C.S.

SHADES OF SATORU SAYAMA!!! "Who wrestled as the original Tiger Mask and had several classics with the Dynamite Kid in Japan." Even that goofy fanboy markout commentary from Mauro was endearing. I'll miss it. As for Perkins, I certainly can't argue with the poster who was there live, or the other posters who thought there was 8-10 wrestlers in the tournament who were better, because that's true too - but it felt like a special star-making moment on TV, and it was, especially with Perkins' weird but touching speech about the key around his neck. Like I said originally though, all of that lasted about five minutes before 205 Live and the entire Cruiserweight division slid into immediate irrelevancy.

I don't think this is accurate. True, there were a bunch of people they liked a whole lot more - Kota Ibushi, Brian Kendrick, etc. - but Perkins was far from hated. It truly was a special time, wasn't it? Now Mauro is gone, the entire division is meaningless, and its first several champions have no momentum whatsoever.

Not really. When was that? For about five minutes after he won the CWC. It was...something.

Remember when Perkins seemed like a star?

This just got even stranger. JBL blocked one of the Young Bucks for "literally nothing" and Mauro tweeted a reply about it. http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/4/10/15250722/mauro-ranallo-not-returning-wwe-television-report-recent-twitter-activity-address-jbl-mental-health

You talk about no one having proof of JBL's bullying, but we also don't have proof that Mauro "gets on everyone's nerves" either. Besides, didn't Bas Rutten - Mauro's best friend - publicly tweet or talk about JBL bullying Mauro? That's more than just Dave. The JBL/Mauro stuff may well be overblown - JBL's rant on "Bring it to the Table" felt very exaggerated to me and not all that serious - but there's no denying that there's a pattern with JBL and WWE bullying in general. The "it's the culture" and "it comes from the top" argument only goes so far with me though, because there are plenty of people in that company who aren't abusive bullying assholes. JBL and Bill DeMott are grown ass men and there should be some personal accountability there.

What a baffling argument: that someone has to be perfect in order to avoid workplace bullying. God forbid the guy just be human with his own quirks and foibles.

How did he throw Mauro under the bus? Can you elaborate for those of us without WON subscriptions and/or time to listen to audio? Thanks.

I've defended Russo before, but this is indefensible. Granted, I know he's just working a gimmick and in love with his own trolling bullshit, but it wouldn't surprise me if he really is homophobic under the guise of "tolerance" and "acceptance" - e.g. "love the sinner, hate the sin." As for the other topic currently being discussed in this thread, there are plenty of examples of wrestlers not caring about in-ring psychology or the history of the business - Goldberg, Warrior, etc.

There's no way to "quietly" let him go though. He's one of the lead commentators on Smackdown. His absence would be noticeable. If that's all that happens, it's better than nothing and a step in the right direction. I'll take Mauro and his commentating idiosyncrasies over what JBL has turned into (and the sad part is, he used to be a decent commentator).

It's still better than JoeSixPackRasslinYeeHaw.com. This story is only building momentum and getting bigger.

JBL is fucked now. The mainstream media just picked up on this. https://www.forbes.com/sites/alfredkonuwa/2017/04/07/wwe-john-bradshaw-layfield-might-still-have-workplace-bullying-problems/

That was great, but nothing tops Nattie drunk-dialing Steph at 3 in the morning. Honorable mentions from the same family: TJ taking Nattie on a "romantic date" to an ostrich farm, Nattie's sister (or was it TJ's sister?) and Big E in a hot tub, Nattie talking about how she's never "been" with anyone other than TJ.

This book is currently $1.99 on Kindle: The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made I've never even seen The Room (I've heard of it, of course), but the free sample chapter captured me instantly.

I don't think they'll really put Jack Gallagher with The Vaudevillians, nor would I want them to, but anyone who doesn't see the resemblance is being purposely obtuse. This speculation about Aiden English and the Guerrero family seems really weird to me. He married into it, that's it. Doesn't mean he's suddenly a Guerrero now. If English is fired tomorrow, Vince would be in no way reneging on whatever promise he supposedly made to take care of the Guerrero family.

Meet the newest member of The Vaudevillians (my guess anyway):

To be fair, he seemed bombed during the Stone Cold Podcast, and that was right after a Raw, so I doubt he was. I think "seeming bombed" is just his natural mode of expression.

Posted by Reno Anoa'i on Facebook, so I assume the Instagram belongs to him too. https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1708061282820243&id=100008491628599

thesamoandynasty To be chosen by the phenom himself is the ultimate respect and it speaks volumes to the hard work of the Anoa'i Family in this business. #Yokozuna #Samu #Rikishi BSK! Get it now?? https://www.instagram.com/p/BScH9NXhYBL/

Wrong thread - please delete!

He is?!

I'll be happy if it doesn't go longer than two hours. That's my only expectation for this show.

BTW, El-P isn't the only one who doesn't know Jinder Mahal's name. https://youtu.be/_KMgJXeK1Gg?t=379 (Go to 6:19 if the video doesn't take you there automatically.)

Hahaha, yeah, Wee-LC was a crazy spectacle. I think most people at the time weren't expecting anything, and it ended up being a really memorable match. Sadly, it turned out to be pretty much the last hurrah for Hornswoggle and El Torito, who were released less than a year later, I think. 3MB's presence would have been somewhat noticeable if you were watching regularly at the time, but going in cold as you did, yeah, I can see how you wouldn't think much of their involvement. Long story short, they were a fun, wacky, and memorable JTTS group. People were going nuts over Heath Slater's push and title reign last year precisely because he has been so entertaining for so long without ever being rewarded for it. Truthfully, Jinder was the weak link of 3MB - both Slater and Drew McIntyre had/have much more upside.

Relax, El-P - I don't think you're a horrible racist and never thought that's how your post sounded, just that your choice of words was clumsy and misleading. Understood about not knowing every JTTS over the past 15 years, but in all fairness, 3MB (Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal, and that pale Scottish guy) was a pretty memorable act. I get it if you don't watch the weekly shows, but you don't at least remember the Wee-LC match, which aired on PPV? 3MB was heavily involved in that.