Mezmero

Again I think the Takeover Respect finish was great but I had seen a finish like that earlier this year so it definitely dulled some of the impact for me personally. Still loved that match. The finish to the Bayley/Sasha Takeover Brooklyn match has been burned into my skull at this point. After that reverse rana happens the crowd goes nuts, Bayley then tears off her bracelet and throws it away as if to say "FUCK FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS! I'M ENDING THIS!" So she ends it, with the combined power of her full hugging strength and a Bailey-to-belly that shook the Barclay Center to it's foundation, she pulls Sasha off her feet into the air and slams her to the canvas. And finally the pin, where she desperately hooks both of Sasha's legs with everything she has left for the 3 count. Amazing incredible moment that WWE just doesn't know how to make anymore.

And if we're comparing it to the Rumble triple threat, I'll say this about the finish sequence to that match. Brock sells for a long time, then he no sells and throws a dude, then he no sells and throws a dude, then he no sells throws a dude 1,2,3. I get that the crowd was hot for it but I'm still of the mind that that match was over produced as fuck. Marks be markin'.

Finished Saint Seiya: Soul of Gold. Well that was a shit show. I realize that Toei has this reputation for terrible animation but the stuff they've done this year feels especially bad. Cool that they could get most of the OG voice actors but most of them sound every bit their age. They didn't really get anything right about that franchise. The action was bad across the board, the shit talk between characters wasn't biting enough, and the villain at the head of it was a bad character with zero depth. At least it doesn't go on very long but I do not recommend it unless you want to see some bad anime or badime.

Speaking of bad animation and Toei, what I've seen of Dragon Ball Super has been bad. I try not to use the word "gay" as a pejorative but I'll make an exception for this series. It's gay, not even homosexual, just gay, merry, happy, joyous, and it's almost sickening how pleased this show is with itself. I however am not pleased, I'm just sort of bored watching it and put off by the lazy animation. It's become something I only watch with friends to make fun of how bad it is.

I finally got around to finishing the 3rd season finale of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Holy fucking shit that ending got dark and then wraps it up with a disturbingly whimsical plot twist. The fact that Shredder chooses to stab Splinter in the back over saving the planet was an awesome moment. I'm glad that they're squandering all those merchandise dollars to just throw in some big names as voice talent. Freaking Michael Dorn as the Triceraton commander and David Tenant being the final character reveal. Still love this cartoon. It makes my inner child happy and it's done so consistently since it first premiered.

One Punch Man. So around the time this manga was coming out I think I read like the first three chapters. I recall thinking it was funny and that I'd be down to watch it if it ever gets an adaptation down the road. Guess my patience is finally paying dividends. I think it's brilliant as a meta commentary on the tired ass structure of battle shounens and zentai shows. Doesn't make that structure any less obligatory but at least it's very clearly being lampooned in an entertaining way. Can't wait to continue on this wild ride.

Haikyuu is off to a good start. I'm expecting good things out of this second season as it's one of the better sports anime I've seen for the past few years. I just hope the music is way less sappy this time around.

Takeover Respect was pretty good. I've been of the mind that NXT has been it's own thing for a while. If anything RoH has been the REAL developmental for WWE/NXT considering the HUGE stars they just freely pluck from that promotion's roster cycle before burying some and pushing others. If anything the women are the only group to evolve exclusively within FCW/NXT though they've been signing more and more established ladies as of late.

- While I did enjoy the tag matches I think the tag team tournament was kind of a wash in the end. Like most people I was hoping there would be more focus on TEAMS rather than pushing the singles teams of big dudes and big names. However I have to say that booking makes perfect sense in the continuity. Finn has history with Rhyno, Corbin has history with Joe and Rhyno, and Finn is the top guy at the moment so him overcoming the two big dudes makes sense from a story telling perspective. But what now? It's not like those guys are going after the Vaudevillains next, it's just an event to say "Hey don't forget, Dusty Rhodes actually liked tag team wrestling." I think DDT4 this year was waaay better as a tag tournament because of the focus on actual team dynamics though to be fair a team of singles guys won that as well.

- I think Asuka made herself look good and Dana Brooke made herself look bad. She's barely passable at the moment but the problem is that she's not believable on the mic or in the ring. If I'm to believe that she can power out of these holds because of her brute strength then I'd believe it if that physicality was also conveyed within her move set. Instead it feels like she's going for a bunch of botchy dainty Diva shit that's just not working and not making her look even remotely strong enough to reverse Asuka's submissions. Dana will make a good job gal after a bit more development.

- Apollo Crews vs Tyler Breeze was decent though the only thing at stake was respect appropriately enough. I've found myself tired of the Prince Pretty gimmick but I think he's genuinely a good wrestler. Crews has all the tools to be amazing but I can't tell if he can find the character he needs to be successful. Just being a buff ass super enthusiastic guy doesn't seem that compelling to me.

- Bayley and Sasha hit it out of the park yet again with an amazing match. I think I still liked the Brooklyn match slightly more just because it was structurally cleaner from bell to bell. I don't think I've ever seen a pair of women wrestlers who have captured my emotions as much as these two. By the end of this event I was getting choked up for sure. Factoring in Bayley's fan into the layout of the match was a smart move in getting across more of her character and Sasha played into that like a boss. That monitor breaking was the most prefabricated looking series of images I've seen. The finish was great but it looked like a slightly weaker version of the Zack Sabre Jr. vs Chris Hero finish at Mystery Vortex III.

I feel like all New Day clips should not only be required viewing in this thread but required posting. They are amazing.

@redyoshi: I guess you're right. The weakest match to come out of that title scene this year was probably Becky vs Sasha but even that was pretty good and the fans seemed to enjoy it. The thing is that the last Bayley vs Sasha match actually got me emotional and not a lot of wrestling does that to me. If those two can pull on my heart strings yet again then I will concede that they are two of the best wrestlers in the entire world and they're both in that conversation already as far as I'm concerned.

@milkman: I fully realize this. It's the part where they're being given promo time that's making this thing weird.

So I watched this week's NXT and I had some thoughts.

- I must say the tag tournament has been pretty good. I don't know that I'd call it good enough to attach the late great Dusty Rhodes' name to it but I've enjoyed it. I've been feeling negative about tag team wrestling on TV yet weirdly enough it's the stuff from WWE that's suddenly getting better (thanks in no small part to The New Day). A shame that it feels so much more fleeting in NXT where the story lines "don't matter".

- Gargano and Crews had a solid match. I don't think a standing moonsault press is good as a long term finisher much less his combo shooting star version. It's impressive as hell and he's built like a machine but come on man that's going to destroy his legs sooner or later and it seems like it would be so easy to botch, especially if he starts going full 300 work day schedule of talent in that company. I'm feeling apprehensive about Gargano so far. If I know the bookers at WWE they'd obviously push him as a baby face because he's a good looking dude and a smooth wrestler. I just find the idea of cheering him distasteful, I don't know why but I think the stuff he's done in Smash shows me that he has a lot more potential as a heel.

- I'm not going to act like Dana Brooke hasn't slightly improved. She's getting better at feeding into opponents' moves, but that's about it. Her acting in the ring and on the microphone is just bad and her transitions look awkward most of the time. Good for her for trying to embrace that attitude but she can't talk for shit. Nothing about her makes it seem like she wanted to become a wrestler. Plus they gave her a finisher that looks too dangerous for an amateur to be doing. The fact that she's getting such a push is crummy in my opinion.

- For a match with seemingly zero stakes and not really any crazy high spots Ciampa and Breeze had a good one. I'm a fan of Ciampa but I worry that NXT is getting his hopes up by giving him yet another chance. It was dumb of them to have a joint entrance for him and Gargano. Like it looks really stupid when Tomasso is coming to the ring alone and all you see behind him is "Johnny Gargano" flashing on the screen for an exorbitant amount of time.

- Lastly it feels like the pressure is on for the next Bailey and Sasha match. They're hyping it up so much that I don't know that they'll be able to deliver a match as epic as the Takeover in Brooklyn.

Stoked for more Lucha Underground. Not sure if lightning can strike quite like it did in season one but if it's the same show runners then I don't see why not. Erik Van Wagenen seems like an alright dude to me. I guess some of that may also depend on the venue. The smarks come out in droves in LA so it's hard to say if it'll will be as rowdy and high energy when they start getting back to having to fill seats with extras. I suppose no matter where the Temple ends up, if they build it, they will come.

Having been to almost every PWG show this year these are the must own DVDs in my honest opinion. I'm fairly certain of the ordering.

1. Battle of Los Angeles 2015: Stage Two
2. Don't Sweat The Technique
3. Battle of Los Angeles 2015: Final Stage
4. Mystery Vortex III
5. From Out of Nowhere

All their shows this year were good to great but these were the most memorable ones this year so if you're waiting with bated breath for their winter sale, then wait some more. I really enjoyed my time at DDT4 as well especially for the unpredictability in the booking. It kind of felt like they were missing some components and there wasn't really much in the way of MotY caliber fights.

I do, I always say it's some of those super blatant 90's comic book tropes that bring it down at some points. And I'll continue my tirade about how Jotaro sucks compared to the JoJo's before him and quite frankly all who come after him. Plus there are a handful total jobber stand users that we could do without even if they are canonical. For a series where I think the villains are who make it truly insane and great it is bothersome how some of them lost in just the duuuuuumbest of ways. It is very much a series of it's era in some respects. Still I think the anime is incredible even just purely from a production standpoint and the manga is one of my all time favorites.

So I looked into what actually happened to Sting with the table spot. I feel like a horrible person for saying this, but I can't stop laughing about it. Not because I want Sting to get hurt but because of a certain video that I'm suddenly reminded of. Every time I read up on these PPVs the more I realize that it doesn't matter if you're over with the fans, it only matters if you're over with Vince. Kevin Owens seems like the one exception to that rule but he might just be that good.

I thought for a while there that Cesaro and Honma were in a dead heat for the best jobber working today. Except with Honma he's great no matter how much he loses, with Cesaro it's just gotten sad at this point. One of the big reasons I stopped watching WWE going on 9 months now was their misuse of Cesaro and nothing seems to have changed since then other than him having a short stint as a tag champ. The idea that kids watching him today are going to grow up thinking he's a chump "because he's Swiss" is horrific. This is kind of why I question all the poaching of indie stars for the sake of feeding them into their main show through NXT. Like sure they can sign the best wrestlers in the world: Owens, Itami, Balor, Cesaro, etc. but not as an ends to any sort of means, they just want to have the best guys so no one else can. I'm glad these guys can be making that WWE money but fuck man it just looks like the road to heartache as far as these guys attaining any real prestige. At least I can take solace in the fact that no one there will sign Roderick Strong anytime soon because he suuuuuuuucks (actually he's great at being a dick head).

They didn't add those four fatales because their awesomeness can't be captured in video game form. The moves list for Divas is always dog shit anyways so it would have only make those four look bad. God forbid those games depict women as being capable wrestlers.