NintendoLogic

I've decided that AJ vs. Samoa Joe at Turning Point is my official pick for best match in TNA history. That may sound like damning with faint praise, but it's legitimately a really good match.

Wasn't it Lawler's idea for Hawk to no-sell the piledriver?

"Well, the important thing is that you've found a way to feel superior to both."-xkcd Not taking sides or anything, it's just that the quote came to mind when I read that.

No AWA. The list only includes matches that are currently available on the Network.

WWE can fuck right off with their long-ass lists where each entry has its own page. There's no way in hell I'm clicking through 100 pages, especially if I'm going to be "rewarded" with insights from the likes of David Shoemaker.

You have to figure that some day WWE will have to contend with someone whose silence can't be bought. Maybe that's why they're so desperate to keep Rey under contract.

Yeah, Tenryu was even better in his 50s, and he wasn't anywhere near as good as Flair in his 30s. Also, I remain mystified by the love for the Wahoo match. I'll watch it again and see if it does anything for me.

Yes, there are plenty of great sub-20 minute matches. But there are far, far more great matches that go longer than 20 (I'd say between 20 and 30 minutes is the sweet spot). Not only that, the overall quality of those longer matches is far higher. I'm confident that if you made a list of the 20 greatest matches of all time that go longer than 20 minutes and one of the 20 greatest sub-20 minute matches, the median quality of the former list would absolutely smoke that of the latter. The fact that most wrestlers are incapable of reaching those heights is immaterial. That's like penalizing Metallica because most guitarists can't play Kirk Hammett's solos.

From the paragraph on Teddy Long's shoot interview in the current issue: I don't even know where to begin.

Most guys in WWE could not put on an engaging 20 minute match. Then most guys in WWE suck, which is why they need everything laid out for them by road agents. That's ridiculous. I know the less-is-more mindset is in vogue these days, but it's more often the case that less is just less. There's a reason virtually every great match in history has been at least 20 minutes.

I just saw Ishii/Goto. I lost almost as many brain cells watching it as Ishii and Goto did participating in it.

I think being the only guy who knows how to pull his punches in a promotion full of dumbasses who like to concuss each other is a strong point in his favor.

The issue wasn't that the spot was botched. It was that he booked a spot that was too dangerous for WWE.

I thought it was mainly the house show crowds in places like Jacksonville that were doing the racist/sexist chants.

It's hardly a stretch to say that Lawler wasn't exactly a whiz on the mat.

If you're going to highlight a match that demonstrates Dave's love of workrate, Orton/Reigns strikes me as a rather curious choice.

Brisco worked not-so-subtle heel against Jumbo in 1976.

It was the 1995 Carnival Misawa was injured in (specifically, he broke his orbital bone). He had to pull out of the 1994 Carnival due to an injury, but that was a work. Baba didn't want Misawa winning that year, but he also didn't want him doing any jobs.

Don't forget John Cena getting fired after the 2010 one and missing exactly zero weeks.

I have to imagine that Lawler got an earful from Vince for acknowledging that Rusev is actually from Bulgaria.

Using Taue as an example of doing more with less is pretty funny. He was a legit high-level athlete who competed in sumo's second-highest division. Just because someone looks physically awkward doesn't mean he's unathletic. Peyton Manning is another example.

You know the Divas are still being graded on a pity curve when consistently having matches without a horrific botch is considered praiseworthy. That's like praising Khali on the grounds that he hasn't killed anybody since arriving in WWE. Seriously, let them have a 20 minute match that the crowd doesn't completely turn on halfway through and then we'll talk.

Jericho mentions in his books that Shawn was one of his main inspirations. Not to mention the fact that he worked two separate feuds with Shawn built around that idea.

The only Hall Big Daddy belongs in is the Hall of Pain.

I'd rate Luger/Steamboat the best US title match ever even in a world with Magnum/Tully. On the other hand, I actively hate the Final Conflict tag match.