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 TV/Movies › Re: What Movie Are You Watching Now? by pu7pl3(m): 5:59pm On Jan 31, 2022 |
Una done finish Dierich5 for this thread chai  3 Likes
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| TV/Movies › Re: DC EXTENDED UNIVERSE (FILM) by pu7pl3(m): 11:45pm On Jan 30, 2022 |
TheKingIsHere:Do you really wanna do you really wanna taste it!! 2 Likes 1 Share |
| TV/Movies › Re: What Movie Are You Watching Now? by pu7pl3(m): 11:17pm On Jan 30, 2022 |
AnfieldFan:Desperate Marvel shill shilling... nothing come out |
| TV/Movies › Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(op): 11:12pm On Jan 30, 2022 |
luizpippo:yes, you talked about it |
| TV/Movies › Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(op): 11:10pm On Jan 30, 2022 |
Kaycee7:Nah, I think it's Charlotte but WWE can change gears anytime so I'm not banking on it too |
| TV/Movies › Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(op): 11:45am On Jan 30, 2022 |
WWE ROYAL RUMBLE 2022 REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS Friend of Foe I wondered why Roman Reigns entered the match first. Not only is it the champion’s honor to arrive second, but he’s Roman Reigns; he’s the damn Head of the Table! Then that familiar little Jim Johnston ditty echoed throughout the St. Louis arena, and the crowd went nuts. Seth Rollins, decked in Shield drip, entered the ring from the crowd, firmly setting himself up as the Joker to Roman’s Batman. Seth is firmly in Roman’s head and this was his way to cash in on that fact. And I dug every second. Rollins controlled this match from the opening ding. Seth countered a Superman Punch on the outside of the ring and turned it into a power bomb onto the commentary table, The Shield’s signature move. Every move Seth did was a matter of psychological warfare. Whether it was the bomb to the table, the frog splash, the buckle bomb, and, of course, the constant maniacal laughing. Seth wanted to break Roman and for a while, it looked like that just wasn’t going to happen. No matter what Seth did, Roman didn’t give in and didn’t go down for the count. In a very poetic moment, Seth countered a spear with a pedigree, which has all of the subtlety of a sledgehammer. But it was great for the story and made better by the fact Roman kicked out. It was Triple H’s manipulation of Seth that led to the end of The Shield. Kicking out of that pedigree, and withstanding all of Seth’s Architect-era moves, was Roman fighting the past and doing his best to win. But here’s the thing about chasing or even fighting ghosts: It’s impossible to win. Seth won this match the minute he showed up in tactical gear because he showed the Tribal Chief has cracks in his armor. The final crack reared its ugly head when Seth extended his hand for a fist bump while laughing in the face of his “brother.” From there, it was the guillotine choke and it seemed academic at that point. Now, we can question Charles Robinson’s role in Seth reaching the ropes, but that’s not the main story here. Roman was DQ’d for not breaking the hold, yelling to the crowd to boo him because Seth “deserves this.” The story took another turn when Roman finally let go of a lifeless Rollins and grabbed a chair. It was time for payback, even if it was a few years late. But hey, revenge is a dish best served cold, right? Roman nailed Seth in the back with a chair in the same manner Seth did to Roman all those moons ago. And he wouldn’t stop. Roman gave Seth more hits than Bad Boy in the ‘90s. Even when it looked like he was done, he grabbed another chair and continued playing the hits. The man actually broke the back of the chair. Roman, mercifully, grabbed his belt, and walked out of the arena talking to himself. Seth is living rent free in the Universal champion’s clearly crowded head. This? This thing right here? This is a story. While the DQ finish might elicit groans because WWE goes to this well way too much, it’s the right move. A great match with an even better story that’s just getting started. This is a version of Reigns nobody knew existed. The champ is unsure of himself, erratic, and anything but dispassionate. Rollins, typical of the Joker, is pushing Roman by making a mockery of everything his former friend holds dear. The Shield? A joke. Paul Heyman? Also a joke. The Bloodline? So many chuckles. Family and loyalty are punchlines for Seth. Weaponizing them against Roman is smart, especially when Paul is no longer in his corner and we question if Roman’s dominance is partly due to having his cousins in his corner at all times. Seth and Roman had my curiosity. Now, they have my attention. Pretend I used the Calvin Candie gif from Django Unchained. As a brief aside—trust me, very brief—it was weird St. Louis was in the bag for Seth. He’s the guy who broke up the fan favorite group and has no scruples about exploiting his past villainy. By all accounts, Roman is the good guy here, or at the least, the person we can relate to the most. Weird. But I digress. Betrayal Roman Reigns—that guy again—and Paul Heyman played Brock Lesnar. At least that’s how it seems at the moment. And I really hope that’s the story they go with because it takes this entire Roman Reigns saga to another level of dope that I didn’t think was possible. Before we even get to that finish, let’s talk about the few minutes before. And yes, it’s just a few minutes. Brock and Bobby Lashley engaged in anything you can suplex, I can suplex better. This was two MMA guys having a fight. Everything looked good for the WWE champion until Lashley slapped that Hurt Lock on him. Lesnar used their combined body weight—which I believe is two metric tons—to break up the hold and put Bobby in the F-5. Oh but wait. The referee was in the way! With the ref out of commission, Reigns makes his way to the ring and spears the champ. After engaging in a brief stare session with the man he once called “wiseman,” Reigns motioned for the belt. And to the surprise of everyone in the arena, Heyman obliged. This is wrestling so you know what happened from here. The second ref hits the ring, apparently missing Roman hitting Lesnar with the belt, and counts three as Bobby pinned Lesnar in their first-ever contest. If not for Roman and Paul, the big story here is the return of the All Mighty Era. But, yeah, this is all about the Tribal Chief, his counsel, and the Beast. The match itself was okay. Brock and Lashley don’t work the best together and Lashley took those suplex bumps type awkwardly. As it was the case for most of last year and the first month of 2022, the WWE championship is secondary. Lashley’s big moment is the inciting incident for more Roman, Paul, and Brock. On one hand, that sucks. Especially since Lashley looked weak even getting that win. On the other hand? It’s still the most compelling story in all of professional sports entertainment wrestling. SmackDown is must-see TV this week. Rowdy, Rowdy Prior to Ronda’s theme hitting the arena speakers, this was a semi-entertaining Rumble. Not every return worked—why did Melina do her split gimmick once Sasha eliminated her?—but it was a cool mix of nostalgia (shoutout to Ivory. RTC for life!), returning to old feuds (Michelle McCool and Mickie James), and furthering current stories. Rhea Ripley let Nikki A.S.H. distract her like we all predicted, but it didn’t cost her the match. Sonya Deville not only eliminated a returning Cameron to mess with Naomi, but made sure Naomi’s 2022 highlight reel will not feature her defying gravity and avoiding elimination. We even got Mickie James sporting her Impact championship, accompanied by her Impact music and referenced as the Impact Women’s champion. That was probably the coolest moment of the night, and well-deserved. But you’re here to talk about the winner. Eventually, it came down to Shayna Baszler, Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair, and Ronda Rousey. We got a brief interaction between Shayna and Ronda broken up by, you guessed it, Charlotte. Eventually, Bianca and Shayna set eyes on each other while forgetting the other two women in the ring. Charlotte took advantage and threw them both out, much to the dismay of The EST. From there, we got a very anticlimactic ending as Charlotte went at Ronda like the Hulk going towards a building, and Ronda simply tossed her out. There were fun moments, but the match was filled with too many legends to create actual suspense. Ignoring the fact that Ronda’s music telegraphed the ending, but no one believes in their heart of hearts that any of those other surprise entrants have a shot at winning. Meaning the Rumble is missing one of its best ingredients: Suspense. In the end, Ronda is getting her title shot and more than likely, her opponent is Charlotte. I’m not excited but maybe they’ll change my mind between now and then. Maybe. Here We Go Again Let’s not mince words here. And by “let’s” I mean “me.” The Men’s Rumble was not very good. Competent? Sure. They’re seasoned pros at this whole wrestling thing. But the match was boring and indicative of a larger problem within WWE. Outside of Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, most of the roster are treated like mid-carders. Even when they’re supposedly main event staples. As a result, the place that used to be “where anything can happen” is more predictable than a rerun. My issue isn’t with Brock winning; it’s with the fact it was predictable that no one else in that match posed even the slightest threat to Brock. Anyone shouting about Drew McIntyre needs to kill that noise. Despite beating Brock for the WWE championship, Drew’s position on the roster is just like everyone else’s. The same goes for Big E, the man who was WWE champ all of 5 minutes ago, and is now treated like just a body. WWE didn’t present anyone else on the roster as viable a option to win. And rather than use the final spots to put someone young and upcoming over, the men standing were RK-Bro, Brock Lesnar, SHANE MCMAHON and...BAD BUNNY. There’s barely anyone young left for them to put over since they tossed everyone to the bushes due to budget cuts, and they devalued guys like Big E and AJ Styles by putting the boss’s son and a musician in the final standoff. The boss’s son and a musician. The Rumble itself isn’t worth talking about because it was just there. They didn’t even give us the Rey Mysterio and Dominik interaction they teased for two weeks! Did that make or break the thing? No, but it shows the level of neglect here with doing anything remotely interesting. The Roman and Brock story is a great one, no argument here. But the fact we’re doing these two dudes again at yet another WrestleMania says more about WWE’s structural and creative problems. For *counts on fingers* seven years now, WWE made these two the only people we should truly care about. That’s seven years not building up anyone on that level on your roster. Seven years of creative bankruptcy, and seven years of openly admitting the last time you truly created someone big enough to hold it down with your current big star was 20 years ago. If that’s not a problem, then the people at Webster need to redefine it in the dictionary. Came Back For You Doudrop isn’t over. WWE cut her legs out from under her early. But losing so many matches to Bianca Belair did her no favors. The fact that Becky did all she could to avoid Bianca but had no issue taking on Doudrop was also the big tell. And that’s a shame because the match was solid. Putting this match right after the Women’s Rumble was a bad idea. No one believed Doudrop had an actual chance and the way WWE told the story to this point, they were 1000 percent correct. That said, both women came to play. The story in question: Can Becky Lynch find a way to win against someone of Doudrop’s stature and power. For 99 percent of the match, the answer was an empathic “nah.” Doudrop was immune to all of Becky’s usual tricks, including the Dis-Arm-Her. Becky’s first Manhandle Slam attempt had no chance in hell of working, so she improvised when it looked like she was ready to take an L. Doudrop climbed the top rope, Becky cuts her off, and then, finally, nails the Manhandle Slam to put her challenger away. Solid match! But no one was into it and I confess, even I found it hard to sit through, despite the good work from both women. Becky moves on to find her Mania dance partner and Doudrop? Only Vince McMahon knows the answer to that. The Rest You’re All I Need Maryse is underrated. The former champ was the MVP of this match, working when she was in the ring and working even harder when she was outside of the ring. There’s not much to analyze or say about this match. It was fun! Seeing Beth in the ring was great. Seeing Beth powerbomb Miz was even better. Edge and Beth got the win with twin Glam Slams, and everyone went home happy. Royal Rumble started hot. It actually started great. And it was all downhill from there. Despite the great opening, the solid women’s championship match, and the fun tag match, the main attractions of the show failed to deliver. I was unsatisfied and there’s only one grade I can think of associated with an unsatisfactory feeling. Grade: D 1 Like 1 Share |
| TV/Movies › Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(op): 6:52pm On Jan 29, 2022 |
Fro5t:ding dong I've missed her 1 Like 1 Share |
| TV/Movies › Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(op): 6:51pm On Jan 29, 2022 |
Fro5t:I swear bro...the guy is good 1 Like |
| TV/Movies › Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(op): 11:25am On Jan 29, 2022 |
WWE SMACKDOWN REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS THE BOSS IS BACK. There’s probably some legitimate criticism to level at WWE for giving us the surprise Sasha Banks return on the Friday Night SmackDown the night before Royal Rumble instead of in the Royal Rumble match itself but I don’t mind this at all. In fact, I think I prefer it. My big problem with the men’s Royal Rumble this year (as you’ll read in my preview of the match later today), is WWE didn’t ever bother creating any actual stories for it, instead relying on the match itself to sell for the sake of it. They had mid-card acts sneaking up on each other and throwing each other over the top rope with a “got cha!” laugh just after and left it at that. The women’s Rumble has had the opposite problem. First, they announced a bunch of returning Legends we haven’t seen in quite a while, also revealing the Forbidden Door was opening up with Impact Knockouts Champion Mickie James included in the mix. Then, Charlotte Flair declared she would enter as champion so she could win and choose her own WrestleMania opponent for the first time in history. Now, we get Sasha Banks returning to establish some opposition to that. There are a lot of legitimately compelling angles with the women’s Rumble this year, and they just added a major one right here while also getting some screen time in for some of the other women in the match. This was really well done all around. I’m awfully confused by the way they’ve gone about this Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns program. We started with only getting this match because Adam Pearce was tasked with giving Reigns an opponent for Royal Rumble, and he could pick literally anyone. So he went with Rollins for reasons they never actually bothered to explain. It was something of an odd choice, considering they’re both heels, but they have a lot of history, so let’s roll with it. Instantly, they bring that rich history up and use it in promos for the feud. But the angle they started with was Rollins making note of the fact that he’s beaten Reigns in every one-on-one straight up encounter, and he’ll do it again. Then, he managed to smart his way into ensuring The Usos would be banned from ringside. He was presented, more or less, as a sympathetic character in this. This week, we took an abrupt turn. Rollins showed up to SmackDown dressed as the Joker and spent an entire segment calling everything about Reigns a joke. When he referenced taking a chair to Roman’s back and breaking up The Shield, Reigns became visibly upset before revealing he hates Seth for what he did and he can never forgive him for that fateful evening all those years ago. Reigns, then, became the sympathetic character in this. It’s a bit confusing! Kyle Decker had a take on the segment online: While it was heavy handed (because it’s WWE), I appreciated the idea that 8 years later, Roman still isn’t over that betrayal. Also that Rollins is the one that can break the exterior of Reigns. Also, the superhero fan in me appreciates the Batman-esque villain scenario where the mob bosses think they know what’s up but they don’t know how to handle the Joker. He’s not wrong. Character alignment issues aside, there is something there, and villains can be even more compelling when we can relate to them and their struggle. I just wish they had picked a lane and stuck with it from the beginning. All the rest Ridge Holland returned alongside Sheamus and got his measure of revenge on Ricochet for breaking his face. Poetically enough, he used the mask he was wearing to put Cesaro down to score the pinfall for his team. Happy birthday to Sheamus! Naomi finally got one over on Sonya Deville, defeating her clean in a singles match. There was a pretty damn good pop for it, which seems to indicate they didn’t hold off on this for so long that it didn’t register as a moment for her. Having said that, they did it on the go home show to Royal Rumble in such a way that it was a way to build to Sonya announcing she, too, would be entering the match to try to ruin it for Naomi. So we’ll see where they go from here. It was nice seeing how devastated losing to Naomi made Deville. Sami Zayn did a live podcast with Jinder Mahal and Shanky, one that was largely about Zayn reminding us all that he really, really hates Johnny Knoxville. It turned out to be a lead in to Mahal & Shanky vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Rick BOOGS, which, I believe, represents the Intercontinental champion’s first match back since being cleared to return from his hand injury. He barely ended up doing anything in the match, with BOOGS doing the heavy lifting, scoring a win for the team. It was what it was.Big E showed up to reunite with Kofi Kingston for a match against Madcap Moss & Happy Corbin. They won! And it felt good to see the band back together again. It was real nice to see The Midnight Hour on the blue brand. This was a strange show. The women’s segments hit really well but the rest of the card was meaningless tag matches and the strange storytelling in the main event. Grade: C+ 1 Like 1 Share |
| TV/Movies › Re: What Movie Are You Watching Now? by pu7pl3(m): 10:48am On Jan 29, 2022 |
AnfieldFan:When did he make it clear? |
| TV/Movies › Re: Marvel Cinematic Universe by pu7pl3(m): 6:57pm On Jan 28, 2022 |
MJBOLT:Quite accurate |
| TV/Movies › Re: What Movie Are You Watching Now? by pu7pl3(m): 6:46pm On Jan 28, 2022 |
Fro5t:Don't mind Calibrator, even MCU fans no dey understand their shit movies/series 4 Likes 1 Share |
| European Football (EPL, UEFA, La Liga) › Re: R36L Madrid - Most Successful & Greatest Champ15ns of Spain, Europe & W9rld by pu7pl3(m): 6:42pm On Jan 28, 2022 |
Devvy4:The true definition of a puppet master 2 Likes |
| European Football (EPL, UEFA, La Liga) › Re: R36L Madrid - Most Successful & Greatest Champ15ns of Spain, Europe & W9rld by pu7pl3(m): 6:40pm On Jan 28, 2022 |
[quote author=TLona1 post=109758089][/quote]shutup and gerrout 2 Likes |
| TV/Movies › Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(op): 8:20am On Jan 27, 2022 |
Qu3sT:Especially Trick |
| TV/Movies › Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(op): 8:13am On Jan 26, 2022 |
WWE NXT REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS The Champion of All of North America Remember last week when Tony D’Angelo and Cameron Grimes both wanted a shot at the North American Championship? Of course you do. You watched. I know you watched. Hence this number one contender’s match between the two, with Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams watching from the Crow’s Nest. Yes, that’s what I’m calling it now. Maybe I have pirates on the mind, but it’s the perfect name for that perch in the corner of the Performance Center. The match was fun and physical. The contest was a smooth affair save for one bad sequence where Grimes slipped on the rope going for quick moonsault. With a little more seasoning, both men can work out of a spot like that and not make it look choreographed. I mean, we know it is, but we like the illusion. The story was obviously, first and foremost, getting a shot at Melo at NXT Vengeance Day. The second story, one that appeared out of nowhere, was the reappearance of Pete Dunne. Dunne showed up with what I believe was a Cricket bat, and slammed it across Tony D’s hand. Payback of course, and the most obvious sign their beef is still simmering. Dunne’s interference allowed Grimes to take advantage, get the W, and set his sights squarely on Melo. I’m not sure what level of escalation Dunne and Tony can ascend to after the crowbar match. I am sure, however, that I want to find out. And if Melo and Cameron can put on a match even half the caliber of Melo’s last title defense, then that’s worth the price of admission alone for Vengeance Day in a few weeks. Not a fan of that name, but hey, this is the same company that thought Great Balls of Fire was a thing to do. The Rest Numbers Game Tommaso Ciampa is back. Let’s not even bury the lede. How did we get here? Glad you asked. Allow me to recap. Santos Escobar hates Bron Breakker for a lot of reasons. Yes, his family’s awful math skills are on that list. And as someone who also sucks at math, I empathize with Bron. It’s a heavy burden to carry, but carry it we must. The main reason Santos has nothing but hate for the NXT Champion, is the fact that he got that gold before Escobar. Bron, of course, never shies from a fight or a war of words. The NXT champ came ready to fight but Escobar still wants to do it on his terms and his time. You know how this went. The other members of Legado del Fatansma got fed to the dog. And the dog did what dogs do to hired goons. LDF challenged Bron to a tag match, provided he can find a partner. If not? Well, a handicap match suits them just fine. As the credits rolled on another week of NXT 2.0, LDF approached Bron as he exited the building. Before Santos and crew got the chance to jump Bron into their gang, Breakker found his partner: Tommaso Ciampa. LDF backed off and the former champ and current champ dapped each other up as a sign of solidarity. New Name, Who Dis? WALTER is dead. Long live GUNTHER. I guess. We got an explanation from the man himself for the name change. GUNTHER represents a new beginning for Imperium. Cool. Malcolm Bivens speaks for me, and possibly the lot of us, when he said GUNTHER is “an awful name.” Either way, Bivens doesn’t care what GUNTHER calls himself; he wants blood. Next week, Imperium faces the Diamond Mine’s Creed Brothers and Roderick Strong. Dusty MSK MSK wants their spot back. The tag team believes the best way to do that is to conquer the Dusty Rhodes Classic and grab that cup. That probably made the outcome of their match with Jacket Time daily obvious to anyone even slightly familiar with professional sports entertainment; the person/team with the story normally wins. BUT, and it’s a big “but” for a reason, Jacket Time didn’t go down without a fight. NXT kicked off this week with an incredible tag match between two equally acerbating teams. Fast break offense from the first ding ding to the last, each team trying to outdo each other all in the name of a trophy. This was another great match of the tournament, with Jacket Time proving themselves as more than worthy opponents for the former NXT tag champs. Dusty Vets Grizzled Young Vets put the hurt on Chase U’s Andre Chase and Bodhi Hayward to advance in the Dusty Cup. The match was fine. But maybe I’m spoiled after the last two Dusty Cup matches and expected too much. Mutual Interests Tag Teaming Sometimes, booking really isn’t that difficult. Kay Lee Ray wants Mandy Rose. Persia Pirotta and Indi Hartwell want all the smoke with Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne. Put them together and watch what happens. And guess what? It was pretty dope. The most interesting aspect was whether or not KLR would keep her cool and not go off on Mandy. That happened for a while, but eventually their beef spilt over into the Performance Center. Pirotta got the W for her team, more than likely earning a tag team championship. Meanwhile, Mandy has a lot to handle with KLR. Better than the First Time Tiffany Stratton’s second match on NXT was much better than her first. I’m sure a lot of that was due to Io Sharai as her opponent. Io got the win but Tiffany showed character and skill. Taking it to the Streets Something was off about this street fight. At least in the beginning. For a while, it seemed like Boa and Solo Sikoa needed to find their rhythm. That happened as soon as a fire extinguisher entered their street fight. From there, the two went back to the ring after doing a bit of fighting in the “back,” setting up a finish that might make a Dudley smile. Solo gets the W after a huge splash through a table, causing the piece of wood to practically explode. Like I said, it started slow but ended really good. Here I Come Dante Chen and Duke Hudson continued their dance after the former interfered in the latter’s big match last week. Of course, Hudson got the advantage with a chop block to the back of Chen’s previously injured leg. Eventually, these two will...duke it out. And no, I’m not apologizing for that, nor do I feel any shame. Oh and before I forget, Duke squashed Guru Raaj. Can’t make an omelette without...you know the rest. His Name is Sanga Grayson Waller’s insurance policy is Sanga, “one of the biggest stars in Bollywood.” If LA Knight wants Grayson, he needs to go through Sanga first. Judging by the man’s height, size, and beard, that won’t be an easy feat. This was a solid NXT 2.0 show. We got some good matches, a couple surprises, and a musical performance that wasn’t the best. I like Ollie Jay but this wasn’t her finest moment. But hey, can’t win them all, right? While the men’s Dusty Cup rolls on, we even seeded some stories for the women’s version. Io Sharai needs a new partner, while Cora Jade and Raquel González’s odd couple act might carry them to the promised land. This show was packed with forward momentum and a sense of urgency. Always appreciate that out of my professional sports entertainment. Safe to say NXT 2.0 knows what it is now. You’re either in or you’re out at this point. Grade: B 1 Like 1 Share |
| European Football (EPL, UEFA, La Liga) › Re: Official Chelsea Fan Thread: Club World Cup Champions 2025-2029 by pu7pl3(m): 7:04am On Jan 26, 2022 |
ALEXAPLAYME:lmaoo |
| TV/Movies › Re: What Movie Are You Watching Now? by pu7pl3(m): 10:56am On Jan 25, 2022 |
Gmajor:"No real stakes" |
| TV/Movies › Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(op): 8:50am On Jan 25, 2022 |
WWE RAW REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS Do Not Boo Birthdays Miz is an awful singer. Lucky for us, he’s a pretty good wrestler. That means Miz can take even the most stereotypical professional sports entertainment wrestling segments, like a birthday celebration for Maryse, and make it work. In fact, Maryse, Edge, and Beth Phoenix all played their parts just as well in Raw’s best story going into the Royal Rumble. For those who missed last week due to football or just living their lives, Maryse hit Beth with a brick. Yes, a brick. Sure, it was wrapped in a leather purse, but it was still a brick. Chaos ensued when Edge and Maryse hit the ring, dispatching members of Miz and Maryse’s security one by one with odes to tag teams of the past. And it was cool. But this was the main event angle on the go home show for the Royal Rumble. I know, I know. “The Rumble sells itself,” is what you’re probably saying to yourself. And maybe they don’t really need to give us a hook other than a bunch of guys on camera saying how much they want to win. But this is a visual medium, people. Show, don’t tell is still the name of the game, and it’s a game WWE used to play really well. What main event star on Raw made it known just how much they want need to win? Kevin Owens is suddenly more interested in the United States Championship, Seth Rollins is fighting for the Universal Championship, Bobby Lashley is squaring off with Brock Lesnar, and Big E is milk carton status as of earlier this month. This speaks to a larger issue within WWE, which is the black hole that is both men’s championship pictures, but in particular, the second-class citizen treatment of the WWE Championship. Does anyone really believe one of the Street Profits, The Mysterios, or the Dirty Dawgz have a shot at winning the main event spot at WrestleMania? Maybe Rey, and that’s only because he’s the cover boy for their (hopefully) rehabilitated video game. But for the most part, it doesn’t compute. WWE spent a lot of last year and the past several months telling us that these championships have permanent residences. What’s worse is not many cats are booked to look like competent competitors for either. There’s nobody to believe in and no one like Steve Austin, Bret Hart, or Shawn Michaels, three men who needed to be the last man standing more than they needed oxygen. Rather than Raw closing with someone out for blood and ready to burn the entire arena down to beat 29 other guys, we got Beth and Edge, posing for the cameras looking ready to partake in a mosh pit. We Need to Talk about Damian Let’s not mince words here: The “Damian” thing isn’t working. I waxed semi-poetic about this several weeks ago, but this week made it clearer than white crystal. Damian Priest defended his U.S. title against Kevin Owens because the latter gave the former his first loss on the main roster last week. The nature of Damian’s “I’m not a killer but don’t push me” character means he gets DQ’d more often than not. WWE solved this once when he wrestled Dolph Ziggler. Shockingly, Priest controlled himself because he knew a DQ meant the end of his championship reign. But then there are matches like this week, where a DQ means he takes the L but keeps the gold. Guess how it ended? And it’s a shame because Priest and KO put on a pretty good contest before the ending. Priest lost it when KO faked another injury, and managed to retain the title. The crowd was on KO’s side the entire time and rightly unleashed the boo birds when the match ended. And no, Damian, they weren’t shouting “Boo-urns.” Priest’s current gimmick means he retains his title damn near every match because someone makes him lose his cool. It’s cheap, renders matches moot, and, at least for one week, got the crowd rooting for the supposed heel. And we still don’t know where the gimmick is going because or why it exists! Whew, okay I’m done now. Carry on with the rest of the recap. The Rest Get Your Weight Up Brock Lesnar doesn’t take Bobby Lashley seriously, doesn’t take the WWE Championship seriously, nor did he take this segment seriously. Lashley and Lesnar partook in a weigh-in. Why? To tell us both men are incredibly large and capable of popping most human heads like grapes. Lesnar’s attire, demeanor, and overall vibe made it very entertaining. Lashley still wants Lesnar to view him as a threat, but it’s just not happening. There’s nothing more to say about Raw’s opening segment. It worked because the people involved made it work, not because the idea of a weigh-in does anything for this match or furthered the story at all. We’re still where we were last week, and the week before that, and the week before that. From Spelling to Sports Entertaining Anything RK-Bro and the Alpha Academy do is a home run. These four cats took something potentially silly—a spelling bee—and made it work. Chad Gable is still on fire as the condescending descendant of Kurt Angle. That very specific character needs egg on their face as revenge for their smarminess, so of course Chad was the weak link in the spelling bee. His reaction to spelling the wrong word correctly, thrown off by Kevin Patricks Irish accent, was priceless. That meant two things: RK-Bro picks the contest for the second leg of this intellectual triathlon, and Randy Orton challenged Gable to a match. And what a match it was. These two work really well together, threw in some psychology, and weren’t afraid to brawl either. We got multiple table spots, several false finishes, and a scooter. Yes, Riddle hit Otis with a scooter. Multiple times no less. In the end, Randy eeked out a win with the RKO, and Riddle challenged the Academy to a scooter race on next week’s Raw. Also? Otis and Gable formally entered themselves into the Rumble. If you missed the match, watch it. Come for the dope RKO and even doper sell by Gable, stay for Otis’ face when the words “scooter race” were uttered. Big Bang Theory So the Vince McMahon and Austin Theory thing is still happening. The downside? The Vince McMahon and Austin Theory thing is still happening. The upside? We got a great match featuring Theory and AJ Styles as a result. Theory wanted to prove himself before Royal Rumble and earn a favorable entry spot. AJ wanted revenge for Austin’s disrespectful acts a week ago during their first encounter. Following Randy Orton and Chad Gable, these two knew they needed to show up and show out. So, yeah, they did that. AJ ended up getting the win as Austin, despite hanging with AJ step for step, did his best to cheat his way to victory. This was a rumble warmup, a showcase for Theory, and a way of getting some momentum back on Styles’ side. Rumble Prep Shocker, but the Street Profits and The Mysterios put on a very good tag match. Who knew, right? This match evolved out of their friendly competition a week ago, and with all four men setting their sights on earning a spot in the WrestleMania main event. Rey Mysterio got the win for his team because of course he did. WWE 2K22 got its trailer debut tonight, and Rey got his flowers as the cover wrestler. Did you really think his team was losing? Or that he wasn’t getting the pin? In typical Royal Rumble fashion. after the match ended, we got a lot of people getting tossed out of the ring. Even the Dirty Dawgz got in on the action. The problem, however, is that none of these cats looked serious. Throwing each other over the ropes felt like it was for laughs rather than seriously wanting to win, essentially, the biggest matches of their careers. More Rumle Prep A six-woman tag match with Carmella, Nikki A.S.H., & Tamina on one side of the ring, and Dana Brooke, Liv Morgan, & Rhea Ripley on the other was all about, you guessed it, the Royal Rumble. This wasn’t a long contest and didn’t really work for me. That’s not indicative of the women, but an indictment of the amount of time they were given. Rhea, who needed wind at her back after the past few weeks, got the submission win for her team. Of course, Nikki A.S.H. got her post match licks in, so Rhea will have vengeance on her mind during the Rumble match. Will Rhea let Nikki distract her from winning the Rumble? To quote Miz, oooooof course. Two Rooms. One Interview Becky Lynch and Doudrop did a one-on-one video interview. No one said anything new so you know how this went. Doudrop wants to make a name for herself and lay claim to the throne. Becky got meta and talked about Doudrop being another name to fill out the card until Becky made her relevant. Cool, cool. If that wasn't enough to make me dock points for this segment, it turns out they were barely 10 feet apart from each other! Doudrop eventually went off camera and it took her no less than 1 minute to get to Becky and throw hands. Why did we even bother with the video interview? All Hail the EST This match...was a thing. My love for Bianca Belair is well-documented, and Queen Zelina is no slouch. That said, this match was a waste of their time. I get it. We need to give Bianca some momentum heading into Royal Rumble. But can’t we accomplish that putting her against someone who isn’t half comic relief half royalty? Zelina can go but right now, she isn’t presented as even a minor threat to someone like Belair. The match proved that point. Analyze This I still really like Alexa. And still really dislike these therapy segments. But it’s not her fault. Alexa is doing all she can to make the best of it and she at least makes it watchable. Bliss’ therapist says she’s making progress, so it shan't be long until she’s live and in person. I can’t get over the lack of build for the actual Rumble itself. Or even the fact that there’s no one positioned as the favorite. Or the fact that the match feels like an afterthought to everything else happening on the show. That said, we got a few good matches this week and a couple entertaining segments. That counts for a lot in my book. If there’s one more thing I would change, it’s that Edge and Beth’s vengeance wasn’t a running story throughout the show. I’m sorry, but if someone hits me with a brick, I’m not waiting until the show is almost over to get my hands on them. A running storyline of Beth and her husband on the prowl for Maryse and her husband, leading to the ultimate showdown during Maryse’s birthday just feels right. As it stands, the angle, much like Raw this week, was just okay. Grade: B- |
| European Football (EPL, UEFA, La Liga) › Re: R36L Madrid - Most Successful & Greatest Champ15ns of Spain, Europe & W9rld by pu7pl3(m): 4:26pm On Jan 24, 2022 |
Maybe next time you'll learn not to asslick a fraud unprovoked  3 Likes
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| European Football (EPL, UEFA, La Liga) › Re: R36L Madrid - Most Successful & Greatest Champ15ns of Spain, Europe & W9rld by pu7pl3(m): 5:22pm On Jan 23, 2022 |
I'm still trying to process this amount of badluck  |
| European Football (EPL, UEFA, La Liga) › Re: R36L Madrid - Most Successful & Greatest Champ15ns of Spain, Europe & W9rld by pu7pl3(m): 5:14pm On Jan 23, 2022 |
TheHulk616:Guy please I don't want to laugh this evening |
| European Football (EPL, UEFA, La Liga) › Re: R36L Madrid - Most Successful & Greatest Champ15ns of Spain, Europe & W9rld by pu7pl3(m): 5:10pm On Jan 23, 2022 |
I've not believed this but Maybe Hazard truly brings us badluck when he starts |
| European Football (EPL, UEFA, La Liga) › Re: R36L Madrid - Most Successful & Greatest Champ15ns of Spain, Europe & W9rld by pu7pl3(m): 5:09pm On Jan 23, 2022 |
It's been long since we've experienced this kind of badluck, Maybe since Solari...we are playing well but we can't score, Elche's young keeper has turned into prime Casillas, the boy already has 7 saves from this first half alone |
| European Football (EPL, UEFA, La Liga) › Re: R36L Madrid - Most Successful & Greatest Champ15ns of Spain, Europe & W9rld by pu7pl3(m): 4:04pm On Jan 23, 2022 |
Devvy4:I just hope he knows what the hell he is doing |
| European Football (EPL, UEFA, La Liga) › Re: R36L Madrid - Most Successful & Greatest Champ15ns of Spain, Europe & W9rld by pu7pl3(m): 3:22pm On Jan 23, 2022 |
Zyxzzzz:Hazards goal earns him a start her but Isco's goal didn't? What about Ceballos then since we are just handing out starts |
| TV/Movies › Re: Marvel Cinematic Universe by pu7pl3(m): 8:42am On Jan 23, 2022 |
MJBOLT:Lol |
| TV/Movies › Re: Marvel Cinematic Universe by pu7pl3(m): 9:35pm On Jan 22, 2022 |
MJBOLT:Please don't go ahead with this...it makes Infinity war and Endgame look useless 1 Like |
| TV/Movies › Re: What Movie Are You Watching Now? by pu7pl3(m): 5:14pm On Jan 22, 2022 |
The Card Counter Tiffany Haddish doesn't know how to do a sex scene |
| TV/Movies › Re: What Movie Are You Watching Now? by pu7pl3(m): 3:13pm On Jan 22, 2022 |
Katcall:Still the 300 |
| TV/Movies › Re: What Movie Are You Watching Now? by pu7pl3(m): 2:47pm On Jan 22, 2022 |
10thDentist:Spartans bruh |
| TV/Movies › Re: What Movie Are You Watching Now? by pu7pl3(m): 12:31pm On Jan 22, 2022 |
ShaqFu:Call their real names, Gerrard Butler and Micheal Fassbender  |
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