C.S.

Logan Paul just took shots at CM Punk. Another bleached blond "empty-headed dumb fuck." Is this what Punk will stew over for the next six months?

Orton was mentored by Trips, so it ain't him.

Foley is Pod is ending. https://www.wrestlezone.com/news/1441576-conrad-thompson-explains-why-mick-foley-is-ending-his-podcast

I assume you're under the false impression that I hate The Bucks (and Kenny?). That's actually not true. While neither of them wrestle my preferred "house style," if you we-ill, I can recognize and acknowledge that they put on damn good matches even with a style and characters that aren't my preference. What I do blame The Bucks and Kenny for is not putting business ahead of their own issues. Is CM Punk blameless? Of course not, and I'd never say he was. He deserves tons of blame. But shit happened, and they could've all made a boatload of money after - not only for themselves but also for the company. The Elite vs. CM Punk and FTR was the hottest possible match they could've had, not to mention another year or two of various combinations. If that was never going to happen, Punk should have been fired right after the scrum. He wasn't - which I realize was never the Bucks/Kenny's call - but at that point, they should have been made to do business or gotten fired themselves (or at least paid to stay at home if that was the legally preferable option). Instead, The Bucks and Kenny put themselves ahead of AEW. The dwindling crowds prove it. They aren't entirely to blame, obviously. AEW losing its three biggest stars - Cody, Punk, and Jade - also hurt tremendously. But this is a TNA thread, so I'll stop here. As weird as it is to say because the pandemic was completely awful and traumatic in those early days, I loved all of the creative workarounds all of the wrestling promotions were trying. Not everything worked, but damn it, at least we were seeing concepts that were fresh and outside the box. Even dogshit like Raw Underground was cool - for a minute anyway - because it was different. I'd almost rather see a bunch of near-misses like that instead of "just pro wrestling" because I'd finally be seeing something new.

I've honestly never understood the appeal of Black. Okay, I do understand it. Big guy, decent worker, etc. But his character is not interesting, his personality does not exactly keep me glued to the screen, and his matches are just okay. Buddy is never gonna be a top guy or even upper midcard, so he may as well go get more money from WWE to be with his wife. I'd make him strictly a tag team guy again. That's a role he can shine in. He'd even be a better version of the useless, never gonna get over, sex pest, re-evaluate HBK's eye for talent J.D. McDonagh for Judgment Day.

Just let Priest cash-in. Priest vs. Truth at Mania. It would be another Yes Movement/Kofimania feel good story. Don't @ at me about how Truth would devalue the belt (newsflash: it has no value) when he's a damn good wrestler.

I assume we aren't talking about actual desserts here?

Wrestlers are not going to be open about anything, ever. They're taught not to be. Remember when Marc Mero opened up about drugs in wrestling on a news show after Benoit? He was castigated and blackballed for speaking out against "da bidness."

Bryan is apparently a massive weirdo himself, and there was a very bizarre episode of Total Divas or Total Bellas where he wanted to start composting their own shit. Am I comparing him to Vince or saying he knew anything or shares any of Vince's fetishes? No, of course not. I'm simply pointing out that wrestlers have already spoken openly about Bryan's strange comments and jokes in the AEW locker room. It's all framed lovingly in the usual "boys will be boys" way, and I hope that's all it is, but Bryan is definitely a unique cat to put it charitably. I mean, this is the same culture that praised Kane for being so smart and nice because "he reads books."

I was also talking about Vince and Tony, which you missed in your wanton lust to defend TNA no matter what. Seriously though, your other points are good ones, and a good defense of your favorite promotion. BUT was TNA's stock raised after AEW packed up and left? Did they get more viewers? Genuine question, since you know the numbers. As for AEW getting The Good Brothers, well, you won't get any arguments from me that AEW didn't exactly benefit much (or at all) from that. However, I get the sense that Tony - or at least the EVPs - thought much more highly of that particular crossover than we did. Which I'd argue is one of the major, major problems with pro wrestling. (Note: I'm talking about WWE, AEW, etc. too). It's stuck in the past presentation-wise. If a documentary can make Shera a star, why can't a pro wrestling company apply some of the same principles and presentation to do the same? Forget about Shera for a second. You don't like him, "he's not any good," etc. But imagine it for someone you do like. I realize my point is a bit disjointed and probably requires further explanation (outside of this thread), but hopefully you get what I'm trying to say. Was that during the DeMott era? Because I'm personally inclined to give everyone released then a free pass or at least a second look.

Thoughts on WWE's partnership with TNA vs. AEW's? With AEW, only they - and not TNA - really benefited. Christian and Omega - AEW wrestlers - traded the TNA World Title. Tony Khan and Tony Schiavone played heel characters and buried TNA (I realize they were emulating Vince in Memphs, but still). I don't see how AEW did TNA any major favors. With WWE, Mickie James was in the Royal Rumble and announced as TNA Knockouts Champion last year, ditto for Jordynne Grace this year, and Grace was arguably the STAR of the match. It seems like AEW was insecure and gave TNA very little, whereas WWE is obviously very secure in their position and has no problem making TNA look good. It's a mutually beneficial partnership for both sides, and I hope there's more of it. Ironically, Christian has been used as a crossover wrestler for TNA by both WWE (for a TNA Hall of Fame segment with Sting) and AEW (as the TNA World Champion) and of course had a lengthy TNA stint of his own. And yet, he came across as a massive, massive star on the OVW Netflix documentary "The Wrestlers" and someone worth rooting for. What is TNA missing? "Being good at the rasslin'" is such a small part of the overall picture. Maybe he's just a big fish in a small pond type, and fair enough, but I feel more can be done with him. I can't even say WWE would use him better, because we've seen otherwise for anyone not named Jinder. WWE has one of the main characters of a Disney movie on their roster - "Million Dollar Arm" was based on Veer - and that has never once been mentioned. Even if "Million Dollar Arm" isn't exactly as big as "Fantasia" (or whatever) in the Disney universe, it was still seen and is known on a massively wider scale than WWE ever has been or ever will be. Ditto for Adam Copeland appearing on "Percy Jackson" for Disney+ the week Tony Khan idiotically decided to focus on Jinder instead, Sasha in "The Mandalorian" (WWE is a nothing Walmart bin DVD in comparison to "Star Wars"), etc. Well, I went off on a tangent there about small-time rasslin' promoters being too fucking dumb and in the bubble to take advantage of huge crossovers that fall into their laps. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

WM: Roman vs. Rock, Cody vs. Seth? Ugh, God, I hope not! Cody looks like a complete fucking sap if he picks Seth. If that happens, I hope Cody loses after Roman interferes and then reforms The Shield with Seth.

Seth's voice is a sleeping pill.

Fair enough. Agreed. He found out quickly that he's not nearly as good or valuable as he thinks he is. Andrade vs. Gargano is still an all-timer of a match IMO, but I can't really think of another from him that reached anywhere near those heights since then.

Anyone remember that bizarre segment with Michael Cole and Heidenreich? Yikes!

People in this thread taking joy in Punk's injury - you're fucking gross, and fuck you! With that said, I blame The Young Bucks.

Though, unlike Starks, Hobbs, and MJF, AEW loses nothing if Black and Buddy end up leaving - other than the perception of wrestlers no longer wanting to be there, which I guess can be damaging too. Black is as overrated as it gets, so like Andrade, it'll be another lateral move. (Notice how no one in the Rumble crowd gave a fuck about Andrade? And he ended up being eliminated by Bronson Reed - who I love but is clearly used as a jabroni.) As for Buddy, he gets to be with his wife, so that's a plus for him (ditto for Andrade). Buddy's push would probably be less in WWE though, not that it's any great shakes in AEW either. Brody King and Julia Hart are the actual stars of House of Black IMO. It should have been centered around Brody and Julia from the beginning, with Black as the muscle, and Buddy as the lackey who takes all the pins. Already debunked as DM word vomit BS. https://www.wrestlezone.com/news/1440367-brody-king-responds-to-report-that-house-of-black-wouldnt-job-in-aew-match

I've noticed this since the Attitude Era. Unfortunately, as @pmo pointed out above me, very little has changed since then. Give me back the era of Ric Flair, Macho Man, Razor Ramon, etc. I always loved their color game.

The three biggest stars in AEW history (yes, two of them are also former and once again current WWE stars) absolutely SHINED in the Rumble. I said it at the time, and I'll keep saying it: Tony Khan getting rid of Cody Rhodes was a catastrophic mistake that continues to have a damaging domino effect on AEW. Cody was the only grown-up in the room, PERIOD. People on PWO can deny it all they want because Cody was involved in a couple of underwhelming "focus grouped" storylines with Luther and Anthony Ogogo, or whatever, but it remains the truth and becomes truer and truer every single day. #FinishTheStory I won't even get into why the other EVPs not being able to do business with Punk was laughably bush league and something they deserve to be repeatedly mocked for because they damaged the company and left untold millions on the table (and no, I'm not excusing or waving away Punk's actions or culpability by any means), or what a banana peel it was for TK not to do everything in his pocketbook to keep Jade, because both of those are fairly obvious. Starks, Powerhouse Hobbs, and eventually MJF will all make the jump as soon as they can IMO. (In MJF's case, I'm convinced he re-signed, so it won't be right away. If he somehow didn't...oof!)

Terrible answers. At least trot out the "we can't comment on pending legal matters" because that's the truth.

Why did they both say? Unless CM Punk is there wolfing down muffins and Spindrift, these "press conferences" are rarely worth bothering with.

With only four matches, I was hoping for a shorter show, but that didn't happen. These things really need to be three hours. I was tired by the time KO vs. Logan Paul came on (that match should have been before Roman's, which was dead and heatless in any position) and exhausted by the time the men's Rumble finally rolled around.

SI publicly walked that back.

As soon as Punk heeled it up with the "Dusty's kid" shtick during the match, I knew he was toast.

The two top stars in AEW history (yes, both former and current WWE stars) are in the final two of the Royal Rumble - wild! (Ditto for AEW's biggest female star in the women's Rumble.)