C.S.

When did Sami adopt an anti-U.S. gimmick? Is that his version of the red and blue shirt colors that only matter for this PPV and won't ever be mentioned again after 11 p.m. EST tonight?

We all know WWE has made the ultimate humanitarian effort and sacrifice to save Saudi Arabia and show their citizens the light through life-changing sports-entertainment. Seriously though, all of this was actually covered on Last Ride, with Undertaker coming back, having a good match, having a bad match, rinse and repeat a few times, which kept him going because he said he didn't want to end his career on a sour note. Michelle McCool and others expressed frustration with the vicious cycle of it all.

Aldis and Pillman are natural no-brainers to sign. Calihan seems like the epitome of an "indy sleaze guy" to me, but I guess AEW would see the benefit in having him work garbage matches with the Moxleys, Janelas, and Darbys of the world. I'm not familiar with Bandito or Dragon Lee, so I have no opinion there. Fatu is probably WWE-bound eventually because of his name and dynasty, so AEW might not want to bother when his ultimate goal likely is and always has been WWE. If LA Park is a headache, why bother? AEW already has The Luchas Bros.

On The Last Ride, he explained why he came back. He said he felt he was "fat Elvis" out there, gave Roman a terrible match, didn't do for Roman what he should have because of that, and he didn't want to hang his hat up on such a poor performance.

Anyone else miss when the Survivor Series PPV was WWE's annual Thanksgiving tradition Thanksgiving Eve tradition had only traditional Survivor Series matches? I honestly don't give a fuck about most of the singles titles on the card. Only WWE could make an entire show of Champion vs. Champion matches feel less special than a third-tier house show in Peoria. In a full circle moment, my first Survivor Series was 1991 where The Undertaker did the impossible and destroyed "The Immortal" Hulk Hogan. I was in shock, brother! It was a happy shock though, JACK, because I was rooting for The Undertaker. Then that slimy weasel Jack Tunney completely ruined the vibe by announcing an immediate rematch "this Tuesdee in Texas." I knew, I just knew, the Hulkster would regain the title. (He did, and then he didn't.)

Yes, but you certainly aren't going to get that brought to light on a WWE doc. Maybe in 15 years, Bruce Prichard will admit it offhandedly like he did when he said Eddie almost didn't get the WWE Title because he's Mexican.

Also, those "gems" likely come a lot cheaper than Rhino would. 2-3 "gems" probably cost the same as 1 Rhino, so that's easy math and an even easier decision.

Yes, fuck him, but he wasn't the one who thought that about Eddie, to be fair.

Here's Bruce Prichard admitting Eddie Guerrero almost didn't win the WWE Title because he's Mexican. https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2020/11/bruce-prichard-says-eddie-guerrero-race-almost-kept-him-677189/

I assume @sek69 means Sasha is going to put her body at risk with big bumps to "carry" Carmella to a watchable match. I think that's kind of unfair.

I disagree. But seriously, this tweet is pretty damning too. Gee, I wonder why they'd want to keep him away from Cody and/or other talent...

Kind of a shame since The Ascension was so pushed on NXT and then essentially sabotaged in WWE. I wonder if that really soured his taste for the business, or if he was devalued so completely and thoroughly in WWE that no one was interested afterward. The NWA, if it ever gets up and running again, would be a good place for the Aiden Englishes and Viktors of the world to find a new lease on life. Mike Kanellis even seemed interesting for a hot second there when he was programmed against Nick Aldis. I know Mike had the "Miracle" nick, but Aldis is the true miracle worker.

Rock bought the XFL. Vince probably now loves him more than Linda, Shane, Steph, and Triple H combined.

Roman vs. Drew doesn't feel like a fresh WrestleMania match to me. We've seen it before. Hell, we've seen it at WrestleMania. Don't get me wrong: It's great for Survivor Series. Not so great for WrestleMania IMO. Especially if they have Roman vs. Rock lined up. Yes, people will bitch about WWE giving such a plum spot to yet another part-time wrestler, but it makes the most sense after Roman vs. Jey and with the whole "Tribal Chief" gimmick.

Poor Aiden. As talented as he is, I can kind of see why he's gotten lost in the shuffle and none of the "major" companies are really clamoring for his services. There are too many other much higher-profile, more popular free agents on the market. The best thing Aiden can do is completely reinvent himself on the indie circuit, generate some buzz, and parlay that into something with AEW or Impact or wherever he wants to go. Then again, Jinder Mahal seemingly didn't do much between WWE stints and ended up back there and eventually World Champion, so maybe Aiden will show back up on Raw/Smackdown or NXT after the pandemic?

Right, but these hypothetical convos between Rock and Nia/QWuertz would be private.

Hopefully Cousin Dwayne can talk some sense into her. He must look down at people like Drew Wuertz as worthless insignificant insects. Would love to hear the private promo Dwayne would cut on QWuertz.

As stupid as Nia sounds, there are many people who won't trust this vaccine because it will be rushed out so quickly, hasn't been studied as extensively, and the long-term effects are therefore unknown. My point is, it's not just the radical fringe QAnon WWE/NXT dumbells who are wary of the vaccine. Don't be shocked when a large number of ordinary people also have doubts. That, IMO, is going be the big news story of 2021 all around the world. Unfortunately, a vaccine is only as effective as the amount of people who take it. That's why it's critical for other solutions and cures to be developed alongside a vaccine. Columbia University is working on a Covid nasal spray, for example, that sounds very promising.

I haven't seen any of the recent Star Wars movies, but The Mandalorian has been pretty good, to be fair. WWE would kill for a babyface as over as Baby Yoda. Vince would turn Baby Yoda heel after six months though. Speaking of The Mandalorian, Sasha Banks showed up this week. Only a couple of lines, and her voice is much more high-pitched than I ever realized - but this franchise is a far bigger deal than WWE ever was or will be, so it could open some doors for her... She's credited as Mercedes Varnado, BTW, not Sasha Banks.

I am fine with Joey Ryan genuinely improving himself, if that's what he's doing - and, no, I'm not really naive enough to believe it for a second - but WTF is this idiot Wuertz doing cozying up to such a toxic presence in such a public fashion? Then again, it's not like WWE cares - Velveteen Dream and Matt Diddle are still gainfully employed.

It won't win any awards for its visual presentation, that's for sure, but I thought it was an entertaining enough little doc. Has he surfaced anywhere else? Kind of sucks for guys like that, who are talented, but no one is exactly clamoring to see them.

The Brothers of Destruction doc was a fun stroll down memory lane. It's basically Undertaker and Kane sitting down in chairs face to face at the empty darkened Performance Center and talking to each other about their careers for 45 minutes as clips play. There was footage of their Smoky Mountain match and cool training footage of Kane in full gimmick before his TV debut. Isaac Yankem was mentioned (including the surprising person who came up with the gimmick years earlier) but Fake Diesel was curiously omitted. There's a funny Undertaker story about his first meeting with Vince McMahon. Vince asked him for any weird hobbies he has, and Taker admitted to singing in the shower. Then quickly realizing what that could potentially lead to, he did everything in his power to take it back. To think, we could have seen Aiden English's "Shakespeare of Song" gimmick 30 years earlier. (Is Aiden English even still with the company?)

@cm funk I forgot about Ricochet and Black debuting as a team (or becoming one shortly thereafter - whatever it was). They both seemed like such hot young stars and a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stale product. How quickly times changed there.

This interview exposes what a disorganized hopeless mess WWE and even NXT are. Alexa's NXT heel turn was last-minute, which - okay, whatever - but then she's asked the next day where her red highlights and hair extensions are, which no one told her to get, and then she had to get them at her own expense after recently paying a lot for blue highlights/extensions. In any other entertainment company that isn't wrestling, all of that shit would be paid for and handled by professionals on site. Wrestlers really are treated like shit. https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2020/11/alexa-bliss-on-turning-heel-for-the-first-time-676972/

Which she stepped down from, bizarrely, all the way back in March 2019 to run a Trump Super PAC. Wonder what the real story is there...