The Thread Killer

Austin Gunn is SO strong that when he throws a punch, he doesn’t even need to connect…just the breeze is enough to knock somebody flat on their ass. Seriously though…WTF is this the night of the shitty looking strikes or something?! And while I’m bitching, FTR and Wardlow are both super hot right now, I can’t believe TK is putting them in a six man tag match with the geek squad at the pay-per-view.

No! No Hager! No Hager!

When I saw those punches, I could hear the voice of Stone Cold Steve Austin in my head: “Hell son, lay your shit in!”

That was my thought. AEW does have a history of using out of the ring stuff like that to build angles off TV, so maybe it was. It just struck me as too much of a coincidence that Punk would say those things about Page right after that interview got publicized.

I thought the exact same thing. For a guy who is supposed to be one of the biggest brawlers in Pro Wrestling, his punches looked like shit. He’s been working in GCW too much. Those were Janela punches. Still in all, great segment though. It’s just that Punk is on a level above Moxley, and that segment illustrated it clear as day.

I have to give huge credit to CM Punk, he actually managed to make me interested in seeing a Moxley match…which is not some thing I thought would ever happen, ever.

I think it might have something to do with that interview Page gave last weekend where he basically admitted that he does not listen when veterans try to give him advice. I don’t know if it was a legit interview or not, if it was I imagine it probably angered Punk, who is a big fan of respecting veterans and the people that came before him. That sounded like what he was alluding to. https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/hangman-page-says-he-s-too-stubborn-take-advice-takes-pride-trial-and-error

I think at this point, if the Bucks have anyone other than Omega as their partner, you are going to see some very upset fans. Even if it’s Adam Page, who has done precisely squat since losing the title. Also…I really don’t get this Daniel Garcia push. I know he barely ever actually wins a match (the recent win over Danielson being the obvious exception) but it’s more that I can’t believe the amount of TV time Garcia gets. He’s on TV practically every week, or at least it feels that way to me. And skills wise, he’s okay I guess but I don’t think he warrants the amount of attention he gets, especially compared to some of the other younger guys in AEW. Maybe I am missing something, I don’t know. But to me, Daniel Garcia does not come across as a future face of the company or a guy you build around.

I’m siding with @C.S. on this one. In my opinion, Gilbert > Janela. Mind you, in fairness I believe… A Potted Plant > Janela.

I was thinking the exact same thing myself. It’s not his fault, but Dolph is pretty much ruined at this point, as far as I am concerned. I can’t take him seriously. I don’t even know how they could salvage his character now. I just can’t buy him as a top name, he’s been habitually devalued too long. And I am highly unconvinced that Theory has “it” as well.

I specifically remember that episode of 83 Weeks. Bischoff claimed he had no idea DX were outside the area until after they left, because if he’d known they were there, he’d have let them in. Bischoff claims he was in the ring, live on the air at the time it happened. Conrad claims Bischoff is lying, and that Bruce Prichard (who produced the segment and was there) claims they showed up at the area before the show had even started, while the fans were still outside waiting to be let in. Conrad and Prichard claim the segment was pre-taped and that is proven by the fact that it’s still daylight in the segment, which it wouldn’t have been if the segment was live.

That story was in Foley’s book, plus Foley and Austin rehashed it when Foley was on the Broken Skull Sessions as well. It’s one of Foley’s favourite stories. Foley even admitted during the Austin interview that the story doesn’t hold up particularly well in the current climate. It can come across as homophobic even though I don’t think it’s intended that way.

Okay so here's the deal... Early this morning, I made a post in which I meant to imply that Mandy Rose is so attractive, if I worked with her, I wouldn't be able to resist acting like a loser and whistling at her, or asking her out for a drink or whatever. I used the term "sexual harassment." A couple of people replied and said my joke was inappropriate. I became defensive and said I wouldn't delete the post, and if you didn't like it too bad. I admitted that my post was in poor taste but said I wasn't going to delete it. Since that time, it was brought to my attention that my post could conceivably be interpreted as condoning rape or sexual assault. I also realize (upon reflection) that there is a much finer line between sexual harassment and sexual assault than I'd probably like to admit. I would hope that it goes without saying that I would never actually sexually harass a woman, and I certainly do not condone rape or sexual assault. I have gotten involved in more than one argument around these parts over the past 15 plus years about how people should be able to say whatever the hell they want, and if that offends somebody...well that's just too bad. I know I didn't intend to imply that sexual assault is funny, but what I intended really doesn't matter. That's kind of like throwing a rock into a crowd and then claiming that you weren't aiming at anybody in particular. It was still stupid, you still hurt somebody, and that's not cool. If I wrote something that legitimately upset or offended somebody, then that is on me not you. I don't want to offend or hurt somebody. (Well, at least not the people I actually offended.) So I deleted the post. I am not saying that I am not going to continue to make unfunny comments and observations. I am not promising that if somebody takes offense, I might not tell them I don't care. But in this case, I do care. And in this case I was wrong...so I'm sorry.

I heard Punk is still in really bad shape and could barely walk at some convention he appeared at recently?

Damn you’re right, that was also him. Cornette told that story years ago on his podcast but I’d totally forgotten it. Dude was badass.

Who knows…maybe people in the industry like to play it off like it’s a lot harder than it actually is or something. I don’t know about you, but I met plenty of people in my professional life who claimed it was difficult to do what they do, but when you boil it down and actually take a closer look…not so much. You also make a good point I had not considered, in that the massive influx of MMA being broadcast over the past decade has probably resulted in tons of production staff who could do a good job filming Pro Wrestling. On the flip side of that, I have seen some truly dreadful camerawork on some low level MMA shows. But your point is valid.

Have they tangled before? I assume they mixed it up in Mexico? If so, how were the matches? If not, why not?

I actually heard more about him from the MMA side of things than I ever did in Pro Wrestling. I learned a ton about him from a book I read by Clyde Gentry years ago, tracing the roots of NHB to MMA. Gene LeBell really was one of the forefathers of Mixed Martial Arts and I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves for that. He did English commentary on the early Pancrase shows, which I loved. Plus, there’s that whole urban legend about him making Steven Seagal shit his pants…which is awesome. RIP. The man was a warrior.

I have heard and seen some interviews over the years talking about how having the ability to direct a live Pro Wrestling broadcast takes a very specific set of skills that not a lot of TV directors might have. Jim Herd of all people, talked about how it was similar to directing a hockey game…you have to keep the camera on the puck at all times, while still getting all the surrounding action. Cornette talked about it too, when he talked about producing SMW and OVW TV, how many cameras you need for good coverage and set ups, etc. I get it that it’s probably not easy. I also understand that WWE cranked up the “quick cut” style when HD came in, and they were worried about people being able to see the action closer and not wanting to show the in ring tricks and shortcuts. But clearly there is no need for the ridiculous zooming in and out, and the deliberate shaking of the actual camera. Plus…AEW is in HD and they don’t do all that crap. They have proven you can have a professional, high quality Pro Wrestling broadcast on a major network without nausea inducing camera work. One of the things I respect about Tony Khan is that he went to the trouble, time and expense of hiring Keith Mitchell (who clearly knew how to direct a Pro Wrestling broadcast.) Mitchell was pivotal in getting AEW off the ground from a directing/production standpoint and helped make sure their TV looked great. He obviously helped train guys to do that stuff the right (and non-nauseating and seizure inducing) way before he retired last year. Besides, if you believe the rumours and stories reported, Kevin Dunn isn’t just a problem as the director. Sounds like Vince gave him a ton of influence on the actual creative. That’s why I remain skeptical about real change while he and Bruce Prichard are still around. Even if you believe Vince isn’t secretly telling them what to do, those guys probably only want to do things the way Vince did them anyway. It’s already obvious Triple H is in charge based on some of the changes made over the past few weeks…but I wonder how far those changes can really go with Kevin Dunn around. Anyhow, to my original point, if @sek69 is right…that’s a problem. I don’t want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but if Vince or Dunn or whoever did stop Triple H from hiring or training new TV production staff, you’d have to ask why that is? Dunn probably only wants his guys working in TV production. Which means that even if they did get rid of him, they’d end up with somebody who worked and probably trained under him. Which means we’d just end up with “Quick Cuts: The Next Generation.”

I have mixed feelings. This does sound interesting, and honestly isn’t the well starting to run dry with the Dark Side stuff? I know there is an endless supply of sleaze in the Pro Wrestling business, but I wonder if there are even enough big stories to justify devoting an entire hour to them. Last season I felt like they were kind of scraping the bottom of the barrel at times. I also wonder if there is any truth to the rumours that guys don’t want to talk to them anymore after seeing Tommy Dreamer almost talk himself right out of the business last season. (That was totally on Dreamer, of course.) Jim Cornette made some sort of cryptic comment about Jim Ross being pissed at the producers as well and not wanting to work with them again, as well. Not sure how true that is, but I think it’s out there. If they really do a series on the history of the territories, I hope they get guys like Cornette and more importantly Tim Hornabaker involved. Guys who actually know the history…and not people who are going to trot out the “smoke filled arenas” revisionist crap.

Yeah, this. I usually check out PWO from my phone, and now since the upgrade, I don’t get any notifications when somebody has quoted my posts (not that it happens all that often) or any other notifications. But then on the rare occasions I log in on my laptop…I get a veritable deluge of notifications. Not that I am complaining about the upgrade, mind you. I think it looks great, for what that’s worth. I am just having issues with my notifications is all.

Just saw an interview posted online where Flair admitted that he passed out not once, but twice during the match due to dehydration. Why, in retrospect you’d almost think that a 73 year old man with a pre-existing medical condition and an alcohol problem participating in a Pro Wrestling match was a bad idea.

Hang on, what? I vaguely remember that match (I saw it a long time ago) but it caused a legit riot? Or am I misunderstanding and we’re talking like a reaction which was a metaphorical riot?

Yeah of course we all know that…but this kind of thing seems especially egregious. Just because horrible things happen in this company all the time, it doesn’t make it any less disgusting or excusable when it gets brought to light. I forget the name of the individual, but I remember reading during the pandemic about a person that they hired to work at the PC. This poor person uprooted their entire life and moved halfway across the country, including pulling their kids out of school if I recall correctly. As soon as the pandemic hit, WWE fired the person, who had barely been there for a significant amount of time. Not to mention, they were releasing talent who did not have a visa to stay in the country legally if they were not working, so they were at serious risk of being deported. But WWE didn’t care, they just wanted to save money…to hell with what havoc they were wreaking on the lives of their employees. It’s not like these people were being fired for cause, it was supposedly being done for purely financial reasons. But they apparently had a limitless amount of money to pay to cover up Vince’s behaviour.

The fact that WWE has been paying out this obscene amount of money over the years because of Vince McMahon’s lecherous behaviour, while at the same time firing people (especially during the pandemic) for so-called “financial reasons” is just unconscionable and morally reprehensible.