w. josh

Yeah, I think they want to avoid a situation where Adam Cole is regularly shown standing next to Dominic Dijakovic.

It's in Hamsterdam.

I guarantee he's used that exact argument to try to explain to a woman why he shouldn't have to wear a condom.

The Freebirds also used this in the UWF, with Gordy delivering the slam.

As someone who has no interest in the generic hard rock/nu-metal that WWE traffics in, that entrance was pretty interminable to me, although I did really like the fog lingering in the ring. I'm also not all that stoked about another rear naked choke finisher. Dude definitely has an aura, though.

I just can't imagine any justification for the LMS match being that long. Edit it down by fifteen minutes (and mute 2/3 of Orton's uncomfortably-close-to-porn sounds) and you'd have a thoroughly decent brawl with a couple of great spots that proved Edge can still handle big bumps.

Theory feels like a heel Lance Storm with more charisma. I'm still not sure what the ceiling for that is.

The good news is they can just hire a stunt Undertaker for the actual match.

Seriously - you've got a guy who everyone knows is going to lose, but who could do a whole bunch of ridiculously athletic crazy flippy stuff in a sub-five minute match before eating a couple of F5s. There's absolutely no reason not to give him a couple of impressive spots before putting him down. I don't know whether these Lesnar matches are Brock refusing to give dudes that he thinks are beneath him any offense, Heyman trying to build up some MMA style "any matchup can be over in seconds" vibe, Vince being Vince, or some combination of all three.

Who is this company building up for the future? Drew McIntyre and...? Ricochet earned a title shot and then got no offense in the match. Montez Ford and Aleister Black spent months barely wrestling (which, it could be argued, has at least kept them fairly protected). Andrade just got pinned by R-Truth. Braun Strowman was working midcard comedy matches until he won a title with no build. Bray Wyatt has resurrected himself from terrible booking twice now and is going to have to do it a third time. Multiple NXT guys have allegedly asked not to be moved because they w

He really needs to be someone's sniveling underling. He's got a dorky creep energy similar to Kyle O' Reilly - I don't buy him as a mastermind or evil boss at all, but they could have gotten some mileage out of him as the second-in-command who's too dumb to know he's being used by the top guy. Too late for that now, though - we're stuck with him doing this bad Evolution hybrid cosplay for the long haul.

At this point, I assume Dream runs through UE with the Broserweights as backup and takes the title from Cole, then they run Dream/Balor in the summer. They've got a few other guys at this point that could use the validation of a title reign - Lee, Riddle, Dunne - but no one other than Dream with an obvious path to get there. I understand the logic behind the long title reigns, but having Cole and Shayna (and Asuka before that) beat everybody really hurt a lot of folks who have ended up on the midcard treadmill.

So, it's 2020, Adam Cole is the champ, and Gargano and Ciampa are feuding. Huh.

I could see Strong and Fish transitioning to player-coach types in Orlando. I wouldn't mind O'Reilly sticking with Cole when they decide to move him to RAW or Smackdown - he's got such a goofy heel charisma that I'd hate to see him get lost in the shuffle as a solo act in NXT, and I assume the company's still high enough on Cole that he'll be a big deal wherever they put him.

I'd just be happy to know that Rhea was movin' on up. It would be great to see her finally get a piece of the pie.

What's weird about that is that other than Edge and MVP, no one seemed like a surprise. Hardly any NXT guys, no 205 cannon fodder, no big debut, no retired vet in a comedy role. I would much rather have seen Santino in the Men's Rumble doing that exact same Cobra self-elimination spot against Brock than the ridiculously tone-deaf Santina return.

Credit where it's due - they did a good job with Keith Lee in the Rumble. Brock's reaction was great, the one-on-one was perfect, and he got eliminated cheaply rather than Lesnar just picking him up and chucking him. His two big PPV appearances have done a good job of making him seem like a big deal going forward...so far.

It's absolutely because it's carny shit and nobody cares. In the past, the stigma carried by pro wrestling was such that any politician or legal/law enforcement official trying to build any momentum on "cleaning up the business" would get laughed at and blown off, same as with sex work or travelling carnivals. The public perception there has changed, but the legal and political perception still hasn't; it doesn't make sense to those types to blow any goodwill or political capital on a "fake sport" followed by "rubes."

I forgot the Outliers have been doing the Florida loops for a while with Robert Stone. Kona needs a big monster for a partner so he can be a cowardly prick. And a manager so he doesn't have to cut promos where he says "the finest" every four seconds. Babatunde and Bivens are right there...

That's what I meant - even if you don't get a viable tag team out of the deal, you give a guy like that a chance to emerge.

The Alex Shelley announcement makes me irrationally happy. I assume it's just for the tournament, but it would be awesome to see him come in as an Ohno-style player/coach. Beyond that, this tournament definitely shows how weak the NXT (US) tag division is compared to previous rosters. Aside from the tag champs, there's exactly one regular, named tag team in it, and they lost. They really need to take a few of the newer or ready-for-a-repackage dudes - Joaquin Wilde, Dexter Lumis, Riddick Moss, Kona Reeves - and get them on television as gimmicked teams. Best case scenario you get another

I'm guessing they'll find a way to get Adam Cole/UE on the card - you would think they will have moved him/them to another brand by then.

Homeless Jimmy. Came out with a shopping cart full of weapons he'd "found in dumpsters." Man, XPW was awful.

I don't know if DDP was technically homeless when he was doing the "lost all his money" gimmick pre-Diamond Cutter breakthrough, but he was destitute until he got a mysterious benefactor.

The commentary for Black/Murphy is maybe the only time I've sort of enjoyed Lawler in forever. They were clearly told via headset to keep focusing on Black's jaw and ignore the obviously busted nose, and Lawler having none of it - "Forget about his jaw, his nose is broken! How can you guys not see that!" - was endearing, even if it did throw his partners under the bus. I would say that was a star-making performance from Black, but that would require a competent follow-up, soooo....