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SomethingSavage

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Everything posted by SomethingSavage

  1. Excellent ideas. Of course, these are not foreign concepts to them. That's part of what makes the current situation so frustrating. They were already doing something very similar to this with SmackDown from fall 2016-spring 2017. And it was really good stuff. They weren't necessarily rotating talent in any strict fashion, but they were shuffling guys around, featuring feuds on various weeks, strategically presenting payoffs on different weeks, etc. I think there are some other key elements that need to be addressed (tbf you've actually touched on some of them also), including the announcers and interviewers & specifically how they lack credibility. I do think it would be a significant improvement for the audience to have a relatable tour guide on these shows. A corporate shrill or a crew of folks who speak like their every word is this measured, carefully-constructed jargon *is* unattractive to your normal, everyday of the week folks. Whether it's on-the-nose or just a subconscious thing, people want to hear things presented by people who sound like actual human beings. They want easy, listenable conversation. Buzzwords are fine and at times maybe even necessary. But you've got to recognize the difference in choosing to plug in your promotional terms versus these goofs just vomiting a bunch of shit nobody would ever say in any real life circumstance. Ever.
  2. I'm honestly surprised it didn't happen sooner. There seemed to be some underlying tension between them right after the Jerry Jarrett stuff started way back when Bruce did one of his early episodes covering the steroid trial. They kind of had an "agree to disagree" discussion about that on Corny's show and moved on though. Any clue what this lie is supposed to be about?
  3. SummerSlam 2019, orrr..? This lull has lasted so long. I just feel like it's important to clarify.
  4. Does it really matter who they put Roman with at this point? Honestly? Are there ANY interesting options on the table? Their most brilliant idea will be to run an endless series of rematches between Roman and *insert name here* anyway. With no story. With no stakes. With zero reason to care. It's all rather irrelevant WHO fills the rotating spot if there's no effort going into it. Really though. What are their other options? Roman/Owens again? Christ. They're creatively bankrupt at a time when they're also broke AF in the star-power department. No bueno.
  5. CWF Hollywood was legitimately my favorite week to week wrestling promotion there for awhile. Strong angles. Consistent, clearly defined characters. Steady rivalries. Decent interviews. It was doing NXT at a time before anything else out there was. Have you seen the 7 Levels of Hate DVD? It features interviews with Colt, Adam, Marquez, and company & goes into detail about how (and why) everything went off the rails with their feud at the end there. It's very unfortunate and your typical shady con-man bullshit. Passing over a hot commodity in Colt (who was super over with his podcast and personalized merch at a time before everyone & their cousin was doing THAT, too) for a quick paycheck from the Almighty Sheik was the dirt worst decision. The NWA brass deserved to go down in flames for that one.
  6. At this point, they might as well put the belt on Lacey though. They've put in the work to present her consistently, which is more than can be said for just about anyone else. Becky is not Stone Cold. She's not presented half as strong as Austin was after Mania 13, much less his Mania 14 main event. She's just not pushed or presented in that light. I would not be surprised in the slightest if they took the belt off her as early as next week. They just have no vision and no conviction to stick with anything or anyone specific anymore. Hey, look. NoDQ.com is still a thing! That's cool. But right. WWE booking is fucking atrocious.
  7. I sound like a broken record every time this comes up, but TOTALLY. That Pearce/Cabana feud was the bee's tits and a prime example of how to run a classic, traditional pro wrestling rivalry in today's world. It had everything. Opposing viewpoints. An unlikely alliance. Betrayal. Piledrivers. Neckbraces. Fireballs. Chains. Gimmick matches. And amazing interviews throughout the entire on-again/off-again grudge that lasted what felt like a couple of years. Just an awesome, fun feud that is truly worth seeking out & following from start to finish.
  8. Didn't I see an article saying they were going to go the Marvel Unlimited route and put up everything? If so, that's massive and may be what I need to start diving into some DC stuff. It's just too big a barrier for a Marvel lifer like myself without that kind of access though. I've considered getting the service just for the streaming TV content, to be honest. I've heard a lot of good things about their shows, and they seem to have some quality stuff planned for the near future.
  9. Yup. Watching these shows, who the fuck are people supposed to perceive as being pushed? Who's an ace? Who has momentum? These are rhetorical questions, because the answer is nobody. You could squint your eyes & tilt your head just right and pretend it's Becky or it's Kofi or something. But really, they already feel like yesterday's news. It sure seems like they're prepping for people to take their belts. And, as you noted, they JUST experienced what should have felt like their career milestones at Mania. But there's practically zero momentum behind their stuff. Even the strongest "pushed" acts feel like they're riding on residual fumes. It's such a nothing-happening presentation overall. They have such a deficit of actual star power, too. They should be thirsty as fuck for ANYBODY to catch fire & feel like a big deal. But even when it falls in their laps, they have to cool things off and maintain their 50/50 nonsense. Nobody is allowed to cut a swath or wreck shop in the way that's needed to feel like something special.
  10. Agreed on all these fronts actually. I'm considering taking three or four days of vacation in July. I may even head out to Dallas to be at Slammiversary. Probably going to hang back & see what tickets are still available once it draws closer, but yeah. Impact has been a blast, and the crowds at these big shows have turned up for 'em. I wouldn't mind giving the live experience a shot since they'll be in my neck of the woods for a change. I also finished the show. I see your point about Johnny finally finding his groove in Impact - basically just transplanting his Lucha Underground act here, complete with the entourage routine. But I don't mind them crowning Cage, to be honest. They've built to the moment well, and I'd rather see him capture the gold than fall into the trap of being an eternal bridesmaid. When finishing up the show, I was thinking the exact same thing about Josh, too. As much as I thought Callis was on point for this one, Josh was just borderline unbearable. And you're totally right. He sounds like every other WWE drone. He's trying to force buzz words and shit. During the Rascalz melee, these guys are throwing their bodies around with reckless abandon left, right, front, and center. Callis is putting over the danger and the risks of it all. Josh's contribution? "How ENTERTAINING are these guys?!" Later, after Elgin shows up and wrecks Cage, there's another gem. Callis is putting over Big Mike's strength and resume. Josh's offering? "Michael Elgin making headlines!" and then, "Is Michael Elgin TRENDING ON TWITTER YET??" Fucking hell. The Cage/Johnny match did deteriorate into an unfortunate mess. I feel bad for them, because Cage clearly jacked up his back with that Spanish Fly on the outside (which was a big time bump for such a massive dude). And, as a weightlifter that has gone through a damaged L3 and L5 rehab myself, I can tell you - it's scary as shit and painful as fuck when you hurt your lower back & start losing feeling in your legs from the hip down. I have no way of knowing if that's what happened with Cage here, but it certainly looked like it. He was moving very gingerly & clearly looked like he was having trouble with keeping his legs underneath him. The match itself was never going to be anything extraordinary, but I do think they laid out a pretty solid modern main event style match. Perfectly passable as the overbooked dog & pony Raven special, basically. There was a ref bump & a truckload of interference. The villainous valet got her comeuppance. The crooked ref got caught. The guest ref made a surprise save. There was a table bump. There were misdirections & several close calls. All good stuff & really fun for an overbooked kind of main event match, in my opinion. Before the possible back injury, it felt a little like a spotty BOLA match at best though. Just a string of bombs and big, high-octane, impactful moves. There's no method to the movement. There's no psychology to analyze. There's no negative space usage or whateverthefuck to appreciate. It's just spots and bumps. But it's pretty fucking fun nonetheless. Morrison is a take it or leave it guy at times with me, but I really do think he's a current day RVD. His shit rarely looks polished or very pretty. Sometimes he finds his mark. Sometimes he completely misses the landing. But his stuff usually looks better (by may of appearing uglier, if that makes any sense). And then there was the main event. Mygoddamngod. That was a balls-to-the-wall performance from all four guys. There were some obvious missteps at times, but fuck that noise. You knew what to expect from these guys going in, and they went ALL OUT with the weaponry. Well worth checking out. And holy shit. Frightening, scary scary SCARY moment with Fenix there towards the end. I was legit worried. So glad to see him standing up after the match though. Sure hope he's alright as we speak.
  11. Man, I'm telling ya - this show is another surefire winner for me. Can't wait to scope out those two main events in the next day or so. Another thing about Swann is that the clean-cut look really suits him. It's weird how a minor change can make that kind of difference, but it really does with him. I also appreciate his attentiveness during this whole deal. Swann is known as a comedy guy for the most part, but he played this grudge totally straight. Dead serious. No dancing. Practically no high-flying either, which is insane when you think about his usual offense. Instead, he came down to the ring & never took his eyes off Callihan. Never played to the crowd. Never bobbed along to his music. None of that. He was all business. If this same match and build had SOMEHOW happened in WWE, they still would've had Rich Swann come out dancing. He still would've had to strike his mandatory video game poses. He still would've had to take his eyes off Sami and make sure the hard cam caught how "serious" he was. So yeah. Several instances of them doing everything - even the little nuances - right with this one.
  12. It's the only babyface gimmick they use anymore. Just like championship reigns & record-breaking firsts are the only angles they promote. I'm not as hung up on the aesthetics & bodies, but yeah. You're absolutely right about the matches & workrate obsession. This line of thinking needs to die a thousand deaths in a dozen dirty dumpster fires. In a hurry. Stories. Anticipation. Suspense. Build up two personalities. Put them in an interesting package. Promote them. Position them against one another. Push & plug the date. And have them fake fight. That should literally be the focus of all their creative energies. This obsession over movez and kickouts and melodramatic theater speaking in matches is just the dirt worst. It doesn't contribute a single bit to anything worthwhile. The people who will tune in for a "dream match" are the exact same people who were already going to be there anyway. They're the exact same people who were watching last week. And they're the exact same people who will watch next week - regardless. A "dream match" means nothing to outside viewers. They aren't going to get hooked or drawn in by a great match. Or an athletic spot. Or a new counter to a submission. It's going to take a story with some suspense. Characters that connect. A quest that reaches folks on a raw level. Jake Roberts has exactly zero five-star matches on his WWF resume, but people will remember him before they remember a single spectacular match. Ted DiBiase is a timeless character. Seth Rollins can bust out a baker's dozen dives every night for the rest of his life and won't even be in the same stratosphere. Warrior-Savage was a classic, but the Liz reunion is better remembered and received than anything in the actual match itself. For. Good. Reason. They're chasing five star matches and shit like it makes the slightest difference. It doesn't. They should be placing so much more emphasis & effort into the other stuff. And I get it. This whole great match strategy is an overcompensation effort from the Attitude Era hangover. We suffered through so many short, shitty matches that they overcorrected the issue and adopted the independent workrate-oriented, All Japan aping strong style. But now the pendulum has swung WAY too far in the other direction. Another course correction feels long overdue. Bring back characters. Bring back meaningful stories WITH RESOLUTIONS. Engaging rivalries. Stakes. Consequences. Fuck me running. It ain't rocket science. Casual viewers aren't going to give the slightest shit about a "dream match" or a five star match between ANYBODY in a situation where the outcome is planned and decided ahead of time. However, casual viewers can be convinced to tune in IF THE STORY IS GOOD ENOUGH. If they're convinced there's a reason to care about these individuals. If the outcome feels significant and substantial to the journey. If the outcome feels like it could actually change the course of the story itself. Otherwise, what's the point of all this? Otherwise, it's literally just dudes in speedos - pretending to fight it out to a fake finish. Like it or not, that's how outsiders see it. And when it's so lazily presented - when it's just guys going through routine motions and killing time with moves - then nobody can really blame them.
  13. Well, I managed to wake up early enough to get in/out the gym and still have a few hours free before work for a change. So I started watching the show and actually made it all the way up to the two main events before I had to pause it & leave. You guys are sleeping on this - it's another fun fucking show, for real. I can't speak on the World Title or Tag Title matches, but everything else has been highly enjoyable so far. I still like Callis on commentary. Like, a lot. The guy really emphasizes the risks & dangers as if these are real fights. He brings this heightened sense of urgency to everything he speaks on - especially the grudge matches. It's great. And he's dialed down the stuff that normally bothers me - namely all the insider terms & backstage bullshit. The opener is everything it needs to be. Fast. Furious. FUN. There was even a spot in there I've *literally* never seen before - with someone going for a dive over the ropes onto a pile of bodies, but another wrestler runs across the apron and catches him in mid-air with a Diamond Cutter. That fucking popped me. I wasn't even familiar with everyone in the opening match, but they all looked sharp. The action was basically just a chain of high spots, but that's all that was needed. The action was on point, and the match didn't overstay its welcome. Short & sweet. I don't know how I feel about Eddie Edwards at this stage. He seems to be drifting. The Tommy Dreamer transformation was unique and fitting at first - it made sense for sheer character progression throughout the Callihan, Dreamer, and Moose feuds. Now it's just kind of goofy and tacked on. Good gawd. Scarlett Bourdeaux, y'all. Her match felt strictly like filler. I'll admit I would've preferred the Smoke Show segment instead, but it is what it is. I actually believe she would benefit from being reserved for big matches and special occasions when it comes to actual in-ring stuff. But we live in an age of overexposure and constant content output, so that's a pipedream unless you're talking the select elite part-timers. Money Moose remains one of my favorite character upgrades in recent wrestling. No truly outlandish outfit here though, unfortunately. And his new heel music is a downgrade, too. I miss the old tune and the way it invited the MOOSE chants, but I understand why they would make the change. I just think it's lesser than. Josh Alexander is beast, and Ethan Page is a deceptively skilled heel in terms of character work. It's great to see them reunited & regularly working as a tag team again. But why are they being called The North? That's a terribly generic team name. Is there a legitimate reason they aren't using the Monster Mafia name instead? Either way, they were on point here. And their offense is still crazy good. I wish someone would coach Moose and convince him to drop the flippity part of his spear. It's weak sauce. I mean, I get it. Dude's big and athletic. They want to flex that. But it's one of those things that actively detracts from the impact of the move. The spear looks worse by adding the little tumble to it. Good gawd. PAWGs over everything, y'all. Taya/Grace was surprisingly solid, for real though. Super snug, heavy-hitting offense and slams. Even a nasty headbutt! I was a little surprised by the outcome and the way they got there, but I ain't mad at it. Good match. It's brief but worth checking out. I really dug the atmosphere around the Callihan/Swann conflict. Their whole program has been awesome, and this match actually felt fitting for a blood feud of that caliber. I'm far from the biggest Sami fan, but shit. It's hard to say I'm not a full blown fan of the guy at this point, because the Penta feud last year was absolutely my favorite rivalry in wrestling for the whole year. And this one isn't too far below that. The match itself was a fucking WAR. It veered into overkill territory with the piledrivers, but man. I bought every single one of those near-falls. Apron piledriver. Piledriver onto a guardrail. Second rope piledriver ONTO THE LEGOS! Fuck me running. I was into this shit. This was the type of performance that would've MADE Rich Swann if it happened on a bigger stage. Even so, I like what they did with him here. He definitely came away feeling like a bigger deal in the Impact sandbox anyhow. Tessa walks, talks, feels, and functions like a true star. She carries herself with such sheer confidence and conviction. She's money. I thought her pre-match promo was excellent. Tully's cameo was fun for pure nostalgia purposes, but I actually thought it brought the whole scene down a little bit. Still very good overall though. Gail/Tessa was fiyah. To be fair, it got off to a rough start with a few timing issues & miscues. But they eventually found their groove & rose above it. Things picked up from there, and it was pretty much tremendous from that point on. Tessa was nasty, vicious, and cruel. That spot where she slung Gail off the walkway like a sack of trash brought me out of my seat. Then the moment where Tessa is desperately fighting with Gail on the ropes and BITES her arm just put it over the top. She kept her character intact through & through in this performance. And Gail, who admittedly seemed a step off at times, busted her ass with some truly nutty bumps. And her selling was the sort of sympathetic babyface shit you should strive for in every big match. Not the smoothest match by any means, but this one turned out wonderful in the end. I don't know how to feel about the post-match stuff just yet. I got the feeling the Tully appearance was shining Tessa up too much BEFORE the match, but it became very clear after the match that this was their design. Total babyface sheen on Tessa with the hug & handshake here. And I just don't know. I prefer her so much in this heel persona. She's fantastic, and it seems like the pitch perfect role for her right now. There's always time for a babyface run later down the road. Then again, they may feel pressured to make the switch with her due to the reactions she gets. I'm just not sure this was the time or the place to do it. With that being said though, it was a heartwarming little send-off (even if it's not the first) for Kim and all her contributions & loyalty to the company. Much deserved. And it was touching to see Tessa get so legitimately choked up there. That may sound hypocritical, since I almost always hate it when WWE does their monthly curtain call scene in the same fashion. But fuck that noise. It's so much easier to enjoy this stuff when it's 1) actually adhering to the storyline continuity, and 2) not so gratuitous and heavy-handed. I caught the video package for the Johnny/Cage match, and that's it. Cage still can't cut a promo. That yelling loudly & quickly at the camera shit is awful and straight out of some 80's Demolition blooper reel. Just horrible. He came off a little better in the sit-down locker room stuff, but that was clearly pre-taped and probably the way they should utilize him ALL THE TIME going forward. He just isn't a live promo guy. I didn't think there was anything wrong with the buildup either. Heel Mundo is far better than babyface Johnny, so I dig that decision to have him stab Cage in the back. And the Bravo stuff is actually a pretty fun twist on the classic Danny Davis gimmick. Anyway, say what you will - but everybody I've seen on this show so far has worked incredibly hard. Nobody is dogging it or just going through the paces. Nothing about the presentation seems minor league. The crowd showed up. The atmosphere is fantastic. I'm digging this show. Just like last year's Slammiversary. And last year's BFG. And Homecoming. All these big cards have delivered. Furthermore, they're all structured very well. The matches build & escalate in terms of importance & stakes. That's something WWE routinely struggles with their their death march slogs every month. I honestly don't know why people are still shitting on Impact or not giving it a fair chance. I'm seriously convinced they're just not watching. Because this is how pro wrestling should be presented in 2019. It's damn good stuff.
  14. Elgin and Cage have been a fairly fun tag team in PWG. They had decent chemistry and some awe-inspiring powerhouse offense. I don't know how that would translate to them as opponents, but I'll give it a fair shot & reserve judgment. On the surface? Yeah. It doesn't strike me as the best match-up. But I'm more curious to see what they try to do with Elgin as a character. The dude's personality is about as bland as they come, so the story is going to need some sizzle & seasoning to seem interesting. Then again, Impact has slowly & steadily built a consistent track record for doing more with less. Their rivalries seem to be best handled with simplicity & straightforward storytelling. Maybe it *is* enough to just have big, pig-faced Elgin storm the gate & challenge the other strongman for the belt. Again, I haven't seen the show. But I'm definitely going to give it a watch within the next week or so. How was the rest of it?
  15. I like some of those early episodes (the very first, the Hogan run-in on Dusty, etc.) but yeah. That's a great recommendation. The Pillman episode in particular was so bad, I nearly stopped listening altogether. But the show pulled a drastic turnaround right after that, and it's been delivering just about every week ever since that point. I'm about a month behind now, but that's strictly by design - to let me get some shows stockpiled for later listening. The podcast is great. And, similar to what you experienced, I've come away with a much different perspective of Bischoff than I originally had going into it.
  16. Appreciate the heads up. I checked for it last week and saw it was just more filler with the Ross Report. This topic seems like an appropriate starting point. I'll give it a listen.
  17. Hated it at the time, but JBL's 2004-2005 has really grown on me in hindsight. Yeah, I'm that guy. I might actually check out this episode soon. I've been letting most of my wrestling podcasts build up for awhile now, instead listening to music & other pods through my commutes & gym sessions. I like to mix shit up to avoid burnout with these things. Have I missed much with the Mania series? All these recent episodes (since Bruce went back to the big dance, basically) look fairly short in length. And while I have no problem with that, I generally stick with shows around the 2hr and 30min mark(+) to get me through most stuff. It's just easier to put something on without having to think about it. Anyway, yeah. It sucks that the quality of the show took such a downturn there right before I stopped listening so regularly. But I'm happy Bruce got back to his dream gig. Good on him. You can tell that was always his desire, and he didn't exactly hide it. But some of those early shows sure were fun. 'Member when he showed zero reservation in telling McMahon stories? 'Member when he read the ad spots in various gimmick voices - from Dusty and Piper and Funk to Warrior and Demolition Smash and Savage? 'Member when he did the entire WrestleMania 6 opening spiel in Vince voice? Good times. Those last few shows were pretty rough and gave me the impression he was pretty dialed out, for the most part. Here's hoping he gets back to having some fun with it though.
  18. Conversely, Russo came in and was told how shitty his shitty ideas were - and, within two months, Vinny Ru is throwing temper tantrums and publicly crying in creative meetings because he can't TAWLK them into giving him things his way. Bro.
  19. Lucha Underground is one of the few wrestling shows I can actually sit down & bunge watch (like a real television show) without experiencing much fatigue or burnout. I have a feeling I'll go back & revisit seasons 1-3 at some point in a couple of years.
  20. I realize myself and @The Thread Killer are starting to sound like Eric apologists here, but I do think Bischoff does a great job of detailing the hurdles & obstacles that were placed in front of him AFTER he found that successful strategy. It's important to understand Eric was not the almighty. He was not a hands-on creative mind or even much of an overseeing booker. He was not Vince McMahon to WCW, although that is often the obvious comparison people mistakenly make. I'm not saying he shouldn't have attempted to become all those things. Certainly that's a flaw in the formula of WCW's structure. It's why there are often times where Eric cannot explain what Sullivan was thinking or why specific things made it to television or pay-per-view. But Eric was pitching deals and advertising campaigns. He was more tuned into that type of thing. Again, Eric has no shortage of faults & flaws. Sometimes he addresses them in full-blown details. Sometimes he sidesteps and deflects. But he does a decent job of taking you through the hoops & hurdles he was confronted with from executives and unnecessary edicts - from the leeches that wanted to attach themselves to a hot property once he struck gold on down to the vultures that were waiting to pick the bones once the decline began.
  21. THIS. It's a huge character flaw that seems to come built-in to everybody they present & promote now. The curtain call shit after every big match is the epitome of melodramatic horseshit. It's something they've attempted to use too often - to the point where it rings hollow & never really triggers the sort of emotion they're aiming for. I liked it much better when the patting on the back, the congratulating, and the thanking each other all happened behind the scenes - NOT upfront and out on television. NOT as part of the actual onscreen presentation. NOT immediately after a blood feud or grudge match. NOT on social media. This phony, obnoxious, self-appreciative way of doing pro wrestling is so groan-inducing and downright cringe-worthy at times. I can't speak for anyone else, and I'm perfectly okay with being an outlier on a lot of these things. But I personally cannot wait for the Gratitude Era to end and become one of those relics they jokingly refer to & act embarrassed about ever presenting.
  22. Bingo. Bullseye. Yahtzee. Whateverthefuck. But you're right. It's a treadmill of time-killing, filler wrestling matches that advance nothing, resolve nothing, and say nothing. It's all an exercise to kill time. It's lazy, effortless stuff. All motion. Zero emotion. There are no characters with clearly defined traits anymore. No personalities with actual motivations. No personal conflicts. The only "stories" revolve around title reigns and numbers of days. That's why their treatment of titles is so fucking scatterbrained. They can't make up their mind what they want to do with the belts. One minute they want more belts; the next they're merging them. But they HAVE to keep them around, because that's all they know how to book anymore. Their whole booking strategy is about title shots and "historic" reigns and firsts & other assorted horseshit that literally means nothing to anyone. Then, when they do decide to get bold and run an "angle", it all occurs off television. It's all going down on social media, so people are often left scratching their asses and trying to figure out WHAT the fuck the announcers are even going on about. Because they TELL the fans about it instead of SHOWING them on television. Because God forbid they cut out 10 minutes from one of their four 25-minute matches each week to run a money angle or something. It's terrible. Someone earlier in this thread mentioned the booking being aimed at casual fans & falling short as a result. I couldn't disagree more. NOTHING about modern WWE is aimed at a casual audience. Nobody outside the wrestling bubble has any interest in this nonsense. I mean, kids are drawn to some of the characters and the silly comedy. I see that with my nephew. But that's about it. Even then, I'd say the long-ass matches are detrimental to sustaining that same audience. Because kids are there for the entrances and the catchphrases. But they zone out during the long, repetitive matches once they're educated that the outcomes don't actually matter. Nothing sticks. Nothing is canonized. Nothing is made to matter beyond the moment it actually happens. That has been their process for years & years, but I do believe it's only a matter of time before they hit a brick wall because it.
  23. I've already given my thoughts on the Eric/Missy stuff, and I haven't heard any of the recent episodes if more has been said on the matter since then. But yeah. Eric's attitude about it isn't a good look. This. 100%. Russo is an incompetent goof. Eric is savvy, charming, and intelligent about a lot of things on the business end. No comparison there. In terms of political moves, Russo's strategy was to befriend the "overlooked" and "underrated" guys, thinking they would have the longevity and would inherit the crown - ultimately being grateful to Russo and bringing him along for the ride. Problem is, he had NO eye for actual talent and couldn't distinguish between money acts and guys who rightfully belonged in lower spots. He thought they were all interchangeable actors and truly believed anyone could be a top act if he wrote them to be there. Bischoff was at least sly enough to align himself with the actual power players - sometimes to a fault and/or his own detriment. But listen to him speak (especially now on the podcast, since it DOES sound like he's grown as a fan in terms of what he values). Eric actually recognizes the nuanced of in-ring work and performances. Bischoff has his flaws and may be a bit of a prick towards women, but putting him on par with Russo is a bridge too far. And Eric would be the first to tell you that he isn't a creative type, while Russo prides himself on being nothing but a creative writer. Even then, Eric's creative contributions in both WCW and TNA blow away anything Russo has cooked up since AT LEAST '98.
  24. I loved both Slammiversary and BFG last year. And Homecoming was solid. So I'll likely give this a watch, although it'll be later in the week at some point.
  25. The whole idea of the Kofi title win strikes me as opportunity meeting the demands of the narrative. The stars aligned just right, basically. I mean, yeah. Kofi has done a tremendous job in the role - exceptional work in terms of commanding the crowd and keeping them with him. But the story needed a happy ending. Kofi got the call. The groundswell itself wasn't earth-shattering or anything, but it was noticeable & significant enough to warrant a big Kofi win. I don't think it's at all surprising if they are, in fact, already plotting out avenues to get away from him though. I feel like that was always part of the design. Purely speculation on my part, but I doubt I'm alone in that thinking. And ANOTHER Roman/Rollins feud? Ugh. No offense, man. But that sounds horrible. It's your worst idea since at least the "money" rematch of yet another Bryan/AJ program. Shane having an agenda to put the belt around his waist could actually feel like a natural progression of his current character arc anyway. The entitled, resentful, former prodigal son is hell-bent on getting the real top trophy. Makes sense. He came back and instantly brought noticeable numbers with the Taker match, like him or not. Every single rivalry he engages in is at least memorable, if nothing else - going all the way back to the original X-Pac stuff. In consecutive years at SummerSlam, he miraculously somehow made both Test and Steve Blackman seem like very over acts for the company. That's remarkable. Kevin Owens couldn't deliver one single decent match when he was paired with AJ Styles for 8 months. Shane pulled out a damn decent match with AJ in one swing. Then he turned around and gave Owens a better match than AJ ever did, too. Hell, the KO program was the best thing Owens has done on the main roster that didn't involve him piggybacking on Jericho's 330th career renaissance project. In between all that, there's the BRUTAL war with Angle, this recent run with Miz, and an assortment of other fun stuff. Say what you will about Shane, but the guy's got more on his resume than he probably gets credit for. If Jinder can get a run for dialing in his macros & switching to keto, then surely a Shane reign isn't some outrageous possibility. I practically just thought of it tonight, and I'm convinced it already sounds like a better strategy than 90% of the stuff they've put on TV since at least 2017.
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