Wouldn't be surprised to see her drop the belt to Deonna tomorrow in that case. If she does, it'll just be like any other nostalgia Rumble return.
If she doesn't, I'm baffled WWE is acknowledging a company outside of their own. Absolutely wouldn't call that a "forbidden door" scenario but would still be neat.
Yeah I do expect her to lose tonight, but maybe they'll do something to surprise everyone. The last I had read was Deonna is set to do Title vs TItle against ROH Womens champ Rok-C on a future episode of Impact. Mickie is technically not under any sort of full-time contract with Impact Wrestling anyway.
I hope they have a couple more uncontracted names show up in the Rumble match just for the hell of it, kinda like how in the 90s there would be random dudes from Japan or Mexico appearing in the Rumble. You know they had no shot at all in winning and probably 99% of the viewers had no idea who any of them were (myself included). Not sure how likely that is to happen during a pandemic though.
Fan cam of the Bret Hart vs Ric Flair ironman match at a house show in 1993. I wish a better quality version of this was on WWE Network. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZoxGc1CIqc
Yeah a defining moment for both those guys, setting HBK off on his career, and Marty..well, we know. It's fun/wild looking back at things I grew up just after, or during, and watched. Sometimes I forget and I'm like 'holy crap'. I remember being a kid and thinking the Nation of Domination was REALLY hurting Ahmed Johnson, I ran to my mom in shock and disbelief that they were attacking him. When he turned and went NoD, my heart sank. I felt like that famous gif that has the angry girl from the WWE crowd some years back. As an adult, looking back and watching matches I'm like "wtf did I like Ahmed Johnson so much for?"
> As an adult, looking back and watching matches I'm like "wtf did I like Ahmed Johnson so much for?"
I think we all have those moments. One I can think of for me is Test. Haven't worn it in years, but I still have my "I Love My Testicles" t-shirt from like 20 years ago.
More trouble for Tammy Sytch -- aka WWE Hall of Famer, Sunny -- who was arrested this morning in New Jersey for allegedly unlawfully possessing a weapon and making terroristic threats, TMZ Sports has learned. https://www.tmz.com/2022/01/13/wwe-legend-tammy-sy...
So you thing Adam cole and his compatriots would be a good feud against the elite of young bucks and omega when omega comes back and would aew think about doing this
I do believe wardlow will be breaking up with mjf. The fact the storyline has tension being seen in the episode of dynamite this past week
Missed final segment of dynamite thought as a whole it was pretty good
Didn’t like the Serena deebe segment but perhaps it’s possible the opponent might be stepping away for awhile from. Aew I forgot wrestler’s name though
I've been watching old episodes of SmackDown from early 2002, starting right around when the nWo came in. I forgot what state they were in (maybe Virginia) and Ric Flair got a big pop when he came out, then the camera pans the crowd to show all the "Wooo" signs, and then this guy (on the bottom) got a chuckle out of me.
LOL WWE JUST HAD WALTER CHANGE HIS NAME TO "GUNTHER". This coming after WWE trademarked the name "Gunther Stark" a while back, only to be met with backlash because Gunther Stark is a famed NAZI COMMANDER. So classic WWE logic - drop the "Stark" (that I'm sure they trademarked with absolutely NO prior knowledge of the historical figure lol) and give the name to WALTER, Austrian powerhouse with a built-in superiority gimmick. Not at all obvious or anything. Totally not ANOTHER nationalistic heel, this time named after a literal, real-life Nazi.
Words cannot explain how fudging lame or how fudging tone deaf this is. Or on top of that, just how fudging GOOFY it is to have a dude with a NAME, you know, like ALL of us have, just suddenly announce "oh no actually I'm Gunther" ON THE MIC like it was some big revelation.
Some apologists are already claiming "he probably just didn't want to 'sign over his name' to WWE so chose that name." Which isn't accurate off the bat because if I recall, the reports stated that WWE trademarked the name before WALTER made his decision to become a regular on NXT. But also, just on a surface level, WWE could choose NOT to threaten to own someone's character and likeness as a literal prerequisite for signing with them. The folks who sign to WWE, keep their ring name, and make it out on the other side are fudging LUCKY ducks. There's no excuse for WWE's treatment of "intellectual property", especially when they're willing to go to literal court in attempts to keep rights to people's REAL birth names (Cody Rhodes, Chelsea Green, etc).
Anyhow, sorry for the rant, but WALTER is his name and WALTER will remain his name. Fudging GOOFY crap.
To me it just looks extra dumb because he has already appeared on TV as Walter. It isn't like that hasn't happened before (Chavo Guerrero becoming Kerwin White for example, or Michael McGillicutty becoming Curtis Axel), but I dunno, wrestling fans just need something to complain about.
edit: I guess I could word that last sentence better, because it damn sure isn't limited to wrestling fans. I've never watched The Walking Dead or Game of Thrones, but those fan bases were f'n loud when the writers go in a direction the fans didn't want.
Or it's entirely justified to "complain" about a stupid decision considering WWE has made several recently that completely threw great talents off their rails.
Chavo and Axel were literal character/gimmick changes. They came after a period of downtime, or as a heel turn. Walter literally grabbed the mic and said "the winner is GUNTHER!" as if it was supposed to mean anything.
It's okay to acknowledge fudging terrible booking when it happens, WWE isn't going to disappear if one does.
Yes, it is okay to acknowledge it. I'm just saying this was only a name change. Nobody has seen anything further or given it a chance to play out before the whining begins. Name changes happen across the entire industry for decades, it isn't new.
When I talk to my Japanese friends about pro wrestling (not just NJPW but some of them follow Western companies too) they have very little to complain about because they don't take it so serious, they know it's just entertainment. If a match wasn't good, they will say so and that's the closest they will get to complaining. When I told them about Walter's name change one of them jokingly compared it to when a video game gets its name changed when ported to a different region.
edit: I guess what I am trying to say is if Walter's NXT run is a flop, it's because of how he was booked, nothing to do with what name they gave him. Dolph Ziggler is one of the stupidest names anyone could have been given, but he made it work for him.
Again, 1) there are literal Nationalistic implications behind the name change, which is worth criticism regardless of how your Japanese friends feel, and 2) just the way it was pulled off was terrible and out of nowhere. There's no justifying a random name change after a match when it's literally just switching from one first name to another. Without the blatant Nazi undertones, it's STILL goofy as crap.
But I mean yah, they did it for no other reason than to give an Austrian strongman a Nazi's name.
I do love the "just let it play out" argument that I constantly see on the internet though - as if something can't just be bad from inception so we need to give historically incompetent WWE writers a little more time to prove why it's so bad before we're allowed to criticize it.
Silliness. It's bad. It's not "whining" to say so.
And I mean, not to beat a dead horse here, but how could it EVEN "play out" in any real way to make a random first-name change be more than what it blatantly is on a surface level? It's them changing a name from one... to the other. What story line is going to justify that in any credible, logical way to make it "better"?
"My name is Gunther now, like my dad's before me. He was from SPACE!" I dunno, it's just a real stupid, boneheaded move for a guy who's already well-established both in and outside of the WWE bubble.
And yes, I'm aware it's all for entertainment. It's not a REAL issue, which is why I'm dogging on it in wrestling thread and not protesting in the streets about it. But on a relative scale, it's worth criticizing.
Lol also pretending people’s “intelligence” is insulted for pointing out how dumb a decision it is. No one’s doubting Walter will be fine, but it’s objectively fudging stupid. No real way around that, sorry.
Helms is still the man though, he’s a good follow on Twitter. Gotta remember that he’s paid by WWE tho, and with all the releases, I’d tow the party line too.
I'm not disagreeing that it was a stupid decision, very few would. But way too many idiots on Twitter and elsewhere are legit mad about this and seem convinced the dude's career is ruined because of it. It's not. Walter is the type of dude where I don't care what they call him, his in-ring work can speak for itself.
One of the things I've tried doing is limit who I follow on Twitter that has a clear bias towards one promotion over another (with an exception of I follow an account that mocks AEW fanboys and to balance it out I follow an account that does the same for WWE fanboys, just to have some humor in my feed but I know not to take their opinions serious on anything).
Watch AEW last night pretty good in most aspects loved the Cassidy and Cole match the best didn’t catch last match ending with sting and Allen wrestling though
Pre show for The WRLD on GCW (pretty much GCW's first "WrestleMania") starts in a few minutes. Here's the full card. Omly $24 on Fite.tv... definitely gonna be worth it for anyone who's bored tonight.
Here's the card:
PRE-SHOW
Pabst Blue Ribbon 6 Way Scramble Match Alex Zayne vs. Dante Leon vs. Nick Wayne vs. Ninja Mack vs. Jack Cartwheel vs. Grim Reefer.
Pabst Blue Ribbon Kickoff Battle Royal Entrants: TBD
THE WRLD ON GCW MAIN SHOW
GCW World Championship Match Jon Moxley (c) vs. Homicide.
ROH Original World Championship Match Jonathan Gresham (c) vs. Blake Christian.
Open Challenge Match For The GCW World Tag Team Championships The Briscoes (Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe) (c) vs. Opponents TBD.
Grab The Brass Ring Ladder Match Winner Can Challenge For Any Title At Any Time Alex Colon vs. Tony Deppen vs. Lio Rush vs. Jimmy Lloyd vs. Jordan Oliver vs. PCO.
Singles Match Matt Cardona (w/Chelsea Green) vs. Joey Janela.
Singles Match Jeff Jarrett vs. Effy.
Singles Match Allie Katch vs. Ruby Soho.
6 Man Tag Team Match Bandido, Laredo Kid & ASF vs. Gringo Loco, Demonic Flamita & Arez.
PLUS: Appearances from Pollo del Mar, ‘Hoodfoot’ Mo Atlas, Cole Radrick, G-Raver, “Spyder” Nate Webb, Juicy Finau, Shane Mercer, Ruckus, Steve Scott, Psycho Clown, Dustin Thomas, B-Boy and more.
I decided to watch Royal Rumble 2002 just for the heck of it. I will never not pop when hearing Mr. Perfect's theme hit, and the fact he made it to the final 4 that year. Overall one of my favorite Rumbles of all time along with Rumble 2001 (probably nothing will top '92, but that's mostly just nostalgia talking).
Dunno if any of you keep up with NXT UK but next week will be Blair Davenport vs Meiko Satamuro for the NXT UK Womens title in a Japanese street fight. I'm looking forward to that.
2002 is one of the best Rumbles of all time, as is 1992. And honestly, 2020 ranks among the best too, with the early Lesnar domination, his elimination, Edge's return and McIntyre's win.
On WWE Network couldn't you just choose to watch individual matches when you searched for a show? I would gladly watch all of the past Rumble matches if I didn't have to fast forward through the rest of each show leading up to them on Peacock.
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