C.S.

Didn't think of the potential heel turn seed-planting - that would indeed be awesome - but would they really kick off that angle in some random media interview? I have my doubts. When has WWE ever been that clever?

Reigns addressed his "haters" and sounded like a blithering idiot in the process. The funny part is, you have a guy like me who is kind of getting like a mixed vibe from time-to-time. I get a lot of love and then you'll get the hate in the middle of it but its just funny, the perspectives you know, the differences between the love and the hate. As far as the hate, it makes me laugh. Everybody is a critic. Every critic I've ever had, they weren't wrestlers [laughs]. Every wrestler I've ever had critique me, they were always into my stuff or what I'm doing out there. For a non-wrestler, someone who doesn't even know how to lock up, and if we did lock up, they wouldn't know what to do, for them to critique any of us, it really does pop me. And then: That’s what haters do. They hate because they hate their lives. http://www.craveonline.com/sports/articles/814477-roman-reigns-talks-royal-rumble-injury-return-haters Yep, the old "you ain't a 'rassler, so who are you to criticize me?" bullshit. That always annoys the shit out of me. So, a non-cook can't taste a chef's food and know it's bad? That's basically what he's saying. Not that I think Roman is bad - he isn't - but this type of thinking, to me, is arrogant and doesn't bode well for future improvement. It's made even worse by his smug "they hate their lives" remark. So, if we don't think Roman is the second coming of Superman, we hate our lives? Fuck off with that!

J.R. on foxsports.com: "Who is the biggest star in the history of the Royal Rumble?" Pat Patterson

I just shook my head when I read that. How does a situation like that even occur? - Victoria spent her own money promoting the show, yet another Knockout was used in the ads, and Dixie's ditzy response was, "Yeah, I heard," as if she had no control over it? (Which maybe she didn't, if she's as incompetent as this story makes her seem?) - They end up promoting another pizza place that isn't Victoria's. How/why does that even happen? Mistake, malice, incompetence...what?

I remember Bret's book mentioning a WWF Title defense against Savage in, maybe, Japan? The agent came up to them and gave them a quick finish - "Bret wins with so-and-so" - and no other details, Randy was insulted because he felt he was being treated like a jobber. Bret consoled him and said (I'm paraphrasing) "let's show them what we can do out there." I think it ended up being 30+ minutes, but I could be misremembering what I read. I wonder if any tape exists of that match. That incident is never really touched upon as another potential reason why Savage left the WWF, but it wouldn't surprise me if he held onto that.

I always go with Stevie Richards in these types of threads. Very solid in the ring and was able to seamlessly transition into so many different character types: goofy sidekick (Raven's Nest/Flock), comedy stable leader (bWo), plucky underdog babyface (before ECW's first PPV), believable HBK-type main eventer (Barely Legal push), and intense conservative "cult" leader (RTC). That's range, which most wrestlers don't have - and he was believable and credible in every incarnation.

My ideal scenario is for Sting to beat Trips (I'm not wild about that match, but it'll do for these purposes) and then for Taker to come out post-match and point at Sting. Honestly, Taker vs. Sting isn't even something I want to see, but enough other people are clamoring for it that it would make no sense for the WWE to ignore one of the few guaranteed money matches it has left. With Sting winning this year, he can safely lose next year to Taker, with the match also serving as Taker's retirement. If they have to use Taker this year, am I the only one who thinks Taker/Brock II makes the most sense? (Assuming Brock loses the title before then. If not, then no, obviously.)

Did anyone watch the Royal Rumble "Lottery" special with Santino? I was under the impression that we'd see wrestlers pick their number for the Rumble. I'm glad that didn't happen, because the surprises are the best part of the match - but what we did get was pretty underwhelming... Santino drew "random" numbers and talked about the significance of each one (e.g. "3" led to a video package about Stone Cold winning three Rumbles, Mick Foley competing three times in one Rumble, etc.). Fun, I suppose, for those people who don't already know all of this stuff. But the stats released on WWE.com each year are usually a lot more detailed. This show barely scratched the surface. The cameo by Kane was easily the best part.

I agree with the three posts above mine. Taker vs. Bray would be a terrible creative decision and a bad match. Even when Bray was booked well, he was an overrated character with a definite ceiling. But now? It's even more of a lopsided mismatch, story-wise. Honestly, I don't see it happening. It sounds like internet fanboy bullshit and not anything credible or logical, but who knows. I could see Taker skipping this year's WM entirely.

An awesome and very legitimate defense of TNA from TJ "Manik" Perkins: http://www.cagesideseats.com/tna-impact/2015/1/20/7856949/tj-perkins-aka-manik-says-tna-is-a-life-saver-not-a-career-killer "Being here has saved my life."

Or they knew something bad would happen but thought Rey was bulletproof, could withstand it, and would never get booed. They miscalculated badly on that one, obviously.

Yeah, I realize he's season 3, but there are a couple of guys who auditioned for earlier seasons, didn't get in, tried again in later seasons and got in then. I thought maybe Morrison was one of them.

Should we read anything into this? Cover of the WrestleMania magazine: From https://twitter.com/BrosB4Elbows/status/556494984422379521

Weird, I just watched the first episode of TE Season 1 last night, and I don't remember Morrison being on it. Was it a blink and you miss it thing?

Except, your original post had nothing to do with a podcast...or at least you weren't clear about it. I'd love more programming like what we got with Austin/Vince.

Roku 3 here as well, but occasionally PS3/4. Haven't tried it on my phone in months.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon from WrestleMania X (the inferior IMO SummerSlam rematch was mentioned) and Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog from SummerSlam '92 (another match of theirs was mentioned instead). Can the Royal Rumble match itself count? If so, Royal Rumble '92 was pretty damn awesome. I remember the Bret Hart vs. Bob Backlund (heel turn) match from Superstars being very good, but I have no idea how that holds up. Their rematch at Survivor Series was memorable for its theatrics, but I can't remember if the match itself was anything special outside of the Towel gimmick. Their "I Quit" match at WrestleMania a few months after that was one of the most disappointing ever. These were good, but "not best match ever" caliber, so I hit the strikethrough button because I didn't want to erase what I had already typed.

That would be an incredible waste of time and money for very little reward. It wouldn't drive a single new person to subscribe to the Network, and most of the episodes would remain unwatched. A 5-minute daily news show is an outdated concept when WWE.com and the rest of the web exist, and I can't imagine anything else compelling enough that the WWE could devote 30 minutes a day to. But you're right, the WWE Network has a lot of problems content-wise. I just don't think your ideas are viable solutions to those problems.

This would be fantastic. If Bruno can't be enticed, Regal would be a great choice. And if they can make highlights out of Koko B. Ware's WWF run, they can make plenty of Larry's AWA, WCW, and announcing work. Bruno would absolutely be the best choice to induct Larry, but barring that, there are a lot of other options as well. Just off the top of my head, his former tag team partner Arn Anderson, his former manager Paul (E. Dangerously) Heyman, and his buddy Scott Hall would all be great choices. All of them are either currently under contract or on a Legends deal.

Pretty sure he shows up on the first season of Tough Enough, which is now available for only $9.99 on the WWE Network.

I can understand why they wouldn't want Goldberg posters on the wall of a WWE show, but both Triple H and Taz came across as petty, unlikeable infants. Whoever the poster belonged to, the poor kid was doomed after that.

I'd be down with this, and I think he's on pretty friendly terms with the E these days. Wasn't he at the first NXT "PPV"?

Not that I'm trying to blame anyone, but Trips and Steph dating behind her back - with Vince keeping it a secret too - didn't exactly help her mental state. I understand that shit happens, and Steph and H shouldn't be crucified for feeling whatever they felt (nor should Vince for protecting his daughter), but they could've been more upfront with Chyna from the beginning. But hindsight and all of that. As for "dragging her out from under an overpass," Tony Atlas - who was living under a bridge - was allowed a second chance. Anyway, she seemed pretty clearheaded and coherent in a YouTube video I saw of her six months or so ago. Don't know if anything has changed since then. But if she's in a better state of mind, she deserves to be credited for what she contributed. Sunny was a fucking trainwreck for years, cleaned herself up enough to get inducted, and then got into more messes. Pretty much this. If Flair gets a free pass, why not Demolition? They ended up being different enough, and a good act in their own right. No, obviously they weren't on Flair's level, but they still carved out a pretty respectable run for themselves.

But weren't all of those taped before 2011, when Lex was presumably still on the "outs"? The Confidential thing is weird, and either a sign of a grudge or a desperate ratings grab by just letting Scheme Gene be Scheme Gene. Wasn't that the first episode? If so, all the more reason to be extra sensationalistic.

Yeah, that sucked. Remember the Perfect/Boss Man team from around then? That felt like a 12-year-old picking two random wrestlers in the old WWF WrestleFest arcade game.