NintendoLogic

A big problem with AEW is that they seem to think the Elite are much bigger stars then they really are. So instead of trying to get Omega and the Bucks over to a larger audience, they're using them to try to get other acts over. This is a case where I think the promotion would benefit from the top stars being more selfish.

Kross signing with WWE would pretty well confirm that calling out Batista at Bloodsport was just a lame attempt at booking his own angle and GCW did not, in fact, have the match worked out.

Austin and Regal actually had a really dope strap match on Smackdown in 2001. For @Mrzfn, Austin vs. Marc Mero at KOTR 1996 and Austin vs. Helmsley at IYH: Buried Alive are a couple of other under-the-radar selections worth checking out.

Some good and bad from the spoilers for next week's Raw:

So a gauntlet match to determine the #1 contender for the US title ended without a finish and led to the title shot going to someone who wasn't even in the match. And the OC beat the Viking Raiders clean in a non-title match the night after they had a title match that went to a double countout. Raw in 2019 is the worst show in the history of television.

I'm sure Kairi will tweet something about how nobody needs to worry because she's totally fine right before taking a lengthy absence that is never explained or even acknowledged on TV.

If the way Kairi crumpled after taking the spear didn't clue Charlotte in that something was wrong, being unable to get up for the powerbomb should have. Pulling a Low Ki on a likely concussed opponent means that either she has to get her shit in no matter what or she has no idea how to deviate from the script. As is usually the case, though, WWE is the real villain here. There's no excuse for nobody at ringside or backstage calling an audible when it was clear that Kairi had gotten her bell rung. Not to mention the inherent irresponsibility of putting a 100-pound woman with a history of concussion issues in a TLC match in the first place.

Based on the gifs I've seen, the main event was a total trainwreck and Charlotte is an unprofessional shithead who should be blackballed from the industry.

Huehuehue @ KawadaSmile breaking the board yet again with his wacky Portuguese orthography. Anyway, I can't name a single match on this card and won't be watching so much as a millisecond, but the rest of you knock yourselves out.

It's official. I have a new #1 for 2019.

I just watched LA Park vs. Jacob Fatu, and I'm pretty sure it's my MOTY.

I've always been skeptical of Don Owen's candidacy, but he seems to me to be a stronger candidate than Crockett Sr. If Crockett is in, Owen should be as well. Also, the HOF issue contains the following paragraph (emphasis added): "Wrestlers are supposed to be judged on four major criteria, positive historical influence on the business, drawing power, in-ring ability as it pertains to having outstanding matches, and longevity. A Hall of Famer should be strong in all four of those categories, but if they were one of the dominant standouts of their era in the ring, or as a draw, they should be voted regardless of the other categories. Longevity without having any major positive historical impact, significant drawing power or a career filled with great matches, should be viewed as meaningless." So there you go. Meltzer officially endorses Great Match Theory.

The inductees: Los Misioneros de la Muerte Ultimo Guerrero Villano III Dr. Wagner Jr. Gedo Jim Crockett Sr. Bearcat Wright Paul Pons Still no justice for Taue or Akiyama (although the latter came three votes short). On the plus side, the lucha logjam finally broke.

If Colby Lopez with the volume turned all the way up doesn't lead to a new boom period, the WWE creative team needs to pack it in.

Page isn't from Texas.

So they gave Seth clean decisive wins over Brock and turned him heel after the fans rejected him. If they had done those things with Roman years ago, he'd almost certainly be a much bigger star today. Instead, they stuck to the John Cena playbook, and now he's probably damaged beyond repair. And they applied the lessons learned to someone far less suited for the top guy role. WWE: always fighting the last war.

Didn't El Dandy retire a few years ago?

Have Mauro and Corey ever been on the same broadcast team? Maybe they'd spend so much time trying to talk over each other that they'd cancel each other out.

What a letdown. I'm turning this shit off.

Keep this in mind the next time one of you complains that they're not pushing Roman strong enough.

It's pretty amusing how WWE tries to push brand supremacy as the most important thing imaginable while having team members turn on each other every year.

The fucking red light. This does not bode well for keeping the bullshit to a minimum.

Good thing all the damage they sustained the previous night didn't prevent them from hitting every move ever invented.

How badly do you have to fuck up on every level to have a Chicago crowd completely dead for a match with AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Roderick Strong?

Brock/Rey is the only thing on this card any sane person should be looking forward to, and it has the potential to be a real classic. Brock killed it this year with Finn Balor and Seth Rollins, so just imagine what he could do with an actual good wrestler. But it's not worth sitting through three hours of Brand Supremacy horseshit for. I'll be checking in and out until the match starts.