C.S.

I wonder how CM Punk would react to all of this if he was still in the company. Ditto for RVD. Say what you want about their personality (Punk) or ring psychology (RVD), but they seemed to have a pair of balls. Can't say the same for anyone currently there.

Jericho with the denial: Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean much, as Jericho has a long history of working (lying) on Twitter. Edit: Regal replies.

Surprised there isn't a thread about this already... https://www.sescoops.com/chris-jericho-jim-ross-barry-bloom-wrestling-promotion/ - Chris Jericho, Jim Ross, and Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan are reportedly the ones behind this. - Super-agent Barry Bloom is said to also be involved. - "JR’s contract with WWE expires shortly and he has declined an offer to renew." - "Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks are on board, as are Hangman Page and a few others. Kenny Omega’s status is unclear." - "For what it’s worth, Bill Goldberg is a client of Barry Bloom, along with JR and Jericho." - "Sinclair Broadcasting, which provided logistical support for All In and has been acting in good faith, has been in the dark about this story." - "The timeline for this going live is 12-16 months from now (late 2019 / early 2020)." AXS's involvement has already been debunked on other sites, so who knows what else is true - and isn't.

The mainstream coverage is beginning to trickle in... Deadline Hollywood: WWE’s Saudi Arabia “Conundrum” May Cause Up To $16M Hit To The Solar Plexus – Analyst

WWE zombies Randy Orton and Kevin Nash are defending the move on Twitter. The talking point now is that WWE going there can lead to change, and not going won't.

WWE comments on talent dissent over Crown Jewel: "As always, we maintain an open line of communication with our performers, as we continue to monitor the situation." Uh huh.

News And Guts 6 mins · BREAKING: CNN is reporting that Saudi Arabian officials will say that "rogue" interrogators killed journalist Jamal Khashoggi. And it looks like Donald Trump is prepared to take them at their word.BREAKING: CNN is reporting that Saudi Arabian officials will say that "rogue" interrogators killed journalist Jamal Khashoggi. And it looks like Donald Trump is prepared to take them at their word. https://www.newsandguts.com/report-saudis-preparing-admit-khashoggi-killed-interrogation-went-wrong/ So, the show will go on, WWE won't be affected, etc. Honestly, WWE isn't considered "important enough" and wouldn't have been affected by continuing the show no matter what the outcome was going to be. If Glenn Jacobs runs for re-election, the most that will happen to him is a few negative campaign ads from the opposing party that everyone will ignore anyway. Sad but true.

I watched Pillman Jr.'s MLW in-ring debut this week. He's pretty decent, especially for such a youngster. Teddy Hart's promo before the match, on the other hand, was absolutely wretched. He comes across like Bret Hart on sleeping pills, with none of the personality or charisma. This is my first time checking out MLW. I stopped after the Pillman match though. No desire to really see Teddy Hart vs. domestic abuser Rich Swann. I can't think of a more depressing match - a guy who has never made it and never will at this point (Teddy Hart) vs. a genuinely bad human being who threw it all away (Swann). The commentary also sucks, with both of them seemingly competing to see who can scream the loudest.They also unintentionally semi-buried Pillman Jr. by saying something along the lines of his name can only get him so far. Pretty bad commentary, and stupid. Is that really Schiavone? With that said, despite my complaints, I'm actually impressed with MLW based on the one match I did see. It's more polished than most indy presentations I've seen (even ROH).

It's back on the WWE.com calendar now.

I should really stop posting late at night... I was exaggerating, but basically my point is this: We've seen a rise in so-called "workrate matches" (think current Seth, Dolph, Adam Cole, and those types) that are terribly worked IMO and feature bland vanilla geeks with zero personality who are impossible to get behind and invest in. I can see Seth rising above that, but he'd be the exception. Give me a rough around the edges, messy, not at all technical match like Foley/Taker HIAC (or Hansen/Vader) any day of the week because that had actual heart, told a good story, and featured characters that mattered. What is Seth's character? Dolph's? "I steal the show. Every. Single. Night. No one else can do what I do in that ring!" STFU, Dolph, you obnoxious geek!

The Foley 20 Years of Hell special was pretty good. WWE really could learn from how stand-up shows are presented these days though. The Foley venue looked like a cheap, low-rent, subpar version of ECW while the stuff you see on Netflix or wherever have production values that are the equivalent of today's RAW. I watched the Hell in a Cell match after, and it still holds up. A technical masterpiece? Hardly. But from a storytelling standpoint, it blows away anything Seth Rollins, Dolph Ziggler, and the like have ever been able to accomplish at any point in their careers. "THIS IS AWESOME!" and ROH are the worst things ever to happen to wrestling.

A lot of people in NXT are "Triple H guys" though. That can only take someone so far. Not everyone can be on top. Who has been Cena's friend besides Zack Ryder? Nikki Bella seems to have done well being "Cena's friend." (She worked hard too, don't get me wrong, but her association with Cena didn't exactly get her "burned and buried.")

No, I know what you said, but I've seen the "next Shawn Michaels" talking point a lot.

God no. All of this stuff about him being "the next Shawn Michaels" is pure delusional lunacy. Even if you're not a Shawn fan (and many here are not), Cole doesn't have a fraction of the charisma or in-ring skill.

I'm sincerely glad one of us did. I honestly don't even know why I watch anymore. I hate the style, the tropes, the bland "athletic" wrestlers without characters and their "this is awesome" matches that ultimately mean nothing (Rollins, Ziggler, etc.), the brand split, the devaluation of titles, and I could go on and on and ON, so I better stop. I do like NXT (PPVs, at least) and have enjoyed the little of NJPW I've dabbled in, but even NJPW and ROH feel like amateur hour a lot of the time (modern-day ROH hasn't impressed me at all).

If by "banged hard," you mean we all got fucked by that drizzling pile of shit, I agree.

Anyone notice the Connor's Cure logo on the back neck area of Roman's vest?

Haha. I guess now is not the time to admit I also find Naomi incredibly attractive? Hell, while I'm at it, let's add Becky Lynch and Stephanie McMahon to that list. Did Paige have work done on her lips?

My apologies, Mr. Aldis.

Look at Mickie! Nick Aldis is a very lucky man.

Joe is terrible and has been for years. We still see brief sparks from him (his last match with AJ was awesome), but he's a sluggish sloth 99% of the time.

This match is proof that Smackdown is and always will be a second-class citizen. It warrants the Cell far more than Roman-Strowman, so of course that match gets it instead. Plus, has a Smackdown World Title match ever closed the show when the worthless, useless, Raw Universal title was also being defended?

Terrible match - sorry, you know it's true - but I'm glad Becky won.

You've pretty much hit the nail on the head.

Weird finish, and why on earth would the ref hesitate to count the pin? Not a great match, but definitely a few memorable moments.