[Brye]

Originally Posted by KingCal

Blows their first match away easily imo, and I loved their first match (***3/4). TNA have also given us some awesome matches this year too. A top 20 for WWE and TNA combined probably wouldn't drop below ***3/4 ratings lol.

That's awesome to hear.

Agreed. They've been pumping out great stuff too. I'd even throw RAY/PARKS in the top 20 this year but I can't even logically give that match a rating. Just so epic though.

What do you think of Aries/Joe from Slammiversary?

[The Lady Killer]

Originally Posted by Segunda Caida

That wasn't even close to the 'standard Cena finish'. He got the utter shit kicked out of him, bled off of some ridiculous elbow strikes, had his left arm nearly separated by a Kimura and got suplexed and bumped from Chicago to Miami. Lesnar was unleashing offence never before seen in the company and that combined with his presence made for a legitimate monster. Freakin' Umaga didn't come close to making Cena look as vulnerable and sympathetic as Lesnar did. Cena unleashing a 2-3 minute comeback flurry would have sucked, the finish allowed him to get just enough in to highlight him as a company ace who can always find a way to win, but protecting Lesnar by ensuring he got caught by a quick comeback and was pinned before he could even regain his composure. He was also hit with steel chain right off the skull and a subsequent AA onto the steel steps, that's as close to a legitimate pinfall Cena will ever get on an opponent for the foreseeable future and the fact it was one of the very few bits of offence he managed to get in just got over how utterly dominant Lesnar had been, and how much it took for Cena to somehow find an unlikely way to win. There's a shit superman finish like the I Quit match vs Miz, and then there's bumping and selling your ass off for 20 minutes and building to that all or nothing comeback which has an entire arena rooting for you to pin this monstrous bastard.

Lesnar losing last night would have been disastrous because he wasn't allowed to look nearly as good as he was in Chicago. Sure his selling was on point and they have this right balance where he sells enough to look human but still be a motherfucking machine on offence, but no matter how psychologically succint his armwork was he didn't look nearly as ferocious in the beating he gave HHH compared to the one he unleashed on Cena. Last night he looked like a more aggressive heel, doing stuff that other guys would do but doing it in such a way it looked far more legit and vicious. In Chicago he looked on another planet to any other WWE heel between his offence and presence, he might have lost but he absolutely destroyed the company ace with little sweat and if anything was simply beaten by his own arrogance and reckless approach. Cena looked a million dollars and was finally given a set of balls as a character, the subsequent Johnny Ace feud killed what good could have come from that finish, because Cena finally having some depth and maturity could have been fresh for the character, and Lesnar returning down the line to dethrone Cena as WWE Champion could have made for quite the 'Oh Shit, Lesnar just killed Cena: he's even stronger than he was at Extreme Rules, we're all fucked' moment.

Agreed w/everything you said 100%. Couldn't have said it any better.

[Big Z]

Originally Posted by Brye

That's awesome to hear.

Agreed. They've been pumping out great stuff too. I'd even throw RAY/PARKS in the top 20 this year but I can't even logically give that match a rating. Just so epic though.

What do you think of Aries/Joe from Slammiversary?

Ray/Parks is fucking awesome and NEEDS to be in the top 20.

Aries/Joe was great, ***3/4 for that too. Only match above that rating in TNA this year so far imo is Aries/Roode HJ.

[WOOLCOCK]

Yeah I agree with Cal about Aries/Roode II being above their first encounter. I fucking hate a lot of Roode's control segments but he actually impressed me for the first time in that match, did well stooging and then had a nice balance between intensely applied moves and some impressive looking counters to ground Aries. They built well to Aries' comeback offence and despite the utterly shit finish, the followup was really well done with Aries doing his signature dive into the championship belt and looking KO'd. Their first match whilst good had some sloppy moments and a dull middle, although the finishing stretch was incredibly well done and all the teases to a screwjob finish along with the pro-Aries crowd made for a satisfying finish.

Bully Ray vs Aries is still my #1 match from TNA this year though, Aries/Roode II would be next. Not interested in anything else because bar the odd match I loathe the TNA style of wrestling and am past the point where I expect to come around to it.

EDIT: forgot about Bully Ray vs Joseph Park. I was legit shocked at how well they did the non wrestler angle with Park, every little detail from him swinging the chair the wrong way just made for a completely believeable angle and they worked it tremendously. I have no doubt the fact Bully Ray was his opponent makes for no coincidence the match turned out as well as it did, since Ray is right there with Aries as the best worker in TNA. But TNA actually left me shocked at how well that match turned out.

[Wrestlinfan35]

Top 10 matches of the year thus far, in my opinion:

1. Wrestlemania XXVIII: Undertaker vs. Triple H - ****1/2
2. Over the Limit 2012: CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan - ****1/2
3. Wrestlemania XXVIII: CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho - ****1/4
4. Extreme Rules 2012: CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho - ****1/4
5. Extreme Rules 2012: Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan - ****
6. WWE RAW 4/2/12: CM Punk vs. Mark Henry - ****
7. Wrestlemania XXVIII: John Cena vs. The Rock - ***3/4
8. Money in the Bank 2012: Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler - ***3/4
9. Over the Limit 2012: Sheamus vs. Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho vs. Alberto Del Rio - ***3/4
10. Money in the Bank 2012: CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan - ***3/4

What a year so far.

[Starbuck]

He got the utter shit kicked out of him, bled off of some ridiculous elbow strikes, had his left arm nearly separated by a Kimura and got suplexed and bumped from Chicago to Miami. Lesnar was unleashing offence never before seen in the company and that combined with his presence made for a legitimate monster.

Yes...and then Cena won. Then he acted like he would be gone for a bit...and then he came out the next night smiling like nothing happened. Brock was an unstoppable monster until he got beat. Him going over HHH gives him a lot of much needed momentum back but it's still always going to be in the back of everybody's mind that he can be stopped because Cena was able to find a way to beat him even after getting the shit kicked out of him the entire time. HHH got more offense in than Cena and he couldn't beat him. HHH managed to work over Lesnar's one weak spot and he couldn't beat him. cena gets his ass handed to him and wins with 2 moves at the end. I hate to sound like the typical Cena hater when I say that because I'm a huge Cena mark but I can't get past that.

[Brye]

I think if Cena did end up taking some time off after the Cena/Lesnar match, the finish wouldn't have had such a negative effect on people.

I honestly think that the way they put together the finishing stretch was the best you can do if you plan on having Cena win.

[The Lady Killer]

Originally Posted by Brye

I think if Cena did end up taking some time off after the Cena/Lesnar match, the finish wouldn't have had such a negative effect on people.

This. Had Cena actually sold the beating he took, the finish wouldn't carry such a negative connotation.

[Starbuck]

He still shouldn't have won. Short of him pulling out a shotgun and killing Lesnar to get the fall, no scenario is best because he shouldn't have won.

[Choke2Death]

Originally Posted by Segunda Caida

*text*

That only further made the finish SuperCena. After all the elbows and abuse he took, Cena should not have even been able to stand up. Yet, his shitty steel chain (why was it brought back just to make two appearances, anyways?) and a crappy FU on the steel steps was enough to beat this monster heel. By far the worst finish in a match EVER. Even worse than Cena's other superman comebacks and Hornswoggle winning any match.

For top 5 matches of the year:
1. Undertaker/HHH - WM28 (****3/4) - If on a rewatch it holds up as much as the live watch, I'll bring it up a notch to 5.
2. Lesnar/Cena - ER (****1/2) - Would have been 5 had it not been for the shitty finish. So bad that it should probably be knocked down to 1 star. FUCK YOU CENA!
3. The Rock/Cena - WM28 (****1/2) - Excellent match despite Rock's ring-rust and it being a little slow. And great finish for a change.
4. Sheamus/Orton/Del Rio/Jericho - OTL (****1/4) - F4W with four of the best workers in the company. Absolutely love the non-stop action which matches like this usually have.
5. Sheamus/Bryan (****1/4) - Absolutely awesome, nothing more needs to be said.

Honorable mention goes to Punk/Bryan at OTL.

---------------

And I just finished watching Ziggler/Jericho. ***1/4, a standard quality match which we've come to expect from these guys, nothing extraordinary, though.