C.S.

WWE has tried some children's programming recently (past 2-3 years, I want to say), but neither really went anywhere and weren't broadcast on traditional TV.

Tye Dillinger tried to get back into NXT, and like many others for various reasons (not all related to unhappiness), is now going by his real (?) name on Twitter.

A massive improvement over Aries. Then again, I'd be saying that if the former World Champion ended up being a 64-year-old Tony Atlas (he was the IWCCW "World" Champion - that counts, right?). Still makes me wonder what the whole Twitter "argument" between Aries and Solomon Crowe was supposed to be setting up.

Was actually just thinking about this the other day and wondering why The Headbangers didn't get a second run out of it.

It's sleazy, slimy rasslin', where everything is stuck in the '70s and the "rats" are "making it up for attention." The industry is decades away from taking a #metoo movement seriously. Hell, Austin Aries shoved his crotch in Christy Hemme's face without her permission or consent on live (?) TV, and no one paid attention or cared.

@The Thread Killer One day you'll find your dream girl who can appreciate going to scummy strip joint shows main evented by Terry Funk and Sabu - just have faith!

Halftime Heat was the most watched match in NXT history!

I guess I'm in the minority, because I'd never pay a cent to career malcontents like Aries (even if this particular instance is a work), Low Ki, etc. if I were running a fed. And as a fan, I can never invest in anything they do because I know they won't last and there will never be a real payoff to 99% of what they do. I'm sure they're fine as "YouTube wrestlers" though, meaning fun to watch random matches of. If AEW is smart, they'll steer clear of guys like this.

Must've had a rough night at the pub before composing that tweet. I'm with @clintthecrippler - I'd fire his ass on the spot after this. If the contract hasn't officially been signed yet, I'd renege on the whole deal if I were AEW. My God, not only does Havoc come across as the world's oldest (and dumbest) 5th grader with that tweet, he also makes AEW look incompetent for touting him as a big signing. I get wanting to lash back at idiot fans on Twitter - that's fine - but the wrestler should always look like he's above the fan. In this case, the fan - who sounds pretty stupid himself - somehow comes out looking like the less worse of the two.

These tweets all but confirm that it's Aries, no? As someone who thinks they're both useless geeks, this does nothing for me. But it'll get a rise out of TNA's general fanbase, I guess?

The "Vanilla Vegan" Austin Aries?

Posts like this are unbelievably embarrassing and speak to the perpetual infanthood so many young wrestlers seem stuck in on social media. I get that the fan was just as childish, but this does Havoc and AEW no favors. I've never seen him and I already can't stand him (and not in a money-drawing "heel heat" sort of way). As for Orton to AEW, he just cleanly defeated Mustafa Ali this week, so I doubt it. With that said, it would be interesting to see him outside of his WWE bubble and comfort zone. I said interesting, not exciting or something I'd actually want to happen.

Why Terry Funk signed with WCW at this point is another one of life's mysteries. Okay, not really a mystery: it was obviously for the money. But he had to know he wouldn't be used properly or fulfilled in any way. Guess at that point, in his relative old age, he was just looking to become as comfortable as possible financially. Can't blame him there.

Not really. He was a foreign heel originally, which is a gimmick that has always had a shelf life. She's a blonde bombshell who has been in major mainstream movies like Pitch Perfect. Why they continue to misuse and marginalize Rusev now that they know he has more range is another story though. I got nothin' there.

The Dean de-push begins.

I see all of the points Bischoff made about David Flair, Crowbar, and Daffney, but to be fair, Vince Russo got easily the best he was ever going to get out of David Flair, and the same is arguably true of Crowbar and Daffney. Not sure what that Bagwell comment even means. Nash vs. Funk was a terrible idea and never should've happened. Maybe I was too much in the "wrestling bubble" back then, but I absolutely thought Funk had a million times more credibility than Nash, who was a lousy WCW World Champ and didn't have one good match there in five years. Yes, the nWo was major, but Nash is easily the third wheel way behind both Hall and Hogan when it comes to whatever impact and cool-factor that faction had. (I'm more positive about Nash's WWF run, which had several memorable matches and moments.) But I guess to the casuals, Nash had to win because he sticks out like Ron Jeremy's penis at an airport? *Shrug*

It's because he's a foreigner, non-Hispanic.

Rumor/Potential Spoiler: Hart Foundation (Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart, and Jimmy Hart) The tag team, not the stable, so no Owen Hart, Brian Pillman, or Davey Boy Smith. Supposedly according to PWInsider, which I never go to because they had a rep for massive spyware years ago - no idea if that's still the case.

I only watched the Network show, so the "epic struggle" of Dream wrestling five times in one night didn't really come across to me, despite the commentators hammering it incessantly. Maybe they figured a long-ass tournament would be overkill for viewers? Sure, so why can't they figure that out for even longer-ass PPVs? Because of the weird formatting, I wasn't nearly as invested in this as I normally would've been. Then again, it probably doesn't help that I got spoiled on the winner. But the right guy won, because what I saw was a 23-year-old kid carrying and surpassing "grizzled veterans" all the way through (on the Network, at least). Out of everyone else, Zach Gibson made the biggest impression on me. Humberto was okay. Drew Gulak has a much better look than he did in his CWC/early 205 days, but he's still a bland bore in the ring. Jordan Devlin made no impression on me, so if he's the next big darling, I don't see it. Cole and Bate were fine, as they always are.

To be fair, they were limited by how long/short the actual Super Bowl Halftime is, so I understand it - and I was expecting it, so the match was fine to me.

Fun little match. Nothing will beat Foley vs. Rock for me - because as ridiculous as that was, it was a true spectacle - but this was cool, and I hope it's something we get every year going forward. SPOILER FOR THIS AND WORLDS COLLIDE:

Fun little match so far. The WWE Performance Center looks incredible. I now want a studio show set there every week. The crowd is molten hot for such a small crowd. HBK looks like he's on his way to Sturges for Road Wild. Not sure what to think of his commentary yet. Having occasional minor feed quality issues, which makes me wonder if this has a bigger audience than WWE anticipated or if there's some other issue. The last NXT TakeOver had 1-2 small glitches for me, but Rumble was perfect while this is not, so go figure. I rarely have problems with any other streaming service, so I can never figure out why WWE Network is so finicky sometimes.

Anybody watching?

Zach Gibson vs. Humberto Carrillo was okay. I was more impressed with Zibson. I wasn't feeling Drew Gulak vs. Jordan Devlin at all. Maybe it's just me? Cool gear and look for Gulak though. He's come a long way from his "bland science teacher" beginnings in the CWC and early 205 Live.

Anybody watching this?