C.S.

This is just mind boggling to me. I really don't think Danielson has a major weakness. He's good at striking, matwork, structuring matches, character work etc. Yikes, quoting other people is a pain in the ass on this board, even when you turn off HTML. Anyway, unless I'm misunderstanding the intent of this thread, Danielson more than fits the bill. He does not initially look like a star. He's not someone you'd see and immediately expect big things from. Divorce yourself from a decade of knowing him, his matches, his reputation, and his Meltzer rating. Now imagine you're seeing him for the first time. Do you expect him to be a future WrestleMania main eventer? His mic work, in particular, was not always strong - and some would argue that he's still not among the elite all-time great talkers. Yet, he made that simple, humble, plainspoken speaking style work for him. He also made his simple, humble look work for him. He is far greater than the sum of his parts. I'd also nominate Bret Hart for this category.

There you go. Thanks, much appreciated!

Daniel Bryan seems to epitomize the topic of this thread.

Sheamus's complete lack of caring over losing the title (granted, that could've been because he knew he was on camera and didn't want to appear unprofessional) was a nice contrast to Barrett's desperate "I should have been World Champion!" declaration (alongside Bulldog, Regal, etc.).

Going to request again that the Titus controversy get split off into its own thread. It's worthy of that at this point, especially when it has dominated most of this one.

This Titus issue deserves its own thread IMO. Can it be split off into one? Anyway, Batista outright told Titus to ask for his release: https://twitter.com/DaveBautista/status/697585006563217408 What galls me is the hypocrisy of the situation. Vince and Kurt Angle can fight on a plane like two immature college kids, but Titus gets 90 60 days for far less. Shit like this makes it hard to enjoy this company.

Next year IMO. Sting is the headliner this year. If they bump Sting out of that spot for Bryan, people will complain. If they don't bump Sting and make Bryan secondary, people will complain.

Joey Styles tweeted this: https://twitter.com/JoeyStyles/status/696780664704598016 That alone would be enough to cement Bryan's legacy. But he accomplished so much more. Some might argue that CM Punk paved the way for this too. Maybe. But the truth is, Bryan was better in almost every conceivable metric - from in-ring performances to drawing power. True, Punk was a master on the mic (although highly overrated and unmotivated in that and other departments - outside of amazing moments like the "Pipe Bomb" speech and a few others - IMO anyway), but Bryan's simple talking points were enough to drive the fans into a frenzy. Edit: More tweets from wrestlers Double edit: From Kevin Owens. Damn, cue the waterworks. https://twitter.com/FightOwensFight/status/696819657085300736

Yep, confirmed on Facebook. Very sad.

Devastating but inevitable news. When he wasn't cleared and brought back after ALL those other injuries, I think we all kinda knew this was the end of the road for Daniel Bryan. The haircut and shave all but confirmed it.

From WWE.com: http://www.wwe.com/inside/axl-rotten-passes-away

I don't recall that being the case. JBL questioned Bischoff on a lot of things but gave him the freedom to tell his side of the story.

Agreed. Easily the best show on the Network, especially now that Stone Cold is no longer live.

According to Total Divas (I know, I know...), Mandy Rose - Amanda from Tough Enough - was signed to a five year deal. Can that possibly be true? Seems like a long deal for someone so unproven. In other news from that show: - R-Truth is afraid of cats. - Tyson Kidd is depressed. - Big E is involved with Nattie's sister.

I am still having no luck finding much information on the Battle of the Underdogs/Underdog Challenge. Even http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com isn't much help. Is there another/better resource?

There was definitely a tournament of some kind. It was on WCW Saturday Night over a span of several weeks. Bob Cook won it.

Pretty sure there was an entire tournament around this - The Battle of the Underdogs - which featured Bob Cook, Joey Maggs, Mike Thor, and future stars like Mustafa Saed, among many others. It was one of the most awesome wrestling parts of my childhood. I'm trying to find more information, videos, or at least a tournament bracket, but I'm coming up mostly empty. It looks like Robbie V - the future RVD - was in it too! (I don't remember that though.) Sadly, I just found out through searching for this that Joey Maggs passed away in 2006.

I'm with you. Miz is one of their top guys in every way. He has more heat than "favorite sons" like Sheamus and Orton, who aren't over a lick and don't move the needle. He's fantastic in talk show appearances and a great representative for the company in general. He has absolutely shined in every role they've put him in (except his babyface turn, which - like many from that era (Alberto, etc.) - was badly botched. I blame creative, not Miz, for that. IMO, Miz should've turned babyface after his Mania main event victory over Cena and feuded with the loathesome "jock-ass" Alex Riley, who was miscast as a babyface. But that ship has sailed, and Miz should definitely remain a heel now.

Sadly, you're right. He's stale as fuck because there's nothing left for him to do. He has already won: - Several World Titles ✔ - U.S. Title ✔ - Royal Rumble ✔ - King of the Ring ✔ - Money in the Bank ✔ Jesus, he's the personification of why the industry needs major league U.S. alternative other than the WWE. (TNA, ROH, and LU ain't it - sorry!)

Which is a shame, because both Orton and Sheamus would be perfect for it. Orton has kind of transitioned into the "gatekeeper" role anyway. I don't think the fans would be too upset if those two never won another World Title.

According to Dean Ambrose, it's him: http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/4/10711612/dean-ambrose-thinks-of-himself-as-a-good-mechanic-for-wwe

Disagree. I like Bliss too, but she doesn't have the pizzazz and gimmick Lana has. Lana is unique. Bliss, not so much.

I wonder if people are blowing the Rock/Lana segment out of proportion... The reason I ask is because: aren't Rock and Rusev somewhat buddies because Rusev was trained by Rock's "cousin" Rikishi? If so, then why would Rock agree to go along with WWE's petty heat grudge and shame Rusev's fiancee?

WWE 24 (WM31) and Ride Along (New Day and Dolph/Miz) were pretty solid.

But wasn't that supposed to have something to do with the Rumble finish itself? My guess, and I may be wrong, is that we'll see Reigns have to "earn" a Mania shot against H (maybe against Brock?). I could see that being the main event, with H not defending the title at FastLane.