WingedEagle

Stephanie's promos and her dirty talk at home are one in the same, aren't they?

Raw Women vs. Smackdown Women Amazing how hot the crowd was for the initial Nia/Tamina matchup as well as how quickly it cooled off once they started working together. The quick Becky elimination flattened things, but late in the match it now looks like the idea was to get her out of there without having to strongly put over Asuka. That Alicia/Naomi elimination sequence was awkward as hell. Sasha contributed a great slap to Natalya and a sick bump in the corner before tapping out. Not sure I agree with all the decisions along the way, but building to Asuka overcoming a former champion and the biggest girl on Smackdown's team was at least a strong way to put her over. **1/2

Shield vs. New Day Really fun opener that had great teamwork, didn't overdo the near falls and had some great spots and saves before a fun finish. ***3/4

I'm beyond pumped for this show, which does not bode well because we know what happens with massive expectations. That being said, major bonus points if they finish anywhere close to 11. I just don't see how Shield/New Day, Usos/Cesaro & Sheamus, and Brock/AJ don't range from very good to great. Women's matches may be hit or miss, and the men's SS match could range from horrible (due to length and booking) to great. I'm setting the over/under line for intros during the main Survivor Series tag at 16 minutes and starting the clock when the first entrant's music begins to play. STOKED. Don't let me down.

Just got through last week's WON and in reviewing Omega/Baretta, Dave noted how strongly the match was over with the crowd by pointing to "This is Awesome" and "Holy Shit" chants in English from the live audience. Except it wasn't the live audience chanting that, but rather the Young Bucks at ringside. No idea how he missed that but it seemed like quite the oversight given how much credit he gave the match for these "English" chants.

I'm watching Judgment day 2009 and it certainly looks as though Edge is wearing Prada boots/shoes. Can anyone confirm? Was this always the case for him and I just didn't notice it until now? Did / do other wrestlers wear designer shoes rather than any kind of athletic gear? So many questions!

I have no idea what prompted the nonstop changes to the Survivor Series lineup over the past couple weeks as its produced a more interesting show from a booking perspective while also improving how things look in the ring, but I have no idea what prompted it as its not as though they can hotshot a buy rate. So we've got a 4 hour show on Sunday. What's the over/under on entrance time allotted to the men's SS match? Minutes and seconds, please.

You're better off with back issues of the WON covering the figures featured in here. What about it makes you prefer the Observer? I bought this book when it first came out and really enjoyed it myself. I thought the Observer features generally went into a greater level of detail and context. Leaving content aside, as much as Dave could use some better editing, I thought this book had an unacceptable number of errors -- whether typos or poor grammar -- generally a lesser quality of writing.

Akiyama has the Misawa & Kobashi matches headlining his resume, but I'm not sure I can make a case for him bumping Kobashi here, especially given that he's got my runaway MOTY for 2000. Very much agree on AJ's 2016. Just out of this world and a legit all time year. Would have to look things over, but you don't think Danielson's run in '06 rises to that level? Its the only other year that came to mind on the domestic side, but haven't looked back at the lists for a close comparison. My ROH watching is very sketchy admittedly. Within American wrestling that's my biggest blindspot. its more than worth going back with a particular focus, whether Danielson, AJ, Joe, or even more broadly the promotion's best matches over the years.

You're better off with back issues of the WON covering the figures featured in here.

Really enjoying your takes on these older matches. Will have to check some out on the site.

Akiyama has the Misawa & Kobashi matches headlining his resume, but I'm not sure I can make a case for him bumping Kobashi here, especially given that he's got my runaway MOTY for 2000. Very much agree on AJ's 2016. Just out of this world and a legit all time year. Would have to look things over, but you don't think Danielson's run in '06 rises to that level? Its the only other year that came to mind on the domestic side, but haven't looked back at the lists for a close comparison.

And my point which was seemingly skipped over is that TMZ has scooped major conglomerate-backed media on bigger stories than this before. I'm not sure why everyone's dander is up over an ex-TMZ guy knowing how to break stories. And I'm not even a big Satin fan, but his track record is pretty darn good. Some people just like to immediately respond to any and everything with loud noises.

Survivor Series looks like a really interesting show after all of the changes this week and pending another likely addition on Monday. No complaints at all, but I wonder why they called so many audibles this late in the process.

Lineup for Survivor Series got a major upgrade today. Check Smackdown spoilers for more.

Styles/Balor has been confirmed by WWE since yesterday. I'm curious if we hear whether they inquired about Cena's availability/willingness to take Roman's place.

The Kane angle really leaves me at a loss. 4 on 3 felt awkward and unnecessary as well as providing for a pretty crowded ring. 5 on 3? Does this increase anyone's interest in the match or show? That arguably doesn't matter on a minor PPV in the network era, but what is the upside to this?

This show is going long isn't it? They probably know John Oliver starts at 11:07 and want the wife to give me a hard time when this goes late.

Nakamura vs. Jinder -- I didn't pay much attention and I know I didn't miss anything. If Mahal is moving business in certain markets that's great. But he's death to watch.

Its amazing that a title match with Shinsuke Nakamura is the bathroom break on a PPV, but here we are.

Charlotte vs. Natalya - Natty doesn't really excel as a strong face or heel, and babyface Charlotte certainly doesn't feel right, but they more than made this match work. Strong, simple story around Charlotte's injured knee. I didn't even mind the finish as the chair shots were on point and looked really strong. This show is absolutely over-delivering. ***1/4