WWE BACKLASH ***Official Thread***

[slik]

Seems like the casuals are slowly starting to turn on Roman via weird/bad booking of his character

[slik]

Noid a bonafide troll account but not pulling it off as well as legend Shisen Kopf or Bad News Gertner

[Loose Cannon]

What a brilliant show!

* I was a bit disappointed by Seth Rollins vs. The Miz. Still, two former WrestleMania main eventers and WWE Champions going at it in your opening bout. The IC Title might not have meant as much since the days of JBL as champion.

* It's great little girls have a role-model they can look up to in Nia Jax. My niece is incredibly ugly, so it's nice that she's got bigger women on TV representing her and dumb face. It's a shame that Alexa Bliss got injured though, because she is such an amazing performer and I could have really used more matches out of these two.

* Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton are two old pros that have such great chemistry. Is it 2008 again? Holy cow. This was a main event a decade ago, and it's cool to see two legends of sports entertainment go at it. I don't think the US Title has meant this much since the days of JBL as champion.

* The New Day segment was pure gold. Not everything can be a match, or else children will fall asleep because they are big nights, and that's your target demographic falling down stairs at WWE shows, which is a lawsuit and bad headlines waiting to happen. I don't know how New Day do it, but their comedy never gets old. No Way Jose is already on PPV after just debuting with the company -- expect big things out of that blue chipper!

* What a big opportunity for Big Cass. It would have been nice to see him get a win in his hometown, but what a surprise giving it to Daniel Bryan. How can anyone be disappointed seeing Bryan lock up with the stars of tomorrow TODAY? Like No Way Jose, expect big things out of Big Cass. No Way Jose vs. Big Cass might be a WrestleMania main event waiting to happen.

* Carmella is a star. The way she commanded the stage out there was awesome. I am glad they are giving her a turn with the SmackDown Women's World Championship. Charlotte losing does nothing to hurt her. Why not have her lose and continue to put over the rest of the division? They all deserve it.

* Two World Title matches in a row! Holy cow, did I think this was going to be the end of this epic rivalry, but egad, it keeps going on! What drama! Honestly, you never know what is just around the corner in WWE. I cannot wait to see these two have more matches, and I personally do not care if we never get a finish.

* People watch WWE for its unique blend of drama and comedy. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn getting frustrated with one another and slapping each other is the perfect blend of that. I don't want to tell two pros how to do their job, but maybe it would have been funnier if Sami Zayn pulled up Kevin Owens' shirt and twisted his nipples a little bit? Just a suggestion. Bobby Lashley and Braun Strowman are two young stars on the rise.

* The crowd was very disrespectful during the Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns match, and I think they should be ashamed of themselves. I don't think they really know why they boo Roman Reigns, who has had such a good story of success and failure told. A big main event win for the man that I do believe will unseat Brock Lesnar as WWE Raw Universal World Champion.

I came online after the show and I was surprised to find so much negativity. You had heroes winning epic battles, great comedy, drama and four hours of content. Sure, if you were expecting a finish to your matches or wanted Charlotte to win the SmackDown Women's World Championship, I can understand why you might be a little disappointed, but objectively this was a brilliant show that keeps the Roman Reigns experiment chugging along nicely. When he's the WWE Raw Universal World Champion, people will have no choice but to accept him as the biggest star in sports and entertainment.

Good job, Vince. You did it again.

:lol:

[Mr. Nerfect]

Seriously, at this point, I blame the fans that subject themselves to this as much as the company. What did people really expect from this show? You knew the card and storylines going in. WWE has had no fire-power behind anything they've done forever now.

I am cynical and still try to follow wrestling. People ask "Why do you still do it?", but it's hard to give up something you love. That being said, I don't know what anyone was expecting. How many of you watched this show on the WWE Network? You are supporting the current direction by doing that. When you go to cancel the Network, it will ask you why, and you can say "Direction of the current product/storylines" or something to that effect. Cancel the Network and watch classic wrestling on YouTube/Daily Motion or sign up for New Japan World.

At least those people who walked out sent a message that they do not care about the proposed main event of a show that they paid for. We'll all be back discussing Raw and boosting WWE's ratings and giving them more of an edge as they bargain with USA Network, further solidifying the direction of Vince McMahon's wrestling.

I get that not having modern WWE in your life can be scary, because if you're reading this, then you probably like wrestling and want it to be good again -- like me. But for fuck's sake, stop supporting this product. Cancel your Network subscriptions and stop watching Raw.

[Loose Cannon]

haha, I did cancel last night. actually i cancelled a long time ago, but did the trial so i could watch Mania. and that's the exact reason i chose when they asked why i was cancelling.

problem is if i didn't have a ton of dvd's, I'd probably still keep the network. not for any new content, but for all the older stuff.

[Fignuts]

Yeah, that's the thing. The network is still an amazing product, even if you don't like current WWE.

[Mr. Nerfect]

That's where I was sitting last year. But when Jinder won the WWE Title I just couldn't justify it to myself anymore. If they were going to send the loud and clear message that their own storylines don't matter, and that credibility is not important in their canon, why should I invest in them?

I wasn't watching as much old stuff as I used to at the time, which made it easier. A month would go past and I didn't watch old stuff and I would skip the current PPVs. It didn't make sense for me to keep it. But as appealing as that old stuff can be, I implore anyone as dissatisfied with the modern product as me to just cancel. You can get pretty much anything you want through other means. God knows they put up enough stuff for free too. Have the drop in Network subscribers be a talking point in their next quarterly meeting, and have shareholders actually address the issue of the product sucking.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

That Seth v Miz match was great.

What's pissing me off about AJ vs Shinsuke feud is they aren't doing anything different than their usual "standard" matches. I get they started into the weapons and AJ got busted up, but compare that match to Gargano and Ciampa and it seems like they're holding back.

They had a good match and it seemed to be FINALLY kicking into high gear before the stupid finish, but I just don't think they've clicked yet. It's kind of like AAA said. They just go by default to the heat spot and Nak is busting out chinlocks and shit. IMO they lost the crowd for a while again.

Everything else was utterly forgettable.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I really liked them at WrestleMania. I haven't been bothered to watch anything else, so it didn't really hook me as much as I thought. Them wrestling in Chicago will be interesting. It's a crowd that would surely have a lot of respect for both guys, but would also demand a lot of them. That has to be the final match.

[Cool King]

I've just had a thought and maybe the ending of the WWE Championship Match last night was done as a way to work towards Styles and Nakamura meeting again next month in a ladder match.

The next PPV is Money In The Bank after all.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

They're obviously working towards a last match. But they haven't even gotten past 2nd gear in their other 3 matches. There's no pace in their matches. I feel like I'm watching Randy Orton vs Randy Orton.

[Mr. Nerfect]

That's a shame. I thought Styles/Nakamura was the best technically performed match at WrestleMania. My standards have been met, which is rare for modern WWE, but I can't speak to the other two. I'm sure that gear is in there somewhere and that there is a strategy behind them holding back. At least, I hope it is them holding back and that Nakamura isn't done. He's had one really great match in the WWE, but the rest have been "smartly worked" at best. I think he needs to bookend his run with a really great match, and if he can't do it against Styles, then who is he going to be able to do it with?

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

The work was "solid" at Mania, and "solid" in their other 2. But not great. They need to do something great to make Nakamura, otherwise he's just a guy.

[Mr. Nerfect]

A big problem I had when they called him up was that they hire him because he's so clearly not just another guy, yet they want all their guys to be just other guys.

I think if he had a fucking amazing match with Styles, all would be forgiven and he could coast on that reputation for a long time. He just needs to have that great showing. Against Styles in Chicago would be the place to do it. If he could do something with Bryan that would be great too. After that, he can go back to the chinlocks and people will "get it."

[Simple Fan]

I think it'll be a last man standing match next.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I dunno though, I feel like we want Nakamura to be a performative star -- a dude we know for great matches and next level performances; whereas they want him to a personality-based star, where he can go out there and do chinlocks and the general audience accepts him as a big deal. Like a Randy Orton or something. I feel like that dichotomy is causing some disenchantment with Shin's performances.

And if Nakamura has that really great match, how long is it before he is babyfaced? He can probably work with Styles and Bryan, but who is booing Awesome Shinsuke against, say, No Way Jose or whoever the fuck. I thought that was the purpose behind turning him, honestly, but we'll see.

[Big Vic]

I thought their match last night was really good, just wish it had an ending.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Honestly, Shinsuke Nakamura is a great professional wrestler trying to make it in the world of sports entertainment. I think he has done a really good job climatizing -- provided that you aren't expecting great professional wrestling from him. You know?

So many muddled feelings about his run.

[Mr. Nerfect]

While it feels like this should be building towards a crescendo, I can actually see Styles and Nakamura going until SummerSlam and maybe even beyond, just fucking because. Extreme Rules is after Money in the Bank, so does it make sense to create a new program for each guy? And if Nakamura actually wins the belt, then they will do the automatic rematch.

[Cool King]

They face each other in a ladder match at MITB but both men grab the title and it falls the ground.

The title is declared vacant.

Both men face each other for the vacant title at Extreme Rules in a Last Man Standing Match.

Shenanigans ensue and the loser claims things were unfair.

Both men meet each other at SummerSlam in some kind of specialty match to "settle it once and for all".

[Savio]

During the last man standing match both should not answer the count of 10

They meet at SummerSlam and have an inferno match but both catch fire at the same time.

Double finish next month too when both men accidentally get buried alive.

The feud ends with a kennel from hell match after both men run for the door but Nak gets his comeuppance by a dog biting his testicals.

[Innovator]

Honestly, Shinsuke Nakamura is a great professional wrestler trying to make it in the world of sports entertainment. I think he has done a really good job climatizing -- provided that you aren't expecting great professional wrestling from him. You know?

So many muddled feelings about his run.

The man spent the early part of his career having to do MMA and pro wrestling because Inoki wanted legit shoot stars.

Let him do character shit now.