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[packerbacker180]

Much of what I like from NJPW would be the same guys that are in ROH--Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes, the Young Bucks. etc. I normally only check it out once in a while. I'm probably most excited for NXT this weekend. Gargano-Ciampa, and the ladder match should be good.

[secondwhiteline]

I'm most excited for Asuka winning the title and for Gargano/Ciampa this weekend.

I like NJPW, but I don't like most of their gaijin. Rhodes is a star, ZSJ is fantastic, but I really don't like the Bucks or Jay White. Omega I've softened on a bit, because he's a great smiling babyface in a main event tag team, and I'm really enjoying his work with Ibushi more than I liked him as a solo guy in the main events. I find him too goofy to be up against guys like Okada, Naito, and Jericho, but as part of a team that looks like the new Rock 'n' Roll Express in terms of main eventing huge cards with tag matches? You have more leeway to be fun and goofy in that kind of setting.

[Doctor Fate]

CLASS OF 2018 WWE HALL OF FAME





i normally don't watch it, but I wait a few days and see the highlights on You Tube and all that ... I was happy to see the Dudley Boyz and Kid Rock making it and most of all and I was suprised to see Mark Henry making it too. It was a great class and I felt it was superb in every way possible and seeing Goldberg headlining it was a masterstroke and having Paul Heyman introducing him.

I loved his intro to Sting ... and Dallas Page .. WOW.

He really class act ... humbled and appreciative!

[packerbacker180]

NXT last night. Wow. Just wow.

The Gargano-Ciampa feud had a once in a generation slow build made even more so by Ciampa's injury. That feud needed the perfect payoff and those men told an amazing story. Reminded me of everything I loved about old school 70's/80's wrestling. I could've watched that for hours. And the ladder match was nuts. Velveteen Dream is a star. I can't believe that that's the same guy that was on Tough Enough. Props to Patrick Clark. It's even more fun rooting for someone when you know they love wrestling just as much as you do.

Good luck, WrestleMania.

[secondwhiteline]

That was the best hate match since Magnum/Tully. Just amazing work. I also loved the payoff of "Gargano wants to give his friend one more chance, but isn't stupid enough to think he'll take it." That STF, oh my God. Amazing visual.

This is a really interesting era of NXT for me, because I saw a lot of these guys live a little over a year ago, right when Black came in (it was so early they didn't even have music for him yet, and he beat Almas that night! It was before Almas had Zelina and the money act he's got now) and when Velveteen was still Patrick Clark. He clearly had a ton of charisma, but lost the opener to Ohno, who had just come back too. And the main was Roode/AoP vs. Nak/DIY. So last night felt like kind of an awesome culmination of that, and it's crazy how much has changed in NXT in a year.

I'm expecting Almas to be called up like next week. Dude could be champ on Smackdown by Summerslam.

[packerbacker180]

That finish, man. They had me. The facial expressions. For a brief second I actually thought they might hug it out. Just the timing of everything was perfect. I had high hopes and I don't think they could've done better.

I could see Almas up on Smackdown, but I'm hoping they avoid bringing up too many guys. The last thing I want to see is Adam Cole (bay-bay) doing something stupid on Raw like being Michael Cole's nephew or HBK's love child.

[packerbacker180]

Oh, Happy Rusev Day!

[Doctor Fate]

Goldberg / Brock / Heyman





Very good clip on Heyman on Brock Lesnar ...

[Doctor Fate]

WrestleMania Recap


Universal Championship - I wanted Rollins to win it ... Lesnar prevailed - Grade C+

Raw Tag Team Championship - Big Fat F

WWE Championship - Styles winning it ... B Minus Event

Nia Jax winning the the RAW Women Championship - D ... Too Obvious Outcome

Daniel/Shane defeating Kevin and Sami - B Grade - I hated Kevin Owens - he gone and fired!

Undertaker defeated John Cena - F Grade

Smackdown Tag Team Championship - Brothers win - D Minus

Kurt Angle and Ronda defeated Triple H and Stephanie - A Minus - Great win for Ronda!

I hated the US CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH of which Jinder Mahel winning it - I don't care who wins it - but Mahal ruins it and I felt that this match is a mixed feeling match and I had a hard time enjoying it at times. Good moments ... Grade D Minus

SMACKDOWN WOMENS - Charlotte defeated Asuka - Grade A - One heck of a Match!

INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP - Rollins wins ... Great no more MIZ ... I hated MIZ so much that I wanted him to lose at WrestleMania ... Grade B Plus


Overall a B MINUS EVENT

[packerbacker180]

I thought this was one of the more even Manias. There weren't any real show stealers but there weren't any real stinkers until the end.

I was surprised Rollins won. Kind of expected Balor but I love Miz. He's a great heel. Charlotte? One of the greatest entrances ever. I was a bit surprised she retained but I like it. Honestly, one of the things I hate most are "streaks". Another thing I hate is when someone new shows up on the roster and blows through everyone to be champ (see: Oldberg, Bill). Asuka will have a title soon enough, but with the streak gone, I think her matches will be even more compelling.

Jinder? Meh, was Rusev Day, but that's how the WWE works. Rousey surprised me a little. The finish of the match was a foregone conclusion, but I think the stories were told pretty well. Smackdown tag titles were a little bit of a letdown. I think it was a short stack. I like the idea of the Bludgeon Brothers but they just look like the raided the Hardy Boyz closet and the match may've been too short. The Usos deserved a better exit, but the match might've been cut some for time?

Glad we got to see Elias. Liked how Taker squashed Cena though don't think it played out the way I wanted. Shots of Cena in the crowd during every match was easily annoying so glad they didn't drag this out all the night. The thing with Cena running up the ramp was kind of dumb. Was he double-parked? Did Nikki break Cena House Rule #26? I think that could've been handled better with a different path to the match. Maybe just Elias comes out and Cena comes out of the crowd to confront him. But at the same time I love Elias trolling the crowd with the lights going out. If you can't tell, I love heels that do it well. Miz, Elias, Alexa Bliss. Great stuff.

The Bliss-Jax match was about what I expected. I just hope they don't lose track of my Little Miss Bliss in the shuffle. Daniel/Shane vs KO/Zayn was good. About what you'd expect though I wasn't a fan of the whole Bryan being "injured" at the start considering the last three years.

AJ-Nakamura was a little underwhelming. So far the best thing about Nak in the WWE have been his entrances. It was a good match. A good story. Maybe I just expected too much on such a bloated card?

And then it all went downhill fast...

Geez, it wasn't long ago that Strowman was trying to murder Reigns on national TV and now we're getting giant guitars, Brains Strowman, and last night. I don't mind a character having a lighter side but we're going a little too far now. Where's the Monster Among Men? I hated this. It was the worst thing I've seen in wrestling in a longtime, and I used to watch a lot of TNA.

The main event? Meh. I'm honestly sick of both Reigns and Lesnar. It was probably a good match. But both guys bore me. I think they did themselves a disservice by trying to assassinate Brock's character the last month to get Reigns over. I don't think this version of Reigns will ever get over with much the WWE U, and having him kick out of F-5 after F-5 just made me (and everyone I assume) expect that Reigns would eventually Hulk up and win, so it was hard to care. And then Reigns didn't win. But they'd **** on Brock for so long that I don't think anyone cared after six hours.

Overall, I think it would've been a solid 8 up until the AJ-Nak match, but the tag match was just so awful and the main event so mehful that I'd drop it to a 7.

So where do we go from here? I hope we don't see too many NXT guys pop-up because I fear after a short initial push they'll just become another Tye Dillinger lost in the shuffle. Almas I assume, maybe? Possibly AOP to face the Bludgeon Bros. or even Strowman? They need to do something with Reigns, either keep him off TV for a while or turn him full on heel. I think he could be a pretty good cocky, asshole heel. Hell, have him and Joe come out to face Strowman and Nicholas. Have Reigns spear Nicholas for the win.. Fans will love booing him for a storyline, and it'll probably help his character in the long run.

I've seen rumors of maybe

Spoiler:

Lashley

showing up to face Brock. Eh. I guess but I've never been a big fan of his. And like I said before, I hate when new guys just show up and win the title. Even AJ Styles had to drop his first WM match.

What I'd like to see, but I doubt would happen, is have Brock come out at the end of Raw saying he's conquered the roster and there's no one left to face. Lights go out and the Undertaker shows up, squashes Brock for the title. Why not? The circle is now complete. Physically, Taker looked pretty good yesterday. If Brock can wrestle once every two months why can't Taker be that special attraction for little? Give him one more title run. Maybe Cena takes it off him at SummerSlam or Survivor Series to get his win back, and then they can have the rumored retirement match next year at Mania with or without the belt involved. But I don't think they'd do that.

We'll see. This is usually one of the better weeks for wrestling. Let's hope that stays true.