Coffey

I was definitely wrong on my predicted match order, I admit. No excuses, I was wrong, straight up. WeeLC was a TON of fun. :-)

I predict WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Daniel Bryan, in his first post-Wrestlemania title defense, will be fourth from the top on the card. Behind Cena/Wyatt in a cage, Evolution/Shield in the main & whatever match they use as the "cooldown" match in-between those two. We'll see.

Can I ask everyone this too? 1989 would be the year that made it really hard for me. Maybe 1990. For me, the "golden era" of pro-wrestling was after Hulkamania started. 1985 or so. I was born in 1981. WWF was the only wrestling that we got in my city, especially for the first few years of cable TV. So if the year was 1989 or 90, my decision would be my childhood memories, or everything after. I haven't seen a TON of pre-'85 or especially pre-'80 footage of wrestling from many promotions as even the stuff that does exist, it's not always great video quality. And I'm only 32, so a lot of it was well before my time, so it's hard for me to put myself in the moment, so to speak, as if you weren't watching it live, week-to-week, like I was as a kid, it's different. Especially when watching it with the eyes of an adult years later. I think the wrestling of today, in ring, is better than it's ever been, at least on the big stage. The Indies are dreadful. But on the big stage, the characters & writing is pretty bad, for the most part. Nothing feels memorable. I see it in the moment & appreciate it. Maybe even talk about it online afterward for up to a week...but nothing seems to stick anymore. In example, after twenty years, The Undertaker just had his streak end at Wrestlemania. Here we are, what, less than a month later? And everyone already seems to have forgotten or doesn't seem to care. Imagine if that happened in the 80s though. It would have been portrayed & seemed like such a bigger ordeal. The only time I seem to think back to stuff that happened is for year-end award voting. As a child though, I remember big moments, even from midcarders. Shawn Michaels turning on Marty Jannetty, Randy Savage getting attacked by a cobra, Jake Roberts going blind from getting sprayed with Arrogance...that was my era, my childhood. Maybe that's how kids today feel & they remember stuff like Kofi's Royal Rumble spots or something but it's different for me nowadays. So I definitely feel like age plays a big role in the decision.

Pre-'96. There's been a lot of great matches after, especially lately as the in-ring style has changed a lot, but I loved the wrestlers themselves & their characters so much more back when kayfabe was alive. If I was just to choose a federation, one single promotion or territory, that would be the same. Would I take Hogan over Cena? Yeah. Early-90s AJPW over Benoit, Guerrero, Mysterio, Angle matches? Yeah. My favorite wrestling, I think, is when it's presented as a sport or athletic competition and when it's presented as real. So that the stakes matter. I liked wrestling a lot more when the crowds weren't so meta too. When the bad guys were booed and the good guys were cheered. Heel/Face turns mattered, titles mattered more, promos weren't full of insider shooty comments. The wrestling shows didn't just feel like long commercials to buy a bunch of stuff. I guess it's really not close for me. Is there anyone in the last fifteen plus years I would rather watch more than Stan Hansen, Rick Rude or my other favorites from the past? I don't think so. And the commentary nowadays is so monumentally terrible I'm not sure if I would take it over a team of Lord Alfred Hayes and Elvira with Art Donovan asking how much each wrestler weighs.

No, I was mocking Tim Evans. C'mon.

If Size didn't matter, wouldn't Crash Holly and Colin Delaney be 10 time world heavyweight champions? Obviously it's not the only thing that matters. Does Hogan or André work if they're both 5'10"?

This, in and of itself, would be a great discussion. There was a time when everyone in WWE looked pretty much the same not too long ago: frat boys, super tan with tribal tattoos (Batista, Orton, Jindrak, O'Haire, etc) and the people that stood out where those that DIDN'T look like that. That might be a part of the reason why Wyatt & Bryan are popular today, while the crowds turn on Orton, Batista & Cena. Well that plus they're fresh & haven't been on top for a decade. Paul Heyman once said, when defending Terry Funk being in ECW, that if you put 99 blondes in room with one redhead, when people walk in, their eyes gravitate toward the redhead. That's how he felt about Legends in wrestling. Terry Funk was the one, old guy legend in ECW and that's why it worked. In WCW, it was nothing but old guys. Something along those lines, it was quite awhile ago.

Well, that's kinda putting words in my mouth is you think I said anything close to some of those. Especially "bigger is always better!" I'm not going to say that Giant Gonzales is better than Rey Mysterio, Jr. I'm saying that Rey Mysterio, Jr. is a terrible heavyweight champion that would have to main event & sell a Pay-Per-View. I think there's a difference... And it doesn't have anything to do with steroids. I'm not saying I want the Warlord running around squashing people either. I just want larger than life stars at the top. Not ordinary looking guys. Is that really so far-fetched? It's a big reason why I don't watch or support most Indies. It's not my cup of tea. Here's the honesty of it all: I'm a big fucking dude. Real big. And if I think I can whip a guy's ass, I'm not going to pay to watch him fight. That's where I'm coming from. I was literally bigger than Daniel Bryan by the time I was in 6th grade. So it's unbelievable to me to watch him winning 3-way matches against Batista & Randy Orton. I can't suspend my disbelief there. A kick to the balls & a small package roll-up? OK. A submission finish in the middle? Eh... And this is usually when people bring up something about MMA & technique and blah blah blah. That's great, except wrestling is worked & the small guys are never portrayed as high submission experts that can "catch" anyone at anytime or something like that. Maybe they should be, that could work. Mayweather hitting Big Show with Brass Knuckles? I bought that. I met The Undertaker in person. He's one of the only people in my life I have ever had to look up to. He had a presence about him that was...unreal. I can't even really explain it. THAT is what I would pay for, ya know? Dude was straight scary & I thought he would rock me. And I post on like, let's see...six different wrestling forums right now. So when I talk about the online wrestling fans, I'm not speaking of this forum exclusively. And when speaking in general terms when speaking of the IWC masses, yeah, the workrate people ARE like that.

Explain. Even as WWE World Heavyweight Champion, due to his size, he'll constantly be booked as an "underdog" in every single match, just like Rey Mysterio, Jr. was. You can already tell because of how the commentators treat him & the things that people like Triple H, Stephanie McMahon & Vince McMahon say in promos. If you're treated that way, even as champion, it means you're never going on last (like C.M. Punk), so you're never a "true" main eventer. It just means that he'll always play second (or third) fiddle to someone else. Which means he'll never be THE guy & put into a place to draw money...which they'll use against him later as an excuse to not be on top. "He doesn't draw." They did it before, they'll do it again. Time will tell but we've seen it all before. It writes itself. And yeah, I'll say it 'cause it's what everyone assumed anyway: I like wrestlers that are big because people pay to see non-normal people. The Pontiac Silverdome wasn't sold out for Savage & Steamboat. Brock Lesnar is always going to look more credible than Daniel Bryan. And when Brock beats him at Summerslam, or whenever, it'll just re-enforce that. There's a reason Hogan got the role in Rocky 3, people have an idea of what a WRESTLER is. That's not a small, bearded, pale man... Size matters. Your entire run, every feud can't be David Vs. Goliath. And to be blunt, I think people on the internet WAY overrate what "workrate" even means because at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter. Let's not lose sight of the fact that it's still a business where you're getting people to pay to watch you, regardless of all the back-and-forth, page after page discussions between us nerds on an internet forum.

Batista is supposed to be "The Animal." Admittedly, he hasn't done a lot since coming back but he was supposed to be "Hollywood" & acting above everyone else, like he did during his spotlight era before leaving. I guess "The Animal" was supposed to be a big, ruthless brute but it doesn't come across well when he's working 15 minute matches & getting blown up. Works better in squashes. Randy Orton is "The Viper" and walks/wrestles/talks in slow motion like he's stalking his prey or some shit. It sucks but it's there. That's why the RKO "comes out of nowhere" because it's supposed to be like getting hit by a snake or some shit. Good commentators would go a long way... I like Bryan, I want WWE to do more. The pre-Mania stuff, like the Occupy RAW was good. They need more of that stuff. Not just him chanting Yes & JBL calling him a goat on commentary. Have him tell people he wants to be the best wrestler again, try to get that over. Say he's the best, gonna out-wrestle everyone. Something like that. Is he just going to be the underdog in every feud even as World Champion because he's small? Will the commentators continue to bury him even as World Champion because of his beard? They need to add more layers to his character & give him motivation. Now that he's the champion, chasing the belt isn't a motivation anymore, so he needs a new one. Don't make us assume his motivation is to just not lose the belt, tell us & show us, ya know? Bryan as the voice of the people that get fucked by the system could work. All the people in student debt, etc.

I don't think he's a good promo or character period. What even **IS** his character? He has a nasty-ass beard & chants "YES!" a lot. That's his entire gimmick. So it's a damn-good thing he's a helluva wrestler. And that's is we don't bring up his size, which people are in denial if they think that doesn't matter. I would like to see him wrestle to a time-limit draw with someone like Barrett or Ziggler. Not on a PPV but on RAW, you would get a good match & it could help someone like Barrett or Ziggler to not get beaten by the champ. How you do it without making Bryan look weak though, I'm not sure. Since anyone else any other time just hits those dudes with their finish & pins em clean in about seven minutes.

If I were a betting man, I would guess that it's only a matter of time until the crowd starts to turn on Daniel Bryan. Especially in this "meta" social media era. His "chase" is over. His missed the post-'Mania RAW due to his wedding. Two weeks after Wrestlemania he gets a stretcher job to open the show as his father dies in real life. Bad luck, bad timing. I don't think there's people clamoring for a feud with Kane either but what can you do? Daniel Bryan as WWE World Heavyweight Champion is going to be like Chris Benoit as WWE Champion: playing second fiddle to the "real" main eventers (I hope that I'm wrong). Daniel Bryan is a helluva worker but we've all heard & read the arguments that it takes more than good matches to be a top star in WWE. How long can just chanting "Yes!" while standing there getting belittled by everyone else with a microphone work? To me, it's as bad as Rob Van Dam pointing to himself, like that makes any sense. WWE need to let him do more. Same rehashed talking points, I know. But we'll see after a couple months what situation Bryan is in. I fully expect Cesaro to be a bigger star by the end of the year than Bryan & I think Lesnar will be winning the title before too long. I could see a big match between Cesaro/Lesnar down the line too with Heyman having to pick a side. Although I'm not happy about Kane, I must admit that Extreme Rules not just being a bunch of rematches is a welcome change. I do wish WWE would get away from the guaranteed rematch clause stuff. AJ Lee, to my knowledge (unless it happened on a B-show) didn't get a rematch when she lost to Paige. Orton/Batista aren't getting a rematch. I'm fine with that. Especially now with the Pay-Per-View shows being on WWE Network. Bryan Vs. Cesaro Bryan Vs. Harper Bryan Vs. Lesnar All matches I want to see & hope to see. Bryan Vs. Kane again? Not so much. I don't care about Bryan Vs. Cena, Orton, Batistam Sheamus, Del Rio or Triple H either. What would be cool is if Daniel Bryan got to have matches with other roster members that are not in the tippy-top of the card, Ric Flair style, just for the sake of having good matches & showing he's a fighting champion to make him look more credible by going over people. Whatever happened to that? I used to love when you would get a match like Ric Flair Vs. Bobby Eaton or Bret Hart Vs. Hakushi. Bryan Vs. Santino Bryan Vs. Fandango Bryan Vs. Rusev Bryan Vs. Brodus Clay Bryan Vs. Drew McIntyre or Heath Slater Bryan Vs. Hunico New, fresh matches where Bryan can look strong & go over but still have a good match & show case some guys that rarely get too much TV time or push.

The thing is, I'm not even sure if Jim Ross is right. i mean, heels don't really work like that anymore. Not just because they can't or don't but because kayfabe is dead. If someone comes out on TV & acts like he's murdering people & raping their wives, the audience is gonna fucking laugh at him. Everyone has the internet. Everyone knows wrestling is fake. Hell, the fucking wrestlers themselves are on Twitter calling people marks & referring to themselves as heels. Being old school is one thing, being out of touch entirely is another. The only way you really get heat nowadays is if you suck. So, I guess if you suck on purpose & do a 20-minute wristlock you'll be a good heel in Jim's mind? Even then the crowd might get behind you ironically.

WWF World Tour 1992 The Texas Tornado Vs. The Mountie (with Jimmy Hart) I remembered it being one of the most boring matches I had ever watched, that seemed to go on forever despite no one really doing anything. I re-watched it to see if I misremembered...it's still pretty dull. Although I got a kick out of the crowd chanting "Jailbird!" at the Mountie because it was around the time of his feud with the Big Boss Man where he had to "spend the night in the slammer!"

I'm not really surprised by this. Renee sticks out like a sore thumb on wrestling because she's so much better at her job than everyone else seems to be. She's really professional & never comes off, to me, as a really bad actor trying to remember lines/questions or express emotion.

I would be cool with just the opening picture of Warrior that shows his birth & death dates, that says Rest in Peace, then continue on with the show as normal. Don't spend too much time on it or dwell on it & bring the whole evening down to a somber, depressing level.

I like Eric Young. I felt he was one of the better guys on the roster last time I watched, honestly. I thought he was funny when he was a comedy character and I liked him as a serious threat when he was the leader of World Elite as well. He had a sick Piledriver! That being said, although I like Eric Young, that won't make me watch TNA. I learned my lesson about TNA a long time ago.

If Rusev is booked strong, he can just be a juggernaut for a few months that gets toppled on a B-show PPV by a top babyface. Not every worker has to be destined to be a long-term main eventer, ya know? Rusev will probably just be another Ryback...but is that so bad? A roster needs guys like that. And he's a fresh new guy that still has the new car smell for awhile, he's not damaged good yet. After getting toppled, he can "snap" & injure some mid-carder to look like a threat again for a few more months.

I asked Jim Ross what his thoughts on The Missing Link were, since him & Jake "The Snake" Roberts just mentioned Dark Journey on his podcast & someone on RAW had a giant Missing Link sign. His reply? "Deceased."

A lot of the "names" that have been mentioned (like AJ Styles) would automatically make me write-off a promotion. There are some guys out there that I like, such as Masters & Carlito (when he's motivate) but for the most part, I'll take the folks in NXT over those on the U.S. Indies.

If nothing else, it kinda makes them look stupid, no? I mean fuck, how many years does Heyman have to be amazing to impress someone? Who are the people that were still on the fence?

My first thought as well. I guess now we wait & find out.

WWE.com posted it too.

For the first time, in a long time, I feel like RAW being three hours long tomorrow will be a blessing not a curse. Brock Lesnar ended the twenty-two year long Undertaker undefeated Wrestlemania streak. Daniel Bryan overcame The Authority, Batista & Randy Orton to become WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Cesaro won the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal & The Real American broke up. A.J. Lee defended her Divas Championship against basically the entire female roster. The Usos retained their tag team championships. The Shield crushed Kane/Outlaws. We have to see new feuds start, some people will get rematches, I'm sure. Brock Lesnar said he wanted a title shot a couple months back. Alberto Del Rio & Sheamus eliminated each other in the battle royal. I'm sure Randy Orton & Batista will stick around at the top of the card. Triple H is going to be pissed. The Wyatt Family & Cena saga I'm sure will continue. Definitely a lot going on & that's not counting how hype the crowd will be & any potential big returns.

Great & memorable Wrestlemania. Don't think anyone will forget this one anytime soon. Bryan got his moment & retribution. The Undertaker lost, thus ending the Streak. Triple H was arguable the MVP of the night, with the best entrance, best match & resurrecting the crowd in the main event with his run-in after they were dead from 'Taker losing. Good night all around. Stream was awesome on the Network. Glad I watched, no complaints. I'm a happy fan. Oh and that Bray Wyatt concert introduction was fucking incredible. Holy shit!