Stiva

so, this ballot is due in 2016, right? I actually think that, in that time, Cesaro could be a lock for this list if, and it's a big if, he manages to transcend WWE's god-awful booking. Two years can be a long time in wrestling, especially in a company as impulsive as WWE and I think he has the ability to find himself back over enough to have a good main event run. This isn't the place for speculation so we'll take his career as a whole; my experience with him started with 05/06 ROH and him looking kind of bad in Pure title matches. The ROH/CZW feud allowed him to look better than that but it's a case of me being kind of unfamiliar with his most pimped indy work. Like, he was a guy who was signed, right when I had fell out of love with wrestling and when I tuned back into WWE, he was on the main roster, looking great. So, he's a guy that could definitely be helped by the next couple of years which could see him at the top of WWE's cards and having PPVs main events and also give me the time to check out his indy stuff from 09-11 and man, he might just make it.

Lesnar is a guy I'd really love to place because since his return to WWE, he's been consistently the only guy that makes me perk up and pay attention because the way he builds his matches since his return, HHH aside, have been so interesting and fascinating to watch that he excites me and frustrates me in equal measure. On one hand, those matches with Cena/Taker/Punk are such a spectacle because of the aura he's built up of himself through UFC and it's frustrating because he just GETS pro wrestling on such a level that it would have been amazing had he been around for the last decade. But, then maybe the mystique would be gone? Either way, he doesn't make my list but his past couple of years are absolutely fascinating and he's really the only guy in WWE that has had a must-see feel about him in years.

I haven't jumped in on this yet but I'm going to start with Luger as a guy who I have always enjoyed, even past what people would consider his peak years. Having rewatched those early Nitro episodes recently thanks to the Network, I was instantly struck with Luger as a guy who stands out on those shows. His matches with Savage, the whole program with Sting and everything surrounding that has some really strong performances from him, I think. Moving on from that, I like his NWA/WCW stuff before he jumped to the WWF; that portion of his career I can give or take and I'd really be judging on his time with NWA/WCW and I mean, I have a fuckload of wrestling to watch before submitting a ballot (joshi and 2000s Japan mainly with smatterings of Lucha) but I can actually see Luger sneaking on as a personal preference pick.

PAUL PAUL I CAN'T FEEL MY LEGS Who the hell was supposed to be responsible for that? Or was it just a way to get rid of that segment in the craziest way possible? 2008 WWE was fucking weird, man.

I think the guest host stuff was a definite nadir but at least you had ECW and Smackdown that had interesting things going on and good matches every week. Now, you don't even get many good matches pop up on Raw anymore and the whole feel of the shows has never been more "scripted", for a lack of a better word. And that's saying something for WWE. I also don't watch it live though; I gave up with that a couple of weeks after Mania but the amount of things that I actually watch is shrinking week after week.

Yeah, that's really annoyed me too. Even just getting the Raws up until the end of 95 would have been fine to give people the opportunity to see them both in the early stages.

I'm watching the first MNW episode and is there a less sincere guy than The Miz on these things? He comes off as a parody of a talking head.

I feel like Reigns should start using the Stinger Splash or something close to it. The guy has a great leap on him.

JBL is particularly unlistenable tonight.

I, kind of don't know what to think about that. I mean, it was entertaining as hell but completely surreal to see Cena mauled like that again. Also, how the hell do they build someone to beat Lesnar for the belt? It seems like absolutely nobody will be ready for Mania. I guess the only way out is Plan Cena...

Putting 4 German announcers at ringside to call a match built around German Suplexes is amazing.

Cena turning heel and holding up that little slogan would be hilarious.

The mathc had no heat early on because he killed the crowd with his lame offense. There was no shine!!! No reason for the crowd to care about Reigns early on. He looked like a bitch. I thought they did the table spot way too late

Reigns vs. Orton Probably the weakest match of the night with a dead crowd. Orton got them into it with his flash powerslam and RKO but man, Reigns' performances in long singles matches just aren't strong yet.

HHH being Steph's stooge is great.

I'm glad you said it, dude.

she's a McMahon so that's that.

Wyatt has lots of nice little touches like that. I love him using the ring against Jericho. Both guys are trying here but the crowd just isn't feeling it.

Ambrose vs. Rollins That rocked. Ambrose is going to get over by laying out these chaotic matches that are barely held together before completely spilling out into bedlam. I kind of hope that they have a rematch on Raw that ends with Ambrose throwing Rollins into a river somewhere.

The lumberjacks all being guys that The Shield fucked up is a neat little bit of continuity.

Rusev vs. Swagger Fuck, I absolutely loved this. I don't think Swagger was particularly great but I thought Rusev was tremendous. The ankle selling was slightly spotty at times but I thought it played into the major spots in the match really well. Rusev's face during that last Cobra Clutch was awesome! A perfect "Jesus Christ, just fucking tap" face. All of Rusev's facial expressions are great, actually. He's becoming one of my favourite guys on the roster. Next, he's got to take the US belt

AJ vs. Paige I actually really enjoyed this and thought it was the best Paige has looked since debuting. Loved the finish but liked the knees on the apron, the hair pulling and the slam on the barricade. At this point though, they need to dispose of this "Frenemies" nonsense and just lean into "These two women fucking hate each other" territory. I wish Paige would also lean fully into her shit-eating persona because she's way better at it.

Oh man, that German announce team looks incredibly uncomfortable on camera. For my 9.99 a month, I should be able to view a special camera just on them.

Ha, the "9.99" chants. People will chant along with anything if you phrase it right.

I was reading something about Swagger possibly going over Rusev and that just seems crazy to me. Rusev is a guy that I would build and build; I wouldn't have his first loss be to Swagger, of all people.