Loss

Everyone should be able to now do these things: - Post HTML (which includes tweet embedding) - Edit their own topic titles - Delete their own posts

I can't really tell if anyone in the queue is a real person or spam. I'm going to resend all validation emails and then approve the ones that successfully validate a second time.

Rape culture in pro wrestling.

It's actually not just Bryan. Jerry Lawler had a heart attack on TV and still wrestles on the indies, but WWE won't clear him.

If that is true then once he signs a new contract for several years WWE could just turn round and say no you cant wrestle we ve changed our mind and Bryan would be stuck. Why would they do that though? It's not in their interests. And I think he'd have a strong legal case under those circumstances. I'm with Loss on this one. I don't think there's a grand conspiracy. I believe they genuinely did not want a beloved guy to be debilitated on their watch. Though I do think business concerns might have added a little urgency to the timing of his reinstatement. I dont even know what the conspiracy is supposed to be. That WWE would rather have Bryan Danielson under contract than wrestling elsewhere because hes a popular star? Alright then. This is by no means the source of all the conspiracy, especially not jmare in this thread, but there's a widespread belief in some circles that WWE wants to keep him out of the ring so he can't upstage Roman Reigns, but locked up so he can't go anywhere else either.

The doctors who cleared Bryan outside of WWE were not only saying, "You're cleared", but were going above and beyond to make a strong case in his favor. One doctor was really disappointed when he retired in 2016 because he thought it was way too soon to say with certainty that he couldn't wrestle again. They weren't just saying "you're cleared" and letting him go. As far as previous concussion history, it wasn't just the concussions. It was the seizures, the brain lesion, and their assumption that he probably had 20+ undocumented concussions before he even stepped foot in a WWE ring. If anyone else in WWE fit that bill, no way does WWE let them return either. Dreamer, Angle, and Undertaker aren't full-time performers and Ziggler's concussions came before Bryan's. He is the guinea pig and represents a new way of looking at all of this, and not even just in WWE but in sports. That's why he's being watched so closely.

I know people think there were business reasons for clearing him, but I genuinely don't think that was a factor at all. I don't think it had anything to do with Wrestlemania, or his contract situation, or WWE not wanting him to work elsewhere. Of course those things are important, but too many doctors put their credibility on the line for this to be that. Bryan said all along if one doctor didn't clear him, he'd drop the issue. They all did.

Zayn has really found himself as a heel in a way that I can't say I expected. The way he is overly expressive and talks with his hands is something I can't figure out if he's doing for heat or if it's just how he talks (or both), but I love it. The segment was magic in a way wrestling of any era rarely is.

I don't know what else I could possibly do to counter the snobbish line, so I've stopped trying.

No, that was Chris Amann.

I think we saw a great example of bad actions getting the right kind of heat last night.

Opinions are mixed enough that I'll reinstate him. I apologize for acting too swiftly. We'll see what happens.

I received some complaints and looked into it and thought they were valid. The difficulty in reading his posts and the chip on his shoulder made it apparent to me when I looked at his posting history. Are there reasons I should reconsider? I'm open to listening.

He was under contract in 2000-2001 as a developmental guy, and they let him go then.

Two things: (1) Styles is a go for Wrestlemania. I'm curious what others think about who should win at WM if he doesn't need time off. I think Styles should be the champion for the foreseeable future, but if he does need time off, I think a short Nakamura run is fine. I just can't see Nakamura working in that role for very long, especially when by default the top feud on Smackdown will be whatever involves Daniel Bryan. (2) I think people who are looking at things like not wanting Bryan to wrestle anywhere else or wanting him at Wrestlemania or that they can clear him since the concussion lawsuit was dropped are not really following the story. No one directly involved in this or who has reported on it regularly has suggested anything more than that Dr. Maroon wouldn't clear him based on his medical history. Independently, Bryan sought medical opinions from experts in the field who not only cleared him, but were willing to go to bat for him. I do think this is one of those rare cases in wrestling where everything is actually on the up and up. The decisions were based on testing outcomes and the recommendations of expert physicians, and they cared more about his well being than business. Of course they don't want him going anywhere, but that doesn't seem to have been a factor in clearing him.

I needed a total wrestling detox. I was starting to hate it. I'm back. All is well.

I wish someone would engage me on my previous point, that I think he sees it as hypocritical to go after labor for stuff management does without reprieve.

More power to them. There probably are some things some of us could learn from some of those polled, and vice versa, but I suspect it wouldn't go well.

Both but Ospreay in particular are guilty of something that drives me crazy in a lot of wrestlers now, even some that I like - looking out into the abyss (nowhere specific in the crowd) while dominating a match instead of looking at the opponent.

I'm sure she is in his ear about it, but I'm saying the evidence doesn't bear that out. Look at how Stephanie was portrayed when she was directly involved in Creative. She was used to get herself, Rock, Angle, HHH, Trish, Lita, and others over (while admittedly getting herself over just as much or sometimes more). There's no one now who says she's directly involved in Creative. Why is it so hard for people to just go straight to Vince instead of blaming everyone else? I don't get it. Everything good on TV is a credit to him, and everything bad is his fault.

Worth remembering that the goal of the split was never to put Smackdown on equal footing with Raw. It was just that USA wanted WWE to improve Smackdown's ratings, and that was Vince's idea for how to do it. When they got Smackdown's ratings above where they used to be, USA was happy. And again, even if Road Dogg sucks at his job, don't blame middle management. The problems are at the top.

Either way, Vince sets the direction and whoever writes fills in the details. So there was a convergence of good ideas from him and from the writers, and then Vince got bored with Smackdown.

I know Stephanie's not going to do anything she doesn't want to do, but it's worth noting that she's not the one who books herself that way. She hasn't been involved in Creative at all in years. Vince is the one who wants Stephanie presented that way. Dave was even asked about that not too long ago and basically said Stephanie is presented the way she is because that's how Vince wants her to be presented. So it's probably not completely fair to keep talking about her own unwillingness to get comeuppance. When she was heading Creative, Jericho and Rock and others were constantly embarrassing her.

They care for sure, but I don't think it's their primary goal at this point. I'm not even sure it should be since they don't make most of their money under a traditional pro wrestling model, which can get pretty volatile. It's secondary. It's not a zero-sum game.