NintendoLogic

Pretty much everybody was much higher on the Meiko match than I was on first viewing, so I decided to revisit it. I'm still not feeling it, at least not as much as some others. The opening chain wrestling felt pretty aimless, like they were going from one hold to another just to keep things moving rather than capitalizing on openings. Things picked up after Mercedes slapped Meiko in the ear, and it turned into quite the slugfest. I wasn't really feeling Mercedes following up the fisherman buster kickout with a surfboard since I don't think anyone bought that as a potential match-ender, but everything else was on point. Still, it felt more like a high-end Nitro match than an all-time classic. I did really like Mercedes deadweighting herself after the Scorpion Rising so Meiko had to struggle to roll her over to get the pin.

To promote her match with Alexa at Evolution, presumably.

I've always understood rope breaks in no-DQ matches to mean that the referee couldn't disqualify someone for refusing to break, but submissions in the ropes don't count since being in the ropes puts you outside the ring.

He's said for a long time that wrestlers who toured All Japan thought he was one of the harder guys to get a good match out of.

I liked Meiko/Mercedes, but I thought it was ridiculous how the announcers were putting it over as an instant all-time classic like it was Flair/Steamboat or HBK/Undertaker. Then again, maybe I was salty after my girl Conti got robbed. She belonged in the final 8.

I agree that CIMA is probably a stronger HOF candidate than is given credit for around these parts. The Dragon Gate style has proven to be highly influential, and the decline in DG's business since he went to China shows that he is an appreciable draw. I wouldn't go to bat for him, but I wouldn't necessarily argue against him either.

You all are of course aware that it was a rehash of The Rock's concert in Sacramento.

In the early days of the newsletter, he compared Memphis wrestling to indoor soccer. It wasn't really soccer, but he liked it more than actual soccer.

This is the same disease Robin Williams had. Terrible news. Vince should put him in the WWE Hall of Fame while he still has his faculties. I mean, not only did he win the wrestling war, his net worth is higher than Turner's these days. Might as well be magnanimous in victory.

I liked Rhea Ripley's explanation for her change of attitude. She said that the shame of losing to a Kiwi in last year's tournament made her a different person.

When did Conti turn into a total killer? Her judo takedowns and limb work looked absolutely vicious, and her facial expressions reminded me of Devil Masami. She showed glimpses of it in her qualifying match against Vanessa Borne, but this was a completely different level. As for Elaban, I think she would need an image overhaul to do anything of note in WWE. The "loves to have fun" gimmick is the kiss of death on the main roster.

I would propose requiring voters to pick one region of primary expertise and only allow them to vote in other regions if they've been certified as knowledgeable by an unquestioned expert. That would eliminate the problem of US/Japan voters deciding to round out their ballot with a random luchador and driving down everyone's percentages.

Here's my hot take: Charlotte is the one in the right. She won the Summerslam match fair and square. Becky's just a sore loser.

My understanding is that a voter has to nominate someone for them to be on the ballot. Dave can't just place them there of his own volition.

Even Vampiro? Anyway, I've decided that the only promoters not already in who deserve to be inducted are Crockett Jr. and Jerry Jarrett because they went beyond what could have been accomplished by playing a pat hand in the territory system. Simply remaining in business for an extended period of time isn't particularly praiseworthy when you're a member of a cartel that protects you from any real competition.

1. Mistico. I'm a fan of Taue as a worker (even if he was clearly the least of the Four Corners), and I find it ludicrous that he's the only 90s Japanese heavyweight of note not to be in. But if you look at the numbers, Mistico should be a no-brainer or close to it. 2. Goldberg. Honestly, they're both pretty weak candidates. In fact, elliott's Fujiwara Gordy List pushed me from leaning no but could be persuaded otherwise on Fujiwara's candidacy to a hard no, which was probably the opposite of its intended effect. I'll give it to Goldberg by a hair because he was the kind of performer who made a lasting impression on everyone who saw him. 3. Edge. I'm not an Edgehead by any stretch of the imagination, but come on. He was an important cog in the machine for far longer, a much better worker, and a far superior human being. What exactly is the case for Warrior? 4. Blue Panther. To me, when you're as terrible in the ring as JYD was, your record as a draw has to be absolutely bulletproof (like at least Dusty Rhodes-level) to be HOF-worthy, and he's not on that level. I wouldn't vote for Panther solely on either working ability or stardom, but he absolutely should be in based on a combination of the two. 5. Johnny Saint. Orton fails the "feels like a Hall of Famer" test miserably, and I can't get behind someone like that unless they're a slam dunk from an empirical standpoint. As for Saint, OJ may have managed to convince a handful of folks that he was the total shits, but to the wrestling fandom at large, there's no one more emblematic of British-style mat wrestling. Definitely a strong candidate from a work/influence standpoint.

It was pretty amusing to see Scott dunked on by so many of his commenters for thinking that Jinny was just some random geek brought in to make Toni Storm look good when she's one of the biggest stars in the UK women's scene.

The term "the worst" gets thrown around a lot, but Brie Bella is the literal worst. Can't work, can't talk, a danger to herself and others.

Reigns has significantly regressed in the ring this year, though. It's like WWE decided that Lesnar/Goldberg has to be the template for every Universal Championship match. So we get a million Superman punches, a thousand finisher kick-outs, and a power nap thrown in at some point. At least, that's how it is on PPV. His Raw matches seem to be generally well-received.

Alexa is fine as the pest challenger who takes every shortcut to gain an advantage before getting her comeuppance in the end. It was her as a dominant heel champion that sucked.

I was half-expecting some kind of Starrcade 1996-style bait and switch where it somehow wasn't actually a cash-in. They could still do that. Like, Constable Corbin has the match stricken from the record books due to the Lesnar interference and gives Braun the briefcase back.

Mankindsplains?

KawadaSmile may have a far more positive view of current WWE than most of us, but as long as he doesn't go around telling everybody how stupid they are for not enjoying it as much as he does, I've got no beef with him. For what it's worth, I agree that this was one of their better shows this year.

On PPV. Nobody in their right mind watches Raw on a consistent basis.

How's this for a crazy idea: have Roman defend the Universal Championship against someone other than Lesnar or Strowman. It's been way too long since there was a title match not involving one of those three.