C.S.

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.

I'm personally worried for Chad Gable and Mustafa Ali (we assume he's the one behind the glitches, but that could easily be changed/retconned - just as GTV was when Goldust left). I assume Mojo is safe, because they'll want more Gronk, but who knows. I'm also worried for the Singh Bros. (not sure which brand they're on, which probably doesn't bode well for their chances) and maybe even That Indian Guy.

Amazing post by @Jimmy Redman. Very odd criticisms of Drake Maverick by others in this thread. In wrestling, it has always been drilled in everyone's heads to honor their bookings no matter what. That is what Drake is doing. Is he right? Wrong? It's not for us to say. I sure as fuck wouldn't do it, but he's an adult who can make his own decisions. He probably thinks this will open the door to him eventually being re-signed. Maybe it will, maybe it won't, but I do think it's bullshit that he didn't get the same amount of appreciation for saving the 24-7 division that R-Truth has. Truth deserves all the credit in the world, but so does Drake. The fact is, that was probably Drake's ceiling in the company, unfortunately, because he's "short." WWE needs to take a long hard look at who it pushes, why, and how talent is used in general, but that will never, ever happen. The real question to ask here is why racist, homophobic, gay porn star Lars Sullivan hasn't been released yet. He is a useless liability who brings absolutely nothing to the table at this point but shame and bad publicity. No one would care that Lars once did gay porn - well, okay, redneck Jim Cornette beef jerky jerking rasslin' fans would - but doing those videos while expressing blatant homophobic views is a hole he can't dig himself out of.

Very tenuous link to wrestling, but the beginning of this book quotes Ric Flair on his favorite sports movie of all time. Not sure if Flair is featured anywhere else beyond that. The Ultimate Book of Sports Movies: Featuring the 100 Greatest Sports Films of All Time You can "look inside" the book to see the Flair quote. Only $2.99 on Kindle right now. I bought it because I love movies just as much as wrestling, if not more.

Road Dogg, Tyson Kidd, and Regal are also there, but I'm not sure if they always were and they're there because they're no longer active wrestlers.

Heyman is there too.

Mistake or future future endeavor?

Does it matter? I doubt AEW is rolling out the dough right now, and most other feds have gone dark.

Is this new?

Mickie hasn't been used in forever, but I guess they're no longer worried about her joining Nick in the NWA.

Honestly, the best thing for Mike - maybe not personally, but certainly professionally - would be for him and Maria to get signed to different companies. He really needs to break out of her shadow, radically reinvent himself, and become a star in his own right. I mean, it's possible. TNA fans loved The Miracle, didn't they?

He can team with Joey Janela as "The Cucks" while Maria and Penelope Ford laugh in their faces.

AEW should sign any and every woman it can get its hands on - when it's able to - because the AEW women's division is absolutely abysmal. Ember Moon, Sarah Logan, and Maria (as a manager) would be an immediate shot in the arm. I don't think AEW as a rule should be stacking its roster with WWE castoffs, but when it comes to the women and tag divisions, the more the merrier IMO.

Did WWE.com stop updating the release page?