C.S.

What did I miss?

Because she didn't "pay her dues" by starving in bingo halls or ROH for twelve years. Yeah, they're idiots.

I wouldn't be mad if they did that.

It was ultimately disappointing, but I still say they had the match of the night at SummerSlam. The problem was, making it a series, when it's the very definition of a feud that demanded one epic match on a major PPV (like WM or something else).

Yep, George Mizanin looks exactly like Miz, but with weird hair and a bushy porn stache.

This is such a waste of Miz. At one point, we thought we'd be main eventing WM with Bryan. Instead, he's doing...whatever this is.

Shane's punches are bad. REALLY BAD!

Well, yeah, MizDad is old as dirt, weighs more, etc. But I can see the family resemblance.

Weird. I see a lot of Miz in George Mizanin facially.

Neither did I. Not sure what people in this thread heard. Is it our TV sets? I don't have a fancy sound system. I also don't think that match was any great shakes. Yeah, it was awesome compared to, like, Divas matches from a decade ago, but I've seen both of them in much better matches. I'm fine with the result if it means Becky is winning the Rumble or otherwise has a big spot at WM.

Okay, sure, Asuka has been supremely over since being called up from NXT. My bad. How is it a hot take? It's a simple fact.

Because nobody gives a shit about Asuka. Her act did not translate one iota outside of NXT. WWE cooling her down and devaluing her sure as hell didn't help, but I always knew she'd have a tough road ahead of her on the main roster. I'm rooting for Becky to lose via interference and then enter and win the Rumble.

Murphy is a guy they probably had no plans for, and he made his own spot and success (granted, on 205 Live, but still). Good on him!

There goes Drew's chances of winning. Bad, monotone promo. If it was scripted, that could be why the delivery was so awful and stilted.

The "he doesn't speak English" comments are straight out of the Vince Russo playbook. Not sure if you're all criticizing Itami for that or clumsily speaking on behalf of McMahon and Dunne in a way that isn't very obvious. I think it's a perfectly fine comparison. Itami came in with a lot of hype and credibility. Omega would be coming in with the same, except more magnified because of NJPW's increased stateside exposure. Itami had injuries, bad luck, etc., but it doesn't change the fact that his current position is something no one could have predicted only a few years ago. Omega has to be seeing this (and many other examples like it) and it has to only confirm in his mind that AEW is the right move. Stats in wrestling are worked. News at 11.

Doesn't change the fact that Itami is a complete non-factor now. Bad luck or not, Kenny could easily find himself a few banana peels away from being in the same spot with WWE.

Think Kenny Omega is seriously considering going to WWE? All he has to do is watch Hideo Itami on the pre-show, not even remotely over or consequential, and that will steel his resolve to sign with AEW.

What a drop for Nakamura: from Royal Rumble winner to Royal Rumble pre-show. I have a feeling that's the only reason Nak won tonight.

Way to make Rusev look like an incompetent geek...

Did I miss something? Why is Rezar teaming with Dawson?

That entranceway looks like it's a mile long.

My favorite PPV of the year!

I'd love this. No such thing as too many Rumbles IMO. It's one of the few matches that's almost always good. (The year Bryan came in at #10 and got eliminated quickly was pretty fucking atrocious though.) The high spots are more impressive coming from Hanson. I like Belair's hair. It's unique and gives others the opportunity to pull it, etc. (as we saw in the Shayna match). Still hoping for the spot that one poster suggested with her getting choked out by her own hair.

It was fine, but let's not pretend an Ohno match is ever worthy of being on a TakeOver. The guy is a pure JTTS with the worst gear in the industry (awesome color combinations that really pop, but everything else is blech). You can argue that he deserves to be more than a JTTS, but he isn't, so it's impossible for me to get invested in any of his matches since the outcome is never in doubt. I tried to fool myself into thinking Ohno was going to win (see my earlier post), but of course he didn't. He never does. He never will. He's the wrestling equivalent of a tomato can. Good showcase for Riddle though. Still can't wrap my head around a surfer bro who wrestles like an MMA fighter, but that's exactly who he is IRL and it's oddly appealing to me.