El-P

Pro-wrestling at its very best, including the pre-match very short angle with Karen at ringside, thrown away by Kurt (and she throws a few "Don't fucking touch me !" at the security goons which made the thing real). This is what TNA could have been about. Hell, this is what US pro-wrestling could have been about, as opposed to those dreadfull WWE overproduced self-conscious epics. The more I watch Angle in TNA, the more he comes off like a great worker to me. Years of unfair stereotyped criticisms have made him a very underrated guy. Joe was still a great worker in TNA, has been since he arrived in 2005. This is just terrific. The only negative is a bunch of stupid assholes chanting "we want wrestling" and "boring" at points during matwork sequences, but the crowd is mostly molten and restless. Some terrific stuff here, including the best Jim Brunzell ear slap ever, a magnificent heel move by Angle of using the ref shirt to get closer to the ropes and just all around wonderful way to mix MMA-shootsyle stuff with classic US pro-wrestling. The stip of Joe retiring from wrestling if he didn't win kinda gave the result away, but still at some point you believe he's done. That's masterful. MOTYC. Hell, probably MOTY.

Political hit.

How the fuck did he fit in that 4L ?!! (that's the car you see a 1:25) I look forward to this. Also, Grenoble "in the French Alps" is quite a cool little city.

That's one other thing about him, he's godawful at selling because he oversells everything like a clown. His facials make Edge look like Misawa.

First symptons of senility at almost 60 isn't great news by any stretch of the imagination.

"And if you're one of those people who think Will Ospreay isn't any good you probably should avoid watching this match (ie Ospreay vs Okada) because it's gonna short-circuit your brain because it's freaking great." Yeah. Sure. I will avoid it though, but for other reasons.

Forget it. The limo driver got in. Koko got in. I guess Damian DeMento and Duke Droese are a stretch.

Ok. I was wondering because on paper, it really looks like a very weak show with Taichi, Makabe and worse of all, Ospreay in big singles matches.

Ivory is in this year's class I already forgot

No woman goes in this year ? That would be odd.

Especially for Paige. Don't let this guy get close to her again, really... And well, yes. The only time this guy looked like a star was thanks to the Lucha Underground smoke and mirrors (and honestly, his feud with Texano wasn't exactly memorable either).

You mean the Anniversary show ? (no spoil yet please)

And considering how hard he's been pushed, it wouldn't be "good enough" in any other era pre-monopoly.

So, apparently, Coachman was one of the harassing types in ESPN.

How ironic that he's still the biggest star of the company. We'll see how the Ronda superpush goes over the next year he I think they'll look to get her to that position They'll have to keep her "special" to accomplish this, and I have zero faith in them doing so. But that's probably the plan. If they close the show with her, which they probaly won't do, that's a clear sign. Meanwhile, no one gives a fuck about Lesnar vs Roman as the main event. Meanwhile, your most over guy in the company that you managed to protect a whole lot, Braun, has nothing planned for Mania. They better end the show with Cena vs Taker, honestly. Although Taker won't be able to do the "I'm retiring" bit that he did last year and that was so perfect this time around.

I have zero interest in listening to Bischoff blabbing, so hopefully not.

How ironic that he's still the biggest star of the company.

I'm all for Jesse James singing "With my baby tonight !" to introduce Jarrett. I legit *liked* this song back then.

What about them doing a women's Royal Rumble instead ? I mean, they're all about #womensEvolution and shit...

I hope they bring back Tiger Ali Singh & Ahmed Johnson for this.

Or like twenty years ago. When no one gave a fuck and it wasn't even televised.

The Kuweit Cup. Sort of.

That's the craziest thing to me. Things are moving so damn slowly now. This is why things seem so dull. 5 years used to be a long damn time in pro-wrestling. Compare WWF in 92 and 97, WCW in 92 and 97...

If you believe the description of this week's episode, this thing is getting close to the end. When, it was fun while it lasted. Going through Superbrawl 98 live watch, and it's pretty good thus far.

The Lesnar vs Roman match at Mania could very well end up be a redux of the infamous Goldberg match at Mania 20, with the crowd hating on both guys. Fun times ahead.