DMJ

Gonna post my full review tomorrow (I think), but my biggest takeaway is that the signing of AJ and decision to catapult him into the main event within 6 months of his WWE debut was one of the smartest moves the company's made in a long while. I don't think Owens or Zayn or Balor could've worked in that position and immediately delivered a match that was more "capital M" Main Event than what AJ and Reigns did here. That match just felt BIG and I don't think you can really give too much credit to the Chicago crowd, who was certainly hot, but not necessarily invested 1000% from the first second. AJ and Reigns got them there and kept them there *despite* booking shenanigans that made it very apparent that AJ was not leaving with the strap. Lots of great spots throughout, Reigns' selling has always been one of my favorite parts of his game, and while I'm not one of those guys that says Reigns can't wrestle, I'm willing to say this - that match was, to me, easily one of the top 3-4 singles matches he's had in his entire career and, while he carried his end, AJ did more as Reign's foil than Reign's did as AJ's. In other words, like a Daniel Bryan, I think AJ brings elements (high-flying, speed, varied offense, ability to link together maneuevers and submissions) that Roman Reigns can't and when you put them together, you get magic in a way that Reigns just will never get from an Ambrose. So, yeah, Reigns had a great match - but AJ had more to prove here and he absolutely did, delivering the kind of performance that makes it very clear why he was successful in Japan and why he's worth every penny the WWE paid for him.

So, here it is in all of its shamefulness. I know I've posted this same message a dozen times, but I'll do it again - I humbly bow to the many people who actually participated in this marvelous process as it was intended and branched out and viewed all sorts of footage from a variety of promotions and eras. I did not. Instead, I relied solely on the Network and my, at this point, inexcusable and borderline xenophobic/ageist tunnel vision for only WWE and WCW. Hence, John Cena ranking higher than Terry Funk. I'm not going to defend this list beyond just admitting how limited my viewing of pre-91' pro-wrestling is. Steve Austin Ric Flair Rey Mysterio Jr. Bret Hart Eddie Guerrero Brock Lesnar John Cena Terry Funk The Rock Ricky Steamboat Daniel Bryan Chris Benoit Vader William Regal Randy Savage Dustin Rhodes Arn Anderson Kurt Angle Mick Foley Shawn Michaels Christian Chris Jericho Rick Rude Sting Sean Waltman Diamond Dallas Page Bobby Eaton Brian Pillman CM Punk LA Park Tully Blanchard Curt Hennig Jushin Liger Dean Malenko Fit Finlay Cesaro Edge Hulk Hogan Roddy Piper Jerry Lawler Lex Luger The Undertaker Big Show Big Boss Man Owen Hart Psicosis Seth Rollins Kevin Steen Samoa Joe Scott Hall Triple H Rob Van Dam Davey Boy Smith Matt Hardy Jeff Hardy Too Cold Scorpio Dusty Rhodes Booker T Dean Ambrose Randy Orton Rick Martel Ted DiBiase AJ Styles John Tenta Ultimo Dragon Sabu Haku Jake Roberts Yoshihiro Tajiri Sheamus Batista Ron Simmons Terry Taylor Jimmy Golden Paul Orndorff Raven Greg Valentine Dolph Ziggler Sami Zayn Sasha Banks Prince Devitt Christopher Daniels Jack Brisco Ultimate Warrior Marc Mero Marcus Alexander Bagwell JBL Luke Harper Kevin Sullivan Matt Borne Chavo Guerrero Jr. Larry Zybysko Tracy Smothers Abdullah the Butcher Jeff Jarrett Tom Zenk Brad Armstrong Bam Bam Bigelow Jim Duggan

At their respective peaks, I'd take Bryan Clarke. To me, Crush was pretty awful in every setting/situation, excluding maybe the Doink feud because, well, it was fun to see Doink outsmart him and make him look like a total joke. Clarke, though, has the Blood Runs Cold feud, which, as I've rewatched it recently, was actually a pretty cool, unique midcard storyline for a little while there. Now, Clarke is certainly being carried in those tag matches against Glacier and Ernest Miller by Mortis (Kanyon), who fills nearly every match I've seen with at least two or three nifty, innovative spots, but that's two or three more nifty spots than I've ever seen Crush be in the ring for. I'd also say, based on pure look, Clarke had the more impressive physique, though, I'm just as ready to admit that, move for move, Crush was probably the better worker based on what I assume was having better training and more experience. Still, that almost makes Crush work because he's a guy who had multiple chances to work with all-time greats and seemed to get less interesting as time went on. Clarke may have sucked his whole career, but it's not like he ever had extended opportunities to learn the craft beneath Bill Eadie, Barry Darsow, and Randy Savage among others. In other words, Crush was a prospect who became a bust, while Clarke was just a career lower card guy that didn't exceed expectations because expectations were low from the start.

It took about 3 and a half weeks for the post-Mania narrative on most boards, news sites, etc. to switch back to talking about RAW's declining ratings. I know I haven't watched it since the night after Mania. While I'm sure I've missed some good matches and segments, I'm willing to say that, while I wasn't hugely negative on Mania the day after it (I was more lukewarm on it), I think it's longterm effect on me was worse than the initial disappointment. Just reading the results, I catch myself thinking, "New Day is still around? I could've sworn they were Stone Cold Stunnered out of existence," or "Shane McMahon is still around? Why?" and "Where's Lesnar? Oh, yeah, he's not around most of the time." Ambrose is irrelevant. Jericho could be giving great promos day and night, but he's staler than year-old rye, this being easily his worst return because, while it initially seemed it was leading to something new or interesting (as he basically promised on his podcast and Twitter for months now), it actually has led to nothing. The self-proclaimed "master" of longterm storytelling and character re-invention has been anything but. Still no Cena or Rollins or Orton, but even if they were around, I'm not sure RAW would be appointment viewing anyway. I like Zayn/Owens. I'm a big Miz fan. I like Cesaro. I like Kalisto in singles matches. I like tweener Reigns. I like Apollo Crews. I'm invested in the new Women's Championship division in a major way. I heard Finn Balor was coming up to the main roster soon and I like him too. What "guilty pleasure" fandom I had for New Day has now become (what will likely be equally temporary) support for Enzo and Cass. Right now, based on the results and reactions I've read, RAW is literally being designed for fans like me.....and yet the episodes are stacking up, unwatched, in my DVR. I place the blame on WrestleMania. It was a show that made it so abundantly clear how inconsequential wins, losses, and titles were that I just couldn't care less about the week-to-week, day-to-day stuff. Granted, I'll keep watching the Network specials because I'm still a WWE fan in general, but, like the local indy here in Cleveland (AIW), I'm totally content with getting my fix of it one night a month.

I noticed that too and found it funny. Appeared on over 100 ballots, average in the 30s, I know I've got huge blind spots in my viewing, but I was a bit surprised he didn't crack the top 20 (especially as there's been some talk about the process favoring the major US stars). Proud to be the high voter on him.

What do you recommend we do about it? Expose the voter. I'd just like to hear an argument for why someone ranked Brock Lesnar the #2 greatest wrestler of all-time. I'm curious. I didn't have him at #2, but I had him very high (I believe in my top 5 or 6). Here's my explanation - I voted based on the wrestling I've seen and know. I can imagine the person who had him at 2 is, like me, someone who really only knows WWE and WCW with maybe a smattering of ECW and US indies. When you limit yourself to only those promotions, Lesnar shines pretty brightly. Several great-to-awesome matches in his first run and since his return, including some hidden gems I'd only seen for the first time recently (for example, vs. Test @ KOTR 02'). Really fun to watch and considerably more "legit" than anyone else on the roster even before going to UFC. While I don't see anyone calling him the best wrestler on the planet in 2014 or 2015, I think even with a ridiculously limited schedule he was in the running for best in the US somewhere in that timespan thanks to his work at SummerSlam 2014, the 2015 Rumble title match, and WM31.

Swagger tweeted about tonight being his last night. Young enough, talented enough to get a job in Japan? To me, an admittedly unknowledgable US-only fan, I hear people say that Prince Albert and Festus were awesome in Japan and revitalized their careers, etc. and I look at Swagger and say, if you compared Swagger's WWE work to what Albert did in WWE before he left, Swagger going to Japan should turn him into an absolute mega-star. Again, haven't seen a lick of Albert's work overseas, but in WWE, he was generally unwatchable to me, the kind of guy I turned the TV off to avoid. Swagger, on the other hand, has had moments (albeit brief and inconsistently) when he's been really good and fun to watch (initial ECW run, that one RAW match against Cena, tags with Cesaro, feud with Rusev). I won't talk Festus/Luke Gallows cuz I didn't watch much of his first WWE run, but still, Swagger could be a good get for Japan, right? Also, anyone theorizing that maybe there's some roster trading going on? Maybe a gentlemen's agreement between NJPW and WWE? Again, incredibly unknowledgable here, but just thought I'd pose the question as someone who really doesn't know (is NJPW even the organization in question?).

Don't know if there's a rule against it, but I'll plug my blog here. I review everything I watch on Network. If you go to August 2015, you'll find my database (I plan to update again and repost at the end of the summer with everything I've reviewed since). At that time, the best stuff I watched/rewatched, in terms of whole cards being generally entertaining (this might even include segments that are "so bad-they're great"), were: SuperBrawl II, Spring Stampede 94', Slamboree 94', Bash at the Beach 94', Fall Brawl 95', WrestleManias 17 and 19, Great American Bash 96'... To be sure, I'm not calling my list anything close to definitive as it only includes stuff I've reviewed on the site. For example, I'm a mega-mark for the 92' Rumble and SummerSlam 91', but I've seen them a dozen times each and I went into my blog-making with the goal of kinda watching stuff that I hadn't seen before (and that includes the big NXT/WWE shows from 2014 on, if you're curious about that stuff).

https://twitter.com/HulkHogan/status/723112349817663488 It's not on the shortlist of most shameless/despicable Hogan quotes or acts ever, but I do think it's worth noting that Hogan made the bolded statement apropos of absolutely nothing. Like, why even mention that? To show that you "knew her when"? When what? She dated your friend who, last I checked, has kind of been a scumbag recently? It just seems like a silly "add on." Like, is he going to tweet about Prince's death and make a note about a huge gate he drew in Minneapolis?

I guess, by default, I'd go with Stephanie...but I actually think they've both probably done more positive than negative. Without Dixie Carter, TNA doesn't exist, even in the sorry state it exists in now. The company needed a "money mark" to survive and, in Dixie, TNA has that. This led to more wrestlers being employed and, when the checks did come, getting paid. Having places to work and getting TV exposure are pretty important to pro-wrestlers, so, even if it is a shitshow of a company, TNA did (and, to a lesser degree, still does) provide that to a bunch of talent. Stephanie inherited her power, so I can't give her the same credit as Dixie. Also, as a key figure in the company's Creative department, she's probably had her hand in more bad storylines than good. Still, I don't necessarily think she's been any "worse for business" than Vince himself, who is still really the top guy in charge.

I don't mind my new avatar too bad. (Yeah, I had DDP at #27.)

Shane/Taker at WM should definitely be on the list. I gave that slap-in-the-face 0 stars on my review site. Others from my database that I would never want to watch again... Todd Champion vs. Super Invader (WrestleWar 92') Big Sky vs. Charlie Norris (Fall Brawl 93') The Equalizer vs. "Jungle" Jim Steele (SuperBrawl 4) Kevin Sullivan vs. Dave "Evad" Sullivan (Halloween Havoc 94') Kevin Sullivan vs. Mr. T (Starrcade 94') The Giant vs. Loch Ness (UnCensored 96') Shock master, Charlie Norris, and Ice Train vs. Harlem Heat and the Equalizer (Halloween Havoc 93') You can find most of these on the "Kill Me Now, God: Worst of WCW Midcard 92-96" DVD collection I just came up with. I purposely left off a bunch of matches from the BattleBowl/Lethal Lottery shows. There are some really awful bouts from those one-night tourneys.

I nominate Nidia. She really had nothing to contribute - almost no experience, no "born into the business" pedigree, not particular attractive or charismatic. In baseball, there are 5-tool players. In wrestling, Nidia would be considered a no-tool player. ...or maybe I'm wrong. I don't think I've ever seen one of her actual matches and I don't want to change that.

Anyone else's feed just cut off?

So...Rock just wears his wrestling trunks under his pants all the time?

This would've been a cool segment if Bray Wyatt had any sort of momentum coming into this show. It's no different than if Rock would've been interrupted by a returning The Boogeyman.

I would've been happier with Shaq, Mark Henry (being a Texan), or even Goldust as a nod to Dusty. No problem with Corbin, though, just thought it was kind of odd to have him win as the token NXT guy knowing that he would get face cheers for winning.

I didn't enjoy that battle royal very much, but I still liked it more than the Taker/Shane match.

Shane doing the "Super Dave" thumbs up just makes it worse. Somebody called the ladder match a Dud. What does that make that match? A Dud-Minus? You could triple the height of the jump. You can light the table on fire. You can surround it with tanks of sharks...But if the build to it sucks and there's no logical reason for it to happen, it's just a stunt. In Shane's rush to recreate Mick Foley's famous fall, he neglected to take it account any of the reasons why that particular spot is so legendary and awesome.

Very odd match order to me...what else do we have? Obviously the World Title match, but what else? Andre the Giant Royale and The Rock, right? Seems weird to sandwich the three matches that had the most buzz in the middle of the show without a "break" and then aend the show with a bathroom break (the battle royale), what will likely be an over-baked 15-minute promo leading to nothing, and a main event that has potential to be a trainwreck.

Definitely best match of the night so far, but it's not like there's much competition for that honor right now. I really like how there are people who wanted Sasha to win, people wanted Becky to win (like myself), and nobody that wanted Charlotte to win (because she's a heel). To me, that's kind of exactly the circumstances you want in a triple threat feud and that match was exactly the type of one you'd want to get. Banks has a legit gripe as to why she deserves another title shot, Charlotte can continue to claim to be the best (while the audience hates her because she and her father are cheaters), and while Lynch can be moved down the card for a minute, I think she's won over enough of the audience as a babyface that, when the time comes, she'll have her moment in the future.

Yeah, no idea why they cut to a commercial there, but it's not the first time they've done it during a pre-show match. I'm kinda curious what Lita's "big announcement" (she said she would make it during this hour). Any chance of a return to action? The Divas are up now and, man, with Paige, it is just so noticeable how little of a fuck she gave during their entrance. I'm not saying she should be happy to be there, but compare her to Natalya, who's actually "working the corner" and trying to get the crowd involved, and I just think Paige has gone beyond playing up her gimmick (goth snob? Generally unimpressed tough girl?) and Is now just an actual brat who let her initial success go to her head.

The fact that his mannerisms are a bit effeminate AND that he still kicks ass is one of things that captivated me about him and what I think captivated so many fans who had never seen him before. That debut blew up on Facebook and Twitter and it has more to do with the character work than him and Zayn slapping eachother for 2 minutes straight. Also, I have had multiple casual fans text me in the past 36 hours and none have asked me about Reigns or Ambrose or Kevin Owens - they're asking me about who this guy Nakamura is and why everyone's talking about him. I'm not saying that there's not a segment of the audience that is going to roll their eyes a bit (it seems like there are some even here), but the WWE doesn't need another "ass kicker" that goes 50/50 with the Dean Ambroses and the Kevin Owenses and the Randy Ortons - they need the "You've Never Seen Anything Like This Before" quality that Nakamura can bring.

Don't understand the criticism towards Bayley here. She's never been the smoothest worker. I feel like that's kind of one of the talking points when people call her the "Female John Cena." Her appeal is really character-based: Perseverance, hard work, amazing connection with crowd, really good at telling an emotional story in the ring and willing to try things outside of her comfort zone and feed into opponent's strengths. If you've only now discovered Bayley can be sloppy and has bad strikes, I don't know what to tell you but "Female John Cena." On a more important note regarding Bayley/Asuka, can anyone think of another straight-up wrestling match, not featuring a 20-foot cage or a bunch of ladders and chairs, that could've followed Zayn/Nakamura as well as Bayley/Asuka did? I hope that doesn't go unnoticed as it's a real testament to the strength of the characters/performers. Imagine Jericho/AJ in that spot (or worse - Kalisto/Ryback) and you can literally hear the crickets chirping after the initial pop for entrances. Bayley/Asuka was the opposite as Bayley might have had her quietest reception in ages, but, by the end, the crowd was into it as they had been for anything else on the show, including the stellar match that preceded it. Can't praise that aspect of their match enough. Aries is definitely better as a heel and I think everyone knows it. The problem is, he's undersized and he's got indie cred, so the NXT crowd is going to pop him for awhile (expect the same for Roode when he debuts). I expect they'll turn him as soon as the Corbin feud runs its course, which is wise. I'd keep things simple - Corbin wins the feud and advances to a title shot or to the main roster while Aries, now needing to prove himself, starts cutting corners and cheating to reassert himself. I'm not worried about Aries, but it's a crowded field right now and there needs to be some movement at the top to allow him to seem like a bigger deal.

I'm not sure whether it deserves to be in the discussion of best PPV/Network Specials Ever because I'm split on it. On one hand, its been a long, long time since a single "pay-per-view" had three matches that should and will probably make everyone's Best of WWE 2016 list come December. On the other hand, it benefitted from a running time of just 2 hours (which makes it unlike most other PPVs), from only featuring 5 matches, from not having to be "everything to everyone," etc. Easily the best Takeover show, though. I'll post my full review on my blog sometime today, but that was just as good a 2-hour show as I've ever seen. So much to love. Quick thoughts: - It's time for Revival to get called up and take the straps from New Day to bring some seriousness back to the main roster's tag division. If it doesn't happen Monday night, it's the wrong call. - That was my first time seeing Nakamura aside from highlight clips on YouTube. He lived up to the hype. That has to be one of the top 5 best debut matches I've ever seen. Goosebumps at the beginning, goosebumps at the end.