Stiva

Yikes, to say this Batista main event run isn't being warmly received is an understatement. Watching this, I've just got a flashback to when Mike Adamle would always call Batista 'Dave' in the most innocuous ways. His first words after becoming GM were "Hey, Dave"

I loved how that fell apart every so often to get the crowd hot and then would go back to a heat segment. It made the eventual fight so much more awesome. I thought Rollins had a real coming out party tonight, Ambrose running around like a lunatic jumping on people, breaking things up and brawling into the crowd was great, Rowan and Harper brought their best stuff, especially the latter's awesome dive. Those last ten minutes felt like two teams throwing increasingly crazy shit at the wall in desperation and it built perfectly.

Yeah, I'm kinda the same though I think he should be a babyface. I liked the slaps during the abdominal stretch.

Big E vs Jack Swagger - I really enjoy a lot of Big E's offense; the splash looks good, the spear to the outside looked good and I'm a mark for anyone who pulls the straps down. Swagger held his own too and I liked the clothesline on the outside and the throw from the top. The crowd being into both guys helped but maybe crowds are just getting hotter atm. Tag Match - That one Uso who took the bump into the turnbuckle is crazy but he sold it like a motherfucker. He had some really good vocal selling a little later when Road Dogg worked the arm over too. Not sure the Outlaws should be around past Mania but The Usos should go over there if they're going to be building the tag division around them going forward. Bad News Barrett is great. I, too, am looking forward to his crazy podium at Mania. They should have him orbiting the stadium on a blimp.

On the point of Cesaro needing a rocket strapped to him, I think the point made here that fans are desperate for ANYONE new to be pushed is definitely valid. It's not just Bryan (though he's the most over guy they have right now), it's guys like Cesaro, The Shield and even Ziggler for all his faults. If we're in February 2015 and WWE's main event is filled with the guys who people are actually chanting for, we'll be in a great place.

I don't necessarily hide it but I don't mention it off hand. As some have said, I'll reference wrestling all the time but in my age group (early 20s), we were kids when the Attitude era caught on in a big way in the UK so dropping a reference to Stone Cold or Vince McMahon is just considered par for the course. Because it was such a big part of us being kids, I don't think people would say much if I said I was continuing to watch old Memphis shows on Youtube or anything like that, it would just be considered a hobby. But I have friends who obsess over delta blues, silent comedy and cycling as a sport so I might just have a strange group of friends in general.

Yeah, I thought the segment with Sheamus and Cesaro in that tag was the best, or at least my favourite, thing from WWE in the first couple of months of the year. I loved Sheamus egging Cesaro on and then just punching him in the face and his count-to-ten spot is the best one in the company. I even enjoyed Swagger since the really quick flurry of double team moves the RA bust out are always hit so cleanly and sharply. It's going to be a sad day when WWE implode the current tag set and the Usos have nobody to face.

For a more modern one along the lines of the Cena return, the Batista heel turn on Rey in 09 (I think) is one that springs to mind as an underrated but well executed one. They lose a tag match, Josh Matthews interviews them and Batista delivers his best mic work ever, slowly turning on Rey in the same way a heavily jacked dude with a hair trigger would. Rey is great as well, begging for his friend to stop but Batista throws him into the barricade (which Rey bumps great for, as you'd expect) and that's that. As is typical with latter 00s WWE, I can't remember a damn thing that came from it (aside from Batista's hugging fat girls promo) but the initial turn is really well done.

Something Awful's wrestling and MMA subforum (I forget its name as it changes so much) is generally very busy.

He worked the Wrestling Society X shows and had a great squash match with Chuck Palumbo in 07/08. I have no idea what other experience he had in WWE.

I've had absolutely no trouble with Google Chrome if you want to try that browser. I quite like the basic style that PWO has but if an upgrade is necessary, I agree that a like system should be avoided. This board certainly doesn't have the same makeup as DVDVR but I agree that the "like" format encourages random presses of the 'like' button over actual debate. The one thing I do like about the basic Invision format is the ability to view a poster's topics and posts from their sign up date/the board's inception. The Invision update limits that kind of searching to a certain date and really restricts your attempts to dig up posts from the past. That may seem inconsequential but I, personally, really enjoy digging through the post history of posters I find interesting and it's let me indulge in discussions that I wouldn't normally jump into. This kind of Invision board is a great testament to the mid or late 2000s style of message board and I really like it because of that but at some point, upgrades need to be made and that's understandable. It's just this poster hopes that you don't completely move away from the basic style that makes this board a pleasure to navigate

Re: The Prime Time Players: I think turning Titus heel is a bad move. There was a time in the summer where a Titus O'Neill vs Roman Reigns head to head was met with a great pop from the crowd during a time where the PTP meant nothing in the greater picture. On a grander level, he has his "woof!" or whatever it is but he has little experience in getting his solo spots over and I think he has a better chance of doing that as a babyface IMO. I don't think they should have broken the PTP up even if The Usos are the new face of the tag division Post-Mania as they could have easily transitioned into a tag title run in the summer with the right booking and become an over act. O'Neill is better than Shad too whose heel turn was slightly optimistic; Titus is a charismatic dude but I think he's better suited as a face.

I guess HHH/Steph were supposed to be there to goad the crowd into making a similar reaction to last night but then for them to begin ragging on them not all chanting the same thing seemed really passive-aggressive and unhelpful. Nobody being able to gain any vocal victory over that pair in any exchange is beginning to get ridiculous now.

Yeah, they do. I think some kind of prop/glove/what have you for people to lift when chanting "YES!" is the way to go, rather than a fake beard. Some decent shirts would be a plus too; Punk always manages to have decent designs and the new Lesnar shirt is a nice simplistic design too. Bryan's have pictures of goats and the old "YES!" shirt is just that.

Meltzer explained in his podcast that after talking to people in the company, they know he's over as fuck with everybody but the people who cheer for him don't spend money on him compared to other top stars. How in the world Vince and company think the best course of action is not hearing the crowd instead of doing everything in their power to translate those chants and cheers to a bunch of money, I will never understand. It's beyond moronic. They don't know how to do it anymore.

I think the initial pop for Sheamus suggests they'd even be down for watching him on a regular basis. WWE continuing with their effort to convince us that older is better and now the crowd has guys that they want to get behind and want to see in the main, they've closed their eyes and continued on regardless. I actually enjoyed the Rumble but it was crying out for Bryan or even Taker at 30. Reigns looked awesome and he's almost at the point now where had he eliminated Batista to win, you'd actually buy it. I have no desire to see anything coming out of this show bar Lesnar/Taker.

They gave us a year of awesome Shield six-mans, Bryan caught on in a big way, Reigns is ready to break out, the crowd love both so what do they do? Put Batista in the main. The Orton/Batista match at Mania will have a similarly venomous reaction, you would think.

There's something oddly beautiful about how quickly the air got let out of that crowd. This is going to be the flattest final 4 ever.

Who is left? Batista, Langston and Rey? Is Henry confirmed? EDIT: forgot about Del Rio. Yep, this sucks.

How many "surprise" spots are left, two? Sheamus and Taker?

John Cena vs. Randy Orton Crowd doesn't want to see this anymore and they really tried but the finisher swapping at the end definitely seems like the only trick they had left in the bag, especially in matches with no stips. Wyatt/Cena starts rolling for Mania.

I often like Cena/Orton matches but man, it's the last thing "the Universe" wants at this point.

Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show I absolutely loved all of this from Lesnar's opening flurry, Show's selling, the KO punch, Lesnar bumping around big and then the F5 and beatdown with the chair to finish. It had a weird, shooty vibe to it but I really dug it

Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt Think that's the best I've seen Wyatt look on offense, especially his spots on the outside and his counters to Bryan's running charges. I guess a long Bryan match with a concussion angle is their attempt to stop the expectations of him entering the Rumble.

I don't envy the final two guys in the Rumble because they're going to be bombarded with "YES" and "Daniel Bryan" chants. Unless one of them is Bryan, of course.