C.S.

Camera work is atrocious. WCW/TNA levels of bad. They cut out Zayn attacking Slater on the way to the ring.

Terrible match and booking - a total burial for Benjamin and Gable. Did jacked Benjamin get popped by a Wellness test?

This match is just plain stupid. No one believes there will be co-WWE Champions (and if there is, that's even worse). Plus, AJ and KO still have anti-chemistry. AJ vs. Zayn 1-on-1 would've been a much better match, though the outcome of that obviously would never be in doubt. Well, it's not in doubt now, so same difference, I guess.

I watched none of the TV, but I have followed Gargano's ascension through PPVs, CWC, etc. It was still a damn great pro wrestling match and one of the best I've seen in a very long time (IMO, of course).

I usually recoil at gushing posts like this, but yeah, it was a DAMN great match! Everyone should really go out of their way to watch it, even if they watch nothing else from the show (which might not be a bad idea, because I found the rest of the card pretty bland and lacking - but that incredible main event MORE than made up for it) .

So was Mamma Mia. Maybe they are running in the Rumble. Meryl Streep wins the Women's Rumble CONFIRMED!

MOTY contender for sure. The PPV was dull, but the main event more than made up for it. Johnny Gargano may be the best seller I've ever seen, and I've seen them all.

That's my guess too, and it's honestly the right move. As red hot as Gargano-Ciampa headlining the pre-WM TakeOver would be, they don't really need the title. Almas has been a good champ.

At least the right guy won. Aleister Black is a future World or Universal Champion. Adam Cole is a future 205 Live headliner - if he doesn't get called up as Michael Cole's geek younger brother, that is.

Agreed. So sick of these tame PG garbage brawls. They're horrid. This entire PPV has been a snooze. If this is what Triple H's WWE will look like, God help us all. The bloom is definitely off the rose when it comes to NXT. Like Raw and Smackdown, it's now an ice cold brand.

I hope Black crushes Cole, but he won't.

My guess: Baszler locks in her submission, refuses to let go, and gets DQed. Edit: Guess not.

I don't like what I've seen in NXT. Like Sami Callahan before him, he's shown me nothing. I guess some people just aren't good fits for NXT/WWE.

Wasn't he brought in to be a player-coach? Give the guys who need more experience a seasoned vet to work with? I think he's been doing his role pretty well so far. Was he? That sounds like something frothing-at-the-mouth Chris Hero fanboys told themselves to make it okay that their man is losing constantly and isn't over in NXT. I could be wrong though.

Kassius Ohno is the Braden Walker of NXT. Stick a fork in him - he's done.

No thread for the PPV? Unpopular opinion: AoP was the better team in that match. Velveteen Dream vs. Duke "The Dumpster" Drose now. Dream is money and better win.

That's unfortunate, but it at least gives me more time to watch and review the sweet-ass Rockers/Powers of Pain match soup23 gave me last week.

I'm behind on last week's match (but I'll get around to it, I promise!), and my last two partners haven't reviewed the matches I sent them (unless I missed their posts), so I'm wondering if I have crappy taste in matches. I'll PM you in the next day or two, topropepodcast.

Now on WWE.com, which makes it more "official" I guess. http://www.wwe.com/article/enzo-amore-suspended

The mentally ill, ill-tempered, possibly drug-addicted Alberto El Patron apologized to Triple H and blamed Paige for his previous comments. From Reddit user NarcisticPunk: The website source is in Spanish. I used an English translator so the quotes may be a little off. I provided the link at the end of the post. Alberto El Patron recently spoke with mediotiempo about a potential return to WWE. He said the following regarding Triple H and comments he made last year regarding him: “I apologize for Triple H in the issues that we were when I was with my relationship with my former spouse. She and her entire family made me believe that those who affected our relationship were them, specifically him. She made me believe that the videos (compromising of the fighter) and that's all that was out was on the part of Triple H and the company. In his time believed him because he was my partner, it's obvious I defended to the hilt, and then things were different and I apologize with him and his family and understood”. He went onto say that he thinks and hopes he can return to WWE in 2019 before he retires in 2020: “I see very difficult to in 2018, but in 2019 before I go I will definitely do something with them, we shook hands and all is well now. Time heals the wounds”. http://www.mediotiempo.com/lucha-libre/2018/01/18/me-equivoque-y-me-disculpe-con-wwe-alberto-el-patron

Link to this celebrity gossip site?

Wahoos Leg assigned me Andre the Giant vs. Stan Hansen from AJPW on September 23rd, 1981. His take on the match: "pro wrestling as a kaiju monster movie." That is about as perfect a description as there could ever be. Arnold Skaaland is at ringside for Andre as his manager. The crowd is white hot from the get-go! This is far from the dominant Andre the Giant performance I thought I'd see. Even though there's obviously a size difference between Andre and Hansen, they are equals throughout the match - they go tit-for-tat all the way. It begins with them clubbing the shit out of each other! What struck me the most was the fantastic selling and agility of both men. I was expecting more of a lumbering monster match, but that's definitely not the case here. BTW, if you think Hulk Hogan was the first wrestler to bodyslam Andre, think again! Stan Hansen does it with ease here. In fact, whenever he has the advantage, he tosses Andre around like a ragdoll. And Andre does the same to Stan as well. During the middle of the match, it's seemingly stopped momentarily and officials jump in. Since I don't understand Japanese, I'm not sure what that was all about. After a spell, the match continues. The finish seems sudden. Outside the ring, Andre seemingly reaches under the apron (proving that's not a new spot) and pulls out an elbow pad. Am I to assume the elbow pad is loaded? Who knows. Back inside the ring, Andre uses his loaded (?) elbow to clothesline the referee for no reason that I can see. But what the heck, Andre and Skaaland are obviously the heels here, so why not? The match is thrown out. Andre and Hansen brawl wildly as officials storm in. Awesome stuff! Today's "great workers" could learn a lot from a match like this about how to really work. Note: I've also posted this here: http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/24308-andre-the-giant-vs-stan-hansen-njpw-bloody-fight-series-092381/

In the Match Review Trades Thread, Wahoos Leg assigned me Andre the Giant vs. Stan Hansen from AJPW on September 23rd, 1981. His take on the match: "pro wrestling as a kaiju monster movie." That is about as perfect a description as there could ever be. Arnold Skaaland is at ringside for Andre as his manager. The crowd is white hot from the get-go! This is far from the dominant Andre the Giant performance I thought I'd see. Even though there's obviously a size difference between Andre and Hansen, they are equals throughout the match - they go tit-for-tat all the way. It begins with them clubbing the shit out of each other! What struck me the most was the fantastic selling and agility of both men. I was expecting more of a lumbering monster match, but that's definitely not the case here. BTW, if you think Hulk Hogan was the first wrestler to bodyslam Andre, think again! Stan Hansen does it with ease here. In fact, whenever he has the advantage, he tosses Andre around like a ragdoll. And Andre does the same to Stan as well. During the middle of the match, it's seemingly stopped momentarily and officials jump in. Since I don't understand Japanese, I'm not sure what that was all about. After a spell, the match continues. The finish seems sudden. Outside the ring, Andre seemingly reaches under the apron (proving that's not a new spot) and pulls out an elbow pad. Am I to assume the elbow pad is loaded? Who knows. Back inside the ring, Andre uses his loaded (?) elbow to clothesline the referee for no reason that I can see. But what the heck, Andre and Skaaland are obviously the heels here, so why not? The match is thrown out. Andre and Hansen brawl wildly as officials storm in. Awesome stuff! Today's "great workers" could learn a lot from a match like this about how to really work. Note: I didn't read any other responses in this thread ahead of time because I didn't want to be inadvertently influenced by anyone else's opinions.

I hope this doesn't lead to a downward spiral for Paige. How much is Sloppy Sasha to blame, if any?

I hope this doesn't lead to a downward spiral for Paige. How much is Sloppy Sasha to blame, if any?