2012 Pro Wrestling Thread

The big appeal from that match was the insane crowd and that nobody really had an idea what was going to happen at the end. Now that everyone knows, and the crowd gets toned down, the match doesn't seem as huge.

 

Here's another possible spoiler as to the identity of the 1/2/12 promos:

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/247417-possible-spoiler-another-big-name-spotted-in-tn-airport

 

Well, our friend Y2J has dressed at Santa Claus in the past:

 

So it IS Goldberg! ;D

 

1) Cody Rhodes: It's clear he's being groomed for a run at/with Goldie this year after a long run with the IC title. He's got a great look, he can talk and he can work. I'm *loving* the Rhodes/Booker T rivalry right now. Also, I could see Goldust getting one last run out of this. SD has done a pretty good job of rebuilding forgotten/stale guys as of late (Mark Henry and Kane have had WC runs in the not-so-distant past), and it wouldn't take a whole lot for Dustin to be pushed as a credible contender (depending on his health, of course...I don't entirely know what kind of state he's in).

2) Yes, but barely. I really don't think any fans give a shit anymore, and they've failed far too many times for people to give them another chance. The only ones who will stick around are the die-hard TNA fans who think they're cooler than everybody else because they're watching something different (even though it sucks). Impact would be best served, I think, being more like (WW)ECW: keep the storylines simple and just show a shitload of wrestling.

3) I've got a few.
a) The Rock will hold the strap this year...possibly from one major PPV to the next (I'm thinking SummerSlam to Survivor Series). His appearances remain sporadic (basically he wrestles enough to defend the title every 30-ish days, brings it live every other week and via satellite the rest). In the meantime, Cody Rhodes drops the IC belt to a high-caliber star (Orton?) at WM28 to set up a run for Goldie. The new champ gets drafted to RAW, and the IC title is defended weekly (or semi-monthly) as a sort of TV title for the upper/upper-mid card.

b) Dolph Ziggler wins the WWE championship tonight, then drops it to Cena at EC.

c) The brand extension ends sometime after WM28, with Bragging Rights in June being the final blowoff (unifications, etc.). Three individual titles remain: the WWE title and the two secondary belts, with one being rebranded as a TV title and defended every show (or at least once a week). A *lot* of future endeavors ensue.

 

1) Depends on how you define "breakout star". If we're talking "next guy to get a good run near the top of the cards," then I'd say Wade Barrett, because Rhodes and Ziggler are kind of already there. If we're talking "next crossover star and public figure," then I think it could be Sheamus. Big, likable, definite look, composes himself well in the spotlight. I actually think fits that role better than Orton or Punk.

2) TNA will survive until Panda Energy stops supporting it. At this point it appears nothing will move them from the 1.0-1.3 ratings range, and the bigger names are starting to fade from the scene, so they can get the same ratings with lower-paid homegrown stars.

3. Cena does NOT turn heel, but he freshens up his character toward the end of the year. ... Skip Sheffield, Dean Ambrose (formerly Jon Moxley) and Antonio Cesaro (formerly Claudio Castagnoli) are the hottest young names in WWE at the end of the year. ... John Morrison turns down a strong run in TNA because they won't hire Melina and returns to WWE around Survivor Series. ... WWE makes a run at James Storm by the end of the year, making him the first TNA star with no WWE experience to get a good push in 2013. ... Austin Aries gets a run with the TNA world title. ... Ring of Honor has to scale back its national ambitions due to money problems and lack of a Bryan Danielson/CM Punk to build the company around. ... Kevin Steen will continue to be the indy/hipster darling, and he and El Generico will fucking kill each other at some point this year. ... WWE makes noise about starting a company in Mexico, Central America and the border areas; this, combined with CMLL's continued rapid descent, leads to AAA buying out and taking over CMLL in late 2012 or 2013.

 

Has Chris Jericho always been on the intro to Raw? Because it sure looked like him on the intro.

 

OK. The reveal was awesome.

Everything else sucked. What was the freaking point of that?

 

I'm confused. But I think that was the whole point.

 

Heel turn is the whole point, mocking the babyface CM Punk hamming it up to the PG era crowds.

 

It's a promise he made to himself to not cut a promo in WWE until Brodus Clay debuts.

This could take a while.

 

The fuck?
I kept waiting for him to drop the smile and cut a killer heel promo, but that wasn't a bad swerve if that's what it was. I just hope that's what it was.

Oh, and now it's time for the most anti-climactic main event in Raw history.