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[Malvolio]

I know this is an old argument, but I hate the idea of Survivor Series as a glorified Raw vs. Smackdown All-Star Game, with contrived rivalries that will be forgotten within two weeks. I would rather see classic Survivor Series matches that are the culmination of one or two feuds.

[BeastieRunner]

i've always held your opinion in high regard but i just don't see it with those guys.

i thought the match they had with butcher and blade proved the opposite, average team had an average match. actually a little disappointing for a debut. i just can't find anything interesting about them in a time when there are so many interesting teams out there.

Well thank you. I enjoy your opinions as well.

Remember when I said Okada carried AJ to some great matches during his early New Japan run and even pointed out the spots that it happened? And I got roasted? (I wasn't saying AJ was bad, just overrated).

Or when I said Cesaro/Claudio Castagnoli was a genius when he went to NXT and would kill his heat by rolling into super technical headlocks and hammerlocks to kill the momentum he was getting? And it made they other guy look great? (You agreed with me on that one).

The best way I can put it is that FTR are like that. They are the Okada and Cesaro of tag team wrestling. Or dare I say, a bit like the Hart Foundation meets the Road Warriors but without the flamboyant flair of either. Just the work-rate of them.

They have a good knack for accentuating what makes a person and a team tick. They will work their old-school, 80's influenced, fundamentally sound tag team matches to such precision in order to keep the heat on them and their opponents. And they know when to quash something to make the other team look strong. It is a nice change of pace from all the high flying spot monkey-fests that is all over the tag scene right now. It is always great to have a nice mixture in tag team wrestling especially since we get that in singles pretty much everywhere now.

FTR also act like those old-school meat and potatoes heels who do it the good old fashioned way. The flash come from the crispness of their movements. Without being flashy, they still wrestle a crowd pleasing style mostly focused on showing off how good they are. And will always bring out the best parts of their opponents. This simultaneously appeals to the older Internet mark's desire for certain qualities from "the good ol' days" as well the younger Internet mark's penchant for spot monkey-fests. They provide a good balance. FTR is easy to hate but also have that blue-collar workmanship that translate well to face work.

In summary, FTR helped revitalize tag team wrestling by reinventing the craft with a master-class of tandem offense. These two easily teased and angered crowds with their 80's heel tactics, always being able to get a reaction. They rarely look out of sync. The biggest point I think is that FTR do not have anything less than a stellar reputation from their peers. They aired some grievances when they got canned but expressed appreciation and gratefulness for their opportunity. Cody, Omega, and others have already said they are working with the younger people in the back, trying to make everyone better. Hunter and others were openly sad to see them go.

I don't know if that helps. I would dig up some matches to point out some spots of all this but all their stuff is pretty much on a network.

[BeastieRunner]

I know this is an old argument, but I hate the idea of Survivor Series as a glorified Raw vs. Smackdown All-Star Game, with contrived rivalries that will be forgotten within two weeks. I would rather see classic Survivor Series matches that are the culmination of one or two feuds.

I think you could do both.

Have each brand wrestle a few matches that are feud elevators.

Then have 1-2 matches as the MAIN EVENT for the unused big guns in an all-star match.

I do agree. I would love to see more 5v5 used as feud elevators.

[XPac]

The Men’s Match was, whatever. I’m just not a fan of “clean sweeps” in SS matches in general TBF.

Street Profits vs. New Day and Sami vs. Lashley were both really fun.

Sasha vs. Asuka was awesome. They’re both so great.

Bianca, Liv, and Peyton were the highlights of the women’s SS match.

Drew vs. Roman was badass. They had their rolls mixed up in the past. Face Drew vs. Heel Roman is SO MUCH cooler.

It really is interesting how much cooler a match can be by simply flipping the alignment of the wrestlers. They didn't do anything we haven't seen in their previous matches, apart from Drew being able to kick out of finishers now that he's a legit top star... but the match itself was a lot more interesting than anything we've seen from them in the past. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.

And it's cool that Roman won... it leaves a mountain for Drew to still climb down the line.

[XPac]

I got the impression that Reigns (and Jey) are going to get revenge at the entire remaining Smackdown team (other than Rollins) for "failing" to beat RAW.

The one they should REALLY be POed with is Seth freaking Rollins.

The others at least went down swinging. I don't know if it works as a feud since they are both heels, but I'd be way madder at Seth than anyone else.

[Noodle]

It really is interesting how much cooler a match can be by simply flipping the alignment of the wrestlers. They didn't do anything we haven't seen in their previous matches, apart from Drew being able to kick out of finishers now that he's a legit top star... but the match itself was a lot more interesting than anything we've seen from them in the past. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.

And it's cool that Roman won... it leaves a mountain for Drew to still climb down the line.

Roman has changed up his moves slightly after turning heel, using things like the choke, so it does freshen up and add some new dynamics when he faces people he's faced before.

For as much crap as I've given him over the years, he seems to have really embraced this new character and is putting in the work. I think he realizes this could really right a lot of the wrongs he's faced over the years and cement him as someone that actually does deserve to be in the spot he's been given.

[AnakinFlair]

Anyone else find it odd that they brought out all of those guys to pay respect to the Undertaker, only to immediately send them to the back? It was introduce each one (including Kane in full gear ), then cut to video package, then cut to Vince in an empty ring, then cut to Undertaker's entrance. Why bother bringing everyone out then?

Loved how they played his music with the tesla coils first, but man, he deserved to have that send off in front of a live crowd.

[CliffHanger2]

Reigns vs Drew was some epic clash of the titans shit. No real build but Roman continues to prove he's next level and Drew has never looked better.

Finally Sasha getting her due holding on to that title and winning big matches. Let's keep this up.

I agree with Graves about one thing "I luv everything about Bianca Bel Air." Girl stepped up and did the effin thing proving she could roll with the big girls like Jax and Shayna. And R. Truth has to be the most consistently funny comedy act in WWE history also a hell of a wrestler. Enjoyed this event.

[chachi]

Or Reigns vs. Bryan.

Or Reigns vs. KO.

Have to feed someone to Reigns until Rollins wins the Rumble and challenges Reigns at Mania. Rollins will slowly turn face by then.

[Immortal Weapon]

Have to feed someone to Reigns until Rollins wins the Rumble and challenges Reigns at Mania. Rollins will slowly turn face by then.

I don't think Rollins will make the Rumble. His child is due next month.

[Jcogginsa]

I don't think Rollins will make the Rumble. His child is due next month.

Yeah, word I've heard is that he was gonna be off TV after Survivor Series.

Current favorite for the Rumble is Big E

[marshal88]

I know this is an old argument, but I hate the idea of Survivor Series as a glorified Raw vs. Smackdown All-Star Game, with contrived rivalries that will be forgotten within two weeks. I would rather see classic Survivor Series matches that are the culmination of one or two feuds.

i don't care about the feud , what i always loved about those classic survivor series matches were the surprising matchups. do you remember when bam bam was left alone to fight against king kong bundy , one man gang and andre the giant ? last sunday , i enjoyed the matchup between otis and keith lee.

raw has been great so far ...

[Jcogginsa]

My hopes for the triple threat next week are that AJ pins Riddle, and Keith challenges Bobby for the US title and wins it

[marshal88]

bobby looked good against keith lee. always said lee should go after the us title instead of the heavyweight title

[SUPERECWFAN1]

With Undertaker's ending now , a sad deal was the WWE literally had that next mythic monster character and dropped the ball. They just didn't understand how to book this character in New ECW and he disappeared months in. Kevin Thorn would have been perfect as that next generation supernatural type character. Where as Undertaker was the Deadman , you had Thorn who was a dead vampire led by a beautiful witch.

The company released Martinez (who played the witch) over something silly and then let Thorn go. But they were quite a team and could have been special.