Go2Sleep

That opening segment: WTF So glad they ditched the Wyatt/Lesnar plan. Brock/Dean can now join the women's match in the "will be good for the right reasons" category. Sin Cara looks like he quit going to the gym after his recent injury. Compare and contrast the reaction of HHH beating down Bryan and HHH beating down Roman. For those who were disappointed they didn't get Orton/Batista straight up just for the crowd reaction, this should be an ok consolation prize.

The promoter award is going to Jeff Jarrett. It all makes sense now.

I wonder if it's going to be a full 3-hour show, or if they're going to follow the Brooklyn/London pattern where they tape the first half to use as a weekly show, and go live on the network later.

I wonder how many times they're gonna bring out old stars to try and put New Day in their place. They've gotten one over on Jericho, Rock and Edge/Christian. That same 90s/00s schtick doesn't work anymore but they keep running them out there and none of them are as cool as New Day anymore. I'm not sure New Day actually got one over on E/C, though. Yeah, and E/C had a couple really bad lines, but they still twisted the knife on Kofi's Jamaican accent and then they rattled off a long list of ways ND was ripping off their act and ND didn't get a response. It certainly wasn't "Billy Gunn KOTR" bad, but I felt it did take the wind out of ND's sails a little bit. Edge's "I'm starting to like you guys" line felt really hollow after all that and ND definitely didn't come out looking better than when they went in. And even though I really dislike LON and want them to go away forever, they got it way worse than ND. "Hold on, Wade Barrett hasn't gotten to stare at anyone menacingly yet" and Edge's nonchalant burial of Del Rio's WWE run were BRUTAL. It didn't help that the two guys who can't hold their own on the mic had to do most of the talking. Putting Sheamus and Del Rio up against E/C on the mic is like making a high school basketball team play the Warriors. Edge is in the same league as The Rock, Shawn, and HHH as what I would classify as a "stiff promo." I don't think he's always trying to bury guys out there, but he's so quick on his feet and has such a casual delivery, he ends up really hurting guys from time to time.

The opening tag was alright. Sasha looked like she really put some effort into her hot tag planning and probably looked as close as she has to NXT Sasha on the main roster. She'll get there. Naomi and Tamina are noticeably worse than Sasha and Becky. This is where the main roster could really use Emma as a competent second tier opponent for the women they want to push. Shit, Emma/Paige as a heel team in the BAD leftovers' spot would've been sweet. Failing that, I'd take Nattie (who has been doing nothing forever) in Emma's spot. Despite her faults, she's a lot better than Naomi and certainly Tamina. AJ/Jericho was ok. I will say it's probably the best Jericho has actually put someone over in his part time years. The E/C segment was so awkward and bad. They buried the New Day and the LON, even though seemingly the purpose of the segment was to set up a feud between the two with ND turning face. I guess we all knew it would happen eventually, but Jesus, face ND version 2 is gonna be some seriously awful shit if tonight was any indication. Why hasn't the LON just dissolved and sent those guys on their separate midcard ways yet? The main event was a good match. It felt like a poor man's Rumble triple threat from last year. I really liked the constant acknowledgements between Dean and Roman when it came to taking down Brock. That part of the match was really well done. The Brock parts were less inspired than the Rumble version, and the end result of course was a real buzzkill. If anyone's wondering what's wrong with Roman, look to his two most recent Feb ppv matches. Really strong matches with well-executed stories, and yet, nobody fucking cares.

I kinda find myself in the middle on Dean Ambrose. I don't think he's a viable long-term ace in his current form, but he desperately needs a moment before he becomes as non-viable as Ziggler. What if Dean beat HHH at WM, Roman turned the next night, then demolished Ambrose at Extreme Rules? Dean gets something to hang his hat on and can stay afloat for another year or two, and they finally get Roman at the top in a situation that takes the pressure off him somewhat. This would probably play better at a non-WM ppv, but with the roster in the shape it's in, it wouldn't be the worst play.

Least improved NXT wrestlers is pointless, because it's just gonna be the guys who were already really good. Like and Finn and Sami would be my top two picks but they don't need to change much because they're already great in their roles. And yes, I'll defend Finn as being great in the stoic ace role. He's been top-notch since the Dusty Classic. I'm kind of surprised Blake and Murphy are getting any kind of love, especially after Dash and Dawson stepped in and filled the "stability heel team" role better in every way the second they got the chance.

Jordan, Gable, Dash, and Dawson all come to mind. If you consider going from horrible to pretty good in a specific role, Mojo. If you consider going from solid to elite, Bayley.

Cole: Why do you think the WWE Universe likes AJ Styles so much? Jericho: Because he's new...

I'd like to see this match, but I don't think it's worth Cena rushing back from injury. Styles will be around past Mania, and AJ vs. Cena could be a featured match on any ppv. Plus AJ vs. anyone besides Jericho or Miz is a fresh, worthwhile matchup at this point. I'm kinda hoping for Styles/Owens myself.

The sad thing is that there is virtually nothing Cena can do to "save" or even marginally improve WM this year. The tickets are already sold, and there isn't any type of dream match for him to do either, unless you think Cena/Taker 5 years after it should've happened with no streak is still a dream match. Coming back early would be bad for so many reasons.

I guess I can start my list. Hopefully more good stuff comes along. Zayn vs. Nakamura (Dallas) American Alpha vs. Revival (The End) Revival vs. DIY (Toronto) Owens vs. Zayn (Battleground) Ibushi vs. Alexander (CWC 8/10) Sasha vs. Charlotte (Raw 11/28) Owens vs. Zayn (Payback) Aries vs. Nakamura (The End) Ibushi vs. Perkins (CWC 9/14) Revival vs. DIY (Brooklyn) Sasha vs. Charlotte (Raw 7/25) Gulak vs. ZSJ (CWC 8/24) Balor vs. Neville (NXT 3/2) Asuka vs. Nia (The End) Balor vs. Swann (NXT 3/23) Sasha vs. Charlotte (HIAC) Gargano vs. Perkins (CWC 8/24) Owens vs. Styles (Raw 5/23) Owens vs. Rollins (HIAC) Bayley vs. Asuka (Brooklyn) Kendrick vs. Mendoza (CWC 7/27) Bayley vs. Asuka (Dallas) Balor vs. Crews (NXT 2/3) Owens vs. Jericho vs. Rollins vs. Roman vs. Braun (Raw 11/7) Owens vs. Ziggler (Main Event 4/12) New Day vs. Jericho/Styles (Raw 3/7)

They were over and also sucked. The two aren't mutually exclusive. I think their only chance on main roster was going hard with faux-Road Warriors gimmick. Have them squash local jobbers most weeks and brag about how great they are, but then have them cheat like crazy to hang with real teams. I think that could've gotten somewhat over as a heel act. They don't have nearly enough talent to be "just another tag team."

Arlington and about 20 other indistinguishable neighboring cities all combine to form the singular hellhole that is "Dallas."

The Rams' new stadium LA is gonna be absolutely perfect for Mania. They can't open that soon enough. If the Raiders could get a similar state-of-the-art facility in Vegas... Oh my. I know it'll never happen with the time zone issue and it's bit smaller than the venues they've run the past several years, but Aloha Stadium would be boss. Basically I want Mania in places where there's shit to do and see. Not fucking Dallas.

"Ok, tiramisu" = Best part of the show Actually, the main event was quite good too. Most of the credit has to go to Bayley, but Carmella did execute better than normal and they did a good job working in what appeared to be legit nervousness (because I've never seen her act that well) on her part. The structure was good with Bayley not eating too much offense until the brand new tope which would definitely catch someone off guard. Reminded me of the first time Sasha busted it out at R-Evolution. Bayley also won without having to hit any big moves. Much like Balor/Crews last week, both wrestlers come out looking better when they work within their rank. Whoever is behind Bayley winning with multiple finishes is a genius and is setting her up for some real epics down the line. The post-match stuff got great heat, and there isn't a match in WWE I've been anticipating more than Bayley/Asuka.

How is anyone supposed to take Naomi's finisher seriously in a post-buttfumble world? In addition to all the other legitimate complaints mentioned, it just looks stupid. A jumping kick or knee would accomplish the same thing without all the negatives. I'm not really as high on Naomi as everyone else, but her finisher is the first and most obvious fix if you want to push her. The next thing would be ditching Tamina. Naomi looks like a good athlete who can handle her own business, and a bodyguard gimmick needs to be an order of magnitude more intimidating. There's not a big enough gap between Naomi and Tamina for that dynamic to work, and (though I'm sure this won't endear me to some) Tamina doesn't really bring much else to the table. Naomi would be better off with Cameron as a weasely heel manager that doesn't wrestle as a second.

Ha, as I was reading this thread, I kept thinking "I kinda wanna say Bray lost at some throwaway ppv, but I'm not sure and it really isn't even worth opening a new tab to find out." One could make the case though, that it is more damning that most people can't remember even the broadest details of the feud, but can remember that Bray did in fact lose to Jericho one time.

They should've let Tyler Breeze get a win over Titus to make an example of him instead. Guarantee you no one would get out of line for a while after seeing that.

There's no big enough for that main event. Come on, not even a Miz distraction to protect him a little?

I'd be willing to bet they'd all fair poorly in modern concussion/post-mortem CTE testing as well. I mean Bret had to retire from a concussion in 2000, so you know he had to have a lot before then.

I guarantee you that only speaks to better diagnostics. The 80s and 90s don't have a stellar track record for wrestler health either.

After going to WM 30, I thought to myself "Even if Bryan retires tomorrow, I'll always have this." Unfortunately, he might as well have retired that very next night, but I still feel the same way. If there was one show I could re-live over and over, it will always be WM 30. Even though I will miss his matches and presence, I'm happy that he's getting out with his health after seeing so many other favorites suffer fates substantially worse. I am grateful that he was a part of my wrestling life for the last 15 years. He was one of my all-time favorites and I wish him nothing but the best going forward.

The League of Nations needs some reserves right now...

I'll be damned. I forgot Simmons went in a couple years back.