The Thread Killer

Sweet, they've released the list and The Night The Line Was Crossed and When World's Collide are both on it! Courtesy WWENetworkNews: Is Hostile City Showdown 94 the show where Foley faces Sabu for the first time and spits on the WCW Tag Title, or is that a different show?

That's some good news. It's always bugged me that you can see the complete run of Hardcore TV and ECW on TNN, plus the PPV's on the Nework, but the only place you can see the Supershows like "The Night The Line Was Crossed" is to get them from RF Video - which I would never do. If WWE starts adding the classic ECW Supershows I wonder if they'll make RF video stop selling them? One show I'd love to see that I never have, is the ECW version of "When World's Collide" from 05/14/94 (not to be confused with the AAA PPV from the same year with the same name) that featured Sabu and Bobby Eaton vs. Terry Funk and Arn Anderson. Sign me up for that sumbitch, please.

WWE should embrace their role, double down and have the show they're running in opposition be sponsored by the NRA.

I know this is a few weeks late, but on this week's episode of The Jim Cornette Experience, Cornette finally goes into specific behind the scenes detail about Sami Callihan getting fired from MLW after the "Loser Leaves Town" match. If you listen to the show and don't want to hear all of the other stuff, you can always click here. Cornette starts talking about this issue at around 54:00 minutes into this week's episode. Cornette confesses that he actually had met with Callihan after the incident with Eddie Edwards in Impact, and that they had agreed to perpetuate their Twitter rivalry as a "work." Cornette claims he even gave Callihan his home phone number. According to Cornette, the night of this Loser Leaves Town match in MLW, he actually thought the whole deal with Callihan spitting on him was part of the work. He even went up to Callihan after the match and congratulated him. What he didn't know was that Callihan was about to get fired for going off script during his match with Warner. Cornette claims the match was edited for TV, and we never got to see the damage Callihan did to the venue, which is what actually cost him his job. Also, Callihan himself was supposedly the agent for this match, but he never alerted the truck that he was planning on going into the bleachers, so the cameras couldn't film some of it, and security wasn't warned ahead of time to be there to protect the wrestlers from the fans, or vice versa. Of course, there's always the possibility that Cornette is lying about his side of the story, but the whole thing is pretty hilarious either way.

That's awesome.

Time will tell. They may not make WWE TV any better, but I can't see Bischoff or especially Heyman contributing to a product that is any worse than what is being put out there right now. How much worse can it get?

Even though the accepted theory is that the new producers won't be fully in place until after Extreme Rules, I am not expecting to notice significant changes on either show right away anyhow. If it is even possible, it's going to take time to turn things around, especially considering the mess both guys are walking into. If you inherit a show where one (or more than one) of your main angles involves Shane McMahon, or you get saddled with Baron Fucking Corbin as your top heel, I don't care how good a writer you are - your show is still going to suck. I wouldn't expect to see any noticeable differences until Heyman and Bischoff both are in place for at least a month - and that's even assuming that Vince actually lets them implement any of the changes they want to make, which knowing him, he probably won't. I think SummerSlam will probably be a good indicator of how different things are or aren't going to be with the two new Executive Producers in place.

I have to be honest, I don't get @El-P's hate of this past week's episode of Fusion. It wasn't exactly "must see" TV or anything, but it was what I would have expected for what it was supposed to accomplish. This episode was pretty much designed to do two things: reintroduce Austin Aries and hype up Kings of Colosseum. It accomplished both of those goals, in my opinion. I do agree with El-P and @Migs wholeheartedly, there were some issues with the way Austin Aries was added back into the mix, but not all of those can be blamed on MLW. I agree that Aries just didn't look good, physically. He has lost a noticeable amount of weight since the last time I saw him, including muscle mass. He's never been huge to begin with, but on this show he looked a bit puny. I assume during his time off he wasn't doing a ton of weight training - not to say he looked out of shape, don't get me wrong. Secondly, his overall physical presentation was awful. I'm sorry, but he needs to have a serious word with whoever gave him that haircut. Having his head totally shaved on the sides combined with an epic beard is just a weird look for anybody, especially him. Add that to his new thinner look and the basic, plain full length black tights and he did not look like the Austin Aries I remember from a purely aesthetic point of view. He didn't look like a star. If you compare how he looked on this show to how he looked in WWE or even Impact, it's a significant change. On this show, he looked like enhancement talent, honestly. As far as the match goes. I don't know who Adam Brooks is, but all I know is that Austin Aries gave this kid WAY too much in their match. That match had no business going that long (12 minutes) and I can't believe some of the offense that Aries unloaded on this kid, only to have Brooks fight it off. That Death Valley Driver on the ring apron was insane, and a spot like that should be reserved for a PPV match against a name opponent, not a TV match. And then on top of that, Brooks fights his way out of a submission hold which Aries has clamped on. If Aries wanted somebody to be really competitive against him during his first match back so he could show everything he could do, then they should have put him in there against an established name, not some new kid nobody has ever heard of making his debut. That just made it look like Aries had way too much trouble putting a kid away. As for the post-match, like I said previously, I don't think Jim Cornette had anything to do with that post-match promo. I think that was all Aries. I am somewhat intrigued by the potential Aries/Teddy Hart match they seem to be heading towards. I thought the Fatu squash was great. It made him look like a total monster, which he needed going into the next show. Jacob Fatu is so damn good. That moonsault was crazy. As far as the Main Event goes, it also made sense leading into Kings of Colosseum. There's no way they were going to have their champion lose, and they also want to keep Samael and Contra Unit strong, so having a brawl that gets out of control made sense to me. It was what it was - a TV Main Event leading into a big show. Then again, I really like Josef Samael so maybe I am more inclined to enjoy stuff he is involved in. This is a guy who has patterned himself after the original Sheik, and it shows. My only major criticism of this episode (aside from Aries giving Adam Brooks too much offense) is that they are overdoing it with the constant inserting of the Contra Unit clips throughout the episode. It's making it look like an nWo ripoff, or something. I like the Contra Unit as a stable, but they probably don't need to have their logo flashing across the screen every five minutes, it's overkill to me.

Dude, I think you're way off on this one for two reasons. Firstly, Cornette is just a Color Commentator and Part Time producer. I don't think he has anything to do with creative in MLW. He can't really, because he doesn't even work for them Full Time. And even if he did, the second reason I think Cornette had nothing to do with this is that Cornette and Austin Aries hate each other. It's well documented that Austin Aries and Jim Cornette have big time heat from Cornette's time in ROH when he actually did have input into creative. I really can't see Jim Cornette going to Austin Aries and telling him what to say, and Aries happily agreeing to say it. I believe that promo may actually have represented Austin Aries' actually feelings on the current state of the Pro Wrestling industry.

I do agree that his work during the UK tournament was excellent. To be honest, prior to that I'd never thought he was even capable of that. I didn't think he had the skill. Which in a way, almost makes his usual performances more maddening - he could be great, he just usually isn't. I guess my big complaint is that Cole seems to embrace Vince McMahon's version of what makes a good play-by-play man with a bit too much gusto.

I agree that even if he did agree to be split off from The New Day, WWE "creative" would probably screw it up because hey...they pretty much screw everything up lately. I just don't get a guy with all the physical gifts that Big E has limiting himself like that. But it could very well be that he thinks he's better off being comfortable in the New Day than having creative botch a potential singles run and hurt his potential long term viability.

Some of that is on Big E. I've seen interviews where he says that he has refused to be split off from The New Day under any circumstances. There's only so much mileage you're going to be able to get from a guy throwing pancakes around and swivelling his hips. Considering his abilities, he could and should be considered a monster, but apparently he'd rather dance around in costumes and give the fans breakfast cereal.

Oh man, KS. I normally admire your ability to find something positive in even the most negative aspects of the WWE product, but I really think you're off base on this issue, in my opinion. For example I watched Super Showdown, and yeah that show was horrible and maybe one of the worst shows I've ever seen - but Michael Cole was at his all time worst during that broadcast. He doesn't even call matches anymore, he just lovingly and gleefully spouts cliches ("Vintage Undertaker! Vintage Shane! Vintage Vintage!") in the most insufferably insincere manner. To me he personifies everything about Vince McMahon's vision of Pro Wrestling that I hate. Even within the confines of Vince McMahon's announcing production, I'd take Tom Phillips or Vic Joseph any day of the week. The only play-by-play guy I hate more than Michael Cole is Mauro Ranallo, and that's just due to Mauro's constant idiotic pop culture references and the constant screaming. And when it comes to screaming, sometimes Cole gives Ranallo a run for his money.

The whole question of AEW's target demographic is an interesting one, isn't it? I've heard Tony Khan say in more than one interview that he hopes AEW appeals to new fans, and to lapsed fans from the 90's. Fair enough. So the question becomes how are they going to do that? Based on what I've seen from their first two shows, I am guessing they are going to take the approach of trying to provide a bit of something for everyone. For example, if you like theatrical/comedy stuff then they will use guys like Orange Cassidy and his little shin-kicking spot, or this whole Librarians angle. If you like lots of action and spots, they've got the Lucha Brothers, Young Bucks, etc. If you want the more "hardcore" stuff they have Joey Janella, Jimmy Havoc, etc. And if you like the more traditional old school stuff, they've already proven what they can do with Cody/Dustin and I am betting Moxley will fit right into that category as well. The main question is will some fans be turned off by some of that stuff. I know some fans hate the hardcore stuff. Others don't like the comedy. I myself can't imagine anybody not liking the matches like Cody vs. Dustin, but who knows. I know I was planning on ordering Double or Nothing until I saw the price. I wasn't going to pay $50.00 to see a show that only had one or two matches I was interested in, and having since seen the show I am glad I kept my money in my pocket. I know a lot of fans (rightfully) like to criticize WWE for being too samey and generic - and they unquestionably are. But I don't know how many new or lapsed fans AEW will be able to draw in by having such a wide variety of stuff on the menu. That's the main reason I want to see what their TV is like. A couple of months of television should be able to answer the question about what the overall tone and style the promotion is going to have. Those are questions that can't be answered by two PPV's, the second of which was being done for a very niche audience, even among wrestling fans.

If nothing else, this last episode discussing the Draft proved that JR is not taking the Bruce Prichard route. JR clearly doesn't give a shit at this point about burning any bridges with WWE, so if he has an opinion he's going to share it, regardless of how it sounds. I don't agree with all of his opinions, but it's refreshing (and quite humorous) how blunt he's being. For example, Conrad reads the news item about WWE re-hiring D-Lo Brown. Conrad asks JR if he thinks Vince did that for appearances, to try and prove WWE isn't racist. JR doesn't miss a beat before he responds "yes." You think Bruce would have admitted that, even before he went back to work with Vince? No way. He was always hedging his bets. Bruce didn't mind admitting when he thought a particular match or angle was bad, but we've gotten more honest answers out of JR in a month than we got out of Bruce in a year.

I've been a bit surprised to see some people being so...angrily dismissive of AEW before they've even gotten out of the gate. To me, it's mind-boggling to write them off before they've even started producing TV. I don't think anybody is going to be able to honestly judge what AEW is really going to be like until we get to view an entire run of television leading up to a PPV, and then the subsequent PPV. Then we'll finally get to see how they manage to juggle airtime for their talent, how they build storylines, how much is going to be based on in-ring action and how much is going to be based on backstage segments and promos, and we'll see who they'll be pushing and who they won't be. Will it really be a serious product based on wins and losses, or will it be more comedy based? Or will they try and balance both? Nobody knows yet. AEW has run two shows. To write them off at this point seems short-sighted and ignorant. You have to ask why some people are being so negative, and the obvious answer is that there is a segment of hardcore fans who don't want AEW to succeed at all, for some reason. Maybe they're die hard WWE fans (although I honestly didn't think there really was such a thing anymore) who find the mere idea of somebody daring to compete with Vince to be an insult therefore AEW must be stopped. Maybe they're just like a lot of Twitter trolls who are being negative and overly critical of everything in a sad effort to bring attention to themselves. Who knows. There's a flip side to that coin, though. Since the moment AEW was formed, there has also been a subset of fans who are trumpeting every little thing AEW has done when honestly - they've barely done anything yet. Or if you try and mention a good match you watched in NXT or on 205 Live and somebody barges in and starts blathering nonsense. "Who cares about NXT? How can you watch that crap? Plus, Saudi Arabia! Now AEW, that's a good product! 205 Live only wishes they had Luchasaurus! Blah blah blah!" Yeah, we get it. You're excited about AEW. Now go sit down. And gawd forbid somebody criticize what AEW has done so far. Then the person who criticized AEW must be a dinosaur who is stuck in the past and doesn't understand "modern" Pro Wrestling. Both groups are equally annoying, as far as I'm concerned. You can't honestly write AEW off before they've even started, but by the same token just because somebody didn't like some of the things they have done already it doesn't make their opinion invalid. Especially if they're voicing that option rationally and reasonably. I've been a Pro Wrestling fan for 36 years. By now, I know what I like and what I don't like in Pro Wrestling. To be honest, I am not excited about AEW for a variety of reasons. Firstly, it remains to be seen if I'm even going to get to see their TV. We don't get TNT in Canada, and so far they have not announced a Canadian TV deal. Secondly, I honestly am not a fan of a number of the wrestlers they have used thus far, and I don't care for the style of wrestling it looks like they're planning on presenting. I'm not a fan of overly choreographed or theatrical stuff that is meant to be humorous. I don't care to watch guys like Sonny Kiss, Orange Cassidy and Michael Nakazawa. I don't even much care for Kenny Omega or The Young Bucks. I suppose they're very good at what they do, I am just not a fan of what they do. I can't see myself going out of my way to watch those guys. But if you do like that type of wrestling, then more power to you. I certainly don't want AEW to fail. I think it's great that there is now a company where guys like Jon Moxley and Shawn Spears can get work and be creatively satisfied. Even better, guys like Rusev and Luke Harper and The Revival now have options if they can get away from WWE. I can't imagine why anybody wouldn't want to see them have an alternative place to go. Just because I don't necessarily want to see it, doesn't mean that people who do want to see it shouldn't be able to.

Fightful is reporting that the new TV deal is going to be with AXS. I have to plead ignorance here, since I don't even think we get AXS in Canada. If we do, it must be a real specialty channel because I have a very comprehensive TV provider and they're not listed. (Not that seeing Impact in Canada is a problem, since it's on The Fight Network.) Question for those of you in the know...would Impact going to AXS be considered a step up, like a TV deal that would be considered respectable and good for them? Better than Pursuit, at least? Or would it be considered as bad as Pop TV or Destination America?

Here's my picks based on what I watch. I follow NXT, NXT UK, Impact and MLW closely. I know what's going on in WWE and see most of the big matches, but I don't watch their weekly television. I don't watch ROH or NJPW so unfortunately I can't comment on any shows or wrestlers in either organization. Match of the Year: Cody vs. Dustin Rhodes (AEW Double or Nothing 05/25/19) Best Major Wrestling Show: NXT TakeOver: New York (04/19/19) Best Promotion: NXT Best on Interviews: Josef Samael Feud of the Year: Sami Callihan vs. Rich Swann - Impact Wrestling Most Improved: Velveteen Dream/Tessa Blanchard (Tie) Wrestler of the Year: Becky Lynch

I hope your dog is okay brother. I have two rescue dogs myself, and up until recently I had three, but one passed away. I end up spending a small fortune on my guys, one has a "luxating patella" which means his knees keep dislocating, so I've got him on an anti-inflammatory and a glucosamine supplement, both of which are very expensive. The other one has seizures and arthritis so he is on Gabapentin and an anti-inflammatory. That's not even getting into how much I had to spend on the one who just passed away. A lot of the time I end up spending more on Dog Medication and Dog Food than I do on myself, but I love those guys and I don't regret it a bit. I hope yours makes a full recovery from surgery.

Brian Last claims they are making good money of their podcasts, and recently claimed they didn't even need sponsors to do it. It was when he took a shot at Conrad Thompson and said that he didn't know why Conrad's podcasts needed "dick pills" as a sponsor when there are plenty of ways to make lots of money from your podcast. But that's Brian Last and he could be full of crap. Then again, he apparently makes a full time living from his network of podcasts, so there could be something to it, I suppose. It's not like Brian Last's other podcasts on the "Acadian Vanguard Network" are going to get anywhere near the downloads Cornette does. Stephen P. New is a paid sponsor, but just for the Drive-Thru. When Cornette promotes him on The Experience he's doing it for free. They did have that one new sponsor "manscaped" for a few weeks, but this week Cornette did an ad for Rhino Records, so I guess they're a new sponsor for now. Aside from sponsors, I think they do make quite a bit from YouTube. That's why Cornette had a conniption fit when their old Official YouTube channel got demonetized for a while. That guy who was illegally posting Cornette content ("Jim Cornette Talking Sense") even admitted he was making a lot of money from Cornette related YouTube content before Cornette made him stop and basically brought him on as an employee. I think if your YouTube content gets a lot of hits you can do pretty well for yourself.

Well, Cornette responded to David Starr's accusations of racism on today's episode of The Experience. It was an...interesting rebuttal. I didn't realize there was a history to the heat between Starr and Cornette. He also decided that his newest target is Orange Cassidy, however I approve of that so I'm not complaining. It all led into his analysis on the role of comedy in Pro Wrestling, along with a promise to review the AEW show this weekend - so I expect the outrage to continue. He's definitely working these guys now. He knows his downloads are going to continue to go through the roof, the more he eviscerates AEW the more his fans lap it up and his enemies listen to get new fuel for their fire. And he laughs all the way to the bank.

If we're talking about here and now, there's no doubt. I'm not denying that the ticket demand for AEW is insane. I know a guy who paid an absolutely obscene amount of money to a scalper to get a good ticket to All In and he was glad to pay it. I also know that nowadays WWE can't give away seats. If somebody kidnapped my Mother and told me that I had to go to WWE Stomping Grounds to get her back, I'd tell them that my Mom is getting up there in years, and had a good run, so who am I to interfere with the passage of time. However, if you look at how insanely hot the WWF was back in the 80's and even at points during the Attitude Era, I would imagine ticket demand might have been comparable if the same technology was available then as now.

You're right, it's a really stupid comparison. Hey, if AEW did really sell more first day tickets than any Wrestlemania ever then more power to them. But back when Vince put on the first Wrestlemania, there wasn't exactly a big problem in the industry with ticket scalping bots grabbing up all the best seats and then scalpers selling them online at grossly inflated prices, now was there? Some of Meltzer's comparisons and analogies are really weird and poorly thought out.

Oh boy, Cornette is going to have a fucking field day with this.

I prefer to picture a lonely and despondent Vince Russo at home, in his basement. He sits and watches, as over the past six months: Jeff Jarrett gets a job as a producer with WWE Bruce Prichard becomes a Senior Vice President in WWE Jim Cornette becomes a Producer with MLW Jim Ross is named a Senior Advisor with AEW and now... Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff are named as Executive Directors overseeing Creative Development in WWE Meanwhile even Russo himself has admitted that he has contacted WWE trying to get a job on more than one occasion, only to be ignored. Hell, he couldn't even get a job as a creative consultant for Pop TV. He is finally a total pariah in the Professional Wrestling business. Ahhh, karma. So sweet.