Footage has just been released of WWE 2K16, showing that… Â well it’s pretty much the same as all the other ones. Â WWE games have been running off the same tired engine for years now and even with a change in developer, it doesn’t look likely to stop anytime soon. Â Sadly, that engine just doesn’t work and creates an experience that has more in common with a fighting game than a wrestling game.
Roddy Piper
If John McClane had been fighting against a faceless bad guy in Die Hard it’s a safe bet that it, like hundreds of other action films, would have been forgotten instantly.  Hans Gruber made him, because a good guy needs a bad guy.  Roddy Piper was that bad guy.  He was the ying to Hulk Hogan’s yang and it’s a pretty safe bet that without the Hot Rod, Hulk Hogan would never have reached the height of celebrity that he did.  On the week that it came out that Hulk wasn’t the squeaky clean American hero that he wanted us all to believe, Roddy had to upstage him once again.  Sadly, this time he did it by leaving this Earth behind.
Slammiversary
TNA is a mess at the moment. Â Over the last couple of weeks we have seen some of their biggest stars decide to leave the company and they seem to bounce from disaster to disaster. Â Sunday night’s Slammiversary, seemed to sum up all of those problems at once.
Money in the Bank
Money in the Bank always manages to be one of the better WWE events.  The Money in the Bank matches tend to deliver and in the past we’ve had iconic moments, like CM Punk walking out with the WWE title.  However, this year we came into the event just two weeks after Elimination Chamber and such a short build meant that outside of a select few feuds, mainly Cena and Owens, a lot of the build was lacking and felt rushed.  However, WWE was still able to scrape a decent show out of it.
The Future of TNA
Something’s going down in the world of TNA and it doesn’t seem to be a positive thing.  With rumours suggesting that Destination America are set to cancel Impact, the company’s future is on, at best, shaky ground and with the further announcement that ROH will be getting a six month deal to appear on a Wednesday night.  It looks more and more likely that the network is moving on to a cheaper product.  So where do TNA go now?
Samoa Joe
Last night, The Samoan Submission Machine pulled a fast one on pretty much every dirt sheet out there, when he appeared at NXT Takeover: Unstoppable.  This was despite having only recently booked a whole bunch of indie dates for later in the year.  Samoa Joe has been linked with the move to WWE since he left TNA earlier in the year and considering the talent set Joe has, it would have been a huge mistake by WWE not to leap at the chance.  However, we have seen talented guys go in and out of WWE before and you have to ask whether Joe is one of the guy to make it to the top of the ladder?
Payback, what’s the point?
It’s hardly revolutionary to claim that WWE need to cut back on the number of PPVs they do (although with the Network they can’t really be called PPVs now), however Payback was one of those shows that reinforced that point.  The post Wrestlemania season is always a bit flat in WWE, as they take the foot off the gas after the ‘Showcase of the Immortals’ and you can’t help but feel that the long-term implications of Payback are, well nothing.
NXT: A Problem?
I have written a lot about my love for NXT, it is the best wrestling product on TV at this point in time and it is the only one I actually make the effort to watch on a regular basis. Â However, inspired by a conversation on The Art of Wrestling, I want to take a slightly different look at NXT and how its success might actually end up being a bad thing.
Wrestlemania Predictions
I wrote about why, despite all the odds, I was excited about ‘Mania earlier this week, but figured as we build up to the big show I’d do a quite predictions post.
Wrestlemania
So Wrestlemania has again crept up on us and this Sunday the Showcase of the Immortals will once again beam around the world. Â Sadly, the build up has been patchy at best. Â While at other times it has been R-Truth stealing the Intercontinental Championship (seriously, how insane would you have thought I was if I had suggested R Truth was going to be part of the ‘Mania card six months ago?). Â Despite this, I can’t help but be excited by the WWE’s Super Bowl. Â Despite creative consistently shooting its performers in the foot. Â I reckon the WWE will pull this off. Â Why? Â Well let me tell you.
