Karrion Kross should take credit and change his name/gimmick to Carrier Cross, where he infects all his opponents.

I think Mizdow happened after correct? They fumbled that too.

To be fair, there was no where for that gimmick to go, after turning on miz.

Yeah Mizdow happened well after

But the turn was horribly botched.

damien sandow for me remains one of the worst cases of blue balls in recent memory, the load just dissolved and reabsorbed into my body leaving me woozy

Pretty pumped for this

It honestly wouldn't have mattered if they had knocked it out of the park. The gimmick had a ceiling and they had already hit it.

Exactly.

I remember Miz beating Mizdow in Raw and it just kind of ended. Two weeks later it came out that the match on Raw was the blow off. It was a blow off that nobody knew was until two weeks later lol.

Sandow also wasn't actually that good

Damien Sandow was a B+ Elias.

I thought Sandow as the intellectual savior was a good gimmick. He won MITB and I thought he’s gonna be decent B show heel champ on smackdown for a while. Then the wwe decided to unite the world and wwe titles before Sandow cashed in and that was the end of any chance he had at being a world champion lol.

He and Elias could have made some twin magic.

Keith Lee on his absence

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I've decided. I am just going to tell you guys the story myself. Give me a week or two.</p>&mdash; Eventual Lee (@RealKeithLee) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealKeithLee/status/1419747288176545800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I hope he knows he doesn't have to succumb into pressure and share.

A week or two huh? Wonder if he’s leaving soon.

My guess is it's probably some angle and maybe he turns heel and cuts one of those "YOU PEOPLE" promos at the crowd

Which obvs makes total and complete sense

They are in dire need of babyfaces for both shows right now and one guy they could protect and push is Keith Lee. Don’t why they won’t.

They are in dire need of babyfaces for both shows right now and one guy they could protect and push is Keith Lee. Don’t why they won’t.

Keith Lee is incredibly lovable and turning him heel makes no sense. I'm still not over Sami Zayn's turn. I for one do not care for his conspiracy nut character. But as long as he's making a real world impact...

Damien Sandow could have been better than he was, but there was a limit. He didn’t really “get it” and even if they had jammed him down our throats, he would have just been another guy jammed down our throats.

Watched the MLW Battle Riot battle royal from this weekend. Basically it’s a 40 man Royal Rumble with pins and submissions. Winner gets a title shot anytime anywhere. Holy shit what an overbooked clusterfuck of nonsense. But kinda fun. Savio Vega pulled double duty as himself and as Kwang. Theyve got some black luchador who did like 7 Kofi elimination saving spots in one match. The ring was constantly too crowded so nobody could get their spots in cleanly. They’ve got this guy EJ Nduka who is an absolute monster. The winner stabbed the monster heel multiple times with a spike.

Getting Botchamania videos as recommendations in my YouTube feed. Like, fuck off, man.

have never heard the audio of this clip before :eek:


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/wadVAIOiFH">https://t.co/wadVAIOiFH</a> <a href="https://t.co/aneQeVFbQd">pic.twitter.com/aneQeVFbQd</a></p>&mdash; Giancarlo Dittamo (@yeahgiancarlo) <a href="https://twitter.com/yeahgiancarlo/status/1419781831617036291?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Audio? It’s the video dawg.

I kind of feel sorry for Meltzer. I suppose he probably has a lot of money though.

The Bucks should've renamed their flippy finisher after he creepily objectified female wrestlers for getting surgery.

The Young Bucks shouldn’t have named their finish after him in the first place. Man you’re bad at this.

I remember that brief period when the bucks moved up to heavyweight in njpw, and actually put effort in to telling better stories in their matches rather than just doing moves.

Damn. What could have been.

I saw one match, and I can’t remember who it was against, but one of them tried to sell an injury getting in the way of a springboard. The crowd LAUGHED. They’re not very good.

I honestly thought they dropped the boat with him holding the MITB case, but Cody Rhodes taking the contract out of it and using it before Sandow realized he was just carrying around an empty gimmick case. It seemed like they were teasing something like that, then it just went away. Maybe that title unification had something to do with that? I wonder...

You're talking about the same company that had Brodus Clay cut that promo where he says he's a new monster and he'll "destroy all your heroes" then shows up a few weeks later dressed like a cross between LL Cool J and RUN DMC in the 80s. The same company New Day had to repeatedly BEG to turn heel when the original incarnation (read: Vince's vision) for the gimmick was absolute death. They only started gaining steam once they became disingenuous heels instead of playing the nebulous concept of "positivity" straight (and also missed the opportunity to educate newer fans on The Freebird Rule, which I think was mentioned on TV all of ONCE outside of being listed as one of the ingredients on their box of cereal before there was actual cereal and it was just a packaging vector for the t-shirts). The same company that thought people would buy Jinder Mahal as a legit main event threat in a total of three weeks after constantly being the ass end of a joke for years. A company who FINALLY had the good sense to turn Roman heel years after it would have first made sense to do so and they'd have been reaping the benefits of their big star ages ago instead of finally pulling that trigger with this Tribal Chief business after they almost have nobody left at the top.

WWE will do whatever bullshit they think is a great idea, wheather it actually is or isn't, then usually blame the talent when it's revealed it actually wasn't a good idea... and then when they get serendipitous gold dumped on their lap, like being in the throes of the Ryder Revolution, The Summer of Punk, The YES! Movement, or the pre-Stephanie co-opted Divas Revolution, they decide to go in a different direction.

And I say that as a guy who is still not super high on Keith Lee personally. I still can't not picture him as anyone else other than the other big guy in RoH teaming with Shane Taylor. Even with my own bias, I see there is *something* there that the crowds apparently want to see, and I don't understand how WWE has yet to pick up on that.

Because Vince doesn’t care. It is logical to protect a handful of wrestlers on the roster in all divisions so that you have gatekeepers and guys ready to be elevated if they break out or there’s suddenly a need or injury. Vince doesn’t think that way. Nobody other than Roman and Lashley are special. Nobody gets ahead or goes on a tear.

The Sandow and more recently Otis MITB wins is a prime example of Vince just making a decision with no long term plan hashed out. They gave Sandow the MITB and 3 months later burned his cash in to lose to Cena, who was feuding with Randy Orton again to unify the titles. 3 months. They booked Sandow to win MITB and in three months they punted because the decision to give him the briefcase was done without actually having a game plan of how to use it.

Otis was a mistake from day one. Nobody in their right mind viewed him as a champion. At least not the top champion the show. But whatever. He gets the briefcase, he loses it, and now he’s clean shaven and playing Chad Gable’s muscle as they both circle the toilet that is the WWE midcard.

A year ago Otis was heavily featured and a seemingly popular babyface who’s greatest career accomplishment prob ruined any chance he had at elevating it celebrating himself.

Some of the anti-WWE bias has basis, another part of it is all myth. I mean, you can say that no one other than Reigns and Lashley is special, but Lashley is a relatively new thing for them. He was US/IC Title level last year. Occasional opponent for Drew. Reigns has been pushed, but his heel turn happened only about a year ago didn’t it?

There’s a period of time where the WWE didn’t want stars. They don’t want to hand talent the cache to be able to value themselves. The irony of that is that when there is a mindless millionaire throwing money around, there is that chance for talent to go elsewhere. And at some point you do need stars.

I thought the XFL would necessitate the WWE getting more of their ducks in the row. And prior to WrestleMania, it actually did seem like that with Drew. But Covid changed those plans, and they’re only getting back into things now.

You’d THINK they’d want stars now. You can kind of see it with Roman, Lashley, Drew, The Usos and Big E. Maybe a few others. But their programming largely sucks, so who knows how effective it will be?

Thoughts on Roman and Lashley only being "stars" because of the lack of other stars or the absence of a few (i.e. Cena).


They've absolutely made Lashley look like a beast, no question. Roman talks a lotta shit, but still seems the same boring superman punching ooooh-aaahhhing shield guy.


Still find Roman boring, if I am being 100% honest. He's just a boring asshole now.

RIP Super Porky

Was just coming on here to post that. I remember first watching Porky like 20 years ago. Great character.

He’s been doing this for quite a while now. It’s clear he values “shock” over storytelling and character development. Zack Ryder winning the IC Title at WM a few years ago just to lose it the next night was another prime example. As is the Royal Rumble winner constantly being the secondary title contender. (Remember Shinsuke Nakamura eliminating Roman Reigns to win the rumble? Lol)

For all Vince’s faults it’s weird to see him do that. Constantly going with the “WTF” moment instead of using those moments to build actual stars seems like such an amateur wrestling booker practice.

If this Vince were around in ‘87 Andre would have beaten Hogan clean at WM 3 and right after the pinfall there would just be 5 minutes of crowd shots.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XE0L_88cbGk" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

RIP Super Porky

Ok I totally forgot how good Palmer Cannon was in this role.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tonight in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWEJacksonville?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WWEJacksonville</a>, Tony Khan, son of the owner of the <a href="https://twitter.com/Jaguars?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Jaguars</a>, came bearing gifts for the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWE?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WWE</a> Superstars! <a href="http://t.co/sNSIwT6DaL">pic.twitter.com/sNSIwT6DaL</a></p>&mdash; WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWEUniverse/status/564241150547329025?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">May need to keep this handy. <br><br>(Note we are pivoting from bingo cards to flow charts as we feel it is best for our brand moving forward.) <a href="https://t.co/iCP4R1Qis5">pic.twitter.com/iCP4R1Qis5</a></p>&mdash; Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrandonThurston/status/1420046290994479104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

If Hogan/Andre was happening now, the crowd would be cheering Andre and booing Hogan and crying that only one guy gets to look good.

Zack Ryder winning the IC Title was awful. I know that was just a random example, but that was the talent not knowing what is good or not and all pushing for Ryder to win the match.

That’s the AEW textbook right there.

I've hated that excuse forever. There's ALWAYS going to be something else on,

1.81 million for RAW this week

635k viewers were aged 18-49 in the ever infamous tweener known as 'The Demo'


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">REPORT: WWE Raw ratings dip from last week’s surge after return to arenas with fans – key metrics, demographics, historical perspective<a href="https://t.co/ZP2qeX2Q8i">https://t.co/ZP2qeX2Q8i</a></p>&mdash; Pro Wrestling Torch (@PWTorch) <a href="https://twitter.com/PWTorch/status/1420120703899258888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Those darn tootin Olympians!




Seriously, on one of the more recent Fan Council questionnaires, the WWE wanted to know if there was any interest in having any current gold medalists on WWE TV.


:|

The Olympics had 13 million viewers last night on NBC so I could see it

Please refer to the aforementioned flow chart, sir.

And then see the follow up from COO Gertner, advising on the facts.

Yeah, “people would rather watch something else” always gets me a little miffed.

No. Because the crowd would be made up of a healthy mainstream audience that enjoys what they’re seeing and is rooting for what the company has successfully made them root for.

This “blame the audience” thing would be mind-blowingly dumb for any form of entertainment. WWE is no different. It’s weird that people have latched on to it.

Who exactly pushed for Ryder to win the match and what dirt did they have on Vince to force him to book it?

You know how the old saying goes. Once a Money Mark, always a Money Mark :rofl:

lol blaming the audience what a shitty cop out. If the product was good and the wrestlers were booked to be better than 50/50 and they actually built up guys siii when they won it meant something, the audience would take it.

... then Hogan would get his win back on the next Saturday Night's Main Event on free TV.

<iframe width="745" height="419" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HJSXOMi1nMU" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

They would then trade wins at the next 3 ppvs while also seeing action against each other in various tag matches

And also winning the tag titles together while Jesse Ventura pondered on commentary "CAN THEY CO-EXIST".

They would win said titles from an established team like The Hart Foundation.

The Hart Foundation would then be re-packaged as a comedy tag team before Bret Hart eventually got released for not reaching hard enough for that brass ring.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hearing that the current plan is to hold the Queen of the Ring finals in Saudi Arabia in October. <a href="https://t.co/aCdTlI12r3">pic.twitter.com/aCdTlI12r3</a></p>&mdash; Andrew Zarian (@AndrewZarian) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewZarian/status/1420405402391416836?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 28, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

lmfao this company remains tone deaf

They just do what they want and fuck what anyone else thinks, then they wonder why their ratings are in the shitter. Vince is too stubborn to admit he's out of touch, so this trend will continue until he's no longer in the picture.

It's just cyclical, bro.

Drake Wuertz continues his run as an "IRL" heel


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Woke Wrestling Entertainment. <a href="https://t.co/U0N0P7PRQM">pic.twitter.com/U0N0P7PRQM</a></p>&mdash; Nationally Published Troll (@mongo_ebooks) <a href="https://twitter.com/mongo_ebooks/status/1420434064868352011?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 28, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">If you don't include the Olympic coverage, Raw was No. 1 for the week on cable and AEW Dynamite was No. 3. Not on their night, but for the entire week.</p>&mdash; Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) <a href="https://twitter.com/davemeltzerWON/status/1420426445763973120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 28, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BREAKING NEWS: The amazing <a href="https://twitter.com/TitusONeilWWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TitusONeilWWE</a> will have a school named after him in recognition of his service to the Hillsborough County Public School System.<br><br>Always an inspiration. Congratulations Titus! <a href="https://t.co/DjwoAep0RF">pic.twitter.com/DjwoAep0RF</a></p>&mdash; WWE’s The Bump (@WWETheBump) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWETheBump/status/1420387071173275654?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 28, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Per an industry source, WWE / FOX is going to be a major story to watch. <br><br>Nick Khan/WWE are not on talking terms with FOX and it’s been like this for a bit. FOX is very upset with the promotion of Peacock on FOX Fridays. <a href="https://t.co/pUpMn78HvQ">https://t.co/pUpMn78HvQ</a></p>&mdash; SoDuTw (@SoDuTw) <a href="https://twitter.com/SoDuTw/status/1420373250652184585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 28, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The FOX/SmackDown deal doesn't end until fall 2024.

FOX can be pissed all they want but the deal will almost certainly run its course unless FOX decides to buy them out.

I'd be shocked if FOX found anything else that matched the demo they get from SD tbh

Being moved to SyFy definitely hurt NXT this week

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">NXT on SyFy drew 520,000 and a 0.12 in the 18-49 demo. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NXT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NXT</a></p>&mdash; Pro Wrestling Torch (@PWTorch) <a href="https://twitter.com/PWTorch/status/1420480690987094018?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 28, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Confound it! I want this whole concept of "WWF in the 80s using current day WWE booking" to be a thread now, but fuck if I'm making it. Too much like work.

"If you don't count the Olympics..." what the fuck?

Only thing Dave made me curious about was what #2 was with this heafty qualifier... I'd venture to guess (before I get around to possibly maybe looking it up) that it wasn't even tangentially sports related.

Well, that and how far down the list this stuff actually was since Olympic coverage is often ranked by sport instead of a nebulous "as a whole" metric. Like, did RAW come in behind Women's Street Skateboard finals and how many events showed up before we got there?

Wrestling fans are an odd sort, man. They don’t look for quality. They interact with the material they are allegedly fans of in ironic ways. The Hogan push doesn’t work in 2021. Not with kayfabe being as dead as it is now.

No one forced Vince to book it, but the story is that everyone in the match grouped together and really latched onto the idea of Ryder winning. Which makes them all idiots.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PRWSgHAY02Y?start=53" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

One of the best entrances ever. Onita was badass. ZERO fucks given and taking his sweet time even while being pelted with garbage.

There’s nothing intrinsic about being a wrestling fan that means you must also have this odd quirk.

What you’re talking about is a reaction to the product that has been presented. It’s a product that has turned off the common folk because it’s unwatchable as mainstream entertainment. It’s made a heel out of the company itself and fostered a hardcore audience made up of hate watching to make up for lack of quality.

The idea that some time in the early 2000s an entire fan base as a whole just snapped and became a badass hate watching machine as opposed to one old man changing the way business was done and fostering that reaction is some conspiracy theory shit.

If something is enjoyable, people will enjoy it. Whatever it is.

He's just cranky because he's not in the key demo.

badass hate watching is the 2021 badass submission machine.

Incredible

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Happy birthday to Meng! <br><br>May it be as joyous as this random match with the Public Enemy! <a href="https://t.co/KmC6eSwX1o">pic.twitter.com/KmC6eSwX1o</a></p>&mdash; WCW Deep Cuts (@DeepCutsWCW) <a href="https://twitter.com/DeepCutsWCW/status/1359531351167426561?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ratings are the single most important thing for the future of both WWE and AEW. <a href="https://t.co/yDJ6FXW6N7">https://t.co/yDJ6FXW6N7</a></p>&mdash; Bryan Alvarez (@bryanalvarez) <a href="https://twitter.com/bryanalvarez/status/1420877117147869184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 29, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wrestling is making the vast majority of their revenue from their TV deals <a href="https://t.co/IoK7BnueGa">https://t.co/IoK7BnueGa</a></p>&mdash; Raj Giri (@RajGiri_303) <a href="https://twitter.com/RajGiri_303/status/1420976382763442179?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Steve Corino has done a promo with Allison Danger for his match with his son, Colby, and it's one of the best I've seen in a while.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yFP_pAjeGCg" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Randomly remembering Michael Cole using the word "Attitudinal" a lot...

I remember when he would say Big Show had 'Frying Pan Sized Hands'

Did you have to split up the entire imgur album tho.


There was 1 embeddable link

Embedded albums are janky. These are my favorite, homie. Could always "condense" them to a single post.

Vince with a beard would be funny, according to cornette he shaves a few times a day as he detests facial hair.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_rs5C6aDk8M" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Cena went through puberty in his early forties

https://www.ladbible.com/cdn-cgi/ima...0065a951bf.png

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This dude has me furious...He found Rey Jr's address online and showed up at the front door of his house with a box of figures for him to sign. This is crossing the line! <a href="https://twitter.com/WWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WWE</a> and wrestling fans, in general, can be so selfish. <a href="https://t.co/uuaI5JXP44">pic.twitter.com/uuaI5JXP44</a></p>&mdash; Richard Hawes (@rickyhawes) <a href="https://twitter.com/rickyhawes/status/1421295222684803073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 31, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Wrestling fans are fucked

Hopefully he tries it on brock lesnar.

Hopefully he tries it to fucking Randy Orton. What a DAFT CUNT.

Kind of obsessed with this look for Big John .

Looks like Johnny Cakes from the Sopranos

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_fTT9xlgZ9C...cakes_3116.jpg

Bro!

https://i.imgur.com/aa83bsi.jpeg

Jesus? :wtf:

WTF? How do you just find somebody's address online?