Coffey

I feel like I'm getting worked! This is all so damn insane.

The real question, to me, is who WWE are going to have win. There's a good chance we just don't get a decisive winner so that we get a rematch, right? I mean, paying Goldberg a ton of money to come in and lose to Brock, whom doesn't need the rub, would be silly. Paying Goldberg a ton of money to come in to beat their unbeatable guy would be silly. I just don't see how this is a winning scenario no matter what they do. It's not like they'll have a third guy show up to take them both out. Will Goldberg stick around through Wrestlemania?

I have a feeling that with the brand split, outside of the main event opening (which I assume was just because of the presidential debate so we won't see it again anyway) that this is going to be the norm.

So, if I'm misunderstanding, someone please correct me: Am I reading this right, in that it is being insinuated that the Alberto Del Rio stabbing which made him miss the recent wrestling show, was due to a drug deal gone wrong? Because the picture of the slashes on his arm was pretty damn brutal. If so, this is ridiculously beyond a WWE Wellness Suspension.

I just assumed Dolph was losing because it was being reported that he was leaving after No Mercy. So I just got worked. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

That Randy Orton Vs. Bray Wyatt match was awful. Glad to see Harper back though. Miz/Dolph was really good & I was genuinely surprised that Dolph won. Wish that match would have went on last but I understand worrying about people leaving to watch the debate.

Shame Swagger/Corbin couldn't make the show & are delegated to pre-show duty. Also a shame about Becky Lynch. If the Triple Threat does go on first, I hope that Miz/Ziggler get to go on last. Make the IC belt seem important & if Ziggler is leaving, that would be a good way to go. Miz has been on fire lately. So have The Uso brothers. I have also been really entertained by Heath Slater. They're doing good stuff on Smackdown. Looking forward to this show. Carmella Vs. Nikki? Not so much.

Mojo Rawley? Yeah, I'm not seeing it either. I'd prefer if they're going to make a new star (which they should) it should not be someone that is the shits (which Mojo is).

It really does feel like an "everybody wins" scenario, including the fans.

Shinsuke Nakamura. I doubt it happens, but it should. As great as Nakamura is & as much as I love him, I don't have any faith in WWE to get behind someone that speaks broken English. At least not on the main roster. RAW is all about 20-minute dialogues, especially if you're a main eventer. If you're in the main event, where someone that is feuding with Brock would need to be, you're going to have to be able to open RAW with a boring-ass, 20-minute Authority promo. I also don't have faith in WWE to actually utilize managers as mouthpieces anymore. Which is a terrible shame. Dutch would have been great. Paul Heyman should be great but we saw what happened when he was with Cesaro. I like the idea of Nakamura beating Brock more so than the speculative Samoa Joe encounter but I guess I would be fine with that too. Anyone can be choked out! I really want both Nakamura & Samoa Joe to work out on the main roster. There's no reason Nakamura couldn't be IC champ for like two years.

How many times, after they are retired, are WWE going to bring back Randy Orton & John Cena for "one more match"? I do agree that I would rather see Goldberg wrestle than Shane McMahon but I honestly don't want to see either against Brock Lesnar. That's just not appealing at all to me. I do still like Brock but he needs to be used to put over a full-time guy that WWE can build around. Same thing they should do with Goldberg if they bring him back. They need to make more stars for tomorrow.

Ric Flair, Terry Funk, Jerry Lawler & Stan Hansen were the four that first came to my mind. After reading the thread, Eddie Guerrero is probably a better pick than Stan Hansen though. I also loved the Nick Bockwinkel name-drop. Hard to argue that one. Also, there has to be a case for Steve Austin, no? When his ring work slowed, mostly due to his body breaking down, everything else went up. The promos, the character, the presence, the effectiveness..

This is where I am at with Sasha Banks. She had a couple good matches in NXT but the hyperbole over her was out of control. I like Sasha and think she can be great but I didn't think she was already great and it felt like quite a few people had already crowned her.

Show wasn't bad but wasn't great. I would say better than average though. I liked the countdown Nia Jax/Alicia Fox match. I see quite a few people are over New Day & wanted a title change in the tag match but New Day still seemed over with the live crowd & I just find Gallows/Anderson boring. Match was fun. Women's match left a lot to be desired for me but I figured Charlotte was going to retain. I hated the pregnant pause spot where everyone stands there & waits for the fans to clap. I think it was right after all three went for a dropkick at the same time. I think they're building to Dana/Charlotte & Sasha/Bayley was just a way to help build to that which makes me sad that they're just background fodder instead of the focal point. I find that I cringe a lot when Sasha takes big bumps. Cruiserweight match was a little sloppy but I like that Kendrick stayed heel at the end & Perkins' entrance is fun. Post-match handshakes are overrated. Jericho/Zayn was kinda just there. Some weird looking bumps off the DDT spots. Jericho has been one of the most entertaining performers in WWE lately from a character standpoint but I find I still don't care about his matches too much. He's found his stride again, for sure, outside the ring though. I was fine with the finish because they have to be leading to a Jericho/Owens thing, right? Cesaro/Sheamus went downhill fast after the scary Suicide Dive from Cesaro. It was starting to heat-up to that point & you could tell that Cesaro was visibly frustrated at the end there. They were laying some bombs on each other. Shame as I was really looking forward to that one & feel like they had at least another five minutes if things didn't go wrong. Rusev/Reigns owned. Liked it a lot. Felt very old school. MOTN for me. Rusev is far and away my favorite guy on the roster & him & Lana together are still a great act. Reigns is right up there for putting on quality matches though. That dude is a big match worker. Still not sure why the crowd continue to stay sour on him. Maybe he can turn that around in the U.S. scene instead of the World Title scene. Main event was a clusterfuck, with outside interference, a ref bump & Steph coming out for... reasons. I like that they're continuing to push the Jericho/Owens friends story because it makes the Jericho win earlier make more sense. I like that we're still in the dark about what Triple H's motives were instead of getting backstage PPV vignettes of The Authority all night. They're building toward animosity within the Authority & with Mick Foley, which isn't really the story I continue to want to see around the main event & main title but we know we're not getting away from it. If Seth is a babyface now & out of The Authority, why is he still using the Pedigree? Kevin Owens is the champ going in but feels like a total afterthought. It's more about Seth being slighted by The Authority, Jericho wanting to have Owens' back & teasing tension between HHH & Steph (even when Triple H isn't there). Owens is a prop.

Show is tonight. Card looks great on paper. WWE Title: Seth Rollins Vs. Kevin Owens Women's Title: Sasha Vs. Bayley Vs. Charlotte U.S. Title: Rusev Vs. Roman Reigns Best-of-Seven finals: Sheamus Vs. Cesaro Cruiserweight Title: Perkins Vs. Kendrick Tag Titles: New Day Vs. Bullet Club Sami Zayn Vs. Jericho Nia Jax Vs. Alicia Fox on the kickoff show. Anyone planning on watching live?

Dave is just trying to say that both terms are derogatory & used to demean people. Which is true. I just disagree that both terms were used similarly because you can't remove the history from the n-word & I believe the people that used that word damn well knew what they were saying & doing. Calling someone a mark is never going to have the same impact. I remember in the past something came up with Meltzer talking about the n-word & how it was just accepted in the wrestling business, which I assume is what Brandon is talking about in the bottom of that image. It was never "accepted" by black people, in or out of wrestling. Regardless of what Dave says. I think we had a discussion about that stuff when it happened too, maybe even earlier in this thread. I get what Dave's trying to insinuate here, that it was just a part of the business & how he's acting like in the context of pro-wrestling, the n-word it's not racial... but you CAN NOT disassociate that word from racism. It's not the same thing as mark at all. The history of hate, bigotry & heinous acts is not lost on people. Like Loss said, of course the wrestlers knew the difference. Yes, people within the industry, even today sadly, still casually toss around racial slurs but it was not then, now or ever will be a socially accepted business term & when Dave just acts like "it's a part of the business" he's being exceptionally naive. Now, had Dave in the past not made those comments & remarks, this tweet wouldn't be an issue at all, at least to me. I feel some of this is the wrestling bubble. Nevertheless, come tomorrow, I'm sure this will have all blown over anyway.

I'll admit, when I read the thread title, I drew a complete blank. These are two great shout outs though. Props.

Man, this section of the forum is completely dead lately.

Damn, when Pat Patterson was young he looked eerily similar to Patrick Swayze.

Which doesn't make ANY sense to me as Swan is the shits. I see absolutely nothing in that dude. He's as generic as they come. Even his ring gear makes him look like a jobber. I don't get the love for him AT ALL.

Goodness no. I think Danielson is leagues better. Really in what way? Like I can see why Bryan may be better but to say there is a gulf seems a bit of an exaggeration to me. In terms of offense, Bryan is more prone to the mat, but AJ can certainly go; AJ's strikes are better in my opinion and he is the better flyer. AJ is a better bumper than AJ. Bryan can be better at the act of selling but also more prone to blowing it off. AJ is the better trash talking heel who works awesome control segments. Daniel Bryan's finish run is electric but often feels show horned into the match. Hands down Bryan is the better character. So his matches implicitly have more emotion but that should not be conflated with him being the better wrestler. As I think AJ is able to get more out of a variety of opponents in a variety of settings. I say it is close but I'm sticking with AJ I don't think there being a gulf is an exaggeration. Daniel Bryan finished #5 in the Greatest Wrestler Ever project right here on PWO. AJ Styles was #39 by comparison. So even others right here would agree. I don't think that AJ is a better striker, like you said he was. I disagree with that vehemently. I also don't think AJ is a better bumper, like you said. Part of the reason why Bryan got so over in WWE was because he was so good at garnering sympathy. As you noted, Bryan is a better mat wrestler - I don't think anyone would dispute that. Bryan is also one of the best hot tags I've seen in years. High flying doesn't mean anything to me & never has. Plus to me, AJ Styles often comes off as sloppy, blowing his own signature moves & spots frequently. Especially the backflip Reverse DDT. I wasn't a fan of Styles during his run in ROH, TNA or NJPW & I'm still not real high on him in WWE. When it comes to in-ring, I think Bryan is better. When it comes to character, I think Bryan is better. When it comes to promos, neither are great, admittedly, but Bryan has entertained me more, often with humor, than Styles has. I don't think it's close. I think Bryan beats him in almost every category. That's not hyperbole.

Goodness no. I think Danielson is leagues better.

That Intercontinental Championship match was a TON of fun & I have not been a fan of Dolph Ziggler for quite some time. They drew me in. "I think we all knew Dolph Ziggler was going to lose..." - Jerry Lawler. Lawler has been going in on Dolph all night.

They should protect the Uso's double-team knee kick the way they do Randy Orton's punt. Make it like a super move that injures people. Dolph Ziggler came out to very little crowd reaction. The Miz has been on fire lately. So I hope he retains, unless they're pushing him to the world title.

Uso's use Konnan's old Tequila Sunrise as a finish now? That's pretty cool. The double team jumping kick to the leg is a death move.