CM Punk & Wrestling's Best Storyline in Years...

[alpha]

Balor v nakamura on Wednesday

Great F'in match.

[907]

Has to be face if he's going to feud with the Miz, right?

[GUCCI CONDOMS]

Has to be face if he's going to feud with the Miz, right?

I thought the gimmick came off as heelish initially, but since Darren Youngs first major feud is gonna be with the miz, I guess he's a face?

[battlecatmeowstab212]

Has to be face if he's going to feud with the Miz, right?

I thought the gimmick came off as heelish initially, but since Darren Youngs first major feud is gonna be with the miz, I guess he's a face?

It always read face to me, with Darren being the bright-eyed hungry youngster under the curmudgeonly vet.

I love that we got a "DAR-REN YOUNG" chant. I think he strikes people as just genuinely likable, and I'm always down for more Backlund on my TV.

[GUCCI CONDOMS]

Has to be face if he's going to feud with the Miz, right?

I thought the gimmick came off as heelish initially, but since Darren Youngs first major feud is gonna be with the miz, I guess he's a face?

It always read face to me, with Darren being the bright-eyed hungry youngster under the curmudgeonly vet.

I love that we got a "DAR-REN YOUNG" chant. I think he strikes people as just genuinely likable, and I'm always down for more Backlund on my TV.

Right, I can see that, but playing off of Trump with the "Make Darren Young Great Again" mantra seemed obnoxious in a clever heelish way to me. Plus, most fans still watching WWE at this point that even remember Backlund, remember him as a heel. Either way, I'm just ecstatic that Backlund is back, and I'm rooting for the gimmick to get over.

[Brougham33]

Nakamura/Finn was great as expected.

Knew I'd enjoy the CWC, but damn I loved the whole thing. The graphics, the commentary, the matches themselves were all excellent.

[battlecatmeowstab212]

So Ring of Honor just marked down two of their best compilations to only $6.99 each. The Nigel one has my favorite Daniel Bryan Danielson match of all time. Year Two has some of the best matches the company every put on like Daniel Bryan Danielson vs. Samoa Joe, CM Punk vs AJ Styles:

http://rohwrestling.com/sites/default/f ... naldvd.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://rohwrestling.com/product/nigel-m ... 2-disc-set" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://rohwrestling.com/sites/default/f ... dfinal.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://rohwrestling.com/product/ring-ho ... 2-disc-set" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Both are worth copping, and if you're looking to maximize a cheap order of great compilations, the $6.99 Jay Lethal and Delirious sets are awesome too: http://rohwrestling.com/catalog/dvd-roh/compilations" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[battlecatmeowstab212]

[Brougham33]

Exciting week ahead.

Draft rules: http://www.wwe.com/article/wwe-draft-rules-2016" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Who do you think the 6 NXT draft picks will be? Finn and American Alpha seem like locks, but wondering what they'll do about Nakamura and Joe.

[BigCat8]

Exciting week ahead.

Draft rules: http://www.wwe.com/article/wwe-draft-rules-2016" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Who do you think the 6 NXT draft picks will be? Finn and American Alpha seem like locks, but wondering what they'll do about Nakamura and Joe.

I would think The Revival probably gets drafted as well, Bayley almost definitely, and maybe Tye Dillinger?

If the same rules apply for NXT tag teams as main roster teams, you're looking at:
Finn Balor
American Alpha (Gable/Jordan)
The Revival (Dash/Dawson)
Bayley
Tye Dillinger
and...

I really can't think of anyone that seems primed to go outside of Nakamura/Joe/Aries on the male side, and Asuka/Bliss on the female side... but all of those folks seem central to the NXT brand post-draft. I'm gonna settle on Alexa Bliss as my sixth choice, but I'm not confident about it.

[alpha]

I hope Nakamura gets the call. He'll probably stay down in NXT longer but he belongs on the main roster.

[battlecatmeowstab212]

Nakamura getting the call now wouldn't make sense as, with all the NXT call-up and shake-ups, he and Joe are both going to be needed with NXT being a touring entity.

I don't think Tye Dillinger is getting the call-up either as he's just now getting such momentum that I think they want to get him a little more burn in a prominent NXT role before bringing him up.

And Bayley's not going up either. There's money in the Bayley-Asuka rematch, and she'll be needed for the touring brand as well. I do think, regardless, she'll be the first NXT call-up AFTER the draft, as in by Survivor Series.

My predictions:

Finn Balor (the lock)
American Alpha
Nia Jaxx
Eva Marie
Hideo Itami
Mojo Rawley

In addition, I think we're going to get some sort of free agent surprise who isn't a part of any current WWE brand at the moment. I know Carlito/Shelton Benjamin return rumors pop up annually but if there was ever a time for them or Chris Masters or Jeff Hardy to make a surprise resurgence, now would be it.


Which tag teams do we think are getting split-up?

It's already come out that the Lucha Dragons are going their separate ways, do we now get heel Bubba Ray in his Bully Ray character? Are Rowan or Harper going to get the strong post-Wyatt singles push they both deserve?

[907]

I'm all in on Harper, but is Eric Rowan really ready for a singles run, much less push? I can't picture it amounting to much, or providing very good matches. Much better to have him and Strowman tag as part of the family, and let Luke go solo on the other brand, IMO.

Can you imagine after a successful few year Luke Harper solo run, him facing Wyatt after not interacting at all since the brand split? Possibilities like this are the only reason I'm looking forward to two brands.

[battlecatmeowstab212]

I'm all in on Harper, but is Eric Rowan really ready for a singles run, much less push? I can't picture it amounting to much, or providing very good matches. Much better to have him and Strowman tag as part of the family, and let Luke go solo on the other brand, IMO.

Can you imagine after a successful few year Luke Harper solo run, him facing Wyatt after not interacting at all since the brand split? Possibilities like this are the only reason I'm looking forward to two brands.

Rowan's the most under-utilized guy on the roster. He had the stronger crowd reactions when they first split the Wyatt monsters up in late 2014. He's a tremendous wrestler (Trained by Eddie Sharkey who trained Backlund, Aries, Rick Rude, X-Pac and Jerry Lynn) and proved how versatile his style can be when he was allowed to cut loose during that time. Look at his match with Cesaro from Smackdown in that era. Plus, his WWE promos have had a wider range and been stronger.

I love both and dug Harper going back to the Brodie Lee days, but they're really leaving money on the table with Rowan. He just carries himself perfectly, and is unselfish enough as a performer to know how to make whoever he faces in the ring appear like a million bucks.

[BigCat8]

That Kalisto promo. Oh no.

I felt so bad but so entertained.

[battlecatmeowstab212]

Full Rosters:

Raw:
1. Seth Rollins
2. Charlotte
3. Finn Balor
4. Roman Reigns
5. Brock Lesnar
6. The New Day
7. Sami Zayn
8. Sasha Banks
9. Chris Jericho
10. Rusev
11. Kevin Owens
12. Enzo & Cass
13. The Club
14. The Big Show
15. Nia Jax
16. Neville
17. Cesaro
18. Sheamus
19. The Golden Truth
20. Titus O'Neil
21. Paige
22. Darren Young
23. Sin Cara
24. Jack Swagger
25. The Dudley Boyz
26. Summer Rae
27. Mark Henry
28. Braun Strowman
29. Bo Dallas
30. The Shining Stars
31. Alicia Fox
32. Dana Brooke
33. Curtis Axel

SmackDown:
1. Dean Ambrose
2. AJ Styles
3. John Cena
4. Randy Orton
5. Bray Wyatt
6. Becky Lynch
7. The Miz
8. Baron Corbin
9. American Alpha
10. Dolph Ziggler
11. Natalya
12. Alberto del Rio
13. The Usos
14. Kane
15. Kalisto
16. Naomi
17. The Ascension
18. Zack Ryder
19. Apollo Crews
20. Alexa Bliss
21. Breezano
22. Eva Marie
23. The Vaudevillains
24. Erick Rowan
25. Mojo Rawley
26. Carmella

Heath Slater is a Free Agent

[battlecatmeowstab212]

Great Cesaro promo too:

[Brougham33]

Damn, Cesaro on point. Whole thing felt rushed and didn't make much sense. The one show that should have been 3 hours was this.

Raw gets the majority of the top talent, they didn't separate Owens/Zayn, they also get cruiserweight division and the top two females? Outside of the Balor at #5 pick the suspense wasn't there all night. One positive... Styles vs Rollins at some point at one these major Raw vs Smackdown ppvs and Bray can flourish on his own at Smackdown.

[alpha]

They really dropped the ball on this. They could've really made smacks down a great show. Instead it still looks like a "b" show.

[blastmaster]

Thanks for giving them another reason to bury you, Cesaro. God damn it.

[GUCCI CONDOMS]

I'm entirely underwhelmed...

[battlecatmeowstab212]

Everyone currently feuding with each other now has the chance to continue their feud.

[blastmaster]

Cena and Styles on Smackdown gives me hope that they won't treat it like the b-show.

[battlecatmeowstab212]

Also, MVP of the night was Michael Cole, really tried to put over each pick and make them seem like a big deal when even the presentation of each choice was lacking.

I liked Cole and Ranello's chemistry. Even though they're both play-by-play guys, they seem to genuinely click in terms of sharing analysis. This also allowed the few times Lawler got a word in to be just his best material.

[GUCCI CONDOMS]

Damn, Cesaro on point. Whole thing felt rushed and didn't make much sense. The one show that should have been 3 hours was this.

Raw gets the majority of the top talent, they didn't separate Owens/Zayn, they also get cruiserweight division and the top two females? Outside of the Balor at #5 pick the suspense wasn't there all night. One positive... Styles vs Rollins at some point at one these major Raw vs Smackdown ppvs and Bray can flourish on his own at Smackdown.

UPDATE: According to sources, Cesaro’s rant during his interview with JoJo about being drafted to RAW and the amount of focus being placed on Commissioners and General Managers was indeed a shoot. As you’d imagine, there are some members of WWE management who weren’t pleased with the promo while others (mostly talent) gave him “kudos and respect” for “having the balls” to speak up. Cesaro has reportedly been “frustrated” with his WWE position for awhile now and things boiled over during the WWE Draft.

The Cesaro draft promo has been confirmed to be a shoot

[battlecatmeowstab212]

So, since I kind of can't believe I did it, I called the NXT Draft picks. (I chose 7 because I thought Nia Jax and Eva Marie would be a team, but Hideo wasn't even drafted because of injury, so I called all six!)

[battlecatmeowstab212]

In addition, I think we're going to get some sort of free agent surprise who isn't a part of any current WWE brand at the moment.

Word now is that WWE has signed Rhyno AND Curt Hawkins.

[battlecatmeowstab212]

[tehgiftofgab]

Lmaooooooo wtf lita

[Pizon]

Wow, Raw is the better brand by far.

On the plus side, maybe Wyatt and Miz can be main eventers now.