WingedEagle

I could definitely see this as well, but man, Ambrose as a babyface has been such a revelation. I pegged him as a natural heel but he's been such an incredible baby who takes amazing beatings with well worked comebacks that I don't want him turning.

Nope. Not only do I think he's a good talker, I think he's leaps and bounds better than Wyatt. Bray feels like a vignette that's been done to death at this point. He also doesn't come across as particularly menacing or sudden in the ring. Its a shame Harper isn't the focal point of the act because I think there's a lot more potential with him in the lead role. Wyatt's so over the top it just feels like a 2014 version of something out of the TL Hopper / Goon / Waylon Mercy character era.

Really great point. Hadn't thought of it myself but it is absolutely spot on. They're always operating at the same level with the same urgency.

Arn really shined in tags, multiman and War Games. Always a solid hand in singles but his resume was written in plural scenarios.

Damn. I had to work during most of Cena/Wyatt so looks like I'll be rewatching that on Tuesday.

From WWE? No, but they'll let outside counsel bill a few hours until they go away.

What about publically building the expectations of how the Network is going to do on a study that said there are 100 Mio. (or whatever it was) wrestling fans in the US? There's a difference between fraud and being full of shit. I don't think Vince & Co. were full of shit. They were delusional. They were full of shit. Not as far as securities law is concerned. You and I and everyone here understands why those DYK numbers thrown out on TV are nonsense. But they're also all likely supported and documented well beyond any threshold rising to fraud. These shareholder suits are a lot more frivolous. That's not on the WWE front, but in general. Unless you're talking about SH litigation challenging as an example an M&A valuation or a situation where there's a legit smoking gun where material info is completely fraudulent, these things are just a cash grab.

Vince & co. control enough of the stock that absent fraud, which there is no legitimate evidence of to this point, this is all just a cash grab by opportunistic third parties. Shareholder litigation is big business. They churn these things out like widgets, collect their fees and move onto the next one. There's a lot of noise because of the stock's rapid rise & fall. But last I checked its higher right now than it was a year ago. Hopefully folks in Stamford and their counsel take a deep breath and stay the course.

I surprisingly enjoyed the non-wrestling part as well. Austin is just such an easy listen and really facilitates great conversation no matter the guest or subject matter.

Am I supposed to feel bad for someone making 30 grand a year now? I know it's not being rich , but it's not exactly being poor. Yes, if they're working hard for it and don't have other options. I don't know where that qualifies as a comfortable living.

Woke up at 430, ran a PR in the Brooklyn half and just completed an epic nap. Time to pregame a bit and hopefully eat a BOMA YE tonight!

Man...that stock today.

I'll be there as well, with a friend who's probably watched 2 hours of wrestling total in his life. I have to be up ridiculously early on Saturday for the Brooklyn half marathon and there will likely be a few drinks after that, so we're going to need a power nap to get us to the evening. But I am STOKED to see the New Japan crew and hopefully grab some cool merch if they've got anything unique available. Really hope they put Okada in a showcase match and don't have it be something quick in the mid-card.

I always liked Summerslam '98, Rumble 2000, Mania 20, the Batista HIAC, Austin at No Way Out, Backlash & Judgment Day 2000.

No question, when the head count disparity is that wide it speaks volumes as to how little wrestling fans are valued as eyeballs. That same disparity can also explain some of the difference in deal packages, but that multiple probably doesn't explain the difference entirely. I'm sure the type of profile they're looking to keep for the network and ad packages as a whole is a huge factor as well and limits what they'll pay for "low rent" programming.

How do MLS ad rates compare with WWE's?

I'm jealous. I'd love to make that kind of money for that little work. But resent? He didn't hold a gun to anyone's head. He brings certain things to the table that put him in position to get that deal. Isn't that what we all do with varying levels of success?

I always watch Raw and try to watch it live. I skip Main Event & NXT unless I hear there's a great match or something otherwise truly worth watching. Will generally skip through Smackdown on DVR and check out any matches or angles that look interesting. And that's just current WWE. I watch every big NJPW show, but am a couple months behind there. I've also been slow on the yearboks since the Network debuted, as I've been going through WWE PPV's post-Mania 17 on that front.

As much as I enjoy WrestlingCulture, I was poking at Will. Co-sign. Sorely lacking! Austin & MLW pass some time but when we get into marathon season I'm going to have a lot more hours to kill and need some pods!

I'm with you there. I've been rewatching all PPvs post-Mania 17 and while the Edge/Angle series was good, it didn't hold up as anything particularly great or nearly as well as I remembered it from years earlier.

Yes.

My heart goes out to him.

I love this topic as it raises a bunch of questions that I'm not sure how I'd answer, much less that there is any sort of definitive answer. Which audience should wrestlers be working the match for? Is it always the live crowd or the TV audience? They can definitely work things differently to appeal to me at home with an HDTV as opposed to sitting in the 300 level at an arena. Then there's how much the live crowd helps or hurts a match for the TV audience. Just a quick hit right now as I don' t have the time to think back about various matches where these ideas stood out, but its always fascinated me. What if you're watching on mute -- is that a fair way to look at a match?

Wow, much bigger dropoff than I would've expected. But I wonder how much of that is a one-time thing resulting from the change in companies due to difficulties at their previous partner.