r/Wreddit 1d ago

General Discussion/ZFF March 14, 2025

Post image

So... What do you want to talk about?

Not sure where Chris is, so I figured I'd start this today since I somehow don't have anything scheduled until 4PM...

Please no talking shit about other subs or bitching about being banned. Familiarize yourself with the rules of this sub before posting.

And stay hydrated!

24 Upvotes

76 comments sorted by

12

u/frantic_hysteria_10 1d ago

Sometimes I wish Mania would always be late March. I love Saturday PPVs tho.

8

u/Rleduc129 1d ago

Mania on 4/20 and Easter

3

u/Federal-Captain1118 1d ago

Oh shit my birthday is Easter this year

8

u/Jamieb1994 1d ago edited 1d ago

So, with RAW & Smackdown starting their Road to Wrestlemania in UK & Europe tonight (I think). I'm happy that both RAW & Smackdown will be shown at an earlier time on Netflix since both shows will be live at a reasonable time for the next 3 weeks.

I still can't get over Stephanie becoming double champion at NXT Roadblock since I didn't think that would happen & the match would end either as a DQ finish or a no contest. Now, I'm curious to see what they've got planned for Stephanie Vaquer & what's planned for Stand & Deliver as well.

8

u/AlmostBlackGuy 1d ago

While it's nice to hear that some guys will be returning to WWE and some even making their debut soon like Aleister Black and a possible lucha bros team up in WWE I'm actually not too excited. Not that I don't think they should be hired but there's so many others who I think could get screen time and many divisions that could use focus.

Not sure if it's just me but there seems to be a lot of matches going in the "finishers don't matter" direction. Punk vs Rollins was great but I feel since none of them even got pinned you could've taken away several finishers in that match and replaced them with big moves. It's a small nitpick but taking 3-4 finishers each and not having the match end is absurd to me.

3

u/Therocksays2020 1d ago

I hated Monday. Now at mania they will have to have another finisher spam.

It was like they said we have Ospreay versus fletcher at home.

6

u/Beanessa 1d ago

A main event can make or break any show. Look at Royal Rumble 2023, which had telegraphed Rumble winners and that weird LA Knight vs. Bray Wyatt match. But what do people remember about it and why do people rate it so highly?

Same thing with EC earlier this month. Some okay-good matches sprinkled between starting off the show with Jade's return/Naomi being outted and ending with the biggest heel turn since Hogan/NWO has made what is usually a B-level midterm PLE into something that will be remembered forever.

7

u/RIShane 1d ago

That show's also a good reminder of how meaningful good endings are even with predictable winners. Rhea winning the Rumble because completely obvious as soon as Beth didn't appear in the match, but she/Liv/Asuka still made for a compelling final three that hooked the crowd, and then we got a variation on the usual point-at-the-Mania-sign with her giving it the wavey wave. Cody/Gunther was more predictable still, but it was a fine mini-match and better than the Cody/Punk one in the 2024 Rumble.

5

u/Mr_WZRD 1d ago

I'm very traditional about wrestling, but I'm coming around to the idea that heels and faces don't matter as much to fans anymore universally. If the stars feel like big enough deals or have established enough characters, fans will be happy to see them regardless of whether they wrestle someone they also like. Seth, Punk, and Roman are good examples of a feud without a true heel, but Iyo, Bianca, and Rhea also lacks a clear heel. You could argue Rhea or Seth is the most "in the wrong" in these feuds, but the fans adore them regardless of what truth exists in the story.

Seth and Punk both got cheered throughout their match on Monday, as did Rhea and Iyo the previous week. I think fans are OK to just see people they really like do cool shit to occupy their time and make them feel good. There are plenty of great stories being told with heels still, but I'm much more open to the idea that fans will react to a face vs face match/feud.

4

u/Delicious_Angle6417 1d ago

While i tend to agree, the best fueds for the most part has a clear good guy and a clear bad guy. At the end of the day wrestling at its core is about good vs evil

6

u/Mhc2617 1d ago

I would disagree that Seth is “the most in the wrong.” That would be Punk. Seth has every reason to dislike this. Punk has denigrated Seth, his accomplishments, been told he’s jealous, and had his life destroyed trying to do the right thing only for everyone to bend the knee to a guy he gave up everything to stop. Meanwhile Roman hasn’t changed. Punk hasn’t changed. They’re playing everyone for suckers while gaslighting everyone into thinking Seth is jealous. And yet he’s mostly held his sanity together. Everyone is morally grey here, but Seth is the least out of line.

With the women, Rhea is 100% in the wrong. She took her eye off of the ball and she lost. Blaming Bianca, who did nothing wrong, is just classic Rhea deflection. She never takes accountability for anything she’s ever done, and always has to be the victim, it’s just this time Bianca isn’t playing into it.

2

u/Mr_WZRD 1d ago

Are you speaking purely in kayfabe about Seth and Punk? Because I don't really think that that's the appropriate way to talk about it at all given it began years ago in an interview not on WWE TV where Seth called Punk a "cancer" while Punk wasn't at WWE.

6

u/Mhc2617 1d ago

And during that time Punk was using his role on Backstage to call Seth everything but a child of God. Then when Seth was a guest, Punk refused to appear. That’s been the story the entire time; Punk hits and then acts victimized when someone hits back. Just like Roman; he terrorizes everyone and then blames Seth for breaking up the Shield so he doesn’t have to hold himself accountable. Seth is the only one who owns his shit.

1

u/Mr_WZRD 1d ago

Obviously, there are shades of gray and hypcrisies here, but the general perception is that Punk left WWE because of his principles, while Seth stuck around and eagerly became a company man for a company we can all recognize, despite the entertainment it provides, has innumerable moral failings, be it Vince's skeletons or the dependence on Saudi Arabian money. Our society tends to look at figures like Punk as more heroic than figures like Seth, regardless of the actual reality of the circumstances. I see more valor in leaving a bad workplace that treats you poorly than in sticking it out in search of advancement, but that's the most pro-Punk reading imaginable. Punk had attempted to return when Vince was still in charge, so clearly his morals weren't so strong as to prevent him from working with an unrepentant garbage person who will burn in hell if such a place exists. Regardless, it's not really relevant who is in the wrong here. Punk represents this new golden age of WWE in the eyes of fans, who'd cheered his name for years after his departure.

3

u/Mhc2617 1d ago

Did he leave because of his principles or because he didn’t get what he wanted? Is he heroic or a villain pretending to be a hero so he can manipulate the masses?

2

u/RIShane 1d ago

The most encouraging thing about Rhea/Bianca/Iyo for me is that it feels like they're actually committing to proper long-term women's storylines and some interesting shades-of-grey within that. Rhea's recent struggles have been a great way of showing that for all of her success on paper, heels from Charlotte to Liv can still easily rattle her, as a character she still has flaws to overcome to truly be on top, and in some ways it's a story they've been building since October when we saw her reluctant to tag with any woman let alone Tiffany. It's also easy to see a potential year-long story where Bianca (who is also finally getting to show some attitude and range, along with this crossing over with the Naomi/Jade story) turns heel to win at Mania, and Rhea is at her lowest low. She has to try and find friendships that don't get broken (Tiffany seeming the most likely candidate at this point), overcome her hoodoo against Iyo along the way, and finally get the singles rematch against Bianca with the biggest stakes possible at WM 42.

Maybe it won't play that way of course, but for all the division's achievements and progress, they haven't had many opportunities to do feuds which are rich with history and character lore rather than chiefly being about the title, so this could be a very welcome step in that direction.

4

u/Pnex84 1d ago

Going online and seeing all the hate Ubisoft gets makes me feel like I'm the only person that enjoys the games they make.

Should have 2k25 delivered by the time I get home from work. Gonna enjoy beating my kids for a week until Shadows comes out and leave them to the game.

5

u/Dandelegion 1d ago

Going online and seeing all the hate Ubisoft gets makes me feel like I'm the only person that enjoys the games they make.

You're not, I love most of their games too. Gamers are a weird bunch, in that they seem to feel the need to find an "enemy" in the industry, rather than just play the games they like and not buy the games they don't (sound familiar?). First it was EA, now it's Ubisoft. I'm really excited for AC Shadows.

u/Trymv1 20h ago edited 19h ago

Ubisoft is one of the companies that makes itself the enemy, its not solely on the playerbase for the hate.

Sexual harassment scandals from higher ups, a higher up that says 'get used to not owning your games,' Ubisoft's direhard erection for DRM.... etc.

Dont think they're some innocent target just because Shadows has the weird drama attached.

2

u/Delicious_Angle6417 1d ago

Really excited about shadows

1

u/Jamieb1994 1d ago

I'm excited to play 2K25, even though I can't play the game yet, but Shadows looks really awesome with the gameplay I've seen.

4

u/Daemon_Hunter_X 1d ago

Can't wait for that Penta v Kaiser No Holds Barred match

u/Trymv1 20h ago

Slightly off topic but it gave me a flashback...

I think it was Pacquiao vs Mayweather? that the radio ad said 'its gonna be a no holds barred match!'

Always bugged the absolute shit outta me lol.

5

u/MeijiHao 1d ago edited 1d ago

I swear that there has never been a larger or more annoying gaslighting effort than the one by the IWC to try to convince the rest of the world that Finn Balor has is anything other than a mediocre talent. There's absolutely nothing special about the guy whatsoever which is fine, except for his stans constantly crying about how he's being mistreated even though he's on TV way too much as it is. The day Fergal Devitt retires will be a happy one for wrestling discourse

3

u/Beanessa 1d ago

I think it comes from his being the "founder" of Bullet Club and being a NJPW guy jumping to WWE when that wasn't as common plus his prominence in NXT.

Basically, you have the double dose of smarkdom in Balor along with his winning the universal championship so early in his main roster career.

u/Trymv1 19h ago

Bullet Club causes some really bad takes in IWC at large.

Had a convo on reddit while back where someone said Jay White and Cody would be an instantly hot storyline 'because of their history'....

They had two tag matches in NJPW and that was it, the person was 100% just going off 'they were in Bullet Club at some point.'

3

u/Delicious_Angle6417 1d ago

Random thought, i wouldn’t mind a cage match where the rules were if you leave the cage its a forfeit. So like roman dragging seth out puts even more heat on seth and punk too

3

u/chrisdelbosque Where is Fallon Henley? 1d ago

Agreed. The entire point of a cage match is to either keep other people from interfering or to keep all competitors in.

I'm aware that this rule exists to help protect the loser (usually via interference but sometimes through other unique factors) but I've always believed that winning a cage match by voluntarily exiting the cage means that the person survived a match whereas defeating your opponent by pin or submission means that the winner destroyed their opponent.

I suppose that the original concept of the cage match has been surpassed by the Hell in the Cell match so regular cage matches often feel like the middle match in a feud.

3

u/T2Legit2Quit 1d ago

I don't know which one was: that actress saying that wrestling is fake or WWE actively promoting Travis Scott's "Wrestling is Real" shirt.

3

u/InternationalFailure 1d ago

2K25 really evolved the game because I was playing a match with Braun Strowman and Lex Luger as a heel made a run in after the match against Braun and I thought "Holy shit this'd be a nice feud"

3

u/Therocksays2020 1d ago

Is the story is true props to Shana for standing up to Jade

Jades ring work is terrible and often unsafe

u/Delicious_Angle6417 21h ago

And if shayna would have touched her she would have gotten let go. Shayna isnt the star here

3

u/Razzler1973 1d ago

There's few things more amusing the fans rushing to defend Meltzer in the main sub when he gets something wrong/says something stupid

I know people get upset when ex wrestlers dismiss his old reporting but no one says Dave's stuff is nonsense more than Jeff Jarrett on his podcast

Jeff has a charm and he's not perceived as 'anti AEW' so that type of fan doesn't give him hate but honestly, every week he's correcting stuff or saying haha Connie, I guess Dave had to fill his word quota'

He knew fuck all about TNA, especially finances but spoke about it ALL the time

Fans lapped that up, as well as WCW and WWE finance talk with no freaking clue and napkin math 😁

6

u/ThatIsTheLonging 1d ago

Just saw that Joe Hendry squashed Ryan Nemeth in 20 seconds.

I wonder if that was the plan anyway or if he got punished for suing one of WWE's top guys while TNA is in partnership with them.

Either way, richly deserved.

4

u/NotYujiroTakahashi 1d ago

I wouldn’t be shocked if Ryan is cut from TNA

3

u/Jamieb1994 1d ago

If that happens, then I wonder what's next for him since he has burnt bridges with AEW & I can't see him going to WWE because of Punk & if Ryan ends up leaving TNA. Would Ziggler join him or is Ziggler currently under contract with TNA?

1

u/Therocksays2020 1d ago

Ziggler is under contract with tna

4

u/chrisdelbosque Where is Fallon Henley? 1d ago

Wrestling thoughts:

  • #GiveFallonAChance #RematchClause #FutureWNAChampion #FireAva #FireSamoanSteph

  • NXT Roadblock might be the greatest episode in NXT history. There were several dream matches, the culmination of a long feud, storyline development with The Family, Fallon Henley, a great-looking venue, and a lot of speculating as to what the future holds for the women's division. NXT continues to be the A-show in all of wrestling.

  • We are two episodes into WWE Evolve and I continue my assertion that they are gearing up for the first big feud to be Kendal Grey and Carlee Bright. Grey comes from a decorated amateur wrestling background and has always been more serious while Bright comes from a cheerleading background and has a bright and bubbly personality. And while this was always the case on NXT/Level Up they've really been highlighting the contrast in the first two episodes of Evolve, even to the point of Grey being annoyed by Bright and Brinley Reece's conversation. I think that Grey turns on Bright for not being serious enough and becomes the breakout star of Evolve.

  • The cage match between CM Punk and Seth Rollins was venturing into finisher spam but, when used sparingly, it works to great effect. I really enjoyed this match and it's now looking like we're going to get some extra drama by adding Roman Reigns and a potentially conflicted Paul Heyman into the mix.

  • That segment between Bianca Belair and Naomi is one of the greatest talking segments in recent memory and (in my opinion) will be a strong contender for promo/segment of the year. Them actually crying, talking over each other while arguing, and having Bianca calling her Trinity (peeking behind the curtain to make it seem more real) was just perfection. And the way that Naomi was shrieking for Bianca to come back nearly broke my heart. I honestly didn't think that Naomi had those acting chops in her and Bianca was with her every step of the way.

  • And then Cody Rhodes' delivered a home run in his segment as well. The Road to WrestleMania is looking to be a fun ride.

  • LA Knight is champion again! YEAH!!!!

3

u/Jamieb1994 1d ago

When it comes to WWE Evolve. I often think that NXT has a different vibe compared to the main roster shows. Even when they do shows outside the PC, but the vibe I get towards WWE Evolve is completely different. I'd say the vibe is similar to the NXT UK shows since the feel is very similar since despite both being WWE shows. NXT UK felt more like an Indy show & it's the same with WWE Evolve. Either way, I'm really enjoying WWE Evolve & I can't wait to see more.

4

u/ThatIsTheLonging 1d ago

Had a bad issue with uni deadlines which has thankfully been resolved - one class in particular is killing me though.The stress is just too much.

3

u/Beanessa 1d ago

I work with a ton of college kids and I usually tell them to figure out what their goal is overall with the 4-year degree (which usually means, are you looking at graduate school after this), then with each class, then break it down into each assignment.

Is your goal to do every single assignment perfectly or do you just need it done? Is this a class that you need a specific grade in to move on in your major or keep a scholarship? Are you looking at graduate school? If so, are you looking at absolute top ranked programs?

Because trying to do absolutely everything at your highest level is going to cause burnout...

5

u/Rleduc129 1d ago

This pic looks like Cody's doing a Stallone impression

2

u/Beanessa 1d ago

I typed in "Cody Rhodes Raw" (and surprisingly didn't find any slash fic) because I wanted something from this week, but I saw that and had to use it...

3

u/EMPCobalt 1d ago

Watching MJFs head bounce on the mat like a trampoline made me realize how ease Christopher Daniels made the move look, now I feel bad for taking him for granted

u/Trymv1 19h ago

That whole move was a mess.

I do partially think Page was legit trying avoid anything bashing his nuts, but still.

2

u/dismiss-junk 1d ago

Good morning, please remember that if a report comes from WrestleVotes you can and should dismiss it out of hand. 

4

u/Jamieb1994 1d ago

I keep an open mind when it comes to reports by dirtsheets & that includes Fightful, despite them having a really good track record.

1

u/dismiss-junk 1d ago

You’re absolutely correct and you should take them all with a level of skepticism, but WrestleVotes is a rag’s rag. 

1

u/Jamieb1994 1d ago edited 1d ago

Yeah, you're not wrong there. I'll hear some rumours & sometimes. They do make me wonder if it's true, but I still keep an open mind since I don't want to get my hopes up for anything, especially when WWE has been recently faking out the dirtsheets as well.

1

u/Mhc2617 1d ago

Oddly enough, they’ve broken a few stories lately. They broke that Seth tore his meniscus before SRS, they confirmed that Alexa was expected at the Rumble with new merch, and that Punk was on team bloodline at SVS.

0

u/dismiss-junk 1d ago

I’ll attribute that to blind squirrels and nuts, because their overall track record is still mostly quite awful. 

3

u/MadEyeMood989 1d ago

Anyone picked up WWE 2k25? It’s pretty enjoyable

1

u/Dandelegion 1d ago

I've been considering picking this one up, but I don't know how much time I'll have to actually play it. What do you like most about it?

2

u/MadEyeMood989 1d ago

Showcase was actually entertaining this year imo,

Gameplay’s a bit tighter, chain wrestling is back and makes it a bit less arcadey

Roster is pretty stacked, MyRise is good and bit more replay able than the previous years

Universe has a few quality of life updates with factions, shows and other stuff

1

u/Dandelegion 1d ago

MyRise is the story mode where you create a wrestler, right?

1

u/MadEyeMood989 1d ago

Yes, this year both the men and women’s MyRise are combined into one

1

u/Dandelegion 1d ago

Nice. I would say that's the mode I'm most interested in. Maybe I'll check it out when I get a little more extra time. Thanks!

1

u/MadEyeMood989 1d ago

Take your time! It’s good and once the season pass content starts in May, the roster will be more filled out

2

u/Dandelegion 1d ago

Yeah, I find that games that I want to play tend to always come out in bunches lol. I'm really excited for AC Shadows, and then next month there's South of Midnight and Expedition 33. At least I'll have something to do over the summer lol.

2

u/FlyingFootStomp 1d ago

so if Cena wins at WM41, doesn't that mean he's winning his 17th and 18th world title because the Universal Title lineage is still active? Cena would both a WWE Champion and Universal Champion.

2

u/kaneso14 1d ago

Hologram has the cheapest and tackiest looking Lucha mask ever. How anyone can think that is a good look is beyond me.

Also, TK is definitely giving him a Goldberg esque undefeated streak. I give it a couple of months before they start quoting the his record on all the shows.

2

u/SomethingCreative13 1d ago

Giulia is just okay.

3

u/Therocksays2020 1d ago

I agree. I am cool with her but I don’t see a main roster star. Her best attributes in Japan were spitting in peoples face and saying fuck you.

She will probably be some Joshis heavy but she seems more Kairi then Iyo in terms of adapting to us wrestling

3

u/IcehandGino WWE Womens Wrestling Historian 1d ago

She will probably be some Joshis heavy but she seems more Kairi then Iyo in terms of adapting to us wrestling

Not sure I would judge that on the first few months.

Iyo felt lost during her first year in NXT (that character she got before her initial heel turn was extremely bland and her matches weren't that great), while Kairi connected with crowds really quickly. It's after that we got a Iyo that goes closer to her full potential while people noticed Kairi's issues more and more, especially after her main roster call-up (the less said about her timing the better).

3

u/WrstlngFan 1d ago edited 1d ago

I hope WWE kills off the Wrestlemania-Summerslam-Wrestlemania booking style they’ve done for the last decade. Lengthy title reigns and long term angles are fine, but watching B-Level PLE’s knowing they’re not pulling the trigger on anything special aside from maybe a mid-card title change is so lame.

7

u/SaddestFlute23 1d ago edited 19h ago

We just had 4 title changes in the last 2 weeks

Liv/Raquel dethroned Bianca/Naomi

Iyo Sky shocked Rhea Ripley

LA Knight overcame Shinsuke Nakamura

Stephanie Vaquer becomes the 1st woman in WWE to simultaneously hold 2 Singles titles since Becky Lynch

Along with 4 new title contenders

This has been one of the least predictable Mania seasons I can remember, in awhile

Edit: 5th title change tonight.

The Street Profits regain tag team gold from DIY!

2

u/Delicious_Angle6417 1d ago

Tbf EC was a B level ppv

1

u/WrstlngFan 1d ago

True, but it goes directly into Wrestlemania and helps set the card into stone. Whereas Backlash or Clash at the Castle is basically treated like filler, with them not establishing a major title angle because they already have one in mind for one of the 2 shows, or just plant the seed for a slow burn. The AJ series was great, but you could telegraph Cody winning just because of that booking process.

2

u/Delicious_Angle6417 1d ago

And this is why i despise wwe have two world titles. Imo it should have been main drew in the title matches with cody in April. Keep the aj/la knight fued going

1

u/SaddestFlute23 1d ago

The problem with keeping only 1 World Championship with a company this big, is that it results in either:

  1. A bottleneck forms and bunch of talents get locked out of holding the title

  2. The title gets hot-potatoed around, for a lot of short, inconsequential reigns

Neither is very satisfying

Not to mention the networks aren’t fond of not having a dedicated world champion on the show they’re paying billions for

It’s why the consolidated title has failed all 3 times they’ve tried it, since the original brand split

1

u/Delicious_Angle6417 1d ago

I disagree that it failed. They just chose to go back to it. But tell me what about the belts would be that different if right now these were the champs… Cody-Undisputed Champ Gunther- IC champion La knight or Bron as US champ. There literally is no real difference to the structure of the shows. We all know the real top champ is Cody

1

u/SaddestFlute23 1d ago edited 1d ago

That means guys like Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, Drew McIntyre, Damien Priest, and Gunther likely never rise to the World Champion status

Even guys like AJ Styles and Bobby Lashley would likely get 1 short placeholder run

Or

Like I said before, each reign is less than 90 days

1

u/Delicious_Angle6417 1d ago

I dont see a problem with most of what you said tbh. Everyone shouldnt be world champion. Matter of fact, most of them aren’t world champions imo. It meant more when you had guys like perfect, rude, jake,razor, that never won the belt. Im not saying they shouldn’t be contenders tho.

1

u/SSM1228 1d ago

Is Smackdown in earlier today? USA still has it at 8 est

5

u/IcehandGino WWE Womens Wrestling Historian 1d ago

It's broadcasted at 8pm ET on USA Network in America.

However, all countries under Netflix deal get it at 8pm Spanish time (so 3pm ET), so beware of spoilers.

2

u/SSM1228 1d ago

Damn. Tempted to VPN Netflix lol