I love watching Rusev work. He really seems to understand ring psychology and the intricacies of working the crowd and the match. When I was watching him last night constantly roll in and out of the ring, and the crowd booing more each time, I was so impressed that even though “Rusev Day” is so over with the crowd, he can still get the reaction he wants from them. As for how he wrestles, he seems to be able to work with anybody. He can slow it down to set up a raging comeback by the face, or he can have an explosive offense and keep up with almost anyone. I could easily see him working in any era of wrestling. When I think about top guys of the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, I think he could put on a really good match with any of them. He can adapt to any style and can cut a better promo than most “foreign heels” of the past. I could see him getting a WWE/Universal Championship run eventually. I think it would have to be as a heel, because I can’t see him as a main event face. Run with Rusev Day as long as it’s hot, and hopefully big things are on the horizon for one of WWE’s most talented performers.

Starting with the kickoff show, Breezango and Tye Dillinger vs. Rawley, Gable, and Benjamin
Ignoring how well all of these guys can wrestle, it was a great match to get the crowd hot. Breezango is over, and everybody loves Tye, while Rawley and Gable especially are great heat magnets right now. Gable seems to get the intricacies of heel work while Mojo knows how much he can piss people off. Really good choice for an opening match.

Shinsuke vs. Rusev
I’ll be writing a Rusev post later about the type of performer he is because I think it merits a lot more discussion. Shinsuke seems to have been made to tone down his style for WWE and I think it stops him from having the great matches people know he can have. Still, this was a good match with a lot of good ring psychology, and the crowd was totally invested in this one. He sold that Machka Kick like a champ, that looked brutal. Thankfully this did not seem to have the effect that I worried about, which was the crowd turning on Shinsuke. Everybody loves the KINSHASAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Orton takes the US Title from Roode
This match was a lot better than I thought it would be. I wasn’t really invested in this one and thought it would be a bore, but their styles seem to really gel in the ring. Neither guy is a high-flying or fast-paced worker, so they played to their strengths. A really good crowd helped out. I think Orton got the rub so he could be a grand slam champ and be promoted as such, but it really didn’t matter who won it, because obviously there will be a triple threat with Jinder at mania. Tonight’s match got me a little more interested in that one, which is to say a little more than no interest. Still, it’s a logical feud, and I’m not going to crap on them trying to entertain us. Here’s hoping they deliver at the big show.

Naomi and Becky vs. Natalya and Carmella
Sorely disappointed in this one. I had high hopes but everyone seemed to be out of sorts here. I expect they’ll still throw something together with a couple of them and the Riott Squad for mania, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if they worked themselves off the show.

Usos vs. New Day
My man Chris nailed it with the Bludgeon Brothers. That was a great match and an absolutely brutal beatdown afterwards. The powerbomb to Woods was horrendous looking. I loved them selling it with the EMTs and how long it took them to get out of there. Is there going to be some kind of tag team turmoil match at mania? A triple threat tornado tag? A gauntlet match? I’m excited for this and I hope they put the belts on Harper and Rowan. I would love for that to set up the debut of the Authors of Pain and maybe a match at Summerslam for the titles.

Charlotte vs. Ruby Riott
Great match. I wish these two went for 10 more minutes I was enjoying the match so much, and I’m sure they could have and made it awesome. But obviously the big story is Asuka. This is the match everyone wanted, and they’re delivering. Great swerve with everyone thinking it was going to be Asuka vs. Alexa Bliss at mania. I can’t wait for this one. I think they’re are going to get a lot of time at mania and put on a hell of a performance before Asuka goes over.

Six Pack Challenge
Everything I hoped it would be. The guys who weren’t going to win went out and just wreaked as much havoc as they could. Baron and Dolph destroying the arena was awesome. AJ’s hang time on the Cena AA through the table was… wait for it… phenomenal. The biggest question coming out of this unfortunately shouldn’t be the biggest question coming out of a championship match this close to mania: where does Shane fit into this and what happens going forward? The biggest question should be what happens with Cena, but Shane’s involvement overshadowed that. They even had Shane on Talking Smack after to talk about what happened, but nobody said a word about Cena. Will it be a triple threat with Shane, Owens, and Zayn? I’m not sure, but I do want this to end. It was intriguing to me in the beginning but now I’d like to know what the resolution is going to be. Does Cena get Undertaker? There’s rumors Mysterio would return to wrestle him, but he also just tore his bicep, so that might not even be an option anymore. Cena says he wouldn’t put it past Vince to leave him off the show because that would be an even bigger story that who he might wrestle, but that could obviously be a swerve there. I’m glad we’re talking about it, I’m glad I don’t know who he’s wrestling yet. It’s fun to speculate on what might happen without knowing through spoilers.

Overall I was entertained by this show, but nothing terribly special.

Becky Lynch & Naomi vs. Natalya & Carmella
Four good workers, hopefully they kill it and make this a really gun match. Picking Becky and Naomi here. Why does Carmella look like Donatella Versace all of a sudden?

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rusev
Nakamura will win, but I’m not sure if this will make the crowd happy. Rusev Day is so over with the fans. I could see English costing Rusev the win tonight and getting a beat down to turn Rusev full face.

Charlotte vs. Ruby Riott
Charlotte will carry a hopefully great match. Ruby is really good but as usual it’s up to Charlotte to make her look terrific. My first instinct was to say Charlotte retains, of course, but then I thought about it, and I can’t rule out the Riott Squad costing her the title. They have been on a roll and the women’s title would certainly give them even more credibility and power. I still think Charlotte retains.

Usos vs. New Day
Usos retain in heel fashion. I’m feeling a Dusty finish here. Maybe a “twin magic” moment.

Bobby Roode vs. Randy Orton.
Roode retains. I’m not very hyped up for this match. Roode doesn’t really do it for me and Orton is just kinda there. Jinder will obviously inject himself into the match somehow. Could it become triple threat? Maybe, but I’m guessing they do that at Wrestlemania.

Six Pack Challenge
A.J. retains. I just hope it’s pandemonium. Really looking forward to this match and hopefully these guys all let loose and just do what they do.

Disagree with these? Let’s hear it.

Hot start with the women’s chamber match. Looks like I was off with my prediction that Rousey would be added. The match went as I expected. I’m wondering if we’ll get a full heel turn from Sasha. I thought she should have won to set up Bayley vs. Sasha at Wrestlemania. That would be money. That pot has been simmering for a while now and their iron woman match was an instant classic. I wonder if there’s any chance Bliss drops the title before the big show. Solid match. Great action from those three especially.

The Bar vs. Titus Worldwide
I thought this match sucked. No action, no chemistry.

Nia vs. Asuka
I really liked this one. Nia has gotten much better in the ring and this really showcased her brutal offense. Asuka will make anyone look good. The final pinfall sequence didn’t look great but that’s just nitpicking. Overall a solid, logical match. Who does Asuka challenge? The money match is with Charlotte. Nia smashing Asuka through the barricade after the match was awesome.

Woken Matt vs. Bray
Probably a better match than it came off because of the asshole crowd. This is why I won’t go to tv/ppv events anymore. I’m sticking with house shows because douche bags actually pay money to go to try and ruin shows. There’s no reasoning with that level of dickheadedness. You don’t like the match, go get a pretzel and let the people who are enjoying it do so in peace. As for the match itself, solid B. Good finish.

Ronda Rousey was a little too giggly and fangirlish for my liking, but she turned badass in an instant. Same issues with the crowd here. Just shut the hell up. Why was Angle acting like a doofus and letting HHH usher him off like that? If you’re gonna air their dirty laundry, be defiant about it and get up in their faces. That part didn’t make sense to me. The slam through the table was awesome. I would have liked a quicker reaction to Steph’s slap. She gave Steph a lot of time to stand over her then escape after that. The end of the segment made it great.

Smart using Elias to get the crowd hot. The man knows how to get the reaction he wants. Excellent work. The one thing I would have changed about the chamber match is to have Braun get impatient and bust through his pod. But it was almost as good to have him stand motionless and just stare down the other competitors, letting them contemplate their mortality and make peace with their god before turning in the most dominating chamber performance of all-time. He and Roman killed it at the end, finally using the chamber itself as a weapon. Roman finally gets his one on one with Lesnar, and we’ll finally get the universal title back from Saskatchewan.

The Bar successfully defends vs. Titus Worldwide
I like that Titus is wrestling again and I dig their gimmick, but I don’t think they’d put the belts on them yet.

Asuka beats Nia Jax
Asuka won’t lose, but I wonder if they’d have her win clean.

Matt Hardy beats Bray Wyatt
They’re getting behind Woken Matt and souring on Bray. I just hope this match gets weird.

I think part of Rousey’s contract signing involves her being announced as the seventh entrant in the women’s chamber match, since currently the men’s match has seven and the women’s match has six. I’m having trouble picking her, Alexa, or Sasha as the winner of this match. So I’ll cover two bases here: if I’m right about Ronda being in the match, she wins. If not, Alexa retains.

Roman wins the men’s match. No explanation needed, we know it’s him vs. Lesnar at mania.

Share your own predictions, and enjoy the show

So Johnny Gargano has to leave NXT. It makes sense for the story, but I just feel like the NXT fans were robbed of the moment of him winning the title. Then again, given the crowd reaction last night, it wasn’t as pro-Johnny and didn’t seem as behind him as I thought they would be. Maybe I overestimated his popularity and connection with the crowd. Either way, I expect to see him on 205 Live and/or Raw or Smackdown very soon, with Ciampa following not long after. Do they get a Wrestlemania match? I don’t think there’s enough time to introduce them and the backstory of their feud to the main roster crowd who doesn’t watch NXT. Summerslam might be a better timeline for that. Maybe Johnny gets some momentum on the main roster and Ciampa shows up to attack him. I’m really interested to see where he ends up and ultimately how/when he gets revenge on his former best friend. Maybe Johnny debuts in the Andre the Giant memorial battle royal. Will Candace follow him or stay at NXT? Lots of questions to be answered with his future, but I’m sure they’ve had something planned out well in advance. If not Ciampa right away, who do you want to see him feud with?

I feel like since they limited their mic time and only let Ruby cut promos, they’ve gotten past their rocky start and can be something big. Especially Sarah Logan. I’m not sure what it is about her that’s clicking with me, but she’s quickly become one of my favorites in the division. I think WWE sees it too because it seems like she’s spending the most time in the ring during the tag matches. Graves built up her power and striking a lot this week. They took away the mic which made her seem like a comic idiot farm girl character and just let her be a badass. I can’t stand Liv and she needs to play up being an obnoxious stuck out bitch from Jersey who you just want to see get her lights punched out. Again, I hate her, but that’s the point. She’s a heel. Ruby has gotten much better on the mic, and thank god, because they need SOMEONE in that faction who can talk, and it’s painfully obvious the other two can’t, at least not at this point. I can’t see Ruby winning at Fastlane simply because Charlotte NEEDS to have a big title match at Wrestlemania. That’s where the money is. As much as I dig her, nobody wants to see Ruby vs. Charlotte at the biggest show of the year. Who does Charlotte wrestle at mania? That’s for another post.

A Facebook ground called PTBN (I believe it’s Place To Be Nation) recently asked people to submit their lists for the greatest 100 WWE wrestlers of all-time. I had fully intended on doing the list but for various reasons including my OCD/ADD I never got to it. The method they asked people to rank their wrestlers by is the NJPW method:

• N: Nuance (Longevity, Flexibility, Intangibles)
• J: Jump Up Factor (Memorable Peak Matches, Moments and Storylines)
• P: Promo Skills & Character Work
• W: Workrate

While I never got around to making the list, I did spend a lot of time thinking about who would be my #1. And the answer I got surprised even me: Chris Jericho. This list did not factor in work in other promotions. So even though WWE owns them now, WCW and ECW time is not considered. Bye bye Flair and Dusty. Jericho just checks every box in my opinion.

Nuance: You can probably count on one hand the number of guys who have had a longer or as long WWE career. He can be the best heel in the business or the best face, and no matter what they audience wants to do, he will make them do what HE wants. Sure the audience probably wants to cheer him. But he know exactly what to do to get boos when he wants them. The man got “IT” over for shit’s sake. As soon as he introduced the list, everybody in the back knew it was gold, because he’s just that good.

Jump Up Factor: 2008 No Mercy, Shawn Michaels, ladder match. Match of the Year. Beat Stone Cold and The Rock on the same night. Hitting Bray with a cross body from the top of the cage. Yes, he’s got jump up factor.

Promo skills/character work: Up there with Rock and Austin. I don’t know if I’d say he’s better but certainly on that level.

Workrate: When he’s back with WWE, he’s all in. He doesn’t come for a week and work a two minute match. He puts his work in, and his matches are terrific.

Agree? Disagree? Who would you put #1?

Aleister Black might have the greatest entrance music of all-time. Of course that’s coming from the perspective of a metalhead. But god damn I love his entrance and it never gets old for me. It’s obvious Aleister is headed for the NXT championship scene, but how does it happen? I don’t think it’s right around the corner. I know it would be surprising to have the NXT title change hands on a regular TV taping, but I think Johnny wins it next week. There may be spoilers out there that say otherwise but I don’t know because I always avoid them so please don’t comment and ruin it for me. Since he leaves NXT if he loses, I don’t know if I can see him leaving without a program against Ciampa. Is Ciampa ready to return? No idea, he was still on crutches, but who knows if that’s legit or not. Maybe Johnny loses next week and they have the Ciampa feud on the main roster, or maybe, in what might be a genius move, they bring that feud to 205 Live. That would surely get more eyes on that show. If I’m doing it, Johnny is a transitional champ to Ciampa, they feud for a bit, Johnny heads up to the main roster, and Black wins it from Ciampa. I’m definitely looking forward to Black’s program with Killian Dain.

Did Kairi Sane make an impression last night or what? You can say her winning the Mae Young Classic was her breakout moment, but I think it was her balls out attack on Baszler that really made her mark. She was fun and smiling and the crowd was behind her since the MYC, but that beatdown was just pure ass kicking, no smiling, no fun, crowd chanting her name, huge pop, she shows she’s not just a novelty pirate princess in a costume who happens to be able to wrestle well. Kairi Sane is HERE.

Speaking of NXT women’s division, why are they not using Nikki Cross more? Also, not that I’m complaining because I can’t stand them, but what about the Iconic Duo? Can’t remember seeing them in weeks or maybe months. Good riddance. Though sometimes I can’t figure out if I hate them because they’re really good heels or because they’re obnoxious and awful and I just want them off my TV screen. I’m pretty sure it’s the latter, since I care less about them getting the shit beat out of them and more about them just being gone. Much different than Zelina Vega. Now that’s a heel. And she can go on the mic. Every time she opens her mouth I want someone to slap it shut. I want to see her get her ass kicked. Aside from being massively popular already, I’m sure that’s one of the reasons Candice LeRae got such a huge pop for thrashing her. Zelina is gold, and I think they’re using her perfectly. Did anyone ever see Almas being champion? I’ll admit I saw him on a No Way Jose level. What a massive turnaround for him. It works, because it gives Zelina so much to work with on the mic and so much to brag about, and when they finally go down (hopefully to Johnny), it’ll be such a huge moment the place will explode.

NXT thoughts? Observations? Predictions?

I was just reading that Rousey is penciled in for a mixed tag match against Triple H and Stephanie at Mania. No surprise there. But supposedly there are four people they’re considering as her partner. In no particular order:

1. The Rock. This is probably what WWE is hoping for most of all. It’s a perfect fit considering their WM31 interaction. However, remember the last time he wrestled he tore his pec. With all the big budget movie roles he gets, you have to wonder if he’ll be allowed to with the insurance they take out on him. I’d pop for this match.

2. Kurt Angle. If you haven’t figured out by the blog title, Kurt is my god. As a high school wrestler in the late 90s/early 2000s, he was my idol even before WWE. I freaked out to death when he came back. Anyway, the Survivor Series debacle could lead to this as a good second option. I’ll never complain when Kurt laces up the boots. Suplex city, bitches!

3. Shane McMahon. As much as I want to see Kurt wrestle (hopefully he will no matter what) and as much as I’d love to see Rock in this match, how long has everyone wanted to see these two really mix it up again? We got a taste at Survivor Series. I hope they go this direction, and I hope they build it right. I want them to get personal. I want pot shots. I want to hear what they really think of each other in promos. Let’s bring out all the dirty laundry. I hope I’m not a bad person for wanting that, but who really gives a shit, it’s the McMahons.

4. Seth Rollins. He had his match with HHH last year and Steph hasn’t really been there to mess with him this year. I hope he doesn’t get stuck in this match. He shouldn’t take a back seat to Rousey at the biggest show of the year. He doesn’t have an opponent at this point, and I’m sure they were building to a match with Jason Jordan that would have been awesome, it really sucks JJ got hurt. Would they put Seth vs. Kurt instead? Who would be heel? I couldn’t see them turning Kurt or Seth heel yet. I’m sure they’ll have someone for him soon, but I don’t want to see him in this match. Rumors are Big Cass is gonna be ready by mania…

Who do you want to see Rowdy Ronda Rousey partner with at the greatest spectacle in sports entertainment and why?