WingedEagle

Oh maaaan, Natalya is an absolute trip on Total Divas - drunk-dialing Stephanie, purposely crashing her car so WWE wouldn't discover that she ate pot brownies given to her by Paige, and just generally being a neurotic "crazy cat lady" type. It's amazing! Ha she sounds like a total blast that makes for fun television. Not sure that would really play on Smackdown, but it'd probably be more interesting.

Natalya is very much just there for me. Her work in the ring and personality generally do not stand out at all -- for better or worse. Certainly capable of delivering very good matches like those with Charlotte, and just as rarely putting forth a real clunker. As a result she's probably more valuable for providing some glue to that side of the roster, but not many highlights. I've never watched Total Divas so I'm curious as to how she is presented and comes across there in contrast with what we see of her character.

Call me crazy but I think that's a very smart move.

Love the topic. I'd argue Danielson/Bryan with a second, arguably superior peak from 10/11-14/15, depending if you're willing to include periods where he was a part timer. A very different run from the ROH peak, but no less impressive. My latest pick would be Io Shirai from probably 15-17. That's just what immediately comes to mind without reflecting for a few.

Your mileage may vary on "considerable" expense, but the most popular burners on Amazon right now are in the $50-70 range, and single-layer 25GB discs are about $25 for 50. I only got around to it this year, and was shocked by how cheap the whole thing was. 25GB on there? Do those need to be formatted as DVDs or can the media files be copied directly? Is this a very time consuming process?

Cosign the Plex endorsement. Don't have a smart TV yet but am able to use the app through my PS4. It is a godsend.

Really not sure they could've done anything better with the blocks. This protects Okada/Naito as a potential (likely?) Dome main event while also giving Omega a clear opportunity to finally get a win over Okada and build the next outing as yet another huge match. Add in fresh matches with Ibushi, Juice & Elgin and I absolutely cannot wait for this to get started. Naito/Omega in a rematch of last year's MOTY seems the most likely final, but I wouldn't rule out Elgin, or perhaps even Suzuki sneaking in there. So many matches to look forward to!

Thanks, definitely good to know about from the laptop. Maybe I'm missing something as I haven't picked up a Chromecast yet, but what do you mean about the phone and NJW app?

For those who watch NJ World on TV via Chromecast, how is that experience? Works pretty smoothly?

Sabre Jr. is arguably my least favorite guy in the field as I've rarely been impressed with his work on the indies outside of a few outings. But too many people who's opinions I respect are fans of his that I'm looking forward to seeing him in this setting. If he can't win me over working against this crew its definitely never happening. But I'm looking forward to it.

The other pleasant surprise from the lineup is the absence of Cody Rhodes. That just about eliminates any worry they'd do something rash like have him beat Okada on 7/1, and frankly there isn't any one I'd replace with him. Perhaps Makabe? But even he hasn't been featured at all as a singles in quite some time so its not quite that stale. I'm a big fan of Yano in the tourney for levity and keeping cards moving without being completely stacked. Only real oversight I can come up with is DBS Jr.

Predictably stacked field. Really looking forward to seeing how the blocks shake out, particularly how Tanahashi, Okada, Naito & Omega are split up. I imagine the WK/Dominion partners will be paired up for round 3 here, but that's pure speculation. Juice & Sabre add some new flavor with fresh matches I'm looking forward to, particularly for Juice. Ibushi's return is a huge bonus and depending on how long he's committed for can add some real intrigue to plans for the tourney and big shows thereafter, without getting into the guaranteed big matches he should deliver. Cannot wait for block participants & lineups and for this to finally kick off.

Pretty comfortable calling this the worst PPV in quite some time.

The booking on this show makes Extreme Rules look like Slamboree '97 with Flair & co. going over the NWO at home.

By all rights this is a very solidly laid out and well executed title match. I just don't find Orton or Mahal very interesting and its completely sapping any excitement the work might otherwise generate.

Wow. We getting a 2+ hour PPV?

There will likely come a day when the Fashion Police segments are unbearable TV and I find them awful. But we're not there. And I LOVE it. Great comedy and timing from everyone. The Kanellis bit? Pass.

I mean, how much worse can she be then Tamina? Significantly.

Seeing Lana wrestle is the starkest reminder of just how far the women have come from Stacy/Torrie/Candice era Divas matches. The gulf between her and basically every other woman on the roster is really something.

Wow. 2/2 on absolutely horrible, crowd killing finishes to otherwise solid matches on the night.

Really a shame. It was a very solid effort until the finish with enough big spots and transitions to keep things interesting. But that finish was a total killer.

Gotta cool off the live crowd before the showstealer.

Wow. I have got to check this out. I hopped aboard the New Japan train following the first Okada/Tanahashi roughly a month after this, so its incredible to imagine how lackluster a debut this may have been. Props to Gedo for sticking to the plan if it really was that weak.

Current favorite wrestler to watch: Io Shirai Last fun match you saw: Shuji Ishikawa vs. Kento Miyahara (AJPW 5/21/2017) - its still mind boggling to think that Shuji is the Triple Crown champion. This was unsurprisingly excellent, with Shuji's impeccable timing and strikes along with a great balance between monster and vulnerable giant. A fitting end to Miyahara's stellar reign, I thought the match did a great job putting over the new champion without giving away too much and leaving intrigue as to if and how Miyahara can overcome him. The build also hinted at Shuji developing a Miyahara-killer move, which apparently was never used in the match and thus adds another layer of intrigue to the eventual rematch. Curious to see if they go in that direction for their big show in August or if its saved for later in the year. Io Shirai & Dr. Wagner Jr. & Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. Mayu Iwatani & Dragon Heat & Black Tiger (Stardom 5/3/2017) -- Not a great match, but one I wanted to include as an honorable mention because of how much fun it was. Shirai & Mayu bring their typically excellent fast action when paired together, while everyone nicely incorporated lucha into a Stardom ring. It doesn't hurt that it looked like all were having a terrific time. Wrestler you want to see more of: Konosuke Takeshita. Very, very impressive for his age and experience. Would like to see him work against others outside of the DDT roster. Last live show attended (if applicable/different from last time you answered): WWE's March MSG house show. Match you're most looking forward to watching: Bit of a deflection, but for now we'll say the G1 as the blocks and lineups haven't been released. This may change on Monday if they announce an interesting Summerslam match for Reigns at that time. Last fun interview/promo you saw: The first Dungeon of Doom vignette from June 1995. Not good, but what a callback to high school. Last interesting thing you read about wrestling: Pat Patterson's autobiography. Fast, fun read. Very worthwhile. Last worthwhile podcast you listened to: Brian Kendrick on Austin's show. Most fun you've had watching wrestling lately: Stardom's Cinderella Tournament. Favorite recent post on this board: Following along with folks watching the year 2000. I'll get back up to speed there soon enough. Favorite thing about the wrestling landscape in the past three months (if you live in the past, then go with your past three months of time-traveling): Io Shirai putting out a range of performances including carrying awful talent to very watchable matches, hot sprints, fun tags and excellent world title matches. Top 2 Most Outstanding on the almost half year for my money.

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