C.S.

Because Bullet Club as Triple H lackeys is exactly what everyone is clamoring for.

And it's a valid point, but I do wonder if Hall would've actually won a World Title if he'd he stayed in the WWF (and I also wonder if he would've been able to better control his demons and addictions, but with Shawn also a mess at the time, who knows if they would've just negatively fed into each other - hard to say).

John Stossel tried to review him, and look what happened next... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0q44ALM7jo Seriously though, someone wrote quite a bit about him in one of the wrestling books - I want to say Dynamite Kid, but I can't be sure (and I can't remember what was said, but I believe it was positive).

I watched the two most recent episodes of Table For 3. "WWE Family" (Ricky Steamboat, Pat Patterson, and Hillbilly Jim): What a fucking random pairing. If you're tuning in to hear Steamboat (or Jim) tell stories, don't bother - they don't have much to say. But if you want to hear several funny Pat Patterson gay bar stories, this is the episode for you. All joking aside, this was one of the better Tables, actually. Still don't understand the logic of pairing these three together - what the hell? - but it worked, so I can't complain. Good Andre and Jake stories too. Edit: On second thought, if the point was to highlight three people of completely different backgrounds (and they don't get any different than these three, that's for sure) and show that they're still one big family - brothers - then mission accomplished. "The Kliq" (Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Sean Waltman): Maybe I was tired or maybe it's because these guys have spoken so many times on the same topics, but yawn. To be honest, I don't even remember most of what was said. The controlled, staid nature of these shows really came out when Nash or Hall (can't remember which) said something along the lines of "a vulgar word beginning with the letter P" instead of the actual word (which could've just been bleeped out afterward anyway). I realize these aren't really unscripted conversations or legitimate dinner outings, but it at least felt that way with Steamboat, Patterson, and Hillbilly. This just feels like three aging rockers on their best behavior and afraid of their own shadows. Ditto for the Horsemen episode with Flair in particular. I've also been going through The E&C Show. While it is never laugh-out-loud funny, it is mildly amusing - and there are awesome cameos in every episode. The best jokes are clever visual gags or little things you might might miss if you're not paying attention (for example, a list of couples in wrestling that scrolls by quickly - including people from TNA - or Edge wearing a Sexton Hardcastle shirt). In a way, this is like a twisted bedtime story, because it's the perfect show to fall asleep to. There's nothing complicated or demanding about it - it's just plain relaxing, and sometimes that's exactly what the doctor ordered.

What makes Reks less credible exactly? Because he wasn't a star? That kind of star-fucking attitude is usually absent from this board, so it's disappointing to see it now. With that said, I have no idea if Reks is full of shit - he may very well be - but if JTG also mentioned something along similar lines (I read the book but had no desire to "decrypt" all of his "coded" messages), there could be something there. One thing no one ever notes is that Miz's push also went down the same time Riley's did. If it was because of heat with Cena, I wonder if it affected Miz as well? The difference is, Miz probably kept quiet and remained a "good soldier." Just speculation, obviously. "No, Alberto, I'm not ready to meet your mum or watch a bullfight with your family. That's a level of commitment I'm bloody uncomfortable with, okay?"

Tyler Reks on the insidious evil that is John Cena:

Reigns vs. Jericho would still be fun.

Yes, there was absolutely money in Warrior. I remember several of my friends wanting to watch Nitro that week instead of Raw because they heard about Warrior's impending debut. Now, whether the ratings reflected that, I have no idea. But WCW had an asset and squandered it so Egomania could run wild, brother. Of course, if all of that "One Warrior Nation" and trapdoor shit were Warrior's ideas, he sabotaged himself well enough too. But that wouldn't have ever happened in the WWE, where someone was actually in charge.

I disagree with DMJ in that I thought this was the best of the matches they've had together in WWE/NXT. But the thing no one wants to admit, because they're best friends and have such a long history, is that they don't have great chemistry together - at least IMO from what I've seen in WWE/NXT (I haven't seen their indy matches). Their two NXT matches were pretty disappointing to me, and I think I liked this one more because of sufficiently lowered expectations.

Many years from now... Triple H: What is it, Pop? Vince: (Grips Paul's hand) You have to promise me one thing... Triple H: Anything, Pop. Vince: You have to keep Kevin Dunn employed for life. Triple H: *Gulps* Okay, Pop. Vince: Unless, of course, he commits an egregious violation... (Triple H grins.) Vince: ...but he won't. A few weeks later... WWE.com has learned that WWE has released WWE executive Kevin Dunn for placing bets on WrestleMania results with several Vegas casinos. WWE wishes him the best in his future endeavors. Click here for Pete Rose's WWE Hall of Fame induction

Why would Neville be released? No reason whatsoever to do that.

I guess there were two reasons for Zack's win at Mania: (1) to open the show with a huge surprise and (2) so that the non-wrestlers could get their WM bonuses betting on Ryder. Yea I said this right after Mania and not at all in a joking way. He was like dead last in the odds until the day before when he suddenly became the favorite which to me says everyone who was in the know put money on him. Which is why betting on wrestling should be illegal IMO. You probably have a locker room full of Pete Roses.

This really fucking sucks. WWE is so frustrating sometimes.

Wade Barrett released (sounds like he requested it). https://twitter.com/WadeBarrett/status/728624762453434372

Double post. Please delete.

Add Zeb to that list. Seems like they're updating this page as more releases trickle in... http://www.wwe.com/article/hornswoggle-alex-riley-released Update: El Torito released. Cameron released.

WWE constantly sidelines anyone who gets over "without their permission" - Sandow, Zack Ryder, etc. Still mystified by Zack's massive WrestleMania upset win and feel-good moment only for him to be right back at the bottom a week later. At the very least, you'd think they would've run Miz vs. Zack at Payback instead of Smackdown. Kinda hoping Zack reinvents himself, but I don't see that happening because of Hype Bros in NXT. BTW, there are rumblings of WWE announcing several releases today (at least on WrestlingInc). You always hope there's no truth to stuff like that, but the likely suspects IMO would be Adam Rose, Ryback, Cameron, Barrett, and whoever is treading water in NXT.

Your post motivated me to look up Tye Dillinger on Wikipedia. I had no idea he was a fourteen year veteran, and I'm even more shocked that he used to be Shawn Spears/Gavin Spears. Somehow, all of that slipped under my radar. On top of all that, it looks like Eric Young was one of his trainers. Wow, Dillinger has been around a while. I wonder why he's never really made it past JTTS status. He certainly deserves better IMO.

I haven't finished watching NXT this week. Not sure if I will. But some random thoughts from what I did see: - Eric Young comes across as an abused shelter dog. He overly emotes, has ridiculous facials, and I'm not a fan of his Salvation Army look. - I've probably said this before, but why put Tessa Blanchard on TV with that name only to job her out? I doubt the same thing happened to Charlotte. But then, Ric obviously has more pull than Tully. - Why the hell isn't Tye Dillinger being pushed? I can't be the only one who thinks he's great and usually better than the people he loses to (not counting Shinsuke Nakamara, naturally). - No Way Jose is a brutal gimmick. If it had been introduced on the main roster, everyone would be shitting on it. But because it's an NXT character, people love it.

Did you even read my post? Just curious, because I said: "I realize Warrior was no workrate king and Savage was past his prime by then, but they'd had a great match previously." You guys have convinced me. I'm going to give it another chance. I think childhood me was just disappointed by the DQ finish (or whatever it was). Remember, this was in an era when PPVs meant something and such finishes were even more egregious than they would be now. I'm shocked to hear it went that long. Wow, my memory must really be fading. I'll have to give it another go.

IMO, Ambrose has been unintentionally sabotaged just as much as Reigns (if you don't buy the "political hit" theory, and I don't). He's terrible at his current persona because he's been turned into a goof with a bad talk show, bad lines, etc. He'd be fine again if he got more freedom. Remember, he supposedly had a bunch of ideas for the Brock WrestleMania match and they got shot down, leading to what was easily the most disappointing match on the show and the most disappointing match I've seen all year.

Surprised by the mystifying love for the Warrior-Savage rematch. I can only assume it's loved by people who didn't actually watch it at the time but discovered it later. That's just a guess though. I remember it being too short, with a horrible finish, and no payoff to the angle they devoted months of TV time to. This, to me, is one of those cases where watching matches "in a bubble" years after the fact paints an inaccurate portrait.

Damn it, Loss, you posted what I came in here to post. Seriously though, yeah, I remember being super disappointed by this match. Does Savage vs. Warrior at SummerSlam count? Like we're seeing with AJ Styles and Gallows/Anderson now, they built up a big storyline (which one is buddy-buddy with Flair?) that ended up leading to nothing, and on top of that, the match ended in a DQ or something unsatisfying like that. I realize Warrior was no workrate king and Savage was past his prime by then, but they'd had a great match previously. (BTW, I realize the AJ and Gallows/Anderson stuff is ongoing, but I'll be shocked if it actually leads to much. At least, I don't think we'll end up getting either of the scenarios everyone wants - AJ reforming some version of Bullet Club with them or Finn Balor coming in and aligning with them as Balor Club. But we'll see.)

I finally watched it. I don't think Arn came across as bitter, but he did have a little of the "back in my day" syndrome we usually see in old-timers. Overall, he seemed really detached from his earlier lifestyle and friendships. He obviously cherished them, but he's also moved on to a different phase of his life. Flair didn't have much to say. Probably afraid of his own shadow at this point, so he's censoring himself IMO. It was refreshing to hear Tully admit that giving talks in prisons wasn't ever his dream job. Much more sincere than most of the "religious" ex-wrestlers. Overall, this was okay for what it was, but it wasn't great if you were expecting amazing stories and charisma flying through the screen. I also watched the Roman Reigns/Dean Ambrose version of Ride Along, but I ended up turning it off. I liked the first episode, but the subsequent ones have been beyond boring. What's the point? After that, I gave the Edge and Christian Show another shot. While I remain only mildly amused, it is growing on me. A fun time-waster, if nothing else.

A work plays out on TV. This isn't. WWE works are usually neon sign obvious. Same here. I was really hoping Sin Cara would win the battle royal. That would have been something new and interesting - a fresh story to tell. As much as I like Rusev, having him re-enter the U.S. Title picture isn't exciting to me. It just means his career has not progressed at all in over a year. The match(es) will be fun, but I simply don't care.