Cap

likely, and that is why I am very much in wait and see mode. I just think they have laid out the story in a way that provides a real chance to elevate Bray and fan perception of him. They created a question, "we know Bray, but what is Bray like after something like this?" I'm so fucking tired of the "Cena's opponent says he sucks, can't wrestle, and plays politics to get everything he gets" and Cena responding by summarily destroying his opponent's gimmick and character, making their career seem like a joke, and then going out of his way to make his own match seem like something he doesn't want to be involved with. That's been almost every Cena feud since Edge, which was a decade ago. Inspired delivery means nothing to me at this point. There's nothing any guy can say to Cena that hasn't been said 25 times at this point, and there are only so many times you can hear Cena outright shit on a dude in a way that usually comes egregiously close to breaking the 4th wall. It's such a tired concept in general. It was tired when AJ did it as well, and AJ/Cena is obviously going to produce a better match than Miz/Maryse vs Cena/Nikki. Cena feels as out of place today as Hogan in 1993 or Rock for any of his appearances between 2004 and 2011ish. Kind of seems like he's moved on, and so has WWE. Sure, they go to the same well too often with Cena and use internal politics as a booking crutch for him, but it keeps working because its Cena's character. He morphed into Mr. WWE and ignoring that would likely feel overly contrived at this point. I don't think you always need to play internal politics for this sort of thing. There are strands and shades of it all over the roster and have been for years. I found the example here compelling because I didn't expect them to go to it with MIz. I didn't actually care about the "you get what you want" stuff, but I thought the "you turned into the Rock" stuff was solid. Regardless of how tired many are here (myself included, though clearly to a lesser extent) of the same internal politics tropes being central, that stuff plays better - I think - with broader audiences and is still a point of investment for a lot of people because they have maintained that image for so long. Plus, when they decide to play up Cena trying to BREAK Flair's record I imagine they will tap into that history a good bit to add another layer to it. I'm sure they know they are going to need to do that sooner rather than later.

Yeah, I am surprised by how much this Smackdown turned a corner for mania for me. I was critical of them for taking the belts off their long term champs (assuming that is what happens with Owens, but I could very well be wrong) right before the biggest show and I still think its a mistake, but the way they played this Orton/Bray thing was pretty good. Orton realizing he can't beat the Wyatts strait up and then joining the group to destroy them from the inside was solid. It was even a little different from the Bryan/Wyatts thing where Bryan was just trying to get close to Wyatt to give him a beating once he had him one-on-one. Orton's game was bigger, more calculating. I am not sure they NEEDED the title for this, but the title and the title shot did provide the trigger for Orton to reveal himself, which made sense. Now he has more than he maybe even assumed to gain. He burns the cabin and desecrates the grave to get in Wyatt's head, the mind games he was trying to play when the feuded before but were unsuccessful. Ok, wwe... giving you the benefit of the doubt and assuming this was the plan all along, I am pretty into this. Now will they execute at Mania? This is the perfect chance for Wyatt to take another step, go darker and more savage and really push him to be that monster heel they want him to be. I hope he wins at mania in a convincing way. I don't want a squash, but they should highlight that Orton had a plan and it CREATED something new in the wwe universe. Predictably, I really liked the Cena/Miz segment. I am not looking forward to the match. I know some people are pumped about it, but it does almost nothing for me. The build though is going to be great. I have yammered on about this before, but this is why Cena can never ever be heel. I believe fans invest more in images of what they think wrestling should be. I know I know.... of course you have kids cheering faces and booing heels. That isn't going away... but to get buzz I think you play a different game now and Cena is the epitome of the Modern WWE Image (for better or worse). The new Kayfabe is that they believe he gets what he wants. He represents an ideal of wrestling. That is why people cared about the Punk and Bryan feuds so much and they produced great matches. They represented a different ideal of wrestling and the match wasn't about heel/face, it was about what we want from wrestling and that is ultimately always a little bit about what we want and value more broadly. Ok... that was a digression, but it is just when I think WWE is at its best. That is what happened here. Even though Miz in some ways is part of that Cena ideal, in that broader image, they further nuanced that here. It wasn't an indie darling vs Cena. It was a smug heel spitting some borderline truths and Cena spitting them back. Who is "good" and "bad" is far less important here even though the lines are so clearly drawn. The lines get blurred because they actually play up the perspectives on what a wrestler should be, even implicitly. It is why the Miz's promo on Bryan was so hot. it is really why he has become one of the best characters on TV. Again, the hype for this match going into mania should be real high and I am looking forward to the build.

Very True

While i think Warrior actually deserves some credit in the following cases, I always thought Savage's performances in both the SS and WM matches against Warrior were pretty stand out. Those matches were both probably a lot better than they had any business being.

I think the match is still great, but it is almost despite JBL and his efforts. My favorite individual performance ever (curtain to curtain) is Eddie Guerrero in the Judgement Day match. I know I have harped on it elsewhere, but I think its quality match because Eddie's performance is one of the best and most gutsy performances - and in a way that is not contrived at all - I have ever seen. I am sure others will come to mind later

I liked Aries feud with Dragon a lot, but it isn't as compelling as Nigel's feud with him to me. The tag work was probably the thing I thought hardest about, but I liked Nigel as pure champion. Its a great comparison to be sure. They were neck and neck on my list.

I had Nigel a touch higher myself, not by a lot though. I think Nigel's feud with Dragon was pretty easily better than just about anything Aries did. I think Nigel's title run was better on the whole than either Aries run. Everyone works hard, but Nigel always struck me as a guy who over-performed, who gutted and willed his way to being a good wrestler. That showed and made him stand out in some really interesting and unique ways. All that said, they are razor close though, no doubt about that. I love me some Aries. I can definitely see a case for him being higher based on his charisma, title runs, longevity, taking the belt off Joe, and just being an incredibly consistent and exciting wrestler.

The CWF taping last night was a TON of fun. I am eventually going to do a ful writeup of it with my buddy, but a few quick notes. (only one small spoiler) We wound up sitting near a huge group of frat guys who were clearly there as at least a pseudo joke and snuck drinks in. CWF staff handled it beautifully. They warned the noisiest of them and then wound up having to kick them out. They took none of their nonsense and were not letting them ruin the experience for anyone, especially the families there. My hat is off to them. Cain Justice vs Dominic Garrini was a fantastic little match. I am a pretty big Cain Justice fan and Garrini is a guy I really look forward to seeing more of. I bought "Bone Collector" shirt from Garrini that has the most pro wrestling design. He has a ton of talent has a really quiet, serious charisma. Alex Daniels vs Chip Day was - until the main event - the show stealer. They were tight, snug, and athletic. They really got the crowd going. I came out big fans of both men. Both Kernodle tag tournament qualifiers were fun and got teams I am excited to see in the tourny... in the tourny. The main event was a load of fun. It didn't progress quite like I thought, but it was very smartly put together and compelling throughout Day and Lee had a bonkers sequence in the middle that was probably the most exciting thing of the night, even if it was a little excessive. The whole thing was awesome wrestling. The aftermath - as is always the case with CWF - kept things moving and kept people hooked. This was my wife's second live pro wrestling experience and she had a really good time. Overall - a blast.

End of an Era this weekend with some bonkers 6-man match for the belt. This should be... fun

Just submitted my ballot. Saw this a few days back and gave it some thought. ROH is what got me back into wrestling in 2003 I haven't always kept up, especially since say 2010 or so, but i was at the 14th Anny show and kind of try to keep an eye on it, going to through natural ebbs and flows, so this was a lot of fun to put together. The top 15-20 were pretty easy. The bottom few were really hard.

The chamber match really should be a lot of fun. It is kind of interesting/nice to see so many womens matches on the card. Orton/Harper actually feels a little like a match that is primed to overachieve. I got all the time in the world for Harper getting high profile matches. As for Mania, man... i really like the Miz/Maryse act as well, but I am not at all excited for that mixed tag. I think the build for it will be interesting, but i have pretty modest expectations for what will actually happen at Mania. I legit hope I am wrong thought (if that is what they go with, of course).

I just looked at what I posted and I think I have already changed my mind haha. Its such a huge question, but a good one.

Just updated my list after catching up with and ratings some of 2016s best matches over the past 3 months and re watching a few things that I had as borderline. I know nothing gets more eye rolls these days than star ratings, but do others update their lists? I really like this as a reference for what people think is high end, so I was just curious.

He would have been super small in the 80s, I can't think of anyone his size who got any sort of real push. Even Dundee was really barrel chested Eh, true, but its all hypothetical anyway. I thought that if we are playing "what if" to raise points about strengths and weaknesses I wouldn't worry too much about the size issue. The point was obviously that his style would have fit in that era and he could (perhaps not WOULD) have thrived. Tack 3-4 inches and 30 pounds on him he could have cranked out classic matches, particularly as NWA traveling champ, in any number of territories, or in All Japan.

Bryan Danielson would have put on universally acclaimed classic on pace and par with anyone in history if he wrestled late 70s to late 80s/early 90s.

I second the Ascension. They may be my least favorite tag team ever... maybe next to the Harris boys.

I used to think I hated this gimmick, and maybe I do, but when I look at my notes I love a lot of these matches. To me it is Hansen/Colon by a country mile. That match is absolutely bonkers good. I love it. Number 2 to me is Bull vs Kandori. I love that match and think it is every bit as violent as just about any proper brawl I have ever seen. It is also deceptively smart and nuanced. Piper/Valentine will take three for me followed very closely by Sting/Vader. Those are both matches i need to rewatch. My tastes have sort of changed since I took a look at those matches. Maybe I will put that on the docket for this weekend.

I keep saying I am going to put together my top 100 one day and I keep finding no motivation to start that. There is still far too much I want to feel more comfortable with. I would also have to go back and watch all the matches that I have highly rated again. My number 1 would probably be the same as Elliots.... after that... who knows.

Honestly, I haven't watched that since it was on live and by that time the whole thing was a sour mess to me. Maybe it wasn't quite as bad as I remember.

LOD 2000 (and anything later) As a kid who thought that The Road Warriors were one of the coolest/most terrifying things to ever grace my television, LOD 2000 was a crippling disappointment. They were at best hollow shell of what they once were and at worst a bad joke that everyone got but didn't want to laugh at. Even though it seemed like everyone was just trying to make the most of it, I never bought Droz/Puke as a member and the Hawk angle was a little too real and uncomfortable (not in a good way). The stuff with Heidenreich wasn't any better. I'd rather not have to know anything about them after 97 or 98 at the latest. Even then I am willingly taking some of the bad with the good.

That is excellent news.

Who has fantasy booking they are upset about? Where is this fantasy booking that people are latching to? Let me rephrase, "I hope that many of the rumors are wrong and that there is coherence between what we have seen and are seeing now and the actual show." It isn't a change from one rumor to the next (though admittedly when I read "they don't know" or "plans are up in the air" it bothers me and maybe it shouldn't). It is the shuffling from what we have seen and the direction of things to what the rumors indicate will take place. That is frustrating. Again, I hope I am wrong. I hope the plan plays out and it appears they had a clear direction in mind all along.

No, all this pessimism and unhappiness about the card is what you get when people start fantasy booking a show in November that's still 5-6 months away. People work themselves into a shoot about matches that have not been built to at all but are "announced" via rumor & speculation and then get mad when they don't happen. I'm convinced people would enjoy WrestleMania season a lot more if they'd just stop fantasy booking it and then getting mad Vince didn't hack their computer and steal their plans. Sure, that is part of it, no doubt. But come on.... it is not frustrating that there isn't a more consistency and coherence in the way they book things up to their TOP SHOW? Both belts getting hot shot in the months leading up to take them off the guys who carried them for the lions share of the year, that is great, compelling wrestling? I generally try to be positive about the WWE and I get the compain-y internet fan isn't always a great look, but this is the EXACT kind of thing that even the WWE admits was once bad business for WCW (granted, a more exagerated version), the source cited for why we got incoherent, sloppy TV in the company's dying days. The idea that perhaps internet oriented wrestling fans set unrealistically narrow standards for the WWE sometimes and that the WWE can be an somewhat dissonant universe focused more on branding and creating iconic imagery/moments than it is long term plans that create coherence and consistency are not mutually exclusive. This "shake everything up starting in January and completely reshuffle the deck" approach is irritating not because I want my guy in the main event, but because it is needlessly inconsistent. Even if you only believe 1/4 of the rumors coming from generally trusted sources you end up with a mess of ideas that higher ups just "haven't decided on yet" and that feels backwards to me. I am not complaining about how we aren't getting Joe vs Cena or Styles for the title or something. I am frustrated at the way the titles have been booked and the way they seem determined to undermine their own booking of Brock (constantly). To be clear, I am going to watch and I hope it is a good show; I just think a lot of the complaints about the leadup to Mania this year are warranted.

As much as anything I am excited about the accessibility and some of this stuff creeping into the "WWE universe"... even if it is as hidden/rare. Most of it is stuff I haven't come across so I will make my way through it.

I am for it! Ugh... WWE in the mid 2010s is so weird and infuriating and awesome all at once.