WingedEagle

This is basically my approach to ratings as well. Off the top of my head I've got around 6-8 5 star matches this decade. Some may think that's too picky, but are all-time great matches actually happening on a monthly or better basis?

Thanks, will keep that in mind and look into options.

Has anyone been to the spot they tape at in NY? Is it easy to park there? I'd like to go in October depending on what match they announce for LA Park, but would be coming from work and thus the need for parking. Quite the busy stretch locally between that show, Bound For Glory and Evolution.

If I rated four matches on this show at 3 stars or better, including the main event, it'd have been a thumbs up in my book as well (perhaps in the middle, depending upon the booking?). But I certainly didn't see it that way and had only 2 matches at that level. Perhaps I'm too demanding, or perhaps Dave is more generous in certain regards. It seems as though ratings in the Observer in recent years have become more tied to pace and frequency of highspots. For up/down purposes, my sense is fans still give more credence to booking at PPVs than TV or individual matches, even in the Network era.

This was a solid match that unfortunately didn't approach the standard they set in the 2016 G1 Finals. I thought Omega as champion controlled way too much of a match that called for Goto to dominate in an attempt to establish himself as a viable threat. Brawling in the bleachers was solid but not quite credible enough to raise this above fun. Credit to them for getting Korakeun to buy into a near fall or 2 for Goto down the stretch. As much as I enjoyed this, their history left me thinking more about what was left on the table than what was delivered. ***1/2

Sounds like a win.

All of this looks great and I'm pretty pumped to dive in and look at things more in depth. One thought that's probably already crossed your mind -- with all of these additional sub folders and threads that people will be going back & forth between, it'd be great to get page loads closer to prior speeds to allow for easier navigation.

I like the idea of showing multiple new (or do you mean recently updated threads) on the right hand side of the page.

That Roman/Balor/McIntyre triple threat may have been better than anything at Extreme Rules. Not exactly a high bar to clear, but I liked Roman/Lashley and AJ/Rusev, so no complaints about topping that on TV.

I'm not buying Rollins/Dolph as the main until it happens. Whether its a Hogan angle, Ambrose return or something else, I'm skeptical the show is actually ending well before 11.

Very much a tale of two matches. Everything for the first half or so was slow and plodding, then they went all out with the power game and put together one hell of a match. This should've been a 10 minute match though. Still, the strengths more than overcame the weaknesses. That booking on the other hand? Not sure about that. ***1/2

That was a big bump.

Maybe, although if they keep things brisk until then (iron man match aside) the crowd may in fact not be burnt out or unusually frustrated.

I appreciate that they've gotten most of the BS matches out of the way right out of the gate. On the other hand, I was somehow unrealistically hoping this would end so I could catch Sacha Baron Cohen's new show at the 11PM replay, but that's as likely as us receiving an explanation for why Asuka should've lost at Mania. This is oddly a show where I'm either really excited for a match (Roman/Lashley, AJ/Rusev, Hell No/Bludgeons) or hoping my power goes out during it (most of hour one). Update: Nakamura/Hardy was FANTASTIC. That is how you make a show fit into a four hour window!

Still crazy to think one of the 10 best wrestlers in the world is now signed and involved with this.

Any word on pricing for this event yet? Already locking in the NJPW crew has my attention. I was planning on going to Takeover rather than Mania for various reasons -- primarily not wanting to make a 13 hour day of it on Sunday -- but will have to at least consider this show.

I love that they so strongly incorporated the story from January's match here and did so in such a compact fashion. No issues at all with the selling or comeback, particularly given the length of the match, although I can see why this would be an issue for some. Big fan of such a decisive finish, particularly one that's sold so well as that dragon screw looked like hell and Suzuki put it over as incredibly devastating. Hoping that the work here carries forward to both of their matches throughout the tourney. This was my favorite match of the night. ****

This is your prototypical mid-card G1 match. Solid work that built to a hot finishing stretch without rising to the level that you'll remember anything about it when the tourney is done. The one mark against it is that the execution and technique had more holes than you'll usually see from this crew. That finishing run more than made up for it, but these issues really stood out along the way because of how rare they are in New Japan. ***1/2

You nailed just about everything here. This was tremendous fun and a change of pace from Yano's usual G1 schtick while the finish was a great wrinkle. ***1/4

Okada's character work here was very strong, from the early parts where he wasn't taking White seriously to his selling White's attacks, which between the various suplexes and vicious whips around ringside was pretty strong. On the other hand, this felt a few minutes too long and I don't think the antics with the ref at the finish did anyone any favors. Give White a strong, clean win or don't bother. Well below the White/Juice match from San Fran and my expectations for this night, but still very good. ***3/4

Somehow pleasantly surprised to see the range of opinions on this one. I'm likely somewhere in the middle as there was no compelling hook or storyline/selling to kick it into that next gear, but they worked a strong, compact match with an excellent finishing stretch. Very solid outing from these two. ***1/2

With 4 matches at 5 stars and 8 at 4 3/4 it seems like this year would rank among the best ever for all-time matches.

Definitely an improvement. Its still not as quick as the site used to be, but noticeably better than it was even a few days ago. Thanks!

What happened to Cesaro & Sheamus?

This felt like the TV rematch of Sakura Genesis's PPV classic. That's not to knock this at all, as it was a very good match. But it seemed a bit rushed and certainly lacked the psychology and intricacy of the first match, which featured some truly great arm work by Sabre that was not only right out of his wheelhouse, but worked to counter Okada's Rainmaker. They worked that angle for so long that when it finally paid off down the stretch (in multiple variations) it was all the more rewarding. This simply didn't have the depth of the original outing. Everyting they did here worked, as between the transitions and escalation they built to something special before the surprise finish. There just wasn't enough for it to rise to the level of something truly great or memorable. ***3/4