SomethingSavage

Don't assume. Cornette was actually talking about top guys with Lance Storm, so no. It wasn't his usual ranting & raving about dicks and superkicks. And Seth should be a frequent target for Bret. And you. And me. Seth is the shits. I do need to see this documentary though. Bret can be really dry & bland in certain interview settings, but I like that he thinks & operates with a different belief system to some degree - even if it is sometimes hypocritical. Edit: I'm about to elbow drop my phone if it keeps correcting "Cornette" to "Corvette."

I'm kind of in agreement with Cornette, who said Bret may take himself too seriously at times, but the business today would likely be better off if it had more people like Bret taking it too seriously.

The James Storm sidebar was the best thing about the Invasion episode, and I'm not even kidding. With the crazy number of downloads their two TNA episodes got, I'm surprised they haven't revisited some of those subjects with individual episodes. I mean, I guess you could count that AJ one on the Network. But it could be fun to hear Bruce go in depth about certain events, angles, or workers from his time there. It was also cool to hear Bruce say 100% positive things about Chuck Palumbo. Other than that, it was mostly what you'd expect. All the usual shtick was used - "You're trying to apply logic to an illogical situation!" "When you've booked a profitable promotion, then you can talk." And on & on & on. I get that it's the theme of the show at this point, but they really need to retire some of these or at least put them in rotation. Piling them on this way just makes portions of the show grating & off-putting for even dedicated listeners. Conrad *did* get a few good jabs in on Bruce though. It was particularly funny when he called Bruce out for claiming WWF fans didn't want to see WCW guys and vice versa - and then later claiming the fan bases were actually almost entirely one in the same. There was a thought-provoking discussion hidden somewhere in that DDP debate, but it never quite got explored as much as I would've liked. Bruce says it's the talent's job to get the creative direction over, regardless of how rotten it is. And Conrad's stance is that creative should stick with what the talent knows & what they CAN do, rather than shoehorning them into these goofy, awful angles and characters that don't fit.

It was a lame duck show. Everything felt irrelevant, even more so than usual. And that's saying something. On a the smaller, month-to-month level, that was the issue for this event. On the larger, year-to-year scale, it's been them educating their audience that wins & losses don't matter. You can't spend years cultivating an environment where your outcomes don't matter & nothing is consistently canonized - then act all bewildered or upset when your audience reacts accordingly.

Is there any reasonable logic for why Becky was so diminished after the Alexa feud? She's practically been a non-factor since that program wrapped. It's great seeing her get some spotlight again. I'd love to see Becky placed in position to do something significant in the women's division again. Maybe she's the one to eventually dethrone Mella. Imagine the back half of 2018 with Becky getting a chance to work women's HIAC or 30-minute Iron Man matches similar to what Charlotte has had in the past. I'd be all in for that. I know everyone's fantasy booking Charlotte and Asuka to oppose Ronda, but Becky shouldn't be too far down that list either. Armbar versus armbar works well enough as a premise. And, to be honest, neither of those women look particularly stronger than Becky these days anyway.

It would've helped if Rusev had been presented as having a chance in hell going in. I don't think anyone bought into the idea of him leaving as champ. And I'm not even saying he should have. He definitely hasn't been primed for that spot, and Styles is the man. But when you've got a predictable finish - especially one that leaves a fan favorite darling beaten at the end - then a "good match" isn't really enough to remove the bad taste. You mentioned the terrible finishes, and I don't think that should be glossed over at all. At least three different matches ended with the exact same "heel distraction" scenario. It resulted in at least three - possibly four if you count Ronda - babyfaces looking like goofs in a fuck finish situation. Nia, Asuka, and Seth all came away looking worse. You damage the credibility of your babyfaces when you consistently present them as these naive fools. And I understand that you kind of have to do it every once in awhile, for the sake of telling stories and creating a demand for rematches. But there's a big difference in utilizing them as a necessary evil and booking three of them on a single card. I'm not entirely sure what fans wanted, but I can absolutely buy that they weren't pleased by THIS event. I figure most fans want a card of 8 separate 5-star matches. Because anytime you get variety, I see it criticized. If Nak and Jeff Hardy is strictly an angle, instead of it getting praised for getting the heel heat & moving a story along, most fans will whine about being robbed of a "real" match. If an opener is treated like an opener, it may get some sprinklings of praise - followed by the caveat that it "didn't get enough time" (something Dave himself uses often). They fail to appreciate variety on a card, and it's like there's this demand for every match on every card to try to reach 5 stars. That to me is just as bad as a show like this with its horrible finishes and lack of interest. So yeah. My line of thinking isn't really in line with most fans that follow WWE these days, so I can only say what *I* found wrong with the show.

It's one of the smartest things you can do in your job - any job - to know your worth and stick to it. Know your worth, as long as you show your work. A long enough period of NOBODY doing that creates a work environment where everyone is interchangeable and meaningless. It ultimately lowers the bar for everyone.

I know I saw somewhere that Eli Drake had just signed a new, extensive deal with them. Gotta figure they have some sort of plan for the guy. Kong is so much fun as both character and worker. He could be their new resident monster to essentially replace Abyss. I don't mean in terms of garbage gimmick matches, but more in terms of "proving ground" style feuds. Abyss used to be the guy you had to go through to prove your grit & your merit. I just think Kong could also serve them well in that gatekeeper role.

I don't know. I'm kind of indifferent to Pentagon at this point. I'm probably alone in that thinking, and that's cool. But it's just one of those things where it feels like they waited at least a year too long to pull the trigger on his big win. They *are* doing a good job in establishing him as top dog now though. It just feels like it should have come a lot sooner, when he was hotter with more momentum as a character.

I'm more excited for this show than anything main roster WWE has done all year, excluding pretty much every Rousey match. I know this place isn't exactly booming with Impact discussion, but anyone have any predictions? Is this where they finally pull the trigger on Moose? It almost feels too late in the game to be honest, but maybe not. Aries has served well as champ, but I don't know if this is the end of the road for him yet. The Knockouts continue to shine. Allie is a brilliant baby face and everything Bayley should have been on the main roster. Tessa has stormed onto the scene in quick order though. Su Yung's gimmick is an all-time favorite of mine, and even Madison has looked surprisingly strong since returning. I hope Callihan versus Pentagon is sufficiently violent. But this one's got stakes, and I love me a good wager challenge with something actually on the line. I thought the Eddie character shift got off to a shaky start, but I'm enjoying the progression lately. This match could be "bail before breakfast" ugly, or it could be a fun little brawl. But the real story is how they handle Eddie in the aftermath anyway. I don't know what Cage versus Sydal will look like, but I hope it's basically Cage versus Jack Evans in PWG 2.0. Just let the machine murderize him in front of the masses. Above everything else though, I'm all in for that LAX street fight.

Just to go back to the Mero/Sable talk for a moment, I recently revisited the (excellent) Kevin Kelly PTBN interviews covering this time period. Kevin isn't as afraid to talk numbers as Bruce, and so the subject of Mero's contract comes up. Kevin says the talk backstage was that Mero was signed to a contract that had him earning more annually than both Taker and Bret - upfront. Of course Taker and Bret ended up earning more with all things considered each year, but Mero was originally signed to such a huge deal that it guaranteed him more than them before merchandise and extras came into consideration. Whether that's true or not - if you can just imagine that was the talk at the time, then it's easy to understand why fellow newcomers like Foley and Austin would be upset & envious. Kevin also suggests this was why Vince was so adamant about pushing Sable out front & center as a big money earner for them later. It's basically suggested that Vince looked at Mero as a bad investment, but he was able to balance things out in his mind by earning so much off Sable in the long run. Of course they would've pushed Sable anyway once she got over the way she did, but yeah. It does make sense for a successful business to justify things that way when you think about it. I was getting some shit done around the house, and I wanted some background noise. I went with my mp3 of the "AJ Styles in TNA" episode of Something Else To Wrestle, because it was a shorter show. Anyway, near the end, Conrad brings up AJ's contract. He refers to a Meltzer quote that claims AJ was the highest paid TNA wrestler without any WWE background. Bruce corrects him and claims there were at least 2 guys in the company that had bigger contracts. He doesn't give names - but does say that both now work for WWE. It's gotta be Bobby Roode and Samoa Joe, right? I tried thinking about who was on their roster at the time, and I couldn't come up with anyone else. I know Roode renegotiated after the Beer Money split (probably right in time for the heel World Champ run), but I've never heard or seen any talk about Joe's deals. It's not anything I've ever thought about, but I'd be curious to know now that it's been put out there.

Absolutely not. It also doesn't help that so many of them are too job scared to stand up for themselves or shoot something down. Hogan knew how & when to say no. Austin shot shit down left & right, even refusing to work with guys who he considered personal friends and road buddies - all because he thought about his image and his money first and foremost. Even Cena, the closest thing to those guys in terms of stroke and star power, has fallen victim to this yes man, job scared culture they have now. Folks spin it by saying that Cena is so giving and so willing to do what's best for business - and that's true. But it's also true that there are times when a top guy should take care of his top guy status & behave like a top guy, and that means knowing how to pick your battles and say no to some of their shitty suggestions.

They also continue to book their babyfaces like total goofs. The same distraction fuck finish was used on Nia, Asuka, and then Seth in the main event. Their babyfaces are made to look so bad so often.

It's practically a staple in Nia *and* Braun matches. The ring post is their kryptonite.

I'm convinced Seth really just doesn't understand pro wrestling psychology. He spent a year as THE main event heel, working like a pure babyface. Then he returns, the crowd reacts to him as a babyface, but they keep his character heel - and he works like a pure babyface again anyway. But wait. Then they actually do make him a character babyface, but he continues to cut promos like the world's whiniest, rattiest, most entitled heel character anyhow. Because reasons. At Extreme Rules, he's supposed be garnering sympathy and fighting back from this great deficit. And it's an uphill battle from the start, because he couldn't buy those fans' support if he personally handed them bricks of cold hard cash one by one. So what's he do? He goes the tried & true cocky heel route and does jumping jacks to taunt Dolph. And, in that moment, the fans just let out this loud audible groan. It doesn't seem like a big deal, but it's the kind of thing that elicits a response of, "Well. He had it coming." whenever the heel starts to beat him down. It's the opposite of what you want when you're trying to set up a long baby face comeback. I know some folks will cite cocky babyfaces using arrogant taunts & stuff, and sure. That happens. But only specific characters can pull that off & get away with it. Seth Rollins is not one of those guys. And of course his weak suicide dive comeback died a silent death. But hey. They went on to pop for a couple of his signature spots before it was done. So I'm sure someone will claim he's super over or whatever. I actually thought Dolph put on a fine performance. Everything after the Drew DQ was solid stuff on his part. He could definitely give Seth some tips on how to work heel. The way he desperately kept going back to the Sleeper was a nice touch, and I noticed he's dialed down some of the exaggerated bumping. Maybe he's finally matured enough to understand every bump & feed sequence doesn't need to turn into a clown show. But yeah. Dolph was definitely the better half of this match.

Is the "missed charge in the corner / shoulder to post" spot the only WWE transition anyone - agents & workers alike - use anymore? Sure seems like it. I counted four matches at Extreme Rules that had it, and I'm pretty sure that's because I only saw 4 of those matches in full.

All caught up. Episode 4 did nothing for me, but episode 5 was a surefire winner. Up until this point, the season felt a little flat. Everything seemed so disjointed. Everything looked like leftovers. The stories, conflicts, and feuds all seemed to be running on residual fumes from last season. But this episode started to steer shit back on track in my eyes. Ivelisse is great. Even with all the injuries and missed time, she's had one of my favorite character arcs in the grand scheme of things. I've seen people rip her work apart, but she's a lot of fucking fun to watch when she's on offense - throwing strikes and constantly pressing for the win. The triple threat was a blast, too. The stipulation was a neat touch. Obviously they could have made it a more integral part of the match - with guys wrestling more cautiously to NOT lose rather than to win - but that just ain't Lucha Underground. And hey. I'm okay with that. I dug the finish anyhow. I actively disliked Killshot when he first showed up, but plenty of his performances last season were solid. And that match with Fox was fucking 'nanners. It was just a tremendous, insane gimmick match filled to the brim with violence. So Killshot's teased turn - combined with Havoc's history in dysfunctional trios teams - could hopefully set up something good for this season. Gawt damn, though. Catrina, y'all... And that main event was ACES. Big turbo-charged bombs being thrown straight out the blocks. Surprising spots of agility. Flying monstrous dives. It was the final act of that Rampage flick brought to life. It was the best possible version of any Lesnar match you'll never see. It was everything Roman/Lashley should have been. Just so much fun. I was iffy on the finish, but the actual moment of the Pentagon reveal in the crowd came across well on screen. Some of the jumpy cuts looked a little wonky, but I loved the rest of the show so much that I wasn't about to be too bothered by the editing or anything. The White Rabbit Tribe is ultra trippy and visually very cool. I loved the look and vibe of that whole scene. But that was a weak way to write off Mascarita. Maybe that's just my knee-jerk reaction and it'll feel like a justified, story-driven decision. But I don't know. At first glance, it feels like a waste of a truly fun light-hearted character.

Absolutely. I know a group of people that made the trip to NOLA for Mania back in 2014. None of them were fans. None of them even knew Daniel Bryan. They knew the 3 icons in the opening segment. They knew Taker. And that's pretty much it. But they were there for the weekend in NOLA and the experience of being at a WrestleMania. And that's cool. Because they dug it so much that they went back this year. And I honestly would be shocked if any of them have seen another wrestling show in between. So yeah. There's a buzz around live wrestling right now. And that's awesome, but it's so vastly different from the last boom of the Attitude Era - a time & place where people were paying attention to the stories, investing in the characters and their conflicts, and reacting to everything happening on the stage in front of them. These crowds now are basically just human beings at their most basic level - gathering together in large groups so they can shout shit loudly or whatever.

Yup. The fans didn't have any reason to give a single fuck about that match. It was set up as 30 minutes of time-killing wrestling, and they could spot that shit from a mile away. If Seth Rollins were super over like people claim, he could have had that crowd on his side. But they have zero reason to care whether he wins or loses, because one is no different than the other. And they have zero reason to care about Seth, because nobody in that crowd could tell you what the fuck he's supposed to stand for or be. He gets a reaction. His high spots get pops. That's not the same thing as having investment from your audience. Very few on their roster do. And that's not me just picking on Seth either. The same applies to Dolph and to countless others. There doesn't seem to be any priority in placing guys in position to truly get over anymore. Take Bobby Lashley for example. Different time & place, Vince would've lost his fucking mind at the idea of signing this guy and then just doing nothing with him for months on end. And there are plenty of others that fall into that category. It's just bizarre how far they've gotten away from so many of the strategies and resources that made them so richly successful in the first place.

I don't think it's an effort problem. The in-ring action has been better at times, but it's not like it's anywhere near below average right now or anything. The wrestling is fine. But yes. There's a certain staleness to everything at the moment. Their demand for content means they need matches for the sake of matches. To clarify, they used to utilize stories, angles, and happenings to set up wrestling matches. Now they use wrestling matches to set up... more matches. It also doesn't help that nobody feels genuinely over. Good matches are great when you can get them, but what's the point when the participants themselves aren't over first & foremost? Good matches are over. Athletic high spots are over. Movez are over. But very, VERY few guys on their roster are truly over. Cheers and pops feel so artificial and fickle, because favorites are often based on these things instead of any actual character, story, or even conflict. No stakes. No ramifications. No follow through. No sense of character development or progression. No tangible reason to come back for more. No real reward for the viewer, other than - you guessed it - good matches. Should it really come as a shock to anybody when fans aren't dialed in or invested in the outcome of a single wrestling match at that point? Nothing is made to matter in the world they've built. The people know a win for Roman Reigns doesn't make anymore difference than a loss. The people know they couldn't tell you a single thing about who or what the fuck a Seth Rollins is supposed to be or stand for. So why should they care if they succeed or fail? Why should they feel invested in that journey? The people know none of it ultimately matters. It's all just matches for the sake of matches. And they react accordingly.

I meant to include this in my original post, but one of the more overlooked (and fascinating to me) things mentioned was Vince's patriotism. It's obviously a recurring theme and a staple in his booking over the years. It's glossed over quickly in the podcast, but Bruce briefly mentions it was around the time of the Hassan character that people were explaining to Vince how the hyper, amped up American patriotism doesn't play so well in foreign markets. And that's easy enough to understand, but I wish we would have heard more detail about that. Was it a tough pill for Vince to swallow? He has clearly kept going back to the patriotic angle here & there since, although it *maybe* has been dialed down a bit? I don't know for sure, but several people have talked how Vince sort of sees himself as that Hulk-A-Mania / Lex Express type brought to life. I actually think something like that would make for far more interesting & satisfying subject matter - with Bruce giving a bit of an inside track on Vince's reaction to certain shifts & directional changes in the company over the years.

Omigoddamngod, no. Just no.

I don't really go out of my way to keep up with news & rumors, but I know I heard they were trying to convince Dolph to sign a new deal. And that's why he got the move to Raw, the IC belt, and now likely this spot. Any truth to that? Has he still not re-signed?

I fully support this. I don't know why they held back on pushing him right out of the gate after Mania, but they do weird shit to test guys or whateverthefuck all the time. Here's just hoping he gets back to being the guy we got in TNA. *That* version of Lashley against Brock, Braun, AJ, etc. could be tremendous. And I dug the finishing stretch of their Last Man Standing, but the AJ/Nak series overall was rrrrough. I felt like even the AJ/Jinder stuff was better & more enjoyable, to be honest.

Give me Ziggler's 2014 main event run over Rollins' god awful 2015 or even his Fall 2016, plz&thnx. People calling for Seth to main event regularly again and actually beat Brock are just way too far in the wrestling bubble. Whatever it is we've done wrong in 2018, we don't quite deserve THAT. I assure you.