fakeplastictrees

I might have lost complete faith in this company if this whole Aries/Impact thing started off as a work, turned into a shoot, and then back into a work, before finishing off as a semi-shoot work. And all for what? There was a lot of good stuff from BFG. 40 dollars worth? No. Is it worth checking out sometime this month when you get a chance- absolutely. WWE's Super Showdown was heatless and silly from start-to-finish. Impact's BFG had a lot of effort with both the company and the workers really trying to step out of their element.

What's everyone's thoughts on Salina De La Renta? Great name. Great presence. Great idea. However, her acting and promos are subpar. Being the first female Spanish speaking commentator is all well and good, but she is worse than Rene Young. She is still developing, but I feel she needs to find something genuine and lack onto that as her entire act feels forced.

Its amazing that the WWE/Saudi relationship couldn't even make it a full calendar year before shit hit the fan. The wrestling bubble is only so big.

I am not sure why WWE played up The IIconics and Murphy, but fail to mention Nia is Australian. Is it due to the Aussie's notorious hatred of POC? I am not sure what's going on there.

I hope Fox's response to sagging ratings is a drastic Hail Mary nostalgia play. Taker, Foley, Michaels, Kane, Cena, RVD and a few others may become Smackdown staples in 2019.

Dropping a knee on the eye was an Aksana staple? JFC. I guess it was just a matter of time then. The move gets zero reaction, doesn't look good, and only increases the chance of wrestler actually getting hurt during a match.

I shared the same views of Janela as Sek69. I can't think of a Janela match I would go out of my way to see, but he isn't a channel changer for me and he always works hard. I have said it a million times and I will say it again. Joey Janela the wrestler is fine to me. Joey Janels the promoter is fucking awesome and I hope THAT aspect of Janela never leaves. He books with a child's heart and it will be interesting to see what happens when his heart 'grows up'. Make no mistake about it, Joey Janela is one of the most influence talents outside of WWE within the last five years. This is a bump in the road...not the end of the road. #SpringBreak3

I feel like Impact has found the sweet spot. I honestly would not be upset if they stayed at this level and eventually reached a peak where they can do 4-6 shows outside of the Impact Zone every year that sell out 3-5k capacity venues.

Its definitely worth the purchase. Death of WCW and "WCW Nitro" are two different reads. Not to plug myself, but I touched on your concerns (and potentially other questions you may have) in my conversation with Guy Evans on a recent episode of MIS. Listen to the first 15 minutes or so and I think that will cover your questions. Its deinfitely not a fluff piece or an opinion piece. Its probably the most matter-of-fact account of WCW's history ever printed.

I agree and tend to believe the new definition of success in WWE, in any measure, isn't really based on whether someone or something gets over. Its not even about whether an angle or wrestle makes WWE any money. Its just about getting to the finish line and turning it in. With the goal being a sprint to the finish with no regard of how one gets there, the viewers are treated to a seemingly mis-managed yet methodical product.

It's only a matter of time before Hogan makes an appearance. If its not on this upcoming show, its going to be next year. It will be a tasteless double whammy.

Its disappointing, but not surprising that Michaels' return will be wasted in this manner. 3 out of the 4 people in this rumored encounter are the components of the WM style conscious epics. Michaels is hammy as hell for a regular Mania payday, so I can only imagine he is going to turn up the ham and cheese for KSA money.

A few key things from the shared article: 1. WWE Crown Jewel will take place on Friday, Nov. 2 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as WWE again partners with the Saudi General Sports Authority to present a special show. 2. WWE's 10-year contract with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia accounts for two major events per year. 3. WWE also booked the main event for the show, a triple threat match for the universal championship with title holder Roman Reigns defending against both Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar. 4. Also announced on Monday was the WWE World Cup, a tournament that will decide the "best in the world." https://www.cbssports.com/wwe/news/wwe-crown-jewel-world-cup-tournament-announced-as-next-foray-into-saudi-arabia/

Roman has become the walking personification of "Not Listening to the Fans". The sad thing is, WWE could have turned this around at any point. Roman is the fall guy of WWE's experiment of having a Cena level star work 50/50 booking.

After the run-ins, interference, and no contest in the HIAC main event, I am not surprised. I hope WWE gets this out of its system sooner rather than later.

I was too lazy to do it. The rest of the show, for the most part, was fine.

HIAC needs to go aways for a long time. At least 10 years. HIAC is bad for several reasons: 1. WWE's obsessive promotions of Foley's 1998 KOTR match. Every other HIAC gets a brief mention or a 1 second airing in a video package. While the Foley match is without a doubt the number one HIAC match and the best showcase for the match, HIAC not having a clear top five equally (or close to) the 1999 KOTR is telling. 2. Most HIAC matches lead to a Mick Foley segment or promo where he mansplains HIAC to a bunch of adults. 3. The same adults Foley spoke to, then go ahead and cosplay some of Foley's bumps/spots from the 1998 KOTR match. Its all terrible. HIAC "changing people" would be an awesome narrative, if it actually changed anyone. From a kayfabe perspective, who exactly changed? Who became tougher? More cautious? Batshit insane? Mentally broken? Foley's HIAC record is terrible and both HHH and Orton have been in more HIAC matches than Foley. Shouldn't Randy be the one doing the yearly 'Don't do this match!" speech? Braun/Reigns just laying in the ring, helped put over Foley, his proceeding Network special, and The Attitude Era guys. It didn't help put anything else over and WWE quickly went off air. I think 40 is a good number to end with. No more HIAC please.

TNA not being WWE was its biggest strength, unfortunately TNA saw it as its biggest weakness.

I have never been high on Rene's commentary. She neither adds nor takes away from the product, so I guess that is better than nothing. With Rene at the booth, WWE will finally be rid of the insulting POC trope that has plagued the three man announce both for a considerable amount of time. I assume the 'new assignment' for Coach was part of his original WWE contract. "Voice of Raw" until outside commitments begin to interfere/bad commentary performance. It looks like both have happened and Coach will probably be on the PPV panel for another 6 months to a year before being gone again. Coach brings nothing to the table as an analysis and honestly works better as a character. I cannot think of one memorable Coach call, but I can think of a lot of good Coach comedy segments. There are a lot of guys in NXT and 205 live that need to get over. Coach should be sent 'down' (over?) there and use what little magic is left in his old top hat.

The Cross match should have never happened. Every match after that had heat and interest. Without the benefit of just being able to 'go over' without issue, something should have been cut and it was that one.

Sean O'Haire, Larry Sweeny, Brian Lawler, and Mike Awesome. They all committed suicide in the same way. 110% beyond sad. I want to do an episode on mental health and its going to take some time because of the complexities involved. All of the guys listed were entertaining and entertained me in various points in my life. Rest In Power to all. So sad.

As I read Charles' post, I started to think how all of that applies to the on-screen product as well. Vince McMahon is truly the ultimate worker and carnie. He figured out a long time ago that a simple formula of more smiles (PR) + more content (Product) = fewer questions and ultimately no consequence.

I want WWE and UFC to start using this.

And that's the problem. If that does happen, it will be the second time Reigns is the subject of a cash-in. With Ambrose, the cash-in happened with a guy that is beyond stale. If it goes down now, the cash-in will happen with a guy who doesn't need sneaky cash-ins or even a world title. the outcome of the Extreme Rules main event was another WWE Gotcha! moment that the fans and WWE will pay for at SummerSlam.