[Mr. Nerfect]

Originally Posted by SlickyTrickyDamon Sometimes Jericho has those episodes in the can for months. There's nothing that said when it was recorded is there?

November 26 was when it was recorded. So WWE does a hype video for him and then the interview pops that says "Eh, not really missing it." Oops.

Originally Posted by Jordan X I dunno when it was recorded but the interview made me not like Sami Zayn anymore. Dude thinks way too much about everything. He’s very neurotic and obviously a narrssisit who hates that about himself so he’s just a walking contradiction. I remember a report a year or more back saying Sami “had heat” for his attitude and if you listen to that podcast you should have a good understanding of that.

I only listened to a snippet because it popped up for this morning. The dude sounds like a pretentious wanker that can't help but say things and then go "Oh shit, no, what I meant was..." It really did make me dislike the guy more, haha. I know way too much about him from a few minutes of audio (he loves jacking off and he's at least a vegetarian). It's really easy to see why he has the rep of being annoying.

If Vince finds that audio because he heard Sami doesn't have the passion to return or whatever, I can see him really fucking hating the guy. He sounds like such a prick, haha.

Originally Posted by Jordan X El Generico in AEW would be great though.

Great talent in the ring and on the mic. Not that keen to see El Generico, but I guess they could sell some bullshit masks and action figures should they ever get a licensing deal.

Originally Posted by Seph Yep. He and KO will be both be in it I think. Also even if he isn't quite ring ready yet, nothing about him returning says he has to immediately wrestle. He could come back on air and cut promos and be involved in segments with lighter bumps to build a feud and not actually wrestle for 4-6 weeks after the return. Regardless, I don't think you can treat anything wrestlers say on social media or these podcasts as reality any more. Social media is such an integral part of society now and it's importance has clearly not gone unnoticed by WWE. It's likely that 90% of what they are saying online is worked at this point. But this trend honestly has potential. Most people aren't going to sit there and think about it in these terms; I imagine most people will initially think these things wrestlers are saying online are real and might be in conflict with the company. WWE and other feds can play off those feelings and bring back some element of one of the most important aspects of wrestling, something they lost a LONG time ago....suspension of disbelief.

Both his arms are fucked. I think that will make it harder to return than just one being fucked, and the guy never seemed like a gym junkie sort of guy. I think his estimated time of return was around March or April. And what is the point of working people through these means? How many people are going to listen to Jericho's podcast and go "Oh, Sami's still hurt" and then get all crazy when he comes back randomly in the Royal Rumble only to get dumped out like any other guy?

What is the point of working people on such a low-key, niche, "wrestling is play fighting" scale? That's like Vince Russo shit.

Originally Posted by Seph Just imagine them working an angle with Sami Zayn when he comes back where he is being targeted by the authority for what he says on social media. They try to ruin his life and make him quit instead of having to fire him because they are so pissed they don't want him claiming unemployment LOL. They could easily make people watching this feud wonder if it is real or not.

Except Sami himself used the phrase "play-fighting" in the interview. And the core audience doesn't give a shit about the interview. And what difference does the interview matter if he's back? If he's back then he's back. Not wanting to come back only matters if you're not back. What is the audience going to care? Everyone will know it is not real, because WWE is so inorganic and phony. And who really cares about the bureaucratic drama of whether a babyface *sues*?