El-P

Shawn Spears. Ethan Page. Stephanie Vaquer. Giulia. PENTA Ricky Sta Saints. 😂

Finally, the news from Chris Bey https://www.instagram.com/p/DGBuxK5zi-s/?igsh=MXZ2bmZ3NXdlZ3BndQ%3D%3D&img_index=1

Shane was alongside his father and Taker at the Superbowl (where Taylor Swift was a heel apparently). So much for Shane being the good guy of the family. Also, it's hilarious to me that Taker's public praise of Ricky Starks is not an immediate kiss of death in this context. You can see in this pic that Trip is just boiling inside and wants to cut a promo about the gate or something. The whole thing about loving Iron Crosses on his tights was not a work, either.

So many jokes writing themselves...

Yes. Funny. I'm like, "oh, my interest is drifting away". Then AEW delivers a bunch of great TV show in a row leading to the Australia show which should be terrific and *fun*. Last Stardom Korakuen show was terrific. The Fridays at Arena Mexico are tons of fun. NJPW just delivered a classic. Damn pro-wrestling.

I guess it's back to *that* thread, uh. Now office people are leaving. Josh Matthews, Christy Hemme, who are historical figures of the company, are gone. And the Anthem guy who replaced D'Amore last year is already gone too. All replaced by other Anthem people. Writing on the wall... Creatively, it seems nothing has happened since Joe Hendry "wonderful" showing at the Rumble. They are running a Nemeth vs Nemeth feud... (honestly at this point I would not be surprised if they run a big NXT-lite show at Slammiversary and after that point, WWE just gobbles up the entire promotion)

A bit too soon for Harley. But she's growing fast. She's hilarious, she's multi-talented, she's quite good for her experience level in-ring already. She has all the potential to be a big homegrown star. But winning here and now is not needed. Mercedes can make her look better than she ever had before and raise her status in the process. I won't matter since the huge feel good moment is happening anyway with Toni Storm beating Mariah May and getting her title back. Of course they could still do it for the fuck of it, but the follow-up would be very tricky. If there wasn't a Toni vs Mariah match on the same card, yeah, do it anyway.

And in news that actually matter (yeah, sorry about that (well, not really)), the federal investigation on Vince is apparently everything but dropped. Expected, but still *vomit* Also, Taker spending the night at the Superbowl alongside Das Rapist says everything you need to know, if you didn't before (or if you are still pretending).

Damn. They really got me on this one. I kinda felt it was happening, but watching it happen is just another level. Just wonderful.

Bea Priestley yes, for sure. Ellering for fuck's sake no. This guy was last relevant in pro-wrestling around 1987 or something. He brings zero to the table. And his daughter is a middle of the card worker in ROH and that's pretty much where she belongs. She's perfectly fine, but there's nothing more there.

It should absolutely be irrelevant, but it's tricky because of the "independent contractor" status. Plus, he's in a wrestling war. You're not gonna fire people so that they can go directly to the opposition. Especially if that what they want. And suing independent contractors or suspending them without pay is ridiculous. It would be disastrous in term of perception, way worse than just not using them. And it would be an extremely shitty thing to do, really. For all the "workers' right" thrown by WWE fanboys when it suits them, let's be real, Fénix is currently siting at home earning 6 figures. It's ok. And likewise Starks, he can do indies if he wants. But yeah, it's ridiculous for them to just refuse doing business and there's nothing else to to do not use them. If there's no wrestling war, then the solution is easy. And really now, TK finally releasing them makes no difference to the current balance of power. None of them will make an inch of difference in WWE, which already way too big and hot anyway.

Damn. Did they do the "You know who that is ! He's in the NXT Zone !" ? They really take that TNA relationship at heart... Exactly what I said though. Penta debuted on Netflix. Starks debuts on NXT. And it's not like he needs to. Although you can say the same for Jordynne Grace, and maybe Starks is only gonna spend a few months there anyway. Being friends with Cody is his best card, but let's be real, Cody is not *the* man. Paul Lesveque is. And Dwayne is above him. At least this narrative about how Ricky Starks is held hostage and his constant whining is gonna stop now. Well, maybe not the whining since that was 90% of his character for his last active year in AEW.

That's actually a great point. Of course, WWE is never gonna pass on one-up AEW, but let's be real here also. They are already hot as all hell and untouchable business-wise. They just debuted Penta on Netflix, and Penta was a much bigger part of AEW than Starks ever was. They probably will get Malakai back (probably won't do much better than Andrade, but that's another AEW to WWE move). They also are waiting for Fénix. They also are gonna move up a bunch of people from NXT to the main roster soon (probably just after Mania). They have just signed Jordynne Grace, which overall is a much bigger deal than Starks, really, because she has been on/off on NXT for a year now and people have waited for her to sign. In term of perception, Joe Hendry right now is a much bigger deal, really. WWE is über-stacked with already over main-event babyfaces. They don't need a guy like Starks *at all*, and in the grand scheme of things, he doesn't bring anything unique to their program (unlike a luchador as charismatic as Penta or an awesome worker like Grace). So yeah, "pick me" is a great term.

Starks was always overrated to me. He never quite got over to the level people think he should be pushed at. He never sustained it. Injuries did not help,for sure. Still. I thought his batch of matches against CM Punk were incredibly dull. That won't play a part in WWE when you can get over by repeating a stupid catchphrase ad nauseam, but in the ring he's not much better than LA Knight to me. I'm totally indifferent not watching him again. Miro will remain a big "what if". The Redeemer stint was terrific for what it was. I would not be surprised if he never wrestled again, à la Mandy Rose. Of this batch of workers, the only one I would really miss is Fénix. The guy was just so ridiculously awesome. In WWE, he'll be lost in the shuffle in no time. They got the MCMG and they gave them a 14 minutes 2/3 falls matches at the biggest PPV of the year (in term of attendance). Fénix is gonna end up on the X show in no time. (oh yeah, he's not released yet, but after Miro and Starks getting theirs, Fénix is eventually gonna get his, as he should really)

Plenty of people are friends with Cody. Hell, they hired QT Marshall back and gave him the Youtuber. Ricky Starks is a clear case of the guy being obvious about wanting to go to WWE as soon as his contract was gonna end. There was this story of him shutting down a program with Big Bill (basically to push Bill as a babyface, which is coming soon). After that point, when you don't want to do business and make it obvious you're a goner, the writing was on the wall.

From day one, when I saw him on NWA Powerr, the guy came off like Temu Dwayne Johnson. So in a company where the actual Dwayne Johnson shows up during Mania season, that's an issue. But when he was in AEW, it was very clear to me he was best equipped to be in WWE. But it will need strong material and feud, because his in-ring work is pretty mid (and he's been very clearly exposed as such in AEW when not working against exceptional talent like Danielson) and even his promos are very hit and miss. Every fucking promo in the last year of his AEW active stint was the same whiny "I'm a star and I've been overlooked" shit. Plus the size can be an issue. The guy wasn't big in AEW. In WWE...

Luchablog talked about it before. Fénix on X be like Fénix on X. People deep into lucha made nothing out of it because they know the guy's habits. It takes them to *want* to put over people. Miro obviously did not. Malakai obviously did not (his single loss record in AEW is a grand 3 I believe, and that's to Cody and Copeland or something). Ricky Starks, who the hell knows, but honestly I would not be surprised that was the same thing as soon as the guy departed to WWE in his head.

The hygiene part.

And so they did. And that was very much needed. The Australia show should be great, after all. Keep up the good work and stuff.

Not quite. Thankfully too. I'd rather have them be a smaller promotion for hardcores with a more intimate, indie-loving vibes rather than some (REDACTED - REDACTED - REDACTED). (damnit !)

(oh, and yeah, the Good Brothers getting hired back in WWE was money stealing even Hall & Nash could never have dreamed of. I would die laughing if they get their way back in current AEW)

Seriously now. 90% of the pro-wrestling discourse online is about how awesome WWE is and how great and hot it is right now. This one thread has pretty much *always* been about the bad stuff about WWE (likewise the AEW thread of the same name), be it business or otherwise. So yeah, complaining about shitting on WWE in a thread that was about shitting on WWE is kinda ridiculous. Not that it matters anyway. I've not been around that much the past two years of so (for diverse reasons), really, and on my way to be less and less around since my overall interest in the current scene has been sinking, as discussed elsewhere. And yes, my interests have leaned way too much into political and sociogical aspects of *every* (not just pro-wrestling) cultural (or pop) products I deal with in the last few years, which I'm guessing is not a good fit at all here. Forums culture is pretty much dead. It was (mostly) fun while it lasted.

Totally agree, like I said before. And yeah, this episode was terrific. Do that AEW, make me happy.

Only ONE black male wrestler (discounting the Youtube celebrity) out of a gigantic roster in the Royal Rumble. Two LGBT+ workers gone in a matter of two weeks. All in the wake of a brutal war on minorities's rights just starting. Ok... The next few years are gonna be "interesting". (hopefully that's where other promoters not in bed with WWE take a stand. Book Nyla Rose. Book Gisele Shaw. Book Anthony Bowens. And so on. Things are gonna get very much political, much more than before, in term of how all of this will, or hopefully SHOULD, be looked at. Of course pro-wrestling fans be like pro-wrestling fans, as demonstrated. But yeah, this is how things should be looked at)

So, the ring boys suit is still on. Imagine that. Linda McMahon, the minister of Education, involved in a lawsuit where there are proofs of her closing her eyes on young teenage boys being sexually assaulted. And yeah, Papa Trip was at Mar-a-Lago on New Years's Eve because he's just supporting his mother in law (not because he's actually supporting the nazi loving WWE Hall of Famer president, who is now at direct war with women's rights, LGBT+ people and immigrants). What the fuck are we talking about here ? If that wasn't pro-wrestling (because don't kid yourself, WWE is not mainstream despite being the hottest it's been in 25 years), there would be massive talks about it, every bit of this and the Vince thing and the ties between TKO and Trump. But I guess not. Hey, they booed Hogan, and CM Punk cut a promo about it, lulz. Everything is fine. "Record gates blablabla This is cinema blabloubli" Yeah. YEAH ! YEET ! Or something.