Wrestling: The Baron Corbin Era

[Timothy]

Nah, that's Becky's spot.

Nah. That storyline lost all its steam. Rather see Kofi finally getting what he deserves.

[ToneLa]

Nah. That storyline lost all its steam. Rather see Kofi finally getting what he deserves.

Nah. That's just your opinion. Not reality.

[madhair60]

I agree to be honest. They had a good thing and they fucked it.

[ToneLa]

Well, they have all but fucking ruined all but the match.

Just think it's unrealistic to wind back from that match now. Even with just how obsessed they are with in 2019 ffs having Women's Firsts

Anyway, this hot take is pretty cold by now! Shit, I still got Smackdown to watch

[Deanjam]

Wrestling Observer awards results (part 1)

LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD (WRESTLER OF THE YEAR)

1. KENNY OMEGA (642) 3,594
2. Hiroshi Tanahashi (303) 2,773
3. Kazuchika Okada (135) 2,119
4. L.A. Park (35) 549
5. Becky Lynch (31) 264
5. A.J. Styles (3) 264
7. Johnny Gargano (5) 169
8. Will Ospreay 162
9. Kota Ibushi (6) 156
10. Ronda Rousey (7) 151

HONORABLE MENTION: Seth Rollins 121, Kento Miyahara 118, Walter 111, Chris Jericho 105, Daniel Bryan 99, Cody 85, Tetsuya Naito 74, Brock Lesnar 73, Takashi Sugiura 60

MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER

1. KENNY OMEGA (503) 3,621
2. Kota Ibushi (175) 1,958
3. Kazuchika Okada (157) 1,790
4. Will Ospreay (93) 1,496
5. Hiroshi Tanahashi (38) 626
6. Tomohiro Ishii (48) 565
7. Johnny Gargano (55) 465
8. Zack Sabre Jr. (25) 434
9. Walter (34) 225
10. Kento Miyahara (12) 162

HONORABLE MENTION: Daniel Bryan 146, A.J. Styles 108, Seth Rollins 104, Hiromu Takahashi 98, Rey Fenix 90, Meiko Satomura 72

TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR

1. YOUNG BUCKS (530) 4,427
2. Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi (234) 2,034
3. Kyle O'Reilly & Roderick Strong (121) 1,844
4. Pentagon Jr. & Fenix (100) 897
5. Tyler Bate & Trent Seven (31) 837
6. Evil & Seiya Sanada (38) 511
7. LAX (29) 295
8. Suwama & Shuji Ishikawa (14) 170
9. Usos (3) 122
10. Mark & Jay Briscoe (12) 116

HONORABLE MENTION: Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) 86, New Day 85, Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr. 86, Revival 62, Sho & Yoh 61

BEST ON INTERVIEWS

1. DANIEL BRYAN (385) 2,365
2. Samoa Joe (158) 1,369
3. Becky Lynch (102) 1,220
4. Chris Jericho (73) 1,194
5. Juice Robinson (110) 937
6. Conor McGregor (122) 735
7. Zack Sabre Jr. (38) 696
8. Paul Heyman (31) 374
9. Tommaso Ciampa (25) 324
10. Tetsuya Naito (39) 316

HONORABLE MENTION: Kenny Omega 283, The Miz 216, Cody 186, Minoru Suzuki 147, Rush 119, Bully Ray 90, Nick Aldis 79, Christopher Daniels 72, Nick Gage 63, Konnan 60

PROMOTION OF THE YEAR

1. NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING (1,038) 5,546
2. WWE (42) 1,848
3. ROH (20) 1,225
4. CMLL (9) 982
5. OTT (8) 396
6. All Japan Pro Wrestling (6) 295
7. UFC 283
8. PWG 246
9. MLW 180
10.GCW (7) 144

HONORABLE MENTION: DDT 118, Stardom 110, Revolution Pro 89, Pro Wrestling NOAH 66

BEST WEEKLY TV SHOW

1. WWE NXT (487) 4,123
2. Being the Elite (207) 1,794
3. New Japan Pro Wrestling on AXS (242) 1,754
4. CMLL Super Viernes (79) 1,115
5. WWE Smackdown Live (32) 578
6. MLW Fusion (14) 532
7. DDT Maji Manji (35) 333
8. Impact (14) 259
9. ROH (5) 258
10. WWE 205 Live (12) 267

HONORABLE MENTION: WWE U.K. 114

PRO WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR

1. KENNY OMEGA VS. KAZUCHIKA OKADA 6/9 OSAKA (763) 4,623
2. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi 10/8 Tokyo (99) 1,722
3. Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade Cien Almas 1/27 Philadelphia (30) 673
4. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa 4/7 New Orleans (12) 559
Kenny Omega vs. Tomohiro Ishii 8/4 Osaka (25) 559
6. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Taiji Ishimori 6/4 Tokyo (29) 493
7. Young Bucks vs. Omega & Ibushi 3/25 Long Beach (26) 338
8. Kenny Omega vs. Kota Ibushi 8/11 Tokyo (12) 324
9. Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho 1/4 Tokyo (14) 265
10. Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi 5/4 Fukuoka (5) 205

HONORABLE MENTION: Kota Ibushi vs. Tomohiro Ishii 7/28 Nagoya 187, Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch 10/28 Uniondale,, NY 147; Masashi Takeda vs. Isami Kodaka 6/20 Tokyo 116; Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Will Ospreay 12/15 Tokyo 102; Walter vs. Will Ospreay 10/14 Dublin 92; Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan 11/18 Los Angeles 84; Hirooki Goto vs. Tomohiro Ishii 7/21 Nagoya 74; Ricochet vs. Lars Sullivan vs. Velveteen Dream vs. Adam Cole vs. EC 3 vs. Killian Dain 85 4/7 New Orleans; Kento Miyahara vs. Zeus 10/21 Tokyo 60

[Deanjam]

Wrestling Observer awards results (part 2)

UNITED STATES/CANADA MVP

1. A.J. STYLES 265
2. Kenny Omega 246
3. Johnny Gargano 219
4. Daniel Bryan 138
5. Becky Lynch 85
6. Tommaso Ciampa 50
7. Ronda Rousey 49
8. Seth Rollins 46
9. Cody 37
10. Young Bucks 24

HONORABLE MENTION: Jay Lethal 20, Brock Lesnar 18

JAPANESE MVP

1. KENNY OMEGA 444
2. Hiroshi Tanahashi 393
3. Kazuchika Okada 217
4. Tomohiro Ishii 31
5. Kota Ibushi 30
6. Masashi Takeda 28
7. Kento Miyahara 26
8. Tetsuya Naito 20
9. Takashi Sugiura 11
10. Chris Jericho 10

MEXICO MVP

1. L.A. PARK 484
2. Pentagon Jr. 279
3. Rush 153
4. Rey Fenix 85
5. Volador Jr. 33
6. Bandido 28
7. Dragon Lee 22
8. Cavernario 15
9. Ultimo Guerrero 8
9. Psycho Clown 8

EUROPE MVP

1. WALTER 503
2. Zack Sabre Jr. 228
3. Will Ospreay 212
4. Pete Dunne 181
5.Tyler Bate 34
6. Tomohiro Ishii 20
7. Toni Storm 14
8. Zack Gibson 9
9. Trent Seven 6
10. Minoru Suzuki 6

NON-HEAVYWEIGHT MVP

1. WILL OSPREAY 486
2. Hiromu Takahashi 243
3. Kushida 64
4. Johnny Gargano 51
5. Buddy Murphy 35
6. Rey Fenix 30
7. Ricochet 26
8. Taiji Ishimori 21
8. Kota Ibushi 21
10. Marty Scurll 19
10. Mustafa Ali 19

HONORABLE MENTION: Robbie Eagles 15, Pentagon Jr.12, Cedric Alexander 12

WOMEN'S WRESTLING MVP

1. BECKY LYNCH 579
2. Ronda Rousey 326
3. Meiko Satomura 62
4. Charlotte Flair 61
5. Momo Watananbe 43
6. Mayu Iwatani 24
7. Kairi Sane 22
8. Tessa Blanchard 21
9. Shayna Baszler 14
10. Asuka 12
10. Toni Storm 12

BEST BOX OFFICE DRAW

1. CONOR MCGREGOR 694
2. Kenny Omega 174
3. L.A. Park 68
4. Chris Jericho 54
5. Hiroshi Tanahashi 37
6. Ronda Rousey 32
7. Brock Lesnar 26
8. The Elite 24
9. Kazuchika Okada 21
10. Tetsuya Naito 20

HONORABLE MENTION: Roman Reigns 19, Psycho Clown 18, Young Bucks 12

[Deanjam]

Wrestling Observer awards results (part 3)

FEUD OF THE YEAR

1. JOHNNY GARGANO VS. TOMMASO CIAMPA 529
2. Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor 230
3. L.A. Park vs. Rush 95
4. Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch 80
5. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada 63
5. Kenny Omega vs. Cody 63
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kenny Omega 32
8. Jay White vs. Kazuchika Okada 19
9. Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega 18
10. Walter vs. Jordan Devlin 16

HONORABLE MENTION: LAX vs. OG's LAX 15, Chris Jericho vs. Tetsuya Naito 12, Mustache Mountain vs. O'Reilly & Strong 11

MOST IMPROVED

1. ADAM PAGE 344
2. Jay White 193
3. Velveteen Dream 75
4. Buddy Murphy 62
5. Juice Robinson 46
6. Shayna Baszler 45
7. Becky Lynch 44
8. Ronda Rousey 42
9. Momo Watanabe 35
10. Jordan Devlin 34

HONORABLE MENTION: Flip Gordon 32, Tommaso Ciampa 20, Carmella19, Hazuki 16, Bandido 16, Natsuko Tora 15, Tom Lawlor 14, Tessa Blanchard 13, Bianca Belair 13

MOST CHARISMATIC

1. TETSUYA NAITO 247
2. Becky Lynch 205
3. Hiroshi Tanahashi 186
4. Chris Jericho 87
5. Conor McGregor 71
6. Kenny Omega 68
7. Rush 65
8. Pentagon Jr. 53
9. Velveteen Dream 50
10. L.A. Park 35

HONORABLE MENTION: Daniel Bryan 28, Juice Robinson`26, Adam Cole 25, Tommaso Ciampa 24, Hiromu Takahashi 22, Kazuchika Okada 18, Cody12

BRYAN DANIELSON AWARD

(BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER)

1. ZACK SABRE JR. 970
2. Daniel Bryan 37
3. Hideki Suzuki 33
4. Jonathan Gresham 27
5. Johnny Gargano 25
6. Minoru Suzuki 20
7. Kazuchika Okada 18
8. Kota Ibushi 17
9. Kushida 12
9. Kyle O'Reilly 12

BRUISER BRODY MEMORIAL AWARD (BEST BRAWLER)

1. TOMOHIRO ISHII 536
2. Chris Jericho 186
3. L.A. Park 144
4. Minoru Suzuki 134
5. Walter 133
6. Masashi Takeda 38
7. Brody King 22
8. Pentagon Jr. 19
9. PCO 18
10. Sami Callihan 16

HONORABLE MENTION: Samoa Joe 14

BEST FLYING WRESTLER

1. WILL OSPREAY 560
2. Ricochet 186
3. Rey Fenix 182
4. Kota Ibushi 76
5. Hiromu Takahashi 55
6. Bandido 43
7. Io Shirai 25
8. Dragon Lee 24
9. Soberano Jr. 16
10. Titan 9

MOST OVERRATED

1. BARON CORBIN 597
2. Nia Jax 121
3. Brock Lesnar 67
4. Braun Strowman 52
5. Dean Ambrose 36
6. Cody 31
7. Carmella 29
8. Shane McMahon 24
8. Seth Rollins 24
10. Taichi 22

HONORABLE MENTION: Jay White 21, Alexa Bliss 14. Roman Reigns 12

MOST UNDERRATED

1. FINN BALOR 175
2. Gran Metalik 122
3. Andrade 121
4. Chad Gable 110
5. The Revival 92
6. Tomohiro Ishii 72
7. Rusev 49
8. Asuka 32
9. Kassius Ohno 20
9. Tetsuya Naito 20

HONORABLE MENTION: Jungle Kyona 18, Timothy Thatcher18, Tom Lawlor 15, Cesaro 14, Ember Moon 14, Marcel Barthel 13

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

1. RONDA ROUSEY 716
2. Utami Hayashishita 299
3. Brian Pillman Jr. 61
4. Kacy Catanzaro 37
4. Marko Stunt 37
6. Yuya Uemura 27
7. Dragon Bane 10
8. Ultimo Maldito 9
9. Yota Tsuji 9

[Deanjam]

Wrestling Observer awards results (part 4)

BEST NON-WRESTLER

1. PAUL HEYMAN 427
2. Zelina Vega 114
3. Salina de la Renta 88
4. William Regal 70
5. Paige 56
6. Taka Michinoku 50
7. Konnan 38
8. Miho Abe 35
9. Stokley Hathaway 34
10. Gedo 27

HONORABLE MENTION: Stephanie McMahon 21, Brandi Rhodes 19, Scarlett Bordeaux 16

BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER

1. KEVIN KELLY 494
2. Mauro Ranallo 255
3. Nigel McGuinness 182
4. Don Callis 116
5. Chris Charlton 38
6. Corey Graves 20
7. Dominick Cruz 19
7. Tony Schiavone 19
9. Shimpei Nogami 16
10. Colt Cabana 14

WORST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER

1. JONATHAN COACHMAN 446
2. Michael Cole 176
3. Renee Young` 129
4. Corey Graves 92
5. Lanny Poffo 69
6. Byron Saxton 42
7. Vampiro 37
8. Percy Watson 36
9. Jim Ross 23
10. Matt Striker 14

HONORABLE MENTION: Booker T 12, Mauro Ranallo 11

BEST MAJOR WRESTLING SHOW

1. NEW JAPAN DOMINION 6/9 OSAKA 579
2. New Japan WrestleKingdom 12 1/4 Tokyo 290
3. WWE NXT Takeover 4/7 New Orleans 164
4. All In 9/1 Chicago 140
5. DDT Peter Pan 10/21 Tokyo 27
6. WWE Evolution 10/28 Uniondale, NY 25
7. Impact Slammiversary 7/22 Toronto 14
8. New Japan G-1 B Block final 8/11 Tokyo 13
9. New Japan G-1 7/19 Tokyo 13
10. WWE NXT Takeover 11/17 Los Angeles 10

WORST MAJOR WRESTLING SHOW

1. WWE CROWN JEWEL 11/2 RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA 638
2. WWE Backlash 5/6 Newark, NJ 239
3. AAA TripleMania 8/25 Mexico City 70
4. WWE Extreme Rules 7/15 Pittsburgh 56
5. WWE WrestleMania 4/8 New Orleans 42
6. WWE Greatest Royal Rumble 4/27 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 38

BEST WRESTLING MANEUVER

1. KENNY OMEGA ONE WINGED ANGEL 375
2. Kazuchika Okada Rainmaker 89
3. Will Ospreay Stormbreaker 85
4. Zack Sabre Jr. Napalm death 68
5. Kenny Omega V trigger 51
6. Aleister Black Black Mass 27
7. Kairi Sane Insane Elbow 26
Kento Miyahara Shutdown German suplex 26
Seth Rollins Curb Stomp 26
10. Ember Moon Eclipse 25
Omega & Ibushi Golden Trigger 25

HONORABLE MENTION: Hiroshi Tanahashi high fly flow 24, Tetsuya Naito destino 22, Bandido rolling German suplex 21, Pentagon Jr. Penta driver 15, Buddy Murphy Murphy's law 14, Montez Ford frog splash 14, Kota Ibushi Kamagoye 13

MOST DISGUSTING PROMOTIONAL TACTIC

1. WWE BUSINESS TIES WITH SAUDI ARABIA 901
2. USADA handling of the Jon Jones case 97
3. UFC using McGregor's criminal footage to sell Nurmagomedov fight 58
4. UFC booking Rachael Ostovich on same show with Greg Hardy 31
5. Drake Maverick urinating on himself 14
6. UFC moving show out of Las Vegas due to Jones situation 14
7. WWE using Reigns leukemia in the Ambrose turn 9

WORST TELEVISION SHOW

1. WWE RAW 902
2. Impact 30
3. Lucha Underground 26
4. AAA 17
5. Ring Warriors 16
6. Ring of Honor 13
6. World of Sport 13
8. Five Star Wrestling 8

WORST MATCH OF THE YEAR

1. UNDERTAKER & KANE VS. MICHAELS & HHH 11/2 RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA 289
2. Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar 4/8 New Orleans 57
3. Undertaker vs. HHH 10/16 Melbourne 44
4. Asuka vs. Carmella 7/15 Pittsburgh 37
5. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe 5/6 Newark 29
6. Eli Drake vs. James Ellsworth 10/14 New York 26
7. Jeff Hardy vs. Jinder Mahal 4/27 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 25
8. Shane McMahon vs. Dolph Ziggler 11/2 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 22
9. Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman 9/16 San Antonio 20
10. Asuka vs. Carmella 6/16 Chicago 19

HONORABLE MENTION: Charlotte Flair vs. Carmella 5/6 Newark 18, Nia Jax vs. Alexa Bliss 5/6 Newark 18, John Cena vs. Undertaker 4/8 New Orleans 17, Atlantis & Rayo de Jalisco Jr. & Octagon vs. Fuerza Guerrera & Ultimo Guerrero & Mascara Ano 2000 7/13 Mexico City 16, Lana vs. Zelina Vega 7/31 Tampa 13, Punishment Martinez vs. Soberano Jr. 3/3 New York 13, Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar 8/19 Brooklyn 11

WORST FEUD OF THE YEAR

1. SASHA BANKS VS. BAYLEY 433
2. Sami Zayn vs. Bobby Lashley 92
3. Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose 62
4. Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar 60
5. Asuka vs. Carmella 54
6. Baron Corbin vs. Braun Strowman 46
7. A.J. Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura 44
8. Undertaker & Kane vs. Michaels & HHH 42
9. Tongans vs. G-1 field 37
10. Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax 36

HONORABLE MENTION: Bullet Club Elite vs. Tongans 28,Daniel Bryan vs. Big Cass 23, Natalya vs. Ruby Riott 22, AOP vs. Bobby Roode & Chad Gable 20, Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin 18, Baron Corbin vs. Kurt Angle 18, Kenny Omega vs. Cody 12, Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley 11

WORST PROMOTION OF THE YEAR

1. WWE 612
2. AAA 156
3. Impact 141
4. Lucha Underground 62
5. UFC 57
6. ROH 26
7. Five Star Wrestling 22
8. Insane Championship Wrestling 14
9. World of Sport 12
10. Golden Boy MMA 11

HONORABLE MENTION: Ring Warriors 10, PFL 9

BEST BOOKER

1. GEDO 890
2. Paul Levesque 222
3. Jun Akiyama 35
4. Joey Janela 22
5. Sanshiro Takagi 17
6. Rossy Ogawa 13
7. Cody & Young Bucks 12

PROMOTER OF THE YEAR

1. TAKAAKI KIDANI 360
2. Paul Levesque 312
3. Cody & Young Bucks 215
4. Harold Meij 79
5. Dana White 64
6. Sanshiro Takagi 46
7. Vince McMahon 45
8. Joe Koff 22
9. Court Bauer 19
10. Joey Janela 16

HONORABLE MENTION: Jim Smallman 12, Maciej Kawulski 10, Joe Cabray 9, Andy Quildan 9

BEST GIMMICK

1. VELVETEEN DREAM 225
2. Becky Lynch 217
3. Daniel Bryan 98
4. PCO 65
5. Tommaso Ciampa 58
6. Elias 44
7. Chris Jericho 38
8. The Elite 25
9. Jay White 25
10. Pentagon Jr. 20
LIJ 20

HONORABLE MENTION: Aleister Black 19, Orange Cassidy 16, Golden Lovers 14, Marty Scurll 13, Hiroshi Tanahashi 12, Minoru Suzuki 12, SCU 11, Scarlett Bordeaux 10

WORST GIMMICK

1. CONSTABLE CORBIN 331
2. Drake Maverick pissing 139
3. Lucha House Party 38
4. Shane McMahon Best in World 33
5. Nia Jax facebraeker 31
6. Elias 26
7. Almighty Bobby Lashley 24
8. Joey Ryan 24
9. Great O-Kharn 20
10. The Elite 18

HONORABLE MENTION: Nicholas 13, Jinder Mahal 12, Dean Ambrose 12, B Team 11

[ToneLa]

Woah nice. At a glance plenty to agree with there. Lynch coming high in a few places, Ronda gets best rookie. WWE gets shit on for Saudi Arabia and for Raw.

WORST MAJOR WRESTLING SHOW

1. WWE CROWN JEWEL 11/2 RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA 638
2. WWE Backlash 5/6 Newark, NJ 239
3. AAA TripleMania 8/25 Mexico City 70
4. WWE Extreme Rules 7/15 Pittsburgh 56
5. WWE WrestleMania 4/8 New Orleans 42
6. WWE Greatest Royal Rumble 4/27 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 38

Oh man I've seen 5 out of 6!

[up_the_hampipe]

Nah. That's just your opinion. Not reality.

They've definitely fucked it. A lot of wrestling fans agree it's cooled off significantly with all the fuckery.

[ToneLa]

They've definitely fucked it. A lot of wrestling fans agree it's cooled off significantly with all the fuckery.

So is it fucked or cooled off significantly?

I wouldn't move it from the main event slot now yada yada yada round we go. I'm not even keeping up with Raw so... perhaps I am in a nice cocoon. Where it is terrible, just... slightly old terrible!

[up_the_hampipe]

So is it fucked or cooled off significantly?

They fucked it by cooling it off. Like they might not be able to get the heat back on it.

I'm not doubting it'll be the main event. I think they've got their hearts set on giving the women that spot this year. It's just no one's as interested as they should be anymore. Kofimania is running wild right now.

[mikeyg27]

It wouldn't surprise me that much if the Universal Championship match started to heat up too - that promo between Heyman and Seth was great. I think Roman's return was fortuitously timed for Seth in that this little Shield reunion actually gave him something to do other than wait around for Brock to show up.

Actually, both Raw and Smackdown this week did a pretty good job of getting me much more excited for Mania - Seth & Heyman were great, Roman vs Psycho Drew looks like the direction for those two and is absolutely a match I'd love to see, the Balor-Lashley story seems to be heading towards a Demon appearance, AJ and Randy developed a killer feud out of thin air and this Kofi story has just landed in their lap.

Still got several weeks for them to piss it all away though.

[Mobius]

Sucks so much that Ciampa is injured. Why the fuck did they have to have him wrestle on 3 shows a week?

NXT was great yesterday but now the best long story WWE have had in years will be dead.

Womens fourway at Takeover should be good. Fucking love Io Shirai

[gmoney]

Got tickets to NJPW! I'm very much a casual New japan fan, anyone got any recommendations of recent highlights I should catch up with?

[hummingofevil]

Was talking to a mate last night who knows absolutely nothing about wrestling apart for Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior (he has never even heard of Vince McMahon) and mentioned that there is new wrestling company starting called AEW.

"Is that the one with Jungle Boy?"

[hummingofevil]

Got tickets to NJPW! I'm very much a casual New japan fan, anyone got any recommendations of recent highlights I should catch up with?

The Wrestle Kingdom January 4th show is obvious one. Its the pay off to a load of feuds but you don't need to watch anything in advance really.

In last few weeks:

New Japan Cup

- Naito vs Ibushi
- Ishi vs Yuji Nagata
- Tanahashi vs Shingo

The Anniversary Event

- Jr Tag Team match Sho and Yoh vs Bushi and shingo
- Osprey vs Jay White

---

The match that sums up my love of NJPW is the Okada / Jay White match at WK. If you don't follow it at all Okada lost the belt last summer, changed his hair cut and entrance music and went on a run of loses and Gedo (who is the real life booker and on screen manager of Okada) turned on him at hooked up with Jay White. Eventually they will rebuild him and the expectation was that he would start his comeback with a big win over Jay White at WK. Just watch it. It is amazing.

[Timothy]

Jungle Boy is a name casual fans or non fans have heard a lot over the last few weeks because he's Luke Perry's son.

[up_the_hampipe]

Jesus CHRIST, the Takeover card sounds good. WALTER vs. Dunne is going to be a real slobber of a knocker.

[ToneLa]

I like Takeover is using talent like WALTER

NXT UK has been must see ever since his ace debut

[gmoney]

The Wrestle Kingdom January 4th show is obvious one. Its the pay off to a load of feuds but you don't need to watch anything in advance really.

In last few weeks:

New Japan Cup

- Naito vs Ibushi
- Ishi vs Yuji Nagata
- Tanahashi vs Shingo

The Anniversary Event

- Jr Tag Team match Sho and Yoh vs Bushi and shingo
- Osprey vs Jay White

---

The match that sums up my love of NJPW is the Okada / Jay White match at WK. If you don't follow it at all Okada lost the belt last summer, changed his hair cut and entrance music and went on a run of loses and Gedo (who is the real life booker and on screen manager of Okada) turned on him at hooked up with Jay White. Eventually they will rebuild him and the expectation was that he would start his comeback with a big win over Jay White at WK. Just watch it. It is amazing.

Cheers! I will get stuck in.

[Ja'moke]

OSW Review of this year's Rumble PPV is out: http://oswreview.com/media/oswreview79/

[Timothy]

So from the looks of things the current Mania card is:

Kofi    VS Bryan
Rollins VS Lesnar
Reigns VS Drew
HHH    VS Batista
Asuka  VS Mandy Rose VS Sonya Deville
Rousey VS Charlotte VS Becky
ATGMMR

Is it me or is this a very underwhelming Mania card?

I miss the days the MITB was part of it instead of it's own PPV.

[hummingofevil]

So from the looks of things the current Mania card is:

Kofi    VS Bryan
Rollins VS Lesnar
Reigns VS Drew
HHH    VS Batista
Asuka  VS Mandy Rose VS Sonya Deville
Rousey VS Charlotte VS Becky
ATGMMR


Is it me or is this a very underwhelming Mania card?

I miss the days the MITB was part of it instead of it's own PPV.

+AJ Randy
+ Woman's threeway tag.

The good aspect is that it should be good matches even though the feuds have ranged from crap to just weird. A big part of it is pacing and if they don't let matches drag it could be great but if they draw out matches too long to make "epics" then it could be a long boring night. They really need to think how to plan show out as risk of crowd shitting on things.

Should just be a feel good Mania with a load of 15 minute matches with most of faces going over.

[Delete Delete Delete]

Shane Vs Miz in a Whoose your dad match.

[up_the_hampipe]

Angle vs. Cena is looking likely as well. Seems like we might be spared of an old man Undertaker match this year. I quite like how the card is shaping up.

[Ja'moke]

I think the WM card looks great personally (though I did think the same last year and that Mania fell apart after the first hour-and-half).

But I think all three of the big title matches (WWE, Universal, Raw Women's) have the potential to be excellent. The Kofi angle is so hot right now and is been booked really well. Brock/Rollins is a little bit flat, but will hopefully pick up when Brock finally shows up next week. And even though they made the women's feud needlessly convoluted, and it has cooled down somewhat, it's not completely dead - the live crowds are still reacting, and despite not liking the Ronda breaking kayfabe thing myself, it got attention and seems to be working.

The Shane v Miz feud is far better than it has any right to be. Not sure how the match itself will turn out, but I've been enjoying face Miz a lot. And thank god they've made Triple H v Batista No Holds Barred. That's exactly the stipulation that match needed.

I'm also liking how they've given a little more attention to the undercard matches this year. Yes, the AJ/Orton stuff started late, but they've managed to give it a purpose - sometimes all a feud needs to be is simple as "I'm the leader of Smackdown." The US title scene too, with the intermingling feuds of Rey/Andrade/Truth/Joe, gives what will inevitably be a multi-man match (likely with Owens and Ali added) some semblance of a story, rather than just throwing people together on the PPV randomly. And they've been slowly building up a potential Usos v Hardy Boys story too.

[ToneLa]

I'm going record. This will be a solid Mania.

Unless you've got some mad hate for Becky or Orton (his match will be good!!)

[gmoney]

This is the first Wrestlemania since I started watching wrestling again (so since WM15) that I couldn't give a shit about. I will watch it, because I am a slave, but there's nothing on that card I am blown away by. Rousey/Becky was still interesting until a couple of weeks ago but it's burnt out. Bryan vs Kofi? Jesus. Asuka with 2 stiffs in a 3 way (oo-er).

[ToneLa]

Bryan vs Kofi? Jesus.

I applaud the boldness of your opinion sir!

I reckon most the card will be good. I know I've bitched aboot HHH/Teesta but as someone less permanently annoyed than me said "it'll probably have enough smoke and mirrors to be good" and BAM a no holds barred stip makes it so.

Expressing Orton/AJ excitement gets me fuckin shot down for a whooole page but that segment on Smackdown was fucking great. I hope that curtain jerks - could be a fun match with a surprisingly good feud behind it and I reckon it'll be over as fuck. I still expect a sensible layout; hmm, what will the pissbreak be?

What a fucking age of pro graps though when I say and mean: Kurt Angle's match is gonna be the worst one on the WrestleMania card*





*Pending Undertaker. Or Andre Battle Royal. And maybe Shane / Miz... OK, maybe there's competition there