DMJ

I know Shane has his fans - he's easily the most well-liked/sympathetic l;lo;of the McMahons, even in kayfabe - but I'm suspecting that the segment will end with Orton either punting him or hitting him with an RKO as a way to further the feud with McIntyre (because McIntyre and Shane were previously in an alliance). And, again, I'm gonna call it shit booking and the writers/Vince clearly not understanding their audience or learning from past mistakes. One of the reasons the Orton/HHH feud building up to WrestleMania 25 was such a flop was because the whole thing was booked as if people love the McMahons (HHH included). They don't. You can't be presented on-screen as heels 99% of the time and expect sympathy. When Orton punted Stephanie? Cheers. When Orton attacked Vince? Cheers. Going into WrestleMania 25, there was no real desire for Orton to get any sort of comeuppance because Triple H, another guy who spent his peak years as a heel, wasn't defending the honor of his innocent wife and powerless father-in-law - he was defending the honor of the two biggest, most powerful heels of the past 25 years. And Orton was literally in the Stone Cold role. Tonight, it should be McIntyre who delivers a Claymore that oblierates Shane into next year. That is what a bad-ass, no-nonsense, cool babyface would do. I don't recall Drew and Shane ever being split, but that alliance was based on Shane being a manipulative heel, right? Using his power and influence to convince McIntyre to do his bidding? Drew and Shane being buddy-buddy would be like someone trying to get hipster cred buddying up to Don Trump Jr. They're lucky there won't be a true live crowd at SummerSlam because if they go with Orton attacking Shane, it would've been Randy getting the massive cheers on PPV and McIntyre needing an immediate heel turn.

Personally, I think it would've been better if the lights went out and then came back on and they were both gone. To me, putting his fingers in her mouth was icky - but worse than that, it was unnecessary and detracting from the moment. Am I the only one whose first thought was, "I wonder what that glove tastes like" or "This is just awkward cuz, like, because we've seen them on various reality shows as themselves, we know these were probably giggling about this all day"? Maybe I'm wrong, but it felt like the story is supposed to make me wonder about what's coming next now that Alexa has now been abducted...but was she? Instead of actually seeing her get abducted and vanishing, we saw him apply the Mandible Claw and her basically sell it like instant death (which is wholly inconsistent with how that move should be sold and has been sold historically). Fade to black. But they could kick off SmackDown next week with Alexa being shaken up backstage and the announcers could say, "After the show ended, The Fiend disappeared and Alexa got medical attention." To me, that's not good storytelling if you're pussyfooting the very first step in what could be an intriguing storyline. Aside from that, I would say that I wouldn't be disappointed with SummerSlam being focused primarily on SmackDown. Aside from McIntyre/Orton, is there a single match or angle on RAW that I should care about? Bayley and Sasha have been all over the TV so much that I don't even consider them of a single brand. I'd be down for a card that looked like this... - Drew/Orton (maybe surprise appearance by Brock at the end?) - Sasha/Asuka (cage match or"shark cage" match to keep Bayley away) - Styles vs. Big E (They've waited so long to push Big E that I'm cool with having him "climb the ranks" the old school way, win a lesser title here, hold onto it forever, win a World Title at Mania) - Riddle vs. Gable or Corbin (the better match would be Gable, obviously, but the bigger "rub" would be Riddle taking out Corbin) - Bray vs. Braun (Alexa and Nikki Cross heavily involved) (possible Otis cash-in?) - Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville (Hair vs. Hair) - Some sort of angle where Rollins and his crew do something dastardly and Aleister Black returns to destroy them * And I propose this card not because its going to give us one "epic" after another. It wouldn't. In fact, there could even be some clunkers...but I like the idea of variety and not necessarily having every match be all about workrate or courting a "This is Awesome" chant. NXT Takeovers have become a bit of a chore for that very reason. Advance some storylines, give a spotlight to some newer stars (Mandy and Sonya), etc. As good as Bayley and Sasha have been, for example, they didn't need 30+ minutes of screentime at Extreme Rules just like they don't both need to be featured at SummerSlam (one good match featuring all 3 will be just fine).

I can't speak too much about it because I've never seen PWG, but my instant reaction is like El-P's: sounds like a dumb, shock-value gimmick, something that's as old as wrestling itself. The more shocking part, to me, is to hear that this got "over" and Human Tornado was the top face in the company. I thought PWG was supposed to be fun and goofy? In the late 90s, here in Cleveland, there was a wrestler (Michael Hellborn) who wrestled as The BasketNazi, wore full-on Nazi gear, waved a Nazi flag, etc. It was disgusting and offensive and drew 0 dollars. But one would imagine that JT Lightning (RIP) believed it would get a reaction and that's all that matters. None of us should be surprised that when indie wrestling does return in front of live audiences, there will *definitely* be various heels doing an anti-mask/"Covid is a Hoax" gimmick. Or is someone already doing this and I've missed it?

It is definitely remarkable that considering the number of charismatic guys they've had come up from FCW/NXT that could do the same job - Armando Estrada, Enzo, Lio Rush, even Montez Ford, god knows I'm probably forgetting a bunch of other names - they had to bring MVP back to lead a stable and "freshen things up." Not saying MVP isn't good at what he does or didn't have a good run in the 00s...but I'm not sure what the point of NXT is if you can't use it to successfully create an MVP-level character. Its not like MVP was ever a top guy and his peak was what? 2008? It's a bit like bringing back goth/vampire/dark characters like Kevin Thorn or Gangrel to be on RAW when you've got goth/vampire/dark characters Karrion Kross and Dexter Lumis in your D-league.

Again, the comparisons to AEW are apt when we talk about ages and exposure and getting time to develop (and what that really should mean). I'd argue that Sammy Guevara (27), Darby Allin (27), and maybe even Jungle Boy (23) are "hotter" than anyone in NXT right now - and that includes Keith Lee, a guy that I (and many others here) were telling the company to strap a rocket to in November. A year from now, you can expect to see 2-out-of-3 of these guys challenging for the AEW Championship and being treated as stars. A year from now, Keith Lee will either be in the exact spot he is now or the main roster midcard. The number of championships is a whole company problem, but I think we can add "North American Championship" to the list of mistakes that have been made with NXT too. Why would a developmental league need multiple singles championships?? If the NXT Champion is already the historically *fifth* most important singles championship in the company (Universal, WWE, IC, and US would 1-4), then what kind of honor is it to win the 6th most important championship? Even the 24/7 or Cruiser* titles could be argued fit a niche, but the NA Title is wholly unnecessary. I can see the need for the UK Championship as NXT UK was a separate entity, but creating the North American Championship as a MacGuffin for storylines just showed the lack of creativity in the Creative Department. * I know there are some 205 Live fans, but personally, I think the entire idea of cruiserweights is silly and dumb when Adam fucking Cole is holding your heavyweight championship. That's a separate rant, though.

In the AEW thread, there's been discussion about NXT and, to me, it feels a bit out of place. Admins, feel free to delete this thread, but I thought it might be interesting to discuss the decline of NXT, not only since it started airing on USA but even before that. Some talking points I thought of... - NXT is no longer a "developmental" league. Even before debuting on USA as a weekly show in the summer of 2019, we started seeing characters stick around on NXT for lengthier and lengthier stretches. Gargano, Ciampa, Undisputed Era, Velveteen Dream...the list goes on of guys who climbed the ranks in NXT, peaked, and then stuck around and got stale. The roster is no longer made up of guys who are presumably being groomed for the main roster. NXT has become the same hamster wheel that has made the main roster's midcard a graveyard of could-be/would-be stars. - But NXT still is a developmental league. You won't find an NXT Title Match on your average main roster show because the NXT Title is not really at the same level as the WWE or Universal Title. It is still promoted as featuring "the stars of tomorrow." While Shayna Baszler and Rhea Rhipley were initially promoted as NXT graduates who could slide right into the top of the Women's Division (and the same could be said of Asuka, Sasha, and Charlotte), the same is not true for the men post-2015. Look at the NXT Champions after 2015 - Bobby Roode, Andrade Almas, Aleister Black, even Drew McIntyre - have all been brought up to minimal fanfare and nothing resembling a strong push. Its no wonder it took approximately 3 weeks for Matt Riddle to become just another guy on SmackDown. - NXT challenging AEW only helped the competition. Once the show started airing on USA, there was an immediate need for it to start performing in metrics that it didn't need to bother with before. That meant bringing back former NXT stars and hotshotting title matches in the name of beating the "WWE alternative." We've heard the arguments about AEW not being an "indie" because of the deep pockets of Tony Khan, but that distinction doesn't discount AEW's status as the most prominent alternative company to WWE - one that happens to be spearheaded by well-regarded wrestling personalities with a loyal fanbase (an important distinction compared to how TNA existed for a long time under the Jarretts and Dixie Carter). After years of raiding talent and being criticized for it, the WWE needlessly cemented NXT as just another arm of their evil empire. It was a bad look. - When everything is an epic, nothing is epic. Many would argue that that the first Takeover: Brooklyn was the best Takeover ever. For the sake of this argument, let's concede that it was at least a VERY good show. But what made it great was that it not only featured established indie darlings like Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, and Samoa Joe, but also some serious vareity in styles, match length, and purpose. There was a 5 minute Apollo Crews match. There was a Jushin Liger showcase. Samoa Joe tapped Baron Corbin in 10 minutes. The Tag Team Title Match wasn't an overwrought workratefest. By comparison, on the past SEVEN Takeover shows, there have only been 3 matches that wrapped up in under 10 minutes (and 2 of those 3 were on the most recent crowdless In Your House special). NXT has become "all epics-all the time" which has had the reverse effect of creating epic matches. If you can remember distinct differences between any of the various Ciampa/Gargano/Cole matches of the past 2 years, you've got the kind of memory they make CBS procedural dramas about. It is all a blur to me. - The Women's Division was decimated by Asuka and then Shayna Baszler. I'm a fan of both women, but it is remarkable that after having Asuka run roughshod over the division for the better part of 2 years and seeing the lurch it left the division in, they essentially repeated the formula with Shayna Baszler. While there are obviously talented female performers on the roster, with Rhea Rhipley and Bianca Belair leaving earlier this year, there is a noticeable lack of star power and credible challengers for Io Shirai. - Like the Women's Division, the Tag Team Division and midcard seem directionless. Undisputed Era has run its course. They waited so long to put Keith Lee at the top of the card that the North American Title he holds seems completely irrelevant and useless. Ciampa, Gargano, and Balor are wallpaper. Who knows what will or should happen with Velveteen Dream at this point. Some of the newer stars - Kross, Damien Priest, the Dexter guy - are interesting but somewhat awkward and unproven, certainly not ready to be at the top of even a developmental league. The whole show feels directionless for the first time maybe ever.

- As much as I've been critical of McIntyre's push since January and still believe, even if Covid-19 never happened, he was not "the answer" to the WWE's woes, I think the wise move is to keep the title on him. My feeling is Drew was, for most of 2019 and into January of this year, a loser, didn't have any truly great matches, and if the audience was behind him, it was mostly by default (meaning, they literally had no one else to cheer by that point). That being said, they gave him the biggest "moment" they could possibly have given him at WrestleMania (in one of my least favorite matches of the year) and, even though I think he should've trounced Ziggler in under 3 minutes at Extreme Rules, at least he hasn't done any jobs. I don't think Orton is going to propel the ratings back up - especially considering the number he and Big Show did a couple weeks ago. I don't think the WWE benefits by creating another Jinder Mahal/Sheamus/Kevin Owens-level Champion - a guy who is treated like a big deal for maybe 3 months but then shuffles back down the card so the "real main eventers" can be on top. In 2016/2017, you could argue that it made sense because you still had Cena, Lesnar, Goldberg, Reigns, and even Triple H still around and competing semi-regularly for World Championships. In 2020, though...? And as for Drew, well, again, this is not a guy who was mega-over and can afford to get beaten. His saving grace is that the pandemic means we don't officially know his ceiling. But if he goes down at SummerSlam, it will put the ceiling on him before he's ever even put in front of a live crowd. - I'm not sure I understand the Ziggler/Big E debate above. I don't get how bringing up how overexposed and weak Ziggler is makes the argument for Big E stronger. I guess where I see things differently is your 2nd point ("The WWE doesn't think highly of Dolph Ziggler"). I think they do think highly of him - very highly. He's in the top 10 in base salary. He's been around forever and every time he threatens to leave, they pay him even more to stay on. I think they view him as a Jack-of-all-Trades who can work any spot on the card, make someone else look terrific, and fill time (which, when you film 5 hours of TV a week, is necessary). They don't value him as a main event guy, but they clearly see him as a valuable utility player who they can plug-in anywhere. If he's good or bad at that is just one's opinion. I wholeheartedly agree that they have underestimated Big E for years now. But I don't necessarily see Ziggler as taking Big E's opportunities away from him. I think Vince has pigeonholed the New Day and rather than seeing how big it could truly be, he has been too happy with the money it already generates in its specific role. The New Day brings in a ton of money in merch as a midcard (mostly comedy) act and Vince would rather have that than run the risk of losing it by giving Big E the green light in singles (and by putting him in a more serious role). I do agree that there is a not-so-minor race issue at play too, if that is the point you're trying to make between Ziggler's opportunities vs. Big E's lack of opportunities. I just think it all comes back down to Vince and complaining about Ziggler is a conflation of two very separate issues.

I thought the McAfee/Cole thing was a work when I saw it. It didn't create any sort of buzz so on that level it failed. The apology seems like a red herring to further a storyline that nobody gives a shit about as he never actually apologizes to McAfee - in fact, he doubles-down on McAfee "pushing his buttons" and implies he is going to "make sure something like this never happens again." The tweet could be interpreted as him being upset that instead of actually attacking McAfee, he stormed off. But its all still a really long route to a creative dead-end. Cole is right up there with Rollins as someone who is so miscast and overpushed that I feel like I could write a college thesis about it. Maybe even more than Rollins actually. Like, yes, Rollins' selling and psychology are god awful - but Adam Cole wouldn't even be in the top weight class on a middle school wrestling team. I know they gimmick him as being 6'0 when he's really 5'10 tops, but I'm equally skeptical about him being 210 pounds. And he's booked like a legit heel tough guy more often than not.

I read through some of his most recent Twitter. Wouldn't describe it as "great." Mostly just biblical affirmations and retweets of WWE/NXT gifs. I'm not a Twitter aficionado or user, but just seems like "great' would describe someone who uses the platform to say something or promote something of value in a succinct or clever way. Also, he ends some of his tweets with #LoveThyNeighbor and then posts that Democrats are pedophiles...as he coaches Velveteen Dream and pals around with Jerry Lawler. So, yeah, fuck this guy and his phony Born Again bullshit. (To be clear, I'm not calling all Born Again Christianity "bullshit," just singling out that the Road Dogg spouting "God is good" while actively being a piece of shit means that he not only doesn't practice what he preaches, but doesn't even fundamentally understand Jesus' teachings.)

Road Dogg is right, the country was a lot better when stuff like this was just "good fun": Fuck Road Dogg. Hopefully some of the talent come out and refuse to work with him and he gets fired. I doubt his "creative genius" means more to the bottom line than what The New Day, Sasha, Bayley, and other actual talent bring to the table.

I'm not a doctor, but I can say, a friend of mine contracted Covid early on (this would've been maybe early April). She has 2 young kids and her husband is an EMT. She tested positive and her kids and husband did not. They all live under the same roof. Wisely, the whole family quarantined for a little while. I still think its incredibly risky to have Ric at the PC even if he tested negative. Testing negative is great - but I just read about an admittedly small study (here) that noted that even those who tested negative could still, potentially, be carriers and spread the virus. Add that possibility to the notion of asymptomatic spreaders and, for safety's sake, if someone in your house comes up positive, quarantining is the safe bet. I will say this too, though, when I go through a drive thru, I don't always mask up. I haven't been to Starbucks (I'm not a coffee drinker), but at the nearby Taco Bell, Burger King, McDonalds, its pretty contact-less now. There's been trays involved, minimal dialogue, nobody is exerting heavy respiration, etc. I'm much more concerned with gatherings and prolonged conversation, etc. than I am with reaching out, grabbing a cup of coffee, and bringing it into my car at a distance (especially when the worker is wearing a mask). But, hey, now that I know that wearing a mask in the drive thru is a thing, I'll gladly do it.

Definitely a movie for non-fans. And a movie that non-fans tend to really like. And fans too. I liked it, in fact. Also, check out this review that actually calls it a triumph of feminist film-making: https://screen-queens.com/2019/08/22/fighting-with-my-family-finally-a-feminist-paean-to-pro-wrestling/ El-P joked that the film should've been made by a "real filmmaker" and not some hack. It actually was. Stephen Merchant is a highly-acclaimed writer/director. Maybe his particular brand of comedy is not everyone's cup of tea, but he did win a Peabody Award (among many others) for co-creating/writing the original Office. As for it being "by the numbers" and "cookie cutter," well, read the review above. It makes a strong argument that, actually, there aren't all that many female-centered movies getting produced by Hollywood in a given year - especially not where the central conflict isn't "How do I get the man of my dreams?" or "How do I balance my worklife with raising a child?." It didn't have the gritty realism of Aronofsky's The Wrestler and, obviously, when a movie is bankrolled by the WWE, it's going to be heavily pro-WWE (even when it, oddly, fails at this), but you kinda have to know what movie you're going into. It was never marketed as anything but what it is.

I really cannot recall a time when a WWE PPV has had less hype than a TNA/Impact one. I mean, I'm sure somebody could point to one or two instances, but this is literally the same weekend and the expectations/buzz between this show and Slammiversary are just night and day. I'm going to check this out tomorrow, but don't expect to get all the way through it in one sitting. Plusses: + Both women's title matches are intriguing to me, especially Asuka/Banks. + The Eye-for-an-Eye and Swamp Match have "car crash"/"so bad they're good" potential. In both cases, I'll readily admit to being more interested in seeing ridiculous ga-ga and over-the-top bullshit rather than actually seeing them try to do straight-up matches. I love comparing Rollins to Triple H, but there's a part of him that's Edge-like too in that I will admit that I prefer him in stipulation matches. + McIntyre is squashing Ziggler in under 2 minutes, right? Negatives: - Neither of the two matches on the card (Crews/MVP and New Day/Nakamura & Cesaro) strike me as particularly interesting. I've heard good things about MVP's work on RAW recently, but I guess I thought that was mostly as a manager? Crews doesn't do much for me. As for the SmackDown Tag Titles, Cesaro is always great in tags and New Day really don't have "bad" matches...but having "good matches for good matches' sake" is one of my least favorite WWE tropes. At first I would compare it to putting wrestlers on hamster wheels, but I now get more of the feeling like I'm the one on the wheel, perpetually watching guys like Cesaro and Big E wrestle good matches and wondering "Why don't they do something with this guy?" and realizing that I've been asking that question for 5 years now. - There's a chance they actually let Ziggler get some offense in for absolutely no reason.

I obviously wasn't there and have no real back-up to this, but even the part about Heyman adding them to "the list" of people that should be released seems suspect. It hinges on the idea that Heyman thought it was a wise cost-cutting move...when, as far as I know, Paul Heyman has no incentive to give a single shit about the WWE's finances (which, by the way, were fine anyway). I mean, Triple H? Stephanie? Even Shane (who probably has a sizable amount of stock) would have clear motive to want to save a buck, but as far as I know, Paul Heyman was not any sort of real executive. He is, rather famously, a guy that would cut corners and was notoriously "frugal" (which is the nicest way of saying he stiffed his workers), but that was his company and his money; whenever he's worked in the WWE, Paul has been an employee and I'm not sure he's ever really been in the "inner circle." I just don't see why Paul Heyman would bring up their (arguably) bloated contracts apropos of nothing. So, yeah, I'm not saying Heyman is 100% innocent or that the conversation didn't happen between Paul and Vince, but the details are weird. Also, as someone else mentioned above, if you were looking at a balance sheet and you saw what The Good Brothers were supposedly making and considered how they were used and what they were bringing in, cutting them isn't some radical notion. Was it cold-blooded? Absolutely. Most of us can agree that doing so during a pandemic was evil. But had it happened during a routine post-Mania culling, it would've made total sense. But, again, since when is Paul Heyman looking at the balance sheet?

Whenever my ears hear the phrase "swamp match," my brain hears this.

Just watched this whole thing and thoroughly enjoyed it. - Talk about star-studded. DiBiase, Roberts, Savage, Piper, Dusty, and Andre all in the first half of the match and all mega-over, even if not at their "peak." This one is definitely in contention for most "star-studded" Rumble ever by the time its all said and done (and that's without counting future stars Bret and Shawn). - Maybe the connection has been made already, but with the way Piper and Bad News start their feud here, was the intention to basically re-do the They Live dynamic that Piper had with Keith David? On commentary Ventura notes that they're having a "street fight in the aisle" and I couldn't help but think that Vince had watched They Live, seen the legendary street fight with Keith David, and a lightbulb went off that he could basically do something similar with Bad News. Or was it just that Piper and Bad News, personality-wise, made sense? Just curious if anyone else sees a connection there or if I'm reading way too much into it. - Obviously we get not-so-subtle "preludes" to a bunch of the WM6 matches, but whats also cool are the (only slightly) more subtle seeds to future programs too. For example, we don't just get some more build towards Savage/Dusty and DiBiase/Roberts, because of how much Savage seems to be helping the Million Dollar Man, Tony suspects collusion. I'm not sure if that was played up prior to the match, but it would make a little bit of sense as the Savage/Dusty feud eventually leads to the Dusty/DiBiase feud (and Sapphire "selling out"). Obviously Andre was already being fazed out, so its cool to see them essentially give his spot to Earthquake, his elimination requiring nearly everyone in the ring to work together. Again, I wouldn't necessarily call it subtle, but Earthquake is made to look like a monster and they don't spoil any square-offs with Hogan or Warrior, wisely protecting him for his big push in the summer. - The match does have a bit of a lull in the middle, but, to me, part of that is due to the Warrior already being somewhat exposed here. His entrance doesn't get that big of a pop (Jake's is much bigger, as is Hogan's later on) and instead of having him clean house, after an initial flurry, he fades into the match a bit. He just doesn't command the ring or draw your eye the way Hogan does. Granted, few ever have and its hard not to become a background player when there's 6-7 other dudes in the ring (many of whom are equally gassed to the gills), but still, for the guy who was set to take the mantle of being the company's top star, its not the big coming out party one would think. Once we get the Hogan/Warrior staredown it is an undeniably big moment so that was clearly the money match going into Wrestlemania VI (and Warrior clearly needed the win there to have any shot of becoming THE top guy), but its not like he was dwarfing Hogan in popularity (at least not on this night in Orlando). A really fun, interesting, and breezy Rumble. Solid 4-out-of-5.

I haven't seen this match in forever and I never did a full review on my blog, but I did "score" it at 4.5-out-of-5 and include it in my database. Stone Cold called it the best triple threat match he'd ever seen on his podcast soon after and I remember watching it with non-fans who were also thoroughly engaged (the last Rumble party I think I ever hosted/attended, not that they were ever an annual event).

http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-top-150-monday-cable-originals-network-finals-7-13-2020.html Less than 1.6 millions viewers. I'm convinced that even when they do get crowds back - which probably won't be until some time in 2021 - that number is not going to go up all that much. I feel like every 6 weeks I've typed "the product has never been colder" and then 6 weeks later, its even colder.

I had Brock pretty high on my list IIRC, but he would definitely not be up there as high now. For every great Lesnar performance, there are just too many matches that absolutely stunk or even outright offended me. Like, what was the psychology in the McIntyre match at Mania this year? Or really any other match with Reigns aside from that first one? That match with Orton where he just bloodied him wasn't fun to watch and led nowhere either. He's still in my top 50, but I'm a mainstream US wrestling-centric fan so that's to be expected (hoping to eradicate that by watching some of the GME nominees, especially non-US stuff). In 2016, though, I would've scoffed at someone putting Cena above him, but now I can at least see the argument. I don't really recall Cena shitting the bed or blatantly half-assing it in many main event matches the way Lesnar clearly has.

With all this talk about Roman, Zayn, and KO "sitting out," I was curious if anyone has any thoughts/predictions regarding whether this time off can be added to their contracts? I'm guessing the answer is Definitely Yes, which might also be why Daniel Bryan was hesitant to leave in April when he was likely already planning to take paternity leave and didn't want that time tacked on too. Considering that Vince routinely adds time to contracts when workers get injured, there's just no way I could see him not saying to someone like Reigns or Owens, "Sure, you can take off 3 months, pal, no problem" without making them make up that time down the stretch. I know Owens has his detractors here, but I really wish he'd just find a way to up and quit or get out like Moxley did. He seems like a good enough dude that realizes how toxic the WWE is but just hasn't figured out his exit strategy even though he knows he'd do just fine back on the indies or AEW. Again, I know he's not super popular with everyone here and I'm far from a stan for the guy, but there was a point when he had aura and was interesting - he hasn't been a "must see" character in years, though.

Yeah, I think Reigns has too many high-end matches with too wide a variety of opponents to not consider him a very good performer/worker. Rollins, on the other hand, is actually a guy with very few true top end matches despite the reputation for being some "elite" worker. Now, I would listen to the argument that Rollins' reputation as the workhorse/technician of the Shield meant that his underwhelming matches are more based on him not meeting expectations (whereas Reigns has, in a sense, "overdelivered" because he had the knock of being just "the muscle"), but that's a different conversation. I think there was really, for some time at least, a sense that Rollins was as good a worker, or at least could be mentioned in the same breath as guys like Kenny Omega or AJ Styles or even Bryan and, if he wasn't there yet, had the potential that he could be one day. I think the more we see of him, the more its clear that he's just not a top 10 guy in any department and, as a whole act, he lacks the intangibles to overcome being a B+ player. I mean, sure, in terms of consistency, Seth Rollins is way more reliable for a good match (and maintaining sobriety) than Jeff Hardy. He's a better athlete than CM Punk or The Miz. But I'd rather have unreliable Jeff Hardy or "skinny fat" Punk or the limited in-ring skill of The Miz on my roster over Rollins any day of the week. And there's a dozen other guys I'd take over Rollins too. He's not a top draft pick to me.

Just reviewed this over at my blog (Kwang The Blog) earlier this month... After a lengthy video promo and a calm-and-cool promo from tonight's guest referee, Vince McMahon, its time for tonight's Fall Counts Anywhere WWE Championship match pitting "Stone Cold" Steve Austin against the "Corporate" Dude Love. Before the match begins, Pat Patterson gets a lengthy introduction, then proceeds to give an even longer one for Gerald Brisco (our guest timekeeper), before welcoming Vince and then Dude Love to the ring. Austin eventually comes out, but then we get the surprise arrival of the Undertaker too - the Deadman serving as an extra enforcer to make sure Vince doesn't try to pull any more bullshit. When the bell finally sounds, Austin and Foley get to work and the crowd goes wild for every minute of it - loudly chanting "Vince Is Gay" and "Let's Go, Stone Cold, Let's Go" with incredible enthusiasm. I've written about it elsewhere but Austin and Foley have great timing and while neither could be considered the other man's best opponent, their matches have always come across as fun - or about as fun as a wild brawl can get. When the fight goes to the outside, Patterson announces that the match is now No DQ, but instead of giving Foley the advantage, it seems to inspire Austin to become completely unhinged, clotheslining Foley from the guardrail onto the floor in a ridiculous spot. Back in the ring, Austin tries to guillotine Dude Love across the middle rope, but Foley dodges and takes back control, eventually hitting Austin with a swinging neckbreaker on the floor. Patterson then makes the announcement that falls count anywhere, Foley getting 2 on the outside as the crowd boos. Foley celebrates a bit early, though, and gets nailed with another nasty clothesline. Austin tries to hit Foley again, but Dude Love back body drops onto one of the cars near the entrance. Foley tries to drive Austin into another one, but this time Austin hot shots him onto the car hood. Surprisingly, Vince actually makes the count for two Austin covers. They climb to the top of the car and Austin attempts a Stunner, but Foley shoves him off. Foley then delivers a sunset flip off a car onto the floor for 2. Dude Love continues his attack, grabbing a large metal pole and slamming it across Austin's back. Austin fights back, though, his face now a crimson mask. Again, though, Austin gets cut off by a Foley back body drop for another 2 count. Foley then hits him with a suplex on the floor. Foley climbs atop a car and attempts an elbow drop on the floor, but Austin rolls away. Austin makes the cover and Vince counts - but Foley manages to kick out. Back in the ring they go with Austin in control, but Patterson trips up the Rattlesnake and allows Foley to recover and deliver a clothesline of his own. Foley takes off the top turnbuckle and sends Austin right into it. Foley continues to beat on Austin, eventually even bashing him with a chair. I love Austin's brief moments of offense during this stretch - they are just expertly timed and the crowd goes insane for them. Austin destroys Foley with a chairshot to the head, but Vince refuses to make the count. Foley gets up and attempts to hit Austin with a chair but nails Vince instead! Austin hits him with a Stunner, but Chioda gets dragged out of the ring by Patterson at 2! The fight continues but the attention goes to the Undertaker on the outside, the Deadman taking out Patterson and Brisco with chokeslams through the announce table! Austin hits Foley with another Stunner and, this time, grabs Vince's arm and makes the count himself! Undertaker calls for the bell and this one is over. Austin and Taker have a staredown - a subtle but important ending note, a nod to their future program and a sign of mutual respect without either guy "endorsing" the other (which would've been out of character for both). This match is often cited as the blueprint for nearly every WWE main event that Austin would wrestle for the next 2 years and it makes sense that Vince would try to emulate it - its a violent-but-fun, story-driven roller coaster of a match that the crowd went absolutely bonkers for. Even if the rest of the card was only mildly entertaining, the main event delivered and the audience was still hooked and excited about what would happen next. A great, great match. (4/5)

WAtched the first 5 minutes of Smackdown. A dozen WWE stars standing a few feet apart doing some sort of chant about Taker (I had it on mute). Multiple levels of LOL to me. I actually feel bad for these folks. Hopefully when Hollywood reopens, people like Alexa and Big E will realize they have enough catchet to abandon this sinking ship and make more money being Hollywood C-listers. Honestly, Alexa Bliss in Lifetime movies? Big E doing comedic tough guy on any number of shows or movies or Happy Madison productions? These folks work too hard for this shit and would make equal money elsewhere with more freedom and a ton less likelihood of paralysis. plus, if they ever do decide to come back to wrestling, they’ll get mega bucks for a lighter schedule anyway. Time to abandon the sinking ship. The irony is, fans won’t even call it “selling out” like they did 20 years ago because most everyone agrees the WWE is an evil institution. It’s amazing that the Rock got shit for leaving knowing what we know now (or ignored then).

Sadly, like the rest of the country, I think Vince doesn't really give a shit about solutions or options. His mind is clearly focused on getting more people into the tapings, specifically paying fans, and then, as soon as he can, bringing the show back on the road for paying fans outside of Florida. Even in states where numbers are rising back to and above previous highs for new daily cases and hospitalizations, the idea of "re-closing" is less popular than it was when the states first closed. There just seems to be a growing belief that we, as a nation, can will this thing away and "muscle it out," basically ignoring it until it goes away. Vince is going to do the same. I mean, he lost Roman months ago, Becky left months ago, Charlotte is now out, Kevin Owens left (not that he was a major player), but he's still got what? 30+ performers to fill time? More when you count NXT? What reason would Vince have to change one thing about the taping schedule? About protecting his employees?

Yea, there's enough idiocy to go around here. Also, while the initial idea that this virus was only affecting the elderly has been proven false, we are - based on their general appearance - talking about physically healthy young people who are at the age of feeling invincible, are on insane fitness regimens, and probably eat very well. If you were Tyler Breeze, how scared of this virus would you be? I mean, your job basically involves wrestling other sweaty men on dirty mats, getting on germ-filled planes, and sleeping on germ-filled hotel beds 200+ days a year. "How bad could this Covid be, right?" You're a pro-friggin'-wrestler. Its not dissimilar to the way I have thought about my own exposure to it. I work with students with multiple disabilities. Over the course of a school day, I'm getting sweat, drool, snot, and spittle on my hands and arms at times. I wear gloves when I'm helping a student in the bathroom, but I'm still helping a student in the bathroom. Shit's gonna happen (literally). I wash my hands regularly with lots of soap and I disinfect surfaces all the time, but yeah, classrooms and school bathrooms are full of germs. My immune system, when I'm exercising regularly and eating healthy foods, seems pretty strong (as I don't get sick very often). Is it Covid-proof? Of course not...but, initially, I ignorantly believed it was, that Covid was going to get other people, but not me. I mean, I'm 36. I exercise. I eat fruits and vegetables. I'm only 10 pounds overweight, not 40. I'm not really at-risk, right? So, yeah, there's enough idiocy to go around. Vince's actions are immoral, though, while wrestlers and others going to Vegas just seem arrogant.