Stiva

I think that was more of a "hey let's throw something at this crowd really hard and fast and stop any dumb pre-planned bullshit" Yeah but this definitely has the feel of a bigger-than-usual Raw. Tag Titles up next, Shields/Wyatt rematch, Batista/Bryan. It feels like this is going to be 100mph from the word go.

If they've booked a table bump in the first 20 minutes, they must have some crazy shit planned for later on.

Hope you keep this up, Loss as it's fun reading through these knowing that almost ten years ago (fucking hell...), you were seeing a real transitional time in WWE's history. I'm curious to see what you think of Cena's run on top in 2007 until his injury because it's one of my favourite headline runs of any WWE guy. I hope you're looking forward to lots of Edge main events though, at a point where he was declining rapidly. I'm amazed he lasted until 2011 looking back.

If Punk shows up tonight, I'll go with this: 0 - Pre Show Battle Royale - I dunno, this is a crap shoot. Rey? Goldust? Titus O'Neill? Hogan open where he makes HHH/Bryan No DQ 1. Usos over New Age Outlaws for the tag titles and their big win 2. Sheamus over Christian 3. Cesaro over Reigns to unify the IC and US Titles --- Reigns beats Ambrose for the US Title to further Shield break-up, Ambrose costs him this, Rollins cries a bit 4. Cena beats Wyatt after they try the sneak attack thing again but Cena wises up. Cena wins the match but they lay him out afterward 5. Tamina over AJ 6. Bryan over HHH with possibly some Hogan and Kane shenanigans. Hogan and Bryan yes it up. 7. Taker over Lesnar 8. Batista over Orton and Punk. ----- I think your Shield break-up matches should really be happening at Extreme Rules and beyond and I think they'll take that route with the Bryan title win. I think Punk will finally take his time off after they appease him with the main event and I expect Cena will probably want to put Wyatt over but they'll go with that instead. I didn't even think of Rusev getting a spot but I'd guess they save the Henry stuff before they feed him to Cena/Bryan/Cesaro/whatever babyface is holding a singles title.

The one thing I will say about is NXT is that it's hard to believe that the commentary is so good on there and so awful on the main shows. I look forward to the day where it's Regal in the booth on Raw. Tom Phillips is definitely cut from the Michael Cole cloth but he has a better voice for play-by-play and he's helped by not having JBL and King prattling on like idiots on either side of him. If HHH says all the workers on the NXT show are more or less ready for a call-up, do they have other workers just set up in the training camp that aren't on TV yet?

That would have been a spot for Rey. One thing I do love about Cesaro atm is that his first attempt at the Giant Swing always gets cut off and then he hits it the second time. Such a simple trick but it works every time.

Me neither. Punk in 2013 was pretty shitty, all things considered. He had become an awful promo and was wrestling like a guy who wanted some time off. I don't doubt he's got another entertaining run in him down the line but I don't see what he'd bring to Batista/Orton other than giving the Mania crowd someone to actually cheer for in the match. Batista playing off the massive heat as a primadonna heel is far more interesting to me going forward than babyface CM Punk.

At this point, I don't know if they genuinely believe that people just want to see Bryan featured prominently and they think a match with superman HHH will cut it or they're doing their usual "we'll acknowledge the fans but we have no idea how to book our way out of it anymore" style. People are rightfully worried about Orton/Batista but there's going to be a Brock/Taker match at Mania too. That title match has no chance.

Cesaro is on an absolutely crazy streak this year. Is there any house show handhelds floating around?

Hulk being trapped in a WWE lingo feedback loop was pretty funny.

I'm not sure it's that high but my immediate reaction is definitely the best WWE match of the 2010s so far. I can't think of anything comparable except maybe Cena/Punk in Chicago.

WWE acknowledging 2 months of fan unrest but actually ignoring it is such a WWE move. Incredible chamber match, hampered by a hokey last 5 minutes as they scrambled for any attempt to stick to their plan.

In another life, Mark Henry is the world's greatest sports analyst.

Yikes, to say this Batista main event run isn't being warmly received is an understatement. Watching this, I've just got a flashback to when Mike Adamle would always call Batista 'Dave' in the most innocuous ways. His first words after becoming GM were "Hey, Dave"

I loved how that fell apart every so often to get the crowd hot and then would go back to a heat segment. It made the eventual fight so much more awesome. I thought Rollins had a real coming out party tonight, Ambrose running around like a lunatic jumping on people, breaking things up and brawling into the crowd was great, Rowan and Harper brought their best stuff, especially the latter's awesome dive. Those last ten minutes felt like two teams throwing increasingly crazy shit at the wall in desperation and it built perfectly.

Yeah, I'm kinda the same though I think he should be a babyface. I liked the slaps during the abdominal stretch.

Big E vs Jack Swagger - I really enjoy a lot of Big E's offense; the splash looks good, the spear to the outside looked good and I'm a mark for anyone who pulls the straps down. Swagger held his own too and I liked the clothesline on the outside and the throw from the top. The crowd being into both guys helped but maybe crowds are just getting hotter atm. Tag Match - That one Uso who took the bump into the turnbuckle is crazy but he sold it like a motherfucker. He had some really good vocal selling a little later when Road Dogg worked the arm over too. Not sure the Outlaws should be around past Mania but The Usos should go over there if they're going to be building the tag division around them going forward. Bad News Barrett is great. I, too, am looking forward to his crazy podium at Mania. They should have him orbiting the stadium on a blimp.

On the point of Cesaro needing a rocket strapped to him, I think the point made here that fans are desperate for ANYONE new to be pushed is definitely valid. It's not just Bryan (though he's the most over guy they have right now), it's guys like Cesaro, The Shield and even Ziggler for all his faults. If we're in February 2015 and WWE's main event is filled with the guys who people are actually chanting for, we'll be in a great place.

I don't necessarily hide it but I don't mention it off hand. As some have said, I'll reference wrestling all the time but in my age group (early 20s), we were kids when the Attitude era caught on in a big way in the UK so dropping a reference to Stone Cold or Vince McMahon is just considered par for the course. Because it was such a big part of us being kids, I don't think people would say much if I said I was continuing to watch old Memphis shows on Youtube or anything like that, it would just be considered a hobby. But I have friends who obsess over delta blues, silent comedy and cycling as a sport so I might just have a strange group of friends in general.

Yeah, I thought the segment with Sheamus and Cesaro in that tag was the best, or at least my favourite, thing from WWE in the first couple of months of the year. I loved Sheamus egging Cesaro on and then just punching him in the face and his count-to-ten spot is the best one in the company. I even enjoyed Swagger since the really quick flurry of double team moves the RA bust out are always hit so cleanly and sharply. It's going to be a sad day when WWE implode the current tag set and the Usos have nobody to face.

For a more modern one along the lines of the Cena return, the Batista heel turn on Rey in 09 (I think) is one that springs to mind as an underrated but well executed one. They lose a tag match, Josh Matthews interviews them and Batista delivers his best mic work ever, slowly turning on Rey in the same way a heavily jacked dude with a hair trigger would. Rey is great as well, begging for his friend to stop but Batista throws him into the barricade (which Rey bumps great for, as you'd expect) and that's that. As is typical with latter 00s WWE, I can't remember a damn thing that came from it (aside from Batista's hugging fat girls promo) but the initial turn is really well done.

Something Awful's wrestling and MMA subforum (I forget its name as it changes so much) is generally very busy.

He worked the Wrestling Society X shows and had a great squash match with Chuck Palumbo in 07/08. I have no idea what other experience he had in WWE.

I've had absolutely no trouble with Google Chrome if you want to try that browser. I quite like the basic style that PWO has but if an upgrade is necessary, I agree that a like system should be avoided. This board certainly doesn't have the same makeup as DVDVR but I agree that the "like" format encourages random presses of the 'like' button over actual debate. The one thing I do like about the basic Invision format is the ability to view a poster's topics and posts from their sign up date/the board's inception. The Invision update limits that kind of searching to a certain date and really restricts your attempts to dig up posts from the past. That may seem inconsequential but I, personally, really enjoy digging through the post history of posters I find interesting and it's let me indulge in discussions that I wouldn't normally jump into. This kind of Invision board is a great testament to the mid or late 2000s style of message board and I really like it because of that but at some point, upgrades need to be made and that's understandable. It's just this poster hopes that you don't completely move away from the basic style that makes this board a pleasure to navigate

Re: The Prime Time Players: I think turning Titus heel is a bad move. There was a time in the summer where a Titus O'Neill vs Roman Reigns head to head was met with a great pop from the crowd during a time where the PTP meant nothing in the greater picture. On a grander level, he has his "woof!" or whatever it is but he has little experience in getting his solo spots over and I think he has a better chance of doing that as a babyface IMO. I don't think they should have broken the PTP up even if The Usos are the new face of the tag division Post-Mania as they could have easily transitioned into a tag title run in the summer with the right booking and become an over act. O'Neill is better than Shad too whose heel turn was slightly optimistic; Titus is a charismatic dude but I think he's better suited as a face.