The Chief

Yes! I've been waiting for this

Eddie Graham was a tremendous influence on a number of guys, but how involved was he with training? Genuinely curious as I have no idea. Seems like a good surface candidate based on the other two.

I'm liking this Sheamus vs Ziggler feud way better than I thought I would. Seriously it's one of my favorite things on WWE TV right now. Glad Barrett won, I think he can do some fun stuff with the gimmick. Hopefully he doesn't go on a losing streak to retired former kings like Booker, Regal, Billy Gunn, etc. They should do stuff like this every six weeks or so on the network. It did feel special and I enjoyed it.

Had to know this was coming soon but it's still a shock. RIP Verne.

Damn, Sheamus vs Harper could be great but I've got a feeling they're gonna find a way out of running that match.

FWIW, Teddy Long was allegedly a terrible ref too. I guess a lot of guys on the WWE roster around 1999-2001 complained because he was always missing things and getting in the way of stuff.

They've kind of briefly alluded to Reigns retiring Big Show sometime in the near future. If they want to, they can go the same route with Rollins and Kane. One can dream.

Flat ending to what was a pretty fun show overall.

Bo may possibly be the most awkward in ring guy they have. I hardly see how he deserves better.

Not much of a backlash towards Reigns at all. And that was the most Shield-like Reigns has looked since they broke up.

Big Show plunder matches are always fun. And holy shit I can't believe Reigns took that bump.

I thought the same thing. That's not consistent with Lana's character at all and it felt really forced.

Yeah, this isn't working for me. The stip is really limiting them and there's some awkward stuff, like Rusev going to the top rope when he never does that. Not clicking.

Really fun match and I don't mind New Day winning. That's the best all of those guys have looked in a while. Woods too, he was fun on the outside. And damn I really wanna see Big E vs Cesaro now.

It's so weird seeing Kofi work heel after all this time.

Wow that's exactly what I predicted, sort of. Sheamus should be hit with HEAVY FINES.

That was unexpected! Pretty good much too, Sheamus works much better as a heel.

Good to see that at least the crowd is hot.

I forget what fucking thread that Dick Murdoch vs Afa match was in but damn, I loved that!

Kneeflifts. Just brutal, earth turning kneelifts.

Do it! The train wreck first couple years are at least entertaining and not boring. Plus you get to see Sabu vs random WWE guys.

So why did HHH and HBK both start using the Crippler Cross face less than a year after Benoit died? Really odd since neither one of them ever used the move before and, you know....

When you guys were going on about Dick Murdoch cutting a promo on NOT being there, I thought for a moment I was listening to the Titans of Wrestling: Portland. That is totally something Don Owen would do

Was it listed anywhere what the criteria were? Because I totally misunderstood. I thought you were looking for who the best World Champion was that particular year. In that you had to be a World Champion that year to be on the ballot.

So Extreme Rules is this Sunday I guess? Haven't really been paying close attention to the TV, but that's what happens when all the real stars go home after March. Card actually looks fun, but looks like they set up far too many lose-lose situations with their booking. Pre-Show: Ceasro/Kidd vs. Big E/Kofi for the Tag Titles - Champs retain setting them up for Lucha Dragons. New Day officially turn heel cutting a promo on the fans. Street Fight: Luke Harper vs. Dean Ambrose - Dean Ambrose loses again, maybe setting up Harper for Reigns? Match should be a blast, but Ambrose REALLY needs to win an important match sometime soon. There's more potential in Harper going over NOW, but they're really going to have a hard time rehabilitating Ambrose whenever (or if?) they decide they want to do that. Naomi vs. Nikki Bella for the Divas Title - Are the Bellas on the way out? I'll go with Naomi here. Last Man Standing: Roman Reigns vs. Big Show - Reigns absolutely needs to win here. Guessing he tips a dumpster over on Big Show or something equally goofy. Chicago will not be kind to this, but it could be decent. Kiss My Arse Match: Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler - Sheamus needs to win since he's just coming back. Guessing Dolph is knocked unconscious from Sheamus cheating so Sheamus shoves his face in his arse so Dolph doesn't look like a total idiot. Bad News Barrett vs. Daniel Bryan for the IC Title - Match might not happen? If it does, I'll say Bryan wins. His story just gets more depressing by the week so i wouldn't be surprised if he gets stripped here, awarding the title to Barrett, then Barrett is ordered to defend the title against someone like Ryback or Neville where he drops it? Russian Chain Match: John Cena vs. Rusev - Cena wins. I'm really looking forward to this and the match should be brutal. Easy match of the night and hopefully they have something decent set up for Rusev after this because he needs to get away from Cena. Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins for the WWE World Title - Rollins wins because Bray Wyatt interferes setting up a program with Orton. Just like the Ambrose HIAC last year. Kane remains loyal to the authority.