Boss Rock

Really liked the Braun and Seth matches. I do think he's long overdue for a face turn, though.

As unfortunate as the circumstances were, Katsuyori Shibata.

Tom and Corey work really well together. Tom actually seems smart enough to be able to keep up with Corey, and occasionally get one over on him. Cole's call of "It's BOSS TIME" actually makes me like Sasha less, makes me not want to see her wrestle so I can avoid that awful call They have arguably the best chemistry of any team. My favorite interaction between them was when Tye Dillinger lost to Oney Lorcan and Corey proclaimed him to be "just a 5" and Tom faux-gasped in horror.

Did Tenryu work a lot of punches earlier in his career? He had some really good ones in a few of the 2000's matches I've seen him in.

This one is my favorite.

My wife and I were lucky enough to get tix.

I'm cool with that too.

WWE is where it all started for me so they'll always be one of "my promotions". I'm not sure I would have ever gotten into wrestling without them. TNA was important in me seeing there was wrestling outside of WWE and Lucha Underground would act as a further gateway to other outside products like New Japan when my interest in WWE was waning. New Japan has been my favorite "current" promotion since then and that ultimately led me to discovering 90's All Japan, which is my all-time favorite of any wrestling.

I've sort of wondered that too.

All of the usual suspects have been nominated and with good reason, but I love a bunch of the lesser-known matches that have been discussed. Not sure I would have ever known about Satanico-Koshinaka if it hadn't been nominated.

Almas was in one of them, ha. And the match with Black was probably one of the best matches of the year.

In terms of in-ring work? I'd say so.

Ohno-Ciampa was really good and the segment with Ricochet and Dream was great. And in regards to Johnny-Ciampa, as much as I don't really want it to continue, I'd be fine with a hell in a cell match to blow it off.

Speaking of, I didn't realize it until now but the Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar dream match is back on the table (in theory atleast). Ideally, it should have happened at some point in 2014/2015 when Brock was at his best but better late than never. Would have loved a repeat of the Morishima match.

I'm happy Bryan is back in WWE but I do sort of wonder what a return to the indies would look like. Not to mention he'd finally get that aspuestas match he's always wanted.

I think he basically said Bryan was just another guy now in WWE rather than a top star and that led to folks saying he should leave. I could be wrong though.

I don't dislike Cole, but he's tons better when he doesn't have Vince and five other people in his ear.

He has qualities I do like, such as making matches feel like a big deal. The pop culture references can be a bit much, but it's usually just an eye roll and that's it.

While WWE has always been considered (and sometimes rightly so) the "looks matter" promotion, it seems like they've almost sort of moved away from that. The joke was always that Vince would like/push you if you were tall, muscular, and/or handsome. And while arguments can be made that Vince views Roman as the ideal-looking top star or that Jinder's physique played at least a small part in his push or that Cass' height is why he's feuding with Bryan, let's look at some other acts he's pushing. Kevin Owens has consistently been one of the most pushed acts on the main roster for basically his entire run. A hefty guy with a rough-and-tough brawler look beat John Cena in his first MR match, became the second Universal Champion, and got to work a program with both Shane AND Vince. Years ago, fans probably worried that a guy like A.J. would have been buried in the midcard because he's on the smaller side. And while the midcard originally looked to be his destination, his ability to consistently work great matches has essentially made him one of Vince's favorite stars. Shinsuke Nakamura is a thin guy with weird, cocaine-fueled charisma. Seems like the guy Vince would have heaped loads of unfunny comedy on. Instead, he won a Royal Rumble and has victories over John Cena and Randy Orton. And let's not forget about the big guy washouts like Chris Masters, Mason Ryan, and Ezekiel Jackson. It seems that a good look can sometimes earn you favor in the eyes of Vince, but if you fail to deliver, you're not going very far. Conversely, I think New Japan is a much more looks-oriented promotion. All of their top acts: Okada, Tanahashi, Kenny, Naito and Kota, are handsome men. Sure they can wrestle, but Okada beating Tanahashi for the title after a disastrous debut was seen as an unbelievably huge gamble just because he had a good look and athleticism. Granted he was able to repay their faith in him in full, but him winning the title as quickly as he did has to be one of the most forced pushes in recent memory.

I know there are lots of people who hate Mauro, but he's never been completely un-listenable to me. At his worst though, he can be rather distracting. Like last night on NXT he was super over-the-top in professing his hatred for Ciampa. Almost chew the scenery type commentary.

Shibata is a good call. I'd also throw in Hideki Suzuki. Guy looks incredibly suave.

Probably Braun. Seth would probably get a really good reaction as well. Obviously Bryan as well, but I don't see that happening.

I liked this quote from Tom in regards to his pbp (from Sam Roberts podcast): "I get tweets from people saying I don't have much of a personality. I'm like 'Great! I'm not supposed to.' I'm supposed to tell you here's when the show is, here's why this guy's mad at this guy and try to tell you some moves along the way." He and Corey were always my favorite duo.

He's thankfully stayed out of Lawler territory with that stuff. I think he knows what lines not to cross.

Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada (8/12/17) and Kenny Omega vs. Tetsuya Naito (8/13/17)-1 day.