Matt D

We would have had one liners if he won and we would have one-liners if he lost.

I actually really liked Bugsy vs Lewin. Very effective stuff. It's no blip. Lewin was definitely way more over than Dusty in Houston, at least on that night. Same crowd. Same audio. It gives us a sense of how much Dusty was NOT over, actually. It wasn't just the way the mic-ing was that night. I like Lewin so much more as a babyface than a heel and McGraw played his role well. This was 13 minutes and angle-centric, but it was all really solid.

I mean he did sort of achieve the american dream (give or take a lawsuit): "If you work hard enough, you can be as big an asshole as you want without repercussions." Good for him on that.

I'd be happy for Tito Santana if he wanted to start an unlikely new career, let me tell you that.

Hopefully the guy's mid-life crisis is over and he can start transitioning his fame and personal beliefs into youth drug prevention programs or something.

I'd be amused if Netflix's biggest issue was that new shows dried up temporarily because it's CEO had to go be a heel in Japan.

The main issue is that Punk is a hugely unlikable ass. Why are people dancing around that and talking about gym time and stuff like that? He's sort of OUR hugely unlikable ass, but that only takes him so far.

No, this is a lot of fun to read; maybe my favorite PWO thing since GWE ended.

I was going to say...

They should drop the cash to have Living Colour play Cult of Personality for Baron Corbin on the way to the ring for whatever pre-match show match he's in tomorrow. That's what I'd do if I was Vince at least.

The fun thing about this is that Punk is still a better pro wrestler than Brock Lesnar.

I like Punk more now that he looks more like Paul Boesch.

Maybe someone could convince him that it was the key to Howie Mandel's success.

I applaud your gumption.

Even that had Dusty putting a chinlock on instead of letting Gino stooge around for him. It was weird.

Maybe he helped bridge the gap to JYD though. All I know is that they really worked to hell out of that sleeper and it didn't seem to be working.

I don't know. Andre's a special attraction and he's always over in Houston. Likewise, Dusty is a special attraction elsewhere (like MSG) and he feels more over there. It's not just this match but other times we've seen Dusty.

Pete, We've seen a lot of Houston matches from this era now. Is it just me or is the crowd just not all that into Dusty? I think, even in this match, Lewin was way more over than him.

Dusty vs Gino So far as I know, this is the only match up between these two that we have. I think they had good chemistry. I would have liked a bit more of a shine with a bit more of Gino showing ass, but he gives a lot for Dusty to work with in the heat, even though it's primarily them working hope spots out of a sleeper. It's one of the best sleeper sequences you'll see. I'd be curious if someone can name a better. For some reason the crowd always seems underwhelming for Dusty in Houston, despite Boesch telling me otherwise. Gino was the guy who had to draw week in and week out in Houston, and they made him look strong and effective. Solid match with a lot of exactly what you would want from Dusty and Gino but maybe not quite enough for it (And all of in as a backdrop for Gino vs Lewin). I didn't like it as much as Dusty vs Patera, but it's still a great piece of history with two guys doing what they did best.

I'm not going to do a full write up. I really need to see it again. Where it clicked for me utterly was when I switched to the fancam footage. From there, I started over and was hugely engaged. I sync'd together the footage in the third fall as I watched, splitting my screen and it was one of the most immersive wrestling experiences I've had in a long time. It really was an experience and I'd like to go back again and map out more of a narrative. Talk about earned exhaustive selling though. The chair segment and the wrecked bodies it left behind is one of the best examples of how a single spot or sequence can just change everything. Truly amazing finish. I need to see it again.

Forget the bell: Would Brock vs Reigns be better if the chase/payoff to Rollins/Reigns had been better months down the line?

Semantic issue: I think maybe this match shouldn't have "five stars" in it. I don't give star ratings, but if I did, a match would have to hit in every area, or at least almost every, to get five stars. That's the highest mark. Plus, despite what was discussed, I think you can find matches from the 70s-back that have great finishes. It's not all that uncommon.

I am on my phone, so I will be be vague instead of using spoiler tags. I think the idea was to have a definitive pinfall while keeping both guys strong and because they would need to use Buzz as Rich's partner upcoming. There was a clear winner, both to the match and the feud, but at the end of the day it was about how evenly matched they were and how there was no shame in losing. Tonally, you have to factor in the match that followed too, which makes it less clean than it could have been.

Where I did absolutely love Buzz was in the pre-match where he kept shaking the top of the cage and came off like a trapped animal exploring his surroundings.

Off the top of my head, best use would be in the midst of a lot of other varied arm offense, maybe as connective tissue from one hold to another to rationalize why the other wrestler is allowing it without fighting back more or as part of a cut off of a hope spot (fighting out of a hold). Those are just quick thoughts, though.