itsasweater

[itsasweater]

Just found out that Rhea is about to challenge for the championship for the 7th! time since last Summerslam.

Summerslam 2024 vs Liv

Bad Blood 2024 vs Liv

Netflix debut vs Liv

Raw vs Iyo after Iyo beat her for the title

WrestleMania 41 triple threat vs Iyo and Bianca

Evolution vs Iyo where Naomi cashed in

Summerslam 2025 vs Naomi and Iyo will be her 7th championship match as a challenger for the title.

That has to be some kind of record for a calendar year, no?

I will say, they have done a pretty sneaky job of either having her lose by interference/dq or involve her in a triple threat match where she doesn't take the pin. It's a smart way to kind of justify her always challenging, she never lost clean or got pinned in any of those triple threat matches.

[itsasweater]

Not gonna lie, if Liv does come back and help Dom retain, I will get my popcorn ready for the reaction to it. Because, love them or hate them, they will be a topic of conversation on all platforms.

I will be sports entertained.

This is me just enjoying chaos really lol (makes sense why I always preferred the heels growing up and still do).

note: It's okay to like the pairing, it's also okay to not like the pairing.

[itsasweater]

Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about this netflix doc behind the scenes stuff they showing. Obviously, times have changed and every sport is kind of doing these behind the scenes docs but it's iffy for me. A lot of the newer generation fans and wrestlers don't really care too much about kayfabe or keeping it alive, but as someone who grew up loving that aspect of wrestling it bums me out a little, I'm not gonna lie.

It's cool for the fans who don't really care though. Like, we know this shit is scripted and predetermined but pulling back the curtains fully is crazy too me lol

[itsasweater]

I wonder how much longer we gotta wait for HHH/creative to book Dom better. Like, him getting squashed by AJ in 3 minutes with no offense probably means he retains at SS but when is he actually going to be booked more serious, where they actually let him wrestle. That AAA appearance was godly and he goes on Raw and he's back looking like that. This guy is 28, one of the only younger stars on the roster that has a connection with the crowd and he's still out here jobbing to 40 year olds.

Props to Dom for being as popular as he is and getting the reactions from the crowds that he does because his booking sure hasn't helped him.

[itsasweater]

So, what are we thinking is the reason Dom and AJ at NOC is not happening.

Dom is legit hurt

One of them does not want to go to Saudi with everything that is currently happening in that part of the world.

The turn on Dom and Liv was supposed to happen there but they had to scrap it because of Liv's injury.

I think any of the 3 are possible. My first thought was option 3 but now I'm not so sure.

[itsasweater]

Wonder what the hell they do with TJMD now. I figure that the plan was for Liv and Dom to exit the group. It sure seemed like it was heading to an eventual betrayal by Raquel on Liv, either from a jealousy angle or Finn using Roxanne to get in Raquel's head which would then have lead to a Rox vs Liv angle. I still expect Finn to turn on Dom and it really should happen no later then Summerslam, the tension has gone on long enough.

Seen some things thrown around on what they could potentially do with Liv, but I honestly have no idea what creative will decide. They could do what they did with punk when he had surgery and was rehabbing, he popped up on tv here and there to tell the story with Drew before he was cleared to wrestle. She could possible do that with Rox I guess. If Finn beats Dom at Summerslam, you could have Liv come back at Survivor Series in Dom's hometown in November and help him beat Finn to get the title back I guess? The crowd would probably pop like crazy. The final option, one that I could totally see happening is creative keeps her out until the Rumble in Saudi next year, they love to bring back wrestlers who have been out for a long time at the rumble. This option would suck just because of how long we would have to wait too see her back, but if it means she wins the rumble then I guess the wait would be worth it lol.

This all just sucks for Liv, the timing is horrendous considering she was in multiple storylines, Evolution is coming up, Summerslam is in her hometown and now she is going to miss all of that. Her having to go through this again, mentally it must be tough.

I personally hope they can do something like they did with Punk where Liv can be on TV here and there, if she wants too and if her rehab allows it because travelling while rehabbing something like a shoulder can be tough and uncomfortable. It would be a good way for her to stay in the main roster scene though and set up potential stories for when she get's cleared, she is such a good storyteller.

Hopefully, whatever they decide to do with her is good for her health and they put that first.

Would love to hear people's thought's on what you think they do now creatively, with TJMD or Liv or Dom.

[itsasweater]

Dom + a chair seems to be a very real thing now lmao

Him sliding that chair in supposedly for Finn to use looked awfully similar to when he "accidently" helped Liv beat Becky for the title hmmmm

I also find it interesting that Dom never came down to help Finn in his previous matches the last couple of weeks, but when Liv returns he goes to supposedly "help" him lol

Finn thinks his plan is working but boy does it seem like Dom and Liv are on too him and are just playing along, nasty hahaha.

[itsasweater]

I just gotta say this before Raw stars.

There are a lot of downsides for how this Rox and TJMD story could go. They have established 2 things though when it comes to Dom:

Yes he's dumb when it comes to not knowing about Time Zones lol He is smart though when it comes to scheming and making plans, lead up to SS24 as evidence.

Dom is loyal to people as long as they treat him with respect and as an equal (hence his bond with Liv), also is the reason why he turned on his Dad and Rhea/Damian because he felt disrespected and not treated as an equal.

If WWE has Dom get duped by Finn when they have shown in backstage segments that he is on to him/doesn't fully trust him, his facial expressions always change when Finn leaves the room (Liv has also done this), I'm going to be pissed lol If they regress his character I'm going to be pissed.

Are they really doing all this so that the crowd can care about Finn again? They really going to screw up their 28 year old IC champs run for him when Dom's been getting the love from the crowd?

I figure Rox's involvement in this is to get her established on the Main Roster as a lot of the in arena crowd don't really pop for NXT callups, they don't know them like that.

I just feel like Dom, Rox and Liv deserve so much better than where this storyline could potentially be going. Dom is the IC champ, have him wrestle more. Have Liv defend the tag titles or let her face Iyo for a bit since they don't have anyone for her right now, clearly saving her to drop the title to Rhea.

[itsasweater]

I would just like to say, if they have Dom cheat/turn or whatever on Liv it would go against everything his character cares about. Yes, he is some version of Eddie's lie/cheat/steal character but the constant thing for him has been about feeling equal and treated with respect.

He turned on his dad because his dad started bossing him around and not listening to him and took Edge's side. He felt disrespected (he was) and not equal.

He turned on Rhea/Damian because towards the end they started bossing him around and not treating him as an equal. Telling him he can't fight his dad, not letting him bring in help to the group when they all did and not treating him as an equal.

He sided with Liv because she let him be himself, was nice to him and treated him with respect. An equal partnership.

So if they do have him turn on her it would be absolute bullshit because she hasn't done any of the things his previous partners have.

Any thoughts? lol

[itsasweater]

Finn getting Rox to run Liv's playbook is hilarious, especially if this all ends up blowing up in his face lmao

I think Dom and Liv have already clocked what Finn's been trying to do, the backstage segments of them giving him dirty looks when he leaves says it all. Dom and Liv going to play along until it's time.

Just sucks that they are probably going to drag this out and the discourse will be loud smh

[itsasweater]

I'm crying at them having Finn say Dom is acting like Damian and Rhea when he hasn't this whole time lol Finn's been the one bossing around Dom and the group in backstage segments this whole time, not Dom haha

WWE really want to change the narrative because they wanted Finn to be the face in this feud and Dom the heel, but the Wrestlemania reaction Dom got and is getting from the crowds has them worried lol Just pivot man

[itsasweater]

Either y'all are really slow or are new too wrestling, no way y'all believe Liv and Raquel attacked Jade lol This shit is a swerve, Liv and Raquel are a red herring.

When has Liv ever been quiet about something she has done lol She has always bragged about what she does while she has been a heel.

I think it would be a great twist if they both took out Jade, but it was probably just one of them. It's Bianca, if they are running a match with her vs Jade at Mania, or, it's Naomi because Jade eliminated her from the royal rumble last year and she kind of stole her shine and friend Bianca from her. I expect this to all be answered at the chamber where Jade probably comes back and attacks whoever attacked her.

There is a slight possibility that Naomi could have made a deal/hired Liv and Raquel to attack Jade.

[itsasweater]

That was.....

Yeah so, clearly there was a botch with the finish. The ref wasn't supposed to see that but had to call for a DQ because it would look dumb otherwise if the interference was just let go (although Rhea was allowed to be out of the ring for a whole ass minute to beat up Dom without the ref counting her out lol). Supposedly it was the same ref that messed up during Bianca and Jade's match.

This whole shit just goes back to Rhea's booking and how they have protected her since she has come back. It's not her fault, she isn't the one doing the booking but it's officially become a problem if it wasn't already.

Hopefully Rhea and Liv stay away from each other for a while now because it's just been a mess. Creative/HHH are clearly against having Rhea lose clean in any kind of fashion. It's the reason why Dom was even this involved in this feud so that she get's sympathy and get's even more over because the crowd loves to hate him, also an angle/person they can use to cost her matches (Summerslam) so that she doesn't lose clean.

It sucks for Liv's title reign honestly. Creative never really getting to the full story of Liv and Rhea's history until an interview, which was dropped the morning before Bad Blood is just garbage. Talk about that shit on TV, but it all come's back to the protection of Rhea during this whole feud, it has to be said. They don't want her to be the bad guy, even though she is over with the crowd so it is not like they would even really turn on her. Should have just told the full story but no, can't do that. Look at the comments on that video of that interview, a lot of people didn't even know Liv and Rhea were tag partners, and that Rhea turned on Liv. That's why you have to tell the whole story, but I guess they really didn't want Rhea to come out looking bad.

[itsasweater]

I don't know why it's so controversial to say that Rhea's booking is a problem and is the reason why a lot of her feuds have fallen flat because of it when the potential was there for all of them to be really good (especially this recent one with Liv; a lot of history between them). Obviously she is not the one doing the booking, but to act like it's not a problem is just being dense. Hell, she even mentioned that when she was champ, they really didn't have any legit contenders because of how strong she was booked; nobody was a believable opponent. She was the champ and wasn't on the 2023 Summerslam card because of this.

Let's really look at how they have booked this feud with Liv. As soon as Rhea came back from injury, they had Liv running from her, which was certainly a choice when Liv has never been afraid of her. So, the decision was to make your current champ run as soon as Rhea came back. Summerslam comes around and they give Rhea the injured shoulder angle; they have Rhea be the first person to kick out of Liv's finisher (no one ever did before), and finally, with a chair thrown into the ring, she loses after having the finisher done on her with said chair. That's all the ingredients of a protected loss. 

The Raw after Summerslam her and Damian steamroll a group of 5. Now this is kind of understandable because they both just got turned on, but the same thing happened the next week, with making Liv (the champ) run away a lot again. Leading up to Bash in Berlin, Rhea and Damian stood tall all but 1 week against the same group of 5, with them then steamrolling the mixed tag match at Bash. (Funny how when Damian was champ he never defended it clean; he always had interference help, but now paired with Rhea he gets the same Superman booking).

Now we have the buildup to Bad Blood, and they are giving her the injured leg angle as another way of protection, which also included having the champ run away from her while she was on 1 good leg with a crutch; no doubt it will play a big part in the match at Bad Blood. If the theories of Raquel coming back during that match are correct, which seems like a real possibility now that Dom is going to be in a cage, it is safe to assume she will cost Rhea the match because of their previous history, thus Rhea losing, but once again not cleanly, with outside interference just like Summerslam and with another injury angle, just like Summerslam. So another protected loss.

Creative/HHH have failed to really bring up the history between Rhea and Liv during this whole feud. Why? Because that history does not paint Rhea in a great light, and they seem to not want to bring that up, but it does a complete disservice to the feud.

So we have not fully told stories, the current champ being made to run when she has always stood on business and all the protection loss ingredients for what? And people are not supposed to call it out for what it is? This type of booking only benefits one person, it does nothing for the rest of the division. Whenever she wins the title again whose to say that they won't book her the same like last time when this is how she is being booked against the current champ without the title lol

[itsasweater]

Let's dissect EJ and Gina's relationship in S3, episode by episode. Who is at fault for the downfall of their relationship? Is one more at fault than the other? Is EJ, who had just graduated from high school, heading towards college and has had plenty of relationship experience more to blame? Is Gina, the 16 year old (?) going into her junior year, who also happens to be in her very first relationship more to blame? Are they equally at fault? Were too many promises made that were not followed through on/kept? And did the problems that they had in S3 just preview what the future would have looked like for them anyways if the relationship continued.

Ep.1 "Happy Campers":

The gang arrives at the summer camp, including EJ and Gina. They are excited, Gina mentions to Kourtney and Ashlyn that EJ promised the best summer ever (Obviously this promise was made before he knew he was going to have to direct the musical). The group finds out that a documentary is going to be made and EJ gets recruited to fulfil the role as director of the camp musical. This clearly brings a lot of responsibility and pressure on his shoulders. He tells Gina that nothing will ruin their perfect summer even though he was given this responsibility and she says who said anybody would. Ricky immediately shows up on screen right after she says that, so we are lead to believe that it might be him who does but was it actually foreshadowing to EJ possible being the one to ruin it.

Ep.2 "Into the Unknown":

Gina is excited for the musical auditions and is planning on going for a lead role, but Kourtney and Ashlyn think that she is reverting back to her Gina 1.0 days from S1. We get Gina singing the song called “Balance” talking about never going to dim her light or her power and how the real her is going to shine, not the old her or 2.0 her. She also mentions in the song that maybe before she was only half of herself, essentially insinuating that during S2 she wasn’t her true self and was trying to please other people around her instead.  We see Gina get a little jealous of the relationship that EJ has with Val during this episode, but it’s understandable since this is her first relationship and insecurities are going to come out.  Val helps EJ with the casting and takes over that part.  Gina notices that EJ is clearly stressed with having to direct the musical so she tells him that they can take a step back in their relationship if it’s all too much for him, but he reassures her that they are the one thing that he is sure about. This is where EJ starts making assurances or promises that get him in trouble even when Gina gave him an out, understanding that he has a lot on his plate.

Ep.3 “The Woman in the Woods”:

This episode is where we really start to see EJ really struggling with the demanding position as director of the musical, he comes and congratulates Gina on getting a lead role as Anna, but immediately starts spacing out when she starts talking to him.  The group goes on an overnight camping trip that is tradition for the new campers.  Maddox tells EJ that he needs to sing the camp song, and after initially saying no because he has too much work to do because of the musical, he gives in and does it anyway.  I think this is a situation that can be used as an example when it comes to not doing things Gina asked him to do for the future episodes because even though he was busy he still made time for something Maddox asked him to do.  Towards the end of the episode we see EJ in a tent working on the musical and Ricky comes in to ask him about going to see the woman in the woods shrine, followed by Gina also asking him to go but he refuses to do so.  Remember, he had just made time for something Maddox asked him to do, but not his girlfriend. 

Ep.4 “No Drama”:

This episode is where EJ and Gina’s relationship really starts to show its cracks.  Gina asks EJ where Corbin Bleu is and EJ in front of everybody basically embarrasses her by asking her why she doesn’t ask her late night hiking buddy Ricky about where he is.  Clearly, EJ felt a certain type of way about her hanging with Ricky even though he was invited by her to go with them.  The big conflict in this episode starts when we find out that Gina’s mom is moving back to Salt Lake and she is all excited because she and EJ will be living close to each other. However, we find out that EJ received a letter from his dad, who wants him to attend his succession school in St. Louis.  EJ’s plan is to not tell Gina about this until he fixes the problem, basically until he can get out of it, he says this directly to the audience.  When he finds a way out of it he will tell her, instead of telling her right away about it, he tells Val instead. Val even says to him that he has a girlfriend to talk about these things with.  We also see EJ apologize to Gina for not going with her and Ricky on the late night hike, Gina tells him that it’s okay and that it would have been more fun with him.  This is the first of 2 or 3 times where Gina forgives him for not being there and understands why but these kind of things start to pile up as the season continues.  At the end of the episode, we get Gina mentioning during movie night that she hates liars and then she finds the letter from EJ’s dad herself.

Ep.5 “The Real Campers of Shallow Lake”:

In this episode, the campers find out that they have to create drama, reality television style for the documentary.  We see that Gina really does feel a certain type of way about EJ’s friendship with Val because she found out at the end of the last episode that Val already knew about the letter EJ received from his dad about moving to St. Louis, yet he didn’t tell her even though she is his girlfriend.  Gina obviously uses this information to be petty in this episode and uses the performance with Ricky as way to make EJ jealous because of how she feels she is being treated.  After the performance she storms out and EJ goes after her.  They have a conversation outside and EJ asks Gina if he has done anything wrong.  Gina doesn’t mention the letter but neither does EJ, so he is clearly sticking with the plan of not telling her until he gets out of it, choosing not to properly communicate. Gina mentions how she feels like they are having two completely different summers and how she thought they would be spending more time together.  EJ tells her that he knows he has been neglecting her, but he promises that tomorrow will be better.  At the end of the episode we get Gina finally letting it out that she knows about St. Louis and she voices her frustration at being lied too.  This hits her especially hard considering how she told EJ that her mom was moving back to Salt Lake and they were going to live closer together so she was excited, yet he let her think everything was going to be perfect because he chose not to mention the letter to her.  She mentions how EJ is acting like an old version of himself by not telling her things, maybe referencing how he was in his relationship with Nini.

Ep.6 “Color War”:

Maddox and Gina open this episode discussing family problems/relationships with their brothers, EJ walks in wanting to speak with Gina.  EJ tells Gina that he is working on making sure the musical is perfect, he mentions he has a plan (we found out last episode at the end that he made a phone call).  Gina tells EJ that her reason for being mad/upset with him doesn’t have anything to do with the show being good or not, it isn’t about that.  Clearly, Gina’s problem is that EJ was making her feel like he was keeping things from her, like the letter and not telling her about it, but also just not spending time with her.  EJ hears what she is saying when she says that this whole conflict isn’t about the show being perfect and he tells her that putting on a good show means he can convince his dad to let him stay in Salt Lake with her.  Gina, who is feeling like they haven’t spent any real time together at camp doesn’t even want to talk about the future in that moment.  All she wants is to win color war together with EJ, have a win together, spend time together and he promises her that they will.  Once again, this is another promise that he makes to Gina.  We find out that EJ called Ms. Jenn to help with pointers on how to direct a show.  Ms. Jenn’s arrival pulls EJ away from Color War, yet he still promised Gina he would be there for her even though he knew Ms. Jenn would be coming.  We see Gina at the basketball court with Ricky practicing her shot, she mentions to him how badly she wants to win and especially win with EJ but he is nowhere to be found when she hits the winning shot.  At the end of the episode we see Gina ask Ricky to help her with something and it turns out to be a prom proposal to the camps dance.  EJ tells Gina that no dates are allowed to the dance because of the camps rule so that nobody gets hurt if they don’t have a date, so he turns Gina down.  Obviously, EJ isn’t at fault for this because it’s the rules of the camp so they can’t go together officially.

Ep.7 “Camp Prom”

We see Ashlyn, Kourtney and Gina getting ready for camp prom at the beginning of the episode.  Ashlyn asks Gina how she is doing about not being able to go with EJ and Gina mentions that even though it has felt like he has been ignoring her during camp, she is excited because he promised her that he would dance with her or save the last dance for her.  This is once again an example of EJ making a promise to Gina.  The gang is all at the dance and we see that EJ is still going through his binder for the show, asking people about their lines.  While Ricky and Kourtney are talking we see EJ come up to them and ask what Ricky is doing, he mentions that he is trying to become a super hero for his bucket list.  While EJ is talking to Ricky and Kourtney we see Gina join the group and ask EJ to dance but he tells her to wait as he is still asking people for their lines for the show, we see him ask Kourtney for a specific line. We can see that Gina is upset when she asks EJ to dance but he tells her that he will once he is finished giving out the prompts for the show, remember he promised her he would dance with her. Gina is clearly feeling deflated when EJ doesn’t dance with her and realizes that his distractions have made their differences apparent.  She tells him that he missed the last dance and tells him that he has made her feel like a maybe all summer, which results in her breaking up with him.

EJ obviously was given an extremely tough task with having to direct the musical for the show, that wasn’t his fault.  Gina was sympathetic to this seeing how she even gave EJ an out by saying if directing the show and being with her was too much they could take a step back so he wouldn’t be as stressed.  EJ reassured Gina that he could do both, direct the show and be with her (Promise 1).  EJ didn’t tell Gina about the letter yet she forgave him for that, she just wanted to win with him at color war and he promised they would (Promise 2) yet he wasn’t there for her big win.  Gina’s bummed about not being able to go to the dance together with EJ but he promises that he would dance with her (Promise 3), yet he doesn’t.  So yes, EJ was busy with directing the show but very early on Gina was understanding of that, suggesting that they even take a step back so that he could focus on the show but he kept making Gina promises the whole time that he never kept.  All these promises not being kept may seem to be a silly reason for Gina to end things with EJ for some people, but it’s the accumulation of promises made that were not acted on that ultimately became too much for Gina.  For people to put more blame on a 16 old girl in her first relationship is crazy too me.  She said that EJ made her feel like a maybe, and people say that she was never a maybe to him but he certainly made her feel like that.  Her feelings are valid.  EJ made promises all camp and never followed through on any of them yet Gina kept trying until she had enough.  Remember this is a girl who has been told things all her life by her mother, yet her mother never followed through on anything she said.  Actions mean more to Gina than words, and EJ was saying he was going to do this and that with her yet never followed those words up with actions. 

I would advise people to re-watch season 3 because it really helps to see just how this relationship broke down and how they were doomed from the start.  I feel like people forgot things or didn’t notice things during season 3 especially because it was a weekly release.  I am always so surprised when I see people in the fandom put most if not all of the blame on Gina....... really?

[itsasweater]

Looking back, it was very dumb of people to be outraged at the fact that Gina gave Ricky the big speech/confession at the end of S3 as opposed to Ricky. Like I thought the outrage was dumb at the time, but even more so now after re-watching all the seasons and seeing how the show ended. I do find it funny that most of the outrage came from people who didn't even want Ricky and Gina together anyways.

Here's 3 reasons why Gina making the speech made sense, especially if you actually understand her as a character.

Firstly, the simplest reason being she never does anything right the first time. She mentions this to Ricky during the flashback scene that was filmed during S1 but was shown in S2, how she never gets anything right the first time but she just keeps trying. The flashback sort of confession that she made to Ricky was a bit vague, she just says that she wouldn't quit on them if she wasn't moving away. Where as the confession at the end of S3 was more obvious and straight to the point. She essentially spells it out for him, how he was never the plan, he was a surprise and all the moments that they had which made her fall for him. This was her second chance at getting it right after not doing it right the first time.

The second reason why her making the speech made sense was because this time there was risk involved. When she made the first confession she did it knowing/thinking she was moving away so she would never have to see him again. She tells Ashlyn in S2 about what she did/said and that's when we see the flashback. She says that the plane was going down (she was leaving and not coming back) so she decided to do it because there was no risk involved, so she thought. Doing it this second time was different because she knew for sure she was staying, since her mom was coming back and she would have to see him everyday. This confession was full of risk because if he didn't feel the same she would have to see him everyday and be reminded of the rejection if he didn't feel the same about her.

Lastly, words don't mean as much to her anymore, at least they don't hold as much weight as actions do. This of course all ties back to her Mom and saying she is going to be at her performances but not actually showing up, or saying they are not moving but they do. Also what she experienced in S3 with EJ, him promising to do certain events and activities with her but not doing so. She is tired of people in her life telling her they will do certain things but they never actually do, she needs people to take action instead. Which is why when she makes this big confession to Ricky again, she says she will walk out with her head held high and never bring this up again, unless he stops her. She finally gets her answer and his actions mean more than any words would at that point when he stops her and kisses her. Remember, she likes to know where she stands with people.

Also, S3 saw Ricky actual realize he did/does have feelings for Gina but he thought his chance was gone, he didn't know if she still felt that way for him anymore.

Anyways, after she made that big confession at the end of S3, it was obvious that Ricky would be the one to say I Love You first (media literacy). I mean, we already knew that a 4th season was coming.

[itsasweater]

People need to remember that this show is on Disney +, not Disney channel. This season also got bumped up to a tv-14 rating, so it's not surprising that it had more mature dialogue and storylines. I mean within the first 4 minutes of ep1 Ricky's dad made a comment to him that was insinuating something of the mature variety. Like they set the tone for the season right out of the gate lol