The Wrestling Thread: WWE WrestleMania 31 [NSFW]

[Return_of_the_STAR]

More Rumble talk, this time from the Observer.

There is said to be a major twist planned for the 30-man Royal Rumble match this year, based on the announced idea that every Superstar is eligible to be in the Rumble. This angle was also done to set up at least one planned storyline.

Isn't there always a twist in the Rumble match?

One possibility I was thinking about is that maybe The Rock enters? This then puts the whole Mania match against Cena in doubt temporarily. Cena then gets put into the Elimination Chamber & wins the WWE Title, thus setting up a title match between the two for Mania.

It should always have been that they never announced rock v cena last year and instead had cena winning the title at the rumble, then have rock come out as number 30, win the rumble and challenge cena at mania. This would have generated the best possible buzz.

I don't understand the observer comments about the rumble. Every superstar has always been eligible and its always set up future storylines.

[Slimgrady]

Or maybe Punk or Bryan will win it?

[Skippy]

Punk losing the title after a gruelling match and then winning the Rumble would really cement his place as a top star but it messes up the title picture a bit as Ziggles would have to lose to someone like Jericho or Trips before Mania.

[sawyerpip]

With them making a big deal about every superstar being eligible to enter, surely that can only mean one or both of the champions enter? As far as I'm aware they're the only superstars who haven't been able to compete in the past.

[Slimgrady]

With them making a big deal about every superstar being eligible to enter, surely that can only mean one or both of the champions enter? As far as I'm aware they're the only superstars who haven't been able to compete in the past.

Are they tho?I heard it mentioned once I think,and that was in a video package.Its the rumour sites that are making a big deal of it.

[Cosmo]

It's been mentioned numerous times on tv.

[Psychic]

There is said to be a major twist planned for the 30-man Royal Rumble match this year, based on the announced idea that every Superstar is eligible to be in the Rumble. This angle was also done to set up at least one planned storyline.

The Superstars page on WWE.com includes all the announcers, ringside staff both Teddy Long and John Laurenitis, as well as Vince. Interesting.

[Zellery]

After posting that, I will now go on my yearly rumoursite embargo.

Thankfully I have the Review-a-Wai archive to get me through this. Top notch find, Zell (It was you, right?)

I wish I could take the credit for finding them but I cannot.

I think I started listening to them about a year ago and I'm sure it was through one of Mocky's links.

You're right, they are great though.

[Frank]

TNA tonight Haven't watched an episode of it since September or so, despite downloading the PPVs

Is Scott Steiner still around?

[Zellery]

Is Scott Steiner still around?

Sort of. He's kind of limited to the odd match to get someone over or back stage segments with Bully now (which are hilarious).

[Mafro]

Has this been psoted yet?

[Mafro]

Wrestling Observer Awards are in this week's newsletter:

LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD (WRESTLER OF THE YEAR)
1. HIROSHI TANAHASHI (417) 2,718
2. C.M. Punk (248) 2,102
3. John Cena (68) 946
4. Masaaki Mochizuki (9) 493
5. Randy Orton (2) 388
6. L.A. Park (51) 326
7. Mark Henry (8) 269
8. Averno (9) 191
9. The Rock (9) 188
10. Davey Richards (14) 185
HONORABLE MENTION: Yuji Nagata 168, Go Shiozaki 102, Eddie Edwards 85

MIXED MARTIAL ARTS MOST VALUABLE
1. GEORGES ST. PIERRE (280) 2,060
2. Jon Jones (129) 1,529
3. Anderson Silva (116) 1,336
4. Junior Dos Santos (3) 149
5. Dan Henderson (2) 113
6. Nick Diaz (1) 87
7. Cain Velasquez (5) 66
8. Frankie Edgar (3) 55
9. Chael Sonnen (5) 47
10. Urijah Faber 46

MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER
1. DAVEY RICHARDS (201) 1,511
2. Hiroshi Tanahashi (165) 1,112
3. Daniel Bryan (104) 948
4. Prince Devitt (5) 785
5. El Generico (67) 598
6. C.M. Punk (43) 452
7. Akira Tozawa (19) 363
8. Averno (49) 359
9. Eddie Edwards (22) 353
10. Dolph Ziggler (14) 351

MOST OUTSTANDING FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
1. JON JONES (452) 2,592
2. Anderson Silva (54) 934
3. Junior Dos Santos (7) 484
4. Georges St. Pierre (21) 405
5. Dan Henderson (12) 331
6. Dominick Cruz (1) 302
7. Frankie Edgar (2) 164
8. Nick Diaz (3) 163
9. Ben Henderson (4) 124
10. Jose Aldo Jr. (1) 109

BEST BOX OFFICE DRAW
1. THE ROCK (319) 2,222
2. Georges St. Pierre (244) 2,035
3. John Cena (53) 1,244
4. C.M. Punk (2) 273
5. Anderson Silva (10) 211
6. Jon Jones (11) 146
7. Cain Velasquez 51
8. L.A. Park 40

FEUD OF THE YEAR
1. JOHN CENA VS. C.M. PUNK (190) 1,551
2. Randy Orton vs. Christian (74) 747
3. Davey Richards vs. Eddie Edwards (61) 701
4. Blood Warriors vs. Junction Three (75) 673
5. Kevin Steen vs. ROH (56) 485
6. Michael Bisping vs. Jason Miller (45) 458
7. Briscoes vs. All Night Express (8) 352
8. Sanada & Soya vs. Sekimoto & Okabayashi (16) 344
9. Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck (41) 295
10. Mark Henry vs. Big Show (17) 145

TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR
1. GIANT BERNARD & KARL ANDERSON (233) 1,678
2. Mark & Jay Briscoe (174) 1,632
3. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (87) 894
4. Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin (104) 674
5. Young Bucks (41) 425
6. Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (19) 362
7. Cima & Ricochet (13) 311
8. Bobby Roode & James Storm (29) 295
9. Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne (23) 215
10. Manabu Soya & Seiya Sanada (2) 116

MOST IMPROVED
1. DOLPH ZIGGLER (224) 1,478
2. Mark Henry (86) 828
3. Ricochet (79) 527
4. Cody Rhodes (24) 419
5. Zack Ryder (9) 314
6. Tetsuya Naito (28) 295
7. Wade Barrett (10) 236
8. Seiya Sanada (6) 196
9. Tama Tonga (19) 191
10. Kyle O'Reilly (2) 161

BEST ON INTERVIEWS
1. C.M. PUNK (338) 2,594
2. The Rock (178) 1,381
3. Chael Sonnen (137) 1,360
4. Kevin Steen (23) 490
5. Mark & Jay Briscoe (3) 361
6. Steve Austin (29) 228
7. The Miz (7) 161
8. Mark Henry (3) 112
9. Bully Ray (2) 106
10. Nick Diaz 92

MOST CHARISMATIC
1. THE ROCK (315) 1,906
2. John Cena (53) 1,151
3. C.M. Punk (81) 978
4. Hiroshi Tanahashi (51) 863
5. Georges St. Pierre (19) 359
6. Kevin Steen (26) 271
7. Chael Sonnen (26) 231
8. L.A. Park (15) 145
9. Clay Guida (2) 128
10. Zack Ryder (3) 126

BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER
1. DANIEL BRYAN (263) 1,829
2. Davey Richards (247) 1,655
3. Prince Devitt (30) 910
4. Yuji Nagata (29) 590
5. Eddie Edwards (13) 568
6. Zack Sabre Jr. (37) 254
7. Dolph Ziggler (3) 166
8. Kurt Angle (6) 154
9. Mike Quackenbush 106
10. C.M. Punk (4) 89

BRUISER BRODY MEMORIAL AWARD (BEST BRAWLER)
1. KEVIN STEEN (161) 1,082
2. Togi Makabe (89) 718
3. Mark & Jay Briscoe (63) 626
4. Sheamus (50) 545
5. Bully Ray (45) 517
6. L.A. Park (94) 499
7. Sami Callihan (49) 487
8. Masato Tanaka (25) 461
9. Mark Henry (59) 452
10. Randy Orton (32) 186

BEST FLYING WRESTLER
1. RICOCHET (116) 1,473
2. Kota Ibushi (131) 1,092
3. Pac (125) 992
4. Evan Bourne (59) 600
5. Prince Devitt (38) 472
6. El Generico (42) 393
7. Sin Cara (35) 383
8. Rey Mysterio (23) 224
9. Mascara Dorada (2) 221
10. La Sombra (17) 197

MOST OVERRATED
1. CRIMSON (127) 1,011
2. Mason Ryan (54) 756
3. Kevin Nash (97) 735
4. Mr. Anderson (83) 727
5. Jeff Hardy (34) 477
6. HHH (32) 369
7. Sin Cara (39) 328
8. Matt Morgan (6) 174
9. C.M. Punk (14) 114
10. Randy Orton (5) 112

MOST UNDERRATED
1. DOLPH ZIGGLER (119) 942
2. Daniel Bryan (112) 840
3. Alex Shelley (82) 741
4. Tyson Kidd (31) 622
5. Drew McIntyre (35) 376
6. Yoshi Tatsu (15) 277
7. Jack Swagger (6) 237
8. Christian (24) 217
9. John Morrison (2) 157
10. Chris Masters (27) 153

PROMOTION OF THE YEAR
1. ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP (313) 2,049
2. New Japan Pro Wrestling (275) 1,935
3. Dragon Gate (44) 914
4. Ring of Honor (61) 846
5. World Wrestling Entertainment (15) 659
6. CHIKARA Pro (41) 584
7. PWG (18) 580
8. Bellator (1) 239
9. All Japan (2) 110
10, CMLL (5) 108

BEST WEEKLY TV SHOW
1. WWE SMACKDOWN (188) 1,790
2. Ring of Honor (214) 1,603
3. Dragon Gate Infinity (108) 1,092
4. Ultimate Fighter (64) 838
5. Bellator Fighting Championships (43) 648
6. WWE Tough Enough (45) 404
7. WWE Raw (12) 360
8. CMLL (9) 197
9. WWE Superstars (15) 196
10. TNA Impact (2) 145

WORKED MATCH OF THE YEAR
1. JOHN CENA VS. C.M. PUNK 7/17 CHICAGO (333) 2,292
2. Eddie Edwards vs. Davey Richards 6/26 New York (112) 1,362
3. HHH vs. Undertaker 4/3 Atlanta (51) 890
4. Jun Akiyama vs. Suwama 10/23 Tokyo (75) 808
5. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yuji Nagata 4/3 Tokyo (39) 538
6. Kota Ibushi vs. Ryusuke Taguchi 6/10 Tokyo (15) 343
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito 10/10 Tokyo (6) 305
8. Kevin Steen vs. El Generico 12/18/10 New York (14) 183
9. Averno vs. La Sombra 9/16 Mexico City 107

SHOOT MATCH OF THE YEAR
1. DAN HENDERSON VS. SHOGUN RUA 11/19 SAN JOSE (316)1,921
2. Ben Henderson vs. Clay Guida 11/12 Anaheim (46) 850
3. Eddie Alvarez vs. Michael Chandler 11/19 Atlantic City (61) 657
4. Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard 1/1 Las Vegas (57) 631
5. Ben Henderson vs. Anthony Pettis 12/16/10 Phoenix (52) 492
6. Nick Diaz vs. Paul Daley 4/8 San Diego (21) 433
7. Diego Sanchez vs. Martin Kampmann 3/3 Louisville (6) 169
8. Jose Aldo Jr. vs. Mark Hominick 4/30 Toronto (2) 93
9. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Dan Henderson 7/30 Chicago 78
10. Urijah Faber vs. Dominick Cruz 7/2 Las Vegas 75

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
1. DAICHI HASHIMOTO (552) 3,018
2. Uhaa Nation (23) 650
3. Takumi "Sho" Soya (24) 509
4. Obariyan (17) 315
5. Archibald Peck (15) 242
6. Fenix (3) 235
7. Dragon Lee (11) 185
8. Tommaso Ciampa (15) 111
9. Mike Dalton (2) 78
10. Dark Dragon 72

BEST NON-WRESTLER
1. RICARDO RODRIGUEZ (335) 2,357
2. Vickie Guerrero (191) 1,910
3. Jim Cornette (44) 532
4. Karen Jarrett (31) 430
5. Barrister R.D. Evans (6) 269
6. John Laurinaitis (14) 227
7. Truth Martini (8) 185
8. Michael Cole (11) 126
9. Ric Flair (7) 120
10. Teddy Long (6) 117

BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER
1. JOE ROGAN (214) 1,386
2. Kevin Kelly (77) 1,058
3. Michael Schiavello (113) 983
4. Jim Ross (112) 952
5. William Regal (65) 733
6. Mike Goldberg (22) 355
7. Scott Stanford (7) 344
8. Jimmy Smith (16) 242
9. Josh Matthews (6) 219
10. Nigel McGuinness (5) 188

WORST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER
1. MICHAEL COLE (568) 3,133
2. Booker T (37) 1,201
3. Jerry Lawler (27) 861
4. Taz (8) 334
5. Mike Tenay (7) 159
6. Josh Matthews (12) 124
7. Matt Striker (1) 92
8. Mauro Ranallo (2) 85
9. Gus Johnson 54
10. Todd Grisham 37

BEST MAJOR WRESTLING SHOW
1. WWE MONEY IN THE BANK 7/17 CHICAGO (374) 2,391
2. UFC 139 11/19 San Jose (40) 700
3. ROH Best in the World 6/26 New York (32) 542
4. ROH Final Battle 12/18/10 New York (15) 483
5. PWG DDT 4 3/4 Reseda (24) 378
6. UFC 129 4/30 Toronto (19) 274
7. WWE WrestleMania 4/3 Atlanta (12) 197
8. K-1 World Grand Prix 12/11 Tokyo (29) 188
9. New Japan G-1 Finals 8/14 Tokyo (4) 180
10. CHIKARA High Noon 11/13 Philadelphia (11) 129

WORST MAJOR WRESTLING SHOW
1. TNA VICTORY ROAD 3/13 ORLANDO 405
2. TNA Turning Point 11/13 Orlando 55
3. WWE Capitol Punishment 6/19 Washington, DC 20
4. TNA No Surrender 9/11 Orlando 19
5. WWE Night of Champions 9/18 Buffalo 18
6. WWE Vengeance 10/23 San Antonio 14
7. TNA Against All Odds 2/13 Orlando 12
8. AWE Night of Legends 10/15 Fisherville, VA 10

BEST WRESTLING MANEUVER
1. RICOCHET DOUBLE ROTATION MOONSAULT 174
2. Daniel Bryan LeBell lock 127
3. Randy Orton RKO 55
4. Daisuke Sekimoto German suplex 35
5. Prince Devitt Bloody Sunday DDT 31
6. Akira Tozawa delayed German suplex 29
7. Evan Bourne shooting star press 27
8. Kota Ibushi double moonsault 19
9. Pac 360 shooting star press 18
10. AR Fox Lo Mein Pain 18

MOST DISGUSTING PROMOTIONAL TACTIC
1. WWE BULLYING/BE A STAR/JIM ROSS 183
2. TNA sending Jeff Hardy out when he was loaded on PPV 178
3. Perro Aguayo Jr. faking cancer 140
4. WWE never letting up on twitter during Raw 43
5. Matt Hardy teasing suicide on the Internet 25
6. Jarrett/Angle feud putting up custody of kids in match 22
7. Michael Cole burying talent in commentary 15

WORST TELEVISION SHOW
1. TNA IMPACT 430
2. WWE Raw 197
3. WWE NXT 88
4. Hogan's Micro Championship Wrestling 15

WORST MATCH OF THE YEAR
1. STING VS. JEFF HARDY 3/13 ORLANDO 317
2. Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole 4/3 Atlanta 199
3. Kevin Nash vs. Ricky Morton 10/15 Fisherville, VA 35

WORST FEUD OF THE YEAR
1. HHH VS. KEVIN NASH 151
2. Michael Cole vs. Jerry Lawler 94
3. Michael Cole vs. Jim Ross 81
4. Sin Cara Azul vs. Sin Cara Negro 48
5. Winter & Angelina Love vs. Velvet Sky 32
6. Crimson vs. Matt Morgan 29
Hulk Hogan & Eric Bischoff vs. Dixie Carter 29
8. Samoa Joe vs. Pope 19
9. Edge vs. Kane 16
10. Sting vs. Immortal 15

WORST PROMOTION OF THE YEAR
1. TNA 564
2. WWE 67
3. AWE 14
4. Strikeforce 13
5. CZW 13
6. Urban Wrestling Federation 12

BEST BOOKER
1. GEDO & JADO 287
2. Joe Silva 223
3. Mike Quackenbush 128
4. Hunter Johnston 109
5. Gabe Sapolsky 26
6. Konnan 20
7. Vince McMahon 10

PROMOTER OF THE YEAR
1. DANA WHITE 610
2. Mike Quackenbush 42
3. Vince McMahon 37
4. Naoki Sugabayashi 22

BEST GIMMICK
1. C.M. PUNK 160
2. Archibald Peck 107
3. Zack Ryder 83
4. Briscoes 51
5. Kevin Steen 35
6. Alberto Del Rio 33
7. R-Truth 31
8. Sin Cara 19
9. Mark Henry 16
10. Fake Sin Cara 12

WORST GIMMICK
1. MICHAEL COLE 298
2. Zack Ryder 52
3. Eric Young 49
4. Cody Rhodes (bagger gimmick) 31
5. Johnny Curtis 25
6. John Laurinaitis 19
Crimson 19
8. Hunico 18
9. Fake Sin Cara 10

BEST PRO WRESTLING BOOK
1. CHRIS JERICHO "UNDISPUTED" 345
2. Stan Hansen "Last Outlaw" 154
3. John McCarthy "Let's Get It On" 51
4. Jerry Jarrett "The Best of Times" 28
5. Joe Laurinaitis "The Road Warriors" 18
6. Brock Lesnar "Death Clutch" 10

BEST PRO WRESTLING DVD
1. BRET HART VS. SHAWN MICHAELS 335
2. Wrestling Road Diaries 143
3. Memphis Heat 128
4. History of WrestleMania 22
5. Steve Austin Bottom Line 13

[DamageInc]

Wrestling Observer Awards are in this week's newsletter:

LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD (WRESTLER OF THE YEAR)
1. HIROSHI TANAHASHI (417) 2,718
2. C.M. Punk (248) 2,102
3. John Cena (68) 946
4. Masaaki Mochizuki (9) 493
5. Randy Orton (2) 388
6. L.A. Park (51) 326
7. Mark Henry (8) 269
8. Averno (9) 191
9. The Rock (9) 188
10. Davey Richards (14) 185
HONORABLE MENTION: Yuji Nagata 168, Go Shiozaki 102, Eddie Edwards 85

Don't think anyone expected that at the start of last year

MOST UNDERRATED
1. DOLPH ZIGGLER (119) 942
2. Daniel Bryan (112) 840
3. Alex Shelley (82) 741
4. Tyson Kidd (31) 622
5. Drew McIntyre (35) 376
6. Yoshi Tatsu (15) 277
7. Jack Swagger (6) 237
8. Christian (24) 217
9. John Morrison (2) 157
10. Chris Masters (27) 153

I'd definatly agree with most of those

BEST NON-WRESTLER
1. RICARDO RODRIGUEZ (335) 2,357
2. Vickie Guerrero (191) 1,910
3. Jim Cornette (44) 532
4. Karen Jarrett (31) 430
5. Barrister R.D. Evans (6) 269
6. John Laurinaitis (14) 227
7. Truth Martini (8) 185
8. Michael Cole (11) 126
9. Ric Flair (7) 120
10. Teddy Long (6) 117

Ricky Rod

BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER
1. JOE ROGAN (214) 1,386
2. Kevin Kelly (77) 1,058
3. Michael Schiavello (113) 983
4. Jim Ross (112) 952
5. William Regal (65) 733
6. Mike Goldberg (22) 355
7. Scott Stanford (7) 344
8. Jimmy Smith (16) 242
9. Josh Matthews (6) 219
10. Nigel McGuinness (5) 188

WORST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER
1. MICHAEL COLE (568) 3,133
2. Booker T (37) 1,201
3. Jerry Lawler (27) 861
4. Taz (8) 334
5. Mike Tenay (7) 159
6. Josh Matthews (12) 124
7. Matt Striker (1) 92
8. Mauro Ranallo (2) 85
9. Gus Johnson 54
10. Todd Grisham 37

Most wrong thing on the list

MOST DISGUSTING PROMOTIONAL TACTIC
1. WWE BULLYING/BE A STAR/JIM ROSS 183
2. TNA sending Jeff Hardy out when he was loaded on PPV 178
3. Perro Aguayo Jr. faking cancer 140
4. WWE never letting up on twitter during Raw 43
5. Matt Hardy teasing suicide on the Internet 25
6. Jarrett/Angle feud putting up custody of kids in match 22
7. Michael Cole burying talent in commentary 15

If that counts as a promotional tactic then surely that should be the top of the list


BEST GIMMICK
1. C.M. PUNK 160
2. Archibald Peck 107
3. Zack Ryder 83
4. Briscoes 51
5. Kevin Steen 35
6. Alberto Del Rio 33
7. R-Truth 31
8. Sin Cara 19
9. Mark Henry 16
10. Fake Sin Cara 12

WORST GIMMICK
1. MICHAEL COLE 298
2. Zack Ryder 52
3. Eric Young 49
4. Cody Rhodes (bagger gimmick) 31
5. Johnny Curtis 25
6. John Laurinaitis 19
Crimson 19
8. Hunico 18
9. Fake Sin Cara 10

Zack Ryder with one of the best and worst gimmick

[KK]

Has anyone got the WWE's WrestleMania III DVD? Have they edited this out:

[Drumstick]

Just listening to the Review a Wai podcast of Wrestlemania XIX, which features an interview with Brock Lesnar. The Shooting Star Press spot is inevitably mentioned, and Lesnar says that it wasn’t his idea, that it came from John Laurinitis, and that he didn’t want to do it because he hadn’t performed the move in over a year. Apparently Laurinitis took it to Vince and, together with JR they managed to talk him into it, so he practiced it the night before. He notes the problem was that he hadn’t been through a 20+ minute match in practice, and the result of all of this was what everyone saw. Sadly he doesn’t mention if that was to be the finish or not.

I don't know if that was widely known or whatever but I thought I'd post it at any rate.

[Codename 47]

Just listening to the Review a Wai podcast of Wrestlemania XIX, which features an interview with Brock Lesnar. The Shooting Star Press spot is inevitably mentioned, and Lesnar says that it wasn’t his idea, that it came from John Laurinitis, and that he didn’t want to do it because he hadn’t performed the move in over a year. Apparently Laurinitis took it to Vince and, together with JR they managed to talk him into it, so he practiced it the night before. He notes the problem was that he hadn’t been through a 20+ minute match in practice, and the result of all of this was what everyone saw. Sadly he doesn’t mention if that was to be the finish or not.

I don't know if that was widely known or whatever but I thought I'd post it at any rate.

I never heard about that. And to be honest Brock makes a good point, it's one thing practicing a Shooting Star Press while feeling fresh and 100% but it's completely different doing it after a 20 min+ match where you're going to be feeling completely fatigued and banged up. It's a good thing he wasn't more badly injured than he was.

Those awards are pretty interesting. He only wrestles one match and The Rock makes it into the top 10 wrestlers of the year award No surprise he's so high up in the most charismatic list. Never thought i'd see Mark Henry make a Wrestler of the year top 10 list. I think he should be a lot higher in the Gimmick of the year though.

[KK]

Some great botched promos...





And this was edited when it went out on TV (thus Hogan saying the whole line again...only to then strawberry float it up again).

[Mafro]

Did anyone see Barrett on Twitter the other day claiming he had inside info that Papa Shango will be in the Rumble?

[Psychic]

Yeah.

Did he do the same last year or am I imagining that?

[Prototype]

You heard it here first... DDP will be entering the Rumble.