Matt D

I made it through the first January 1981 show. My big take aways were that Valiant's chewing tobacco addiction was gross, that I really wanted to see a Paul Orndorff promo, and that Ron Bass just randomly hanging out in the last tag of the night was weird (even if he didn't eat the fall). They definitely made me want to see the 8-man Texas Death Match. Most remarkable was the Rose/Condrey vs Austin/Jackson tag, though. I love how they worked it with a bunch of hot tags but no sustained house afire comebacks until the very end. It turned the hot tags into hope spots which made the heels seem dominant, never giving up too much, while making the babyfaces look all the more worthwhile as opponents for them. Everyone came out looking better in the end, even more so than if Rose/Condrey just flat out squashed them.

Think the JYD/Bockwinkel match just up is the one from 6/11/82 and not from 83. That card.

I love Heenan during that Bret/Virgil match.

And who they might sacrifice to him to do so?

It's all about how they're worked, like any other hold. It's about how they're sold, the struggle put into them, how they're presented in a larger picture sort of way, and how they're used in a match. Everything is a tool. It's just how the tools are used. A nerve hold can be the most compelling thing in the world if the stars align and it's used properly. I do think that nerve holds are slightly harder to work than other things, though, because they limit facial expressions to a degree, sort of contain the body language of the person taking it, and don't generally allow for much motion in the person putting it on. If someone's constantly repositioning it and letting go and starting anew and grinding down that way, it tends to work better. Just having it on can be problematic.

The majority of the crowd was sure into that match, but I guess they've just got more imagination than you do?

Going to stick this here. It was surreal going to the NXT show. The Jose vs Drifter match was mainly Drifter working holds (including a chinlock), Jose getting the fans clapping, and Drifter cheating to cut off and going back to a hold. They were working them, fighting for them, fighting in them. The crowd, hot all night, was absolutely into it, with the cutoffs getting heat. When Jose finally came back, he got a big pop for it and for the win. The guy behind me was grumbling like crazy though: "Another rest hold! This match is nothing but rest holds!" You guys are the best.

That soda transition is the best thing ever.

Yeah, how the hell didn't they end the show with this?

It's got to be because they feel like Miz has so much heat and that Dolph is such a favorite that they don't want to end the show on what they feel is a huge downer.

In a weird way, every time Bret bitches it becomes slightly more legitimate as a hall of fame.

If we're looking at it as purely WWE, Stu training people gets him farther than the Freebirds as a unit but maybe not farther than Hayes as a producer.

Is the question Cena vs Angle or 2016 Cena vs 2001 Angle? You're framing it as Cena's worst against Angle's best.

I didn't think too much of Madril in the Slater match and it certainly had issues structurally (like no ending while still trying to make Madril look strong which only worked a little bit in execution though they get points for creative effort). He was fairly young here (27?). I actually like him more paired with Lothario a few years later as sort of a beloved local babyface who doesn't take crap. Slater was electric. Watching him in an armbar was hugely entertaining. Even Boesch said he patterned himself after Terry Funk (and this is in 78), but I'm perfectly fine with a guy patterning himself after one of the most entertaining, engaging wrestlers ever. Unfortunately, I don't think there's too much more from this 78 run for Slater, but I'd be very curious to see the (babyface, I think) Gino match that followed this. Obviously, I'm hugely looking forward to any Murdoch and Lothario interaction. (Btw, for the results page: we've got Leroy Brown instead of Murdoch on a show main evented by Fritz vs Krupp. Murodch is way more interesting. Not sure if it's the same show or a different one. If it's the same, then Idol vs Conway Jr, David vs Gino, Dale Valentine vs Barry Orton, and Gary Young vs Jay Youngblood were on the undercard.).

Demos are the only team that could properly contain Napoleon Complex Broken Down Dynamite

Here's the Norfolk NXT card: I'm not sure what reshuffling of that particular crew can create a really great show in Bel Air on Saturday.

Hey, WWE bought some more stuff that they can put online instead of the stuff we want to see. Great.

I'm in the group that is very curious about how this will worked. Goldberg's reticence could rein in Brock's worst tendencies.

The key is Ryan Ward combined with two hours vs three. Look at 2014-2015 NXT. I don't get why this is hard to figure?

It's not about who has the final say or who does the broad strokes. Smackdown's about the detail work: Ryan Ward.

For example, there was a period in 2000 when M2K was doing a gimmick called "the double ring-out committee". Their goal was to internationally ruin good matches by having them finish in a double countout. It was an awesome gimmick. That sounds like Parv's single least favorite thing ever. I need to win a bet with him so he'd have to review those matches.

The gimmick had more value than the wrestler, no?

Negro Casas would have been my easy choice and that's without being able to hear him do promos. He has such a connection with the crowd, is so emotive and conscious of managing their behavior while in the ring, or in post-match antics, or even in his entrance, that I think it's a no-brainer. I kind of like Atlantis for this too. I'd toss Mark Henry up there too actually. It's to be provocative to some degree, but it's also pretty much true. I have an easier time going with him than someone like Rey Mysterio.

The title match feels like a "high pressure" one for me to watch, so I haven't seen it yet. I did catch most of the rest of the show this morning on 2x speed on youtube, skipping completely the Rollins interview and slowing down for the Jericho/Owens/New Day Segment which was a lot of fun.