Eivion

Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns - WrestleMania XL, 4/7/2024 Ilja Dragunov vs. Trick Williams - Vengeance Day, 2/4/2024 Bayley vs. IYO SKY - WrestleMania XL, 4/7/2024 Gunther vs. Kofi Kingston - Raw, 1/29/2024 Sami Zayn vs. Gunther, WrestleMania XL, 4/7/2024 Oba Femi vs. vs. Dijak vs. Josh Briggs - Stand & Deliver, 4/6/2024 Baron Corbin & Bron Breakker vs. Axiom & Nathan Frazer- Stand & Deliver, 4/6/2024 Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch - WrestleMania XL, 4/7/2024 Becky Lynch vs. Liv Morgan - Raw, 3/11/2024 Nia Jax vs. Becky Lynch - Raw, 3/4/2024 Much of the second half ranks around the same for me with a bunch of fairly good matches I could slot in like Trick/Melo from S&D, Any of the other Nia/Becky matches, Lyra/Roxanne, Rhea/Nia, NCR vs. Judgement Day, etc. WWE has had few blow away great matches so far this year, but there have been plenty of good-really good matches so far. Its been a fairly nice year so far in terms of consistent good wrestling.

Has to be Bash at Berlin or Summerslam if they go that route.

I think the rule is they can remask after 5-10 years. Generally most don't outside of an entrance or special occasion. It was a special occasion for Blue Panther, and it seems he legit got permission from the Commission to remask for the match.

https://twitter.com/WrestleOps/status/1777182532678586772

https://twitter.com/catherinekelley/status/1777164256229601501

You always have to include entrances and post match with this stuff. I bet if you count that you end up closer to most of your guesses sans one or two.

Seth/Drew was good. Dug that it was a bombfest, and it was good to see Drew get the big win. The post match celebration and confrontation with Punk costing Drew the belt via Priest and the briefcase was perfect. Lashley/Profits vs. Kross/AOP was fun. Dug Snoop on commentary way more than expected, and Bubba as ref worked out well. AJ/Knight was shockingly good. Thought this was one of Knight's better matches in WWE with the two having way more chemistry than expected. Owens/Orton/Paul was good and super fun all around. Dug Orton and KO keeping up the friendship for so long and even breaking it down in an understandable way where both get it. Paul was the athletic, sneaky bastard you expect with his cheap shot and early attempts to get KO and Orton to fight each other. Paul continues to surprise with how good he is and keeps getting. Bayley/Io built into a pretty darn good match. Was glad to see the crowd behind Bayley and Io play to that. I would have preferred Io retain, but it was neat to see Bayley finally get the big heroic qwin on her own. Cody/Roman II was great. The first half was good with great trash talk from Reigns and some nice action all around. The overbooking from the second half provide a nice bit of extra drama and was damn near perfect in execution. I only wish we got Austin instead of Taker. I loved the finish with Reigns finally getting proper vengeance on Seth for the Shield breakup only for that to be what cost him the belt. Night 2 was so much damn better than Night 1. Every match delivered and surpassed what was necessary. This was a wonderful way to end the weekend. Can't wait to see how they follow up on Raw and Smackdown this week.

Caught a bit of the press conference. Apparently Roman is still on some sort of oral chemo which is why Pat mentioned he was fighting Leukemia still.

Becky/Rhea was pretty good. Dug the finish. Tag titles ladder match was the expected clusterfuck. Had some fun moments and some scary ones that went better than they could have. You knew it was bad when Jessica Carr was actively interrupting Priest not long before the finish because she noticed the warped ladder. Priest and Miz were so damn lucky. Don't love the tag titles splitting though it hopefully leads to more focus on actual tag teams. Truth getting his flowers with a big Wrestlemania win was nice to see. Hopefully Theory and Waller aren't champs for long on the Smackdown side. Santos/Dom vs. Rey/Andrade was fun but nothing special as expected. Battle of the Usos was sadly disappointing. Neither are great singles wrestlers, but you would still expect/hope for more even just based on what they have done the past six months. Dakota/KAIRI/Asuka vs. Bianca/Naomi/Jade was alright. Was hoping Jade would showcase more. Sami/Gunther was fantastic. Great action and drama, especially towards the end. Still not happy to see Sami dethrone Gunther as I think Gable needed it more, but they built it all up well in the weeks before and on the show itself. Cody/Seth vs. Roman/Rock was too damn long as expected, but it also had a decent amount of fun moments and good heeling from Rock and Roman. I only wish Philly was less pro-Rock. Was impressed to see how well they actually teased a Cody/Seth victory. They had me fooled a few times. The lack of further Bloodline involvement was surprising though I guess that will be the big story for tomorrow's match. Not a great show, especially after NXT Stand & Deliver earlier in the day, but I thought this was a solid show overall. The Women's & US titles match felt like Wrestlemania classics, and the main event did exactly what it needed to in setting the tone and story for Roman/Cody II.

I feel like some are missing the point that Tony effectively made a false claim of firing the Boys with cause on an issue that was seemingly on the company in the first place. That is shit that can affect their bookings outside of AEW. They have reason to be pissed. The budget cuts aspect sucks, but it would have been far more sensible and was something they didn't have issue accepting.

Bron/Corbin vs. Axiom/Frazer was pretty darn good. Pretty similar to their Dusty Cup match with Axiom and Frazer going all out before the bell even rang, but some how they went even bigger and better. That big splash from Corbin was neat. I love that the audience completely would have bought it as a finish. Kind of glad Wolfdogs retained since I'm loving Bron and Corbin as a team though I do wish they had left out the part that Bron had yet to win a S&D event until after the match. Oba vs. Dijak vs. Briggs was a a great battle of monsters that saw every guy looking good. Oba isn't quite the athletic beast Dijak and Briggs are, but he looked great when bringing on the power alongside Briggs and Dijak bumping so big for him. I do find it funny how Briggs was the only one going in who was arguably face and of course was the only on booed. The finish was kind of perfect as well being another big moment for Oba. They are doing a great job with Oba in these matches, and Oba to his credit has been carrying himself well both in the ring and as a general aura. I only wish he could talk a bit better. Thea/Fallon/Kelani vs. Jacy/Kiana/Izzi was good. Surprised this didn't open the show, but they built up a pretty nice match here with everyone having some good moments. Izzi got in a surprising amount of time here and looked pretty solid. She may not be as overly impressive as your Kelanis, Lolas, and Sols, but you can see why she got the spot on such a big show beyond just being the pin eater. She is pretty solid support right now. Was nice to see them use this as an opportunity to announce a new Women's belt. Been wanting to see a secondary women's belt in WWE for while. NXT's division has enough strength to justify it. I like that they went the NA route. Roxanne/Lyra was pretty good and noticeably better than their Vengeance Day match pre-Lola. Both felt a lot more motivated opposed to trying to hold back. Was nice seeing Roxanne so focused on working the arm, and Lyra did a mostly solid job selling throughout with it holding her back at least once or twice. Was pleasantly surprised to see Roxanne more or less win this clean. I thought it was the right choice given how well Roxanne has been doing as a heel. I also ended up right with the crowd really only being behind Roxanne. Lyra has been good, but she is a bland face. I think the crowd might have turned on her had she won opposed to the slight apathy they had towards. Hopefully they use this as an opportunity for change especially given some of the finer points of her feud with Roxanne. Tony/Ilja was nice and rough with the two actually meshing together better than expected. I like that Tony respected Ilja too much to do his usual cheap antics. I think this is easily one of D'Angelo's better matches in NXT. Trick/Melo was good. Good action, good fire from Trick, and Melo was great dicking around as a heel. Everything here delivered and was damn good fun to watch. Not sure what was MOTN for with how good everything was, but this was a damn good show overall.

I haven't watched any Ice Ribbon in years, but for some reason I immediately thought pregnancy when you mentioned that earlier. Glad I was right.

The matches were generally alright but nothing special. Did enjoy the battle royal. Nice to see Reed win though a part of me was hoping they would give it to Tozawa. That elimination was just sad to see since he flew right over Otis. Ivar clearly doesn't know his own strength. Andrade replacing Dragon Lee for tomorrow's lucha tag is not an upgrade which speaks more to the level of Lee's talent than anything wrong with Andrade. I feel a bit sorry for Lee since I think he earned the spot given his impressive output this last year. I thought this was mostly ok show giving last bits of build to mid card matches, but I have to agree it wasn't much, especially after Raw's strong ending.

Been catching up to the last year or two of Detective Comics I've had sitting on my shelf. The Tamaki run ended on a bit of a whimper, nut it was always a bit forgettable if I'm being honest. Not terrible but little noteworthy either. Ram V's Orgham story is a noticeable improvement though I wish Detective would be more one-off and min-arcs focused on various characters opposed to one big story.

Triple threat tag was good. Happy Axiom/Frazer won. The rematch with WolfDogs has great potential. Hope it delivers. Fallon/Jacy was fine while it lasted. Mostly served as a nice win for Jayne andfinal setup for the 6-women tag for S&D. King/Wagner was alright. Lola/Karmen was decent. Thought this was probably Karmen's best showing yet though I'm still not really interested in her as a character. Supernova Sessions didn't offer much at first glance with Lyra's points against Roxanne still not really hitting home, but the backstage segment between Lyra and Tatum kind of brought it all together with Lyra clearly being frustrated and pushed to a breaking point by the situation. Kind of hope a double turn is somehow pulled. Oba/Gacy was fine. Did its job in Oba looking strong and setting up Gacy/Spears. Arianna/Wren was solid. The two meshed together well, and Wren look to be coming along well as a "rookie." Sol/Blair was pretty solid and a good showcase for Ruca. Was surprised to see how much she dominated early on. The leg work from Blair to hold Ruca down was nice alongside Ruca's gradual comeback. Still was surprised to see Ruca win though the flash pin makes me think they run it back sometime soon. Sol Ruca would be a good challenger for whoever comes out of S&D as women's champ. The final Trick/Melo segment was good even ending on the expected big brawl. Solid go home for Stand & Deliver even if it could have delivered more match wise outside of the opening triple threat tag. That match was good and easily MOTN. I did enjoy how much focus the women's division took up both in and out of the ring.

Finally caught Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire for my older brother's birthday. We all seemed to enjoy it a decent bit. I thought it was better than Afterlife. I dug the family dynamic and thought Phoebe had more to her personality and character this time around. Was nice to see Winston and Ray bring more to the table as well. Wouldn't mind seeing another with this crew.

30th Anniversary was mostly new content including a new dungeon but cost not only money, but I would argue too much money for just a dungeon. The loot was good at the time, but they were made kind of moot (sans Ghally) just a few months later with Witch Queen adding weapon crafting and origin traits. The dungeon weapons still haven't been updated two years later. Into the Light has two new activities that are seemingly repurposing old areas but not to the level of what we see in say Battlegrounds. The loot looks fantastic though its all returning weapons. ITL mostly feels like Bungie trying to make good on a promise made back when they did sunsetting of how things would eventually return and be better when they did. The weapons and returning exotic missions all feel like this. With the horde mode we are also at least a getting something long requested as well. Will actually have to play to have a true answer, but I think into the Light will at least be a solid update and a worthwhile way to kill time for the next couple of months before The Final Shape. Right now I think the updates look about even. ITL would probably look more favorable if Bungie was in a better position, but its hard to get excited with everything that has gone down the past year. Still it leaves me with more positive leaning vibes than I had just a couple of months ago.

Said timer will be 20 in Legend mode. The new PvP maps look good. Pantheon being about Raid boss fights was unexpected. I wonder if it will includes bosses from sunset raids.

Opening Bloodline segment was long but good in setting up the main event. New Day/DIY vs. Judgement Day was solid fun. Went quicker than expected and had an unfortunate lack of R-Truth. Enjoyable enough though I was hoping for something more. Sami/Bronson was good once again though it had a non-finish. I would be more disappointed, but I enjoyed Gunther getting some nice heat for Sami's beatdown alongside Samis rise up attempt. I don't want Sami to win, but I'm not sure I would hate it either with how things have built up. Hoping Gunther has to choke him out to put him down. Ivy/Maxxine vs. Indi/Candice was surprisingly alright, probably the best Maxxine ha slooked. Still it served mostly as another story moving component to heel Candice. Will be interesting to see if Indi turns with her after this loss or goes another direction. Ricochet/Ivar was damn fine match as expected. This was easily the hottest match tonight and a great showcase for both guys. The Drew eulogy for Seth was good. The Becky/Rhea brawl wasn't anything we haven't seen before, but it still served as a solid final moment before their WM match. Damage CTRL vs. Shayna/Zoey/Tegan was fun and a solid showcase for Tegan & Zoey before the end. Seth/Solo was good, but the non-finish with Rock and Roman somehow was even better. They blasted the shit out of Seth and Cody with the belt shots. Was a great heel heat segment for the Bloodline. Was also nice to see Rock get a little physical and take some hits from Cody before the rebound with Roman's surprise return. The tag matches were decent-solid though could have been more. The singles matches here were all good despite two non-finishes. Two non-finishes would annoy me more, but I feel I can forgive it a bit more than usual as the final build up to Wrestlemania. They also both served well as heel heat segments. Pretty solid Raw overall.

KO/Orton vs. Pretty Deadly was fun while it lasted. The Logan Paul interference was well done and i was a bit amused by the post match shenanigans. Street Profits vs. Waller/Theory was solid up until the distraction finish. The post match beatdown by Final Testament did work out well. Legado vs. LWO turning into Rey/Dragon vs. Santos/Dom for Wrestlemania is just a tad disappointing though I kind of get it with another big faction vs. faction match likely happening. The match should still be a fun and a great way to showcase Dragon Lee in front of a big audience. Dunne/Bate vs. Angel/Humberto was good fun as expected. Glad NCR won. Bianca/Dakota was good. Wa snice to see Dakota get to show off in the main event. The post match with Damage Ctrl beating down Bianca and Naomi before the big save by Jade was good. Jade continues to look like a star. No great matches though everything was enjoyable with bianca/Dakota being a nice standout. The segments were solid and did a nice job of continuing the build for Wrestlemania. Pretty solid show. They are former NXT and NXTUK tag champs. They are a pretty good team, but have relied on character so far on the main roster since it gets them more tv time. I think they would be better off if the tag titles were on an actual tag team, but there has been a focus on keeping them on major factions or special teams the past two years. They aren't the only team getting underserved by this. Hopefully things change post Wrestlemania.

twitter.com/wolfmansgotnard/status/1772756714032337054?s=46&t=TLNzmc8W8LCd9JNoD7tygw

Their powers are more or less the same although Mystique heals faster and can likely live longer via deaging herself (she is 100+ like Logan). Basically she is a lot more skilled, and Morph's abilities may just not be able to reach as far in general.

Because my dad decided to randomly delete my set recording I missed the first 2/3 of NXT and waited until today to catch the stream and what I got on my DVR. Dijak/Spears was solid though it felt weird seeing Dijak bust out the flying for a guy of Spear's size and caliber. He also seemed to fuck up Spear's knee on that first dive. I hope Dijak is smarter about picking his moments for this stuff in the future. Thea/Jazmyn was pretty decent with Nyx mostly handling herself well and getting in a decent showcase. Dug the post match brawl with Jacy, Izzi, Kiana, Kelani, and Fallon. Hope whatever big tag is getting built happens at Stand & Deliver. The women earned the spot with the work everyone has put into the division the past year. Lola/Nattie was mostly solid outside a few awkward pauses that I assume comes from two people not being used to each other. Don't dislike the idea of Nattie back in NXT. Always thought she moved on too soon during her last visit. Ilja/Stacks was good fun. Kind of like Stacks' goal mainly being there to maim Ilja and add a weak point for Tony to attack in the coming title match. Briggs/Duke was another solid match though I wish Duke had won. Briggs still does little for me and feels like he would be better cast as a heel. I did like Oba announcing the NA title match a triple threat. Femi feels like the exact type who would welcome the challenge opposed to usual champ being pissed over it. The Roxanne & Trick/Melo vids were great and did a fine job of building their respective matches. Lyra's vid was less good. It wasn't bad, but it continues to push how out of place Lyra feels as a face. Lyra came across as pretty damn arrogant in her vid, especially as she tried to paint her situation as black and white when Roxanne rightly called Lyra out for dodging a proper defense against her after Vengeance Day. Roxanne had lyra beat twice that night and was blatantly screwed both times. As much as Roxanne is killing it as a heel I do still think they would have been smarter to turn Lyra instead. Could have easily had her manipulating Tatum. WolfDogs vs. Alpha Academy was damn good stuff as expected and MOTN. Still amazes how well Corbin and Bron mesh as a a team and personalities in general. Enjoyable matches and segments with some standouts in the promo vids for S&D and the main event. Good show.

I am. Haven't caught this week's episode, but I've been digging it so far.