BrianB

Judging by the quotes Conrad read on STWWBP, her book has got plenty of that, so you may like it.

It's a mix, honestly. Jon Jones doesn't usually bury opponents, but he does push that he's going to win and is superior. McGregor does more burial style. GSP is probably the most traditional babyface in his promos, but he's still pushing that he believes in himself and if he executes *insert his favorite metaphor about math equations and variables* he'll win. I do think there's a segment of the wrestling audience that wants more of someone who goes out and kicks ass and talks a lot of shit/brings a badass factor. IMO, beyond the simple nostalgia, that's part of why Goldberg has worked as a top tier face since his return and a guy like Seth Rollins has struggled.

Fun show. Is another trial on the horizon? Agree with this. Nash and Russo had done the major damage and there was no return, especially with that talent loss. And the dysfunction was everywhere.

Yet, argubaly demos matter, because they'll usually be "stickier" over time. Additionally, WWE puts more weight into certain demos because they better translate and correlate to $$$.

That's an option too, definitely.

IMO, it'd be royally great for AJ. I don't want to see AJ Styles vs. Shane. Almost anyone around that spot of the card would be better, imo. Let Hunter try to deal with Shane's mix of potatoes and kayfabe shattering punches. Plus, HHH/Shane at least has a built in story and will likely mobilize lots of casual fans. Maybe AJ gets freed up to work Samoa Joe? They could do some story with HHH sending him out to take out one of the blue brand's guys and Joe goes after the only recent TNA/Japan/indy guy to completely leap frog NXT and hit the main roster.

I'll have to think some more about greatest because I'm not sure I'd pick this as the greatest as applied to a match. But synthesizing desert island match and favorite match, I'd probably pick War Games 1992--Sting's Squadron vs. the Dangerous Alliance. At least for today. It's hard to ever settle on these things.

That was just a bad finish. I don't think it's an issue of the suddenness. Most people didn't react, was that shoot? They went--um....wow...bloody but that's it? Or wow....did they really just have Brock purposefully elbow the shit out of Orton's skull for a finish? All that build and hype, and that's the out of left field result? The fans didn't buy that as even a false finish, so when it was the real stoppage finish, it flopped. Most stoppage finishes flop honestly. Even Zayn and Owens back in NXT was mega-hot, and that was executed much better. By contrast, Goldberg vs. Lesnar got over great. And they easily could've done something silly like Brock kicking out of the jackhammer. If anything going contrary to the false finish formula and long main events helped make it awesome, especially since that's goldberg when fans remember the best.

Maybe not now. But how about back then?

Good points. Incidentally, your last sentence reminded me how much I loved Bobby Heenan's point system for scoring matches.

The issue isn't being stuck in the past as much as so many of the moves that are being used as transitions feel much more impactful than the finishers they are being replaced with. A regular old DDT looks much more vicious than the 300 different Complete Shot variations we see every week. Okada vs. Omega had a top rope dragon suplex, but ended with a short arm clothesline. The issue is that the hierarchy is completely out of whack when the moves that get the near falls are much more violent than the ones that get the pinfalls. That's a good point, and I intuitively want to agree but at the same time, how violent was Hogan's leg drop or Warrior's splash compared to their other moves? The people's elbow certainly wasn't a killer impactful move, and arguably the rock bottom wasn't the most violent looking Rock move either. Umm...Hogan's and Warrior's other moves were clotheslines, body slams, and the occasional atomic drop. The Rock Bottom looks like it would be pretty damned painful. The People's Elbow was...OK, you get that one. I get that not every finihser is going to look as devastating as a brainbuster, but we are getting to the point where the impact of moves is making everything beneath the finish less meaningful, while simultaneously making less impactful finishers less meaningful. The legdrop worked, because Hogan's opponent wasn't kicking out of multiple DDTs, German suplexes, and sit out powerbombs. I like Cena, but his matches are often bomb fests that end with an elevated fireman's carry. It isn't that the AA is a bad finisher, it is just not something that should finish his opponent after kicking out of 125 other big moves that are more impactful. That's true but even Hogan's back suplex or his axebomber looked like more impactful moves than the leg drop--though Hogan actually delivered the leg drop fairly well. I'll agree on the rock bottom. From an artistic point of view, I agree. But I'm not convinced not violent enough finishers compared to the rest of someone's moves makes a big difference in terms of drawing money or as a big negative to more casual wrestling fans, which has to be considered if you're evaluating something's importance. I think the bigger problem may be that there's now such a formula and structure of moving through movesets to these matches--the Randy Orton RKO criticism is spot on--it's difficult to get crowds invested until after hitting a few trademark moves or the first finisher. The hierarchy criticism strikes me as more correct when I think about it. It's exacerbated and re-inforced by other current problems with the main product, like weak commentary for selling the matches and their psychology, and generally more emphasis on speed and guys getting their shit in and less on selling and targeted offense.

No. If Snuka had a fatal heart condition and couldn't get a transplant, but was otherwise mentally fine, he could have still been competent and put on trial. But he was found incompetent to stand trial because the court thought, given his condition, he was incapable of rationally communicating with his attorney to assist in his defense. The judge listed some factors for that decision: http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/lehigh-county/index.ssf/2016/06/5_factors_judge_gave_in_superf.html By December/January, the judge didn't believe his condition could improve to where he could regain legally competent to stand trial, so she dismissed the charges. edit: Snuka's cancer also worsened in that interim period and by December his lawyer said he was in hospice and had only months to live, which might've played into the government's justification for pushing for either dismissal or forced mental treatment. There's a timeline here: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-jimmy-snuka-has-died-20170115-story.html

That sounds exactly like reasonable doubt and the government not proving their case which should require acquittal, tbh. Very different from Snuka and no prosecution happening.

More performer, but also some for his family and his wider impact on fans and other wrestlers. You can watch it here : http://www.wwe.com/videos/wwe-honors-the-life-of-superfly-jimmy-snuka It's about 3 1/2 minutes.

It seems like lionizing and/or overly whitewashing is where most people draw the line--at least in terms of what WWE should do. IMO, you can see similar types of debates when it comes to memorials or statutes for things like confederate 'war heroes' or other important historical figures who have very complicated or dark legacies.

Perfectly fine is a stretch. Roman is fine when he talks hardly at all or he's playing a tweener. He's also not as terrible as he was when he first got that big megapush, but he's had years of practice now and it's clear he's not a strong main-event level talker.

What do you mean? I wouldn't have done what she did, if that was me and my dad. But she put it up on social media, didn't she? I highly doubt they ran that image without her okay. Agreed. Honestly, I already was baffled by the fact she would take a photo of that amazingly intimate, strong and sad moment in life and post it on Twitter, which is also a public forum. This kind of moment should be only shared with the closest family and friends. The way people use social media to "share" intimate parts of their life is just insane to me, but that's another debate. That's what I would do. But honestly one thing I don't think should be morally policed is how other people handle grief and the death of family and loved ones--unless we're talking something way out there in terms of explotation. This wasn't that. Everyone copes and handles death differently.

I suspect a lot of it involves this

Not acquitted because there was no finding on guilt. There was, however, a finding on competency, namely that Snuka was incompetent to stand trial. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/incompetence

I can also google, and stumble across a better source than wikipedia: https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/acquittal At the end of a criminal trial, a finding by a judge or jury that a defendant is not guilty. An acquittal signifies that a prosecutor failed to prove his or her case beyond a reasonable doubt, not that a defendant is innocent. Thus, a person may be acquitted of a crime but found civilly liable in a civil case regarding that same crime, e.g. O.J. Simpson, because civil cases have a lower burden of proof than criminal cases.

The Studd face push really is bizarre, especially considering how known of a quantity Studd should've been at that time. Definitely goes on one side of the ledger on Vince's ability to judge talent. Did Andre still have a strong tough guy rep at this time? I've always thought it's strange that there are so many Andre the bully stories seemingly from this era, yet Andre was so beat up and immobile during this period, and working drunk. You'd think if somebody bothered to challenge him or gone back at him more in the ring or backstage, Andre likely would've gotten tuned up.

The issue isn't being stuck in the past as much as so many of the moves that are being used as transitions feel much more impactful than the finishers they are being replaced with. A regular old DDT looks much more vicious than the 300 different Complete Shot variations we see every week. Okada vs. Omega had a top rope dragon suplex, but ended with a short arm clothesline. The issue is that the hierarchy is completely out of whack when the moves that get the near falls are much more violent than the ones that get the pinfalls. That's a good point, and I intuitively want to agree but at the same time, how violent was Hogan's leg drop or Warrior's splash compared to their other moves? The people's elbow certainly wasn't a killer impactful move, and arguably the rock bottom wasn't the most violent looking Rock move either.

On the Hogan-Andre tip, while not at the audience or buy level of WM3 or The Main Event, the Survivor Series 1987 match was very important from a historical perspective. It was their first match since Wrestlemania 3, helped build The Main Event match, and that was the PPV where Vince undercut JCP and Starrcade to where JCP couldn't make the balloon payments JCP promised talents, which ultimately contributed to them going out of business the next year.

I agree with this. Cesaro has also been stuck in the midcard for years, which matters to casual fans when they think about someone as a viable main eventer. But I do have some sympathy for Cesaro's hardcore fans because Roman Reigns can't promo or talk well, and he's been pushed very hard. Maybe Cesaro would have done just as well or better years back? We'll never know. It's possible that a heel Roman Reigns will click, but it's all conjecture and speculation.