The problem would be if WWE (Vince) believes he has it in him. All the potential in the world isn't going to mean squat if a) he gets the "we're bored now" treatment and taken off of tv, jobbed to hell, or both, b) he gets saddled with some dumbass, unsalvagable gimmick or angle that is a total dead-end, or c) he remains as-is, with no feuds or adversity to help advance some kind of character... which actually is a combination of a and b.

Remember the company philosophy; if he's over, it's because WWE made him. If he fails, it is totally 100% his fault for not connecting with fans.

Television Champion can do whatever the hell he wants!

DEGENRATION-KH!!!

Wonder if Rusev will be fined and have to issue a public apology for his heinous actions

Just some time in the local doghouse.

You mean some additional time in the dog house right? Figured that was what LoN was.

This is showing up as blank.... what happened?

Rusev took a picture crotch-chopping beside a sign that said "keep off the grass", while having one foot on the grass in an act of defiance.

He was fined $10,000 and suspended for 50 days, and WWE had to issue a full apology for his heinous actions.

People really need to know what to post on social media, and what not to post. :nono:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">What a guy <a href="https://t.co/ZQaYkL8Czg">pic.twitter.com/ZQaYkL8Czg</a></p>&mdash; Connor (@ConnorJA_) <a href="https://twitter.com/ConnorJA_/status/723237729157419008">April 21, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I feel really stupid but I got the new down with the machine Wyatt family shirt and the thing holding the lantern is a nun..so sister Abigail is a nun..

Shirt was only $15 on Amazon shipped with prime. Dont know why WWE would swell stuff on Amazon same price as WWE Shop when they charge ridiculous shipping

My mind just fucking exploded. Jo jo! Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn

If I could still post pictures here, I would totally update that doghouse pic.

Etor Epsilon has the correct facial expression looking ANYWHERE on Jojo.

still wanna hear more about Cody Hall's performances in Japan. What's been his best match so far?

Is it just me or does Maryse look like she's had some work done on her face? She looks a little different. Something seems off

I always assumed she was a nun or a nurse, hence the Sister. Did anyone think differently?

I always took it as just an old-timey southern thing. Referring to ones siblings as "sister _____" or "brother _____".

Looks like Celtic Park?

It's a Southern Protestant church thing. People in the same congregation call each other Brother or Sister followed by their first names. I assume they do it up north too, but it sounds better with a Southern accent. That shit would be mad annoying in a Boston accent.

She used to have an orange tan maybe it's that?

Being a new guy in NJPW he hasnt really had a lot of success other than being with Bullet Club. Mostly wrestles in 6 and 8 man tags and takes the fall. Worked a singles match with Micheal Elgin recently. Got his first singles win on April 2nd against Hirai Kawato.

Here's the Elgin match I guess it was his first singles match.

Cody's put on some size. Looks like much more of a bruiser. Good solid hard hitting big man much albeit a bit clunky at times. Definitely MUCH improved, has way more of a presence about him. I like him.

2nd Gen Kliq :) He will be fine.

Add in that he's a former army man who had an active deployment and Vince will jizz himself once he's made aware of him.

is the frowny face because you don't like Cody?

Embarrassed. Due to the thought of Vince jizz.

figured you'd be desensitized to vince cum by now. It's what he does.

"Kurt Angle is not moving! He is down and ou- OH MY GOD HE JUST BOUNCED HIMSELF TO LAND STANDING ON TOP OF THE CAGE!! WHERE IS HE GETTING THIS?!"-"This is so bizarre!"

a man in his mid-40s should not be taking fucking moonsaults from the top of a cage. especially not when everybody knows the move is not going to connect.

How do you know he did a moonsault after? Maybe he just climbed out after he jumped up there.

Looks like he might have had a little too much to drink

On Apollo Crews: I like him better on RAW than in NXT. He's a good enough talent to be able to sponge on the road. Give him shorter stuff and he can develop that personality over time. He's good in small amounts, and that's all they will probably give him. Have him win, and win, and win, and win. Not everything needs to be an angle. Just let him build momentum until he finally loses.

To be honest, and I know this won't be met with universal agreement, I think he will really develop into something as a heel. His over-the-top "I'm so happy to be here, listen to my life story, I'm born to be a champion" thing is so...forced. Who doesn't want to be a champion in WWE? There's some egocentric about it that I can see working into Rocky Maivia-style heat in time. His flips and shit could easily be presented as too "show-boaty" and disrespectful to his opponenets. Put him in $500 plain shirts he bought personally off a rap mega-star and he's an instant heel.

Jojo's body is out of this world. They need to give her some sort of personality on TV. I'd be fine with her a cheerleader for The New Day, not that they need her though.

Rusev is a great man. Seriously think he has got major babyface potential down the line.

On Sister Abigail: I thought it was explained in early NXT promos that Sister Abigail was some sort of nun? She found him and nursed him back to health and taught him the true way of the world. I always imagined her that way anyway.

But that being said, I think it is also NXT canon that Bray Wyatt confessed to killing his own father by trapping him on a burning boat, so there's that too...

The Usos are facing Anderson & Gallows on RAW tomorrow night. Am I the only one who hopes that this a complete and utter squash match? Something competitive won't do anything for the mystique of the newcomers. Let them dominate The Usos here.

And they have to turn on AJ Styles at Payback, don't they? They just have to.

Ambrose beats Jericho, Reigns beats Styles, The Club attacks Styles, AJ calls in Finn Balor to help at Extreme Rules. Jericho goes on to bitch about how he's the greatest IC Champion of all-time and challenges Cesaro. Ambrose is confused as Reigns selling out, which leads to him being put into the title picture after cutting some promos on how Reigns' turn has ripped his heart out. Here is my hopeful Extreme Rules card:

* Roman Reigns vs. Dean Ambrose for the WWE World Title (Extreme Rules?)
* The Roman Empire vs. AJ Styles & Finn Balor
* Cesaro vs. Chris Jericho for the Intercontinental Title
* Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch (vs. Sasha Banks?) in a Ladder Match for the Women's Title
* The New Day vs. Enzo & Cass for the Tag Team Titles

And I've got a feeling there might be some variation on Shane McMahon vs. Triple H.

where is RAW tomorrow? Hopefully in front of a smarter crowd. Anderson and Gallows need it.

It's in Hartford, Connecticut.

What's the bet we get an Authority/Shane segment? I'm happy for them to do a brand split at this point in time. I'll also lol if Triple H adds himself to the Roman Reigns/AJ Styles match. It actually wouldn't suck, although I think the match is doing fine.

I love Cesaro and Jericho and Ambrose, but they really need to do something to get me there for their upcoming matches. Jericho needs to really cut that hook promo. Why does he really hate Ambrose? The Miz needs to slow the comedy down and really dress down Cesaro to push the fans behind him more.

Half the card is really well built though.

Was considering going to this at the last minute. But decided against it.

What kind of crowd do we usually get in Hartford?

I don't know them to be particularly rowdy, and they've probably got a lot of "homestate" pride in the product. I imagine it might be quite marky. But maybe not.

I think it will be good for Anderson & Gallows get some genuine heat, to be honest.

Observer and/or Jack Swagger recently debunked rumors of Swagger leaving the WWE very soon.

Apparently a tweet he sent during the European tour ended up being the source of confusion with people implying the "last day" meant his last day for the company. Instead he only meant it as the last day of the tour for him since RAW is back in the US this week.

Been rumored for a while his time in the WWE is coming close to an end or whenever rumors of a roster spring cleaning pops up.

There is a good case to letting Swagger go. As the Squared Circle Gazette guys said on their podcast (I think it was John G. Chase), having him as a former World Heavyweight Champion detracts from the prestige of the top title. I wish they'd use Swagger better, but they seem to view him as enhancement. There are probably worse jobs in the world.

I'd still be on board for a Swagger Wyatt Family run. Bray could "save" him from a crumbling career and all the expectations of being such a blue chip athlete. Swagger & Harper as the primary team of The Family would be pretty great. Swagger has this way of enhancing all the partners he is with (Ziggler, Cesaro, etc.). Either that or a stint in NXT where he's the big dawg stepping down to try and rediscover his killer instinct could be cool. Joe vs. Swagger is far from the worst match they could do. Swagger vs. Balor has some charm to it too.

Hugo Savinovich is a boss. Just listened to him on MVP's podcast, and he seems like such a cool guy with a lot of knowledge about the business. The tour he just put on in Chile sounds pretty amazing. Would love to see him get a bit of traction and get something on the TV here with Rey Mysterio, MVP, Carlito, Bobby Lashley, Matt Hardy, Santana Garrett, Taya, Johnny Mundo, Chris Masters, Pentagon, Jr., Drago, etc.

I could get on board with Joe vs Swagger on NXT for sure.

Would you like to see the Zeb Colter pairing re-visited, or is that done and dusted now?

MVP gonna be at local rassling show I am covering on Friday....

Sick. Always liked MVP. Don't love him, but the guy is pretty good and seems like a rad individual. :y:

Hell no. They can reunite and claim they are going to "Make WWE Great again!" and do The Donald Trump thing. It would still work. Still never forget how I was called racist for cheering Swagger :lol:

Holy shit, Trump Supporter Swagger would be amazing.

In fact, I motion for him to be made the United States Champion immediately.

The WWE have really flattened Sheamus and Del Rio, haven't they? I have no clue where they go with these guys from here. I imagine the League of Nations will be feuding soon and Rusev will be a babyface, but I'm not sure how much momentum he will really get from beating Sheamus and Del Rio.

They wouldn't even have to officially support Trump, just use his mannerisms and shit he says. He has history in WWE and with Vince, they could really build SOMETHING out of it and it would be different.

I've got an odd feeling that if they do a King of the Ring tournament this year, Rusev wins it and calls himself "Rusev the Great."

Oh yeah, you wouldn't actually mention Trump, but the obvious connotations would be there.

Swagger would probably just the hold the title until Cena gets back, but it's something for the guy.

Random WrestleMania 33 thought: I think we might get Triple H vs. Shinsuke Nakamura at Mania in Orlando. It seems ridiculous to not include Nakamura on the PPV, and with limited spots, I can see him being the opponent Triple H fights to get.

Bring back the Great American Bash

Wouldn't be a bad match. Brock vs Nakumara really sounds good though. Think I read some where they were both added to a Hawaii show that might be a network special so might get it befor WM.

Hmm. I don't see that working for the casual fan, just visually. Nakamura feels too "new." I know they have wrestled before, but I just can't see the WWE going that route. And I think Triple H's ego is going to put him in there with someone that is going to have eyeballs on them that he gets to "make." My mind went to AJ first, then to Balor, and then I thought "Of course it's going to be Nakamura."

I see Brock around the title at Mania. I'd love to see the Shield Triple Threat, but I have a feeling they're going to go in with Reigns and try and give the Reigns vs. Brock match a conclusion. The only other thing really for Brock is Orton, and I'm not sure how keen Orton would be on that match, or just how much genuine interest there is in it. That's not a knock on them, but it feels like Babyface Orton is someone you don't want to see get punched in the head repeatedly by Brock, and Heel Orton isn't much of a threat once he's destroyed by Brock. There's not much of a "rub" gained by either man. I dunno, never been high on that match just due to how I see them matching up chemistry-wise.

The time for Cena vs. Taker came and went, I feel, but I'm sure they're going to try and do whatever they can to make sure it happens. That leaves Rollins and Ambrose without opponents. I can see them automatically being matched up. Maybe some sort of "ultimate rivalries" tag team match? Whoever the heels are align to face whoever the babies are. Maybe Vince, Shane or Triple H do something sadistic and put Owens & Zayn on the same side against Ambrose & Rollins? A "fuck you, this is WrestleMania, so we know how hard you'll fight even though you hate your partners" sort of thing. Orton is left without an opponent then, so I can see him being put with AJ Styles, who seems the next highest up. As I said in another thread, I can see The Wyatt Family and The Balor Club facing off in a six-man for the ages. You're probably going to repeat you 7 guy Ladder Match for the IC Title to build that "tradition." I imagine this is where Cesaro, Dolph Ziggler, Adrian Neville, Kalisto and Del Rio end up. There's two more spots, and I can see them giving one to Sheamus since he's a featured guy. Rusev would be the next most important guy, but I see him being given Battle Royal shine, alongside Big Show, Baron Corbin and Samoa Joe. Apollo Crews for the Ladder Match, actually. Enzo & Cass could be given shine on the Kickoff Show to hype people up, win a tag team match, then appear in the Battle Royal. The Usos will probably be in there too, given that they haven't been featured on the main card yet. I thought they might put them against Big Show & Kane in a sort of "nightmare becomes reality" moment to try and make them look like hoss-beating giant killers, but I don't see them featuring that main card. Maybe on the RAW After Mania.

Obviously a lot can happen between now and then, but those are my current standing predictions.

I like it. Unfortunately that means WWE won't do it... Honestly I do think they'll turn on Styles to cost him the match, but I don't think Roman will be involved in any way, shape, or form. Then at Extreme Rules we'll probably get stuck with Roman vs Sheamus or some other nonsense that makes no sense.

Also I don't feel like Enzo and Cass are getting the win in the tournament either. With New Day being face now they're almost certainly going to throw the Vaudevillans at them, likely to get eaten in the process.

I hope I'm wrong, but given the current product I'm not holding my breath.

So you'd get:

* Reigns vs. Brock for the World Title
* Taker vs. Cena
* Triple H vs. Nakamura
* Charlotte vs. Sasha vs. Becky vs. Bayley for the Women's Title
* Andre Battle Royal
* Owens & Zayn vs. Ambrose & Rollins (possibly a 4-Way for the US Title?)
* Orton vs. Styles
* The Wyatts vs. The Balor Club
* Ladder Match for the IC Title: Cesaro vs. Ziggler vs. Neville vs. Kalisto vs. Sheamus vs. Del Rio vs. Crews

Honestly, I can see that. I think the turn might come after the match, actually. Reigns beats Styles clean, and The Good Brothers attack because out of disappointment because AJ didn't want their help.

I could honestly see them putting Jericho over Ambrose at Payback somehow in order to build him up for a title shot. Either that or some sort of Triple Threat against Jericho and Ambrose for the title at Extreme Rules.

Based on recent tapings, Season 3 might end up as a curse for Lucha Underground just in terms of people getting hurt.

Not to be cynical, but with some of their recent politics, these injuries and such, I can see a huge exodus from Lucha Underground soon, and the company kind of being left high and dry. I think it will get a Season 4, but it wouldn't surprise me if they take it one season at a time after that.

Only if WWE raids them. The contracts appear to be for 7 seasons, but if there's no news of it being renewed by the end of the final set of tapings, they can get out of their contracts pretty easy which is why there were season 1 leavers. Virtually all of the season 2 cast should be back for season 3.

It's probably a good gig, because I think they do 4 weeks of TV in a night, so the seasons filming doesn't last long other than doing backstage stuff and pickups, then they're free to work anywhere else in the meantime.

Not sure what is meant by politics though. I've not been following the backstage stuff too much recently.

Apparently there are a few people disgruntled at MVP being let go for trying to get some publicity for the company, and a few guys want out to pursue other things, but the company's got them locked down with the 7 season stuff.

Just like NXT has become the fed that Jim Cornette envisioned ROH to be, this Global Cruiserweight Series is probably going to tap into the thunder that Lucha Underground has and be a seasonal little show featuring high octane stuff. I can imagine guys like Pentagon, Jr., Drago, Fenix and Ricochet all ending up there eventually.

Ah yeah, did some googling and just read about the MVP stuff. That's a bummer, still a fan of his and didn't even know he'd signed.

I dunno, I think it will be a great show for the in ring matches and I can't wait to watch it, but I've ended up watching Lucha for the storylines as much as the in ring product. I just love that everything has progression, even if it is this silly supernatural thing.

Yeah, I think he was doing agent stuff. Apparently Paul London works there too.

I'm curious to see the format this GCS takes. I doubt it will just be tournament match, tournament match, tournament match, tournament match, etc. I imagine guys that lose will stick around and compete in tag team bouts, and get involved in storylines as they look for redemption and that sort of thing.

I'm glad Jack Gallagher has qualified. He looks like a real man's man.

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images...0/3xZGmLlT.jpg

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jW9cnAbiyrA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Curious to see how the WWE presents Zack Sabre, Jr. too.

Random thought: People might think I'm insane and that the man should never turn heel, but if he does I see Sami Zayn being insanely good in the role. One of the best "actors" on the roster.

A video just got posted on WWE.com with Del Rio saying that the League of Nations was now disbanded. WWE couldn't even be bothered to give them an on-screen breakup to try to do anything with it.

Good thing they got the win at WrestleMania, then.

The entire situation with Del Rio has been completely baffling, honestly. He's a great wrestler but not once since he returned have I gotten the impression that he actually gives a shit.

He's basically just cashing in on the shitload of money WWE gave him to return and is riding out his last year or so before retirement onc ruise control.

After how they treated him before I don't blame him for a second.

I don't either. I'd be doing the same thing. I'm more just baffled that WWE even bothered to make the investment. They had to have known what they'd be getting.

as "good" as he is, he's never really done anything before other than go through the motions, so I don't know how they expected anything different. He's Mexican Orton.

His time off as Alberto El Patron was way better than anything WWE has done with him since.

As for the League of Nations...just toss it on to the ever growing pile of evidence that WWE really have no idea how to do any long-term planning for anything other than the main event scene, and even that is highly suspect. Everything and everyone in the midcard has been stopped and started so much that it's just impossible to care about any of it.

TBH though RAW has been much better the past couple of weeks. I ignored last week's raw but I think we're gonna have a solid few weeks of live raw before we go back through the motions and I stop watching again :p

WWE makes a ton of money on their TV rights fees so I don't think they are concerned.

USA Network popping bottles of champagne and highfiving etc.

So how long before Del Rio goes after Kalisto for the US title?