Al

I think what it boils down to is that when you're on the road so much spending time away from your family and being busy the last thing you want to do in your free time is sit and watch more wrestling.

Something that crossed my mind a while ago. Is there merit to putting part of the preshow AFTER the main event? Casual fans could up and leave to beat traffic. Hardcores could stick around the extra hour and see the lesser names they like. And the crowd wouldn't be as burnt for the main event.

Magnum T.A. would make a lot of sense.

Echo this idea, especially since a larger Summerslam show would allow them to run an outdoor show in a city like Chicago that they can't touch in late March.

You can't put everything in the bubble. Otherwise how do you entice people from outside the bubble? Ultimately you want people watching on different platforms.

It's usually not an accident. How many permutations of Gorgeous George did we see in regional wrestling? Ditto any wrestler named Man Mountain. A wrestler would become popular and there's a dozen imitators. Especially in the U.K. where you literally had Greg Valentine and Black Jack Mulligan.

I thought they should've inducted Jerry alongside Eddie.

I've been tempted to start an Oulette vs Owens thread on the basis that they're both 300lb wrestlers from Quebec.

Number four. No judgment or comment on the acts themselves, but remind people that uploading, viewing etc. is a violation of your privacy.

Paige is British. Think of all the broken monicles!

Cena's Lance Russell impersonation was tremendous.

Grizzled veteran turns back time is a common trope even in legitimate sports. George Foreman's comeback especially comes to mind.

Nikki Bella is a mortal lock eventually.

Exactly. It's this weird quandary where you have to reach a certain level of success to actually be the "worst" at something.

Saturday Nights Main Event was aimed at a crossover audience and contains more melodrama that casual audiences tend to enjoy. If she's a more hardcore fan of pure wrestling, the MSG cards are probably the best option. 1980's Showdown at Shea is available and has some decent matches like Fujinami/Guerrero.

The authors of Mad Dogs... are releasing a book on women's wrestling next month. I'm looking forward to that one.

Steele was nearing 50 when he had that WWF run. I feel a few of his generation are sullied because they had high profile runs at an advanced age and fans weren't around for their prime years. While Steele was no great shakes as a wrestler during that era, I think his feud with Randy Savage was absolutely essential in establishing the Savage/Elizabeth dynamic. I don't think the Megapowers works nearly as well without knowing that Savage is a near homicidal maniac when someone comes near his woman. And I can't see someone like Tito Santana playing the foil as well as Steele did in that regard.

Dean Malenko was a top cruiserweight heel at the same time Rey Misterio Jr. emerged nationally. I can't imagine him ever being in a more opportune spot.

The Bulldogs, but they got ridiculously roided to go national.

I enjoyed the Rumble in the moment, though i could pick apart some things I didn't like. I hate when guys lay down on the sidelines waiting for their spot. And the "random" numbers seem increasingly contrived. I'm getting a little concerned that the Royal Rumble is becoming to WWE what Wargames was to WCW by the late 90s.

Did anyone mention Carpentier/Rocca vs Graham/Bruiser?

Kiniski seems like the wrestler who would zoom up the list if we had footage.

Tunney. Fuji said nothing about the title, nothing about right there and now. Was just seeking a big money title defense for his client. Add Paul Ellering. Mediocre in ring, but best for managing your travel and finances.

Thesz/Carpentier is a big one for essentially spawning multiple alternate world titles.

I imagine the '60s being a great decade for live wrestling. A decade where the big stars of the era wrestled in small towns and it was possible to see them up close frequently. And wrestling bears.