NintendoLogic

If you look at the top guys in New Japan and AEW, the only ones who were main event stars a decade ago are Hiroshi Tanahashi and Chris Jericho. And Jericho has reinvented himself so many times that he doesn't really count. Kazuchika Okada, Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, the Young Bucks, Jon Moxley, and Cody Rhodes have all worked for WWE, TNA, or both. It hasn't been lack of main event talent that's prevented promotions from creating new stars. The issue is incompetent booking. To take another example, compare WWE's treatment of Ricochet to AEW's treatment of Orange Cassidy. The former has been buried six feet under for so long that I literally can't remember the last time he was mentioned on this board while the latter has become a breakout star and a genuine ratings draw. Talent can't explain why their careers have had such disparate trajectories.

Here's a statistic that was brought to my attention. October 25, 2010: Randy Orton is WWE champion and Miz holds the Money in the Bank briefcase. October 25, 2020: Randy Orton is WWE champion and Miz holds the Money in the Bank briefcase. Time is a flat circle. I wonder what Angry Miz Girl thinks about this. Probably nothing since she in all likelihood stopped watching this shit years ago.

This aged well.

Why NXT keeps experiencing COVID outbreaks is a mystery that will never be solved.

Now the Observer website is reporting that Kylie Rae wasn't injured after all. She just didn't show up. As in, she was in Nashville ready to work on Friday and didn't come to the building on Saturday. If it's another mental health episode, she really needs to step away from wrestling. I hate to tell someone to stop following their dream, especially at such a young age, but it's abundantly clear that the business is a distraction at best and an active hindrance at worst from her getting the help she needs.

It's worth recalling that whatever happened with Kylie Rae and AEW began with her being out of action with an undisclosed "medical issue." And if this is an attempt at a worked shoot, they're also working the boys because even talent has no idea what's going on. Regardless of what the situation is, changing up an advertised title match on your flagship PPV with no explanation is incredibly bush league. At the very least, they should have been able to run an angle on the show.

Rock should've hit Shamrock in the face with a chair for old time's sake.

Meltzer is also reporting that the impression was a throat injury. If the Brie Bella/Liv Morgan situation taught us anything, it's that women really shouldn't be doing yes kicks, especially green women. The area they have to aim for is much smaller (above the breasts and below the head), so the margin of error is much lower.

According to the USPTO trademark database, Anthem currently holds the Abyss trademark. Assuming WWE even has interest in using the gimmick, the only possible incentive Anthem would have for allowing them would be if they agreed to pay a king's ransom.

Pro wrestling is never going to be the most pressing issue facing the country, so that kind of attitude ensures that nothing will ever be done. WWE and wrestling in general have always been able to evade serious scrutiny by virtue of being seen as their own worlds. Even if it was a sleazy business, the sleaze was self-contained and had no impact on the outside world. But if they have enough money and power to have the governor of the fourth-largest state do their bidding in the midst of a public health crisis, they need to be dealt with.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/5dzx88/wwe-referee-wrestler-turned-mayor-fundraise-for-qanon-adjacent-charity It should be noted that Wuertz was the company official who emailed Candy Cartwright to notify her that her NXT bookings had been cancelled due to "past issues" with "one of our talent." https://babyfacevheel.substack.com/p/email-shows-wwe-cancelled-candy-cartwright Her lawsuit claims in part that Matt Riddle was responsible for her losing WWE bookings, so he could have very well handed her side a smoking gun. Clearly not the sharpest crayon in the box.

Drake Wuertz turning NXT into a QAnon breeding ground is something that probably deserves more attention.

What was it exactly he wanted us to tAke a look at? The world may never know.

The only thing remotely resembling evidence of wrongdoing by Ospreay came from IWL, and now they're walking it back. This is why you don't allow Twitter lynch mobs to be the arbiters of justice.

Cool. Another faction horseshitting up every single match with ref bumps and interference.

Why are Roman and Braun working an Internet angle when both are heels and they're on different brands? As for house shows, WWE was cutting way back on them even before the pandemic because the poor attendance was hurting the stock price. The thing is, most of the wrestlers actually enjoy doing them. The folks lower down on the card get much-needed ring time while the ones higher up get to spread their wings a bit and work without worrying about things like time cues and playing to the hard camera. Plus, their incomes take a hit without merch sales and their cut of the gate, although that's likely balanced out by fewer road expenses.

Why do you want a champion to pick his challenger?

John Cena tied the knot earlier this week. I wonder if he made her sign a War and Peace-sized prenup beforehand.

The sites are archived on the Wayback Machine and the Mediafire links still work (for now, anyway-if he stopped paying for the domain names he likely stopped paying for file storage as well), so all is not lost.

Are the Ditch websites down for anyone else?

That Jake episode is going to make for some depressing viewing if they make Grizzly Smith out to be as much of a monster as he evidently was.

It gets better. Per PWInsider, Retaliation Mercedes Martinez has been removed from the group and sent back to NXT. Retribution is such a mortal threat to WWE that the company can demote its members at will.

That well-known workrate machine Riddick Moss.

WWE must truly be running on empty if they're turning to the Total Divas era for nostalgia. I mean, even if you can overlook the fact that Eva Marie is absolute death once the bell rings because she's hot she "plays her character well," Alexa Bliss and Carmella already have that niche covered. And really, presuming that anyone in WWE's career is on the skids due to their own failings and not Vince's brain worms is laughable. I don't know what reliable advice you could give to a woman in the company who wants to get ahead beyond "dye your hair blonde and get implants." And even then, there are outliers. Like Asuka, who was too talented and charismatic to be denied despite creative's best efforts. And Nia Jax, who is terrible at literally everything except being related to someone who was a star in the Attitude Era.

Everything the Field touches turns to shit, so him moving to the other brand is an unqualified good if you're a Roman fan. Plus, Seth moving to Smackdown hopefully means they're nipping the Aalyah storyline in the bud before it really goes off the rails.