C.S.

I haven't watched wrestling at 11 a.m. since the early '90s, and Cena and H are both wrestling like they're back in that era. "Shades of Bruno Sammartino." Haha.

Different title though, but I guess that doesn't really matter. Also, CM Punk defended it a hell of a lot more, and actually put some effort into his matches, but hey, who's counting?

Supposedly, there will be a one-hour prayer intermission during the GRR. http://wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0426/639367/one-hour-intermission-for-prayer-during-friday-wwe-greatest/ https://www.cbssports.com/wwe/news/chris-jericho-talks-wwe-future-saudi-arabian-culture-entering-greatest-royal-rumble/

Oh, I agree that they were never going to be "all in" on RVD, but that was true of most people not named Hunter and Cena in that era. Still, even if he was never going to be "the guy," I could have still seen RVD eventually getting another WWE World Title reign or two. Getting caught with drugs probably killed that for good.

You're right. On the WWE Network version of the Prichard podcast this week, the idiotic sleaze thread Steph bullshit rumors are brought up without really being brought up. I was glad to see Bruce firmly deny it. Hopefully that bullshit rumor fucks off and dies now.

Solid episode of the podcast on WWE Network this week about the Mega Powers exploding. I'm sure it's a repeat of something they did on audio before, but it was new to me. No breaking news or groundbreaking shockers, but it was a fun listen nonetheless. The idiotic sleaze thread Steph bullshit rumors are brought up without really being brought up. I was glad to see Bruce firmly deny it. Hopefully that bullshit rumor fucks off and dies now. The production values, thank heavens, are miles better this week. Some slight hiccups, but not the catastrophe last week's show was. The ugly bright blue border and crooked window boxes are still there though. I still think WWE is extremely lazy with the video clips. There should be a lot more, especially when Benn Hinn is describing a match or angle in great detail. I'd rather see what he's actually talking about instead of a split-screen with Pavarotti nodding along.

Solid episode of the podcast on WWE Network this week about the Mega Powers exploding. I'm sure it's a repeat of something they did on audio before, but it was new to me. No breaking news or groundbreaking shockers, but it was a fun listen nonetheless. The idiotic sleaze thread Steph bullshit rumors are brought up without really being brought up. I was glad to see Bruce firmly deny it. Hopefully that bullshit rumor fucks off and dies now. The production values, thank heavens, are miles better this week. Some slight hiccups, but not the catastrophe last week's show was. The ugly bright blue border and crooked window boxes are still there though. I still think WWE is extremely lazy with the video clips. There should be a lot more, especially when Benn Hinn is describing a match or angle in great detail. I'd rather see what he's actually talking about instead of a split-screen with Pavarotti nodding along. I haven't listened to the podcast, but I always got the sense in general that they didn't trust RVD and saw him as a weed-smoking hippie who couldn't really be counted on. And they weren't wrong... When he finally got his big push, wearing the WWE and ECW World Titles simultaneously, he and Sabu were caught with drugs in their car like two degenerate Woodstock rejects. RVD screwed RVD.

The few times I've watched ROH through the Fite app or whatever, it's been hot garbage...bush league presentation, mediocre indy 'rasslers, and Bubba Ray Dudley stinking up the joint.

AAF will flame out in a year, because like XFL, it's a stupid concept. Vince probably thinks he can pick up the pieces.

And I'm not even sure you can say they've been "wasted." They went into WrestleMania 2017 as the Tag Team Champions. It doesn't get much better than that for a team. Sure, they lost, but that's what heels do at big events.

Surprised to see criticism of Luke Gallows. He seems like an internet favorite. Personally, I think Gallows and Anderson are both geeks. They've done nothing to impress me in WWE.

Pretty silly booking. The match sounds wild though.

Somehow I think Ol' Funker knew what he was doing there.

Pretty sure he hasn't been pushed as Israeli since the Cruiserweight Classic. All I've heard emphasized since then is the Scottish part of his upbringing. I could have missed something though, as I thought Noam Dar was the drizzling shits in the CWC and I haven't exactly been glued to my seat for his matches since then. Edit: Someone brought up Israel being stamped on Dar's passport, which is presumably an issue when it comes to getting into Saudi Arabia. I wonder what would've happened if a real star like Goldberg was still with the company.

Excerpts from a Triple H interview about women not appearing at GRR (transcript courtesy of Wrestling Inc.): Women not wrestling at the event this Friday: "I understand that people are questioning it, but you have to understand that every culture is different and just because you don't agree with a certain aspect of it, it doesn't mean it's not a relevant culture. You can't dictate to a country or a religion about how they handle things but, having said that, WWE is at the forefront of a women's evolution in the world and what you can't do is affect change anywhere by staying away from it." Women eventually wrestling in Saudi Arabia: "While, right now, women are not competing in the event, we have had discussions about that and we believe and hope that, in the next few years they will be. That is a significant cultural shift in Saudi Arabia. "The country is in the middle of a shift in how it is dealing with that – the position is changing, and rights are changing, as are the way women are handled and treated in society. We think that's a great thing and we're excited to be at the forefront of that change." Full interview: https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/wwe-mma-wrestling/wwe-greatest-royal-rumble-saudi-arabia-triple-h-interview-defends-no-women-wrestlers-a8319446.html

Yeah, what a strange pairing... Are they close real-life friends or something?

I'm sure he's fine. He's doing his own thing with the NWA now, and from what I've seen, it's a refreshing throwback that's doing things no other wrestling organization has done in 30 years. He never would've been able to do that with a brand as damaged as TNA/Impact - which is ironic for me to say when he bought the R.I.P. NWA, but that was much lower-profile than TNA (not counting the obvious NWA-TNA days).

Not sure how Z-Man can sound like semen unless you're a redneck who is pronouncing Z-Man incorrectly. (Granted, that might have been an issue in the Southern hayseed-infested Dubya-C-Duyba.) SuperMAN, BatMAN, Spider-MAN, Z-Man. Not Supermin, Batmin, Spider-min, Z-min.

I don't believe the Savage-Steph bullshit at all. It was invented in the sleaze thread and somehow took on a life of its own. I'm sure rubes who were in the company at the time, like Bruce Prichard, believe it. But yes-men types like that will never actually ask Vince. To be fair, even no-men like Heyman wouldn't dare approach the subject with Vince. Regardless, I think it's a big, steaming pile of bullshit.

Is this supposed to say different or difficult? Probably doesn't matter, as I don't think the meaning changes much either way.

No idea, but you have to give them credit for putting that out on 4/20.

I was there too. Damnedest thing I've ever seen live.

I hope so, but it blows me away how hands-off WWE has been. Yes, that's a good thing in a lot of ways, but the severe shortage of video content struck me as so lazy and non-caring on WWE's end. A lot of things that cried out for video didn't get it.

It's more than "whatever" to me - it's a major handicap of the show, and it's not going to last on the Network if they don't fix it ASAP. Any newer viewer tuning in and seeing choppy low-res video will tune out immediately, as I almost did. Only the reputation of the podcast kept me going. I don't know why WWE doesn't put them in a studio and/or film it themselves, or at the very least give Conrad Thompson and Jimmy Del Ray top of the line equipment to work with. It's ridiculous.