DMJ

I know this probably ain't the place for it, but I trust all the folks here and I couldn't quite get a straight answer elsewhere... So, I watch alot of my WWE Network on an (ancient) iPad while I'm either on a eliptical or treadmill. A few years ago, the actual WWE app stopped working as the iPad became so old that it no longer could handle the OS updates and can't download HBOMax, etc. The workaround was easy, though - I just use Safari to go to the WWE website and watch it from there. Unfortunately, this option is seemingly going to end when the full transition to Peacock happens. Plus, again, its just a matter of time before that site probably won't load correctly either. Also...when I tried to go to the Peacock website today to stream it from there, the site wouldn't load (again, I couldn't just download the Peacock app because my iPad is so old). So, my question to all you PWOers is, would an Amazon Fire HD 10 Tablet work? I like the price point ($150) as Apple products tend to be much pricier but not necessarily necessary for what I'm using this for - which is, again, to mostly just use it as a way to stream TV at the gym. Does anyone recommend another brand? Any tips? Feel free to PM.

I think that's where I get stuck, though. Its like chicken-or-the-egg. Did Hogan/Flair not draw well in 91' because Vince didn't do enough to promote it as a "dream match"? Or did Vince decide not to promote the "dream match" because Hogan/Flair didn't draw well in 91'? Everything you said is right...except I do have to respectfully disagree about Flair being brought in as "some guy." This wasn't Mike Awesome showing up in WCW and Vince Russo thinking everyone would know he was a big deal because of what he did in Japan and ECW. This was Ric Flair, probably the single-most well known wrestler in the US that wasn't in the WWE, claiming to be the real World Champion (because he hadn't lost the title), and almost immediately talking trash about the biggest babyfaces on the roster. Then, at Survivor Series, he inserted himself into the World Title picture by screwing Hogan. Then, he wins the Rumble (and title) at the next PPV in January. I was 7 years old at the time and I knew who Flair was and that he was a big deal. I think most any fan my age or older did. Again, about the rest of this, you hit the nail on the head. WCW clearly succeeded in pushing it as a "dream match" and proving that there was a market for Hogan/Flair after all and Hulk especially (like you wrote, the match was promoted as Hogan's first in WCW which was a big deal on its own, so, one could argue it would've been just as big a success if he'd been put up against someone who wasn't Flair). But it still leaves me wondering why Vince wasn't able to or was resistant to promoting this match as a "dream match"? Does it really come down to not wanting to make Flair seem like an "equal"? And, if that's the case, he still ended up with the World Championship twice, including getting the biggest Rumble win ever, which seems to discount that theory. Or was it one of those things where, he tested the waters via house shows without necessarily giving it a major TV push, and then thought, when it didn't do good enough business, "Even if I did promote this better on TV, it drew so poor low that there's not enough to even build on"?

This is a half-comment/half-question. Prepare yourself. This is what I thought about when I couldn't fall asleep. Was Hogan vs. Sid at WrestleMania VIII just Lesnar vs. Goldberg from WrestleMania XX 12 years earlier? Some context: I've heard numerous reasons given for why Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan didn't happen at WrestleMania VIII. Its been said that they didn't do good business on the house show loop. It's been said that Vince didn't feel the matches they had were Mania worthy when he saw them. Its been said that there were "politics" involved (basically neither guy wanted to do the job). Some of these theories have been almost 100% disproven. The idea that Vince was bored or turned off by the Hogan formula doesn't hold water because he not only still had Hogan working on top at WrestleMania VIII but stuck with him for WMIX too. Flair not putting Hogan over, but he was willing to do the job for Savage? For Bret later in the year? For Perfect? For Hogan multiple times in 94'? I just don't buy it. The final theory - that Hogan and Flair weren't drawing - is one I've seen alot...but I always wonder how their supposedly poor houses looked compared to a year prior or a year later. Plus there's that pesky 1994 data when Hogan and Flair actually did finally square off on PPV and it did record-setting buys for WCW. Its just hard to understand why something that was a hit in 94' was going to be a huge flop in 92'. Its not like either guy had had a renaissance in those 2 years. Maybe its been mentioned elsewhere, but it got me thinking - maybe Hogan/Flair at WrestleMania VIII is an Occam's Razor thing. The simplest explanation for why it didn't happen is not because Vince was afraid the show would tank, but because, for lack of a better word, circumstances. In Vince's eyes, he had 4-5 top guys going into the show and an ace up his sleeve with the Ultimate Warrior returning. Two of them were heading out the door, though - Hulk Hogan and Sid. Now, I'm not sure of the exact timeline of Sid leaving - I know he did continue working for a few weeks/month after WrestleMania - but its likely Vince suspected Sid wasn't going to be around much into the summer or had already given up on him. Hulk Hogan (I think ) was off filming a movie (Suburban Commando? Mr. Nanny?) and was taking time off anyway. So, in a sense, booking those two guys against eachother gives you a "double send-off" that you couldn't do if you had Flair/Hogan. In that scenario, if Hogan wins, he still leaves - which buries Flair. If you give Flair the W, well...this is 1992 and WrestleMania and its still a Hulkster-driven company and that would go against the formula. I don't think having Flair go over would've even be considered. So, if you've got Hogan/Sid pencilled in because it makes the most sense to give them a double send-off, you've got to find an opponent for Flair. I think here is where Vince probably looked at it as being Savage or Piper and, ultimately, the Savage/Liz/Flair storyline was just too perfect to pass up. Plus, you could now pair up Piper with Vince's next project - Bret Hart - who had history and, as Bret was not known for his charisma, Piper could inject the needed drama into that story. When you look at Hart/Piper and the Taker/Jake Roberts match (and to a lesser degree Tatanka/Martel and HBK/Tito Santana), you can kinda see that at least somewhere in Vince's brain, he was planning for a post-Hogan/New Generation future - even, if, at the same time, he was obviously perfectly happy giving fans that feel-good formulaic ending by ending Mania with a Hulk Hogan posedown. Fast forward to WrestleMania XX. The fans in attendance are much "smarter" and know that Goldberg and Lesnar are both leaving. Any lines of heel/face are gone as the audience boos the hell out of both guys. At WM8, this couldn't and wouldn't have happened (though its not like Hogan/Sid tore the house down either). Hogan/Sid ended with Papa Shango running down and then the Ultimate Warrior returning to clean house and pose. While Hogan got some shine too, it was a moment to celebrate Warrior's return. At WM20, its Steve Austin who gets the spotlight in the end, taking out both guys and partying in the ring as the crowd cheers. Again, its just an updated version of what Warrior did as, in 1992, if Warrior had come down, beaten up Sid, beaten up Shango, and then beaten up Hogan too, the audience would've been mostly confused (especially all the lil' Hulkamaniacs). But Austin stunning heels and faces and authorities and Santa Claus? Always a pop with every age group. Times had changed, but the booking theory is kinda the same. TLDR - Hogan/Flair didn't happen at WrestleMania VIII because Vince realized he needed to do a double send-off with Hogan/Sid instead...which became the formula for Goldberg/Lesnar at WrestleMania XX.

Maybe someone with more industry knowledge could weigh in, but I'm guessing the rush to get this done also has something to do with Comcast/NBC in a bit of a need for another guaranteed draw after getting exclusivity of The Office boosted its subscriber number considerably in January and not having anything coming down the pike. I'm not sure if its just a waiting game - like it was for The Office - or if they need to renegotiate getting exclusivity for Friends, Seinfeld, and other big NBC hits from yesteryear, but for now, the actual content on Peacock is kinda meager and nothing you can't find elsewhere on more expansive and well-rounded streaming services. Like, when you hear the phrase "NBC App," does anyone else think Homicide? Quantum Leap? Wings? Or have the weird desire to watch that one season of Men Behaving Badly with Ken Marino or the Ferris Beuler TV show? Like, that vault of one-season curios, TV movies, 70s variety shows, and failed spin-offs has got to be jam-packed. But for this being the "NBC app," its got almost none of that. So you turn on the app and its basically just some (but by no means all) of the Dick Wolf shows, episodes of current shows, The Office, all of SNL, and some reality shows. Big whoop. Most of this stuff is still available or was available for years on Netflix, Hulu, and Prime. And, aside from AP Bio (which is glorious), its very thin on original series that I'd really go out of my way to watch. (Again, aside from AP Bio, which is so, so good.) This makes me think the 500k-1m subscribers they get from the WWE was more of a strategic way to bump their numbers in April while they hopefully improve their app and maybe expand the library with more exclusive programs. I know they reported something like 33 million subscribers, but I couldn't find how many are actually paid and how many just subscribed for free (which is what I did for the first few weeks).

Its definitely a huge downgrade and as sek69 said above, it will be met with uproar from wrestling fans. But because this is the WWE (and NBC, for that matter), that uproar will be met with a shrug and a "They'll get over it" attitude. While there have always been problems with it, for the most part, the WWE Network did actually give many of us fans what we basically wanted - all the PPVs (past and present) for the "Big 3," an undeniably huge library of content from the 80s and 90s, and some fun documentaries and extras over the years. I know around these parts there is always going to be a demand for even more - especially classic footage - but I'd reckon that the vast majority of Network subscribers were happy about what they got. This is basically them washing their hands of it, making out with a ton of cash, and leaving it in the hands of a much larger corporation that has even less desire to please longtime fans. Its moves like this that make me feel it really isn't all that out of the question that when Vince goes, the company will be sold and the brand will become just a part of some of mega-corporation's portfolio while Stephanie runs for President. In this scenario, Triple H will probably remain in charge - but to a much, much less degree than Vince.

I know most people hated the Kevin Owens/Roman Reigns Last Man Standing match we just saw but I kinda liked it for what it was or would have at least given it a passing grade. I was sports-entertained enough for me to consider it fine. And then Reigns couldn't get un-handcuffed and any potential suspension of disbelief that one might still have evaporated. It was just so, so cringe.These guys going through tables, getting hit by a golf cart, taking bumps on the floor, clearly working hard to have a violent match in a PG environment only for it end in an "LOL, wrestling is so fake" botch make me feel embarrassed for them.

I know this is a separate conversation, but I think the pandemic might actually end up helping some indies and AEW in the long run. Obviously, its a silver lining/grey cloud thing, but I'll make a comparison to the band Weezer. Weezer had a huge hit debut album, but their follow-up was not as commercially successful and, at the time, not really critically acclaimed either. They basically disappeared from public eye for a couple years, but in that time, their fanbase grew and grew. Older brothers passed it on to younger brothers. Their "difficult" second album grew to be held in the same regard as their debut, if not even more appreciated. When Weezer came back in 2001, they were actually poised to be a much bigger band than they were when they debuted or would've been immediately after their second album flopped. Right now, I've talked with multiple friends who - like myself - had not been to a wrestling show in a couple years before the pandemic. What do we want to do when this is all over? Go to a wrestling show. A local show. An AEW show. Maybe even a WWE show if the price point wasn't too bad. But that's where things get kinda crazy. The WWE is a big production and those productions require stadiums, arenas, etc. and often come at a high cost. But AIW in Cleveland? They ran a show not too long ago in the parking lot of a punk dive bar (the beloved Now That's Class in Lakewood). They can run that again this summer, pretty much no problem, if they want to. I've also seen AIW in large high school-esque gymnasiums where you might have 100 fans in a space that could easily fit 4 or 5 times with high ceilings and wide open areas (in fact, there were rows of chairs close to the ring as usual, but also bleachers along the sides with great vision lines that you could really kick back on and have lots and lots of room for your drinks and snacks). I'd be totally comfortable attending a show like that again. I used to be a once-every-2-years attendee, but now, I'm excited about maybe attending more often. Other indies have already started posting "feelers" to their audience about how likely fans would be to attend a show this summer. Sadly, there have already been some who have responded "I won't attend if masks are required" who I'm guessing would also be upset if deodorant and a 1st grade reading level were required, but I digress. I just think its possible that, 6-12 months from now, when the numbers are *hopefully* much lower, the indie scene - like the indie music scene - will have the opportunity to capitalize on fans desperately wanting live entertainment in a way that the big companies or movie theaters might not see come back.

I know I'm poking the hornet' nest here, but I'd also add that The New Day, taken as a whole act, are definitely within the top 3-4 pushed babyface acts of the past decade. I'd love to see the stats, but I'm guessing that, beneath Cena and maybe Reigns and Wyatt, they've probably been among the top merch movers in the company for that same time period. If you're looking for the modern day JYD, I think they fit the bill. Tag wrestling just doesn't headline WWE shows, but minute for minute, they've gotten as much airtime as anyone. Also, as others have pointed out, saying no minority has been pushed as a "top guy" seems to overlook Rey Mysterio (and, though his run was much briefer, Eddie Guerrero), who may have been second fiddle to Cena or The Undertaker or DX for much of his run and may have been underappreciated by Vince himself, but we're still talking about Rey friggin' Mysterio. Dude's a mega star in the world of pro-wrestling, though I guess you could always argue that he should've been promoted even more. The WWE also tried to put the machine behind Alberto Del Rio multiple times. It didn't pan out. Bobby Lashley is also a "What If" guy who got a pretty big push in 07' but, as usual with Vince, once things went sour, the company - up until seemingly 3 weeks ago - was not interested in giving him another major run. Finally, Sasha Banks. Has she gotten the level of promotion and push as Charlotte Flair? No, but she's definitely one notch below (especially if you consider that Becky's run as The Man was under a year). I'm not trying to defend the WWE in terms of diversity, though I know it sounds like I am. I loathe the company's history of marginalization as much as anyone. I think its telling how they never really promoted the Bellas - arguably the most pushed female performers on the roster for a time - as being of Latin/Hispanic descent. The same is true of Bayley today. I'm not saying that any of them should've or should be waving Mexican flags during their entrance, but especially in the case of the Bellas, I do think their heritage was downplayed for racially-motivated reasons. I think they downplayed Batista's Filipino heritage in a similar fashion. I'm just trying to point out that claiming the WWE hasn't promoted any non-white performer as a "top guy" in the past 15 years is just not accurate if you include The New Day, Rey Mysterio, and Sasha Banks and then also include the failed push of Del Rio and other non-white stars like Reigns, Batista, Bayley, and the Bellas who are definitely minorities but are not often included in the conversation because the WWE has almost gone out of their way (needlessly, in my mind) to make them more "palatable" to white audiences by downplaying their race. Still, the point stands, over the past 15 years, the company has consistently seemed more interested in trying to push a Jack Swagger or Ryback than a Big E or Kofi or, in the women's division, a Lacey Evans over an Ember Moon.

That might've been me. And I didn't just call it a good match, I called it a great match. If 2006 wasn't such a good in-ring year for the WWE, it'd probably be in my top 10 for the company. Off the top of my head, I remember really liking Stratus/James at Mania, RVD/Cena from ONS II, the various Edge/Foley matches from that year being wild fun, Angle/Taker, at least one of the Edge/Cena matches being great (might've even been the TLC match from this same show), and I'm sure I'm forgetting some good stuff from Rey. But this match. This match is ridiculous fun. We get blood almost immediately as the McMahons know that to get this over, they're going to have to grab the audience by the balls from the start. Soon after, the numbers game causes to DX get beaten down and, as I said in the AEW thread, I'm a big fan of Big Show during his Extreme Giant run as he was adding all sorts of moves to arsenal (including a friggin' Vader Bomb and a Cobra Clutch Backbreaker). Perfunctory or not, Shane hits the Van Terminator on Triple H to a huge ovation. Michaels crawls back into the ring and is a bloody mess too, then Triple H is sporting a crimson mask. From here, Vince commits hubris and refuses to take the would-be victory, ultimately leading the babyfaces to rally (with help from chairs and stairs). People will always bring up the "comedy" of this match, namely Vince getting his face shoved into Big Show's ass, but really, what's more hardcore than putting yourself in tremendous jeopardy to contract hepatitis (or at least pink eye)? This match is not for everyone...but it kinda is for everyone. Its violent and bloody. It's the McMahons in full McMahon insanity mode. Its got comedy. Its got sledgehammers and Sweet Chin Musics and Big Show doing a Vader Bomb. Its food equivalent may be one of those pizzas where the crust is actually hot dogs and it comes with a dipping sauce that's just ketchup and mustard mixed together. Except I would never eat such an abomination (let alone call it great) and somehow this match works for me. Its probably the only legitimately enjoyable thing to come out of either of the DX reunions. And the crowd's reaction kinda backs that assessment up even if we don't want to admit it - like how when I see an ad for one of those grotesque "pizzas" I wonder "Who in the hell would buy that?" but somehow they're the top selling thing on the menu.

Yeah, lots of things he can do that don't involve comedy or having him wrestle weekly. Also, while a comparison to Sting is somewhat apt, I kinda think there's more you can do with Big Show based - paradoxically - his size and versatility. It looks like he's on-board as a commentator, which is fine. They have that second show starting sometime, right? He can't be any worse than JR. Speaking of JR, I'd kinda like to hear Show and Excalibur together, though I worry they're going to put Big Show with JR and have Tony and Excalibur as the other 2-man booth. Dropping JR entirely would be, to me, addition by subtraction. If he does get in the ring...I know its been close to 15 years, but one of my favorite Big Show runs was his Extreme Giant phase. He did a backbreaker that looked like a finish. I'm not sure he can still perform any or many moves, but the WWE did successfully make his Big Right Hand a death move, there's no reason his Chokeslam can't be treated like a death move, and you don't really need him to do much else. Less has always been more with him. Plus, I think his tag runs with Jericho and The Miz showed that he's perfectly suitable to be the Andre to someone else's Haku. Big Show may not be as mobile as he once was, but he still looks like a guy that can eat the Young Bucks for breakfast, throw Darby Allin halfway to the moon, and toss the Lucha Bros around with ease. Making him someone's heater - like a Sammy Guevara or Ricky Starks (I know this wouldn't make storyline sense now but just offering examples) - and its easy to envision there's some gold to mine there. And, like someone else said, he's got value outside the ring too. He's a "name." I doubt they're breaking the bank hiring him either as I've always gotten the feeling that Big Show was paid handsomely and given lots of accommodations, but maybe didn't feel fully appreciated at times. At one point, didn't he leave to attempt to get a big boxing pay day? That strikes me as not something a content WWE employee independent contractor would do.

I'm not sure if its on your To Watch list, but I just watched Unforgiven 2005 for the first-time a few weeks or months (?) back and really liked the Shawn Michaels/Chris Masters match on that show. I'd be curious what you'd think of it as it is a bit of a "hidden gem" to me.

I've outed myself before, but I'm one of those lazy, cheap Americans who has not seen any full NJPW shows so this is super cool news for me. I've never felt secure enough in my interest in the company to get the app - I barely have time to watch all that I want to watch on the other 4-5 services I have - but as a Roku owner, I'm psyched to have what looks like all (most?) of WrestleKingdom 14 available in match-by-match form now. Plus the possibility of archived shows? For 100% free? Fuck. Yeah. I wouldn't call this a game-changer just because you still need to actually go on the Roku app and find the show and be interested in Japanese wrestling...but anyone who thinks the Roku Channel is small potatoes is definitely missing the big picture. Yes, Netflix and Disney+ and Amazon Prime and HBO Max and Peacock are the "bigger names" and having a company like that actually producing a NJPW show would be a much bigger deal, but Roku is the #1-selling streaming device on the market (they make up close to 40% in North America) and their app is 100% free and built-in. It is almost comparable to terrestrial TV/radio stations in the ease at which one could access the shows on their app. Having your show available on an app that - by default - is probably in the top 5 most used/most available apps in North America is a win. It also helps "legitimize" NJPW for certain viewers in that they now could potentially include that cute little purple Roku logo in their marketing/promotion. Its a recognizable brand. This isn't like having your show on Tubi.tv or Crackle.* And while I believe Roku are mostly focusing on building up their catalog with cheap series ("Hey, we've got the full series run of Without A Trace and 3rd Rock From The Sun!) and movies readily available elsewhere, Netflix had equally humble beginnings. In fact, I kinda miss the days when the Netflix library was made up of mostly B- and C-movies (Miracle Beach! Miami Connection!). * I couldn't make the argument myself because I don't know enough about the subject, but I'd be curious to know if there is anyone who thinks that maybe Lucha Underground would've been a bigger hit had it been a Netflix-produced series rather than El Rey. When the first two (?) seasons of LU made it to Netflix, it definitely wasn't promoted as a Netflix show (because it wasn't) - but one has to wonder if that show being produced by Netflix in conjunction with G.L.O.W, for example, might've helped it get even more of a buzz and led to Netflix putting muscle into promoting it. Or, also, if the initial buzz that LU got (which was sizable) was dampened a bit by the El Rey channel not having the name recognition/availability of a platform like Netflix. In the end, I don't think we're a long time away from one of these streaming platforms making a real run at co-producing a wrestling promotion/show like LU or *gastro issues* Wrestling Society X.

Just to pile on, I had very similar thoughts when I reviewed these shows on my blog. Here are some highlights... SummerSlam 2002 Review "...the most Shawn Michaelest of Shawn Michaels matches ever, with the Showstopper somehow managing to kip-up, dance around, and blatantly no-sell any of the damage that Triple H had inflicted upon him...Triple H pulls out his usual bag of tricks, essentially bleeding profusely and doing the kind of over-the-top bumps (one off the apron into the outside [into the] barricade is noticeably silly) that he learned from watching his opponent for so many years...[The] match is hard not to enjoy, especially for first-time viewers, but the more I re-watch the match (this had to be my 3rd or 4th viewing), the less impressed I am...[One] of the more overdramatic matches in WWE history and one that simultaneously celebrates the return of Shawn Michaels while completely destroying any legitimacy his 4-year back injury had built up with the audience. Entertaining as hell, but when the bell sounds, you'll need to turn your brain off to enjoy it as much as the Long Island crowd did." Survivor Series 2002 Review "...The post-match celebration fell flat to me...Jim Ross goes overboard selling this as a historic moment, and while it was a big deal in the career of Michaels (and Triple H), its hard to ignore the feeling that this was two buddies playing keep-away with the World Championship while arguably more over talent, namely Van Dam, were stuck in the slightly-below-main event level. Had this been built around RVD overcoming the odds from the start, I'm guessing the crowd would have cared more about the belabored closing stretch."

Yeah. This Boudreaux kid could be the next Brock Lesnar...could also be the next Nathan Jones. I was watching a show from 98' for my blog and it reminded me that, back then, I recall the rumor mill churning with "insider news" that Kurrgan was going to get a monster push, feud with Austin, etc. I think this was spread on RSPW and LordsofPain. Even if it was true that Vince believed Kurrgan had the size and look to be a main event monster, it still requires at least some athletic and emotive performance ability - which Kurrgan did not have - and ultimately the push that everyone assumed would happen actually didn't even come close to happening at any time. He was a lower midcard tag guy. So, yeah, its definitely way, way, way early to consider another ex-football player with a big neck to be a shoe-in for the Hall of the Fame. And I think Mojo Rawley would have to agree.

Its weird to me that people are pissed/peeved about Cesaro re-signing. What is the alternative for this guy? He likely got a great money deal and while there are obviously dream matches with AEW, NJPW, and other talents that we now won't see, that's something that us fans want from him rather than for him. He's 40. He did the indies for a long, long time. I'm glad he's getting paid. At the end of the day, as uber talented as he is, I also don't know if he's a guy that goes to AEW automatically gets put into Jon Moxley's position. I mean, isn't it more likely he ends up as Miro/Rusev? And I know the people here are well aware of Cesaro's background, but in other places (r/sc, for example), there's also people who seem to think he didn't have many, many relatively easy-to-find matches against the same guys that people would love to see him work with now. Its like, you wanna see Cesaro vs. Kenny Omega? Google it. He did his time in RoH and CHIKARA and elsewhere. Hell, I saw him do a 3-way dance with Daniel Bryan and Christopher Daniels in a tiny gym in Cleveland and its on YouTube and it was awesome and I'm guessing he maybe made a couple hundred bucks for it. I don't know, just seems weird that people see his WWE run as some sort of failure when, 7-8 years ago, the conventional wisdom was that the yodeling gimmick was going to do him in and he'd probably be future endeavored. Here we are in 2021 and while it may be disappointing to some that he's probably a WWE Lifer, I can't begrudge his decision at all.

Not a Bad Bunny fan or a hater, but I thought the audio mix at the Rumble was awful. Like, way, way, way subpar. I've seen and heard better performances on local access TV and I think it largely has to do with the production, not the performance. You couldn't hear the background music so Bad Bunny's rapping really didn't seem like it was on any sort of beat - even if it felt that way "in the room." If you're going to bring in this huge star, and I think by all indicators, Bad Bunny is a star (even if most of us have never heard of him), you should probably go doubly-hard on making him sound good. Ultimately, I didn't see Bad Bunny's performance on any sort of mainstream TV show or sports show or on Facebook or anywhere. Meanwhile, much lesser bands have gotten a bit of a "bump" from appearing on WWE broadcasts, but mostly because they've actually had notable, well-produced performances.

They've done such a terrific job of making nobody - save for Reigns and maybe a handful of other guys - "hot" right now that I'm definitely in the camp that says there is no 1 bad option, there's just degradations between from "okay" to "why not?" to "complete indifference." Like, who would honestly be the worst person they could pick? Ziggler? Someone joked about The Miz and, yes, that'd be a bad idea. But is it any worse than some other random midcarder?

I'm just speculating but my guess is they're waiting on 4 questions - Can we get the Rock? Can we get Brock? Can we get Cena? Can Rollins come back for a match? And maybe a 5th in whether they can get Edge. I'm not sure if Rousey is ever coming back.

I've never seen this full show and based on the reviews of Danielson/Gibson, this isn't even the match of the night, but boy did I like it. From my blog review of the ROH Greatest Rivalries DVD... Jimmy Rave vs. AJ Styles with Mick Foley as the Ringside Enforcer (given this role to neutralize Prince Nana on the outside) is next from September 2005. Rave goes right after his ex-mentor, but AJ comes right back with some fiery offense. There's no referee for this match because it is being fought under the stipulation that a winner can only be declared if they hit their finish - the Styles Clash or Jimmy Rave's version of it (the Rave Clash). Styles goes for the Clash early but Rave crawls out to the outside. I like Styles' intensity - this is the type of no-nonsense tone that fans wanted to see him bring to his feud with Samoa Joe years ago. The commentators note that this was Foley's final night in Ring of Honor, but don't mention that he was probably already gearing up for a return to the WWE in 2006 where he'd add a pair of great matches to his resume against Edge and then, teaming with Edge, against Terry Funk and Tommy Dreamer. A mysterious run-in causes a shift in the match and Rave takes over, eliciting a loud "Die Jimmy Die" chant. Rave hits a nice reverse suplex to maintain control but gets momentarily distracted by an un-PG comment from Foley on the house mic. To the outside they go where Rave sends Styles into the barricade repeatedly. They fight up to the entrance and Rave attempts a Rave Clash but Styles counters with a back drop. Back in the ring, Rave crotches Styles on the top rope and looks to be fully in control. Rave looks to try the Clash again, but AJ counters with an eziguiri. Both guys attempt German Suplex and we get a nice sequence that ends with a headscissors takedown and then into yet another stunning sequence of counters and suplexes ending in Rave's Gonorrhea move. Rave grabs a table (which is legal in this match) and slides it into the table with help from Nana. I really like Styles' attention to detail here. Obviously they're building to a table spot, but Styles doesn't just let it happen, trying to prevent Rave from positioning the thing at every turn. Styles and Rave again trade suplex attempts, neither guy giving up anything easy. This match feels and looks tiring, like a genuine fight, each sequence transitioning seamlessly into the next and feeling organic. They end up on the top rope, teasing something big and both men end up crashing through nearby table in a heap. Simple but effective stuff. This is the opposite of "my move/your move" bullshit. Styles goes for a piledriver back in the ring, but Rave escapes and hits a nasty knee strike to the face. He sets up a chair and attempts a brainbuster on it, but AJ counters it and drops him chest-first onto it the chair instead. That's gotta hurt. Styles sets up the table but out comes a gaggle of masked wrestlers! Foley neutralizes them but gets hit from behind by Prince Nana. Rave lands a vicious lariat and is the last man standing. Rave sets AJ up in the corner for a superplex through the table but AJ won't budge and instead turns it into a Styles Clash through the table! Holy Shit! This one is over. And to add a cherry on top, Mick Foley hits the DDT on the steel chair to Prince Nana! Mick Foley goes on to cut a promo praising the company. That was a fantastic match. Top, top shelf. (4.5/5)

Yea, I'm going to second El-P on this. I found her matches with Banks, Becky, Charlotte, Naomi, and the Mania match against Nia Jax to be all quite good. And I totally get the argument that, given the same opportunities, a more experienced, more technically skilled wrestler might have performed the same exact gimmick and gotten it over even more, but its not quite fair to judge the reality (Alexa Bliss) against some hypothetical version of it that they could've done with Emma or Candice LeRae or whatever other wrestler with a similar look/gimmick. Now this shit right here, though, it just seems off by a little. I like her commitment and I do think there was, inititally, some interesting avenues to explore with Bliss and Bray Wyatt...but like most things with Bray, it strikes me that they had half an idea and then ran with it. We're now months into this weird alliance and it has steadily become less interesting. Adding her character into the mix should've meant a raising of the stakes, a new wrinkle to the mystique, or a way for Wyatt to terrorize the company in all new ways - which is what I think they meant to happen but thought they could skip steps along the way and hope that Alexa on a swing would count as character development.

I was kinda surprised not to see any reviews of this match as this seems like the kind of match people would have opinions about. Anyway, I watched it via the Bloodstained Honor DVD (that I somehow got from the Cleveland Public Library, which is its own kind of awesome). I'm guessing that people who were watching ROH regularly might be even higher on this match because of the build-up and knowledge of the characters, their motivations, reputations, etc. Watching this "cold" with only a tiny bit of knowledge of the match, I still really enjoyed it for what it was... This one starts before a bell can even be rung, Cabana going right after Homicide (literally chasing him to the ring from the back). Its a start to a match that one would think had happened hundreds of times before but...well..it was new to me. Good brawling to start, both guys not bothering with restholds and just trying to punish each other any way they can. Cabana gets sent into the post and then barricade and ends up busted open. Homicide shows his nastiness by digging his nail into the cut for a gruesome visual. Homicide then tosses a chair into his face before bashing him with part of the barricade. Cabana gets bashed with a chair again but refuses to quit, leading Homicide to slide into his skull even more with a shaving razor! Homicide then sends him into the barricade propped in the corner and, man, this is a serious ass-whupping. Cabana gets back onto his feet, though, eventually striking with some chest chops before getting poked in the eye. Cabana is really channeling Tommy Dreamer here with this attitude, just refusing to stay down despite Homicide's dominance. After another flurry of hope offense, Homicide lands a tornado DDT and then applies a ridiculous single-leg boston crab with the arm tied up too! That does not look comfortable at all. Homicide goes after the ref as the crowd begins to demand tables. After bashing Cabana with another chair shot, Homicide goes to the top for a splash but Cabana rolls away. Cabana attempts a powerbomb but Homicide escapes so he has to settle for a clothesline and then a choke and a scoop slam. Cabana attempts a moonsault but Homicide rolls away and catches him with a lariat. Homicide applies the camel clutch before getting tossed a coathanger by his right-hand man Julius Smokes. Homicide uses the coat hanger to choke out Cabana, the ref forced to end the match as the crowd boos. Cabana crawls his way to the ropes, though, and demands for the match to continue, telling Mr. 187 that he'll need to kill him to end this. Homicide comes back to the ring and they trade blows but Cabana can't maintain control, cut off by a neckbreaker. Cabana damages Homicide's shoulder and continues his assault on it, fully aware that this is Homicide's weak point. At one point, he even bites the thing! Cabana attempts to use a chair, but Smokes stops him and Homicide regains control. At this point, Homicide, Smokes, and Ricky Reyes (I think?) tie up Cabana in the corner and unload on him, Homicide tossing yet another chair into his face. After Homicide does it again, the referee once again ends the match and the crowd chants "He's Not Dead." Again Cabana demands Homicide return to the ring and finish him off. Cabana gets some offense in and even fights off Smokes for a bit, but eventually falls prey to a ridiculous piledriver through a table that looks like a legit crippling. This match is not going to be every's cup of tea, but I really liked the story and the escalation of violence from beginning to end. All the character work was brilliant. I loved the creative start to the match and the insane lengths Homicide had to go to finally put Cabana out. (4.5/5)

My answer has to be a guy who I don't think would ever have any interest in being a real coach/booker/agent but, for my dollar, is the most spot-on guy I've heard talk at length about wrestling: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. You can go back to his podcasts from 4-5 years ago and he sounds like he'd fit in right here on this board. Whether it was asking "What is a Seth Rollins?" (I think it was only in his last run that we finally saw a legit answer to that question) or his regular post-PPV analyses with Wade Keller, his takes were always really good and, more than anything, constructive. Like, he'd criticize a match or say he didn't like something - but give a valid explanation for where it went wrong, what they could've done to fix it, where a guy or gal needed to...pause...for a beat...to get the audience back or bring the match to a higher gear. And unlike Shawn or Triple H, Austin's answer was usually something subtle like a small smirk, a look over the shoulder, a small gesture, not forced histrionics. As much as I've loved Roman Reigns' latest run, for example, I'm not sure I like guys crying in the ring as a high spot. Again, I don't think Austin has any interest whatsoever in having any sort of office job. He's got plenty of money and I don't think he feels there are any unfulfilled tasks or goals in the business. He's just a fan now and clearly a fan that still watches stuff, not just WWE, for enjoyment semi-regularly. But yeah, in some alternate reality where Austin really was paralyzed after SummerSlam 97' and then just became a backstage producer, I'm guessing he'd have been very, very good.

This actually came up on reddit, but one (the only?) answer is Mick Foley. I'd consider him a legit main event babyface for a stretch and his most famous matches were all losses - except the time he won the World Championship. But, yeah, mostly lost to Taker, mostly lost to Austin, mostly lost to The Rock, mostly lost to Triple H. Was still probably a top 2-3 babyface in the company at his peak that main evented multiple PPVs. I don't remember him ever getting "hot" and winning a bunch of matches in a row.

I saw Hogan/Flair at MSG in the early 90s, but because I was only 7-8 years old, I don't really remember it. The matches I actually remember well and really enjoying were... - The Hardys vs. Edge & Christian ladder match at No Mercy 99'. I was 15 for that. - Samoa Joe vs. Rhyno for Cleveland All-Pro Wrestling in 04' or 05' (I think)? Not the world's greatest match or anything, but what was cool about it was the atmosphere. Either before the match or after, Rhyno came on the mic and said it was their first time wrestling eachother and called Joe the future of the business or something along those lines. It was a cool moment and, like lots of things that happened around then with Joe/Punk/Bryan/AJ, felt like wrestling fans were on the verge of an "indie revolution" that one could argue didn't actually really come into fruition for another 15-16 years. - Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper at TLC 2014. I haven't rewatched it, but I remember lots of praise for this one when it happened, not sure if it holds up. This was another one where atmosphere was a factor. Ziggler is a Cleveland guy - even if he's billed from Hollywood, Florida, or whatever - so he had the crowd behind him 100% and this was the opening contest of the show, so the audience was very much into it. - Steve Austin defeats Kane to win the WWE Championship on RAW (6/29/98). Not a great match, but man, that building was so red hot for Austin. I was at Quicken Loans/Gund Arena/whatever for Hogan's return in 06' and for the Rock's in 2012 (I'm just guessing on these years) and both guys got standing ovations that just wouldn't end...but, seriously, the most over wrestler I've ever seen has to be Austin in 98'. I feel bad for wrestling fans of today who are too young to have witnessed Austin at his peak. He really was so damn over that you could have the highest rated show on cable just by having him appear and do shtick for 25 out of 120 minutes.

"Winning streaks" are generally good. Whether you're a newcomer or a veteran or whatever in between, going on a hot streak is a way the company can get behind you and get the fans behind you too. Goldberg's streak wasn't ended very well, but as was discussed in that thread, that was a booking mistake. A clean DDP victory would've put DDP over huge and been a legit shocker. Kevin Nash was over. The finish to their Starrcade match was seriously overbooked, but, in theory, you could've given Nash either the clean win via Jacknife after Goldberg spears the post (which would've been lame) or just had a single, unexpected distraction. It's been forever since I watched 98' WCW, but what if Hogan had come out instead of Disco, Bigelow, and Hall? What if Hogan comes out and the announcers ask aloud what side is he on, distracts Goldberg, and then we find out he's been in kahoots with Nash? You could still even do the Fingerpoke of Doom the next night if you're deadset on putting the belt back on Hulk. In this scenario, you end Starrcade with Goldberg losing - but the bigger story being about Hogan's return (?) and possible nWo reunion. Tatanka, well...as the OP said, he was mildly popular in 92' and 93', but it was a one-note gimmick put on an average-at-best wrestler. They never went anywhere with it because there really wasn't anywhere to go with it. Do you really wanna see Tatanka any higher up the card than he was? So, to me, having him get squashed by Yoko (though I guess I misremembered and always thought Borga ended the streak), made perfect sense. Yoko got a signature win and you're not really losing anything because Tatanka was not good enough to ever be more than a midcard act. More recently, I think Ryback benefitted from coming in, squashing jobbers and working his way up the card with an undefeated streak. When he did eventually lose to CM Punk (?) - by interference, IIRC - he still felt like a guy that could become a legit World Champion one day. Similarly, I don't know if the Ultimate Warrior's first 6-8 months in the WWE were all wins, but I'm guessing they were. Ditto for the Undertaker (who probably went even longer without a pinfall loss). It all comes down to the booking. The opposite of winning streaks is what we have now (wins/losses don't matter, NXT callups being treated like they're "rookies") - and nobody is getting over. They constantly have to rebuild guys. Remember, last year at this time, many of us were eyerolling about the bland, personality-less former Dolph Ziggler henchman rumored to be winning the Rumble after never being portrayed as a top guy.