C.S.

Cesaro and Sheamus have been demoted to the pre-show...just wonderful. They were sunk when the heel New Day became more over and popular than them during their feud. And let's not forget "The King of Strong Style" Shinsuke Nakamara. Usually, WWE wouldn't be so sloppy to have two of any name. Nakamura is still in NXT but I'm guessing he'll be on the main roster by the day after WrestleMania at the latest.

Has there ever been an act that's been cooled off and made so irrelevant and inconsequential so quickly than The Dudleys since their return? There's a difference between putting people over and doing it so much that there's no longer any value in it. The Dudleys have reached the latter stage. Why even bother?

The 12-Man Tag was fun for what it was. Zayn-Neville vs. Dudleys on now. Corbin's little spiel about money was gold, and I loved it when he stuck his gum onto Lawler's note. His only problem is that he's still too young and soft-looking, not at all intimidating and has a receding hairline, so he's been kind of miscast in the "bad ass" role.

Fun match. Almas may have turned a corner. Roode's finisher looks weak as hell though.

Almas was supposed to be the next big star. Now he's presumably putting over a new wrestler in his debut match, Roode. Wow, what a fall from grace. But Almas has been terrible so far.

Anyone else rooting for No Way Jose to beat Mr. Indy?

Eva's not only late to her matches, she's late with her paperwork as well. I am disappointed that this suspension has occurred, yet understand and respect that WWE upholds their Wellness Policy to the letter and won’t compromise on its integrity. I violated policy by not turning in portions of required paperwork in the time frame WWE Medical deemed timely. I look forward to my return! Thank you for your support. http://www.prowrestlingsheet.com/eva-marie-releases-statement-suspension/ What a wacky reason for a suspension. I can see why her husband was so pissed off.

Jonathan Coyle (Eve Marie's husband) is preparing to wage war! "When the public finds out why my wife was unjustly suspended they will be absolutely outraged! Official statement and facts coming soon." https://twitter.com/Jonathan_Coyle/status/766385612601430017

I think Zeb unfairly gets a bad rap. He was a hot heel manager once upon a time. But the pairing with Del Rio instantly deflated both of them because it was such a bad mismatch.

My thoughts: - The first two matches were good, but the wrong people won them, period. - How the hell do you not let Jack Gallagher advance? Yeah, I get that Akira Tozawa is pretty good, but that's it. Gallagher is something really fucking special. Major missed opportunity, and the result genuinely pissed me off. That's yet another credit to Gallagher, who has me caring this much after just two matches. - Noam Dar does nothing for me, and his wimpy-looking heel act seems so out of place in the context of a tournament like this. I realize Dar is from Israel/Scotland, but he would fit right in if Sylvan Grenier suddenly returned and formed Nouveau La Resistance with him. I get that Ho Ho Lun isn't anyone's favorite either, but he has the more interesting story and is the more interesting wrestler. I like him. My only guess is that he's still tied down to his promotion in Hong Kong and that's why he didn't advance. - THE Brian Kendrick vs. "Mr. Personality" Tony Neese was a very good match. I was really expecting the aging veteran to put over the young gun, as we saw with Tajiri and Gran Metalik, so I was pleasantly surprised when Kendrick won. Awesome near-falls and false finishes toward the end. Nese is a spectacular athlete, but he has the personality of a potted plant. There's no "it factor" with this guy. That's probably why he's never "made it." If he can fix that, he'll go places. In the meantime, Kendrick's resurgence and Daniel Bryan's spirited commentary during his matches has been one of my absolute favorite parts of the CWC. Next week's matches: Lince Dorado vs. Rich Swann, Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Drew Gulak, and Johnny Gargano vs. TJ Perkins. - Swann and Perkins are extremely likeable personalities, but their wrestling in the first round didn't blow me away the way I hoped it would. - I can't even remember how I felt about Lince Dorado or Drew Gulak at this point, which tells me they were probably middle of the road. - If Gallagher lost because they hitched their wagon to the other Brit in the tournament, the infinitely inferior Zack Sabre Jr., that was a big mistake IMO. (I don't care about ZSJ's sterling reputation - Gallagher blew him out of the water from what I've seen of both of them in this tournament.) With that said, there's no denying ZSJ has something - Jack Gallagher just has a ton more of it. Hopefully Zack used his winning purse from the last match to buy himself some tights that actually fit and cover his unsightly pale ass. - Gargano had the best match in the first round and exceeded my expectations while Perkins under-delivered and fell short of expectations. TJP is a really likeable guy, like I said, but I hope Gargano gets rewarded for making the most of his opportunity.

If anyone's going to analyze "drug-like" behavior on the Stone Cold Podcast, Dean Ambrose should be first in line.

Now that Paige has been suspended too, I wonder if they post-dated it for tomorrow so they could say they didn't actually suspend her on her birthday. Still pretty fucked up and petty though.

One thing no one is considering: I hope this doesn't eventually lead to Paige leaving as well. She's beyond stale right now, but she has tremendous upside and could be a mainstay of the Women's division for years to come. ADR would honestly be no loss at this point, because he's been badly mismanaged and isn't even remotely over anymore, but Paige would be a giant loss, at least in terms of future potential.

From WWE.com: STAMFORD, Conn. — WWE has suspended Jose Rodriguez (Alberto Del Rio) for 30 days effective tomorrow, Thursday, Aug. 18, for his first violation of the company’s talent wellness policy. http://www.wwe.com/article/alberto-del-rio-suspended With the rumors of heat between him and Triple H, his general unhappiness, and the out clause he supposedly has in September, this is all very interesting timing. I wonder why the suspension is beginning tomorrow. That's new, isn't it?

Samoa Joe gets it: "I think Conor McGregor is a promoter, and I'm not here to promote any of his fights. If he were here in WWE, that would be a different story, but until that happens I don't feel like I need to address it." http://www.forbes.com/sites/alfredkonuwa/2016/08/16/nxt-champ-samoa-joe-responds-to-conor-mcgregor-calls-out-wwes-brock-lesnar-in-exclusive-interview/

Intriguing I'm surprised no one has mentioned Razor Ramon yet. Some of the greatest vignettes ever, and he more than lived up to the hype in the ring. Even though I knew he was previously the lame Diamond Studd, those Razor vignettes got me pumped up. They were so effective that when WWE by and large copied them wholesale for Carlito, I was excited about him too. His debut and first few months were actually pretty good, so I don't want to say he wasn't a success just because he eventually descended into midcard purgatory. Underwhelming Maybe I'm the only one, but I liked the Beaver Cleavage vignettes and was actually looking forward to seeing him debut. The minute he stepped out onto Raw though, he was a bust. The character did not translate at all. Sean O'Haire's "Devil's Advocate" vignettes were tremendous, but he lost all momentum the minute he actually had to step into the ring. I remember liking Mordecai's vignettes as well, but he ended up being a major bust. Ditto for Nathan Jones. Those "Colossus of Boggo Road" vignettes were amazing, but his in-ring work was not.

From the sounds of this, Bryan will eventually wrestle somewhere else. Even now, he isn't convinced by the test results and doesn't agree with WWE's decision not to clear him. “When I told them that I was taking this test in New York City, they said, 'OK, well let us know the result.' Well, the test hasn't been peer reviewed, and I'm not saying it's a bad test, all I'm saying is this is not something that they're using the standard medical facilities,” Bryan added, his skepticism evident even today. Alas, something showed up in the testing that WWE didn’t like. “It showed a little something and then that becomes the automatic no and I'm just like 'uhhh,' ” the emotion of that moment still evident in his tone as he recounted it. http://www.recorder.ca/2016/08/15/bryans-love-for-wrestling-runs-deep

CM Punk on wrestlers' reactions to Conor: "I think the thing that shocked me the most about what Conor said was the number of people who work there who responded to him who should know better … I don’t feel they got worked, they got worked. ... Ric Flair, c’mon. Just stop. Just knock it off." http://www.cagesideseats.com/2016/8/15/12492774/cm-punk-pro-wrestlers-got-worked-by-conor-mcgregor Smartest thing he's said in over a year.

Agreed, the way they're pushing Ibushi as the favorite pretty much guarantees an upset and star-making moment for someone else at some point.

We all read it. Just because you want to inaccurately insist that something is ageism doesn't make it so. You also construct a false narrative that every older wrestler who criticizes today's industry or talent gets automatically dumped on for it. That's absolutely not true though. There have been plenty of instances of older wrestlers criticizing younger ones without the fans automatically labeling them old, out of touch, and any other "ageist" insult. Stone Cold is the biggest example. He is always offering constructive criticism of today's talent, and fans seem to agree with him for the most part. Even when Shawn Michaels called out Dolph Ziggler for being a carbon copy of other wrestlers who hasn't gone the extra mile to establish his own identity, I don't recall anyone really disagreeing with that. About Osprey and Ricochet specifically, a bunch of wrestlers commented on the lack of selling in that match - I know for sure that Austin was one of them - and they weren't lambasted for pointing that out. It was a valid criticism. Vader saw a gif - a gif and not the entire match - and proceeded to have an opinion about two wrestlers, their style, and everything else under the sun. Many fans - including me, I'll admit - were just as guilty of that. But the difference is, I ended up watching the match and revising my opinion. (But even if I still felt the same way afterward, at least I would have been armed with all the facts.) I'm not sure Vader ever did. (Of course, after the first tweet or two, it turned into a giant work and Vader expertly trolled and heeled all the "smart" fans.) Keep in mind, too, that there are a lot of older wrestlers who are bitter, out of touch, and spew off a ton of nonsense and make themselves sound bad in the process. "We knew how to work, brother." Vader's comment only added to that baggage.

Vader is 60 years old. Name any other sport where that would be acceptable. You can't, and it would never happen. Wrestling is indeed a different beast and there has been plenty of acceptance of older guys - both points mentioned above. But two things to keep in mind here: 1. Vader started this by acting like a grumpy old man going on a soapbox along the lines of "these damn kids" and "things were better in my day" (not direct quotes, just the general sentiment of what he was spewing). I'm sure it quickly turned into a work after that, but I don't think it was one in his first post. 2. More importantly, Vader played the heel throughout all of this. No matter how "smart" wrestling fans may think they are, the "smartest" ones are usually the dumbest and easiest to work and troll. They got worked and trolled hard here. As I said in the Ospreay/Vader thread: "Looks like Vader beat Will Ospreay. Really hope this is leading to a rematch and series. Otherwise, wow, what a pointless result. Won't affect Ospreay's career one bit, but still, what does it do for the barely-active part-time Vader?" A couple of folks replied with compelling points, and like I said, this won't hurt Ospreay. Couldn't have been too satisfying for the RPW fans in attendance though. Maybe this is leading to more, but maybe it isn't? I wouldn't know because I don't follow RPW and haven't seen the match. If there are more matches and more money to be made (maybe a DVD set of the entire feud), good. If not, I'll ask again, why have Vader win? He has barely anything left in the tank while Ospreay potentially has decades to contribute. If this is a once and done, it won't dent Ospreay career either way, but what does it do for Vader? Nothing. He gets the same payday either way. Asking a valid question isn't ageism.

Looks like Vader beat Will Ospreay. Really hope this is leading to a rematch and series. Otherwise, wow, what a pointless result. http://www.sescoops.com/vader-vs-will-ospreay-results-rpw-uprising-2016/ Won't affect Ospreay's career one bit, but still, what does it do for the barely-active part-time Vader?

From Wrestling Inc.: IMPACT VENTURES NAMES BILLY CORGAN AS ITS NEW PRESIDENT, CURRENT PRESIDENT DIXIE CARTER BECOMES CHAIRMAN NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- IMPACT Ventures [iMPACT], the parent company of TNA Wrestling and IMPACT WRESTLING, today announced the appointment of Billy Corgan as its new President. Current President Dixie Carter becomes Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer of IMPACT. As President, Billy Corgan will be responsible for leading day-to-day operations for IMPACT and its affiliated brands. As Chairman, Carter will focus on long-term planning, strategic partnerships and global growth. "Billy is a visionary, an iconic artist and savvy businessman with an incredibly gifted creative mind. He has built a decades-long successful global brand, and also has a deep passion and understanding for professional wrestling," said Carter. "In working with Billy over the last 16 months, he has impressed me to the point that I've been in discussions with him to take an elevated strategic leadership role within the company. The more we discussed our vision for the organization, the clearer it became that position needed to match his commitment." "We are entering an exciting new era for IMPACT and will be working to continue to define our brand, develop global strategies for success, and structure for future investment and growth," added Carter. "These moves, effective immediately, signify the team's determination to work together to effectively cover more ground and capitalize on TNA's current momentum that has seen ratings rise in recent months." Corgan, 49, is an American musician, songwriter, producer, TV writer and poet, best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and sole permanent member of The Smashing Pumpkins, who have sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and won multiple Grammy Awards. Corgan joined IMPACT in May 2015 as a senior producer. "I believe in this company, its passionate fans, the talented roster and the dedicated staff and crew," said Corgan. "I am committed to this great opportunity and will use all of my resources and connections to drive the success of this company. This year we have made significant strides in establishing a strong foundation for our future and will be aggressive in continuing to evolve and grow the IMPACT brands." IMPACT's flagship broadcast IMPACT WRESTLING airs Thursdays at 8/7c on Pop, and in more than 120 countries around the world.

My thoughts on next week's announced matches: Note: I have not read spoilers, so if you have, please keep them a surprise for the rest of us who are enjoying watching these matches "live" without knowing the outcomes in advance. Thank you. Jack Gallagher vs. Akira Tozawa: I have a sinking feeling that Tozawa will win this. Maybe "sinking feeling" is not fair, because he's one of the better people in the tournament. He's not quite on the top tier but very slightly below that - and still very much a high-quality performer. Jack Gallagher, though, is something really special. I want him to go as far as he possibly can. I hope WWE sees him the same way and not just as "the third Vaudevillain." (You know this is what will happen as soon as Simon Botch gets himself fired.) Tony Nese vs. THE Brian Kendrick: Kendrick was so good - surprisingly so - in the first round that it will be such a shame if he loses here. But I realize the point of these old veterans is to put over younger talent, and I understand and accept that. With Nese's physique and great moveset, WWE probably sees dollar signs in him (he just needs a character and personality). Anthony Bennett carried Nese to a good match in the first round. I'm sure Kendrick can do the same and make himself look good in defeat (assuming that's what happens). Ho Ho Lun vs. Noam Dar: Based on the comments in this thread, these are probably two of the least interesting people in the entire tournament. I'll cop to not minding Lun though. I like his Hong Kong background and the fact that he's being credited as bringing wrestling to his country by opening a school and federation there. There's an interesting story to be told with that. Plus, his name is Ho Ho Lun, which is so fucking awesome and chantable. Noam Dar does nothing for me whatsoever, to the point where I'd rank him #32 out of 32 in this tournament. Too harsh? Maybe. But I just don't care about this guy at all. First Israeli-born competitor in the WWE? Don't care. Scottish accent? Don't care. Jetlag? Too bad. Still, he'll probably win again - just like he stole his match in the first round - because someone high up obviously does care.

Great show this week! - Tajiri vs. Metalik wasn't quite as good as I hoped it would be, but it was still good, and it picked up steam toward the end. I was a bit sad to see Tajiri lose, but he had to put the younger talent over, especially someone with as much promise and upside as Metalik. - Kota Ibushi vs. Cedric Alexander was fantastic, especially in the last 5-10 minute. Kota won, as expected, but this was a star-making match for Alexander. I loved it when they cut back at the end to an emotional Alexander, the fans thanking him, and Triple H endorsing him. Anyone else notice that Mauro referred it as "the state of Mexico" during the Metalik match? BTW, damn it, Metal-eek or Muh-tah-leek? They still can't make up their minds!