C.S.

Imagine if:

My guess:

How "innocent" is he really though? Incidents like the one in the airport don't happen because of just one person. He and Paige are obviously toxic for each other. Notice how we haven't heard anything about their drama since she's been back at the PC training for her comeback.

I remember Sal Sincere getting decent build-up at first, but like many other things, Vince seemingly soured on him quickly. But that wasn't your point, I know. With Jinder, I think it was the Indian market + his newfound dedication to "taking his vitamins, saying his prayers, and believing in himself." But I'm not sure those were the only reasons... As much of a mixed bag as Jinder has been, even he admits his release was a "blessing in disguise" because it forced him to change his attitude. This is an interesting interview with him on the topic: http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/898103-jinder-mahal-comments-on-facing-brock-lesnar-at-survivor-series-aj-styles-being-a-distraction-who-hed-like-to-face-at-wrestlemania He goes into how his approach and attitude changed, and I don't just mean his physique (lol) - he talks about the way he approaches Vince now vs. before, etc. So, right place, right time, right attitude, and especially right body. No worries. You are a good poster here and I always enjoy a spirited debate. I hope everything is going okay with you, work-wise.

Will Sami Callahan fall flat on his face in a second promotion? Until I see otherwise, I consider him another overhyped indy darling. As Solomon Crowe, he brought nothing to the table in NXT. Bad in the ring, bad on the mic, horrible facials and mugging that make early-era Jericho look subtle - just the drizzling shits all around. He claims he "wasn't allowed to be himself" in NXT (I'm paraphrasing) - is he really that much better elsewhere? As for ADR, if Anthem is in such cost-cutting mode, I have no idea what would possess them to bring him back. He doesn't draw a dime and has toxic publicity surrounding him. He can't be worth the headache or expense in any way. I can only assume they're stuck contractually and can't risk a lawsuit by releasing him. WWE would never fall into that trap legally, but "LOLTNA" might.

Okay, but you do realize we're on a rasslin' board, right? This is Pro Wrestling Only, not Financial Times Only. Do you honestly think anyone wanted to see Jinder come back, much less pushed as the main event ? Come on. Bad exemple. Cody's a much better one, although he wasn't fired, he wanted to leave. Fair enough on Jinder, but even you have to agree that it doesn't happen at all if he never gets fired the first time. Regardless, you're correct that Jinder not the best example to use - Drew is a much better example of what I'm talking about. While Drew's prospects on the main roster remain to be seen, I'm going to assume he will have a much higher ceiling this time.

No idea where you're getting the "capitalistic horseshit" talking point from. It seems you're having your own conversation right now, apart from the one actually in this thread. You're in your own little world. Let me know when you come back to our world and want to debate the talking points that exist in this thread and not the ones only inside your head. In the meantime, please stop putting words in my mouth to fit whatever agenda or rant you're looking for an excuse to have. It's intellectually dishonest. The point is, as the old saying goes, "absence makes the heart grow fonder." Would Jinder be in this position right now if he had never gotten fired? Probably not. Ditto for Drew. Instead, they'd be going onto their second decade in the E, drowning in the bottom of the card, making no impact, watching their market value lessen year after year after year. There are enough current examples of this that more than prove my point (Curtis Axel, etc.). Instead, they got fired, made less money in the short term, and now stand to make much more money in the long term than they would have if they were still on their first WWE run as bottom-of-the-barrel jobbers. Does that mean I'm trying to spin getting fired as a positive career move? Again, no. But the term "blessing in disguise" exists for a reason, and sometimes it really does help a person's career to go somewhere else and raise their stock (Drew, Cody, etc.). Hell, wrestling in the old days was built on that concept - no one ever stuck around one territory for too long because they'd eventually become stagnant. Imagine how much fresher stale loaves of bread like Randy Orton would be if he had other places to go, new wrestlers to work with, new styles to pick up on, etc. Not sure why that's such a difficult concept for you to grasp.

No idea if you're purposely being obtuse with the intent of trolling, but okay, I'll bite... Are you seriously going to sit there and argue that Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal being fired, going to the indies and raising their stock, and later returning weren't the best things that ever happened to them? I'm guessing we'll see the same thing happen for Cody Rhodes, as underwhelming as I personally find his current "main event cosplayer" character. The fact is, going nowhere in the WWE for 10 years is not better than leaving, raising your stock elsewhere, and coming back to a bigger push and more money. Short term loss for long term gain - if they can pull it off. To use Cody as an example again, he's betting on himself right now and it's most likely going to pay off for him in the long run (even if, again, what he's currently doing isn't to my tastes).

Summer Rae and Darren Young were "good hands" but never got over a lick - they both desperately needed to go somewhere else and "find themselves." Now they have that chance. No idea about Dawkins, but I do agree it's not a good look for WWE to be releasing wrestlers who were sidelined by injury.

I have been thinking about this the last couple of days. I think this could be Hero's way to the main roster. He should debut as Samoa Joe's third degree cousin "Samoa Chris" or "Kassius Samoa" (like Cocoa Samoa) and should form a tag team with him. Then in a big match against Sheamus & Cesaro (ideally for the tag team championship) Hero should turn on Joe Horseman-style and form a three man team with them and together they should rule Raw for a year Shield-style. I realize you'e joking (I hope), but Chris Hero is barely a factor in NXT - it wouldn't shock me if he never makes it to the main roster. If he does, it will be in a Rhyno-level enhancement role.

In no galaxy do I see Rick Rude becoming the WWF Champion. It's not for lack of talent - he certainly had an abundance of that - but I don't see how Rude leapfrogs Shawn Michaels to get that spot. Moving to WCW was the best thing he could have done for his career. Oh man, he was one of my favorites as a kid. His facials were off-the-chart awesome. He probably didn't have the size for the WWF, but he sure had the facials for it. I always wondered why Vince never brought in Hollywood John Tatum or Rugged Rod Price when far lesser guys - like Alex Porteau, Bill Irwin (The Goon), and others - got shots.

Sawyer Fulton released: FULTON‏ ✔ @SFulton_WWE A new path is beginning to unfold and I'm excited to walk it! Time to move forward to the same goal! https://twitter.com/SFulton_WWE/status/926472259212075008

Huh? The same Emma who sandbagged the "sexy" Emmalina gimmick is suddenly going to become a model?!

Lio "The Infant" Rush already "apologized." What a childish "looser." https://twitter.com/itsLioRush/status/924717038874120192

Just came here to post this. What an immature infant. I realize he's only 23, but damn, son! Is he really this naive about where he works? More importantly, is he really this tone deaf in the empathy department? I never actively root for anyone to lose a job, but I wouldn't be disappointed if thin-skinned WWE shows him the door over this. He obviously still has a lot of growing up to do.

Darren Young was toast the minute they shifted "the first openly gay WWE superstar" designation to Pat Patterson. Granted, it's true in Pat's case, but still. I hope we don't see Rusev and/or Lana on this list today.

I subbed for a month recently, and other than the obits, I didn't see any reason to continue. For better or worse, there are so many other sources now, and I don't get the feeling anymore that Dave is at the forefront and breaking major news. Plus, the MMA content remains as boring and ill-advised as ever (I'm not an MMA fan). Name one serious MMA fan who actually subscribes to the Observer. I mean, they must exist - I guess - but would Dave have any real, quantifiable way of knowing?

While I agree Nia isn't really in a position to question doing a job to Sasha, whose fault is that? She was called up from NXT way too early, but she couldn't exactly say no to a better position and presumably more money. Being that she grew up in the family business, she has probably seen other "big" wrestlers like Big Show fail to live up to their potential because they weren't treated like the "giants" they should have been. If Nia is smart enough to avoid that, good on her.

Harvey: Hey, Vince, I'm in the music business now! Vince: Congratulations, Harvey, I'm in the auditory-entertainment business!

Dave is terrible on Twitter, but... 1. Are you sure he even saw your post? He is pretty boneheaded when it comes to technology. Case-in-point: He doesn't even have the good sense to get the official blue checkmark next to his name. Even the fake Heenan's wife account went for that. 2. Writing has never been his strong suit. That flaw is only going to be amplified on a platform as limited as Twitter.

Bucks sell out at places like Hot Topic though and have a worldwide fan following - is Meltzer really going against the grain by championing them?

I caught a bit of the Cody Rhodes promo about Roman Reigns' failed drug tests, etc. and had to turn it off. He comes across as someone cosplaying a top guy main event wrestler - like a kid dressing up in his daddy's clothes for Halloween (although, in this case, the proverbial daddy is more Flair than Dusty). Not an ounce of believability or legitimacy whatsoever. Sorry, folks, WWE didn't miss the boat on this guy at all. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYlt2ukoVwA

It's a trolling tweet to be sure, and while I'm admittedly unfamiliar with PWG's product, are we really pretending an AJ Styles carry job was one of the best matches of the decade or something? It was good, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't even my favorite match on this show.

I don't usually like "car crash" matches, but KO-Shane last month was great fun, and so was this. I had a blast watching it. I can only assume Braun-Kane is leading to the Monster Among Men being the one to retire the Big Red Monster. Whether you like Kane or not, that's a pretty big deal in WWE lore. We'll see though. It might very well lead to nothing.

Weird point. Bryan is on Smackdown and would not be working this show anyway. Edit: Never mind - just realized Smackdown's AJ is working the show too. So, yeah...