The Thread Killer

So it looks like they are going to end up doing an FTR/Briscoes rematch at the PPV and I am SO there for it. The other two matches they have announced already looked pretty good as well, this pay-per-view could end up being excellent.

I am not even a little bit surprised, but I was morbidly curious to see how big of a shit show this card was going to be if it actually came off. Now I guess we will never know.

Exactly. I don’t mind Radiohead actually, but I will not stand anybody besmirching the good name of Yes, dammit.

Now that it is confirmed that the new Kevin Nash/Sean Oliver podcast is owned by Conrad Thompson, that means Sean Oliver basically works for Conrad’s new company Podcast Heat. The preview clip they have posted on YouTube features Conrad and confirms this. Eventually all of Conrad’s shows will be under the Podcast Heat/Ad Free Shows umbrella. So, seeing as that is the case, can we just get Sean Oliver to host all of Conrad Thompson’s podcasts please? Sean Oliver, yes. Paul Bromwell, NO.

The unravelling continues. The former Nia Jax has now tweeted that she is not happy these guys are continuing to promote her as appearing on this show, as she will not be. So this is turning out pretty much exactly like everybody predicted it would. It is perversely entertaining to observe from a distance, if not a little sad.

Adesanya decided to really go all out with his Undertaker tribute. He used his music, his outfit and then went on to have a boring, plodding and very long fight in which there was no doubt regarding who would win.

That (along with the laughable “creative”) was one of the reasons I gave up on WWE after being a lifelong fan. Their camerawork is literally nauseating and it’s even more jarring if you stop watching for a while and then go back to check it out again later. It’s impossible to not notice it.

Most major MMA fighters have a detailed breakdown of their Won/Loss record as part of their Wikipedia pages too…which of course is only helpful if they are a big enough name to warrant their own Wikipedia page. But for last night’s UFC show for example, I was able to find the W-L record with details on Wikipedia, including who they had fought, and when. I found that helpful. But Al is also correct, Sherdog was also a great resource, although I haven’t used it in years…but from what I recall you’ll need a good pop-up and ad blocker.

I just noticed Nick Khan sitting next to Pat McAfee too.

Your UFC Middleweight Champion

LOL Israel Adesanya is coming out in The Undertaker’s outfit and is using his music.

I am watching UFC 276, and Vince, Stephanie, Triple H and Pat McAfee are sitting ringside. I guess they must have rushed across the street as soon as MITB was over? Either that, or they skipped their own show to watch something that would actually be good.

So, to the absolute surprise of no one, it sounds like this show is going to turn out to be a fiasco. The former Aiden English went on a bit of a Twitter rant today, complaining that he cancelled a booking in order to work on the show, but never got his deposit and now the guys running the show are ghosting him.

Shelton Benjamin? Could have been, should have been…but didn’t.

This week’s episode on WM20 and Backlash 04 is really good, probably the best one so far. Credit where it’s due, Conrad is settling in and developing a nice rapport with Foley and most importantly, learning to reel him back in when he wanders off topic. I am glad it is Conrad cohosting this particular podcast, if it was one of his other employees I don’t think it would be going as well as it is.

You are not wrong there. The way Rousey has come across ever since she left UFC has been interesting. It just goes to show you how good the UFC public relations department, and Dana White were at hiding how unlikeable she is as a human being. The only mistake they made was letting her coach a season of The Ultimate Fighter because she came off terribly there. By that point the mask had really started to slip. And then the interviews she gave in the press after she finally lost exposed what she is really like to the rest of the world. You would think she would be perfect for WWE because if there was ever a person that should not be giving an interview without a pre-approved script replete with bulleted talking points, it’s Rousey.

I couldn’t agree with you more. Contrived is the perfect word. I would like to go back in time 24 years and nail Mick Foley’s feet to the damn floor that night in Pittsburgh. Thanks to him, every time we have a cage with a roof on it, the fans have been conditioned to expect somebody to get thrown off or some equally stupid stunt. Enough with the damn crash pads already. If we can’t get to the point where a cage match with a couple of guys trying to beat the crap out of each other, and bleeding in the process, is enough then they should stop trying to do them. I blame Shane McMahon and WWE as well for constantly trying to re-create that one moment that cannot and should not be re-created.

Ricky Johnson was a staple of the independent wrestling scene in the Toronto area back in the 90s when I used to go to shows. I knew that he and Rocky Johnson (or he and “Sweet Ebony Diamond”) had been a team in the Toronto territory back in the day and he used to bill himself as “The Rock’s Uncle” at shows, but I always assumed that Rocky and Ricky were brothers in the same way the Valiants or Graham’s were brothers. I met him once, and he was a super nice guy. It was nice to read this article and see that not only was he really Rocky Johnson’s brother, but it sounds like he really is a nice guy, trying to be a family member to all those displaced kids his brother ignored.

Even American Gladiators? American Ninja Warrior? American Idol? America’s Got Talent? Don’t you believe in anything American, bah gawd?

Yeah, Vader really is an interesting case isn’t it isn’t he? Some stories you hear about the guy, like him basically bullying, beating up, and intimidating enhancement talent, or stories I have heard about him treating the production staff backstage like shit, bullying them and yelling at them, makes him sound like a terrible person. A few people have told stories that make him sound like a total jerk. Eric Bischoff basically had no time for the guy because he was so rude to everybody that worked backstage behind the scenes. Arn told a similar story as well. But it also sounds like he was very sensitive and almost insecure in a way. Some of Foley’s stories make it sound like between Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon, people really got into his head and made him doubt his own abilities. The story Mick told last week about Vader obsessing over at the fight with Paul Orndorff years later, was really kind of sad as well. Mick Foley seemed to have an insight into Vader a lot of his peers didn’t have.

Good point. That is entirely possible. I am not American and I am not familiar with the American Libertarian movement. I know that the American political spectrum has more or less been shoehorned into two political parties, one left and one right. Maybe Americans who identify as Libertarians are different than those in other countries. One of the advantages/disadvantages of the Canadian system is that we have several national political parties. It is possible to vote with a bit more nuance here, but it also results in vote-splitting to a considerable degree, at least at times.

I was talking about debating the merits of libertarianism as a concept, not abortion. But I do not wish to discuss or debate anything with you. I am exercising my right to choose by choosing to put you on my ignore list. *Original reply edited due to rudeness and profanity*

I remember that story from when it first broke but it went away quickly, not surprisingly.

Point well taken. They may have just pivoted with the format of the show, much like they did with Tony Schaivone in the early days of his podcast. Once they realized Regal was going to be incapable to sticking to a topic, maybe they just decided to get rid of the topics. Which is all good and well, so long as it doesn't end up degrading to the point where we end up hearing who is on Regal's "Mount Rushmore" or where his favorite places to eat are. He's already fielding questions about his favorite comedians. It's a short trip from that, to ranking his favorite fast food places or lengthy diatribes about how he likes his steak cooked or whether he puts cheese on his burgers. That's what happened with Arn...I don't want to see it happen to Regal. Hell, stupid Q&A questions (or more accurately the deliberate selection of stupid questions) is what killed Jim Cornette's Drive Thru and basically turned it into The Jim Cornette Experience Part Deux.

That's the thing...normally if a Pro Wrestling organization had as many injuries on their roster as AEW do right now, it would definitely be a reason to panic. Or if not panic, to assume that the next few months were going to suck, while we waited for the top stars to return from injury. But AEW has so much depth that it honestly doesn't matter. They have so many guys who can easily be slotted into a top level program. Yes, it sucks that Cole, Danielson, Punk, Omega, MJF, and Samoa Joe are on the shelf for various reasons right now. (Well...in the interest of full disclosure, I don't really miss Omega, but I can see why a lot of people do.) That's at least five Main Event level guys who are out of action for various reasons and for various lengths of time. But they've got guys like Christian, Darby Allin, Eddie Kingston, Keith Lee, Malakai Black, Miro, Swerve, Ricky Starks, and Brian Pillman Jr. who are already very popular and are more than capable of stepping up and filling those spots. And now you can add Claudio to that equation. And yes, you have midcard guys like Fish & O'Reilly, Bowens, Darius Martin and Jungle Boy who are also on the shelf, but they have so much depth there too. It's pretty amazing when you think about it. Hell, they have perfectly capable lower and midcard guys who barely ever get on TV that can also step up with no problem. I contrast that with WWE, where they lose a couple of guys to injury and have no choice but to go back to Reigns/Lesnar AGAIN because they haven't anybody who is popular enough to step up...all thanks to their own shitty promoting. And on top of that, half the guys I just listed in AEW who are more than capable of stepping up to the next level and being major stars (or are already) are guys who WWE had under contract and let them go. It's absolutely mind blowingly stupid.