C.S.

Maybe I'm giving wrestling "journalism" too much credit, haha, but responding with "OK, Boomer" has to be a new nadir in immaturity and unprofessionalism. You'll have to fill me on the rajah.com reference though - that's not a site I ever frequented.

Makes me wonder if it's deliberate on WWE's part because he's the "heir apparent."

Sure, but that doesn't preclude something like Hogan vs. Flair at WM6, with Hogan winning it back at SummerSlam or WrestleMania 7. That alone would prevent the rise of the Warrior and shift so many other future developments. I'm not saying it's preferable to losing Flair's epic 1989 in WCW - of course not - but it's still fun to think about.

I don't necessarily disagree with Satin's general point: Omega is not a star in the United States, has no aura anymore, and shouldn't be giving so much to an unsigned jobber. But Satin immediately lost the argument when he responded to Meltzer with an infantile "OK Boomer" gif. Remember when wrestling "journalists" were grown-ups?

But then WrestleMania 6 likely ends up being Hogan vs. Flair, and maybe Warrior is relegated to a higher-profile version of Tom McGee instead of ever winning the WWF Title. It's a fun "what if?" because that shift alone affects so many other future developments.

Yeah, it's very possible my frame of reference is outdated. I don't generally discuss wrestling all that much outside of the internet and forums, and the last time I told someone I was a wrestling fan, it was a person older than me who thought it was rednecky and possibly doesn't know what an incel is. This just turned into a very interesting discussion... @KawadaSmile @El-P, I know you are two of our international members. How is wrestling perceived in your countries?

Not using it as a derogatory term, just identifying - correctly - that an uneducated Southern redneck what most people stereotype wrestling fans as. Right or wrong (obviously wrong, in PWO's case), that is how non-fans tend to view us.

Imagine how Jim must've come across to those suits: like a raving mad, uneducated, unhinged, Southern lunatic - basically the worst stereotype of every wrestling fan imaginable. Obviously, he is educated (at least in the wrestling business) on his podcast, interviews, etc. - but I doubt he appears that way when he's throwing one of his famous massive shit fits.

Kind of a frustrating episode because Dino Bravo's murder still an open cold case. Of course, that's not the show's fault. Rick Martel and the police opting not to participate was a bit strange, but I didn't get the sense that they declined for malicious reasons. At least they had that archival interview with Rick, but I'll be damned if I understood half of what he said. Dino seemed like a cool guy. In every pic, he had a sly smile and a twinkle in his eye. It's a shame what happened. Not from the episode, but my own side observation: chronic sourpuss Bret Hart didn't seem to respect Dino much. In his book, he got injured and took a countout loss instead of jobbing to Dino - or something along those lines. I wonder what the issue was between those two. Maybe some weird ego thing where Bret wanted to be the top Canadian? Who knows. BTW, were my eyes deceiving me or was the bullet hole in the window still there when they showed modern footage of the house? I think this is just because he's loud and blustery, exactly like The Mountie and his other heel characters. He was basically playing himself with a costume. Which is ironic and unnecessary because Jacques is easily, by far, it's not even close, more famous than his dad Jacques Sr., his brother Ray, and his uncle Johnny on a worldwide level. They may cast a shadow in Montreal, but in the rest of the world, Jacques is far more high-profile.

Agreed. No one here had any issues with Jim Cornette commenting for the NWA despite being out of touch and/or having differing opinions. It was only when he told a racist joke on the air that we raised some objections. Even then, Dave Lagana and others were blamed equally for allowing that to remain on a taped show.

How sleazy and corrupt is this company? From CagesideSeats (via Meltzer): "WWE is paying wrestlers released last week throughout their 90 day non-compete period, and therefore feels justified to continue using them (a la Drake Maverick competing in NXT’s Interim Cruiserweight Championship Tournament)."

Where is this movie available to watch legally? (I'm not interested in torrent piracy stuff.)

Batista wrote in his book about how Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker's bullshit in the WCW Power Plant turned him off from pursuing a career at first. Say what you want about Batista, but he eventually became a massive star. Buddy Lee Parker never was. Wrestling was far better off for having Batista than Buddy Lee Parker by a mile.

Is there actually any confirmation that Nia's opponent was injured in the match? The spot looked nasty, sure, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything in and of itself.

I know fuck-all about NASCAR, but to me, a sport is: - There's a winner and a loser, and the outcome is not predetermined. (I assume NASCAR is on the up and up!) - Not just anyone can enter the sport and excel at the highest levels. - It requires skill, reflexes, smarts, instincts, the usual stuff it takes to succeed in any sport. Not sure why you think I was targeting you personally. I assure you I was not. I care so little about NASCAR that I don't remember who said what in this thread.

In case any of you follow this... https://www.facebook.com/botchamania/posts/3194569760554055

Yeah, I don't give a single solitary flying fuck about NASCAR, but to deny that it's a sport seems pretty delusional.

I noticed that too, but he was basically a non-entity from that point on. The Snuka magic and aura was long gone, and along with it, so was his push. He was a glorified JTTS by 1992. Remember when WWE hyped a big mystery return at Survivor Series a few years after that (I want to say '94, '95, or '96) and it ended up being the old, broken down, underwhelming, and completely useless Snuka? Bless Jim Cornette's heart on commentary for trying to hype that turd as a polished diamond. BTW, I 100% feel Tamina Snuka was pushed this week because Vince felt sorry for her after this aired. It's the only explanation that makes any sense to me. In a way, she's a victim too, because he was her dad, she loved him, and she will never be able to admit any of this to herself.

Aren't they moving from Titan Towers to some other location eventually, or did I dream that up?

This lazy post isn't even worth responding to, but I will anyway... RIGHT ABOVE YOU, I say that I do not know what Vince Russo's personal views are, nor do I care. Obviously, the example you gave is...wow, and no, I don't agree with it at all. You know I don't, but nice attempt at trolling. I disagree, simply because OVW was never put into a position where it had to make money, and it never did. Russo booking WWE (even modified by McMahon) made money. Russo's output after that stint was pure crap. I will fully admit his peak was only a few short years, with help, never to be replicated again. You can argue, correctly, that Cornette was responsible for future stars that did make money for WWE. I'll concede that point. But he was also responsible for abusive BS like the Santino incident, so who knows how many other promising prospects he ran off that we don't know about. Cornette's ROH stint was mentioned. I don't know enough about it to comment in detail. All I can say is that ROH has been unwatchable any time I've tried over the past several years, but I cannot say for certainty if Cornette was in the company at any of those points. Didn't Corny have massive problems with Kevin Owens and the future Sami Zayn? I'd definitely say that's a mark against him. Would I hire either Cornette or Russo now? No, of course not. But if I was forced to take one, I'd still go with Russo. Yes and no. Your Ross and Rachel example, while funny, isn't my idea of creativity. (I've never watched Friends, but I'll safely assume an elephant was never on the show, lol.) I have nothing against formulas. Sometimes they work for a reason, as in the excellent examples you gave. But when it's ALWAYS formulaic, and always the same exact formula, we get slogs like modern day WWE. There has to be a balance. BTW, I laughed out loud, bro, at your Mandy and Dolph swerve, bro. I have no idea if any of Russo's Attitude Era angles have aged well (probably not), but looking back in retrospect isn't always an accurate way to gauge something. It sure as shit worked for the audience at the time. Whether it still works today is almost irrelevant. For all of the re-watches and nostalgia this board likes to take on as pet projects, wrestling was never written with that in mind. It was written for the moment, for the specific audience watching it then, for the time period. Wrestling is not like a movie or book, and never will be. WWE still cashes in on the nostalgia of the period, and it still works, because the majority of the audience isn't like PWO actually re-watching this stuff. That is why I said I'd probably still enjoy one of those old "Best of Raw" highlight DVDs but probably wouldn't enjoy a show-by-show re-watch (or even a PPV-by-PPV rewatch).

I assume you mean his personal views, whatever those are. I honestly have no idea about anything he thinks outside of wrestling and couldn't care less. I am referring only to his body of work in wrestling. I'd love for you to expand on your "creativity is overrated" take, because the lack of it is certainly killing the product.

That seemed to work well for the Boneyard Match. I wouldn't want it to be a regular occurrence, but WWE really could benefit from more outside the box thinking. I'm not saying Russo - not in 2020 - but he certainly served a purpose in 1997. Cornette, well, didn't. (His booking style was a bad anachronism and Smokey Mountain Wrestling was a creative and financial failure. Yeah, I said it. Even though there was definitely some cool stuff in SMW, most of it was Southern redneck bullshit and racism angles like The Gangstas. And let's not get started on how bad, outdated, and embarrassing WWE was when he was booking.) Jim Cornette was a great wrestling manager. That's it. That's all. Nothing wrong with that. But Russo absolutely smokes him creatively, even if that creative output probably hasn't aged well outside of those "Best of Raw" highlight DVDs (or whatever they were called) and even if his peak was only a few years in one company, followed by tons of shit. Plus, based on recent appearances, Russo - while far from perfect - still has a grip on reality. Cornette - surprise, surprise! - doesn't. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Russo > Cornette

All of the NXT releases: Tino Sabbatelli Cezar Bononi Mars Wang Taynara Conti Nick Comoroto (Nick Ogarelli) Alyssa Marino Dan Matha (Dorian Mak) MJ Jenkins Deonna Purrazzo Aleksandar Jaksic Tino hurts. Great look, great gimmick, seemed to have all the tools. I guess too injury prone and still too green after all this time? I don't know. Not sure how charisma vacuum Riddick Moss gets called up and Tino doesn't. But such is life in these strange times we're living in.

Probably, but WWE could easily let go of Lars and bring him back later at a severely reduced rate, because who else is going to want him with all his baggage at this point? Maybe the sleazy Impact might lean into it, but no one is a star there because no one watches the show - even if wrestling fans in the bubble think otherwise.