My one note would be that jumping at the buyout meant missing out on some incredible stuff from 2002-2004. There are moments into 2005 and beyond, but 2004 was when the train wobbled off the track, for me. A lot of absolute gold in 2002 and 2003, though. Two of my favourite Wrestlemanias.

I wonder if Attitude Era fans are rejoicing at this week's long awaited return of the Kiss My Ass match (or Kiss Me Arse, as it were). If they were legit, they'd have Billy Gunn be special guest enforcer.

Wrestling seriously just blows to me right now, every single week is the same shit on repeat with the same predictable outcomes. Too much Cena, too much Authority, all I watch right now that's WWE related is NXT.

Does that mean nobody's got predictions for Extreme Rules?

- Seth Rollins [WWE Title]
- John Cena [US Title]
- Sheamus
- Roman Reigns
- Dean Ambrose
- Nikki Bella [Divas Title]
- Tyson Kidd & Cesaro [Tag Titles]
- Bad News Barrett*

If you haven't heard, Danielson's off the card because of those much reported injuries. Barrett has Neville on the pre-show, instead.

I haven't been keeping up but wiki told me
steel cage match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship with Kane as the cage gatekeeper; Orton is banned from using the RKO.

WTF is that nonsense lol. Because of that I would guess Rollins too, and my only differences from yours is Big Show instead of Roman Reigns and Ziggler instead of Sheamus.

Attitude Era fans are long gone for the most part. I still watch local wrestling at least once a month though. The only "Big Name" there is Charlie Haas. He's the big heel in the NWA and the fans chant "SHELTON's BETTER". I have a pretty good time at the smaller shows.

Ehhhhh... There are still some frustrated stragglers, getting sucked in to the occasional glimmer of hope. Case in point:


TUESDAY! LIVE at 8/7c, only on @WWENetwork!! #KingOfTheRing!

Yeessssssss! I know it'll be bitterly disappointing somehow, but I'm just happy to see it back as a single broadcast special event!

Holy crap KOTR I remember I was astonished when my buddy told me it was replaced with a different kind of PPV!

Pretty lame PPV, Extreme Rules. It was cool seeing Orton doing the pedigree and the tag title match was AWESOME, but otherwise it was shite.

Well, that takes the edge off a little. If the IC title is gonna be on the shelf for a little while, it's great timing for a lot of these guys to be fighting over the KOTR crown. I'm just disappointed to see such a small, relatively by the numbers bracket. I think some of the most joyful components of KOTR is the potential to create some unexpected, unusual match-ups out of nothing. That's not happening here.

I would've liked to see a bigger qualifying field:16, if not 32 guys (coulda got a couple of TV weeks out of it before the Network finals). I also would've liked to see a different tone in the line-up. It obviously hasn't always been a hallmark of KOTR, but I prefer a slightly technical leaning. Winners like Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Ken Shamrock, Kurt Angle. Guys of a high, but unproven calibre like Steve Austin, Triple H, William Regal, Randy Savage.

I don't know where they're going now that the tag titles are off, but Cesaro has always been a name in mind for a good KOTR finalist. It'd be a nice time to play around with him in a solo capacity, without necessarily splitting the team. Tyson Kidd would be a good guy to have in a bracket, maybe at the opposite end (in the event of a split, they could converge in the Quarters or Semis).

It'd be a nice opportunity to reintroduce Damien Sandow to an individual capacity, without necessarily settling on a program. A tournament setting could be a great opportunity to utilize Jack Swagger again. You could keep the uninjured Uso warm by entering in him into the bracket here (with or without his bro at ringside). "Neville" is a good guy to have in there. It might have been nice to throw Hideo Itami in the mix, again. A Ziggler/Axel opening round match would be fun. Hennig strikes me as a good KOTR guy and you could pay homage with their match and Axel's motivations.

I'd definitely enjoy seeing Rusev in KOTR, but you'd need to be mindful of execution. In a 32 man bracket he could pick up a couple of easy rehab wins, but I can see not wanting to send him into a losing situation. Mind you, why not Rusev as KOTR? Would dig a Rusev/Cesaro final, actually! If they were willing to commit to bringing KOTR back and treating it as a legitimate achievement, this could've been a good place for Roman Reigns to get an accolade that isn't the top tier belt, too.

I get having Sheamus in there, but personally I like the idea of never having a repeat winner (ignoring Bret Hart's pre-PPV win). You're either a King of the Ring winner, or you aren't. If you've won it, you move on.

Long story short - book it like a tournament and this'd be great! Waugh!


Even ignoring this passing Extreme Rules, you think about the years they dragged themselves through a calendar of arbitrarily themed pay-per-views -- and yet they dumped King of the Ring! A concept PPV second only to the Royal Rumble, in my opinion! Madness! It blows my mind that there hasn't been a KOTR tournament in five years -- let alone the 13 years it's been since it was a legit event.

Then again, you think about the talent pool and trials of the past decade and maybe it's not so surprising they needed breaks between events.

At the risk of dipping back into fantasy booking -- I would've loved to see Chris Jericho get a KOTR title. Still would, if they were willing and/or able to bring him back in a meaningful way, for a meaningful run. For all the steam Jericho's lost, the right build around the right KOTR tournament could restore cred to both.

Edit: Tough field to pick, but Wade Barrett is my dark horse. [After beating Ziggler and R-Truth winning, now far more confident in that tip. Possibly a Barrett/Neville final, with Sheamus getting DQed or ousted via Ziggler interference.]

Short field made it pretty easy to read, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. Good to see logical booking. Again - with the IC title on the shelf, it can only be good to have Barrett carry the KOTR title forward. Remains to be seen if they get the most out of it, but it won't hurt. I hope it kickstarts a return to annual tournaments! Maybe next year we can start with thirty-two and whittle down to the special over a week or two.



- WWE King of the Ring Live results, April 28, 2015

WWE King of the Ring Live began with bang as Sheamus collided with Neville in a battle of size versus speed. Despite The Celtic Warrior’s claims of being the bigger man, it was The Man That Gravity Forgot that would come out on top, thanks to some help from Dolph Ziggler.

Neville provided an inspiring performance, bouncing back from Barrett’s hard-hitting attack with a sensational high-flying display. But after missing with the Red Arrow, The Man That Gravity Forgot found himself caught in mid-air by a Bull Hammer Elbow, spelling the end of The New Sensation. All hail King Barrett.

been a pretty decent week lately for WWE. i'm excited for Payback

The man can not catch a fucking break. Hopefully, IF, Bryan comes back this time, its because he's 100% and not just chomping at the bit to come back. He's only hurting himself if he does anything less.

- Elimination Chamber returns, exclusively on WWE Network

Excitement filled the WWE Universe during Raw with the monumental announcement that the WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view will air exclusively on WWE Network on Sunday, May 31. This is the second WWE pay-per-view event during the month of May, following WWE Payback this Sunday.

The anticipated, must-see WWE Elimination Chamber event will emanate from Corpus Christi, Texas, where the WWE Tag Team Championships and the newly vacant Intercontinental Championship will be defended inside the infamous structure. Plus, U.S. Champion John Cena will compete and the WWE World Heavyweight Title will be defended, all live on WWE Network.

Very intrigued by the Tag Team Elimination Chamber. Is that a first? I don't remember any references to it happening before, but you never know what happens at house shows, or TV.

I'm curious to see if they work six teams, or if it'll essentially be a triple threat (six men, three teams) working the advantage/disadvantage. Pretty intriguing, and a good way to make use of it's 'modern day War Games' reputation in a more literal manner.

I think six teams would be much more exciting, locking two people in one of those chambers at once! I think we are more likely to see the triple threat version though.

This looks good, I might have to hit up my buddy who has the WWE network for this one!

Who you got for Payback?

- Seth Rollins to retain Heavyweight
- John Cena to retain US
- Neville
- Sheamus
- The New Day to retain Tag Titles
- Bray Wyatt
- The Bellas
- The Meta Powers (Curtis Axel & Macho Mandow)


Should be interesting!

The same...

Except, I've got Ambrose winning the Fatal Four Way, then losing at the elimination chamber quasi ppv.

Ended up getting Extreme Rules 2011 on dvd was pretty good. My favorite match had to be Rey vs. Cody in Falls Count Anywhere Match.

It was nice seeing Kofi beating Celtic Warrior in a Table Match.

Morrison doing his finisher off the cage, debut of Awesome Kong in WWE.

Christian winning his 1st World Title.

- WWE Tag Team Championship Elimination Chamber Match



That answers that! Two-men per pod: The New Day defend against Tyaon Kidd & Cesaro, The Prime Time Players, Los Matadores, The Ascensio & The Lucha Dragons.

Not sure if that's better than three hot teams fighting with timed advantages, or not. I guess there aren't three hot teams...

- NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable Results, May 20, 2015: NXT Champion Kevin Owens’ title match against Sami Zayn ended in chaos as Samoa Joe stepped into NXT [SPOILERS]



Ohhhhhhhh snap!

Woah wasn't expecting that! Looks like things are gonna get crammed! I wonder if one teammate gets pinned if the whole team is out or if its single elimination.

and Samoa Joe?!

I recently picked up ECW Unreleased Vol 1. on dvd. It was worth getting for sure.

My favorite matches were

RVD/Sabu vs. Hayabusa/Shinsei
Tajiri/Mikey vs Kid Kash/Super Crazy/ vs FBI
Eddy vs Dean Malenko

Also any of you guys like JCW or FMW or JYW or BYW. I've been noticing there dvd pricing going up slightly over the years.

This picture brings out two emotions in me.

Excitement...this is gonna be crazy.

And

Disappointment...the tag team division was so great not that long ago.

- The Latest Backstage Details on Rusev’s Injury Status, Will He Be Replaced at WWE Elimination Chamber?

As noted, Rusev appeared to have suffered some type of foot or ankle injury at last night’s WWE Smackdown tapings, and according to The Wrestling Observer, the injury is legitimate. The severity of the injury is unknown at this time, WWE doesn’t not yet know exactly what the injury is.

More info in the article (including a possible substitute).

If Rusev can't make the match and is suffering from a foot/ankle injury, I don't know how you don't use it to hotshot Jack Swagger into the position. Put it over as wear and tear on injuries sustained during Rusev's extensive Swagger campaign, use it to build Swagger up, perhaps revisit when Rusev's healthy. Good chance to organically rebuild a guy who dropped off the map.

Who you got for this weekend's Elimination Chamber special?


- Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins (c) [WWE Heavyweight Championship]
- SHAMOUS vs Ryback vs R-Truth vs King Barrett vs Rusev vs Dolph Ziggler [Intercontinental Championship Elimination Chamber]
- Los Matadores vs The Ascension vs The Prime Time Players vs The Lucha Dragons vs Cesaro & Tyson Kidd vs The New Day (c) [Tag Team Championship Elimination Chamber]
- Kevin Owens vs John Cena
- Naomi vs Paige vs Nikki Bella (c) [Divas Championship]
- Neville versus Bo Dallas

I like: Seth Rollins (still champ), SHAMOUS (IC Champ), The New Day (Tag Champs), John Cena, Paige & Neville.

picked up TNA Hardcore Justice 2010 on dvd. It was really good.

Some of the wrestlers were in bad shape while others looked better then ever. the entire matches overall were good to great not a single bad match.

my 3 favorite matches are

RVD Vs. Sabu
Dreamer Vs. Raven
FBI Vs. Kid Cash/Simon Diamond/Johnny Swinger