Timbo Slice

For a PPV that was panned coming in, they sure have done a good job so far.

I hope they keep this going between the two of them. Really awesome stuff.

That was fantastic.

I'm just wondering if the proof lies within the assumption that because wrestlers are better athletes now, wrestling is better. Because that's not the case. Because if that's the case, that renders about a half-century of wrestling a moot point. Which it shouldn't.

A fantastic match and while Tenryu is the star, Sasaki is REALLY good in this role. It's weird to see him do so well here and then a year later in 2001 he's so underwhelming, but he stepped his game to another level here. Watch this match and the Kawada match 10 months later and you would totally think Sasaki is a world-class worker. Just that those other 9 months in-between get in the way.

God, I want this to happen. If WWE had an Uncle Ruckus character, I'd buy all the merchandise.

It really comes to whether or not the educated fan wants entertainment or athleticism. I'm not saying it has to be all work rate-y and moves-y or whatever. I'm saying that there has to be an understanding with those types of fans. You can't insult their intelligence. You have to give them a product that makes them want to come back. The reason why the Bryan stuff worked for a few months is because it was the best wrestling trope there is: an underdog overcoming adversity. That didn't have to do with whether an educated person with money was a wrestling fan. That's something anyone can get behind regardless. But stuff like Bryan going up against Kane like he is doesn't work. Those types of personalities just aren't appealing nowadays to those types of fans. Unfortunately, like others have alluded to, for "outside the box"-type fans to want to watch, the people making wrestling happen would have to completely change the way they do business. With Vince still around, that's not going to happen, and even when he's done, I don't think you'll see Trips stray too far away from that, either.

I don't think they'll do anything like that. An interim champion is an interesting idea, but considering he'll be back before MITB, I think after Payback, he'll be able to be a part of the build-up no problem.

God, and I thought my subscriber estimation of 800k was high. They want at least 2 million for 2015???? They expect to double the Network subscribers in 18 months? I might ask John if he can drop that Konnan quote we love so much...damn.

I thought I remember hearing end of April/beginning of May, but that might have changed at some point.

Hogan/Sting at Starrcade. For me it's not really close. Expecting Michaels and Hogan to have anything resembling a good match at that point is a bit much.

I just watched him in the incredible Steamboat/Rhodes vs. Enforcers tag from Clash XVII and he was so great in that match. Really hamming it up, really solid work in the ring, especially with cutoffs, great selling...he was a joy to watch with Arn. I've never understood him being loathed, as I thought he was at least a good wrestler for a lot of what I saw him in.

Well, now if payoffs are becoming an issue, this is really going to make things difficult for a lot of Bryan's top-tier challengers. He's already faced Trips and Orton enough. The only other big ticket guy he has is Lesnar, really, and even then, Lesnar isn't someone that you can see coming back after his contract is up next year after WM. Even then, it's pretty obvious that Cesaro is going to go over him at some point, too. The Kane stuff is filler until they get past Payback, where they can run MITB and then really put something big on the cards for SS, where Bryan will most likely see Lesnar. Problem is that the Wyatt stuff isn't happening the way it should be, too, as I'm guessing they were hoping Bray/Bryan would be something to build towards at some point.

That was Flair/Funk at GAB '89. Great spot. I think Tommy did that on a regular basis.

I think if you look closely in the Kawada/Kobashi TC match, you can see the leash Kawada uses to carry him. God, what a horrible booking decision that was by Baba.

Man, that sucks. First time I saw that vid, it warmed my heart.

Not really, especially considering that Roman has long been considered the top guy in the group. The guys you mentioned weren't pushed as singles guys for years. Hunter putting over Reigns works well enough, although now that Bryan has beaten him and he's the top guy, you wonder how they would even make a match between him and Reigns mean much.

I'd still put Aja's 94 above 95 for the Kansai match in January, the amazing Queendom tag and then the match with Toyota in November. Bryan's year was great, but Cesaro's was better from an in-ring standpoint in 2013.

Rey in 09 is pretty ridiculously awesome. Flair and Luger in 89. Kobashi in 93. Hokuto in 93. Aja in 94. Taue in 95 is a good one, too. Lyger had a great 96 that was kind of unsung, as did Ohtani. There's some people who loved Mariko Yoshida in 98 (IMO, she was fine, but nothing too crazy to write home about). US is tough once you get to the 1990s. Eddy in 95 maybe? Scorp in 93? Samoa Joe in 2004 was really fun but I don't think it's up to snuff. Danielson in 06 maybe? I always loved this question. A definitive list would be neat to see.

Thought that was assumed by this point anyways, that DTV only agreed to carry WM at basically the last minute and that after that, no more?

Renee's superb. She's a huge fan of the business, knows how to keep things fresh, I really like her as an interviewer. http://regressing.deadspin.com/wrestlemania-xxx-box-score-every-suplex-chair-hit-an-1560958251/+kylenw So Mookie might find this interesting. It's really basic, but this is actually some of the stuff I'm interested in from a statistical standpoint, where you actually look at the content of everything from ring entrance to final bell. Gives you a good idea of what to think about when you see matches and how they like to be built.

Hall looked great here. You could tell he was amped, gave a good speech. Nash was good here, too. I was actually expecting a lot more, but this was enjoyable.

This might be the weirdest thing I've ever seen from the WWE. T gives a heartfelt speech while setting up that it might be long-winded (giving people a reason to think he's going to talk for a long time) and then he gives this really awesome, heartfelt speech that everyone loves...and then they send out Kane to tell him to wrap it up. It was odd, it was surreal, then again, you have to think they might have sent Piper up there to knock him around given what he thinks about him.

Yeah, I said right after it happened that this was Triple H's match. There's such a huge backing of Bryan that a lot of those fans dismiss right away what the "other guy" does in his matches, but Trips was incredible in this match. Obviously, the holy shit spot is the Tiger Suplex (which Bryan takes right on the shoulder because why the hell not?) but there are some awesome cutoff spots and for a 25 minute match, this sure as hell didn't feel like it was that long. I had watched the Bret/Owen match as part of the WrestleMania Rewind series they have on the Network, and while I Iiked the match, I don't think it's better than this. It's definitely a career match for Triple H, as I'm hard pressed to find a straight, non-gimmick match of his better than this off the top of my head. Bryan was fantastic as he normally is, but it's weird to think that in 2014, with Bryan being on the run he's been on, that he's the second best guy in a match with Triple H.

That and the Final Battle Fight Without Honor are pretty incredible matches. The pipe dream for many is Bryan having an Extreme Rules match with Brock along the same lines of the Final Battle match. You know, without the detached retina and all.