Fantastic

I like the picks thus far. I'd also add DDP to the list.

Yup, this interview the part about Owen starts at 3.45.

Honestly? Given my own dissatisfaction with the product and the fact that there doesn't seem to be anything must see anymore, along with the superfluous 3 hour Raw marathons, there is no way I could be a proponent of the modern product. The things I do like about modern WWE (Brock Lesnar, Daniel Bryan, Cena's big matches) are quite different to what a Hulkamania and Attitude Era stalwart loved about the brand (there were no freak athletes like Brock around, production was modest, storylines didn't go beyond simply setting up a match). I myself only got into WWE during the later parts of the Attitude Era so I experienced the transition between that and the "Ruthless Aggression" era and learned to like what I like without having the nostalgia of the golden age of WWE before it.

So every so often, Bret Hart or Triple H will take a little shot at one another ("4/10", "Bret was too serious", etc). It's clear that they don't really like one another, but neither will bluntly come out and say it. On the other hand, Triple H has always been really complementary of Owen Hart, he seems to rate the late Hart above his more popular brother and regards him as one of the greatest wrestlers he's ever worked with. Inspired by this, what other examples of wrestlers who dislike each other can you think of, any interesting stories behind the mutual hatred?

Looks about right. Brock will definitely be appearing at Summerslam, Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania. They went with NOC last year, but I could see TLC or Money In The Bank as possibilities this year. I seem to recall Dave saying that Brock's previous contract had a WWE title run written into it. We know he got it, the circumstances though were changed. Originally he was supposed to face Daniel Bryan at Summerslam and take the title from him, then move into the program with Cena. In terms of Brock's creative power, he seems like he's cool with losing matches as long as they keep to their end of the bargain, ie, money. He lost his return match to John Cena, there was no real talk of reluctance to do so on his part at the time. Pretty sure it's been mentioned that Brock was originally going to lose the match to Taker, until Vince made the call to end the streak. He's always seemed willing to take losses, although they are high profile matches and he's strongly booked prior to and post-loss, so there isn't any real character destruction. I guess he's bound to have a big say on who he works with, but I don't think he's bothered about winning or losing, it's more long term booking (and retaining value in his brand so he can continue bringing in the dough). I fully expect Brock to work matches with Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, and possibly Daniel Bryan within the next year.

Actually, the first Bound for Glory series which Bobby Roode won was pretty well done I have to say.

So Brock claimed in his ESPN interview that he chose to re-sign with WWE because Vince McMahon "gave me an offer I couldn't refuse". So what do we know about Brock's WWE contract? - Dave mentioned in this week's observer that it's similar to his first two contracts. - The first contract was speculated to be worth around $5 million. - Brock's first contract in 2012 was for one year, four PPV matches, and a handful of live appearances. - The second contract signed in 2013 was similar, but seemingly had an additional clause written into it that allowed WWE to pay Brock a fixed figure to make additional appearances. For these additional appearances, Brock would be flown in via WWE's private jet. - Brock has signed a 3 year contract this time around. - Brock's initial contract allowed him to display his non-WWE endorsed sponsors on his clothing, a privallage never-before-afforded to any WWE employee. His deal with these sponsor's seems to have expired as he's phased out the Deathclutch apparal and no longer sports Jack Link's or Jimmy John's logos, instead wearing his own WWE branded shirts. - UFC doubled their initial offer to re-sign Brock this year. Brock's first stint with UFC was one of the largest signings in history of the organisation, even a reduced offer based on his age, etc would surely have at least matched WWE's offer. Could we expect that UFC offered Lesnar the best part of $10 million? Based on the available information, what does everybody think Vince actually put on the table to persuade Brock to re-sign with WWE, but not just that, but actually commit to three years with them? There has to be some creative boons to it as well. -

Also, since they've done away with the Elimination Chamber PPV, is there a possibility in this match making a comeback at the Extreme Rules PPV? My dream would be a #1 contender EC match for the WWE World Heavyweight title. Plenty of guys doing nothing in the upper card now that Cena and Bryan are busy building the secondary titles up. They most likely, if this match were to go ahead do: Roman Reigns vs. Big Show vs. Kane vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Ryback

Maybe a triple threat for the Intercontinental Championship? Bryan/Ziggler/Sheamus, seems to be going that way, the Ziggler/Bryan stuff doesn't seem to be over yet, and Sheamus heeled on both guys on Raw. Also, Matt, does Orton have any hair worthy of that stip? I'm still waiting for the elusive Power Hair vs. Power Trunks match, where the Power Trunks wager losing would mean they have to stop wearing traditional wrestling trunks and switch to tights.

Wrestlemania hangover's a bitch, huh? Yup. I don't doubt that Rollins/Orton will be a stellar contest. I'm trying to work out what kind of gimmick they'll slap on it though. Obviously, Rollins will be winning, but in a way that protects Orton.

To be fair, I was getting that Ricky Ortiz vibe from CJ Parker from day one. The only thing I can recall of note from his WWE career was Kevin Owens debut in which he stiffed Owens.

Since the other one is supermassively full, let's carry on. Thoughts on the two announced (thus far) matches for Extreme Rules? John Cena vs. Rusev Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton

"You know they aren't actually connecting with those strikes?" At which point I show them a video of Kobashi, Tenryu, or Sasaki chopping the living shit out of someone.

Hmm, Diva wise, I could see something involving Paige and Charlotte or Sasha Banks. I reckon AJ is on the way out, the Bellas kind of only work when they are in tandem, to that end, I see Charlotte and Sasha being called up within the next few months. Hell, one may even debut tonight. Talking about Brock/Batista, could Batista even handle working against Lesnar at his age (Big Dave might be older than billed, some have said he was born in 1966, rather than 1969) and lack of training for in ring performances over these past few years. I don't doubt it would be a decent match, provided Dave could keep up with Brock.

He was in a lot better of a condition than last year for sure. I think he's got one more in him, but I don't think he can have a good match against anyone less than somebody like Bryan or Cena who'd be doing most of the work.

Maybe. But this would absolutely be Hogan's retirement match if so. Can you imagine XXXII being headlined by 2 or even 3 retirement matches (we've got Taker's, almost certain about that... but what if Austin comes back for one more or Sting decides that he's having one final curtain call?) The card in this event would draw, but does WWE really want what has the potential to be the biggest Mania of all time being headlined by multiple retirement matches featuring guys who can only-just "still go"? What would that say about their newer talent?

That must have cost nearly 7 figures. I bet Kevin Dunn was loving every minute of it. I'm glad you mentioned this. They were spending money like it was going out of style last night. The production budget was just massive. If anything, the show was an extended announcement that they are no longer cost cutting. Yeah. I'm curious as to how much the Trips entrance set them back. Not only were the blowing a wad on SFX and costumes, but there would be Arnie's fees, the cost of licensing for the usage of Terminator from Paramount, Skydance and James Cameron/THX.

Agreed, Lesnar is in the top five best workers in the world today.

That must have cost nearly 7 figures. I bet Kevin Dunn was loving every minute of it.

Well, to me personally, even though I hated Rusev losing, it was done in the least destructive manner. The finish gave the impression that Rusev colliding with Lana completely nullified his focus. He fell to the AA, in the same manner that somebody might fall to a flash pin via rollup. Rusev didn't sell shit following the result, it's not like Cena had bested him physically, because he hadn't. Rather, he stormed away enraged, that the collision with Lana had cost him the match. It could have been a lot worse, Rusev could have tapped out to a weakly applied STF like a madman.

Bit of fun, can we take anything away from last night and get an idea for Dallas? Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal Mixed Tag Match: The Rock and Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon The Undertaker vs. John Cena Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose

Star Ratings from moi: Fatal Four Way Tag Match: *** Andre Battle Royal: ** 3/4 Intercontinental Ladder Match: *** 1/2 Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins: *** 3/4 Triple H vs. Sting: *** (for spectacle only) AJ and Paige vs Bella Twins: ** 3/4 John Cena vs. Rusev: *** Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt: *** Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns (and eventually Seth Rollins): **** 1/4 Some Thoughts - Undertaker is (currently) in far better ring shape than Sting. Sting may look better, but Taker was the better performer of the two last night. There is no way that those two men would have an epic (possible double retirement) match next year at Mania. I think realistically Taker either needs to face Cena or Bryan in his final match. Both those men are safe workers, world class talent, and capable of making up for Taker's physical limitations. - Triple H looked ridiculously huge, even Dave and Bryan commented on this on the after-Mania radio. - The Rock was actually pretty sub-par in that segment. - Roman Reigns was the perfect opponent for Lesnar from a physicality point of view. Reigns and his background in Football, is probably one of the only people on the roster who can endure Lesnar working at maximum intensity. Both men had a really stiff match, they weren't pulling blows in the early going. I wonder if that was an arrangement they came to, in an attempt to get Reigns over as "tough"?

Well, they went with the scenario I had in mind in saving the main event. Glad Lesnar didn't take the pinfall. All in all, a pretty mediocre card in terms of actual wrestling, Orton vs. Rollins and the Reigns vs. Lesnar were the best matches on the main card. Looking ahead, it seems should WWE manage to pull some strings, that we may get Rock/Rousey vs. Hunter/Stephanie for next year's Mania card.

Fucking Michaels! Seriously, what kind overbooked car wreck is this match?! Hilarious though!

Triple H is really fucking loudly calling this match.