iWiN4PreP

There is some seriously s*** storylines developing.. Reigns vs. Lesnar --> We saw this coming one year in advance. Unbelievably predictable and saad as fans can't get behind either of these guys. Lesnar is a PT who has held the belt for a year and everyone is over his s***. Reigns is self explanatory. Alexa Bliss vs. Nia (?) - This is a good feud for a B or C level PPV, sure, but for Wrestlemania? God, I hope not. Nia is a fine contributor to the division, but this is absurd as the main event for woman's title on raw. No WM feel at all. John Cena vs. Undertaker (?) - Cena said this wasn't going to happen, but why state it? What's he going to do on SD? Face Orton? Even worse, get involved in the title picture? Ugly options all around. P.S. NO ONE wants the Undertaker at age 52 at WM in a match. Matt Hardy vs. Bray Wyatt - Wyatt is DEAD. DEAD. They've buried him so much, when he comes on, I snooze. Hardy at least has some appeal, but every week that he's in a program with Wyatt, his appeal wears off. Bayley vs. Sasha - This is something that interests me, but they've done it pretty half-ass. This should be a title feud elevating both competitors in a legendary WM match, but instead it's likely heading to a non-title feud at best, and at worst a kick-off show pre match for s***s and giggles. I'm interested in this, but I fully expect a botched storyline 90%. Rousey vs. Authority - Just lol. Why do the mcmahons need to do this to feed their ego? I read a rumor month(s) ago that Steph wanted to face Rousey at WM to get her name more known to the mainstream as she starts to take over more of the business. That's just f***ing insane ego-wise. The only thing good about this is HHH/Steph obviously know the business, so rousey is in good hands as she learns the ropes. The authority angles always f***ing suck. So, oh well. It's sad, because the Royal Rumble was actually quite good. Somewhat predictable, but quite good. It's like WWE ramps up the bull s*** as it heads closer to WM with the legends in full swing and saying f*** you to the wrestlers who break their backs for the business.

Gotta say... raw is unwatchable until after wrestlemania. We have reigns and lesnar build which no one wants to see... authority angle vs rousy which blows, likely nia vs alexa which is awful, a possible return of taker to face cena which again, no one wants to see...

Was that the most predictable PPV of all time? Every single match could have been predicted by a half-awake fan. Womans chamber: We all knew Alexa wasn't losing. Mens: We all knew Roman was winning Matt Hardy winning was predictable. The Bar winning was extremely predictable Asuka winning was very predictable. Rousey signing leading to conflict with HHH/Steph was also predictable. It's pretty crazy to think about how predictable this event was. That's not a good thing. Wrestling thrives off the surprises.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Feb 25, 2018 -> 09:16 PM) The rousey segment was awesome. Great build To a lousy match. I would not call that great by any means. It was average at best. Only thing that saved it was HHH presence as he is phenomenal on the mic. Stephanie is utter cringe and Rouseys poor acting was incredibly noticeable. Angle has serious issues.

Great woman's match, amazingly poor storyline booking. Made Sasha look like a moron for turning on Bayley and losing. Absolutely made Bayley an unlikeable character as she continuously looks like a fool. The past 2-3 weeks of storylines of freindships were all useless in this match. So useless. And, very obvious predictable winner/outcome. But still, good wrestling. So, enjoyable match.

Watching the Woman's Chamber... So, what was the point of Mandy Rose being eliminated early and first... then having Mickie James enter, eliminate Sonya, then get eliminated BEFORE Alexa Bliss even gets into the match?? WHAT was the point of the entire past 2-3 weeks of Raw teasing James+Bliss friendship to over take Absolution? That makes no sense what so ever. BOOOOOOOO.

Indeed. But on to new things... here comes the first ever woman's elimination chamber. My fav. Bayley starting it out. LET'S GO! How many botches will these ladies have here? Hmm... It seems everytime the woman have a big match they botch hard in several spots... and this is coming from a huge fan of woman's wrestling.

Guys, let's be real: Donaldson - OLD, Costly, and likely ineffective for our prime. Arenado - Staying with the Rockies, no chance. Machado - No chance here. Moustakas - Easy money if we want him. He's about average or so, I'm not a huge fan, but eh, for the right price OK.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Feb 20, 2018 -> 04:07 PM) Makes zero sense to sign him unless it's at some ridiculous discount like three years 30 million. Why do you say that? The argument would be: There's no chance of us signing Machado for $$$$$$$$$$$$$, and Donaldson vs. Mike Mous is iffy due to age + Donaldson would command much more $$$.

Who would sign Mike Mous.? 1. Cardinals - Maybe a chance here, but they've seemed adament about their options already. If they wanted him, there would have been more connections by now between St. Louis and Mous. So I don't think this is an option. 2. Yankees - Nope. Luxury tax and $$$$ this year. They need that money for moves all year and SP. 3. White Sox - Unfortunately, yes, they need a 3b and let's be real -- they aren't getting Manny and Donaldson vs. Mike kinda seems like a wash due to age. No other team needs Mous. I am almost 80% certain that Mike Mous lands on the W'Sox in a multi-year deal with this information and with the way this free agency has picked up as of late. The fire we see with the connections is likely Boras pulling the moves to get his players signed. Something must of happened this week with the free agents / boras / teams and we see all this happening now. I wouldn't be angry that we get Mike Mous. I think he has good age, and moving from Kauffman to our stadium will definitely help pad his numbers. I just hope that the $$$ we spend on him doesn't hurt our chances in getting legitimate needs when our time comes. I think it'll be a fair deal for both player and team. Kind of excited now, TBH.

Look, if we can get Mous under 50 million due to draft reasons, I MIGHT be on board. But Mous is about as 'unsexy' as it gets. I do like that he is only 29 and not some 32+++, so it's not like he's super old, but he is a Boras client and that means he is likely not going to settle for a cheap deal. For that reason I say.. No, no no no no. But I have to admit, I don't think any other team out there will take on Mous. The white sox are the only team that actually makes some sense. (Yankees won't go over luxury tax and need money to spend on the deadline etc. NO reason for the Yankees to take on Mous right now). All other teams do not need Mous, except the White Sox. For that reason, I expect the White Sox to sign Mike Mous at some point relatively soon. I also think it will be a multi-year deal and I have to hope that they get him for under $50 million due to draft pick compensation talk that I hear. edit: Don't mind me, I have no understanding of draft pick compensation and $50 million number being thrown around. Read posts above me.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Feb 20, 2018 -> 09:15 AM) This is an incredibly markish outlook, and honestly, I dislike this attitude from a lot of "modern wrestling fans". No, anyone that thinks otherwise isn't irrelevant, they just don't share your opinion. That said, now you get my opinion on the matter... Now, all I ask is you hear me out before you dismiss my opinion as "irrelevant", please. The wrestling was fantastic, as were the backstage interviews after the eliminations, which actually felt real and not rehearsed as usual. This was a much better format, and the interviewers were used perfectly here, seeming to add a lot of emotion to the losses. This aspect of the show was REALLY WELL DONE. THAT SAID, by and large, it made absolutely no f***ing sense. Creative is so -- I don't know how else to word it -- but devoid of creativity that they couldn't possibly come up with some sort of stakes to make this gauntlet matter?! I don't know, maybe the lone survivor of this gauntlet got a guaranteed shot at the IC title post EC, regardless of the outcome? Whatever the case may be, they could have EASILY come up with something to explain why a group of guys just 6 days out of the Elimination Chamber would kill themselves in this match. Instead, they put these guys into a random gauntlet with nothing at stake, and they go out there and kill themselves for 2 hours ... just for the sake of killing themselves for two hours? It made everyone involved other than Strowman look like a f***ing idiot (and only because Strowman came out last). Why? Because in six days they'll get a chance to fight these same people FOR A SHOT AT THE WORLD TITLE AT WRESTLEMANIA. They all point at the WM sign enough, so they should know how important it is. Logically speaking, the SMART thing to do would have been to THROW the gauntlet match BECAUSE IT'S MEANINGLESS (I would have LOVED to have seen Miz do this, showing his smarts so he could go into the EC fresh, as opposed to banged up like everyone else). Instead, they all kill themselves for two hours and now when they actually fight the match and it matters -- in kayfabe, in just six days -- they're banged up from fighting in this match for nothing. What sucks about this is the actual wrestling was fantastic, it just made no sense in story...and this falls one the lazy ass shoulders of creative. So yea, while the action was great ... some simple story to up the stakes would have made it wayyyyyy better. --- Most brutal match of the night was Asuka vs Microphone. :notworthy Maybe Brian is irrelevant? ... Eh, anyway. Yeah, agree on all your points, it was rather odd -- but everything about it was well done except the back story, which is what left me feeling perplexed, I guess. What helps (or doesn't) is that we all know Reigns is winning EC, so I could easily snore on the story anyway. Either way, there are some impressive efforts being made by the wrestlers as they gear up for WM. Nice to see.

So, Raw has opened with a 7 person gauntlet match... it's... 8:40pm and the match still isn't over. Not sure how I feel about this. Pure wrestling for nearly 2 hours.

Royals likely sign Mous and Morrision ? Perhaps. Not a terrible deal for the Pads, but not good on any account. Really, really odd what the Rays are doing. Kind of pathetic, TBH. DROP Dickerson and trade Ordizzi for nothing. UGLY

Hosmer to SD? http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports...0216-story.html

As someone who lived in Florida near the Rays and went to around 20-50 games at Tropicana in my time, this is absolutely fantastic. My brother (who lives near Ybor) is already promoting this to me to try and get me to come down more often . Hopefully everything works out well. Although, I was in the minority -- i loved the trop. A unique baseball stadium that was practically free to get into and I could sit anywhere I wanted. Also had some fun entertainment around the outskirts of the stadium.

lmfao. I'll admit that that scenario makes Bayley relevant and would make her a main event playa, but that destroys everything bayley is about. Bayley is the ultimate babyface and that's why she is #1. Having her side with Bliss as a heel (while an interesting idea) is devastating to what Bayley is. At that point, might as well just rename the character. Bayley should never go heel.

I think you are sadly right about Bayley (my numba 1). They destroyed her underdog gimmick by giving her the title on Raw against charlotte. Just an insanely stupid thing to do that I've written about in this thread multiple times. Repacking her as a snarky babyface is a smart idea on her way to regaining glory. I'd be down with that. I'm with you in regards to becky, completely underused and possibly even better than Charlotte in the ring. I think you need to give Asuka some time. She is fantastic in the ring and while her undefeated streak may be a hamper on her matches currently, it should set up for some great feuds down the road after they built her completely up. Someone has to break her undefeated streak (unfortunately, that likely will be Ronda Rousey and not an up and comer or someone like Banks/Bayley who could use it down the line to regain relevancy). Man, I miss Bayley having that spark. Why did they put her on the microphone week in and week out, UGH.

Can I take a moment to say i miss Bayley very much. I miss her being prevelant and having real storylines. I am so angry that WWE destroyed here with horrificly bad booking decisions Also, why in the hell is Becky Lynch not more presented? She is easily the 1b womens wrestler to 1a Charlotte (Although Asuka is right there, maybe topping them soon). They have her and Charlotte on the same brand and they couldn't do anything there? It's just sad. Becky is the complete babyface package with amazing in-ring work and a strong following.

Hm.. just read a few articles on him... a lot of stats seem to say that mous is pretty average overall and isn't destined to age well. It's a tough spot.. if the money is low enough... go for it, but it'd have to be a pretty good deal. Maybe only slightly better than Frazier's.

Absolutely we should sign Mike M if his price is low enough and its 3-4 years.

Brady, Greatest of all time.

Would love realmuto, but no chance he comes here. He want's to join a winning club for one, for two it would cost a boatload of prospects, for three its just not time yet.

On matt kemp: He seems to have a very bad reputation around the league. But I don't see why he is that bad of a hitter. What am I missing? He had a decent 2017. If we get a nice prospect with him, hell yeah -- it helps both squads.

I had this guy on my fantasy team when he was a closer for the phillies. Great add!