Downend2005

So Braun won a battle royal that he should have won four years earlier at WM 31.

That Andrade elimination was absolutely stupid. I wouldn’t mind watching a Harper vs Ali match.

Sam Roberts is such a nerd. They’ve spent more time arguing about Jost and Che than anything else... And the Hardy theme continues to play!

So who’s from New York in this battle royal?

Pat McAfee. It’s my first exposure to him too, he’s awful. I loved that the crowd got into the tag match. Hawkins seems like a good dude so it’s nice to see him get his due. They are definitely losing tomorrow though.

“Here comes the heavy handed Dash Wilder...” subtle aren’t they?

What a bizarrely booked battle royal. The babyface hides for the whole match and then wins. And so much for Asuka winning this as a make good for losing the title. I’d have preferred a Sonya or Ruby Riott win, at least something could have been made out of that going forward. I know I’m overthinking this.

That wasn’t a great opening match. Hopefully Murphy is on his way to the main roster, but that would be another blow to 205 so soon after losing Mustafa Ali. Pat McAfee and Sam Roberts are the worst. Naomi just got jobbed hard in the battle royal. Looks like her complaining about her creative direction on Twitter did her a world of good.

Counting everyone confirmed for both battle royals so far, there are 85 people appearing on the card. If they add NXT stars to the women’s battle royal I can see them exceeding 100.

Oh I get that completely, but the point I made still stands. There have been better classes than this one for sure, but it still translated into worse shows. As a viewer, the three hours breezed by and it was an enjoyable show.

Yet outside of the Bret Hart incident, it was one of the best Hall of Fame shows in years. Admittedly it’s a low bar, but everyone came across really well. Torrie especially came off brilliantly, and I actually think WWE ended up doing a good job justifying her inclusion. She knew exactly how good she was (or wasn’t) and didn’t try to pretend otherwise. This class were actually one of the more self aware ones in years. And I echo the thoughts about the fans. The fans are consistently the worst thing about the event and the incident with Bret Hart being attacked was an absolute disgrace.

By all accounts it’s him, Excalibur and Alex Marvez behind the booth. I’m not entirely sure if JR would be a huge benefit backstage nowadays either.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2829326-aew-signs-wwe-hall-of-famer-jim-ross-to-groundbreaking-3-year-contract So the initial rumours of both Jim Ross and Chris Jericho’s involvement with a new promotion last year turned out to be true then.

Mike Ehrmantraut being the leader of the undead realm was quite something. Kiera Hogan looking bored as fuck whilst being held at knifepoint by James Mitchell was also quite something.

The build to the main event of wrestlemania 5 between Macho Man Randy Savage and Lust Hogan is still one of the best stories that the WWF/WWE has ever told. Otherwise known as ‘Randy was right’, this year long build of the evil Hogan’s grand plan to engineer an title shot at the biggest show of the year worked a treat. Hogan already had poor form for being a terrible friend to Andre the Giant and Paul Orndorff, so maybe Randy should have known better in hindsight, but this story just goes to show how devious Hogan truly was. The story began even before wrestlemania 4, when Hogan saved Savage from an attack from the Hart Foundation in late 1987 after being begged to by Elizabeth, followed by THE handshake which solidified Randy’s face turn. Then at Wrestlemania 4 Savage won the WWF Title following an assist from Hogan and the build began in earnest. Gradually over time the relationship between Savage and Hogan became more and more unstable. Hogan began to act more flirtatiously towards Elizabeth, even insisting that she also manage him in matches on Saturday Nights main event. The Mega Powers won at summerslam 1988 and when Elizabeth took her skirt off you could easily see the lust that Hogan had in his eyes. I’m positive that he also gave her a sneaky tap on the ass when Savage wasn’t looking too. The Mega Powers were the sole survivors at Survivors Series 1988, and Hogan again made a play for Elizabeth, hugging her and twirling her round right in front of her man, when he had just been beaten down for ages whilst Hogan was resting in some handcuffs. Hogan then eliminated Savage from the Royal Rumble on purpose like the true friend that he was. Then at Saturday Nights Main event, Savage finally snapped when he accidentally collided with Liz, and Hogan abandoned the match to try it on with her and show her his 24 inch python in her confused state backstage. I’m frankly surprised that Randy didn’t snap sooner. But from that moment Hogans plan was complete. His fear of the increasingly popular Savage caused him to first befriend him, and then systematically turn him into a jealous, paranoid heel so he could get a title shot in an era where face vs face matches didn’t happen. He even managed to turn Savages missus against him, which would play into his hands at Mania 5 as Randy couldn’t fully focus on his title defence and hence he lost to the Luster. In all seriousness though, Savage versus Hogan was a masterful build, with Ventura especially on commentary being excellent planting the seeds of doubt about Hogans intentions, and Randys increasing papanoia playing out perfectly. The match was to that point the best main event in wrestlemania history, and the fact that it ended in the same building where Randy won the title was fitting. The builds to modern day Mania main events are so messy and all over the place (see 2019) that it’s easy to forget that they were at one time capable of some of the best and most compelling builds in Wrestling history.

So Booker T will be joining Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels as the only 2x inductees? Not saying that Harlem Heat aren’t deserving (even though Stevie Ray was the worst) but I guess inducting people multiple times is one way to solve the issue of the candidate pool drying up in the future!

I’d actually argue Paige would be also be a viable candidate, especially now she’s retired. The first NXT women’s champ, the youngest divas champ, bridged the gap between the divas era and the current ‘women’s evolution’, was actually good as a gm, has a film out now about her life and career. Even the Alberto stuff can be explained away easily as her conquering her ‘demons’. The Bellas are obviously going to go in one day too.

I actually really liked that Becky didn’t tap out during that beatdown. It would have been even better if she hadn’t have previously tapped clean to Asuka at the Royal Rumble, but I guess you can’t have it all.

I appreciate the response, and I understand a lot better where you coming from now. I have personal experience of living with people who have battled eating disorders, so maybe it was that experience that prompted me to question your post. Obviously nobody was to know that when I posted my initial response to you.

Point proven.

Seeing as though I reacted to a post suggesting that referring to Bulimia would be acceptable in kayfabe, I’ll assume you are taking a shot at me here. I asked the question, when has the character of Becky Lynch ever been presented as having Bulimia or any kind of eating disorder. The answer is never, so why go down that route to promote a wrestling match? As I said in my last post, there is plenty of ammunition available to both Ronda and Becky rather than going down that route. DMJ actually mentioned a lot of things both could take a shot at in their post before bringing bulimia into it. If you want to accuse me (and others) of whining because they are offended by the suggestion of taking a shot at an eating disorder to promote a wrestling match, that says a lot more about you than it does me.

How does making reference to an eating disorder work in kayfabe then? Has the character of Becky Lynch ever been presented on tv as having bulimia? There is plenty of ammunition available to both Becky and Ronda without having to go down the route of body shaming and eating disorders in 2019.

I saw this written elsewhere, but it bears repeating. Having your women’s champion, biggest mainstream star and 1/3 of the main event of your biggest show of the year throwing about the words fake does seem counterproductive.

Rondas working herself into a shoot, brother. I especially enjoyed her trying to bury Beckys finish as being fake and nonsensical when she’s already been shown selling it on TV, and when she inevitably gets trapped in it during the Mania match.

Absolutely not. I’d imagine that just like last year, Triple H will put his match on relatively early to ensure the hottest possible crowd reaction. No way do they go on after Becky, Ronda and Charlotte this year.