You said there would be carnage and you have got it.

It won’t happen on this sector but I’m really looking forward to seeing one of the GC guys attack.

YEAH COBBLES BABY!

Peter Sagan has got to have this stage targeted but I would say now Porte is out Greg Van Arvermart will be chomping to have a go and you can never count out Quickstep either.

I think it could be people who don’t regularly read his column, so don’t really know what to expect. Some of the best satire is when you aren’t quite sure if it is or isn’t satire, eg Donald Trump’s election campaign.

I’m well thanks mate, it’s been a while in between drinks here but glad you appreciated my column.

As for the future of the WWE I’d have to disagree. I think the business has its ups and downs and right now we are potentially in a lull star wise but so was the WWE in the early 90s after Hogan left. I actually think we are currently in the best time ever in terms of general in ring performance and I just wish the WWE would get out of its own way and stop trying to force Reigns into this Cena-esq role and maybe accept a few people at the top of the company ala Shawn and Brett in that early 90s period.

Im a but dissapointed with what you think about Reigns though, the way he had been written has mostly been pretty bad but I think he gets it done very well between the ropes.

If you are still interested in writing some wrestling stuff though hit me up sambrownmedia@gmail.com

I wonder what their so valuable ‘brand’ will look like when they lose every match in their opening season and that is coming from a ruby fan who would like to see them work something out to stay in place.

All through junior cricket, up until under 14’s if you batted for more than 4-5 overs you were retired. I get the idea of giving everyone a go but if you want to encourage batsmen to get their eye in you need to allow them to actually spend some time in the middle.

Great article. I think I fall into that same category as you, intrigued UFC fan. Never did I really think McGregor had a chance but I still wanted to watch because if anyone could manifest a win out of nowhere it is this brash Irishman.

Truth be told at this point he is actually a pretty middle of the road UFC champ, he has won two titles at the same time sure but he has been given a far easier run to winning two titles than any champ before him. He never defended the flyweight title he won and so far hasn’t defended the lightweight one and he has still never been put against a Frankie Edgar or fully prepared Chad Mendes style wrestler who could properly exploit his ground weakness. But boy does he put on a good press conference and if I was Dana White I’d be hand feeding him everything with a silver spoon too because he brings in numbers that no one else comes close to.

As a group NWO, they started it and they recreated Hulk Hogan which is huge. DX were the really good knock off that were on the winning side.

Individually DX seem better because it is Shawn Michaels and Triple H but with the actual original groups I have to say NWO. Who do you have?

It is a great idea for a column, looking forward to reading it. I rekon the modern version of your question would be Shield v Bullet Club. Who do you pick?

Agreed 100% look at Evolution as an example. When they finally reunited it was a big deal because they held off doing it for years and it had purpose, they didn’t just throw it away for a short lived nostalgia run.

If they do want to do it sooner rather than later then perhaps this Indy stable that is forming up in NXT with Adam Cole could be a good matchup. Sanity have lost too much for my liking so you’d want this Indy stable to tear up NXT then go straight for everyone in the main roster.

Great article, Hayne is such a strange performer. At his best you would want no other player but when he is unmotivated he is almost like a black hole of motivation for the whole team.

For me it was

1. MMA clinch is vastly different to boxing clinch. Many (including myself) expected Conor to get the upper hand in the clinch but that was naive and didn’t take into account the subtleties of boxing rules and clinch games which Floyd really played Conor in.

2. MMA boxing hold up surprisingly well technically. Once again most thought Connor would be outclassed technically but he demonstrated technical skills that have earned the respect of a number in the boxing world. He is one of the best boxers in MMA but I’d say TJ Dillashaw and Dominic Cruz could also hang at that level. Mighty Mouse and Frankie Edgar could make an argument for that too.

Fun fight. I’m glad it happened but I’m glad it is over and let’s hope we can get back to some sense of normalcy.

What a relief to actually have a competitive first half of rugby!

I’m really looking forward to this actual fight for a few reasons, increasingly it is becuase I’m growing sick of previews where really all that can be said is that in all reality Mayweather should take this easily but McGregor has the slimmest of slim chances in the opening rounds and a hell of a left hand (Heck, I even wrote one saying pretty much that because, well, why not).

In the end this is an interesting fight to me because while boxers coming to MMA is an obviously ludicrous idea due to how important and potentially overpowered wrestling is in MMA the other way around hasn’t really been explored at the highest level since MMA graduated from underground to mainstream sport.

This match pits one of the best stand up fighters in MMA against one of the best technical boxers ever so will be an interesting case study in just how transferable MMA boxing is to actual boxing and how the skill level of an MMA fighter actually matches up at the top end of the more specialised sport.

I would be interested in this if it was a guy with a mobile filming it in a gym, the fact it is on a big stage and both fighters are treating it seriously just adds extra to it.

Yeah a read that one, I think I even commented on part 2. Really great set of particles. I’ve had this one mapped out for a while now though and figured it was worth revisiting closer to the date of the fight.

As per the article you are bang on with the clinch it is probably the main advantage he has – he should really be able to throw Mayweather around in it and is is one thing Mayweather has used fairly prominently to get out of trouble in the past.

I think you underestimate the left hand, it has been the weapon that has put away most of his opponents. In MMA his offence is built around it: his hand fighting is done to try and get the right angle on it, his spinning kicks are nearly always done to force fighters to circle into it instead of away from it, his right leads such as his corkscrew uppercut are done to position him to deliver it straight on. The left is a big part of his MMA game so I have no doubt it will be a big part of his boxing style.

That is not surprising to me. This is a fight that appeals to the lowest common denominator, it is not a prize fight but a circus act and I say that as a lover of pro wrestling, MMA and Conor MacGregor. Put it in a stadium and charge $20 entry and they will be lining up for miles. Treat it like the most prestigious event in sports and you are kidding yourself.

Indeed you called it. Props for that, was not the popular opinion at the time.

Samoa Joe I think comes out neutral, there were people hoping he would win and that would have been a big upset and while he probably got in the least offence, he wasn’t completely used as a punching bag and didn’t get pinned so in my mind it is a wash for him.

I wouldn’t care if Jinder won clean or dirty he is just completely mediocore and every second he is holding onto that title he is devaluing it and dragging down the show he is on. It was fun for a lark at first but it has now just dragged on and completely exposed him as a very limited worker who has enough moves for a 5 minute match but is now being expected to put on main event matches in a time where we have the highest number of gifted in ring workers in the WWE. For this to be worth it they better sell out the entire Eden Gardens on their next tour with this fabled push into the subcontinent with Jinder at the helm.

And yes, Rusev, what a waste of talent. If you believe the rumors Orton has now recieved the WWE title as payment for letting Brock bust him up hardway and now got to squash Rusev as payment for laying down for our glorious WWE champion. The crazy thing is a motivated Randy could have had an awesome match with Rusev but instead we got the now well and truly expired meme of an #RKO #OUTTANOWHERE!!!!!!!!

Crazy thing is I actually liked most of the card. Just wish it had started with the Banks/Bliss match.

FIRST WITH THE SCOOP!

Hey Big J. I would think Lesnar leaving would make him more likely to lose the title as he will be off TV while he trains for the fight but you never know maybe they will make the match for the title. UFC’s new management is clearly happy to dance on a pogo stick over the proverbial shark & Vince has had crazier ideas and run with them so I wouldn’t rule it out.

I’d say if he fight happens Jones fight IQ will keep him well out of the clutches of Lesnar pull a Velsaquez/Overeem to Lesnar who has always been pretty helpless standing up against more elusive strikers (I love Hunt but he kind of just keeps moving forward).

As for Mac/May I will indeed be watching, planning a column in the lead up too.

Yeah, I am really looking forward to seeing what happens but I actually don’t want them to have anything to do with Roman for a while. Once Ambrose & Rollins new relationship is solidly established they can then come across Roman and realise that their former partner has changed too much and I’d love to see him refuse to rejoin The Shield. If you think the audience hate him now just wait until he says something like “This is my yard now, I didn’t need your help to take it and I don’t need your help to keep it”.

Am also aware I just massacred that sentence.

Writers note: I am aware that the main pic isn’t WWE but when Lesnar was in UFC. Turns out The Roar doesn’t have too many WWE stock pics to use yet.

Dude, that headline is some quality trolling. Don’t think I’ve ever ready a basketball article on here before but you sucked me in with it.

No problem, good to have you here Jaime, great first column. Combat sports articles have gone in and out of vogue on the site so any new voices are welcome.

I must admit I come from the MMA side of the ledger so part of me does hope McGregor knocks Maywether right out but highly doubt there is any real chance of that happening, Maywether even at 40 should prove too technically sound.

While I don’t know the ins and outs of boxing that well I’ve seen how fighters get completely schooled when they step in the MMA ring without experience in the sport so why should I realistically expect anything else in the boxing ring? Even guys like Joe Schilling who is one of the best kick boxers in the world have had massive problems in MMA, even in stand up where you would expect him to thrive.

I am also very glad that they didn’t do it as MMA v boxing card, would have made a joke of MMA boxing skills. While every one of them would probably completely starch their opponent in a real fight boxing is just so highly specalised that the MMA guys just wouldn’t have a chance, would look very bad for the sport generally.

Yeah, I’ve been knocking around the site for a while now, originally started writing about MMA here and changed to cycling a couple of years ago.

I put Lesnar in my list for his first run in 2014 to WM 2015. The second one in particular is pure dominance and was unique at the time in being a champ who doesn’t defend at every PPV and really gave the belt a ‘big fight feel’.

Kurt is great, I’d say the best wrestler of the 00’s if you include his TNA work and is really up there with Lesnar for this and would have made the list for sure if it wasn’t for Lesnar’s more recent run. Completely forgot about Bob Backland, perhaps he should be on the list instead of those guys.

I’ll keep an eye out for your stuff if you post it.