The Thread Killer

Or they could call her “Aunty Vaxx”

I’m not saying who she is related to didn’t help her get the tryout. I’m sure it helped her in the same way being a member of the extended Anoa’i family helped all of them get jobs with WWE (except Lance Anoa’i for some odd reason…there’s no way he can be any worse than Tonga Loa, but he spent an entire year at the Performance Center, never wrestled in NXT once, and then got released. I would love to know the story there.) What I am saying is that Meltzer is reporting she passed the tryout because of her Uncle, and I don’t know if I buy that. It is certainly more than plausible, but I don’t trust Meltzer anymore and he is the one who is pushing that story right now. My main point was, I am not going to pre-judge this girl based on who her Uncle is. If she turns out to be the next Ava Raine, I will be the first to criticize her. But I don’t know if she shares any of her Uncle’s political or medical opinions, and I really don’t care. I just don’t think it’s fair to blame her just because her Uncle is a weirdo. Hell, 99% of that whole family don’t identify with RFK Jr. anyhow.

I am not prepared to judge anyone based on their familial relationship with an Uncle. A parent or sibling might be one thing, but Aunts and Uncles? My mother is one of 7 kids, I have Aunts and Uncles whom I have only met a couple of times in my life. Hell, my Brother moved half way across the country and has 4 kids now, 3 of whom I don’t really know either. He has 3 girls and I am embarrassed to admit I can never keep track of which one is which. I’d hate to be judged based on something one of my Uncles did, nor would I want one of my Nieces or Nephews judged on something I said or did, considering I barely even know them. There might be plenty of reasons to judge someone if they choose to work for WWE (although I personally don’t) but pre-judging someone based on who they are related to seems like a stretch to me. Meltzer might be reporting that this was a politically forced hiring, (ala Ava Raine) but then again just this week Meltzer also reported that Kairi Sane asked to be released, which has since been refuted by…Kairi Sane. So I don’t put a whole lot of stock in anything he says about WWE anymore. I don’t think he has the sources.

I used to rag on WWE/NXT relentlessly about the stupid names incoming talent would get tagged with, but turns out that (at least since Vince left) they are letting talent pick their own names, or at least give them a lot of input. Which in a way, makes some of the names sadder. As far as EVIL goes, I freely admit that I don’t watch NJPW, so I have never laid eyes on the guy before. Based on the general reaction online from pretty much all corners of the “IWC” I have to admit I am now morbidly curious about how bad this guy really is, considering I have yet to hear anybody say anything good about him.

It only applies to the United States, from what I understand. NXT weekly TV and PLE’s have been, and will continue to be available on Netflix internationally. Which is weird to begin with, since we get the CW here in Canada as part of basic cable, but whatever. Just means less commercials. Not that I have a ton of interest in NXT PLE’s anyhow, considering over the past 6 months or so, pretty much every single watchable talent has been called up to the Main Roster. Je’Von Evans, Trick Williams, Oba Femi, Jordynne Grace and now Blake Monroe, Ethan Page, Joe Hendry, Ricky Saints, Sol Ruca and all 3 members of Fatal Influence. The pickings are starting to get mighty slim in NXT.

Not even Gunther vs Drew McIntyre vs Sheamus for the Intercontinental Championship at Wrestlemania 39? That match is awesome (and I usually HATE Triple Threat Matches) and it is also a glaring omission from @BigBadMick’s list.

Just when you think Loa can’t possibly get any worse, he somehow manages to pull it off. In order to build up Jacob Fatu as Roman’s next challenger at Backlash, they did an angle with him against Solo and his crew last night on SmackDown. First, Fatu Beats Solo clean. So far, so good. Then he beats up JC Mateo, Tama Tonga, and Tonga Loa (all of whom had been at ringside and had interfered in the match.) Fatu puts a steel chair over the head/around the neck of both Tama and Mateo, and does that move where he charges full speed and rams them in the face with his butt. He does it, so now Solo, Tama and Mateo are laid out. The final step of the process is supposed to be Fatu putting Tonga Loa through the announcers table. So Fatu clears off the desk, headbutts Loa so he falls across the desk, and then Jacob heads over to the timekeepers area, where it’s obvious he plans on leaping off the barrier, down across the body of Loa, which will of course result in a fairly impressive visual of the table collapsing, ending the show with Jacob Fatu standing victorious over the entire MFT stable. So basically, all Tonga Loa has to do is lie there, and get splashed. Sounds simple right? You’d think so, but you’d be wrong, my friend. Never underestimate Tonga Loa’s ability to manage to screw up even the most basic of Pro Wrestling maneuvers. Because as soon as Fatu clears the desk off, headbutts Loa (which is meant to lay him out across the desk) and heads over to the timekeepers area, Loa (I guess in an attempt to sell?) starts kind of listlessly rolling and thrashing around…and he proceeds to FALL OFF THE TABLE. You read that correctly. Tonga Loa can’t master the art of laying flat on top of a table, without somehow managing to fuck it up. So by this point, Fatu turns around as he’s ready to make his move…until he looks down and notices hey…where’s Tonga Loa? There he is, on the floor. And of course, it’s not like Loa can just get up and put himself back on the table, so Jacob Fatu has to go back, pick Loa up, and put him back on the table, whereupon he finally executes his splash, and we close the show. Tonga Loa, ladies and gentlemen. The man who literally can’t handle something as complex as laying still, in a prone position, without managing to botch it.

Apparently the Santos Escobar release has some sort of political story behind it. Something involving his family?

Apparently Tama Tonga and JC Mateo are getting a shot at the Tag Titles tonight.

You have to assume Rowan and Lumis are going to end up in the list as well. If they aren’t keeping Howdy, I assume the whole stable is toast.

Hey, when he was in AEW, Punk suggested that Britt Baker should have been named as one of the 4 AEW Pillars, and her AEW career has certainly turned out… Oh, right. Never mind. Perhaps in hindsight it was a bad idea after all.

Carver definitely has “it” when it comes to look, athleticism, promo ability, and overall aura, but there is a reason he’s still in developmental and you can see it right there.

Great debut for Ethan Page on RAW. Long overdue.

https://www.tvline.com/2142725/sylvester-stallone-bodyguard-bigfoot-tulsa-king-actor-mike-walden/

That spot where Stratton totally whiffed and missed the dropkick but Giulia comically oversold it was cringeworthy. Actually Giulia’s selling that entire match was comical. It was starting to remind me of Michaels/Hogan. Like I said, it’s a small wonder both of them got left off Wrestlemania after that trainwreck.

Apparently the reason they haven’t announced Asuka vs Iyo for Wrestlemania yet is because they are waiting to see if Nikki Bella’s sprained ankle will heal in time for the show. If Bella can’t go by Wrestlemania, they will substitute Asuka & Kairi for the Bellas in the Fatal 4 Way for the Women’s Tag Titles. Not sure what that would mean for Iyo. I can’t imagine Iyo being left off the show, there is a legit argument to be made that she is the best Women’s Wrestler active in the business today. After that atrocity of a match Stratton and Giulia put on a couple of weeks ago, I can definitely see why they didn’t make the cut. Which is weird, because I think both of them are great, but that match was…yeesh. Giulia looked terrible.

As a Football fan, I knew who Pat McAfee was before he showed up in NXT, as most (even casual) NFL fans probably did. And full credit to him, his show on ESPN is pretty popular. I’d say he qualifies as a mainstream star. But I still find him annoying, and don’t see the point of shoe-horning him into this Cody/Orton angle. But at least he won’t be wrestling, unlike “IShowSpeed” whoever the fuck he is.

Meltzer was saying it was pretty much the opposite. He apparently had talks with WWE, and they told him they were good. And honestly…why wouldn’t they? Whatever problems WWE has, the answer is definitely not a 55 year old Chris Jericho.

Raw is by far and away the best of the 3 shows. More often than not, it’s a fairly easy watch, with at least a couple decent matches every week. The problem is, they are so stubbornly reliant on an incredibly stale formula. Face-to-face promos in the ring, which get broken up by security, referees, and Adam Pearce. Backstage segments. Distraction finishes. Contract signings. It’s the same shit every week. SmackDown is so much worse because that show is 3 hours, plus the SD roster is significantly weaker than the Raw roster. For example, Solo and his crew and the Wyatts get tons of TV time and nobody cares about them, because most of them suck. The SD Tag Division is a joke. Thank gawd they finally sent Gargano back to NXT. @sek69 pretty much summed up the problems with NXT. I don’t know who is writing the TV there, but they need to be fired. That show is at the point where I won’t even watch it, unless a match has been announced ahead of time that I want to see. When Oba, Trick and Je’Von all got called up, that roster took a huge hit. I actually find myself enjoying the AAA show on YouTube on Saturday Nights. The crowds are always insanely hot, there’s usually a good match or two and it’s only an hour long. Plus I actually enjoy the commentary team of Graves, JBL and Rey Mysterio.

That whole organization badly needs a creative shakeup, but I don’t see it happening.

I appreciate the fact that WWE has been scrambling to cover for the injuries to a number of their best performers, that’s why we are not getting Gunther vs Mysterio, Knight vs Reed and Rollins vs Breakker at Wrestlemania, which is clearly where they were heading with all of those guys. Having said that, if one of their solutions is to book The Usos & LA Knight vs Logan Paul, Austin Theory and fucking IShowSpeed, I swear…

Yeah, at some point between now and Wrestlemania, Brock is going to have to throw Oba a beating, for sure. This whole deal has been pretty one sided so far.

You certainly can’t fault the way that Lesnar has been building Femi up. They went toe-to-toe in the Rumble, and during the confrontation last week you could actually see Lesnar telling Femi to put his foot on Lesnar’s chest when he pointed at the sign. And again last night, Lesnar’s facial expression when Oba fought his way out of the F5 and sent Lesnar over the top rope certainly portrayed fear. It’s pretty obvious Lesnar must like Oba Femi. Just ask Jon Moxley and Braun Strowman what happens if he doesn’t like you. If Lesnar doesn’t put Femi over clean at Wrestlemania, it should at least be a double DQ or a countout or something like that. I agree that Femi losing to Lesnar isn’t going to do much for either guy. Lesnar doesn’t need that win.

According to Cornette, Dusty getting fired killed the Midnights vs Midnights feud. Cornette brought the idea to Dusty, who loved it, but after Dusty got fired Jim Crockett took over the booking, and for some reason, whatever that was, he did not like Randy Rose and pretty much put the kibosh on the whole thing. So dumb.