Timbo Slice

All about the music videos. Back then, the music licensing stuff was a non-factor in many respects, so Paul was all over the grunge music for the big-time music video packages he put together. The entrance music was definitely good for some of the acts (I forever associated "Man in the Box" with Dreamer), but not all of them. Heyman time and time again talked about how the music of the era was a big component of the brand.

Joe's been announced for ROH's tour in March, including WrestleMania weekend.

God, people really forget Taker faced A-Train and Big Show in a handicap match and that the match almost had Nathan Jones in it and they're complaining about Wyatt?

I'm down for that one if it happens. I think that would be an awesome series for sure.

The part that concerns me is if it gets out that Brock has re-signed before Mania and Vince thinks it's apropos for Reigns to go over to swerve everyone. Vindictive vindication: It's the Vince McMahon way.

Kabuki spits the mist in Kelly's eyes, only to have Abs come out and lick it off her face. Go.

Yeah, but you're saying we're all putting the cart in front of the horse when the guy driving the damn thing undercuts a lot of the ideas Triple H has. I'm not by any means saying he's a savior. But Triple H himself has said on more than one occasion that the lack of a collective vision on the main roster has made his job very difficult. He's had to be the guy telling talent that plans that were laid out in front of him are no longer gonna happen because Vince has changed his mind numerous times. The reason why the talent is being given the benefit of the doubt is because right now, without question, it's the best roster NXT has ever had. It's not even really close, either. But that talent getting a chance to shine doesn't happen without a guy giving them the opportunity to do so. If Triple H's hands off approach is what he feels is best, then it's working because people enjoy the product. He doesn't have to be 100% involved. He's more of a delegator with NXT than anything else, and he definitely deserves credit for that. The promise is coming from the idea that Vince has shown that for many years now that he doesn't care about many people's ideas other than his own. This idea of the crowd controlling the show being bad is a ridiculous notion considering that the greatest box office draw in the history of pro wrestling only happened because of crowd reaction. The difference? Vince HAD to push Austin due to not having any alternatives at the time. If he wanted to make money to overtake WCW after the Hogan turn, he needed to take a risk. He's not taking a risk now. He's gonna push the guy that he feels has the opportunity to have a wider fan base at the expense of the hardcore fans that are more prevalent at big shows and are subscribers to the Network. Meanwhile, Triple H is over here running the only product WWE has that's catered specifically to hardcore fans. They are vocal (not a "vocal minority" anymore, either) and are quick to show their displeasure with aspects of the product they don't like. And yet every three months, people on here love the newest NXT event while you have reaction shows for Royal Rumble and now Fast Lane that shit on how the main roster shows are being presented. And a lot of that has to do with this perceived notion of the largest amount of possible fans a show can have and them catering to what has been proven to be a non-existent larger non-hardcore fan base. The people who are fans at this point are really tuned in to the product. This idea of them reaching out and attracting newer fans isn't going to happen by forcing someone down the fans' throats. It's gonna happen like it did 20 years ago when Austin was white hot, you couldn't do anything but push him and Vince feels threatened to do something new at the risk of losing what he's worked for. I don't think he's threatened by what's happening in NXT, but I also think it's gonna have to take a big hit at the box office for him to try something new. We'll see if that happens with Reigns.

Has anyone heard if NXT is doing a show WM weekend? I've been looking and can't find any info.

Yeah, Rollins is cashing in. No doubt about it. Set up Seth/Roman for the summer.

Guess we get Orton/Rollins at WM.

If you haven't seen the 6-man from this past week's TV, make sure you do so. A lot of fun, high-paced stuff, plus an all-time crash and burn blown spot with AJ and ACH.

I'm still thinking Rollins cashes in at WrestleMania.

I don't get the idea of them hiding weaknesses, though. Not all wrestlers are going to be well-rounded. Triple H even said that not everyone who comes through is going to be seen as a top-level guy. They're basically looking for things that work, and then go with what works. If it means you're a mid-card guy, you'll go as a mid-card guy. The thing is that right now, there are plenty of guys who have a shot of being above the midway point in the card, it just depends on how things break for them. And JR implemented the system, yes. Ace didn't do much from a development standpoint. He was the conduit between the main roster and the development system, but the decisions he made weren't really on him. They were more collective when he was in charge. He was a great producer, but that was the extent of his talents. I don't think much happened when he was in charge, which is why they handed it over to Triple H.

People forget Baron Corbin was a legit 350 before he cut all that weight.

He lives in Orlando and has a flourishing real estate business where he gets most of his income, which means wrestling can be a passion project for him. If Kevin Owens is any indication, Joe could get into shape pretty quickly at the performance center. The NJPW/ROH combo seems like the best money-making bit, but NXT is looking like a totally worthwhile option if money isn't an issue mainly because of proximity. He'd be a good fit and would be a great agent.

Alfonso Morales ruled. Fukuzawa ruled. Only foreign announcers I can think of.

I'm too biased towards commentary because I always see potential and always want it to be better and because of my own background, but there's very few commentators in history who knew how to get things over to the point where it added to the product that wasn't overbearing, grating or over the top. The best guys from a pure standpoint are normally the color guys who can get over characters. Brain and Regal are the two that come to mind immediately. Ross, Solie and Russell are the best ever from a PBP standpoint, but we're talking about a small number of guys that knew what should be done when they were behind the microphone.

He would be a great get for NJPW. He won't go to WWE unless he's willing to take the pay cut. It's weird to think of him, Hero and AJ as freelancers right now.

Do people think Christian was as good a TV worker during that time frame as Rey was beforehand or Sheamus was after the fact? Is he considered a bridge for best TV worker WWE had at the time?

Good stuff, Chad! Really enjoyed it. Hope we get another one soon. Doesn't hurt that you and I line up on Japanese wrestling together, either.

Ray Stevens was the first guy I thought of. Would love to see more stuff from guys like Beyer, Rogers, Rikidozan, too. But Stevens seems like a guy where if more stuff from him showed up, he'd be considered an all-time great the way people talked about him.

I liked that Charlotte bridging back paid off for Sasha. Totally caught me by surprise that it was the finish. Thought they were going the passout route. But let's do this main event.

They went overboard down the stretch at points but the finish was white hot.

Ugh.

Brock re-signing is definitely not set in stone. WWE can't hand out another contract like they did to Brock and I can imagine Dana will be ready with a pretty large sum for a minimal amount of fights. Precedent has already been set and I can't see Brock going backwards unless UFC shortchanges him, which they might very well still do. That was a weird crowd last night and it wasn't exactly a positive for Bryan, because his whole argument of the title shot is based on the fact that the crowd is partisan almost to a fault with him. I do have the feeling that since he was asked who he'd like to work with before being put in this spot in the first place that they'll give him the opportunity to work Ziggler if they feel like he's not gonna be in the main event. That being said, I can't believe that they're not doing the money match between Brock and Bryan in the first place. It's about as big a non-Cena/non-Taker/non-Triple H matchup they have right now. I think this actually helps Reigns more than it hurts him. This idea of needing to have an awesome first title reign isn't completely necessary. Hell, Bryan getting shafted turned into one of the best moments in recent wrestling history for a lot of fans. Actually giving Reigns an opportunity to get back something that he feels was stolen from him gives his character way more depth than we've seen since he went solo. Him chasing Rollins all summer would be pretty great leading up to SummerSlam.