Loss

It's a little sad that this came out in such a crowded news cycle, because it really is a major story. They have supposedly based (justified?) months of creative based on the Summerslam buyrate. And it didn't beat Brock/HHH from last year, but it did a good number after all.

I loved Brock/Punk too, but think Brock had a better outing with Cena. Heyman's interference spots in the Punk match were awesome and really added to the match.

I was just curious how Cody Hall is in the ring at this point. I know he's inexperienced, but does anyone know how he is coming along? With his look and family connection, no way does WWE not try to sign him to a developmental contract at some point.

I have wondered where they go after he gets his happy ending. I still think they should give it to him, don't get me wrong, but I hope they can come up with something that has the same strong emotional hook that his chase has.

I had enough of that Rumble noise. Watching No Way Out 2005. Eddy/Rey vs Bashams is tremendous. Eddy's babyface cheating is amazing in that match, and Rey does some of the best FIP selling you'll ever see. The Bashams weren't a bad team, but they were just kinda there.

Watching stuff 2005-present on the WWE Network since that's around the time I checked out of week-to-week viewing. New Years Revolution was a great show. I mentioned the Regal/Eugene vs Christian/Tomko and Lawler/Hassan matches in the Regal and Lawler Microscope threads. I also thought the Chamber was outstanding. That is probably the best heel performance I can recall seeing from HHH because he bumped and bled like a freak and managed to turn a crowd against him that loved him when the match started. He got the details so right in that Batista feud. Orton was lousy at this point - he just had nothing to offer as a babyface. Jericho was incredible as the workhorse of the match. He and Benoit took on that role, but that was quite the inspired performance from Jericho, specifically in putting Batista over. The tag opener is probably a three-star match, but should still be seen for its unique atmosphere and match layout. That main event I'd probably call 4 1/4*. Currently on the Royal Rumble 2005. I'm watching Edge vs Michaels with Edge's offense mostly consistent of hairpulling. This is pretty good for a Divas match. I'm not sure why I'm watching this show, since it's not like the HHH/Orton and JBL/Angle/Show matches have appeal to me.

2005 was pretty great when I watched it yesterday for the first time. 2002 was a trainwreck.

Regal fans should check out Regal/Eugene vs Christian/Tomko from New Years Revolution 2005. The heels work over Regal's bloody nose and he plays FIP in front of a very excited Puerto Rican crowd.

Lawler vs Mohammed Hassan at New Years Revolution 2005 is really fun. Watch Lawler walk a green guy who can't do anything through a Memphis formula match that gets the Puerto Rican crowd really hot.

They had really great matches. Get past Steamboat and I think Luger at least had as good of matches with Flair as anyone else you could name. On the WWE Network: - Great American Bash '88 - Starrcade '88 - Starrcade '89 - Wrestle War '90 - Capital Combat '90 Elsewhere: - Clash of the Champions XII - Worldwide 05/05/90 Starrcade '88 and Wrestle War '90 are the two best.

Ok, so I watched Summerslam 2013 yesterday. I realize how foolish I sounded on this one. I won't be talking about the best WWE matches ever again until I fill in my viewing gaps, as much as I REALLY want to make that case for Cena/Bryan.

I just have to say now that I'm watching regularly, I absolutely love WWE right now. It's not perfect, but you could point to flaws in any peak period for any company. New people are getting over, the whole presentation feels fresh and the match quality is pretty staggering.

Bryan reported it as a match people in WWE have told him they are considering, but aren't final on yet. Ambrose would face Big E to unify the secondary titles if they go in that direction. I still think WWE is going to hold off either on that or the Real Americans break-up, since they are awfully similar to run at the same time.

Yes.

It was so easy to make Batista useful again. I'm happy. I really liked that promo, and he gave another good one (a very short one) on the post-game Smackdown. I also like the rumored new plans for The Shield at Wrestlemania much better than what we suspected was going to happen: Reigns/Rollins vs Harper/Rowan at Wrestlemania. I still wish they weren't breaking up at all yet. I think they could get another year out of them as a unit, and it's not like they need Reigns to become a major player immediately because no one else is ready to take the plunge.

Paul Levesque addressed this on the conference call he did this week: Anyone they put on the NXT TV show is considered more or less ready to be called up. I wonder what would happen if Paul Levesque and Wayne Keown did a conference call together?

Can I ask what the logic is to showcasing guys like Cesaro on NXT who have already been called up? I'm not complaining, I'm just wanting to know why select guys who are already on the main roster are being featured here at all.

Has Cesaro had very many showcase matches with main event guys before recently? I think that's the difference as far as people noticing.

The date on this is November 3. It aired on November 25, which is what we originally had.

I understand that. I think WWE should have managed expectations better. I've been part of tech launches before and understand some of the problems that are always there, so I'm pretty patient. But I realize not everyone is. That said, no major technological launch goes off without a problem. It's in WWE's best interests to fix it, and I'm confident they will for that simple reason. When things go South like this, the key is someone in a leadership position who is willing to make heads roll if needed in order to get it right. I think we both know Vince will have no problem assuming that role if that's what's needed.

It's good that it happened now. It would be far worse for them to head into Wrestlemania unaware there is a problem.

All of this is a really good read and I appreciate you posting it. I also wanted to point out the Match Discussion Archive section. We have singular threads for most of the matches discussed here, and you can see what others have said about what you have watched.

It was really good. It was a little too cute for me at times, specifically all the counters happening on the top rope when Zayn went for the rana, but it was really good overall. I wish they had self-edited a little because some of the great spots won't be as remembered as they should be. They may have done more with a little less action. Still, hard to complain too much about a match at that level.