Wrestling Thread 4: The Ruethless Aggression Era • Page 721

but yeah this has been the stupidest build to Mania in recent memory and it's no surprise why the ratings keep dropping week after week

 

What other Smackdown women have done anything approaching "interesting", let alone major match worthy, in a while? They could have built a much stronger match with Mandy challenging Asuka, but, once that fell apart, this is the right move.

Sucks for Asuka though

 

the writing for the division has been terrible - really the only flaw for SDL

 

Bruh, they were trying that until Charlotte came in and won the belt

 

anyways I hope Asuka's contract is up soon and she leaves WWE because they have treated her like garbage

 

Nah, the Fastlane match killed any chance that had to build to anything useful. On a show where people are winning gauntlet matches, you cant have a major contender losing to the ring apron.

This week, Naomi was gonna be in a #1 Contenders match despite losing to Mandy in <1 minute this month. None of that is C-PPV worthy, let alone WM. It was gonna be as dumb a built as the US title last year or the 6-pack match at WM33.

 

So then who gets a shot at Asuka if she had kept the title?

 

The only answers that makes any sense:

1. Both Mandy and Sonya in some fluky double pin
2. Mandy after some brutal turn on Sonya during the match to get heat
3. A winner of a battle royale

First is super bad. Second might have worked, but you're still trying to invent a story anyone cares about 2 weeks out that basically doesnt involve Asuka. Third is literally a house show gimmick.

They needed it to be Ember Moon (but she got hurt), or someone like Nikki Cross who can have weird backstage promos that Asuka can play along to.

 

I also believe this company is dumb enough to have Charlotte disqualify herself on Monday in that 6-woman tag and Asuka get her rematch at WM out of nowhere. They're inventing plans day of for a story that was so easy to write from the Rumble forward.

 

I legit cried when the count hit 10.

 

I think it's been pretty embarrassing how they built her up to just end up casting her aside like this.

Honestly, the Womens division makes no sense right now. Such a mess. How is this triple threat match even going to work? So someone gets both titles? Then what?

 

If Taker does have a match... That is the dumbest/laziest thing creative wise to not build it at all.

Why waste such a great thing that can't possibly last much longer?

WM looks like a really bad show right now.

 

The titles will be unified and probably defended on both shows

 

Are the brands even separate anymore lol

dumb

 

The roster switch up is rumored to be happening in a couple weeks so I guess we'll see lol

 

I just don’t see how this is the worst build to mania. Honestly, match by match it’s one of the better ones in the last few years. Almost every match actually has a story going in and they’ve been mostly consistent in telling it.

Yes they have made a mess of the women’s storyline but it’s still solid. All of them can work. They got the main event. All are deserving to be there, although of course we wanted 1 on 1. But it’s not like they threw in a Nia or an Alexa just for the sake of triple threat. The problem was they started telling this story too early and over exposed everybody in it.

Seth/Brock and Bryan/Kofi are good championship feuds. Especially Kofi unless he loses.

You have your personal stories with Roman/Drew and Miz/Shane where it’s clear who is the face and heel and who you should want to win.

The women’s tag match makes sense. You have the champs saying they would defend across brands and they are actually doing it. The IIconics got a win to get in. Nattie/Beth add a nice wrinkle. If anything I could do without Nia/Tamina since they had their chance and didn’t win.

HHH/Batista fills the legacy match for the nostalgia viewer.

They made AJ/Orton interesting.

Angle/Corbin seems meh but they way they’ve been building it makes it seem like something else has to happen.

The IC and US matches make sense but honestly they could be cut here. We don’t need Finn/Lashely part 100. Rey’s son makes the match a little more interesting but I hate how every Joe storyline is him going after someone’s family.

Nothing with the tag belts on either brand has really been hinted at yet so I’d rather not see them on the card. That’s a shame.

Just about everybody deserves to be where they are.

 

They make it sound like there will be a SD tag title match at Mania idk

 

So Oney is on 205 now and from that IG post seems to be a heel? Now that doesn’t make sense to me. But I haven’t seen 205 in about a year

 

Maybe they are unifying women's titles.

 

If they aren’t, they should have just decided that once Becky and Charlotte were going after Ronda that they all just stay on raw.

Also,

 

I feel like with the tv ad that ran tonight for next week’s RAW, with the stipulation being if sabotage happens that Becky/Ronda/Charlotte would lose their Mania match opportunity, that Charlotte will do just that, and it’ll finally be just Bex v Ronda, with an obvious Asuka/Flair part 3.

 

Charlotte feels more important than Ronda at this point. They want her in the main event

 

Big problem with this is it means Asuka is 0-2 against Charlotte, fighting to make it 1-2. And Charlotte already holds the record 8th championship. So, what are they really even fighting over? Could have booked the RAW match first, then Charlotte inserts herself into the #1 contenders match and wins and it'd all work.

Its one of those stips that sounds meaningful (and Id rather see those two singles matches)...but really its there to give a reason for the match to last 10 minutes. Cause after the beat the clock, that match should be a quick squash.

 

Flip Gordon hurt his knee again at OTT.

 

So, Shane vs Miz being Falls Count Anywhere means Shane is basically jumping off the set right?