C.S.

Alberto Del Rio Says Andrade Almas Wants To Leave WWE

Who are these two jabronis in the AJ Styles backstage segment? I'm sure they're beloved indy dahlings, but I have no idea who they are.

I really hope this is leading to a long overdue and much-needed heel turn for Dolph, who has been the worst and most insufferable babyface on the roster ever since that horrible Rusev love triangle storyline.

I know I said I wanted Carmella to win, but I hope Naomi wins based on that entrance and outfit alone.

I hope Carmella wins the title. She's the only interesting woman on Smackdown. Who the hell is this Eaton kid? The only Eaton I care about is Beautiful Bobby.

Just got home to the middle of a Corbin-Crews match no one asked for. Did I miss anything else from the pre-show?

In case this is a reference to my post, I said he was one of the worst people still in the tournament (I probably posted that during the final eight). That's a pretty important distinction. Still, yeah, none of ZSJ's tournament matches have set the world on fire. His match with Dar was probably the best for both of them, but Dar is another guy I've gone on record as seeing very little in. It also irritates me - and I assume others - that they had a much better version of ZSJ in Jack Gallagher and had him inexplicably lose in the second round.

Yeah, this was a forgone conclusion, but at least now it's official. Sadly, Alberto was so misused that his departure is no loss, but I think Paige is a potentially big loss. She's one of the few women credible enough to hang with the "Four Horsewomen" and get over on her own terms. BTW, Alberto is going to be wrestling for the Knight family's promotion in Norwich, England - yes, Paige's mum and dad.

I don't get it either. I realize he's not French, but his weird mannerisms would make him perfect for a New La Resistance team. Sterile is the perfect way to describe Perkins.

I interpreted that as him covering up for the relative silence of the crowd. Mauro: Look at this "educated" audience. They're sitting on their hands, silent, watching intently like a Japanese audience. This is reminiscent of the time Keijo Muto - the Great Muta - won his 3rd of 50 IWGP World Heavyweight Titles in the Tokyo Dome. (I'm exaggerating wildly, of course.) Fact: These people don't care about these wrestlers or this match at all, but hey, here are a few claps and some light applause. Bryan: I wrestled Keijo Muto in Virtual Pro Wrestling 64 for the Nintendo 64, which was only available in Japan, and Muta had some of the hardest kicks in all of professional wrestling. I lost a close match due to jetlag.

Alberto released: WWE releases Alberto Del Rio STAMFORD, Conn. — WWE and Jose Rodriguez (Alberto Del Rio) have mutually agreed upon the terms of his release as of today, September 9, 2016. http://www.wwe.com/article/wwe-releases-alberto-del-rio No "best of luck in his future endeavors" message, which people are already reading into. Twitter: Alberto Del Rio ✔ @VivaDelRio My business relationship with @WWE has come to an end in good terms...thanks for the opportunities they gave me. Termine mi relación con WWE 9:17 AM - 9 Sep 2016 https://twitter.com/VivaDelRio/status/774235251019096065 Alberto Del Rio ✔ @VivaDelRio Decidí dejar @wwe terminamos nuestra relación en buenos términos Nos deseamos lo mejor mutuamente 10:04 AM - 9 Sep 2016 https://twitter.com/VivaDelRio/status/774235251019096065 Google Translate: I decided to leave @wwe ended our relationship on good terms We wish him well each other

This is a Kayfabe News article, but it's a very funny commentary on, er, the commentary. CWC competitor performs Yes Lock, Bryan exclaims he’s never seen anything like it http://www.kayfabenews.com/cwc-competitor-performs-yes-lock-bryan-exclaims-hes-never-seen-anything-like/

My thoughts: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Noam Dar: I haven't made it a secret that I consider ZSJ and Noam Dar the two worst people still in the tournament. But I can give credit where it's due: This was head and shoulders the best match either of them have had to date in the CWC. With that said, I still didn't love it. Most of the moves looked weak, and it rarely resembled an actual contest to me. The finish was cool though! But the sit-down hug at the end felt like they went to that well one too many times - it lacked the emotional impact of other similar moments in the tournament. BTW, if you're wondering who ZSJ reminds you of: a very thin Ethan Hawke with a meth addiction. Edit - One more thing to add: What the fuck was up with Noam Dar scratching his ears before the match?! Then poor ZSJ had to shake those same hands that were just in Dar's ears. TJ Perkins vs. Rich Swann: A really fun match and easily the best either of them have looked in the tournament. I wasn't particularly impressed with their other matches, but they worked very well against each other. I had no preference regarding the winner, and I still don't. They call Perkins a "wrestling genius" and the "Wrestling Yoda" but I haven't really seen any evidence of that yet. It makes me wonder if there's more than meets the eye with this kid though. He has been around for 18 years, after all. The one thing I will give credit to both of them on though is how likeable and easy they are to root for. They're great babyfaces. And I say that even though they haven't been my favorites in the tournament. My prediction for the finals: I'm still betting on Kota Ibushi vs. Gran Metalik, with Metalik getting the "upset" as they try (and fail) to recreate yet another Rey Mysterio. I say that only because Ibushi is the obvious winner, and are they really going to telegraph it this much? Maybe. We'll see.

Well, yeah, I watched the Bryan dark match too, but it makes zero sense for them to pull collections or other archival content from the Network. I haven't watched LBOA yet, so I'm avoiding the thread for it until I do. Actually, I turned it on for a second just to see it for myself, long enough to view the disclaimer about the lack of commentary. I think it should have a forced Byron Saxton-Jerry Lawler commentary track.

Well, that fucking sucks. The 2001 dark match was awesome for what it was.

Fair enough. I'm not a TNA fan, obviously. I've tried over the years, but they ended up disappointing me every single time. Agreed. A Rude-Storm team is a fun concept, but it would be a major step backward for Roode. I could see it happening on Raw or Smackdown though, where Roode's ceiling will probably be much lower (sad but true).

For the uninitiated, what exactly has Meltzer said about steroids?

I guess that's a good a reason as any for Ellering's random reappearance in 2016. Then again, this is the same company that brought Zeb Coulter back out of mothballs.

Who is Timbo, and is this a serious post or a joke? I can't tell with people here sometimes.

Dennis Stamp finally makes his long-awaited WWE Network debut!

I'll re-post my theory: I will always contend that Triple H quickly saw how out of place, how indy, how rasslin' Storm was in NXT, said thanks but no thanks, and made it look like Storm's decision so "The Cowboy" could save face and go back to TNA. Indy rasslin' yokel Storm would look so completely out of place next to Roode's current "snobbish" persona. There's no way Beer Money can happen under the current circumstances. The only possible way to reunite the two would be as a comedy "odd couple" team that ignores their past history, and I don't see that happening. Roode is already way above that. I mean, if my theory is correct, Storm could still end up in NXT again if Roode or someone else puts in a good word, but he's such a fish out of water that it would barely work in NXT and definitely wouldn't work on the main roster.

Didn't TNA pay James Storm an absurd amount of money? Though I will always contend that Triple H quickly saw how out of place, how indy, how rasslin' Storm was in NXT, said thanks but no thanks, and made it look like Storm's decision so "The Cowboy" could save face and go back to TNA.

Guess NJPW is out then. Looking more and more likely that Del Rio is TNA bound. I mean, where else is there?

If Alberto burned his bridges with AAA/LU, would NJPW's working relationship with CMLL really matter at this point?

Has Alberto ever been in NJPW? That could be an option for him. I only remember him going to LU/AAA last time he left WWE, but I could be wrong. Either way, he royally fucked both of those feds over.