₦airaland Forum

pu7pl3:
wtf

This one is Kayfabe promax😂😂😂

In a thrilling Hell in a Cell match, Satan was able lock the Hell's Gate on Odumeje. However, Odumeje fight back to his feet and hit Satan with Crucifix Powerbomb for the three count.

Another one for the Tribal Chief to collect

ValeeLove:
chill, you don't know whether I'm going to say any positives or not (besides all over this thread is filled with positive remarks that I don't know why you'd want to hear it from me again), but if I say the positives will you listen to the negatives too?

Your criticism hold less value when all you post is in one direction, positive or negative. Most people posting on the wrestling thread are wrestling fans who actually enjoy the craft. So, we talk what we like and don't like about the shows. You only talk about what you don't like—it's predictable. It would actually be interesting if you were to talk about what you do like for a change.

ValeeLove:
so you'll accept if I only said positives and not negatives?

You've never said anything positive.

ValeeLove:
when I talk about that you'll know, for now it's the errors and flaws I'm ironing.

So it's all negativity, then

Common Desantis W

badinfluence:
You should stop indulging him. Honestly his trolling is making the thread become really annoying.
I'd have understood if he raised genuine concerns, but he's just trolling.

Tbh you're probably right.

ValeeLove:
you're missing the point. The fact that it's entertainment doesn't mean it should be stupid.

All you ever do here is shxt on wrestling. Is there anything you actually like about it?

ValeeLove:
pro-wrestling isn't fake. It's just sport and entertainment.

Yeah, and Santa is real and Tupac is secretly alive.

ValeeLove:
it's really simple. If it doesn't happen in real sports or have any logical backing to it, then yes it makes wrestling look phony. This is the least of the things I don't like in pro-wrestling. Wait till I talk about how 'hardcore' wrestling doesn't belong in pro-wrestling.

Pro wrestling is fake and has always been fake. Watch amateur wrestling or MMA if you want real combat.

ValeeLove:
aren't they banned in sports? Second, they enhance strength, size and looks, in a way that can actually influence a combat. I don't see how makeup can compare. Accept this truth and watch what you like. We can only hope these guys fix the problems in pro-wrestling.

What about oiling? They oil themselves to make their their muscles stand out. Dies this also expose the business and make it look funny?

ValeeLove:
how is steroids related to this topic. Isn't it banned in sports and wrestling?

You're the one talking about wrestlers' aesthetic choices

CR7 coming to acknowledge RR1000

ValeeLove:
while the match is going on? Do you have pictoral proof?

Are you going to ask why male wrestlers take steroids to look as jacked as possible? Or why they oil themselves?

I have no problem with people coming with legitimate criticism about the current state of women's wrestling but this just isn't it.

ValeeLove:
oh really? So what about sports where the criteria isn't visible damage, like women's football for instance?


I already answered that question. A face paint for personal reasons isn't same as a makeup for beautification. If guys like Sting may need a face paint for fun or for whatever personal reasons, it's their choice, cos they know the paint will wear out anyway. But you see women being instructed to wear makeup for beautification makes absolutely no sense. It doesn't add anything to them in anyway. And you know it.

First of all, you assume that WWE compels only its female wrestlers to wear make-up as if make-up is not something that we all know that a lot of women like to use. Second, you assume that only the female wrestlers use make-up, when it is a thing that every TV personality uses regardless of gender.

Third, your assumption that female footballers don't use makeup is wrong. I did some basic research and that just isn't true:

ValeeLove:
depending on the work. Woman don't wear makeup to go for a hectic engineering work, not to talk of for a fight combat. Don't you see how UFC women look in their matches? No makeup and a short and packed hair; now that's everything different for someone like a Bianca Belair. Those things are excesses and the spoil the show and make wrestling look phony. And I'm sure these women are being told to look so and not of their own will.

You can't wear face paint or makeup in the UFC because visible damage is one of the criteria used to award points. Pro wrestling doesn't work that way.

It still brings me back to the Jeff Hardy point, though. Do Jeff Hardy, Ultimate Warrior, and Sting also make wrestling look phony to you? It's even funnier that you'd use Bianca Belair as your scapegoat when she's twice as strong and athletic as 90% of the women's roster.

Kaycee7:
Stardust looking at the bolded

Hot take incoming: I liked Stardust.

ValeeLove:
there's difference between face paint and makeup. The first guys wear it out of their own choices for personal reasons, while the other is worn due to an instruction from above and for beautification purposes. Also the first guys don't NEED it while the second do (at least in their mind).
Things like these are why women's wrestling still looks phony. And I respect ladies that don't wear it.

Women wear make-up. Even to work. Deal with it.

ValeeLove:
CoolUsername, please explain to me why women wear heavy makeup to wrestle?

To look like superstars on TV.

Are you also going to ask why Sting, Jeff Hardy, and Goldust take the time to paint their faces or do you only have trouble understanding why women do it?

ValeeLove:
So in WWE the RAW women's champion is on Smackdown, while the Smackdown women's champion is on RAW. Totally not strange guys.

"Oh no! This makes both shows unwatchable!"

They had me in the first half ngl.

Source: Drifting Dragons.

pu7pl3:
WWE SMACKDOWN REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS

One question I had headed into this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown was in regards to how it would feel to go back to Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn squaring up with Roman Reigns, even if this time it’s over the tag team titles and also includes Solo Sikoa. Would there be the same heat as before?
The short answer is “no” but that’s only natural. Despite being champions, Owens and Zayn have been moved into a bit of a secondary role here, helping push along the story of The Usos falling out of favor with their Tribal Chief.
They came together right at the start of this week’s show, and Reigns claimed his sole regret in his career is wasting any of his life on Zayn. Sami responded by saying his sole regret is not blasting Roman with that chair even sooner.
But what really hit was when Sami said that Reigns won’t get what he wants, finally, because “you’re not as good as us” and then really hit him hard with “you’re not as good as The Usos either.”
That one hit hard.
Naturally, Reigns tried to respond and couldn’t because Jimmy & Jey hit the ring to put the boots to Sami & Kevin, thinking they were helping. They were, of course, but not in the way Roman wanted, because it wasn’t the plan he had laid out. As he stormed off, he bumped into Solo and there was a brief moment of tension.
Or at least the tease of as much. It didn’t last long but there was definitely some electricity there.
Cut to backstage, and Reigns berated the The Usos for not following his rule. It’s worth noting how much of an emotional mess he was here, both because he couldn’t keep his family in line and because he’s still very much upset about how the entire ordeal with Zayn went down.
It adds an extra layer to the match at Night of Champions.
Of course I’m buying in again.
Later in the evening, The Usos took on the LWO in the main event. Paul Heyman brought word that while Reigns had decided to forgive the duo, he wouldn’t be out there for support.
The match itself was fantastic — I’m convinced The Usos are incapable of having a bad match at this point in their careers — and saw the LWO win when Santos Escobar pinned Jimmy after Owens and Zayn made their presence felt simply by showing up ringside. The distraction was enough.
Roman’s reaction? Disgust.
The rift grows wider.


We got our first look at Grayson Waller on the main roster in the form of his hosting an episode of his show-within-the-show, “The Grayson Waller Effect.” AJ Styles was his special guest.
And they took no chances with the segment:
Waller played it straight at first, and Styles talked about beating Seth Rollins to win the new world heavyweight championship at Night of Champions. It was all standard fare.
To close it out, because he spent almost zero time being antagonistic before this, Waller said he couldn’t wait to hear the announcement of the new world heavyweight champion being Rollins. Styles responded by staring him down, and that’s how they faded out of the segment.
It was an underwhelming debut appearance for Waller, who didn’t show much of what made him so compelling in NXT. It was just one show, of course, but you only get one chance to make a first impression.
If anything, this makes me wonder if surprise call ups are the better play than drafting folks and struggling to find a way to naturally fit them into ongoing storylines.
Again, though, it’s still plenty early and he’s a talented wrestler who will surely be just fine.


LET ME TALK TO YA!
YEAH!
I’m happy to report that yet another city responded to LA Knight like the absolute mega star he is, wildly cheering for his entrance and going right along with all his catchphrases. If this man doesn’t win the Money in the Bank ladder match, I’m going to start getting concerned with Triple H’s eyes and ears.
Meanwhile, his partner, Rick BOOGS, was pinned by Montez Ford to lose their match against The Street Profits. Knight responded by picking him up and hitting him with the BFT.
What this means above all else is WWE was never planning to stick him in a lame tag team for any extended period of time. Here’s to hoping they do more to capitalize on his growing popularity before it gets away from them.


All the rest
-Pretty Deadly made their debut on the main roster with a pre-tape introducing them followed by the elaborate slo-mo entrance and a match against The Brawling Brutes, Ridge Holland & BUTCH. The crowd wasn’t reacting much to Wilson & Prince but it was their first showing on the blue brand. The match was well worked, and they scored the victory with “some shenanigans,” as Michael Cole referred to it.

-Asuka, who is challenging Bianca Belair for the Raw women’s championship at Night of Champions, defeated Zelina Vega in a singles match. What was strange was the way they called attention to the hugely touching response to Vega at Backlash in Puerto Rico and even mentioned how she needs to capitalize on the momentum of that evening, even if she came up short. I’m not sure how having her lose to the next top contender to the title does that. They actually had a fun match and Zelina showed flashes of what she could be as a babyface underdog. The crowd was hugely into her, and it looks clear to this writer she deserves a bigger push. Meanwhile, Belair hit the scene to run Asuka off and got mist spit in her face again. I’m having trouble being terribly excited about them running this back, especially seeing how good Vega was.

-Cameron Grimes wants to go to the moon. Just a quick reminder.

-Karrion Kross showed the latest tarot card for the guy he will be coming for next — AJ Styles. Tick tock.

-Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn won a squash match for their debut match on the blue brand. They brought the NXT tag team titles along with them, and were announced that way too. It adds to the confusion around multiple titles in WWE right now more than anything. But, hey, they’re here!

-They revealed Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez have been forced to relinquish the women’s tag team titles due to Morgan’s injury and then booked a Fatal 4-Way for Raw in two weeks. That match, by the way, will not include Fyre & Dawn. I’m not sure what that says about the NXT women’s tag team titles but there you go.

-Austin Theory cut a promo on Sheamus saying he expected better when he first showed up on the blue brand after the Draft. He ran Sheamus down a bit before The Celtic Warrior workout guru hit the scene to lay him out and drop the mic without a word. This was all the setup needed for a United States championship match next week.

This was an okay show.

Grade: C+

Elton Prince ended the match with a bloody nose but at least it wasn't Ridge Holland's fault this time.

Kaycee7:
Ooof! That's dark

At least Dom-Dom has a mami now

Netflix absolutely destroyed Stone Ocean. While, the anime itself is good with high production value, like a standard JoJo entry, Netflix decided to take a steaming liquid dump on The studio's work. They absolutely killed it's impact with the dumbest release schedule known to man.

Fūck Netflix.

Kaycee7:
Won a custody match just to leave the kid fatherless.

To be fair, Eddy would've done the same if he'd won it. 😔

Kaycee7:
How is Rey still delivering amazing performances at his age? Truly a generational talent.

Easy to look young when you're a deadbeat dad.

ValeeLove:
fine. I was kidding. Even though we don't know whether its a big or a small role, Rollins still deserves his flowers. But if you still look at it, WWE didn't make him per say. Tyler Black was already made before E picked him. They just gave him a spot light and a place to grow. And what has he done since 2019? Jumping from one gimmick to another like a midcarder. It's really dissapointing.

Bro was on ROH doing less viewers than NXT 2.0. He came to WWE where he has continued to step up his game.

After his 2019 championship run he improved on his character work to the point that he's somehow more over than he was as world champ. He had never really been the most convincing face before now. Come Night of Champions, I am certain that he will be crowned world champion once again

Oasis777:
what is the name of this anime

Tengoku Daimakyou or Heavenly Delusion

ValeeLove:
whether na 'waka pass' we no even know.
Meanwhile una world champ Romanus is reported as going to be working even lesser dates to pursue Hollywood ambitions. He'll probably show up next year and automatically be a 1000 and whatever days champion.

This isn't even legit criticism you're just a hater at this point.

ValeeLove:
big deal. They used to hit 6 million back.in the day. Meanwhile, do you know how much FOX lost because of Smackdown in 2022 and 2021? Even me I couldn't believe. You won't see that in the news, for some reason.

TV ratings have been going down across the board because of streaming. That's a disingenuous argument.

pu7pl3:
WWE NXT REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS

Take It Back
The Nairalanders who also love Wu Tang Clan might recognize that song choice. For those who don’t—and how dare you not love the Wu—it’s a track from 8 Diagrams. Not the group’s finest hour by a long shot and that song summed up why. Wu promised to “take it back” to their heyday with the song and the album, but lacked a clear direction or reason for existing. Previous Wu projects had that modus operandi, and never presented the group as old men telling kids to get off their lawns
I think about that song in relation to the main event angle and Carmelo Hayes’ recent words about taking NXT back to the Black and Gold days. And he very well might because we know he gets busy between those ropes. Bron Breakker as well.
But like that song and 8 Diagrams, their angle lacks focus.
Melo and Trick called Bron out early. Bron no showed and they got Drew Gulak & Charlie Dempsey instead. Drew & Charlie challenged Trick Melo gang to a match since their scheduled match suffered complications, to which Trick & Melo obviously obliged.
I’m all for more Trick in the ring after last week and he did well again. But it’s also not why I’m here; give me more Bron & Melo.
NXT probably knew that which is why the tag match wrapped pretty quickly with Melo getting the W for his team and immediately turned their attention back towards the Big Bad Booty Nephew.
That’s when things got weird.
Bron showed up on the big screen in Melo’s barbershop. I guess that was threatening? Melo looked angry but...that’s it? He went to the shop, got a cut, and then immediately sat up. There’s no danger there and Bron didn’t even disrespect the place. Yeah the extras patrons looked nervous but he didn’t threaten anyone.
Which brings us to the very end of the show when Bron finally showed after Trick & Melo showed up again and held the show hostage.
Bron came with security in tow, got on the mic, and sounded mad awkward. I said last week that less is more with Bron when it comes to talking. In fact, less talking and more action works for him. This is another exhibit why. Bron switched his motivation back to not wanting the championship.
He seemingly forgot spearing Melo out the air last week even after mentioning it earlier in the show. Then, for some reason, he trash talked Boston sports teams. That makes sense if you’re in Boston, or Melo established on television how much he loved those teams, or both. But trash talking Boston sports teams in Florida won’t get the heel reaction Bron wanted.
And he knew as much because he paused and looked around the arena as soon as the words left his lips.
Chaos eventually broke out like we all wanted. The champion and his challenger who doesn’t care about the championship finally got their hands on each other. They battled to a draw as the credit rolled with both men on the mat and the championship lying between them.
And I felt none of it. This build just isn’t working and I don’t know who to blame. I hoped with Bron firmly as a heel that they might tell an interesting story here but it’s the exact opposite and, unfortunately, boring.
Their angle crystalized most of this week’s show: a lot happening, none of it truly compelling, and not really worth anyone’s time.


B-Sides
I Dare You
Cora Jade practically dared Fallon Henley, or any woman, to test her in this tournament. That’s the way she worked her match too: As the top flight heel who believes she’s above the competition.
Cora capitalized on Fallon’s knee injury, as a good heel should, and went to the pay window. She also advanced to the semi-finals but yeah, pay window.
They got less than 10 minutes to work but they made it physical, which made the hate between the two palpable.

Da Mystery of Chessboxin’
The Brothers Creed and the Dyad rocked the world this week. Incredible match from top to bottom. NXT normally delivers on its tag matches and this lived up to that hype.
And to top it off, it seems like the Diamond Mine as a whole exorcised their Schism demons. At least for the moment.
Ava tried getting the drop on Ivy Nile but Ivy reversed her sneak attack hold into Ivy’s patented submission. Brutus hit a Brutus Bomb on the outside while Julius finished it off in the ring. That’s an emphatic win. And with all that momentum, they officially challenged Gallus to a tag team championship match at Battleground.
They played Chess while Schism, unsurprisingly, played checkers.

Code of the Street
The Supernova Sessions didn’t do much for me. It was Noam Dar interviewing Dragon Lee, with Noam being his normal obnoxious self. Which is perfectly fine and in character, but the execution just left me wanting. Nathan Frazer showed up, which got under Noam’s very thin skin.
The long and short of this very loud and rambling segment? Noam puts his Heritage Cup on the line against Dragon Lee but takes on Nathan next week just to prove a point.

Money, Power & Respect
I’m still waiting for the other shoe to drop in this Chase U situation. On one hand, we all see Duke Hudson inching Andre Chase out of power. On the other, Duke shows so much dedication to the job. Duke grading papers during Thea Hail’s initial dustup with Kiana James provided some comedy as he nonchalantly granted Thea permission to wrestle Kiana after Ms. James threw insults her way.
Duke continued grading papers during the actual match, meaning he didn’t provide the spirit and energy Andre does. Thea not having a cheerleader in her corner no doubt contributed to Kiana’s W.
But looking at this as a television show, I’m not sure what a victory over Thea does for Kiana at this point. Kiana had a spot in the tournament for the Women’s championship. Storyline wise, she’s on a different level, so it’s hard getting invested in a match with Thea, who isn’t there yet.

Anger in the Nation
Schism attacked Tyler Bate and Wes Lee, effectively putting them out of the tag match against the Dyad. Joe Gacy wants Wes’ championship, plain and simple. But he also believes Tyler Bate has an ulterior motive; he and Ava believe Tyler only helps Wes because he wants a shot at that same championship.
Aaaaand he was 1000 percent right.
The weird thing about all of this, and this goes for Tyler and Joe, is the fact that Wes never turns down a request! Ever. If you want a shot at his championship, just ask. He established that pattern pretty early in his reign and said it this week.
I get they’re creating drama between Tyler and Wes for a triple threat match at Battleground, but it’s just weird writing from my perspective since, again, Wes’ character takes on all comers, friend or foe, no questions asked.
So now we go into a triple threat where it's truly every man for himself, a development that presumably gives Joe the advantage. I like where they got but the way they got there felt clunky.

Keep It Thoro
The Prodigy vs. the Princess. That’s the other half of the semi-final bracket for the NXT Women’s championship as Roxanne Perez defeated Jacy Jayne this week in a very solid match.
Keeping it all the way real, I’m not a big Jacy fan. I thought Gigi held them up as a tag team and Jacy got over thanks to Gigi and even more thanks to Mandy Rose. But she impressed me this week when she held her own against a former NXT Women’s champ. That’s a big deal and great for her future.
That performance also makes me look forward to her impending rematch with Gigi, who jumped her former partner after Roxanne took the W.
On the whole, this is one of two matches I really enjoyed this week, So hey, they got that going for them.

Whew, rough week. I really don’t know what else to say besides that. The show started with some promise but never found a rhythm and felt like someone mashed several ideas together hoping they fit. Sadly for everyone involved, they really didn’t. And I purposefully left out some segments with Dijak and Ilja Dragunov because...yeah, no.

Dijak is such a charisma vacuum it's not even funny. How can you be so good in the ring, with that type of build and consistently participate in the most boring angles? I'm ilsick and tired of that same constipated face he always makes. He just isn't it.

Wrestling ratings since June 2022