I don't watch Raw and Smackdown every week, so forgive me if it was like last week, but when was the last time either show opened up with a match?
Wouldn't be shocked if it happens on Smackdown, but I can't remember the last time I saw that on either show.
So I see WWE are going back AGAIN to Saudi Arabia. Is there anything that Vince won't do for money?
Utterly disgusting
And again in November. Guess this will be the norm for at least nine more years.
Then there is AEW who give proceeds of shows to gun victims. Fuck Vince
Yeah Fuck Vince and the billions they've donated to charities for decades. Fuck Make-A-Wish, fuck the troops, fuck 'em all but let's throw support toward AEW who have yet to do a damn thing, including donating to gun victims lol.Originally Posted by Romford Pele
That seems like a stretch...
I think Vince and company thought Saudia Arabia was going through the process of making changes, and wanted to be one of the companies at the forefront of that change, but obviously things aren't changing and now they are stuck in a pickle. I'd say pull out and break the contract, but I have no idea how much money that would affect the company etc. To say "fuck Vince" when, like you've said, there have been decades of charity, troop support, etc. is baffling.
I think Vince couldn't say no the dump truck full of gold that they brought to his house.
And that's kind of understandable.
Also men from his era are having a very hard time dealing with how sensitive the public has become to these kinds of issues. 40 years ago it would have just been "wow! Nobody goes there! How fun."
Now its "wow! Nobody goes there! And here's why! And you're a dick for going!"
You get people like lotjx who condemn the WWE for going to Saudi Arabia but then they continue to watch the product anyway. Not sure which is worse. And it's not like the United States is this nice squeaky clean country too. Yet people are fine watching these shows on PPV too. The point I'm trying to make is people think they are these high moral people, and they're not. It's easy to spout out words on a social media website or forum.
The Usos are apparently due for a new contract in April and have yet to sign it yet. Could be something (looking to move) or nothing (posturing or just waiting until it's absolutely time to sign a new deal).
Is it going to always be like this? "Wrestler A and Wrestler B haven't signed new contracts yet? Does this mean they are going to AEW?"
Considering that's how negotiations generally work, the short answer is: yes.
Things are working in a more favorable way for talent now because there's an alternative that has momentum behind it. Whether anything comes from that momentum remains to be seen.
Great. Now every time the rumor mill hits that someone has or hasn't re-signed with the WWE it's going to wind up being some weird speculation that the talent is going to AEW.
There is NOTHING in AEW right now. NOTHING. You can have all the fucking money in the world, but where's the track record?
Any talent that are signed to the WWE looking at AEW as anything more than a cash grab TNA-style are fooling themselves. It's one thing to have the platform of WWE, NJPW, even ROH. It's cool All In was a success 7 months ago. I just need more to believe anyone of real significance from the WWE will show up there beyond wanting some of that loot.
- - - Updated - - -
Technically they can't negotiate until they are gone from the WWE. They can't even talk to talent in the WWE about coming over.
I've been a bit negative towards AEW, I'll try to keep an open mind moving forward. The Uso's could flourish in another company. Would they be able to use the Uso name or is that trademarked?
I'd be surprised if it was not trademarked
Which is why I said whether anything comes of that momentum remains to be seen. If this falls on its face, we're back to where we were a year or so ago. If not, things are radically different. It'd be pretty silly of talent not to use this as leverage, however. You might get burned if AEW turns into nothing but that might not matter because maybe your main intention was just get more money and maybe a concession or two in your next deal with WWE.
Right, and like I mentioned, AEW is going to work things as they are supposed for now, but I'm sure collusion is going to come around eventually.
AEW don't have to amount to anything at all. But if they're handing out guaranteed money, that's all that matters.
They can implode and never air one tv episode but Jericho would still get paid. In this case to do nothing. So their simple existence is enough to create this conversation every time a WWE guy has a contract coming up.
That's just going to be the reality now I guess. It is weird because it's been so damn long since we've delt with this but it's just something to get used to.
Shit they don't even need a t.v. deal in this day and age at the start. Eventually they'll need to get SOMETHING. Whether that's on a Network or Hulu/Netflix remains to be seen.
They need to have more than 1 event planned in 2019 before I would even sniff associating with them.
Fox's Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier on WWE being added to their network this fall:
"It's live, and what's remarkable [is]these are people that know their audience. They're great storytellers and I think it fits beautifully with what we're doing."
He also added, "the Fox sports networks, FS1, and others, will have some other wrestling -- not live Smackdown, not Raw, but other ties to the WWE world."
Its because of all the annoying SJW’s that have started infesting modern day wrestling.
Billions?! You sure about that?
I don't deny they have some good like Make a wish and the Troops, but you can't possibly defend this
Last time two of their top stars refused to go and they got a ton of bad PR. WWE are a huge global brand could they not make this money elsewhere?
Clearly not. They're getting a shit load of money for this.
The Fox Deal is worth a ton too isn't it? Network numbers and live gates are strong
Live show attendance is down across the board, as are merchandise sales. WWE addressed this in their most recent quarterly financial presentation. Network numbers are also bloated by free subscriptions, so I wouldn’t look too far into those.
These TV deals are what’s keeping the company in the black.
Correct me if I'm wrong but weren't you a big WCW guy?
I could be thinking of someone else, but if it was you I'd think an upstart competition backed by a billionaire who's a big wrestling fan would be right in your wheelhouse.
I highly recommend following Mookieghana on twitter. He does amazing financial breakdowns, posts info from lawsuits, contracts, and trademarks.
hes got a podcast called Wrestlenomics which delves further into the matter and is worth the price.
Probably silly question but not kept up with it in a while. How's Lucha Underground these days?
Dead in the water. No real plans or funding for any further tapings, but they’ve still got several performers locked into shitty deals. Three wrestlers actually filed suit today to break out of the deals.
Ah fuck.
And they get the Saudi deal on top of all of this, not instead of it.
I don't know how they kept going as long as they did. Wasn't it a year and a half ago when they announced they had no plans for more tapings? Then, the week the final episode aired, they suddenly announced the next season would start taping. Where did they find the money?
Unfortunately that is how things work when you sign a contract last year and make a commitment for x shows for x amount of monies.
He also said Smackdown on Friday could be "short term." This is based on the fact that their current programming on Friday is doing well. If Smackdown underperforms, it would move to another night.
He can say that all he wants. Friday is a death trap for tv. Especially on Fox since they have the younger viewer base who are out on Friday nights.
Example: The Excorcist. One of the best reviewed shows of the last two years. Critics raved. Those who watched loved the shit out of it. But it was on Friday on Fox and couldn't get anyone to watch it.
I didn't love it. But I only saw two episodes.
Same thing with Millennium.
Granted I was in grade school when it aired.
That show was dope.
The Exorcist was great. Probably the only TV show cancellation that's ever annoyed me.
Last edited by RuneEdge; February 8th, 2019 at 2:47 AM. Reason: typo
Fuck I've got a ton of them.
Death Race for instance. Best new show of 2017. Fucking SYFY.
I saw a Death Race movie the other day, it had Danny Glover in it, it was quite entertaining.
I almost want to see Bryan/Cena at Mania for the build because Bryan could absolutely lean into this slant:
This guy flies all over the world and burns fuel, he stars in movies and shows and pollutes the minds of the masses, and he told a woman he would spend the rest of his life with her and then didn't. What is that? FICKLE.
That would be fun.
I would be interested in that.
I want Smackdown back on Thursdays.
SYFY is one of the shittiest networks that has ever existed. They cancelled Battlestar Galactica at the height of it's popularity because they didn't want to spend money.
Cena vs Bryan is the best option out there imo. They can both have a great match, the storyline can obviously get heated and with cena's limited schedule Bryan could "rid" the wwe of poison.
Have WWE ever made a better series than Legends of Wrestling. Watching through them again and I forgot how fuckin brilliant it was. Would love to see them do another run of episodes.
I really enjoy these Chronicle series they've been doing. That Paige one, my god how heartbreaking.
Please book this.
Fucking Blood Drive. It was called Blood Drive.
I mis remembered the name of the show I claim to have liked so much.
Yeah but shes a gypsy skank mate.
Regardless of that, to have something you love to do, to come back from a neck injury, and have it take all away that quickly. I hope she pulls some Daniel Bryan magic and makes it back to the ring some day.
I wasnt being serious mate.
May be wrong but I think her injury is arguably more serious than Bryan's and more like Edges - one more bad bump and she could be paralyzed
Hope that isn't the case, but if it is then very unlikely she will be back in the ring
So you pulled a me and I fell for it
It was more a lighthearted jab at Mike tbh.So you pulled a me and I fell for it
Did WCW ever produce documentaries on talent? TNA? How do they compare to the WWE?
I don't know about WCW, but I'm pretty sure TNA did for their DVDs.
They did. I own one about Kevin Nash but it wasn't like we see from the WWE. They didn't dive into Nash's history, just basically gave you some build up to matches he had and explained the formation of the nWo.
There were two videos from the Monday Night Wars era that I remember. One about Sting and one about Goldberg. They were completely kayfabed and were probably an hour long or less. Not all that great or comprehensive.
The TNA one on Christian was good. That was a 'proper' one. For the Joe DVD, he just speaks a bit in-between each match.
That's how the 1st AJ Styles DVD I bought was. Just him giving us a little history of himself and then about the X division, how he got his start in TNA, etc. Nothing special.
According to TMZ, Jimmy Uso was arrested for disorderly conduct and obstruction in Detroit. Naomi was driving down the wrong direction of a one-way street and was pulled over. The officer said the car smelled of alcohol and Jimmy got out of the car, took off his jacket and coat and began confronting the officer. He eventually complied but was taken to jail and posted bond.
WWE made a statement, citing: "Jonathan Fatu is responsible for his own personal actions."
Last edited by BGMaverick; February 14th, 2019 at 4:11 PM.
I'm kind of curious on fans' take on these situations. Does the WWE have a need to do anything, fine, suspend, de-push....Or is it literally outside the WWE bubble?
I'll say this....Detroit does not fuck around. The first month I lived there I still had Iowa plates and I was pulled over every day at least once. They thought I was up there selling drugs, robbing people, literally thought a clear rubbermaid bin full of speakers was liquor. Not the brightest up there.
I say the WWE should only step in if it affects his job. Like if he got drunk and went out to wrestle for example. If it happens on your off day, then let it be his own personal business.
If he just hadn't got out of the car it's a non story. Clearly he was hammered and his wife was doing the driving, she hits a one way street and goes the wrong way, all explainable.
Then Jimmy has to stumble out into the street crying and half naked fighting an imaginary Rikishi and screaming "YOU NEVER LOVED ME!!!"
Isn’t this his like third DUI?
edit: sorry it was jimmy who got a DUI in 2018
They all look the same, twins.
They even got popped once while together.
Was it filmed for Total Divas?
Nese/Dar on 205 Livevthis week was pretty good. Nese finally showing some passion, the guy's always been an incredible athlete.
Being the premier athlete, he's better than incredible. Plus this abs my goodness. How he's not crusierweight champion is beyond me
I like the dude and I know you do as well, but he has had the charisma of a wet blanket. This match against Nar will hopefully lead to better things. He needs to drop the "8 reasons" thing because no-one gives a shit. Turning against Enzo could've been great for the guy but unfortunately that never went any further.
He could even get a face turn going against Murphy.
So is Taker going to be allowed to use The Undertaker name at Starrcast? Or is he going to be Mark Callaway?
I put my money on Mark Takeaway
I'll ask him for a cod supper next time. He may just just come back with "Rest in Cod Pieces".
I'd be willing to bet that Undertaker, probably due to his many years of service for the WWE, would probably get to use the Undertaker name anywhere as long as he isn't doing it for another wrestling company. I mean, he's not going to Starrcast to promote AEW, he's there doing his own thing.
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin has kept the "Stone Cold" moniker after WWE. For all of his appearances and his podcast. I'd imagine Undertaker would have the same privilege.
But I just had a random thought tonight. I caught the Ring of Honor TV from this week and my God, Ring of Honor is absolutely in love with factions and groups, aren't they?
Off the top of my head, they've got:
The Kingdom - Matt Taven, Vinny Marseligia, and TK 'O Ryan
Villain Enterprises - Marty Scrull, PCO, and Brody King
An unnamed alliance between Bully Ray, Silas Young, The Briscoes, and Shane Taylor as a group of grumpy veterans.
A rough alliance of job guys in Cheeseburger, Facade, Eli Isom, and Coast to Coast. Also, add Jushin "Thunder" Liger to that crew whenever they bring him in.
And now they've got Life Blood - Juice Robinson, Mark Haskins, Tracy Williams, David Finlay, Bandido, and Tenille Dashwood.
Guys, maybe I'm crazy, but that seems like too many stables to me.
it's fine. they're doing the new japan method of having nearly everybody in a stable or associated with certain people. it's used for booking strategies.
I'm guessing Taker's name is protected in some way but not as strict as others due to long-term loyalty. I could be wrong in this but I reckon they have enough faith in him not to use the Taker name in other companies though he probably technically can.
Its fine. I still find Ring of Honor to be the easiest "casual" wrestling on TV right now.
Its just that the faction warfare gives me awful flashbacks to the "Gang Warfare" days of the WWF. When you had Los Boricquas, The DOA, The Truth Commission, and The Nation of Domination all fighting it out for dominance.
And hey, we can't forget the shitty "NWA" group, with luminaries like Dan Severn and a well past his use-by date Barry Whendam.
The real failure of the Gang Warfares was Ahmed in the Nation. He coughed during a brawl and that was him.
He nearly had a title match against Taker too. Taker avoided that banana skin for sure.
Los Boricuas were cool. Better choice for tag champs than the bloody Headbangers! Should've beat them at One Night Only then had a freebird reign.
He worked 'Taker on a random episode of RAW.
For all of Ahmed's tendencies to injure himself slipping on a banana peel or like sitting in a chair wrong, the dude was a fucking beast athletically. He hit a top-rope flipping senton on 'Taker, while 'Taker was standing up. I think Ahmed was underrated. He could do quite a bit of athletic shit for a guy as big as a house, but he had a body made of balsa wood and fiber glass.
And then he ruined any goodwill he might have had doing that WCW run where it looked like he ate the rest of the Nation and then a few guys from the Truth Commission, too. And he made his first big appearance for them, running in with a fanny pack on.
If Ahmed's body could hold up, he would've gotten a push for sure.
At one point, they went so ridiculous with him it was funny. Like threatening random jobbers on Shotgun he hadn't had his Prozac yet.
He was sunk in the WWF when he got injured before that big six-man he was supposed to be in.If Ahmed's body could hold up, he would've gotten a push for sure.
At one point, they went so ridiculous with him it was funny. Like threatening random jobbers on Shotgun he hadn't had his Prozac yet.
Honestly, the best thing about Ahmed was his gear. The random Breathe-Rite strip, all the straps and belts around his legs to hold his body together, the earrings in both ears, and the many, many layers of kneepads.
He was so injured by 1998, when he entered the Royal Rumble his gear looked like it weighed as much as Phineas Godwinn. And he could barely walk.
Ken Shamrock with a title run back then would've been brilliant, if but for a month or two. Him and Austin could've tore the place down.
Its kind of weird, admittedly. But I'm sad we never saw a Ken Shamrock/Sid Vicious match.
It wouldn't have been good, but seeing Kenny snap Sid's ankle would've been cool.
I honestly think Ken Shamrock was one of their biggest missed opportunities. He was teasing main event and won KOTR. That could've been the impetus to target Austin but ultimately became a Corporation lackey. He briefly got some spotlight saving Steph but then faded into the background again after losing to Taker.
That Kenny/'Taker match was the first time I realized Undertaker could actually wrestle. As in, utilize a good amount of holds well. Granted, the crowd was so quiet for most of that match a sneeze would've sounded like a shotgun blast, but 'Taker looked great busting out a bunch of shit he didn't normally do back then.
That's a wee bit harsh on Taker. He was more agile and could talk more after his 96 Mankind feud. Then he pulled off great matches with the likes of Bret and Shawn (granted they are high caliber workers) but then there was Kane at Mania 14 which was highly entertaining showing signs of Taker slightly cowering and covering up when Kane punched while taking 3 tombstones to beat him.
Taker and Shamrock was pretty good though.
Shamrock was one of my favorites as a kid. Great look, good character, awesome ring gear, and he was legitimate. I think he got politicked into being a midcarder by people who didn’t want him reaching the top.
His ankle lock was superb too.
Totally agreed.
Am I the only one that things Jimmy Uso's recent arrest and they're recent history with the law just making their characters seem more real? I can imagine a segment where an Uso is mouthing off to a cop whether they're wrong or right. So yeah, dumb move by the real person, or...
...is kayfabe not dead?
The important thing here is you remembered those names. Challenge most people to name every single person in those facions, and they'll fail, but many people remember those stables and the faces associated with it. That's the points of a stable: a chance for unimportant people to be a part of something interesting. It simultaneously creates creative opportunities and the chance for the performers to truly grow. And has been said, it's an easy booking tool.
The Uso's legit scare me. Part of the reason I like them so much.
With reports of the Usos contracts coming to an end soon, did they give them the titles with the hopes they'll resign?
I want Lio Rush to join up with Apollo Crews.
I want Usos vs The Briscoe Brothers so fucking bad.
They're essentially the same team but completely opposite
Prichard talked about Shamrock on an episode of STWW. He said that if Ken had come along a couple years earlier, then he likely would have been pushed into the main event and gotten a couple World Title reigns. At the time he came into the company, it was just too crowded at the top to get a serious push.
Imagine if Ken Shamrock had debuted with the company as a wrestler in 2005, when The Ultimate Fighter was a big thing on the same channel as RAW.
Shamrock would've been pushed to Uranus just so WWE could capitalize on that big MMA boom.
Wait what?
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
