flyonthewall2983

For someone supporting such things I find abhorrent, he seems to me to be a very tolerant person, to have stayed quiet this long. If it's all just in the shirts he wears or subtle tweets like that then I'm good with it. By virtue of the fact he has worked with people of different ethnicities, sexualities, and other social status and almost no one has a bad thing to say about him whatever way he swings politically doesn't matter in the face of that. I'm the one person in my family who doesn't support those views myself so I know all what it means to break bread with "enemies". It is hard not to be cynical of the "rah-rah" stuff and being aware of how much of Vince's Kool-Aid has been imbibed by him. Then again that is a major factor in having fueled his performance and competitive drive. Same with Shawn, Triple H, and plenty of others who came after them too. It's at the heart of the company's success, something that might be lost in all the flash and bang (not to mention "creative") they do in presenting shows like WrestleMania.

Prophetic

Did Flair ever work the UK or anywhere else in Europe before going to the WWF?

First episode of the Undertaker doc went up yesterday. I forgot how awesome the WM 33 set looked. I was hoping this would be more retrospective, but all the backstage stuff and shots of him joking around with the other talent and legends was cool too.

Did he make bail?

He was off of their programming but he was still under contract. More or less an extended vacation for Hulk while he filmed Mr. Nanny. I'm sure part of it had to do with the steroid scandals, and the company not flogging around their biggest name who made a fool of himself on national television the year before. Hindsight being what it is, they should have brought him back for Survivor Series to replace Warrior, but they were under such a time crunch for that it's understandable they might not have been able to get him and that's possibly when the talks started to bring him back the following February.

Jordan saying he'd not want to be a role model if he had it to do over again is refreshing to hear. I like that the last two episodes put his worth in pop culture under the microscope a little bit, counterbalanced by the gambling and the overall competitive alpha-male behavior he displayed on the court and to his own team as well. I have a weird respect for Jerry Krause. He had almost a tribal commitment to the Bulls as a corporate entity rather than a sports franchise. Phil Jackson is the most interesting one of the bunch. An authority figure who also embodied so much of the 60's counter-culture back in the day, a Buddhist known for losing his temper, and just a fascinating dude.

I wonder if WWE puts a spin on Roman leaving at all, or if they just forget he ever existed. This isn't a company above being petty about such things, but given the implications as far as his health it would be good for them in the court of public opinion if they just forgot him, instead of making small attempts at humor of which he is the butt of the joke. Bringing up the difficulties in getting him over would only reflect on how badly they did that. As far as Hollywood goes for either him or Becky, I could see it happening. If Lynch already has training then with the right people/material she could make a niche for herself. And yeah, if Roman is in with Sandler then he'll probably find steady work, if not with Happy Madison consistently then other production companies.

This is probably the heart of the matter when it comes to WWE and where it is right now. While he was taking over the world, and credibly destroying regional competition and making his company so huge while still being privately owned, he was teaching his son along the way. Any doubt I ever had about the potential of Shane being given the key to the kingdom one day was quelled when I watched Arnold Skaaland's Hall of Fame speech from 1994. Mere weeks before the high potential of facing federal prison time, a few points of that speech were squarely centered around Shane being the unquestioned heir to what was even then on shaky ground. His daughter learned while there was only WCW left to vanquish (which ended up being a suicide anyway). Shane saw his father deal more with the outside world, while Stephanie learned from a man increasingly living inside his own bubble. If the Network and PPVs are potentially going to be in other hands, that could be the first loose strand to be picked at before the possibility of being sold off is a more tangible possibility.

The funniest thing to me about the whole Schultz thing, is that if Stossel was made aware of the Plan B video Bob Roop, Boris Malenko and others made, he could have had a story that was far worth more than him getting knocked on his self-righteous ass.

Gerald Brisco was let go as part of the cleansing two weeks ago

Hogan and Savage did this before (with Brutus Beefcake) in the tag matches with Tiny Lister/Zeus, everyone basically babysitting him through the match.

The WWE Untold episode about Dennis Rodman and Karl Malone in WCW was quite good. I'm surprised WWE would even do something about it but it was cool to see Rodman talk about wrestling, and seeing how him and Malone adapted to the physicality of wrestling in such a short time.

Dwayne Johnson talked up a project with WWE Films about Flair's life on something recently. Pacino would be great as old Ric. They have nearly the same tan. Dye his hair or give him a wig and put some contacts in his eyes and he could do it. He could even do a bit of Ric's accent too, it's not an obvious comparison but when he did Kevorkian for the HBO movie he had a really acceptable Midwestern twang to his voice, that wouldn't be too far from the Minnesota that's still in Ric's.

It's been my impression that most guys of his caliber prefer working heel to babyface. Piper said as much himself too. I don't think the "Nature Boy" gimmick and character is a natural fit as a babyface so I can understand his point, but for me it still worked. I thought he was a really good face in 1993-4, when his return to WCW was so welcome it would have been pointless to try and make him a heel again. It's one element that really worked against Hogan coming into the company, because they turned him heel perhaps not as gradually as they could have. I liked this interview a lot. He seems at more peace with himself, which could be wishful thinking on my part. I think having a wife who is watching out for him, and being part of his daughter's career has given him the motivation to age a little more gracefully. It doesn't hurt that he's got all this pop culture cred now, but it's obviously not what helps a man sleep at night either.

This new Money In The Bank concept is getting WWE closer to The Running Man

Very sad. Such an integral part of their company for such a long time, for us watching and for so much behind the scenes too. No heat with anyone and no skeletons in the closet either.

Mike Chioda has been with the company since 1989 apparently. That's (technically) four decades of service.

I wonder what this means for their international operations. If these men and women, some of whom have worked there a very long time, are being let go then I'd have to they would be more susceptible to being cut.

That would be the ultimate irony if it came down to a fire sale, considering how little Vince paid for WCW.

I don't see the company going away for those reasons you cited, my angle on the question is the McMahon empire itself more or less. The WWE is that family's legacy but surely if it came to such dire measures for someone it could be sold off to new people. So this question is more personal to Vince and the family, and his standing within the company and before his stockholders who cannot be happy with these turns of events, even before Covid-19 put things in such more jeopardy as it is now.

The Saudi deal going sideways, the stock market woes, firings of top brass, cutting down on house shows, rumors of low morale among the talent, and now this. Between all of this and the XFL folding, Vince's head must be spinning. It's either that or he is delusional enough to think these are problems to be overcome. I naively thought that they would have become stung by the 2008 recession, but all those feelings I had then have resurfaced and there is actual tangible proof now that their luck might be up.

I'm surprised the networks themselves haven't stepped in to say something like this. With what happened between UFC and ESPN telling them to cancel, I'm sure this will ripple over their way in how to deal with Vince.