Loss

CM Punk was a massive overachiever. I don't see how anyone could think he didn't live up to the hype. What hype was there even? I don't really recall any at all. What did people expect he'd be able to do that he didn't other than headline Wrestlemania? He became a bonafide top guy and worked with everyone who was around during his run, which is a pretty big leap from starting off facing lots of criticism from HHH and Shawn that his wrestling style looked too simulated.

I suspect at least part of Xavier's promo was off script too, as he was able to respond specifically to a lot of things Rock said. Much to his credit, he didn't look out of place at all out there doing a dueling promo with Rock. In 2011, that was the feeling much of the time and this time it wasn't. They have something special with Woods, although I worry about him when New Day runs its course and Creative gets bored with coming up with stuff for them.

I don't like fans trying to get themselves over, even though I think in this case they were just trying to have a good time more than anything and managed to get over in doing so. But I also don't like the company taking action to shut it down, even when it is intentional. It's annoying sometimes, but let it be annoying. Vince likes to go on and on about how much he supports free speech.

I have a really detailed post I want to make expanding on this, but I don't think this is necessarily how HHH would want to run WWE. It might be, but I could see a change in philosophy when he has full autonomy. I'll explain in more detail as soon as I can make time.

I can say I have never bought the idea that Vince doesn't want huge stars. He sure let Cena become one and has worked hard to maintain that. And Undertaker in some ways has peaked as a draw in the last few years when working a part-time schedule. And he's certainly booked Brock as a star. I think a more accurate description is that Vince has become increasingly nitpicky and overly critical of his roster as he's gotten older and more out of touch (possibly as his son-in-law, the king of "He's too this" and "He's too that" has gained influence), so now he sees wrestler flaws as reasons not to go all in instead of something to find a way to cleverly disguise. Everyone is expected to be able to do it all, and if that wasn't the case, Titus O'Neill would be a modern Dusty or JYD.

Would Rock want assurances that there wouldn't be a repeat of the 2015 Royal Rumble if he was in Roman's corner again? If you recall, he wasn't happy about that one. And I could see Austin not touching that one with a ten foot pole if he was offered a corner man spot.

There was a theory at the time that Russo had a no-compete with WCW that he was still sitting out, so in order to get out of that so he could help start TNA, he got WWE to hire him and then purposely pitched the worst ideas possible so they wouldn't want to keep him around.

WWE has at times led efforts to tone down the ring style but then they forget about it to focus on other things. In fact, I've been watching a lot of 2004 Raw lately, which is filled with 15-20 minute matches full of limb work and a greater emphasis on personal grudges. In a way, 2004 Raw feels more contemporary than 2016 Raw. The advantage to that was that you'd get a "holy shit" chant for a wrestler doing a pretty tame spot (at least by the standards of the late 90s and early 2000s) in a cage match. Now 2004 was a down period, but that was not at all because of the ring work, and even in that down period, the matches had a lot more heat than matches do now on Monday nights. You had guys working hard physically for sure, but they were also working smart. Never in my wildest dreams would I think a 20-minute RVD-Orton match built around a bodyscissors would be any good but it sort of was. You'd also get cool stuff like Jericho selling a knee injury in matches for three weeks. Even HHH wore a sling the night after WM20 to sell the crossface. Those are the little details that I do think make a difference in the big picture because they just make everything seem more consequential, and when stuff like that is emphasized, the guys don't have to push themselves quite as hard to get a reaction. The atmosphere that necessitates that continuously escalating mentality is the one where nothing matters.

So he was injured on a card where he had to pull double duty because of all of the injuries? These problems feed themselves. What will they do if Roman Reigns gets injured?

Kandori did not get proper credit at the time. She was someone considered along for the ride, but that's clearly not true if you watch the matches. I don't even know that there's a hugely significant volume gap between her and Hokuto.

Something is broken. That isn't just a case of bad luck.

Are there examples of Styles having great matches with superheavyweights? I'm just curious. I'd define a superheavyweight as anyone Brock's size or bigger.

Pegasus Kid = with mask Wild Pegasus = without mask

Just curious. John Cena and Daniel Bryan would both be on my list anyway, but they'll be higher than they would have been otherwise.

I've really come to think a wacky babyface Wyatt Family has enormous potential. Maybe they'll feud with Balor Club.

Trying to find that paragraph where Dave talked about PWG having so much variety where he compared Roderick Strong to Shawn Michaels and Chris Hero to Johnny Valentine, among other interesting comparisons. Anyone remember the issue?

Esther Moreno has looked tremendous at times in Japan, but I've been told we never really see that from her in Mexico for whatever reason.

I threw his name out, but yeah, he's not a good fit.

I would actually put Jericho's WWE run ahead of Benoit's, in terms of accomplishment, performances and volume of good output, even if we stop in 2005 at the end of the first run. I don't know if that's controversial or not. I've watched some 2002-2003 Raw lately and the show was nothing at all to write home about (to be kind), but Jericho at times seemed to be keeping it afloat by himself.

That's wonderful, but why do you care?

I remember when I used to think WWE didn't think much of Jericho, and I think time has proven that one completely false. I think it's fair to call him one of Vince's all-time favorite guys, considering how he lets him come and go, take the creative reigns on a lot of his own stuff and ad lib when his instincts tell him it's a good idea. He also frequently puts him in positions to hold things together. I don't think he ever quite saw him as a headliner he could build around, but you could argue that he saw him as something that was in some ways more than that. I mention that because I'm not sure how a guy can prove himself to Vince in that particular way in the current system. I'm sure it's possible, but it seems like more of a stretch than it was when Jericho earned Vince's respect. It's probably harder for a mechanic to get Vince's attention now in part because Pat Patterson isn't around every week, and Patterson is the type to pick up on that type of thing more than Vince. Patterson was probably Jericho's biggest advocate.

So perfectly said.

It wouldn't necessarily justify it, but WWE levying a kayfabe fine on Flair for doing it would be a great way to babyface the company a little bit.

And yes, technically any attacks happening outside of bell time are criminal acts and should result in an arrest.

We've cited lots of guys who have died young or ended up in wheelchairs so far. Just saying.