NintendoLogic

Let's recall how quickly and readily WWE talent piled on Dave after his Peyton Royce comments. But none of them can bring themselves to make a principled stand when things are about as black and white as they get in the real world? Fuck the whole lot of them.

What makes you think that? It would mean that either they've decided to jump without even knowing what WWE would offer them (highly unlikely) or they've already negotiated and reached an informal agreement (which would be a tampering lawsuit waiting to happen).

https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/politics/2018/10/12/knox-mayor-kane-wwe-saudi-arabia-jamal-khashoggi-disappearance/1612304002/ He must think he's bulletproof, because I can't imagine someone who cared about public opinion putting out a statement this tone-deaf.

I am skeptical of strategic leaks when the leaks are clearly counterproductive to the interests of the supposed leakers. I'm also skeptical that someone who's been dealing with professional carnies for 30-plus years is completely oblivious to when he's being worked.

Do you have anything to contribute to the discussion or are you just shitposting?

My argument is that whoever relayed this to Dave did it in earnest and not as part of some 11th-dimensional chess negotiating strategy or a CYA move if/when they do jump. I don't think Dave is either dumb enough to allow himself to be manipulated in such a manner or unethical enough to put PR disguised as journalism in his newsletter. WWE would back up the money truck if it meant kneecapping their biggest rival. And again, the way to get WWE to do that is to make it known that you love working for New Japan and it would take a pretty hefty offer to make you consider leaving. I'm sure that if Omega and company were consulting Dave on negotiation strategy, he'd tell them the exact same thing.

WWE can lowball you and New Japan can call your bluff if they think you're looking to jump ship. If you're trying to negotiate a bigger payday, it's to your advantage for them to think you're happy where you are and it would take a significant offer to get you to consider changing your mind. WWE paid out the nose to sign Styles and Nakamura because they thought that was the only way to get them to jump.

Why would the Elite want to leak information that would undermine their bargaining position, true or not?

For what it's worth, Dave on WOR said it went beyond the Elite and specifically mentioned "people you would never expect to leave."

What about Kane? You'd think an elected official, even a local one, doing business with Saudi Arabia right now would raise some eyebrows.

I'm kind of surprised Io hasn't hit the moonsault cleanly in either of her matches so far. I hope it's just nerves.

That's the Kamigoye, my dude.

Pretty much everybody was much higher on the Meiko match than I was on first viewing, so I decided to revisit it. I'm still not feeling it, at least not as much as some others. The opening chain wrestling felt pretty aimless, like they were going from one hold to another just to keep things moving rather than capitalizing on openings. Things picked up after Mercedes slapped Meiko in the ear, and it turned into quite the slugfest. I wasn't really feeling Mercedes following up the fisherman buster kickout with a surfboard since I don't think anyone bought that as a potential match-ender, but everything else was on point. Still, it felt more like a high-end Nitro match than an all-time classic. I did really like Mercedes deadweighting herself after the Scorpion Rising so Meiko had to struggle to roll her over to get the pin.

To promote her match with Alexa at Evolution, presumably.

I've always understood rope breaks in no-DQ matches to mean that the referee couldn't disqualify someone for refusing to break, but submissions in the ropes don't count since being in the ropes puts you outside the ring.

He's said for a long time that wrestlers who toured All Japan thought he was one of the harder guys to get a good match out of.

I liked Meiko/Mercedes, but I thought it was ridiculous how the announcers were putting it over as an instant all-time classic like it was Flair/Steamboat or HBK/Undertaker. Then again, maybe I was salty after my girl Conti got robbed. She belonged in the final 8.

I agree that CIMA is probably a stronger HOF candidate than is given credit for around these parts. The Dragon Gate style has proven to be highly influential, and the decline in DG's business since he went to China shows that he is an appreciable draw. I wouldn't go to bat for him, but I wouldn't necessarily argue against him either.

You all are of course aware that it was a rehash of The Rock's concert in Sacramento.

In the early days of the newsletter, he compared Memphis wrestling to indoor soccer. It wasn't really soccer, but he liked it more than actual soccer.

This is the same disease Robin Williams had. Terrible news. Vince should put him in the WWE Hall of Fame while he still has his faculties. I mean, not only did he win the wrestling war, his net worth is higher than Turner's these days. Might as well be magnanimous in victory.

I liked Rhea Ripley's explanation for her change of attitude. She said that the shame of losing to a Kiwi in last year's tournament made her a different person.

When did Conti turn into a total killer? Her judo takedowns and limb work looked absolutely vicious, and her facial expressions reminded me of Devil Masami. She showed glimpses of it in her qualifying match against Vanessa Borne, but this was a completely different level. As for Elaban, I think she would need an image overhaul to do anything of note in WWE. The "loves to have fun" gimmick is the kiss of death on the main roster.

I would propose requiring voters to pick one region of primary expertise and only allow them to vote in other regions if they've been certified as knowledgeable by an unquestioned expert. That would eliminate the problem of US/Japan voters deciding to round out their ballot with a random luchador and driving down everyone's percentages.

Here's my hot take: Charlotte is the one in the right. She won the Summerslam match fair and square. Becky's just a sore loser.