C.S.

It will probably end up being Asuka vs. Charlotte vs. Rhea at Mania - hardly the end of civilization as we know it. Unlike Charlotte being shoehorned into Becky vs. Ronda, her inclusion actually enhances this match because of her Mania history with both. I'm cool with it. Asuka vs. Rhea is not a compelling match - no story, no build, feels thrown together at the last minute (because it was) - nothing except good rasslin', which never means a damn thing in a vacuum. It needs Charlotte as the connecting tissue.

Horrifying thought I can't keep to myself: At some point, a couple of these guys will end up in NXT because that's the way the cookie crumbles in wrestling. Looking forward to GG Kool (Darby Allin) or Mack McKay (Jungle Boy)? (How are my "Random NXT Name Generator" skillz?)

Peacock was fine for Fastlane - a thousand times better than early WWE Network was with its constant glitches (both WrestleMania and especially NXT Arrival were rough that first year) - so don't skip Mania because of that. Skip it only if you're more excited for these IWTV shows and would rather prioritize those.

Cable subscribers get the $5 plan with ads for free. I think it's an extra $5 if you want to upgrade to the one without ads.

That's surprising. He doesn't seem like a bad looking guy. He's probably in the upper-echelon of what would be considered a "pretty boy" in wrestling. Granted, that's graded on a curve as it is - "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton, Ricky Morton, etc.

I know you're joking and mocking WWE, and rightfully so, but I wouldn't have minded a StevIe Richards reign when he was the leader of the RTC. I've always felt Richards was such an underrated and underutilized talent. So much range.

Aside from Fastlane (which had no ads live except for the ones WWE had already built in), I've only watched The Broken Skull Sessions with Randy Orton so far. Other than the show not really being formatted for ad breaks, it was fine. Maybe 5-6 ads, about 30-60 seconds each - not bad at all. Edit: Same for the Saved by the Bell and Punky Brewster revivals, except there are obviously going to be less ads in a 24-minute episode than there would be in a two-hour Broken Skull Sessions, and those shows are formatted specifically to take ad breaks into account.

Sad news. Hoping for the best. There's a bizarre rumor that Vince thinks Edge looks old, and was looking older every week, hence the addition of Bryan.

Interesting statistic. So that recent women's main event, which Tony and the EVPs presumably hoped would bring in more women's viewers, probably ended up driving them away with all the bloodshed. There was even a shirt put out afterward of a bleeding Baker, which my friend promptly bought for himself, but the appeal is completely lost on me. I'll probably "dare" him to wear it the next time we meet (post-pandemic). Then Britt Baker complained to Meltzer that he didn't give the match five stars (I'm surprised that wasn't brought up here, or maybe I missed it - but modern wrestlers caring so much about one man's arbitrary ratings is another thread in itself).

My guess is this is all driven by the talent themselves - Bray and Alexa - because there's no way senior citizens Vince and Bruce are coming up with this stuff.

I mean, no one is saying otherwise, but Sabu opening up his fat tuna can of a mouth about it the year his uncle's other major protege is getting inducted is a dick move.

Well, to be fair, that didn't fit with the gimmick at all. I found it strange and kitschy at the time too. It sure was memorable though.

I didn't bring up Reddit though - someone else did and I responded to that - nor did I call "most" people here stupid. Way to put words into my mouth. With that said, I honestly don't mean to come across as rude, and I apologize if that's the case. However, if my "tired and cliché" posts really bug you this much, just block me and be done with it. I don't think it's any secret though that I have very little time for most rasslin' fans. Before you jump on my ass thinking I mean the posters here at PWO, I do not. In fact, I defended PWO posters recently as intelligent and the exception to the rule. I can't remember the thread or context now, but basically someone was saying wrestling fans aren't that bad, and I responded that perhaps he's been spoiled by the intelligent and (mostly) level-headed discourse here at PWO. If someone else remembers this convo, feel free to link back to it. It happened within the last month or two. Agreed 100%. The only real risk is what you mention at the end, and I can't foresee that being even a tiny issue. CNN wouldn't hold it against Anderson Cooper for flopping on a baking show (hypothetical example, not a real one), and I don't think TNT will hold it against two wrestlers if they don't succeed at something that isn't strictly about wrestling.

I couldn't sleep a few nights ago and decided to explore Overdrive.com (Libby app). Much to my surprise, in the Performing Arts section - of all places - was the book Incomparable by the Bella Twins. So, I said, what the hell, let me check this out... It was much better than I expected. I won't go into full detail, but I'll highlight a few interesting points: - The Bellas have zero fucks to give. They absolutely bury the shit out of WWE, exposing the toxic backstage culture, cattiness of other female workers, how shitty women were treated by the company during the Divas era, etc. She never mentions AJ Lee by name, but her "pipe bomb" promo is brought up as an example of how the women didn't support each other back then and the division only got better when they all decided to unite (Four Horsewomen, etc.). - John Cena is never mentioned by name, which is rather bizarre considering how high-profile their relationship was. Instead, Nikki only refers to him as "my ex." She also mentions another ex from the business - she calls him Brad - that I'm assuming is Dolph Ziggler (unless their prior relationship referenced on Total Divas was a complete work). He was described as kind of cruel, but also funny, and still a friend. - The Bryan/Nikki relationship is covered in-depth. - The Bellas address accusations that they only got ahead or used their influence because of their boyfriends and/or father-in-law. - The Bellas go into way too much detail about their private parts, so be warned. Incomparable is presented as a series of alternating passages between Nikki and Brie (similar to the book Matt and Jeff Hardy wrote years ago), which can be a bit confusing because it's easy to lose track of who is writing what, but it's a fun read in general.

Didn't realize this was my thing, but okay. Never once said that would be the case, but okay. It's one of hopefully many strategies to attract new fans. It can only help and can't hurt. The worst that can happen is that no one will watch it and it get cancelled and fades away into obscurity as a future joke on BTE and a "remember that thing" trivia question - no real harm done.

Errol Morris should sue their asses! (Okay, he probably didn't come up with the phrase either.)

Your Jim Cornette style of rambling ranting - loudly telling me to "fuck off" and suggesting I'm "clutching my pearls" (whatever that means) - does your post no favors and makes me feel thoroughly embarrassed for you. The only reason I'm bothering to respond at all is because you bring up a couple of interesting points here: Since Tony K is going to be on the show and it was advertised on Dynamite, I assume AEW is getting a cut. But even if the Rhodes family pockets all the green (which I find highly unlikely), it's still free publicity for AEW. Good point about Bravo. The Bellas and Nattie weren't recognizable to the general public at first either, as I'm sure you realize, but I guess that's where Bravo made the difference. As for the show Cody and Snoop Dogg are on, that has very minimal promotion for AEW, I'm assuming - the same reason that Shawn Michaels hunting show didn't make a difference for WWE. But something like this - which will mention, promote, and show AEW behind the scenes - is a much different situation.

A great Errol Morris documentary. Has the phrase been co-opted by the radical right?

What is this about? Is Ciampa another one of those anti-mask QAnon drones in NXT? Please say it ain't so.

Sabu recently buried the WWE HOF as a "fake Hall of Fame," so he may have ruined RVD's big moment for the second time in their careers.

The only downside to this Cody/Brandi reality show is that it's not about Christian instead.

Damn, you got me, bro. I'm Tony K, and I started PWO threads for WWE Fastlane and NXT Halloween Havoc (among others) because I'm just that generous to my competitors. It's not meant to be the only model for growing a wrestling promotion though. As one of many strategies, it's effective and it has historically worked. Seeing Roddy Piper in They Live, Hulk Hogan in No Holds Barred (I know, I know - Rocky III is obviously the better example to use here, but I've never seen it), various sitcom appearances by wrestlers, Sergeant Slaughter on G.I. Joe, etc. all piqued my interest in wrestling little by little until I finally decided to try this pro wrestling thing. But if the reality show shines a spotlight on said undercard talent and makes them a draw to newer audiences, why not? At worst, they remain where they are, and no harm done.

Geez, man, I know you hate my posts, but banishing me to the hellscape that is Reddit (which, to be fair, I like outside of wrestling) is harsh. Anyway, you are putting words into my mouth. There is nothing wrong with watching and enjoying all kinds of wrestling, obviously - but if I'm running a business, you're damn right I want to be a mainstream promotion. That's why the reality show is a good idea. Not me! I never minded The Librarians, and Micheal Nakazawa was weird but never exactly focused on, so that didn't matter either. All wrestling promotions are going to experiment, have stupid gimmicks, try shit that doesn't work, etc. - that's par for the course. A fair point. I'll give you that. But you have to give me that the Khans clearly want AEW to be bigger than ROH and Impact, and chasing avenues that get them there is simply smarter business. Their success also good for wrestling fans in general - even the ones who don't like AEW. Not exactly what I said, but maybe I wasn't clear, so I'll rephrase. Yes, the core audience is important, but AEW already has them and probably always will. That is different from the toxic "I only like what I like and don't give a fuck how this benefits the company" types. Those fans aren't worth keeping, period. I stand by that. That is why I mentioned the Best Buy example - not because I think the two businesses are similar (they obviously aren't). They should, but that's another argument for another day.

I know you hate my posts - at least lately - but two replies to the same post is a bit overmuch. And you never even bit on my Christian post from earlier. But anyway... Not patronizing, just honest. THEN YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE WRESTLING BUSINESS. Impact is a terrible example, and you know that. The Khans are not going to keep propping up a failed experiment like numerous people have done for Impact over the years. They're legit businessmen and much smarter than that. I actually agree with this, to a degree, but... That really worked out well for ROH. Yeah, they're still in business, but nothing they do matters anymore. If AEW wants to be an irrelevant afterthought niche promotion like ROH and Impact, that's one thing, and nothing wrong with that, but clearly the Khans have a bigger vision. I understand it. I just don't think that part of the audience actually matters if AEW ever wants to grow - and it clearly does. Many years ago, an internal memo leaked from Best Buy (or some situation along those lines) about "angel customers" and "devil customers." Basically, "devil customers" were the ones who chased deals and bargains exclusively, walked into the store with only that specific purchase in mind, and didn't buy anything else. "Angel customers" were the ones who walked into the store, were big spenders, often made impulse buys, etc. Best Buy was heavily ridiculed for that - and rightfully so - but they also had a point. When people say "I don't give a fuck about mainstream fans" or "I don't give a flying fuck how this reality show will help AEW," you're basically a shortsighted, toxic "devil customer" - someone no business actually has any interest in retaining, nor should they. Nattie on Total Divas is legitimately the most hilarious person the company has had in two decades - real comedy, not terrible "ha ha" WWE "comedy." I'm not even joking. If WWE let the Natalya character be what we saw on that show, she would've been a bigger star for sure. As for Cena and his nouveau riche house, sure, but that's the reality TV genre in general. I heard it wasn't his real house anyway, but I could be wrong about that or mixing it up with something else.

Especially the average rasslin' fan.