NWA Revival Thread

[erickman]

And... Cornette is gone.

did nwa get rid of him

[Vastardikai]

He resigned. But likely they asked him to do so before he was fired.

Like I said, it's a shame but I totally understand it. Times change and somethings that were cool at one time aren't necessarily cool later on and vice versa (I doubt folks would blame Sinead O'Connor for ripping up the picture of John Paul II, the patron saint of looking the other way).

[Volare]

His podcast will blow up for this.

[Simple Fan]

I'm not saying it isn't funny. It just doesn't age well. It's like the current incarnation of Black Flag choosing to play "Slip it In." A cool song in it's time, but it's misogynistic as fuck and there were some serious conversations about how fucked up it was to hear in 2019 within my circle.

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Here's is a segment with Kamala, a gimmick that has no business in the modern era. And it somehow got MORE racist after he showed up.


I bet it was a white guy that got offended by Cornys joke. No one in Ethiopia will ever even hear it.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Fan, you really struggle to understand nuance. I mean you’re also right, but Cornette is not an idiot and there’s no need to bring that kind of negative attention to the product.

[Simple Fan]

No I understand it, I just think it's bullshit.

[Evil Vito]

And... Cornette is gone.

I wish all cancers were that easy to cure.

[Ultra Mantis]

Cornette was actually putting me off watching this, when he's gone I'll check it out :y:

[#1-norm-fan]

His podcast will blow up for this.

I’m excited to hear him shit on PC culture for an hour and a half.

[Seanny One Ball]

I don't think there could be a better example of what exactly is wrong with people nowadays.
This is a perfect moment to show you who's worth paying any attention to.

[xrodmuc316]

On AEW tonight J.R. made a comment along the lines of that Santana and Ortiz are the "kind of people" used to handcuffs.

I don't see how this is any different than Cornette. Poor choice of words but don't think it was meant to imply racism. Thoughts?

[Seanny One Ball]

That's likely more of a comment regarding their character than race.

If people weren't so obsessed with defining any and all ambiguity as worst case scenario then we'd get over things like this much quicker.
Also, Jim Cornette is a heel through and through so it baffles me that he can't get away with something so obviously baited for a reaction.

[Simple Fan]

It's also wrestling and not real. Had that line been in a movie no one would have been offended.

[xrodmuc316]

That's likely more of a comment regarding their character than race.

If people weren't so obsessed with defining any and all ambiguity as worst case scenario then we'd get over things like this much quicker.
Also, Jim Cornette is a heel through and through so it baffles me that he can't get away with something so obviously baited for a reaction.

Exactly, intent matters. It's why Hogan got in trouble, and rightfully so. He was conveying hate and prejudice with his words. There was no doubt his intent was spewing hate.

[Simple Fan]

No Hogan was just dumb. JR and Corny are just putting talent over.

[Seanny One Ball]

I don't think it's fair to compare a privately recorded intimate conversation with an obviously contrived wrestling heel commentary.

Nobody should be getting in trouble for things they say at home in private anyway.
That the media feels the need to report on a stolen sex tape is troubling in so many more ways than anything Hulk Hogan said.

[Seanny One Ball]

No Hogan was just dumb. JR and Corny are just putting talent over.


Hogan was dumb but he was also the only victim in that story.
If I break into someone's house to steal from them but stumble into a Klan rally surely I'm the one that gets in trouble right?

[Ultra Mantis]

Is Cornette even a heel in NWA though? Seems like he's using this joke to try and put over the babyface challenger. Theres no heat to get, hes just tone deaf and antiquated.

[Seanny One Ball]

I wouldn't latch onto the heel part too strongly, it doesn't really matter because it's not a particularly offensive comment in the context anyway and as you said it's designed to put the guy over while making people laugh.

I would have pulled him into an office afterwards and said"you can't be so specific" but I wouldn't get rid of him for it.

[Ultra Mantis]

It's pretty telling of whoever edits the shows really since they are taped well in advance. Clearly nobody involved in the process noticed and flagged it.

This is the second time in a month where they've had to apologise for something Cornette has said, so it probably has a lot to do with the decision to cut ties. Given his track record there would be plenty more apologies to come.

[Seanny One Ball]

We live in a ridiculous time

[Volare]

I miss the 90s.

[Seanny One Ball]

Best post I'll read all day.

[Volare]

Only thing I think about while hearing about this ongoing saga...is Lawler's promo on RAW against Goldust....and no one gave a shit.

[Seanny One Ball]

It's like calling a builder a rapist for cat calling at a woman.

What the fuck, get a little perspective 2019.

[#1-norm-fan]

Only thing I think about while hearing about this ongoing saga...is Lawler's promo on RAW against Goldust....and no one gave a shit.

Goddammit that was a great promo.

[Emperor Smeat]

According to the Observer, NWA gave Cornette the option to just give an apology for his comments and he'd keep his job with no punishments given.

When he refused their offer, they fired him in response.

[Simple Fan]

Good for Jim.

[Bad News Gertner]

I've read people comparing Cornette's exit to Bill Watts exit from WCW which is beyond laughable.

[Seanny One Ball]

Ah, the old confusion about the restaurant comments.

Couldn't have been anything to do with the roof piss.

[Bad News Gertner]

I think people (mainly Jim Ross) has pushed this narrative of Bill Watts statement "only being about not being allowed to not serve blacks in a restaurant he owns" and how it was misunderstood, but when you read the transcript it's WAY worse than that. Plus, it wasn't known then but Wade Keller is gay.

[Seanny One Ball]

Eh, I've heard worse round the dinner table at Christmas.

[Emperor Smeat]

According to the Observer Newsletter, seems another reason for Cornette's resignation was the issue of him making an inappropriate comment wasn't the first time it happened on the show.

All the other instances were taken care of beforehand in editing and the line that got him in trouble managed to slip through.

Also seems NWA management was already souring on him due to his anti-AEW comments on his podcast show since they felt it was hurting Powerrr's cross-over appeal with AEW Dark viewers.

According to one person very close to the situation, Lagana held himself accountable for his mistake in not editing the line out. This was blamed on simply exhaustion. But it was also noted that there have been other lines said on the NWA shows that Lagana has edited out that would also qualify as poor taste stuff. The real issue as far as the NWA was concerned was that Cornette refused to apologize.

It was also noted that there were those there who weren’t happy that he had become so anti-AEW on his podcast which, as their announcer, was something that led to negativity from some toward their product. The reality is that the NWA Powerrr audience on YouTube had very significant crossover with that of AEW Dark, so they have similar fan bases. Even if they didn’t, while a voice of one promotion can criticize the other, it needs to be reasoned and Cornette’s way over-the-top criticisms of AEW were not a good look for the NWA. The only reason he could get away with it up to this point is because everyone recognized how talented he was at his job.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Cornette shouldn’t have made the joke. It’s obvious why people don’t like it. Without listening to the Experience yet, you can tell that his main “political focus” in the joke is on the issue of starving people. He’s the sort of guy that would look at an issue like that, the macro causes of it, and then make a resigned joke about it. Like “fuck the world powers for letting those poor people go hungry.” He doesn’t hate them because they’re black. But it wasn’t a very calculated comment.

I feel really bad for Mark Henry and I hope Cornette has reached out personally. But I am kind of annoyed at people focusing on the race aspect.

[Seanny One Ball]

What's the deal with Mark Henry?

[Seanny One Ball]

Cornette jumps straight into this on The Experience.
It's a 30 year old famine joke he coined or possibly stole for Big Bubba Rogers.

So as expected it's nothing more than a crass joke about a situation that still hasn't really improved because people don't care 365 days a year until Live Aid is resurrected once a decade or whatever it is.

[Seanny One Ball]

Brian Last just sounds scared.

Corny compares it to the Starvin Marvin episode of South Park...

I'll say this, I cannot name another celebrity that would dig their heels in quite as firmly as this.

[Seanny One Ball]

Hmmm.

So an apology for anyone that found it to be outdated and of poor quality, but not for anyone who considers it racist towards black people.

Brian Last points out that actual Ethiopians may well be offended which is a salient point.

Basically "Sorry, not sorry."

Cornette angrily mentions how "hilarious" famine is. That level of sarcasm could be lost in translation...

[Seanny One Ball]

He sees it as a rod for his detractors to break his back with so he won't kowtow to their demands for a big apology, not that any of them would forgive him anyway.

I hope Vice will keep using him for DSOTR.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Pretty much what I expected.

[Seanny One Ball]

To be fair he did acknowledge that some people may be genuinely offended by it and he apologised to them too.
He's very specifically not apologising to his ideological enemies, those that he believes are waiting in the wings for these kinds of slip up so they can tear him down for hating modern wrestling.

The Coen Brothers need a character like Cornette in one of their films. Some paranoid throwback but then it turns out he's onto something.

[Emperor Smeat]

I hope Vice will keep using him for DSOTR.

If there is one area where Cornette still has a ton of value to wrestling, its as a historian especially for the territories era.

The 10 Pounds of Gold documentary with him talking about the history of the NWA title and his appearances on Vice's wrestling show were great examples of it.

Its once you start getting into the 90s that his views start to become outdated and his stubbornness to adapt kicks in the more you go towards the present. That same stubbornness is also why his comments while they might have been ok in the 80s, don't hold up in the present and not just because of PC reasons.

[Jordan]

I have lost interest in the show due to the Jim Cornette deal turning me off a bit. I am no longer planning on buying the PPV, I bought MLW Opera Cup tickets instead. I will likely catch up tonight with what I have missed and see how it goes. Just kinda turned off to Corgan and Lagana after all of this too.

[erickman]

lets see how they dub cornetts voice tonight, see if they cut out his 40 year old jokes.

[erickman]

wow no matches tonight I think they cut cornett out

[Simple Fan]

They had a match. When I tuned in they had an empty arena match on with Question Mark.

[Mr. Nerfect]

What's the deal with Mark Henry?

He just seemed really bummed out by it, like a personal friend betrayed him (because Corny has done lots for him).

Eh, I think Cornette handled it as best he could. Shit joke because of the aim, but Cornette isn't exactly the most progressive with his comedy. He tries to be politically, but he likes the immature shit that thinks offense is taken not given and proud to be "edgy." But apologizing for people it genuinely hurt makes sense, given that if you do care about people's feelings in the context of race or world issues, then you should apologize for hurting them. But I do see his point about wrestlers and wrestling personalities kind of hijacking the content in order to disqualify Cornette's opinions on their wrestling. Even if the guy was a racism (which he's obviously actively not), then his opinion about your wrestling might still be perfectly valid.

[erickman]

They had a match. When I tuned in they had an empty arena match on with Question Mark.

sounds like for the next 2 weeks they will reshoot matches

[Jordan]

Eh... I think I've lost interest.

[Simple Fan]

sounds like for the next 2 weeks they will reshoot matches

Wouldn't have been easier to just dub over commentary?

[Seanny One Ball]

Damn, I Hope Mark Henry is ok

[erickman]

Wouldn't have been easier to just dub over commentary?

yeah that's what I thought but they dumped what they taped just to cut cornett out

[erickman]

uh oh james storm is going to trust a hebner as a ref not to screw him. looks like storm will get screwed at the ppv.

[erickman]

I got some bad news for you stu bennet will replace cornett

[#1-norm-fan]

Cool that they gave a little send-off for Cornette at the end of the show. People on Twitter no doubt losing their shit over it.

[Vastardikai]

I'm not going to say I ordered the "Waffles and Tire Irons" shirt, even though I have made it a thing at work.

But I will say that I also ordered the Question Mark shirt, because he is great.

[Triple A]

NWA ring announcer is horrible... Never seen anyone such low energy, who zaps so much excitement from the match...

[Jordan]

Did anyone order the ppv?

[#1-norm-fan]

I can’t imagine. I love NWA and couldn’t rationalize spending money on the PPV.

[Simple Fan]

I had enough credits to get it. Really wasn't worth it. Looked just like an episode of Power. Best thing to happen was Marty showing up at the end to challenge Aldis. Everything else was pretty forgettable.

[Emperor Smeat]

According to PWI, NWA's Into the Fire event had the highest PPV pre-sales on FITE for the company since joining the streaming service.

[erickman]

stu is good on color

[Emperor Smeat]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">EXCLUSIVE | Marty Scurll speaks with Stu Bennett on his future on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NWAPowerrr?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NWAPowerrr</a><br><br>See the full interview on Episode 10 - <a href="https://t.co/FqUiLPgzY9">https://t.co/FqUiLPgzY9</a><a href="https://twitter.com/StuBennett?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@StuBennett</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MartyScurll?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MartyScurll</a> <a href="https://t.co/RXhcGVDE0C">pic.twitter.com/RXhcGVDE0C</a></p>&mdash; NWA (@nwa) <a href="https://twitter.com/nwa/status/1207087182667755522?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

The Aaron Stephens/Question Mark partnership is great.

[erickman]

the pope back on color

[Lock Jaw]

Whoa whoa whoa.... there is a rassler named Question Mark?

One of my earliest/most notable E-Fed feuds was with a character called Question Mark..... he had the gimmick of "verbose educated man who carried around a dictionary and despised those of less intelligence"..... is that dude anything like that?

[Vastardikai]

Nope. Question Mark is the most charismatic wrestler in the NWA, and the master of Ka-ra-TAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!

Thunder Rosa for NWA Women's Champion. She is a goddess and anyone who says otherwise is wrong.

Pope is a good addition, as well.

[erickman]

it looks like thunder rosas heel team will brake up, they will have to turn on melina.

[Tom Guycott]

It would be a viable excuse to make a face out of her... which is something I don't get anyway. From any fed. A person who gets over by auxillary methods and gets cheered (in Thunder Rosa's case, the chronicle of her being an MMA badass), yet you insist on casting them as a heel. It's like going against the flow just because. Especially nowadays where fans don't like to just play along since they have to act so "smart" about everything at an event. Very few people can stifle that, like Jericho or Miz (shit on me for naming him if you want, but the guy is starring in a TV program that shows him as a devoted husband and father , and he turns that into 100% natural heel heat in the confines of WWE wrestling).

[erickman]

nwa has too many stories going on, since they only have an hour show they need to space the stories out.

[erickman]

for some odd reason they are doing this weeks ep today at 1pm est. I wonder why they did not do it last night.

[#1-norm-fan]

Not a fan of Aron Stevens as National Champion. Having a comedy gimmick hold a “major” title seems too WWE.

[erickman]

odb had her rick rude moment tonight was on nwa power the same night she was on impact

[Seanny One Ball]

It's not a Rick Rude moment if 15 people see it.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Also, both are taped, right? That kinda disqualifies it too since everybody could have known it was going to happen.

[Vastardikai]

Question Mark + Sunglasses = awesome!

[Tom Guycott]

odb had her rick rude moment tonight was on nwa power the same night she was on impact

It's not a Rick Rude moment if 15 people see it.

So, would that make it more like a Lex Luger moment?

"That's just unabashed arrogance!"

[erickman]

stiener will speak tonight

[Simple Fan]

Ok I'm sold, turning it on now.

[erickman]

well that was good

[Simple Fan]

They've had good shows since the PPV but I still don't think I want to buy the next one after using credits on the last. Just felt like an extended episode of Power.

[Vastardikai]

The Dawson's match met expectations. In a good way.

I can almost see Zicky Dice weaseling his way into the finals and winning it all. I can see Murdoch getting screwed by Stephens, continuing their program. I can see Starks shocking the world by beating Storm. I can see the open spots being ROH guys. But I could be totally wrong and I'm fine with that.

Steiner's promo and performance both met expectations. Take that as you will.

No Thunder Rosa. :(

Who was the flag bearer?

[erickman]

They've had good shows since the PPV but I still don't think I want to buy the next one after using credits on the last. Just felt like an extended episode of Power.

the interviews are the best part of power, they need to work with roh to fill out the ppv's with people who can wrestle.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

The one thing that’s made me cringe so far was Melina and Allison Kay on the mic. Neither is comfortable. Melina does the WWE thing where she is trying to act but can’t act. Whereas Kay speaks about a million miles an hour and it comes across as unnatural and forced

[erickman]

tonight was the best one so far

[Vastardikai]

A year ago, NWA teaming up with ROH would benefit NWA more. Now, this partnership benefits ROH more. It says quite a bit about the decline of ROH and the rise of the NWA, no?

Also, Quinn McKay is stunning. Not quite a goddess like Thunder Rosa, but stunning. And Thunder Rosa absolutely SHOULD become Women's Champion Friday.

R.I.P. Shooter. It was nice knowing you. He took a double Mongrovian Spike, and I don't think there'll be anything left for Scott Steiner.

TV Title tournament I figured would be going Zicky Dice's way, and it still could. But my money is currently on Mr. Anderson. There are many more stories you can do with him, with the runner up (I'm guessing Murdoch), with Starks, and of course, with Cabana. Starks will likely continue his thing with Stevens. Zicky will be in the hunt somewhere.

A little more on Dice. Dude really does look like Eddie Gilbert would if he was still alive.

[Seanny One Ball]

He actually does look like a modern day Eddie Gilbert. Good shout

[erickman]

loving Ziggy dice

[Vastardikai]

I was thinking, early on, that NWA needed to build their own stars. And they have done a great job with that, thus far. With Thunder Rosa, Question Mark, Ricky Starks, and Zicky Dice.

Aldis is really coming into his own as a top guy. He feels like the real deal(er). He is surprisingly only 33. So he can be the centerpiece of the company for a good decade. That segment with Marty... wow. That was a master class on how to sell a story line and a drawing program.

Then, there's Eli Drake. First time I listened to him, I thought of him the same way I thought of Mike Valely singing for Black Flag: He needs to find a voice and not his predecessor. The more I listen, the more I get Drake. To the point where I will bust out a "Let Me Talk To Ya!" at work. Dude has an energy that can make him the next guy.

Side note: Mike Valely sounded like himself when I saw them Sunday.

[slik]

Finally watched an ep of NWAPowerrr (the newest ep)

Things I liked in particular:

Wade Barrett (Stu Bennett)
Sean Mooney
Melina
Thunder Rosa
Aron Stevens (Damian Sandow)
Good Camera Work
Storytelling and Lots of it!


Also good stuff from:
Ricky Starks, Nick Aldis, Marty Scurll, Elijah Pope, May Valentine, Eli Drake, Trevor Murdoch

[Vastardikai]

Anyone else watch the first episode of the Circle Squared? PJ and Luke Hawx worked a tag match against Dean and Neal. I was impressed by everyone but the kid who dove off the balcony at that mall. Dude is painfully thin and wooden as plywood on the stick. Showed some decent fire, though. Nothing that can't be fixed with a few years of experience and a several hours in the gym.

Dean and Neal, however, looked good. Polished, had good size, great psychology. And they had Coach K (Nikita Koloff).

[Vastardikai]

Until tonight, I didn't realize I needed Kamille vs. Thunder Rosa. Now I realize... I need Kamille vs. Thunder Rosa.

[erickman]

zicky dice tv champ

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

zicky dice tv champ

Haven't watched but this is probably the right choice. I'm not HUGE on Dice, but the crowd reacts to him far more than they do Starks. Ricky is a little bit awkward and wooden still -- not to say he doesn't have "something." I just think he's yet to really grab me.

[Vastardikai]

Zicky's a damned good dude. When he isn't wrestling, he's counseling adults with developmental disabilities. Youtube did a thing with him. Check out "Indeed: Unlikely Hero"

Outside of that, he's a damned good wrestler, an amazing heel. Easily the best heel not named MJF or Aldis.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

OUTLANDISH

[Vastardikai]

Colby Corino is going to be on one of the next Circle Squared episodes debuting tomorrow.

He would be a decent signing. Rob, Lance, and Mikey would be better.

[Vastardikai]

Dani Jordyn (sp?) was good, and I wouldn't mind seeing her again. Freya was solid. LOL At Eli's "What's your name?" bit. Because Freya did forget to say it.

Colby is alright. A little wooden, but that could be nerves. George South has THE LINE of the week. The match itself was what, if it were magic, was called a force. George was there to give Colby his moment. Nothing more, nothing less. And as always, George South delivers. He's great. Also, Iron Claw!