[**World Soxtalk Championship Wrestling Thread VI**]

18 hours ago, GGajewski18 said:

Even if they don't put it on last, the crowd is gonna go nuts negatively.  You know a beachball is gonna come out, you know they are gonna boo, you know they are gonna chant this is boring. I don't see how Vince sees this as a positive, yet keeps doing it.

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?

[**World Soxtalk Championship Wrestling Thread VI**]

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.

[**World Soxtalk Championship Wrestling Thread VI**]

13 hours ago, iWiN4PreP said:

This is really getting indefensible: http://rajah.com/node/63143

 

If these reports are true, namely that Lesnar will NOT be wrestling at Summerslam and that they still plan on trying to get Reigns over as a babyface to dethrone him, then my GOD.

They've spent 1.5-2+ YEARS on this. They've crippled the main event division on Raw and they STILL intend to put Reigns over when the fans do not want to see that.

Thinking optimistically, hell -- they could put over Rollins here. I was not a big fan of him initially, but he has been red hot fire as of late and his matches have become fantastic. He's the true people's champ right now. 

1.5 years and going here... how many good title feuds have we missed at this point? Meanwhile players like Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Finn Balor, Braun Strowman, and the like wander aimlessly into matches.

Which brings me to point number 2... Where are the *good* storylines? There hasn't been any. WWE is a drama show that should focus on fantastic storylines leading up to memorable moments. There hasn't been any. It's not that hard! Sasha/Bayley may be the best thing going storyline wise but that has been an overall train wreck, yet the two wrestlers are fantastic and fan favorites so it still works out.

 

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

[**World Soxtalk Championship Wrestling Thread VI**]

5 hours ago, thxfrthmmrs said:

If you don’t think the universal title change is a big deal, then Raw isn’t for you. Whether you like Lesnar or not, he only lost like once in 4 years. The next person to beat him is a big deal. The fact that the title hasn’t changed hands in 500 days is a big deal. (Main title change doesn’t happen often these days, even over at SDL.) Simply put, the universal title is going to elevate certain guys into much more credible performers. Some guys need it, guys who aren’t as protected (like Balor, Elias, or Rollins), some guys don’t, guys who are heavily protected (like Stroman, Lesnar, Reigns, Cena).

Woah, I found something I agree with.

[**World Soxtalk Championship Wrestling Thread VI**]

2 hours ago, Brian said:

As long as it is not Roman, whoever beats Brock will get a major lift. Raw had a 30 minute main event for the IC title that was pretty great, and the Women's title is getting exposure with Alexa and Ronda, yet fans want to complain about Brock not being around with the Universal title. Some fans just want to complain, like a certain other poster here.

Yeah, that's why NXT is amazing. 🙄 You take heat because you say you like characters and stories, etc, but can't watch NXT. It's an old school show that does that very  thing. It is too bad you can't enjoy it because with NJPW, it is the best thing going that I watch.

 

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).

[**World Soxtalk Championship Wrestling Thread VI**]

29 minutes ago, Brian said:

Y2HH with the babyface turn! 

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

[**World Soxtalk Championship Wrestling Thread VI**]

15 hours ago, iWiN4PreP said:

One other thing: Seriously, what the fuck are they doing with Brock Lesnar and the Universal Title scene on Raw?

They *cancel* their Extreme rules #1 contendor match because of complications with Lesnar? 

This had to be Vince/Booking's doing the entire time to get heat on Lesnar and away from Reigns, but my god, what an abomination. There's no winner here. We, the fans of the product, lose big time either way. We get more months of a faceless Raw scene and then we will likely have a Reigns triumphant victory (which no one wants to see) followed by a Strowman Cash in to win the title (which is cool, but he does not need).

You'd think that after Lesnar surprisingly beat Reigns at WM that they would have had a much better plan to all of this...

... but alas here we are in July without seeing Lesnar since WM (other than the GRR event build up). 

It's truly remarkable in the worst possible way.

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.

[**World Soxtalk Championship Wrestling Thread VI**]

5 hours ago, thxfrthmmrs said:

Please. IMO last night's segment was all Ronda. She's dubbed as the baddest women and she showed exactly why by doing things you have not seen any woman done before.

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.

[**World Soxtalk Championship Wrestling Thread VI**]

22 hours ago, Brian said:

You guys are gonna piss off Y2HH. 😁

If she looks the way she does, It doesn't bother me if she is awkward sometimes.

🤬

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

[**World Soxtalk Championship Wrestling Thread VI**]

11 hours ago, fathom said:

Did Ronda die and I didn't hear about it?

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

[**World Soxtalk Championship Wrestling Thread VI**]

23 hours ago, Brian said:

I’m not going to disagree that Meltzer plays favorites and overrates matches but if you can’t appreciate what those two guys did in their 4 matches, that’s too bad.

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.

[**World Soxtalk Championship Wrestling Thread VI**]

23 hours ago, Rowand44 said:

This comment is almost as laughable as Y2HH saying he’s watched NXT before.

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.

[**World Soxtalk Championship Wrestling Thread VI**]

20 minutes ago, iWiN4PreP said:

Absolutely. 

The talent is there by far, I just can't tell if the writers are the main problem or if its upper management. I can't imagine anyone is this bad at writing storylines on a week to week basis. It's shockingly bad. I'd take a third graders essay-story over most of the writing in wrestling right now. 

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.

[**World Soxtalk Championship Wrestling Thread VI**]

12 hours ago, iWiN4PreP said:

Raw has virtually no stories at the moment. It's horrible.

The only story they have is Zayn and Lashley and that is complete shit.

Their formula is: We have MITB coming up, put all matches on raw with different combinations of opponents from their matches.

Lazy.

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.

[**World Soxtalk Championship Wrestling Thread VI**]

12 hours ago, iWiN4PreP said:

As much as I dislike Nia Jax, that was a good overall segment setting up their MITB match. 

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.

[**World Soxtalk Championship Wrestling Thread VI**]

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

[2018 Workout Thread]

On 4/21/2018 at 10:07 PM, RockRaines said:

Been on the road for about a week, only worked out once and ate like a pig every night with clients.  i have one week to get back into my routine before I start the keto diet. Gonna be a rough but healthy May.  Planning on losing around 10-15 pounds before summer. or at least 2 inches in the waist (I dont shed wait that easily, it usually ends up as muscle).  Ill also be monitoring my BF% for evidence

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.

[**World Soxtalk Championship Wrestling Thread VI**]

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.

[**World Soxtalk Championship Wrestling Thread VI**]

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

[**World Soxtalk Championship Wrestling Thread VI**]

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.

[**World Soxtalk Championship Wrestling Thread VI**]

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.

[**World Soxtalk Championship Wrestling Thread VI**]

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?

[2018 Workout Thread]

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.

[**World Soxtalk Championship Wrestling Thread VI**]

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.

[**World Soxtalk Championship Wrestling Thread VI**]

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.