C.S.

In no scenario should Wade Barrett have ever beaten John Cena. Even Cena beating Nexus in the SummerSlam tag as a "bad thing" is overrated, because that match marked the return of Daniel Bryan, who was a far bigger deal than Wade Barrett - even then - and became a far bigger star.

Great interview with ROH COO Joe Koff. https://www.avclub.com/ring-of-honors-joe-koff-on-the-indie-label-and-whether-1819450908?2 He says all the right things, but as someone who has dipped his toe periodically into ROH a couple of times over the past year and walked away extremely unimpressed, I'm not sure how much of his words are based in reality.

Wrong thread.

Former WWE ring announcer Justin Roberts' book, Best Seat in the House, is 99 cents - today only. It goes into the toxic WWE bullying culture. https://smile.amazon.com/Best-Seat-House-Justin-Roberts-ebook/dp/B06XBHBZ88/ https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/best-seat-in-the-house-justin-roberts/1125259823?ean=9781782554516#/

I fell asleep and missed it live. I just finished watching it. I cherry-picked what I watched, but I think I picked the right stuff. I watched New Day/Usos (very creative), Natalya/Charlotte (good until the finish), and KO/Shane (more below). I skipped the rest of the matches because I knew exactly how they would end and I was right. I think I'm going to watch all PPVs like this from now on, because it was so much more enjoyable this way and so much less of a slog. I personally thought the main event was AWESOME. As a spectacle/stunt show, it delivered. And that Sami Zayn turn, as horrid as it sounded on paper, was really well-executed.

Please ask him why on earth Billy would ever consider doing ANY business with TNA again after everything that happened? He of all people should know to run far in the other direction. TNA will never be a viable, respectable, money-making operation.

Corgan now officially owns the NWA. Billy Corgan Officially Announces Rebrand of NWA, Outlines 20-Year Plan For Success https://www.si.com/wrestling/2017/10/02/billy-corgan-officially-announces-rebrand-nwa

That doesn't make sense, because Bagwell and Flamingo are all over other shows already on the Network (Nitro, ECW, etc.), so why would a lawsuit specifically affect Thunder being uploaded?

The tournament was mentioned, but that's about it. I'm trying to remember if they showed any footage of the earlier round matches Alundra was in, but I don't think so. I ended up wondering the same thing - if it was a phantom tournament or real. It seemed pointless to me, even at the time, to run a tournament at all - or the claim of one - when it was so obvious Alundra was going to win. On another note entirely, I don't blame Madusa for throwing the belt in the trash. It wasn't her idea anyway, but even if it was, I remember agreeing with it at the time - or at least not disagreeing with it. WWE abandoned the entire division, including its champion, without any explanation. It annoyed me as a fan back then. It was bad enough that Madusa was miscast as a babyface. At the very least, she could've been kept around as a badass heel manager - similar to the role she played in the Dangerous Alliance. Really dumb to just let her go.

The Madusa/Alundra Blaze documentary, "Trailblayzer," was pretty good. Nothing new, and WAY too big a deal made of the "infamous" angle where she trashed the belt, but it was still an enjoyable watch overall.

I like Enzo, but he's awful on Raw Talk.

Brock doesn't feel special anymore because he's lumbering dead weight. I can't think of someone more useless and overpaid.

Terrible fucking match. The two main events were both really disappointing.

Eh, I thought it was a good match, and the right guy won. People care about Enzo. He draws money. He's more over than the rest of the Cruiserweight division combined.

This feels like a Cena retirement. I hope not.

Did Jern sabotage Romey by purposely having a bad match? Both of them are usually much better than this.

A disappointing match with the worst version of the "WWE Big Match formula" - endless finisher bombs and kickouts. Yawn!

Poor Bayley.

Unfortunately, most of the writers are 20-something nerds who know nothing about wrestling. I wish they'd get nerds who at least love wrestling and grew up watching it. Instead, we have failed TV writers, because that's somehow more "prestigious" in Vince's eyes. The tide is turning a bit with Ryan Ward, Road Dogg, etc., but not enough yet.

You said it. I'm still not clear on the reasons for the feud to start with. Sure, Balor is upset because Wyatt keeps attacking him, but Wyatt keeps attacking him because reasons. "Because reasons" is basically the impetus behind every pointless Bray Wyatt feud. It's why he's impossible to get into.

Bray is SO bad on the mic. How the hell did he ever get a reputation for being good?

Here's the bathroom break match. Bray Wyatt is ice cold, and Balor has been cooled off considerably (I've never been a fan of either, but I could at least understand their respective pushes when they were at their hottest).

Holy shit at that wretched promo by Jordan. He's hopeless!

I can't think of two bigger flops in recent memory than Apollo Snooze and Jason Jordan. Both are phenomenal athletes but neither have that "it factor." Maybe it's because they're Swiss? I dunno...

Maniac Mike Davis: MOON ROCK! Pierre/Jean-Pierre LaFitte: Loved him. Mordecai: HEAR ME! FEAR ME! Bull Dempsey: Thought he should have destroyed Baron Corbin. Was and still is the better all-around performer.