Loss

My first post in this thread is bugging me. Rather than say "that don't portray who the wrestler was", I should have said "that don't portray why the wrestler was nominated".

Great post!

I think the sampling should come from a place of positive representation (and variety) as opposed to an ups-and-downs representation (and variety), which is where I know you'd disagree. Not necessarily the five greatest matches the wrestler has had, but I wouldn't include disappointing matches. There's a place for holistic viewing of wrestlers under rocks and inside window cracks, but I'm not sure GWE is that place. Does that make sense?

It's not ideal, but I don't think it's a real issue. There are very few great workers where you can't get a feel for what makes them who they are after watching five of their matches, provided the right five are selected. Small sampling doesn't bug me. I think sampling of matches that don't really portray who the wrestler was is probably the bigger issue, and it's hard to have anyone on a mountaintop separating Type A from Type B.

Brock apparently cared a lot about how they presented him early on with the loss to Cena and was mad about certain aspects of it. He also really wanted the match with Austin. I think he'd care in the sense that he wouldn't want them to do anything that might hurt his ability to make big money down the line. A Wrestlemania opponent beneath him could be perceived as lowering his market value, even if I don't really think it's the case.

Just looked back through the names. Am I the only one ranking any minis? I'd find that sad.

Definites: Atlantis Blue Panther El Dandy El Hijo del Santo El Satanico Emilio Charles Jr. Espectrito Fuerza Guerrera Juventud Guerrera Mascarita Sagrada Negro Casas Psicosis Rey Misterio Jr. Sangre Chicana Virus Possibles: Angel Azteca Felino Jerry Estrada Mocho Cota Olimpico Pirata Morgan Super Astro Villano III

Yeah the match might actually be really good, but the buildup would include Bray reciting way too many fake Jewel lyrics.

He was on Wrestling Observer Live once. He said he wanted WCW to have St. Louis-style chase-the-belt booking and All Japan-style false finishes.

I wouldn't say there's a demand for it necessarily, but people have been ready to cheer Bray for nearly two years now.

A Wyatts face turn isn't the worst idea in the world in a few months, similar to how Undertaker turned and pretty much remained the same guy. They would be natural rivals for Balor Club, assuming that's a go.

Damnit, we need a masked American working in Mexico who claims to be Vince.

Here I was just thinking he was Roddy Piper in WCW without a match that could draw.

Jericho is really, really bad. With them openly acknowledging how bad he is, I could see this being his last run.

What are their promos and angles? I can't recall any, just matches.

I feel like this in some ways reached **** even before the opening bell! Just tremendous stuff.

Don't be silly. Of course you can promote that here.

Do you mean the match at Summerslam? If not, they did one for the match at Summerslam that I really enjoyed. Mark Henry did a great retirement promo that felt like something out of a different era. No, there was a segment on Raw two weeks before Extreme Rules 2012.

Eddy/Rey worked and I did like the matches, but the idea of child custody being decided in a ladder match ... I get that they were going for a telenovella vibe, and in that regard, they succeeded. I also thought everyone performed well, including Vicki and Dominic. Ah, what the hell, I've talked myself into it. It was over the top even for wrestling, but it was by design and managed to appeal to a wider audience going that route.

I know there are some, but it seems like it would be a short list. I don't mean amusing or entertaining promos so much as I mean really good angles and promos that would hold up to past eras where the booking tended to be better and not look out of place. I come up with: - Jim Cornette promos in the ROH vs CZW feud - Some of the stuff in the Jericho-Michaels feud - Nexus invades - The Rock returns, builds to match with John Cena - CM Punk gets a pipe bomb - Daniel Bryan's journey to Wrestlemania 30 - A few isolated things from Paul Heyman - Brock Lesnar All Access-like segment to build to Cena match at Extreme Rules 2012 - Some Larry Sweeney stuff What am I missing?

Everyone realizes that is actually quite feasible if he only works at Mania for HHH to have a marquee match every year for the next 20 or so years, right?

When I rate a match, I'm more concerned with the finished product (how good or bad the match was) than the ingredients (how hard those involved were working). It's possible for a match to contain an admirable effort and still not be a good match.

I actually do agree it was a very good match. But I just remember laughing at Edge dressed like he was going to fight, then go clubbin'.

Even worse was Shawn and Edge doing that street fight a few weeks later with Edge wearing designer jeans. Everyone knows you wear Wranglers or Levis with kneepads over them and a t-shirt with the sleeves cut off to a come-as-you-are street fight.

Talk about workrate oftentimes sets up a binary that I think is self-limiting in how we view wrestling, as if you either do a lot of exciting moves or you have great psychology.