Microstatistics

So Raw is already 4-0. Interesting booking. Silver lining of the Joe elimination was that the crowd was pissed. Rey was MVP. Also according to WWE hierarchy, Strowman is way better than everyone else combined but consistently gets destroyed by Brock. So Brock > Braun > daylight > everyone else

I mean good for her and everything but Renee is terrible on commentary. Fun opener. Sasha and Asuka are still the top 2 women workers in the company. Nia getting monster heel heat is pretty cool.

Yeah, this is really interesting and surprising. Haven't done too much research on the subject but I also thought wrestling in Japan picked up post-WWII due to American influence during the occupation and as the country adopted democracy. Japan wasn't exactly at its nicest from the late 1920s to 1945.

https://twitter.com/davemeltzerWON/status/1060684502295502848 "Matches I gave 5 stars in the past when I watch back with today's eyes are usually closer to **** today. The standard has evolved so much higher as the younger wrestlers learn from a greater variety of styles, places and different styled opponents." A bit late on this but obvious troll is obvious. Argues how 6 and 7 star matches are reasonable while retroactively downgrading 5 star matches from the past and making generalized, outlandish claims not supported by any evidence. It makes sense to use him as a reference for finding matches but there is no reason to take anything he says seriously.

Nia is making Brie Bella look like Bret Hart in terms of safety. Funny how one reckless strike stops the hottest feud dead in its tracks. The hugging stuff between Becky and Charlotte was weird considering they just had a blood feud. Rey is STILL the king of TV wrestling. And wow they are finally delivering on the big dream match Brock vs. Bryan, with absolutely no build and Bryan as a heel but still. They have ruined Brock to the point that even I don't really want to watch him but this should rule.

Way too many people treat Meltzer's comments and ratings as gospel and that exacerbates anything controversial Meltzer says. It's sort of understandable considering, like Loss and others had discussed previously, he is considered maybe the only "legitimate" and established wrestling critic. But it's still completely wrong considering how this is all subjective. Comments like that are just gonna fuel revisionism and tribalism ("Oh if you don't see the genius of Kenny Omega, then you aren't a real fan"). Plus it is such a general, throwaway statement that it comes off as arrogant, bordering on troll, because he didn't actually say how the modern standards are elite and workers think outside the box.

Another bump

Nonsensical show with bizarre booking. Shane McMahon really? Also they have ruined Brock beyond belief and putting the title back on him is the most regressive move they could have done. Shawn looked alright I guess but did he really need to ruin his near perfect retirement for this?

For the GME project, I decided to do my Top 100 list from scratch since my tastes have apparently evolved drastically. Figured I'd post the thread here as well. http://gweproject.freeforums.net/thread/678/microstatistics-progressing-top-100

Why exactly is Brie of all people involved in multiple feuds across both shows?

Just when you think it's over and things can finally move forward, there is more.

Great introduction. Pro wrestling is far from perfect, in fact it's downright annoying and frustrating at times but when done right, there is simply nothing better. Great stuff overall too. Looking forward to more.

Bumping this again

The World of Sport guys were ridiculously fluid, particularly Steve Grey and Clive Myers.

They did turn on the Rock actually. Summerslam 2002, booed him for being the Hollywood guy who was leaving. That's what sparked his 2003 return heel run.

Really good worker (though not quite great, IMO). Strong offense, very good selling, good aura. Carries himself like an ace. Usually extremely consistent too. His garbage performances vs. Brock in April were the exception, not the rule. Also, agree with Coffey, he is better than Cena.

Undertaker - 2010 for the Rey and Shawn matches. He was good in 1997 as well. Ted Dibiase - 1985. Pretty overrated year for a really overrated wrestler (IMO) but he was good against Murdoch and turned in a career performance against Flair. Dustin Rhodes - 1994 Kerry Von Erich - 1984 Chris Jericho - 2009

To build on what people have already said, how much appeal does HHH vs. Taker really have in 2018? Even for the more casual/marky fans? Plus, I suspect the Melbourne crowd is gonna be smarky anyways so I am not even sure this is the right target audience. HHH vs. Jinder in Delhi atleast made sense. Hell, even Cena vs. HHH from GRR was more logical than this.

Rick Rude - 1992 Stan Hansen - 1994 Rey Mysterio Jr. - 2009. This is a hard one because you could go with any number of years. I'd add 2002 and 2006 to the ones listed above. Scott Steiner - 1991 Interesting pick. The Hogan fans will probably not agree since some people think he was a good wrestler in his prime

Currently rewatching a lot of the stuff for the GME project and pretty much creating my Top 100 list from scratch. A lot of matches I thought were locks for my Top 25 might not make my final list at all so rewatches are important since tastes change.

Man, I hate when people follow up a finisher with a submission hold. Even Minoru Suzuki is guilty of that. This might seem like an exaggeration (and probably is) but there is a semblance of truth to it. Carmella is a pretty good worker, good to see her get some recognition.

Not to derail this thread too much but Brazil completely Kawada'd against Belgium last month. They really should have won that QF and I think start as favorites next year. But yeah, managing expectations is important for everything. Styles vs. Joe blew me away and I enjoyed it a ton mainly because I didn't expect much. Looking forward to how they deal with that aftermath tomorrow.

Isn't Brazil hosting Copa America? So that makes sense

Better than their WrestleMania match thanks to some sort of narrative but that's hardly saying anything. More finisher spamming to start off, the front facelook stuff was unengaging. Braun's presence saved it though as, storytelling wise, Brock tried to be proactive and get rid of him while finishing off Roman but ended up losing it all. The chair rebounding onto Brock's face at the end pretty much summed it all up. **1/2

I don't know, I think that's limited to the PWO circle. In the larger scheme, current NJPW is seen as a golden age of wrestling (similar to 90s All Japan) and many ratings and comments mirror those of Meltzer.