Nah, everybody wrestles in a t-shirt these days.

Watched the Jazz vs Lakers game instead. Probably not going to watch the show except for Lesnar vs Reigns

Would be funny if Braun grabbed the wrong kid.

That would be awesome. Just toss a random kid into the ring. Also, his opponents get the wrong script and start beating the shit out of said child.

My star ratings...

Miz/Rollins/Balor - *** 1/2
Auska/Charlotte - *** 3/4
Orton/Mahal/Rusev/Roode - **
Ronda & Angle/HHH & Steph - ****
Brothers/Uso's/New Day - **
Styles/Nakamaura - *** 1/2
Braun/The Bar - *
Roman/Brock - ***

Edit. I totally forgot about Shane & Bryan/KO & Sami - **

Double Edit. Also forgot Nia/Alexa - ** 1/2

Complete bullshit for Daniel Bryan. Well not "complete"... it was just not as exciting as it could've been. The end result is all that matters. Booking an injury to start the match was a crowd killer, horrible move. I'd have preferred that Bryan never even tagged in Shane and just totally squashed both guys instead of that poor attempt at mega heat. The match already had mega heat!

You never saw Home Alone?

I am so glad to be wrong about Kurt Angle, he looked SO MUCH better than he did in his matches last year. He was back to old form almost. Looking forward to more now. Truly think he might've been on Xanax or something the first matches back. Not like he was abusing them or something but maybe his nerves were out of whack. He did great last night.

Fuck Jinder.

Also the ATGBR finish was botched due to commentary but still a good angle that I popped for. I am also happy for Matt getting a "big win" of sorts. A win lol. Plus to see Wyatt do something different is paramount for his career so I am excited. **

The Womens Battle Royal was a blur to me, and rightfully came to Sasha and Bailey, but lets be real that was the stiffest Ass shot tot he grill in history! Wow Naomi really laid it in with the ass. I love Naomi so I was happy. **

Cruiserweight was over the top. Stop with the scene work. They were pulling Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels shit but I didn't give a crap about them. Ali didn't look as strong as I thought he would and Cedric was really great, bad scene work aside. ***

Nakamaura's entrance though, one of my favorite ever.

Ronda Rousey all over tv at the airport this morning, well done WWE

Best entrance of the night

Can you do a Meltzer scale match ratings of the live show?

I watched Angle & Rousey vs. Triple H & Steph. Produced about as well as it could have been. Odd to see the right people treated as the stars. Triple H was kind of hamming it, but at least he showed up. Angle looked better than I expected him too. There's something...awkward about watching him wrestle, but he was also fucking there. Ronda did a great job. Fuck's sake, she threw herself around. Great strength. Crowd fell for it. She works.

I also watched AJ vs. Nakamura. I thought it was great. As someone who gets annoyed at the indy style of kicking out of everything like it requires some skill, I enjoyed what they tried to do here. AJ was the confident champion and started off really strong. Nakamura got some back, but then Styles managed to get into the leg. It taxed Nakamura's offense and his finisher being scouted led to him getting beaten in a cool finish. I don't really know what people's problem is. I can't remember the last Mania title match I actually enjoyed more. I liked Bryan's moment at WrestleMania XXX, but this was a better match. I think you'd have to go back to Cena/Michaels, but I wasn't invested in Cena at the time, so I didn't bite on that.

The one thing I really wished it had was better commentary. Corey Graves tries really hard, and Tom Phillips seems to fancy himself; but it really could have used someone like JR -- someone that can bite into a story. The commentary we got felt a lot more superficial. And when Nakamura turned, it really could have used JR ranting about sportsmanship and how disgusted he was with Shinsuke. The silence is just annoying.

After seeing the turn, I have come around on it. He came alive for it. The yelling at Styles in Japanese. I feel it fit his desperation in the match too. He had this almost whiny tone that I think played into it well. I think his performance will really come alive through it. It's a shame that the WWE can't get that right with babyfaces from the start. I mean, Nakamura was getting cheered by the idiots at ringside already. But I'm hoping this is like Daniel Bryan's 2011/2012 heel stint. It's surprisingly entertaining after a disappointing face run that makes people talk about how they don't really have it, but then they come alive and before too long they are confident babyfaces and people love them. I felt like it helped with the "smart fans" in attendance at Mania, and I think it will help with Joe Casual who probably "didn't get the hype."

Plus, it gives them a reason to do more matches. That's fine with me, because as I said, I think the people talking like this flopped are fucking insane. That was easily a ***1/2 star match to me. And I mean that on a scale that goes up to **** and hasn't been blown out. It nearly did everything I want a match in that position to do. I dunno, I kind of liken it to Angle vs. Benoit from WrestleMania X-7. Far from their best outing, but some good actual wresting to kick off a series.

Was not big on layout of the Bryan tag match. Injury angle is lazy booking. Maybe they were just trying to protect him.

Damn no Raw for you?

Did you go with anyone? Thinking of going to Mania next year.

Meltzer is reporting that Strowman and Nicholas will be dropping the tag titles tonight as Nicholas has already gotten himself some backstage heat for refusing to eat his vegetables.

I'm curious to see how Nakamura plays The Tortured Artist on SmackDown. Is he darker? Is he the same guy just bitter? Does he wear a sweet suit and speak exclusively in Japanese? Does he have a certain advocate that I think could add a lot his presentation? Building on the "This will be my day one" thing, I can see Heyman doing a "Day 3: Shinsuke Nakamura is dissatisfied with the criticism leveled at him by fans that could never achieve what he has achieved..." running calendar kind of promos. But I don't know if Heyman...helps guys these days. It's tricky. Maybe he's better off just being an asshole on his own.

Ya. Figured he just isn't in shape to do the entire match. They already did the cant wait for a tag with Ronda so this was probably there was of keeping his in ring production shorter.

I dunno, I wouldn't put it past them, but if they're concerned about Bryan, why use him? I mean, if he's cleared, he's cleared. And an apron bomb spot is probably not the safest way to do that anyway. I wonder if he is in "ring shape?" It was probably honestly just manufactured heat.

Good seats to WM meant no RAW for me

Saw Takeover w Poit

Went to WM w/ one of my best friends who is from New Orleans...last time I went to 32 I went alone tho and that was still fun too

Rambling short: I'm glad Ronda Rousey did well and AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura was fucking sick in the most quaint of ways, and I want to see their next match.

Ronda was MOTN...in her debut

Asuka/Charlotte runner up, great

IC title next best, also great

DBry winning best moment

Taker's send-off (I assume) next best moment

Legend Nicholas 6 stars

Just finished Mania

lmao @ the crowd working itself. Beautiful

Just finished Mania. There was nothing there really, other than the main event, nothing stunk, but nothing really stood out either.


How did they work themselves? They got what they wanted and just had to sit through a shitty match to get there.

Braun scaring all the.... what ever you call them was the best.

It felt like during the match, they were shitting on it because they thought they knew who was gonna win and almost ruined that match, mostly for themselves since they paid money to be there. Either way, the finish got a pop and it saved that match.

The 4 beach balls also got a pop. Brock winning got a "hey, Roman didn't win!" small pop because no-one really cared for part-time Lesnar either. Just a badly booked, boring to watch main event.

This is the first time the crowd chants actually bugged me

Didn't really care for the IC match and thought it was going to be better.

I really liked the US match and Jinder winning did shock me, but I like Jinder.

Really glad Asuka lost, was getting tired of her. Now she can actually do something instead of just be promoted as this undefeated monster. Match was pretty good but I could care less about the women.

Ronda match was real entertaining. She looked good in the ring and so did Kurt. HHH could be doing better things on the card though in my own opinion. Stephanie really did a great job selling the moment at the end.

Both tag matches could have been better and probably suffered from the long show. Wasn't entertained by the kid at all.

AJ/Nakamura was a good match, it didn't live up to their Tokyo Dome match but the turn leaves that possibility still on the table. Didn't see that turn coming at all but I liked it.

Main event was pretty good. Lesnar winning was a shock. I'm thinking some type of co WWE UFC deal or something.

I'm inclined to say that this was, like, the second or third best Mania of the past decade.

Unfortunately though, that's a very low bar to jump over.

Still enjoyed the show though and don't feel as though I'd completely wasted my time as I did watching the slogs that were 32 and 33.

I dunno man, every time I see Brock on Raw or on PPV he gets a pretty good reaction. He didn't tonight because everyone thought they knew Brock was just gonna drop the title and leave (which was pretty much the story line for this match)

Not to say the match was perfect or anything, the 6 F-5's were too much.

She's taking it way better than I did

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9xtzAAIw8fU

after letting it all sink in, Ronda's match stole the show. I am still amazed on how well she moved around the ring for her first match. From the moment she came in, she went after it and didn't seem hesitant. she was full speed. excellent job by her.

Loved the IC Ttitle match and this was probably my second favorite, although if AJ/Shin would of went first, that probably would of been my 2nd fav. I was getting tired by 11 and was doing other things during it.

Loved the heel turn by Shin. The way he kept giving him those kicks/stomps was so disrespectful and made him look like a huge asshole. it came off great on TV. Yelling at him in Japanese was perfect too. This is going to be a great program moving forward. I wonder if his entrance changes now?

I did enjoy both women's matches and actually liked the Bliss match more. To me, the Bliss match had more psychology. I was kind of wondering how they would lay that one out because of the size difference. sometimes it's hard when you have a babyfacve 5 times the size oh a heel. But Bliss going for her eyes and legs worked perfectly. I really enjoyed that.

I thought it was also cool that Asuka showed respect to Charlotte after the match and then in the AJ match, Shinsuke acted like he was and low blowed him. pretty solid.

And then the Bryan match was the other i enjoyed. I didn't mind the injury angle. I kind of had a feeling they'd keep him out a lot. it's whatever. he got the win and a nice reaction, so it's all good. Great to see him back.


Taker/Cena was what is was. I was surprised how good Taker looked. he looked much better then his past few matches. pretty amazing considering his age.


Other then this, I didn't really care for anything else. Lots of comedy and filler. I know Brock and Roman needed to go last as they had such a huge buildup, but the match was sub par. It was just a bunch of F5's and Super man punches and Roman bleeding like a stuck pig. It was very shocked Brock won though. I couldn't believe it. Makes me think Roman is turning heel now, which should of happened a long time ago.


Fun event overall. I'll probably watch the Ronda match again later

Ronda was definitely the most entertaining match. I was shocked how smooth she was in the ring and also by the charisma she displayed.

Both women's title matches were also highly entertaining. I thought they shouldve switched spots on the card, but no complaints about either one other than Alexa losing.

IC title match was a great way to kick off the show. US Title match was ok, but other than Rusev I am not a fan of anyone else in that match.

Overall an entertaining show for one of the few ppvs I watch anymore.

Pre-show stuff was trash and the men's battle royal was jobber central.

IC title match was a bit flat, although I am hoping Rollins can elevate the title. Think he has been underused recently.

Smackdown tag titles probably could have been off the card, but did what it set out to do. No complaints apart from New Day being super annoying and stale.

Asuka lost to best female. She is awesome and should recover. Whole honour thing made her look so classy in defeat too and Charlotte looked like a star. Love both of them.

Think Bliss was a great heel, but Nia sucks. She looks slow and lumbers around. It's ok to have different body types, it's not OK to fat shame or make anyone feel bad, but she looks unhealthy. Not great.

US match was badly put together. Would have been better served having a decent feud between just two of these guys. Jinder seems to be improving with time and has a better presentation now. His crazy initial push did him a disservice. If he had gradually move up the card, I don't think people would have minded.

Bryan looks awesome and should have one of the shows built around him now.

Rousey looked awesome and should be a genuine star for the company.

AJ and Nakamura pushed forward a story. I am a fan of any kind of story these days, so good they have something to go on now.

Reigns is shite and pulls down everything he is involved with. Shit character, shit attire, shit music, shit personality, shit mic work, and even his in ring stuff has become repetitive and insecure. Lesnar can be lazy, but he has been brought down by Roman. Hoping he can recover and maybe move into something with Bryan that excites him.

All in all, it was a good watch. Strange at times, nothing super compelling outside of Ronda match (which HHH and Angle deserve massive credit for), but it was inoffensive and an easy enough watch.

Hoping we get big changes at the top of the card now and something compelling. An arrogant, snide Roman is way to go. Let's hope we get it

I think you're missing the context, poit.

To the people flipping out about Nicholas, it's not like the kid got offense in or anything. It was basically Braun winning a handicap match. I understand that it was frustrating to not have a great surprise partner like we all would have enjoyed, but it's not as bad as some people are making it out. It's strange. It's bizarre. But it didn't "end pro wrestling" or whatever.

Lesnar, Vince, and Roman apparently got into it according to douchebag extraordinaire, Ryan Satin. Apparently Lesnar went off script.

This show made me realize how much I truly miss pyro.

I'm very happy for the kid, even if his reign might not be terribly long. He had fun, won a freaking championship and was probably literally the coolest kid in school when he walked in this morning - if they're not on spring break.

I don't think they need it every week, but it would really help give PPVs a special feel.

I could see hem running an angle where Nicholas has to be in school and can’t hold the titles so he has to relinquish his side of the championships. Therefore Brain can hold them by himself

No DQ Tornado Tag title unification against the Bludgeon Brothers tonight on RAW!

It would have been tight after Cena lost if he took off his jorts, folded them up, and left them in the middle of the ring.

I honestly feel like Strowman is the tag champions by himself, and he'll have a different partner tonight.

It was my favorite part of the night. Screw the haters.

Graves 100% helped with his commentary.

Or he fell victim to countless wedgies and wet willies.

Stephanie and HHH tell Braun that having a 10 year old kid as tag champ isn't good for business & offer him a universal champ match tonight as long as he forfeits the tag titles

Ref and his son are from Kansas City so I doubt he was back in school today...probably spring break like someone else suggested.

If I had to assume, probably for busting Roman the hard way or making him bleed too much. Last thing WWE needs is new ammo for concussion lawsuits or lose their exemption the next time they go to Louisiana.

Reigns did look somewhat upset after the show since he knew WWE plans backfired again another main event match involving him people are not going to look back fondly.

David Arquette didn't really get any offense in or anything either. That didn't make the him holding being a world champion less of a joke/punchline for decadess to come when ragging on WCW being terrible.

If David held the tag titles with Braun no one would care.

Braun beat every fucking team in 1 match by himself already. Plus he will get a real partner tonight. It was just a Mania moment to get Braun more over.

Yes they would, Ruien. It's fucking stupid.

Also, why would Kurt Angle put Braun Strowman in a match to decide the #1 Contenders for the World Tag Team Titles if he doesn't have a partner only to get confused and upset when he doesn't have a partner?

my marketing/P.R. brain understands why they did Braun/Nicholas thing. Look at the fucking audience response.

My wrestling brain however, is anNoid.

PS. Noid, you should trademark and monetize "AnNoid". It fits your gimmick.

Hopefully Nicolas is gonna rassle Jarius Robertson tonight. Main event.

It's stupid for what reason? It made headlines. It received a crazy reaction. It's a good feel moment and will be used for the next 10 Manias PR/Marketing wise.

Going in everyone knew Braun could beat The Bar in a handicap match. That is what he did with an added bonus of having Nicholas involved. And the kid wont br going around defending the title.

the nicholas thing makes a mockery of the belts. As a wrestling fan it's fucking disappointing and kind of boring and stupid.

BUT, unlike the David Arquette thing, it's not some c-minus celebrity like Arquette getting treated like an A-lister and being given the belt because he's from the outside world.

Instead, its a child pulled from the crowd. The visual of Braun with a tiny little 12 year old is great. It's a photo op... I understand. At the end of the day it's a calculated risk. The biggest show of the year, you have a spectacle of this loveable monster teaming with a 6th grader. Vince obviously doesn't care if the tag belts mean shit... it's more important for him to grab potential headlines of "Child wins WWE tag belt" because honestly... that's way more interesting than David Arquette winning it. And making it even more intriguing is that it's the child of a long time employee.

Again, my wrestling brain fucking hates it. But my marketing brain understands and respects it.

A child prostitution ring makes headlines. School shootings make headlines. Making headlines =/= good, Vince Russo. A man fucking a dog would get a crazy reaction. Need I go on?

You know what? A kid should win Money in the Bank. Haha, that would be a great feel-good moment. Everyone can knock each other down, and because you don't actually need to do anything physical except climb a ladder to win Money in the Bank, the child should just choose the right moment, climb and win the match. Then when a heel champion is down they can cash in and technically become the World Champion and everybody can celebrate the good PR and feel good.

When I fantasy booked Renee Young to win the Royal Rumble, it was a dark joke. Now it seems like a preferred reality, because Renee Young would kick Nicholas' ass.

I honestly think Braun has enough credibility as a monster and accumulated good will that if there is any damage to be taken from this "lovable giant" moment, it will be minimal.

So you think Nicholas should have fucked a dog instead?

School shootings boost ratings and help the news networks make money. Not that any of what you said really correlates with Braun and Nicholas.

You're not making wrong points, but I don't think it's as good for PR as you are thinking. I seriously doubt this makes anyone watch. If it does, I will gladly admit I was wrong, but I think it is:

* Transparent
* Pandering
* Technically endorses child abuse -- the WWE is scripted violence and you've put a kid in that situation, technically harmless or not

If I were writing an article on it, without even having a wrestling brain, I'd still tear this the fuck apart as another misguided attempt by a fickle company to try and suck the ass of idiot consumers by selling a product that doesn't make sense and no one wants to buy.

My wrestling brain hates it, and my common sense everyday life brain thinks it is fucking annoying bullshit. Even to the point "I know the kid is not going to actually wrestle anybody or get hurt," to that extent I think it is fucking dumb bullshit. If the kid isn't going to actually win then what is the point?

It's not going to sink business because nothing matters enough, and it caught up the morons at WrestleMania at the time. But it's really fucking dumb. I agree with you on the photo op and it probably made that kid's day. Invite him backstage or have him accompany Braun.

It's hollow and there is no real end-game. I'm sure Braun will go around defending with kids in each town and will smile and go and visit sick ones at hospital. But it's the cartoony, cutesy stuff that keeps real people from watching. Jerry from the pub isn't going to suddenly think wrestling is cool because a kid is the champion. Kids at school aren't going to think it's cool they're recognized at such a lame event doing such a lame thing.

I understand the stupid bullshit pandering to a limited audience. I just think it's a big miscalculation and it's not going to kill wrestling, but it's a symptom of wrestling being dead.

Is that what I said?

And it's another case of the WWE ignoring its own canon and mythos to become a parody and piss-take of itself.

As I said -- have Braun help a kid win Money in the Bank this year. Everyone believes he could beat up 6-8 guys in a Handicap Match after they've been through hell. Let him help a kid win the briefcase and possession is 9/10's of the law. The kid can cash in and become World Champion. Photo op.

It's on the same plain of ideas. There's nothing more ridiculous about it. Just like it wasn't technically impossible for David Arquette to technically win a match where he technically became the World Champion. Except you shouldn't fucking put people in that position and it's that very possibility that makes wrestling so fucking stupid and inaccessible sometimes.

I wasn't even mad about this yesterday. It was just like "Haha, of course. Oh well, it's done anyway." But it's making me mad seeing people defend it as a good idea. It's battered wife syndrome. You're so used to this shit you think it's normal and that it actually makes sense, except you're ignoring that a child shouldn't legally be able to wrestle an adult in the first place.

As #1-wwf-fan said (maybe in this thread): They can't claim to be professional wrestling anymore. They are completely scripted entertainment, and by that standard they are objectively bad.

Like, how is Kurt Angle supposed to respond to this? "That's cool, bro. I mean, Sheamus could potentially kick a child in the head and kill them. Like, that would be the goal of that thing we're putting on. Go for gold, bud." No, of course not. The official line is: "No children will be hurt in the making of this segment, because it's not real, everyone knows what is going to happen next, P.S. why are you watching? Do you like seeing kids pretend to pretend to fight?"

PR isn't done directly to make people watch, it's just done for brand imaging.

It's not some absolutely amazing PR stunts by any means but honestly it's pretty low risk and it got over bigger with the crowd than Nakamura vs AJ (until the turn) and the main event.

With all this talk about PR too -- why do you even need that PR? Like, why not just making wrestling good? Kids will like it if it's cool. All this PR shit is pandering in lieu of a compelling product.
"Hey Timmy. Want to go to the wrestling today?"
"Nah dad. That shit is phony and lame."
"Come on, you might get to be a champion."
"No dad. I can't risk being recognized on TV by people flicking. Especially by the girl I like at school. I'd rather just stay home and watch UFC."

and you're busy trying to make sense out of a situation they honestly didn't care enough to make sense of. They got a relatively high reward (big reaction) for a low risk. Braun won't be hurt by this and they won't lose any viewers. They'll just gain a few headlines and trend on twitter.

Yeah, I get what you are saying. I don't know, I think it makes them look like a puppy that pisses on the carpet because it's so desperate for attention. I'm just not impressed by it. There is some fine PR stuff, but I don't think pulling a kid out of the crowd and making them a champion qualifies. It's family-friendly entertainment no one wants to watch.

I see where you're coming from where they could be focusing their efforts on shit much cooler. But this is a company far more focused on a manufactured brand image than they are on producing a great product.

That is very true. I don't think they're very good at either, to be honest, haha.

sorry, I should have written poorly* manufactured brand image

It was implied -- I should have read more clearly.

After watching the show, I would say I agree with these sentiments.....

This is literally the exact reason Vince Russo used for why the Arquette thing was good.

It got attention. Great PR/marketing-wise. That one PR move isn't as valuable as building credibility for a title that can be used to draw on a consistent basis. Choosing shock value/easy publicity over the value of the titles are a big reason they can't use titles as a draw anymore.

Maybe this one thing doesn't do it but I'd also argue that it's another step in the watering down of Braun. He clearly likes to have fun now. The exact opposite of what got him over in the first place. They've officially delved into "paint-by-numbers face" with him.

They have all these belts because Vince (McMahon) has this thing where he can't imagine running a show without championship matches, but when was the last time a match actually drew because a belt was on the line? It's really idiosyncratic.

Show was good - strong start, weak finish

-Love that Taker/Cena will have a 1-year build to a true mega match.

-Brock winning was a huge shock. Match felt like a parody though unfortunately. Their WM31 match was much better and felt more real. Shame though because Roman was busted so badly.

-Rousey killed it. Wow, so entertaining. Great stuff there by all 4 involved. Probably my favorite match.

-Cool to see Rollins with the IC title. I trust that’s a good marriage and is win/win

-Unfoetunately Styles vs Nakamura fell flat. Card placement, and also the match was just heating up and it ended. Pretty underwhelmed. Post-match was excellent and unexpected though.

-Charlotte and Asuka delivered -assuming next year we see Rousey vs Charlotte

Fun Mania, but sheesh it’s hard to have a great 7-hour show. They had about a great 4-5 hour show but it just fell off a bit for me.

As a one-off it's fine. If they do it over and over, then yes, it'll hurt him. Knowing them, they'll do it over and over. But on its own, it worked.

Not the biggest fan of Braun, because I think he's green and goofy, but this does feel a lot like Ryback to me. I wasn't the biggest fan of him either. It seems they get someone, however limited, that the audience they have left reacts to and does their best to piss on them somehow.

Braun is obviously being put into the feature attraction of the elephant at the variety show, so he shouldn't worry. Yet. When the novelty wears off -- and it will wear off -- he'll be in surprisingly low positions in the future. But they keep everyone around forever and keep them paid. It's more insulting to the fans that are trying to emotionally invest in this shit.

Braun has been going strong for over 2 years now. Eventually everyone gets bored of everyone but hes mo flash in the pan.

I'm not only bored...I'm anNoid. I like it, Dale.

Where did you get this information?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Longest matches of the night at the last 8 Wrestlemanias:<br><br>27 - Undertaker vs HHH<br>28 - Undertaker vs HHH<br>29 - Brock Lesnar vs HHH<br>XXX - Daniel Bryan vs HHH<br>31 - Sting vs HHH<br>32 - Undertaker vs Shane McMahon<br>33 - Seth Rollins vs HHH<br>34 - Angle &amp; Rousey vs HHH &amp; Stephanie McMahon</p>&mdash; Meta (@Metatronja) <a href="https://twitter.com/Metatronja/status/983198794866184192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Yeah but all of those save one is a really good match.

I am talking about the Lesnar match.

Not with Braun guarding him at all times. :cool:

I think people just thought it was a foregone conclusion that Cena would show up on RAW last night, pissed at literally being squashed by 'Taker in under 3 minutes, challenge 'Taker, 'Taker would accept and they'd do like they did with one of the Rock/Cena match builds.

I'm sure it will happen eventually, but it doesn't need a year-long build to WM 35, nor does it even have to be that long before they fight again. I'd be fine with a grudge match at SummerSlam.

They already started with him being "silly" weeks ago when he did the parody of Elias. Last week he dressed up like a nerd and called himself "Brain Strowman". "Braun just loves to have fun" is definitely already going.

Hacksaw Braun Stroman

The more time that passes, and the more I think about it the more disappointed I am in the finish to Asuka vs Charlotte.

I know the match was still fantastic, but that's exactly the problem. Maybe it's just me, but when you have a match that close to perfect, that flaw just gets bigger and bigger in my head and I can't help but think what could have been.

Just a few more minutes is all they would have needed in my opinion. Where the match ended charlotte should of went for the standard figure 8, but dropped back down due to the pain in her arm. Asuka gets out, puts on the asuka lock and we can get a good 30-45 second period of drama of charlotte trying, but failing to get to the ropes, and looking like shes about to fade out, but then starts torqueing on asukas leg to make her relinquish the hold. Charlotte then gets the one armed figure 8 for the win.

That finish would have established more drama in the ending, and would have made asuka tapping more believable, as there wasn't nearly enough work done on her leg in the match for that abrupt tap out that we got.

So yeah. Great match. But shit won't stop bugging me. Like a cancerous tumor in my head.

Yeah, I was cool with Asuka losing but she tapped almost instantly after not having her knee worked on at all. It made her look way too weak. It was the way some random Carmella-type diva would have gone out. The match did a way better job of bringing Asuka down to the other women's level than it did bringing Charlotte up to a world-beater level.

Asuka-Charlotte and the Styles-Nakamura matches would have befitted a lot by having an extra 5 minutes. Both were starting to pick up the pace and hit peak status but suddenly ended instead.

BUT GUYS WE NEED THOSE EXTRA MINUTES TO SHOW ADS FOR THE NETWORK PEOPLE ARE ALREADY WATCHING THIS ON AND THAT SAME EXACT CLIP FROM THE PAIGE MOVIE FOR 75TH TIME THIS WEEKEND

DURRRRRR PAIGE HERE

I am not surprised. Could have done without any of those, to be honest. I mean the match with Bryan was fun, as well Rousey, but they didn't need to be working with HHH.