WingedEagle

Not everything is that simple or necessarily silly. It depends how one defines star. Is it drawing dollars via their commercial endeavors? If so, Conor takes that matchup in a rout. But if you put Cena and Conor on TV next to Kelly Ripa, its very likely that a greater number of non-fans -- my wife, mom, coworkers, etc -- would recognize Cena if not outright know who he is. That doesn't mean his next match will outdraw Conor's. But it may very well mean he is a bigger star and has more of a public profile by some measures. What's so controversial about that?

AJ is very easily the pick here. Which is funny, because a few years ago MIchaels would have easily been my pick. Until seeing AJ on a regular basis in NJPW I really only saw him sparingly, pretty much through picking up the odd ROH DVD here & there and catching certain recommended TNA matches online or on TV over the years. From those choice clips he looked like someone with spectacular athleticism and spots that could shine when given the chance. Having gone back to a lot of his work that I previously hadn't seen, along with everything he's done on the NJPW & WWE runs, it became clear pretty quickly he was a much more diverse and well rounded performer who excelled working babyface and heel, sprint or psychology, and with an incredible variety of opponents. A legitimate candidate for wrestler of this century and a true all-time great. It doesn't hurt his case that going back to a number of Michaels' classics on the Network didn't hold up nearly the same way. Count me among those who viewed him as the runaway all time company performer, which no longer feels like any kind of certainty.

Unreal. Need to wash that taste out of my mouth, but we got Shield/New Day, Usos/Bar and a fantastic Brock/AJ. Good show!

This all sucks.

Survivor Series 2017 was really a terrific show until this match.

Jeez, bring back Cena so that *Angle* can get the rub of eliminating him? Now that is frustrating.

There is absolutely no good reason this match should run past 11. Which means they'll undoubtedly come up with a few terrible ones to do so.

Not much longer.

Roode lives longer than Shinsuke!

I clocked it as 13:17 from the first note of Angle's music until the opening bell. They're definitely working fast tonight.

Great points about the suplexes and F-5. The former were touched on to establish Brock's control but hardly overblown or used as a crutch, while the F-5 is back to being a KILLER move.

Not trolling, but did anyone, anywhere express a desire to see Jinder vs. Brock?

Brock Lesnar vs. AJ Styles Absolutely terrific match and layout. Loved how Brock basically killed him for the first half of the match to build for AJ's comeback, and did they ever give him that comeback. He took basically the entire back half of the match before the finish and got 1-2 legit near falls that had me biting despite knowing there was no chance he was winning, especially that late forearm. Major props to Brock for how he sold the Calf Crusher after building to it with all of the leg work. Loved it. ****1/4

Charlotte vs. Alexa Bliss Decent, inoffensive match that featured a number of big spots -- both hits and misses -- that created some decent tension even with the size disparity. Babyface Charlotte is just such a waste. **1/2 BUT -- we're over 90 minutes from the scheduled show close with only 2 matches to go. Even if Brock/AJ goes long (hopefully) and intros and bell to bell of the man's tag go long, there's still no good reason for us to go to bed late. You can do it!

Heel Charlotte to Babyface Charlotte is nearly as big a downgrade as Jinder to AJ is an upgrade.

Well over an hour with intros. Just let Brock/AJ go north of 15 and I won't complain.

Meanwhile they very much telegraphed (not that that's a bad thing) Jason Jordan's appearance later in the show. Does he have a strong heel turn or get squashed by Hunter in the process?

Usos vs. Sheamus & Cesaro This started off incredibly slowly. Nothing but, but the first half of the match was pretty underwhelming given the talent involved. But it really picked up in the back half with the teams working together and flying around. Again a very nice job utilizing near falls without overdoing it. I expected this pairing to produce and it didn't disappoint. Bonus points as well for yet another decisively strong and clean finish. ***1/2

I have no idea why but this legit cracked me up. We're both terrible.

For what is on paper a very promising match, the crowd sounds like they just realized the night is not yet halfway done.

Its obviously not fit for wearing anywhere outside where others might see it, but that Usos jacket is NICE.

Why don't they have an actual scoreboard on one of the many monitors comprising the stage/setup? Little things like that would go a long way toward cutting off the snark associated with ~UNDER SIEGE~ and all the related nonsense they throw out there. If you're going to talk about a scoreboard in commentary, go ahead and give me one.

Would you prefer for them to have jobbed Asuka? Sometimes the right thing and the obvious thing are the same. I would have preferred a final that wasn't Asuka vs. Tamina, who has never been a credible threat. I also would've preferred Asuka getting attacked and taken out before the match, to make this less predictable and more interesting. But yes, Asuka winning is obviously the right finish if they had to keep her boring ass in the match. They're dedicated to this failed Asuka experiment and will continue shoving her down our throats. Asuka boring and a failed experiment? And using the beyond tired "shoved down our throats". Come on man, being snarky is what's boring While I don't agree with the sentiment, I do think Asuka is much more of a booking success story than anything else to date. Strong work and character presentation, but there are multiple women on the roster who I think do a better job of connecting with the audience during their time on TV and in the ring.

Literally just went to the bathroom and had a conversation with the wife, and still disappointed to see Miz's entrance hadn't even started yet.