C.S.

Are you talking about the Ryback bump? That looked nasty, to the point where I thought the big clumsy oaf had legitimately injured Styles. Kudos to such a great bump and that no one got hurt. Definitely the highlight of the night for AJ.

Fair enough. He has evolved over the years, so I'm sure he's smart enough to make adjustments as needed. You might respond that he doesn't need to adjust anything, but the fact is, any new environment (whether WWE or otherwise) will require those adjustments. Even Jericho, Bryan, etc. had to go through them when they went to the WWE. Now, you might prefer how they looked, wrestled, etc. before they came to the WWE, and that's fine, but it doesn't change the reality of what the WWE is looking for and expects.

One match against Austin, then they gave up on him cold turkey. Agreed about him not being able to go anymore though. Anyway, my original point was, I think we care more about the final four of the Rumble than Vince does. I'm not saying it's not important, but I bet it's not nearly as important to Vince as the final two is. AJ Styles making it to the final four wouldn't have made much of a difference to his overall standing. He'll still get whatever push he's going to get. I don't disagree with the push being what it was ultimately going to be (although final 4-6-8 might have said a lot about what KIND of push it was ultimately going to be) but I think the new guy getting that massive pop, then lasting that long and pulling out a bunch of spots and showing the uninitiated crowd what he was capable of and why he belongs in there, would only help to better serve him in the long run. Like others have said, he was no worse a pick for the iron man spot than Chris Jericho. In fact he was a better choice by almost every conceivable metric. I think him having a really tight 7 minute match with Neville or somebody on RAW tomorrow would serve to do essentially the same thing, but I'm just thinking out loud. And yeah perfect was a guy, AJ is a guy. Close enough AJ Styles will be "just another guy" in a year. Perfect is a legendary wrestler and character and a major part of WWE's history. Even a World Title for AJ won't change that (see Swagger, Jack). My point - which you keep missing or conveniently ignoring to make snarky comments - is that final four doesn't matter, and as Slasher pointed out, the final two doesn't always matter either. Santino is the most extreme example, but how often has the final two come down to obvious winner vs. obvious guy that's going to get thrown out? Every year Big Show made the final two, the outcome was never in doubt. Getting back to AJ, you said they should've put him in the final four. I say it makes no difference. He still had a good showing and he'll be pushed however he's pushed. I agree with you completely that AJ would've been a much better choice for the Iron Man spot than Jericho though. My feeling is that Jericho got it because they know he's capable of going 50, while AJ is new to the WWE and they're not entirely sure what he can do yet - outside of what they may have seen on tapes (and that's being very optimistic) or heard from others. With Jericho, they know him and they've seen firsthand for fifteen years what he is capable of. "Go with what you know" is probably how they made that decision, and let's face it, it's a meaningless spot anyway. Jericho went 50 but he may as well have gone 10 because it didn't matter to the match and didn't break any records, so it won't be on any video packages in the future. That's probably why Vince used to throw meaningless midcarders into those Iron Man spots, because it was never seen as an "honor" until the fans made it one. If anything, it was supposedly a "punishment" spot at first.

Nah, no lifts or anything ridiculous like that. But he can start with his ring gear. What he wore during the Rumble was awful. His hair also looks like a rat's nest where the mama rat had babies and they all died. He's never going to be big, but he can still be larger than life. They're two different things IMO.

It's all about projection. Eddie Guerrero was larger than life. Daniel Bryan was too, with the beard, "YES" and arm movements. Even Rey was, with his colorful mask, outfits, and flashy array of high-flying moves. AJ Styles is not larger than life. I'm as happy as anyone that he's finally in the WWE - he deserves it - but yeah, he looked really tiny.

One match against Austin, then they gave up on him cold turkey. Agreed about him not being able to go anymore though. Anyway, my original point was, I think we care more about the final four of the Rumble than Vince does. I'm not saying it's not important, but I bet it's not nearly as important to Vince as the final two is. AJ Styles making it to the final four wouldn't have made much of a difference to his overall standing. He'll still get whatever push he's going to get.

Not really. Mr. Perfect returned and made it to the final four in 2002, and it didn't mean a lick. Sure, the Plane Ride from Hell derailed his momentum, but he was booked as a lower midcarder even before that - with his odd couple pairing with Boss Man that screamed "we have no idea what the fuck to do with either of these guys." Felt like the type of random pairing someone would choose in those old WWF Superstars or WrestleFest arcade games. I guess this is an apt comparison, kind of, not really It's apt...it's perfectly apt. Mr. Perfect is one of the all-time greats in WWE history. He could have been a big deal upon his return if booked that way. He wasn't. And then the Plane Ride from Hell would've derailed all of that anyway. Still, even with the shitty 2002 comeback, Perfect will probably matter more in WWE history in the long run than AJ Styles ever will. Yeah, we're on a Styles high right now, but let's not delude ourselves here.

Maggle mentioned his elimination - it happened during Roman's attack by the League of Nations - but we never saw it.

Good point, everyone, on H being cheered. Although, you act like it was a massive crowd pop, when in reality, the Orlando crowd was pretty muted. Still, returning wrestlers always get cheered. Can't believe WWE was so tone deaf that they didn't expect that kind of reaction. Not really. Mr. Perfect returned and made it to the final four in 2002, and it didn't mean a lick. Sure, the Plane Ride from Hell derailed his momentum, but he was booked as a lower midcarder even before that - with his odd couple pairing with Boss Man that screamed "we have no idea what the fuck to do with either of these guys." Felt like the type of random pairing someone would choose in those old WWF Superstars or WrestleFest arcade games.

But did the fans reject it? The crowd in Orlando wasn't exactly booing H out of the building, unless my audio was borked. The wider audience is a difference story, but the fans in the arena for the Rumble were curiously muted. No riot, or any close to that. Of course, I agree with your post in general, but I was expecting a lot more negative crowd heat than we got. This was hardly last year or the year before.

Maggle and JBL already said Triple H is main eventing WrestleMania.

Random thoughts: - Did not enjoy Owens-Ambrose at all, and I'm shocked all of you did. I'm so tired of these gimmicky weapon spots, and both of them seemed to be moving at half-speed for the whole match. Doesn't help that the cameraman did an absolutely shitty job of capturing the double table spot. He almost missed it, basically. - Kalisto has major zits on his back. Hope he's not roiding. Before you scoff, remember that Jamie Noble (of all people) once got Wellness-ed. - ADR/Kalisto was fun, and it's nice to see someone new and relevant get a push. - New Day is unstoppably over. I can't imagine who would be big enough to face them at Mania. Hope it's not the Dudleys or Usos again. - Charlotte vs. Becky was good fun, and I loved the post-match with The Boss. - A really good Rumble match (Styles! Zayn! YEAH!!!), but the Wyatt overpush was terrible and the end result was frustrating. - Triple H is the winner of the Royal Rumble and new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. What decade are we in???

Many people (well, maybe not here) argue that Chyna should be in the HOF. Well, Jacquelyn did everything Chyna did before Chyna did it - just on a smaller scale (Texas/Tennessee and WCW). - Badass manager/bodyguard who attacks men outside the ring. ✔ - Badass who beats men inside the ring. ✔ - Won male championship belts. ✔ - Won female championship belts. ✔

A fun scenario, ragemaster, but I'd prefer your main event for Fast Lane instead of Mania.

Godfather had a perfectly respectable career with a wide variety of gimmicks - Papa Shango, Kama: The Supreme Fighting Machine, Kama Mustafa, The Godfather, and The Goodfather - two of which were pretty over (Shango and Godfather). He's easily comparable to Rikishi and miles ahead of Ware (at least WWE-wise). Calling it a "new low" is not only ridiculous, it's inaccurate. This is silly too. You act like she was a stripper. Out of all the ladies at the time, she was the one who did that kind of shit the least. She's a former WWE Women's Champion (I think), and as Miss Texas, she was Chyna before there was a Chyna - meaning a woman who defeated men in the ring, not any of the other stuff.

Not a new issue, but dumb as fuck that UFC is contending for the same awards as wrestling - such as Feud of the Year. How are the two even comparable? One is real life and the other is a storyline. I get that Dave thought expanding the Observer to include UFC would increase his readership, but I think there should be separate awards for pro wrestling and MMA. Full list here (and in the Observer newsletter itself, of course): http://www.cagesideseats.com/2016/1/21/10805104/2015-wrestling-observer-newsletter-awards-analysis

A fantastic read! I had no idea about any of this. The mention of T.J. Wilson threw me off at first, as I thought initially that Tyson Kidd was somehow involved in all of this, but it became quickly apparent that you were referring to a different T.J. Wilson entirely. Hulk Hogan becoming a standoffish dick to his longtime friend is sad but probably not particularly surprising. I really have to wonder what either of them were thinking getting involved in this whole mess. I know Show needed the money, but still... Thanks for writing and posting.

Other than a couple of recent posts, the last few posts are a month old.

Don't agree with this at all. Not when you have guys like Jake "The Snake" Roberts and Scott Hall - both good workers, no? - preaching that it's better to have only five moves if those five moves are all massively over with the audience.

I, too, preferred the Nation, but I liked DX as well... I'm probably in the minority in thinking that the Triple H/X-Pac/New Age Outlaws version of the group was miles better than the original - with a stoned, stale Shawn as an anchor weighing it down. I actually thought Trips really came into his own as Shawn's sidekick. I was ready for him to take it over when he did. I refuse to acknowledge the X-Pac/Road Dogg/Tori shit version of the group or the "old men who are no longer cool, and realize it, but act like they are anyway" reunion tour.

I'll play: Bob Backlund Superstar Billy Graham Superfly Jimmy Snuka Cowboy Bill Watts Erik Watts Bob Orton Mr. Hughes

Not exactly what you're talking about in the OP, but it drives me nuts when people discount the impact, storylines, crowd reactions, and general consensus of a match at the time - undervaluing that and replacing it with how they may feel now when watching it blindly or out of context. Sure, there's something to be said about a good match that's still good even when you watch it cold, but I don't think it's accurate to say a generally beloved match is bad if you weren't there and don't understand the context, emotions, and reactions it generated at the time. Obviously, some matches don't age well - like any other form of entertainment - but I think it's dangerous to say all '50s matches and workers were lazy, lumbering oafs who didn't do anything interesting (I'm exaggerating) when the business was different, matches were structured differently, and - most importantly of all - expectations were different. BTW, Dean Malenko wasn't better than Earthquake IMO. Maybe I value character more than most people here, but Earthquake played his character to the hilt - even in the ring, with his mannerisms during the Earthquake Splash, etc. Dean just 'rassled, and he's far less interesting in the ring than most people give him credit for (though I think most of PWO is with me on that one). Don't get me wrong, I liked Deano Machino well enough at the time, but he's also kind of instantly forgettable - both ring-wise and character-wise. His most memorable feud was with Jericho, and that was all Jericho and all out-of-the-ring stuff. I don't even remember their actual matches.

What I actually said, though, was either the PPV before Mania or the one after it. Several more examples open up for the latter. Other than "Twice in a Lifetime," a Mania main event has never been repeated at Mania. (UT/Shawn and UT/Trips weren't main events both times, and I think - but could be wrong - that only UT/Shawn was ever the last match of those four, and that was only once.)

I thought Ross and Jesse were fantastic together, just because they were each individually fantastic. If that didn't translate to chemistry as a team, I certainly never noticed, because they were both good enough on their own to make it work.

Plus, the WWE's style has always been to repeat the Mania main event either the next month or a year later at the show before or after Mania. We saw that with Hogan-Rock and countless other examples.