C.S.

Triple H seems pretty indecisive and borderline doubtful about Matt Riddle.

Not necessarily. He missed SummerSlam last year because he was hospitalized right before the event, so I think it was super-important to him to make this year's show. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0817/644908/ric-flair-on-how-he-feels-about-brock-lesnar-vs-roman-reigns/ Does biggest mean longest now?

The bloom has been off the rose for a while now. The terrible Balor/Joe/Nakamura reigns, the underwhelming Galloway/Black reigns, the uselessness of the North American Title... Gargano/Ciampa was still good fun at this show and still the greatest feud of the year overall, but this was definitely the least of their matches. It was too long, too bloated, with too many unnecessary and meaningless garbage spots. It shined when the garbage spots were creative and/or led to knockout counts, and the callbacks to their previous matches were nice to see because that kind of continuity in wrestling is rare today and such a lost art in general. The finish didn't have the desired effect because of Ciampa's bizarre decision to get up, prance around, gloat, etc. Like I said in a previous post, he should have gotten up to beat the count and then collapsed back down. That would've sold the idea that Johnny Gargano was willing to hurt himself if it meant hurting Tomasso Ciampa more. Instead, Gargano just looks like a clumsy, dimwitted, impulsive imbecile.

Forgot about the time change, so I watched the show later in the evening. My thoughts: Mustache Mountain vs. Undisputed Era: Match of the night? Even though the wrong team won, this was still great stuff. Roddy Strong may be the best "he's a good hand" ever, and both members of Mustache Mountain are fantastic. BTW, is it just me or was the camera work really bad at certain points in this match? Adam Cole vs. Ricochet: Keeping this mostly grounded was a strange choice and kind of limited Ricochet's aerial offense. As I'm sure others have already pointed out, Adam Cole constantly shouting "You're nothing special!" at Ricochet is really rich coming from him. I don't see what everyone else sees in the bland Bingo Hall Bay Bay. Calling him the next Shawn Michaels, as one of the commentators suggested, is absurd. Next Jackyl maybe. I'm glad Ricochet won, but the title isn't worth a damn, which kinda dampened the effect of his victory. EC3 vs. Velveteen Dream: EC3 has a million dollar body and a 10-cent ring style. Like all other TNA "darlings" not named AJ Styles, he has been a massive disappointment. Velveteen has nothing but potential, and he handled himself very well here. Is this his first victory on a TakeOver? If so, it's long overdue. Random side thought: I hope EC3 is brought up to the main roster with facepaint and pushed as a knockoff Ultimate Warrior/Sting midcard act. He'd actually be perfect in that role. Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane: Shayna Baszler is getting called up, right? No other way to explain her inexplicable loss to Kairi Sane. Then again, I didn't understand why Shayna lost to Kairi in the finals of the Mae Young Classic last year either. I have nothing against Kairi at all - she's a very competent wrestler - but her character (or lack thereof) does nothing to pique my interest whatsoever. There's no "it factor" with her, at least compared to Shayna. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano: Ricochet was complaining that he and Cole weren't going to get enough time compared to this match, and while I never want a Bingo Hall Bay Bay match to get more time than absolutely necessary, I kinda see Ricochet's point. This match really would have benefited from having ten minutes chopped off to make it tighter and more cohesive. As it stands, there were way too many garbage spots for the sake of it. Where this match shined was when those garbage spots were creative and led to actual knockout counts. One standout: office chairs, other debris, and even an official being piled onto Gargano - great stuff and very creative. I also liked the callbacks to their previous matches - something we rarely see anymore, so that was a nice touch. The finish would've benefited from Ciampa getting up just to break the count and then collapsing back into unconsciousness. The fact that he was standing around, smirking, and gloating kind of hurt the message of a crazed Gargano wanting to hurt himself if it meant hurting Ciampa. A mixed bag, and probably the least of their matches (including the CWC), but still great fun when it was firing on all cylinders.

Me too. I'll watch this later.

Shit, did I miss EC3 vs. Dream? I joined the show eight minutes in!!! Fuck this if so. I'll watch it later.

Ricochet vs. Bingo Hall Bay Bay joined in progress for me because my DumbTV decided to sign me out without signing me out, forcing me to reset my password. Gonna have to re-input it on Roku and phone later.

*Whew* That's a relief. Thanks.

Wait... He died?! What happened? (We're being trolled right now, aren't we? I really your post is poorly-worded sarcasm and JVK is still alive - regardless of whatever his views may or may not be.)

I wasn't expecting this one. I started watching wrestling after The Hart Foundation split up, but I caught their matches on tapes and was blown away by them. I may be the only one who thought The New Foundation with Anvil and Owen was incredible, and I was gutted when it morphed into the decidedly low energy High Energy with a past-his-prime Koko B. Ware. The Attitude Era Hart Foundation stable was amazing and a nice last big run for the Anvil. This one hurts.

Even the "best" guys in wrestling - like AJ Styles - aren't really good guys. Depressingly, there are so few genuinely good people in wrestling - but that's a whole other topic on its own.

But would that still apply if Vince went to prison? Wouldn't Jerry then become the de-facto boss? I think Shane and definitely Stephanie were still too young at that point.

This might have already been covered on the podcast - I'm still going through them - but what was Jerry Jarrett's five-year plan if he actually had to take over the WWF from Vince McMahon? (If five-year is too broad, pick a different number.) Some specific questions from that: - Would he have tried to make Jerry Lawler a national draw and WWF World Champion? Lawler obviously created magic in Memphis, so I'm wondering if Jerry Jarrett would've tried to recreate that on a grand scale. - How would Jerry's son Jeff have figured in? - Would Brian Christopher have been brought in with a more serious character and push? - What other Memphis mainstays would have been used?

This is why internet fans are looked at with such disdain and openly mocked and scorned... In Johnny Gargano vs. Tomasso Ciampa, you have the best feud of the year, with the best matches of the year - and people are still finding a reason to complain. It's especially galling in this case because there are extenuating circumstances - Black's injury - so they're rightfully going back to what they know works. IMO, it's a huge improvement. I have nothing against Black, and I'm sorry he's hurt, but I'm looking forward to Round 3 of Gargano-Ciampa far more than anything that would've involved Black.

Nothing will happen IMO because "wrestlers aren't important." As NintendoLogic pointed out, even Vince McMahon himself has gotten away scott free after being accused of much worse.

Punk-Cabana lawsuit: https://www.scribd.com/document/385790711/Doc-Aug-8-2018-at-5-17-PM#from_embed

Yeah, it's a really underwhelming lineup. Other than the presence of some big names, this pretty much feels like a glorified ROH house show. But they already made their money, I guess. They better hope this wildly exceeds expectations and knocks it out of the park, or All-In 2 won't draw nearly the same interest or numbers.

Distribution plans for All-In were announced. - Traditional PPV - FITE app - HonorClub The show will be $39.99. The first hour will air on WGN America starting at 6. The PPV will be live at 7. I really hope WGN America won't be the only way to watch the first hour. Current card NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship Nick Aldis (c) vs. Cody Rhodes Kazuchika Okada vs. Marty Scurll Adam Page vs. Joey Janela (with Penelope Ford) Rey Mysterio, Bandido, and Fenix vs. The Young Bucks and Kota Ibushi Stephen Amell vs. Christopher Daniels The Over Budget Battle Royale - Zero Hour Pre-Show Jordynne Grace, Moose, Rocky Romero, Colt Cabana, Ethan Page, and TBA Zero Hero Pre-Show The Briscoes vs. Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky

I remember the final WCW version of the match on a Nitro. Kevin Nash did absolutely nothing and somehow ended up winning it. It was one of the laziest performances I've ever seen. Then again, maybe Nash was right not to sacrifice his body in a dangerous stipulation match that was meaningless and would be forgotten within a week. But Booker T should have won it instead. You can see it in all its "glory" here: https://www.wwe.com/videos/booker-t-sting-goldberg-kronik-vs-kevin-nash-scott-steiner-jeff-jarrett-vince-russo-war-games-nitro-september-4-2000

A couple of new Kindle deals: Free (wrestling novels) - The Condemned - Buddy Cooper Finds a Way: A Novel - The Secret Life of Dr. Demented 99 cents - Ted DiBiase - Rey Mysterio: Behind the Mask I remember the Mysterio book being surprisingly great.

My phone automatically started playing Episode 7 even though I picked Episode 4. I was wondering why there were no booking questions. After that confusion was cleared up, I settled in and enjoyed the episode. It was the one with the NY Jets commentator guest hosting - Scott Nathan/Lathan/Latham? Needless to say, I have no idea who he is - he could be the J.R. of football for all I know, but I don't watch sports. Still, it was a great episode and he did a great job, as did Sean. After that, my phone/car tried to auto-play Episode 6. I wasn't having that. Finally, I started Episode 4, which is what I had intended to listen to from the beginning. Only got about ten minutes into it, but I'm already blown away. The last thing I expected Jerry Jarrett to start talking about was classic literature. He brings up "Et Tu, Brute" and explains which rivalry he used that for. Wow! I was sorry when I got home and had to stop. Can't wait to listen to more!

Which is fair, but Brian did everything the right way - came up with his own persona, didn't rely on his famous last name, got over on his own, and did it as a heel when his dad was traditionally a face (I realize "The King" was an amazing heel as well, but you know what I mean - he could do no wrong in Memphis). And that's even before his WWE run as Grandmaster Sexay, which was an entirely different persona too.

Awesome story from Facebook: Dan McDevitt 7 hrs I try only to judge people on how they treated me. One of the first times I ever met "Grandmaster Sexay" Brian Christopher he worked for me in Paw Paw West Virginia, a town seemingy in the middle of no where. The show absolutely bombed and he was fresh off WWE TV and was at the time very over just coming off his run as "Too Cool". That means his price tag was steep (several thousand dollars). He went to the ring and worked as hard in front of 100 people as he would have if there were 3,000 people in the building. I paid him and shook his hand and thanked him. As we were dealing with the end of the show stuff he walked up and handed me an envelope and it had over half his money in it. He said to me "I have been around this business my whole life, I know you guys lost your ass tonight, take this back and lessen the blow and make it up to me down the road" In 25 years in pro wrestling he is the only star that has ever done that. He had his demons, but that's how I remember him, how he treated me, as a good kind hearted dude. May he rest in peace and hopefully his father, Jerry Lawler finds peace as well.

Saddest day ever for wrestling? Based on the mags, I really thought Brian Christopher was going to be the next big star and big heel. Never quite happened that way, but he still had a pretty decent career. We say R.I.P. for all of these, but I hope he really is at peace now.

Sadly, my main exposure to Nikolai was when he came back in I think '94 with hair to essentially play the new Virgil in Ted DiBiase's crappy Million Dollar Corporation. What the hell was that about?! Even then, despite the misguided gimmick and presentation, I liked Nikolai.