The Gaffer

I think it's just an easy assumption from an outside perspective that the big hook of WrestleMania writes itself every year and that it's in a position to pretty much automatically sell itself with the company on autopilot. In reality you aren't banking your billions on that, and you're not going back to your board and investors with an "It'll be fine, it's WrestleMania." It's like those finishers in the old Smackdown games. You only get a limited number of them. They carved out another year of monster business without having to use their Cody finisher. It's a conservative move from a business perspective, for sure, but that's WWE. We just have the good fortune of having them do that now with programs that are actually gratifying to watch. I'd get used to it. From a longevity perspective, stretching your top level program to two WrestleManias is probably the way this stuff's going to be done for the foreseeable.

I probably shouldn't feel bad because he's a millionaire who goes to bed with Becky Lynch - and I've spent months joining in the slagging on his characterisation - but I did spare a thought for Seth losing the title then having to shower, don his Bossmans and put the hair dye in just to get immediately sparked out as essentially set dressing in the main event with all the proper big stars.

Nailed it. If they made me feel like a 10 year old, life must have been pretty sweet as a 10 year old watching that. That's where it starts and ends, lads.

All out of sync for me this morning as well. Panic bought the Network last night and ended up watching wrestling instead because this best-in-class media empire can't get their own platform right.

Mami California. The Eradibip-bop-badicator.

Brilliant. I'm more excited for it than anything tonight. Long live chaos.

Hopefully Michael Cole buttons up tonight and stops mentioning the temperature every other minute.

Thread is getting dangerously close to that shit, overused "People like Coldplay and voted for the Nazis, Jeremy" meme.

It does feel like there's a lot of rush jobs/dead matches on the undercards both nights. I guess even X-Seven had a hokey Jericho/Regal feud, thrown together Right to Censor tag and anonymous European Title match, though. I suppose some stuff will always pale in comparison to the mega hyped stuff. Some of the build for this stuff seems to have just happened in the unconscious though. Granted I've mostly had it on in the background but it feels like the Uso match hasn't had any build to speak of. It just turned up announced one day. Jey's easy to keep hot but poor Jimmy's just the bloke who points up at the sky for Roman to me, nowadays.

Don't they broadcast the Hall of Fame in the U.S. straight after Smackdown? I'm pretty sure getting to go first pretty much is the headline slot.

The fact that it doesn't have a giant physical bell that somebody can get launched into to make a DONGGGG sound has confirmed for me that even in a purple patch, these people will never be quite as creative as I want them to be.

Tony's guy gets another ping, looks to the heavens, and resignedly cycles back up the hill.

I really hope this is true. What an insane man. Nab a potential retrospective era name that can be used for years and legally tie it to yourself. This is how you do it.

Him wrestling Brock for the title at Backlash 2003 is like some mad temporary aberration from another timeline. The first time I personally got the sense he was headed straight to the top of the Smackdown brand before long was that little forgotten gem he had with Angle at No Mercy 2003. One of the first examples of the crowd split chanting for the heel. I was 12 at the time and thought it was cool how Taz openly acknowledged that on commentary with that "That's awesome, you come here, you pay your money, you do what you want" line.

It's definitely not a gimmick I hope he drops any time soon.

That's a really interesting point I hadn't thought about, but you're absolutely right. From about Survivor Series 2003 - WrestleMania XX he was hot with the entire audience. He had what was probably the most ready-jaded, hardcore WWE audience at the time in Madison Square garden cheering him on to win that U.S. title in unison. Then he just farted about with it for the rest of the year when Smackdown as a whole went into the absolute darkest of days. Cena/Booker T's best of seven (!) felt like something nobody wanted to see and on it went. I imagine one of the respect the biz dickheads backstage thought it'd be a great idea as a way for Cena to prove himself. Then long before Vince booked himself into a match with God, Cena gets stabbed by Jesus leading to a match at Armageddon. Cena/JBL should be a good sort of culture clash on paper - and the crowds were dying to see JBL lose the belt - but they were already watering down his character by that point and in the eyes of history as dictated by retrospective clips, he completely missed out on his first big title win moment by having a complete nothing of a TV match during one of the early WrestleManias where not having the main event was still seen as being shat on. There's a fun alternate history in subbing him in for Wrestling Hitler, having him win the 2004 Rumble, and punking it up against Triple H and Michaels whilst he was still hot. Even if Chavo had never gotten weird texts, that fella's run was a total bust anyway.

I hope Knoxville fucking with Sami being an annual thing never ends:

I've never liked Cena's style. I think there came a point where the backlash against him got so wearisome that I went along with the whole contrary "Yeah, he's actually the bollocks" line instead - and I do appreciate what a massive draw he was, what he meant to kids, and what a weird fecker he is nowadays - but upon reflection yeah, never for me. He's had a few great main event matches but his offence looked fucking crap and the years of wild oscillations between Party Cena and hoo-rah Aggro Cena are like an entire lost generation to me. WWE at its absolute most turgid and autopilot when they were pre-pipebomb, pre-Danielson, pre-NXT-as-super-indie. I'll never watch that stuff back. I understand why he didn't do it in 2012 but he's five years younger than Rock. I wonder if there's a WrestleMania in him where he leans into the dark side. This was on the John Cena Experience DVD and was apparently recorded for the heel turn that never happened: Imagine him marching down the big massive walkway to this. I don't think it'll happen though. They turned Hogan on it but they'll never turn Cena. He's too weird.

I didn't mind the opening promo to be honest. Of the million ways it could have gone wrong, it ended up being a very above board rallying cry for a promotion that - despite the decent booking this year - still has the perception of needing one right now. I saw it aimed more at negativity in general, and Copeland's friendly "You're missing the point" line when people started booing the mention of the WWE and main point that AEW's made the entire industry a better, more competitive place were right on the money. Good show, all in all. Psycho Swerve is indeed where it's at. Blurting out "I love this shit" through a face full of his own blood like someone doped out of it on cough syrup whilst Joe betrayed a teeny look of actual fear was awesome.

Yeah if anyone wants to...watch more wrestling...this week then the Roman doc's essentially his share of the WrestleMania: Bell build. One of those fantastic 70% reality, 30% work things that lets you spend enough time with the guy to the point you don't take the next time you see him do his thing for granted. I'm excited to see his every move on Sunday after watching that.