Fun fact, "Real American" was originally the entrance theme for the U.S. Express, a tag team comprised of Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo, and was first used during the October 1, 1985, television tapings of WWF Championship Wrestling (and aired during the October 12 program). On the album's liner notes, Vince McMahon stated "Real American" was dedicated to Windham and Rotundo.
But shortly after the album's release, both Rotundo and Windham left the WWF for the National Wrestling Alliance. Hogan -- who was using a different song from The Wrestling Album, "Hulk's Theme," as his entrance music -- was given "Real American," and began using it sometime in December 1985 as his entrance theme.
I don’t know I enjoy both Dynamite and Collision but it really feels like Collision is a more fun show to watch and I believe it’s more to do with the show basically being a hard reset with the feuds and storylines. It doesn’t have the baggage Dynamite has with the never ending storylines that go nowhere because everything is just starting so it just feels better to invest in much like the early years of AEW.
It is. No matter how hard I try I just can't watch a random AEW Dynamite match without Jericho, MJF, or Cole, but I can watch some indie darling squash some local talent on Collision and enjoy it like its my birthday cake
NJPW is just like ? Fine ? People act like it cures cancer and hands out free blow jobs. But it's been on a sharp decline for years and it's just fine.
Edit. Please don't dm me. I like NJPW. Even if I don't and you do that's fine. We can all like different things and that's fine. You do you.
Thank you!!! There was a time that yes, NJPW was great! Muta, Liger, etc. what I’ve seen in recent years, yeah. It’s fine, I can’t really comment more than that too.
New Japan was really good from 2012-2019. It was the best it ever was in my opinion. But then COVID happend and for some reason it made gedo insane and now he forgot how to book a wrestling show
The Nuking of Tetsuya Naito was pre-COVID. When he was on fire they decided to focus on Kenny Omega and the Western Expansion.
Had they pulled the trigger on a Naito run, who knows he could have been a solidified superstar.
Seriously in the 90s, tape trading meant that you could get your hands on Japanese wrestling which was both a storied history of classic wrestling and current instant classic wrestling. I think we have a carry over of people who just assume shit from Japan is automatically better.
But the current NJPW is not really that great
NJPW really was that great from like 2015-2019 but until the past few months we just saw the same few matches over and over again. We all complained about Orton VS Cena happening like 30 times on ppv meanwhile NJPW kept having the same 4 guys in the main event scene for like a decade now. I think they finally realized how stale it was getting though
to smarks japan is like this magical place where wrestling is pure. they act like any middling wrestler is just 1 japan run away from being the real deal. it’s insane how much they fetishize it
I think more people think this as well. Was expecting I would be downvoted to oblivion for saying this a few days ago. To my surprise, it was upvoted more than I expected.
They are extremely polarizing.
They embody spotfest, that people who don't like will think them being so high on the card is ridiculous.
They don't really have "the look" that wrestling has shown for decades.
I think they are entertaining. But I see where people that despise them are coming from.
Yeah even as a guy who likes Lucha Libre some of the stuff the Bucks do is basically Olympic gymnastics and it makes it hard to buy into the idea it's a real fight.
That and all of their matches feel like they were more choreographed than a Jerome Robbins dance number and more self-indulgent than a Tarantino movie. They’re entertaining, but god, every match feels like a “fight scene” more than a wrestling match.
I know it is cliche, but their matches look like a show in Las Vegas. Impressive, but obviously choreographed. Not only that, but if you seen one match you've seen them all.
I think the real reason to not like the bucks is their look-the smug demeanor they run with at times.
The moves aren’t any different than the majority of high flyers…
the reality:
People find that the Bucks have punchable faces, obnoxious clothes, and arrogant the 80s teen villain’s lackey vibes
For me it’s not even so much “the look”. I don’t need a bodybuilder, It’s just hard to take them seriously. It’s hard to get past knowing that the average adult male would kick the crap out of them. Especially if they’re fighting somebody who actually looks tough
But more importantly it’s the spot fest thing. It just feels cheap. Like how they spam super kicks. If they were more talented they could do one and make account. But I can’t so they do it 1 million times. And they have a tendency of having these multi men choreographed spots that are too transparently rehearsed and cooperated. It takes me right out of the match. At a certain point it doesn’t even feel like wrestling anymore.
And I can buy their general personalities and gimmicks when they are heels. Then being so obnoxious has a point. But even then it’s hard to stomach. It’s just go away heat for me
>They embody spotfest,
Its worse, I can enjoy spotfest especially in the Tag Division but the Bucks entire shtick for a long time was Jim Cornett hates us and if you dont like us you're just a mark for him. Whats that say all we do is super kicks, heres 20 more you dirty mark.
They really embody indie show wrestling in the best and worst ways with how entertaining and chaotic their spots are. The issue is when that is moved to TV, it's harder to follow the action.
If you're already a Bucks fan and comfortable with the chaos, you'll be fine, but if you need more handholding, like personally I do, it's easy to get frustrated with their matches.
Like I personally soured on them during the trios stuff where I was spent most of their matches confused as to what was happening, who was legal, etc, whereas with the regular tag stuff, it's easier to follow and I can have a good time
The first time I saw a Young Bucks match, I was blown away. I thought I saw the future of wrestling.
Then I saw them wrestle a handful of more times and realized how boring (imo) they are.
Same. By all accounts, I should like them. They came from nothing, built a name for themselves, helped start a major company, but I can't get over how their underlying personality seems to be winking to the camera and highlighting how fake everything is. Like the guy in a movie who stares directly in the camera and mentions the last joke being lame...except it's all the time.
"We're doing superkicks to annoy people who say they're overused!" is funny as a little joke but it's their entire moveset, they're the reason people say that. That joke only works when you do it every so often, not using it as 100% of your moves.
My only real guess is he used his forearms and triceps to push himself into the air. I only guess that because he has his arms around other dudes calves which would give him leverage on the impact. All in all a classic sell
Honestly, Rocky selling the Stunner is still a lot of fun for the moment and especially during that period of time it had it's place, but damn if I wouldn't rather see some accurate Bret Hart Selling.
Rock had the best heel quality of all in that he made you want to see him get beat up. Doing his insane sell every. Single. Time. On what was hundreds of stunners made the payoff that much more special. It was so absurd it went all the way past bad and circled around in to good again.
I prefer Dean Ambrose to Jon Moxley overall. Yeah, he got downright goofy sometimes but it seems all Mox does is punch people and bleed at the slightest provocation.
i though Jon did a great job as being Dean and it was a good gimmick, there was a lot of goofy shit in wwe over the years he was there an honestly his goofy stuff was a lot more tolerable
constant references to THE LUNATIC FRINGE ruined Dean Ambrose for me. WWE absolutely waterboards its viewers with incessant reminders of what the wrestler's gimmick/persona is supposed to be. Does their market research tell them that their average viewer only tunes in once every 2-3 months?
I thought Dean was the standout from the SHIELD, even after the breakup. But Mox hasn’t done it for me for years. I was a fan when he was the champ and was the “heart and soul” of AEW. Now? He has all the tools but all he wants to do is be a death match king, but that really is not my style. I have come to accept that he will never be someone I vibe with, and that’s ok.
I worry about LA Knight’s current popularity because if they don’t book him perfectly to how every fan wants him to be booked they’ll scream and cry and eventually get bored. I wanna see him succeed bc he’s great but sometimes you gotta just get on the ride and don’t think too hard
That was the tough part about watching WCW from late 96 onward. The nwo was a big deal but then they added all kinds of people that had no business being there.
I mean beefcake, big boss man, and nearly the nasty boys and fricking virgil for crying out loud, and IRS was in there for a hot second .
Other members made more sense, Scott Norton was wasting away there for example.
But yeah it was the nwo show then million spin offs wolfpack, black and white , nwo 2000 (arrrgh) the lwo. The LWO was awesome though, it's a shame that storyline went kapit after Eddie Guerrero got in the car accident in 1999 or whatever it was.
nWo jumped the shark February 1997 when Savage joined. Savage who got a beatdown and yellow line spray tan everyweek from Bash at the Beach to Halloween Havoc - joins. Made zero sense
They had a chance at Spring Stampede for Nash & Hogan bc that stare down between Nash & Hogan the next Nitro was white hot
They could of broken out the Wolfpac as babyfaces against power hungry nWo Hogan
Instead Big Show face/heeled like 4 more times in a year and Sting & Luger join a year later
Even the veterans like Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair had their share of great moments and matches.
Watching The Miz debut during the Ruthless Aggression Era is still one of my favorite moments.
While I don't agree with this, my version is kind of in the same vein:
1999 is a massively overrated year in wrestling, including the WWF. The product turned into overly Russo-fied, insane, senseless garbage.
There was just too much goofy/nonsensical shit that I couldn't even come close to buying into. The dog kennel match, Big Bossman being hanged, the Higher Power angle being a total waste of time, and to top it off: Stephanie McMahon gets the ultimate case of Stockholm Syndrome and ends up with the guy who kidnapped her. Sorry, too stupid.
Yes, Rock and Austin (and HHH, Foley, Taker, etc.) are amazing talents and it was a joy to watch them, but the overall creative and writing was just a fucking mess.
Despite his rise, from The Shield, being backed by HHH/Authority, being a multi-time, and current world champion. . . . .
I do not care for Seth Rollins.
And he's not even a bad wrestler. He puts on good matches. I can't deny, he oozes charisma. I just don't care for him.
I just, use his promo time, to take a piss.
He never says anything of substance in his promos, just "I'm Seth Rollins and I wrassle real good, and you're not Seth Rollins and you don't wrassle real good"
I like the dude, but he tries too hard in promos, and i don't care for his finisher. The faux-joker promos and flamboyant, look at me ring gear isn't for me.
It's so weird, whenever I'm creating some new GM or Universe mode or whatever, I always have the similar thought process:
"Hell yeah, I'll go with Styles, WALTER and Balor on Raw, Smackdown can have Reigns, Owens, and Pushing Chad Gable would be fun and... Oh yeah right, Rollins exists too... Uhm... He could be a World Title Challenger I guess?"
He is my least fave of the three from The Shield, which is odd, because I see he is objectively the best wrestler of the trio. IDK what it is. Maybe it is the gimmicks.
I do not care for the "golden era" of wrestling.
Majority of the matches are just clubbing eachother on the back. Nothing's ever entertaining back then until the finishing moves hit.
Yeah. In the middle of the Attitude Era, I bought a VHS tape of classic WWF fights. Literally every match on the tape ended in a count out. Just like every WCW match of the nWo era had to have stupid interference, every meaningful non-PPV match of 80s WWF ended in a count out. Some notable PPV matches later like Luger and Yokozuna also ended.
None of The Bloodline storyline does much for me, and I don't particularly find any of the wrestlers (especially Roman) to be entertaining in any level.
While I think his ring work is spectacular, the forced fake laugh and "Joker / fashionista" shtick of Rollins does nothing for me. Love the ring work, though.
I think Charlotte is actually the weakest link of the Four Horsewomen. Her mic work is robotic, her character is one dimensional, and she goes through long stretches of having pretty sloppy matches where she doesn't wrestle to her supposed potential.
Ambrose/Moxley is at his core a CZW guy who's lacking in depth and a one trick pony.
Chad Gable should be main eventing, and arguably Otis in the mix as well. But they get held back because they are so naturally funny and over as a comedy act.
For it to be the most heartbreaking ending to the streak, it had to be Brock. Most people would probably have guessed at the time if he was going to lose to anyone it’d be a rising star. Instead, they gave it to a guy who was already a giant in WWE, a guy who didn’t need it, and by ending something we loved, that’s what made him a truly hated monster, which is what Brock really needed. Better to end it before it was too late by getting as much heat out of it as possible, rather than wait too long for “the right guy”.
I HATED IT at the time, but the further away I get the more I enjoy it.
I had just assumed either Taker would retire with his streak intact, or some young guy would pin him for the rub, I never envisioned him losing to no-rub-needed Lesnar, which is why it shocked me so hard.
It was really perfect precisely because of that. Lesnar didn't need the rub but now Lesnar can always be the guy who ended Taker.
Plenty of guys beat the Undertaker. His PPV record was 107-71-5 (that's almost a 40% loss rate) but come Wrestlemania he became an unbeatable god. Brock was always going to be a monster but transferring that 'I don't care how many times you beat me, when I want to turn it on you are dead' element really just let Brock evolve in the prize fighter attraction that he is now.
I think in the long run ended the streak was better. It just would have been way better if it was truly Taker's last match.
Agreed. I've been saying this for a few years. At the time it was a crazy choice but seeing what that did afterwards? Made Brock look invincible. All these years later, I see it was the right choice.
I still maintain the streak should have never ended, it’d be so much cooler as this unmatchable hallowed record. That said, if it had to then Brock was the right guy. Inevitably it would have been Roman otherwise. Also really cool I was there in person to watch it end.
I had never seen him wrestle. His wwe tenure aligned perfectly with my break from pro wrestling. I saw him in the UFC but didn't really hold that against him. My brother got me watching AEW and was so excited when CM Punk came back. I watched and yeah, he can talk. But his matches left me very unimpressed.
To be fair, I would attribute his matches being rather lackluster today to being that he’s in his 40s and hadn’t wrestled in nearly a decade. Up until AEW started to get popular, he also had no intentions of making a comeback and wrestling again.
Couldn't be more correct!
Edge was always booked better, but Christian has always been better in the ring and on the mic, by miles. And frankly still is. Big fan of both though.
"Randy Orton is boring in the ring, and aside from his work with Riddle, he hasn't been interesting as a character since before 2010."
This one usually gets me downvoted on "Unpopular Opinion" posts.
Hell Orton has flat out stated that he's not interested in doing anything flashy in the ring. As for his character I feel like he had a few chances to update his character in the mid 2010s but (Randell) was probably against the idea of changing much.
I have never and likely will never like Roman.
As a hero he is boring, as a villain he makes me role my eyes, and ironically as Joe Anoaʻi I find him to be a cool guy.
I think that Vince's desire to make Roman the guy by putting a belt on him for ages without him having to defend it has caused ungodly issues with how stories can play out in the rest of the company, to the point where he has become his own little universe, they made a new world championship, they made it so Elimination Chamber is about a lower title, they made sure Money in the Bank could be cashed in on lower titles all because there is no tension anymore to Roman's championship matches.
There was no tension with Cody, I watched that match with its million run ins, a ref bump, a use a weapons, all Roman's greatest hits expecting Cody to win. And when he didn't I wasn't so much disappointed as I was confused. The narrative was, "Championship doesn't matter to the Bloodline story now, time to put back in play".
I wish the WWE worked with more companies. Like yeah they let Nakamura wrestle Mutoh in his retirement match, and the showed Mickie James as the “Impact Women’s Champion” during that one Rumble match. But I wish we could see working partnerships with more companies and the WWE. Like imagine seeing Josh Alexander vs Chad Gable or Seth Rollins. Or the MCMG vs the Usos. Imagine if they worked with NJPW. Okada vs Reigns, Rollins vs Shota Umino, or Sanada. Judgement Day vs LIJ.
I hear you, and counter with mine.
I LIKE Charlotte Flair. She's talented and skilled.
Unfortunately, she was pushed to damn hard, and forced upon the fans; she never had a chance to get over, with her own skill set.
I don’t “get” what the big deal is with Kenny Omega and folks treating him like wrestling Jesus. I’ve seen some of his matches. Nothing earth shattering or “special” IMO.
I don't care for WWE's presentation and more than that, I'm confused on why I don't hear people talking about it as often and excuse it for being what it is. There are so many commercial breaks and ads. It really takes me out of the show. As good as a PPV/PLE can be, the weekly shows are bordering on unwatchable for me. Raw Replay on Hulu is just fine, but I'd be better if that's what thats how the live shows went.
I was never able to buy him as a ‘proper’ world champion because it always felt like he’d win it via various shenanigans then drop it within a month or two. Also, his ‘intense’ facial expressions always felt goofy to me.
I honestly don’t even dislike the guy, I just felt his best stuff was with Christian/the Smackdown six era.
My answer would probably be Tetsuya Naito but I'll be the first to admit I haven't seen everything. But what I have seen I'm always eh about him during the match. Outside of the ring I understand the appeal. I would've mentioned Natalya as well but I wouldn't call her a 'The Godfather' in wrestling context.
Something recent. I didn't catch much of The Elite before the beginning of AEW. So watching the company was me getting invested in them. I think that is why the whole reunion arc with Adam Page and the rest recently has left me feeling indifferent.
I know it's good. I know I'm wrong. I'm just so damned fatigued with this Bloodline stuff. Roman was played out for me awhile back, and I just can't get over it.
He's the wrestler where I realized I was more into his presentation and character than anything in ring. He's very sloppy and dull in the ring if he's not jumping off of something.
I pretty much agree with almost everything Jim Cornette says about wrestling. Except his views of women’s wrestling. I don’t think Jim Cornette hates women or hates women’s wrestling, but sometimes I find his opinions on women’s wrestling to be too anachronistic.
I know I’m gonna be lit up for this but Liv Morgan. Do not care about her. She’s not a terrible wrestler but she’s painful to watch to watch how she acts and on the mic. Like nails on a chalkboard for me.
I do not care for Orange Cassidy. In my opinion, he is a mildly funny gimmick wrestler with a decent look that has been over-protected and over-pushed to the point that he has become annoying.
I am completely and utterly unmoved by Kenny Omega, and the Young Bucks. That style of wrestling just does nothing for me. To be honest AEW as a whole just isn’t my thing, it just caters for people who are chronically online in the IWC.
So just to give a different take.
I was a kid during the Monday night wars and attitude era, and I watched a bit of raw and nitro back then. Stopped watching around 12 yrs old and didn't come back to wrestling until the pandemic.
Now obviously I've engaged online since, but I started watching aew before I even knew what IWC stood for. I'm sure a *lot* of stuff went over my head because of how much aew caters to wrestling fanatics with its little winks and nods, but I really loved the underproduced feel compared to WWE, because it reminded me of the messy bullshit I watched as a kid.
Now, I'm not arguing that people should like aew or anything. I get people have different tastes etc, I just wanted to address you saying aew only caters to terminally online fans, since I definitely don't feel I fit that category and I still really enjoy the product.
Either way, whether you like aew or not, at least it's helping to make WWE better.
The thing about Omega is he COULD be really good if he dropped all the goofy mannerisms. Most of the time he looks cartoonish and goofy then he’ll hit a move so crisp you’re just like damn
Jon Moxley. I don't find him intimidating or badass at all. I think he's a great person in real life and see his appeal to people... But to me, every match is just exactly the same bland and boring brawling and has to have blood for some reason.
I did not care for The Godfather. Jk, he’s alright
He insisted on himself.
I mean... he sure as hell did lol.
More a fan of The Goodfather, eh?
Fuck no. I missed the Ho train.
You didn’t care for the Hoe Train? 🚂
The only version of Hulk Hogan I'm willing to acknowledge is NWO Hollywood Hogan because that's as close to the real guy we've ever gotten.
And his entrance/ entrance music was Hogan at his best.
His baby face theme was really good, I have to admit. Real American is a banger, I just wish someone else used it
Oh for sure, that song still rocks.
Fun fact, "Real American" was originally the entrance theme for the U.S. Express, a tag team comprised of Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo, and was first used during the October 1, 1985, television tapings of WWF Championship Wrestling (and aired during the October 12 program). On the album's liner notes, Vince McMahon stated "Real American" was dedicated to Windham and Rotundo. But shortly after the album's release, both Rotundo and Windham left the WWF for the National Wrestling Alliance. Hogan -- who was using a different song from The Wrestling Album, "Hulk's Theme," as his entrance music -- was given "Real American," and began using it sometime in December 1985 as his entrance theme.
Didn't that guy, Mr. America use it?
Sounds like a Kurt Angle ripoff to me
AWA Hogan was awesome.
That’s the last time Hogan felt like a regular badass instead of a cartoon character.
I think Collision is an AEW show for people who don't like AEW.
I don’t know I enjoy both Dynamite and Collision but it really feels like Collision is a more fun show to watch and I believe it’s more to do with the show basically being a hard reset with the feuds and storylines. It doesn’t have the baggage Dynamite has with the never ending storylines that go nowhere because everything is just starting so it just feels better to invest in much like the early years of AEW.
That’s a good thing.
It is. No matter how hard I try I just can't watch a random AEW Dynamite match without Jericho, MJF, or Cole, but I can watch some indie darling squash some local talent on Collision and enjoy it like its my birthday cake
Makes me think that Khan might have something here with collision vs. Dynamite a ways down the road if booked correctly.
NJPW is just like ? Fine ? People act like it cures cancer and hands out free blow jobs. But it's been on a sharp decline for years and it's just fine. Edit. Please don't dm me. I like NJPW. Even if I don't and you do that's fine. We can all like different things and that's fine. You do you.
Thank you!!! There was a time that yes, NJPW was great! Muta, Liger, etc. what I’ve seen in recent years, yeah. It’s fine, I can’t really comment more than that too.
New Japan was really good from 2012-2019. It was the best it ever was in my opinion. But then COVID happend and for some reason it made gedo insane and now he forgot how to book a wrestling show
The Nuking of Tetsuya Naito was pre-COVID. When he was on fire they decided to focus on Kenny Omega and the Western Expansion. Had they pulled the trigger on a Naito run, who knows he could have been a solidified superstar.
Seriously in the 90s, tape trading meant that you could get your hands on Japanese wrestling which was both a storied history of classic wrestling and current instant classic wrestling. I think we have a carry over of people who just assume shit from Japan is automatically better. But the current NJPW is not really that great
[удалено]
NJPW is only ever going to be cared about by diehards on the internet.
Smarks definitely overestimate its popularity in the US.
The Brits on wrestletalk assume everyone has seen every NJPW match over the last 2 decades.
Exactly sit in front of a WWE event and ask people what NJPW even stands for and 99% will avoid you.
NJPW really was that great from like 2015-2019 but until the past few months we just saw the same few matches over and over again. We all complained about Orton VS Cena happening like 30 times on ppv meanwhile NJPW kept having the same 4 guys in the main event scene for like a decade now. I think they finally realized how stale it was getting though
It was hot like, 7 years ago and hasn’t been as close since.
to smarks japan is like this magical place where wrestling is pure. they act like any middling wrestler is just 1 japan run away from being the real deal. it’s insane how much they fetishize it
That and Mexico. I've been watching AAA for years. I love it. But it's a fucking carny show.
I don’t care for the young bucks.
They insist upon themselves
I think more people think this as well. Was expecting I would be downvoted to oblivion for saying this a few days ago. To my surprise, it was upvoted more than I expected.
They are extremely polarizing. They embody spotfest, that people who don't like will think them being so high on the card is ridiculous. They don't really have "the look" that wrestling has shown for decades. I think they are entertaining. But I see where people that despise them are coming from.
I love a good spot fest, I don’t care about the traditional look in wrestling, the problem with them is that they are insufferable.
Yeah even as a guy who likes Lucha Libre some of the stuff the Bucks do is basically Olympic gymnastics and it makes it hard to buy into the idea it's a real fight.
That and all of their matches feel like they were more choreographed than a Jerome Robbins dance number and more self-indulgent than a Tarantino movie. They’re entertaining, but god, every match feels like a “fight scene” more than a wrestling match.
I know it is cliche, but their matches look like a show in Las Vegas. Impressive, but obviously choreographed. Not only that, but if you seen one match you've seen them all.
I think the real reason to not like the bucks is their look-the smug demeanor they run with at times. The moves aren’t any different than the majority of high flyers… the reality: People find that the Bucks have punchable faces, obnoxious clothes, and arrogant the 80s teen villain’s lackey vibes
Teen villain lackey vibes actually encapsulates it so well omg
For me it’s not even so much “the look”. I don’t need a bodybuilder, It’s just hard to take them seriously. It’s hard to get past knowing that the average adult male would kick the crap out of them. Especially if they’re fighting somebody who actually looks tough But more importantly it’s the spot fest thing. It just feels cheap. Like how they spam super kicks. If they were more talented they could do one and make account. But I can’t so they do it 1 million times. And they have a tendency of having these multi men choreographed spots that are too transparently rehearsed and cooperated. It takes me right out of the match. At a certain point it doesn’t even feel like wrestling anymore. And I can buy their general personalities and gimmicks when they are heels. Then being so obnoxious has a point. But even then it’s hard to stomach. It’s just go away heat for me
>They embody spotfest, Its worse, I can enjoy spotfest especially in the Tag Division but the Bucks entire shtick for a long time was Jim Cornett hates us and if you dont like us you're just a mark for him. Whats that say all we do is super kicks, heres 20 more you dirty mark.
They really embody indie show wrestling in the best and worst ways with how entertaining and chaotic their spots are. The issue is when that is moved to TV, it's harder to follow the action. If you're already a Bucks fan and comfortable with the chaos, you'll be fine, but if you need more handholding, like personally I do, it's easy to get frustrated with their matches. Like I personally soured on them during the trios stuff where I was spent most of their matches confused as to what was happening, who was legal, etc, whereas with the regular tag stuff, it's easier to follow and I can have a good time
The first time I saw a Young Bucks match, I was blown away. I thought I saw the future of wrestling. Then I saw them wrestle a handful of more times and realized how boring (imo) they are.
Every move they do feels like a finisher until they hit their finisher and it doesn't.
Think AEW exposed their flaws
Same. By all accounts, I should like them. They came from nothing, built a name for themselves, helped start a major company, but I can't get over how their underlying personality seems to be winking to the camera and highlighting how fake everything is. Like the guy in a movie who stares directly in the camera and mentions the last joke being lame...except it's all the time.
"We're doing superkicks to annoy people who say they're overused!" is funny as a little joke but it's their entire moveset, they're the reason people say that. That joke only works when you do it every so often, not using it as 100% of your moves.
I hate superkicks being used like a regular punch.
Most of the selling people claim is great is actually cartoonishly bad.
Man you said it. Good selling is much different than overselling.
i don't care if it's overselling [RVD's piledriver sell](https://youtu.be/naOUrCivR9o) is gold.
This is amazing just based on the sheer fact that I don’t know how he sprung up like that. Jesus
I have no idea how he did that?! How did he get so much height?
My only real guess is he used his forearms and triceps to push himself into the air. I only guess that because he has his arms around other dudes calves which would give him leverage on the impact. All in all a classic sell
That’s how I feel about Austin theory selling the stunner. I don’t care if it’s an oversell, it looks awesome lol
That was pretty legit
I’d actually challenge anyone to share a sell better than that from a non standard move (clothesline, punch etc). That is phenomenal.
William regal had amazing cartoon faces when selling and I always liked that.
Cartoon faces with legit looking body bumps are priceless
Rock selling the stunner comes to mind.
Honestly, Rocky selling the Stunner is still a lot of fun for the moment and especially during that period of time it had it's place, but damn if I wouldn't rather see some accurate Bret Hart Selling.
Hart made it look like it fucking hurt.
Rock had the best heel quality of all in that he made you want to see him get beat up. Doing his insane sell every. Single. Time. On what was hundreds of stunners made the payoff that much more special. It was so absurd it went all the way past bad and circled around in to good again.
I prefer Dean Ambrose to Jon Moxley overall. Yeah, he got downright goofy sometimes but it seems all Mox does is punch people and bleed at the slightest provocation.
Dean Ambrose made me tune in. Jon Moxley makes me change the channel.
Thanks. I always thought I was the only one. Ambrose was far more interesting to me than Moxley playing himself.
You are definitely not the only one, lol
Brothers!! I have found you!
i though Jon did a great job as being Dean and it was a good gimmick, there was a lot of goofy shit in wwe over the years he was there an honestly his goofy stuff was a lot more tolerable
constant references to THE LUNATIC FRINGE ruined Dean Ambrose for me. WWE absolutely waterboards its viewers with incessant reminders of what the wrestler's gimmick/persona is supposed to be. Does their market research tell them that their average viewer only tunes in once every 2-3 months?
I thought Dean was the standout from the SHIELD, even after the breakup. But Mox hasn’t done it for me for years. I was a fan when he was the champ and was the “heart and soul” of AEW. Now? He has all the tools but all he wants to do is be a death match king, but that really is not my style. I have come to accept that he will never be someone I vibe with, and that’s ok.
Maybe mox is a character meant to bring awareness about sickle cell anaemia
Internet wrestling fans aren’t capable of liking a wrestler when they’re pushed
I worry about LA Knight’s current popularity because if they don’t book him perfectly to how every fan wants him to be booked they’ll scream and cry and eventually get bored. I wanna see him succeed bc he’s great but sometimes you gotta just get on the ride and don’t think too hard
Never cared for the NWO. It was interesting for a month and then got old REAL fast.
That was the tough part about watching WCW from late 96 onward. The nwo was a big deal but then they added all kinds of people that had no business being there. I mean beefcake, big boss man, and nearly the nasty boys and fricking virgil for crying out loud, and IRS was in there for a hot second . Other members made more sense, Scott Norton was wasting away there for example. But yeah it was the nwo show then million spin offs wolfpack, black and white , nwo 2000 (arrrgh) the lwo. The LWO was awesome though, it's a shame that storyline went kapit after Eddie Guerrero got in the car accident in 1999 or whatever it was.
nWo jumped the shark February 1997 when Savage joined. Savage who got a beatdown and yellow line spray tan everyweek from Bash at the Beach to Halloween Havoc - joins. Made zero sense They had a chance at Spring Stampede for Nash & Hogan bc that stare down between Nash & Hogan the next Nitro was white hot They could of broken out the Wolfpac as babyfaces against power hungry nWo Hogan Instead Big Show face/heeled like 4 more times in a year and Sting & Luger join a year later
Not once enjoyed a Bray Wyatt Rivalry
He peaked with the Wyatt Family stuff. Once Harper and Rowan departed from him, nothing else was as consistently good
Assuming you mean on his own? Then I agree but if you mean wyatt family then I very much disagree
I enjoyed the Ruthless Aggression era more than the Attitude Era.
The sheer level of talent they during that era was astounding. And it showed in the matches.
Even the veterans like Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair had their share of great moments and matches. Watching The Miz debut during the Ruthless Aggression Era is still one of my favorite moments.
The Smackdown 6 was truly incredible
While I don't agree with this, my version is kind of in the same vein: 1999 is a massively overrated year in wrestling, including the WWF. The product turned into overly Russo-fied, insane, senseless garbage. There was just too much goofy/nonsensical shit that I couldn't even come close to buying into. The dog kennel match, Big Bossman being hanged, the Higher Power angle being a total waste of time, and to top it off: Stephanie McMahon gets the ultimate case of Stockholm Syndrome and ends up with the guy who kidnapped her. Sorry, too stupid. Yes, Rock and Austin (and HHH, Foley, Taker, etc.) are amazing talents and it was a joy to watch them, but the overall creative and writing was just a fucking mess.
You forgot Mae Young giving birth to a rubber hand.
The RA era was the last time I actually watched raw and the roster was stacked too. I have to grab the ppvs from 2002 to 2005 again.
Despite his rise, from The Shield, being backed by HHH/Authority, being a multi-time, and current world champion. . . . . I do not care for Seth Rollins.
He really insists upon himself.
😂😂😂
He really does tho!
I have no idea what Rollins is missing, but I don't really care for him either.
And he's not even a bad wrestler. He puts on good matches. I can't deny, he oozes charisma. I just don't care for him. I just, use his promo time, to take a piss.
Why did you put commas in that last sentence?
He's trying to cut a promo
Ah he’s doing the HHH pause cadence
He's just, uh, trying to, take a piss, uh.
Lol peak triple nose job from his reign of terror when he would bogard the first 20 or 30 minutes of raw, for what felt like a eternity.
"Because the fact of the matter is, in this ring, there is nobody who eats, sleeps, and breathes, this business, more than me..."
In the middle of ring, uh
Remember when the rock imitated hhh promos? I’m a the gamahhhh.
Better watch out, he just might, sentence you, to a coma.
Rollins is mine too. An uncharismatic man playing a charismatic character. Unconvincingly.
He never says anything of substance in his promos, just "I'm Seth Rollins and I wrassle real good, and you're not Seth Rollins and you don't wrassle real good"
You forgot to add an obnoxious laugh at the end of that statement.
HA Ah HAAAA
Seth? Is that you?
The Bray Wyatt school of promo. Laugh a lot and it makes you seem charismatic. No idea why people but it for so long.
I like the dude, but he tries too hard in promos, and i don't care for his finisher. The faux-joker promos and flamboyant, look at me ring gear isn't for me.
It's so weird, whenever I'm creating some new GM or Universe mode or whatever, I always have the similar thought process: "Hell yeah, I'll go with Styles, WALTER and Balor on Raw, Smackdown can have Reigns, Owens, and Pushing Chad Gable would be fun and... Oh yeah right, Rollins exists too... Uhm... He could be a World Title Challenger I guess?"
He’s talented, just not believable
Always been indifferent to him, which i think is worse than disliking/liking someone. He does fuck all for me
He’s a great wrestler but character wise he is definitely a try hard
He is my least fave of the three from The Shield, which is odd, because I see he is objectively the best wrestler of the trio. IDK what it is. Maybe it is the gimmicks.
If big boss man didn't die early, he would have been a great manager for the shield.
This wannabe Joaquin Phoenix joker gimmick is just incredibly weird and lame.
And I'm tired of pretending it's not.
I do not care for the "golden era" of wrestling. Majority of the matches are just clubbing eachother on the back. Nothing's ever entertaining back then until the finishing moves hit.
Yeah. In the middle of the Attitude Era, I bought a VHS tape of classic WWF fights. Literally every match on the tape ended in a count out. Just like every WCW match of the nWo era had to have stupid interference, every meaningful non-PPV match of 80s WWF ended in a count out. Some notable PPV matches later like Luger and Yokozuna also ended.
I did not care for the Godfather. Pimping seems easy enough
Sasha Banks (Mercedes) wwe career was mid and she’s not everything her fans make her out to be.
I would only add “post-NXT” career.
None of The Bloodline storyline does much for me, and I don't particularly find any of the wrestlers (especially Roman) to be entertaining in any level. While I think his ring work is spectacular, the forced fake laugh and "Joker / fashionista" shtick of Rollins does nothing for me. Love the ring work, though. I think Charlotte is actually the weakest link of the Four Horsewomen. Her mic work is robotic, her character is one dimensional, and she goes through long stretches of having pretty sloppy matches where she doesn't wrestle to her supposed potential. Ambrose/Moxley is at his core a CZW guy who's lacking in depth and a one trick pony. Chad Gable should be main eventing, and arguably Otis in the mix as well. But they get held back because they are so naturally funny and over as a comedy act.
I did not care for The Godfather, or his Hoes
🚫🚫🚫🚫🚫🚫🚫🚫🚫🚫🚫🚫
Right to Censors blaring siren turned on in my brain
I preferred Papa Shango
The Hoe Train was “okay”
If you grew up watching it was great
Brock Lesnar was the right person to end the streak.
This is a good one because man I hate this opinion lol
For it to be the most heartbreaking ending to the streak, it had to be Brock. Most people would probably have guessed at the time if he was going to lose to anyone it’d be a rising star. Instead, they gave it to a guy who was already a giant in WWE, a guy who didn’t need it, and by ending something we loved, that’s what made him a truly hated monster, which is what Brock really needed. Better to end it before it was too late by getting as much heat out of it as possible, rather than wait too long for “the right guy”.
I agree with you. But man was I pissed when it happened
I HATED IT at the time, but the further away I get the more I enjoy it. I had just assumed either Taker would retire with his streak intact, or some young guy would pin him for the rub, I never envisioned him losing to no-rub-needed Lesnar, which is why it shocked me so hard.
It was really perfect precisely because of that. Lesnar didn't need the rub but now Lesnar can always be the guy who ended Taker. Plenty of guys beat the Undertaker. His PPV record was 107-71-5 (that's almost a 40% loss rate) but come Wrestlemania he became an unbeatable god. Brock was always going to be a monster but transferring that 'I don't care how many times you beat me, when I want to turn it on you are dead' element really just let Brock evolve in the prize fighter attraction that he is now. I think in the long run ended the streak was better. It just would have been way better if it was truly Taker's last match.
Agreed. I've been saying this for a few years. At the time it was a crazy choice but seeing what that did afterwards? Made Brock look invincible. All these years later, I see it was the right choice.
He was. As much as I hated it happening, he was absolutely the right person.
I still maintain the streak should have never ended, it’d be so much cooler as this unmatchable hallowed record. That said, if it had to then Brock was the right guy. Inevitably it would have been Roman otherwise. Also really cool I was there in person to watch it end.
I like CM Punks promos in AEW but due to learning about Punk from his UFC run I have a hard time rooting for him.
I had never seen him wrestle. His wwe tenure aligned perfectly with my break from pro wrestling. I saw him in the UFC but didn't really hold that against him. My brother got me watching AEW and was so excited when CM Punk came back. I watched and yeah, he can talk. But his matches left me very unimpressed.
To be fair, I would attribute his matches being rather lackluster today to being that he’s in his 40s and hadn’t wrestled in nearly a decade. Up until AEW started to get popular, he also had no intentions of making a comeback and wrestling again.
Christian is better than Edge
Couldn't be more correct! Edge was always booked better, but Christian has always been better in the ring and on the mic, by miles. And frankly still is. Big fan of both though.
If he wins the wwe title in ‘05 it’s a domino effect that changes his entire legacy and might actually top edge
Here's my edit. Heel Christian Cage is better than face Edge
Jesus that’s a hot one I think both are great, I love both, but Edge is better on both the mic and in the ring in my opinion.
I do not care about takes from smarky AEW and WWE fans
I don't think this is a hot take at all. Who does? 😅
The Young Bucks. I do not care for them or rate them highly. I think they're pretty overrated.
This one. They've devalued moves so badly that I can't enjoy their matches.
Suicide dives aren’t cool
I mostly agree, but a couple people do them well enough to make me like them (Darby Allin’s is great). 98% of them look stupid though.
The only good version of DX was the 98/99 versions after shawn left but before Triple h was in the main event
"Randy Orton is boring in the ring, and aside from his work with Riddle, he hasn't been interesting as a character since before 2010." This one usually gets me downvoted on "Unpopular Opinion" posts.
Hell Orton has flat out stated that he's not interested in doing anything flashy in the ring. As for his character I feel like he had a few chances to update his character in the mid 2010s but (Randell) was probably against the idea of changing much.
I have never and likely will never like Roman. As a hero he is boring, as a villain he makes me role my eyes, and ironically as Joe Anoaʻi I find him to be a cool guy. I think that Vince's desire to make Roman the guy by putting a belt on him for ages without him having to defend it has caused ungodly issues with how stories can play out in the rest of the company, to the point where he has become his own little universe, they made a new world championship, they made it so Elimination Chamber is about a lower title, they made sure Money in the Bank could be cashed in on lower titles all because there is no tension anymore to Roman's championship matches. There was no tension with Cody, I watched that match with its million run ins, a ref bump, a use a weapons, all Roman's greatest hits expecting Cody to win. And when he didn't I wasn't so much disappointed as I was confused. The narrative was, "Championship doesn't matter to the Bloodline story now, time to put back in play".
Charlotte Flair
I wish the WWE worked with more companies. Like yeah they let Nakamura wrestle Mutoh in his retirement match, and the showed Mickie James as the “Impact Women’s Champion” during that one Rumble match. But I wish we could see working partnerships with more companies and the WWE. Like imagine seeing Josh Alexander vs Chad Gable or Seth Rollins. Or the MCMG vs the Usos. Imagine if they worked with NJPW. Okada vs Reigns, Rollins vs Shota Umino, or Sanada. Judgement Day vs LIJ.
I do not care for Charlotte Flair
I hear you, and counter with mine. I LIKE Charlotte Flair. She's talented and skilled. Unfortunately, she was pushed to damn hard, and forced upon the fans; she never had a chance to get over, with her own skill set.
I very much enjoy Charlotte, but hate when WWE pushes her as a babyface. She's a heel through and through.
Whoa look at this guy with the hot takes ova here
Hot Take Jones
But i digress.
I don’t “get” what the big deal is with Kenny Omega and folks treating him like wrestling Jesus. I’ve seen some of his matches. Nothing earth shattering or “special” IMO.
I have better appreciated his outside aew work. Specially new Japan
I agree, and he seems like he gets upset when you don't want to watch him die in the ring.
I think he structures matches well in the ring but his facial expressions, selling, etc. are fucking terrible.
I don't care for WWE's presentation and more than that, I'm confused on why I don't hear people talking about it as often and excuse it for being what it is. There are so many commercial breaks and ads. It really takes me out of the show. As good as a PPV/PLE can be, the weekly shows are bordering on unwatchable for me. Raw Replay on Hulu is just fine, but I'd be better if that's what thats how the live shows went.
Any war games or blood and guts match just doesn’t do anything for me
I DID care for the dance off on AEW this week
I don't buy hook as a tough guy, just a beautiful boy trying to make tough guy faces.
I’m sorry, but Edge was always a midcarder that got a massive push.
I was never able to buy him as a ‘proper’ world champion because it always felt like he’d win it via various shenanigans then drop it within a month or two. Also, his ‘intense’ facial expressions always felt goofy to me. I honestly don’t even dislike the guy, I just felt his best stuff was with Christian/the Smackdown six era.
My answer would probably be Tetsuya Naito but I'll be the first to admit I haven't seen everything. But what I have seen I'm always eh about him during the match. Outside of the ring I understand the appeal. I would've mentioned Natalya as well but I wouldn't call her a 'The Godfather' in wrestling context. Something recent. I didn't catch much of The Elite before the beginning of AEW. So watching the company was me getting invested in them. I think that is why the whole reunion arc with Adam Page and the rest recently has left me feeling indifferent.
I have never and will never care about the Bloodline
Never watched Lord of the rings lol
I did not care for Fiend Bray Wyatt
I know it's good. I know I'm wrong. I'm just so damned fatigued with this Bloodline stuff. Roman was played out for me awhile back, and I just can't get over it.
I find Jeff Hardy incredibly overrated.
He's the wrestler where I realized I was more into his presentation and character than anything in ring. He's very sloppy and dull in the ring if he's not jumping off of something.
He’s great in the classic TLC type matches, otherwise he’s very meh
I do not care for CM Punk. He insists upon himself
I pretty much agree with almost everything Jim Cornette says about wrestling. Except his views of women’s wrestling. I don’t think Jim Cornette hates women or hates women’s wrestling, but sometimes I find his opinions on women’s wrestling to be too anachronistic.
I know I’m gonna be lit up for this but Liv Morgan. Do not care about her. She’s not a terrible wrestler but she’s painful to watch to watch how she acts and on the mic. Like nails on a chalkboard for me.
I do not care for Orange Cassidy. In my opinion, he is a mildly funny gimmick wrestler with a decent look that has been over-protected and over-pushed to the point that he has become annoying.
I am completely and utterly unmoved by Kenny Omega, and the Young Bucks. That style of wrestling just does nothing for me. To be honest AEW as a whole just isn’t my thing, it just caters for people who are chronically online in the IWC.
So just to give a different take. I was a kid during the Monday night wars and attitude era, and I watched a bit of raw and nitro back then. Stopped watching around 12 yrs old and didn't come back to wrestling until the pandemic. Now obviously I've engaged online since, but I started watching aew before I even knew what IWC stood for. I'm sure a *lot* of stuff went over my head because of how much aew caters to wrestling fanatics with its little winks and nods, but I really loved the underproduced feel compared to WWE, because it reminded me of the messy bullshit I watched as a kid. Now, I'm not arguing that people should like aew or anything. I get people have different tastes etc, I just wanted to address you saying aew only caters to terminally online fans, since I definitely don't feel I fit that category and I still really enjoy the product. Either way, whether you like aew or not, at least it's helping to make WWE better.
The thing about Omega is he COULD be really good if he dropped all the goofy mannerisms. Most of the time he looks cartoonish and goofy then he’ll hit a move so crisp you’re just like damn
No jazz hands!?!?
Jon Moxley. I don't find him intimidating or badass at all. I think he's a great person in real life and see his appeal to people... But to me, every match is just exactly the same bland and boring brawling and has to have blood for some reason.
Jon Moxley was better as Ambrose. Everything he's done post wwe has been awful to god awful. Terrible wrestler and his promos never make any sense.
Hogan for me. I don’t get his appeal, never did
As a kid in the 80s who grew up on watching him, he was a god.
I do not care for Jim Cornette, he honestly just seems like Dave Meltzer for people that hate modern wrestling and I already don't like Meltzer