Sweet Brown Koko

I could see Shane and The Bucks linking up. I could see Jericho and Shane exchanging pleasantries. I could REALLY see Christian trying to be a “father” to Shane, given all of the drama with Vince. Those promos would be MONEY!

Interesting survey: https://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2024/04/29/what-do-aew-fans-think-about-the-product-aew-fan-survey-results/

…..if they can keep the main thing the MAIN THING! They have great performers. They need to tell great stories to go along with the work of the performers.

Moxley wins the IWGP title. https://www.pwtorch.com/site/2024/04/12/iwgp-world-hvt-champion-tetsuya-naito-vs-jon-moxley-result-from-njpw-windy-city-riot-ppv/

Well said!

I could see Austin not showing up to save his appearance for a time where more of the focus would be on him and Rock. At Wrestlemania, he would have most definitely gotten a huge pop, but this was WWE Endgame with multiple cameos. He probably wants to build anticipation for his return. Just my opinion.

I haven’t had a chance to watch yet but what title did The Rock have? Was it given a name?

I’m from the Carolinas and The Andersons are STILL over! I certainly didn’t like or agree with a lot of things Ole did or said but I appreciated his work. I also got to see him live as well. I have an autographed copy of Ole’s book and I love it. You will either love it or hate it but I appreciated the fact that he put his thoughts on paper. He was definitely ornery while also holding firm on things he believed. He was also a believable promo to me and I appreciated his ring style and selling. I always thought HHH should have leaned into his inner Ole instead of trying to mimic Flair….. RIP Ole

When it rains, it pours…… From the New York Times: William Albert “Billy Jack” Haynes Jr., who in the 1980s competed in the World Wrestling Federation, was arrested in the killing of his wife at a home in Portland, Ore., on Thursday after a standoff with police. The authorities publicly identified Mr. Haynes, 70, on Saturday, days after the police said he shot and killed his wife, Janette Becraft, 85, in the Lents neighborhood of southeast Portland.

The main thing that I didn’t like was how Roman became an afterthought to The Rock. He’s the champion but is acting like a henchman for The Rock. They made this as compelling as they could, but this is still a self inflicted wound. I think they could have gotten here without having to shoehorn The Rock into THIS Wrestlemania!

https://youtu.be/BIZHsGjNfNg?si=hswCexUUkr3cWTkB Here’s the segment.

https://wrestletalk.com/news/live-updates-wwe-wrestlemania-40-kickoff-media-event-the-rock-cody-rhodes-roman-reigns/#google_vignette 7:43pm ET: Rollins comes out and does his usual schtick. He jokes about getting a “big pop” as a little dig at Roman Reigns. Rollins says it’s time to cut to the chase and calls out Cody Rhodes… but instead, he’s greeted by the entrance of one Roman Reigns, who, with Paul Heyman, joins Seth on stage. 7:48pm ET: Roman orders the crowd to acknowledge him. Rollins jokes that Reigns showed up to work for once – to which Reigns replies by pointing out that Rollins showed up to work in his wife’s shoes. Roman then calls Cody Rhodes “Mr Hesitation”, he hesitated to make his decision and it’s now no longer his decision – it’s Roman’s decision now. Roman says he’s going to get to choose who challenges him in the main event of WrestleMania. Roman says: “I choose… The Rock.” And guess who’s coming out next… The Rock is here! 7:51pm ET: The crowd seems somewhat split, but definitely more boos for The Rock than cheers. He says: “Finally, The Rock has come back to Las Vegas”. He asks the fans if they think Roman Reigns is going to beat The Rock at WrestleMania, and then asks if they think The Rock is gonna beat Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. The majority response is “We Want Cody” chants, although there are some chanting back, “No we don’t”. 7:54pm ET: After a long pause, he asks the fans if they think The Rock vs Roman Reigns will be the biggest main event in the history of WWE. He says he “loves the passion”. As he’s welcoming and thanking the press and the fans, he’s once again interrupted by “We Want Cody” chants. 7:57pm ET: Rock proceeds to call those chanting for Cody the “Cody crybabies”. He then shows on the screen the entire family tree of The Bloodline. He says if people can’t see the fact that there is only one dominant and powerful royal family in pro-wrestling – if you can’t see that, and if you think that Rock and Roman isn’t the biggest main event in WrestleMania history, then “it doesn’t matter what you think”. 7:59pm ET: He continues saying it’ll be the Universal Champion vs The People’s Champion in the biggest main event in the history of professional wrestling “bound by blood”. He hugs Roman, but then we hear a voice, and you’ll never guess who it is. Cody’s here! He says “this right here is bulls**t”. 8pm ET: Cody points out it’s his choice who main events WrestleMania because he won the Royal Rumble, not Roman or The Rock – he says at Mania 40 in the main event HE CHOOSES ROMAN REIGNS! 8:03pm ET: Roman says Cody is embarrassing his own entire family, nobody cares about his story, and he’s irrelevant just like his dad. Cody asks “how’s Jey?” – Rhodes says the Bloodline isn’t a family, they’re just lackies and goons for Roman. Cody says if Roman and Rock’s grandfathers were here, they’d be ashamed. Triple H, Adam Pearce and Nick Aldis are now on stage as things get a bit heated – specifically with The Rock confronting Cody. 8:05pm ET: The Rock tells Cody “when you’re talking about Roman’s family, you’re talking about my family – so now we have a problem”. Rock the SLAPS Cody, and Seth Rollins actually joins Cody in confronting Roman and Rock. The aforementioned authority figures pull everyone back – Cody and Seth leave while Roman and Rock stay on stage. We’re now back to the panel with Michael Cole, Big E, CM Punk and Pat McAfee. 8:10pm ET: Punk says he wants to see Cody punch Rock in the face, and reiterates that it’s Cody’s shot to call. Big E admits that he doesn’t know where this is going. Cole reminds us that Cody did say he picked Roman to challenge at WrestleMania, so as far as he’s concerned, that’s the match. So the status of Seth Rollins and The Rock is currently unknown. Cole admits it’s “so up in the air”. 8:12pm ET: In a backstage interview, Triple H attempts to explain what just happened, but can’t, and is then cut off by The Rock who tells him to “fix it”, and dares Triple H to let Cody/Seth insult the Bloodline family again. Roman is with The Rock but doesn’t say anything before they walk off together. 8:15pm ET: And that’s how we end things! So in summary, Roman Reigns tried to choose The Rock, but Cody Rhodes pointed out it’s his decision, not Roman’s, and chooses to challenge Roman. So as far as we know, the match is set to be Cody vs Roman. However, The Rock is mad that Cody and Seth supposedly insulted the Bloodline family, and he’s ordered Triple H to “fix” the situation. A potential tease of a tag team match.

https://twitter.com/TheRock/status/1755684348349775999

THIS!! The Rock has to own this. Cody shouldn’t have to do any explaining. It should be ALL ROCK!

The Rock’s daughter getting death threats over this: https://news.google.com/articles/CBMiT2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRtei5jb20vMjAyNC8wMi8wNS90aGUtcm9jay1kYXVnaHRlci1kZWF0aC10aHJlYXRzLXd3ZS1jb250cm92ZXJzeS_SAU9odHRwczovL2FtcC50bXouY29tLzIwMjQvMDIvMDUvdGhlLXJvY2stZGF1Z2h0ZXItZGVhdGgtdGhyZWF0cy13d2UtY29udHJvdmVyc3kv?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen Just wrong…..

Fair point. So having him on your team will bring eyeballs to your product, for sure. I don’t have much faith in his ring work now due to his age and likelihood of injury. I could see him in a ceremonial figurehead role like Vince should have been but I guess Endeavor wanted a more expansive relationship. I am happy for him and his family. I was just weighing why he wasn’t brought in under a talent contract vs. giving him a board seat.

I’m still not *quite* there with what you’re saying, but I do appreciate the feedback. In the 80’s, Arnold and Sly were equivalents to The Rock box office wise. You could get a solid action movie from them but certainly nothing Oscar worthy. With training, I believe both Arnold and Sly could have wrestled a match, ala Mr. T. Should THEY have been possible WWF board members in the 80’s based on their popularity and ability to sell various types of merchandise? I would consider them more “special attractions”. I consider The Rock a “special attraction” as well. I am just not getting where his Q Rating translates to a board seat. Maybe he has connections that could lead to different sponsorships? Are his merchandise sales *THAT* impressive to warrant a seat? I also understand his family lineage in relation to the company he is now a part of. That would make sense to me. I guess it’s a combination of all of this in some way? This still disconnects to me, in some respects……

This is like Sting trying to get his hands on Hollywood Hogan at Starcade and at the last minute he steps aside for Ricky Steamboat……

Question: Why is The Rock NEEDED on the board? What is he bringing to the table? I know that Dwayne has a good brand (Outside of this weekend) but is that worth screwing up Mania? If he really wants to wrestle, I think next year would have been better, although not guaranteed. Cody wins at Mania, Rock gets involved to help Cody, big rematch at SummerSlam, and then from there build Rock and Roman to head to Mania 41. Rock getting the Mania main event the way he did and then the event being held in PHILADELPHIA is just asking for it. At this point, the reaction to all of the drama far outweighs the actual slated main event. And then if The Rock wants to WIN……… Oh boy!

If I am Cody, I don’t go back on TV until The Rock goes out in front of the fans and explains why all this happened the way it did. HE should have to take the heat, not Cody. Cody shouldn’t have to try to explain this nonsense. They are going to Lex Luger Cody…….

Had Vince not sold the company, I wonder if people would have filed these lawsuits? It seems like although Vince got the cash, he inadvertently put himself in a position to finally be held accountable for his past behavior.

LOL

I thought the promo was definitely his “greatest hits” but I give WWE a pass on this. They probably figured people were going to tune in anyway so no need to do anything special. Punk showing up was special enough in the moment. The NEXT Punk showing needs to have some meat on the bones. If you really want to milk it then have Seth go in on Punk next week and ask the questions that we, as fans, want answered. Punk isn’t there but towards the end of RAW we get word that he will show up next week to address what Seth said. Hell, Seth can be so riled up that after his initial promo on Punk he can threaten him and the WWE brass can ban him from being in the ring with Punk for 30 days (For Punk’s wellbeing, of course, and to protect their investment). They can pretty much talk about each other without being in the ring with one another so that when they DO get in the ring face to face it’s a big deal.