WingedEagle

Sexist.

I am beyond pumped for this show and have no idea why. Weakest lineup since 27 by my estimation, and yet I could not be more jacked up about watching tonight.

Just posted this in another thread -- but EXACTLY. Our lists are a snapshot as of a particular moment. This does not end!!

Quoting Loss's post here because (1) its his shop and (2) its tangential to my main point, which is that I hope this project wrapping up does not lead this part of the board to go dark. Putting together my list after the first 16-18 names or so wasn't very fun. To some extent it felt like a chore and I'm not quite sure I love how or why I ranked one person over another, but at the end of the day my list reflects what I love about wrestling. I bring this up not to bring this down, but because the list itself is not what's important here but rather the process that has entailed watching, reading and thinking about wrestlers and work that I hadn't before. I don't see any reason why that has to stop now. There are wrestlers I've barely seen who I want to watch more. There are wrestlers I've seen dozens of matches and in some cases many, many more than that and still want to watch more. While I probably prefer thinking about matches more than wrestlers, this has been a phenomenal platform from which to expand my viewing. In many ways this has replaced the Microscope part of the board and I hope it doesn't become a ghost town tomorrow. Our ballots are at best a snapshot as of a given time, and there' s no reason they can't and shouldn't be used as a springboard for more thought and discussion. A few other things I found out about myself as a fan along the way, but that will have to wait until after Mania.

Lawler made it, and in fact, did so quite comfortably. Rey Rey and Finlay were casualties.

Ballot is in!

Can we try to use spoiler tags where appropriate today?

Finishing up the HOF today. Michael Hayes may be greatest thing ever.

I may also not rank Savage or Lawler. Is that allowed if I'm the high man on Cena?

Parv deserves a HOF nod for his gifs. That's a shoot, brother.

I hate you. Seriously. Well, I would, but you put up that Hansen vs. Colon glory. On my ballot, Casas and Dandy are likely the only pure lucha names. That likely leaves out quite a few top candidates on other ballots. Terry Funk and Riki Choshu are on the bubble.

Started working on my ballot beyond the top 6 tonight. This is way, way harder than I thought. A week ago I would've said I could be the high man on Cena, Taue and Tanahashi, but seeing some of the wackiness out there I'll believe anything.

Shock because it didn't feel like the finish, rather than at the result. No, that was at the result I feel. That crowd LOVES Bayley. Her losing the title was a pretty big deal. They were just starting to clap for her to get up. That was just picking up. I think they thought there was going to be one more wave of fighting at least. Exactly. Didn't feel like anyone was ready for any kind of finish.

This definitely isn't about Bayley's strikes or lack of polish, if you will. Her character and act are phenomenal and it usually translates to a really good match. In this case, I don't think Asuka came to play ball in a fashion that accounted for Bayley's talents, which is all the more puzzling given her success over the last year.

Shock because it didn't feel like the finish, rather than at the result. No, that was at the result I feel. That crowd LOVES Bayley. Her losing the title was a pretty big deal. Exactly. It was because they cared Could not possibly disagree more. Don't think anyone bought it as a finish, and this wasn't a flash pin like a Fujinami.

Definitely great that they keep adding to the library. Always something fun to be found in the archives.

Couldn't agree more. Rewatching both big matches today, Joe-Balor was absolutely incredibly and really stood out. Best Balor performance in NXT and entirely due to them working a more aggressive, brawling style. No question the blood added to things, but Joe's offense was so strong and effective both visually and audibly that even without it this would've been great. I know he's not super tall, but he's more than stocky enough to match up with Brock. Not happening, but man, that would be a collision my ears would literally love. Joe made this, but Balor did a lot of little things like his facials down the stretch and constantly trying to keep up with Joe's intensity that he more then held his end of the bargain. Really unlike anything other than a major Brock match you'll see from the company. Don't get me wrong -- I loved Nakamura vs. Zayn but I'm curious how those raving about it would rate it versus a similar great match from New Japan? It felt like any of a number of great Nak matches from recent years, with the differences being a black ring, in America, with English announcers and a crowd beyond hyped to see his major US debut. Surprised no one has thrown shade at it for the forearm trading, as that seems to be a major contention when it pops up on every big New Japan show. Is it being overlooked here because its not a regular spot in WWE?

Shock because it didn't feel like the finish, rather than at the result. It came out of nowhere, and then went on endlessly. Every other match on the show at least built towards a finish. Not sure what it is about Asuka but I thought this was Bayley's worst big match in quite some time. Not bad, by any stretch, but the Nia Jax and Carmella matches were both better. There wasn't a whole lot of meaningful selling. Even after a lights out finish, Bayley was up pretty quickly. Asuka's offense also didn't stand out at all. Nothing looked particularly impactful or on point.

Not one to get carried away and say anything I just watched was the greatest thing I've ever seen, but did want to again note that Samoa Joe was incredible last night. His performance should not be lost in the hysteria of Nakamura being Nakamura in front of a rabid US crowd. Probably Joe's best performance since....AJ Styles in TNA? Maybe the Angle cage match if you love that? Either way, very comfortable saying you can count on one hand the number of nights he had in TNA approaching this level. He was an absolute force of nature and should have walked out with the title unless he's going to continue this path on Monday night.

1) Its a good thing Brock isn't watching this because if he saw them stealing his match on Sunday he'd be pissed. 2) Props to Samoa Joe for making a last-minute pitch for GWE ballots.

I loved the music. If Delilah would play it then its not good for Shinsuke Nakamura.

Only think I didn't care for -- Nakamura's new music was way too subdued.

How long can they really keep Nakamura in NXT? The blood, the selling throughout, big moves. Nakamura hitting every note in front of an American audience dying for him to do just that? Hadn't thought much of anything Zayn has done in a while but this was tremendous.

The show starts at 10 eastern, correct?

Outstanding work on those.