WingedEagle

This was such a dominant win that its hard not come away from it looking at LGI as top guys in the promotion. It almost felt too rushed though and I found myself enjoying some of the trios building to this more than the payoff here. *** 1/2

This would've been pretty good if it were 10-15 minutes shorter. But they needed to burn a ton of clock and filled with walk & brawl and run-ins that became quite tedious in addition to glacial. The pieces were here but both are capable of worlds better with each other and others. These Monterrey matches often leave me thinking they're paid based on how long they go.

Is B. Brian Blair's book any good?

Very much so, despite all the Baron Cobin & Danhausen business. If I didn't apparently have great contempt for myself I would FF through any and everything those two touch.

So apparently today's the day I can't login to the ESPN gimmick despite having access through my cable company. Good times. I wouldn't pay an extra $30 a month for it, but not getting it at all when its supposed to be included with my cable package is somehow even more frustrating.

Easily a MOTYC but how in the world did they miss Cerebro's final shot for the pin until the replay?

This match sounds like hepatitis. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing.

Super, super instructive. Despite falling into this demo, I apparently didn't get the memo that the NBA peaked pre-Bill Russell. George Mikan FTW!

The best I can surmise is simply that CMLL is beyond stubborn in how they produce their shows, which in turn is beyond frustrating. Unclear how folks who aren't in the building can rave about the crowds when they're nearly muted for our purposes, but its a real buzzkill.

When do we find out Jim Ross cast 50 ballots? Is Bill Watts sneaking in at #4?

2026 -- Attitude Era GWE. Never saw that coming. That pie chart of when voters started watching remains the most instructive, even if imperfect, ballot that we've seen.

He didn't cut enough promos for this crowd. Amazing.

This was one of my favorite trios since HDL. Satanico was his usual wrecking ball self, and Perro seemed to have some extra pep in his step. Short and sweet, but oh so sweet.

Glad to see Punk ahead of Cena. I was really surprised how poorly the latter's work held up when rewatching things since 2016. Both should be behind Okada, Omega and Ishii, but that's a story for another day. Hopefully there's justice for Tanahashi. Aja Kong has never connected with me at the level she fares in these parts, but I've got no objection to it. Clearly great and someone who's delivered at a ridiculous level for a ridiculously long time. I've just always preferred, Bull, Ozaki, Hokuto and Shirai. Similarly, I'll always rate Satanico & Casas higher than Santo, but I get it. No complaints there. On the other hand, I will never understand the Eddy & Rey love. Those 2 and Savage are a few of my biggest disconnects from these rankings. Just rarely workers that stood out as elite, even on their best nights. The Danielson/Tanahashi 1-2 dream lives on!

Also, who's Gary?

I don't know whether to run for safety or scream for an encore. We have a winner.

Really amazing that Chigusa Nagayo, Bull Nakano and Io Shirai are getting their flowers here. A lot of voting makes no sense and some makes a lot of sense (often for good and bad reasons), but its cool to see some deserving names not get overlooked.

Nearly 35% of voters essentially started watching wrestling with John Cena. He's their Hogan and Flair without any of the drawbacks (yet). Its remarkable he didn't finish higher.

Cena's going to do really, really well based on when a lot of voters started watching. He's their Hogan but without the baggage and with a decade's worth of matches pushed as all-timers.

Absolutely. He's very much done working "Road to Destruction" type dates and isn't killing himself for them. Rightfully so after doing it for nearly a decade. But there are still few and far between at his level when he decides its go time.

Between Wrestle Kingdom and tonight, I guess its safe to say that this Okada kid isn't exactly washed?

I will not complain about a show that opens with 2 matches like that. With another 7 to go, including at least a few that should push a half hour in this company, I will also not regret watching this show at home. This old does not need to be out until 2am.

So, so smart to have FTR sell the bulk of the way as they are obviously fantastic at it, and it let Copeland get in his big spots and work the crowd without having to do much of the nitty gritty. It also made the heat that much better when they got there. Beth Phoenix still isn't a nostalgia spot that hits with me, but it set up a real highlight spot and served a purpose as a way to eliminate Hathaway, who you just know loved having that moment. Really terrific opener and yet another feather in FTR's cap. I'm a Bucks guy but FTR is the only other team that even belongs in the conversation with them this century.

Do we know the average age of voters?

He should be behind Bryan Danielson. Probably. Everyone else should be bending the knee.