C.S.

Rusev vs. Taker is back on. After much thought, I have notified @WWE officials that I have changed my mind. @RusevBUL will celebrate #RusevDay by burying The Undertaker in the sands of Saudi Arabi and will win the Casket Match at #WWEGRR ! #RusevCrush ! Have a Happy Rusev Day ! — CJ (Lana) Perry (@LanaWWE) April 16, 2018

Guys, I never said the quote system was "broken" or "didn't work" - I just said it was a pain in the ass, which it is. Thankfully, a kind forum member clued me in a long time ago on the secret double-probation text-only mode. P.S.

Judy Bagwell was stupid crap, but this was a feel-good moment that worked for a decent chunk of the audience. Also, in a card that was on its 6th hour and already filled with delirious booking swerves, this felt almost appropriate. Plus, WWE has never been good with surprises. If you were actually anticipating something huge and you're a longtime WWE fan, I really have to question your expectations and/or memory.

People will remember Nicholas in ten years. Joe returning for a meaningless match and reign would have been forgotten by SummerSlam, never mind a decade from now. Joe's return the following night was a better use of him. If not Nicholas but a wrestler instead, Ellsworth is still who I would have considered the ideal pick.He would've blown the roof off the place just as much as Joe in that specific scenario because of his history with Braun.

I think all of you are underestimating how hard it is to make a living outside of the WWE machine. Omega: Sure. Bucks: Yeah. Cody, even though he was devalued as Stardust, was still a known quantity with a fan-following because of the WWE. AJ and Bryan are not good examples to use because things were very different in 2005 when signing with the WWE than they are in 2018. Neither of them were name stars then who could command big money deals and/or much less dates from TNA like Angle, Christian, Foley, etc.

Ellsworth is about the only legitimate "surprise" that would've been better than Nicholas. Joe: No. Square peg, round hole. Wouldn't have fit with Braun or the storyline. Cass: He would suck as any kind of "surprise" - Braun or not. Big Show: An imposing team and would have been fun in the long run - but as a "surprise," it would've been as welcome as an Andre fart. Jose: No one would have cared. He was in the crowd for WM, showing on camera during the Nicholas angle, and still no one cared.

A title shot at Summerslam? A title shot at Greatest SummerSlam in December?

And people would have bitched up a storm. True, they're bitching about Nicholas too, but at least that was unique. Jose would have been a profound disappointment. His debut 24 hours later was met with apathy or at least a mild shrug (maybe not by the live crowd - I don't know - but it certainly felt like he got an "ehh, ok" reaction everywhere else).

Eternal youth? Not sure if you're trying to suggest that I'm "old" and out of touch. I'm really, really, really fucking sick of WWE car crash matches. *Shrug* With that said, this was a very good one. Not five-star good, though - IMO. I thought Meltz was very selective about what he gave five stars to, which makes this all the more shocking - especially with the legit five-star Gargano vs. Ciampa match on the same show (which he also rated five stars). 'Course, I'm not one to put much stock in his ratings to begin with - I'm just surprised.

He gave the NXT North American Title Ladder Match a five-star rating?! Wow. For me, it's probably 3.5 at best - 4 if I'm feeling generous. What am I missing here?

If it were me, I'd still take the chance and go to the WWE. Even the worst-case scenarios will get you better paydays on the indies afterward.

No idea, but the quoting system on this board is a real pita. The post above mine has me quoting something I never said.

If I was told I could get a job with the biggest company in my profession but have to give up marijuana OR go to another company that's constantly on life support and the joke of the industry but I could keep smoking marijuana, I'd put down the bud and better myself in the big leagues. (Granted, I don't smoke at all, but I do think marijuana should be legal everywhere. Still, if weed is that important to someone that they'd choose it over bettering their professional circumstances, I really have to question their priorities in wrestling.)

Nicholas was a better option than both Joe and Cass. Joe because that would've felt really forced and Cass because it's Cass.

An intern position with Linda.

I've wondered about this too. Either she's actually good at her job OR her job is of such low importance and influence that it doesn't matter either way.

Don't worry, it will all go toward the 2020 Presidential campaign.

They let Hero work other promotions? Or did I miss something and he's gone from NXT?

While this has always been an intermittent issue, I've been getting them regularly lately. Error 521 - Web server is down Error 52 (or maybe it's 520?) - Bad Gateway The latter gives me the option to "retry for a live version" of the site, which usually works. Has anyone else been experiencing this more frequently than usual?

Shoemaker was the guy that looks like the main character from Split, right? He did have that cool "before there was CGI, there was Andre the Giant" line. Other than that, I wish we had gotten less Shoemaker - he was in way too much of the movie - and more of the footage that was cut (Stephanie, Japan, etc.). I don't think Meltzer and Laprade added much to this documentary either though - at least not in front of the camera.

Mauro sometimes overdoes it, but I'm a fan. I'll take him over the fake enthusiasm of Cole or the monotone of Coach any day. Corey Graves has really been dragged down by those two. I wish we could get a Mauro-Graves partnership with the leash off.

I wonder if Rusev got yanked from the match because he said Undertaker was past his prime?

And on Rusev Day, no less.

Austin Aries: "But hey, it's cool man, yeah we are hiring, if you come here we won’t test you, or take money out your pocket for smoking marijuana. There are a lot of perks to coming here, yeah, it's all about what you want for your career and your life." https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/other-sports/wrestling/austin-aries-kurt-angles-jibe-12348490 Uh, ok...

Because it's two totally different things. Goldy's streak came in by beating JTTS every week on Nitro. It was a steady, conscious effort (past the faux-pas with McMichael at first) and was vital to Goldy's character. Sure, after a while he began to beat more names, but he was built as a squash-worker basically. Asuka's streak was that no-one could beat her in NXT, no challenger could take her and then no one on the main roster could take her down either. But it was not about squashing people, matches were always competitive. And it was only a part of her character, but not the entire character. Asuka was much more than her streak. For starters, she was a hell of a worker. And to deny she was over is, well, being in denial. She was over as fuck at Mania. I'd argue that Charlotte coming off her cold SD stint was the one was "wasn't that over", but she's such a great performer that it doesn't matter (add in the fabulous megastar intro she got too). Anyway the point is that of course it couldn't be the same as Goldy's streak. As far as Tatanka & Borga, the old 90's WWF fan in me is smiling, but honestly, this was a totally different era (so was Nitro, but it's still much closer in form to the current product). I don't remember when Tatanka being undeafeted began to really be a thing as part of his push, I do think it was important, although much more circumstancial. It's not like he was doing much after not getting the IC title from Michaels. Yes, Borga beating him seemed big at the time but really, when you look back at it, it was an angle to put Borga (and Yoko) over, Tatanka went nowhere after that point… Borga the Nazi didn't exactly set the world on fire at Survivor Series either after ending the streak. I doubt Asuka will suffer the same fate as Tatanka did, and Charlotte on the other hand looks like a big star again, which puts her on the way to a big match with Rousey, so really you can argue than yes, Asuka's streak was much more efficient. I can agree that Asuka was more than her streak, but the streak and forced "history making" propped her up. Asuka is smoke and mirrors. Without the streak, she'd be face Nakamura in the fans' eyes. Even with it, the fans cared about her a lot less than the top 5 female acts and even an ice cold Bayley. As for Tatanka, this is being nitpicky, but I think people cared after his streak. The Tatanka/Lex "you sold out" program and subsequent heel turn were pretty big deals. I'd argue that he faltered right after the heel turn, which clearly didn't work past the actual act at SummerSlam. You're right about Charlotte going into Mania cold, but that's because she is badly miscast as a babyface. There's nothing likeable about her and no reason to cheer her. Despite the deficits both Asuka and Charlotte brought to WrestleMania, they still had a hell of a match and the result was a genuine shocker, so there's that. As you should! The fall? She just had the second best match at Mania, and the best match of Charlotte's career that didn't involve Sasha. It's not like she's Bayley or anything. We're not talking about kayfabe rasslin' results. As pointed out by numerous people in this thread, Asuka's presentation waned pretty early on. Besides, I'd argue that people care more about Bayley - even now, even when she's ice cold - than they do about Asuka. People want Bayley vs. Banks. People want Bayley to matter again. People would gladly trade Asuka's forced "history making" streak for another good Bayley run. The time they could have spent capitalizing on genuinely hot acts they had - like Bayley and Sasha Banks - were instead wasted on forced "history" and a boring streak that was barely over. I think losing the streak will be the best thing that ever happens to Asuka. She'll never be a star on the level of Ronda Rousey, the Four Horsewomen (either version), or Alexa Bliss, but she has a niche she can fill.