C.S.

My guess is they're bringing J.R. back for NXT. It makes perfect sense too. He'd be ideal to train the younger, up-and-coming voices on that show - including, yes, Renee Young. The more relaxed taping schedule would probably also appeal to Jim Ross at this point. And he was recently in attendance at an NXT show.

I'd argue that Hogan is a minimalist. We've seen him bust out a more athletic style in Japan. In the States, he does only what he absolutely has to and gets a monster reaction for it. Scott Hall would also qualify, and he's done several interviews stating as much. Ditto for Jake Roberts.

I've never been able to access them on Roku. The Arnold interview booted me out within seconds on Monday but worked last night. WWE Network, one year in, still feels like a beta product. It's embarrassing.

What?! That seems random as hell. What am I missing? I don't remember there ever being a great friendship between them, either on or off-screen (Foley's books, etc.).

I remember reading in the Observer, possibly a direct quote, that Dwayne was surprised "the old man" didn't get in touch about a new contract.

Made more ironic by the fact that Elmore Leonard based that character specifically on The Rock and although the movie tanked and was critically panned. The only performer to get good reviews across the board The Rock. Despite people heavyweight character actors like Harvey Keital and James Woods being in it. I remember hearing about Vince's reaction at the time, and it really struck me as completely out of touch, not to mention offensive. Surprising too, with Pat Patterson being Vince's trusted lieutenant for all those years, so you'd think Vince would be a little more open-minded. It just goes to show, for all of Vince's aspirations to be seen as mainstream entertainment, he was and is way behind-the-curve. He doesn't get it at all. I hope it's the former. Probably the former. It is wrestling, and Backlund comes from the era where kayfabe was protected at all costs.

I don't know if that's necessarily true. He had several cameo appearances after the '93 run, and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame a couple of years back. But he certainly isn't highlighted as often or treated with the same reverence as other past company aces. Then again, Bruno wasn't mentioned at all for decades.

Except, there's a difference between walking out onto the street dressed like that vs. some kind of comic convention or live wrestling event. Those two scenarios are not exactly the same as "going out in public" and doing mundane things like shopping at the supermarket, buying coffee, etc. while fully dressed as Dr. Who or Sting. Even if it's not for you (and it's not for me either, truth be told), surely you can still see the distinction?

Where? How? Is it on PS3/4, Roku, etc.? If not, you can't compare them to WWE Network or WWE's presence on Hulu. The latter gives mainstream audiences and casual fans access to WWE. TNA and ROH absolutely need a presence on Hulu or Netflix. The fact that they seemingly haven't pursued such an avenue is mind-boggling to me.

It's currently a tie, thanks to my vote for Arn. It's really close though, and both were very valuable in teams and stables. But I give Arn the slight edge because he could talk up a great feud or scenario. Bobby couldn't. Anyone remember the short-lived but great Anderson-Eaton team with Michael P.S. Hayes as their manager? It was basically promoted as Horsemen + Midnight Express + Freebirds. I loved that. Shame it didn't last.

When WCW was around, WWE used to promote their "freedom of speech" of not taking away signs, etc. How quickly things change when there's no real competition.

I doubt it, since the season ended on a "cliffhanger" (lol) with the Bellas not wanting to sign their new contracts + Eva Marie and her husband having marital problems.

To a certain extent, it is. I mean, NXT is one of the most watched shows on the Network. Even saying only 10% of Network subscribers watch NXT, which is probably an absurdly conservative number, that's still 100,000 viewers, which is likely twice to three times the number of people who were following ROH. Plus, NXT is also on Hulu Plus. Even if only a tiny fraction of Hulu's customers watch it, that's still more exposure than ROH. TNA, ROH, etc. are fucking dumb for not trying to get on some kind of streaming service.

And he'll be inducted by Bruno. http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/larry-zbyszko-wrestlings-living-legend-to-enter-wwe-hall-of-fame-20150316

When I saw this topic, I was really hoping it was going to be about bitching over old school stuff. There's really none of that on this board (or elsewhere) because everyone naturally cherry-picks the good stuff.

I do too. I don't know if she's mentally ill or just suffering the ill-effects of a traumatic childhood and bad break up with H/split from WWE, but it's a sad story either way.

I doubt Vince regrets not getting into MMA. Just because something is successful doesn't mean it's necessarily a good investment for him. He clearly has no interest in it or passion for it, so why bother? That's like expecting Vince to invest in Chipotle because they're successful, even though he might not care about Mexican takeout food at all.

My thoughts on some of the NXT wrestlers mentioned in this thread: Becky Lynch: WHAT character?! Seriously, what IS her character? She doesn't really have one IMO. CJ Parker: Not sure why he's still a jobber. He always looks good and gets heat, and he actually has a character, unlike some. Bull Dempsey: I like him a lot, but he looks like a male Rosie O'Donnell with his long hair and women's bathing suit tights. He needs to up his presentation considerably. Solomon Crowe: Only saw his debut and wasn't impressed. He looks like a modern-day Blue Meanie, and not in a good way. (I like Meanie.) Tye Dillinger and Jason Jordan: I thought they should have gotten the push Blake and Murphy received. Vaudevillians: Like most NXT tag teams, they haven't really had any classic matches. But their gimmick is great. Can it succeed on the main roster though? Enzo and Cass: Their act would succeed on the main roster right now, but they probably need more ring-time first. Nothing wrong with that. Enzo is still in his rookie year, I believe. Baron Corbin: He has the push, and...that's it. I'm not a fan. Needs another year or two. Hideo Itami: This will be controversial, but he hasn't connected with me at all. I don't know if he's being forced to hold back in the ring, but I find him bland for the most part. He's even worse as a character, but I understand he's still learning English. The only match I've really liked is the one he had with Breeze - not their most recent PPV match, but the one a few weeks earlier. A heel turn might help? But I hate saying that, because it feels like the stereotypical "every foreigner has to be a heel" mindset. Still, Tajiri and Hakushi were both way more over than he is. Yeah, I said it. It's the truth!

Double post.

I'm surprised the WWE is interested in the Briscoes, especially when one of them is a homophobic douchebag and complete liability to a corporate-minded, publicly-traded company. No matter how good they may (or may not) be, they're not worth the potential headaches. It's not like either of them are the next Rock or Cena, especially in a company that has historically de-emphasized tag team wrestling.

Joe confirmed on Jericho's podcast that "there's some negotiations going on" with WWE. http://wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2015/0307/590123/samoa-joe-confirms-wwe-negotiations/

Another pick: Modern-day Ric Flair. I don't mean the wrestler or the proud dad of Charlotte - I mean the bitter asshole on pre-shows, roundtables, etc. who snaps at every little thing and acts like a total dismissive dick. Meanwhile, no one would dare disagree with or correct him, because "he's Ric Flair."

Baron Corbin? Yeah, I know... Did Charlotte start with NXT? Bayley? Edit: Even if they did, I believe the women are trained separately anyway - by Sara Del Ray. Either way, I don't want to look like I'm defending Demott - I'm not - and he's gone now anyway. This is the first I've heard of that, and it's a weird thing to say about Cornette of all people, who definitely drew money.

I love that most of the reasons you hate Brock is because of the contract he was given. The mic stuff is a weird complaint as well, because Heyman does his promos for him. If you don't like him in the ring, that is a different story. Hating on him for his contract he was offered is silly though. I don't hate him for getting a big fat contract and making a fat wad of cash - good for him - but I do hate the effect it has on the overall show and how that affects me as a viewer, which is a totally different thing. Good for Brock, bad for me - and I'm gonna side with myself. I don't like him in the ring either.

Could the influence of a notorious malcontent like Punk have anything to do with it?