Wrestling Fans' Off-Season Thread

[The Excellector]

The problem w/ Goldberg's streak was that WCW went too far with it. They had him no-sell for so much of it. And when he did it was, as Ex said, kicking out of finishers almost immediately, things like that. W/ Goldberg I totally agree that you needed someone like Kevin Nash, or Hogan, or Sting, for it to be believable. How WWE had booked Asuka was a lot different. I don't think you needed that for her. Like, I don't remember hearing a lot of complaints about believability when KO went over Cena in his first main roster match, after Cena to that point had just a handful of clean losses in his career? Build someone up in NXT, have them debut and beat her and you have a new star.

This is what I'm trying to decipher, because I haven't been keeping up with it as much lately. There's a difference between building someone to be undefeated and building someone to be indestructible. Goldberg was built to be indestructible. Kurt Angle's matches weren't landslides, but he pulled out victories and was undefeated. That's the way that I assumed Asuka was booked. Where, she just looked like the better wrestler than everyone else, but didn't go around no-selling everything.

All of you guys who have kept up with it more than me, can you shed some light on how Asuka was booked compared to Goldberg?

[The Excellector]

One thing I notice about the way people view matches is that their expectations going in play a big role in how they review it. The Rousey match had low expectations. So, by her being able to exceed them it is seen as the best match of the night. AJ and Nakamura went into their match with huge expectations, due to their history in Japan. Since they didn't live up to that, their match was seen in a poor light, even though all things being equal it was a good match from what I saw (I did watch this match). The Charlotte/Asuka match sounds like it was the probably the best one on the card, but dinged for the finish. It's almost like, since none of them gave us what we wanted, we clung to the most entertaining one, which sounds like it was the Rousey match.

[The Excellector]

I think the one thing that most fans from that time agree on, looking back at it, was that DDP should have ended the streak at the Havoc. He was a top 5 babyface at the time with the most popular finisher in wrestling (The stunner a close second). To this day, many feel (myself included) that that was Goldberg's best match. The crazy thing is that, apparently, it was very close to happening. Dusty tried to talk Bischoff into it, but Bischoff already had Goldberg marketed with so many upcoming things, as the Champion, that he didn't want to send mixed signals out. Once he kicked out of the Diamond Cutter in a short two, all bets were off. Somebody was going to have to take a tazer or bat to his ass to beat him.

[The Excellector]

It's funny looking back on when limited guys getting big pushes worked short-term vs. long-term. Hogan worked long-term, because he was a great promo and knew how to tell a story in the ring, even if he wasn't the most technical wrestler out there. You'd see Hogan try one thing and it not work. Try another thing and it not work. To the point that he tried everything and nothing seemed to work. He made all of his opponents unstoppable. And then, just when it seemed like there was no hope, the crowd would get behind him in true babyface fashion and he'd hulk up and turn super human. That's one reason why Hogan had the long run that he did. Then, he cut the greatest heel promo I've heard during my time (Born in 87) and worked himself into being one of the best coward heels out there.

Warrior couldn't do shit but shake ropes and speak in tongues. Hence, why he only worked short-term as the top guy.

[Bhcforlife]

I haven't seen all of Asuka's WWE stuff but she definitely, in the stuff I have seen, was not built as the indestructible object that Goldberg was. She sold, plenty of moments where it looked like she could lose, etc. It is like your Angle comparison, or Cena, etc. She won, but she wasn't usually walking into a match, squashing her opponent while taking no offense and selling nothing.

I don't see anyone ever being built like Goldberg again. Even Brock, who by WWE standards is practically a demigod, has sold and looked beatable at times (and has been beaten).

What are you guys thoughts on HHH giving so much offense to Ronda? Like, he gave her more than he gave any male wrestler from about 02-08. Some people saying he shouldn't have done it. I don't know that I really care.

[Bhcforlife]

Brock' s next feud is supposedly...Bobby Lashley.

...

Zzzzzzzzzzzzz

[The Excellector]

Well, it's not as if Rousey is a threat to HHH. So, I can see why he didn't have a problem with doing it.

[SugarRay52]

Well, it's not as if Rousey is a threat to HHH. So, I can see why he didn't have a problem with doing it.

For her first match being at Wrestlemania I thought she held her own

[WrongBaldy]

[Jsmoove]

lmaoooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

[WrongBaldy]

[The Excellector]

UFC is certainly far from being on the level.