I know from off-hand comments that I’m not the only person on this board who watches Professional Wrestling (yes, I know it’s scripted, threadshit elsewhere), so I thought I’d start a catch-all Cafe thread for discussion.
WWE
I dunno, I’m conflicted. I think they continue to shoot themselves in the foot with the same kind of Old Territory locker room booking games that are ill suited to a modern multi-national entertainment company. I’m also not thrilled with the continuation of VKM’s Superman fetish. Hogan, Austin, Cena. Supermen who “overcome the odds” to win every time. Hint: If they win every time, there are no “odds” to overcome. I’m obviously not the average fan, because I was bored and irritated with Hogan always winning, I was bored and angry with Austin always winning (I kept looking at those leg braces and thinking that in a real world, his opponents would cripple his ass for life), and I’m bored and really fucking tired of Superman Cena popping up from a DDT on a concrete floor to immediately defeat two men to end a PPV. Not that I’ve ever payed for a PPV, because I haven’t.
That being said, I tend to like the heels and underdogs. Chris Jericho is the man. The best in the world at what he does is exactly that - he draws heat and makes the other guy look good. No other heel does that. They’re more concerned with making themselves look good. I wanted to see Kofi Kingston get a push, but he got buried and marginalized after Orton got mad at him for not properly selling the whole ‘pounding on the mat’ display. I like the Miz, because he works his ass off. Hell, I even like the Nexus angle, even if they’ve made some huge mistakes with it, because it puts six guys who otherwise wouldn’t get a shot, into the spotlight.
TNA
Lots of good talent, horribly booked. AJ Styles is great. Samoa Joe is good too, but may not be coming back. Given how often they’ve misused and repackaged him, I wouldn’t blame him. They lost Awesome Kong, who they really needed, lost Gail Kim, mismanaged the only worthwhile Women’s Division on the planet. They have a very bad habit of trying to repackage people into copies of older wrestlers, such as the current packaging of AJ Styles.
I was also incredibly irritated by the entry of Hogan and his CHEAP (Cronies of Hogan Employment Assistance Program) booking. Who the fuck wanted to see The Nasty Boys or the second coming of Val Venis? I only thank god I wasn’t subjected to the return of Brutus Beefcake, or I would have given up on TNA completely.
That being said, Beer Money and The Motor City Machine Guns was a freaking awesome series of incredible matches. Kurt Angle gives them his heart and soul every week, and it shows. The X division shines, when it is given the chance. Which unfortunately, is not often these days.
I got more to say, but I want to open with my usual whining and complaining and see where we go from here.