Tag Archives: wwe 2k22

There’s The Door: The Sale of the WWE

It has been rumored that the WWE is up for sale and the buyers might be from Saudi Arabia. Without getting too political, because I don’t know enough about the whole situation, a lot of fans and some wrestlers have come out to oppose the sale to the Saudi Arabia purchaser. Some wrestlers have even said that they will leave the company if the deal goes through. My answer to that is….goodbye.

I’m in favor of the Saudi purchasers. Why? Because they have unlimited money. From what I’ve read, on the internet so take that with a grain of salt, Saudi Arabia is making almost a billion dollars a day in oil. Imagine running a wrestling company with unlimited funds?

Imagine a Pay Per View where the card features Roman Reigns, Okada, Seth Rollins, Jay White, Kenny Omega, Drew McIntyre, Brock Lesnar, Jon Moxley, Bobby Lashley, Cody Rhodes and Bryan Danielson, just to name a few. Great storylines? Hire the best writers in the world to write compelling long-term storytelling.

One of the arguments against it is sponsorship and apparently companies wouldn’t want to be linked to the company because Saudi Arabia is in control of it. You’re telling me that NO COMPANY would want to partner up with the biggest wrestling company in the world? That if they didn’t start their own streaming network that every wrestling fan wouldn’t want to subscribe to it? That YouTube and Rumble wouldn’t allow it to be streamed on their sites?

Now the Woman’s Division might be a touchy subject, but in recent years, women have been able to wrestle in the Saudi Arabian shows at Crown Jewel. Strides are being made for more inclusion of the Woman’s Division.

The deal seems great for the wrestlers, the company and more importantly the fans. The WWE wanted to expand the reach of NXT to other parts of the world and with the Saudi Arabi backing they can do that easily.

In conclusion, unlimited money, unlimited reach, best wrestlers in the world and still keep the woman’s division, so what’s the problem here? I saw, again on the internet, that Sami Zayn has some religion reasons of why he wasn’t able to attend the recent Crown Jewel event. But can’t we use this purchase as a way to connect more than divide? That maybe we can work out our differences, biases and move past it to a more productive and fulfilling future?

Art is AI generated from Dream by WOMBO

Simptastic Joe

Apollo Crews: The Future Isn’t Bright

I remember seeing Apollo Crews for the first time and thinking “this guy is a mid-carder at best” and since I made that prediction, the WWE hasn’t done anything to elevate or make Crews even remotely relevant. Crew’s more notable feud on the main roster was teaming with Kalisto and the going against Dolph Ziggler in a handicapped match. Nothing else comes to mind when I think of Crews. Then came his gimmick change where he became African and teamed with Commander Azeez, which was one of the worst character changes to both men’s careers.

Now Crews is on NXT. He is putting together a string of good matches. His last feud with Carmelo Hayes was good, but it didn’t elevate Crews at all. After the match was over, Azeez attacked Crews to start a new feud, which will end……..I don’t care. Both men aren’t doing anything of value now. This feud won’t propel them to title shots or faces of the company. They are B or C- wrestlers, not by their own ability, but by the creative decisions around their characters. Maybe a fresh start in a new company might be the best thing. Zack Ryder took full advantage of his WWE release to become Matt Cardona and now looks ready for the big stage.

What do you think about Apollo Crews and how would you book him going forwards?

Simptastic Joe

Reigns vs Zayn: Not Over Yet?

I said many times that I have a Love/Hate relationship with Brock Lesnar. I’ve seen many fantastic matches where he fought Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero, John Cena, Triple H and others, but there have been a lot of terrible matches with Lesnar as well. the bad matchres consist of German Suplexes followed by an F5 and sprints to the finish of the match. A lot of high spots that get a quick reaction, but nothing long lasting.

This match was a bad Lesnar match in reverse. Slow, painfully slow. To the point where I questioned if Sami Zayn is even a good wrestler anymore. Zayn’s last couple of years in the WWE have been more theatrical than focusing on in ring ability. Yes, he was great in NXT, but I would say the most impressive thing he did on the main roster was his feud with Braun Strowman in 2016, which was 7 years ago. Since then, he has been bottom tier on the roster, lackluster feuds and essentially struggling to hold any type of spotlight. This could very well be the first time watching a wrestler be elevated to potential WrestleMania Championship match based on emotional storytelling and not in ring ability.

All this match did was show that Roman Reigns can command an arena doing very little wrestling. Roman yelled at the crowd, yelled at Zayn’s wife, mouthed off to Zayn’s father, yelled at the crowd again. Every now and then Zayn caught Reigns monologuing and took advantage, but not for long. It felt like watching a retirment match where Zayn’s career was on the line and we saw glimpses of great moments from his past.

Of course the referee went down, bringing in Jimmy Uso to Superkick Zayn until the ref woke up. The Jey Uso hesitation with the chair was interesting, but makes me wonder if this is leading to Jey and Zayn winning the tag titles, which wouldn’t surprise me, but would be an immense letdown of storytelling. Zayn winning the title from Reigns is the only outcome that makes sense. Anything else is a massive letdown.

So what did this match accomplish? That Zayn isn’t at the level that Reigns is? That the fans will chant for you more if your parents had unprotected sex in that city? This feud is over to me. Obviously, we have WrestleMania and an unfinished Jey Uso moment of truth, but this is now Cody Rhode’s time.

Did they bring back Rhodes to win the Royal Rumble and not be the focal point. That we are getting a Triple Threat Match for the titles that again reiterates the fact that Zayn can’t win the big one? So now, they’re sacrificing Rhode’s potential WrestleMania moment for Zayn, when his moment should’ve been in Canada. What a waste.

Art work from Dream by Wombo AI Art

Simptastic Joe

Cody Invasion

Imagine this. WrestleMania. Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar in a title vs title match. The ref is knocked out. The Usos charge the ring. Brock takes them both out with double clothesline. He starts beating them down. Heyman comes in with a chair and hits Lesnar across the back. Lesnar grabs Heyman by the throat and yells in his face. Reigns gets up and goes for the Spear, but his Heyman instead. Lesnar hits Reigns with the F5. 1. 2. 3. Lesnar celebrates, holds up both belts and makes his way up the ramp. He takes one last look at a defeated Reigns who finally made it to his feet. Then it happens. Cody Rhodes jumps the barrier, slides in the ring and hits Reigns with the Cross Rhodes. Then he takes a look at Lesnar and we cut to black.

How good would that be?

Simptastic Joe

Yes It Does Make You Look Weak

The Young Bucks Explain Their Unique Twitter Strategy

Body shaming is bad. Nobody should ever be shamed for their appearance. We get that. It still happens and it will forever happen until the end of existence so you can put up all the hashtags you want on Twitter, but that’s not going to stop anything.

The reason why I bring this up is because of the Young Bucks have a new bio on Twitter. It reads, “If we threaten, body shame or say inappropriate things to you, we should lose our jobs. If you do it to us, we need to have thicker skin”.  

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I read this and don’t think the Young Bucks are the toughest team in wrestling. I know that’s not a polite opinion to have, but it ruins the mystique of the tag team. I don’t think wrestlers should be in control of their social medias. Not because I don’t believe in free speech, but because Tweets and posts like this ruin the wrestlers reputation.

Imagine Mike Tyson, arguably the toughest and most feared human being at the time. Let’s pretend Twitter existed back then and Tyson tweets out, “I know I have a speech impediment, but you don’t need to point it out. I know I sound ridiculous so please stop pointing it out”. How would that ruin the image of Tyson? I think immensely.  

Maxwell Jacob Friedman™️ on Twitter: "Fuck that kid." / Twitter

Now when I go on MJF’s Twitter page its all about wrestling. Its all about his brand. Its all about his character. He makes fun of Brodie Lee’s son. He talks shit about CM Punk. He disses Wardlow. But at no point in MJF’s Twitter feed to I see “If we all ate turkey burgers instead of beef climate change wouldn’t be a thing anymore”

Now lets take a look at the Young Bucks in recent weeks on tv….they dress like idiots. I mean they never really had the toughest outfits in wrestling, but it was never a problem for me. They had the Randy Savage tassels on the boots and the pattern was interesting. But now they dress in multi colored onesies and wearing gemmed headbands. So do the Bucks not want me to point out how ridiculous they look? I don’t know and at this point I have no idea what their characters are supposed to be anymore.

AEW Full Gear Results: Falls Count Anywhere Match - eWrestlingNews.com

I saw a very interesting video of Karrion Kross and he was explaining that he went to acting classes to workshop the character he wanted to portray in the ring. And if you look at his social medias it all about his character, upcoming matches, fan art of him and Scarlett and all other things accompanying his brand. And his brand is that he is the biggest toughed guy in the ring and a threat to everyone.

I think every company should have a team of social media managers whose sole job it is to be the voice of the wrestler online. Post about their ongoing feuds, share links to previous matches and things that are relevant to wrestling. Again, not saying free speech is a problem. The problem is how a little thing like banning the username Lets Go Brandon can impact a business. I that because Peloton’s stock has crashed recently because of their political views. Which is now resulting in longer ship dates for customers because so many people have canceled their orders and they are not assembling them fast enough because of the lack of orders. You’re a bike company. Sell bikes. Don’t lecture me on usernames. If I wanted to call myself ChildToucher69 it shouldn’t matter to the company. And if someone is offended by it, they should be able to press a button that says “hide the username”. Peloton I just did your job for you.

My point is that every Tweet that’s sent out and every opinion given should be reread before sending or thought about before speaking. Bully Ray is having a massive heat because of some comments he said about Jon Moxley. Comments that people have made compelling arguments for and against.

New look Young Bucks show off new heel attitude in Tag title defense -  Cageside Seats

Now obviously the Buck’s bio wasn’t as severe as the other examples, but it does show a lack of maturity and business sense from them. I don’t want the best tag team in the world giving me a lecture of how I should behave. You two are not real people to me. I don’t know either of you personally, we are not on a first name basis and when I watch a wrestler, I don’t want to know any of their non wrestling opinions. Essentially your life isn’t

Bryan Danielson is a vegan and when he was in the WWE, he turned the title into a hemp title because it was better for the environment. They took a real-life aspect of his life and turned it into a gimmick that worked. Danielson as a heel talked down to people who didn’t believe with his cause and would regularly lecture fans on their bad decisions. Why did this work? Because it part of his character.

Backstage Reaction To Joe Gacy's Controversial Woke Gimmick In NXT

Joe Gacy’s character on NXT is a social justice warrior. That’s how he’s written. So his social media is littered with inclusive content. And I predict that Gacy will one day be broken and go to the other side, his social medias will reflect that. And its going to work because it makes sense with the character.

Back to the Young Bucks. They are devoid of character development now. They teamed with Don Callis, started dressing like a pair of grandmothers and wearing brand named shoes. If an opponent during a match says they should do more sit-ups will the Bucks cry and leave the ring?

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I watched an entire ECW arena chant “Fuck you” and “Cena swallows” and did John Cena get mad and walk out? Did he cry it to the media? No, he ate up every second of it and used it to make the match better. He played to the fans hating on him and resulted in one of my favorite matches of all time.

Now a hostile crowd has all the ammo they want to hurt the Bucks. They can chant “Do a sit-up”, “Rogaine” or “Bitch tits” and it would utterly decimate them emotionally. Kurt Angle’s “You Suck” and Stone Cold’s “What” chants are still relevant today even though they happened over a decade ago. Why the Bucks are actively choosing to be this socially inept is beyond me.

The Young Bucks Sign New Long-Term Contracts With All Elite Wrestling

But what do you guys think of their new bio and the Young Bucks now?

Simptastic Joe

Shelton Benjamin : Snubbed

Shelton Benjamin is probably the most talented wrestler in WWE history that was never given a fair shot at a heavyweight championship. Mid card and tag titles he’s won, but Benjamin should’ve won a World Champion by now. Now sadly its too late for him, but I wonder if it would be best for him to end his career somewhere else. Impact Wrestling would be the safest move. AEW is too heavy in the world title run and NJPW doesn’t really have the impact like it did a few years ago.

I thought Benjamin would’ve been good at leading a faction of Chad Gable and Jason Jordan calling themselves the Gold Standard. It would’ve been nice to see Benjamin getting more screentime as something more than a match filler. Being a part of the Hurt Business was probably the most interesting thing they did with him in years, but sadly that ended too fast and now Benjamin is just cannon fodder to make Bobby Lashley look better.

Where do you see Benjamins, future going in the WWE and if you had a dream match for him who would it be against?

Simptastic Joe

No Way Jose : Dead From The Start

Terrible name. Boring moves. Horrendous finisher. No Way Jose was poised to fail from his first moments in NXT. Having a dancing gimmick hasn’t worked out since the days of 2 Cool, and those guys were never really found themselves in the main event picture. I don’t really remember Jose having any main roster moments of value.

Is there a way to save Jose? Not without a total overhaul. He does have some good size and athleticism. A change in finisher is the first thing. Something simple like The Freak Accident or a reverse Samoan Drop is what I would choose for him.

Character wise I would’ve put him in a multi man ladder match on NXT or pair him off with someone like Kona Reeves, another wrestler devoid of purpose. Have them make a run in the Dusty Rhodes tag Team Classic and see if they catch on with the fans. Some matches against Sanity and AOP would really boost their credibility. Maybe move them up to the main roster together. I still think Reeves is on NXT somehow after all these years without a meaningful feud yet.

That’s how I would’ve fixed Jose. I don’t think he would’ve been a main star in the WWE or NXT, but he would be someone that fans would want to tune in to see. Someone who would be in Royal Rumbles, fill out Money in the Bank matches and maybe, with alittle push, be able to jump into a successful singles career.

Simptastic Joe

Umaga : Hall of Fame?

Umaga | WWE

I’m seeing a lot of posts from Rikishi and the rest of his bloodline saying that Umage should be a Hall of Famer. Why? Because he was there? My view of a Hall of Famer is someone who was a big part of the company. Someone who help multiple titles and was essentially running the show for a time. Umaga was a 2-time Intercontinental Champion and that was it. The Intercontinental Championship is a veery prestigious title in wrestling, but having it only 2 times and not really for a significant run isn’t that impressive. And I never felt like Umaga was the biggest threat in wrestling. If anything, he was the biggest springboard of future champions. His matches with Jeff Hardy, John Cena and others were more about building them up vs making Umaga look like a beast.

I don’t think Umaga should be anywhere near the Hall of Fame and furthermore I don’t think Rikishi should either. They tried to make him look like the next big thing, but every time was overshadowed by the likes o Stone Cold, The Rock, The Undertaker and Kurt Angle. Rikishi should’ve been a main title holder. He was being built up as someone who can hold the title for a while, but they never went through with it.

So should Umaga or Rikishi be in the WWE Hall of Fame?

Simptastic Joe

Dabba-Kato : Missing Direction

Who is Dabba-Kato? WWE star Babatunde Aiyegbusi at WrestleMania 37 | Metro  News

I’m calling him Dabba-Kato instead of his ridiculous Commander Azereal or some crap like that. Kato might be the biggest waste of a main roster talent in a while. I don’t know if they have been grooming him for years as the big muscle and are looking for the right time to unleash him. AEW’s Wardlow is a good parallel, where we only got samples and now they’re looking to push him to stardom.

RAW Underground was a smart idea. Underground street fights and building up Kato as the monster down there. And then he had a main roster match against Braun Strowman and that was it for him. Kato was knocking out opponents in the Underground and took a simple powerslam and that was it?

5 Opponents for Dabba Kato on RAW Underground

Now he’s just an African commander of what? Its not like Apollo Crews has a faction and Kato is there to ring in the members. He’s just the muscle in a horribly fitting jacket. If Crews did have a big faction that would’ve been cool. A group of 5-7 members in traditional African garbs, all with unique moves and finishers and whose goal it is to beat everyone in the WWE, much like Roman Reign’s Tribal Chief run, a championship run about respect and power.

So, in this pretend faction, you can use it to build up unknown wrestlers and still have Kato as the bruiser of the group. Maybe at one point do his finisher on members who “failed” Crews. Fail to win the titles and Kato gives you the Samoan Spike or throws you through a table.

Will Mahoney on Twitter: "Week Two Dabba Kato > Week One Dabba Kato.  #RAWUnderground #WWERaw… "

I don’t really understand anything of these two men at this time. Just seems like another good idea on paper by WWE creative that didn’t blossom into anything of substance. Which is the trend now with the company.

So where do you see Dabba-Kato and Apollo Crews going forward?

Simptastic Joe

Luchasaurus : Turn Heel?

Luchasaurus News, Pictures, Videos and Biography News, Pictures, Videos,  Stats and Biography - AEW

Is it bad that I want Luchasaurus to turn heel on Jungle Boy? I predict his heel turn to look similar to Tommaso Ciampa turning on Johnny Gargano. Maybe have the Jurassic Express win the tag titles, Jungle Boy getting pinned and Luchasaurus taking his frustrations out on him. Setting up for a series of matches that will end in Jungle Boy becoming victorious.

Tommaso Ciampa and the 10 Most Heartbreaking WWE Heel Turns of All Time |  Bleacher Report | Latest News, Videos and Highlights

Luchasaurus is a good wrestler, but I don’t see him as AEW Champion the way he is now. A heel turn would give him that extra edge and put him on a path of his own. The problem is does Luchasaurus have enough to be a singles star? Is he someone that can realistically survive in AEW on his own?

Simptastic Joe