C.S.

A great Errol Morris documentary. Has the phrase been co-opted by the radical right?

What is this about? Is Ciampa another one of those anti-mask QAnon drones in NXT? Please say it ain't so.

Sabu recently buried the WWE HOF as a "fake Hall of Fame," so he may have ruined RVD's big moment for the second time in their careers.

The only downside to this Cody/Brandi reality show is that it's not about Christian instead.

Damn, you got me, bro. I'm Tony K, and I started PWO threads for WWE Fastlane and NXT Halloween Havoc (among others) because I'm just that generous to my competitors. It's not meant to be the only model for growing a wrestling promotion though. As one of many strategies, it's effective and it has historically worked. Seeing Roddy Piper in They Live, Hulk Hogan in No Holds Barred (I know, I know - Rocky III is obviously the better example to use here, but I've never seen it), various sitcom appearances by wrestlers, Sergeant Slaughter on G.I. Joe, etc. all piqued my interest in wrestling little by little until I finally decided to try this pro wrestling thing. But if the reality show shines a spotlight on said undercard talent and makes them a draw to newer audiences, why not? At worst, they remain where they are, and no harm done.

Geez, man, I know you hate my posts, but banishing me to the hellscape that is Reddit (which, to be fair, I like outside of wrestling) is harsh. Anyway, you are putting words into my mouth. There is nothing wrong with watching and enjoying all kinds of wrestling, obviously - but if I'm running a business, you're damn right I want to be a mainstream promotion. That's why the reality show is a good idea. Not me! I never minded The Librarians, and Micheal Nakazawa was weird but never exactly focused on, so that didn't matter either. All wrestling promotions are going to experiment, have stupid gimmicks, try shit that doesn't work, etc. - that's par for the course. A fair point. I'll give you that. But you have to give me that the Khans clearly want AEW to be bigger than ROH and Impact, and chasing avenues that get them there is simply smarter business. Their success also good for wrestling fans in general - even the ones who don't like AEW. Not exactly what I said, but maybe I wasn't clear, so I'll rephrase. Yes, the core audience is important, but AEW already has them and probably always will. That is different from the toxic "I only like what I like and don't give a fuck how this benefits the company" types. Those fans aren't worth keeping, period. I stand by that. That is why I mentioned the Best Buy example - not because I think the two businesses are similar (they obviously aren't). They should, but that's another argument for another day.

I know you hate my posts - at least lately - but two replies to the same post is a bit overmuch. And you never even bit on my Christian post from earlier. But anyway... Not patronizing, just honest. THEN YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE WRESTLING BUSINESS. Impact is a terrible example, and you know that. The Khans are not going to keep propping up a failed experiment like numerous people have done for Impact over the years. They're legit businessmen and much smarter than that. I actually agree with this, to a degree, but... That really worked out well for ROH. Yeah, they're still in business, but nothing they do matters anymore. If AEW wants to be an irrelevant afterthought niche promotion like ROH and Impact, that's one thing, and nothing wrong with that, but clearly the Khans have a bigger vision. I understand it. I just don't think that part of the audience actually matters if AEW ever wants to grow - and it clearly does. Many years ago, an internal memo leaked from Best Buy (or some situation along those lines) about "angel customers" and "devil customers." Basically, "devil customers" were the ones who chased deals and bargains exclusively, walked into the store with only that specific purchase in mind, and didn't buy anything else. "Angel customers" were the ones who walked into the store, were big spenders, often made impulse buys, etc. Best Buy was heavily ridiculed for that - and rightfully so - but they also had a point. When people say "I don't give a fuck about mainstream fans" or "I don't give a flying fuck how this reality show will help AEW," you're basically a shortsighted, toxic "devil customer" - someone no business actually has any interest in retaining, nor should they. Nattie on Total Divas is legitimately the most hilarious person the company has had in two decades - real comedy, not terrible "ha ha" WWE "comedy." I'm not even joking. If WWE let the Natalya character be what we saw on that show, she would've been a bigger star for sure. As for Cena and his nouveau riche house, sure, but that's the reality TV genre in general. I heard it wasn't his real house anyway, but I could be wrong about that or mixing it up with something else.

Especially the average rasslin' fan.

You're missing the point of who this show is for... Rasslin' geeks, fans in the bubble, PWO/GWE posters, ROHbots, "THIS IS AWESOME!" and "YOU DESERVE IT!" types - it's not for any of them. AEW has all of those viewers already. The goal of this is to generate new fans outside the bubble. If no one watches it, no real harm done - it gets cancelled, fades away quietly, and becomes a future punchline on BTE. I'm only seeing upsides to this, and clearly so are Cody, Brandi, Tony, and TNT. Then you don't give a flying fuck about AEW's future survival. This post is exactly why AEW needs to grow its audience beyond the toxic geek message board bubble rasslin' fanbase. But I get the sense that some folks here wouldn't really care if AEW is gasping for breath in ten years on a z-grade network or streaming service, completely irrelevant - just like Impact is - as long a Chris Bey type does cool flips for $25 a night while working a Hot Topic mall kiosk on the side. It isn't for us though. AEW already has us. This is a stab at attracting outside audiences. Nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Cody has taken acting classes and he's a wrestler, so I'm sure he knows how to work it for the cameras. But even if the show is boring and no one watches it, no real harm done - it will fade away and be forgotten about. The downsides are minimal and the upsides are much bigger. It's easily worth the risk.

The rasslin' bubble, ladies and gentlemen. No one had a problem with Total Divas, Total Bellas, or Miz and Mrs. before or during the pandemic, so why have a problem with this? I have no idea if this reality show will be a success or even good, but this is absolutely what a small startup company like AEW should be doing - especially during a pandemic. Cody, Brandi, and Tony K. have absolutely nothing to lose - except maybe their own privacy and dignity, which is their decision - and everything to gain if it gets new eyeballs on AEW. Total Divas/Bellas definitely did that for WWE, and my sister has watched Miz and Mrs. in the past, so these things do attract outside audiences. At worst, no one watches the show, it gets cancelled, and it becomes a future punchline on BTE before fading away and being completely forgotten. No real harm done. The numerous potential upsides are more than worth the minimal risk.

Eli Drake - excuse me, L.A. Knight - just lost to Bronson Reed. I wonder if the honeymoon is over and he already has heat?

Batista openly said Khali's reign with the World Title made him sick to his stomach.

Christian Cage is giving that youngster Frankie Kazarian the opportunity of a lifetime in a match that is sure to be an Instant Classic.

I assume Kane is the headliner? I wonder if Batista backed out because of his complete and utter disdain for Khali. Is Kane still under contract? I wonder if it works differently for people who already work for WWE vs. former wrestlers. Maybe being inducted into the HOF is buried in the contract's fine print as a future obligation if they're chosen? That could open the door for these emotional surprises.

Can't wait for rasslin' fans to embarrass themselves once again by tweetstorming Peacock asking for the restoration of blackface. (But just for the record, as misguided as that whole thing was even then, I don't think it should've been edited out. Expect a lot more of this going forward though.)

Admit it: You love my posts and so-called "contrarian" opinions.

Great post! I agree with most of what you said. I'll find myself in the odd position of defending Jake Hager though. I'm not a fan and I hope he wasn't paid stupid money to sign. With that said, he has exceeded every possible expectation and earned his spot. For all of the WWE/TNA also-rans we can bitch about, Hager doesn't deserve to be included among them. I wouldn't cut Marko. The guy is absolutely a special attraction. The minute Big Show vs. Marko Stunt is announced for Dynamite, I'm first in line. Colt and Janela don't appeal to me at all, but they have inexplicable fan followings, so I don't know. I'd keep Colt and have him help AEW launch podcasts and things like that. Matt Sydal never should've been signed. They have 20 kids who do the same thing and do it much better than he can after years of wear and tear. I defended Shawn Spears at first, but he hasn't been nearly as over in AEW as he was in NXT and his first few appearances in WWE as The Perfect Ten. There's probably a reason he was in developmental for so many years. Christian should not only topple Kenny for the AEW World Title after Callis turns on him and embraces a "real Canadian," he should also take over Kenny's "belt collector" gimmick and then conquer the NWA, ROH, and NJPW. I may be trolling. Slight possibility. Magic 8-Ball says "Uncertain." But the delusion is strong with you if you think Christian's promo had anything to do with anything that's said on this board. I know you all think "Coach Tony K" secretly lurks here - spoiler alert: he doesn't - but now we're collectively thinking Christian does too? Well, if he does, we know who his favorite poster is.

Weird, with Christian being positioned strong in the Rumble as one of the final four. I wonder if that spot is something fans take more seriously than Vince, Hunter, etc. do.

Christian would've been such an awesome addition to the current roster. WWE lost out big time by never realizing and valuing what they had in him.

Are they trying to make Braun the biggest geek imaginable?!

Just don't get some cheap knockoff tablet that might have malware or spyware on it. Stick to recognized name brands (Samsung Galaxy, etc.).

My only experience with Fire tablets are the cheapest models, which I got because, like you, "I didn't need it for much" - but I personally found those pretty sluggish and underwhelming. I can't say if the more expensive Fire tablets are better. Definitely look at the specs of the cheapest Fire, the cheapest iPad, and compare those to the Fire you're thinking of. See if there's a big difference. Also read reviews. I have the cheapest base model iPad, and it's night and day to the cheapest Fire, but the Fire was $50 and the iPad was $300, so the price is night and day too. If the $150 Fire is much better than the $50 Fire and comparable to the $300 iPad, it might be worth considering. Speaking from personal experience, I've had a couple of FireTV devices and a couple of Fire tablets, and I didn't really liked any of them in the long run. I much prefer iPad and Roku. (The B&W e-ink Kindle devices are pretty good though, but that's not what you're asking about.) I hated the forked Android ecosystem the Fire tablets use, because it's not even real Android and I'm not sure how consistently the Amazon version of apps are updated compared to Google Play. (You can sideload apps, and probably jailbreak if you want more functionality, but I never bother with that stuff.) At least with an iPad, I know what I'm getting with iOS.

I found this very curious too. I wonder if Orton meant he wasn't interested in working with Drew earlier in their careers?

So did I, because I was hearing results as the WWE PPV was going on. Glad to be wrong.