(BP)

Wow, never heard the Be Cool story. I don't know if Cena will ever be a gatekeeper. I guess we'll see how the Rusev feud plays out.

What Matt said. This is a lean time, but I've seen worse (Guest GM Raw comes to mind), and we're less than a couple years removed from a really great 2012-2013 in terms of matches. Depending on what NXT develops into, they'll either have a ridiculously stacked main roster eventually or a viable second brand to watch when things are lame. I get disappointed in their direction sometimes, but I'll never completely dismiss them either.

"It's bizarro land!"

How much heat was there between Vince and the Rock is kind of up in the air. Vince probably thought Rock was his way into the movie business, and he definitely wanted him to sign another contract. Rock trying to separate himself from the WWE in the public consciousness might have been the worst part of it for Vince. Cena 's shot at him in that interview may have been the groundwork for a future match, but it was a couple of years before Rock returned and it sounded like something Vince drilled into his head.

I know they posture like the brand is bigger than any one star, and to a degree it's certainly true, but Vince also famously said about Cena, "That man feeds us," in a production meeting a couple of years ago. His dependence on Cena is no secret. As far as Cena's biggest issue, in 2013 he was apparently pissed about them bringing him back to TV early and trying to pressure him to work Hell in a Cell with a bad arm. I'm sure for someone who's come back insanely early from injuries before that that felt like he was being taken advantage of.

I'll admit to being more excited as the show approaches, but that's a testament to Mania as a brand more than any of the TV. I took the weekend off, I'll watch the hall of fame Saturday night, probably have everyone over early Sunday to watch the Rock on SNL, and have a fun WrestleMania party (not as fun as Johnny Sorrow's always sound). The show could be heaping pile of shit (I mean it really could be), but it'll still be a fun time.

It occurred to me today that unless something completely unanticipated happens, John Cena will be the first ace under Vince to never have a public falling out with the WWE. He'll be omnipresent after his retirement, and he will probably be the goodwill ambassador for the company for as long as he chooses. This is a stark contrast to pretty much every other wrestler that's ever held his position since the late 70s. The issues that developed with Bruno, Hogan, Warrior (short-term ace for the sake of argument), Bret, Austin, and Rock seem unlikely to occur with Cena. The specifics of those backstage problems are well-known, but big picture: What is it about Vince and the company ace that has caused history to repeat itself in slightly varied ways over the last forty years? What is it about Cena that's different? Is the core problem always Vince's business practices and his personality? Has he mellowed? Is it the nature of the spot? Has the company changed, or is there a generational shift in attitudes that sets Cena apart from his predecessors? Does the lack of competition as a leverage tool for Cena play a role?

With all the Super Cena talk over the years, maybe they'll just have Cena kiss her and wipe out her memory of her allegiance to Mother Russia Superman II style.

The one guy who I think was dressed as Paul Bearer spent the rest of the show looking like zombie Tiny Tim in a Cena shirt, so that was neat.

Haha hammerva that's exactly what I thought.

Max Landis made a video similar to his really funny Death of Superman summary that breaks down HHH's career in kayfabe. It's outstanding.

I enjoyed Spud/ECIII a lot. I've seen almost no TNA in the last 2 years, but I was sort of aware of what was going on and the pre- and post-match and work told a really great self-contained story. I'd imagine it would have been even better having seen the build. I'm not crazy about the finisher tribute stuff, but Spud was great, ECIII is a good heel, and the last 5 minutes or so were pretty enthralling. I'd put it above Nakamura/Ibushi for me because I never got caught up in the nearfalls there. I'm hesitating to put it above Cena/Rollins/Brock, but that might just be bias because I was there live for that one. It's definitely the first time this year where a match slipped past my defenses and I was really invested, which is pretty great since I've seen little of either guy and it was all based on the performances.

ECIII/Spud is a contender for MOTY for a lot people right now, and one of the reasons is that it was booked and worked in a way atypical to TNA. Of course that's TNA, but Cena/Brock from Extreme Rules 2012 is considered among the best match of both of their careers and part of its appeal was its uniqueness in the promotion. I think deviating from a style or formula occasionally can bring more eyes to a promotion. I watched TNA for the first time in 2 years to check out ECIII/Spud, and I'm sure there are plenty of folks that aren't into the WWE style that'll check matches out occasionally if their highly rated and different from the norm.

This is lean, weird mustache Hogan coming off of shooting a movie. He's already a pretty great heel promo, but there's always something awkward about him palling around with Hall and Nash. He's a little older than them and just not as witty or slick on the mic. Even them highfiving looks weird. I know we get some Meng and Barbarian vs Outsiders eventually, but them coming to the ring makes me wish they were a bigger part of the NWO/WCW war.

That tumblrs not a gimmick?! Hahahaha.

He backpedaled on his blog shortly after the original post, but he also called people giving him heat on Twitter about it the real bullies.

The Funkasaurus debut was so surreally silly and fun after the serious promos and build for Brodus's return that I loved it. However, I thought it was going to be some kind of meta storyline where Johnny Ace is forcing him to perform as this character and he'd eventually break free and turn into a monster face. It just sort of petered out. I was happy for Brodus, because that's a gimmick he can make money with on the indies way after his body gives out. Plus, choreographed dancing mamas at Mania was such a non sequitur for the casuals I watched it with that they laughed their asses off.

I remember freaking out when LOD 2000 came out during 14 because I thought they were going to have a huge run in the tag division(not so much). The dumpster match, the mixed tag, and Shamrock/Rock were all fun. It had the beginning of Pete Rose's funny feud with Kane. Largely a solid show for me before even factoring in the two main events.

Basically a squash for Rocca, but man is he fun to watch. He would've been a star in any era, with the only issue maybe being promos. Gardini takes all of Rocca's stuff well and has a funny moment where he tries to break a hold by biting his foot. Thanks for these contributions conker8.

I've listened to it 3 times in a row...can't stop.

They weathered the worst of the Cena backlash years ago. "Let's go Cena/Cena sucks" is a fun staple of going to shows now. They'll be chanting it at his Hall of Fame induction with no malice intended whatsoever. I think the only people left on the "You can't wrestle" bandwagon are the same ones still calling for a return to the attitude era, i.e. dummies.

I'm happy Rose made it onto the Mania card because his entrance could be fun. He might've had a better shot as Leo Kruger, but even then his best-case scenario was probably a short program to keep Cena busy before being slid down to pretty much where he is now.

Just want to weigh in as someone who posts almost solely in current WWE threads and has only been on here for about a year. I love the old school threads, and the board has exposed me to a lot of great wrestling. I'm really into Jack Brisco and El Dandy right now, and I'm planning to go through as much Memphis as I can eventually. I just don't have anything really to contribute in those threads because I'm a relative novice and someone else has already expressed my thoughts better. I really respect Loss and the mods as curators of wrestling history, and it's nice that this is such a civil place to talk shop. I don't know if this reflects other newer members, but I definitely enjoy nearly all wrestling discussion.

I think the story going around was that Vince and co. loved Ambrose, but they thought his act was bulletproof and they could job him to elevate others without hurting him.

I'm looking forward to seeing more Chad Gable. I thought the Breeze match showed he has serious potential.