Loss

Talk about it here.

Talk about it here. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x19h0lb_hirooki-goto-vs-katsuyori-shibata-njpw-wrestle-kingdom-8-2014_sport?search_algo=1

Talk about it here.

Talk about it here.

Talk about it here.

Talk about it here.

Talk about it here. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x198h3o_fuego-guerrero-maya-jr-stuka-jr-vs-boby-zavala-shigeo-okumura-virus_sport?search_algo=1

Talk about it here. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x198j4m_titan-vs-negro-casas-2013-leyenda-de-plata-final_sport

Talk about it here.

It's sad that this idea will just have to stay in my head: Randy Orton vs Daniel Bryan with some type of gimmick to make it unique compared to previous PPV offerings and Bryan saying if he doesn't win the title he will shave his head and his beard, give up Yes chants forever and never ask for another title match again. As part of the build, they could shoot vignettes where DB travels to the Broken Skull Ranch to get tips from Steve Austin on how to singlehandedly take on the WWE powers that be.

Steamboat supposedly isn't a huge fan of that match because it was so laid out in advance and choreographed. He's always felt the best matches are improvised based on how the crowd is reacting and called in the ring.

Dave is reporting that the plan now is not to turn Batista heel, but rather to turn him babyface. He's supposedly doing a promo acknowledging things on Smackdown that they want to "turn the people with him" because they are determined to make him a cheered babyface by Wrestlemania. I'm curious to see what they're going to try, but I don't see anything that can work.

Ric Flair is 65 today.

I honestly had the impression that it was just a WCW B-show revival thing, not a company wide thing that reflected the way WWE aims to present its product. I'm not blaming anyone else for that. I think that's on me.

I've seen the 2008 and 2011 Chamber matches. In fact, I was just telling goodhelmet a few days ago that I don't understand why those matches tend to always get MOTYC play when they aren't at that level, or at least weren't in those years. My ultimate point was this. No one would bat an eye if someone called Shawn/Razor from Wrestlemania X one of the top handful of WWE matches ever. Yet there have probably been three matches in the last week alone that were better than that match. So the standards went way up at some point, and the groundswell of excitement and discussion of how modern WWE's in-ring product compares to the better in-ring periods in wrestling history never really happened. And I guess that's unfortunate, because it's a conversation I would have probably tried to start myself if I was paying closer attention. On top of that, the matches that were recommended viewing were often inconsequential B-show matches not given much time that didn't have much heat. If a match is good, it's good, but I don't think a match can be GREAT with those strikes against it unless it's incredibly special. So it made me think the hype was not necessarily hyperbole, but rather that it was just a niche thing that didn't translate to anything beyond just having a few good matches on the side. WWE was a promotion that had a few great matches a la carte, but the promotion wasn't drastically different overall. They just had a few matches seep through the cracks. When I've watched lately, I've left with the feeling that the heavier focus on in-ring is a key part of the company vision, something that involves wrestlers that are over and something that happens in big matches involving main event guys. Now we're seeing matches that seem to have an important place in the big picture and have hot crowds hit a high level. And I'm not sure when that started, but there's a difference between this and the company throwing out Masters vs DrewMac in a match they don't care about that doesn't really get over in a hugely memorable way. It made me realize that the eras we fondly remember tend to be the well-booked eras, and even then, not so much creative or interesting angles as much as time periods where lots of new people were getting over and everything felt fresh. If you look at the glory days of World Class, Mid South, Memphis or the NWA, that's going to be your common denominator. So even though the booking still leaves MUCH to be desired, WWE is starting to feel that way to me too. And something at the level of Cena/Cesaro would have been a top three 80s Mid South match for me. Now it's just the best TV match of the week. The bar has been raised and that's great news. I'm just surprised a bigger deal hasn't been made of that, not just by WWE, but by the hardcore fans like us who live for this stuff. This is not the WWE from 2002-2005 that just killed my enthusiasm for television wrestling. I wish that point had been made in a stronger and more convincing way.

I am strangely mesmerized by Booker T's bun though.

Ric Flair is unbearable in this role.

Seth Rollins is REALLY determined not to let himself be an afterthought. Good for him. Yeah, this crowd is awful. These guys tore the house down last night and this brawl should have the building popping like crazy.

I've grown to really hate the Wyatts entrance -- not because there's anything wrong with it, but because they should really find a way to edit it down some when he is coming out twice on a show. Also, is it really necessary for run-ins?

I wish they'd call an audible and run a Shield vs Wyatts TLC match at Mania and do Cena vs Cesaro. But I know they won't.

I got one. Registered about an hour before you.

It's understandable, but seeing "Far From Over" and "Badstreet USA" overdubbed on old NWA shows is sort of soul crushing.

No film like look at all but I have only watched WCW stuff so far. Some quality is better than others, but it's all been excellent to this point.

I agree that it's a positive. It's rare that something like this just launches without any problems. It just doesn't happen.

If you like your $60 PPVs, you can keep your $60 PPVs.