KawadaSmile

The NXT fellas have been killing each other lately. Thatcher's ear EXPLODED (and he shouldn't have lost), Candice broke her arm, Johnny busted his lip, and Fish had an elbow lasceration. All this to diminishing returns. The reason Halloween Havoc was a success is that it kept things fresh and fun. Having 45 minute matches in which everyone has to do a reckless dive is not something fresh or fun.

I guess the idea is that Owens is the common man, so it would make sense to look like someone who came from the crowd. I mean, I'm not 100% against the t-shirt/shorts combo. Raven used JORTS and his look was iconic. That is not to say his old singlet/tee or just singlet look wasn't better, though. Wish he used the former more.

All Owens had to do was bend the knee

One of the Forgotten Sons was forgotten for real, it seems.

That's a first to me. I mean, is he looking that different, at least in terms of pieces of clothing, from Allen Iverson? I get that it's not necessarily a great look in pro wrestling, but given how Dawks has that sports vibe to him, it fits. And it's practical, too.

I didn't even bring it up to mock her. Other wrestlers have spent large amounts of money on less important things than ring gear. It was more to illustrate that we keep on complaining about how they are treated booking-wise, but as it turns out that is by and large a non-issue as they are making money. Lots and lots of money. EDIT: and also not gonna lie - i wish i had that kind of wealth

WWE did business with EVOLVE, that's for sure.

of course

As long as they can get their hands on Sting's best theme ever, everything would be a net positive. He does this, he does that. Locks the Scorpion Deathlock and the match is a wrap.

Hey, Sting making his AEW debut and an INVASION angle is pretty cool! Don't think many people saw the latter coming. Will this draw viewers to either side? Will Sting wrestle, or have a different role? Will we get Killer Kelly vs Shida?

Him winning a tournament in Rio de Janeiro will always be my favorite kayfabe stat. May he rest in peace.

I agree with this. Wrestling fandom sometimes fuses the most abusive, toxic behavior of sports-minded fans and entertainment-minded fans. That's never a healthy mix and the number of wrestlers in this industry who have got stuff like death threats is baffling. And to bubba @NintendoLogic point, that is also true. It's been a current criticism of the product, even - their over-reliance on gimmick matches such as TLC, MitB, HiaC and others only leads to diminishing returns. If people are trying to one up each other constantly, not only they put themselves at risk, but the matches' sole goal is to put on increasingly impressive and dangerous stunts, with little regard to the actual match. Like, it is interesting how Triple H's concept of a "high stakes" match is often a gimmick one. His in-ring career relied on gimmicks more than anyone else's.

I don't think them having to pay for their gear is a huge issue, tbh. Like, some wrestlers like Bianca Belair MAKE their own gear, and some others have contacts in that industry, so it's not that much of an issue. And like, the choice to pay 100k - A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS - on ring gear is solely on Lana's shoulders. No fucking way WWE would spend a fraction of that with any wrestler. also, doesn't zack ryder have a figurine collection that's...... really fucking expensive as well? didn't karl anderson buy a big mansion for his family? i won't argue that the loophole is abusive as shit, but at the same time many of them are making absurd amounts of money. the ones who are truly fucked are the PC-level talent, tho. they make way less money AND have those abusive contracts.

folks I gotta tell ya: I really can't say i feel sorry for some of those folks. they make more money per month than i make in like 10 years. does it suck having vince as a boss and having to deal with legal bullshit preventing you from making more money on other platforms? of fucking course! even so, they are still making absurd amounts of money to live comfortable, decent lives. lana is making MILLIONS with her contract, and i'm pretty sure miro could stay at home and scratch his buttcrack for like two years and still would be financially okay they are not wasting away their salaries on coke and pills to the point their hearts are the size of a truck engine fuck thissssss

Like, I like me some Drew McIntyre, I like Orton, I LOVE The Hurt Business, and Sheamus is one of the top wrestlers of the past 15 years or so to me. But if their only storyline is Alexa Bliss dressing up as Avril Lavigne at her worst while staging wacky antics with goddamn Bray Wyatt to upset Orton, then they lose me. You know how lenient I am, but there is a reason people are tuning in to watch SmackDown and not RAW, and I have to agree.

Shit I really can't think of a reason to watch RAW. It's not that they have a bad roster, but holy shit there is NOTHING going on there. You think I'll watch a feud between Bray Wyatt and auto-pilot Orton? Yeah, right.

SHE GOTTA REACH FOR THE BRASS RING! Triple H made a bunch of fools believe that he would be the salvation for dire, bland booking, when in fact he might have less decent ideas than current day Vince McMahon. Might be more of a narcissist, even.

Speaking of Braun, he's had another knee injury, which explained the segments in which he got suspended. He better make as much money as he can, because a dude of his frame can't take that any longer. Gonna look worse than Andre.

Like a phoenix, that man.

Hey he said nothing wrong this episode. Basically said Dom's qualities start and end with his last name, and the family was just too quick to accept Murphy. He's not really intended to be a heel (so far at least)

Yep. It kinda sucked ass, because there was no reason for the Mysterio family to fuck with him that much. I guess the intent was to set up a rematch with Corbin's reinforcements at ringside, but it felt totally backwards. On the other hand, that family turning heel wouldn't be the worst of ideas based on a creative standpoint. Hell, even having Mysterio as a face but having to cover up for his chickenshit heel children would be something different.

Oh, but don't get me wrong - I'm not saying their offense is fake looking as something inherently negative. I like cartoonish punches, I like irrealistic, larger than life movements much like I enjoy some realistic strikes. Austin's stomping a mudhole isn't my go-to example of realism in pro wrestling, nor is Cena's shoulder block followed by the Proto Bomb. I love them just the same. And, truth be told: Cena's worst piece of offense was the springboard Stunner, which came in late into his career.

But can we safely say that Cena drove away more people than he attracted? Like, I think you can make some arguments that the overall booking around most of the late 2000s and early 2010s were a decisive factor to long term losses in audience, and that would be fair, but I don't think that falls solely on Cena's shoulders, and even less so that his offense, of all things, would be a critical issue for people. But hey, what makes Cena uncooler than Hogan? The cocaine? Like, 1993 Hogan was lame as fuck, even Cena's kiddy humor was more bearable. It's a tough comparison.

That's kinda crazy to me. Cena was the last of the major draws US pro-wrestling had. Ratings started to plummet around the same time he began to appear less, and the notion that people were driven away by his offense is kinda weird. Look at the biggest players WWE has had: Hogan, Austin, Rock. Can we really say that their offense is any less fake-looking than Cena's? In contrast, Jeff Jarrett probably had one of the sweetest punches of the last 20 years and people didn't really tune in to watch him, be it in WCW or TNA.

It's a mixed bag. They should feature their draws more often, even if not every single segment is a home run. Having someone as beloved and as over as Sasha for about 5 minutes seems unproductive, in that regard. Like, I get bubba's argument that sometimes making the best use of your time is the way to go, but despite Billie being HILARIOUS she isn't really the focus of SD. If SmackDown is THE hottest wrestling show at the moment, it's largely due to Banks' feud with Bayley and THE BIG DOG. Not featuring those two seems like a strategic mistake - unless, of course, there were some scheduling conflicts.