SomethingSavage

I understand why they thought to use Kurt Angle in that spot to appease the fans, but I don't know. There's still something really absurd and off-putting about the booking to me. Nothing says badass, renegade band of brothers like your boss opting in to participate and play on your team when the chips are down, am I right? But it is what it is. Questionable booking aside, the matches were fun and the show was entertaining enough overall. These PPVs (or special events, or whatever) are absolutely a whole lot easier to enjoy when they're all I follow.

I love a good strike as much as anybody. There's nothing like a shot that looks like it lands, enhanced by a nice snap and a sick "smacking" sound. But the arm and thigh-slapping really, REALLY needs to be dialed down across the board. It's bad enough that guys do it on things like double stomps to begin with - when there's just no reason that kind of contact would make that sound. But, when they're in such a habit of doing it that they slap their legs on *MISSED* strikes, it's just another level of ridiculous altogether.

Yeah, I meant for the TLC match. And that's a flimsy excuse for them or anyone to employ anyway. If there's ever any promoted PPV match you could possibly plug Matt Hardy's nostalgia act into and have it actually work, then it's going to be a TLC match. Plus, I don't really think Balor's opponent makes a dent either way in the big scheme of things. Always cool to get another Styles match on a big stage though. So no complaints there. ... Even if we *do* end up getting pumpkin patch paint & the obligatory Bray light show.

I'm about as far removed from wrestling Twitter and the rumor mill as anyone on the planet, but wouldn't Matt Hardy have been the obvious candidate for that spot? I mean, the guy's already on the Raw roster. He's involved in a whole lot of nothing with Jeff on the shelf. He's got a vast amount of experience in the TLC setting. And he's still got some name value and star power for the casuals. Just seems like a no-brainer to plug him in there, especially if they're caught grasping at straws or in a bind.

Has the Styles/Balor match actually been confirmed anywhere, or is it just all wild speculation at this stage? Gotta wonder if they actually treat it like a special, featured match - or if they still try to paint up Finn like a pumpkin & have Bray's holograms invade it or some shit.

I haven't seen the show yet - and likely won't have the time to watch it at all until this weekend - so I can't really comment on how the Sami turn came across on television or anything. But I will say this - I really dug the dynamic of their team back in the day. The idea of Kevin as the bigger, bullying older brother, with Sami playing the abused and subservient younger brother just tagging along to fit in, was always tremendous. Sami seems to have suffered a lot since making the move to the main roster. No surprise there, but this could certainly serve as a strategy to regenerate some of his sympathy in the long haul. Watching him get abused, ordered around, and manipulated by Owens is exactly the sort of story that could bring things back full circle. I loved the story they told with these guys back in NXT. I think it was an absolutely awesome way to bring Owens on board and continue the saga of Sami Zayn's redemption arc with the NXT Championship. For that time and place, it was picture perfect & precisely what was needed. And, while I see a lot of people saying this seems like a step back, I actually don't mind it. Perhaps it's a half-step forward at best, but I do believe it's a solid shot at "resetting" both Owens and Zayn. And their chemistry has always been fantastic, so I can think of far worse scenarios for both guys. Still waiting to see what it looks like once it all shakes out a bit, but yeah. My initial impression is that I'll have no problem with letting this one play out.

Sweet baby Jesus - the "build up" for Nakamura versus Mahal has been nothing short of atrocious. Who the hell came up with this stuff? I can't even fathom anyone brainstorming & settling on these segments as anything even remotely resembling "good" ideas. So you take the challenger and mock him for the way he speaks and the way he looks? Okay. And that's designed to draw your heat for a big title fight? Christ. I've really tried to give the Jinder project a chance to succeed. It just feels ice cold though. People draw the obvious comparisons to the JBL push of '04, but this doesn't even come close to touching that stuff. At least JBL was cutting some killer promos - even all the way back BEFORE he initially got the belt off Eddie. Jinder just hasn't delivered on anything other than the upgraded presentation of his entrance and music. Even the small things he does decently - some of his strikes and the menacing facial expressions - aren't enough to elevate his dreadful interviews in these programs. Part of that is the booking, for sure. But a lot of the blame has to fall at his feet, too. But yeah. I just don't get it. You take a guy like Nakamura and boost him with big wins over two of your most established guys - both Cena and Orton - in rapid succession on television. And then your big, brilliant idea to launch him into a title program is this horse shit? It's just awful. It's like witnessing every WWE television trope come to life in one aimless angle. Neither champ nor challenger feels like they have an ounce of momentum. Neither comes across as a top guy, buried beneath this garbage. It's the top title program on SmackDown, and it's been made out to be all about bad accents, orgasmic facial expressions, and super-stale "appear on the TitanTron to distract the opponent" nonsense. I just hate every bit of it, and I can't imagine it feeling fresh or even slightly interesting to anyone at this stage. I tend to roll my eyes when people gripe or complain about how badly WWE is going to mess up Nakamura, Asuka, etc. whenever they get called up to the main roster in the first place. But it's booking like this that completely reinforces those fears and makes it all seem appropriate enough anyhow. It's as if they just simply cannot help themselves. Nak doesn't speak flawlessly fluent English, so *of course* they'd have to mock him for it in his first big program. Right? On a positive note, I will say that I still find endless enjoyment in just about everything Rusev does. He's Bizarro Jinder - in that everything he touches is instantly elevated. He is given something, and he absolutely exceeds expectations with it right away. Even if he's being booked like a chump and a loser bell to bell most of the time, Rusev can remain over through sheer character work - and that's saying something when he's being beaten early & often on TV so much. I'm all on board for adding Aiden English to the act as well. I certainly miss Lana as part of the package deal, but Aiden is a fun supplementary act nonetheless. I still wish the Miztourage could get more little character moments in their segments and interactions with Miz - besides just being punching bags and excuses for cheap finishes in his matches over on Raw. But it's a step in the right direction anyway.

Regarding Jason Jordan and the plan to have him rejected by the audience - a key ingredient in the Rocky situation was his ability to lash out at the fan base and throw it all back in their faces. When Rocky came back from injury and hooked up with the Nation, the FIRST thing he did was grab a mic and spew venom at the crowds for chanting "Die, Rocky, Die." It added much-needed fuel to the fire for him at the time, but it also put him on their radar and got him more heat. Eventually, of course, the guy's charm and charisma was too much and people grew to love him for the act. Does Jason Jordan *really* have any of that in him? I mean, I realize it's kind of early to condemn the guy completely or anything. But I don't see any signs of that personality at all. Maybe there's a spark somewhere in there. But, at some stage, if the "plan" is supposed to lead to anything substantial for him as a heel - then he's going to have to come back swinging at the fans for their rejection of him. Otherwise, yeah. He just comes across like a goof and a try-hard who got picked on by the other kids.

Looking at the modern product, Elias Samson is the definitive answer for me at the moment. I've been high on Braun all year, for sure. And I've been pleasantly surprised by how they've presented Joe at times. But yeah. Gotta say I'm pulling for the Drifter to eventually break out and lead the pack. This guy's got everything they seem to search for in a top shelf star. I don't follow any weekly wrestling show on a regular basis anymore. My job, life, and priorities in general just don't allow it. So I catch up here & there when I can. But the last time I *did* catch a full episode of Raw was several months back when the Drifter and Balor had a match. It was competitive, with Samson busting out some bombs. Then it culminated in that glorious guitar shot that left Balor in a bloody heap. LOVED it. Got woke to Elias on that night, and the performance alone made me enough of a fan to where I actively seek out his stuff now. I realize he's not doing much of anything substantial at the moment, but he's still a clear highlight for me whenever he's on. I think it's in our nature to seek out and champion guys we view as "underrated" or underappreciated, and - as fans - we certainly seem to get a kick out of being on the ground floor for those types. Drifter is one of those guys for me. I'm absolutely on board for him to get a boost soon.

At the time, it felt like they were really gaining some steam & momentum from late 2011 throughout most of 2012. The Roode turn and title reign, the saga of James Storm's redemption, the ascension of Austin Aries, the pairing of Daniels & Kazarian, and a lot of other little things made the shows worth watching. And they weren't a chore to get through. Plus they had some standout matches during that period. Aries/Bully from two PPVs, Styles/Bully from Slammiversary 2011, and Aries/Joe as the opener of Slammiversary 2012 all instantly spring to mind without even thinking much about it. I know there are people that absolutely despise the ideas, but I (usually) dug the Open Fight Night and short-lived weekly TV Title defense concepts as well. Just glancing back, I think things fell off the rail sometime shortly after the Bully Ray reveal at LockDown. But for a good year or year and a half there, it honestly felt like they had a shot at leveling up.

Ugh. You "got to" deal with these people every day? Do ya really "got to", or do you choose to? It's a hobby, folks. For the life of me, I'll never understand why some people take these things so seriously. It's a guy's opinion. I understand he's considered the most influential and all that. No question. But he's one guy. He digs what he digs. You are still free to enjoy what you enjoy or even *gasp* disagree with him on things. I'm sure I'll always be the outlier on this, but it is what it is. I just can't wrap my head around people feeling all sensitive about his ratings.

I don't keep up with news and rumors, but a friend of mine said Cena has a Kevin Hart film lined up after the Transformers deal. So maybe he'll be gone for awhile. If that's the case, they could just be capitalizing on a big money match while he's - ya know - actually around to do it. I mean, it's easy to assume he'll be back and willing to play ball when Mania season rolls around, but they could rationalize it by suggesting he may still be preoccupied with other priorities.

I'm just now catching up on a bunch of these, and I'm enjoying the hell out of this series. I really expected to hate the "Worst of the Worst" episode, because I find it annoying when people bitch & moan too much about the wrestling that they habitually and obsessively decide to watch anyway. But the show was a fucking blast. Tremendous, good fun all the way through. The chemistry between Will and Johnny is still top shelf shit. Sorrow shutting down Will's rant about Muraco had me in stitches. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. And the only thing more boring than a Don Muraco match is your diatribe about how much you hate Don Muraco. So there." Left me legitimately cracking up. Dylan stole the show though. The line about how Crush should have called his heart punch the Hawaiian Punch was great. Plus the point about Bray Wyatt feeling like such wasted potential was right on point. Calling him "more Kane and less Undertaker" than what people initially thought had me nodding in total agreement, for sure. But best of all was after Steve piling on the criticisms for Shane McMahon coming in once or twice a year to wrestle a marquee match, only for Dylan to chime in at the end with the, "I'm sorry. My audio went out for a second, but I agree wholeheartedly with everything Steve just said about Brock Lesnar." Fucking fantastic. The ECW show was a lot of fun, too. Kind of curious to see if Will comes away with a slightly elevated appreciation for Stevie Richards after watching some of his later C-show stuff.

I don't understand why they're rushing into it, but I'll reserve judgment before I bash the decision altogether. It just seems like a strange path to take though, especially considering that they've really strengthened the Raw main event scene in the last 8 months. It feels like they could have delayed the big money match almost effortlessly - just by having Reigns and Cena derailed into other programs with the likes of Joe, Brock, Braun, etc. over the next several months. When they first announced Braun/Brock for next month, I honestly figured Strowman would get the belt for the usual fall/winter month reign - then drop it to Roman to ultimately end their feud (for now), before moving into Cena/Roman as the headline for Mania. They could still go that route, I guess. It'd just seem a whole lot less special as a rematch from No Mercy. So I don't know.

Just saw the announcement and came here to say pretty much the same thing. I really thought they were gonna play the long game with Cena vs. Reigns as a big money match, but I guess not. Bizarre booking to just toss it out there on such a second-tier show this way.

Timely, because Prichard just addressed this on his latest podcast. Test was scheduled for a big run against Triple H following the Stephanie marriage angle and all that, but it was decided that he wasn't ready for that kind of spot yet.

Holy shit. I don't know that I ever would've went out searching for some random Trish matches to re-watch before this, but yeah. The whole "Trish is such a nutty bumper" talking point has piqued my interest a bit now. Props to Stacey for that.

I've had this on my phone for awhile, but I'm fiiinally getting around to listening to it on my commute back & forth for work. Kelly - you mentioned being all in for hearing a Bruno shoot interview. I was just wondering if you've ever seen his RF shoot. I mean, yeah. It's RF, so the line of questions kind of sucks. But Bruno is SUCH a captivating storyteller that it doesn't really suffer too much. He goes in-depth on some interesting stuff. There's a deep dive into his childhood and early days of discovering weightlifting. He covers the broken neck and Vince Sr. approaching him about returning much sooner than expected to help boost ticket sales, etc. It was obviously done before Bruno and the fed mended fences, so there's some negative stuff toward the end about his relationship with Vince Jr., but it doesn't dominate the interview or anything. I'd highly recommend it. By far one of the best RF releases, and it's all on the strength of Bruno's attention to detail and incredible recall on events, specific matches, opponents, etc. Definitely worth checking out if you've never heard it. Bruno's timeline with Sean Oliver is out there, too. And it's outstanding, but it doesn't cover nearly as much ground. Both are worthwhile, but yeah. The RF one is worth seeking out for the stories of his childhood and early days alone.

Heard him plugging it on Austin's show. I may check it out on Fridays to see who he gets for the first few interviews.

The initial Mysterio series was decent. I remember being disappointed with the 2/3 Falls match at the time, but I haven't gone back and revisited it in forever. The couple of times they programmed him with Christian likely led to his best all-around heel performances though. That SummerSlam match was tremendous, and the bout that set it up - centering on the arm & shoulder injury, was great as well. The Kalisto matches were truckloads of fun, too. I may even rate them over the Rey series. There was at least one pre-show match (2/3 Falls also, iirc) that was really, really good.

I thought he turned face in some random, nothing segment against 3MB or something. Then - like, a week later - he was heel again and ran over Santa Claus. A week after, he was baby face again and getting set up for a title program with Big Show. Actually thought that was his best in-ring run there .. As a fired up baby face, defending his buddy and standing up to the big, nasty bully.

Well, yeah. But attending is a lot less about "watching" wrestling and a lot more about experiencing it - for me, anyway.

Found my original write-up for that ECW match from the "What Are You Watching?" thread way back in the summer of 2014. Just scoped it out again last week, too. Still holds up (for me) as a super fun way to spend ten minutes.

Are there even any good Kevin Thorn matches worth seeking out? I mean, I know he was a part of that SUPER fun ten-man tag on ECW (right after Mania 23) with the New Breed against the ECW Originals. I still watch that match about once a year, and it always holds up for me. Just a tremendous train wreck of spots, with a hot crowd and invested announcing. It's no clinic, and it's not everyone's jam. But it's incredibly pro wrestling to a T. Other than that though, I don't think he's ever been a part of anything worth revisiting. Maybe I'm wrong?

Except that their last KOTR on the Network felt like a total throwaway and completely inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. Might as well have been a random house show tossed up for the day. To be fair, they *have* done much better with the CWC and the UK tourney since then, so the concept could absolutely be worth revisiting. The KOTR is still something I'll always tune in to see, even if it's only for a sense of nostalgia and the slight chance that something good comes out of it.