I am still amused at the fact that Roman Reigns' return was set up with a new shirt, where he declares himself "the Needle Mover." In Chicago.

I also may have bought said shirt.

Glorious.

Everyone seems to be predicting that Heyman is going to reveal he was with Roman Reigns all along at Day 1. I hope they at least trial babyface Heyman. We should get a few weeks of him cutting promos at least pretending to be on the side of Brock. Explore that. If it works, run with it.

Or they could have Reigns realize he needs Heyman and want him back as early as this week. That whole segment seemed to be to set up what a force Brock is.

Brock has not seemed like a moron in this story. He is playing Paul more so than Paul is playing Brock. A way to go forward may be to have Heyman speaking out against Reigns, so you get that babyface fire goodness, but Brock actually turns down Paul’s offer to be at ringside. This nullifies the risk of being turned on, but also provides an out because Brock is sans a major tool.

The build to WrestleMania can still play off the idea that each side is skeptical of Heyman’s motives.

Heyman gets Brock into the Royal Rumble, Roman puts a hit out on Brock. The Usos start off the Rumble on purpose and Roman makes a statement that they are going to tear through everyone en route to Brock, and they can either work with the Bloodline or against them. You get a couple of heels who do join with The Usos (your Robert Roodes and Happy Corbins). You get a couple of babyfaces who don’t go for it though. They fight valiantly, but all get eliminated (maybe one guy takes out one of the heels). Brock then comes in, shatters everyone. Next couple of guys get obliterated. The big game changer is Bobby Lashley. They stare down, get into a brawl, other guys start to enter. Final few are Brock, Lashley, Owens, Zayn, McIntyre, Edge and maybe Orton or Damian Priest. Brock wins, maybe with Lashley going last, and Brock vs. Roman is confirmed for Mania.

I had this idea that Lashley could enter as WWE Champion ala Brock a few years ago, which can tease the idea of Brock vs. Lashley too. But that doesn’t really matter.

Other SmackDown matches:

* Sami Zayn vs. Cesaro for the IC Title. Zayn gets the belt and wants to challenge Brock for his spot in the main event as the #2 Contender. Actually, that’s who I had as the Rumble runner-up. In an “oh shit, I’m alone here with Brock” spot. Zayn can maybe tip out both Brock and Lashley near the end, but Brock holds on. Zany gets destroyed by Lesnar. Cesaro calls Zayn out for being a bit of a laughing stock as IC Champion because of it, and makes a few jabs about how prestigious the belt used to be. Zayn mocks Cesaro because he’s never held it. You can reference their NXT feud as a deep cut. “I can’t believe I chased your respect for so long.” “At NXT Arrival, you told me you respected me. But I no longer respect you, Antonio.” Boom. Cesaro wins and WALTER eventually comes up to go after the IC Title.

* Sheamus vs. Shinsuke Nakamura in a fight Sheamus picks because he starts being a prick about “Strong Style.” He used to watch Japanese legends. Now wannabe Japanese legends look up to him. Have Sheamus start calling himself the “King of King’s Road.” Or “The King of Stronger Style.” Ridge Holland and Rick Boogs can wrestle on the pre-show or in the Battle Royal.

And the rest:

* Drew McIntyre vs. Happy Corbin
* The Usos vs. The New Day vs. The Viking Raiders vs. Los Lotharios in a Ladder Match
* Sonya Deville, Shayna Baszler, Shotzi & Aliyah vs. Naomi, Natalya, Toni Storm & a returning Asuka — possibly with the stip that if Naomi’s team wins, she gets to take Sonya’s job for 90 days or something

They’re not all barnburners, obviously, but you’ve got some really good stories in there (Reigns/Brock, Zayn/Cesaro). The Ladder Match could fuel the main event story (The Usos can get hurt and taken out as a factor). You’d have a moment or two. More of a “fun” card than an epic one, until you get to the title matches.

Wish they would put the belt on Toni Storm, or anybody but Charlotte really.

Toni Storm is hot, but she isn’t a very good talker and her work on Smackers has looked a bit off. I don’t expect her to take the belt off Charlotte.

I’ve got no clue what is going to happen with Roman/Brock. People are predicting Heyman to reveal he was with Reigns all along. That’s so Russo. Heyman is very protective of making Brock look good. He’ll look stupid as shit if he falls for it.

I either see Brock telling Heyman to stay out of it, allowing the numbers to screw Brock, or maybe even for Brock to win the title. Fascinating stuff though. Heyman is on another level.

The Tribal Chief returns from his brief porn excursion!

https://www.tpwwforums.com/showthread.php?t=138744

Mickie James is in the Royal Rumble what the duck is happening

Tuned in briefly to be repulsed by the Charlotte Flair - Naomi promo segment.

Well… didn’t see that one coming.

naomi winning the rumble

I didn't ever hear them say Mickie James lol. Summer Rae though, that's what I heard!

someone screwed up at vid editing she is still pissed at the trash bag.

well i guess true saw a wwe report impact works with everyone.

What is Seth “Freakin” Rollins doing on Smackdown?

Charlotte being allowed to be in the Rumble is dumb as fuck

You know she’ll last right up to the end too

what choice do they have here? not enough women to fill out the rumble. charlotte is one of the best, just has the "cena" effect of being shoved down the viewer's throats.


they will do fuckall with Mickie James - they just need bodies. I want to be wrong.

Reigns - Rollins!

A Show Time!

"WWE Legend...Summer Rae!" lol

easy e back make him gm

double j there too

turkey tits tompson better be doing a good podcast easy-e and j

It’s definitely a show.

Personally gutted they did not continue the long term story with Cesaro and Mansoor this week. Mansaro are my favourite team.

Boogs pretty damn over

Seth will be the heel tomorrow loved there promo tonight

Your Smackdown! recap, TPWW.

yeah i fear this is a dead site. aew gets a little interest wwe ppvs might get a few pages but anything else dead.

It’s more that nobody on this board gives a fuck about WWE anymore. There’s nothing to discuss in WWE TV threads.

Rumble might have a fairly active thread because it’s the most fun WWE show of the year but that’s about it.

#ShutItDown

I watch Raw, NXT, and SmackDown pretty much every week, there’s just very little that’s worth talking about at any great length.

Wrestling is dead, folks. WWE shot it in the leg and AEW caught up to it and chopped its head off with an axe.

And the people who want to switch their brains off and enjoy parts of WWE don’t want to talk about it with a bunch of nerds like us. Wrestling fans are one of the worst things about wrestling.

i agree with all of this, but what does this mean for, ya know... us?

Haha, what we make of it, I guess. Try to have fun in your own way and make the most of it. If you want to find a new hobby, you can do that. I try to have discussions about what I think it is wrong and what can be fixed to try and cultivate at least some sort of culture to want change, but I can definitely see why people think I’m yelling at clouds with that one. But it’s fun for me and keeps me thinking about something that has been a big part of my formative experiences.

Big E moved over on wwe.com, so he’s officially back on “Team Blue”.

That’s the vibe I got from all the backstage interview segments and stuff I saw.