gl83
Dennis Stamp
Posts: 4,990
Member is Online
|
Post by gl83 on Mar 10, 2022 9:43:02 GMT -5
Dakota & Wendy vs Gigi and Jacy would be fitting: The Oddball Club vs The Mean Girls. And most important of all Cap Kota owes Gigi a punch to the face for getting in her face last November. I remember thinking that little confrontation was going to lead to something in Wargames and possibly lead to the Toxic Attraction/Dakota team losing the match however it didn't really lead to anything at all. Even more odd was the fact that Dakota and Gigi ended up working together quite a bit and without any dissension as they were the first two from the heel team to enter the match (Dakota>Gigi>Jacy>Mandy was the order). Come to think of it none of the teased dissension with Dakota and Toxic really seemed to make sense. Dakota said that she he only helped Mandy win the title to screw over Raquel and not to help her and also made it clear she wanted a shot. However when Wargames come around she just starts paling around them for reasons not explained. It basically just felt like well we have to do Wargames and Toxic Attraction need another heel to complete their team so let's just throw Dakota on it even though it makes no sense. I guess it maybe it could've if they just simply went out of their way to explain it. Like Toxic asks her to be on their team and she agrees but only if she gets a title shot or something to that effect. Instead we got Toxic Attraction walking backstage and then Dakota starting to follow them while mumbling to herself and Mandy was just like "well I guess she's with us". To be fair, a lot of the story points heading towards War Games were never followed up on during the match. You mentioned the teased dissension between Dakota and Toxic Attraction; but you also had the animosity between Io Shirai and Mandy Rose, which resulted in several brawls, as well as the interactions between Kay Lee Ray and Mandy Rose, with KLR staring Mandy down and costing Mandy her match against Cora Jade. Considering everything that was going on between these girls leading up to War Games, you would've expected more between them, instead they barely interacted at all.
|
|
Legion
Fry's dog Seymour
Amy Pond's #1 fan
Hail Hydra!
Posts: 22,862
|
Post by Legion on Mar 10, 2022 11:07:54 GMT -5
Eh, I assume Dolph is just some form of transitional thing. A way to get some attention and heat, without needing to end Bronn/Ciampa or introduce another person in to that mix.
It also gives them an excuse to be on Raw and to talk about NXT on Raw.
I dont think it's a huge problem when you take yourself out of the moment and think about the why-ness of it.
Could there have been a better options than Dolph? Sure - could there have also been worse options? Absolutely, yes.
|
|
mistery
King Koopa
Posts: 11,540
Member is Online
|
Post by mistery on Mar 10, 2022 15:17:25 GMT -5
I think regardless of who is in the women's title match at Stand and Deliver, Mandy absolutely needs to drop the title at this point. She's done nothing with it and I think she's only wrestled like four or five matches since winning it. It's obscene how poor her reign has been.
At least with Io as champion, you were guaranteed good matches and she worked her ass off to put others over even if they were losing. Where with Mandy, the only person who gets over when she wins is herself. If Io is in the match at Stand and Deliver and doesn't win, they should really just call her up at that point. Don't keep her around in NXT if they aren't gonna put the title back on her.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2022 15:25:32 GMT -5
I think regardless of who is in the women's title match at Stand and Deliver, Mandy absolutely needs to drop the title at this point. She's done nothing with it and I think she's only wrestled like four or five matches since winning it. It's obscene how poor her reign has been. At least with Io as champion, you were guaranteed good matches and she worked her ass off to put others over even if they were losing. Where with Mandy, the only person who gets over when she wins is herself. If Io is in the match at Stand and Deliver and doesn't win, they should really just call her up at that point. Don't keep her around in NXT if they aren't gonna put the title back on her. HHH knew what he had in Io thus her wrestling every single woman during her reign and people praise Asuka , Sasha and Bayley carrying through the Pandemic but Io was doing the same damn thing in NXT and not a single match she had was anything less than very good at worst. As far as stand and deliver goes....I think TA is gonna cost them the finals and then they are gonna be thrown into womens title match because leaving that match to Cora Vs Mandy....yea that is just asking for a disaster and just a dull match overall.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2022 15:36:19 GMT -5
Eh, I assume Dolph is just some form of transitional thing. A way to get some attention and heat, without needing to end Bronn/Ciampa or introduce another person in to that mix. It also gives them an excuse to be on Raw and to talk about NXT on Raw. I dont think it's a huge problem when you take yourself out of the moment and think about the why-ness of it. Could there have been a better options than Dolph? Sure - could there have also been worse options? Absolutely, yes. I wish it was Sheamus instead of Dolph, dammit!!
|
|
|
Post by ThankGodForSidJustice on Mar 10, 2022 16:09:40 GMT -5
I remember thinking that little confrontation was going to lead to something in Wargames and possibly lead to the Toxic Attraction/Dakota team losing the match however it didn't really lead to anything at all. Even more odd was the fact that Dakota and Gigi ended up working together quite a bit and without any dissension as they were the first two from the heel team to enter the match (Dakota>Gigi>Jacy>Mandy was the order). Come to think of it none of the teased dissension with Dakota and Toxic really seemed to make sense. Dakota said that she he only helped Mandy win the title to screw over Raquel and not to help her and also made it clear she wanted a shot. However when Wargames come around she just starts paling around them for reasons not explained. It basically just felt like well we have to do Wargames and Toxic Attraction need another heel to complete their team so let's just throw Dakota on it even though it makes no sense. I guess it maybe it could've if they just simply went out of their way to explain it. Like Toxic asks her to be on their team and she agrees but only if she gets a title shot or something to that effect. Instead we got Toxic Attraction walking backstage and then Dakota starting to follow them while mumbling to herself and Mandy was just like "well I guess she's with us". To be fair, a lot of the story points heading towards War Games were never followed up on during the match. You mentioned the teased dissension between Dakota and Toxic Attraction; but you also had the animosity between Io Shirai and Mandy Rose, which resulted in several brawls, as well as the interactions between Kay Lee Ray and Mandy Rose, with KLR staring Mandy down and costing Mandy her match against Cora Jade. Considering everything that was going on between these girls leading up to War Games, you would've expected more between them, instead they barely interacted at all. They did at least eventually follow up on Mandy and KLR just much after Wargames. Going in it did seem like Io and Mandy was the big match they were building to but they really haven't had much interaction at all as Mandy has mainly been beefing with the other three from the babyface Wargames team at various points. Io in general is booked so weird as they are super protective of her in that she never jobs to anyone but yet they don't want to put the belt on her agin either. So as a result she just kind of pops up and picks up random wins over the likes of Tiffany Stratton and Elektra Lopez while not really having much direction. I guess that's why they haven't done a title program with her and Mandy even though that would make the most sense story wise since she's the only face on that Wargames team Mandy hasn't beat yet. I know it's a dead horse that was beaten to death a long time ago but she really just needs to go to the main roster as she would be much more useful there at this point.
|
|
mistery
King Koopa
Posts: 11,540
Member is Online
|
Post by mistery on Mar 10, 2022 16:36:46 GMT -5
To be fair, a lot of the story points heading towards War Games were never followed up on during the match. You mentioned the teased dissension between Dakota and Toxic Attraction; but you also had the animosity between Io Shirai and Mandy Rose, which resulted in several brawls, as well as the interactions between Kay Lee Ray and Mandy Rose, with KLR staring Mandy down and costing Mandy her match against Cora Jade. Considering everything that was going on between these girls leading up to War Games, you would've expected more between them, instead they barely interacted at all. They did at least eventually follow up on Mandy and KLR just much after Wargames. Going in it did seem like Io and Mandy was the big match they were building to but they really haven't had much interaction at all as Mandy has mainly been beefing with the other three from the babyface Wargames team at various points. Io in general is booked so weird as they are super protective of her in that she never jobs to anyone but yet they don't want to put the belt on her agin either. So as a result she just kind of pops up and picks up random wins over the likes of Tiffany Stratton and Elektra Lopez while not really having much direction. I guess that's why they haven't done a title program with her and Mandy even though that would make the most sense story wise since she's the only face on that Wargames team Mandy hasn't beat yet. I know it's a dead horse that was beaten to death a long time ago but she really just needs to go to the main roster as she would be much more useful there at this point. They also had Io crash the post match celebration of Toxic Attraction a few weeks ago, laying out Mandy. But I think WWE is currently in a dilemma regarding her and Mandy. It's pretty obvious they see value in Io. But they also want Mandy as the central focus of the women's division. But feeding Io to her will almost certainly sink that project, and do a ton of damage to Io's mystique, since Mandy is not exactly a woman you put all of your chips on to push as a main face of the company kinda deal. Honestly I'm kinda at the point where this is just the latest in a long line of failed Mandy Rose pushes. If they want to feature her, that's one thing. But she shouldn't be the centerpiece of the division considering she's still this limited even after all this time in WWE.
|
|
knsffa
Team Rocket
Missed This Place and People
Posts: 796
|
Post by knsffa on Mar 10, 2022 16:42:53 GMT -5
I remember thinking that little confrontation was going to lead to something in Wargames and possibly lead to the Toxic Attraction/Dakota team losing the match however it didn't really lead to anything at all. Even more odd was the fact that Dakota and Gigi ended up working together quite a bit and without any dissension as they were the first two from the heel team to enter the match (Dakota>Gigi>Jacy>Mandy was the order). Come to think of it none of the teased dissension with Dakota and Toxic really seemed to make sense. Dakota said that she he only helped Mandy win the title to screw over Raquel and not to help her and also made it clear she wanted a shot. However when Wargames come around she just starts paling around them for reasons not explained. It basically just felt like well we have to do Wargames and Toxic Attraction need another heel to complete their team so let's just throw Dakota on it even though it makes no sense. I guess it maybe it could've if they just simply went out of their way to explain it. Like Toxic asks her to be on their team and she agrees but only if she gets a title shot or something to that effect. Instead we got Toxic Attraction walking backstage and then Dakota starting to follow them while mumbling to herself and Mandy was just like "well I guess she's with us". I agree none of the teased dissension led to anything at Wargames. However, the segment backstage with the...ugh infamous full body jerk...that didn't seem like the start of her paling with Toxic A. Mandy was repulsed by Kai's ticks and just tolerating her cause she was on their team. It felt more like they thought she was beneath them which is the whole Toxic A shtick. Dakota and Gigi worked together a bit in the WG match but toward the end Dakota seemed to shrug the match off after the v-trigger failed and her teammates were losing their sh*t over it. They did plant the seeds for Dakota vs Mandy and all the tension may have very well been more a long term thing. Regardless, there was a lack of follow-up in general to a lot of stuff during the actual War Games match as 83 noted. One thing that did change was after that episode with the full body jerk they toned down and soon did away with the twitches and ticks. The changes took place after Toni Storm did her tweet about mental health that got some notice. Perhaps someone backstage grasped having a character with a hint of mental illness doing over the top ticks was a bad look. At the moment Dakota may be in crosshairs of Toxic A again if Wendy and her make the finals and hopefully win the tag belts. I don't know if I'd rule out Mandy vs Dakota for the title at some point either if Mandy retains at S&D. Was told in the Live Post last week Dakota's ceiling is low for reasons, but if Wendy and her win the tag titles, not sure I believe that. Although I myself have a lack of confidence she'll ever win the Women's Title...I don't think it's fair to completely write off the possibility it could happen like it feels is the popular thing to do whenever Mandy's future opponents are suggested.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2022 16:51:49 GMT -5
If Mandy was being greeted with dead silence like Raquel was as champ every time she came out then, yeah, I could maybe agree that this push is a failure. But she's really over and her in ring work, IMO, has been solid (promo work is still iffy, I'll give people that). Also, she was only ever given one real push on the main roster and that was during the angle with Otis, which was catching on with people until the pandemic started and they started doing shows without crowds.
|
|
|
Post by El Cokehead del Knife Fight on Mar 11, 2022 4:32:30 GMT -5
Surely this couldn't have been the best take. If so then this is hilariously bad acting.
|
|
|
Post by ThankGodForSidJustice on Mar 11, 2022 7:25:35 GMT -5
They did at least eventually follow up on Mandy and KLR just much after Wargames. Going in it did seem like Io and Mandy was the big match they were building to but they really haven't had much interaction at all as Mandy has mainly been beefing with the other three from the babyface Wargames team at various points. Io in general is booked so weird as they are super protective of her in that she never jobs to anyone but yet they don't want to put the belt on her agin either. So as a result she just kind of pops up and picks up random wins over the likes of Tiffany Stratton and Elektra Lopez while not really having much direction. I guess that's why they haven't done a title program with her and Mandy even though that would make the most sense story wise since she's the only face on that Wargames team Mandy hasn't beat yet. I know it's a dead horse that was beaten to death a long time ago but she really just needs to go to the main roster as she would be much more useful there at this point. They also had Io crash the post match celebration of Toxic Attraction a few weeks ago, laying out Mandy. But I think WWE is currently in a dilemma regarding her and Mandy. It's pretty obvious they see value in Io. But they also want Mandy as the central focus of the women's division. But feeding Io to her will almost certainly sink that project, and do a ton of damage to Io's mystique, since Mandy is not exactly a woman you put all of your chips on to push as a main face of the company kinda deal. H onestly I'm kinda at the point where this is just the latest in a long line of failed Mandy Rose pushes. If they want to feature her, that's one thing. But she shouldn't be the centerpiece of the division considering she's still this limited even after all this time in WWE. When was she ever pushed prior to getting sent to NXT? She's definitely getting pushed now as they've clearly been all in on her and Toxic Attraction with them having all the belts and being promoted a ton. I think you could honestly say she's not just the centerpice of the women's division but maybe the brand as a whole including the men as unlike Breakker who was the male chosen for the 2.0. launch she's held onto her belt the entire time and she's frequently positioned front and center on posters including the Stand and Deliver one which also includes a lot of the top male wrestlers on the brand like Breakker and Ciampa. However her whole main roster prior to NXT she was never pushed at all. They had big plans for Absolution however that was clearly just a vehicle to make Paige a big deal again. They didn't care about Mandy and Sonya which was proven true after Paige got injured a few weeks into it and had to retire as they then did nothing with them. Really the only time I think you could say she was maybe pushed or at least close to getting a push was in early 2019 when she had the Naomi feud which I guess she more or less kind of won and had a TV pinfall win over Asuka back when that was extremely rare and a big deal which then led to a PPV title match which was her only singles PPV title during her whole run. Then afterwards her and Sonya did literally nothing of note for a year until the Otis angle which I guess apparently Mandy herself pitched. If she hadn't taken the initiative she wouldn't even got that. Also while it was an angle that got a lot of TV time it wasn't like Mandy was presented as some one being set up for anything great. Really she didn't even wrestle that much as it manily a lot of promos and segments and when she did wrestle she usually lost before finally beating Sonya in the blow off at Summerslam. However instead of continuing to build momentum off that win they instead split her and Otis and put her in a tag team with perennial main roster also-ran Dana Brooke.
|
|
|
Post by ThankGodForSidJustice on Mar 11, 2022 7:43:08 GMT -5
If Mandy was being greeted with dead silence like Raquel was as champ every time she came out then, yeah, I could maybe agree that this push is a failure. But she's really over and her in ring work, IMO, has been solid (promo work is still iffy, I'll give people that). Also, she was only ever given one real push on the main roster and that was during the angle with Otis, which was catching on with people until the pandemic started and they started doing shows without crowds. Toxic Attraction is a guilty pleasure of mine so I'm probably bias but I've enjoyed her as champion. Honestly I've found her more interesting then the previous champs in that at least a women's stable being dominant and having all the belts is fresh and something they haven't done before. Dominant champions who hold the belt for like a year and run train on every one like the Shayna and Io are reigns I just find super boring and don't appeal to me at all. The fact they've done them constantly over the last few years on the main roster as well doesn't help. Then of course there was the Charlotte reign sprinkled in there too because I guess winning the belt 18 billion times on the main roster wasn't good enough so they had to force her down our throats on the non main roster show too. I think Mandy as champion is fine though. She looks like a million bucks, fans react to her, and in ring she's good enough. Like I thought her match with KLR was good and Mandy held up her end perfectly fine in it. Not everyone has to be some workrate marvel who has **** matches every time out to have to be champion. If she has other things going for her and is at least solid in the ring which I think she is then I think it's worth a shot.
|
|