fakeplastictrees

If the spoilers are any indication it appears its the same old TNA. - Spend a ton of money on a 'big name' and immediately put him above your entire roster. Check. - Talk about WWE/Make references that people/fans who are involved (in any capacity) with TNA only do so because WWE was unavailable as a choice. Check. - Have non-essential/non-money drawing personnel eat up TV time. Check. - SHOOT~! on prior talent and name drop while talking about a 'new era'. Check.

Yeah she definitely doesn't deserve it. Before HOF rumors started circulating--no on was talking about Beth. No one. Without doing a super deep dive in the WWE archives, I can't think of an outstanding Beth Phoenix match. Not one. Definitely shouldn't be in. The problem with the HOF when it comes to the women has been the booking over the past decades. Outside of Liz, Chyna, Sunny, Sable, Trish, Lita, Jackie-- there is no one post Attitude Era that I would honestly put in at this time. Sure Charlotte, Sasha, Becky, and Bayley are all going in there in about 15-20 years from now. But people like Eve Torres, Beth Phoenix, Melina, Kelly Kelly, etc. while some of them were entertaining at times (for various reasons), none of them have that career that anyone is naturally talking about and discussion of their work only comes up when people are forced to talk about it as it is in this case with Phoenix's HOF induction. But I guess they needed non-controversial women from the new era and Beth was the girl.

An interesting concept. Its easy to get in the wrestling bubble and believe what has been pimped, by men over the age of 35, is in fact the gold standard of pro wrestling viewing. Would be interesting to know if after a particular journey/arch if these youngsters begin to go out and seek the footage for themselves. Its one thing watching Portland stuff for a project (I've done it!! ) and its another if someone chooses to go further down the rabbit hole. I would also be curious to know if this makes them appreciate current wrestling more, less, or the same. I haven't got to sit down and listen to this in full yet, but I would love to here some conversation on what occurred (during the viewing) and whether or not it will work or not today and why it would/wouldn't and WHY it worked/didn't work in the first place.

I immediately 'run away' from podcasts that venture too long. 90 minutes is usually the sweet spot and if it goes to 2 hours on occasion--that's fine as well. Anything else is a commitment. Having multiple parts also builds excitement for the continuation of the conversation, etc.

Rex has been overall awful since coming in. I was expecting something great...and well... The whole "It's 2017" stuff is just plain awful as it cheapens an already cheap gimmick. It will be interesting to see what TNA does in 2018 with The Hardys gone.

Its seems like such an easy thing not to fuck up: - New Day comes out on a Unicorn float with choir singing and tossing out Booty O's to the crowd as confetti drops - New Day promo -RNRE come out, NAO interrupt, some crazy new before seen tag team comedy match (that last no more than 6 minutes). New Day and RNRE win - NO PRODUCT PLACEMENT..except for... - The unveiling of the New Day Ice Cream Machine (during the obligatory segment of WWE announcing the arena attendance for the evening) but even with all I just wrote...I don't see this going down well.

Someone has to believe it...might as well be him. Anthem's plan is interesting for all the wrong reasons. I guess Anthem is just in the process of tidying everything up and working to hand it all over to someone for somewhat of a profit. Unreal.

Did someone say....conspiracy? But seriously, I will get into the Trump/WWE/McMahon stuff in a future episode of the MIS podcast!

I only got to listen to a handful as I am terrible when it comes to eating away at my podcast backlog. However, in starting my own podcast I am not listening to more and doing the DDP-like 'tape study' on some of these episodes. Titans will server as a nice influence in the coming future on The MIS Podcast. Thanks guys!

Are you fucking kidding me! The most boring options possible were taken tonight. Cena wins the title for the 16th time tonight and Randy Orton is going to main event WM? No fucking thank you!

Why? Rude, DDP, Angle-- I get it. Beth Phoenix? I can't think of any other Diva from that era who would get the least amount of reaction in today's envrionment. Trish was pretty unover and Mickie came out to crickets on Smackdown. I remember stuff Beth did, but there is no way I would watch a 'Best Of' comp or tell future generations about her. I guess this is all about WWE wanting legends from that period that are still alive and can do PR. Not sure many from the Ruthless Aggression Era can be considered that.

Over/Under on a Peter Gabriel lawsuit occurring? Surely, I am not the only person who hears "Sledgehammer" when listening to Tyler Bate's theme? If/When this actually becomes a show--I will 'pop in' on episodes. With Raw, Smackdown, NXT, 205, PPV, and NXT Takeover events--I do not know if I can honestly add anymore WWE into my life. With other wrestling promos and 'true' combat sports--its going to be a headache trying to fit this into the schedule.

Jerry Lawler needs to go away and never come back. I was a big fan of his commentary nearly 20 years ago--but his time has come.

Wouldn't know a Radiohead song eh? Re: Punk I think Punk was a good con man and people act up the gimmick 100% and were/are unable to separate the marketing of the man from the reality of the man. Some people try to make Punk out like he is the wrestling Che Guevara, but he is more like wrestling's version of Amrit Desai. He was a great worker in that sense and with wrestling fans legit wanting a revolution in WWE and a meaningful shakeup, turned to Punk as the 'leader' of this movement despite the fact that it was all manufactured. Punk's attitude will not come off great or revolutionary or any of that non-sense. People already see right through it and as time goes on-- a man who received his own bus, his personally requested theme song, millions of dollars, millions of dollars, promotion of inside jokes/jabs (ice cream bars), etc. will not be given any hearts or tears because he didn't get to main event WM.

When was the last time Stephanie showed ass to someone on the roster? Vikki? Brie? That was 2014. But yeah, less is more. Talking down to Bayley is one thing, but the entire roster? Especially the world champions and all top contenders? Overall an okay Raw, its amazing how The Club are just flat out not getting over at all while New Day has become a parody of itself and is getting less over by-the-day. I heel New Day would at least be 'fresh' and would gain some people back, but The Club is dead-in-the-water. Holy shit! I don't know what can be done to revive them.

Eventually NWO is going into HOF. Is it going to be a situation where only the first 3 members (Hogan, Hall, and Nash) get rings (thus making all three two-time HOFers) or will this be more Hall/Nash/Hogan accept while guys like Vincent, Norton, etc. get rings in the mail (or kayfabe ring)? Perhaps Hogan gets a ring and says 'but this is for all the members' while being the only one to actually receive something physical and the majority of the honors and actual recognition. Should be interesting when that happens.

It was an enjoyable listen. Its always fun to hear about the arena experience delivered in a non-smarky way. Its honest. In a day where corporate wrestling does it best to strip any personality out of the arenas ran and this making the arenas all look the same-- its good there is still a non-cynical element at play in the fan community.

I wouldn't be upset if DDP, Rude, and Vader all go in. I would love to see The Steiners, Rick Martel, and Harlem Heat as well. Lemmy, I am sure, will be inducted into the celebrity wing. Round it all off with Goldberg or Kurt Angle (yeah right) and it will be a pretty stacked and interesting night.

In the age of 'corporate commentary', I have zero problems with Otunga. In an era where being as non-descriptive and non-charismatic as possible can land someone a leading commentary/interviewer spot in a major company (Josh Matthews, Todd Grisham, etc.)--Otunga stands out among the fray.

I've said it before and I will say it again: everyone and everything on Smackdown has a purpose. Who'd thought I'd start warming up to Ziggler in 2017 as he has been DITW for 2-3 years?! Its all really scary how simple a lot of this stuff is. Another thing that Smackdown has going for itself right now is that its not being focused to break any 'historic records' like Raw. With Charlotte, New Day, and Strowman--Raw is (and was in the case of New Day) in a holding patterning. WWE has shown over the last few years (Nikki Bella's title reign being the last great example) that when it comes time to break history---the STORY leading up the record reign means absolutely nothing, its getting there is what is important! This of course leads to a large lame duck session and makes the product less exciting.

Why not just go quietly into the night? Why the big proclamation of future evidence being released? If just a really insincere form of assistance and makes everyone involved on the Snuka team look bad. I guess Tamina Snuka will be back on TV within the next month or so?

Is Stephanie pregnant? This is the second week she has worn all black with items designed to cover her stomach. Last week it a a big black blouse and this week it was an oversized black blazer.

The crowd is starting to wane on The New Day. They are still over--but for the past 2-3 weeks I can start to hear the "New Day Sucks" getting louder and louder.

I can see Sasha inserting herself and possibly going heel either before or at Mania. A title win at Mania will be 1 year too late, but it will be a nice cap while Bayley chases Sasha for a bit while Charlotte does something outside of the title picture. A program with a tweener (in this particular feud) Nia Jax might be something Charlotte needs to keep her character fresh and active outside the title picture. Toss in a potential Dana Brooke 'emancipation' angle and a 'climb-back-to-the-top' angle (where Charlotte has to run through Alicia Fox, Summer Rae, some unknown jobbers, all before retiring Paige), and WWE can easily keep Charlotte away from the title until Summer Slam to setup a meaningful title match vs. Bayley or with triple threat implications with both Sasha and Bayley involved in the mix. This a potential rematch from Mania to tie everything back in. Braun needs a standout and star making match. The guy hasn't had one yet. He has had some outings where people have raised eyebrows and that is all good and all, but where is THE MATCH? Everyone eventually has one and I would hate for all this Sami stuff to lead to Braun being in the pre-show AMBR. Also, isn't it the right time to have the Cruiserweight Open II? I also really hope WWE doesn't feel that every title needs to be defended on the show. Its okay to stretch out the title defenses over the 4 day period.

What really stood out to me was the nice balance of kayfabe and non-kayfabe question and of course the responses to those questions (both worked and otherwise). Just a really good balance that didn't feel as though Vince was feeding anyone lines or trying to push WWE corporate speak too hard. JBL kept it 100 at the end of the show. A good watch to kill time after Raw. Hope to see more.