Fuck that. Goddamn can't they just make some damn money with Braun.

read that Undertaker could be having 4 or 5 more matches this year. a lot of them are supposedly going to be squash matches.

If Undertaker's hanging it up next year, i'd say he should finish liked he started.

The Unbeatable unstoppable phenom.

Sorry, my bad. Yeah, they used to really prop up Backlund's cards, didn't they? A very odd choice for champion at the time, given that Graham was doing so well. I'm sure you've given your answer here before, but do you think they should have kept the belt on Graham, and was there anyone at the time that you think they should have moved to?

You make me sound like a bad guy, but I could bludgeon the other two with the butt of the gun.

Ronda was great, and she's got explosive energy and was bumping like a mad-woman. My worry is that the WWE overexposes her. The general feeling seems to be that she will headline WrestleMania next year, and while she is a freak that will pick things up quickly and only get better and better, at the end of a 7-hour show, how are those fans in attendance going to react to the "Ronda push?" When does she lose that special quality and the surprise factor?

TNA's new belts look futuristic. I get why they've gone that route, but it's not for me. That being said, TNA isn't for me either.

Graham was so fucked up on drugs by the end of his reign that it would have ended one way or another. I would have found a way to get Dusty to stay for a while. He would come in for a few random shots like against Graham for example and he was over as hell!

Backlund was a really good draw though and he was very over until 83. If Snuka hadn't been so fucked up then (drugs, murder), I would have put the belt on him in 83, or maybe Muraco.

I only caught the end of that gif and thought that was Mick Foley for a second. :(

That sounds reasonable as hell. I'm honestly not up to brush on my Backlund. I hear a lot of mixed reviews about his performances critically and commercially. He sounds like a guy that did consistently well, but didn't have the same spikes as Bruno or Hogan. I was going to say "he held the ship together," but having a 6-year title reign is a bit more than that, haha. A lot of people say that losing the belt is to blame for Graham's rapid downfall, but it is logical to consider whether the addiction was more primary in that.

looks like we may get a good set of tapings

Something I just realized about Triple H's 2000: He was in gimmick match upon gimmick match that year. I'm not really high on Triple H, because I just feel that his importance is a retroactive construction by a WWE, and that it's a myth that should really be contested. It irks me so much. It was the Attitude era. It was crazy, woo -- I get it. I am probably being far too cerebral in trying to assassinate Triple H like this. But it's just something I didn't realize until just looking at the cards for 2000 (considered the WWF's best year, commercially and often critically):

* Street Fight against Cactus Jack at the Royal Rumble. Mick Foley bends over backwards trying to get the new heel champion over.

* Hell in a Cell at No Way Out against Cactus Jack, with Jack's career on the line. A gimmick on top of a gimmick. Mick Foley again doing his best to make sure Triple H is in top heel form in time for WrestleMania.

* Four-way for the gold at Mania. Rock, Big Show and Foley also there. A McMahon in every corner. Another case of a gimmick on top of the gimmick.

* Shane McMahon as special guest referee against Rock at Backlash; Vince and Steph allowed at ringside; "Austin will be there! Austin will be there!"; Rock's still chasing.

* Iron Man at Judgment Day against Rock.

* Multi-man tag where the belt can change hands at KOR.

* Last Man Standing at Fully Loaded.

* Triple Threat at SummerSlam.

* No DQ with Mick Foley as special guest referee at Unforgiven; Stephanie makes her decision.

* No DQ against Austin at Survivor Series.

* Multi-man Cell at Armageddon.

Triple H's one straight one-on-one wrestling match in 2000 on PPV was against Chris Benoit, who was arguably the best wrestler in the company at that point. Could this have been means to "protect" Triple H, or am I looking too far into it? I mean some of them arguably hurt the card, but you can't deny there is always some sort of effort to "fluff-up" the Triple H match and make things interesting from a layman's perspective.

Just get a monogram ring. That should help.

I will get married to Eli Drake and then on our 20th anniversary reveal it was all a work, and I never really felt anything for him.

Hm. Didn't know Laurel was gone. Then again, it's TNA, so I kinda didn't give a fuck. Her crazy bride schtick felt like nobody could come up with anything else for her after that one wedding angle ages ago and the company collectively forgot she was doing it.

But it isn't just her timing with Allie. It seems like her timing as a whole isn't the best. But I haven't seen anything of her when she apparently acted "normal", which is why I said I don't know if she is trying to live her gimmick too much and it's fucking up her ring work, or if she needs more practice with competent women to shore that up, of if she is just ass and we're seeing her at peak performance.

I'm hoping it's one of the first two and not the third, because I'd like to see more.

And yeah, Rosemary seems like the likeliest of collisions, but is one of those "believe it when I see it" things, since this is what's left of TNA we're talking 'bout. If it were WWE, I'd say it would be because of bad booking, but with these guys, I would say the "obvious" prob'ly wouldn't even cross anyone's minds until Rosemary leaves for NXT or Su takes a leave due to pregnancy or something.

I don't think bringing her in was a bad I dea but putting her right in the Knockouts title scene was. Especially given the Allie history but that might have played a factor into their thinking of doing it. The obvious pay off with her is Rosemary and I think building her towards that would have been smarter. Had she got involved somehow in the Taya/Rosemary matches might have been a better introduction to her. I think her and Taya might have an odd chemistry between one another and done a Taya/Yung vs Allie/Rosemary that could have eventually led to a Knockouts title match. Braxton being involved is another problem I think.

I won’t go into arguing opinions of Triple H’s legacy, but gimmick matches were the motif in 2000. WM2000 didn’t have a regular 1 on 1 Match that year. Just because you do t like him or think he is overrated doesn’t mean you can completely retcon his ability.

Nakamura new gimmick is that Toru Yano has taken over his mind, Being John Malkovich style.

Prove me wrong.

He recently did an interview praising Nakamura's form in doing the move and for taking the low blow worldwide.

"Head's up, Nakamura!" :fan hits him in back of head with streamer roll:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Yano ‘It is an effective move really on all male opponents. That it doubles men up so it can lead into the Kinshasa. You could get caught? So what? If you don’t get caught, it ain’t cheating. That’s where (Nakamura)’s creativity comes in. There’s no limits to what it opens up.’</p>&mdash; chris charlton (@reasonjp) <a href="https://twitter.com/reasonjp/status/988690084764372992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2018</a></blockquote>
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yeah I don't get the Braxton part unless they planed to get rich swan into impact since he is at the tapings anyway.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&quot;Nothing but the finest, boss.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/7mvpV6H8zc">pic.twitter.com/7mvpV6H8zc</a></p>&mdash; TDE Wrestling (@totaldivaseps) <a href="https://twitter.com/totaldivaseps/status/988584979302178821?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Song from WM35 commercial:


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u4mC2PuRQVo" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Not trying to completely retcon his entire ability, I just find it interesting that he was in so many gimmick matches on PPV. Let's look at The Rock by comparison:

* He was in the Royal Rumble.

* Wrestled Big Show at No Way Out. There was a stipulation, but it was a straight-forward match.

* Was in the four-way with Triple H at Mania.

* Was in the special ref with Triple H at Backlash.

* Was in the Iron Man with Triple H at Judgment Day.

* He was in the six-man with Triple H at KOTR.

* He wrestled Chris Benoit in a straight-forward match at Fully Loaded.

* He was in the Triple Threat with Triple H at SummerSlam.

* He was in a four-way at Unforgiven.

* He wrestled Kurt Angle in a No DQ match at No Mercy.

* He wrestled Rikishi in a straight-forward match at Survivor Series.

* Hell in a Cell with Triple H and the gang at Armageddon.

So The Rock was in 3 singles matches out of 11 opportunities to do that in 2000, versus Triple H's 1 out of 12. I just find it interesting. It came up when I was discussing Triple H's enhanced retroactive significance in the Attitude era. 2000 is considered his glory year, and he did some really fine work during it, don't get me wrong, but I do find it interesting the bells and whistles he got, and that he wasn't a more significant draw than Chris Benoit that year.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Yes, the 2018 WWE Business Partner Summit opened with Elias.<br>Some corporate partners were willing to walk with him.<br>(&quot;Silence your cell phones. Unless you have a Cricket Wireless plan. Then, by all means, do your thing.&quot;)<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/wwebps?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#wwebps</a> <a href="https://t.co/nVQFk8IJyI">pic.twitter.com/nVQFk8IJyI</a></p>&mdash; Chris Harrington (@mookieghana) <a href="https://twitter.com/mookieghana/status/989185905310294016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Your hosts for the 2018 WWE Business Partner Summit?<br>Bryon &amp; Renee. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/wwebps?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#wwebps</a> <a href="https://t.co/4ziPUoFJr1">pic.twitter.com/4ziPUoFJr1</a></p>&mdash; Chris Harrington (@mookieghana) <a href="https://twitter.com/mookieghana/status/989189609014923265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">They have Bobby Roode do his entrance so Michelle &amp; George can come out.<br>WWE <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/copresidents?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#copresidents</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/wwebps?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#wwebps</a> <a href="https://t.co/n2BQHU049K">pic.twitter.com/n2BQHU049K</a></p>&mdash; Chris Harrington (@mookieghana) <a href="https://twitter.com/mookieghana/status/989191876401074176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Michelle: &quot;How's that for an entrance? Thank you Bobby.&quot;<br>George: &quot;I want that robe.&quot;<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/wwebps?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#wwebps</a> <a href="https://t.co/lKd6JcRD7C">pic.twitter.com/lKd6JcRD7C</a></p>&mdash; Chris Harrington (@mookieghana) <a href="https://twitter.com/mookieghana/status/989192086514753536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Did he really say "Silence your cell phones. Unless you have a Cricket Wireless plan. Then, by all means, do your thing."?

lol

Which is weird because ATTs marketing is all about "doing your thing"

Oops

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Paul Levesque takes credit for coming up with &quot;Global Localization&quot;. He explained their push to create NXT brands around the world as a global territorial system, reminiscent of the plan the company toyed with over a decade ago but never went through with. <a href="https://t.co/bqgWHv1Cak">pic.twitter.com/bqgWHv1Cak</a></p>&mdash; John Pollock (@iamjohnpollock) <a href="https://twitter.com/iamjohnpollock/status/989225600706490368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Bit surprised Australia isn't part of their plans since that's been speculated to be getting a UK-like revival happening within the near future.

Would be cheaper and less competition to deal with if WWE got involved now than after the rumored revival happens. Right now think the only major promotion having a base there is NJPW but that was only done very recently.

<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bh-oy0yFrLZ/" data-instgrm-version="8" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GP T6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAA AElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; ██████████relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bh-oy0yFrLZ/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Shinsuke Nakamura’s new theme song [translated]</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thatsroode/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Adrian</a> (@thatsroode) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2018-04-25T03:41:38+00:00">Apr 24, 2018 at 8:41pm PDT</time></p></div></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Win or lose, I know those that will always be there for me. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SDLive?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SDLive</a> <a href="https://t.co/Rtb7gEze9b">pic.twitter.com/Rtb7gEze9b</a></p>&mdash; Rebecca Quin (@BeckyLynchWWE) <a href="https://twitter.com/BeckyLynchWWE/status/988963105748250624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2018</a></blockquote>
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#BeckyQuinoaSaga

http://www.wwe.com/f/styles/gallery_...cee9dd932b.jpg

Caption: Nattie's farting gimmick returns at the worst time