C.S.

Good article here: https://www.si.com/wrestling/2019/04/12/wwe-enzo-big-cass-roh-return-nzo-cazxl-free-agentz Say what you want about Enzo and Cass - excuse me, nZo and CazXL (er...) - but they understand the business. It's not about "workrate." It's not about "movez." "In an era of five-star matches and work rate, Enzo and Cass are looking to make their own success in wrestling by following the number one rule in all of sports entertainment: be a draw." And they're right. What is everyone talking about after that ROH show? Enzo and Cass.

I'm sure they did, but so did Austin Aries, and I think he's a major geek. Looking like a main eventer in TNA and looking like a main eventer in WWE - for all of WWE's many faults - are still completely different. Generally, for every rare wrong turn - like a Jack Swagger or Great Khali - WWE mostly gets it right with who it pushes to the World Title picture. In before someone says "but Seth..." Okay, but people outside of this forum actually go nuts for the guy.

Actual footage of Banks and Bayley acting like the 3-year-olds this report indicates would be more highly sought after than Bret Hart vs. Tom McGee or Braun Strowman getting down on his knees and begging Kurt Angle for mercy.

That Sasha-Bayley report is so fucking ridiculous, so utterly absurd - laying on the floor like two toddlers and throwing a temper tantrum - that it can't possibly be true, can it?

Probably true, but Shayna is damn good, and Ronda is obviously incredible. I guess I just assumed Shafir and Duke picked up whatever magic dust the other two are sprinkling. There's still time. They are really early in their careers, and I'm willing to wager they'd look like beasts if they were protected in a 4-on-4 Horsewomen vs. Horsewomen Survivor Series match or something.

Except, The Boss and Hug Connection were colossal bores together. It's like they sapped the charisma out of each other. I love Bayley. I love Sasha Banks. But I didn't love them as a team. The IIconics are a much better act. Obviously, Sasha and Bayley mop the floor with them in the ring, but that's their only advantage as a team and only part of what WWE looks for. It's why Alexa Bliss has been so successful, and rightfully so, despite not being as technically proficient as the Four Horsewomen (WWE version, but I suppose the MMA version also applies here). Alexa and The IIconics are so much more polished as overall acts than Bayley and Sasha, even now. With all of that said, all of this could have been avoided if the belts were introduced at WM like they should've been and Sasha and Bayley had their coronation there, with The IIconics maybe winning at SummerSlam or Survivor Series (or wherever). I have no idea why the titles were introduced on a random PPV instead.

Except, I never said anything about AJ's TNA stint at all, so why are you putting words in my mouth? I actually agree with you about AJ, but my point was that he overcame the same shitty start-stop, flip-flop, face-heel booking, so that alone can't and shouldn't be an excuse. Anyway, I really shouldn't post late at night when I'm exhausted. My rant was way too over-the-top. I still stand by the basics of what I said, but I could have dialed down the volume a bit. Sorry, guys... (There's no blush emoji, so let's pretend that's it.)

BTW, it looks like Cole's history of abuse isn't limited to Pat McAfee. Former WWE NXT Announcer Alex Reyes (Alex Del Barrio) Recalls Michael Cole's "Ridiculous And Irrationally Nonsensical Temper" https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2019/04/former-wwe-nxt-announcer-on-getting-yelled-at-while-with-653041/

Well, yeah... You don't really think WWE believes any of its bullshit about how progressive it's being with the WWE Women's Evolution, do you? This is the same company that thought so little of women wrestlers that they discontinued the title (more than once), fired Alundra Blayze/Madusa while she was still champion, and let her walk out with the belt in her possession and throw it in another company's trash can. She was also made to feel like a piece of shit by the company for 20 years, even though Flair did the same exact thing with the NWA Title. But I guess it's okay because he's a man.

I'm assuming Lashley was shit because he absolutely was in his first WWE stint, absolutely is in his current WWE stint, and EVERY TNA darling (with the exception of AJ and Drew) has been the drizzling fucking shits since moving up to WWE. Roode (does nothing for me after his entrance and isn't the star of his own team IMO), Eric Young (to be fair, miscast in his current role), Lashley, EC3 (although I can accept that his gimmick was probably much better utilized in TNA), Aries (a geek), James Storm (in his lone and very sad NXT appearance where he looked like a fish out of water bush league nobody pretending to fit in but instead stuck out like a sore thumb), and probably others I'm forgetting. Joe has been hit or miss for me in WWE, but he was hit or miss for me in TNA too, so I'll leave him out of this. Yes, the booking has been absolute shit too, but AJ and Drew have risen above it just fine. Yes, AJ has been booked well compared to most, but he did nothing but lose for his first few months in the company, had a million face-heel turns, and still overcome all of that. Drew is being booked to lose constantly and look like an inconsequential henchman type, but I think he'll ultimately be fine too. Lashley isn't even as good or as interesting as his own manager.

Well, to be fair, Sasha is on social media and Dean isn't. (He has a Twitter account, probably forced on him by the company, that he never posts on.) So, we're seeing Sasha's meltdown but not seeing how Dean reacted. But yeah, if I had to guess, Dean was probably a lot more professional in general. It probably helps that Dean's wife is still with the company, and he's not about to sour that for her. Part of me does feel bad for Sasha because she was red hot coming out of NXT, easily the best female wrestler in the company at the time, but was always positioned as second fiddle to Charlotte, Alexa, etc. She probably didn't help herself either though and strikes me as the type who is her own worst enemy. Not to defend Cole, but it's possible everyone assumed McAfee was wearing more comfortable clothing until showtime - that's probably not unheard of - and got yelled at only when it became obvious that that's what he was actually wearing to the company's biggest event of the year. Still doesn't reflect well on Cole. I have to think that Pat McAfee isn't long for the company at this point, because he's in a position where he absolutely doesn't need to put up with any petty bullshit.

You're almost making me want to revisit Finn-Lashley...almost. It was ice cold for me, because: 1. Finn, and especially The Demon, do very little for me. 2. Lashley has been a colossal disappointment and flop. Another guy who supposedly did something in TNA but showed nothing upon returning to WWE (which has been every TNA guy so far, with AJ and Drew being the only exceptions). Lashley was terrible in WWE before and is terrible now. I'm sure I'm the only one who thinks Lio Rush is the real star of that act (because I doubt even anyone in WWE feels that way). 3. I was exhausted and beyond the point of giving a fuck. The women woke me up and I enjoyed that match, but I'm sure I would've enjoyed it 10x more if it wasn't past midnight.

If any of that story is true, Cole comes across super poorly. Yes, McAfee should've had the common sense to dress properly for WrestleMania. But I find it incredibly sad and pathetic that Cole has taken on the traits of his abuser, Vince McMahon, by lashing out the same way. Something about him has always screamed "beta male" to me, and this proves it. The best part of the story is Vince stepping in as the alpha and completely undermining his underling. As for Sasha, if this stuff is actually accurate, she's coming across as the female Austin Aries. I'd argue that she way more talent, upside, and drawing potential than the indy geek Aries though.

Please tell me that's a typo and you really meant 4 and a 1/2 (still way too high, but at least it's not bordering on the ridiculous).

99 cents for the full season on Amazon!!! https://smile.amazon.com/DARK-SIDE-RING-Season-1/dp/B07QKM2VZR/ But don't wait, because these deals never seem to last.

Road Dogg also stepped down as head writer, supposedly. https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2019/04/road-dogg-no-longer-wwe-smackdown-co-lead-writer-653024/

The thing is, it would've been perfectly acceptable in half the time. But Hunter had to Hunter and go for another overlong "epic." Never the right strategy against bigger opponents like Big Dave. Even though Rey-Joe being cut for time was reportedly not because of the injury, I'm not sure I buy that. I wonder if Hunter extended his match to make up for that deficit?

I've said this before, but it's worth repeating: It amazes me how great Seth seemed to look in that Shield six-man tag at Elimination Chamber or Fastlane, whichever PPV it was, but loses so much when he's by himself. The same could probably be said, in all honesty, for Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns as well. The Shield really was greater than the sum of its parts. Together, there's a magic than they haven't quite achieved separately.

Yeah, these were basically two lame duck shows because the Superstar Shake-Up is coming up, so I'm kind of surprised they were so well-liked here. They were fine, I guess, but they didn't blow me away like they seemed to blow many of you away. Raw After Mania used to be so much more of a "happening" than it was this year.

Since Kenny Omega was brought up randomly, any idea WTF all of this is?

Judging crowd reaction, cheers, boos, etc. by the fans at the post-Mania Smarklay's Center shows is kind of pointless though. You're not going to get an accurate read from that audience. They've done this shit year after year - the wave, the beach balls, etc. - and have unfortunately been conditioned to think it's part of the experience. WWE should put its foot down and boot all of those assholes out of the building. Otherwise, I agree with @SomethingSavage that "workrate" and "movez" don't, never have, and never will mean nearly as much as character and storyline. Never fucking ever!

I'd love a Kofi-Sami feud, with Sami eventually winning the World Title.

Return of Emma and someone else? Probably wishful thinking.

In one title defense, The Iiconics have been more interesting than Sasha and Bayley's entire reign.

I can get behind Braun vs. Joe. Feels like a genuinely fresh match-up.