C.S.

New NXT gimmick: "No Way Jose." NXT's internet nerd fanbase will lap this up and act like it's brilliant, but if the same lame gimmick had debuted on Raw instead, it would be getting eviscerated right now. https://twitter.com/JJWilliamsWON/status/713174921917009920

Daniel Bryan was pulled from upcoming "Daniel Bryan Appreciation Night" house show appearances and the UK tour after Mania. But the real red flag, IMO, was when he backed out of WrestleMania Fan Axxess. Brie was off the shows this week too. WWE's statement was something along the lines of: "Bryan requested time off and it was granted." I'm speculating, obviously, but there seems to be more than meets the eye here. I really hope there isn't any worse news about Bryan medically. That's my main worry. I hope not, but I wonder if Bryan is trying to get out of his WWE deal to work indies again. With his concussion situation being what it is, I really hope he has finally moved on from this line of thinking and we can rule it out definitively. It's a nagging thought in my mind (and not in a good way, obviously), but I hope it's a farfetched scenario at best. I'm starting this thread because I really feel this is going to become a "bigger story." I hope I'm overreacting though and this ends up being something minor. Time will tell, I guess.

Refreshing to see New Day honoring Michael Hayes, who has always been progressive when it comes race relations. Kofi: Now, y'all, we've heard the rumors too. Xavier: What rumors, Kofi? Kofi: The rumors about Michael calling people the "N" word. Big E: (Exaggerated) The "N" Word? Kofi: Yeah, but that "N" word is... Big E, followed by all: New Day Rocks! New Day Rocks! New Rocks!

[WWE Magazine clip] That was as odd as I remember it. I'll eat ten Slim Jims in a row if that's really Macho's handwriting, LOL.

What is the story here?

I both agree and disagree. I mean, what else were they going to do? The cat was out of the bag on the Savage/Liz divorce, with Savage even writing a letter in WWE Magazine telling the fans it wasn't our fault (like we were their kids, LOL - so bizarre!). Reuniting Savage and Liz in WCW felt hollow, and the Liz heel turn was a genuine shocker at a time there were so few of them. The "pure, wholesome" Liz was an iconic character. But women get older. Liz couldn't play the innocent ingenue forever. Still, I do agree that the "aging harlot" role was beneath her. Not sure what a good middle ground would've been. Even if WCW had kept Liz babyface, they would've found some way to screw that up too. I personally loved the chemistry Lex and Liz had on-camera as cackling heels in the last year or two of WCW. Obviously, that ended very badly for them in real life though. I remember Vince saying that Liz's untimely death never would've happened on his watch, because the WWF would've taken care of her. I kinda wish there was an alternate history with a spiteful Vince bringing Liz back to the WWF after Savage jumped ship to WCW. Would've been real interesting to see if the Ms. Elizabeth character could've translated to anyone other than the Macho Man.

It's indeed Stan. http://www.wwe.com/shows/wwe-hall-fame/wwe-hall-fame-2016/article/stan-hansen-wwe-hall-fame-2016

The latest inductee, not surprisingly but much deserved (IMO), is... http://www.wwe.com/shows/wwe-hall-fame/wwe-hall-fame-2016/article/jacqueline-wwe-hall-fame-class-2016

This reminds of the "21-1" TitanTron debate when some people still thought Undertaker's Mania lost to Brock Lesnar was an audible called because of Taker's concussion. I imagine the WWE is pretty prepared to do these sort of things on the fly if necessary. Look how quickly they churn out t-shirts now. Y2AJ shirts were made right away for a team that lasted, what, two weeks?

Has anyone read Sunny's book? I read the free sample on Kindle last night and it seems really compelling so far, but I want to know if it's worth $10 before I take the plunge. Sunny being Sunny, it could devolve into a giant BS-fest, ya know? Link: http://www.amazon.com/Star-Shattered-Rise-Fall-Wrestling-ebook/dp/B01BHH8EAM/ BTW, another recommendation: The Road Warriors book is pretty good, and relatively inexpensive. http://www.amazon.com/The-Road-Warriors-Danger-Wrestling-ebook/dp/B004P8K21K/

Could it have been Shawn Michaels that Dave was talking about? While HBK's involvement is common knowledge now, for years he denied being in the know.

Wasn't it revealed that Trips came up with it? That is more or less common knowledge now, no? The only other possibility worth maintaining radio silence for is ... Bret Hart.

I have a feeling the Jericho promo was largely ad-libbed to get the crowd to turn on him after he received such a favorable reaction.

And something like that not being reported when it happened is a massive blunder, if that is indeed true. If it's true, it could be something Dave didn't find out about until years after the fact.

Fun show, but yeah, completely inconsequential (as expected, to be fair). Man, Sami and Stardust have minus zero negative chemistry. Stardust blows. The ladies and Jericho/Swagger were good. Jericho did an awesome job heeling on the mic tonight. WTF at the Brock vs. Wyatt false advertising. We essentially got Brock vs. Harper instead. Yeah, I like Harper better than Wyatt too, but the match was about as exciting as moldy cheese because Harper hasn't been pushed as a threat at all. It didn't help Wyatt either that he looked like a total bitch backing away from the match and Brock. Don't see how the outcome benefits Ambrose much, unless he pulls off a miracle and beats Brock at Mania. Good match, other than that, though.

It's hard to top his classic orange tights. Heck, all of his outfits at WrestleMania 4 were amazing.

Does this really sound like Sami Zayn to you? I love him - he's my favorite - but he's not someone they'd use at this point in time "to build the early audience." Just to clarify, I know you were only quoting Meltz - I realize you're not saying yourself that it's Zayn. Hell, I hope it's Zayn, but the report is contradictory because he's not what anyone would consider a major draw (yet) or major surprise. Edit: Looks like it was Zayn, and I'm happy. Still puzzled by Meltz's "build an early audience" line, but he's never been the most coherent writer.

Law, Order, and Justice get served to the WWE Hall of Fame with the induction of the Big Boss Man! http://www.wwe.com/shows/wwe-hall-fame/article/big-boss-man-inducted-wwe-hall-fame-class-2016

To be fair to Hogan, he did admit at some point that he's not good with dates and locations.

I love this idea too. But would Rock put the kibosh on working with Shawn? It's something he's never had any interest in (which he outright said in a Torch Talk interview a few years back), even after Shawn's born again conversion.

What was this about? I don't remember Garvin ever being in the WWF during this time. When did his Freebird run with Hayes end? I could swear they were still doing that into '92, but memory is a tricky thing...

The Freebirds were just announced - including Jimmy Jam. http://www.wwe.com/shows/wwe-hall-fame/wwe-hall-fame-2016/article/fabulous-freebirds-wwe-hall-fame-2016

If the first bump never happened, but the accidental second bump did, do you think this match would still be remembered as fondly, intensely, and passionately as it has been?

JBL wasn't too far off from this IMO.

Well, I haven't read it yet, but the one I found was the Matysik/Goodish version. I don't like the idea of the two authors alternating chapters - that sounds terrible - but hopefully I'll still enjoy it. I think there's value in having the people closest to him write a book. But the other book by Murray sounds like it's more journalistic in nature.