Open WWE/NXT/Pro Wrestling thread

[imminent rogaine]

6 hours ago, teeray said:

Corey Graves has moved to RAW and will join Michael Cole and Byron Saxton

JBL moves the Smackdown with Mauro and King is off TV

Graves has been pretty great on NXT so I hope that translates well to RAW

They should have replaced Cole with Mauro while they were at it. Michael Cole is the absolute worst. When they pan to the announce table and I see him bopping up and down in his chair with every syllable that he says, I want to choke him through the tv.

[imminent rogaine]

What happens to Luke Harper when he heals?

This is kind of annoying. Now I will flip on smack down because of Wyatt and Lynch.

But I'm curious about Balor on Raw maybe Enzo & Cass too, so I guess I'll check that out too.

Hopefully this is being done in the hopes that there will be some sort of competition for better shows. If this is still being done under one guiding force then it will just be two shitty products which is status quo for RAW.

[imminent rogaine]

And why didn't Bayley get drafted? Were certain people protected/exempt?

[methodtoll]

  A few thoughts on the WWE Draft:

-  Initially I was questioning why The Club was split so soon when they were one of the best up and coming stables in WWE. After thinking about the talent that is coming to RAW I quickly realize that Finn Balor was once a member of The Bullet Club in NJWP and this could potentially be the story leading into the new era of RAW.

- In regards to A.J. Styles, I think Gallows and Andersen were there to simply put Styles over as a top heel and I think the announcers hinted that the fued between him and Cena will continue through, at least, Summerslam (hence the reason Cena was drafted to Smackdown.)

-  I was slightly disappointed in the selection of the NXT talent. Finn Balor and American Alpha I could see but where was Bayley? Or Samoa Joe? Or Nakamera (sp?) ? Only theory I can come up with is that they don't want all of their talent going away all at once.

- While there was big names that did get drafted, I still felt like the draft was underwhelming. I kept thinking there was going to be some big names returning but really just a generic draft with no shockwaves. I wonder if maybe they will do an angle where a major name does return and becomes a major "free agent" in which both shows are fighting for.

- The major head scratcher for me is The Wyatt Family breaking up. I always thought the reason Bray Wyatt came across so good and powerful was because of his "family" behind him. I am guessing WWE felt it was time for him to develop as a singles guy. Time will tell.

Overall... It was a decent draft and I like where everyone went but I could not the understand why this draft was hyped so big to only be just a generic draft. Time will tell but seriously hope they actually give these young guys chances and stop trying to put over Reigns.

[teeray]

1 hour ago, imminent rogaine said:

And why didn't Bayley get drafted? Were certain people protected/exempt.

No one was protected or exempt in kayfabe.  

I have no good explanation on why Bayley was not drafted either in storyline or reality other than they wanted her to have a big debut at a later date.

She likely has a match at the next NXT Takeover against Asuka, so perhaps they want to maintain suspense for that match instead of everyone knowing Asuka is going to win.

I do have a theory though.

RAW never made their last pick.  There were supposed to be 60 total picks with RAW having last pick but there were only 59 picks.  RAW also only drafted one NXT female yet Smackdown drafted 2 NXT females

Sasha Banks has a "mystery partner" for Battleground on Sunday and it is possible that Bayley is that partner as well as that pick that wasn't announced last night.

If her partner is anyone other than Bayley, I would say there is a decent to good chance that partner is either booed out of the building or mostly met with silence.

Only something like Trish Stratus or Lita returning or MAYBE Nikki Bella returning.

Naomi or Jax will get booed out of the building.

Paige wouldn't get booed, but probably just silence.

So it almost HAS to be Bayley or else fans will probably hijack the match.  Fans almost hijacked the main event last night. They started chanted "We want Bayley" during the Rollins vs Ambrose match.

I know this.  No other NXT woman deserves to be called up more than Bayley.  But I am also a total mark for her so I am biased

[party_animal]

Some of the selections were strange from a kayfabe standpoint. For instance ....

 

Nakamura, Joe, Hideo Itami, Bayley, and even Aries are on the board so let's go with Mojo Rawley! 

 

Seriously, Rawley is trash.

[Still Brooklyn]

They have to keep NXT somewhat relevant and watchable. Get rid of all the names and it will suffer, while still being good of course. I'm just glad Naka and Joe are still there so I can see them in August.

[teeray]

This Cruiserweight Classic is pretty damn awesome.

[party_animal]

8 hours ago, teeray said:

This Cruiserweight Classic is pretty damn awesome.

I agree. Last night's show was really good. Dorado and Mustafa Ali was one of the best matches I've seen this year.

[Zaximus]

I'm sure contracts have something to do with it.  I know that the NXT contracts allow some of those guys to wrestle for other promotions at the same time, and I think this is a big reason Samoa Joe is where he's at.  

[imminent rogaine]

14 hours ago, teeray said:

No one was protected or exempt in kayfabe.

I have no good explanation on why Bayley was not drafted either in storyline or reality other than they wanted her to have a big debut at a later date.

She likely has a match at the next NXT Takeover against Asuka, so perhaps they want to maintain suspense for that match instead of everyone knowing Asuka is going to win.

I do have a theory though.

RAW never made their last pick.  There were supposed to be 60 total picks with RAW having last pick but there were only 59 picks.  RAW also only drafted one NXT female yet Smackdown drafted 2 NXT females

Sasha Banks has a "mystery partner" for Battleground on Sunday and it is possible that Bayley is that partner as well as that pick that wasn't announced last night.

If her partner is anyone other than Bayley, I would say there is a decent to good chance that partner is either booed out of the building or mostly met with silence.

Only something like Trish Stratus or Lita returning or MAYBE Nikki Bella returning.

Naomi or Jax will get booed out of the building.

Paige wouldn't get booed, but probably just silence.

So it almost HAS to be Bayley or else fans will probably hijack the match.  Fans almost hijacked the main event last night. They started chanted "We want Bayley" during the Rollins vs Ambrose match.

I know this.  No other NXT woman deserves to be called up more than Bayley.  But I am also a total mark for her so I am biased

Pretty good theory.

I forgot Ryback hadn't been drafted either but I guess they are still working on a contract. or not - I don't think anyone cares.

[imminent rogaine]

Has anyone been watching Ultima Lucha Dos?

 

**Spoiler**

That ending was sick as in it made me cringe. I don't know all of the gimmicks and effects they can do but I'm pretty sure Vampiro was actually cut to poo with that barbed wire bat. Pentagon kept wiping the blood off with his hand and you could see it pooling back up and running down Vampiro's face. And he licked it, repeatedly....

[teeray]

1 hour ago, Zaximus said:

I'm sure contracts have something to do with it.  I know that the NXT contracts allow some of those guys to wrestle for other promotions at the same time, and I think this is a big reason Samoa Joe is where he's at.  

Joe originally had a contract that allowed him to appear for other promotions, but he is now WWE exclusive.

The Observer said there would be more call ups from NXT in the fall after SummerSlam and my hunch is whoever loses the Joe vs Nakamura match at Takeover Brooklyn will be on main roster soon thereafter

If Bayley is not Sasha's partner this Sunday that is also when she will likely debut.

 

[teeray]

1 hour ago, imminent rogaine said:

Pretty good theory.

I forgot Ryback hadn't been drafted either but I guess they are still working on a contract. or not - I don't think anyone cares.

He is done.  He is still under contract for a few more weeks but from what I hear they arent even talking.  He will be a free agent soon