DMJ

I'd be shocked if they book Rousey like a heel before Mania - especially if the rumored match (HHH/Steph vs. ____ & Rousey) is going to happen. I mean, who could they team with Rousey that's going to get booed over HHH/Steph? The Miz maybe? Jason Jordan? I think it'd be far easier to play it as HHH and Steph antagonizing Rousey by talking about how its "their house" and Kurt Angle backing up Rousey because he's RAW's GM and when he came into the business, people like Steph and HHH tried to "keep him down" too because he was an outsider. Even if its 50/50 in terms of crowd responses, at the actual show, the story will be Rousey is triumphant and the crowd loved every minute of it (just like the story of the Cena & Nikki vs. Miz & Maryse match was that Cena and Nikki got engaged as the crowd applauded despite the fact that the loudest pops of that whole match were for the Miz kicking Cena in the chest repeatedly). The night after Mania, though, is when the audience reactions can really help guide a storyline when handled correctly (see the Ziggler/ADR cash-in for a decent example). Rousey can come out and, by this point, without HHH and Steph to draw the heat, the audience will likely by against her or, at best, neutral. Then, Asuka comes out to a huge applause. Or Charlotte. When you have Rousey actually juxtaposed with a popular, established female performer, that's when the audience will really turn on her. I just don't see that happening if she's paired up with Steph, even if they attempt to make Steph out as some sort of godmother of the women's division (in which case I think the whole angle will just get shit on).

You put Rey at 30 and let him win the thing and I think it would've been interesting. On one hand, it would've been a "big name part-timer" going over and there'd be a portion of the audience that would shit on it, but is there a bigger dream match than Styles/Rey that the WWE could reasonably put on that doesn't involve Daniel Bryan coming out of retirement? Obviously, Nakamura/AJ has some strong pull with the audience, but Mysterio is a still a step above in 2018.

I really miss Live Audio Wrestling as, especially after a big PPV, I like to hear some analysis the next morning on my drive to work. I tried Wrestling Inc.'s podcast and thought, "Wow, these guys really don't get it" and "Matt Morgan throwing shade at Cena and Reigns? Dude, really?" I've opted to never listen to that show again. I guess I'm a glutton for punishment, though, because I tried Vince Russo's podcast "The Brand" this morning. I knew Russo would have complaints about the Rumble, but he was so ridiculously wrong on every point, part of me wonders if it isn't a work. Among the "hot takes" that nearly made me veer off the hallway (from Russo or his equally historically wrong co-host Big Vito)... - The WWE is letting the "marks" book the company now because Nakamura won and Reigns didn't. - "Choreographed fake fights" (like Nak/Styles) won't bring in any new viewers but Cena vs. Reigns would (because they wouldn't wrestle a choreographed fake fight?) - Big Vito's fool-proof, guaranteed money-making angle that would turn the WWE upside down (brace yourself): Bring back Eric Bischoff and put him in charge of SmackDown so he can bring back Hogan and the nWo. Then, have Vince Russo take over RAW and bring back Edge, Christian, and Jericho, then run a "real" war because "That is an angle that has never been done before." - Bobby Roode needed a veteran to help lead him through his first US Title defense despite the fact that Roode has been wrestling for 15+ years. (Note - I didn't see the Roode/Rawley match and I'm not defending it, but Vito's "expert analysis" for why Roode isn't over and why Roode/Rawley was a bad match shows he doesn't actually know who Roode is. Its like saying "I hated Ishtar. The two lead actors were really amateurish.") I fear my drive home as I finish the episode and will undoubtedly hear them somehow manage to shit on the women's Rumble because (I'm guessing) Sable didn't return and win the whole thing wearing a thong and pasties.

ABC News and Sports Illustrated are reporting that it will be the return of the XFL (maybe not that name, but a pro-football league). Is it possible that Vince has gotten himself involved in some sort of Brewster's Millions situation where he has to burn through hundreds of millions of dollars in a set amount of time in order to inherit hundreds of billions of dollars? I mean, what else could be behind this? I'm also still really gobsmacked over what Network is interested in partaking in this endeavor. Dick Ebersol is still at NBC and I'd really be shocked if he shared Vince's interest for a relaunch - especially considering that, unlike in the early 00s, NBC isn't as desperate for sports programming. I could see Disney being somewhat interested - especially if there is an eventual push to buy a major stake in the WWE. This would also fit in with the rumors about Vince wanting to potentially move RAW and SD over from the NBC-owned USA Network to somewhere under the ABC/Fox Umbrella (maybe landing them on FX? Live streaming on Hulu? ESPN2?). Even under those circumstances, though, its hard to envision McMahon successfully using the WWE as a carrot to lead Disney into supporting the XFL. As someone noted, there may always be a place for live sports on TV, but the XFL's production costs were massive compared to arena football and I'd probably say the XFL was costlier than the WNBA from a production standpoint. Niche sports like dodgeball, table tennis, and bowling aren't being played in 30,000 seat arenas and being produced as large-scale, rock concert-esque events every week. McMahon went big (and expensive) last time and there's no reason to think he won't do that again.

Only caught a few clips and likely won't watch much more (though I am intrigued to hear the Manhattan crowd's "refund" chant). - I thought the Vince/Shane/Austin segment was really flat. I'm a big Austin fan and usually find his segments at Manias or special RAWs to be great for the nostalgia factor alone, but this time around, it just felt like the writers went out of their way to make it uninteresting. I think maybe that was the point?No promo so he couldn't pop the crowd more than anyone else? No interaction with current performers so he couldn't outshine them? - The Taker segment sucked. Smoke and mirrors have always been his friends, so when they send him out there with no frills and lighting that allows us to see every wrinkle of his face and no angle or storyline reason for even being on TV, the "aura" dissipates very quickly. Like the Austin segment, Creative just didn't have anything for him but decided that they'd rather him be on the show doing nothing than not on the show at all. Surprise, surprise, most everything written about the segment has been negative or indifferent. - Reddit is full of fun live reports, videos, and notes regarding the $400 ticket price and many attendees wanting refunds. From what I've seen, they absolutely deserve them.

If you look at his actual win/loss record in 2015 when he was part of the main roster, the WWE has been really smart with Braun. He spent about a year in tags and six-mans and would routinely be on the losing end of those matches - so its not quite like the Goldberg push where Braun just demolished everyone on the roster within a year. That year of house show matches where he probably wasn't booked as the center of the attention and was told to sit back and pick his spots and watch (while the relative vets in the Shield and later Big Show and Kane led the match) is probably why (a) he's been really good in his spotlight moments over the past year and (b ) why he still seems super fresh at the start of 2018 despite debuting in August 2015 (i.e he was kinda kept hidden and not over-exposed during that initial Wyatt run). As for not showing him off in NXT, I'm going to call that a master stroke too. This guy didn't need any time to curry favor with the "nerds" to get over. If anything, it could've been harmful. In one scenario, the "workrate marks" boo him to death for being green and he's instantly seen as a guy who won't ever "get it" and thus put into comedy roles like a modern day Hillbilly Jim. In another scenario, he does get over as a monster in NXT but because of backstage bullshit or a need for him to "learn his place," he's brought up and given the same start-stop push that Samoa Joe and Finn Balor have got while jaded internet fans complain about how he's been "watered down." In other words, I think the Strowman we are seeing now is the best Braun Strowman we could reasonably have ever seen formed.

I know this is a separate conversation, but I'd throw Big E's name right in there with Rusev's as a guy that if you put him in there in the final 4 alongside Reigns, Corbin, and, say, Sheamus and Jinder, I think that crowd would rally behind Big E. I thought the New Day's popularity was dwindling when they jumped to SmackDown way back, but the Usos feud was great and kept them over and Big E, while maybe not the most versatile guy in the group, has the size to go face-to-face with anybody on the roster - Lesnar included. Now, I'm not saying Big E/AJ Styles is where they should go for WrestleMania just like I don't think anyone really sees Rusev as a legit contender, but the larger point is - moving into 2019, maybe instead of trying to fabricate stars like they did with Jinder this year, they should actually give a shot to some of these guys who are actually over. Big E/Styles and Rusev/Styles remind me of those times Flair would face someone like Bobby Eaton or Ricky Morton where the challenger was obviously on a lesser tier but the matches worked because both guys were over, were very good at what they did, and the pairing was fresh.

So, the thing that we've been talking about in the spoiler tags (which, I don't think it should be called a "spoiler", but whatever) is now popping up on Facebook feeds, IGN, Daily Star, and probably loads of other sites. At what point can we just start talking about it as a hypothetical? I mean, isn't there a thread going on about the Undertaker returning for a match against Cena at Mania? Is that not the same thing? If Nakamura wins the Rumble, would that make everyone's predictions that he would win into spoilers in retrospect? I get not wanting to ruin a surprise, but this isn't like ruining a big reveal from Game of Thrones before the west coast feed, this is pure speculation no different than me wildly and with no evidence speculating that Jacqueline will be competing in the women's Rumble.

I just watched that Rumble match and disliked it a good deal. It gets better after the "restart" and the closing stretch is fine, but the first half was dullsville. Quick refresher: After a dull opening, the Roadie takes out Razor's knee on the outside, forcing the ref to stop the match, I think, then Jarrett baits him back into the ring and proceeds to defeat him. I haven't watched Mania XI in forever, but looking at the card, maybe they could've stretched the 1-2-3 Kid/Holly tag run and have them face the Gunns at Mania, freeing up Owen Hart? I don't know how Hall and Owen's chemistry was but I'd also add that, rewatching that Rumble match with Jarrett, I'm questioning whether I ever really liked babyface Razor or if I just thought I liked it because I was 11.

I'm a Roman fan, but I thought his match against Taker last year was below average for him and even below average for the Deadman when you compare it to, say, his 10 previous matches (that'd be basically what? the previous 3-4 years? And let's exclude that Hell in a Cell match against Shane too just so my argument doesn't completely fall apart). With Cena, I at least have confidence that Big Match John will be able to convincingly lift him off his feet, so we probably won't see the flubs that marred last year's main event. Reigns is cosmetically mighty, but he's probably not top 5 in brute strength and that botched Tombstone reversal was ugly and the moment I remember most from the actual match. Also, again, I'm a Reigns fan, but I think he's still improving in a lot of ways while Cena has mastered getting to and having the "Big Fight" Match and everything that entails - building up to the match with "Is that a shoot?" promos, playing up the face/heel reactions he gets, balancing vulnerability with Never Give Up heroics, etc. This match is not going to be for everybody, but...wait for the pun...I do have a morbid curiosity towards it.

Not that I personally care or really follow Dave's ratings closely, but I do think its worth noting that him giving the match 5 stars doesn't seem like that big of a deal after a year of him abandoning his own scale and awarding Omega multiple 5+/6-star matches. People talked about how changing his star system effected the 5-star matches of the past - how giving a match 6-stars in 2017 would retroactively devalue the 5-star matches of 1989, for example - but here is a pretty clear example of how the change to his star system has already impacted the ratings for future matches. Giving Jericho/Omega 5-stars does put it notches below that "rarefied air" of the "perfect match" the same way a 4 or 4.25 match used to be considered a great, great match, but maybe not all-time spectacular.

I wasn't sure how to shrink the pics but AJ Styles and Chip from "Fixer Upper."

I had a paragraph written about this match and then edited it down to just 2-3 sentences because I thought I was being crazy to write so much about a "throw-away" match. The crowd is pretty dead, which was the most notable thing for me. Still, I just love Alexa Bliss right now and Asuka, who hasn't received quite the criticism that her fellow countryman Shinsuke Nakamura has, has still been the butt of some criticism by many who "don't get the hype." With Nakamura, I think you can say that he hasn't quite shown what is so special - but with Asuka, her NXT run was tremendous and this match shows that she still has enough "it" to be a huge star on the main roster. Loved Alexa's coward act and her facial expressions, if they aren't registering with the live audience, work wonders on the TV screen. I read someone criticize her for being unwilling to take Asuka's strikes and while this is a somewhat valid criticism, doesn't the fact that she doesn't want to get hit in the face full force make more sense than just "taking" the hit? Anyway, Asuka's taunting was equally great in the early going - really fun and endearing. Part of the audience (I'm thinking mostly older male fan demographic) wants her to be the Terminator all the time, but not me - I like that she smiles and prances around a little and has the colorful garb and all that. In this instance, it made Alexa's fear of her even more of a juxtaposition in character and approach. That sort of juxtaposition is a truly untapped resource for good action (for another example, compare Aleister Black vs. Velveteen Black to super serious Seth Rollins vs. super serious Kevin Owens). A commercial break kept us from getting the full match but when we came back, they were in another gear and getting really physical and intense. I loved Alexa smacking the taste of Asuka's mouth only to realize *duh* that she had now just thrown hands with a legendary hand-thrower. From here to the finish the crowd was a tad more into things, but not quite at the level they'd be if this was Sasha Banks or Charlotte, who are obviously more established in 2017. Its important to remember, though, that Banks and Charlotte and Lynch weren't necessarily mega-over upon their debut and it took time (and a total reboot of the storyline by jettisoning the stable war storyline they were involved in) to help them be seen as more than a bathroom break. Alexa Bliss will get there too. So will Asuka. The work in this match is just too good to go ignored for long, IMO. I liked the finish too. This was Chapter 1 of what will hopefully be a somewhat long story and, in that sense, it worked. I do think that the commentators have done a real disservice to the "B-story," though, by not mentioning Nia's role in all of this. Has Bliss not been trying to get Nia to be her back-up for the past two weeks? I mentioned in last week and it deserves mention again here that you could really broaden this entire angle by being more clear about the fact that Nia, who is now a borderline face, has been letting down her BFF by not being in Alexa's corner. I know we often criticize the WWE for being hamfisted with things, but in this instance, they should really be doing a better job of driving home the idea that Nia has been MIA for two weeks when Alexa's been in trouble. If I gave this a star rating, I'd give it 3-stars, which is above-average on my scale (2.5 is average).

I have not seen a load of these matches, but I was curious after reading the last part's "surprise list" - would you have Curt Hennig as Bret's #6 best opponent? Personally, I don't really see Flair in the top #5, so he's who I would swap out. Even at #6 I might go with the Bulldog over Flair. I just don't necessarily see the Souled Out match as being as good as you described it and Bret had some real undeniably strong matches with Davey Boy and Perfect. I'm not sure who else would round out a top 10, but that's kind of the brilliance of Bret too (that I'm sure you found in your viewing) - as a tag guy and then as WWE Champion, he worked with a ton of different guys on TV and PPV.

Watching the show this morning... Kurt Angle mentioned that the women's Rumble will be fought under the same rules as the men's. I find it hard to believe they'll do 2 minutes for entrances as that would mean 2 hour-long "matches." Maybe 90 seconds? I just rewatched the 95' Rumble and the 60-second rule made things go way too fast to feel "big." I feel like it really tainted Michaels' victory as him sticking around for 40 minutes just didn't feel too impressive compared to what Flair did in 92' or even what DiBiase and Martel did in the years prior. (Obviously the lack of roster depth in 95' also tainted HBK's first win too) I enjoyed the Asuka/Alexa match more than the crowd seemed to. This match wouldn't of gotten "Fight Forever" chants in front of an NXT crowd or anything, but I do think the audience kind of slept on a well-worked match that started with some decent grappling, featured some good consistent character work, and served its purpose to build up to their eventual title match. EDIT: Glad to see others like Asuka/Bliss too. I was sure there'd be responses putting the match down as "tone deaf" and "heatless" because the crowd didn't react huge to everything they did.

Haven't finished it yet, but am nearing the end. I went ahead and left a 5-star review on Amazon. Thank you for writing a wrestling book that is intelligent and well-researched. I posted my review under my wife's name (it was her Amazon account I ordered it on) and I'm hoping it helps spread the word on how good this book is.

Definitely shocked by the tag title switch. I did not see the whole show, but gotta say it was another swing-and-a-miss in the Womens' Division angle I saw. For those that missed it, we'll start with Enzo and Nia under the mistletoe. Now, I've got issues with this just because I think its turning Enzo (and Nia) face cuz its a really cutesy story, but whatever, not a huge deal. Anyway, Alexa Bliss interrupts before they can kiss, pulling Nia away because she needs her help. Later, Alexa cut a promo about how she broke the glass ceiling and all the other women on the roster should be thanking her for being the catalyst for the Womens' Rumble (and they re-aired a clip from Steph's announcement which, even in truncated form, was as bad as everyone warned me it was). Not a great promo, but not terrible. Still, no real complaints. Asuka shows up, gets a good pop, and says she's entering the Rumble. Here's where things fall off the rails. Asuka stares down Alexa for what felt like a good long 60-90 seconds. During this long, awkward pause, it seemed like Nia was supposed to do a run-in (that could explain why Alexa pulled her away earlier, to enlist her as back-up "just in case"). Or Alexa could take a powder and retreat like a coward, which would've been fine. Or Bliss could've attempted to strike first and then Asuka would duck and knock her on her ass. Whatever. Instead, it was just an awkward staredown until Asuka booted her in the head. (There was a mild "Asuka" chant during this, but even that felt like it took 30-40 seconds for fans to pick up on) Now, someone could defend this and say, "No, you got it wrong. The idea was that Nia didn't make the save because she wants Alexa's title too. You just wait, DMJ, Alexa will confront Nia next week about not having her back and this will all make sense." And, yes, that would make sense and be fine build for the Rumble...if a producer had instructed Alexa to, instead of just quivering in fear of Asuka, maybe act like she expected Nia to be coming any second. A simple look over her shoulder, as if to say "Where's my back-up?" would've saved the entire segment. Or better yet, have Alexa not back down and actually continue to talk shit, over-confidently assured that Nia had her back only for, ruh-roh, Nia to not have her back. I think the angle bothered me so much because I was watching with non-fans, including my non-fan father-in-law, and he enjoyed the first part of the segment only to be like "That's it?" when it ended. Just lazy, anti-climactic writing.

Having watched the whole show, I think its the best match of the tournament - but that's faint praise considering that no other match in the tournament was given the time or designed to be very competitive (Mexico/UK is interesting because of the people involved, but its still a notch below good). After some good action with Saito and Muta shining particularly, I really hated the finish. "Overconfident heel turns back on action to gloat and ends up losing match" is classic wrestling, but, to me, it really works best when the heels have totally dominated and then maybe hit the faces with an international object to really cement that it is over. Here, the match doesn't really seem "sewn up" enough for Muta to play to the crowd and completely abandon the match. With a better finishing stretch, I would go ***, maybe even *** 1/2, but as it is, its just average on my scale.

Just posted my 3rd annual Top 10 Network Matches column. As I'm a WWE-centric fan and barely watch the TV, my list takes that format, but I still think everything I ranked was highly enjoyable viewing: http://kwangtheblog.blogspot.com/2017/12/my-favorite-network-matches-of-2017.html As I wrote the column, I not only checked out my own at-the-time reviews, but also the threads from here, which were really helpful in getting some additional critical insight. Happy reading and a merry Xmas to all.

On the talk of WWE Films, I think they're generally profitable and they did have somewhat of a hit on their hands with "The Call" in 2013. The budget was the usual $10 million or so (wiki says $13) and it ended up doing $68 in box office alone (I'm guessing DVD sales pushed it even higher). I'm not sure but at one point they also had a hand in one or two of The Rock's movies ("Walking Tall" and "The Rundown," I believe) and maybe they're doing the same with Cena now? As for the XFL, yeah, if they attempt to re-launch, it is going to fail faster than the original. Part of me thinks that Vince was able to put on a smile and laugh off the fact that it was a disaster in the ESPN documentary, but under the skin it bugged the hell out of him and he wants to prove history wrong. Sadly for him, I can't see NBC or any other Network wanting to go 50-50 with him for something that is actually worse than "unproven" - it was a proven flop.

Whoops. Double post. sorry.

I don't think I understand that twitter person's point. Benjamin is really not that comparable to Jinder in moveset or gimmick or size or anything. A more apt comparison, to me at least, would be Rusev and I think if you put Rusev in that same match and build it around AJ's damaged ribs and the threat of the Accolade and you have a Match of the Year candidate.

Oddly enough they re-ran an interview he did for a Cleveland radio show this morning that I caught on my ride to work. It was when he was with TNA, post divorce from Linda, and it wasn't too great. It was Hogan being humble and ultra-positive and "spiritual." At one point he said he'd be open to a relationship with Linda for the sake of their children if "she was able to find a good place spiritually" where that'd be possible. I kind of hate attitudes like that because its pretty "judgy" - like saying "I'm open to speaking to that person as long as they reach the level of joy and tranquility and peace that I have achieved." Better just to say to leave it as, "I'm open to it for our kids." Aside from that, as a human, I hope the Hulkster does find happiness and peace and all that good stuff but dredging up his past seems almost like a surefire way for that not to happen almost? Also, gotta plug the first 3rd of that Netflix doc about his suit against Gawker. Really interesting take on how things played out and makes Hogan sympathetic as a total pawn in moneyed interests attack against a free press.

I'm definitely not criticizing the WWE because they made the right call, but one has to wonder how this would've played out had it been John Cena or Seth Rollins or a member of New Day, etc. Swann was expendable before the arrest. I couldn't figure out the timeline of Austin's domestic dispute and his quitting/firing from WWE in June 2002 - Did he quit before the incident? After? - but I'd imagine that if the Debra incident had happened when Austin was still happy with the company, the WWE would've kept him under contract despite the negative publicity. 2002 was a different time than 2017 and Steve Austin was obviously a much bigger star than Swann, but then again, without WCW around, its not like Austin was going to go be the star of some rival promotion, so, who knows, maybe they would've cut him lose.

Clash of champions, roadblock? We had those last year and I don't think they have happened yet this year FastLane in March, I believe. Elimination Chamber in February? I didn't check, though, so I could be off on that one.