Embrodak

I can’t explain why, but I really do think WWE is heading for an early 90s-style contraction in the next decade. They’ve bet big on being able to maintain the hot streak they’ve been on, but they haven’t proven they can carry over their success to streaming and are never going to get TV rights as good as the ones they used to get again. They also got in bed with a shitty right-wing media organization that, by all accounts, ruined MMA as a watchable product and is clearly on track to do so with WWE as well. Bad vibes. Evil as Vince was, he always made decisions with the preservation of WWE as a going concern at the forefront of his mind. Ari Emanuel and his coterie of corporate demons aren’t that sentimental, they’ll sell WWE for parts the second it becomes a hindrance.

Brock is not the worst offender in the Vince mess by far, but when your septuagenarian billionaire boss offers to let you fuck some random lady amidst contract negotiations, you as a married father with more than enough walking away money should probably have questions and decline the offer, not immediately “Yes and” the situation. Honestly, this seems like kind of an admission that the product is floundering and needs a shot in the arm. Shame it was a tainted B12 shot!

This in the same week Triple H stood behind Trump while he answered at least one Epstein question has to be among WWE’s all-time low points. At least with Vince there was an odd Freudian pathos when he would commit to harmful, bonkers bullshit, Triple H has to be one of the more bloodless head bookers in wrestling history, just pure smugness and cynicism. “I booked NXT Black and Gold, I’m untouchable forever” is deeply pathetic.

Bringing back Brock is nuts, and the pop was fucking shameful. Dude was absent because he participated in Vince’s weird, rapey pimp fetish for fuck’s sake.

Wrestling is one of the few industries where nepo kids seem to be better than average, not worse, imo. Would be funny if Bron’s cousin ends up being clumsy and boring, but goddamn would an Actually Good Steiners 2.0 vs Actually Seasoned And Competent Creed Brothers match rock. lol @ Punk going to Saudi Arabia. I have zero investment in his public self-presentation, simply enjoy his work, but for those that do, this has to sting.

Say what you will, I don’t think anybody predicted R-Truth being a significant facet of Cena’s last run. Whether it was an audible or a genuine “we tricked the dirtsheets” swerve, it’s kinda fun!

Bron Breakker has to be the most natural talent since Brock Lesnar.

Starks as a big fish in the smaller NXT pond makes more sense, honestly. You can't immediately sell masks and toys of him the way you can Penta, and NXT is somewhere he can be on TV every/almost every week and establish himself as a bigger deal in the eyes of the WWE fans before moving up to the main roster. AJ Styles was a main eventer in TNA for nearly a decade and had just come off the most critically acclaimed run of his career in Japan, him you can start right on the main roster. Ricky Starks not so much.

Ricky Starks is very close to *the* guy, close enough that he was hanging around backstage at Wrestlemania when he finished the story. He might not be big enough or unique enough to be a world champ, but I could see him easily being in that Nakamura/Dolph Ziggler tier where he's always credible to be a secondary champ and always credible *enough* to be called up for an isolated world title shot at a PPV here and there. Thinking back on Roman's reign, I'm not sure there is anybody as perfectly designed to lose to Roman at Fastlane, if that makes sense.

Hook has an aura, but his training has been woefully inadequate thus far.

I don’t know that I have ever seen a PLE with less buzz. WWE should be kissing Aussies’ feet for such a big turnout given how heatless the whole thing really was. How locking in Becky vs Rhea and Drew vs Rollins had no heat I don’t know, but chamber matches as a concept are just totally washed imo. Logan Paul breaking the seal of getting heat by writing shit talk on the chamber wall is probably this show’s historical contribution, tbh. How that only happened near the end of the Chamber as a saleable concept is beyond me, it’s brilliant.

I have to give WWE credit for somehow booking the biggest possible Women’s Match they can possibly present right now, one that is genuinely compelling in a “dream match” way, while still booking the other women’s title match well and interestingly. On paper: Cody vs Roman II w/ Rock fuckery Rhea vs Becky Drew vs Seth Bayley vs Iyo Gunther vs Jey Uso Logan Paul vs Kevin Owens …is one of the stronger suite of title matches I can think of for a WrestleMania. Plus a Judgment Day tag match and teases of LA Knight vs AJ Styles, Sami and Orton both having something to do, Bron Brekker probably wrecking some fools in the Andre Battle Royale, maybe New Day vs Imperium, Dom getting his shit wrecked by somebody (maybe Bron here instead?), Austin Theory and Grayson Waller fucking around somehow… this is a potentially GOAT WrestleMania, if somebody can find some of the Pat Patterson mojo and come up with some killer finishes. WWE has put on some lackluster PPVs for how hot they are, but this is practically can’t miss if they’re at all competent.

MJF was fine as champ until he turned face, at which point he basically became the Youngest Buck in terms of the style and nature of his work, just absolutely insufferable winking, nodding bullshit. The company was in a secular decline/stagnation/whatever before he won the title, and to the extent that his reign hurt the company, I think it’s because A) he and Tony allowed the top title to become a barely-present prop in a midcard comedy tag team, and B ) their plans got scrambled like 6 times. He was clearly supposed to win it from Punk, then that didn’t happen. He was clearly supposed to resume feuding with Punk when Punk came back from his injury/suspension, then that didn’t happen. He was supposed to have a one off storyline with Adam Cole, that got weirdly over. That was supposed to bubble for a while, then Adam got hurt. Then MJF got hurt. Bad decisions and bad luck all around.

Yeah, well, Rock has a lot of “Trump mocking disabled reporter” stuff in his past if he has any political ambition, is all I’m saying.

The Rock has an immense amount of cancellable material from his original WWF/E run. I guess he’s proved that there is an immense amount of money and attention to be mined from people who genuinely do not care about such things, but this “Rock smacking people around verbally” playlist WWE posted just months ago features him doing an extended ableism at Booker T.