Gus_McCrae

I don't understand Rey's ranking. I never will understand Rey's ranking. Don't get me wrong he was a great pro-wrestler, but he played the same role in every match. I can buy him as the best baby face working from underneeth ever. I can't buy him as a top 10 guy. A top 15 guy. A top 20 guy? If I am overlooking something and he was ever anything but an underdog baby face who got beat on and then came back so be it. I don't see it though, and I hope I am wrong.

As the high vote on Eddie, I can say with complete conviction I can understand the case for almost everyone left being ahead of him. I cannot understand the case for Rey as better. I'm OK being in the super minority but, I don't get it at all. he never worked heel!

I'm happy my first high vote was Michael Hayes. I never understood why people liked Gordy more than PS.

Really fun. Thanks.

Is their a delay in this getting posted to the podcast app on an iPhone? I checked earlier this afternoon for the drive home and didn't see it.

I'm arguing you may not get as strong a reaction (live + twitter) from a styles win if they pushed him stronger, because then you don't get the surprise. What's better, long term investment in a character or a few shocked reactions on Twitter? People who are into Styles would still be happy for him that he's getting a shot at the main event no matter how he was being booked prior to Monday. But making a guy a big deal by giving him big wins is what gets them over with more casual fans, that's clear even today. Is it though? That isn't what got BD over. That isn't what got Ambrose over. It didn't get Cesaro (until he was buried). Giving guys big wins didn't get Roman over. I'm not steadfast here, but we are at a point in time thats a bit weird, were the most over person in recent history got over by being booked weakly and the guys booked strongly haven't worked out. I can see why they are doing it, I don't know if its right or wrong but I'm not going to get super worked up about it until we see how it plays out.

I'm arguing you may not get as strong a reaction (live + twitter) from a styles win if they pushed him stronger, because then you don't get the surprise.

"If AJ was presented strong throughout, if he was debuted even more strongly, if he was protected in his first couple of matches (a showcase to debut, for instance, his offense not kicked out of so much so early), if he won at Wrestlemania, then this would matter even more right now." Matt D I don't know if I agree. Sure, in another time that was right, but now? I don't know. When was the last time a prolonged push for a baby face resulted in a big time baby face? The most over faces are the guys who overcome losses, and "bad booking". Maybe you can disagree with execution, but I get their theory. Going into that match last night I didn't think AJ had a shot, and figured he'd take the pin. I was pissed. I played right in. I think that's what they were setting up. They "created us vs them" again. All I have to say is well fucking done, and I'm going to enjoy being worked until they screw it up next week and piss me off again. (See what i did I there?)

Who cares - it's not always about the "big picture". Enjoy, the moment.

HA HA - we are all marks.

I liked the HHH - Roman match quite a bit. I thought it was easily the match of the night. I do have to re-watch the woman match and the Styles match, because I was having feed issues that took me out of the moment but from what I saw neither were great, which I do think the main event was. Worked hard out of gate to get HHH over as heel, with Steph on the mic. Then contradicted by HHH holding ropes open for Roman, after a great over the top bump. Roman shine was great. Great selling of low blow, followed by crotch work after the low blow with 2 inverted atomic drops. Crowd killing Roman, at each hope spot. After every transitions Roman's selling was great. Loved the HHH neck breaker on the floor, and a really cool hanging knee drop. Roman, working really hard. Both selling exhaustion, not for the first time either, after cool spear on the floor, which was visually impressive. Great heel work by Steph, breaking up a pin then strolling into the ring like she owned it. Roman injured shoulder on spear, and HHH quickly goes for arm-bar submission, twice, using same power bomb counter to escape took away from it. Very slow pace. Crowd did pop big for pedigree counter. And popped big for Steph spear and pedigree kickout, but otherwise any Roman offense gets mixed cheers, which is improvement versus earlier in the match. He does gets a winners pop on the cover. Good stuff. A couple things took away. Using the same escape twice on the arm bar back to back. HHH schizophrenic heel/face dynamic took away at times. Specifically, inviting Roman back into the ring after a big bump to the floor, and getting in the two coolest spots of the match with the neck breaker and the knee drop, with Roman getting nothing even close to as cool in. My biggest criticism, is one, that has kept me from getting completely behind Roman as a worker: His offense. Very very reliant on super punches, clothes lines and spears. His work in total during the match was very good, but his offense is a problem for me. Not much variety, and his three goto’s are all very similar. He needs a driver or a suplex, outside of the samoan drop, something more than what he currently is using. 4.25 stars. Other matches: Ryback vs Calisto: 3.5 stars, going into the main this my MOTN. Ryback was so great. 10 woman tag, I missed this. Cooking dinner. Usos vs Dudleys: 1 star, I hate super kicks. Lader Match: 2.5 stars, KO and SZ ruled but you can't do anything compelling with this many people unless you have memorable spots and there weren't. Jericho vs Styles 3 stars, needs a rematch. My gut is people here are killing it because they don't like the booking. New Day vs LON, 2.5 stars, Rusev and Big E were awesome. Also, liked some of the tag psychology. Banks vs Flair vs Lynch - 3.25 stars, needs a rewatch due to feed. Some really cool stuff, and some stuff that could have been cool. Finish was underwhelming, I'm not sure Becky Lynch is good. 3.25 stars. Brock vs Dean 2 stars, this didn't work at all. Undertaker vs Shane, 2.25 stars, pretty much all of it from the cage spot. Terrible match.

I was really disappointed in Nakamura's character work. He won't get opportunities with those effeminant mannerisms. He needs to be an asskicker.

Let me start this by saying I expect almost all of you have more experience and aptitude thinking critically about wrestling than I do. I've watched a ton, but never digested most of it to the level that I believe many if not all of you have. Recently, I began thinking about what I think makes a good match. I came up with 5 criteria. In no particular order: 1) does it all is me to suspend disbelief 2) is it worked with intensity 3) does the outcome feel like it matters 4) does it effectively transition at 2nd or 3rd gear 5) does the match communicate a story In my view, Cena as a worker is consistently off the charts at intensity and making a match feel like it matters but very uneven at getting the match to a higher level, or communicating a story. I. My view he is rather poor at making me suspend disbelief, which is a function largely of his poor punches, mechanical issues, and general "looseness" in the ring. In some matches against some opponents his strengths combined with opponent strengths deliver excellant, wonderful matches. I'm thinking Cessaro, Umaga, Punk, Bryan off the top of my head, which I don't think I'm discounting. What I'm struggling with is how do you rate a wrestler that highly with obvious flaws? Am I exaggerating his flaws? Do all wrestlers outside of the top dozen have such large weaknesses? I'm trying to avoid the context issue here which I don't know how to reconcile. It's been touched on in other places, but Cena has probably been given more opportunity for big viewable main event style matches than anyone in history. That has led to both grandslams and strikeouts for him. It's the opposite of Dustin Rhodes, Steve Regal, Arn Anderson and their ilk. I'd love some help thinking through these issues because it not obvious either what I'm missing or how to account for opportunity.

I recently re-watched the No Way Out 2003 match between Cena and Angle, and I was surprised by a couple of things: #1. That the match existed, since I had completely forgot. #2 That young heel Cena had a nice mean streak. Nothing says mean streak like kicking a guy when he is down, when it has the right level of savageness which Cena boots here did. #3 I think Cena main event style borrows pretty liberally from Angle. This was clearly a situation where Angle would lay out the match being the vet and Cena would follow. The formula was very much like a lot of Angle upper mid card matches from the time period. Yet, at the same time you could completely see this being a Cena versus Rollins match mext week on Raw with a very similar layout with Cena playing Kurt Angle and Rollins being Cena. Not in terms of move set but in terms of layout, pace, timing. It was pretty good. The story wasn't effectve: angle the wrestler, versus Cena the brawler, but it felt like an important match where the result mattered, it kicked into a really good second gear leading into the finish, itsuspended my disbelief (which is something I struggle with for both of these guys sometimes), the intensity was decent.

So how do you do it? I marvel at so many of the posters here seemingly recollection of matches, dates, quality and even move sequences. I've seen tons of wrestling in my life. Re-watched a ton, but most of it is a blur. How do you keep track. Do you use notepaper and pencil? Excel? Word? A blog? Help. I feel like matches I watched last week are already going fuzzy!