C.S.

I doubt Elias would've won in a traditional Mania. Now makes me wonder if babyfaces are going over in every match.

Say what you want about Mauro, but his high energy and genuine enthusiasm would've helped this particular show. Cole's fake excitement is grating on my nerves even more than usual. I, too, am wondering about JBL, since he lives in Bermuda. Guess he's stuck in Orlando now?

And the show is all the poorer for it.

Just how much did you drink, man?

Sami Zayn is winning, isn't he?

In all fairness, they've dressed up the Performance Center to look as nice as it possibly can.

Rosenberg is better than Sam Roberts, at least, who is truly unbearable.

WWE Network is such a piece of shit. It signed me out of most of my devices, right before WrestleMania. Thankfully I had no problems getting back in.

Finished this chapter - and the book. Honestly, as expected, the parts about politics and economics were uninteresting slogs to get through. He kisses the asses of Ron Paul, Rand Paul, and Trump, and goes into his various libertarian political and economic viewpoints. Yawn! The scariest takeaway: One person in WWE voted for Trump solely because Trump was cool to him backstage. The rest of the book was fine. It's more along the lines of "I'm thankful for the career I've had and the people I met along the way." Nothing wrong with that - just don't expect any salacious gossip.

Found another one for $2.99: Slamdown Town (Slamdown Town Book 1) Looks like a fun kids' book. I had credits, so I bought it. I'm reading Mayor Kane now. Nothing groundbreaking, but a light enjoyable read. If nothing else, there will never be another book with introductions by Undertaker and Rand Paul. Hope Mayor Kane enjoys his term, because he won't be getting another. https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/politics/2020/04/02/knox-county-mayor-glenn-jacobs-says-tennessee-gov-bill-lee-coronavirus-stay-home-order-goes-too-far/5117151002/ (Dumbass!)

As much as I dislike the name and think it's shortsighted for all the reasons you mentioned, they don't necessarily need the channel to continue with the title. Dynamite and TNT go together as names, so it still works. Cody will and should be the first champion. Predictable? Yes. But sometimes that's fine.

That jackassery completely ruined the Montreal Screwjob episode last season and got me blocked by Corny on Twitter because I pointed it out instead of throwing roses at his racist feet.

Was there actually a bump though? It looked to me like they showed him about to jump, then showed him on the ground. On a pre-taped show, it would be easy to fake. If it wasn't faked, shame on them, because it certainly looked that way.

Maybe that's why it's a boneyard match. I'm not watching. Why is GOAT Mauro not on the show? No matter what you may think of the resplendent Ranallo, in no universe is the annoying, rat-like Sam Roberts an adequate substitute.

The Viceland Roku app had the Benoit episodes accessible for free, but New Jack requires a cable login. Is it available for free, legally, anywhere else?

Assuming you're serious, if that doesn't make it a must-read, nothing will.

I grabbed a free sample chapter on Kindle, and I agree that the content looks fantastic. Unfortunately, the formatting is a different story... It uses an old Kindle file format called Topaz, which basically looks like a really bad scan. On my e-ink Kindle Paperwhite, the text is very a dull, washed out, light grey - a chore to read, needless to say. I assume Calibre might be able to fix some of that, but I no longer have a PC that can run programs like that. At $2.99, it might be worth grinning and bearing anyway. If it were 99 cents, I wouldn't hesitate. I did get Mayor Kane. Even though I'm sure the political aspect of it will only annoy me, the good rasslin' stories will hopefully make up for it. (As much as everyone crows about Glenn Jacobs being a "nice guy" and great politician, the fucking boob voted for Trump. With that said, I'd still take Kane over any of the inept politicians in my state.)

Randomly found some Kindle deals on wrestling books... $2.99 each: Mayor Kane: My Life in Wrestling and Politics by Glenn Jacobs - I assume the political aspect won't be great, but the wrestling stories should be fun. I bought it. Beer, Blood & Cornmeal: Seven Years of Strange Wrestling by Bob Calhoun - This is about Incredibly Strange Wrestling, a promotion I'm unfamiliar with. Still, this might be wacky enough to be worth a look. I'll sleep on it. Death of the Territories by Tim Hornbaker - I read this for free through the Netgalley site, and while it is extremely informative, it's also very dry and hard to keep track of at times. It probably helps if you lived through the eras covered in the book. At this price, it's certainly worth it for any budding historian or PWO GWE type. Life Is Short and So Am I: My Life Inside, Outside, and Under the Wrestling Ring by Dylan Postl - I paid more for this only a month or two ago (and it was on sale then too), so it stings slightly that it's now even cheaper. Still, it was worth the price I paid. No regrets there. Fun read. I posted more detailed thoughts HERE. The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Storytellers (From the Terrible Turk to Twitter) by Greg Oliver and Steven Johnson - There's a whole series of these "Hall of Fame" books. I've read none of them though. BTW, J.R.'s second book comes out today. However, at $12.99, I'll be waiting. The first one dropped to $1.99 within months.

Watched both Benoit episodes last night... Holy shit, this is most brutal, uncompromising, gut-wrenching two hours of television you'll ever see. There is nothing pleasant about it whatsoever. While last season's episodes were all obviously tragic as well, most of them had kind of a cheesy "true crime TV" vibe that made it easier for the viewer to distance themselves slightly. That's gone here. This is just pure unadulterated hopelessness and despair. Many interesting facts and perspectives are covered here. My heart breaks for poor David Benoit (Chris's son, who looks exactly like him) and Sandra Toffoloni (Nancy's sister).

If it were me, I'd have Samoa Joe come in as a surprise and destroy Goldy for the belt (and I haven't always been the biggest Joe fan). Bryan or Joe are realistically their best options. Instead, we'll probably get Bray regaining it in a stinker.

I don't care how it looks - I'll be binge-watching every episode.

Why would Jimmy Havoc grab Cody's tongue? That's a terrible idea even when we're not in the middle of a pandemic.

Wrestling Inc. posted this: "WWE Superstars Dana Brooke and Rey Mysterio are currently in quarantine due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio." Did Meltzer actually say this? If so, holy shit... Shouldn't everyone Rey and Dana Brooke wrestled against or interacted with also get tested? Makes no sense to me that Andrade and Garza are still on the show teaming against the Street Profits. I assume Ryan Satin won't have a word to say about any of this though.

Charlotte vs. Asuka was a genuinely good match, and the best of the night up until that point, but no one gives it credit because of the shock finish.

What a wonderful thread! Thanks for the mention, brother. If I couldn't turn to a good wrestling match, or a movie - my other great love - as a way to take my mind off the world, I would be a lot less healthy mentally and emotionally. Escapism is really important and necessary.