Fastlane Tonight - in Cleveland!

[Derek]

If Cena wins, we riot

 

[Jack Brickman]

If Cena wins, we riot

If Cena wins, it's proof that WWE really doesn't understand what to do with their young talent. I read the McMahon recently said on Stone Cold's podcast that the younger generation of wrestlers in the WWE didn't have the mentality to reach out and grab the brass ring of superstardom, and I think that's a load of horse shit. Kevin Owens was on the verge of superstardom and the WWE buried him in the mid-card instead of giving him a push. The same goes for Dean Ambrose. He was in a title match a few months ago and was totally over, and instead of keeping him in the title picture they made him the second banana in Reigns' feud. Adrian Neville was a fan favorite in NXT and is a phenomenal wrestler, so naturally they gave him an awful gimmick and no push whatsoever. Rusev was well on his way to becoming an awesome monster heel, but then he lost three times in a row to Cena and is now in a terrible love triangle storyline that doesn't fit his character whatsoever.

The problem isn't the young generation of wrestlers not grabbing the ring of stardom. The problem is that the WWE actively blocks them from being able to do so in favor of maintaining the status quo. There are half a dozen guys that could easily become superstars if the WWE let them, but instead we have to suffer through another fucking Cena title match, and fucking Sheamus has the Money in the Bank briefcase despite the fact that absolutely no one wants to see him win the title or even be in the title picture. Oh, and Brock Lesnar is wrestling a fifty-year-old who can barely even move in one of his handful of matches of the year.

 

[DJTJ]

If Cena wins, it's proof that WWE really doesn't understand what to do with their young talent. I read the McMahon recently said on Stone Cold's podcast that the younger generation of wrestlers in the WWE didn't have the mentality to reach out and grab the brass ring of superstardom, and I think that's a load of horse shit. Kevin Owens was on the verge of superstardom and the WWE buried him in the mid-card instead of giving him a push. The same goes for Dean Ambrose. He was in a title match a few months ago and was totally over, and instead of keeping him in the title picture they made him the second banana in Reigns' feud. Adrian Neville was a fan favorite in NXT and is a phenomenal wrestler, so naturally they gave him an awful gimmick and no push whatsoever. Rusev was well on his way to becoming an awesome monster heel, but then he lost three times in a row to Cena and is now in a terrible love triangle storyline that doesn't fit his character whatsoever.

The problem isn't the young generation of wrestlers not grabbing the ring of stardom. The problem is that the WWE actively blocks them from being able to do so in favor of maintaining the status quo. There are half a dozen guys that could easily become superstars if the WWE let them, but instead we have to suffer through another fucking Cena title match, and fucking Sheamus has the Money in the Bank briefcase despite the fact that absolutely no one wants to see him win the title or even be in the title picture. Oh, and Brock Lesnar is wrestling a fifty-year-old who can barely even move in one of his handful of matches of the year.

Thoroughly disagree. Owens/Cesaro might end up being match of the year. Owens isn't even close to being a superstar heel. He kills as a heel in NXT because it's a smarky show. There's nothing about Owens that makes him a mega heel. He got cheered as the heel against Cena. He gets no reaction any other time he touches the mic. That's not because he lost to Cena.

The WWE isn't burying anyone. Ambrose doesn't sell merch. He wasn't totally over. Neville can't speak American English, and you can barely understand him. Try to find a PAC promo online. You'll find one that's like ten seconds long with CHIKARA.

You aren't suffering through another Cena title match. Hating Cena for being the guy is probably one of the most smart mark things you can do. He's probably a top five storyteller in WWE in the last decade. You might not like the story, but he's phenomenal at it.

Sheamus, though? Yuck. I really want to think it's the awful look he came back with. Should have been a smug, Irish bastard. Flat Cap, nice clothes. Would have been a quality touch.

 

[MoFlo]

Cena/HHH's little exchange leads me to believe HHH will cost Cena the match somehow to prevent him from tying Flair's record..

Also, saw reports that Orton made the fat joke on Owens on his own. Love that Owens no sold it with a "no"

 

[Jack Brickman]

Thoroughly disagree. Owens/Cesaro might end up being match of the year. Owens isn't even close to being a superstar heel. He kills as a heel in NXT because it's a smarky show. There's nothing about Owens that makes him a mega heel. He got cheered as the heel against Cena. He gets no reaction any other time he touches the mic. That's not because he lost to Cena.

The WWE isn't burying anyone. Ambrose doesn't sell merch. He wasn't totally over. Neville can't speak American English, and you can barely understand him. Try to find a PAC promo online. You'll find one that's like ten seconds long with CHIKARA.

You aren't suffering through another Cena title match. Hating Cena for being the guy is probably one of the most smart mark things you can do. He's probably a top five storyteller in WWE in the last decade. You might not like the story, but he's phenomenal at it.

Sheamus, though? Yuck. I really want to think it's the awful look he came back with. Should have been a smug, Irish bastard. Flat Cap, nice clothes. Would have been a quality touch.

I don't care who sells merchandise, and I really wish WWE creative decisions were based less on that aspect than they clearly currently are.

And Ambrose was absolutely over. The crowd went fucking nuts when they thought he won the title a few months back. Everyone loved it and, by extension, him. I'm not saying he was over like Daniel Bryan or anything, because that was just a different level, but he looked like he could have been the top face in the company during that match.

I don't hate Cena for being the guy. I hate him because his character never changes and every one of his feuds follows the exact same script with the exact same outcome. I've talked about Cena a lot in this thread already and made my grievances with him and WWE creative well known. Feel free to scroll back a couple of pages if you want to read them. I don't have a problem with him in the ring, outside of his shitty finishers and how every one of his matches requires about 18 finishers before someone eats the pin (or taps to the worst STF in wrestling history).

We'll just have to disagree about Owens. I think WWE easily could have vaulted him into stardom if they had given him the belt from Cena. The problem is that he's now stuck in a feud with a guy who can't talk. Cesar's a great wrestler but a really boring character. They really should have put Owens into a feud with Orton instead. It would have felt like a more natural progression from Cena and would have given Owens more pop. I think his match with Cesaro will be great, of course. They're probably two of the best in-ring guys in the entire company. I just think the feud itself was poorly set up.

 

[Jack Brickman]

By the way, kind of sad that NXT Takeover tonight is probably going to be better than Summerslam. The tag team title match was awesome and the debut of Apollo Crews was pretty great too.

I also like Baron Corbin as a heel because it finally feels like they figured out something to do with him. I had no idea what they were trying to do before. I just wish some of his NXT matches would last longer than a minute. You don't become a better wrestler by constantly being involved in squash matches.

 

[bigfoot5415]

The divas match tonight will be better than anything they put on Summerslam tomorrow night.

 

[Jack Brickman]

Kevin Owens hasn't won a match in over a month. He really needs that win over Cesaro tomorrow.

Takeover was great, though. Awesome card, fantastic matches...hard to see Summerslam topping it tomorrow.

 

[MoFlo]

Kevin Owens hasn't won a match in over a month. He really needs that win over Cesaro tomorrow.

Takeover was great, though. Awesome card, fantastic matches...hard to see Summerslam topping it tomorrow.

Both guys actually need the win. It's too bad WWE doesn't believe in time limit draws, as this would be the perfect match for one.

 

[DJTJ]

Two takeaways from TakeOver.

1. Becky Lynch versus Sasha Banks is the absolute gold standard for TV women wrestling. Absolutely insane. The top rope Meteora that followed the backflip off the top was great. The middle rope reverse rana (rickey shane page is an indy guy from Cleveland, and he said he actually stood up for how difficult that move is for anyone to pull off) into the Bayley-to-Belly was probably the best finish I've seen in quite a long time, Beyond Wrestling/ROH/PWG excluded. The ring psychology and storytelling was wonderful. But most importantly?

Every single person who has a submission finisher should be handed a tape of the Bank Statement Sasha Banks put in, before she stomped the living fuck out of Bayley's hand prior to the phenomenal roll through into the cross face.

Instant classic.

2. Kevin Owens was never going to win that match, and they really fucked up the end. That would have been so much better if Balor did the ladder stomp while reaching for the belt. Kind of a boring ladder match, but the Banks-Lynch match nuked my expectations of pretty much anything WWE following that match this weekend, sans Taker/Lesnar and Cesaro/Owens.

 

[Tornicade]

Thoroughly disagree. Owens/Cesaro might end up being match of the year. Owens isn't even close to being a superstar heel. He kills as a heel in NXT because it's a smarky show. There's nothing about Owens that makes him a mega heel. He got cheered as the heel against Cena. He gets no reaction any other time he touches the mic. That's not because he lost to Cena.

The WWE isn't burying anyone. Ambrose doesn't sell merch. He wasn't totally over. Neville can't speak American English, and you can barely understand him. Try to find a PAC promo online. You'll find one that's like ten seconds long with CHIKARA.

You aren't suffering through another Cena title match. Hating Cena for being the guy is probably one of the most smart mark things you can do. He's probably a top five storyteller in WWE in the last decade. You might not like the story, but he's phenomenal at it.

Sheamus, though? Yuck. I really want to think it's the awful look he came back with. Should have been a smug, Irish bastard. Flat Cap, nice clothes. Would have been a quality touch.

you say owens/cesaro might be the match of the year then go on to say Owens cant cut it ?



The guy who dropped the MGK into a table.has nothing to make stand out.

These guys can get the sales if they get the chance. Owens headlines NXT to biggest drawing events and he sells merchandise.

one key thing about Owens is he can sell a match against anyone heel or face and he can bring in crows whether he is wrestling in the WWE or helping a new brand like GFW establish this self

 

[Tornicade]

Both guys actually need the win. It's too bad WWE doesn't believe in time limit draws, as this would be the perfect match for one.

Cesaro had his tour. he lost to cena multiple times, lost to Rollins, lost to Owens.. lost to big show i believe, I dont recall if he lost to rusev or not.

The whole Cesaro -Owens thing is a joke.
Whats Cesaro gonna do with a win.

 

[CBBI]

Two takeaways from TakeOver.

1. Becky Lynch versus Sasha Banks is the absolute gold standard for TV women wrestling. Absolutely insane. The top rope Meteora that followed the backflip off the top was great. The middle rope reverse rana (rickey shane page is an indy guy from Cleveland, and he said he actually stood up for how difficult that move is for anyone to pull off) into the Bayley-to-Belly was probably the best finish I've seen in quite a long time, Beyond Wrestling/ROH/PWG excluded. The ring psychology and storytelling was wonderful. But most importantly?

Every single person who has a submission finisher should be handed a tape of the Bank Statement Sasha Banks put in, before she stomped the living fuck out of Bayley's hand prior to the phenomenal roll through into the cross face.

Instant classic.

2. Kevin Owens was never going to win that match, and they really fucked up the end. That would have been so much better if Balor did the ladder stomp while reaching for the belt. Kind of a boring ladder match, but the Banks-Lynch match nuked my expectations of pretty much anything WWE following that match this weekend, sans Taker/Lesnar and Cesaro/Owens.

Good natured ribbing here @DJTJ, but how do you type Bayley's finisher correctly - which has her name in it - only to refer to her as Becky Lynch twice in your post??

Otherwise, spot on lol.

 

[Jack Brickman]

I read a bunch of people online saying that they want Bayley to go to the main roster and form up the Four Horsewomen with Charlotte, Banks, and Lynch. While cool, that's the exact opposite of what I want. Putting four of the five best women wrestlers you have (Paige being the fifth) into one stable is a terrible idea. I'm not really even fond of having all three of Paige, Becky, and Charlotte in one stable.

But hey, as long as they take the title off of Nikki Bella and give it to a girl who deserves it sometime soon, whatever. Sasha, Becky, or Charlotte should hold that belt within two months. Personally, I'd give it to Becky since she's the only one of the three call-ups who never held the NXT women's title even though she deserved to, and was elevated to the main roster before she had a chance to ever hold it. Plus, her losing to Bayley in the number one contender match pretty much solidified that she's done with NXT.

The whole Cesaro -Owens thing is a joke.
Whats Cesaro gonna do with a win.

Look more like what Vince McMahon thinks a WWE champion should look like, probably.

 

[Jack Brickman]

On an unrelated note, the Vaudevillains have totally won me over. Their gimmick is stupid, but they make it work. They also work together like an actual tag team and not two guys thrown together because the WWE didn't know what to do with them in singles competition.

So are we to assume that Blake and Murphy will be getting the call-up to the main roster now, having dropped their belts? It's no secret that the WWE tag team division is really fucking weak right now and they are a pretty solid heel team.