WingedEagle

As with most questions, it probably can't be answered as simplistically as yes or no. The answer may very well be yes in the current environment. But that environment may be a result of intentional and unintentional decisions the company has made over the years whereby they have become less reliant on individual talents for many aspects of business. That's very much the case with the Network, where no individual is moving numbers. What if they made different decisions regarding developing and pushing talent? What if tomorrow they changed their priorities and got away from generally highly scripted promos? What if TV viewing habits, DVR, cord cutting, smartphones and all other technologies today weren't around or were present in different combinations? Would someone break out of the pack in a way that others haven't? I don't know. But all of this fosters a state of the business today where certain metrics mean more than others did during different eras not that long ago, or at a minimum have very different relative weightings in such an analysis. I'm not sure what the answer is today or what it'll be in 3 years. But the process of thinking about it will constantly shift based upon decisions by the company as well as societal/content consumption changes.

It does seem simple. But Vince does seem that stubborn in recent years.

Bliss is dynamite on the mic and that 8 man tag was actually pretty good with a few nice high spots & some stiff moments rather than the throwaway those usually are.

Sounds like a good thing I'm not going to any other message boards.

Main event was great. Loved how they worked the injury angle didn't have the match go too long at all. Braun went over so strongly and cleanly that you know Roman will get it back eventually, but how do you do that after Brock/Braun? Very curious to see how everything is tied together going forward. Lot of interesting possibilities along with more matches to look forward to.

It can be said often, but blood would go a long way here on a post shot like that.

Roman selling the shoulder & arm from the bell. The guy came to perform.

We might be going home early!

Is Roman/Braun all that's left? We actually going home early tonight?

Jinder throws the worst belt shot I've seen in some time.

Apparently Sister Abigail dialed 777-7777 in advance for her baby brother.

Let's just say for a minute it is intentional. Who is it designed to benefit?

Resident Evil games are usually fun. This is not that.

This is already one of the worst and most unintentionally funny things they've ever done. Won't be surprised if Three Count & Tank Abbot show up here.

That is easily the best Bliss match yet. Kudos to everyone involved for the layout and particularly Bayley for some really good looking offense. A ton of big spots that built to real near falls, particularly the running knee and Savage elbow combo. The finish was both creative and executed incredibly well as it looked *and* sounded like Bayley killed herself hitting the post on that kickout. Really good match.

Okay I definitely want to watch the Indian announce team from now on.

When The Revival are back we may actually have a legitimate tag division with real depth.

YEAH! That is an awesome angle. Love it!

This match is very much exceeding expectations.

A lot more control from the Hardy's than I'd have expected here. If they are in fact losing that may suggest they've purchased the Broken gimmick to get the titles off of them before a reboot.

This was a very fun match that incorporated a variety of unique and impressive spots without ever feeling like they were simply setting up stunts with no idea what to do in between. I'm not quite as high on this as some others, perhaps because it seemed to end in a flash without building much along the way. On the other hand, I'm a big fan of matches that don't overstay their welcome and maintain focus the whole way through. The mixture of spots were impressive but they also had some impressively organic transitions, particularly given this type of match. ***1/2

Certainly not bad, but very unspectacular and simply lacking the type of highlights you become accustomed to from Misawa over the past decade. Takayama was very much the standout here in a sign of what was to come from him over the next few years. His brief interactions with Misawa definitely left me looking forward to revisiting their singles matches. ***

Wow. Kawada! What an experience. I've got to get over there some time. Sounds like you had quite the memorable and spectacular time. Hopefully we all get the chance. Get back there and get us some more stories. That opening night of the Carnival was really something, and in Miyahara/Lee and Shuji/Suwama you may have seen the two best matches of the entire tourney. Not too often you get a pair that strong on the same show.

Great review and has me even more eager to finally get to this point as I haven't watched this match in years. The point above is a very strong one and great counter to an aspect of lucha that has always bugged me in my admittedly limited viewing.

If Vince is involved its pretty reasonable to assume he'll have significant input on the story that is told.