"100,001" Replies (Wrestling Forum)

[Emperor Smeat]

That is so strange, re: live shows.

There's no way WWE wouldn't have legal rights to avoid this, as there is no precedent for this scenario. Also strange bc spoilers weren't leaking - in fact, less is known about what will happen onscreen now than ever before.

Yeah, would make no sense for FOX or USA Network to be that petty since freshly taped new content is just as valuable as live content during these troubling times. Also would freak out FOX's sports partners if they did that since it would show they are untrustworthy to work with.

In regards to spoilers, someone within WWE managed to upload this week's episode of NXT online hours before it aired which is pretty crazy considering the measures WWE now has in place for work.

[Volare]

That is so strange, re: live shows.

There's no way WWE wouldn't have legal rights to avoid this, as there is no precedent for this scenario. Also strange bc spoilers weren't leaking - in fact, less is known about what will happen onscreen now than ever before.

Only problem is, product has been meh (outside a few matches) where not knowing isn't gonna help.

[Anybody Thrilla]

Listening to Jim Cornette's review of Wrestlemania 36:

What a fucking knob this guy is. He sounds pretty racist, too. Wouldn't even call Asuka and Kairi Sane by name. Says he loves John Morrison, but doesn't even know who Kofi Kingston or the Usos are (how is that possible?).

I know none of this is new information, but I was just so angry listening that I had to vent somewhere.

OK, back to it then. :y:

[Anybody Thrilla]

I know a lot of people love him, but his assessments are WAY the fuck off on this one.

[Anybody Thrilla]

And I seriously think he believes his name is Ron Gronkowski.

[GD]

Santino Marella would like to buy you a beer.

[Seanny One Ball]

Cornette has pushed the crotchety grandpa routine too far. He needs to dial it right back and just tell stories again.

[Evil Vito]

Going live every week instead of taping a month or two worth of shows is baffling and unconscionable.

If they're worried about taping too far ahead, they shouldn't be. There's a very real chance crowds aren't allowed back at anything like this until spring or summer 2021.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Cornette has pushed the crotchety grandpa routine too far. He needs to dial it right back and just tell stories again.

He's too far down the hole and too stubborn. People don't change as they get older.

I hope eventually he sees the light.

[James Steele]

I must admit something...I’m binge watching The Big Show Show and its not terrible.

[Danny Electric]

I must admit something...I’m binge watching The Big Show Show and its not terrible.

I lasted 5 minutes...which is usually good for me.

[James Steele]

I just got to the first wrestler cameo. Just marked out for Mark Henry.

Update: Rikishi and Foley just showed up. Best. Episode. Ever.

Update #2: These 3 men better have gotten a good payday for this episode to sing.

[Anybody Thrilla]

I keep hearing it's not bad, in a family sitcom sorta way.

[James Steele]

It’s not great by any means, but it’s funny. It knows what it is and makes me chuckle quite a bit. It is currently #3 on Netflix behind Tiger King and Ozark.

[Bad News Gertner]

It's more entertaining than any HHH title run

[Anybody Thrilla]

Good for Big Show. I hate a lot of his matches, but I think he's a good dude.

[Emperor Smeat]

WWE announced one of their on-screen employees who isn't a wrestler had recently tested positive for the coronavirus.

WWE released this statement to media:

“A WWE employee has tested positive for COVID-19. We believe this matter is low risk to WWE talent and staff, as the individual and a roommate became symptomatic in the days following exposure to two people working in acute health care on the evening of March 26, after WWE’s TV production on a closed set was already complete. The employee had no contact with anyone from WWE since being exposed to those two individuals, is doing well, and made a complete recovery.”

The statement was sent after Fightful reported that WWE sent out an internal memo last week to several employees about someone testing positive for COVID-19. That person is an on-screen talent, but not an in-ring wrestler (possibly a referee, announcer, interviewer, etc.).

WWE’s internal memo read as follows, according to Fightful:

We have just been notified that (name redacted by Fightful) was diagnosed with COVID-19. WWE doctors spoke with (redacted) this morning and reported (they) last had contact with anyone at WWE on March 26 at the Performance Center. As you know, (redacted) is not an in-ring performer and we believe this matter is low-risk to you per the following chronology:

[The middle portion was redacted by Fightful, who said: “The memo stated that the person infected did provide their consent to share their name and status, noting that they’re feeling much better. However, for the privacy of said person, we’ll summarize the next paragraph in saying that the person tested positive for COVID-19 after they and their roommate became symptomatic. The memo noted the person had been socializing with two friends in the health care industry.”]

Those of you who were potentially exposed would be cleared for travel by the evening of Thursday, April 9 at the latest, since the last possible exposure to any WWE talent personnel should have been at least 14 days prior.

The person was at WWE’s tapings late last month, including WrestleMania, but WWE’s statement says that they were infected after the tapings were completed. According to Pro Wrestling Sheet, the person went into quarantine after testing positive and is now cleared of the virus.

[Vastardikai]

Employee? That eliminates any referee or wrestler.

[Evil Vito]

In a statement to ESPN Saturday, WWE addressed their return to live programming starting Monday, their first official acknowledgement of the move since the story broke Friday night.

The statement read:

"We believe it is now more important than ever to provide people with a diversion from these hard times. We are producing content on a closed set with only essential personnel in attendance following appropriate guidelines while taking additional precautions to ensure the health and wellness of our performers and staff. As a brand that has been woven into the fabric of society, WWE and its Superstars bring families together and deliver a sense of hope, determination and perseverance."

I guess you can't pre-tape hope.

[Droford]

https://i.ibb.co/QHm808t/312202022140.jpg

Roman is blacker than the Rock
Stupid dollar store figures

[Mr. Nerfect]

Listening to Jim Cornette's review of Wrestlemania 36:

What a fucking knob this guy is. He sounds pretty racist, too. Wouldn't even call Asuka and Kairi Sane by name. Says he loves John Morrison, but doesn't even know who Kofi Kingston or the Usos are (how is that possible?).

I know none of this is new information, but I was just so angry listening that I had to vent somewhere.

OK, back to it then. :y:

Because he reviews things with fresh eyes and doesn't watch week-to-week. He finds The Kabuki Warriors gimmick racist, because of Asuka's "me so horny" promos. He's worked with Morrison in the past and helped train him in OVW, which is how he knows him.

I know a lot of people love him, but his assessments are WAY the fuck off on this one.

Nah, they were pretty spot-on. I liked the Ladder Match, myself, but he's not wrong about them generally getting more and more contrived and pointless.

And I seriously think he believes his name is Ron Gronkowski.

No, he does that on purpose.

The guy's pretty on the point with everything he says re: wrestling. Everything he's said about Kenny Omega is panning out to be true. Plus he's an entertaining storyteller. Enjoy his podcasts more than any modern wrestling product.

[Jordan]

WWE doing a league for the interim cruiserweight championship is pretty cool.

[slik]

The last thing WWE needs is another meaningless title

[Mr. Nerfect]

I'm still surprised that they buckled down (to an extent) on the cruiserweight thing. Yeah, it's an afterthought now, and it was always going to end up that way, but that Vince McMahon was like "Cruiserweights, pal!" is just weird. And they've been around for about four years now.

[Emperor Smeat]

The last thing WWE needs is another meaningless title

To be fair, the current champ is stuck in the UK and nobody knows when Devlin is going to be able to travel back to the US again. WWE could have pulled a Brock and just let him stay as champ while they work around it but didn't.

They could have also avoided this whole situation had they just not given him the belt. Unlike other Cruiser champs, he wasn't going to be around as often due to him having to be out of the country for NXT UK and UK indies reasons.

[Mr. Nerfect]

They could really just scrap the CW thing and never speak about it again. It hasn't meant anything since the CWC. They should have just made that a yearly thing and plucked talent they like from it for their shows.

[Emperor Smeat]

The division still has a lot of untapped potential considering the vast talent WWE has lying around for it but 205 Live itself no longer has any real reason to be around anymore considering its been running on fumes for at least a year now.

WWE's biggest blunders were not restocking the division with notable talent every so often and completely detaching it from RAW. The former just led to quality talent drains after every Draft/Shakeup while the latter caused it to lose a lot of viewers and making it easier for WWE to neglect the brand over time.

[Lock Jaw]

The other day I was looking at the "Superstars" section of WWE.com, which I guess lists everyone from NXT/NXT UK/205/RAW/Smackdown and it was surprising the amount of people there that I was like "who the hell is that"

[Jordan]

The matches are gonna be good

[Mr. Nerfect]

The division still has a lot of untapped potential considering the vast talent WWE has lying around for it but 205 Live itself no longer has any real reason to be around anymore considering its been running on fumes for at least a year now.

WWE's biggest blunders were not restocking the division with notable talent every so often and completely detaching it from RAW. The former just led to quality talent drains after every Draft/Shakeup while the latter caused it to lose a lot of viewers and making it easier for WWE to neglect the brand over time.

That's a symptom of the beast though. It was always going to be that way. And 205 Live was never going to draw on its own. Or as part of Raw. It was just a doomed idea, in my opinion. The CWC worked for a hardcore audience where every match had some form of stakes involved. You can't carry that to weekly television.

You have TJ Perkins win. Cool, whatever. Dude's turned out to be a total toss-pot, but you have him win and get an IC Title match. He wins and you've got a mid-card guy. Cedric Alexander stood out, so let him go to NXT and be over in front of that audience. Could have been a North American Champion or formed a tag team with someone. You have him look for redemption in the second CWC.

Brian Kendrick could be signed to either SmackDown under the advise of Daniel Bryan (kayfabe GM) or worked the occasional NXT spot. You can still bring in The Singh Brothers to be the heaters for Jinder Mahal (which you shouldn't have done anyway). But you know what I mean? These guys would all mean the same or even more if they weren't trapped on 205 Live.

If you built the CWC as something that launches someone into the mid-card, at least, it's something in your tool-box for at least the next few years. You can have Cedric Alexander win the second one. 2018 could have been Ricochet. Last year could have been Angel Garza. All these guys could have gotten a shot at either the IC or US Title and won. It's something that hardcore audience would be anticipating every year, and it would be alternative programming for the WWE Network that they can run that people might actually watch.

[Volare]

<iframe width="1392" height="496" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IaaABKBeOAI" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Emperor Smeat]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">To be clear, the category of &quot;essential media” WWE claims its tapings belong to is: &quot;Workers who support radio, television, and media service, including, but not limited to front line news reporters, studio, and technicians for newsgathering and reporting.”<br><br>Utter nonsense.</p>&mdash; David Bixenspan (@davidbix) <a href="https://twitter.com/davidbix/status/1249402898255093763?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

This is in regards to WWE resuming live tapings despite Orlando shutting down and a letter given to talent and staff in case officers or government officials tried to shut down their tapings.

Impact gave a similar letter in case Tennessee state officials showed up during their tapings which didn't happen.

AEW did have Georgia state officials show up during their tapings a couple weeks ago but mainly to make sure they were following public gathering rules and health safety for the coronavirus at that time.

[Droford]

WWE is going to add a 5 minute news and weather segment and give some nobody from nxt a weatherman gimmick and a tag team a newscasters gimmick

[Droford]

Here's Max Storm with your WWE universe Weather report:

Storm: I'm forecasting a 100% chance of pain! Plus some spotty showers in Kansas..back to you

[Vastardikai]

Here's Max Storm with your WWE universe Weather report:

Storm: I'm forecasting a 100% chance of pain! Plus some spotty showers in Kansas..back to you

This is brilliant in ways I cannot comprehend.

[Mr. Nerfect]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">To be clear, the category of &quot;essential media” WWE claims its tapings belong to is: &quot;Workers who support radio, television, and media service, including, but not limited to front line news reporters, studio, and technicians for newsgathering and reporting.”<br><br>Utter nonsense.</p>&mdash; David Bixenspan (@davidbix) <a href="https://twitter.com/davidbix/status/1249402898255093763?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

This is in regards to WWE resuming live tapings despite Orlando shutting down and a letter given to talent and staff in case officers or government officials tried to shut down their tapings.

Impact gave a similar letter in case Tennessee state officials showed up during their tapings which didn't happen.

AEW did have Georgia state officials show up during their tapings a couple weeks ago but mainly to make sure they were following public gathering rules and health safety for the coronavirus at that time.

At some point they are going to be shut down. It's way too irresponsible to be running shows. I'm sure they're currently trying to renegotiate whatever deals they have to find some sort of balance between providing content for USA and FOX that also allows them to get paid, because it's pretty fucking crucial for them at the moment.

My guess is that they will show classic content. Whether that's just going through the classic Raws and SmackDowns and airing the Takeovers or full PPVs (possibly with risque content edited out), but they will have to do something.

I wonder how AEW plans to get around it. I'm not a fan of them, but they don't have the classic library to show. At some point they're going to have to go dark too, which could be more of an XFL situation with Shad Khan pulling out if the TV deal money doesn't materialize.

Messy, messy times.

[Droford]

This is brilliant in ways I cannot comprehend.

I swear If I thought I had a chance at a job with WWE I'd try and figure out how to. I just dont think experience of watching wrestling for 32 years and coming up with great ideas on online message boards like the above is what they're looking for.

My other option is win a few million in the lottery and run my own, I could do a hell of a lot better than the guy who won $35 million in Powerball and spent it all on Wrestlelicious

[Droford]

WWEs fight like a girl on Quibi is stupid. About like 2 minutes in they say that the woman they're pairing up with Sasha Banks is going to work for 10 weeks to improve herself, NOT training to be a wrestler...and then they gloss over her running the ropes and training down at the PC. And then suddenly after 10 weeks of that shes a new more confident woman. This might work if it weren't constrained to 8 minutes and they could show more than about 45 seconds of her 10 weeks of training but I dont think the concept works.

Quibi is lame overall after a week, I'll probably keep watching this just because theres almost nothing else worth watching

[Evil Vito]

As it turns out, Daniel Bryan was asked not to travel by Brie and advised by her doctor not to go, but he ignored that and consulted with a 'naturopath', whatever the fuck that is, who told him there was no risk. So he traveled, came back, didn't self-isolate and is going to continue to go to work every week, directly putting his wife, child, and and unborn child at risk.

Bryan's a great worker, generally seems like a nice guy who pretty much everyone in the industry respects. But stuff like this and going out of his way to find a doctor to clear him after all his concussion issues shows he can be a bit stubborn for his own good.

[Emperor Smeat]

Brie needs to pull a DDP and put her foot down big time both for Bryan's own well-being and her family's well-being.

Maybe not go as harsh as DDP did with demanding a month of isolation and throwing several jabs at Jake Roberts online.

[Tom Guycott]

WWE is going to add a 5 minute news and weather segment and give some nobody from nxt a weatherman gimmick and a tag team a newscasters gimmick

A constant ticker at the bottom like they used to or still do with AM RAW*, but with actual news intermixed with angle bullshit.



*For anyone who may not be aware of what I mean, AM RAW was the precursor to their HULU airing, in that they used to show a rerun of RAW on USA about 3 am, but condensed their show considerably, cutting a lot more than the fat and bloat of extended commercial breaks, but mostly all entrances, backstage packages, vignettes, dead spots in multi-segment matches, and even some matches in their entirety. The "whole" two/three hour show (they started this back when RAW was still just two hours except for the occasional "super show") would air in about 45 minutes. I remember watching once where they even had a "return" from commercial break with a replay of something supposedly important that happened earlier in the show, but that important thing was never aired to begin with because THE WHOLE MATCH AND ANGLE was cut from the rebroadcast. But they used to also have a ticker on the bottom of the screen during this show like they were MSNBC with live event dates and a bunch of other shit.

[Black Widow]

From my livestream with her.

https://i.imgur.com/H7feY7h.gif

[BigCrippyZ]

That is so strange, re: live shows.

There's no way WWE wouldn't have legal rights to avoid this, as there is no precedent for this scenario. Also strange bc spoilers weren't leaking - in fact, less is known about what will happen onscreen now than ever before.

There's one of a few likely scenarios, including:

1. there's almost assuredly a force majeure clause in the contract, that may or may not expressly include this very specific or a similar scenario of a pandemic and/or a gov't. prevention of live events, which would result in either,
a) WWE being paid much less than what they can survive on for airing non-live RAW/SD or "other" programming, or,
b) the contract is now void, and/or will be ordered by a court to be re-negotiated (which the result would almost definitely need court approval), or (even) re-written by the court which would likely result in much less $ or $0 for WWE due to the situation, including less/lack of ad revenues & WWE's inability to put on live shows, etc., or...

2. even without a force majeure clause, due to the situation, including less/lack of ad revenues & WWE's inability to put on live shows, etc., the contract is now or would be deemed void by a court, and/or will be ordered by a court to be re-negotiated (which the result would almost definitely need court approval), or (even) re-written by the court which would likely result in much less $ or $0 for WWE, or...

3. (worst case for WWE) the contract contains a liquidated damages clause, which says that if WWE cannot or fails to perform under the terms of the contract (i.e., WWE is in breach of contract for failure to provide the minimum # of live broadcast shows) regardless of fault, inability, or governmental prevention, etc., WWE will actually owe USA & Fox a minimum and/or maximum amount of $ (likely millions regardless, but possibly calculated/limited by the # of shows impacted) and USA will owe WWE little or nothing in comparison.

[Emperor Smeat]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wait.<br><br>So DeSantis sent out a public memo on Thursday with the galaxy brain decision to add basically all sports personnel as long as the events are closed to public, and nobody knew until today? And WWE didn't tell anyone that this was the reason for their about-face?<br><br>What!?!? <a href="https://t.co/lhFf9mgCwe">pic.twitter.com/lhFf9mgCwe</a></p>&mdash; David Bixenspan (@davidbix) <a href="https://twitter.com/davidbix/status/1249875084560515072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


Meanwhile in a completely unrelated thing, wrestling is suddenly trending on Twitter and it has nothing to do with Monday's episode of RAW or WWE in general. Its actually not even anything wrestling-related at all.

R-Truth gif sums up the trend:
https://i.imgur.com/hE3K8Pg.gif

[slik]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">4/14:92: nice bit from the Randy Savage / Shawn Michaels WWF Championship match in Munich.<br><br>Sherri, as always, is great.<br><br>Plus Savage is still selling is perpetually-injured knee. <a href="https://t.co/LTiILtZreD">pic.twitter.com/LTiILtZreD</a></p>&mdash; OVP - Retro Wrestling Podcast (@ovppodcast) <a href="https://twitter.com/ovppodcast/status/1250043124690214913?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Volare]

From my livestream with her.

https://i.imgur.com/H7feY7h.gif

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/HorribleHarmlessAngwantibo-size_restricted.gif

[Lock Jaw]

I think Alexa looks so much better with no, or at least less, makeup

[Lock Jaw]

And no, or at least less, shirts

[Nicky Fives]

And no, or at least less, shirts

Correct!

[XL]

When does NXT get uploaded to the Network?

So it turns out that NXT is now getting uploaded a week later in the UK due to WWE’s new deal with BT Sport.

Another nail in the Network coffin for me.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">4/14:92: nice bit from the Randy Savage / Shawn Michaels WWF Championship match in Munich.<br><br>Sherri, as always, is great.<br><br>Plus Savage is still selling is perpetually-injured knee. <a href="https://t.co/LTiILtZreD">pic.twitter.com/LTiILtZreD</a></p>&mdash; OVP - Retro Wrestling Podcast (@ovppodcast) <a href="https://twitter.com/ovppodcast/status/1250043124690214913?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Seen this match and love it. Wish they got to have a program in 1993.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Didn't Savage offer to put him over in a program? Missed opportunity.

[Emperor Smeat]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Great One says he watches AEW <br><br> <a href="https://t.co/qG4COGkXEt">pic.twitter.com/qG4COGkXEt</a></p>&mdash; Fightful Wrestling (@FightfulWrestle) <a href="https://twitter.com/FightfulWrestle/status/1249561386801336321?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Would be huge for AEW if they somehow got Rock to show up on Dynamite in the future as part of the promotional stuff for his upcoming Black Adam film. AEW and TNT already worked with Warner Bros and DC last year with the Batman Day stuff.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Didn't Savage offer to put him over in a program? Missed opportunity.

Apparently, this sweet match aside, a lot of their work on house shows was "meh."

Savage had a bad habit as a face, especially as he got older, to pretty much sell ALL match and then just do a comeback.

So, Vince wasn't all that into it.

[drave]

The Great One says he watches AEW

pic.twitter.com/qG4COGkXEt (https://t.co/qG4COGkXEt)
— Fightful Wrestling (@FightfulWrestle) April 13, 2020 (https://twitter.com/FightfulWrestle/status/1249561386801336321?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Would be huge for AEW if they somehow got Rock to show up on Dynamite in the future as part of the promotional stuff for his upcoming Black Adam film. AEW and TNT already worked with Warner Bros and DC last year with the Batman Day stuff.




Cant wait for Noid to explode and talk about how shitty the Rock is because he watches AEW.

[Emperor Smeat]

Apparently Orange County officials tried to shut down WWE's production at the Performance Center multiple times over the past several weeks. WWE pretty much ignored the order each time.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This gets wilder<br><br>WWE Told Multiple Times By Orange County Sheriff To Close Down Before 'Essential Business' Order <a href="https://t.co/rTlQQ0NKKs">https://t.co/rTlQQ0NKKs</a></p>&mdash; Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) <a href="https://twitter.com/SeanRossSapp/status/1250167228051439617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


Also being speculated that Linda McMahon gave a bribe in the form of a very large political donation for the Republican party in the state in order to get WWE added to the exemption list. Just soo happened that money was received on the same day as Florida's governor stated WWE (and wrestling) is now considered as "essential business" in the state.

[drave]

They will find the money -no doubt.


Given that government officials seem to get away with this type of shit everyday, it wont matter.

[Emperor Smeat]

For sure but if WWE thought they'd be able to get away from any real blame, that's already starting to not be the case.

Media has started to put both WWE resuming live events and this money from Linda into the public spotlight.

Even ESPN that's been very friendly to Vince and WWE recently went after them for putting talent and staff at risk by resuming live shows.

UFC probably very happy since now they are not getting the full brunt of criticisms and negative media attention.

[Emperor Smeat]

Seems whatever concerns Vince has with FOX and USA Network in regards to taped vs. live shows issues for contract reasons is something AEW doesn't have to worry about with TNT.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">All indications are that TNT is fine how things are being done. <a href="https://t.co/ADMoK1e1S5">https://t.co/ADMoK1e1S5</a></p>&mdash; Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) <a href="https://twitter.com/davemeltzerWON/status/1250224803950231553?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Impact and ROH don't really have to worry about that due to their parent companies owning the networks they air on while MLW seems to be in a similar boat as AEW with BeIN Sports.

[Sepholio]

If other sports were running live I could see Fox getting pushy about the contract. But seeing as WWE is the only live sport they have atm, they'll let it slide.

USA won't do anything about this because they need WWE bad. USA has been tanking for awhile now. It's probably already be over for them if they didn't have WWE. They don't want to rock that boat.

[slik]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">What in the hell is going on here?</p>&mdash; Owen Brown (@owenb1981) <a href="https://twitter.com/owenb1981/status/562056994266546176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Gerard]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bJoxLtgO8SU" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5ZDvd0dijUk" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[erickman]

wcw feed edge to meng

[Lock Jaw]

Random Thought: There should be more rasslers who come out to classical music.... Flair and Savage did it great....

Can't think of any others "big ones"....

Some smaller ones....

Blueblood Hunter Hearst Helmsley

Berlyn

[Splaya]

Foley came out to that Lullabuy music in the summer of 98 around Summerslam at times.

[Emperor Smeat]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Reposted from <a href="https://twitter.com/IAmJericho?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IAmJericho</a> Pick your favorite 3... <br><br> - <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/regrann?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#regrann</a> <a href="https://t.co/JZP2vE1efS">pic.twitter.com/JZP2vE1efS</a></p>&mdash; FITE (@FiteTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/FiteTV/status/1249416261987119109?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Y2J Jericho and Business Suit Jericho would be my top 2 picks.

After that, leaning a lot towards WCW Jericho over "Le Champion" Jericho for the third pick.

[Lock Jaw]

5
6
2
8
3
4
1
7

[Lock Jaw]

Foley came out to that Lullabuy music in the summer of 98 around Summerslam at times.

Was gonna mention how brilliant Mankind's entrance/exit themes were, and in general what a brilliant character Mankind was... maybe he was never my "favourite guy", but I think I can credit him maybe with drawing my eyes back onto the product at least....

[Emperor Smeat]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Killer Kross is going by Karrion Kross now <a href="https://t.co/QveLaMfbZE">pic.twitter.com/QveLaMfbZE</a></p>&mdash; Kyle (@ThroughMyKyes) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThroughMyKyes/status/1250610458240995334?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Dumb first name

[XL]

Random Thought: There should be more rasslers who come out to classical music.... Flair and Savage did it great....

Can't think of any others "big ones"....

Some smaller ones....

Blueblood Hunter Hearst Helmsley

Berlyn

Daniel Bryan?

[GD]

<iframe width="1680" height="1050" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/le69DBh7YwY" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Droford]

Random Thought: There should be more rasslers who come out to classical music.... Flair and Savage did it great....

Can't think of any others "big ones"....

Some smaller ones....

Blueblood Hunter Hearst Helmsley

Berlyn

Imperium

[GD]

Billie Kay (for a while)

[Evil Vito]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Killer Kross is going by Karrion Kross now <a href="https://t.co/QveLaMfbZE">pic.twitter.com/QveLaMfbZE</a></p>&mdash; Kyle (@ThroughMyKyes) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThroughMyKyes/status/1250610458240995334?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Dumb first name

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2X_2IdybTV0" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[GD]

This is great!

es_CfKtMkVw

[DaveWadding]

Dumb first name

Karren Kross

[Emperor Smeat]

https://i.imgur.com/5uiMJNX.gif

Archer making sure AEW was following the government's rule for public gatherings. Sign was shorter than 6 feet from him and one too many people at ringside.

[Evil Vito]

Roman Reigns has announced he is soon to become a father to another set of twins, his second set and the Anoa'i family's 823rd set.

[drave]

Uso's vs Lil Uso's : Which one is on the left, and which left




WWE2k40

[erickman]

Karren Kross

well he can keep the good name for when wwe get rid of him

[Emperor Smeat]

Apparently WWE is going to be mixing up their taping schedule between live and taped starting tonight and lasting till July 1st.

Tonight's Smackdown and all of next week's shows will be live and then after that they are going to hold multi-taping sessions on certain days of the week to cover them until July 8th.

The following is a schedule first reported by Pro Wrestling Sheet and confirmed by WWE:

Tonight's and next week's SmackDown, this Monday's Raw, and this Wednesday's NXT will all be live as previously planned

April tapings

Saturday, April 25; May 1st and May 8th SmackDown will be taped
Monday, April 27; That night's Raw and the May 4th Raw will be taped
Wednesday, April 29; That night's NXT and the May 6th NXT will be taped

May tapings

Monday, May 11; That night's Raw and the May 15th SmackDown will be taped
Tuesday, May 12; The May 18th Raw and the May 22nd SmackDown will be taped
Wednesday, May 13; That night's NXT and the May 20th NXT will be taped
Monday, May 25; That night's Raw and the June 1st Raw will be taped
Tuesday, May 26; The May 29th and June 5th SmackDown will be taped
Wednesday, May 27; That night's NXT and the June 3rd NXT will be taped

June/July tapings

Monday, June 8; That night's Raw and the June 12th SmackDown will be taped
Tuesday, June 9; The June 10th NXT will be taped
Monday, June 15; That night's Raw and the June 19th SmackDown will be taped
Tuesday, June 16; The June 22nd Raw and the June 26th SmackDown will be taped
Wednesday, June 17; That night's NXT and the June 24th NXT will be taped
Monday, June 29; That night's Raw and the July 6th Raw will be taped
Tuesday, June 30; The July 3rd and July 10th SmackDown will be taped
Wednesday, July 1; That night's NXT and the July 8th NXT will be taped

[Emperor Smeat]

<blockquote class="reddit-card" data-card-created="1587165246"><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/g2taab/til_kenny_omega_and_michael_nakazawa_gave_tony/">TIL Kenny Omega and Michael Nakazawa gave Tony Schiavone a list of names of moves for their match last week and as a prank, the names of the moves were all porn names</a> from <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle">r/SquaredCircle</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//embed.redditmedia.com/widgets/platform.js" charset="UTF-8"></script>

[Emperor Smeat]

Apparently WWE is going to be mixing up their taping schedule between live and taped starting tonight and lasting till July 1st.

Tonight's Smackdown and all of next week's shows will be live and then after that they are going to hold multi-taping sessions on certain days of the week to cover them until July 8th.

WWE on a roll this week with the amount of blunders and bad PR hits they are doing.

Apparently the higher ups didn't bother to inform staff, and likely talent as well, of these tapings changes and most only found out after reading about it online.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A lot of WWE staff found this out as or moments before news broke <a href="https://t.co/rmaIPQzdLv">https://t.co/rmaIPQzdLv</a></p>&mdash; Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) <a href="https://twitter.com/SeanRossSapp/status/1251233646071238656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 17, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Vastardikai]

<blockquote class="reddit-card" data-card-created="1587165246"><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/g2taab/til_kenny_omega_and_michael_nakazawa_gave_tony/">TIL Kenny Omega and Michael Nakazawa gave Tony Schiavone a list of names of moves for their match last week and as a prank, the names of the moves were all porn names</a> from <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle">r/SquaredCircle</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//embed.redditmedia.com/widgets/platform.js" charset="UTF-8"></script>

I want to set Omega on fire, sometimes.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

<blockquote class="reddit-card" data-card-created="1587165246"><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/g2taab/til_kenny_omega_and_michael_nakazawa_gave_tony/">TIL Kenny Omega and Michael Nakazawa gave Tony Schiavone a list of names of moves for their match last week and as a prank, the names of the moves were all porn names</a> from <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle">r/SquaredCircle</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//embed.redditmedia.com/widgets/platform.js" charset="UTF-8"></script>

You know, sometimes I feel like Cornette is too hard on Omega, who is clearly a talented in ring performer, especially athletically. But them I read this shit and think to myself how unserious he is and that the Cornette rants are valid.

[Seanny One Ball]

I knew Kenny Omega was into hentai.

You can see it in his eyes.

[Seanny One Ball]

Are any of his moves tentacle related?

[Seanny One Ball]

Do they remember 2000 WCW incorrectly when they do these things?

[Evil Vito]

lol Omega is the best

[Seanny One Ball]

No, Vito.

[drave]

Why does he get shit on? Just curious. I know he has done some goofy shit in a carny world..... but its far from the worst.




I'm a fan.

[Evil Vito]

Omega exploded in popularity in 2017 after his first Okada match. Cornette was one of his biggest detractors immediately, basically saying the fact that he wrested a child was enough to throw out his career and never take him seriously. And over time it’s just kinda led to endless scrutiny from there as he’s now one of the top names for a major American promotion.

[Evil Vito]

Personally, despite the goofy stuff I think Omega’s one of the best in ring workers in the world. If people wanna shit on him cause wrasslin’ is SERIOUS BUSINESS, that’s their prerogative. But I’m a fan.

https://media.giphy.com/media/QdOvrjgiDOe6Q/giphy.gif

[Damian Rey 2.0]

In ring he is fucking amazing. He does get goofy sometimes and some, SOME of the criticism is warranted. But he's still a top star performer even with the silly stuff.

[Lock Jaw]

I remember the first few times I saw him, I thought "Whoa, ok, this dude has potential to be a big deal star" (well, as "big" as you can get in rassling these days)

But then just all his goofing around and non-serious stuff in AEW was like "Oh. Ok. Oh well, this dude is not special".

Honestly, think the best thing for him would have been to go to WWE and separate from all his pals. Feel like WWE would have at least for awhile presented him as a serious "big deal star" (before he inevitably became just another guy on the roster, thinking along the lines of AJ Styles)

[slik]

Bayley/Sasha being on a different brand than Becky/Charlotte has been very beneficial for them, there's no way they would have gotten as much focus as they have on SD if they were on the same brand as The Golden Child and Bex.

[Bad News Gertner]

https://66.media.tumblr.com/5349556cea3c40cca20e60d3296a2a8e/tumblr_ow7rfh5oWr1u1urgoo3_400.gifv

[Seanny One Ball]

Big Air

[Black Widow]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Killer Kross is going by Karrion Kross now <a href="https://t.co/QveLaMfbZE">pic.twitter.com/QveLaMfbZE</a></p>&mdash; Kyle (@ThroughMyKyes) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThroughMyKyes/status/1250610458240995334?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Should add crazy with a K in front of his name.

[Seanny One Ball]

Bigger Floor

[Seanny One Ball]

Oh you fucking bitch

[slik]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">again, never forget vince pitched that braun strowman should be braun showman - a magician. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWEPayback?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WWEPayback</a> <a href="https://t.co/uMa4tggNNA">pic.twitter.com/uMa4tggNNA</a></p>&mdash; james mckenna (@chillhartman) <a href="https://twitter.com/chillhartman/status/858870856151425026?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 1, 2017</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Black Widow]

Oh you fucking bitch
That is how i got 2 daughters

[Emperor Smeat]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">bring back cool wrestler logos you cowards <a href="https://t.co/JYyxFcCqoT">pic.twitter.com/JYyxFcCqoT</a></p>&mdash; TAPE (@tapemachines) <a href="https://twitter.com/tapemachines/status/1251062329640443904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 17, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Would be better than those AR style graphics that look terrible most of the time.

[Droford]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">again, never forget vince pitched that braun strowman should be braun showman - a magician. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWEPayback?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WWEPayback</a> <a href="https://t.co/uMa4tggNNA">pic.twitter.com/uMa4tggNNA</a></p>&mdash; james mckenna (@chillhartman) <a href="https://twitter.com/chillhartman/status/858870856151425026?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 1, 2017</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The Magician among Men

[Gerard]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7VQeTudaZG0" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Surprised he didn't manage to spit them out. :|

[Anybody Thrilla]

Sorry, I have some high thoughts on Smackdown as I watch.

I really like how they're setting up Bray/Braun. It's a natural fit, and they're not forcing it.

Sheamus/Jeff Hardy could be great. Sheamus is looking like a real bad ass these days. Love his theme remix too.

Lacey Evans cut a pretty decent promo.

[Anybody Thrilla]

The clip from this Jeff Hardy doc is wild.

[Anybody Thrilla]

I feel like Carmella used to be hot. What happened?

Also, how does Naomi not get blown up during her entrance? She must have ridiculous cardio.

[Anybody Thrilla]

Damn, Sonya Deville cut a good ass promo.

[Anybody Thrilla]

God damn, Sonya. That was some fire. :y::y::y:

[Anybody Thrilla]

Corey called Otis "a knight in deep fried armor" :lol::lol::lol:

[Anybody Thrilla]

Good to see G-TV is back. Maybe we'll actually get a reveal this time.

[Anybody Thrilla]

Gulak v. Bryan at next year's Mania. Calling it now.

[Anybody Thrilla]

Did New Day need those belts again?

[Emperor Smeat]

Apparently Vince really was serious at one point of turning the Revival into a comedic team for their remaining months in the company.

On April 10, The Revival finally got their release from WWE after their original request in January 2019.

The last year in WWE for The Revival was a rollercoaster of ideas as they were SmackDown Tag Team Champions, threats alongside Randy Orton in a feud against The New Day, labeled as boring, and embarrassed by The Usos.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer reported in December 2019 that there were plans to turn The Revival into a comedy team, which began with Dash Wilder tripping during his entrance. The idea didn't go anywhere and The Revival were slowly taken off television.

Cassidy Haynes of Bodyslam.net independently confirmed the report and received photos of the new gear that were pitched to Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder.

According to Haynes, Vince McMahon personally handed these images to The Revival.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This was Vince McMahon’s plan to repackage The Revival as a comedy team. New music. New gear. Smfh <a href="https://t.co/BHPeg2IewZ">pic.twitter.com/BHPeg2IewZ</a></p>&mdash; Cassidy Haynes of Bodyslam.net (@Casshooole) <a href="https://twitter.com/Casshooole/status/1251570888904003584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Plead the fifth. <a href="https://t.co/yNdfvtAIde">https://t.co/yNdfvtAIde</a></p>&mdash; CASH (@CashWheelerFTR) <a href="https://twitter.com/CashWheelerFTR/status/1251573088241811456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Anybody Thrilla]

Oh no. Glad they got out.

Watching this past Raw on Hulu now...Asuka is fantastic.

[Lock Jaw]

Damn...... talk about missed opportunities, if only they stuck around and got that gimmick, and Braun had that magician gimmick.... could have been the makings of a great stable right there

[Anybody Thrilla]

...it actually does sound kind of entertaining, when you put it that way.

[Anybody Thrilla]

I just downloaded EWR again with a mod for February 2020. I've got time to really get into it now.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

I remember the first few times I saw him, I thought "Whoa, ok, this dude has potential to be a big deal star" (well, as "big" as you can get in rassling these days)

But then just all his goofing around and non-serious stuff in AEW was like "Oh. Ok. Oh well, this dude is not special".

Honestly, think the best thing for him would have been to go to WWE and separate from all his pals. Feel like WWE would have at least for awhile presented him as a serious "big deal star" (before he inevitably became just another guy on the roster, thinking along the lines of AJ Styles)

Honestly, I don't think Omega can be serious. At least not in the manner that Moxley can, it Cody, where you 100% buy them as genuine. And that's prob why he does the goofy stuff. He's just being himself. Unfortunately I think it takes away from his aura a but he's still a joy to watch.

[screech]

I just downloaded EWR again with a mod for February 2020. I've got time to really get into it now.

I played mine a few weeks ago. Mike Sanders was the most over guy on the roster.

[Anybody Thrilla]

So old rosters, I guess?

[screech]

Yeah from I guess 08 or 09 when I downloaded the game. Every segment he was in brought the house down.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

How do you create “good segments” with that game? I had it before but I was clueless. Mind you I was like 15

[#1-norm-fan]

EWR non-wrestling segment ratings are just based on charisma, mic skills and overness. It’s pretty easy to just look at those and create a perfect segment.

I prefer TEW. It’s more work but way more intricate and realistic.

[Anybody Thrilla]

I just wasn't trying to pay for it.

[Anybody Thrilla]

I bought TEW many years ago, but I ended up corrupting some files when I tried to bring in actual wrestlers or something. I got discouraged and never really looked back into it. It was SUPER intricate, though. I didn't really feel like booking all the way down to segment times.

[Jordan]

I've played the series for over 20 years... Very excited for the new TEW.

[DaveWadding]

You know, sometimes I feel like Cornette is too hard on Omega, who is clearly a talented in ring performer, especially athletically. But them I read this shit and think to myself how unserious he is and that the Cornette rants are valid.

When did a business that started by wrestling bears and midgets and shit become the absolute most sacred and super serial athletic event on the planet?

[DaveWadding]

Personally, despite the goofy stuff I think Omega’s one of the best in ring workers in the world. If people wanna shit on him cause wrasslin’ is SERIOUS BUSINESS, that’s their prerogative. But I’m a fan.

https://media.giphy.com/media/QdOvrjgiDOe6Q/giphy.gif

HOW DARE YOU BRING YANO INTO THIS. HE IS A PRINCE AND THE TRUE ACE OF NEW JAPAN. TAKE IT BACK.

[Lock Jaw]

For some reason fell into a hole reading about Hulk Hogan/Ric Flair/Sting in TNA, and it all just seems so surreal, from the convoluted stories, to the fact that they were still rassling (and main eventing) in 2011.

[Emperor Smeat]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">What does Shakespeare have in common with <a href="https://twitter.com/WWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WWE</a>?<br><br>Professional Wrestler <a href="https://twitter.com/XavierWoodsPhD?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@XavierWoodsPhD</a> (AKA Austin Creed) makes the case to me, <a href="https://twitter.com/chucknicecomic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@chucknicecomic</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/mythreeleftfeet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mythreeleftfeet</a> on <a href="https://twitter.com/StarTalkSports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@StarTalkSports</a>.<br><br>[Video: 40 sec] <a href="https://t.co/wB85R9y2Tn">pic.twitter.com/wB85R9y2Tn</a></p>&mdash; Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) <a href="https://twitter.com/neiltyson/status/1251504755542614017?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Sting Fan]

I wish I could play EWR on my mac... Miss that game.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

When did a business that started by wrestling bears and midgets and shit become the absolute most sacred and super serial athletic event on the planet?

I think comedy and levity has a place and should be in wrestling. Super serious all the time would get boring. That said, I think there's a ceiling on comedy gimmicks/goofy wrestlers. The only wrestler I can recall pulling off being an absolute goof and being over as face and heel is Angle. But when he got serious, you bought it. I don't think Omega has that in him. Or at least i haven't seen it.

I still maintain he's amazing in the ring.

[Sepholio]

Would you count Foley in that category as well? He's pulled off more than 1 goofy gimmick and was majorly over as a heel and a face as well.

[drave]

I guess I haven't been exposed to the goofy shit. I've seen some shit in NJPW, but that's Japan and the goofiness is just part of life there.


Eh, whatever. Still far and away better than a great deal of people I see get in the ring.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Would you count Foley in that category as well? He's pulled off more than 1 goofy gimmick and was majorly over as a heel and a face as well.

Foley earned a lot of the comedy collateral the same way Angle did, in that he could become a badass at the drop of a dime. Sure, he could be a big goof, but when it came time to be serious, motherfucker was rolling around in fire, thumbtacks, and barbed wire.

And most of his comedy came towards the end of his career when he couldn't be a consistent main event talent. When it came time for him to main event his last couple of PPVs (as a full-time performer in 2000), he became SUPER SERIAL Cactus Jack. Who, for sure, had his moments of levity, but it wasn't like Mr. Socko era Mankind.

Kenny Omega is almost the complete package, but some of Cornette's criticisms ring true (not all of them, though).

[Anybody Thrilla]

Classic episodes of Superstars added to the Network. I guess I'll check out why Repo Man thought he was going to win the 1993 Royal Rumble.

[Anybody Thrilla]

"Hi, I'm Wade Boggs. And I want to show you a PERFECT hitter."

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS :heart::heart::heart:

[Anybody Thrilla]

Virgil just won with a Russian leg sweep that Vince McMahon described as "some sort of a neckbreaker maneuver". :lol:

[Anybody Thrilla]

If anyone asks you to watch a Crush promo, I suggest you politely decline.

Damien Demento, on the other hand...give it a spin.

[Anybody Thrilla]

Looks like Nailz is debuting soon. Perhaps I should find something else to do.

[Anybody Thrilla]

Oh wait, Rick Martel is modeling. This has to be good.

[Anybody Thrilla]

Crush's debut promos were absolute trash.

[Volare]

Everything after 37:15.

<iframe width="1583" height="620" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SfpozwYw0ac" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Anybody Thrilla]

It may seem obnoxious how WWE always reminds us of what has JUST happened via replays and how they recap everything in every detail every week, but it's actually super helpful to get into old matches on the Network.

[Gerard]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mfoMsRqrABA" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Public Enemy get a kicking, that Dominator at the end was inches from being a full face plant.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

It's a stiff beating but it's weird how cooperative PE is about getting the shit kicked out of them. I guess they didn't have a choice. If they tried to fight back or be difficult, the shitkicking would have been that much worse.

[Emperor Smeat]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Cherish the moments you’re home, you’ll found out things you never knew 😉 <a href="https://t.co/VMDQONZVe6">pic.twitter.com/VMDQONZVe6</a></p>&mdash; Hikuleo (@Hiku_Leo) <a href="https://twitter.com/Hiku_Leo/status/1251668525875429376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Vastardikai]

It's a stiff beating but it's weird how cooperative PE is about getting the shit kicked out of them. I guess they didn't have a choice. If they tried to fight back or be difficult, the shitkicking would have been that much worse.

Actually, if they fought back, they might have had a longer run in WWE.

Acolytes did the same shitkicking to the Dudleys, but the Dudleys fought back. They ended up earning their respect, and Vince's.

[Vastardikai]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Cherish the moments you’re home, you’ll found out things you never knew 😉 <a href="https://t.co/VMDQONZVe6">pic.twitter.com/VMDQONZVe6</a></p>&mdash; Hikuleo (@Hiku_Leo) <a href="https://twitter.com/Hiku_Leo/status/1251668525875429376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

LOL

[Bad News Gertner]

Joe Pedicino passed away today. One of those guys whose importance to wrestling was so understated.

[Emperor Smeat]

Apparently The Rock is working on a new tv series for HBO revolving around backyard wrestling.

The Rock is producing an upcoming half-hour-per-episode scripted HBO series called “TRE CNT” (a.k.a “TRE COUNT”) about the creation of a backyard wrestling promotion, according to Variety.

“The series focuses on Cassius Jones, a young dock worker and struggling pro-wrestler, who uses inherited life-insurance money for start-up cash and the deed to a shotgun house from his grandfather to start a hip-hop centric backyard wrestling empire in Houston’s Third Ward (The Tre) with the help of his working-class family, neighbors, and friends,” Variety says.

[Anybody Thrilla]

Hell, I'd watch that.

[Black Widow]

Apparently The Rock is working on a new tv series for HBO revolving around backyard wrestling.Fuck backyard wrestling bunch of stupid fucks!

[Evil Vito]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">At Tuesday's Orange County Board of County Commissioners meeting, a <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWE?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WWE</a> employee named &quot;John&quot; submitted public comment they're being &quot;forced to work&quot; TV tapings despite stay at home orders. Says he's unable to speak out and feels he will be fired if he approaches his higher-ups. <a href="https://t.co/UJTvX1RGc7">pic.twitter.com/UJTvX1RGc7</a></p>&mdash; Jon Alba (@JonAlba) <a href="https://twitter.com/JonAlba/status/1252598932678549504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[ClockShot]

John Cena?

John Morrison?

John Gargano?

[Lock Jaw]

Those aren't "employees"

[Lock Jaw]

John Cone

[Evil Vito]

Refs might still have "performers contracts". Hence why Mike Chioda had to be included in the Black Wednesday press release.

Kurt Angle was a road agent but had a performers contract which is why he got formally announced but none of the other agents were.

[Big Vic]

John Cone

It was likely "Jimmy Cones"

[Mr. Nerfect]

John Undertaker.

[Bad News Gertner]

Subscribed to F4Wonline today. Only $9 a month. Mainly to watch all the Bryan and Vinny Retro shows. I love hearing them review old 2000 WCW shows.

[slik]

internet really mad at nia jax it seems for socially distancing Kairi six feet across the ring

[slik]

Speaking of Nia, always time for a TikTok!


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hey look, there’s more! Nia Jax uploaded these 2 TikToks (featuring herself, Mike Rome, and John Cone) from the Raw tapings overnight, but they have more violations of social distancing guidelines “outside WWE’s performances,” contradicting WWE’s comments to <a href="https://twitter.com/StephanieCNews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@StephanieCNews</a>. <a href="https://t.co/79HVb1LFX7">pic.twitter.com/79HVb1LFX7</a></p>&mdash; David Bixenspan (@davidbix) <a href="https://twitter.com/davidbix/status/1252689355329671169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Vastardikai]

I'd take Kamille over Nia Jax any day of the week.

Not just because she is more traditionally attractive. The one match I (just) saw, she fucking gets it. Intensity, Power, Arrogance, Everything.

[Emperor Smeat]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here are the groups for the World Cup of <a href="https://twitter.com/WWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WWE</a> Theme Songs ��<br><br>- Which song is the early favourite?<br>- Which is the group of death?! <br><br>You wouldn't believe the arguments to narrow it down to these 32... <a href="https://t.co/KJAOlVgRKf">pic.twitter.com/KJAOlVgRKf</a></p>&mdash; WWE on BT Sport (@btsportwwe) <a href="https://twitter.com/btsportwwe/status/1252591671654711296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Emperor Smeat]

Maria recently debunked stories of WWE paying for Mike Kanellis/Bennett's rehab while he was in the company. Turns out WWE didn't actually pay for it nor provided any real help besides not firing him while he was away.

Louis Dangoor of WrestleTalk chatted with Maria Kanellis/Bennett for an hour-long interview. During their chat, Maria clarified that it was her who took care of Mike Bennett during his rehab while he was with WWE. Maria stated that there is a misconception that WWE took care of him during that period.

“I wanna say one thing first because it always bothers me in this sense. Mike never went to rehab. I was his rehab, and anytime somebody says, ‘Oh, well WWE paid for rehab.’ I’m like, ‘Well where’s my paycheck because I was the rehab,’ and you know, whatever. People can say what they wanna say but please, do not take away the fact that I’m the one that was making sure he was getting sober, and eating properly and working out again and stretching, going on long walks to get his mind off of those drugs, and if… you could say a lot of things but, they didn’t pay for rehab. They were not his rehab. I was, and WWE is great. There was people that were also in recovery that were coming up to him being like, ‘Oh, if you need someone to talk to, like a sponsor, just let me know and we can talk about it’ and WWE took care of us and they never released him for having a drug issue and that’s great. They took care of us during that time so that’s lovely. But they never took care of his rehab. That was me, all me, washing his clothes, cleaning up his throw-up. That was me. So, if you want to tell whatever — ‘Oh they paid for it.’ Pay me. If you wanna say something, pay me.”

[GD]

Wow! Bennett is lucky to have a partner like Maria.

[Black Widow]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here are the groups for the World Cup of <a href="https://twitter.com/WWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WWE</a> Theme Songs ��<br><br>- Which song is the early favourite?<br>- Which is the group of death?! <br><br>You wouldn't believe the arguments to narrow it down to these 32... <a href="https://t.co/KJAOlVgRKf">pic.twitter.com/KJAOlVgRKf</a></p>&mdash; WWE on BT Sport (@btsportwwe) <a href="https://twitter.com/btsportwwe/status/1252591671654711296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Hogan,Stone Cold and Undertaker

[Anybody Thrilla]

Does anyone really think Joey Janela is any good?

[Lock Jaw]

Joey Janela

[Lock Jaw]

Maybe.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Janela is a perfectly serviceable midcarder.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Does anyone really think Joey Janela is any good?

No. Well, I mean, he's a good midcard jobber. But I've not been impressed with his AEW stuff. He has good music abs gimmick that would be good for someone with a better body/look/personality.

[Vastardikai]

I think he's a good promoter. And, as a Wrestler, he makes a good promoter.

In essence, Janela = Trash.

[Anybody Thrilla]

I really don't know much about him outside of the two or three times I've seen him on dynamite, and I just do NOT get it.

[Anybody Thrilla]

But props on the promotional skills. Shit's not easy.

[Emperor Smeat]

I really don't know much about him outside of the two or three times I've seen him on dynamite, and I just do NOT get it.

In terms of wrestling skills, he's decent to good although his specialty is more towards the hardcore and deathmatch style.

Pretty much became very popular on the indies due to his Spring Break shows that made a ton of money for himself and GCW and also helped grow GCW into a notable indie promotion. The money and popularity from those shows ended up making it possible within just a couple of years for GCW to be able to host their own series of events during Mania weekend.

[Emperor Smeat]

Seems WWE pulled a bait-and-switch with the card of tonight's NXT show since they pulled the Balor vs. Dream match despite promoting it since last week's show.

Also seems a few people backstage might be going in the dog house soon since WWE's claims of them being serious with health precautions and talent following health safety rules for the coronavirus at tapings got debunked by David Bixenspan. This comes following a claim by an anonymous employee that WWE has been demanding their staff to work at the tapings despite any health concerns they might have.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I followed up with <a href="https://twitter.com/WWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WWE</a> about social distancing concerns during shows.<a href="https://twitter.com/WWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WWE</a> told me that that social distancing is practiced outside of its performances. The company says it recently adjusted its production schedule as well.</p>&mdash; Stephanie Coueignoux (@StephanieCNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/StephanieCNews/status/1252677606069190657?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The social distancing claim is clearly not true. See thread: <a href="https://t.co/K3yqekOwdQ">https://t.co/K3yqekOwdQ</a></p>&mdash; David Bixenspan (@davidbix) <a href="https://twitter.com/davidbix/status/1252705118174285826?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Emperor Smeat]

:lol: WWE did another swerve with the card for tonight's NXT show based on the report from the Frontpage.

[Emperor Smeat]

Apparently Cody recently filed a trademark to get his Rhodes last name.

For some unknown reason, WWE let their trademark on the iconic last name expire despite being in a trademark feud with him and AEW.

Cody could be getting his last name back.

WWE has had the trademark for "Cody Rhodes" since June 2007 when Cody first joined the promotion. When Cody left WWE in 2016, he didn't use the Rhodes last name on the Independent scene and has kept just his first name in AEW.

In October 2019, Cody said he could use the Rhodes name without an issue.

"I can use it, I won't use it, though. This is not the romantic Game of Thrones answer everyone wants. The reason I don't use it is because I got so used to being '"The American Nightmare" Cody' in Japan. I love that. I love the idea of trying my damndest to get a single name over. I got the rub off Dusty and my family long enough. I don't mind not using it. You'll see it every now and then. Some people, they already know. By no means is WWE holding that name hostage. That is not a real thing. If I was to walk out tomorrow lower thirded as 'Cody Rhodes,' announced as 'Cody Rhodes,' nobody's going to sue us. Nobody's coming after us. There's a lot of respect between the families that are involved here. I just like using my first name."

However, this didn't stop Cody from filing to trademark "Cody Rhodes" on the day WWE's trademark expired.

WWE received a notice on October 13, 2018 letting them know that the "Cody Rhodes" trademark was set to expire in one year should they not re-apply. They would also be given a six-month grace period, meaning the trademark would expire on April 13, 2020.

April 12, 2020 came and went without WWE re-filing for the trademark.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O86rVk4YrCY" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

lol fucking Vince up to his usual tricks

[slik]

Q1 Conference Call happening



Record-breaking revenue for WWE

Networks subs at all-time high, though paid subscriptions at all-time low, many free subscribers.

Vince said they've reduced the cost of producing content and that has helped increase profit.

WrestleMania was the most discussed WWE Event on social media in WWE history

He said ratings are as high they were before covid-19 (that isn't true)


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Vince on TV viewership since moving to the Performance Center: &quot;There really wasn't, especially on Smackdown, that much difference in terms of where we were and in terms of where we are now.&quot;</p>&mdash; Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrandonThurston/status/1253430971161964557?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[drave]

And that one solitary quote should say it all.




Even when you have an audience, you have no audience.

[slik]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Riddick is largely reviewing the earnings release. <br><br>On PPV rights prospects and &quot;transformative&quot; deal hyped last quarter.<br><br>&quot;Currently we are unable to estimate&quot; when PPV rights can be sold, interrupted by COVID effects. &quot;But we continue to believe it is possible&quot;</p>&mdash; Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrandonThurston/status/1253433136874049541?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Riddick and McMahon mentioned that Raw and Smackdown viewership held up despite PC empty building shows. Maybe in March in Q1. Not so sure April agrees. <a href="https://t.co/setzbETBXT">https://t.co/setzbETBXT</a> <a href="https://t.co/DwpotpcVBi">pic.twitter.com/DwpotpcVBi</a></p>&mdash; Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrandonThurston/status/1253433817085251584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[slik]

Vince said they have backup plans if Florida shuts down production and said they area also looking at bringing an audience back to Full Sail soon and having audience members socially distanced

[slik]

VKM:

I don't know that we're going to be in the "live event business" as we were before. We're ready if it's allowed. I think it's going to take a while for consumers to come forward and want to be put with 70,000 other people in MetLife Stadium. If anyone can figure it out, we will. I think it's going to be more content oriented - Not in terms of live events but more social and digital media.

[slik]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Q: Do you think sub growth is COVID dependent or do you think you can hold on to that?<br><br>VKM: I think new content is always a driver... It could very well be they're tired of watching Netflix... We have a product that's very unique... That's an advantage we have...</p>&mdash; Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrandonThurston/status/1253440039687729152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[slik]

Vince also said ticket prices will likely be lower when live events come back to help get butts in seats

[slik]

Vince said they are using more new talent on RAW and taking this time to develop the audience's interest in the new talent.

VKM - "Obviously, Brock Lesnar is not available".

[Emperor Smeat]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/dGZ3tIKQf8">pic.twitter.com/dGZ3tIKQf8</a></p>&mdash; TDE Wrestling (@tde_wrestling) <a href="https://twitter.com/tde_wrestling/status/1253137708790276102?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Emperor Smeat]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O86rVk4YrCY" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

lol fucking Vince up to his usual tricks

Yeup.

Him firing the guys responsible for XFL's revival not being a financial dumpster just so he could pocket more money of the bankruptcy money was sleazy even by his own standards.

[Droford]

No 2k21 video game later this year

Might actually be a good thing

[slik]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ng6kpHpcfdY" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Emperor Smeat]

https://i.imgur.com/hE3K8Pg.gif

[Evil Vito]

Either Velveteen Dream got hacked on Instagram or he's been sending nudes to minors.

Fingers crossed it's the first. Because otherwise, that's a pretty big fucking yikes.

[Anybody Thrilla]

Darby Allin's finisher is a glorified roll up. Wow.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Isn't it the Coffin Drop?

[Black Widow]

I guess he ani't called VelveTEEN Dream for nothing.

[Anybody Thrilla]

He does that too, but he's been doing something else. It almost looks like a figure four, then he falls over top of their shoulders for a pin. They gave it a name, but I'm admittedly only very loosely paying attention. He won his last two matches with it.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Hey I'm down with a rollup finisher if it looks cool. Bret had that sweet fucking victory roll he liked to bust out now and again. Not really a finisher, but I think it's realistic to have an "unbreakable" pinning combination.

[Anybody Thrilla]

Maybe, but if your gimmick is that you love pain, it seems weird to me.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

good point.

[Lock Jaw]

But his gimmick is also that he is a scrawny tiny underdog type who wins via absorbing the pain and then sneaking out the win

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

good point.

[Anybody Thrilla]

I guess what I'm saying is that I don't love Darby Allin.

[Lock Jaw]

He's got that Rey Mysterio-vibe where he is this tiny underdog dude who can have some good matches.... but when it comes to him actually winning them, his finishers always look "weak" to the point where you're like "oh. This tiny little dude beat that guy with THAT move?"

[Droford]

During a recent Instagram Live, WWE stars Carmella and Corey Graves got candid about what does — and doesn’t — happen when the lights go out in lockdown.

“We’re an old-ass couple,” Carmella said, with 36-year-old Graves adding, “We actually went to bed.”

Graves continued to elaborate, stating he’s never related more to a panda in captivity than during the coronavirus crisis, veering the conversation in a quizzical direction.

“You know how people always complain that pandas don’t ever want to breed and mate when they’re in the zoo, cause they’re always just locked down and not into it? I feel like a panda in captivity,” Graves said, to which Carmella replied: “Thanks.”



https://nypost.com/2020/04/23/wwes-carmella-and-corey-graves-have-awkward-sex-panda-moment/

[Anybody Thrilla]

Why do so many people do the tope suicida? It seems dangerous, and it seldom even looks good.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I guess what I'm saying is that I don't love Darby Allin.

I don't mind him in the ring. At least it looks like he's actually throwing himself around. But I'm not a fan of his look or him as a person. He was on Jericho's podcast and made light of him paying a junkie to put his head in a dirty toilet or something. Fucking knob.

I know wrestling is full of fuckheads, but I've got to be able to distance the fuckhead from their work a little. Darby's crossed that line with me where I just can't get into him because I know he is a piece of shit human.

[Fignuts]

He's got that Rey Mysterio-vibe where he is this tiny underdog dude who can have some good matches.... but when it comes to him actually winning them, his finishers always look "weak" to the point where you're like "oh. This tiny little dude beat that guy with THAT move?"

https://i.imgur.com/OXyQQA5.png

[Jordan]

I don't mind him in the ring. At least it looks like he's actually throwing himself around. But I'm not a fan of his look or him as a person. He was on Jericho's podcast and made light of him paying a junkie to put his head in a dirty toilet or something. Fucking knob.

I know wrestling is full of fuckheads, but I've got to be able to distance the fuckhead from their work a little. Darby's crossed that line with me where I just can't get into him because I know he is a piece of shit human.

I agree. They need to shut Darby up if they want him to be a big star. He seems like a douche for sure in the way he treats those around him.

[Emperor Smeat]

Why do so many people do the tope suicida? It seems dangerous, and it seldom even looks good.

I'd assume its probably one of the easiest lucha/cruiser style moves to pull off since all you really need is the ability to leap high if its from the top rope or keeping your body still if its from the middle rope.

[Emperor Smeat]

Guess NXT Creative has no desire to let 205 Live get in on any of the current Cruiser tournament action despite the Cruiser division and belt also belongs to them and not just NXT.

Also picked one of the least interesting guys on the brand to hold a special for.

WWE has announced another special edition of WWE 205 Live to air on the WWE Network at 10pm ET tonight.

The episode is titled "The Matches That Made Me: Ariya Daivari" and will feature The Persian Lion looking at the match that inspired him to become a WWE Superstar, and the most memorable match of his career. Daivari will be on the show.

WWE aired a similar episode on The Brian Kendrick last Friday. They are airing these special 205 Live episodes due to changes related to the coronavirus.

[Emperor Smeat]

UFC already locked up carny promotion of the year award since not only is Fight Island a reality, UFC is going to hold events there starting in June.

Also Florida state government pulling a "Florida Man" managed to open the flood gates for events to resume in the state since UFC is also holding several events there in May.

They have filed for a trademark on the Fight Island term and White said the organization should be able to run events there starting in June. He re-iterated the importance of the island's existence so international fighters that aren't allowed in the U.S. due to pandemic related travel bans can still compete. It's unclear how they will travel to the island and then back to their home country, but White has played his cards close to the vest with details on everything as of late. He added that once they are able to run shows like they used to, the island wouldn't be of use to them.

It appears that Jacksonville, Florida's VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena will not only host UFC 249 on May 9th as first reported by this website, but two other shows that same week as the organization hold three events there in seven days -- aggressive even by their usual busy standards.

Saying that Governor Ron DeSantis has signed off, Wednesday, May 13, and Saturday, May 16 will also see UFC events. According to Damon Martin, the 13th event will reportedly be headlined by Anthony Smith vs. Glover Teixeira in a battle of light heavyweight title contenders while the 16th will see Alistair Overeem take on Walt Harris in a heavyweight clash.

[BigCrippyZ]

I don't mind him in the ring. At least it looks like he's actually throwing himself around. But I'm not a fan of his look or him as a person. He was on Jericho's podcast and made light of him paying a junkie to put his head in a dirty toilet or something. Fucking knob.

I know wrestling is full of fuckheads, but I've got to be able to distance the fuckhead from their work a little. Darby's crossed that line with me where I just can't get into him because I know he is a piece of shit human.

Darby's good at what he does, playing a weirdo, slightly dark, somewhat "sympathetic", "small" guy, and especially in the ring for someone who can get thrown around and make it look really good.

Outside of that, yeah, I could see him being an awkward guy and/or douche... and if that Jericho podcast story is true, yikes. Someone needs to tell him to grow up and to stop talking about the dumb shit he did in his past.

[Droford]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Quarantine life just got weird <a href="https://t.co/grYYDtr4pX">pic.twitter.com/grYYDtr4pX</a></p>&mdash; Tommy Dreamer (@THETOMMYDREAMER) <a href="https://twitter.com/THETOMMYDREAMER/status/1253868355553038338?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[XL]

I'd assume its probably one of the easiest lucha/cruiser style moves to pull off since all you really need is the ability to leap high if its from the top rope or keeping your body still if its from the middle rope.

I thought a Tope Suiceda was *through* the ropes...

[XL]

Also, I quite like that pin combo from Darby, it’s really unique. I wouldn’t call it his “finisher” though.

[XL]

And, Jesus, a “special” on Daivari? “That’ll put butts in seats”.

[drave]

Like Jinder's title reign

[Anybody Thrilla]

I thought a Tope Suiceda was *through* the ropes...

Yes. Ambrose had a very wonky looking one.

[XL]

There are some terrible ones. Aries always had a great one, and went between the middle and bottom ropes I believe.

It is massively overused now though. I think the “big guy does athletic moves” trope hasn’t helped. Samoa Joe sort of pioneered it (to my knowledge) but now you have one of the Viking Raiders doing it, does Keith Lee do one or is he flip over the top rope like Damien Priest?

[Anybody Thrilla]

Guess NXT Creative has no desire to let 205 Live get in on any of the current Cruiser tournament action despite the Cruiser division and belt also belongs to them and not just NXT.

Also picked one of the least interesting guys on the brand to hold a special for.

Fucking yikes. Ariya has a cool theme song, and that's literally the only interesting thing about him. He must have some wild ass backstory that I don't know about.

[Anybody Thrilla]

There are some terrible ones. Aries always had a great one, and went between the middle and bottom ropes I believe.

It is massively overused now though. I think the “big guy does athletic moves” trope hasn’t helped. Samoa Joe sort of pioneered it (to my knowledge) but now you have one of the Viking Raiders doing it, does Keith Lee do one or is he flip over the top rope like Damien Priest?

Oh yeah, Aries had a really nice one. Also, King Cureno...err, sorry, El Hijo del Fantasma has a really killer one. I was actually watching Samoa Joe v. Finn Balor on the influential NXT matches yesterday, and he did a really nice one. I don't recall Keith Lee doing it, but it seems like something he'd do.

It's very possible for it to look good, but it's been happening a LOT, and I think it looks bad more often than not.

[Anybody Thrilla]

Also, I quite like that pin combo from Darby, it’s really unique. I wouldn’t call it his “finisher” though.

He just happened to win with it in his last two matches. I keep a loose eye to AEW, so I could be wrong.

[slik]

Looks like ROH uploads all their weekly shows to the their website for anyone to watch, going to check this out later:


https://www.rohwrestling.com/watch

[Anybody Thrilla]

Be careful there. Those shows are very hard to watch.

[Jordan]

The main guys on ROH are really good. Production is great too. I just don't like a lot of the undercard workers there, thinking of Beer City Bruisers, Silas Young and the allotment of twinky types they've accrued in the last two or three years. I am hoping they can snag a few WWE cast off's and return strong with NJPW talent again. I watch ROH on Stadium often, it's rerun a lot there.

[Anybody Thrilla]

I can get it on Sling TV too, but if it's wrestling I'm looking for, I go WWE/AEW/Impact in that order, and that's already a lot.

But yeah, there are options out there.

[Jordan]

I can get it on Sling TV too, but if it's wrestling I'm looking for, I go WWE/AEW/Impact in that order, and that's already a lot.

But yeah, there are options out there.

You've made a return I see. I saw you say you aren't that into AEW. Are you actually watching the WWE product like you used to or just skimming?

AEW is the only show I can sit through enjoyably week after week. Even though I haven't been watching since around December, NWA was the 2nd best.

I can't get through a whol episode of Raw since the plauge, and Smackdown is a no go. Also I haven't been into NXT since Nakamura was all "meh" there. Thinking about going back to a point and watching NXT UK. Something about those talents are really appealing to me.

I've lost all interest in MLW even though the last taping I went to was great. They just don't have anyone that I care much about right now. They need to find some diamonds in the rough, they need an indy darling.

I have no interest in the current storylines of ROH but that's because I don't know them. I was dissapointed when PCO lost the belt because I have enjoyed literally everything I've seen him do in ROH. But Rush is a start for sure.

I really hope that this incarnation of NWA survives. I think I am gonna catch up with them today.

[slik]

SD and RAW have traded places since SD moved to FOX. SD used to be so good and enjoyable and minus Otis/Mandy/Sonya, Bray, (Roman) and Sasha/Bayley it's nearly unwatchable.

Zelina and Asuka have turned into the MVPs of RAW for me. Montez, Bianca, Aleister keeping my attention on brand red too. I like Drew but I'm not very interested in a Seth feud. I'm sure the actual match will be good though.

[XL]

Oh yeah, Aries had a really nice one. Also, King Cureno...err, sorry, El Hijo del Fantasma has a really killer one. I was actually watching Samoa Joe v. Finn Balor on the influential NXT matches yesterday, and he did a really nice one. I don't recall Keith Lee doing it, but it seems like something he'd do.

It's very possible for it to look good, but it's been happening a LOT, and I think it looks bad more often than not.

I wasn’t aware Fantasma was King Cuerno. Maybe I am interested in him after all.

[XL]

SD and RAW have traded places since SD moved to FOX. SD used to be so good and enjoyable and minus Otis/Mandy/Sonya, Bray, (Roman) and Sasha/Bayley it's nearly unwatchable.

Zelina and Asuka have turned into the MVPs of RAW for me. Montez, Bianca, Aleister keeping my attention on brand red too. I like Drew but I'm not very interested in a Seth feud. I'm sure the actual match will be good though.

Agreed. I had an affinity to SmackDown as the “underdog” brand, but since the brand split/move to Fox it’s been pretty hard viewing. Which is really frustrating as I expected a jump in quality with the big money move.

[Anybody Thrilla]

You've made a return I see. I saw you say you aren't that into AEW. Are you actually watching the WWE product like you used to or just skimming?

AEW is the only show I can sit through enjoyably week after week. Even though I haven't been watching since around December, NWA was the 2nd best.

I can't get through a whol episode of Raw since the plauge, and Smackdown is a no go. Also I haven't been into NXT since Nakamura was all "meh" there. Thinking about going back to a point and watching NXT UK. Something about those talents are really appealing to me.

I've lost all interest in MLW even though the last taping I went to was great. They just don't have anyone that I care much about right now. They need to find some diamonds in the rough, they need an indy darling.

I have no interest in the current storylines of ROH but that's because I don't know them. I was dissapointed when PCO lost the belt because I have enjoyed literally everything I've seen him do in ROH. But Rush is a start for sure.

I really hope that this incarnation of NWA survives. I think I am gonna catch up with them today.

Nah, I like AEW. I think I just said I don't love Darby Allin.

Raw has actually been pretty decent as of late. I'm not a fan of the cinematic matches WWE has been putting on, though. Firefly Funhouse was actually kinda entertaining, but something bothers me about them calling it a "match".

I keep an eye on Impact since I have friends wrestling there, and they've actually been pretty watchable these days.

ROH is doing just about nothing at all for me.

[Gerard]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DaCtW4i1GG4" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Back 5 minutes and already back to form.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1aCjdibZBDU" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>


It does sound like Kairi says "im not set" yet dump truck throws her anyway.

[Anybody Thrilla]

I wasn’t aware Fantasma was King Cuerno. Maybe I am interested in him after all.

Yeah, looks a little different with his long hair. He did a stint in Impact after Lucha Underground. I'm looking forward to him.

[Emperor Smeat]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Two new words for <a href="https://twitter.com/ShawnMichaels?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ShawnMichaels</a>... <a href="https://t.co/5EOFboHKFO">pic.twitter.com/5EOFboHKFO</a></p>&mdash; TDE Wrestling (@tde_wrestling) <a href="https://twitter.com/tde_wrestling/status/1253862124314677248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Seanny One Ball]

They should have a wrestler called The Hunkster.
He would be a really good looking wrestler who lost a hair match so his opponent left him with a skullet and now his hair won't grow back.

He would always be seen wrestling in a toupee with an elastic chin strap.

[Seanny One Ball]

His valet could be a dwarf with a skullet who he calls Hulk Hogan and says he's shorter because of the Atomic leg drop.

[GD]

Deep cuts

[slik]

SD's debut on FOX to now:

http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Fast-Demo-2019-Oct-04-FRI.png

http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Fast-Demo-2020-Apr-24-FRI.png


WWE could turn the trend around for brand blue, but they can't turn it around by doing more of the same that got it there.

Adults 18 to 34 -- 1.0 to .3
Adults 18 to 49 --1.4 to .5
Adults 25 to 54 -- 1.6 to .6

And the most damning:
Men 18 to 49 -- 11 to 3


RAW is the highest-rated show on USA, DYNAMITE is the highest rated show on TNT. USA and TNT need WWE and AEW. FOX doesn't need WWE, WWE needs FOX.

[Emperor Smeat]

FOX falling into the same trap as NBC years ago after USA Network convinced them to bring back RAW.

Not only did NBC get diminishing returns for RAW on USA Network but both times they expanded WWE programming to also be on their own network, it didn't last long due to sluggish ratings.

Even ESPN and their recent mini-deal with WWE quickly saw sizable declines each week.

WWE arguably pulled their biggest con job ever when they managed to fool FOX badly over SD becoming a more sports-oriented brand featuring Rousey and Lesnar to cater to FOX's sports fanbase. Even fooled them on the promise of SD getting a big Hispanic star to cater to FOX's Latino sports fanbase.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Jesus at that Sane spot yelling she's not set. Nia needs to never do that move again. They should give her a basic moveset. She's big enough that powerslams, elbow and leg drops, corner clotheslines and splashes will do.

[XL]

Tbf, the Buckle Bomb is dangerous enough when performed correctly (see Rollins vs Sting, Rollins vs Balor) maybe they need to ban the move altogether? But, yeah, they definitely need to tell Nia not to do it.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Agreed. It's needlessly dangerous.

[XL]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/TripleH?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TripleH</a> is a total winner! <a href="https://t.co/KsTHMEKeqx">https://t.co/KsTHMEKeqx</a></p>&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1254022414058631170?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">25 April 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>