Childs

Say I paid $150 for a Springsteen ticket and Bruce came out, played "Born to Run," then ordered the E Street Band to destroy its instruments and walk off stage. Would that create a "moment?" I suppose. Would it prompt some discussion of his motivations? Yeah. Would it create any real sense of satisfaction? No, and WWE falls awfully short on delivering real satisfaction these days. That's how I look at it. Obviously, based on this thread, others see it very differently. And that's fine.

More idiotic than a really simple story (Lesnar totally underestimating Goldberg and paying for it) executed to perfection completely going over your head? You're almost willfully ignoring the broader context of a company that continues to undermine itself by treating the Monday Night Wars as the specialest time in the history of specialness. Not to mention they booked what was basically a one-match show and then didn't deliver the match. If it worked for you, great. To me, it felt like another example of this company treating its customers with utter contempt.

Bless your positive outlook. I would have been furious if I'd bought a ticket for that show.

Wow, there was really nothing more to that. I know it's cute to laugh at it but that was a dogshit ending to a dogshit show.

Ok...

Against every rational fiber in my body, I hope the main event is entertaining.

Is Shane going to fight off the stretcher? Fuckhead.

This match really hammers home how astounding it is that people watch all these guys and decide Roman is the one who sucks.

I swear Ambrose is more terrible than good.

I feel awful for Adam's family. He was a good dude and a valued member of this community.

I don't get the complaints about the main event. It was a really good, hard-hitting match that happened to be overshadowed by the earlier tag match. Thought Joe looked quite good, and the finishing run clicked.

Pretty sure they charge the lump sum.

It hurts me in my heart that you had Hansen-Kobashi (and so much other great stuff) below that garbage joshi cage match.

I didn't get that with Tommy End at all, though I agree with Phil that it feels like he should be cool to watch. That opener was a real dog of a match. But I certainly can't complain about a show with the one-two punch of Sabre-Gulak and Hero-Riddle. Two totally different matches that both hit the spot.

That was my No. 1 Japanese match of the 2000s. Glad you liked it.

I agree the crowds are uneven, especially in Florida. I don't agree that translates to listless efforts by the wrestlers.

I promise not to let the resentment overtake me when I'm watching Hero vs. Riddle live next weekend.

I don't think it's bad if you're a WWN fan already, but they should have made a greater effort to have a robust archive coming out of the gate. I'm on board but somewhat reluctantly.

I finally got around to Lee-Everett, and watching Lee in CWF was a revelation. I had never seen anything to indicate he'd have that kind of command over a long match. But he looked like such a seasoned champion, which is something you don't see much of, even among the best indie workers. I wonder if he'll find other places to show that side of himself over time? It would be a shame if he spends most of his career being jammed into go-go-go matches in larger promotions.

I actually think the entire Kobashi GHC run is a worthwhile watch if you're trying to figure out where he lands historically. He worked a much more diverse group of opponents than he did in All Japan.

I enjoy the idea of Matt watching a bunch of NOAH main events. Also, I assume the universe is about to tilt off its axis when I agree with Nintendo Logic over Phil.

You need to see the recent PWG six-man that ended with the crowd chanting 5-star match as the wrestlers fixed solicitous stares on Meltzer, who was sitting in the front row :-)

But I don't think you explain why that match struck you as inauthentic. Though I share your feelings about a lot of modern wrestling, that match isn't a good example. It was a pretty classic wrestling story, with the legitimately wounded champ digging deep to fend off an invader who'd laid waste to the promotion all year. And a crowd that was legitimately invested in said story. If that's inauthentic, we might as well shut the whole thing down and watch only classic footage.

You would think but alas not.

Hero has had an absolutely fascinating career. There are pockets of self-indulgent garbage, but he's worth the journey. He'd be a great subject for a mega-comp.