C.S.

WHY, CHRISTIAN, WHY?!?!

Surprised there isn't already a thread. R.I.P. Dave Heber One of the all-time great referees. Most famous for the "twin referees" angle during Hogan vs. Andre, but he had a long and distinguished career before and after. It's a shame that he was unceremoniously fired from WWE for supposedly counterfeiting merchandise - a charge he denied until the day he died. No In Memoriam graphic on Smackdown, and no HOF for either of the Hebners, even though they're both far more deserving than half the people already in. Update: R.I.P. Tim White The sad news keeps coming! In addition to being a great referee, he was also Andre the Giant's traveling partner and his bar was wrecked on TV by APA in more than one segment.

Biiiiiiig stretch to go from this to decrying the usage of Stephy, Brucie, etc. though. Context matters.

What?

#SameOldShit I realize injuries to Cody and Randy changed plans, but...yawn!

What do you mean? Maybe I'm just used to WWE's bullshit timing, but I'm honestly asking.

Drew looks like a fucking hothead meathead in this segment. How is Sheamus not the babyface here? Typical WWE asshole babyface bullshit.

To be fair, Keith Lee's Raw look was probably worse.

Or Kassius Ohno wearing basketball gear that doesn't flatter him.

Did Nattie get work done on her face?

Tino is the guy I pegged as the future prospect and next major star. So much for that...

I was ahead of the curve.

That was much ado about nothing, lol - Vince babyfacing himself, welcoming the fans, and leaving. Probably the best thing he could've done. Definitely the smartest.

To be fair, I never said it wouldn't become a big story - I just said it won't actually have a major effect long-term, and I still believe that. Yeah, Vince is stepping down temporarily. Okay, but this is not even the first time he's done that. If I'm wrong I'm wrong, but I expect WWE to be back to the status quo by next year - not counting any unforeseen circumstances like ill-health, death, a sale. etc.

Sterling is interesting. Nese is not. (IMO, of course.) Then again, that is the point of managers - to compensate for their wrestlers' deficits. The only thing better would be if Mauro returns to manage Christian against Jungle Boy.

Nese has the personality of stale bread. Anyone arguing that Nese is better than Christian in anything has to either be ribbing or trolling. Christian drew every dime, moved every needle, turned the WWE from a small mom and pop operation running smoky armories to the multi-billion dollar international juggernaut it is today, and transformed AEW from a faraway Florida fantasy into the fastest-rising wrestling company we've seen in decades. What did Nese ever do?

Assuming you mean the TLC matches, I got news for ya... Christian >>>>>>> Edge, Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Bubba Ray, and D-Von, and it has never been close! "Wrestler's physique" is obviously code for something. While Nobody Nese sucks off the ghost of George Zahorian, Christian has a healthy body and mind. Nese may not be eligible for the age pension, but his career might be after it has gone nowhere for almost two decades.

Big difference between Christian and Nese though. Christian is one of the top stars from the Attitude Era (yes, I said it again) whereas Nese has been nowhere, done nothing, and can't teach anyone anything about being a star (WWE 205 Live purgatory does not count).

I cannot believe it's next weekend. The build for the last PPV was lackluster too, but it was great compared to this. WTF is going on? Christian is the GOAT now and forever, baby!

BRUCIE! Used to love your podcast, man.

Those same shareholders likely didn't care about Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinski, didn't care that a serial rapist like Trump was President - Vince ain't going anywhere. Johnny Bella, though, yeah, he's about to experience some Twin Magic of his own - fired and divorced.

Vince will survive this. Nobody "important" cares about pro wrestling and they never will. It'll be out of the mainstream news cycle by tomorrow. Meltzer, Keller, Wrestling Inc., Cageside Seats, etc. covering it for another month won't have any effect. If this post ages like milk, quote me in a few months. I don't think it will though. I have no issue being wrong, but we've seen negative publicity for WWE before and it never sticks.

The exact wording from the WSJ article: The email to the board also alleged that Mr. McMahon “gave her like a toy” to Mr. Laurinaitis. Tsk, tsk, Johnny Bella. I'm wondering if this is why she stepped down. Reports did say it was a family matter.

Nitpick, but what is the point of using the word "alleged" in that press release? I realize that's a standard issue boilerplate "cover your ass" legalese word to use, but why bother when everything was captured on tape?