C.S.

CM Punk just showed up on WWE Backstage!

Will watch this tonight, but even Viola Davis wouldn't look good reciting one of WWE's shitty scripts.

@KawadaSmile Another thing to add, Bubba - it's not like Lana is gifted with the quality of writers that Viola Davis is. No one could save shitty WWE scripts.

Not watching. Hit me up with a YouTube link to the skit, Bubba. However, for the record, I said she did a great job of portraying an over-the-top wrestling character with an exaggerated Russian accent. That's not wrong. Nevertheless, she also has real acting chops that put her ahead of 99% of the WWE roster. That's not wrong either. Not having seen the skit yet but knowing that this storyline is basically the modern day version of Big Show vs. Big Boss Man or Torrie Wilson-Dawn Marie-Al Wilson, it's a rather silly expectation for you go into this thinking that Lana is going to put on a Viola Davis-esque Oscar-worthy performance. This is pure WrestleCrap and it's meant to be. Lana is acting accordingly.

Pretty much this.

I suspect NWA has more money than we think. They did manage to get Eli Drake and a couple of others you'd figure there'd be outside interest in. (Or is Drake a backstage headache or something?)

I feel no one is discussing the possibility of Marty Scurll ending up in the NWA. He and Nick Aldis are legitimately best friends, and they had a match for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Title last year.

You know what I mean though. Your argument is as flawed as modern Castlevania games. "The fans cared about Spears on multiple occasions in multiple environments and situations, but it doesn't count because of A, B, and C." You're grasping at straws.

Right, because the "youngster" Carlos Colon certainly got a monster pop when he showed up.

Yep, because the Royal Rumble was definitely held at Full Sail...

Mamma Mia! You'll come around. I disliked Adrian Neville intensely in NXT, plain old boring Neville did nothing for me when he was called-up (though, in all fairness, it's not as if he was used particularly well), and I began warming up to him slightly when he turned heel and became King of the Cruiserweights. But at no point did I ever really desire to see him in a higher spot (well, maybe U.S. Champion). When Enzo beat him, my reaction was "of course he did" because Enzo actually had a fan-following. No one cared about Neville. Then Adrian took off from WWE. Fine, whatever, I didn't care either way. When he showed up in AEW as PAC, I groaned. Bad name, TNA flashbacks of an ex-WWE guy who didn't matter being pushed as a main eventer, and then rumors of him not wanting to job. Since then, he's done very little to improve my opinion. Whereas, Adam Page seemed like a star in the making in that first press conference outside the hotel in Vegas. Since then? I'm not sure what the hell happened. His lame 1995 Justin Hawk Bradshaw/Bobby Duncum Jr. cosplay costume and character, lack of commitment to said character (he wrestles and acts nothing like a cowboy), etc. has derailed him. In Vegas, he looked, acted, and dressed normally. Since then, everything about him screams Village People. I love a good cowboy, don't get me wrong, but he's not a convincing one. Same with Peter "Hugh Hefner" Avalon and Leva "Blue Pants, Blue Hair" Bates being cast as The Librarian despite doing exactly zero to look, sound, and act like librarians.

I am not sure I'm liking you cosplaying @KawadaSmile's Bubba gimmick.

You're 100% right about PAC, except that I don't want him shitting up a midcard belt either. As for Spears, I don't think it's fair to label him a lost cause. He clearly had some momentum during the Cody feud. Yes, it's convenient to credit that to Cody, smokes and mirrors, etc., but I don't think that's accurate or tells the whole story. The fact is, after that feud ended, Spears basically fell off a cliff and was barely used on Dynamite. That surely didn't help him. Contrast that with PAC who has been overused, if anything, and has failed to hit a home run each and every time he was put up at bat (as you pointed out). I think a tag team would be a good idea for Spears. A name change and new haircut would be even better ones. (I still don't understand how a name as goofy as Shawn Spears wasn't instantly vetoed. I realize that was his indie/developmental name, but it reeks of Smackdown: Here Comes the Pain CAW mode.)

This is sad...

The difference is, Spears has never been pushed beyond his capacity. He was underutilized in WWE, but no one was screaming that he should be a main eventer. Even his high-profile feud with Cody was a midcard spot. I'm discussing things on a discussion board. Gee, what a radical concept!

Please God no. Enough with the PAC experiment. No one wants to see him against anyone that matters. It has derailed Hangman Page completely. But Page either needs to act like a fucking cowboy or ditch the gimmick. I feel like the nickname and persona is a remnant of his Bullet Club days where it kinda, sorta made sense. I wonder if Spears was miscast as a heel. People always wanted to cheer him in WWE. Presumably, AEW fans would've wanted to as well. Spears and Tully is a mismatch too. Tully should be managing a Horseman type, not someone with a goofy hairstyle that makes him look like the old WCW jobber Horshu. With that said, I like Spears and think he has far more upside than PAC. Spears has at least proven he can generate star reactions. PAC is never, ever, EEEE-VVER gonna be a top guy, unless he's completely forced into it, in which it won't get over at all. I'm not saying Spears is a future World Champion either, but a babyface midcard gatekeeper role would be a perfectly fine use of him.

The best in the business retains his crown...

That makes even less sense. Why would Jericho want the Tag belts? I assume it's a decoy and he'll be replaced by Hager to set up a feud with the champs.

PAC vs. Hangman rematch this Wednesday on Dynamite. Tony Schiavone: That'll put asses in seats!

We are on topic. It was mentioned by Jim Cornette on NWA Powerrr this past week.

I vote to change the thread title back. I have no idea why it was changed in the first place. There was zero offensive about it.

Justin Roberts is THE BEST!!!

Wish I could answer this for you. I don't remember subtitles being on the free specials or DoN, but that doesn't mean there weren't any. Does anyone else know? You heartless monsters... Sasha Banks would've gone home for six months after pouting on the floor (source: Damien Sandow). Baker made it to the show despite a high fever because "you never miss a date, brother."

That explains why Jacobi had a small role in the Emmerich movie. There's actually a good movie in there somewhere, buried under mounds of confusing flashbacks within flashbacks. It's a shame there wasn't anyone more skilled in the editing room to shape it properly. It also doesn't help that Shakespeare is portrayed as such a buffoon in the movie that no one would've believed him to be a great playwright in his own time, never mind hundreds of years later. I bought it recently from Big Lots for like 75 cents, lol, so I'll eventually revisit it (I originally saw it in the theater when it was first released). But, er, the NWA... The Dawsons would've been prototypical groundlings back in Shakespeare's time. Something, something.