The most entertaining wrestler in the world in 1996 was Shane Douglas. Douglas is badly underrated because ECW's exposure expanded just as his body broke down and severely limited his ability to be entertaining in the ring in '97-'99, but he was an exceptional promo and character in '95-'96 and was on fire in the ring.

 

Not to kill your contribution to this thread, but I will go ahead and third this opinion. From the time he won the TV Title in that 4 way until his body broke during the Al Snow feud, Shane was hands down the best thing going in wrestling.

I may be in the minority, but I absolutely can not stand Enzo. Same shtick every week and I hated it the first time I heard it. I can't wait for them to inevitably turn Cass against him.

 

Did get a kick out of Charlotte using the stupid sawft thing as a dick joke though.

I don't care about Misawa, Kobashi, or any of the Puro matches that some people seem to think are the holy grail of wrestling matches and can just refer to by a date like everyone should know exactly what masterpiece they are discussing. If it's not Terry Funk, Bruiser Brody, Hayabusa, or Muta, I don't give a damn about Japanese wrestling.

At this point I think a complete overhaul is needed. Turn him heel, ditch the outfit, maybe do the same thing with the Uso's since they are getting boo'ed now too. Stable them up and see what happens.

That battle royal certainly showed that Smackdown got royally fucked in the draft.

That pop for Bayley was insane

Never saw much of him personally, but my Dad speaks fondly of him having grown up on Studio Wrestling and the horror movies living just an hour out of Pittsburgh here in Morgantown.

 

Sad to hear he has passed.

The full line up for the first two nights has been released. I know some others here will be interested.

 

-Night 1-

 

Tommy End vs Zack Sabre Jr
Marty Scurll vs Pentagon Jr
Ricochet vs Jeff Cobb
Matt Sydal vs John Hennigan
Jushin Thunder Liger vs Chris Hero
Fenix vs Will O'Spreay

 

Dalton Castle and The Boys vs Adam Cole and The Young Bucks

 

-Night 2-

 

Matt Riddle vs Kyle O'Reilly
Cody Rhodes vs Sami Callihan
Dalton Castle vs Jack Gallagher
Mark Andrews vs Pete Dunne
Kamaitachi vs Trevor Lee
Cedric Alexander vs Mark Haskins

Fenix and Pentagon Jr vs Chris Hero and Tommy End
Will O'Spreay/Ricochet/Matt Sydal vs Adam Cole and The Young Bucks

Oh God. Is Sasha's partner, Noelle Foley?

How did Jigsaw do? I've been hoping to see him start getting shots on a bigger stage for ages.

First Darren Young wins a battle royal by taking a long ass time to get up as the last two guys eliminate each other to secure himself an Intercontinental Title shot, then Zack Ryder does a clean job to Sheamus, and gets beat up by Rusev to earn himself a U.S. Title shot.

 

Way to make those secondary titles look important going into the brand split.

 

 

I really hope they are not gonna do Ambrose wins, cashes in....cause he's crazy, and we blow The Shield 3 way for nothing.

With Sasha out, and Paige a jobber, it makes sense to turn one of the two babyface girls against the other one.

I know. I can't see Cryme Tyme being brought back after some of the shit they've said either. I was just reporting what is making the rounds on sites like Wrestlezone, and then being reported everywhere else.

 

Apparently MVP and Stevie Richards can be added to the list.

So the first names being tossed around by the news sites are: Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy, Goldberg, Rey Mysterio, John Morrison, Shelton Benjamin, Carlito, and Cryme Tyme.....

Looking at the list, my best guess is that Ibushi is signed and will take the tournament.

Anyone else's stream gone to total shit during the main event?

I will admit to only having seen the ones done in Chikara and a few random lucha ones, but I enjoy the concept quite a bit. If you look at it in a kayfabe sense, it would take skill, endurance, toughness, adaptability, and team work to win one. It kind of tests all facets of a wrestler.

The new Evolve set with Ospreay, Scurll, Williams, Riddle, and the like is a great fucking set.

The Pre-Show Stopper! Heeling on the crowd with Punk's entrance. I like this Ryback.

Add me on the Shane Douglas list. I am a huge Franchise mark, and would likely rank him as one of my personal Top 5 Favorites ever. Not to mention that I've worked a ton of shows with him, and he is the nicest fucking guy in the world.

 

I will 2nd Big John Studd's Royal Rumble win as well. I was super happy to see him get it, and really hoped it meant a big push for him.

 

 

As for my guilty pleasure... Battle Royals. I know most people find them repetitive or boring, but there is something about them that I can't get enough of. I don't give a damn who is in them either. Men, women, midgets. Give me a ring full of people trying to chuck each other over the top rope, and I'm a happy boy!

Do we really want the kind of people who are actually watching that show (aka TNA Mecca users) coming to this board?

I'll third Taker&Kane vs Kronik as I had to watch that abortion live.

I will admit I have not seen Lince see he left Chikara several years back. However, during his time there he was constantly blowing spots and would continue to try those same spots match after match, blowing them every time. I can understand trying a new move and fucking it up, but when you constantly blow your signature moves, its a problem. I also felt his push didn't match his skill level, but that is no fault of his own, it just adds to my dislike.

I'll second that opinion on Williams, but I also find him to be quite good when he is wrestling a somewhat flashier style in his Chikara gimmick.