SMACKDOWN LIVE SUPERTHREAD

Monokne · 13-03-2019 11:46pm

But you'll have the exact same problem because the point at which he'd normally hit the forearm is the point at which he'll shape himself perfectly to take the RKO.

SureYWouldntYa · 13-03-2019 11:52pm

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

What I hate the most is when a guy goes up to the top turnbuckle, who very rarely if ever does so, and it's so obvious they're just setting up for a mid-air RKO. I remember Jericho doing that once where he came off the turnbuckle with his hands outstretched. I remember thinking, "what am I as a fan supposed to have expected him to be trying there?" It just looked so phoney and fake. That's why I can accept and enjoy it with AJ because the forearm off the rope is such a recognisable part of his arsenal.

The good ones are good, like the Evan Bourne one and the Seth one

Ones like the Christian one at Summerslam into the steel steps are awful though, in that if he didn't get RKO'd he was gonna faceplant the steps

I get what ya mean about AJ getting caught, and AJ is also really good at taking a move out the air, I think I saw it on reddit a couple days ago where when he was doing the forearm into the spear with Reigns, and AJ moved through the air like he was gonna hit the forearm, rather than jumping into the spear like a lot would have and it's why when he does get caught at some stage it will be amazing

J. Marston · 14-03-2019 12:19am

AJ has that particular trick scouted...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcEtBrOVOnk

ERG89 · 14-03-2019 12:39am

Rowan pinning Mustafa Ali clean bothered me more watching it than it did when I read it.

CastorTroy · 14-03-2019 12:44am

An RKO like this?

https://twitter.com/IMPACTWRESTLING/status/1017588170546974721

Mr.Nice Guy · 14-03-2019 1:13am

Monokne wrote: »

But you'll have the exact same problem because the point at which he'd normally hit the forearm is the point at which he'll shape himself perfectly to take the RKO.

It should look seamless with AJ providing he adjusts slightly by keeping his left arm lower by his side than normal.

Officer999 · 19-03-2019 8:22pm

So Kofi is surely winning his gauntlet match tonight but the big question is how?

Clean win or distractions?

Cotts72 · 19-03-2019 9:46pm

CastorTroy wrote: »

An RKO like this?

https://twitter.com/IMPACTWRESTLING/status/1017588170546974721

Thats insane! On a sidenote Have ye seen, the rascals in action, they are very enjoyable to watch

PTH2009 · 20-03-2019 1:11am

decent promo by the miz there

PTH2009 · 20-03-2019 1:35am

what now for cena at mania ?

rey vs joe at mania and i wonder will joe get physical with dominic who is not so small nowadays

PTH2009 · 20-03-2019 2:25am

how will Kofi get through this now ???

Rowen actually ended up giving kofi the advantage by eliminating himself

TimesArrow · 20-03-2019 2:57am

I’m sick of this bollocks with Kofi now

PTH2009 · 20-03-2019 3:02am

enjoyed that match and how are they going to get him into the match now ??

battle royal for the mania number 1 contender and Kofi wins it ??

Vince could easily be seen as borderline racist :eek::eek:

seandotcomm · 20-03-2019 3:04am

They are really sucking the momentum out of almost every single storyline leading to mania with this sorta craic

Loughc · 20-03-2019 8:33am

seandotcomm wrote: »

They are really sucking the momentum out of almost every single storyline leading to mania with this sorta craic

Yep first Becky and now this. And they’re both similar storylines as it was.

They should have ended smackdown with Kofi winning and celebrating.

Loughc · 20-03-2019 9:00am

They also missed a trick by instead of having Daniel Bryan be the surprise entrant Vince should have booked Big E and Woods to fight Kofi in a handicap match and if Big E and Woods lose they’re fired.

It would really but some substance behind the gauntlet and keep Bryan and Kofi apart until Mania.

nannerby · 20-03-2019 11:22am

Poor enough smackdown the promos and matches were boring and the gauntlet match wasn't up to much either even Bryan coming out at the end was meh.

Necro · 20-03-2019 11:30am

Wrestlemania really is just becoming another bog standard WWE PPV tbh. They've totally and utterly ballsed up this year's show with their sh1te booking and nonsensical storylines.

From Batista and Triple H shouting at each other like two children fighting over a toy, to their utter mishandling of the Becky/Ronda/Charlotte story, to Kurt facing Baron fcuking Corbin, to this mess they've now created over Kofi.

It's all getting a bit much in honesty, makes me want to completely tune out. I'll struggle through to Mania I guess though.

SureYWouldntYa · 20-03-2019 11:54am

More odds to overcome for Kofi

Whats the point in winning without overcoming lots of pointless obstacles

SlickRic · 20-03-2019 11:55am

the issue with the KofiMania thing is timing. they have no idea how to time anything anymore.

Pro Wrestling 101 dictates that you want to give the crowd what they want at the peak of their interest, and at the apex of the emotion of the storyline. you want the biggest reaction possible.

but this fúcking company is obsessed with getting heat on heels. that's all they know how to do. they literally - and many of us have said this for the longest time now - have no clue how to book a babyface. if they happen to get a babyface over, it's by fúcking accident. just look at Bryan's WM30 run - 6 months too late, and it's only because he is so damn good, that they managed to get away with something where the payoff should've been months earlier.

look at the Summer of Punk. no clue what they're doing. instead of just going with it, they had to get heel heat on HHH, and the story was dead.

look at Roman Reigns when he was facing Brock at Wrestlemania for the first time, when Seth ultimately cashed in. in the run-up, even he was fúcking losing matches.

look at Bryan on his return to action after thinking he might never wrestle again. in the Wrestlemania match itself, they have him knocked out of the match near the start, because all WWE knows how to fúcking do is get more heat. and so, the match died. he then goes on to lose as much as he wins, and is only somewhat resurrected now.

they have no clue how to book a fúcking babyface, and they're now doing their damndest to fúck up KofiMania because they are obsessed with putting heat on Vince and Bryan. last night should've been the apex of the story. it should've been the moment Kofi finally get his shot, but instead, they choose to deflate the crowd once more. there's a fine line between coaxing the audience along and just píssing them off by never actually giving the audience feel good moments to feed off and build on. and WWE have no idea where that line is.

fúcking morons.

dusty bin · 20-03-2019 1:04pm

As somone mentioned earlier, I too am bored with the Kofi thing. I was hoping he would lose by the 3rd/4th match out of 5, just because it would be unexpected. Not that I dont like the chap, I do, he just doesnt scream 'wwe champion' to me. Would have rathered Big E get the push out of the new day.

The raw womens match is also floundering. I know Charlotte and Becky are smackdown stars, but if they're fighting for the raw belt, then move them over during the build up. Why waste 15 mins screen time building up the raw womens belt on a smackdown show when they could be promoting whoever is the smackdown womens champion.? I've seen more Brock since the rumble than I have Asuka.

J. Marston · 20-03-2019 2:06pm

I think we might all be a bit too cynical, or FICKLE!, on here.

Crowds are going crazy for Kofi and even though the women's feud has cooled a little and they are running out of stuff to do, Becky got big chants again last night. Ric says they don't know how to book faces but if Kofi and/or Becky win at Mania, the place will erupt. I think that's a good sign of them getting things right. The Authority stuff is extremely overused but when it works, it works well. Working for Kofi, it didn't for Becky.

CastorTroy · 20-03-2019 2:10pm

Does Asuka even have an opponent for Mania yet? Why is she being ignored?

And what you didn't see during the Kofi match was the hundreds of people watching from the left hand side of the tv.

J. Marston · 20-03-2019 2:15pm

CastorTroy wrote: »

Does Asuka even have an opponent for Mania yet? Why is she being ignored?

And what you didn't see during the Kofi match was the hundreds of people watching from the left hand side of the tv.

They announced a fatal four way for next week between Mandy/Sonya/Naomi/Carmella to determine her opponent. The story isn't even about Asuka, it'll probably continue the Mandy/Sonya break up.

SlickRic · 20-03-2019 2:17pm

J. Marston wrote: »

Becky got big chants again last night. Ric says they don't know how to book faces but if Kofi and/or Becky win at Mania, the place will erupt. I think that's a good sign of them getting things right. The Authority stuff is extremely overused but when it works, it works well. Working for Kofi, it didn't for Becky.

I'm willing to be swayed on Kofi as I still think the public are hot for him, and the booking has been super up until last night IMO. my commentary is more on the fact that I think they've missed a trick by deflating the public yet again, rather than guaranteeing him the shot, and then maybe having odds stacked against him in the lead up to the match. i just believe you're unnecessarily risking the crowd getting sick of it because of the company's obsession with heel heat.

on Becky, do you think the crowd still being into her on any level has anything to do with the booking? it's despite it IMO. the cripple gimmick and the loss to Charlotte at Fastlane aren't what any sane company would do with a top babyface and expect them to stay over.

CastorTroy · 20-03-2019 3:40pm

At least she got rid of the crutch.

PTH2009 · 20-03-2019 4:20pm

Wonder who will go too SD after mania ???

Really needs guys like Finn, Drew, Ricochet etc

Can see Styles going too Raw along with Bryan, Rey and Mustafa Ali

sky88 · 20-03-2019 4:41pm

Roman will be on smackdown for the fox beginning along with aj as the biggest stars

Orton goes to raw to feud with Rollins

Lord TSC · 20-03-2019 5:06pm

I don't mind the Kofi story, cause I can accept they are trying to tell a story, even if it's not amazing writing.

If they gave us the confirmation that Kofi vs Bryan was happening last week, we'd get three weeks of lazy, generic promos and cliched angles. My hope is that last night was because they have a greater story to tell.

In particular, I'd imagine the story will be the faces rally together next week to support Kofi's title shot. During the gauntlet, they made a big deal over the ever increasing size of the crowd backstage cheering Kofi on (I loved that Usos were there from the beginning though). I'd presume they'll run some sort of story next week where the faces group up and demand Vince gives Kofi the shot. Maybe even have Vince book some sort of match to find a challanger for Bryan, and the faces band together to make sure Kofi gets the shot he deserves. I think there's likely to be some sort of resolution to where Kofi finally snaps at Vince, kicks his head off and that, in the process, he earns Vince's respect too.

While it's rough, I feel they want Kofi earning the shot to be the story. Not a story that Kofi has the shot, and now we've got a generic "Challange pins champ" story. Now, it's the usual issue they are overbooking the story, sure. But it is an attempt to actually tell a different story, which I will happily see them do.

Monokne · 20-03-2019 6:03pm

Felt like a week too far for me. Story has peaked and we're past that point now. Everyone knows where we're going, let's just get there.

SureYWouldntYa · 20-03-2019 6:40pm

Monokne wrote: »

Felt like a week too far for me. Story has peaked and we're past that point now. Everyone knows where we're going, let's just get there.

Thats what im not liking, its too close to Wrestlemania for DB to be doing anything

His latest challenger KO is hosting a ‘chat show’ as a vehicle for 2 of the women in the main event to get it on

There’s telling a story, there’s no faith in most of us for WWE to tell a good story, and there’s always odds to overcome

Lord TSC · 24-03-2019 11:11pm

Angle vs Styles announced for Smackdown this week.

SureYWouldntYa · 24-03-2019 11:14pm

I'd prefer to see even zombie Angle face up to the likes of KO or Cesaro, or any of the guys he's had little to no runs with as far as I know

We seen plenty of Angle vs Styles in TNA while both were in their prime, so it's a waste to see this really

J. Marston · 24-03-2019 11:25pm

It's just sad seeing Angle in his current condition trying to hang with the younger guys.

He went for the multiple German suplexes on Gable on Raw and after the first, it took him a good 10-15 seconds to go for the second. Either he was selling like a God or he was absolutely shattered.

Monokne · 25-03-2019 9:28pm

SureYWouldntYa wrote: »

I'd prefer to see even zombie Angle face up to the likes of KO or Cesaro, or any of the guys he's had little to no runs with as far as I know

We seen plenty of Angle vs Styles in TNA while both were in their prime, so it's a waste to see this really

Suspect the match will serve more as a backdrop for an angle with Styles and Orton.

Necro · 25-03-2019 9:29pm

Monokne wrote:

Suspect the match will serve more as a backdrop for an angle with Styles and Orton.

I see what you did there

martyos121 · 25-03-2019 9:41pm

I see that Mustafa Ali is the latest to fall victim to having his first name scrapped. Goes by just Ali now, so utterly stupid tbh. Surely that goes down as the shortest name in wrestling history?

ThePott · 25-03-2019 9:55pm

Ugh.. of all WWE's annoying habits this one annoys me more than it should.
Ali, Andrade, Otis & Tucker... just some of the more recent ones. They don't have to use their whole name all the time but getting rid of a name altogether is dumb.

Totally unnecessary.

CastorTroy · 25-03-2019 10:55pm

His page updated already.
https://www.wwe.com/superstars/ali

Wasn't there some reason given before where it's to make it easier for fans to chant the name? Because fans are a bit too thick to not chant the whole name every time, apparently.

Will Aliyah have to change her name now so as not to cause confusion?

Pentecost · 25-03-2019 11:01pm

CastorTroy wrote: »

His page updated already.
https://www.wwe.com/superstars/ali

Wasn't there some reason given before where it's to make it easier for fans to chant the name? Because fans are a bit too thick to not chant the whole name every time, apparently.

Will Aliyah have to change her name now so as not to cause confusion?

She won’t make it to the main roster anyway so there’s not going to be any confusion.

J. Marston · 25-03-2019 11:18pm

CastorTroy wrote: »

His page updated already.
https://www.wwe.com/superstars/ali

Wasn't there some reason given before where it's to make it easier for fans to chant the name? Because fans are a bit too thick to not chant the whole name every time, apparently.

Will Aliyah have to change her name now so as not to cause confusion?

I mean, the US fans might be. Their chants are very uninspired compared to the catchy stuff that the UK fans come up with.

CastorTroy · 25-03-2019 11:33pm

Pentecost wrote: »

She won’t make it to the main roster anyway so there’s not going to be any confusion.

Was thinking that when typing it, but then remembered we got Dana Brooke.
Come to think of it, apart from Charlotte's brief dropping of Flair, have any of the women had their name shortened?

Pentecost · 25-03-2019 11:56pm

CastorTroy wrote: »

Was thinking that when typing it, but then remembered we got Dana Brooke.
Come to think of it, apart from Charlotte's brief dropping of Flair, have any of the women had their name shortened?

Hmm. Tamina Snuka -> Tamina maybe? I can’t actually remember what she’s called now.

CastorTroy · 26-03-2019 12:06am

You're right. I guess Natalya as well. Maybe I should have asked Have any of the women that people actually care about had their name shortened?

Monokne · 26-03-2019 10:02am

ThePott wrote: »

Ugh.. of all WWE's annoying habits this one annoys me more than it should.
Ali, Andrade, Otis & Tucker... just some of the more recent ones. They don't have to use their whole name all the time but getting rid of a name altogether is dumb.

Totally unnecessary.

This swings both ways though.

What's so necessary about "Mustafa" though? Vince clearly likes shorter, snappier names. Does anyone really feel in hindsight that the missing Langston, Antonio, Erick or Alexander have held back Big E, Cesaro, Rowan or Rusev? Of course not.

I have no dog in the hunt either way but I do think the shorter names look better on merch. You'll sell more RUSEV DAY shirts than ALEXANDER RUSEV DAY ones.

With most of them, I'm indifferent as to whether they've one or two names, but with Ali I actually think it's a marginal improvement.

2ndcoming · 26-03-2019 12:48pm

Missed opportunity to call him Chemical Ali and give him an Al-Qaeda gimmick.

ThePott · 26-03-2019 7:18pm

Monokne wrote: »

This swings both ways though.

What's so necessary about "Mustafa" though? Vince clearly likes shorter, snappier names. Does anyone really feel in hindsight that the missing Langston, Antonio, Erick or Alexander have held back Big E, Cesaro, Rowan or Rusev? Of course not.

I have no dog in the hunt either way but I do think the shorter names look better on merch. You'll sell more RUSEV DAY shirts than ALEXANDER RUSEV DAY ones.

With most of them, I'm indifferent as to whether they've one or two names, but with Ali I actually think it's a marginal improvement.

I didn't say it held them back but for me it bugs me and is unnecessary.

For one I think having everyone with just one name kills any sense of realism. Fighters have real names in combat sports, you don't have to refer to them by the whole name each time. Look at commentary for any other sport, they refer to them by one name a lot of the time, you don't need to essentially retcon their name.

For merch the names are unique enough and most stars have their own unique visual or text style, I'm not being as dogmatic as saying you need a full name on merch. It's not like any jersey has full names on it, so it's not much of a reason tbh. Mustafa Ali is a full name that suits the character. Wrestlers put thought into their name quite a bit.

Mustafa is one of the names for Muhammad and means chosen one, it shows his strong Muslim heritage and faith. It has significance and sure Ali by itself has meaning but it's also entirely generic. Andrade Cien Almas, works fantastically. Hell, speaking of merchandising he had a perfectly suitable logo which is now irrelevant as he only has one name. It was alliterative, it showed his Mexican heritage, it showed his cockiness 'he's a 100' and almost juxtaposes his previous persona of La Sombra (the Shadow) with the Soul (Alma). What I'm saying is it tells you all you need to know about a character right off the bat.

Maybe I'm reaching and sure there probably isn't meaning to all the names out there and I'm not saying I don't see reasons for it but it's mostly pointless and I don't think there's any real persuasive argument I've seen that makes it necessary to give characters just one name.

Sure there's cases where it works but are we gonna act like Big E Langston would be less funny in the New Day if he had a full name (They'd just refer to him as Big E anyway much in the way they do Kofi) or that Cesaro would be less impressive if his name was Antonio Cesaro, they can still call him Cesaro. They don't call out everyone's full name most of the time anyway. So I fail to see the point.

Monokne · 26-03-2019 8:07pm

ThePott wrote: »

Sure there's cases where it works but are we gonna act like Big E Langston would be less funny in the New Day if he had a full name (They'd just refer to him as Big E anyway much in the way they do Kofi) or that Cesaro would be less impressive if his name was Antonio Cesaro, they can still call him Cesaro. They don't call out everyone's full name most of the time anyway. So I fail to see the point.

That's the point.

It doesn't matter if they cut them to one name. And it doesn't matter if they keep two. It just plain doesn't matter.

ThePott · 26-03-2019 8:23pm

Yeah but the point is if it doesn't matter why do it at all. I mentioned the reasons why it is bad above already. Personal preference I guess but I don't think I'm the only one who dislikes it.

J. Marston · 26-03-2019 11:07pm

Apparently another promo between Becky and Charlotte tonight. Those two have talked each other to death.

SMACKDOWN LIVE SUPERTHREAD

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