Does Anyone Watch Wrestling? (WWE, AEW, TNA, NWA, etc)

  • Thread starter km
  • 9,229 comments
  • 348,770 views
Becky Lynch was on an Irish chat show promoting her book and she said that Seth has had surgery on his torn meniscus that he suffered earlier in the year, they thought it healed up in time for Mania but he worked with it through the weekend.

Seth is an absolute warrior for that, he was apart of three matches whilst suffering that injury, obviously the tag match on night one and his world title match on night two but he made a brief but important cameo during Cody's title win, I'm wishing him a speedy recovery and hope he has a well earned rest.
Seth was truly the Workhorse Champion.
 
Great match between Ospreay and Danielson on the latest AEW PPV.

When they concentrate on the wrestling they have some good things going on there. Pity they struggle with poor live audience numbers. Maybe they should relocate to the UK, would be sellouts every week.
 
Oooh, these are fun. The new tag titles are nice and a welcome change, and already are some of the best tag belts used currently.
  1. WWF Championship (1988-1998 "Winged Eagle")
  2. IWGP Heavyweight Championship (2008-2021 4th version, WTF Kota...)
  3. The Big Gold Belt (Preferrably Flair's original unbranded one.)
  4. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship (Current iteration, could be higher with a few tweaks.)
  5. AEW Mens World Championship
  6. ROH Womens World Championship
  7. ROH Mens World Championship (2017-2023, why'd they change it.)
  8. WWE Tag Team Championship (Give the globe a bit of color and it'll be better than the old ones.)
  9. Never Openweight Championship
  10. WWE NXT UK Tag Team Championship
  11. WWECW Championship (I don't know why, but it is...)
Yeah, I just wanted to include at least one tag championship, and it would've been either the original one (80s-90s) or this current one introduced on SmackDown. If the new one had just a tiny pop of colour, it would put it ahead in my book too. If I was allowed an extra row on this shelf of 12 (to make it 15), I'd definitely have both.

But jesus christ they have really done the lineage something confusing with the tag titles. Was this mentioned earlier in the thread?

1983-2002 - Initially "WWF World Tag Team Championship" then I believe dropped to just "WWF Tag Team Championship" in the 90s.
2002-2010 - Titles split, the original on Raw named the "World Tag Team Championship", with the new ones on SmackDown named the "WWE Tag Team Championship".
2010-2016 - Unified and defended as the "WWE Tag Team Championship" with WWE carrying the lineage of the newer 'WWE' version, as it has 'WWE' in the name.
2016-2024 - Titles split again, same as before, with the original being made Raw exclusive and renamed the "Raw Tag Team Championship" and new titles introduced to SmackDown as the "SmackDown Tag Team Championship", but were importantly kept separate even during their unification by The Usos and afterwards until....
2024- ... WrestleMania's ladder match which saw the titles go back to their "Original" (2016) brands, and be renamed accordingly to the current singles World titles.

So today's "World Tag Team Championship" started out as the "WWE Tag Team Championship" on SmackDown in 2002, which was introduced because the "WWE Tag Team Championship" became brand exclusive to Raw and was renamed the "World Tag Team Championship"
 
Great match between Ospreay and Danielson on the latest AEW PPV.

When they concentrate on the wrestling they have some good things going on there. Pity they struggle with poor live audience numbers. Maybe they should relocate to the UK, would be sellouts every week.
Might try and check it out later, but... consider me one of those people that want to be sports entertained. That's what my issue with AEW is.

If I want to watch something where it's purely based on "I'm better than you" (which is what AEW seems to do, generally) then.. well, I'll go watch UFC or actual sport.

Professional Wrestling to me is like the missus watching Eastenders, or Neighbours, I need a bit more context to 'why' - which I guess is the WWE way, and why they do it better than AEW.

Which... to me, that's sort of the way HHH is doing things too (the stories centering around more of a sporting context usually) but.. I dunno it just works.

Don't get me wrong, I like that there's a genuine second company for wrestlers to aspire to and more options for them to have a living out of the game, but... I dunno, overall it just doesn't do it for me. I'll check in if I hear/see something that is getting me interested (this match being one. Sting's retirement match was another one. Punk coming in was another) but they just can't hold me in, and I can't seem to pinpoint it other than what I've said above.

It's like when I was younger (like 10-11) and first getting into wrestling, and my family was able to 'obtain' access to PPV's (think The Simpsons get cable), and after about 10 minutes into the opening tag ladder match, I just switched it off because it didn't feel right to me.
 
I have a similar problem but with both WWE and AEW. I don't know why but I can only watch so much before I'm done. It's moreso now than ever, but a decade ago, New Japan on AXS would hook me for the whole show.

Maybe for me it's the stark contrast between the serious and fun bits NJPW would hit, stuff like Naito's drawn out entries or rolling into a pose, sandwiching action where both wrestlers beat each other to a pulp or in the case of the Juniors, almost 10 minutes of athletic/brutal action...THEN they can struggle to win because everyone is reeling.
 
Raw tonight.

Battle royale to determine a new women's World champion.
Gunther returns.
Awesome Truth v DIY-World tag title match.
Ricochet & Andrade v Dominik & JD.

Every women on the Raw roster will be in the battle royale. Liv Morgan, Nia Jax and Becky Lynch all included.
 
I have a similar problem but with both WWE and AEW. I don't know why but I can only watch so much before I'm done. It's moreso now than ever, but a decade ago, New Japan on AXS would hook me for the whole show.

Maybe for me it's the stark contrast between the serious and fun bits NJPW would hit, stuff like Naito's drawn out entries or rolling into a pose, sandwiching action where both wrestlers beat each other to a pulp or in the case of the Juniors, almost 10 minutes of athletic/brutal action...THEN they can struggle to win because everyone is reeling.
Yes, there's a lot of burnout from US Wrestling to be honest. The fact that Raw is 3 hours long (3 hours long) is irritating beyond belief, I very rarely sit and watch a whole show. Smackdown is a lot more bearable, I can do that a bit more often. But for Raw, I only really watch it on the side (like today) if it's a Work From Home day for me on a second monitor.

Have been slowly doing a rewatch from WrestleMania 17 to WrestleMania 19 (currently up to the lead in to Unforgiven 2002), and can actually sit and watch the shows when I sit down for them. I can't do that very often anymore except for PPV/PLE's.
So good for "LOLCharlotteWins" to be given a successor. :lol:
That's a good segue for me - I love lineage lists (did one on the World Endurance Championship recently, which tbh is still a work in progress), but did a full list of "World Champions" and how many reigns they have (at least in my books, there's been a couple small changes) for both Men's and Women's. So... Charlotte is on top of course. Becky is now the second highest of solely WWE branded World Championships.

Can share more in depth later on if you all want - but essentially (for equality purposes) - both Men's and Women's lists feature the reigns from the same companies. I started with the Men's list, and pretty much included any "World Championship" that was either considered THE championship, or at an equal to THE championship at any point in time (however, this means including it's complete lineage, so modern day NWA is still World Championship status). Plus Japan's two largest companies.
So for Men's that list includes:
  • Original World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship, which morphed into the:
  • NWA World's Heavyweight Championship, which theoretically split into the following five titles at some point in time:
  • WWE Championship
  • WCW World Championship
  • ECW World Heavyweight Championship
  • TNA World Heavyweight Championship
  • AWA World Heavyweight Championship
  • WCW International Championship (which I believe is Ric Flair returning to WCW with the NWA Championship before WCW unifying everything into the WCW Championship - before WCW and NWA split for good - I'm summarising that very basically there)
  • AEW World Championship
  • WWE World Heavyweight Championship (WWE recognises the current as separate, but I'm considering it a re-activated title)
  • WWE Universal Championship (I am currently considering it deactivated as of the WrestleMania 38 unification match)
  • IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (and it's predecessors - IWGP Heavyweight Championship, the offshoot interim championship when Brock Lesnar/Kurt Angle wrestled with IGF, and the first iteration of the NWF Heavyweight Championship, + the original IWGP Heavyweight Championship)
  • Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship of All-Japan Pro Wrestling (as well as specifically the lineage of the PWF World Championship that was part of that unification)
Essentially using the equivalents for the Women's World Championships, gives the following titles to use:
  • Original Women's World Championship, which morphed into the:
  • NWA Women's World Championship. This was also recognised as the WWF Women's Championship until they left the NWA, so all of Moolah's WWF Championship reigns (bar the last one) I have recognised as NWA Women's World Championship reigns. Before that happened though, it was split into the following two titles:
  • AWA Women's World Championship
  • WWWA Single's Championship (of the now-defunct All-Japan Women's Pro Wrestling)
  • WWE Women's Championship (from Moolah's last reign up to the Divas title unification in 2010).
  • WWE Women's Championship (current title that Bayley holds, but I am including the Divas Championship lineage in this - this is where Charlotte loses one of her WWE recognised reigns, as to me she just successfully defended her title at WrestleMania 32 and was presented with a new championship belt).
  • WWE Women's World Championship (current Becky Lynch title, plus.... whatever the lineage of the other title was)
  • WCW Women's Championship
  • TNA Knockouts Championship
  • AEW Women's World Championship
  • IWGP Women's World Championship (only a very recent title)
The one question I will answer before you all ask: Yes, Vacant is the most common champion, and has held the Men's World Championships on 78 different occasions, and the Women's World Championships on 35 different occasions.
 
Before this year's Rumble and WM I hadn't sat through a full wrestling show in years. It's probably been over a decade since I watched a whole Raw or Smackdown. Mainly just catch the highlights now on Tiktok. Too much talking, too many dull promos and storylines (hello Bloodline). There's only a few who can do it properly and hold the attention.

Also because I've rarely had access to the channels the shows are on here in the UK. Being able to sub direct to WWE for the PPVs now is great (and much cheaper), and next year when it all moves to Netflix I may become a more regular viewer.
 
Yes, there's a lot of burnout from US Wrestling to be honest. The fact that Raw is 3 hours long (3 hours long) is irritating beyond belief, I very rarely sit and watch a whole show. Smackdown is a lot more bearable, I can do that a bit more often. But for Raw, I only really watch it on the side (like today) if it's a Work From Home day for me on a second monitor.

Have been slowly doing a rewatch from WrestleMania 17 to WrestleMania 19 (currently up to the lead in to Unforgiven 2002), and can actually sit and watch the shows when I sit down for them. I can't do that very often anymore except for PPV/PLE's.

That's a good segue for me - I love lineage lists (did one on the World Endurance Championship recently, which tbh is still a work in progress), but did a full list of "World Champions" and how many reigns they have (at least in my books, there's been a couple small changes) for both Men's and Women's. So... Charlotte is on top of course. Becky is now the second highest of solely WWE branded World Championships.

Can share more in depth later on if you all want - but essentially (for equality purposes) - both Men's and Women's lists feature the reigns from the same companies. I started with the Men's list, and pretty much included any "World Championship" that was either considered THE championship, or at an equal to THE championship at any point in time (however, this means including it's complete lineage, so modern day NWA is still World Championship status). Plus Japan's two largest companies.
So for Men's that list includes:
  • Original World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship, which morphed into the:
  • NWA World's Heavyweight Championship, which theoretically split into the following five titles at some point in time:
  • WWE Championship
  • WCW World Championship
  • ECW World Heavyweight Championship
  • TNA World Heavyweight Championship
  • AWA World Heavyweight Championship
  • WCW International Championship (which I believe is Ric Flair returning to WCW with the NWA Championship before WCW unifying everything into the WCW Championship - before WCW and NWA split for good - I'm summarising that very basically there)
  • AEW World Championship
  • WWE World Heavyweight Championship (WWE recognises the current as separate, but I'm considering it a re-activated title)
  • WWE Universal Championship (I am currently considering it deactivated as of the WrestleMania 38 unification match)
  • IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (and it's predecessors - IWGP Heavyweight Championship, the offshoot interim championship when Brock Lesnar/Kurt Angle wrestled with IGF, and the first iteration of the NWF Heavyweight Championship, + the original IWGP Heavyweight Championship)
  • Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship of All-Japan Pro Wrestling (as well as specifically the lineage of the PWF World Championship that was part of that unification)
Essentially using the equivalents for the Women's World Championships, gives the following titles to use:
  • Original Women's World Championship, which morphed into the:
  • NWA Women's World Championship. This was also recognised as the WWF Women's Championship until they left the NWA, so all of Moolah's WWF Championship reigns (bar the last one) I have recognised as NWA Women's World Championship reigns. Before that happened though, it was split into the following two titles:
  • AWA Women's World Championship
  • WWWA Single's Championship (of the now-defunct All-Japan Women's Pro Wrestling)
  • WWE Women's Championship (from Moolah's last reign up to the Divas title unification in 2010).
  • WWE Women's Championship (current title that Bayley holds, but I am including the Divas Championship lineage in this - this is where Charlotte loses one of her WWE recognised reigns, as to me she just successfully defended her title at WrestleMania 32 and was presented with a new championship belt).
  • WWE Women's World Championship (current Becky Lynch title, plus.... whatever the lineage of the other title was)
  • WCW Women's Championship
  • TNA Knockouts Championship
  • AEW Women's World Championship
  • IWGP Women's World Championship (only a very recent title)
The one question I will answer before you all ask: Yes, Vacant is the most common champion, and has held the Men's World Championships on 78 different occasions, and the Women's World Championships on 35 different occasions.
The only downside of considering the Universal Title deactivated is you nullify Roman Reigns 1000+ Day Reign as his WWE Championship reign only lasted ~700

Though funnily enough even though he lost it, the Universal Title has yet to be deactivated by WWE so Cody is still tecnically a double champion
 
Last edited:
The only downside of considering the Universal Title deactivated is you nullify Roman Reigns 1000+ Day Reign as his WWE Championship reign only lasted ~700

Though funnily enough even though he lost it, the Universal Title has yet to be deactivated by WWE so Cody is still tecnically a double champion
Eh, if I do the days as champion list that I may end up doing, that will just mean they equally mean the length of the total reign.

But, specifically what you just said about Cody, is the reason why I considered the Universal Championship as "deactivated" (which is how I treated the WCW Championship when Jericho unified, and the WHC when Orton unified).
Before this year's Rumble and WM I hadn't sat through a full wrestling show in years. It's probably been over a decade since I watched a whole Raw or Smackdown. Mainly just catch the highlights now on Tiktok. Too much talking, too many dull promos and storylines (hello Bloodline). There's only a few who can do it properly and hold the attention.

Also because I've rarely had access to the channels the shows are on here in the UK. Being able to sub direct to WWE for the PPVs now is great (and much cheaper), and next year when it all moves to Netflix I may become a more regular viewer.
Rumble and Mania are the main ones I'll watch start to finish. Summerslam too, and, yeah just some of the PLE's depending on the build.

I'm glad the broadcast structure has worked how it is in Australia though: Foxtel (essentially our Sky) essentially did an NBC and bought out the WWE Network, so all Raw, Smackdown, NXT, archived footage, and live PPV's at no extra cost (until the end of next year I think it is).
Plus, Foxtel has ESPN, which signed a deal to show AEW Dynamite and Rampage live (where possible, otherwise it's on tape delay) on ESPN + on demand for... I'm not sure how long it stays on for, and then they're supposed to be showing the PPV's 30 days delayed on ESPN Australia/NZ as well (but I haven't seen anything on since All In last year)
 
Though funnily enough even though he lost it, the Universal Title has yet to be deactivated by WWE so Cody is still tecnically a double champion
Even says as much on their own website:
1713863030416.png

1713863140395.png

Not quite as confusing as when UFC had a bunch of interim champions for the same weight class, but it does make me wonder exactly what the plan is here going forward if they don't ever intend to officially unify the two.
 
Becky Lynch won the Women's title in the battle royal,it was predictably Becky, Liv and Nia in the final three but the match was good overall.

Ludvig Kaiser turned on Giovanni Vinci and attacked him, then walked past a grinning Gunther after so Imperium could be split in the Draft. Both Gunther and Drew McIntyre will be apart of the king of the ring. Chad Gable explained his actions from last week and then verbally ripped into Alpha Academy, Bronson Reed attacked Sami Zayn backstage.
 
Yeah its a bummer for Cameron, he was great on NXT but they had no plans for him when he got to the main roster, he seemed genuinely upset about it.

I think there will definitely be more releases in the coming days, especially with the Draft this week.
 
Yeah its a bummer for Cameron, he was great on NXT but they had no plans for him when he got to the main roster, he seemed genuinely upset about it.

I think there will definitely be more releases in the coming days, especially with the Draft this week.
Most likely, and while it definitely sucks for those who get the axe it's also kind of a needed thing because of the obvious roster bloat. It seems to be worse this year than it was in the past few, even with three shows they still don't have enough ideas to go around for all of them or enough time to fit in everyone that's under contract. I'm pretty sure there's a few people that've been listed on their roster page for a few months and haven't even been in a televised match yet.

(Meanwhile, reports say Tony Khan has barricaded his office door with boxes of paper and hooked his printer up to a backup generator.)
 
Back