goodhelmet

It becomes less appealing only if it neuters the crowd. With Batista vs. Orton, you are guaranteed the most hostile crowd in the history of wrestling. It becomes moe appealing if the crowd turns on Punk also and they have to navigate around that minefield.

I had no idea he wasn't Japanese.

In terms of face and name recognition, Mr. Fuji may be the most recognized if you go back even further.

The #1 overwhelming match criticism for the 1980s sets so far has been... Loved the match but hated the finish.

Usually in booms, they give the people what they want.

Big Show was getting over. His crowd responses were pretty great. The problem was that they were leading to Big Show vs. HHH, which should have been the Survivor Series match. They were.

I am not going to let you get away with this. How would Tanahashi's hair metal gimmick get over in the WWE? Better yet, write that essay on why Tanahashi would be successful in the WWE.

Yeah, you missed a shitload of great matches.

I am going to rewatch it as well today because I don't agree with Loss's point that the big moves were too close together and not memorable. Also, on the live stream, the main hype for the show was the This is NXT Special they have been airing all week on the network that has the 2/3 falls match on it. I know Zayn's signature spots already but I didn't know how they were utilized until I saw the 2/3 falls match. The 2/3 falls match made me not want to miss this show.

They must have blamed the Survivor Series number on Big Show because there isn't one number that is favorable to Orton in any of these shows. It reminds me of how Orton didn't move numbers but Mark Henry clearly did. I think the bigger issue is that Orton on top is the flop, not Bryan.

I also picked Okada. When watching him for the 2013 MOTY stuff, he felt more charismatic. I still don't get Tanahashi even after KrisZ explained he was doing a hair metal tribute gimmick.

I meant to mention this on the podcast but forgot. I think one of the things I loved about the Cesaro match is that Zayn really couldn't string together a succession of moves because he was damaged goods. He would hit the exploder or the blue thunder but couldn't capitalize because of the injury. Also, cannot be stated enough... Cesaro dissecting the leg was a thing of beauty. It's like he knew Regal was calling the match and it was his personal tribute to Regal.

That can only be a good thing.

The injustice only gets him over because people expect the happy ending. If he doesn't get the big Mania moment, keeps coming up short, keeps getting beat, keeps being held down, he becomes just another face on the roster. If he gets the happy ending, you just feed insurmountable obstacles at him and have him overcome them. With Rey Mysterio, they threw obstacles his way and Rey couldn't overcome them. He was just another guy 3 months later.

Watching the Batista interview, my first instinct is that they insert DB into the main event. Booking since Summerslam says even if that happens, he loses to Batista at Mania to transfer even more heat on Batista and DB continues to play faithful, no complaints loyal employee who is there to put other guys over.

Really fun stuff in this episode. We don't just discuss the matches, we also talk about the pre-game show, the commentary team, Stephanie's wedding ring, technical problems with th network and of course... SHAWN MICHAELS!!!!

Yes, she announced it on Twitter. Have not heard anything on the actual shows yet.

Adrian Neville vs. Bo Dallas - I really liked Dallas using the ropes and apron to tie Neville up early on. I loved Neville's power spot powering out of being trapped under the ladder and then we get into familiar sick ladder spots time. The finish wasn't super climactic but good match form both guys.

Try to refresh

Been watching the main event with no problems.

Woods vs. Tyler Breeze - My live stream froze for the first time since getting the network. Talked to Johnny Sorrow and his is also freezing. Not a good sign.

Emma vs. Paige - Really great showcase for the NXT Girls. Nice stiff kicks from Paige and great counters to signature moves early on. I thought the headlock sequence by Paige was worked better than the tag headlock sequence. Watch Emma moving Paige's leg preventing her from getting the complete body choke. Emma kept having her signature moves countered so when she finally hits them, you think she is going to put it away. She even pulls out a nasty powerbomb. Paige feels doubt after failing to win with the Paige Turner but turns Emma into a pretzel for the submission win. Really great all around here.

Connor & Viktor (The Ascension) vs. Too Cool - Man, I wanted to like the guys but I just didn’t. I am all for working headlocks but there was nothing exciting about the work except the occasional torque. They bumped awkward for Scotty’s offense although Connor took two big bumps outside. Double Elimination now called “The Fall of Man” for the win. Eh, forgettable match.

Mojo Rawley vs. CJ Parker - Rawley has a fun persona but he gave way too much to Parker before finishing the match so quickly.

Paul Heyman, Bret Hart and Kevin Nash did the pre-show. Outside, it looked like they were going to run an outside show similar to the old Spring Break NItros. Show starts inside the NXT arena and it doesn't look as cool. Sami Zayn vs. Cesaro - Great commentary by Regal and Saxton. The stroy was Zayn wanting to earn Cesaro's respect. Cesaro counters all off Sami's shit early. He attacks the leg and dissects it like Regal reincarnated. Great hope spots by Zayn lead to some great moments. I'll comment more on the post show podcast I am doing at P2B but maybe the best Generico match I have ever seen and an easy MOTYC.