The Wrestlemania Thread - 'It's Real Damn It!'

[Susan Foreman]

Lots of WWE DVD's for as little as 99p in HMV at the moment

[Susan Foreman]

Sika Anoa'i, WWE Hall of Famer From The Wild Samoans and Father Of Both Roman Reigns and Rosey, Passes Away At 79 / Wrestling Headlines

WWE, AEW, TNA, MLW and Many More Pay Their Respects To Sika Anoa'i After His Passing / Wrestling Headlines

[Susan Foreman]

Another month... and another WWE PPV event. This time it was the 15th annual 'Money In The Bank' contest

SPOILER:

• The event started with the Money in the Bank ladder match where the winner got a guaranteed contract for the men's championship. At then end of the bout, it was Drew McIntyre who grabbed the briefcase first, defeating Andrade, Carmelo Hayes, Chad Gable, Jey Uso, and LA Knight
• This was followed by a solid Singles match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship which saw Sami Zayn retain the title when he scored a pinfall over Bron Breakker
• Next up was a short intermission, where John Cena came to the ring and announced his retirement from the WWE. The 'future hall-of-famer' stated that the 2025 Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania 41 will be his last.
• Back to the fighting. There was a stipulation attached to the World Heavyweight Championship match which stated that if Seth Rollins wins, Damien Priest would have had to leave The Judgment Day. But, if Priest wins, Rollins can never challenge him for the title again. But things are never that simple in the WWE, and as the match went on, Drew McIntyre cashed in the 'Money-In-The-Bank' contract he had won earlier in the evening, changing the match into a triple threat one. However, CM Punk also became involved in the match by attacking McIntyre. The bout ended when Damian Priest retained the title by scoring a pinfall over Seth Rollins
• The penultimate contest was the Money in the Bank ladder match where the winner got a guaranteed contract for the women's championship. What started as a match with little cohesion or reason took it's time to click before the 'this is awesome' chants began and an enjoyable melee [which was the better of the two MITB] matches] emerged with Tiffany Stratton retrieving the briefcase ahead of Chelsea Green, Iyo Sky, Lyra Valkyria, Naomi, and Zoey Stark to win the match
• The final bout of the evening was a standard Six-man tag team match with nothing on the line (apart from pride). In true wrestling style, the fight ran through every imaginable wrestling cliche possible - ref knocked out? Check! Spanish announcers table? Check! Everybody who was involved getting to use their finishing move at some point? Check! No selling moves because the wrestler is just so powerful? Check! But all things must come to an end, and eventually Solo Sikoa gained the win for The Bloodline (Solo and Jacob Fatu, and Tama Tonga with Tonga Loa) when he scored a pinfall over Cody Rhodes (who was with Randy Orton and Kevin Owens)

This year's Money in the Bank PPV was mostly predictable although there were some surprises moments. Cena's retirement announcement will be a talking point for weeks

However, having McIntyre cash in and fail on the same night thanks to Punk will be a controversial decision among fans even if it accomplished its goal of generating heat for their feud

The women's MITB bout had some of the biggest highlights of the whole show and made all six competitors look like they deserved to be there.

Even if the main event felt like the kind of match we might see on a random Raw or SmackDown, all six men worked well together to make it a mostly enjoyable performance

As a whole, this was a good pay-per-view that could have been better with a few small changes

The next WWE PPV is the 47th 'SummerSlam' event,at the Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday, August 3, 2024

[Susan Foreman]

We are in August, so we must have just had the annual Summerslam Pay Per View:

SPOILER:

• The event started with a singles match for the Women's World Championship, which saw Liv Morgan defeat Rhea Ripley by pinfall to retain the title.
• The second match was a singles match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship where Bron Breakker defeated Sami Zayn by pinfall to gain the title
• Next was a singles match for the WWE United States Championship, where LA Knight defeated Logan Paul by pinfall to gain the title. During this match, Paul had the rapper Machine Gun Kelly in his corner
• The fourth singles match of the evening followed, this time for the WWE Women's Championship which ended when Nia Jax defeated Bayley by pinfall to win the title. During the bout, Tiffany Stratton ran in and teased a Money in the Bank cash-in... which didn't actually happen
• A standard Singles match was next - the only one which wasn't for any kind of title. It ended when Drew McIntyre defeated CM Punk by pinfall. Seth Rollins acted as the special guest referee here
• The penultimate match was a singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship where Gunther defeated Damian Priest by technical submission to win the title
• The final match of the evening was a Bloodline Rules match for the Undisputed WWE Championship. During the match between Solo Sikola and Cody Rhodes, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa and Jacob Fatu ran in to assist Sikola, but this was matched by Randy Orton and Kevin Owens running in on behalf of Rhodes. The big moment, however, came near the end when when Roman Reigns returned and took out Solo Sikola enabling Cody Rhodes to win the match by pinfall, retaining the title

This year's SummerSlam featured four title changes, two betrayals and a huge return. While this might sound a lot, this years event was highly predictable. Everything that you expected to happen... happened, and everyone you expected to show up made an appearance

It was fun, but that's all

We are back in Europe at the end of the month with the 'Bash In Berlin' PPV, due to be held on August 31st at the Uber Arena in Berlin

[Susan Foreman]

WCW Wrester Kevin Sullivan dead at 74 / Slam Wrestling

[MrBarlow]

Originally Posted by Susan Foreman

WCW Wrester Kevin Sullivan dead at 74 / Slam Wrestling

Was never a big fan of Sullivan, always had a laugh when he went to wrestle Brian Pillman and Pillman broke the fourth wall and yelled out "I respect you Bookerman" and walked out of the ring. R.I.P

[Susan Foreman]

Afa Anoa'i, WWE Hall Of Famer And Bloodline Elder, Dies At Age 81 / Wrestling Inc

[Susan Foreman]

Originally Posted by Susan Foreman

Latest Celebrity Photos | Pictures | Galleries - Hulk Hogan wants Thor star Chris Hemsworth to play him in biopic

Joker Director Todd Phillips Says Hulk Hogan Biopic With Chris Hemsworth No Longer Happening / IGN

I'm sure anyone who follows Hogan, and is aware of the person that Terry Bollea *really* is, knows the real reasons why this is no longer happening !

[Susan Foreman]

Sid Vicious Dead, Former WWE & WCW Champion Dies At Age 63 / Wrestling Inc

[MrBarlow]

Originally Posted by Susan Foreman

Sid Vicious Dead, Former WWE & WCW Champion Dies At Age 63 / Wrestling Inc

Sad news about big Sid, such a great wrestler and one guy to stand up to Vince about Hulk Hogan, yet suffered one brutal leg injury.