C.S.

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...

I bet Vince really regrets encouraging and bankrolling Linda's empty political ambitions.

Kane is also there, according to an online friend of mine who used that as a defense for signing up (needless to say, he's an idiot). I told him that anything involving a rassler is never, ever, not for a single fucking second, going to impress me, because even the "smart" ones are generally stupid. Google's description of Parler: If WWE mattered to anyone outside the bubble, they'd immediately release anyone associated with this nonsense. But it wouldn't surprise me if Linda herself was on it.

Maria, as usual, is smarter than her husband. At least this seems like a valid reason to take issue with WWE.

The bubble and vacuum WWE lives under as they continue to bury their heads in the sand will ultimately end up burying them. A "don't worry, brother" from a drunken Michael Hayes in a purple pimp leisure suit won't get them out of this one.

Absolute wrong person to be tweeting this message. WWE supported Mike and Maria through a drug problem and pregnancy. For all the shit the company gets, those two were well taken care of. The only thing they didn't get was a push, and WWE did try even there, letting them bypass NXT. Unfortunately, their gimmick died an instant death on the main roster.

I am two years late to the party on this, but: 1. Fuck Big Cass 2. Is there anywhere I can get more info on this incident? 3. Fuck Big Cass

Yeah, for all the times main eventers have been criticized for "playing politics," this is absolutely the correct use of one's "backstage clout." Jake Hager is pretty useless. Even at his most compelling, with Dutch Mantell carrying him, he was stupid enough to get a DUI for weed and derail his WM push and presumed title win against Alberto Del Rio.

You actually watched the whole thing? I just skipped around until there was game footage.

The WWE Network special on Paul Bearer is pretty great, and the presence of Michael Hayes and Bruce Prichard actually enhance the presentation this time because they were so close to him. (Hayes and Bearer were childhood friends because they went the same wrestling shows as fans. They ultimately broke into wrestling together.)

Console Game (Current and Next-Gen): Something fun to pick up, akin to NBA Jam and No Mercy. Mobile Game 1: Elite General Manager Mobile Game 2: AEW Casino Double or Nothing (appears to be a virtual casino sim, oddly enough) Summary: AEW Reveals Its First Three Video Games, One Developed By Yuke’s (WrestleZone)