MLB

We already know Jade's winning the women's Rumble.

Jay White got torched by MJF, he's definitely not on the level of the Devil.

I can imagine Edge being super conflicted over his decision. It's a good problem to have but a tough choice professionally. We don't know the terms being offered by WWE but the fact they let it expire says an extension couldn't be reached. Then you factor in some uncertainty with how TKO is going to operate since VKM has always pushed Edge since day one. WWE is also doing some great things that I'm sure Edge would like to be involved in. However, AEW will give Edge more creative input, arguably as the top guy in the company with a lot of his friends already there, and I do believe they need him right now in wake of Punk's departure.

I feel like you guys are leaving out the part where OC beats Edge in an exciting match, that is the rub. I wasn't suggesting that Edge would steamroll MJF or anything, it'd be an opportunistic win. Edge doesn't need the rub per se, but he would be in a different environment under his own name and would need to make a big splash, get some heat.

I disagree, the majority of fans remember Edge, not as much Christian.

Yeah but "fuck the company" heat became a rallying cry and created stars for WWE like Bryan, Punk and Cody. It made Cena (and Roman) a lightning rod.

It'd get heat, I think. Is that outlandish? He's three years younger than Jericho. Max can win it back or OC. He wouldn't be able to call himself Edge in that scenario, and so it'd be a way to establish Adam Copeland or whatever he becomes outside of WWE. There was a report today that Edge is still considering WWE's offer, I'm just tossing a name out there.

Who can conceivably take the belt from MJF right now? I'd reckon it would be a heel since MJF is so popular. Putting the title on Cole is risky because of his health. Danielson hasn't won the title yet but I don't think he wants it. I don't think Omega wants it. Maybe an incoming WWE name like Edge or Ziggler in a few months? Or perhaps try to elevate Ricky, Sammy or Jack with a run? Ospreay's NJPW deal runs out in February of next year but I think WWE will go hard for him for Mania.

NWA is rolling now that they've got all their ducks in a row and the roster is starting to click. Smart booking having the sole focus on the world title with the TV champion previously determined. I've found myself having to stretch out a tournament because there's a lot to establish at the beginning for the new readers. There's shades of grey happening so far that I'm liking. Anderson and Eaton never really got sustained singles pushes and we're able to explore that possibility.

Using Dutch on commentary is a good way of getting the title established. Rare to see Jake take a clean pin, I don't recall Jake doing that many jobs. Nice intro for the Moondogs. Surprised to see Christopher booked as a babyface, I always viewed him as a heel, but I'm interested to explore that side of him.

Fascinating change of the landscape of the 96 project with the WCW/NWA shake up. Made sense for both sides, I could tell that @SirEdger wanted more of a Crockett version of WCW and @Perfectly Straightedge was seeking a larger scale promotion that could rival WWF. I'd actually say that WCW might have overtaken WWF in terms of overall starpower after this move. Some really nice throw ins for WCW retaining the DoD, Harlem Heat and the Nasties, along with Hulk and company. Meanwhile, the NWA isn't messing around with presenting the classic NWA with an ECW twist that has a lot of potential. Now we get a proper Flair vs. Douglas feud. Straightedge's version did a nice job setting up Dusty and Paul E., but I could see Heyman's role getting marginalized, and hopefully the new ownership keeps that storyline going with Taz, RVD, Spike, Tajiri and the remaining ECW talent.

Do you guys think Ziggler will get a title run in AEW?

Not a huge fan, I mentioned that last week in the AEW thread. The dentist gimmick doesn't work for me, for starters. By day she cleans teeth and by night she knocks them out? I preferred Isaac Yankem, DDS if we're doing that direction. If she were to go to WWE, who would you drop in exchange? I wouldn't replace anybody in WWE's women's division for Britt, not even Cathy Kelley. Baker's good for TK to doll up and show off at Jaguars games.

It's probably time for AJ Lee to come back as well.

I thought I was only one who considered the Bearcat gimmick an upgrade. I thought the singlet looked better, but man, people hated it and Lee wasn't comfortable with it.

Did Rhea turn and I missed it? Nia seems like one of those rehires that confuses fans but the WWE is a company like many where they do respect "dues" and Nia has connections in management, she already knows "the job" and a lot of the people involved.

I will admit that I gradually warmed up to women's wrestling over the course of decades, Manami Toyota was the first female I watched that made me reevaluate my feelings towards that aspect of wrestling. Chyna got a ton of heat in 1997, so I'm not shocked there isn't a lot of it happening in the 1996 project. I'm surprised myself by how much I've enjoyed booking the women but it's a very special group of ladies, I've even been thinking about doing an exclusive event for them. They are some of my all-time favorites. Megumi Kudo is the perfect wrestler, her combination of beauty, elegance, hardcore and wrestling ability is fantastic. I've seen Dump Matsumoto described as "a force of nature" on pWo and that's totally spot on. I'm planning on a Lesnar/Goldberg-esque bombfest between Chyna and Kong. Alundra is super important and kind of the glue to the division. I'm a fan of Plasmatics and Wendy O. Williams, and Luna brings that vibe with her into the Flock. I don't have Bull Nakano yet but that will happen eventually, she's one of the greatest of all-time. I am from Long Island and part Italian like Russo, so his voice is familiar to me (although I was raised on the west coast and went to speech therapy, losing the accent). Russo and Meltzer are like aspects of my own personality.

Yeah, I wanted to bring up Riddle. I think we can officially file him in the "what if..." category because he's finished in WWE. VKM reportedly saw perhaps the next Shawn Michaels in Riddle, which I could see that. I've always seen some Von Erich in him too. The crowds really liked him, younger kids, and he had some of the best offense in WWE. Credit to RVD because he was given a similar push and didn't drop the ball as hard as Riddle. Riddle is probably going to have to go the outlaw route for the remainder of his wrestling career.

W*ING USA Programming Announcement: In addition to October's taped event, Zero Fear, W*ING USA will be holding a bonus event to be released on Halloween. The event will feature an eight man deathmatch tournament that includes the W*ING USA debut of "The Homicidal, Suicidal, Genocidal, Death-Defying" Sabu! And a return to the ring by "The Outlaw" Dory Funk, Jr.! W*ING USA and Onita wishes to honor the memory of "Captain Redneck" Dick Murdoch, who passed away in June of 1996. Murdoch was a wrestling legend, in addition to being a W*ING original. The winner of the tournament will be given the Dick Murdoch Tournament of Life and Death Memorial Trophy! ***W*ING USA Presents: Dick Murdoch Tournament of Life and Death Memorial*** First Round Bracket: Sabu (w/ Abdullah the Butcher) vs. Mr. Pogo (w/ Victor Quinones) Super Leather (w/ Sonny Onoo) vs. New Jack Dory Funk, Jr. vs. Steve Blackman Tarzan Goto vs. Mitsuhiro Matsunaga

W*ING USA releases CW Anderson and signs Dump Matsumoto. I realize there was a large gap of inactivity in Matsumoto's career, however she worked three shows for Onita Pro in 1999, so I considered her semi-active before her full-time return in 2003. Edit: I take that back, Matsumoto did not work at all in 1999, but I doubt anybody cares because eventually Dump came back to wrestling.

I like your willingness to pull the trigger on some early upset wins with Vega and Montoya, emphasizing this is going to be a different WWF. Bret and Owen's reconciliation could be really compelling material. Razor vs. Davey is a match I cannot recall witnessing (only a RAW match on quick search) and it was wise to save it for the end of the 1st round. The RAW Championship special looks like WWF's first major show of the 96 project with Shawn vs. Warrior headlining. I wouldn't have minded a Shawn promo hyping the match a bit but the names speak for themselves and we've never seen it.

You also have a savvy politician like Heyman with ties to Austin (an original Heyman Guy) and Brock, who got the green light to throw Moxley under the bus publicly.

I like Moxley but he's always been polarizing to fans. Jon wears his heart on his sleeve and you feel the passion he has for it. Brock phoning it in with him at Mania along with the Austin podcast really brought out his critics. If I'm Mox, Corny's getting slapped if I see him around. Cornette and Last have done a lot of damage to Mox's reputation, I mean they absolutely rip the guy week after week, month after month. Camp Cornette goes super hard on Moxley, yet the Dirty White Boy didn't look like a plumber? Cornette even attacks Mox's hairline and shit like that, the "Moxley-Good" snark, but that's the WWE side in JC. I agree with @DMJ that Mox's ring gear has been going in the wrong direction for a while and he can't seem to figure it out. When Moxley left rehab he was in top shape and it seems like it has regressed and Mox cares even less about the cosmetic side of it because he knows he's the only hardcore wrestler on the roster aside Jericho and Kingston occasionally.

Also a reminder, @Autistic Dragon, you still have your Untouchable pick for September.

With SMW Revival taking off, I came up with another preset roster that could be of interest to a new member, Stampede Revival. The WWF has Bret, Owen and Neidhart and there's a lot of history with the promotion. Jericho and Storm also competed in Stampede. I would have fun writing for Stu Hart in this scenario. Stampede Wrestling Owner: Stu Hart Alexander Arafat Bad News Allen (retired May of '99) Beef Wellington Bertha Faye Big Titan (Fake Razor Ramon) Buddy Lee Parker Bruce Hart Carl LeDuc Cuban Assassin Dean Durrango Dr. Zhivago Dynamite Kid (retired in October of 1996 but still could get a few months of shows until the end of the year) Gama Singh Greg Polyck Harry Smith (ruled ineligible by @Perfectly Straightedge but Cagematch lists him) Jason Helton Jason Neidhart Jerry Morrow Johnny Devine (1997 rookie class) Johnny Smith Jordan Clark Keith Hart Ken Johnson Kerwin Bostyk Matthew Annis Mike Anthony (Bastion Booger) Mike Sharpe (retired in 1997) Morris Nepoose Poison Ivey Red Arrow Red Thunder Renee Dupree (1997 rookie class) Rob Conway (1997 rookie class) Rob Lefevre Ross Hart Sean Morley (Val Venis) Steve Disalvo (Minotaur) Tatanka Ted Annis (Teddy Hart) Tiger Khan TJ Wilson