I agree. I understand people watch for different reasons, but this stuff isn't very interesting to me.

The thing is, people said basically the same thing about Flair and Steamboat in the 70s. "That's not wrestling", "not enough selling", "not realistic", etc. I'd like wrestling matches to be quite a bit more focused on making it seem like the wrestlers are trying to win the matches rather than exhibiting their athleticism, but that's a problem with wrestling generally today, including WWE.

Is Goldberg going to wrestle Lesnar?

Hardly ever uses it, unfortunately. Last year, I think he only used it against Cena at Summerslam and in the triple threat. He switched to a frog splash after the Cena match. KO has adopted the frog splash now, so I wonder if Seth will be going back to the Phoenix?

That was kind of my point though. He hardly uses it so when he does it has much more of an impact on the crowd and match.

Speaking of impact, this is what's happening in TNA's biggest angle.

Is that Matt Hardy?

The new and improved Matt Hardy.

Looks like a coked-out Billy Zane with Gene Simmons' hair.

That suplex from Lesnar after the splash is amazing

That pic really doesn't do it justice. It's ridiculous.

Ummmm

All right, in other news. The Ricochet vs. Will Ospreay match, that's being discussed to the ground by internet wrestling fans, has been added to NJPW's YouTube channel only for a limited time.



My thoughts? Well, I saw this match in real time at around 4:30 AM PST, so probably my head was not really focused as much. But, it was a thoroughly entertaining watch and I was rooting for Ospreay since he was 0-2 at the Best of the Super Juniors so far and wanted to see him get a big win over Ricochet (the king of the flippy bleep). Was it too much flippy stuff? Sure. Did it visually look good? Sure. Did it look like these guys wanted to show their athleticism than being more actively and desperately wanting to win a match? Sometimes.

I mean it's not really the best example I would show of good wrestling psychology of two guys doing whatever it takes to win a match (to me nowadays, that would be Hiroshi Tanahashi vs AJ Styles at G1 Climax 25, last year), but it was a thoroughly entertaining match and had a surprisingly vocal crowd (one guy even had a PWG shirt on) for a country that sometimes is pegged to be on the quieter side of things when it comes to vocal crowds.

Was just about to post that since I just watch the full match.

Still hate the opening sequence that ends in the double slingshot handstand flying nothing.

From then until a little past halfway, it's very good. Great even.

After that (starting with the apron DVD), I wasn't into it for exactly the reasons darO posted earlier.

I'd amend your "sometimes" to "over half the match, including all of the last 5 or so minutes", which is probably why I'm viewing it more negatively.

It was a good entertaining match in a vacuum if you like floppy ****, which I do. Some people don't and prefer the more traditional style which is OK too.

Hardcore fans forget or underestimate how much a good backstory means to a match. Okada beating Tanahashi at Tokyo Dome or Flair vs Steamboat 3 or Nakamura vs Styles lose some luster when you don't know the backstory. Osprey vs ricochet is a great match you can enjoy if you never watched NjPW in your life. It's a different animal and that's ok.

That osprey/ricochet match I had to quit watching. Felt like I was watching a circus act not a match. Rest of you nailed it. Circuses aren't for me I guess.

The few times I've seen him in TNA lately, Matt Hardy has been quite good as a performer. But imagine somebody who has never seen your show tuning in and one of your main eventers looks like that. He looks like Seth Rollins burnt out grandpa.

I was more thinking Eugene

I was too, but I really didn't want to say that out loud.

for those of you who don't read reddit, some stuff from meltzer:

I understand wanting to keep Reigns and Cena face to do the charity work and appearances and Make A Wish stuff, but it is pretty silly to turn Styles and Rollins heel at this point. Turn them after they get a bit stale, not when they are over as faces. Yeah, WWE needs main event heels, but that's because they haven't been building main event heels.

The Styles turn was great. Loved it. No problem with it at all (except for the non-stop shaky cam during the beatdown, what the ****?)

Turning Rollins was of course idiotic, but to be expected at this point if a program with Reigns is involved.

Reigns just feuded with a non-heel and it was the best feud he's had as a singles.

Fair point.

Surprised that so many people liked the Reigns/Styles feud itself. The matches rocked, but the build was pretty meh to me.

Meh still might qualify as Roman's best feud as a singles competitor.