WingedEagle

I think I'm with the consensus on pre-96, primarily due to AJ, Crockett and 80s Japan. BUT -- I see the case for going with post-96: '97 WWF. WWE/F Attitude era. post-96 ECW, including what I consider the peak of their TV in '96, building to Barely Legal and then the Lawler/Cornette summer. And that's before you get to Cena-era WWe with Cena, Punk, Bryan, Renee Young, Shield, and a host of PPVs with at worst some good+ matches on top. Joe/Punk/Danielson in ROH. The last few years in NJ with Tanahashi/Okada/Nakamura. Plus the future. That glass is not half empty.

What's excitement and skill in wrestling? This isn't batting average or field goal percentage. No one's suggesting there's an objective standard.

Catching up on last week's Smackdown and for whatever reason decided to see how the minis match was. This was a wise decision, as JBL's "Ali Bomaye" call during the staredown was perhaps the funniest thing I've seen in wrestling in some time. Gold.

I just don't get the hatred for star ratings. You can debate a rating all you want, no one's suggesting there's anything definitive about it. But what about stars of the night in hockey? Assists in hockey/basketball? The aforementioned rankings of games / series / plays? Instapolls following political debates? (No, not going down that road, just highlighting a quick hit subjective rating of something ). It just always struck me as odd that Dave would rate tons of wrestling matches -- even while offering commentary / analysis -- but leave that out of a fight review.

Exactly. I don't see how its any more or less preferable than an exhaustive, qualitative review of a fight. Both have merits and I'd appreciate being able to reference both.

Maybe, if you're looking for 25 minutes of wrestling. What'd you think of the Bryan/Sheamus flash pin at Mania? Its all subjective so I don't see what difference it makes whether the outcome is scripted or not.

I always wanted Dave to give star ratings to fights. Never really understood why not. If you can score rounds and provide a qualitative analysis, why not stick a rating on there as well?

Frankly I don't blame them. Why pay someone to trash your product? There are plenty of people who'll do it for free so keeping that on the payroll is a pretty poor use of company resources.

This is true and accurate. But I'd also like one opportunity to pop for Sting having a moment on WWE TV. Depending when Batista returns and how long the Evolution reboot lasts, it could be as simple as having Flair return as manager to help lay out a babyface heading into another big tag match. Bryan says they're not showing up empty handed, and if Evolution has Flair in the fold there's only one way to counter that. And then send him off to the network.

Last year for Bryan isn't too much of a stretch. Week to week, month to month I can't think of how many other stars' years compare that favorably. Perhaps not as many reached MOTY level as some other candidates, but the sheer number of good or better matches was something special.

My first reaction is it had to be Kawada in '94. But then what about Kobashi in '93? Or Misawa/Taue in '95? I dunno how to pick the best of the bunch from one of those 4 over that period.

I feel exactly the same way. I used to hit all the big shows in NY and since '08 haven't been to one until buying tickets for the NJ crew coming over next month.

I love the idea. At worst it'll be a great reference and reason for us to go back and rewatch certain things that aren't as time consuming as some classic matches.

I thought 400K was shockingly positive. I would've expected something in the range of a 60-75% drop in domestic PPV buys. The hardware point is definitely interesting. I've got a PS3 which makes it easy, and if I didn't probably would've sprung for a Roku or the most cost effective means to have it on tv. But if I was limited to phone/ipad/computer? Definitely wouldn't be a fan. Curious if they can get a read on how many potential customers are in that boat where the hardware makes it an issue. Or maybe I'm just jaded and watching on a small screen isn't the issue for some customers.

Hart/Bulldog definitely belongs here. I remembered it being a WWF all timer, then when I hit it as part of the '92 rewatch it was nothing of the sort. Another from that year for me was Piper/Bret at Mania. Good match, but I thought Savage/Flair was clearly better.

Do we have any idea how this was addressed in commentary as the matches and style were progressing?

Ax was slow as hell. Smash's offense on a quick tag FELT like demolition. He came in and wrecked ish up. At least it felt that way when I was 8-9.

CORRECT. Put it in Sumo Hall in '91 and its magic. This? Garbage.

I think Summerslam is the better match right up until the finish. Mania is vastly superior on that note as well as for storyline purposes that I can can see why some may think of it more highly because of that. Finishing counts!

I can't argue with that point, but I love the way Nakamura rocks the look, the MJ pants and the whole gimmick. Absolutely mark for his gimmick all of the time. It doesn't exactly jibe with how he worked the Sakuraba match, but I think he's pretty consistent in his style and approach once the bell rings every time out that it doesn't take away from the overall presentation.

I don't recall the date offhand, but if it helps, check out the one where Danielson's eye is injured.

Man I LOVED this one. At the end of the year it was kind of overshadowed by some of the IWGP title and G1 matches, but last January this was so exciting and different from anything going on in the Tanahashi/Okada realm that I was sure it'd be a top MOTY finisher. No complaints that it didn't get there, but this built incredibly well and was so smartly laid out.

Did he ever even meet her? Or was he just saying she's overrated?

Pretty sure the answer is no. But for those of us invested in the product at the time, this was as hot and awesome as it gets. I can understand someone who came along later or was out of the loop then not being as invested or finding this as amazing as it came off at the time. Post-Mania with the Foundation, HBK coming back and Austin a bigger focus get most of the '97 love, but man those Raws leading into Mania were something else. You had Shawn giving up the belt, Hart unofficially going heel and cursing out Vince on live television, Austin raising hell every week. Things took off like never before here. It all played into how the match at Mania came off.