https://statics.sportskeeda.com/edit...475471-800.jpg

There are plenty of photos like this, sadly.

Is Buddy Murphy only employed at this point because he's engaged to Alexa? He'd done a whole lot of nothing in the year and a half since Blake and Murphy split up, but now he's been added to the cast of Total Divas seemingly out of necessity.

It's like he's being paid to continue having sex with Alexa Bliss. Fantastic work if you can get it.

I think it's probably because he's Australian, looks good, is one of Triple H's lads, does a cool move or two, doesn't get paid much, and is something of a "name" for NXT live events. I mean, he's not really, but people have seen him on the TV.

That being said, I do kind of always half-expect the WWE to cut their losses with both him and Blake every wave of releases.

lol That pic reminded me of the time Roman Reigns was feuding with Cena and he said something like "Business has been booming with me. Attendance is great..." and Cena immediately motioned to an empty part of the arena and gave him an "lolwhat" look.

I only thought of it because on the main page they posted a Total Divas clip where Alexa and Murphy are eating with Nia and Nia is just giving them all sorts of shit about them not getting married yet despite being engaged for a while.

Murphy's probably clinging to her like grim death.

Haha, I love Cena, but god he can't help but bury guys sometimes. That being said, they allow themselves to be buried.

Yeah, fuck it. It's not like he's going out there and telling AJ Styles he's a terrible wrestler or ragging on The Rock for being a shit promo. He tends to go with the uncomfortable truth angle. I'm glad there's an untouchable guy around to say what he wants and not give a fuck.

Can you imagine if two guys were feuding and one guy, standing in the middle of a half-empty arena, is talking about ticket sales being higher than ever and then the other guy just nods like "Fair point..." Makes the whole company look awkwardly delusional. At least a guy like Cena can reel that vibe back a LITTLE.

Only problem with Cena's "shoot" style promos is the other guy involved rarely gets to respond the same way back. Same for the countless times Cena trashed a wrestler's gimmick but didn't get the same thrown back towards him.

The Miz being able to counter Cena's "shoots" with his own made their promo war last year really good overall.

I wouldn't say it's the only problem. The Rock could get away with it, because who The Rock was really promoting was himself. They knew that he would be the draw. As a cocky heel, you wanted to see his smug ass get handed to him, and it built. Makes no sense for a babyface to do it, other than The Rock, because he was the reason people were tuning in to see him. But even then, his insult comedy really didn't bury his opponents. He was just like "I'm going to kick you ass, and I don't like your *insert physical characteristic here*"

Rusev Day is 364/365 days because...

https://jjchandler.files.wordpress.c...ay-2.jpg?w=614

Remember when they gave WCW shit for allegedly pipping in Goldberg chants?

I feel like Reigns shoud have went at their promo 'war' with all the people Cena has lost against in the recent years.

I think I'm officially a Bianca Belair mark.

The Ember Moon interview on the most recent NXT made her a ton more likable.

According to the Observer, WWE is currently working on a deal for Candice LeRae.

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He’s a proud Papa.

Had no idea Candice LeRae was 32. She looks like she's about 25.

Hurricane Helms is hilarious on the most recent E&C podcast. I forgot that I used to actually like him for a while.

Daniel Bryan still making everything he touches gold.

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Hm, for some reason I thought midgets were infertile.

Daniel Bryan is the best.

I almost called him the GOAT, but didn't want to be rude.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Tokyo Dome is going ballistic for <a href="https://twitter.com/TIMEBOMB1105?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TIMEBOMB1105</a>! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/njwk12?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#njwk12</a>��<br><br>➡️ <a href="https://t.co/8n90d75Nfk">https://t.co/8n90d75Nfk</a> <a href="https://t.co/9u2YvKBWUN">pic.twitter.com/9u2YvKBWUN</a></p>&mdash; TDE Wrestling (@totaldivaseps) <a href="https://twitter.com/totaldivaseps/status/948868717395501056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
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According to the Observer, both War Machine and Ricochet/Prince Puma have officially signed deals with the WWE.

Well, they have their 205 Live star.

I like War Machine, but I just feel like they have got enough big sweaty man tag teams. I guess the AOP will end up on either Raw or SmackDown and War Machine's purpose will almost be to fight The Bludgeon Brothers. Maybe they can go through all the big sweaty men en route to that match. I'd be fine with War Machine vs. Harper & Rowan on the Mania Kickoff.

Batista has always been highly underrated.

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Does Bats make you happy in the pants? @ Guru Dave

It would be nice to have another man in the house.

You can see that heel turn coming from a mile off.

I see both Batista and Rey working with the WWE in 2018. In some capacity.

I remember thinking that Batista heel turn was brutal. In a good way.

I loved when the Batisa heel turn happened. By that point he had been a face for 4 and a half years and he was beyond stale by that point. The heel turn made him way more interesting and allowed him to really show off his personality in a way he never could before.

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Used to love fucking Funaki. Going to be so happy when he goes into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Trying to figure out mystery spots for the Women's Royal Rumble. Currently there have been 14 entrants announced and I'd think it's a safe assumption that Becky Lynch, Nia Jax, Mickie James, Alicia Fox, and Dana Brooke will bring it up to 19. So that leaves 11 spots to play with.

Meltzer's said that most of the mystery spots will probably be filled with NXT women, but I'm really not so sure. Recent history shows that when NXT names are used to fill out the Rumble it's because there are imminent plans to call them up.

Bo Dallas in 2013 and Sami Zayn in 2016 were both officially added to the main roster starting the next night (although plucky face Bo got sent back down after a failed feud with Barrett when they realized he truly wasn't ready). Rusev in 2014 and Tye Dillinger in 2017 were groomed for call ups which happened after Mania. So I think any NXT women who come up will be used on the main roster in the not too distant future.

The Iconic Duo spring to mind right away. They've been in NXT for quite a while and I'd have to think they're finally going to get their due soon after being passed over for the recent wave of women, many of whom just don't seem ready for the main roster. Plus they'd help eat up 2 spots for the Rumble.

Nikki Cross is the other one that feels likely to me. She can get an elimination or two and be given some nice shine. Sanity feel like strong candidates for a post-Mania call ups so Cross being in this would make for a nice preview.

If there is another NXT woman added, I really would love to see Sara Del Rey get one WWE match. It's a smarky crowd, they'll know who she is. It'd be a nice thank you for the work she's been putting in with the girls in NXT.

Nikki Bella returning is a possibility, she's been gone for ages. And you've got Ronda Rousey being heavily rumored as well.

Hopefully they can sprinkle in some unexpected ones though. I'd be thrilled to see Victoria get one last match.

Beth Phoenix will be in this shit.

You can see most heel turns coming. But Goddamn, that was great. Way better than if he did the typical "raise his hand and then suddenly clothesline him" thing. Loved the slow burn. Seriously one of my favorite heel turns I can ever remember.

Ronda will be in, so let's call that 20. Nikki Bella returning for it makes sense too. 21. I think there will be a couple of blasts from the past. Beth Phoenix seems like a good candidate, unless they simply get her to do commentary for it, but let's throw her in there for a Natalya interaction. 22. Molly Holly? She did a Table for 3 and I'm sure she's stayed in shape. 23. Victoria's name always comes up, and I'm surprised they've never done anything with her. 24. Lita? I'm sure she can still go to some extent. 25. Has Brie worked off the baby stuff yet? 25. Trish Stratus had her next child. 26. It wouldn't surprise me to see Jacqueline get another call to be in. 27. Now, from NXT:

I think Nikki Cross' fire spot where she comes in and starts scrapping with people is fun and inoffensive enough to earn her a spot, even if she doesn't come up. They'll give her some spotlight. 28. The other girl that I think would really add something with her unique stuff with Bianca Belair with the hair whips. 29. We've got one golden spot left.

I'd kind of like to see them give it to Sara Amato, as you said, but I'm also secretly hoping for Kharma. I think she needed a bit of help for a while there. But it sounds like she has made a physical and mental recovery, and the WWE likes a feel-good story like that.

We're at 30. It would be nice if Sarah Stock and Sara Amato could both get in. I also have this suspicion that they'll re-trial Melina too. So she could be in. And Kelly Kelly's name also comes up. It wouldn't surprise me if Brie and Jacqueline are taken out so that Kelly and Melina can get in. Blue Pants might also make a surprise appearance. I dunno. It's hard to call it all, and you really want to make those surprises count. But Melina and Kelly Kelly probably aren't high priority. I feel surprisingly safe in predicting Beth Phoenix, Ronda Rousey, Nikki Bella, Nikki Cross and Bianca Belair. I do think that the other spots are really just who they feel like making calls to on that particular day. I am going to guess Molly Holly, Victoria and Kharma, even if Kharma is jus a one-off. Do Lita and Trish do it? Hmm. I actually think they kind of get out the way a little bit. Sara Amato going in seems...cool. Jacqueline getting to just be the tough vet and another Hall of Famer in there would be a nice touch. That leaves one more spot. Fuck it -- Kelly Kelly. No, wait, Melina. For diversity's sake, because she's got the Hispanic heritage or whatever.

Final predictions: Beth Phoenix, Ronda Rousey, Nikki Bella, Nikki Cross, Bianca Belair, Molly Holly, Victoria, Kharma, Melina, Sara Amato and Jacqueline.

Match predictions:

* Natalya and Beth Phoenix re-form their "Divas of Destruction," although they probably don't use the name, and kick ass together for a while.

* Kharma gets to have a monster moment with Nia and Tamina, but is ultimately eliminated by Nia.

* Nikki Cross runs while but is dumped out fairly quickly, but gets a nice "we recognize you" pop.

* Bianca Belair' hair whips get so over.

* Nikki Bella gets booed.

* Molly does the Molly-Go-Round.

* Alexa Bliss throws out Asuka to sell that she's terrified of her.

* Absolution and The Riott Squad face-off and have a brawl.

* Someone screws Nikki Bella to treat her like the biggest star in the match, even though Philly will hate her.

* Sara Amato is #30 and no one knows what the music means until she appears on the stage.

Final four: Ronda Rousey, Sara Amato, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch. Can kind of actually see Becky being the runner-up. Probably Sasha. Could be Nia, but I think Sasha is going to keep the crowd more at the end and she looks so good when she is ultimately defeated.

I got bored, so here is my "somewhat realistic" WrestleMania card, even though it's still way too far out to properly predict anything:

Eat more hot pockets

I was just thinking back to some developmental wrestlers from the old OVW/HWA days. I never saw him work, but a name that popped into my head is Ron "H2O" Waterman. He's 52 years old now. Was jacked to the fucking gills -- kind of looks like Scott Steiner. Found out he went to Japan and competed in MMA. Nothing about him retiring, but his record hasn't been updated on Wikipedia in about 9 years, haha. He won the NJPW Ultimate Royal in 2005. He helped train Shane Carwin for Brock Lesnar for UFC 116. Just thought I would share.

Davey Boy Smith, Jr. is only 32 years old. Holy fuck. I wonder when the WWE signs him again? Lance Archer is 40.

I don't want anyone I like leaving NJPW.

WWE can have Yoshi-Hashi.

Davey boy would be a great challenge for Tana or Okada if they push him hard.

FROM THE FRONT FUCKING PAGE!
 

Christy Hemme Gives Birth to Quadruplets

Damn, that must've been some hardcore fucking.

Hemme Lee Patterson, Jagger James Patterson, Quinn Eugene Patterson, and Sunni Sue Patterson

Holy fuck at those names.

Took me ages to work out why they had the Patterson surname when Mike’s surname is Bennett.

Then I realised that Christy Hemme is not Maria.

That's basically child abuse.

Now that I think about this, we do have a law about names in Poland.

Sadly they keep adding new ones, mostly bastardized versions of English names

So it's just English names spelled phonetically, like Brajan, Dżesika, etc.

Show me anyone outside of the internet that cares about Japan?

I mean, the majority of developed nations now have internet access so I don't understand this post. And how could we show you outside of the internet?

There's 2 people at work who watch NJPW, but I think they have internet connections. Sorry :(

I hope Jagger pronounces his name like Jagermeister

I'd argue she named that kid Jagger because her mother was a groupie for The Rolling Stones.

If the internet fan base was actually as big as you claim then Ziggler,Ryder,Gallows/Anderson would get huge reactions every week.

Black Widow is right on the money. Nobody cares about Shrimp Fried Rice Pro Wrestling.

Woah woah woah, no one said anything about an internet fanbase. Just the internet earlier.

I don't think Ziggler would get a reaction at his own birthday to be honest.

Hey hey hey, no one cares about old guys with beer guts in the 70's putting on headlocks for 10 minutes, but we don't rag on you for enjoying it.

:lol:

For the record, I love shrimp fried rice.

Black Widow is also the trolliest of trolls.

And a member of the KKK.

Yeah, she's also probably a middle-aged balding guy sitting in a grease-stained wifebeater and long-johns.

They won't accept you into the KKK if you can't prove your ancestry and she was probably left on church steps.

A lot more people care about WWE than New Japan. A lot more. I hope that changes though, because New Japan is better.

True. I, myself, only care about New Japan when Jericho's around. :)

Naming your child your maiden name is always a bad idea, by the way. I know someone who did that, got divorced, and their child's name reverted back to Jackson Jackson. Don't do it. Don't.

Especially with the mustache.

I'm glad, but I hope you find something worth sticking around for beyond that. I'm going to try and keep up with it because of Suzuki's evil and Hiroshi Tanahashi actually being a good babyface in professional wrestling in 2018.

Omega vs Okada was pretty great, I'll give you that.

Same..... watched Jericho's match, but don't have a desire to watch any more..... (unless it involves Jericho)

If you have New Japan World to watch Jericho, I suggest going back and watching Suzuki vs. Styles from the G1 in 2014. I'm sure everyone has a favorite match to recommend. I like this one. It's more "quaint" than Okada/Omega, but overall, I just feel it tells a cooler story, personality-wise.

If the IWC didn't exist WWE would suffer way, way, WAY worse than New Japan would.

Lol I still got it

Definitely.

feels like there should be a PPV tonight

Wrestle Kingdom 9 was the first NJPW show I ever watched and I was fascinated by the Togi Makabe vs Tomohiro Ishii match for the Never belt. Those two guys just beat the shit out of each other for like 15 minutes. The never title matches are always that way it seems and I like it oddly ..

I think the NEVER Title was originally supposed to be like the NXT Title, just without a developmental territory, but then they decided to put it onto the harder-hitting guys to develop one of those King's Road style (not sure if that's the correct term) brawls. Bad-asses like Ishii and Makabe often get the belt, and they've used it to get Goto over. Kind of like the belt being like that. Without officially announcing it, it'd be like if the IC or US Title became something of a "Hardcore Title" without the WWE officially declaring it as such, and you'd matches like HHH/Cactus Jack for it, and if Orton was struggling to find his feet for it, he'd go after it and win it after a hard-fought match. I dunno if that's making any sense at all.

I really like the championship scheme in New Japan. When it comes to the "Big Four" anyway. The Heavyweight Title is for the standard-bearer. The IC Title is for the legend that they want to promote and occasionally headline shows, but they're moving away from. The US Title is sort of the "hottest" act that they kind of want to get over with certain segments of their audience, bring in different sort of fans, etc, and the NEVER Title is what we were just talking about.

In WWE, the Heavyweight Champ would be Roman Reigns, the IC Champ would be Cena, the US Champ would be AJ Styles and, I suppose lifting the NXT Title to this level, would probably be someone like Braun Strowman. That would be kind of cool.

According to NJPW's owner, current plans are to grow interest and revenues within the next couple of years so they can open more of the Tokyo Dome for ticket sales and sign more international stars who worked in the WWE. Also currently targeting signing more domestic younger stars to help with the growth needed.

In regards to international signings, they want to get a working relation with the WWE established as their main goal.

Link with the translated tweets: http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/...work-with-wwe/

You ever hear him speak?

There was a reason he was a mute on lucha underground.

JOKES ON YOU, I ACTUALLY LOVE OLD GUYS WITH BEER GUTS IN THE 70S PUTTING ON HEADLOCKS FOR 10 MINUTES.

Working with the WWE is smart. I think Triple H would be up for it (Jushin Liger/Tyler Breeze). It could freshen up some talent too.

Lol, no one's going to be a star in 205 Live anyway.

Yeah and he also wants to make it an equal partnership and not something where WWE benefits the most or gets to dictate the terms like they do with EVOLVE and others. If they can get WWE to be very open to talks, NJPW gains a lot of leverage for a potential deal.

Triple H has been public before on WWE only does working relations if it benefits them the most and they get full control. Getting Liger for a Takeover was really easy since Liger is mostly a free lancer and didn't need NJPW's permission to use him.

http://www.imperialwrestlingrevoluti...0x831_orig.jpg

i'd go to this

Oh fuck, Sting is still wrestling?

no..probably some GM of the night thing or something

mean gene, tho. one of the best

lol luchasaurus

WWE is just gonna bring him in as Rick O'Shea, the Jaguar King

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That was awesome .