WWE: Raw and Smackdown Part 4 - The Paul Levesque Era

[Unholy Diver]

Sure, you can easily see that with Drew, especially considering the story they are telling with him and Punk.

I think Gunther will win in dominant fashion and then go after Cody.

I suppose it is possible, it is just tough to believe they will be serious about them until I see it

Is the whole tournament expected to be at the KSA show, or just the finals?

 

[Sheppy]

Adrenaline
In my soul
I am here
to cut the same promo

 

[CDJ]

they’re releasing a bunch of ppl it would appear (Jinder and Cameron Grimes the biggest names I’ve seen)

 

[Emperoreddy]

The women's belt shouldn't be a participation trophy.

One of the biggest stars and your champ goes down with a serious injury, it makes far more sense to put it on another established big star and draw to hold the fort down. You don't just give it to a mid carder for shits and giggles.

If the plan is to try and get Liv to become a solid main eventer with a heel turn, doing that against Becky makes the absolute most sense.

 

[hockey20000]

glad i missed it due to work would of been pissed watching becky win title again. only way it ends well is if liv beats her for title in next couple months i need a heel liv as champion seducing dominak away from rhea in my life lol.

 

[sansabri]

should've given the belt to the qotr winner

 

[MAHJ71]

are they going to do the long shot every show now?

wasn't a fan of the overly dramatic close ups during the introductions of awesome truth #DIY match

I appreciate and like a lot of the new camera views but they're getting a bit soap opera-y for my taste

 

[GKJ]

The women's belt shouldn't be a participation trophy.

One of the biggest stars and your champ goes down with a serious injury, it makes far more sense to put it on another established big star and draw to hold the fort down. You don't just give it to a mid carder for shits and giggles.

If the plan is to try and get Liv to become a solid main eventer with a heel turn, doing that against Becky makes the absolute most sense.

Especially in a battle royal format where no one actually gets beaten.

 

[Habsrule]

I think with KOTR if WWE takes it seriously they could have a great winner.

They could take it in many different directions;

Have a grizzled vet win it and give them one more run. Shameus, AJ Styles, Randy Orton

Guenther could get his mega push with a win and vault him into title contention.

Have a younger guy win it like Chad Gable. Vault him up the card.

I will also throw LA Knight in there as someone who should win something.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Gunther wins the tournament then moving into the world title picture makes almost too much sense.

They also seem to already be sowing the seeds of him going after Cody with him saying he is no longer the hunted, he is the hunter, which is the exact opposite of what Cody said last week

 

[Jussi]

If he's not released, I hope they do this with Giovanni Vinci:



For context:

 

[Leon Lucius Black]

glad i missed it due to work would of been pissed watching becky win title again. only way it ends well is if liv beats her for title in next couple months i need a heel liv as champion seducing dominak away from rhea in my life lol.

Once I saw Dirty Dom with that moustache, I knew it was only a matter of time that Liv went after him.

 

[Voight]

Adrenaline
In my soul
I am here
to cut the same promo

Laughed out loud at this

 

[GKJ]

I feel confident that Paul Levesque will have better plans for the tournament winners. They're already saying they get a shot at a championship for winning, which I don't think they had before. It's almost how the New Japan Cup or NXT Breakout Tournaments are done.

 

[End of Line]

I feel confident that Paul Levesque will have better plans for the tournament winners. They're already saying they get a shot at a championship for winning, which I don't think they had before. It's almost how the New Japan Cup or NXT Breakout Tournaments are done.

Was 2002 the only time the winner received a title shot?

 

[GKJ]

Was 2002 the only time the winner received a title shot?

It used to be that they got a push, and that either worked or it didn't. 2002 was Lesnar, who they obviously had a specific plan for. It's amazing how it took them that long to do it, and then not really ever do it again because Vince never trusted that the audience would keep up with a tournament and in his mind, took up too much time and thought anyways.

 

[Fro]

Hahahaha

Comparison of Sami's MTL entrances

https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/s/yuphKUgN4a

 

[End of Line]

It used to be that they got a push, and that either worked or it didn't. 2002 was Lesnar, who they obviously had a specific plan for. It's amazing how it took them that long to do it, and then not really ever do it again because Vince never trusted that the audience would keep up with a tournament and in his mind, took up too much time and thought anyways.

Yeah I remember the pushes guys got and the random year Billy Gunn won which was out of left field.

Oh and this is for @Sheppy

 

[Emperoreddy]

HHH books long term almost to a fault, he absolutely has long term creative plans for the tournament.

I really doubt he would bring it back otherwise.

 

[Megahab]

Was 2002 the only time the winner received a title shot?

I believe it was only time where it was specifically mentioned that the winner would get a title shot. There were other KOTR years where the winner got a title shot at that year's Summerslam (1994, 1995, and 2000) but it wasn't specifically because they won KOTR.

I think Booker T in 2006 and Sheamus in 2010 also received title shots very soon after winning KOTR, but again, not specifically because of winning KOTR.

 

[Megahab]

Regarding Jinder Mahal's release, I'm trying to figure out what other former WWE champions have been released in the way Mahal has? As in getting released because they had no use for him. I can't think of any since at least the mid 80s.

Kurt Angle was released in 2006 but he asked for it or WWE was forced to because he didn't want to go to rehab I believe.

CM Punk in 2014 but that was after he walked out himself.

Jeff Hardy in 2021 but I guess he asked for it.

Del Rio got fired in 2014 for disciplinary reasons and asked for his release on his second WWE stint in 2016.

Yokozuna in 1998 but that was because of his physical condition.

I don't know what the story was on RVD exiting WWE in 2014 or why Bray Wyatt got released in 2021.

 

[Emperoreddy]

HHH responded "let's talk"

 

[FriendlyGhost92]

Gunther wins the tournament then moving into the world title picture makes almost too much sense.

They also seem to already be sowing the seeds of him going after Cody with him saying he is no longer the hunted, he is the hunter, which is the exact opposite of what Cody said last week

Not really.

Cody wont be dropping the belt quickly, Gunther shouldn't be losing again so soon, and realistically, Gunther SHOULD be the one to go over Cody.

If Rock vs. Cody isn't the Mania 41 plan, Gunther probably is.

Kurt Angle was released in 2006 but he asked for it or WWE was forced to because he didn't want to go to rehab I believe.

According to Angle, he blew his groin, told Vince he wanted to meet at Titan Towers, was confronted with a bunch of texts he had sent to Vince threatening to kill Vince and that he couldn't remember the texts because he was so high. Then Vince challenged him to a fight and Kurt essentially said if Vince didn't release him he was probably going to kill himself.

He clarified that he meant he was probably gonna OD or die in the ring, not commit suicide, but it's not really clear if Vince knew that's what he meant.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Need to get these joshis under control

 

[BostonBob]

The WWE actually posted the " rules " for the upcoming WWE Draft on their website. I guess this time things will be done seriously.

from wwe.com:

Full list of rules for the 2024 WWE Draft, available pool of Superstars for SmackDown and Raw

The 2024 WWE Draft has returned, and the landscape of the squared circle will never be the same. Here is everything you need to know before the special two-day extravaganza, beginning Friday at 8/7 C on SmackDown on FOX and continuing Monday at 8/7 C on Raw on USA.


RULES OF THE DRAFT

Champions on each brand will be protected and are not eligible to be drafted. As a result, Damian Priest, Becky Lynch, Awesome Truth and Sami Zayn will remain on Raw. Cody Rhodes, Bayley, A-Town Down Under and Logan Paul will remain on SmackDown.

Even though their status as champions allows them to go to both brands, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Asuka and Kairi Sane are eligible to be drafted. They will be assigned to that brand if they lose the titles.

Friday’s SmackDown will feature four rounds of draft picks being announced. Each round will consist of the brands making two picks apiece for a total of 16 picks being announced (8 for SmackDown and 8 for Raw).

Monday’s Raw will feature six rounds of draft picks being announced. Each round will consist of the brands making two picks apiece for a total of 24 picks (12 for Raw and 12 for SmackDown).

SmackDown will have the first pick on Friday, and Raw will have first pick on Monday.

Rosters will go into effect on Monday, May 6, two days after Backlash France.



FRIDAY’S AVAILABLE DRAFT POOL

AJ Styles

Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn

Alpha Academy (Chad Gable, Otis, Akira Tozawa and Maxxine Dupri)

Andrade

Bianca Belair

Bron Breakker

Cedric Alexander and Ashante “Thee” Adonis

Ivar

Jey Uso

LA Knight

Liv Morgan

Nia Jax

Randy Orton

Ricochet

Seth Rollins

Shayna Baszler

Sheamus

The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, Solo Sikoa, “MFT” Tama Tonga and Paul Heyman)

The O.C. (Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson and Michin)

Zoey Stark

* NXT Superstars will be eligible to be drafted.



MONDAY’S AVAILABLE DRAFT POOL

#DIY

Apollo Crews

Braun Strowman

Bronson Reed

Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell

Chelsea Green and Piper Niven

CM Punk

The Creed Brothers (Julius Creed, Brutus Creed and Ivy Nile)

Damage CTRL (IYO SKY, Dakota Kai and Kabuki Warriors)

Drew McIntyre

Final Testament (Karrion Kross, AOP, Scarlett and Paul Ellering)

Giovanni Vinci

Imperium (Gunther and Ludwig Kaiser)

Jade Cargill

Judgment Day (Finn Bálor, Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh)

Kayden Carter and Katana Chance

Kevin Owens

Legado del Fantasma (Santos Escobar, Angel, Berto and Elektra Lopez)

LWO (Rey Mysterio, Carlito, Dragon Lee, Cruz Del Toro, Joaquin Wilde and Zelina Vega)

Naomi

Natalya

New Catch Republic (Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate)

New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods)

Odyssey Jones

Pretty Deadly (Elton Prince and Kit Wilson)

Shinsuke Nakamura

Tegan Nox

The Pride (Bobby Lashley, Street Profits and B-Fab)

Tiffany Stratton

* NXT Superstars will be eligible to be drafted.