Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]
FANatic
Writer, Lover of all things Wrestling. Analytical, Critical, Lovable (hopefully). Lets all have fun!
Posts: 237,306
|
Post by Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] on Feb 21, 2023 22:45:00 GMT -5
This feud effectively killed Nakamura as a main eventer for good The Jinder feud hurt him, but winning the Rumble, turning heel, and then this feud where he inevitably lost at Mania? That was about it Such an absolute waste considering how red hot he began that year Honestly the stuff *after* Mania where dude was fully heel was the worst part cause every rematch it was like WELL THEY GOTTA DO IT NOW and instead Nakamura got his balls caved in during like 2/3 of the matches. The one that ended with both of them punting each other in the balls at the same time and not being able to get back up to a 10 count cause their balls are both so mangled is one of the most absurd things I've ever seen. They also changed his theme to a heel Japanese rap Which, I actually liked as a song, but you could tell the first few weeks, crowds were like, completely deflated When he brought back the original theme you could actually tell how much crowds wanted to cheer him but WWE has moved on I legit am curious if he's going back to Japan after the NOAH appearance, he's just disappeared from WWE TV since.
|
|
Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]
FANatic
Writer, Lover of all things Wrestling. Analytical, Critical, Lovable (hopefully). Lets all have fun!
Posts: 237,306
|
Post by Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] on Feb 21, 2023 22:46:02 GMT -5
I dunno if he was working hurt or what, but AJ was really struggling in general around this time. So many of his matches after the Brock one up until the start of the pandemic era felt like slogs. I always figured dude was both banged up and it was just the natural point where dude had finally started really slowing down after spending so long as the guy that you'd have had to have been almost useless to have a bad match with (sorry Curt Hawkins but yr legend lives on). I'm trying to find the nice way of saying dude fell off like a sack of bricks and it made me sad LMAO The lack of coming out to "Demi Gods" has sapped his strength over the years.
|
|
|
Post by Final Countdown Jones on Feb 22, 2023 0:19:11 GMT -5
I dunno if he was working hurt or what, but AJ was really struggling in general around this time. So many of his matches after the Brock one up until the start of the pandemic era felt like slogs. I always figured dude was both banged up and it was just the natural point where dude had finally started really slowing down after spending so long as the guy that you'd have had to have been almost useless to have a bad match with (sorry Curt Hawkins but yr legend lives on). I'm trying to find the nice way of saying dude fell off like a sack of bricks and it made me sad LMAO I'm not saying Curt Hawkins didn't kind of suck, but it's amazing to me how much the legend of "Curt Hawkins had a bad match at PWG with AJ Styles" extended far past the reach of PWG to just be like an ordinary wrestling take. People who never watched Scrungly Dan fight Timmy Suplex in a 40 minute classic would like crawl out of the furniture to talk about Curt Hawkins having a bad match at PWG with AJ Styles. It just became reality.
|
|
|
Post by EZ: Brainy Bae on Feb 22, 2023 0:25:48 GMT -5
I remember really liking their Last Man Standing match and the build to the first rematch was fun. But failing to win 4 times in a row is going to be lame no matter what. No reason Nak couldn't have had a short run before dropping it back.
|
|
|
Post by Rudy Gobert Fadeaway on Feb 22, 2023 0:40:55 GMT -5
I always figured dude was both banged up and it was just the natural point where dude had finally started really slowing down after spending so long as the guy that you'd have had to have been almost useless to have a bad match with (sorry Curt Hawkins but yr legend lives on). I'm trying to find the nice way of saying dude fell off like a sack of bricks and it made me sad LMAO I'm not saying Curt Hawkins didn't kind of suck, but it's amazing to me how much the legend of "Curt Hawkins had a bad match at PWG with AJ Styles" extended far past the reach of PWG to just be like an ordinary wrestling take. People who never watched Scrungly Dan fight Timmy Suplex in a 40 minute classic would like crawl out of the furniture to talk about Curt Hawkins having a bad match at PWG with AJ Styles. It just became reality. The King of Queens Brian Myers was an experience
|
|
|
Post by 06vwgti on Feb 22, 2023 0:44:47 GMT -5
I remember really liking their Last Man Standing match and the build to the first rematch was fun. But failing to win 4 times in a row is going to be lame no matter what. No reason Nak couldn't have had a short run before dropping it back. It was like the Christian-Randy Orton feud that I wasn't a fan of because the one more time thing and how he lost it so fast.
|
|
67 more
King Koopa
He's just a Sexy Kurt
Posts: 11,530
|
Post by 67 more on Feb 22, 2023 1:58:03 GMT -5
My nephew was really into wrestling for a minute around this time, and I remember he was into Nakamura and Styles specifically. I don't remember him ever bringing up wrestling after Mania 34. Really wonder if those things are connected. To be fair, Mania 34 is my pick for worst Mania. I had more enjoyment watching 9 than I did 34.
|
|
Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]
FANatic
Writer, Lover of all things Wrestling. Analytical, Critical, Lovable (hopefully). Lets all have fun!
Posts: 237,306
|
Post by Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] on Feb 22, 2023 2:09:08 GMT -5
I always figured dude was both banged up and it was just the natural point where dude had finally started really slowing down after spending so long as the guy that you'd have had to have been almost useless to have a bad match with (sorry Curt Hawkins but yr legend lives on). I'm trying to find the nice way of saying dude fell off like a sack of bricks and it made me sad LMAO I'm not saying Curt Hawkins didn't kind of suck, but it's amazing to me how much the legend of "Curt Hawkins had a bad match at PWG with AJ Styles" extended far past the reach of PWG to just be like an ordinary wrestling take. People who never watched Scrungly Dan fight Timmy Suplex in a 40 minute classic would like crawl out of the furniture to talk about Curt Hawkins having a bad match at PWG with AJ Styles. It just became reality. The reason it's so remembered is wasn't it like AJ's first big Indies match being a free agent from TNA in like... years? I feel like it was a really huge deal and that was the Night 1 BOLA match and... it just fell flat It's a good thing Myers is a great wrestling teacher because it's definitely rebuilt his reputation Side note... hang it in the Louvre
|
|
|
Post by Gerard Gerard on Feb 22, 2023 2:16:05 GMT -5
They tended to complicate a lot of AJ’s feuds around that time without ever really getting to the payoff. The Samoa Joe and Kevin Owens followed the same pattern.
|
|
mc74
Samurai Cop
Posts: 2,410
|
Post by mc74 on Feb 22, 2023 2:45:05 GMT -5
All I remember are a ton of low blows and then they had some matches that were just okay. Same, I remember being so hyped at the beginning of the story, then immensely disappointed afterwards.
|
|
mc74
Samurai Cop
Posts: 2,410
|
Post by mc74 on Feb 22, 2023 2:46:43 GMT -5
Didn’t they have a no count out match or something lame like that that ended in a double DQ when they low blowed each other? Backlash 2018 was f***ing trash. Mania that year was super disappointing too.
|
|
Chiral
Salacious Crumb
Posts: 74,032
Member is Online
|
Post by Chiral on Feb 22, 2023 3:47:54 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by Ryushinku on Feb 22, 2023 5:32:06 GMT -5
I feel that Nakamura's absolute peak in WWE was just before his entrance music ended at WrestleMania 34.
Man, that match was such a bummer.
|
|
|
Post by Gerard Gerard on Feb 22, 2023 6:24:36 GMT -5
Also it’s low-key hilarious that this feud was initially built around them going to have a great match then they never got to the great match.
|
|
Mozenrath
FANatic
Foppery and Whim
Speedy Speed Boy
Posts: 121,204
|
Post by Mozenrath on Feb 22, 2023 6:30:36 GMT -5
I was there live for it and it was a big pile of meh. If the heel turn ended with Nakamura getting the WWE title eventually, I would have been okay with it. This is the biggest thing. I feel that if someone, especially a main eventer, is turning from heel to face or face to heel, it needs to be going somewhere specific. A turn for turn's sake is almost always a bad idea.
|
|
lucas_lee
Hank Scorpio
Heel turn is finished, now stripping away my personality
Posts: 6,756
|
Post by lucas_lee on Feb 22, 2023 9:39:11 GMT -5
I was there live it was a sight to be seen
|
|
|
Post by FALLOUT Goldashausen #BLM on Feb 22, 2023 11:02:12 GMT -5
I really enjoyed the many heel Nak interview segments with Renee. It's too bad they happened after the disappointing WM match.
I remember that the heel turn produced a ton of optimism, especially after those promos. But it seemed as if none of their rematches ever came close to the potential of what could have been at WM, let alone their matches in NJPW.
|
|
|
Post by HMARK Center on Feb 22, 2023 11:28:59 GMT -5
I'm glad I got to watch those guys go all out at Wrestle Kingdom 10, but it was another example to me of what I said in one of the other threads here: that I just can't bank on WWE to give me "dream matches", they just don't format matches in a way that get them to that level for me. Everyone: Nakamura vs. AJ Styles is a dream match we can't wait to see! WWE: Let's turn that dream into a nightmare, just like a kick in the dick. It's like AJ's NJPW theme said: "@#$% your dreams, @#$% your life." I always figured dude was both banged up and it was just the natural point where dude had finally started really slowing down after spending so long as the guy that you'd have had to have been almost useless to have a bad match with (sorry Curt Hawkins but yr legend lives on). I'm trying to find the nice way of saying dude fell off like a sack of bricks and it made me sad LMAO I'm not saying Curt Hawkins didn't kind of suck, but it's amazing to me how much the legend of "Curt Hawkins had a bad match at PWG with AJ Styles" extended far past the reach of PWG to just be like an ordinary wrestling take. People who never watched Scrungly Dan fight Timmy Suplex in a 40 minute classic would like crawl out of the furniture to talk about Curt Hawkins having a bad match at PWG with AJ Styles. It just became reality. "Uh, y'know, Scrungly Dan was a draw in the Midwest for a few years there, but when Verne said, y'know, um, 'Scrungly's no shooter, we need a champ who can shoot', they sent Timmy Suplex in there and, uh, I mean, just horrible business, horrible, horrible business, ticket sales in Kalamazoo never recovered, it was like when they put the Horsemen over the Road Warriors in Chicago..." "...So about that Miz TV segment-"
|
|
|
Post by Hulkshi Tanahashi on Feb 22, 2023 13:04:46 GMT -5
Only WWE could take two of the best wrestlers in the world and book them in an awful feud that didn’t feature one decent match.
|
|
|
Post by 1 Free Moon-Down with Burger on Feb 22, 2023 14:27:22 GMT -5
Only WWE could take two of the best wrestlers in the world and book them in an awful feud that didn’t feature one decent match. That mania match was not WWE’s fault. They gave the guys a clear runway to steal the show and they shit the bed
|
|