WingedEagle

Fun women's match and definitely surprised by the result. Seems odd to change the title tonight though. Has to be more to it than simply mixing things up before a potential PPV match.

Really enjoyed the first hour other than the Steph & Mick show. Its possible Foley is more irritating than Steph. But let's be positive. The opening four way was a fun, drawn out showcase with moments where everyone got to shine and the right booking at the end. Leaves open some very interesting possibilities for later tonight and Summerslam. Intrigue is good! The Nia Jax squash was also fun and refreshing. It was a legit squash. She murdered this poor little girl and heeled it up in the process, lifting her at a 2 count to dish out more punishment. Simple and definitive. That's how you do it.

Yes. I'm just hoping this means its out of the way and we don't have to listen to it again this week. But not holding my breath.

Can't believe they're going long on account of this incredibly long and ineffective promo segment.

Yep. Don't even understand the need to go long. It has to burn out a crowd to go 4+ hours without an intermission.

Okay, picking up now. Crowd still sounds like they're trying to warm up.

Feels like the six-man is having a hard time getting the crowd going after the promos. These matches usually shine on TV but definitely a bit cold thus far.

Wow. Glad you enjoyed it but just didn't connect here at all. Logic was sound but I didn't find Nattie's work on the leg compelling and Lynch even stopped selling it for a while until the finish. Card placement didn't help but this was a real disappointment. What did I miss?? I thought Becky sold well throughout. I loved Natties finish kicking the leg through refs leg then Sharpshooter. Maybe rewatch sometime. I got it at ****. Besides Becky/Charlotte at Rumble and the MANIA triple threat which I also have ****. What's been better on main roster? On big shows, I liked Natalya/Charlotte from Roadblock and the tag opener tonight. Sasha & Becky vs. Naomi & Tamina from Fastlane as well. Would have to look up a lot from TV to see what fits there. Edit: Of course the 2 you mentioned as well.

Wow they are absolutely in love with apron spots tonight.

Wow. Glad you enjoyed it but just didn't connect here at all. Logic was sound but I didn't find Nattie's work on the leg compelling and Lynch even stopped selling it for a while until the finish. Card placement didn't help but this was a real disappointment. What did I miss??

Becky Lynch was dealt a very bad hand in the draft.

If Neville is the man gravity forgot, Zayn is the man gravity kidnapped and will release from its grip. The effort these two put forth can't be denied but on most nights they strike me as 2 of the most overrated names in the business.

Yeah, unfortunately JBL clearly said this was a one-time deal. Hopefully she returns not too long after Takeover. The match was solid but it clearly meant the world for Bayley to be there and Banks looked like it was was a big deal for her as well. I'm a sucker for that so this was great.

Finally started listening to this today and am really enjoying it. Great to have the show back.

Glad to hear there are steps to be taken and hopefully everything goes exactly as hoped for. Kick some ass and don't let the heat here get you down. You should be in great hands at MSK.

Ha that's pretty funny. Always appreciate him having a good time.

One thing that really stood out was how awful and cringeworthy the forced nicknames came off when announcing picks. Unclear if the goal they're tone deaf to it or not, but they don't evoke any kind of babyface or heel reaction in that context. Its just embarrassing. Probably a lot more optimistic about Gable & Jordan on the main roster than I should be based on precedent, but they look to only have one team (Usos) to even work with on Smackdown. That can always change and some new pairings may develop, but initially it looks like a large handicap.

Haven't had time to digest the rosters, but I was always content with the proposed Rolins/Reigns and AJ/Cena headline acts. Some really interesting potential with women on the Raw side as I've become a big Nia Jax fan. Biggest takeaway thus far is the huge improvement in announcing. Graves for JBL and JBL for Lawler should make both shows much better as long as Vince stays away from Graves's earpiece.

It'd be a phenomenal Network special, but seeing as how the entire driving force behind the draft / brand split and Smackdown Live is to build television ratings it just wasn't in the cards.

The first half of this was perfectly competent and solid, but really didn't rise above that at all and you very much had the sense that they were going through the motions to fill in the allotted time. Then comes the back half with a finishing stretch where before you blink the big moves and near falls enter the picture, but more importantly, the pacing and selling accompany them so that almost everything has time to register and matter. I don't know that I've watched more than a handful of joshi from this decade, but if there's more out there along these lines I'll need to catch up. Shirai brought the flash but Satomura held it together and lived up to some of the praise I've seen thrown her way. They really worked one hell of a finishing stretch. ****1/4

If Reigns turned heel tomorrow would he immediately get the babyface pop they're seeking?

Final Deletion also wasn't presented to be good. Fun, yes, but not a sophisticated wrestling angle or production. Clearly designed to be fun with a whole lot of over the top tongue in cheek humor. For those purposes it seemed fine. The Wyatt/New Day bit seemed to take itself a whole lot more seriously.

I love when people bring this up for New Japan yet ignore that's pretty much how Inoki managed to become a bigger star than Baba and New Japan bigger than All Japan in the first place Sometimes it works too. Takayama became a far bigger star due to his PRIDE fights despite not winning a single one. Not exactly comparable to WWE for many reasons -- the culture of the countries, the respective performances of the wrestlers in shoots, nevermind that Inoki's weren't really shoots. Were any other than the Ali fight?

Well, I mean they could bring up Samoa Joe as a worldbeater with an undefeated streak and pay known tough guys to do jobs for him all the way to Mania, but no way do they do it. Exactly. It'd arguably stand as good a chance as any of working, but they should really decide in the next month or 2 who that guy is and run with it. Whether its Reigns, Ambrose, AJ, Cass, Balor, Joe or whomever. The key is to commit to that individual scoring a decisive win on the biggest possible stage and building to it as an historical event.