I like a tournament. Put it on Nakamura or Cesaro, instant storyline when Sami returns. Sami should be protesting though; Devlin didn’t get stripped of his belt.

NXT is on an island of its own. Like Smeat said, Tozawa is a jobber on RAW and undefeated in NXT's tournament to crown an interim Cruiserweight Champion.

An island on its own...until Survivor Series when they’re battling for “Brand Supremacy”.

Also..just watch for the first minute...Cesaro lost last week and well..this was the result...

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NX and AEW's ratings for this week's shows might struggle a bit more than usual due to the return of UFC Fight Night on ESPN's streaming service starting at 9PM tonight.

Might affect AEW more since UFC's average viewership age leans more towards their age range than WWE and NXT.

From a recent episode of PWI's podcast show with the author of the new Andre the Giant biography that had a few tidbits I found interesting.

Seems Rachael Ellering was among those in NXT and the PC that were quietly released by WWE based on a recent tweet teasing her return to the indies.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We know who we are, who we’ll always be and we have a choice: we can hide in the shadows or stand in the light <a href="https://t.co/DKpF7rafka">pic.twitter.com/DKpF7rafka</a></p>&mdash; Rachael Ellering (@RachaelEversWWE) <a href="https://twitter.com/RachaelEversWWE/status/1260707246239027201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 13, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Have the finals of the IC Title tournament come down to Cesaro and Chad Gable.

50k piles of steaming hot garbage.

Why fucking bother? None of it, or any of the stupid bullshit, will remotely fucking matter.

Might as well call Cesaro "Claudio Castagnoli" if you're going to call Shorty G "Chad Gable".

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">What I’ve learned from sources on SummerSlam. <br><br>- WWE wants to remain as is, city of Boston has made it clear that’s not likely<br>- WWE is activity hunting for a new location w/ fans<br>- Keep an eye on the South, FL &amp; GA. <br>- Date MAY be pushed into September<br>- No word on TakeOver</p>&mdash; WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) <a href="https://twitter.com/WrestleVotes/status/1260609169163456515?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 13, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who the fuck cares about Chad Gable? Why would he be pushed at this point?

Are you talking about WWE or AEW here? Unclear. At least Cesaro and Chad Gable would have a properly good match and not just get snowflakes from Dave. You get the victories where you can get them in Zombie Wrestling.

Summerslam in the fall..lol

They finally brought back In Your House lol

Are you implying or assuming that a "properly good match" is one that is on TV but is also entirely scripted (almost the same as others) move for move and/or segment for segment?

If so, I can almost guarantee you that WWE contractually makes their talent agree that "99% or more" of the time (IF the talent can even remotely dispute and/or keep track), of what happens to their "character" and worse when factoring in live events and "PPV"s, i.e., not just what happens on TV. AEW has no such contractual arrangements despite actually paying closer and/or equal salaries and better benefits.

Most talent has been previously so desperate to take what "big" guaranteed amount they can get from WWE, and outside of the sheer total guaranteed money WWE has been previously offering, plenty of folks would have otherwise left for other places for the creative freedoms and/or other benefits/guarantees.

What the fuck are you even talking about? Are you drunk?

Do you think WWE plots out their matches move-by-move? Nobody's got time for that. Routine matches are the norm in wrestling these days, because talent all works the same. That's on the talent. It's why AEW hasn't exactly had stellar ring work either.

I mean, I haven't been there myself, but I'm sure it's pretty well accepted that WWE actually don't do what you're saying they do. Are you actually suggesting they plan out the matches really thoroughly? Lol, what do you think the talent does in AEW? Call shit in the ring? Who is even good enough to do that?

The ship sailed on AEW being a better place to work. Most good talent/stars signed back up with WWE when they saw that AEW opened with a Casino Battle Royal for a World Title shot in the main event of their next real PPV, which featured Glacier freezing someone with ice powers. Creative freedom =/= good. Matt Hardy proves that. Almost all of AEW proves that. There are maybe two or three guys that understand why they are doing what they are doing there. They've capped themselves in terms of viewership, so even the stars they do have/could have coming up their ranks are probably going to jump to the WWE when their deals are up or sooner. It's the difference between being watched by <1 million people and >2 million people. And because they sharted on the rights fees, it's not like Shad Khan is guaranteed to pony up.

All the potential of AEW was huff and puff. They've delivered on basically none of their promises. It's not sports-based. It's not the Ellis Island of professional wrestling. It doesn't get away from WWE tropes. Did they even end up giving their talent benefits? It's just riding a "Not WWE" wave.

I can't believe people in one breath say "nothing WWE does matters," then on the other hand have AEW which chop and change their storylines just as much, and are even less consequential or influential than the WWE, but they're cool. It's just fucking bonkers.

AEW is the Broken Matt Hardy of wrestling promotions. People say it is "brilliant" just because it is different, when it's actually the drizzling shits.

And it's not even different. They just tell themselves it is.

I'm not saying AEW is superior overall necessarily or not. That's subjective to each individual, viewer and talent.

What I am saying is that yes, anything that appears on TV and PPV, and even a "majority" of the so-called "big talent" live event matches, are planned almost move for move, but not necessarily "rehearsed".

It's not remotely as hard or time consuming if there are systems in place and you're trained to do it from the beginning. The fact that most people don't know this is ridiculously pathetic. The fact that you don't and/or can't believe this shows, not only, 1. how little you know about what actually happens (pure systematization due to effectiveness) in any major company, let alone an entertainment or any major company, but 2. how little you actually know about the details of how WWE's creative process works.

That obviously, doesn't mean that EVERY match, and certainly not every TV/PPV match and/or appearance is identical, scripted, and/or things don't sometimes go "off script" when needed of course. However, more often than not, if it's makes it to the public at large (appears on Raw, SD, NXT, "PPV", YouTube, etc.), everything they do is by design and often rehearsed at least one or more times.

Lol, that's absolute horse-shit and you know it.

I mean, not only is that not what actually happens, but it's also not the most efficient way of doing things. Why waste energy rehearsing shit when you can just go over shit with an agent and no one has to generate a fucking template for you?

Is criticism of AEW this effective in knocking you completely out of reality?

https://i.imgur.com/esBaOf3.gif
https://i.imgur.com/sJqmLeh.gif

Thank God for black widow changing the subject

On this week's Jim Ross podcast "Dr. Death Steve Williams" JR mentions Kareem Abdul Jabbar, says his name several times and then very nearly accidentally calls him "Muhammad".

You can hear the wheels turning as he thinks "It's something Islamic".
Was very funny.

At least he didn't call him Kazaam

Because basketball?

I knew you were Ghana burn out after over achieving yesterday.

My mind was more "because of K, and two vowels followed by an M", did not even think of basketball connection

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Reminds me of Guy's entrance in the Street Fighter games.

Flies in kicking the barrels. But instead, it's O.C's head.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Choose Only 1 <br><br>Vader’s Powerbomb <br><br> or<br><br>Sid’s Powerbomb <a href="https://t.co/m57gbCtGky">pic.twitter.com/m57gbCtGky</a></p>&mdash; GrappleClips (@GrappleClips) <a href="https://twitter.com/GrappleClips/status/1260932313233293312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I'd go with Sid's as my choice.

Vader had some nice looking brutal ones in that clip but Sid's looked more crisper or smoother.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Making us choose between the Masters of the Powerbomb hurts my soul. ��<br><br>They both were God tier! Especially that year! <a href="https://t.co/LPEmgmJgeD">pic.twitter.com/LPEmgmJgeD</a></p>&mdash; Big Willie-isms | Now Live! �� (@bigwillieisms) <a href="https://twitter.com/bigwillieisms/status/1260962462511386630?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


YOOOOOOOO when did this happen? This looks incredible!

Sid's was better by a country mile because he wasn't constantly folding guys by the neck and shoulders.
Vader was a bloody idiot doing that to people.

Bradshaw had a better powerbomb than both of them, lovely and flat. It probably felt so smooth in comparison.

When Sid dropped to knee, his powerbomb was the best. Vader looks like he's killing people.

I'd put Scott Norton's powerbomb over Bradshaw and the other two as well.

https://i.imgur.com/Os6bCnP.gif

I woulda stopped the match to suck on my fingers after that.

I never expected to get so horny on the wrestling forum! Hot stuff RP what else would you do?

:wtf:

:shifty:

You drink too much pop

I mean that's just quality patter

If Jim can just chill the fuck out and be cool that could be fun.

Janella is trash

He does suck but Cornette could actually play along.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A request 9 years in the making...<a href="https://twitter.com/CMPunk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CMPunk</a> FINALLY got his <a href="https://twitter.com/WWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WWE</a> ice cream bars! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWEBackstage?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WWEBackstage</a> <a href="https://t.co/9sU8diZpNP">pic.twitter.com/9sU8diZpNP</a></p>&mdash; WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWEonFOX/status/1260420057357856770?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 13, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Yeah, thing is at this stage Cornette playing along would be him trashing Janella again.

Real Heel

Janela is a fucking moron. None of these dudes actually have any good comebacks or witticisms. Joey Ryan is the fucking worst. But Kenny King was awful back when they had their thing too. Cornette roasts them all. Guys can't even promo over Twitter.

Can you fucking imagine at the amount of crowd heat Cornette would get if he showed up in AEW. I would definitely watch.

I'd give him a month to maybe 1 PPV cycle before he got fired because he couldn't avoid doing and/or saying something extremely stupid or controversial.

Who was it sampling the fish patte? :wtf:

That would be a hell of a month

The entire Lucha Undeground series is now free to watch online at Tubi


https://tubitv.com/series/4047/lucha_underground

Not available in the UK :'(

Outside of the admittedly poorly aimed joke at starving people -- what has Cornette actually done or said that was controversial while working with a wrestling company?

I used to think the issue with Cornette in AEW is that he would have to kayfabe it up, which means selling guys like Omega and The Bucks. He can't tell the truth about them the whole way, because it completely buries them. But then I heard his promo from Jake's perspective on his podcast this week, haha.

For those who missed it, he basically demonstrated how Jake could cut a promo that gets Lance Archer over instead of Jake over. He managed to take aim at Kenny and The Bucks in it by heeling on Cody and how he thought he could rule the roost in AEW, because he went into business with two goofballs and a clueless guy he has got no problem being a bigger star than.

It took shots at The Bucks and Omega while staying in character and being a great heel. It also went over to actually put Lance Archer over as the man in Brandi's head that she's imagining while she's in Cody's bed. Fucking amazing.

In May 2005, Cornette was suspended for several weeks by WWE after slapping OVW developmental wrestler Anthony Carelli backstage after Carelli had "no-sold" fellow wrestler The Boogeyman by laughing at him during a live OVW event. Shortly after Cornette returned from his suspension, a separate incident occurred and the WWE released him from his contract in July 2005.

That's two times in 30 years or whatever. He's due for another one in 2034.

Yeah man, you didn’t put any perameters on it.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Olympic medalist <a href="https://twitter.com/AnthonyOgogo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AnthonyOgogo</a> recounts the advice <a href="https://twitter.com/CodyRhodes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CodyRhodes</a> gave him about his future <a href="https://twitter.com/AEWrestling?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AEWrestling</a> debut and reveals the promotion were planning a show for Wembley Arena in June prior to the COVID-19 Lockdown.<br><br>Watch the whole interview on my IGTV HERE: <a href="https://t.co/w9HlcGFsOQ">https://t.co/w9HlcGFsOQ</a> <a href="https://t.co/QAoJh7S1un">pic.twitter.com/QAoJh7S1un</a></p>&mdash; Donagh Corby (@DonaghCorby_) <a href="https://twitter.com/DonaghCorby_/status/1261425039460782082?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Nothing else matters anymore....

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Oh yeah, I’m not saying you’re wrong or anything. People just constantly go way out there with Corny and act like he’s been fired from every job he’s ever had. He walked away from WCW, took a step back from the WWF to work in OVW, left Global Force, quit ROH and actually quit the NWA too.

Maybe it’s because he’s so direct and passionate, or that he doesn’t mince words, but I can’t think of many people in wrestling, at least, that have more misinformation out there about them. There are people who think he’s actually a conservative and shit. It’s crazy.

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I am pretty sure this is Memphis. But Eddie Gilbert knows that you don't always have to be a blatant puppy kicking dickhead to get heat. Making the women open the door for him? That is just a subtle assholery that most outside of that region wouldn't get. He was the world's shortest Chad, 30 years before the Incel mindset was a thing.

You can't tell who either are?

When did they rename the United Kingdom Championship?

https://www.wwe.com/f/styles/wwe_16_...d81138eb94.png

Around this past January and as part of WWE's overall process to put 205 Live and NXT UK under the NXT banner instead of being their own independent brands.

Ah, I was only aware of the Cruiserweight Championship :y:

Did they ever retrieve WALTER's lost championship?

Don't think so.

Wouldn't really matter for tv since that theft happened before he got the current design belt.

Fair enough. I guess they could've retired it in the warehouse.

Listening to Martha Hart on TIJ. Wow.

The Hart House needs to be a movie or a TV series. Amazing stories there. RIP Owen.

I wouldn't be suprised if when Martha says Owen "applied year after year" to be a firefighter and then a customs agent ... LOL

No way.

That may be what he sold her on though! He was destined to be in the ring LOL. He probably told her since he was a kid he didn't want to be in the buisness cause thats what she probably wanted to hear!

Does Lio Rush ever stop whining?

Not sure who he expects to hire him, he had a bad rep before the 'E and now he can't even get along with Mark Henry, one of the most respected wrestlers in WWE.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Couldn’t i just do the same for publicly de framing my name on national radio? <a href="https://twitter.com/TheMarkHenry?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheMarkHenry</a> come on man, your going out sad. You deserve to be remembered for the greatest heel turn ever, not for threatening to sue a 25 yr old in the middle of a pandemic.</p>&mdash; �� Ever After OUT NOW! (@itsLioRush) <a href="https://twitter.com/itsLioRush/status/1262011191507013633?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 17, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

What’s the story there?

Never mind, I looked it up.

He accused Mark Henry of holding back black talent in WWE, Mark responded saying that was defamatory and he could sue Lio if he wanted but he thinks Lio is just trying to get attention for his music career.

De framing. That idiot.

Apparently WWE had a huge storyline planned that would have been the big post-Mania storyline for this year.

According to WrestleVotes, would have been on the same level as the Vince McMahon limo explosion or Nexus debut storylines in terms of importance.

Could only be one thing , the return of Tatanka.

Pierre was going to make his WWE return... as PCO.

Why didn't this toothpick feel the need to be this vocal about Henry when he was still there?

He was complaining about other things.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">EXCLUSIVE: <a href="https://twitter.com/WWEBigE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WWEBigE</a> calls in to Busted Open with <a href="https://twitter.com/davidlagreca1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@davidlagreca1</a> &amp; <a href="https://twitter.com/TheMarkHenry?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheMarkHenry</a> to further profess his love to <a href="https://twitter.com/BeckyLynchWWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BeckyLynchWWE</a>'s mother, becoming <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Becky2Belts?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Becky2Belts</a> step father, and channeling his inner &quot;Sexual Chocolate&quot;. <a href="https://t.co/EbGnfaHvWd">pic.twitter.com/EbGnfaHvWd</a></p>&mdash; SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) <a href="https://twitter.com/BustedOpenRadio/status/1126906008272605186?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 10, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Big E gonna be a grandfather lol

Why do I have a feeling Big E is gonna come out of the New Day, with an acting career?

And this fucking guy just goes on n on n on n on.....

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Very sad news today. 411mania founder Larry Csonka passed away this morning. I used to write for Larry. Very nice guy.

His last tweet 18 hours ago said he felt shitty and tired all day :( sad

He had his leg amputated like about a year ago. He injured it and it became septic. Really fucked up. I was actually talking to someone from the site a couple of weeks ago about possibly starting up my column again since I have more time on my hands. I just had to talk to Larry about it. Never got around to it :(

Fuck, I was thinking about him the other day. I didn't know him, but I've read a lot of his stuff and was thinking about listening to the 411 podcast, which I never have.

RIP.

411Mania used to be one of my go to sites for wrestling news until Pro Wrestling and Fightful popped up.

His reviews for shows were pretty great to read and helped influence the idea of finally doing one for the TPWW Frontpage.

Martha Hart confirms with CBS Sports what has long been assumed: Owen Hart will never go into the WWE HOF. Martha said she wouldn’t even entertain it and characterized the entire concept as “garbage”.

Which is fair enough. She has no obligation to make peace with a company that caused her so much grief and put her husband, innocuously intended or not, in the ridiculous position that led to his death.

Really Owen’s one of those unofficial HOFers anyway, like how Bruno and others were before making peace with Vince.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Martha Hart on Owen and the HOF question: “Their HOF? They don't even have a Hallway of Fame. It doesn't exist. There's nothing. It's a fake entity. There's nothing real or tangible. It's just an event they have to make money.<br><br>“I would never even entertain it. It's garbage.&quot;</p>&mdash; Alex McCarthy (@AlexM_talkSPORT) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexM_talkSPORT/status/1262443020298915842?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

WWE could probably do a "Hallway of Fame" at their Performance Center as a way to honor their Hall of Famers and be a useful source of motivation for their PC trainees.

Yeah, I don't think you really need the WWE to tell you who is important in a historical sense. If anything they cloud and distort things.

Zelina/Aleister jumped on the wagon as well....

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Tyson Taylor just picked up the midstate title.

Baffled as to why Bianca Belair has been working Main Event instead of RAW