WingedEagle

Even though I don't agree with it, I don't have any issue with the crowd chants or response to Reigns. Its a challenge for bookers and performers to work around. They've adjusted pretty well thus far by ending the pandering babyface role and having come down the aisles and go with the tweener "the guy" act. At the end of the day what matters is whether and how it moves/maintains numbers. If the crowd treated him and his matches like Jericho/Ambrose there'd be a huge problem. Engagement is engagement and they've got something to work with even if its not what they originally planned for.

Unbelievable. Reigns and Styles are absolutely two of the very best wrestlers going today. At this point I'm sold that AJ is an even more of an all time great than I gave him credit for a month ago, and the biggest victim of the TNA stink that exists. His bumping, selling, timing and explosive athleticism - even, and perhaps especially, at this stage of his career - were vital to this match. There aren't too many wrestlers on the planet who can deliver at that level. But Roman Reigns is one of them. He has the ability to sell a limb, sell accumulated damage, play a monster physical powerhouse or the freakish athlete. Vince Wilfork or Lawrence Taylor. Pick your poison. Babyface or heel, or as the case may be now, and for the best, both. I have no idea if he can move the numbers enough to be the next Cena. But he can absolutely deliver the goods in the ring at that level. Not halfway through this year he's part of my second MOTY (tonight) a couple legit MOTYC's below that level (Fastlane triangle match, Styles at Payback) and a slew of quality television matches since Mania. That's on top of being in 2 of my top 3 matches last year -- Bryan at Fastlane and Brock at Mania. The dude is amazing and can GO. I wish the AJ program wasn't quite over yet, but looking forward to the Rollins series.

25 point margin in the game meant I was going to switch over to this show, but will give GSW a few to cut into the lead rather than whatever shenanigans are in this cage.

The most true statement ever typed on this board. And I was just thinking Ranallo has made Cole sounds better than ever. The man has one speed and tone, and I'm afraid he's going to slip and try to sell me a set of knives during a match. Just insufferable. Not sure how I liked him calling Pride & boxing, but my impression of him thus far are as low as my expectations were high.

Wow, Rusev showed absolutely no regard for his accent. Enjoyed that segment though.

Fuck, the game doesn't start till 8. So unless its a blowout will be shutting down the twitter machine and watching the main event afterwards.

Will have this muted on the small screen until Dubs-Thunder finishes. Barring overtime that'll be over long before the main event, which is what I'm really stoked for.

Cool. Always love hearing these new names.

Just added it to the queue and hope to find time for it before the game tonight. What promotion is that from?

Raw definitely takes a backseat to Thunder/Dubs. Sounds like plenty of fast forward material in the last 2 hours when I catch up tonight.

It really depends. If I'm absolutely hooked on the subject -- top 100 matches, certain broad GWE ones, I'm game no matter how long and happy to split them up over X number of days to get through it. Easy to pick up where I left off on the ipod. On the other hand, if its a random podcast without a specific, captivating focus I won't even give it a chance if it multiple hours.

I'm about ready to tap on ZSJ. His selling is much too limited and brief to mean anything over the course of a match, and while I'm not someone who demands stiffness on offense, his looks so weak that its difficult to take seriously. He moves very well and is pretty quick for someone you wouldn't define as fast, but almost every single outing of his is underwhelming, even against opposition I love. Just not connecting on any level.

The problem is that their "core fan base" is Sinclair Broadcasting, at least if we're defining it as the base that keeps the company alive. They should really work to expand the actual audience so that at some point it becomes sufficient to support meaningful expansion of the business. I'm an unabashed New Japan mark, and rushed to get tickets the first couple times they came to ROH. But not this weekend. What's the draw? I can see that crew's big matches live if I want to stay up all night, or the next day at the very latest. There's no reason to cancel a Saturday night just to see them live when I know the big performances are coming on a major NJPW show and nothing meaningful is taking place here.

Pretty sure all posters and generic videos are produced well in advance without any regard to storylines.

Booking would actually matter quite a bit. The current state of the product makes it unappealing at any price, and is why I didn't seek out tickets to the show tomorrow night. If things are hot you can get away with charging quite a bit. If they're relying on price as a draw that is a race to the bottom without winners in this field.

I've watched all of 60 other than the main event but very much agree with this, and its consistent with what I've previously seen from Evolve. He stands out as a legit natural who's a step ahead of everyone else on timing, transitions and an incredible smoothness whether working holds, spots, selling and just as impressively flowing between them.

Reigns definitely feels like the odds-on favorite as of today.

If Lombardi (or anyone) has the kind of dirt they'd rather not see come to light you'd think it would be very easy to reach an agreement that bars him from speaking about his time with the company, but it doesn't seem as though that's something they've found necessary over the years.

Hoping I get the chance to catch the 2 new shows some time this week as its seems like Evolve has been on a nice run. I'm dying to go to a show when they're in the NY area but their buildings are a bit tougher sell to the wife than MSG.

That makes a bit more sense. No basis for 1M PPV buys today with the base number of Network subscribers.

I thought I read that they specifically declined to provide any PPV figures?

A few thoughts on the show which I watched on Sunday afternoon. The delegate matches were fun sprints, with Kzy vs. Mochizui and Tozawa vs. Yoshino the standouts. I really enjoy how most wrestlers on the roster has a clearly defined personality that fits into each match. There's nothing bland about the product. These 2 bouts kept a great pace with hot finishing sequences and didn't overstay their welcome nor raise the bar too high for the main event. Just a solid undercard for any show. The tag title match featured some cool spots and athleticism, but I can't say it really clicked at all. T-Hawk & Eita seem rather lifeless by comparison to others on the roster and that match was the only one on the night that really dragged. It was as if they didn't want to go full throttle with the house style but also didn't want to mix in any real selling which didn't leave them with much. I enjoyed the main event so much more than I ever thought possible. There were way too many shenanigans involving people on the outside getting mixed up in the match with various gimmicks, but the flag capturing bit was well done and produced some decent drama, but the real highlight was how the entire Shingo/YAMATO storyline was so clear throughout the match and pushed hard without distraction. No idea what the booking plans are, but presumably YAMATO now has to go through Doi before the Shingo title match? For such a long match and a show this was a real breeze to watch when you can skip from match to match. Not sure I'll ever see this style as something where I rate any of the workers as among my favorites, but between the speed, athleticism, characters and booking it certainly stands apart from other promotions and I can easily see this being a fun addition to the current wrestling I regularly keep up with, at least for the big shows.

Really, really excited for the elimination tag. Then we got a couple roll-ups followed by a nice looking finish. Which happened to be during commercial. But Reigns vs. Styles was super heated, arguably moreso than anything else they've done this year. I really love how they've booked it so simply. AJ isn't out there cutting 15 minutes promos. A couple minutes on the mic backstage, and then relying on his actual wrestling to get him over. And its worked! Add on the intrigue of waiting for Gallows & Anderson to turn and the subtle, but clear touches along the way like teasing the chair and you've got the best program going in quite some time. Really looking forward to PPV rematch. Hopefully not too many family shenanigans that night.

Why is Delirious so entrenched?

The undercard was pretty solid, with a the Liger/Cheeseburger tag almost perfect for the time allotted and characters. It wasn't a great match, but it was solid action designed for the sole purposes of bringing smiles to faces (TM Michael Hayes). Briscoes vs. War Machine really needed better production as the camera missed a few big spots and everyone seemed off at the finish. But they built a couple near falls tremendously, particularly with Hanson missing the moonsault. The booking remains a huge question mark. Other than getting the TV Title off of Ishii, the ROH roster is presented as inferior to the visiting stars. A stale world champion and flavor of the month challenger didn't even get a finish and were used to recreate a '97 Nitro, only with an ROH/PWG babyface tag team fronting their heel stable. I'm a fan of the Young Bucks but this doesn't feel like a particularly good use of anyone involved. Is Lethal a babyface now? Should anyone care about the title regardless of the answer? Is the superkicking tag team paying tribute to old gimmicks really a top of the card heel act? Perhaps there's a bigger picture here that will play out, but nostalgia night isn't a good look for the main event picture.