Y2HH

Vince sees it as a positive because money talks, and the opinions of Internet wrestling marks walks. He doesn't cater to hardcore "wrestling purists", and never will. Roman sells truckloads of merchandise, despite the rather falsely perpetuated myth that nobody likes him. The Internet "marks" are who don't like him, and they mean almost nothing in the grand scheme of things. These are the same people that think New Japan is the greatest wrestling product the world has ever seen, yet New Japan isn't a hair on the WWE's ass in terms of popularity, revenue streams, or profits, and this was BEFORE the recent billion dollar blockbuster deals they signed with TWO different television companies to broadcast their shows. In short ... that's why he keeps doing it. For as out of touch people believe Vince is, the money say otherwise. Apparently, 2-3 ratings are deemed to be worth around 250M per year according to Fox and USA, so who are we to argue at this point?

Wasn't a big fan of this PPV, from top to bottom -- and Lashley sucks. He's a fucking charisma vacuum. Nice bump he took in that match, but otherwise, the end result was weak AF. Reigns just kicked out of like 7 F5's, and all it took was that shitty ass spear to finish him against Lashley? Lol K.

I'd be fine with them putting the strap on Roman, so long as it coincides with a heel turn.

Woah, I found something I agree with.

I've tried to watch both here and there -- despite reports on the contrary from the Mark World Order here on Soxtalk -- and it's just not my thing. I don't like watching Minor League baseball for the same reason, and yeah, that's how I view both NJ and NXT. ? I laugh when I hear people talk about how "out of touch" Vince is, when he just sold RAW and Smackdown for a billion+ each ... yep, sounds REAL out of touch. The main reason I don't care about NXT characters or "stories" is because when they're eventually bumped up to the main roster, the characters are nothing like they were in NXT, and outside of a few outliers (such as Asukas streak), what little story they had is usually ignored ... so why bother? Oh, and I hated RAW's 30 minute main event for the same reason. ? Could have told the same "story" with 15 minutes instead of carrying on and on and on like they did ... by the time the finish came, I could see it coming from a mile away, whereas earlier in the match I legit thought it was a toss up (especially after last weeks rare upset).

I just want to say that while I enjoy discussing the state of wrestling with you fine people, what I love more than anything else is proving how right I am, and how wrong each and every one of you are! Yes, I know I deserve it ... so sit down and read on if you wanna learn somethin' for a change. Only the Mark World Order cares about Lesnar dropping the title to a spot machine that knows how to suicide dive. Or something... Rabble rabble, NXT storylines, rabble rabble NXT is amazing because of Triple H. ;0

Not that I agree with how they're going about it, but when someone does dethrone Lesnar, it'll mean that much more -- the anticipation build to him finally losing has been quite the long road, and in some ways I find it funny how much it's pissing people off. I honestly don't care about the Universal Title at this point -- so whether he's around with it or not doesn't change much IMO. It's not like they'll do anything with it other than hot-potato it around after Lesnar drops it so fans can chant "you deserve it" on a weekly basis anyway.

Okay, whatever. You're right, that's why Ronda's ass kicking segment against Jax went over just as well. Because like you said, it's all Ronda, so it doesn't matter who she's in the ring with. And yeah, she made Nia tap out during a segment just a few weeks ago, and it was a dud segment. It takes a great heel for the babyface to shine. Give credit where it's due.

? They're just jealous Asuka has become a jobber to Mella and lolAlexaWins

The point is, Ronda was INFINITELY more interesting last night when paired with Alexa than she was during her entire runup against Jax. Ronda had her "stone cold" becoming last night against a sniveling, gloating heel and everyone did their jobs perfectly in that segment. THIS is how Alexa needs to be portrayed, not as a dominating ass kicker, but a lying, shortcut taking b****. Also, the little Ronda did speak worked very well because she doesn't have to speak a lot right now, Alexa can carry that. People were questioning why Vince wanted the strap back on Alexa so soon and last night showed us why. The follow up to this will also be important, Alexa needs to talk smack big time knowing Ronda isn't around for the next few weeks, and find a way to weasel her way out of losing to Jax at ER. *fromaselfprofessedalexamark

I guess I can appreciate it for the high level of skill it takes, but it's still not my thing as it pertains to wrestling. I have nothing but respect for their skillset, but I have nothing invested in either man so I have no skin in the game. It's like watching any sport where you don't know or care about either team playing. That's how I feel about Omega/Okada.

I have watched NXT, I just don't care for it so I don't continue to watch it. I did like Bobby Roode in NXT, though, far more than whatever this is now. And I agree with his point on Omega/Okada, I watched the first few, and thought they were way too long and drawn out, and now they're just rehashes of that same match. It's just not my cup of tea. It's like watching an hour long car chase. It's fun for about 10-15 minutes and then it's like okay, get to the point.

It's mostly because nobody wants to rock the boat. From Vince on down, they play it safe, and why? Because they have no viable competition AND they're getting paid huge money to keep the status quo. Even in NXT, they really don't do much in the way of risk taking with characters or storylines. They find their favorite few and basically stick with them until they're bumped to the main roster. Let's take Asuka as an example of this lack of risk taking. She should have lost while in NXT to complete the story and help create another star, but nope. After she got "indy-popular" -- a term I use for wrestlers that only the most die-hard of wrestling fans decide to like -- they basically buried the entire NXT womens roster beneath her and then brought up to the main roster because they didn't want to rock the boat or take chances with Ember Moon or anyone else dethroning her stupid streak. Now wait for it... Yes, that same streak they shattered by having Charlotte beat her right before Carmella beat Charlotte twice, cleanly, and then bragged about it and deservedly so. So the streak ended up meaning fucking nothing, and nobody got a rub from it. I just question so much of what they do story wise it's not even funny. Bobby Roode went from having an actual dickish, arrogant character that proved to the world that he was the best in NXT to being a guy that comes out to music and then ceases to have any personality or character whatsoever. Ember Moon? What exactly is her character or her motivation? Is she a wrestler that think she's a werewolf? I'm not sure. Why is she a babyface? Why does she hate Alexa Bliss? Who or what does she fight for? It's like ... the most basic of storytelling elements, from character to motivation just don't exist anymore. That being said, with these billion dollar deals being thrown around right now, I hold out hope someone gets the idea that with the right infusion of cash, a place like RoH could become a viable alternative to becoming the next WCW quite easily because a competing product that's rated PG-14 and more adult-centric? I got a feeling it wouldn't only compete with the WWE, it'd make waves. It just can't come off as low-rent like it does now...and it needs to compete directly with WWE like WCW did. Live on Monday, and force the audience to choose. If RoH has the likes of Cody Rhodes vs Omega in a blood feud telling an actual story of trying to prove they're the best in the world ... I'd fucking watch that over the drivel the WWE is putting out right now.

Practically the only character on RAW with any sort of consistency is Alexa Bliss. They stick her with two babyfaces yesterday and I loved the fact she "got injured" and left them in response to the horrible booking decision. This Nia/Rousey 'feud' is terrible so far. Rousey has great staredowns but other than that I don't get why they protected Natty so much. She's lost like 80 matches in the past year and now they have her put up a fight against Jax? Why. Jax should have run over her, but now they're waffling on Jax's sudden heel turn last week by making her "Nattys concerned friend". Braun and Rollins are over as hell. And so is Elias. They need some writers with a fucking attention span. They have stories, but nobody can follow them because from week to week they're completely inconsistent for the most part.

It was the best segment Jax ever had to carry on her own, but that being said, it was a tremendous character break to shoehorn in this Rousey match at MITB. They literally spent 6 months telling the "bully's never win" story and Jax overcoming it, just for Jax to literally turn around a week later and bully a jobber. So for that reason alone, I thought it was pretty terrible.

RAW was brutal. That's about all that's worth saying. I can't believe people get paid to write that shitshow.

That kind of travel schedule, combined with having to entertain clients has to be absolutely killer on a workout schedule/diet, I couldn't imagine having to cope with that. At the very least, it sounds like you have genetics on your side -- so that could be even worse for some that have that constant uphill battle against their own genetics (and this is a real thing for those wondering). Keto is rough, it's something I could never do -- then again, I'm pretty anti-special-diet, and strive for lifestyle balance where I'm not depriving myself of anything in specific that I know I'll eventually go back to eating at some point, which demolishes the original diet.

QUOTE (iWin4Ron @ Apr 18, 2018 -> 10:30 AM) Does anyone else worry about how stacked smackdown is and how little time there is for everyone? Undoubtedly, there will be wrestlers who get the short end of the stick. I'd hate for that to be Almas, Saniiity, Hardy, Samoa Joe, Asuka, Miz, etc. you get my point. On Raw, at least I feel confident that Owens/Zayn/Roode will have spots in the 3 hours and on PPV's. A big guy I worry about is Almas, he can't fit in the title picture immediately, so I hope they use him properly. Yes, I think they overdid a 2 hour roster. If the main event segment goes long, it leaves even less time for everyone else. On RAW, I think we'll start seeing extended segments, giving the opposite issue that Smackdown is sure to have.

Or not...if that’s it for the trades, Kurt Angle is the worst GM of all time. In any sport. Ever.

QUOTE (ChrisLikesBaseball @ Apr 17, 2018 -> 06:39 PM) I don't think they'll get Seth. They'll get Jeff Hardy with the US title. Raw did a little reload on their awful tag team division last night (Breezango, Ascension, KO/Zayn, Miztourage without Miz) and they loaded up on heels to feud with Roman or Seth for their titles (assuming Roman goes over in Saudi Arabia).. KO, Jinder, Zayn, Corbin, Roode (hopefully heel soon), McIntyre, Ziggler. Raw's heel side was very weak until the shakeup. We don't know what they'll do with Lashley and Samoa Joe is living as a tweener right now, but I'm sure the writers are feeling a lot better about having options for babyfaces to feud with so Finn, Seth, Braun, Roman(?), etc. Don't always have to work the same bad guys or try to establish a temporary face/heel dynamic. We'll see who lands on Smackdown tonight, but they've already gotten the biggest acquisition by clearing Daniel Bryan and leaving him on that brand. I think they’ll get Seth, either that or Jeff Hardy. I hope for Seth though for some fresh matchups.

On a side note, while RAW got some good callups and additions, the trades they seemingly made so far with Smackdown was taking a bunch of trash from Smackdown in return for the Miz. So far, aside from KO, Zayn, Ziggler, Corbin and Roode (and a few NXT callups/Lashley) -- RAW acquired a bunch of mid or below mid level players. So far Smackdown wins via addition by subtraction IMO, but I suppose that depends on what happens today/tonight.

QUOTE (iWin4Ron @ Apr 16, 2018 -> 09:10 PM) WWE is so funny sometimes... They have the FOTC (Reigns) calling Joe a "fatass" meanwhile have the whole Alexa vs. Nia Jax storyline regarding body-shamming. This s***. :lol: :lol: Isn't that a reflection of society as a whole, though? It's gender hypocrisy. It's okay to call men a fatass, etc...but it's a different game when you do it to a woman. Surely you see that right?

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 11, 2018 -> 09:04 AM) Haven't really been able to exercise much since my daughter was born last summer, so I signed up for a gym two weeks ago so I can exercise on my lunch break. Problem is I have no idea what I'm really doing. Anyone have a good weight lifting routine they can recommend? Plan on going 4 days a week or so, 30-45 minutes at a time. Gym has a pretty decent range of machines and free weights. If you plan on going 4 days week, I'd break it down into a daily split as follows: Day 1: Back Day 2: Chest Day 3: Legs Day 4: Arms/Shoulders The reason for this split is it allows MAXIMUM effort on each day, being as that no minor muscle groups are used the day of or the day before, which will weaken your lift. The 1 bodypart per day split allows absolute concentration on a specific muscle group. An example of what I mean by no minors are in use is that when you lift chest, you also use triceps and front deltoids, so you wouldn't want to work arms or shoulders the day before you do that chest routine. Furthermore, the other reason I prefer this workout method over things like whole body workouts, is this split allows your body adequate time and devotion of allotable resources to properly repair and rebuild the muscles. A lot of people will argue this with me, but I've yet to be convinced by anyone. Your body has finite amount of daily resources it can expend to repair and rebuild muscles. There is only so much usable protein that can be synthesized, carbs, fats, etc., and repairing one group of muscles is doable, whereas repairing an entire body of muscles is not. What I mean by this is, instead of a focused chest workout and your body dedicating all of its available resources to rebuilding your chest, it's taking those same resources are spreading them thin over an entire range of muscles, and I argue this is an inefficient way to work. This split also allows massive workload, as I'll do upwards of 7 sets on some of my workouts before moving on to the next workout. Here is my current chest routine as an example, I won't list weights because that's really up to the person, and you may lift more or less than what I lift depending on your size: Hammer Strength Incline Press (can substitute barbell or dumbbell incline press if such a machine is not available) 4 sets 8-12 reps Incline Dumbbell Fly (focus on a concentrated slow negative stretch, but don't overdo the stretch, it's not necessary) 3 sets 8-10 reps Machine Flat Bench Press 3 sets 8-10 reps Flat Bench Dumbbell Press (with palms facing inward toward each other, this movement is a bit nonstandard, but it's really amazing and should be used by more people) 3 sets 8-12 reps Weighted Chain Dips (dips basically replicate a decline press, i personally use 1 or 2 chains, but that's saying such a thing is available to you or that you even need it, for a lot of people, body weight is more than enough for dips) 3 sets to failure As you can see, this is a very high volume set that targets the hell out of your chest. Again, IMO, your body will dedicate all it's resources to the rebuild of your chest because it's not spreading itself thin by trying to rebuild 50 body parts at the same time as a result of some full body workout, which again, I simply find inefficient.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Apr 10, 2018 -> 08:09 PM) Carmella! The Iconics are something else, wow. They're going to be stars. Was glad to see Paige sticking around... As for the Iconics, jury is still out. I'll have to see more, but at least they have the "we can talk" skillset covered for me, because if you can't do that, I'll absolutely never care. The Carmella cash-in was kind of expected at this point, but damn her voice is annoying as hell, and not in a good way. She needs to stop that terrible screaming. I assume this means they're moving Charlotte back to RAW.

The Paige retirement made me legit sad. 25 years old and done. It seemed like longer than 4 years ago she came around and I thought the sky was the limit for that girl ... and then just four years later, it's goodbye.