Matt D

Parv needs to review the wrong Arn vs Barry match again.

Pro-wrestling isn't mainstream at all today. Nobody cares about it. And that's why we got 2013

Wouldn't you say that often times, when wrestling is most mainstream, the actual matches are sacrificed and diluted since they're not aimed at a more narrow, hardcore audience? All of those short Raw matches, for instance.

I always love the proto-pedigree

I work in DC at an international agency. That might do it.

I think I had more people on my facebook feed talking about soccer than either basketball or wrestling that night. It's Cleveland.

Is there any sense of match length yet?

They will never get nearly as much relative value out of her on the main roster. She matters so much more now and they need someone that matters in NXT with all the callups. It's a different crowd, one that is so in tune with her and an environment where she can be protected.

She's worth so much more as a big fish in a small pond in NXT. The act would get diluted and the purity of message blurred if she was on TV in front of apathetic crowds week in and week out. She's an actual draw in NXT. I don't think there's any value in bringing her up ever. They should lean on her more as NXT continues to become a touring brand. I don't think she'd be worth anything at all on the Main roster past month two or so, for reasons not at all her fault.

I still think the Lonely Orca nickname could be a thing.

It kills me that in the Brown match, he starts his comeback right when Boesch was about to say who the last person to use music to come out to was. It was an effective shtick for the time certainly, like 1978 New Jack. Dusty was great at conducting traffic there. Now, then, the Dusty vs Brody match. First of all, Pete and I both think this is the only Dusty vs Brody singles match we have. There's 7 mins of a FL tag with Dusty and Reed vs Brody and Studd, but this is one of the most historical things that On Demand has given us as of yet, strictly on paper. 17 minutes, 2/3 falls. I've relatively liked what I've seen of 78 heel Brody, before that first face turn. He stooges, he sells, he gives. He uses his lanky body to full effect tumbling this way or stumbling slowly down or flailing his arms about, or even positioning them up menacingly. I do think the match died a bit when he was on offense, but Dusty was quick to come back. In short, Dusty was electric with every little thing he did, and he did a few things I've never seen him do before, like the double axehandle that he fell down on or setting up for the Shattered Dreams '78 (which was the transition to Brody taking the first fall). I got such a kick out of him polishing off Brody's head before punching it and the sheer intensity that he took the second fall with was amazing to see. It's funny, but this was sort of worked like a modern CMLL Title match, with a back and forth first fall that ended with some escalation, a quick second revenge fall, and the a third fall with a lot of selling. The finish was a heat-saver but the post match had Dusty, again, being electric and I bet everyone went home happy. Unless I'm missing something, I'd call this hugely historical footage even if it wouldn't be the first match I'd suggest to people on the service. I'm very glad we have it.

What was important was the parallel to Rollins cashing in on Reigns.

I joked to Loss the other day that so long as it's pot, it's a brilliant booking strategy to make it seem like he's not the golden boy pushed by the company so that stingy fans can actually, finally, cheer him.

Taylor was just at the performance center as a guest trainer.

I do think that Brody has looked better in Houston than in other places. Some of that is having him younger. Some of it is how he had to be a certain way in Japan where we previously had most footage.

There were ~60 people in that first draft. I did a quick count on WWE.com and have ~70-75 people I'd consider active wrestlers on the roster right now, not counting anyone from NXT.

Pete's itching to get home from work and watch that one.

It was to show that Styles was a hypocritical heel. Cena can come out tonight and call him on it and Styles can call him a loser and they can build to the next match.

Hey, it's Point-Sycophoint!

The protective power of the Flak Jacket.

I dug that strike exchange too. The brawling's been good here.

Rollins is so much better as a babyface. (Even a De Facto one)

Rusev's individual stuff is great. Just the way he moves across the ring and gives the illusion of laying everything in, the way he gets his body behind blows. It was kind of painful watching Titus in comparison.