TheChrisSamsa

It’s Tony’s job to know what he doesn’t know and surround himself with people who know what he doesn’t know.

Another home opener where the White Sox get the fans into the stadium just to wait. I guess there might be a window to play, but it’s probably not until 5:30. Yikes.

I’ll be in attendance for my 13th straight home opener today. Here’s hoping they actually play today.

I have tickets tonight with some friends from Boston.. Here’s hoping the weather clears out a little bit.

All good! Thanks!

Interested.. but I usually sit 100 level, where is section 305? I can’t seem to find it on the seating chart.

It'll be the first big Friday-Monday 4 day stretch they do in one city, so that should be pretty cool. I'm going to the Royal Rumble as part of my honeymoon and I'll go to Survivor Series now that it's in Chicago.. I'm a little tempted to add day trips to Wrestlemania and SummerSlam to my plans and go to all of the big four in one calendar year.

Love that scene, love that movie. I have "The saddest thing in life is wasted talent" tattooed on my forearm.

I've waved in and out of actually watching WWE, but I've kept up on most of the storylines. I'll be watching Summerslam tonight, but I would never promise that I'll make it through a 12 match show. Looking forward to AJ/Joe, Hardy/Shinsuke (if Jeff looks healthy), and Rollins/Ziggler. The MITB contract will make the main event interesting and the women's matches look pretty solid. I've come to really enjoy the 5 match NXT shows, but I respect the "something for everyone" approach of the big Main Roster shows.

I actually think this makes it less likely they'd end the brand split. Smackdown may become the "A" show, but to maintain viewership for both shows, they need to maintain two distinctly different products.

They're in TV rights negotiations. They need to pop ratings and putting the belt on Rousey, or putting Rousey in a storyline with a higher profile than "Natty's gonna turn on her," is good short term business.

Odd that they booked her to be in the Money In The Bank ladder match if she's out for a while. They must have confidence that she'll be back by then.

Got my tickets for NXT Takeover Chicago.. Still on the fence about going to MITB.

Smackdown isn't perfect by any means, but there's some really good wrestling happening on that show right now. We didn't even have AJ or Shinsuke wrestle on TV tonight and we got two really strong 20+ min matches in Miz v. Jeff Hardy and Rusev v. Daniel Bryan. Two hours is so much easier to digest than three.

Maybe WWE has recognized that the success of the NXT format could be transitioned up to the main roster and they're testing it with Smackdown. They've made a couple of changes that support this: fewer PPV shows and co-branding all of them, this leaves maybe 4 matches per brand on each regular PPV. NXT takeovers are typically 5 matches. This gives some breathing room to feuds and they don't all have to build towards a match at the nearest PPV. They can do multi-month builds or focus on doing big blowoffs at the big 4. Stacking the 2 hour format with main event capable talent will keep the roster healthy, and it will be less noticeable if talent closer to the top takes some time away. WWE had a lot of plans botched due to the health of superstars in the last year, and they'll need to rectify that to keep the product strong. The age of the athletes they're depending on to carry Smackdown has to be at least a little bit concerning. AJ Styles is 40, Nakamura is 38, Samoa Joe is 39, Jeff Hardy is 40, Daniel Bryan is 36, The Miz is 37, and Randy Orton is 38. Clearly they can all still go and put on some amazing matches, but not TV level one-on-ones every week. Less is more for some of these guys and their placement during the shakeup will support their longevity while giving some of the younger guys a chance to get themselves over before they enter the top of the card scene.

Thank you for this! The new layout is great and the shift to being mobile friendly is awesome.

Why does this site takeover my audio when I browse on mobile? If I have a podcast or music going, all of a sudden an ad or video/audio of a press conference will start playing. I can’t even find the video/audio in the thread.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Apr 17, 2018 -> 09:05 PM) Or not...if that’s it for the trades, Kurt Angle is the worst GM of all time. In any sport. Ever. Smackdown is going to be much easier to watch than Raw. The show is two hours and their roster depth is amazing. AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, The Miz, Daniel Bryan, Jeff Hardy, Samoa Joe, Andrade Cien Almas, Big Cass (without Enzo) Randy Orton, Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Asuka, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, and a pretty good tag division now with The Bar and The Club coming over. Raw's three hour format really makes it hard to watch. The roster on Raw has been stacked with Main Event level talent (Lesnar, Reigns, Ronda Rousey, Braun, Finn, Seth etc) and they didn't mess with that format. I think filling the undercard with interesting storylines will be an interesting challenge for the red brand, even with additions of mid carders like Bobby Roode, Dolph Ziggler, Bobby Lashley, and Owens/Zayn..

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Apr 17, 2018 -> 08:59 AM) We will see tonight when everything is official but yeah early returns look fantastic for smackdown. If they add no one else other than a tag team and almas I still think they won. I imagine they'll get seth and Alexa too which will be fantastic. 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.

QUOTE (iWin4Ron @ Apr 16, 2018 -> 11:24 AM) Superstar Shake up starting tonight. Gotta say, right now I'm super bored with the main show after 'Mania. Lesnar/Reigns continuation does absolutely nothing for me and sets me off on the Raw show. Bayley vs. Banks is interesting and can really turn out to be a compelling story, especially if one of them (banks) turns heel and takes on Absolution in the process, but it's been a bit dull lately. Hoping it picks up. Nia as women's champion is b-o-r-i-n-g. Worked with the angle regarding Bliss, but her time is ticking as a babyface, she can't last. The 'surprise's' from Monday's raw, while cool, were a bit underwhelming in the long run. Does anyone think No Way Jose will actually perform higher than a jobber with his gimmick? He isn't going anywhere. Authors of Pain look like a legit WWE tag team... meaning welcome to The Club's status of jobbers every week... And Bobby Lashley is someone I've never been interested in. Although, I'll give him a chance since I've heard he's gotten better in the ring and he is a freak in terms of physique. Rumors are that Velveteen dream has a small chance of getting the call up to the main roster... doesn't matter tho, they'll absolutely butcher his character. That guy is phenomenal and should be an upper mid-card level talent, but with WWE booking, the fans will turn on him fast. The Saudi event is, I guess, killing my vibe. I'm not a fan of having canon material on PPV's that are not standard. I can't tell if this event is more of a house show feel or a legit PPV feel. I don't like it. Hoping to get some good feuds that I can get behind on today's Raw. Right now, I'm not really looking forward to anything in the WWE beyond Banks/bayley and AJ/Nak. Wrestlemania is supposed to be the end of feuds. They always fill it up with blow off matches, so of course the product feels a little flat 8 days after it. The Raw/Smackdown after Mania always feels a little hungover, they'll do some debuts and returns, but that's about it. Velveteen Dream is fine.. But his character won't translate to the main roster any better than Nak did. He's still very green, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them give him a shot. The Saudi event is the product of having fewer PPVs. It'll be a fun show, and maybe the Brock Lesnar saga will end there under less hostile conditions. I'm tired of hearing about Roman Reigns, but I'm more tired of seeing bad matches with Brock Lesnar. Tonight and tomorrow will be pretty telling. I'm looking forward to a new "season" to begin.

Holy s***! I’ve watched 8 great innings of Sox baseball and I didn’t know we were back up and running! Today just got even better!

NXT Takeover Philadelphia was incredible. I don’t keep up with the NXT shows every week, but I check in often enough to know who’s who. Cole v. Black was amazing and I had no idea how Almas v. Gargano was going to follow it, but they stole the show. There’s some really amazing work coming from that segment of the roster. The Royal Rumble is my favorite wrestling event of the year. Regardless of whether there’s an obvious winner or it’s a little more open, it’s fun to see the spots and the interactions in the ring.

QUOTE (iWin4Ron @ Jan 13, 2018 -> 12:35 AM) So, I was sitting in bed wide awake and started day dreaming of a *realistic* Wrestlemania card that I think would be pretty f*cking awesome. Here it is. Note that while this is fantasy, this is built on the current status (pre-Royal Rumble) that WWE has going for them. This is as realistic, but as awesome, as I can imagine it right now. I.e. No AJ Styles vs. Strowman because that makes no sense. 3 Main events: 1. Raw Title: Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strownman (details: Strowman becomes absolutely dominating after being screwed at the RR (lesnar pins kane)... meanwhile, Lesnar decides to finally go full heel as he realizes Strowman cannot be taken on face to face. In the build up, Strowman finds a way to become #1 contender and Lesnar begins to attack strowman from behind (something Lesnar never does). Ultimately, Strowman wins the title as face monster at WM) 2. SD Title: AJ vs. Nakamura (details: Naka wins the RR and goes on to have a long awaited feud with Styles. Fans want this, it's a great wrestling match, great for both competitors, easy booking). 3. Roman Reigns vs. John Cena (details: Both man *have* to be in big feuds, why not this? Don't waste Cena on an aged 'Taker.. do this match and let the internet fans go crazy. This is killing 2 birds with one stone as both these Faces of the company are fan-hated, but together they might be big enough to be a huge draw and a great build as this will represent who the real face of the company is, kind of.) Rest of the matches/titles: 4. Raw Tag titles Jason Jordan + Seth Rollins vs. Revival with Revival going over and this igniting problems between JJ and Seth. 5. SD Tag Titles: TLC Match between Usos vs. Kevin Owens + Zayn vs. Third team (Likely New Day, or Shelton/Gable or FF). Could also be a 4-way TLC but I prefer 3-way. KO + Zayn win this match and go on to wreck havock in tag division being a great team (have nothing else for them so this seems to fit) 6. US TITLE Match and WM Opening match: Bobby Roode (goes full on heel after winning the US Title tournament) vs. Randy Orton with Orton putting over Roode here in the opening boute. I normally likely to keep the mid card seperated from the main eventers, but we need to get Orton on the show and this would put him to great usage. Orton is generally considered boring, but I'd enjoy this match very well. 7. IC Title Fatal 4-way: Samoa Joe (comes in as champ after defeating Roman) vs. Demon Balor vs. Wyatt vs. Woken Matt Hardy. Can do a lot here, you have 2 faces and 2 heels, perfect way to get all these guys on the show in a meaningful match and strong programs going forward. No one wants to see a 1on1 between Wyatt and Hardy, but putting them here makes some comedic sense and can do a lot of angles depending on who you want to win. 8. SD Womans Title: Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch : with Flair as heel turn and Becky as super babyface who goes on to win the big one here. Why? Becky deserves this and this would be a wrestling clinic for the womens division. Ideal match for SD. 9. Raw Womans triple threat title match: Alexa Bliss vs. Asuka vs. Nia Jax (details: Asuka's big match... have her win the Royal Rumble... have Nia Jax in this match for unpredictability and to get her on the card.) Kick off show matchs: 10. Inter-promotional Tag match: Bayley+Banks vs. 2 SD Woman (Natayla + ??? Naomi ??) Why? Get these girls on the card. 11. Cruiserweight title match Hideo Itami vs. ____ Kendrick ? 12. Andre-Giant Rumble, .... Other possibilities if the WM card has time on it: 1. HHH vs. Angle because why not ? This would sell tickets, it's already being built towards. Not many of us want to see this, but it's there.. 2. Kane vs. Undertaker III in a duel retirement match where both legends have their last harouh. 3. A miz match. Not sure vs. whom, but maybe Elias? I dont know... further work can be done here. Same with a Baron corbin match. 4. Another womans match... admitedly I don't know who would get this spot. Opinions? I'd be happy with this card, but I'm too big a fan of Balor to accept him in the IC title picture, especially now that The Club has formed. This is his chance to get into the Main Event picture. He'll need a Mania match, but I think it's a feud ending match, not a title shot. I'd like to see him take the Universal Title at/around Summerslam. I love Nakamura winning the rumble, and it could happen even though he's not in the forefront right now. Raw has Elimination Chamber in February to set up as a #1 contender match. Braun would be a great winner for that. Next week's Raw and the Royal Rumble are going to be very telling towards what we'll get at Mania.. Can't wait to see it unfold! I love Wrestlemania season.

QUOTE (Brian @ Jan 9, 2018 -> 01:10 PM) And Joe’s hurt again. Ugh Sounds like a plantar fascia tear. Such terrible timing for Joe, he had a strong push headed towards Mania.

QUOTE (iWin4Ron @ Dec 29, 2017 -> 12:20 PM) Yeah -- I am OK with Cena too. I love his current role on the roster and he seems to embrace building up the roster. His matches with AJ were fantastic and he seems to put on a good match given the right opponent style. His character work and charisma is obviously phenomenal. ...Which is why it peeves me so much that it's like going to be something like Batista vs. Cena or Taker vs. Cena. Cena vs. Samoa Joe anyone? In a highly dramatic feud starting at or before the rumble? That'd be awesome for Joe and a good fresh feud for Cena. Do that! Have Joe take the IC title off Reigns prior and make it for the IC title! Dooooo it. That's pretty much the only logical opponent I have for Cena. Joe's promo on last night's Raw singled out Cena as his #1 target during the Rumble. The Joe v. Cena build up begins and I'm way into it.