Kronos

I appreciate RF's focus on Taijiri's face as Crazy's music starts. T looks confused, like he thought it was only a 2-man match. Then he makes lot of crazy faces. It's fun. Fuck this crowd's chanting "ECDub" for the fight going on in the stands. They literally have turned their backs to the match. I am not finishing this one.

Big crowd and lots of energy. I love Guido's entrance, riding on Sal's shoulders. Great opening sequence has the crowd hot. Then JL's injury. Since I had read the notes above, I was watching for a spot where Sal or Jerry tell Guido that J's legit hurt. I am guessing Sal tells Guido off-camera as Jerry's climbing back into the ring. Angry crowd is angry.

My first ECW fan-cam. Almost unwatchable, with the shaky camera and the fact that we know we're only getting half the match (Dreamer and Victory spend long periods of time off-camera). 7 minutes, and that was a challenge to complete. Important as a historical document, perhaps - I assume the music is all original. I agree that Victory's head-first table bump and Dreamer's pearl harbor match start are the best moments. Camera gives us a nice shot of Francine's ass as she walks away.

2/3 Falls for the PWF Heavyweight Title Three times longer than their Dec '76 brawl, this one's got some actual wrestling and is 10x funner to watch. The first fall is pretty traditional, with the guys trading strikes, chokes, and various standing holds. Billy hits a backbreaker to set up the first fall. For the second fall, things get nuts. Robinson beats the crap out of Abby's head, using kicks and elbows. Eventually, it turns into a brawl in and out of the ring. Robinson gets hung by his foot -- with his head on the floor. Abby headbutts BR's knee over and over while the officials try to untangle the ropes. The rest of the match is about Robinson's fucked up knee. Can he continue? He gets it re-wrapped and fights his way back into the ring. From there, it's Abby vs Knee and Billy vs Head. Robinson never forgets to sell the bad knee. The best moment comes when he tries another backbreaker onto the bad knee, and it collapses under him. In the end, he can't continue, and Abdullah wins the match and the title. One of my favorite bits is the squeal Abby makes when he's being hurt. It sounds like a mix between a pig and the Wilhelm Scream.

Wow, the title on this one got all botched. Bumping so Charles or Will can fix it.

You know how we [rightly] talk about Andre's mobility and actual wrestling skills in the little-seen 70's footage? Yeah, that's not true for Abby in this match. There ain't no rasslin here, except a couple of dropkicks and shoulder blocks from Robinson. It's just a brawl, 90% of it out of the ring. Abby dominates at the start, spend almost half the match-time keeping Robinson from even getting into the ring. They spend a minute or so in the right, where Billy gets to perform the afore-mentioned rassling moves. Then back out, with chair shots and overflowing into the crowd. After a few minutes, Abdullah decides he's done and leaves. I am guessing they both got counted out Robinson cuts an angry promo at the end, saying he'll fight the Butcher anytime anywhere and for no money. He seems genuinely pissed off.

Yeah it proves "smart" fans are the biggests marks of them all and are keeping kayfabe alive. They ferociously boo the guy who retired their favorite but cheer the hell out of the guy who is actually responsible for that and all the other booking decisions and outcomes they supposedly hate so much. Would that be like ECW fans creaming themselves over an appearance by Sid, when they were constantly talking about how much they hated the Big Two's product? I am watching RAW now. About half-way through, and it's a very good episode. The Reigns opening was beautiful. There's nothing he could have said that would have turned them around - they wouldn't have let him talk. So drop 5 words and then leave. That's an almost 15-min long opening with only one sentence said. It was glorious. And I liked the Enzo/Cass backstage with Kurt. But despite how good this ep is, I am realizing that I have just OD'd on WWE product. The commentators are screaming at the top of their lungs. Everything is turned up to eleven. Sensory overload. Add to that the dickhead crowd and their chants. I think I need to spend a week watching 1986 AWA and 1970's All Japan to detox.

I thought the match was terrific. One of my favorite spots was when Charlotte has the F-4 locked in. She slaps Nattie. Then Nattie turns out to be too short to slap back. It's a fun little moment. I wasn't super-thrilled with the after-match, though, showing Charlotte and Nattie hugging it out right there in the ring. During the match, especially in the second half, we began to really see that anger and personality that Charlotte regularly shows. It ruins the moment to have her immediately drop the facade after winning. She should have celebrated with Ric, and they could have both taunted Nattie and Bret. That's what a male heel would have done. And it's what Charlotte would have done a year later.

When Hansen tags in and starts trying to catch Morton, who's buzzing around him like some annoying little fly annoying an elephant. . .Well, it's just perfection. You know Stan will eventually catch him and murderize him. But for just a moment, you think maybe, just maybe he won't. And it allows for a delightful mix of humor and drama. I love this match so hard.

"CLIMB THE LADDER, KID! MAKE YOURSELF FAMOUS!" I woke up last night and couldn't fall back to sleep immediately, so I ended up watching this match. Taker does a terrific job putting over the young guy while not looking remotely weak. And it seems to me maybe it's a face turn at the end for him? Everyone wins, and JR's commentary was fantastic. My one complaint is the segment where Taker is almost all the way up the ladder. Jeff's still "passed out" on the floor. Taker comes down and starts beating him some more. Kayfabe, shouldn't he have claimed the title? Then if he wanted to keep beating on Jeff, do so? It's not the story they were telling, and the result was better. But it took me out of the match for a moment. I wonder if they had a miscommunication about in-ring placement?

I know I am about 12 years behind on this statement, but: Last night, I was watching the terrifically entertaining Rock n Roll Express vs Hansen & Kroffat in All Japan (Oct 26, 1988). Why have I never before noticed that Stan Hansen must be JBL's hero? Ring gear? Same. Moveset? Same, down to the Lariat From Hell finisher. "Cowboy"? Same. This is far from the first match I have ever seen from Hansen. Why have I never noticed?

Agreed. Tony and Conrad get along very well, it seems. Any needling is affectionate, not antagonistic. Tony doesn't have the need to keep a lot of stuff secret or toe any lines - he's pretty open about his opinion on most people he worked with. And he's funny. I've gotten used to Bruce/Conrad, and I keep listening because I enjoy the subject matter. But this one is better, to me.

Short match significant for being Charlotte's debut. Ric Flair comes out to introduce her, first making a speech about how he's been partying in Orlando since 1978. The two women put on what would be a decent RAW Divas match from 2011. They've both come a long way in the last 4 years, though. Charlotte had no character to speak of, and Bayley's moves lacked confidence. It's nice to revisit the early days, though, and I have missed Regal on commentary. (At one point in response to Flair's partying comments, he jokes about having lost his liver in Vegas in 1995 and that he should go back for it one day.) It's also nice to see that "Development" actually works. Bayley hasn't changed a lot, but compare this Charlotte to the one who had that big entrance at Mania 2017.

After listening to Schiavone's frequent adoration of Debra's breasts on his podcast and the Sable stuff from Prichard's Sunny podcast ep , I thought I would watch something of theirs. This is the first "match" that came up when I searched on the network. Michaels sounds stoned off his ass, easily besting Jerry Lawler for most offensive -- and slurred -- sexual comments. There's pretty much nothing redeeming about this segment at all. It's pure embarrassment. Okay, here's something positive: there was no jello involved. At least the women got to stay dry.

Great fun. These guys are pretty much sprinting, but everyone gets some good moments (well, except for Koko - but someone had to be insta-squashed by Taker). Prichard talks on the podcast about how they told Mean Mark that he must under no circumstances get knocked off his feet, and I was watching for that. He doesn't, going to the mat only when pinning someone. It's a terrific debut, especially when he throws Dusty over the top rope. DiBiase and Bret are great here, with the near-falls driving the crowd into a frenzy. Nice false leg injury from Bret, too. Hammer looks weird in black hair.

There's a moment early on: Balor is in the corner, and Reigns comes running at him. Balor moves out of the way. Typical corner spot, and most guys would have smashed into the turnbuckles. Reigns doesn't. He's aware enough to throw out his arms and grab the ropes to catch himself before crashing. It's just a little thing, but I really like what it says about his awareness and self-control in a match. He may be tossing Balor around, but he's not a mindless beast. I don’t know how they were selling Balor at the time. But Reigns works like a heel a lot of times in this match. There are moments when his expressions remind me of Mark Henry – pissed off and dangerous. As the match goes on, Balor seems to figure out that he should use his superior speed and mobility instead of trying to go toe to toe. That first coup de grace to the back of Roman’s head is a thing of beauty. As is Reigns’ superman punch. This match has perhaps too many 2.9's for my taste, but I get what they’re going for – and I like it. Balor comes out looking tough and smart, without Reigns looking weak. (It occurs to me that the punch and the spear are great finishers – he can do them on just about anyone, regardless of size, and they’re high impact spots. Compare to Taker’s tombstone or AJ’s stylesclash, which are difficult-to-impossible with big opponents. Reigns’ choice has more in common with Hogan’s leg drop. It’s smart thinking when putting together the gimmick.)

Catching up on 2016, I have already seen their late-year cycle that included their fantastic HIAC, Iron man, and FCA matches. They're superior. By then, these gals had worked everything out. Here, they sometimes feel out of sync in places, and Sasha's suicide dive had me thinking of 2004 Lita's neck-crunching dive. That's not fair to this match, though, which has so much to love. Probably my favorite moment is Sasha's baseball slide out of nowhere to kick Charlotte's head off. Good use of the belt and Dana Brooks, too, for a nice bit of comedy that puts over Sasha as a smart worker. Their intensity really makes this. Unlike so many WWE matches, especially from the women, they really really feel like they want to win. (as opposed to just get out there and work through their moveset, look sexy, get a pin, and go home) And Charlotte continues to be the most entertaining in-ring heel Vince's women maybe have ever had.

I really dug the bit with management not giving Tony a name to call Goldberg until Goldberg had already made his entrance.

I posted a pic of Taker's hat and coat in the empty ring as my facebook header image. Someone responded: Whoa, you scared me for a minute! I thought Taker had passed away!

This match was all about Spike standing up for his girlfriend (very OTT attack on Hardcore TV). And despite Spike's sometimes entertaining pinball performance, he fails. So do we consider for the next PPV that Spike enlists someone more Awesome's speed to do his fighting? Is anyone in ECW capable of matching him for size and look, besides Tanaka? I'm interested to see if they continue this feud. Once again, Awesome takes a nasty unprotected chair shot. It's like watching Dynamite do those diving headbutts. Not cool.

Have we had Charlotte v Becky on ppv? Different brands now, but all it takes is a draft or a trade. Looks like Charlotte feuds with Jax for a bit now, until Asuka comes up.

Taker slowly took off his gloves. Then his coat. Then his hat. Left them folded in middle of ring. Then he kissed McCool at the barrier, and slowly walked up the ramp. It was pretty great. Also, he looked like he was crying.

We had a great time tonight live chatting in the Mania thread.

It's been a treat. See you guys tomorrow.

Okay. Starting again. Who's with me? Ha! No.