And the card is STACKED.  This might be better than Payback.

* Lucha Dragons vs. Los Matadores
* Divas Title Match: Nikki Bella vs. Paige vs. Naomi
* Tag Team Title Match: New Day vs. Tyson Kidd & Cesaro (this may have to be changed due to Tyson Kidd’s injury)
* Chris Jericho vs. Neville
* Brock Lesnar vs. Kofi Kingston
* John Cena & Dolph Ziggler vs. Kane & King Barrett
* NXT Title Match: Champion Kevin Owens vs. Fin Balor

This should rock, though I wouldn’t be surprised if they changed Lesnar’s opponent to Jericho.

On top of that, how awesome is the Network?  WWE can just throw this kind of thing on there as a special with no clearance or anything like that.  They’re doing it because they can and we get a cool show.  That’s so awesome.

Checked it out today and while I won’t go through it step by step, there was one thing that caught my attention.Near the end where Austin and Heyman teased a match against Lesnar next year at Wrestlemania (no I don’t think it’s happening but there’s always a chance), Austin turned into the Rattlesnake in the blink of an eye.  That sort of thing always amazes me as they just morph into a character like it’s nothing.  Foley is great at this sort of thing too and it goes along with what you hear old timers talk about: you’re not playing a character.  You ARE that character.  It’s a very different way of portraying someone and the old way is almost always the most effective.

So there’s a new report out saying that the creative team loves the idea of having just two weeks between pay per views because it makes it easier for them to come up with and write their stories.  If this is true……just dang.Have we really reached the point where a FOUR WEEK BUILD to a pay per view is too much to ask?  It’s so hard to come up with a month’s worth of stories?  Are you kidding me?  It’s freaking professional wrestling.  Let the people in the feud go out there and talk, have matches against someone else, have a staredown with the person they’re fighting against, talk some more, and then have the match.  Now apparently it’s set the match up Monday, have a quick build the following Monday, then WE MUST HAVE THE MATCH NOW BECAUSE WE DON’T KNOW HOW TO KEEP PEOPLE INTERESTED ANY LONGER THAN THAT!

Take Wyatt vs. Ryback for example.  Here’s a simple, more than two week build.

Week 1: Wyatt speaks cryptically about his next target.

Week 2: Wyatt keeps talking, Ryback says he doesn’t know what’s next for him.

Week 3: Wyatt attacks Ryback.

Week 4: Wyatt laughs a lot and says that’s just the beginning.  Ryback says he’s got someone ready for him and he can’t wait to get his hands on Wyatt for what he did.

Week 5: Ryback has a match with say, Rowan, to get a taste of what he’s got coming against Wyatt.  After the match, Wyatt appears and laughs.

Week 6: Wyatt wins a squash and talks about how he defeated a little guy (say one of Los Matadores so we don’t have to sit through him squashing R-Truth for the 94th time) but now he wants the Big Guy.

Pay per view match.

You have five hours of original, top level television a week, plus the Network and WWE.com to build up a story but you can’t go more than two weeks before you think your fans will get bored?  Maybe the problem is you put together boring stories that don’t have a shelf life, but there’s zero excuse for not being able to entertain wrestling fans for four weeks.

This report made me shake my head, but it tells you so, so much about the state of wrestling today.

This is actually from the latest Steve Austin Show and it almost made me cheer for him while I was listening.In a discussion of always facing the hard camera, here’s what he said (paraphrased):

“If I do a move or a spot and one of the 6-8 cameras they have around the ring doesn’t pick it up, that’s on them.  I’m busy trying to put on an entertaining match and it might not make sense to turn to the camera.”

The other day I was watching Hogan vs. Warrior at Wrestlemania VI and Hogan puts Warrior in a chinlock with his back to the camera.  A camera on the floor went around and got a good shot of the hold and nothing changed.  Back then, the match was considered a classic and one of Hogan’s best ever.  Today, he’d probably be lectured about how to properly work a match and how there is ONE AND ONLY ONE way to get over, because all that jazz Hogan did just isn’t the same as looking at a specific camera and saying whatever catchphrase is on a t-shirt that month.

Ignoring all the in ring action and all the characters and match time either group gets, here’s how I know the NXT division is treated more seriously.

One is simple and effective.

The other is a butterfly.

Which of these would you think is the more serious championship and division contending for it?

The Network really has changed things.  On Amazon.com, the Summerslam Anthology DVD collection (through 2008): $40.  Regular price: $250.

Because you might just get Lana.

If there’s one major criticism of the Divas division over the years, it’s been that they’re models acting like wrestlers and praise be the name of Divas like AJ and Paige right? Well now we have Lana, a model who, to the best of my knowledge, has zero wrestling experience ever. Yeah she’s good in her role, she’s gorgeous, her legs never seem to end and she can make people boo or cheer her at will, but at the end of the day, she’s a model who got hired for her looks instead of her wrestling ability.

Just remember that if she gets this mega push that people want her to have, one day she’s going to have to have a match. Keep that in mind while you cheer for her and want her to be the new face of the division. It might go very well as she’s a very athletic woman, but it could also be Maria Kanellis all over again.

Think about it: what from that show still matters less than two months removed?

Other than Rollins and Cena winning their titles, almost nothing that happened there matters.

Bryan – Vacated his title

Kidd/Cesaro – Lost the titles they were defending

Sting – Hasn’t been mentioned

Lesnar – Appeared once

Undertaker – Hasn’t been mentioned

Wyatt – Basically no sold the loss

AJ/Paige – Both gone

Bellas – Now faces

Big Show – Nothing changed after winning the battle royal

Cena is still feuding with Rusev and Rollins is still feuding with Orton. Other than that, it’s almost like Wrestlemania just came and went.

I haven’t actually been to a live show since the Raw after Wrestlemania XXX so this had a pretty high mark to live up to. The ticket was under though and I had to drive about ten minutes instead of twelve hours so I didn’t have to invest much to get there.

I got there at about 6:30 for a 7:00 bell and the place was empty. To be fair, Rupp Arena is one of the biggest arenas in the country and it was Mother’s Day evening. The place did fill up a bit and the majority of the lower bowl was full, but there were wide gaps of empty seats. They lowered the lights for most of the arena but it still looked decent enough. The calendar probably did quite a bit of damage here but it wasn’t the only reason to blame for the low attendance. There were a ton of kids though and far more than adults.

The poll for the fan vote was should Lana be allowed at ringside for the main event. Not for a street fight or falls count anywhere, but should the hot blonde be allowed to stick around. I never saw the poll go lower than 70-30 to keep her around.

Rusev and Lana came on the screen to cut a quick promo about winning the title back. Lexington wasn’t mentioned so I’d assume this was the same video that airs everywhere.

HHH came on just after the lights went down to welcome us to the show, again with no city mentioned. This was the good version of HHH so we got an ARE YOU READY to get us going.

First up was Neville beating Barrett with the Red Arrow. This was a great choice to open the show with Barrett in the role he was born to play. Before the match he told everyone to kneel in front of the king and Tony Chimmel and the referee followed the king’s orders. Neville answered an open challenge and had one of the best matches of the night. What I like most about Neville is that he wrestles like a guy eight inches taller and 50lbs heavier than he actually is. Instead of a guy who wrestles like a small wrestler, he’s a wrestler who happens to be small.

The interesting thing here was that Neville wrestles like a superhero, kind of in the vein of the original Sin Cara, minus the botches. He comes off like someone willing to fight against anyone above him, which makes for a much more interesting character than just another cruiserweight.

Finally, Barrett said he has injured Daniel Bryan so severely that Bryan is retired. Why is it so complicated to have a wrestler injure another and then brag about causing the injury? It’s such an evil move to do but for some reason it’s taken weeks to get there. Use it to turn Barrett into an even bigger villain instead of hiding behind reality.

Damien Sandow beat Heath Slater in a short comedy match. I really don’t think you need much more of an explanation here, but Sandow has lost a lot of steam since that Miz feud ended.

Nikki Bella successfully defended the Divas Title against Naomi. This was the old Naomi in the bright green, though she was still the villain. Nikki got a big reaction from the fans, which makes sense given that she’s basically the new Kelly Kelly, if Kelly ever had a horrible feud with her sister. Naomi hit the Rear View but spent too much time dancing to cover. Later on she tried to bring in the title but had to deal with Brie, allowing Nikki to hit the Rack Attack for the pin. Nikki has the potential to be a pretty solid face champion, but the stuff before this really dragged her down.

In another lame match, Fandango beat Adam Rose with a small package. I really don’t know what else there is to say here.

We then had a Connor the Crusher video and a special Mother’s Day message from Mr. T. These received a very nice ovation and amused applause respectfully.

Next was one of the most disappointing matches of the night with Dean Ambrose defeating Luke Harper. Ambrose was fine, but Harper looked way off for some reason. He kept showing off his biceps, which isn’t exactly what you imagine coming from him. Maybe he’s trying something new, but this really didn’t need to be anything but their usual solid formula.

Intermission, meaning nachos and a water……which costs the same as a soda so it was a Sierra Mist. Seriously, charging $3.50 for a cup of water is ridiculous.

Back from the break and we had one of the most interesting matches of the night. Erick Rowan defeated Bo Dallas in something resembling a comedy match (Bo put the mask on and then Erick ran a lap around the ring like Dallas), but the interesting thing was Rowan playing the good guy after he turned heel on Smackdown. Translation: WWE doesn’t watch Smackdown either. The match was nothing special, as you would likely expect.

At this point, the show was starting to drag. After nearly two hours of some so-so matches and little worth remembering, I was feeling a bit drained. But then, something happened. I began to feel something. Oh yes, I began to feel the POWAH! The POWAH of the New Day was so strong that it knocked the fans out of rhythm on the NEW DAY SUCKS chants. Before the match, New Day talked about being similar to the Kentucky Wildcats basketball team: big, strong and athletic, but they can actually win a title and will be around for more than one year. They also sang us an original composition called We Are The Champions.

The title defense was a four way elimination match with New Day (Woods/Kofi) defending against Ascension, the Prime Time Players and Tyson Kidd/Cesaro. Kidd/Cesaro got a solid reaction but Titus was very over as well. The match was the best of the night by far with everyone getting a chance to show off. There was even an innovative spot with Woods trying a sunset flip on Viktor but not being able to get him over. With the two of them distracted, Kidd picked up Woods’ legs and catapulted him into a low blow on Viktor.

Eventually everything broke down with Cesaro and Kidd cleaning house, until Woods made a blind tag as Kidd dropped the elbow off Cesaro’s shoulders. Woods snuck in and stole the pin on Viktor to retain because the New Day is great at being sneaky. Post match Kidd and Cesaro cleaned house with the Cesaro Swing into the dropkick. Big E. eventually put Woods/Kingston on his shoulders and carried them out in a great visual. This was the match of the night by far.

The main event was Cena successfully defending the US Title over Rusev. If you’ve seen one of these matches, you’ve seen them all.

As I was walking to the car, I stopped by the parking lot and saw Neville/Bo Dallas, the Prime Time Players, Slater/Ascension and maybe Big E. leaving. Neville was the only one to wave and acknowledge the fans waiting, but to be fair he’s the only heel there.

Overall it wasn’t the best show, but for $18 I easily got my money’s worth. It didn’t help that the roster was split and the endings were mostly obvious, but still, good enough for a Mother’s Day house show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1998 Pay Per View reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UYAMB8U

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

I finally sat down and watched the E:60 documentary on WWE and I’m not entirely sure what I think of it. Therefore, it’s time to ramble until I find a conclusion.

First of all, I certainly liked it. They had an interesting take by going with people who weren’t the best known, but the more I thought about it, the more that makes sense. How would a Sami Zayn section have gone here? “My name is Sami Zayn and I was one of the top independent wrestlers in the world. Now I’m headlining NXT while I wait for the inevitable call up where I’ll blow the doors off the main roster.” That’s not exactly a thrilling piece.

This show was much more for people who haven’t seen NXT and aren’t familiar with it, as they don’t mention the fact that of the three guys, Woods is by far the biggest star and he’s really nothing special. That’s the right call though as you can only get so invested in people who are lower level talent.

That being said, it’s a very entertaining look at some of what happens when the cameras aren’t on. I know we can recite what happens in every match, but a lot of the time we forget what happens when the cameras aren’t on. It’s a good look at what happens behind the curtain (I see what they did there), which isn’t something we get very often. I would have loved for this to be longer, but what we got was really fun. Check out the deleted scenes about Colin Cassady and Tyler Breeze too as they’re both entertaining.