The Chief

That's a weird one. He always struck me as one of those Bob Ryder types.

Yeah. Seems like they're planting the seeds for something a portion of the fan base has been requesting for years...

I like building up a team for a quick TV program once in a while. Keeps things fresh. Good match too!

Daniel Bryan mentioned an awful lot in that main event, no?

Just out of curiosity, has Steph ever done commentary? I'm guessing she probably did a couple quick spots in 2000-2001 but I can't think of anything else.

Agreed. They've done a pretty good job the past few years of not telegraphing an obvious winner, Batista and Roman being the outliers. I don't think anyone thought Orton was winning last year (I don't remember who was "supposed" to win last year at all) and that was certainly a thing that happened. Sheamus is another modern winner that felt kind of random. It's not like the old days where the winner was 99% guaranteed to be Austin or injury-comeback HHH.

YES!!!

I'm shocked Bray Wyatt made 30 ballots...

Guys with muscles suck. Got it.

I wouldnt mind Braun/HHH for Mania as at least that means Braun gets nowhere near the main event. HHH is always the real main event and even if he's not, why the hell would you not want Strowman near the main event?

I can't see Rusev winning, or even being in the conversation, and I'm one of the biggest Rusev fans here. The Mizdow comparison is a good one. They just don't see acts like that as top guys. He'll be eliminated after three minutes by Reigns or someone similar. Philly will boo unmericifully and "hijack Rusev Day" for ten more minutes. Then it'll be back to business as usual in a couple days.

Very insightful.

I can see Nakamura winning. Orton was not in the mix at all when he won last year and Nakamura is in the same boat. In fact, he seems to be the latest addition to the Smackdown MIA milk carton. The Rumble isn't the star-making deal that it used to be, so Nakamura can win and face AJ in the fifth match and it's business as usual. Personally I would love to see it go to The Miz. His segments almost always get the best reactions on TV. Miz vs. Brock is a fresh, unique match. At first glance that may seem odd on paper, but I think it would work. Miz would absolutely carry the promo end leading up to it. Instead of giving Miz his 17th Intercontinental title, step him up. He's ready this time.

I kind of like the Titus Brand as a modern day Raven's Flock of misfits.

I though there was potential in a babyface Rusev run as far back as the Handsome Rusev/Hardbody Mahal stuff. Here's hoping.

Amazing. When is Maria scheduled to deliver ? And then how much time will they let her before calling her back on TV (I guess once she'll get in "WWE shape"), as obviously they wanted her rather than him. This could easily make something out of the situation since his gimmick is a love-sick puppy. Have him start a countdown. Have them baby-talk to each other on Skype. Follow him on a Baby's R' Us trip. There's plenty of room for those kind of acts.

SmackDown was a fun show this week but I'm begging them to utilize their roster. The shows have fallen off a cliff since this year's draft and part of the problem is they're so repetitive. It's a stark contrast to 2016 SmackDown. SmackDown MIA report: Ascension haven't wrestled on TV since October (but at least they're involved in storylines) Mike Kanellis has wrestled on TV 5 times since debuting in July (3 of those matches were in July). Once or twice a year they remember they have Sin Cara on the payroll, then they forget about him again. Mojo Rawley turned heel weeks ago and has had absolutely zero TV presence outside of one pre-show match. Zack Ryder just kind of exists. The Colons: Primo started working house shows in September after getting hurt over the summer. Not sure what's happening there. Tye Dillinger wasn't used since October before last night. Becky Lynch should be back from filming soon so at least there's that. I'm not even a fan of all these guys. I just don't understand the point in benching that much talent when the shows are this stale.

Well, I guess they wouldn't need a TV deal this time!

Summer has been off TV for a year and wasn't doing much before so that's not a shock. D. Young is a bit of a surprise but he's always hurt. Struggling to remember the last time they've released people as opposed to guys requesting releases or contracts expiring. It's been a while.

Besides that they have no other RAW jobber women than I have no idea. it would smarter to just bring in women from the Mae Young Classic as easy victims. but if you have to use RAW talent then the only other person would be Dana Brooke and maybe Mickie James. They gave Nia Jax jobbers when she got called up.

Soundcloud link doesn't seem to be working?

That was by far the longest period Glen Jacobs has been off WWE television. He wasn't even out for that long between Fake Diesel and Kane. I honestly don't even remember what he was doing on TV before he left...

Could WWE have a legal issue with them doing this (presenting them as WWE stars)? This is a genuine question, I don't really know anything about that stuff.

When Heenan passed, I was thinking of all the old timers we still have and I thought of Lance. I can't believe he was in his 90's. As mentioned, he was still sharp. And if you had the pleasure of meeting him, he was one of the nicest guys you'll ever talk to. I'm paraphrasing here, but the 605 Podcast mentioned how the Memphis TV show wasn't just a wrestling show, It was Lance's show. This normal guy was dropped into an insane world and part of the appeal was how he reacted to the weekly chaos. And his reactions were priceless. We will miss you Lance!

Caught 205 Live for the first time in a while and I must say, I'm kind of enjoying Enzo as a modern day Jamie Dundee.