C.S.

LOL!!! They referenced the Shawn typing slowly on AOL meme.

"Scrambling Dream's eggs" after that low blow. MAURO IS THE BEST!

This entire match looks like a commercial or show opening video using a fake set to promote Monday Night Raw or Royal Rumble.

Thanks. It looked familiar but I couldn't place it.

What is the flag of on that Ford?

So, where is this being held? Is it a set or a real location?

Is the video quality looking "soft" or is it just me?

Cole-Dream isn't main eventing. Guess Cole retains after all.

A good match that exceeded expectations.

Isn't this Full Sail? I'm not seeing the telltale ceiling fans.

Vince: "Don't worry, pal, the other black guy will win, goddamnit." Bruce: "Good idea, boss!"

JG: "You're lucky to watch me perform." Anyone absolutely hate how they all say perform instead of wrestle or compete?

Glad that bump at least led to the finish - unlike so many masturbatory matches we've seen where it would be just another transition spot.

Mauro is the saving grace but this match hasn't grabbed my attention. NASTY stairs bump by Priest though.

Except, he's an NXT midcarder in absolute nothing matches like this.

Has anyone fallen as far as Finn Balor?

I'm grateful for the band. Not because I like them, but because I was able to do a load of laundry while they were playing.

I'm here for the nostalgia. Hoping I win a house. Balor and Priest do nothing for me. I should be more excited for Lee vs. Gargano, but Lee should've been called up months ago. (Sorry, Johnny - contrary to what you may think, NXT is and always will be Developmental.) I'm more curious than excited for the main event. If Cole wins, I see him dropping it to Lee in short order. But I love the theme of the PPV, and NXT almost always over-delivers, so let's do this!

Thank you so much for typing out all of that, @The Thread Killer - I really enjoyed reading your recap (and also your incredible thread about the late Hyatte, who I never really read but whose name I remember from a couple of decades ago). You probably don't remember this because it was one of many WWE resets and one of many ra-ra "we've listened to you, the WWE Universe, and we're going to change" speeches that never went anywhere.

You undermine your own point completely. Aleister Black, a white wrestler, was specifically told by Triple H that he didn't have to do any of those things. Black said he wanted to do them because that's how he was brainwashed taught. Lio Rush, a black wrestler, was never specifically told by Triple H that he didn't have to do any of those things (as far as we know). When pressured to do them by others, he said he didn't want to. Chastise Lio Rush all you want "for playing the race card," but there is an entire race-related history and weight in this country to what Lio was adamant against doing that wouldn't necessarily exist for a white wrestler - especially one from another country like Black. Even if Lio was "immature" and thought he was "too good" to run errands, so what? He's fucking right. If you're a WWE wrestler, you've ostensibly "made it" and shouldn't have to "prove" anything to anyone.

I haven't listened, so can you clarify these points? Thanks. Ricky Morton was ignored by who? The other PC wrestlers? The Kliq? The Kliq (minus Waltman) ignored The Revival or Morton? How were The Revival treated as enhancement talent at Raw 25? Was there the usual "old fading stars bury younger talent" segment (I can't remember, because all of these shows are so bad and interchangeable), or did they mean behind-the-scenes?

Lio Rush reveals a letter he sent to WWE officials:

Hmm, about that... You've heard of Dream's thorny issues as of late, right?

Nope, I don't. WWE made a business decision. So did Drake. If he's drinking the company Kool-Aid and has a deep love for WWE, that's on him, but I somehow doubt he's that blind and naive. Time will tell. As for the other wrestlers, it truly sucks for them - they have my deepest sympathies - but almost all of them would do exactly as Drake has done, and you've fooling yourself if you believe otherwise.

Easy for you to sit there on your high horse and pontificate when you don't know the man's financial situation. Yes, fuck the WWE for doing this in the first place. We're in total agreement there. But excuse me if I'm not going to bag on a guy for getting his job back when the world has gone to shit and there's no guarantees in the wrestling industry anymore. This isn't six months ago when wrestling was thriving and everyone was hiring. That's gone because of this pandemic. I have no idea if he swallowed his pride, took a paycut, has misguided "gratitude" for the company, etc. All I do know is he was offered his job back in very uncertain times with the biggest wrestling company in North America and he took it. Forgive me if I'm not going to begrudge him for making the best business decision for him and his family. Begrudge the company - yes, I'm with you there - but not the wrestler.