The Wrestling Thread: WWE WrestleMania 31 [NSFW]

[Baron Zemo]

iMPACT is airing right now on Bravo 2 , and @ 9PM Slammiversary is airing until 1am

CU@1

[sw26]

Quick question: anyone got the Summerslam 98-99 Tagged Classic release here? If so, if the picture quality on SS 98 slightly 'off'?

Maybe it's just my eyes, but it almost seems like the picture is zoomed in ever so slightly which makes everything appear to be blurrier. I know there have been some releases (circa 97/98 from what I hear) where the quality of the master tapes they use obviously hasn't been that great and I don't expect it's a fault with my disc alone, but I thought I'd check anyway.

[Johnny Ryall]

I have it, I can't remember if that one specifically has problems but some of the tagged classics are far from pristine.

[Chocolate Jim]

SmackDown!:

* Vince McMahon is out to open SmackDown. He complains about Milwaukee, shows a video of the Donald Trump firing and brings out Teddy Long. Long announces that the main event with be "Rage in a Cage" with Edge & Chris Jericho vs. Jeff Hardy & Rey Mysterio with CM Punk as the special guest referee. McMahon then put Smackdown general manager Teddy Long on probation.

* R-Truth b. Shelton Benjamin
- Truth gets the win via pinfall.

* They did a backstage segment with Rey Mysterio, Vince and Long.

* Later tonight we will have John Morrison vs. Punk.

* Michelle McCool & Alicia Fox b. Melina & Gail Kim

* Vince and Punk were backstage. Vince is watching everything.

* We'll see Dolph Ziggler vs. The Great Khali in a No DQ at The Bash.

* Morrison beat Punk. Punk hit The GTS afterward.

* Josh Matthews interviewed Chris Jericho backstage.

* Jim Ross & Todd Grisham rundown The Bash in the ring.

* Edge & Chris Jericho b. Jeff Hardy & Rey Mysterio
- Solid match with lots of back and forth action

How good does this all sound!

[Rog]

Morrison beats Punk Could this be the start of the push?

[Jam-Master Jay]

But that does sound like another solid Smackdown.

[Skippy]

Morrison beats Punk Could this be the start of the push?

Maybe. I'd love to see them headline Summerslam but that's a big ask. I think if Punk ends up being a dominant heel then Morrison should be the one to stop him, however not as early as Summerslam. I definitely think one of them will be winning the Rumble though.

[Psychic]

Thanks PP, I really can't guess what names fit those spoilers now.

[Skippy]

Morrison and Punk in case you guesed wrong. ENJOY!

[Return_of_the_STAR]

SD does sound very good.

Also i've just read on rajah.com that WWE have told announcers to refer to Codes & Dibiase as Legacy instead of Priceless from now on.

Plus as a matter of interest, what sites do u all use for news, rumours, spoilers etc.. i use Rajah.com mainly but i'm concerned about it's security as my virus protection keeps telling me i should avoid the site for numerous reasons, mal-ware, viruses, pop-ups.

[Chocolate Jim]

SD does sound very good.

Also i've just read on rajah.com that WWE have told announcers to refer to Codes & Dibiase as Legacy instead of Priceless from now on.

Plus as a matter of interest, what sites do u all use for news, rumours, spoilers etc.. i use Rajah.com mainly but i'm concerned about it's security as my virus protection keeps telling me i should avoid the site for numerous reasons, mal-ware, viruses, pop-ups.

wrestlinginc.com pulls together a nice selection of sites without throwing wwe divas man boobs in your face everytime you click a link

[Rog]

The Bash is this Sunday so it's time for the GRAPL predictions. But first a recap of the rules. I suggest some of you read this as every question I was asked during the bonus round was already addressed in here. Never be afraid to ask a question but don't be a lazy sod either.

GRAPL is simple to play. The Friday before every WWE PPV this year I'll post up a prediction sheet. You enter your predictions and post the sheet. For every one you get right you earn points and points are tallied up on the leaderboard. If you are top of the leaderboard after Wrestlemania next year then you win!

Same as last year you can change your predictions as many times as you like up till the 11pm Sunday deadline. Anyone found to be editing posts after that will be disqualified from that PPV. Any changes to the PPV after I've posted the prediction form will be ignored and the predictions for that match will be null and void. You can enter as little PPV's as you like.

Here is the leaderboard as it stands (in pauper text )

Overall Leaderboard

Zellery - 41
Brick Tamlin - 40
Adam Pollard - 37
Mockmaster - 36
Balloon Sod - 35
Return of the star - 34
AJ STYLES - 32
sw26 - 31
Lucien - 31
Sykes - 31
Corazon - 31
Drumstick- 30
Dark Dragon 64 - 29
Lonestar - 29
Irene Demova - 27
KKLEIN - 26
Blackouthero - 26
Trugamez - 26
Ironmaiden - 25
Teh Bork - 25
E-man - 24
Jim - 22
Prototype - 22
Gaminglegend - 20
Psychopriest - 20
Cropolite - 18
Ginga - 5
Baronzemo - 2

Remember that it's a rollover on the mystery prize so it will be worth double what it was. I'll reiterate the rules that if a tiebreak occurs and only one person enters then the prize goes to rollover. You can't win titles by forfeit, that's the rules in WWE and sports. If it misses Raw then a tiebreak for Smackdown is impossible as there are spoilers out early.

Excessive moaning will be met with a swift kick in the bollocks.


We're at the quarter final stage now. Zellery and Cropolite are on a bye and don't join us again until Night of Champions for the semis. Who else will be there?

We have:
Brick Tamlin and Rog Vs sw26 and Balloon Sod (Winners face Zellery and Cropolite)
Adam Pollard and E-man Vs AJ Styles and KKLEIN
Return of the Star and Corazon Vs Irene Demova and Mockmaster

Winners recieve 2 bonus points and progress closer to the epic 6 point grand prize.

WWE: The Bash
Unified Tag Team Champions Carlito & Primo vs. Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase
Winners:
John Cena vs. The Miz
Winner:
The Great Khali Vs Dolph Ziggler
Winner:
Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio
Winner:
Women's Champion Melina vs. Michelle McCool
Winner:
ECW Championship Scramble Match
Winner:
Last Loser:
Mark Henry to be interim champion at all?
Prediction:
WWE Champion Randy Orton vs. Triple H
Overall Winner:
Winner of wrestling stage:
Winner of falls count anywhere:
Winner of stretcher stage (N/A is valid):
World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy (worth 2 points)
Winner:

WWE: The Bash
Unified Tag Team Champions Carlito & Primo vs. Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase
Winners: Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase
John Cena vs. The Miz
Winner: The Miz
The Great Khali Vs Dolph Ziggler
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Women's Champion Melina vs. Michelle McCool
Winner: Michelle McCool
ECW Championship Scramble Match
Winner: Christian
Last Loser: Tommy Dreamer
Mark Henry to be interim champion at all?
Prediction: No
WWE Champion Randy Orton vs. Triple H
Overall Winner: Triple H
Winner of wrestling stage: Triple H
Winner of falls count anywhere: Triple H
Winner of stretcher stage (N/A is valid): Randy Orton
World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy (worth 2 points)
Winner: CM Punk

[Cropolite]

I don't know if it's TNA's brilliant action or Bravo's ridiculous piss-take on advertising content - how the hell is Slammiversary going four hours?

[Zellery]

So the winners of the tag battle this round receive a further two points on top of the two points they get for coming 2nd and 3rd last round? They get double points then over the team who went through on a by last round.

[Rog]

So the winners of the tag battle this round receive a further two points on top of the two points they get for coming 2nd and 3rd last round? They get double points then over the team who went through on a by last round.

Each winning team in this round get two points. You're not competing so you don't get the points. You've got a bye instead and have more chance of winning the 6. There's no risk for you this time around.

[KK]

I don't know if it's TNA's brilliant action or Bravo's ridiculous piss-take on advertising content - how the hell is Slammiversary going four hours?

Bravo insert an hour's worth of commercials, thus I always Sky+ it & fly through the ads. It's almost unbearable watching it 'Live'.

Some UK ratings news for once, courtesy of BARB, via DigitalSpy:

(week ending 14th June)

RAW pulled in 53,000 Live and 43,000 for Thursday, ECW following managed an abysmal 18,000 & SmackDown drew 28,000 on Friday (SD really has dive bombed - it used to be numero-uno over here).

TNA iMPACT! drew 35,000 viewers on Bravo.

[Johnny Ryall]

They should put smackdown back on Sky 1. I am not paying for Sky Sports just for WWE.

[Return_of_the_STAR]

They should put smackdown back on Sky 1. I am not paying for Sky Sports just for WWE.

Agreed, SD really does need to get back on Sky One. I can't see it happening though because it's ratings are soo low Sky just won't do it. But they don't realise that if it was on Sky One it's ratings would climb massively.

[Cropolite]

I remember back in 2000, Smackdown on Sky One was iconic, I'd actually look at my watch at 11am on Friday in school and say "This time tomorrow I'll be watching Smackdown " - everyone was into it.

[Hank Scorpio]

WWE: The Bash
Unified Tag Team Champions Carlito & Primo vs. Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase
Winners: Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase
John Cena vs. The Miz
Winner: John Cena
The Great Khali Vs Dolph Ziggler
Winner: The Great Khali
Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Women's Champion Melina vs. Michelle McCool
Winner: Melina
ECW Championship Scramble Match
Winner: Tommy Dreamer
Last Loser: Jack Swagger
Mark Henry to be interim champion at all?
Prediction: No
WWE Champion Randy Orton vs. Triple H
Overall Winner: Triple H
Winner of wrestling stage: Triple H
Winner of falls count anywhere: Randy Orton
Winner of stretcher stage (N/A is valid): Triple H
World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy (worth 2 points)
Winner: CM Punk

Majority guesses FTW.