C.S.

I haven't finished watching NXT this week. Not sure if I will. But some random thoughts from what I did see: - Eric Young comes across as an abused shelter dog. He overly emotes, has ridiculous facials, and I'm not a fan of his Salvation Army look. - I've probably said this before, but why put Tessa Blanchard on TV with that name only to job her out? I doubt the same thing happened to Charlotte. But then, Ric obviously has more pull than Tully. - Why the hell isn't Tye Dillinger being pushed? I can't be the only one who thinks he's great and usually better than the people he loses to (not counting Shinsuke Nakamara, naturally). - No Way Jose is a brutal gimmick. If it had been introduced on the main roster, everyone would be shitting on it. But because it's an NXT character, people love it.

Did you even read my post? Just curious, because I said: "I realize Warrior was no workrate king and Savage was past his prime by then, but they'd had a great match previously." You guys have convinced me. I'm going to give it another chance. I think childhood me was just disappointed by the DQ finish (or whatever it was). Remember, this was in an era when PPVs meant something and such finishes were even more egregious than they would be now. I'm shocked to hear it went that long. Wow, my memory must really be fading. I'll have to give it another go.

IMO, Ambrose has been unintentionally sabotaged just as much as Reigns (if you don't buy the "political hit" theory, and I don't). He's terrible at his current persona because he's been turned into a goof with a bad talk show, bad lines, etc. He'd be fine again if he got more freedom. Remember, he supposedly had a bunch of ideas for the Brock WrestleMania match and they got shot down, leading to what was easily the most disappointing match on the show and the most disappointing match I've seen all year.

Surprised by the mystifying love for the Warrior-Savage rematch. I can only assume it's loved by people who didn't actually watch it at the time but discovered it later. That's just a guess though. I remember it being too short, with a horrible finish, and no payoff to the angle they devoted months of TV time to. This, to me, is one of those cases where watching matches "in a bubble" years after the fact paints an inaccurate portrait.

Damn it, Loss, you posted what I came in here to post. Seriously though, yeah, I remember being super disappointed by this match. Does Savage vs. Warrior at SummerSlam count? Like we're seeing with AJ Styles and Gallows/Anderson now, they built up a big storyline (which one is buddy-buddy with Flair?) that ended up leading to nothing, and on top of that, the match ended in a DQ or something unsatisfying like that. I realize Warrior was no workrate king and Savage was past his prime by then, but they'd had a great match previously. (BTW, I realize the AJ and Gallows/Anderson stuff is ongoing, but I'll be shocked if it actually leads to much. At least, I don't think we'll end up getting either of the scenarios everyone wants - AJ reforming some version of Bullet Club with them or Finn Balor coming in and aligning with them as Balor Club. But we'll see.)

I finally watched it. I don't think Arn came across as bitter, but he did have a little of the "back in my day" syndrome we usually see in old-timers. Overall, he seemed really detached from his earlier lifestyle and friendships. He obviously cherished them, but he's also moved on to a different phase of his life. Flair didn't have much to say. Probably afraid of his own shadow at this point, so he's censoring himself IMO. It was refreshing to hear Tully admit that giving talks in prisons wasn't ever his dream job. Much more sincere than most of the "religious" ex-wrestlers. Overall, this was okay for what it was, but it wasn't great if you were expecting amazing stories and charisma flying through the screen. I also watched the Roman Reigns/Dean Ambrose version of Ride Along, but I ended up turning it off. I liked the first episode, but the subsequent ones have been beyond boring. What's the point? After that, I gave the Edge and Christian Show another shot. While I remain only mildly amused, it is growing on me. A fun time-waster, if nothing else.

A work plays out on TV. This isn't. WWE works are usually neon sign obvious. Same here. I was really hoping Sin Cara would win the battle royal. That would have been something new and interesting - a fresh story to tell. As much as I like Rusev, having him re-enter the U.S. Title picture isn't exciting to me. It just means his career has not progressed at all in over a year. The match(es) will be fun, but I simply don't care.

Try clearing cookies for the site. I remember that fixing my past issues. Does the Network site still use Flash? Hopefully not. But if it does, maybe see if there's a Flash upgrade? (Flash is buggy, dangerous, a piece of shit, and I wish sites would stop using it. YouTube, for example, functions perfectly without it.)

Ryback sent home (cagesideseats.com) That sucks. He really turned a corner with both Kalisto matches.

I really question whether Dave still has passion for wrestling anymore, or has in over a decade. Sometimes I wonder if he just sticks with it because it's his bread and butter. Does anyone actually care about his MMA output? I highly doubt he's any kind of name in that world. Even if he is, I'm pretty certain he's not considered the premier reporter (or one of) in MMA like he is in wrestling.

I didn't love the main event either - not sure what everyone is going so gaga over - but even though none of the matches were classics IMO, the entire show was fun and more than the sum of its parts. With that said, I thought Roman handled himself well in the match. I never got the sense that he was in over his head. However, it did seem at first that AJ was slowing down his pace for Roman's sake.

Count me in as another one who thought this was a hell of a fun show (other than the scary and nasty Enzo injury, obviously). Sure, there are things that can be nitpicked, but this is the most fun I've had with a WWE PPV in a long, long time.

Great match, even better weight belt.

Not sure if you're being sarcastic, but that's been going on a while.

Not a huge Corbin fan myself, but he has improved. Still don't see him ever progressing beyond a Ryback-level spot on the card, but still. It's not like they're going to give Dolph a major push ever again either.

What a fucking waste. Job Jobbler is finished as a top act...kaput. Baron should've gotten it. Bullshit 50/50 WWE booking rears its ugly head again.

Is Kalisto/Ryback still there too, or did that get bumped up? If the U.S. Title is on the main show now, maybe we're getting a new champ? Edit: Never mind, still on the pre-show.

You should watch some shoot clips of Al Snow on YouTube, if you haven't already. Completely changed my opinion of him. What a bitter, disgruntled, unhappy little man - and he throws around the "r" word like it's going out of style. Not a good look in today's climate.

Quotes and video here: http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/698903-ryback-frustrated-with-wrestlemania-booking-not-pleased-with-where-the-us-championship-match-was-placed-on-the-card-and-more-video

It's not unheard of for an NXT wrestler to go from face to heel, but I don't see it happening. Finn is far too entrenched as a face. If they're planning a main roster run for him as a heel, I expect him to be a heel for a few months in NXT first.

Predictions: US Title: Kalisto vs. Ryback: This is the pre-show, so the face usually wins. Plus, this match is specifically on the pre-show to punish Ryback for his comments IMO. Winner: Kalisto Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin: End of Days for Job Jobbler. Winner: Baron Corbin Intercontinental Title: The Miz vs. Cesaro: As much as I love Cesaro, this should have been Ryder's match and spot. 50/50 in my mind, but I'll go with the champ retaining by nefarious means (DQ, countout, etc.), leading to a rematch at the next PPV. Winner: The Miz Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens: Another 50/50 in my mind. Zayn needs the win more, but I expect Owens to get it by underhanded means. Zayn is the "Ultimate Underdog" so he'll live to fight another day. Winner: Kevins Owens Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho: The only reason, IMO, that Alcoholic Lame Dad beat AJ last month was to make this a more credible victory for Deano, who needs a win even more than Zayn. Winner: Dean Ambrose Tag Team #1 Contenders Tournament Final: Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. The Vaudevillains: Enzo/Cass vs. New Day would be too entertaining. Therefore... Winners: The Vaudevillains WWE Women's Title: Charlotte vs. Natalya: Probably a crazy prediction, but I can see Natalya getting this as sort of lifetime achievement recognition for all she's done. Plus, why trot out grumpy ass Bret only to watch his niece lose again? Not to mention, Flair's bad behavior has to be punished somehow, and Charlotte is the only one who can realistically be "Triple H'd" for that. Winner: Natalya WWE WHC: Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles: The Gallows/Anderson "intrigue" has been a nice little distraction, but storylines like that in WWE have never amounted to anything major or shocking. Expect the status quo to remain. Winner: Not a good guy, not a bad guy, just THE guy, Roman Reigns, because you're crazy if you think a Southern TNA 'rassler is gonna vanquish The Roman Empire!

What the hell does Arn have to be bitter about? I love Double A, but come on, he massively overachieved in his career.

And now Kyle Edwards. https://twitter.com/KyleEdwardsWWE/status/726119968279023616

I'd take Adams. Unlike Clarke, Crush was fairly over and had decent undercard runs on both the face and heel side. In contrast, were either Adam Bomb or Wrath even remotely over? No, not really. Plus, when Adams showed up in WCW, a friend's kid brother went nuts. This was during the Nitro era when much bigger names were showing up every week. Fun little memory.

EY debuts at the NXT Tapings and starts feud with Samoa Joe (cagesideseats.com)