiro...WOW. WWE cannot touch that as far as storytelling. (And yes, I realize that Rodriguez has multiple takes to get it right and it's produced like a movie series.)

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

Lucha premiere was great last night. Watched it on delay late last night. Opening was phenomenal. Just on a completely different level from anything else out there. It isn't just a wrestling show. I hope for their sake they make their way onto Netflix or similar. I just listened to an interview with their head writer Chris DeJoseph had with Vince Russo yesterday, seems like something could be in the works for making it more readily available. That's really my only worry is available money w/o any big revenue streams. They simply gotta get more visibility outside El Rey.

I'm gonna have to go back and watch Season 1. I got away from watching it reguarly last season as the season went along. I watched a clip of the Vampiro match on the season finale (?) because I heard good things about it. I think the last time I regularly watched, Prince Puma was champ. It just doesn't feel like a wrestling show (my biggest gripe with both WWE/TNA) and the production is just unrivaled.

Catrina + Ivelisse + Melissa Santos

 

[Smack Tripper]

Entertaining RAW, hits and misses, but glad I watched. Yeah, something was off with the Rock, but his interaction with the Big Show was the best part of the show, promo wise.

I like the dynamic of the Main Event for Fastlane. I'm hoping we get a few weeks of Ambrose and Reigns having some hidden tension and concerns of a Rollins like turn. And Brock in a triple threat is always fun. I'm guessing that Reigns wins, maybe even pinning Ambrose, which could create a WM backstab and heel turn by Ambrose.

Ambrose will be over like rover if he turns on roman. Would actually love to see it

 

[dschuler]

This might seem insane, but what are the odds that Trump makes a TV or PPV appearance before the election? He's in the WWE hall of fame. I was thinking he could go after Flair with as sleezy as he has been lately.

 

[Brady Marino]

Good first episode for Lucha Underground Season 2, but...

Spoiler

...if they wanted casual fans to catch on, starting your season off with Ivelisse getting ragdolled by the much, much, much bigger Mil Muertes is not how you do it. Never been a fan of man vs woman wrestling and I spent most of the match cringing.

 

[JB Breakfast Club]

Good first episode for Lucha Underground Season 2, but...

Spoiler

...if they wanted casual fans to catch on, starting your season off with Ivelisse getting ragdolled by the much, much, much bigger Mil Muertes is not how you do it. Never been a fan of man vs woman wrestling and I spent most of the match cringing.

Really good discussion about inter-gender wrestling on Straight Shoot tonight if you want to dive into this further.

 

[Brady Marino]

Good first episode for Lucha Underground Season 2, but...

Spoiler

...if they wanted casual fans to catch on, starting your season off with Ivelisse getting ragdolled by the much, much, much bigger Mil Muertes is not how you do it. Never been a fan of man vs woman wrestling and I spent most of the match cringing.

Spoiler

Really good discussion about inter-gender wrestling on Straight Shoot tonight if you want to dive into this further.

Pretty good discussion. Listening now.

I know it's a thing. For instance, I'm a big fan of Candice LaRae, whose shtick on the indies is to wrestle intergender matches.

When done right, it's fine. Most of Candice's matches, where she's usually really competitive and she's not getting slapped around like Tina Turner, fall in this category. I just did not care for much of the match I saw last night, though the finish was pretty good.

 

[Sebowski]

I flipped on some post-debate coverage for a couple minutes tonight. They said the word "establishment" like 50 times and it made me want to see if Wrestling was on So I watched the last hr or so of Smackdown. AJ Styles! Cool. I liked him a lot before I stopped watching. Also, I thought Mauro Ranallo was awesome. Maybe it was because he reminded me of Pride. Thought I remember not liking him that much there. He was to Pro Wresting-y for mma. I think he is going to kill it for WWE.

 

[Tom Servo]

Good first episode for Lucha Underground Season 2, but...

Spoiler

...if they wanted casual fans to catch on, starting your season off with Ivelisse getting ragdolled by the much, much, much bigger Mil Muertes is not how you do it. Never been a fan of man vs woman wrestling and I spent most of the match cringing.

Yeah, that was pretty weak. My suspension of disbelief almost got up and slapped me but thought better of it. If the male wrestler was someone like Puma, then I can buy in. That was worse than Kane vs. Mysterio.

The only woman I'd put up against Mil Muertes right now is Awesome Kong

 

[Tom Servo]

Sheamus has tendonitis in his left arm and has been pulled from the ring.

 

[KiddLattimer]

This is fkn awesome... cant wait til Corbin gets the call up

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

Corbin has the most upside IMO of any guy in NXT. And don't think it's even close. He still has to improve in ring and mic quite a bit. Loads of upside, but he could wind up just as easily the next Mike Awesome / Chuck Palumbo.

 

[RBM]

This is fkn awesome... cant wait til Corbin gets the call up

He's getting better every week. Just needs some better fitting pants.

 

[travdogg]

Corbin has the most upside IMO of any guy in NXT. And don't think it's even close. He still has to improve in ring and mic quite a bit. Loads of upside, but he could wind up just as easily the next Mike Awesome / Chuck Palumbo.

If he's the highest upside guy in NXT, I'd sure hope that upside is a hell of a lot higher than Chuck Palumbo. He's above that already.

 

[Brady Marino]

Corbin has the most upside IMO of any guy in NXT. And don't think it's even close. He still has to improve in ring and mic quite a bit. Loads of upside, but he could wind up just as easily the next Mike Awesome / Chuck Palumbo.

Highest upside, huh?Wait til you see Shinsuke.

Oh, and Gable > Corbin

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

Corbin has the most upside IMO of any guy in NXT. And don't think it's even close. He still has to improve in ring and mic quite a bit. Loads of upside, but he could wind up just as easily the next Mike Awesome / Chuck Palumbo.

If he's the highest upside guy in NXT, I'd sure hope that upside is a hell of a lot higher than Chuck Palumbo. He's above that already.

Downside is Awesome/Palumbo. Meh workers that couldnt talk. Which is where he's at now.

Let's see him performing consistently on a stage bigger than 400 freeloading nimrods at Full Sail before saying he's above anyone. Great finisher but he's still green as goose #### on the mic. That'll be what ultimately makes or breaks him. He doesnt need to be a great worker as he's got a great look but guy's got to be able to talk.

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

Corbin has the most upside IMO of any guy in NXT. And don't think it's even close. He still has to improve in ring and mic quite a bit. Loads of upside, but he could wind up just as easily the next Mike Awesome / Chuck Palumbo.

Highest upside, huh?Wait til you see Shinsuke.

Oh, and Gable > Corbin

Meh. Being foreign will prevent him from being more than a mid card or sporadic main event guy. Language connection with the American crowd is already a huge big strike against him. See Del Rio/Sheamus/history. 5-star matches isn't going to get new viewers. People can see 5 star matches on TNA/ROH/Indies. He's going to be a watered down ~52 RAW weeks/yr in ring version of himself. Same with AJ Styles. At the end of day, no matter how hard you try to make it real....., it's a fake fight. Without an incredible gimmick, If one can't connect verbally with the audience, they will never ever be a big draw in the WWE.

Agree Gable is better than Corbin in every way right now. And the much safer bet to make a big impact down the road. That he's a good talker and connects with the crowd masks his short stature. I'd take him 50x over Nakamura.Younger and will connect more with the American audience. For that matter, I'd also take the newly signed 37 year old Austin Aries over Nakamura. Aries can talk circles around 95% of the current WWE Roster AND can work. No offense to the likes of Regal and the other promo development trainers in NXT, Austin Aries doesn't need them to cut a great promo. He'd be lowering his level by listening to them.

Had Aries been with WWE back in 2010 (and not TNA) and given the same push, I have zero doubts he'd have been a regular main eventer.TNA decided to give a ####ed up Jeff Hardy the belt and de-pushed Aries. They may have stopped using him completely for awhile. And people wonder why they're the laughingstock of wrestling right now.

 

[travdogg]

Corbin has the most upside IMO of any guy in NXT. And don't think it's even close. He still has to improve in ring and mic quite a bit. Loads of upside, but he could wind up just as easily the next Mike Awesome / Chuck Palumbo.

If he's the highest upside guy in NXT, I'd sure hope that upside is a hell of a lot higher than Chuck Palumbo. He's above that already.

Downside is Awesome/Palumbo. Meh workers that couldnt talk. Which is where he's at now.

Let's see him performing consistently on a stage bigger than 400 freeloading nimrods at Full Sail before saying he's above anyone. Great finisher but he's still green as goose #### on the mic. That'll be what ultimately makes or breaks him. He doesnt need to be a great worker as he's got a great look but guy's got to be able to talk.

My mistake, I misread that. That said, Mike Awesome and Chuck Palumbo should be nowhere near the same category. Palumbo was a bum, Mike Awesome was the most agile big man I've ever seen. Agree his mic work was bad, but his in ring was as good or better than any 300 pounder I've ever seen. There were crusierweights who didn't move as well as he did.

I think mic concerns are overrated for everybody, mic skills just aren't as important anymore, because promos are so scripted. I mean Roman Reigns is getting pushed harder than anybody right now, and he's got the personality of a dead moth.

 

[Tom Servo]

Meh. Being foreign will prevent him from being more than a mid card or sporadic main event guy. Language connection with the American crowd is already a huge big strike against him. See Del Rio/Sheamus/history. 5-star matches isn't going to get new viewers. People can see 5 star matches on TNA/ROH/Indies. He's going to be a watered down ~52 RAW weeks/yr in ring version of himself. Same with AJ Styles. At the end of day, no matter how hard you try to make it real....., it's a fake fight. Without an incredible gimmick, If one can't connect verbally with the audience, they will never ever be a big draw in the WWE.

All of which brings me back to why this should've happened to begin with. Nakamura has to know he won't get main event status in the WWE, so why come other than it being a straight cash grab. For Vince, this has to being about penis swinging in that he can say he can pull talent from anywhere (except the indies because it doesn't stroke his ego enough).I'll predict Nakamura never sees the end of his WWE contract.

 

[Smack Tripper]

If nakamura makes the main roster as nakamura, is he in the running for biggest Japanese star in History?

I understand inoki got his shots and spots through trades and payments.

Fujinami was a name but not really an American draw.

Tiger mask and jushin liger would be up there.

And muta was nearly a Main eventer in the waning days if JCP

Tajiri, taka and hakushi had midcard runs

But for a guy on the merits of charisma and work to come over and translate to something more than a special attraction. I'm intrigued. I think the guy is gonna get himself over like a son of a #####.

 

[Brady Marino]

Corbin has the most upside IMO of any guy in NXT. And don't think it's even close. He still has to improve in ring and mic quite a bit. Loads of upside, but he could wind up just as easily the next Mike Awesome / Chuck Palumbo.

Highest upside, huh?Wait til you see Shinsuke.

Oh, and Gable > Corbin

Meh. Being foreign will prevent him from being more than a mid card or sporadic main event guy. Language connection with the American crowd is already a huge big strike against him. See Del Rio/Sheamus/history. 5-star matches isn't going to get new viewers. People can see 5 star matches on TNA/ROH/Indies. He's going to be a watered down ~52 RAW weeks/yr in ring version of himself. Same with AJ Styles. At the end of day, no matter how hard you try to make it real....., it's a fake fight. Without an incredible gimmick, If one can't connect verbally with the audience, they will never ever be a big draw in the WWE.Agree Gable is better than Corbin in every way right now. And the much safer bet to make a big impact down the road. That he's a good talker and connects with the crowd masks his short stature. I'd take him 50x over Nakamura.Younger and will connect more with the American audience. For that matter, I'd also take the newly signed 37 year old Austin Aries over Nakamura. Aries can talk circles around 95% of the current WWE Roster AND can work. No offense to the likes of Regal and the other promo development trainers in NXT, Austin Aries doesn't need them to cut a great promo. He'd be lowering his level by listening to them.

Had Aries been with WWE back in 2010 (and not TNA) and given the same push, I have zero doubts he'd have been a regular main eventer.TNA decided to give a ####ed up Jeff Hardy the belt and de-pushed Aries. They may have stopped using him completely for awhile. And people wonder why they're the laughingstock of wrestling right now.

Good points, but the only thing hurting your argument against Nakamura is that he (from what I've read) speaks fluent English. He is much, much better at English than, say, Hideo Itami.

 

[modogg]

i was hoping Colby Corrino would have won the Top Prospects tournament.

ETA: i don't know what it is, but i love the story with Steve Corrino and BJ. maybe it is just i haven't seen it before, but it has been enjoyable

 

[JB Breakfast Club]

Nakamura plus green mist equals superstar, and I've never seen the guy wrestle. Green mist is the best gimmick that's been on the shelf for years...

 

[Brady Marino]

Lucha Underground already greenlit for 3rd season. It's also heading to iTunes soon.

http://prowrestlingsheet.com/lucha-underground-season-3-announced-to-wrestlers/

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

Great news. Hoping even if less financially beneficial to them than Itunes, that they find their way onto Netflix as well.

Can't believe they're already done taping Season 2.

 

[Brady Marino]

Great news. Hoping even if less financially beneficial to them than Itunes, that they find their way onto Netflix as well.

Can't believe they're already done taping Season 2.

Netflix/Amazon Prime is the next frontier for wrestling promotions, IMO.

There should be a race to get on one or the other.

 

[Bogart]

Nakamura makes perfect sense on NXT, and I don't see him moving up to the main roster anytime soon. With the WWE Network now available in Japan, what makes more sense than putting Nakamura on NXT every week.

The line to the main roster starts behind Balor, and then some combo of Zayn, Corbin, Enzo and Big Cass, Apollo Crews and a returning Hideo Itami.

That said, he could be on RAW the Monday after WM.

 

[Brady Marino]

Nakamura makes perfect sense on NXT, and I don't see him moving up to the main roster anytime soon. With the WWE Network now available in Japan, what makes more sense than putting Nakamura on NXT every week.

The line to the main roster starts behind Balor, and then some combo of Zayn, Corbin, Enzo and Big Cass, Apollo Crews and a returning Hideo Itami.

That said, he could be on RAW the Monday after WM.

Nakamura, at 35 years of age, didn't sign to spend a whole lot of time in NXT. He'll be there long enough to get acclimated to the WWE style of things and then he'll go up, a la Owens.

 

[Tom Servo]

i was hoping Colby Corrino would have won the Top Prospects tournament.

ETA: i don't know what it is, but i love the story with Steve Corrino and BJ. maybe it is just i haven't seen it before, but it has been enjoyable

Steve Corino is on suspension for attacking someone (I forget who) as a broadcaster and is currently under a mask as "Mr. Wrestling 3".

 

[Tom Servo]

Nakamura makes perfect sense on NXT, and I don't see him moving up to the main roster anytime soon. With the WWE Network now available in Japan, what makes more sense than putting Nakamura on NXT every week.

The line to the main roster starts behind Balor, and then some combo of Zayn, Corbin, Enzo and Big Cass, Apollo Crews and a returning Hideo Itami.

That said, he could be on RAW the Monday after WM.

Nakamura, at 35 years of age, didn't sign to spend a whole lot of time in NXT. He'll be there long enough to get acclimated to the WWE style of things and then he'll go up, a la Owens.

This. If you think he has to get in line behind a bunch of bingo hall warriors, you obviously haven't seen him wrestle.

 

[Bogart]

Nakamura makes perfect sense on NXT, and I don't see him moving up to the main roster anytime soon. With the WWE Network now available in Japan, what makes more sense than putting Nakamura on NXT every week.

The line to the main roster starts behind Balor, and then some combo of Zayn, Corbin, Enzo and Big Cass, Apollo Crews and a returning Hideo Itami.

That said, he could be on RAW the Monday after WM.

Nakamura, at 35 years of age, didn't sign to spend a whole lot of time in NXT. He'll be there long enough to get acclimated to the WWE style of things and then he'll go up, a la Owens.

This. If you think he has to get in line behind a bunch of bingo hall warriors, you obviously haven't seen him wrestle.

I'm not saying he doesn't deserve to be on the main roster and a quick push at his age, but when you look at Vince's track record, he very well might be cutting salami with a samurai sword by SummerSlam.

And if the money is the same, he might prefer the cushy schedule of NXT versus being on the road on the main roster.

 

[Brady Marino]

Nakamura makes perfect sense on NXT, and I don't see him moving up to the main roster anytime soon. With the WWE Network now available in Japan, what makes more sense than putting Nakamura on NXT every week.

The line to the main roster starts behind Balor, and then some combo of Zayn, Corbin, Enzo and Big Cass, Apollo Crews and a returning Hideo Itami.

That said, he could be on RAW the Monday after WM.

Nakamura, at 35 years of age, didn't sign to spend a whole lot of time in NXT. He'll be there long enough to get acclimated to the WWE style of things and then he'll go up, a la Owens.

This. If you think he has to get in line behind a bunch of bingo hall warriors, you obviously haven't seen him wrestle.

I'm not saying he doesn't deserve to be on the main roster and a quick push at his age, but when you look at Vince's track record, he very well might be cutting salami with a samurai sword by SummerSlam.

And if the money is the same, he might prefer the cushy schedule of NXT versus being on the road on the main roster.