WingedEagle

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.

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.