WWE, AEW, TNA and other wrestling

[Hero]

I think Harris will be given a chance like CM Punk and other had. I think WWE will probably make some sort of example of him in a positive way by using him in angles/storylines better.

TNA must be gutted about Jeff Hardy not being with them anymore. He was one of thier biggest draws and merch sales income.

===KEN

[Hero]

WWE Title Match
Randy Orton vs. John Cena

World Title Match
Edge vs. Rey Mysterio

RAW Elimination Chamber Match
Winner Gets WWE Title Shot At WrestleMania
Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga vs. JBL vs. Chris
Jericho

Smackdown Elimination Chamber Match
Winner Gets World Title Shot At WrestleMania
Big Daddy V vs. The Great Khali vs. Finlay vs. MVP vs. The Undertaker
vs. Batista

Flair's Career On The Line
Ric Flair vs. Mr. Kennedy

That's the card so far. Not sure about having two chamber matches in one night due to maintanence etc but it also because of the booking ethos to not have two of the same gimmick match on a card because fans will be numb to the second one after the first.

Aparentley it will be HBK vs Flair at Wrestlemania too...

[Andy Turnbull]

Dammit, with the Rumble I thought they teased a Taker vs Michaels for Mania which would have been something.

Yeah - two elimination chamber matches is a bit daft.

Andy

[Hero]

Looks like HHH could be off the show due to a family emergency.

===KEN

[KoshNaranek]

I'm sorry to hear of any family emergency, but I do really hope that leaves the door open for Jeff Hardy to win the EC. HBK vs. Flair at Wrestlemania is OK with me as Michaels could have a good match with a soggy wet blanket, so he should be able to elevate Flair. I just hope Ric finally really retires from ring action this time. I sooooooooooooo hope that Orton beats Cena.

- Tony

[Andy Turnbull]

For anyone who is interested in TNA (my interest is dwindling each passing week to be honest) this article linked to from Lance Storm's site is interesting reading - article

Andy

[Hero]

I've not read this yet but I know Lance has been pretty harsh on the TNA product in the past. I'll have a look since Storm Blogs are good, plus I have a mate of mine training at his academy right now.

[Andy Turnbull]

It's not something written by Storm but by Bryan Alvarez, but it's just as scathing of TNA.

I know Samoa Joe's contract is up, I'd love it if he went to WWE and Smackdown in particular away from the Cena/HHH show, er I mean Raw.

Andy

[Hero]

I'd like Joe to jump over. That article has summed up TNA accuratley, I bet Sting is regretting deep down inside about going over there when he could be working a double retirement angle with Ric Flair in WWE .

[Andy Turnbull]

I still weep at the way they have wasted A.J Styles. Arguably the most consistently over performer they had.

Vince Russo is killing them with his asinine booking. Ideally get Lance Storm involved in the booking and he'd help them shape up. He was involved in a lot of the good stuff back in the day for ECW.

Andy

[Hero]

Storm can save TNA.

If TNA lets him.

I agree about Styles. This is a guy who could carry a top guy role, have a bout against a paper bag and make it look good and not have a single bad match. But... TNA chose to make him one of Christian Cage's stooges.

===KEN

[KoshNaranek]

I missed NWO on Sunday, but caught the repeat yesterday and it was a pretty good show. Predictably, HHH won the second EC, but at least he made Hardy look very strong in defeat. I'm hoping Hardy wins the MITB match at Wrestlemania to set him up for another future title shot.

I was really surprised by the Floyd Mayweather angle, and it looked like he hit the Big Slow with a couple of hard punches. It'll be interesting to see where this all goes.

- Tony

[Hero]

I've not seen the PPV yet and I still have yet to watch RAW which I have saved on Sky+.

From what I heard Big Show and HBK both had broken noses from the previous ppv but will still work shows.

===KEN

[Hero]

uk.youtube.com/watch?v=NpD5ozSYCq8

Card so far: (to be updated as updates happen)

* WWE Women's Title Match: Beth Phoenix � vs. Melina
* WWE Title Match: Jeff Hardy � vs. Edge
* World Title Match: John Cena � vs. JBL
* The Royal Rumble Match: Known Participants: HHH, The Big Show, The Undertaker, Vladimir Kozlov, Shelton Benjamin, Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, Ted Dibiase, Kofi Kingston, Rey Mysterio, The Miz, John Morrison, Santino Marella

Been thinking on and off about starting a regular grappling thread since past Wrestling PPV related threads have had good activity. As for now, the WWE Royal Rumble is approaching and the road to Wrestlemania is about to begin.

I have a feeling Orton will win the Rumble Match, and Cena and Hardy will retain thier perspective titles.

As for an ECW Brand title match, there's been recent developments regarding the belt.. Can't spoil any more at the moment.

===KEN

[Andy Turnbull]

Good predictions Ken, the actual ppv was pretty solid but one of the least interesting Rumbles as far as I can recall. Great swerve with the Edge/Jeff Hardy match with interference coming from an unexpected quarter.

Damn did Rob Van Dam not just get the biggest pop of the night. Loved Jericho's little bit with Orton. Jericho has been by far and away the best thing in WWE since his heel turn.

Andy

[Hero]

Jericho and The Legacy are true heels indeed. Looks like Orton has some form of immunity at the moment and it looks like its down to Cena to put him in his place.

The Rumble was OK, but felt bleak for some reason. I think it has been the first heel win in years too. I figured Randy Orton was going to win (with Jericho at a close second) what with all the uber-heel attention he's having.

I saw the Matt Hardy turn coming when he jobbed the ECW title early and appeared on Smackdown a lot. I liked how Helms and Guerrero were placed at certain scenes to make marks think it may have been either of them responsible for the Jeff Hardy attacks. I was hoping that the assailant had turned out to be Christian since he's left the other company.

On a side note, One Night Stand has been renamed Extreme Rules.

[Deleted]

I know it's not *quite* Rumble related but since I moved house I've lost access to Sky and I'm stuck with Freeview (we can't get Sky or cable here anyway) and I was wondering if anyone could help me out taping the regular Raw / Smackdown / ECW shows for me each week?

I'm more than happy to cover the costs of tapes/postage if anyone can help.

Cheers,

Simon

[Hero]

Thought I'd alter the thread title a bit since No Way Out and Wrestlemania 25 are looming closer.

BTW. Simon, are you still interested in a copy of the Royal Rumble?

and... Major spoiler

SPOILER: Click to show

Christian (not Cage) has returned to WWE under the ECW brand and is already booked to face current champ Jack Swagger

[Deleted]

Yeah, I'm still after the Rumble and still after help with any weekly recordings if anyone can help!

Only way I'm vaguely keeping up to date at the moment is Matt Hardy's blog on myspace and reading Powerslam as I can't be arsed with wwe.com! lol

[Gav]

There's a website called Justin TV or something similar which a friend of mine uses to steam the live(ish) feed of Smackdown, Raw etc.

Give it a Google, might be what you need.

[Andy Turnbull]

And if you can't do that rajah.com is good for keeping up to date with news and gossip.

Andy

[Hero]

Sad news in the wrestling world as Andrew "Test" Martin has alegedly been found dead in his apartment. Shame if the body really was Test, but bigger shame that someone has died in general.

[credit: f4wonline.com]
Former WWE star found dead in apartment

We don't have details, but there are multiple reports that Andrew "Test" Martin passed away earlier today at his condo in Tampa.

Martin was four days shy of his 34th birthday.

Police in Tampa confirmed a death in the condo but wouldn't identify the name, but numerous sources within wrestling have confirmed it was him. No details as to the death were reported.

Martin last wrestled with WWE in February, 2007, when he was released after failing a drug test. He worked a few weeks with TNA but the company decided against hiring him. He had of late worked some tours for Nu Wrestling Evolution, and most recently had worked in Japan on shows promoted by Leon "Vader" White.

[Hero]

I have to say that apart from Ricky Steamboat's performance, Hardy VS Hardy and Taker VS HBK - Last nights Wrestlemania 25 was a disapointment. .

[Gav]

I was surrounded by 250+ screaming fans watching the event on a huge projector screen in Glasgow pub. Several beers coupled with the general atmosphere really helped to leave me with good impressions of the event. I didn't agree with a single outcome though. Obviously a lot of the outcomes were obvious, but I still don't like 'em

SPOILER: Click to show

HBK/Taker stole the show, no doubt in my mind. Fantastic match.

Steamboat totally made the Legends match. Though I'm surprised that Jericho got the win.

HHH/Orton was rather dull and had a terrible ending.

Cena winning the title was obvious, but the match was reasonably entertaining in parts.

The Battle Royal was a bit of a farce, but again the general atmosphere made it bearable.

C.M Punk is the dullest wrestler this side of the Big Show - was hoping for Christian.

So yeah, good event!

Could have done without Kid Rock though. No need for that.

[Hero]

I was expecting the main event to be brutal after the mass build-up and heat built up on tv the weeks beforehand. I managed to see the match again after I fell asleep during the original viewing from staying up so late. I would'nt say it was a terrible bout, but it didn't compliment the fued very well.

Although the event was'nt as expected, it was also about getting together with pals Superbowl style and having a gathering. For me that helped with the £14.95 fee.

The PPV was the biggest selling ever, so I expect the boys in the back (even the many 'lumberjacks' shunned off TV) will get a huge payoff. Not bad.

===KEN

[Andy Turnbull]

Yeah the Triple H/Orton match was kind of a little flat. Taker/HBK definitely was the highlight of the night.

Steamboat still has some moves and he did well in the Legends match. What possessed them to let Jimmy Snuka come out though is beyond me. Jericho had to get the win really, the Rourke ending meant he didn't lose any heat though and gave the fans a happy ending.

MITB match, I was totally hoping for Christian to win, I am one of the peeps! Charles Montgomery Punk just bores the tits off me.

Edge/Cena/Show was decent enough, wish they'd given the belt to Show, at least for a wee bit.

Battle Royal was nonsense, Santino is comedy gold though.

Matt v Jeff was pretty decent though, glad they are keeping the feud going.

Yeah, Kid Rock should not be allowed. Ever.

Andy

[Hero]

Big Show was originally going to win the MITB match, but plans were changed. After his solid and hard-hitting fued with Undertaker last year, I was hoping there would be a better main event push from it rather than a stupid love triange.

I also wanted Christian to win the case.

Here's hoping Backlash will be decent .

===KEN

[Andy Turnbull]

Christian is one of my favourites and I wish TNA hadn't ballsed up his tenure there. They let him drift out of the title scene far too easily. Making Kurt Angle their marquee guy is big misstep. That promotion should have built itself around Christian, A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels.

Andy

[Hero]

I think Christian is set to stay in ECW and won't be drafted this week. He will need to stay and work the current title chase storyline involving Finlay, Swagger and Dreamer. HHH was moved back to RAW for the sake of working his angle.

With both world titles on RAW, I reckon Edge will beat Cena at Backlash if neither will be drafted in todays supplimental draft.

[Andy Turnbull]

I knew before Raw happened that HHH would head to Raw and that Jericho would be on his way to Smackdown. Easy calls to make.

Hoping that Jericho ends up in the title mix. There is also a ready made feud with Cena to kick off, after all he is the reason he was fired in the storyline a few years ago.

Andy