DMJ

Very odd match order to me...what else do we have? Obviously the World Title match, but what else? Andre the Giant Royale and The Rock, right? Seems weird to sandwich the three matches that had the most buzz in the middle of the show without a "break" and then aend the show with a bathroom break (the battle royale), what will likely be an over-baked 15-minute promo leading to nothing, and a main event that has potential to be a trainwreck.

Definitely best match of the night so far, but it's not like there's much competition for that honor right now. I really like how there are people who wanted Sasha to win, people wanted Becky to win (like myself), and nobody that wanted Charlotte to win (because she's a heel). To me, that's kind of exactly the circumstances you want in a triple threat feud and that match was exactly the type of one you'd want to get. Banks has a legit gripe as to why she deserves another title shot, Charlotte can continue to claim to be the best (while the audience hates her because she and her father are cheaters), and while Lynch can be moved down the card for a minute, I think she's won over enough of the audience as a babyface that, when the time comes, she'll have her moment in the future.

Yeah, no idea why they cut to a commercial there, but it's not the first time they've done it during a pre-show match. I'm kinda curious what Lita's "big announcement" (she said she would make it during this hour). Any chance of a return to action? The Divas are up now and, man, with Paige, it is just so noticeable how little of a fuck she gave during their entrance. I'm not saying she should be happy to be there, but compare her to Natalya, who's actually "working the corner" and trying to get the crowd involved, and I just think Paige has gone beyond playing up her gimmick (goth snob? Generally unimpressed tough girl?) and Is now just an actual brat who let her initial success go to her head.

The fact that his mannerisms are a bit effeminate AND that he still kicks ass is one of things that captivated me about him and what I think captivated so many fans who had never seen him before. That debut blew up on Facebook and Twitter and it has more to do with the character work than him and Zayn slapping eachother for 2 minutes straight. Also, I have had multiple casual fans text me in the past 36 hours and none have asked me about Reigns or Ambrose or Kevin Owens - they're asking me about who this guy Nakamura is and why everyone's talking about him. I'm not saying that there's not a segment of the audience that is going to roll their eyes a bit (it seems like there are some even here), but the WWE doesn't need another "ass kicker" that goes 50/50 with the Dean Ambroses and the Kevin Owenses and the Randy Ortons - they need the "You've Never Seen Anything Like This Before" quality that Nakamura can bring.

Don't understand the criticism towards Bayley here. She's never been the smoothest worker. I feel like that's kind of one of the talking points when people call her the "Female John Cena." Her appeal is really character-based: Perseverance, hard work, amazing connection with crowd, really good at telling an emotional story in the ring and willing to try things outside of her comfort zone and feed into opponent's strengths. If you've only now discovered Bayley can be sloppy and has bad strikes, I don't know what to tell you but "Female John Cena." On a more important note regarding Bayley/Asuka, can anyone think of another straight-up wrestling match, not featuring a 20-foot cage or a bunch of ladders and chairs, that could've followed Zayn/Nakamura as well as Bayley/Asuka did? I hope that doesn't go unnoticed as it's a real testament to the strength of the characters/performers. Imagine Jericho/AJ in that spot (or worse - Kalisto/Ryback) and you can literally hear the crickets chirping after the initial pop for entrances. Bayley/Asuka was the opposite as Bayley might have had her quietest reception in ages, but, by the end, the crowd was into it as they had been for anything else on the show, including the stellar match that preceded it. Can't praise that aspect of their match enough. Aries is definitely better as a heel and I think everyone knows it. The problem is, he's undersized and he's got indie cred, so the NXT crowd is going to pop him for awhile (expect the same for Roode when he debuts). I expect they'll turn him as soon as the Corbin feud runs its course, which is wise. I'd keep things simple - Corbin wins the feud and advances to a title shot or to the main roster while Aries, now needing to prove himself, starts cutting corners and cheating to reassert himself. I'm not worried about Aries, but it's a crowded field right now and there needs to be some movement at the top to allow him to seem like a bigger deal.

I'm not sure whether it deserves to be in the discussion of best PPV/Network Specials Ever because I'm split on it. On one hand, its been a long, long time since a single "pay-per-view" had three matches that should and will probably make everyone's Best of WWE 2016 list come December. On the other hand, it benefitted from a running time of just 2 hours (which makes it unlike most other PPVs), from only featuring 5 matches, from not having to be "everything to everyone," etc. Easily the best Takeover show, though. I'll post my full review on my blog sometime today, but that was just as good a 2-hour show as I've ever seen. So much to love. Quick thoughts: - It's time for Revival to get called up and take the straps from New Day to bring some seriousness back to the main roster's tag division. If it doesn't happen Monday night, it's the wrong call. - That was my first time seeing Nakamura aside from highlight clips on YouTube. He lived up to the hype. That has to be one of the top 5 best debut matches I've ever seen. Goosebumps at the beginning, goosebumps at the end.

Not a team, but I love the name: The Alliance To End Hulkamania. It just sounded so official, like, you could imagine them getting together, electing a treasurer, having someone keep minutes, maybe even hosting a fundraiser...Honestly, the more I think about it, the more I think WCW dropped by the ball by not having hour-long episodes devoted to covering their meetings C-SPAN style.

Just read that Lucha Underground might get some sort of deal with Hulu. If that's the case, I think I'll be one step closer to cutting the cable cord. I already have Netflix, Amazon Prime, WWE Network, and HBO GO through my cable, but I think it'd be cheaper for me at this point to cut cable entirely, get Hulu and then see how much HBO NOW goes for.

Just saw this match for the first time. I really liked their match from a month or two earlier (Spring Stampede?), but I wasn't sure what I'd get with this - Savage is one of those guys that I'm a mark for, but will readily admit, his resume is far from infallible. I get the criticisms detailed above, but, man, I feel like this one works because it is just flat-out fun. Page sneak attacking Savage and going for the Diamond Cutter within the first 30 seconds? Savage destroying referees and a camera man? Dusty Rhodes commentary when they end up in the "VIP section"? Piledrivers galore, Macho attacking Page's injured ribs, all sorts of weapon shots and even an Outsider's Edge thrown in. When this match was over, I was ready to watch 10 more minutes of it. I wouldn't call it a masterpeice, but I have no problem calling it a 4-star match based on just how entertaining it was.

I'm with C.S - I'm not sure you can say "Oh, WCW wasted Liz" or "They ruined her gimmick" or anything when, by the time Macho got to WCW, his act wasn't exactly fresh, with or without Elizabeth. They did exactly what they could've done and should've done when they signed her, no more, no less. As beautiful as Elizabeth was, as tremendous as her chemistry with Macho was, it's not like she's a top 5 manager ever. I liked the way she turned on Savage in his feud with Flair in 95', but that was largely due to the tie-in with WM8, not because Elizabeth managing Flair was going to create some legendary promos. She was great arm candy, but she wasn't a "face version" of a Sensational Sherri, capable of getting herself or other talents over when not directly linked to Savage. I like Liz's role in the DDP/Savage feud, for another example, but that's probably because I really like that feud - not because I think Liz or Kimberly were particularly good in it.

Its not nerdy but I enjoy Austin's podcast for his discussion of craft beers and, on a recent episode, the Netflix show Making A Murderer. Like, as the "Bionic Redneck," you'd expect him to spend the opening of his podcast talking about football or NASCAR or hot chicks or something, but instead, he's more likely to share his thoughts on what IPA he's drinking and why Leonardi Dicaprio is a "bad ass" actor. Austin's awesomeness seemingly has no bounds - he really seems like a guy who you could bring to a big family wedding and, even if he wasn't a world famous personality, he would still be the guy everyone talked about like "Oh, did you meet that Steve guy? He was great."

^ Was gonna ask the same question. I know I could ostensibly look it up, but could anyone clarify which are available on a Roku or other device?

The Miz

Posted my full review on my blog. Was not a fan of the show. Too many "head-scratching" booking decisions. Namely: 1. No Lesnar/Ambrose confrontation. No Owens/Zayn segment, no HHH/Reigns segment, and no AJ/Styles segment makes sense because one half of each feud was on the other loop or recuperating from injury, but Lesnar and Ambrose were in the building. Why not at least have them brush by each other backstage? Or maybe have Ambrose and Heyman brush by each other? Or here's an idea - have HHH and Heyman or HHH and Lesnar brush by each other? Something, anything would've helped (and I'm not talking Rundgren albums). 2. Swagger/Jericho. You can argue that Swagger wasn't defending Canada, that the match was signed before Jericho bashed his home country, but this is pro-wrestling, a scripted reality where the writers/bookers have control over the universe they create. They had to know Jericho would get cheered in Toronto (or they should've) and if he was going to try to get heel heat, they had to (or should've) known that he was going to rely on insulting the crowd. Who should stand up for the crowd? Someone they like. Jack Swagger is not over, so, he was a bad call. How about sending R-Truth out waving a Canadian flag? How about sending out Neville, who at least is an "international" talent AND who has a moveset that lends itself to popping the crowd? 3. Booking Zayn's first spotlight match since his recovery against a stone-cold Stardust was also a misstep. You want Zayn to wrestle from underneath and get over as an underdog? How about booking him against a heel that the crowd doesn't like and who can dominate him but not look too bad in the loss. This is where (as much as I like him) Rusev or Del Rio could've been decent picks. Even a 3-on-1 situation against Slater and the Social Outcasts would've been better. I'm a Cody fan, but the Stardust character hasn't evolved at all and the crowd is less than interesting in it. Zayn had his work cut out for him to make this match good and, as much as it pains me to say it, he couldn't quite nudge it up high enough to even be average. 4. Back on Lesnar for a minute - I'd love to see a real Lesnar/Harper match and I'm not even opposed to a Wyatt/Lesnar match, but what we got was neither. It was a bait-and-switch move and that's rarely (never?) cool.

I think it's important to note too that the Ziggler Bandwagon is much smaller than it was at 6 months ago, let alone a year and a half/two years ago. Was it 2013 when Ziggler was getting cheered over ADR in their title feud? There was also Survivor Series 2014. Either could be seen as his peak popularity (and I might even say his "IWC peak" was the feud with Cena around Royal Rumble '13 (?). Just.a month ago, Ziggler got a mild-at-best response in his hometown - not exactly the sign of a guy that people are still behind. I don't think he's at Zach Ryder/Damien Sandow level of nobody caring about him anymore, but he's heading in that direction. It's not dissimilar to Ambrose. I think he was at his hottest around SummerSlam 2014 and it has just been a slow decline since. If Lesnar/Ambrose had been promoted in September 2014, I think it would've drawn huge interest, even from casuals as Lesnar was coming off the Cena squash and Ambrose was getting called "The Next Austin" (before all his in-ring flaws, inexperience, and bad scripts he was handed made that comparison laughable). In April 2016, the match is generating no buzz as far as I know.

Submitted my ballot. I, again, openly admit how limited my knowledge is of anything outside of WCW/WWE in the 90s and 00s and my list definitely reflects that. I do think it's a defendable ballot if you keep that in mind when/if you read it, but obviously, based on what I've read here about their work in the 70s/80s, I can totally understand why people would be appalled to read that Marc Mero/Ultimate Warrior/Sasha Banks ranked above Jim Duggan and Larry Zybysko. What I tried to do was really just stick to ranking wrestlers based on what I've seen - not on what I've read or heard. To me, doing that would be kind of dishonest and, to take a word from high school, acting like a "poser." Like, I know that prime Jerry Lawler was probably incredible, but the Lawler I know is the guy from WWF in the mid-90s and while I've enjoyed what I've seen, if you look at my sample size for a guy like Lawler and my sample size for a guy like Cena, it's a no brainer who I would personally rank higher based just on what I have personally seen. To beat a dead horse, if I was ranking the best 100 movies ever, I'd feel wrong putting Sunset Blvd. and The African Queen anywhere on my list as I've never seen them, while I'd probably have Raising Arizona, Rushmore, and Goodfellas in my top 20. I'm not excusing my ignorance as much as trying to own up to it.

Just watched it for the first time this morning. I agree that it doesn't stand as one of the best tag matches ever, but it certainly is better than average in every way. Hot crowd. Really good commentary out of Ventura and Schiavone. Oodles and oodles of "little things" that add up to tell a really deep story. For example, right from the start, you have Tully pulling Bret's leg when he makes a tag to Arn, allowing Double A to come in, grab an ankle, and then go up for a headlock, which Bret quickly reverses. The faces dominate, but it makes some sense because (a) Joey Marella is uber-suspicious of any of their tags (their reputation biting them in the ass) and, throughout the contest, the Hart Foundation bust out blatant heel spots - which, again, makes sense not only because, while they were faces, they'd still rely on successful tactics from their past, but also because they're essentially trying to outsmart the smartest, dirtiest team in wrestling. I do have a few criticisms. I wish Heenan was more involved, which would temper some of the Harts' trickery and make it more apparent that they're only doing it to keep things "fair." I also wish Anderson came off the top with some sort of weapon (even just a boot or something) for the finish because the Harts had so much momentum that an axehandle from the top isn't quite enough to make me think Bret would be out for a full count. Is it an all-time classic? I wouldn't put it up that high...but when I compare it to what else I've seen from this era, I can see why it's well-regarded. Unlike so many matches I've seen from this timespan, it's not slow, it's not just clubbing blows and stomps, and it's not just a shine-heat-comeback pattern. I can see people rating it somewhere between 3 and 4 stars, but not any higher.

Bossman is one where I had to stop and ask "He's not already in there?" Very worthy induction. I've also never heard anyone say a bad word about the guy in any of the hours and hours of podcasts/shoots I've listened to over the years.

I've read this thread and I'm 99% sure I know the answer to the question of whether or not I should submit a ballot, but, and I hate to be that guy, I must ask... Should you still submit a ballot if you haven't actually participated in any of the watchings and are completely lacking in any and all knowledge outside of mainstream US wrestling?

I like how instead of promoting stars of the future to their youngest demographic, they opted to promote 2 of their executives, 1 guy who is retired 362-364 nights a year, and a diva who I think I've seen on a milk carton more recently than I've seen on TV. Cena makes sense, but no Reigns? Is this part of the political hit?

Definitely. It's what they did in 2006 with Cena in Reigns' current position. Cena was just much better equipped and better established to handle the blowback. Plus, the company a decade ago at least had some strong heels being groomed for Cena to work with after the Triple H program was over. What would we even have in 2016? Reigns vs Owens? Reigns vs Jericho? I half bet they'd do Reigns vs Show or Kane. I'm not saying any of these guys have been built-up as well as Edge was in 06', but just looking at the heel side of things, you do have Owens, Rusev, Del Rio, Wyatt, and, based on last week, Ryback. Fortunately, none are even super necessary when you also have Rollins, Orton, and Cena coming back this spring/summer. Throw in a rematch with Triple H in May (maybe a 3-way with Dean?) and a WM31 rematch with Lesnar down the line... Are all these ideas fresh? Not exactly...but I count at least 3 real strong challengers (Brock, Cena, Rollins), 2-3 really passable Network Era challengers (Orton, HHH in a rematch, Ambrose), and at least 1-2 "It will take work, but they can get there" challengers in Owens and Rusev before the names Kane and Big Show will ever need to be uttered.

Can joining a website ruin a match for you? 2-3 years ago, I probably would've given this much a fair amount of praise. I mean, it has it all, right? Dramatic story, weapons, plenty of blood, a hot crowd...but after spending time around these parts, I feel like I've changed as a viewer and critic, especially when it comes to individual workers, such as Shawn Michaels. Now, I'm not going to bury this match as it is still a highly entertaining spectacle, the kind of bout that casual fans would likely call incredible - but it really only works if you're willing to turn your brain off. Like a Fast & Furious movie. This is not the first nor the last time an Unsanctioned Street Fight has been criticized for featuring the usual entrances with full ring music and a referee, but it does bear noting that Shawn Michaels at least comes out dressed for a street fight. Triple H does not. Shawn, despite nearly being killed a few weeks prior, starts the match by lazily resting on the top turnbuckle to, I guess, re-establish that he's a bit of a "silly goose"? Things improve dramatically when the action starts, especially when Triple H takes control and goes after Michaels' back. Its a logical, super heelish thing to do and the crowd gets behind Shawn even more. ...but things fall of the rails once Shawn kips up. I'm not against him kipping up, but could he at least put his hand on his lower back after doing it to sell the 2 backbreakers, abdominal stretch, and 2 sidewalk slams onto a steel chair that HHH hit him with it? The no-selling continues for the rest of the match as Shawn, at various points, dances, prances, and even gives an "I'm crazy!" gesture to drive home the point that this match isn't about winning and losing, its about Shawn showing that he can take all the crazy bumps he took 4 years earlier. This is a total 1-man show, maybe the most Shawn Michaelsest of Shawn Michaels matches ever. Finally, the post-match. Remember how I said Shawn didn't sell anything after the kip-up? I was wrong. If it is possible to oversell a sledgehammer shot, Shawn does it here, inexplicably falling into a coma after taking two shots from Triple H's weapon of choice. Again, maybe it wouldn't come off as bad if Shawn wasn't, moments earlier, full of life and showing no ill effects from any of the multitude of weapon shots he had been hit with in the previous 20+ minutes. The best way to describe Shawn's performance is "bungee cord-esque" as he bounces from complete, perfect, superman health to ready-for-the-crematorium dead at least 3-4 times capped off by him getting carried off on a stretcher in one of the most overdramatic finales I can remember, obviously trying to "steal the show" from the main event.

I'm guessing Vince tells Taker that if he loses, he must retire. This will give Taker the incentive to win *and* potentially still make sense if they find their way into having Cena replace Shane.

Yeah, I was at Fastlane and they promoted a SmackDown taping in September. AJ Styles was featured prominently, right alongside Reigns, Ambrose, and Wyatt in the video promo. To me, considering he's only been in the company for a month and they've already edited him into promotional materials says a lot. People can talk it away like "They just put anyone in those things," but the fact is, someone designs promo packages and is given marching orders as to who should be put in and who should not. Those marching orders included "feature AJ Styles," not "feature Cesaro," not "feature Kalisto," not "feature the Usos," not "feature Ziggler." AJ will get an opportunity, I think, especially if they eventually do concede that Reigns is a heel in the summer/fall. Styles as the "savior" against Reigns isn't completely out of the question, though, if they do go that course, I'd be surprised if Rollins isn't shoe-horned into that role.

Let's not forget that as much as wrestling purists may despise Shane for being booked as a legit threat to trained wrestlers like Test and Kurt Angle among others, a huge portion of the older audience thought he was a "good worker" because he was willing to take stunt bumps, get tossed on his neck a bunch, and do a Van Terminator. I know that, growing up, I thought he was awesome.