Dav'oh

Shifting from Vince as Mr. Burns to Vince as Homer, I think it goes "Billy Corgan, Smashing Pumpkins". "Vince McMahon, smiling politely". I thought "Baron Corbin" was one of many names on a list, but I didn't think Vince had any input on the NXT random-name generator. I'm happy to be wrong, though.

I don't know...given how rehearsed NXT big matches are (I couldn't stand the acclaimed Dunne v Bate match from a few years back, it was so inorganic, ditto Bayley v Sasha), it only tells me he can remember his spots. Not having seen the match yet, I may be being a bit harsh, but TakeOver matches in the past have never felt like they were listening to the crowd, rather listening to an agent through an earpiece.

There's Just One Problem: Inside the WWE with Demented-but-True Stories of Mayhem, Metal Chairs, and Major Insanity Here's the blurb for Brian Gerwitz' book (nothing exciting, it's almost kayfabe (the blurb, not the book)):

Oh god. The only reason the Creed Brothers have those first names is so one day Brutus can stab Julius in the back, isn't it? Ugh.

I remember in accounting you had to include "Goodwill" in a business' assets. I sometimes think goodwill is the only thing keeping Ruby Soho afloat. And JR. And Jericho, too; maybe Andrade. Luchasaurus.

Making my debut at trying to copy and paste on my phone I’ll post when I get home.

Here’s the match in full : https://youtube/9WD9T1Rofgc.

We've now seen a dropkick and a moonsault do no damage to an aluminium trash can....

I miss when you could tell who the babyface was just by looking at his, well, babyface. Takeovers have gone from the sold-out insert arena here, to this? It feels like a loaded TV taping rather than a Big Show.

NXT Takeover starts soon. I'm keen to see Vince's vision for the future, especially Salvatore Sincere Tony D'Angelo, Make-a-Difference Fatu Solo Sikoa, and the Scufflin Hillbilly Cameron Grimes. He's an ideas man, is our Vince.

Great showing from both guys. I've started a WWE broadcast with a big smile for the first time in (admittedly-poor) memory.

Sami package (ahem) opening SmackDown makes me hope Canada has its shit together and has designated Sami as a National Treasure and given him a Canadian knighthood. "Wearing the same clothes I left home in" Brock is scarier than wrestling attire Brock. Cutting off Brock's promo is probably a good thing because his voice doesn't match his body...

For any Kenny Completists, One Winged Angel (1yr-old bitch) makes her debut in the first at Casino in just over an hour. Paying 6/1. Jump on!

I offer in mitigation that the distance between the AJPW style and Hansen's transgressions is quite small, while Nia's actions were a thousand miles from what was expected of her. I also admit I hadn't heard some of those stories, so thanks to you all. Did Hansen claim self-defence in the Vader Eyeball Incident?

I think Loss made the point a while ago, that for all the mythical status that Stan's eyesight has, when was he ever out of position, when did he injure someone, when did he look lost in the ring? "Hansen's eyesight is so bad he's unsafe to work with" is a typical pro-wrestling exaggeration, to add to Hansen's aura. I'm all for people defending wrestlers, but please don't try and bring Stan down to Nia's level of unprofessionalism.

“This is technically a squash” was my predominant thought during Roman vs Big E. I mean, if the outcome is never in doubt, it doesn’t matter how much offence the winner lets the loser get in. A JTTS match, which is the kindest way I can look at the Survivor Series main event, is still a form of a squash. *I like Big E and Roman both.

SmackDown Invitational Battle Royal...

I tapped when the guy with no neck muscles (spoiler alert) kicked out of a Death Valley Driver at one. I hate that shit with a passion, especially when it's scrawny green kids taking neck-death when they've GOT NO NECK! But they crowd dug it, and in all sincerity, that's all that matters. Saw a cloud earlier. Might go shake my fist at it, seeing as I'm in the mood...

Shingo, Kenny and Roman had the most pressure on them, and they all delivered.

This is the best Wrestling Roast I've ever seen.

Crumbling? Quite the opposite. 15 year-old Aurora Rose HHH McMahon has begun training as a wrestler, although like all well-adjusted teenage girls, she wants to grow up to be Vince. Steph chats with Talksport about it here https://talksport.com/sport/wrestling/988309/stephanie-mcmahon-triple-h-health-wwe-daughter-training/

I know it's fun to think Seth got lit up, but he actually sorta counters the spear into a front-facelock. Seth then reveals he does not possess a ground-game.

Yeah, I thought I'd be a WWF/E lifer, but I've lost all hope for a better tomorrow. It's all so pointless and repetitive. And, of course, dumb - even by pro-wrestling "standards".

My guess is the Usos. I love Riddle's steadfast refusal to take anything seriously. Good to see a WWF'er actually having fun.

Just came here to confess that even though I've seen the movie, I thought it was a Gooker call-back. Beat me to the reference by a minute, @El-P! Even after Roman left Vince's office, I didn't make the connection to the movie I'd seen a week earlier, becase a) I couldn't understand Vince's deteriorating voice and b) the movie was largely turd and obviously, forgettable. It was only the posters here who made me realise it.