Childs

Ricochet has developed greater presence and command of pacing over the years, but his matches still feel shallow and choreographed. Never been able to get past a certain level with that guy. Ospreay just comes off as such a tool. His facial expressions alone make him a tough pill. I know he works as a heel sometimes, and that may be the right path considering his inherent douchiness. He is a terrific athlete, so he has something to build on.

This was my kind of match--two big ol' dudes just bucking for position and knocking the shit out of each other. They didn't milk the drama enough to distinguish it as a true classic, but I could see it standing up as one of my most rewatchable matches of the year. My only nitpick would be that Walter goes to the chop-the-post transition too often. He does a good job with it, but it's become a bit cliche.

I worry about the degree to which it will be co-opted by WWE. But I guess they had to be onboard for footage/access reasons. Also skeptical of anything in which Shoemaker is treated as a wrestling expert. But I hope they nail it.

Tyson was a much, much bigger sports star than Rousey. She could be a great asset in a different, long-term way. But for a one-time publicity pop, he was a bigger deal.

Were they sports fans? I feel like most mid-level sports fans would know who she is.

Gargano-Almas was an all-time WWE match. Nothing on the Rumble approached it. But you have to give them huge credit for pulling off two memorable Rumble matches and a big show-ending angle. They have not hit the big picture this well in awhile.

Well that was quite a show. Great weekend for WWE.

That was pointless. Glad it did not drag but yuck. And the crowd gave zero shits.

Great fucking Rumble.

Rey!

I try not to be a stick in the mud but feels wrong for the Rumble to start in the first hour.

That main event just floored me. Very good show to that point and then it went to the stratosphere. I cannot remember the last time I got that sucked up in a WWE match.

Wow. Here goes your WWE MOTY and maybe your MOTY period. Innovative, violent, incredibly dramatic, great story for both guys, tremendous crowd. Wrestling does not often blow me away these days. But this blew me away.

His general lack of clarity also hurts him with stories like this. It becomes hard to tell what he is actually trying to say or whom he has actually interviewed. He needs an editor.

As an addendum, curious to hear from Dylan if he thinks Stutts's firing will hurt the company's creative roll? Not the No. 1 issue, obviously, but I would hate to see the hard work of many undermined by one person's fuck-ups.

I thought the tone of the piece was reasonable. Bruce clearly stated that Stutts crossed lines in multiple ways and presented his firing as the right call for the company. He finished by saying that even though Stutts is contrite, he will have to back up his words with actions. The "loves women" thing struck me as appropriate context, describing this big-personality guy who lost his way. I mean, the piece could have been harder on facts, but I didn't read it as an apology for Stutts.

My (limited) understanding was that Elgin was accused of mishandling an assault allegation against one of his students, not of assaulting the woman himself. Is that wrong?

I don't fully understand the Elgin story or why people are now angry at Dave. Not saying people shouldn't be angry at him. I just haven't seen a good synopsis of the situation.

Its weird to me that people remember GWE as this dark thing. It was an exciting, engaged period for the board. Was there a bit of collective hangover? Yes. But I would do it again. Not sure matches will ultimately work as well, because there are just too many of them. But should be fun regardless.

I'll end up watching the big matches after the fact, but there's not a single one I'm truly anticipating. I'm sure the main will deliver in the way that NJ mains do, but I don't feel an affinity for either Okada or Naito. Jericho-Omega is semi-intriguing if they work some hate into it, but I don't trust Jericho at all. When was his last great big-match performance? If he tries to keep up with Omega athletically, could get ugly. I've enjoyed broke-down Tanahashi quite a bit so I'm hopeful he can deliver an unexpected MOTN with White, who at least brings some tools. Can't imagine the junior clusterfuck being anything more than a decent sugar-rush match. I always hold out hope for Suzuki matches, but Goto is such a void of charisma that I don't expect much more than a generic slugfest. Regardless, it's always fun to wake up and read the reactions to the show.

Is there any real reason to get wXwNOW if you have Highspots? Highspots is great, btw--huge archive, reliable, regularly updated. Powerbomb is really coming on, and they seem genuinely devoted to creating the best possible product. I also recently subscribed to Progress for a month to catch up with their 2017 stuff, and it's a good service. I'll probably give WWN a shot, but I'm not sure I'll keep it all 12 months.

The WALTER-Dragunov match is one of those highly acclaimed ones that I would give like **1/2. I find Dragunov thoroughly unconvincing.

I was going to mention that one to go with Phil's recs. They really do have some killer highs for a team that generally doesn't interest me. I guess if there's any frustration, it's that they could be really great if they cut back on the wink-wink shit. But they're doing great without my approval so more power to them.

Did you watch the Rotweilers vs. WALTER and Thatcher from WXW? Think you would enjoy.

I don't think its so much that he doesn't know what he's doing as much he's stuck in exhibition mode most of the time. He treats chain wrestling like spotmonkeys treat flips, and that kind of "look what I can do" attitude is rampant in this generation of "big" Indy guys. He's the guitarist doing a dozen sweep arpeggios when a hammer-on would've been perfect. Not that it isn't impressive and a nice change from a card likely filled with moonsaults and weak suplexes. Part of what I liked about him this year was that with him working heel more, his grappling got less exhibitiony. That used to bug me as well. The fact that it might not look authentic to an MMA or BJJ fan is irrelevant to me.