Brock spoke more tonight than he has since he returned near 10 years ago. :shifty:

Brock was great tonight.

Or well yesterday.

SmackDown — the only show that holds.

Going all the way back to when he started, it was never that Brock was bad at talking, it was that his voice did not match his look akin to Mike Tyson. It was a perceived weakness by Vince, that he didnt sound like the monster he looks like. Thats just one of those McMahonisms, like how he disliked that Brodie Lee looked like a southern but didnt have a southern accent.

I watched some highlights this week. SmackDown seems like a surprisingly good show. It sounded like it got a bit off track there for a while.

* Starting with Brock is always a good idea. He did a really good job talking, and it told a story. Zayn didn’t look out of place with Brock.

* A hype video for Shayna makes her look like a deal. Sasha is a star. Smart to go from her after the Zayn and Brock stuff.

* Toni Storm is not the best promo in the world. God the Australian accent is awful on television. She looks good, but she doesn’t feel there as the whole package. But it’s building to something.

* Happy Corbin’s outfit was ridiculous in a good way. The segment was terrible in terms of its content, but if AEW did it Meltzer would defend it as hilarious and that it’s the heels making lame jokes. Drew and Jeff look good together.

* Xia Li’s packages are indeed good.

* I’m not into the Naomi/Sonya stuff on the face of it, but it told a story and seems to be going somewhere. It’s not offensive.

* I’m so over The New Day together. I get the value in never splitting them up and having them rip each other to shreds and stuff, but their content is just there. The Usos are stars. Feels like they’ve had a billion matches against each other, but it’s something advertised for Day 1. Big PPV feel to it so far.

* Sheamus and Cesaro is a good match. I like that they didn’t ignore their history as The Bar.

* Brock kicking Sami’s ass is fine. It gives Sami an “out” and a way to be annoying and keep complaining about conspiracies and the like. Rubbing shoulders with the top stars on your show isn’t a bad thing either.

I feel like I might be forgetting something, but it was way easier to watch than I remember (granted I was catching highlights). Everything on the show felt like it had some sort of functional purpose, even if some of it was cheesy or not executed the best.

Oh yeah, Los Lotharios vs. Viking Raiders. They’re obviously pushing Angel & Humberto as Hispanic stars. Makes sense they’d win, but The Raiders don’t look especially great just zigging out to Boogs on the guitar. Whatever. The priority is this Nakamura thing with them, which is weird because they actually feel like a tag team but seem to be going after the IC Title.

I dunno, I really see the argument that SmackDown is probably the best wrestling show on television. Nothing was absolutely horrible. It may not be the most invigorating program ever, but a lot more work goes into “WWE = bad” in regards to this show than seeing why it’s the only show that really holds its ratings.

This motherfucker over here writing thesis after skimming through highlights :smh:

Where does this work get put in? Seems to me it’s mostly positive vibes in this thread. The stuff that’s downright shit gets called out (Womens Title Exchange), beyond that it’s mostly people saying how good Roman is.

SmackDown is easily the most watchable show of the week.

It’s definitely out there. It’s refreshing to hear you say that though. I think there is a wider consensus that Roman is the best thing in wrestling, but you’ll find places where the narrative is still that Roman Reigns is a bust, can’t wrestle, is pushed too hard, etc.

While I’m a fan of Roman Reigns’ work since his return, I’d love to see Noid sit through one of his title defenses. Doubt he’s even seen his match against Zayn either.

Here’s the thing that frustrates me; it may be out there, but it’s not here - or at least not with the same volume as it is elsewhere - but you act like it is. It’s like going to a nightclub where everybody is a pretentious prick then going to a pub where most people are not pretentious pricks but treating them like they are. You project sentiments from elsewhere on to the folks here a lot. Don’t get me wrong, there are some poor takes, but it sometimes feels like “gas-lighting” where I have to go back and check what’s actually been said in the thread :lol:

Eh, it’s pretty bad here, dude, lol. Although I would like to state that I don’t think it’s ever been my intention to imply it is any worse or better here. I’ve always spoken pretty generally on it.

To me it’s more like leaving a club of pretentious pricks, going to another club full of potential pricks, saying “there are some pretentious pricks out there” and the pretentious pricks there getting upset and saying “Not us!” Well, I didn’t say it was you. But it totally is them too.

But oh well. Sorry you feel I’m projecting. I don’t think I’ve ever spoken specifically to it, even though I wouldn’t disagree with the suggestion that it is more rampant here than you are giving it credit for.

WWE is just an advertisement vehicle at this Poit.








narf!

I can't even feel bad for fans who buy a ticket to a wrestling show and see barely an wrestling.

WWE TV has been "spend long periods of time watching on the screen" for ages now. You know what you're getting into. Go to a house show if you want to see wrestling.

Sheamus and Drew was predictably great and violent. Way too short though.

Charlotte and Toni was surprisingly terrible. Timing was way off.

New Day vs Usos vs RKBro is your main event with 25 minutes to go. Could be great! Let’s see.

Good match so far. One of the best hot tag fakeouts I’ve ever seen. Crowd is hot.

I was wondering if Charlotte being bad intentionally to try and make Toni look bad, because yeah it seemed really off.

Why are RKBro on SmackDown?

Toni Storm has been bad on the main roster from what I have seen.

Maybe but I would note that it was definitely Toni who was out of position for that Andrade double moonsault spot. That looked really bad.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/SonyaDevilleWWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SonyaDevilleWWE</a> is back in action!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SmackDown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SmackDown</a> <a href="https://t.co/JTe74SxbIp">pic.twitter.com/JTe74SxbIp</a></p>&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1469487571935838211?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Is Sonya Deville doing a dominatrix gimmick now? Because I would go out of my way to watch that.

lol xia li

Fucking terrible debut

ItS certainly better than cosplaying as Paula Poundstone.

Lol THERE’S a random reference.

I dunno, I just always thought that's how she looked in a suit. 🤷

CNN Sucks bros..#watchsmackdown

Tuning in now. Didn’t know this was a Chicago show

Baron Corbin on now. Will check back in later. Cya guys

New Day and Usos in a “momentum building” match before their title match at Day One. This is the dumbest shit in the history of wrestling but these teams are also in the “fight forever” group so a bit conflicted

Pretty good. Usos and New Day definitely up there for best modern tag feud. Maybe all time?

One has to go away forever. Who is it? Corbin or Garvin?

saw on twitter roman fired paul heyman and attacked him until brock saved his advocate from a heinous beatdown

Its a swerve for sure, Heyman gonna cost Brock at Day One.

This is tough. Because recently I’ve been watching more classic wrestling (Thursdays at 9:00 pm EST) than current WWE programming. They’re both just so boring.

At least Garvin gets a fireball in his face eventually. Corbin’s gotta go.

I don't get it. Reigns has been amazing for over a year now it seems. Lashley has been on a tear and most of the RAW main event stuff has been golden for the past year. Why can't the mid card storylines come anywhere close to the main event stuff.

Brock looks like he just got back from felling some trees and feeding the pigs.

The main event is the most important stuff. If everything is drummed with the same emphasis it loses meaning. That doesn’t mean your stories have to be horrible, granted. You also see a bit more autonomy in the main event stories, which is useful to making them seem better.

Hopefully as WresteMania approaches and the WWE enters a year of stadium shows, some things start to pay-off.

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.

That being said, I don’t think Big E and Kofi Kingston are necessarily going to be teaming all the time. I noticed the ring announcer called them “Big E and Kofi Kingston” when announcing they won last week. She didn’t say “The New Day.” I think they might be aligned but doing separate things unless it calls for a tag.

Starting it off right, HEAD OF THE TABLE!!!

It literally makes no sense why Ronda would choose Charlotte over Becky, story-line wise but w/e, that's WWE

What do you mean? Remember Rondas last match? She lost her championship in the actual main event on the Grandest Stage of them All when Becky pinned her. And Charlotte was there too.

Yeah the name plate had them as “Big E and Kofi Kingston” on the show last night. Maybe waiting for Woods to get back for a full New Day reunion.

They’ve confirmed Drew vs. Moss for Elimination Chamber. Guess we’ll get Drew vs. Corbin @ Mania. A waste of Drew for me.

I would do Becky vs. Ronda, but if this is a story to set up Becky calling out Ronda for being afraid to get back in there with her because they plan to unify the belts, I’m cool with that.

Moss is really good from what I’ve seen. I know Corbin is the bigger act, technically, but I think they’re seeing it with Moss. I can see Drew and Corbin blown off on SmackDown or in a tag that goes in a different direction for Drew and his partner.

For example:

I can see Drew teaming with Big E, independent of New Day, to beat Moss and Corbin on SmackDown. Then Drew and Big E agree to wrestle at Mania to position themselves for championship matches. It’d be pretty heatless, but I can’t imagine a program on the SmackDown side that can get that hot.

Corbs and Moss can work Kofi & Woods with the faces throwing out sacks of money after winning. Or dropping New Day commemorative bills.

I could get behind that. Corbin has this incredible “turn the TV off” aura for me. Like I know fundamentally he’s pretty decent, and his character is the best it’s ever been but still. Moss has been a “prospect” for a few years now, but positioning him with Corbin covers him in the same “stink”. Appreciate this is a very personal take.

No, I 100% agree with everything you said. I wouldn’t go about splitting Moss and Corbin right now. I’d get through Mania first. Maybe after Kofi & Woods beat them they split?

In my fantasy land, I’ve got Nakamura & Boogs winning the SD Tag Titles at Mania. Corbin & Moss could win them. Or you could have Corbin & Moss end up on Raw feuding with RKBro and/or Rollins & Owens go boost their tag division for a bit. I can see them hanging out with The Miz for a bit too. I don’t know how Moss would go as a face, but he could be Alex Riley with a bit more success.

Charlotte is so boring.

Knoxville is back, Sami so pissed lol

That second kick looked pretty good

Whoa! Wasn’t expecting the Universal Championship to have such a short lifespan.

Why are Sami, Seth, and Corbin the exact same character


Heel statement HAHAHAHAHAHAHA another heel statement HAHAHAHAHAHAHA another heel statement AHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHA

Channel changing and saw Brock and Roman title signing… ok, why not. Oh a million sets of ads that’s why not.

Tapped out before Brocks entrance in the end.

Sami Zayn is a paranoid conspiracy theorist, isn’t he? Seth is a maniacal schemer. Happy Corbin is a rich asshole. You could reduce anyone in any company this way.

i will watch the start to see if roh will still have there ad running.

YES ROMAN REIGNS TIME!

I watched Smackdown and actually enjoyed it! Fun show! Ricochet was great, Sami was great, Roman was awesome, Ronda was great. Fun stuff. Oh and I enjoyed the segment with Theory and Pat, good stuff.