Burgundy LaRue

Don't most NXT folk pick their own names? Maybe Taya wants to keep it separate from NXT to keep it cleaner if things don't work out. My guess is Morrison and Taya are looking at Miz and Maryse as templates to become part of the reality show/influencer circuit. If they think being part of the WWE/NXT circle helps them in that goal, they'll at least give it a look, including name changes.

The dud of a finale at Revolution seems to have hurt, but I'd also wager the Omega vs Impact story isn't going over like they had hoped. The Christian reveal certainly didn't help.

Roman-Edge being bad feels like a reach. If Edge can go 50+ minutes with Orton and look fine, I'm sure he'd be OK working with Roman for half that long. I think it's a combination of Vince wanting to shake up the status quo, along with Christian's departure changing their plans. They clearly were going to do some sort of tag match at Fastlane, along with Roman likely beating Christian to a pulp at some point to get heat. If they decide to take the belt off him, what does Roman do in the meantime? Him retaining seems the way to go. Roman can have short feuds with Cesaro and Nakamura leading into his SummerSlam program. Whenever he does lose the title, it needs to be in an one-on-one match.

Lee was hot coming off that final sequence with Roman at Survivor Series 2019. He should have been pushed to the NXT title from that. Lee won the North American title not long after, but you could feel his momentum wane. They make him double champ at Great American Bash, but had him vacate the NA title in two weeks, then essentially get squashed by Karrion Kross the next month for the other title. Just bad choices all around. There was a way to get Lee to RAW without taking that route. That is on Hunter. As for not understanding the main roster style--once Lee nearly broke his neck on that over the top rope leap he did during a match with McIntyre, him being retooled was a foregone conclusion.

And it's not even about what they can do inside the ring, because nearly everyone is at least passable at the actual graps these days. It's the character work, promo skills, carrying yourself like you're important. Vince isn't going to warm up to anyone who he thinks is just some bottled-fed fan who just got lucky. Gotta think at some point, Vince has told Hunter to stop with the 190-lb cruiserweights and give him some bigger guys. It's not a coincidence they signed some possible hosses in the last PC recruitment cycle. Honestly, I doubt Vince cares one iota about NXT beyond getting fresh talent for RAW and Smackdown every few months. But we can bet dollars to doughnuts that he's going to bust Hunter's chops over everything.

I can see that POV. For all the finger-pointing at Vince for 'ruining' so many NXT stars, Hunter has to bear responsibility for not better preparing them for what Vince wants and expects of them beyond the PC walls.

That's one of the most interesting things. Triple H went from hated main eventer with a golden shovel to Papa Hunter who loved all his NXT babies and would oust old man Vince to stumbling buffoon who should turn over NXT to almost anyone else. What an arc.

I didn't call it developmental. I was talking about how it's perceived by many still, even beyond how WWE positions it (which comes with its own set of problems). NXT might have gotten more traction if they didn't have so many wrestlers who ignored COVID and kept the PC burning with the virus. There were times RAW or Smackdown would have called up some for short-term help, but they didn't want risk having the NXT crew around anyone else too much. Which was smart. I'm not seeing the 'hip hip hooray' celebration for AEW or indie wrestling, but I recognize many here do.

Ah, gotcha. With Alexa, it's less to do with being programmed and more that she doesn't do the Twitter thing well. As for the Wednesday Night "Wars": it's been the saddest balloon fight ever. Personally, I don't think either side look particularly strong. AEW can brag about winning the ratings, but it's against WWE's third brand that's seen by many as still being developmental. Triple H is likely kicking a wall in the PC because he couldn't get NXT up to speed on this. Everything has been the equivalent of shaking one's fist at another driver who doesn't turn on their left signal. Not of it means anything. For all the talk of this being a 'boom' period for wrestling because of the competition, what has really changed? Good for wrestlers having more options on where to work. But beyond that? I don't know.

The problem is neither side will look at reality. Which is, should this be true, is likely because NBCSN is closing shop and NBC Universal has several live sports events that have to land somewhere. And that's before considering if/when NBCU bids to keep NHL. USA is going to absorb some of that programming. And that's not getting into what WWE migrating to Peacock may mean in the long run.

That's been pretty much confirmed in recent months. Most RAW/SD wrestlers first run their ideas/viewpoints through Prichard. And who knows how much he's relaying back to the actual boss. A select few--Triple H, Roman, Heyman, Bryan, a couple of others--can bypass Prichard on direct route to Vince with no waiting outside the office.

Has Lee gone on record as saying he has those conditions, or is that an assumption based on his race? African Americans have been heavily impacted by COVID, but that has more to do with racial inequality, which leads to substandard medical treatment.

And not giving employees bonuses and raises? WTF.

Calling Roman a domestic abuser is a bit much. The implication isn't good. But does he gaslight everyone? Yes. Will he use physical force to get his way? Yeah. Is he manipulating the system? Yep. When Sika and Afa gave Roman the ula fala necklace at HIAC, it signified that they approved. He's the head of the family table in his elders' eyes. They've woven bits of Samoan culture into the story's origin that gives it depth. Roman thinks he's doing the right thing. And considering WWE and his own personal history, he may have a point. But he goes about it in the most brazen way possible. He sometimes lets the façade slip. A facial expression or a moment off-mic to show that good guy Roman is still there. But he's determined to make everyone bend the knee, because he thinks his family will suffer otherwise. He's justifying the means. Kawada is right--Roman has layers. They're doing a good job of having him as the conduit to bring others into his orbit and give them purpose.

Alexa's story is popular on YouTube. But most adult women don't like the Stockholm Syndrome vibes. Because we actually know Harley Quinn was an abuse victim in her relationship with the Joker, which Bray-Alexa are referencing. Edge didn't do anything for Smackdown's ratings, to round back to that. They remained roughly the same as they have for the past few months. With all the advances in nutrition, exercise and rehab, having wrestlers going strong into their 40s is now commonplace. But guys like Orton, Miz, Kofi, Sheamus and Ziggler have been on WWE TV for for years. Morrison, MVP, Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio, Lashley and even McIntyre are on their second WWE runs. Edge returned from injury/retirement. That's pretty much half of the major players from the Ruthless Aggression/PG eras. Factor in some not changing anything about their presentation--Ziggler has been a "showoff" fading rock star for several years, for example--along with running certain feuds too long, and we get a generation of overexposed talent. There are good stories to be told with these wrestlers--KofiMania comes to mind--but the approach from everyone involved needs to be fresher. And if you notice, most of those guys are on RAW. Which explains why it feels dated.

Hmm. The wording of that tweet can be interpreted a few ways. Could be whoever is planned for #30 gets ambushed by someone not 'intended' for the match. The new #30 wins the Rumble. I can see them squeezing a Goldberg win in that way if he loses to McIntyre earlier that night. He then goes after Reigns in what would have been last year's main event. Or. . . #30 wins before entering the match. #28 and #29 eliminate each other at the same time. #30 simply climbs into the empty ring and becomes the 2021 Rumble winner. Both theories leave room for The Fiend to win. But I could also see it as a way for Reigns to get the victory and declare that as the winner, no one is on his level and he'll have no competition at WM. He has enough enemies to easily do a #1 contenders' match at Elimination Chamber, if they want to do that, either way. They could go fully bonkers and have Alexa win the men's match as Fiend's proxy. Which, ooh boy. Goldberg or Reigns winning would upset some. A Fiend return and win would set off a lot of people. But Alexa winning on behalf of The Fiend would burn Twitter like an inferno match.

AJ vs Ricochet was very good, especially the finish. Hurt Business vs Riddle/Lucha House Party was solid. They seem to be moving toward Mustafa Ali vs Kofi Kingston in the future. I thought Orton did well with his promo. Him being the serious one in that messed-up story helps a lot. Honestly, if Fiend/Alexa were removed from the show, RAW would be average. Nothing to write home about, and there would still be some dead weight on the airwaves. But nothing to level of the Fiend taking the entire program down with him. Fiend shouldn't be anywhere near a title, let alone the top prize. Even if you don't like Seth Rollins--I'm no fan--having him cry over Bray in a mask killed his face run. Absolutely brutal. It feels like they're moving toward Fiend and Alexa being a championship couple from Hades. UGH. If you're on Smackdown, consider yourself blessed not to be around that potential black hole.-

WWE just announced Drew McIntyre has COVID. Oooh boy. . .

Pearce getting the spot makes sense. He booked Owens for a match against Jey last week, which Roman had said no to. Roman wants to tear apart Pearce, but he realizes he should do it within the rules. Strings are pulled to have Pearce in the gauntlet, get him the victory and now Roman has a free pass to legally beat the brakes off Pearce. Really well done. I could see them going several ways, from someone getting Pearce's spot to Pearce having a ten-minute extended squash with Roman. Pearce apparently has impressed Vince as an on-air performer, along with helping with training the big guys at the PC. This feels like a reward and that's pretty cool.

It's been obvious from the beginning that Billie was doing 95% of the character work in the IIconics. She can do WWE's style of comedy. She has an actual personality. That gets you TV time. She's going to get the Riott Squad over, just watch. Peyton is no better than Billie at actual wrestling, IMO. Peyton completed whiffed on taking the bump on Charlotte's Natural Selection this past Monday. Granted, it's an awkward move. But I haven't ever seen anyone fail at taking it like she did.

This is where WWE desperately needs a young Black person in the room. Instead of having Lacey or Carmella communicate with Cardi, try to have Sasha or Bianca talk with her. Their gimmicks would click with her persona and WWE might actually get something out of it. Why not try to connect with Cardi through her husband Offset, who put out "Ric Flair Drip" and had Ric in the video? There was no way Cardi and Lacey were going to hit it off. Who could guess a White woman with a 1950s Jim Crow housewife gimmick wouldn't go over with millennial Blacks/POC?

To be fair, even the most lenient among us don't want Goldberg near a title. But looking at the moving parts in play, it's easy to see them doing Goldberg-Reigns. And they won't do it for anything less than at least one world title. Good or bad, that's what they'll do.

Considering RAW's topsy-turvy ratings, pairing Goldberg with McIntyre makes sense. Goldberg moves the needle and should help in that area. Do they have Goldberg beat McIntyre? I could see it. I wonder if they're thinking about a possible unification match with Goldberg-Roman. Don't know what they do with the Rumble match, that's a big question. But if Rock isn't available until next year, Goldberg-Reigns is the next biggest thing they'd have going. Rumble and WM would also take care of Bill's two annual contracted matches. Or maybe they actually go with Reigns-Bryan if Bryan wins the Rumble. The match would be worlds better, that's for sure. But they likely don't see it on the level of a Spear vs Spear showdown.

What bothers me is how nonchalant nearly everyone is about Fiend/Alexa/Orton. Orton burns Fiend to a crisp and is tormenting Alexa, who's clearly suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. Despite how off the wall it is, Orton is being consistent. Part of him would happily torch Alexa, but he enjoys being a sadist towards her even more. That's who he's been for over 15 years, an unrepentant sociopath. But no one beyond commentary cares. McIntyre was all gun-ho to save legendary wrestlers from Orton, but he doesn't even blink an eye toward a fellow wrestler dousing herself in gasoline so she can join her abusive boyfriend in Hell? Why isn't Adam Pearce trying to intervene? There's no way a story that big should be self-contained. They can't even be bothered to carry the story to RAW Talk for a few minutes, when Alexa should have been screaming, either for Orton to set her on fire or from him actually doing it. Thing is, it's the biggest story RAW has going. And as wacky as it is, they're invested in making it work. Everything else is just paint by numbers. I can't say RAW is actively bad. It's just dull.

If Mitchell or any other wrestling pundit thinks there's more to the story, they are well within their rights to research and ask questions. Investigative journalism is built on that premise. But there's a difference between understandable curiosity and what Mitchell is doing. To come forward with this agenda not 24 hours afer Lee's passing is morbid, even for wrestling and only serves to upset everyone. Saying that the parties involved aren't being transparent is a step below calling them liars. But Mitchell is seemingly dancing around directly saying that.