El-P

Holy shit, I should't laugh but yeah, this is totally Trump's "Antifa are the new fascist" extreme-right propaganda. Gotta love them threatening to gang rape that woman at some point too or something... Yeah, you know what, it makes Raw Underground look like the DX Invasion of WCW. And politically speaking... ouch... That's BAD.

That's all valid but that's from the outsider's perspective while we're taking about from the inside of the business perspective. The point that is being talked about stands : Vince did not create Hulk Hogan. He gave him the platform and polished his act, but he did not came up with the worker nor the gimmick. Hogan is not a Vince creation, which is also funny to think when referred to the old "Vince only push what he creates himself". Well, he sure did not create Hulk Hogan at all. He absolutely picked the right guy for his plan, but did not create it.

The BonerYard match from Talkn'Shop'AMania was yet another amazing WTF moment of 2020. It included among other insanity NZO taking a bump on the Rock'n'Roll Express gimmick table, Chavo Guerrero chasing Chico El Luchador to murder him, appearances by Brian Myers, Heath, the Bennett couple (IMPACT should sign them, really) and Swinger. The "flashback" segment with the Young Bucks was an apex of making fun of yourselves, as Doc & Anderson agree to sign with AEW, but then mark out when they receive a text message from Trip so they decide to re-sign with NY. So the Young Bucks superkick them and Matt goes "I bet they'll end up in TNA anyway", while Anderson is moaning "Nooooo, not TNA !!!!". The most amazing thing maybe is that Doc & Anderson where actually part of the actual Boneyard match just a few months ago, it's like some legit Hollywood actors showing up in a porn parody of their own movie.

Wow. Gotta catch that on Youtube. That being said, a bunch of sloppy white guys with dreads and playing djembe, yeah, they're fucking heels to me.

Wow. Sounds like downright Trump propaganda then. ANTIFAs as heels ? Really ? What's next ? A White Supremacist babyface ? A fun-loving Nazi ? A happy-go-lucky rapist ? A heel ecologist ? Oh, wait, that we already had...

With the success they're having after one year, not really worrying. It would be such a shame if anything bad happened because of corporate bullshit.

Hum... yeah, ok. I got Henry O. Godwinn in 1995, ya know.

The thing is, this stuff has been done before. So, it's not even new or original. It's been done good before. WWE just does it poorly. Like they could never re-make the Broken Matt stuff from IMPACT for instance.

Because they were into Hogan/Rock/Austin first and foremost. When the entire program is hot because the big star on top is hot, everyone *seems* over. Yeah, Val Venis, Too Cool or Brutus Beefcake were getting monstruous pops back then, but to argue they were, out of themselves, "big stars" is ignoring the entire context of when and where. That's because you were young and became a fan then. I can give you every match and angle happening in the mid 90's. That includes TL Hoper vignettes, angles like Crush & Doing, Henry Godwinn vs the Million Dollar Corporation and shit. Also, there were a lot less angles back then because the TV did not work the same way. Again, context changes everything, both personal context of the watcher and the context of the business structure. It's a fact. He was lucky Steve Austin and The Rock got themselves over despite the terrible ideas they were given. Of course then he was really good at promoting them, but he stumbled on those two, especially Austin. The one thing no one should ignore is that the one thing Vince was the most lucky about is something he could not do anything about : the people running WCW were idiots. Because on paper, Vince doesn't win that fight. Only gigantic idiots could run that operation into the ground like they did with so much talent, money and great TV spot. Vince was definitely very lucky on that one. No one is saying Vince was never a great promoter, but ignoring the fact Hulk Hogan was a huge star before he ever got to WWF is revisionism. Verne did not have to make him an international name, Rocky III did it for him, and Inoki made him in Japan, which was the richest territory then. It's like pretending WWF made Hogan in one day and people got crazy because of the genius work of Vince when Hogan showed up and beat Sheky Baby. Nope. On a way smaller scope, same thing when AJ Styles shows up at the Rumble. "No one watches TNA" and NJPW is "japanese shit", but when the guy shows up, people give him the Warrior pop, because he is already made. How odd.

Indeed. It's been mostly great, actually. I'm gonna say this : I don't miss crowds. AEW could go on with their little cloud of wrestlers on the first row and I'd be happy watching it in that format forever (IMPACT should do the same because their totally empty studio stuff can get kind of a solitary feel to it). Sure, crowds makes it better (or worse). But pro-wrestling as an aesthetic works for me on its own, I guess. Who knows when people will gather in large masses again ? And who would want to, really ? (yeah, I know, some are already doing it, with terrible results too)

Exactly. Pus he said it himself, the IWGP belt was the only belt that mattered... All jokes aside, Hogan could have been an Inoki guy forever indeed. And we'd have had Vader vs Hogan, japanese style at the Dome instead of those awful 95 matches.

You really don't need to justify yourself. Not anywhere, and not on PW-fucking-O !

Actually, a fan group "for women" is exactly the definition of "exclusive". Also, not all women are fans of heels (like, not at all)... And I mean, "paying" for being in a group fan to do what exactly ?

After not even a year on TV, starting from scratch. And that's with the RAW demo going way up (from zilch really, but that's another matter) thanks to Shan-o Mac brillant idea... That Bruce Prichard comeback to the company really will be one for the ages. Of course, blame COVID and senile Vince, but still... RAW is sinking like never before in 27 years, and Bruce is the guy "in charge". Maybe should have stayed at home doing Jerry Jarrett's impersonnations, really...

Yeah, that's a big one. Hogan was huge *before* he even step foot in WWF. It's one of the big "what if" of US wrestling history. What if Hogan doesn't go to the WWF, stays a while in AWA then gets a check from Crockett/WCW in the late 80's ? Vince got Hogan when everything about him was made (the look, the match style, the entrance, the promos). It's like getting Goldy in the Summer/Fall of 1998.

Yeah, that "retirement" angle was terrific. IMPACT is great at doing dramatic heat angles like this (the wedding of Brian Cage & Melissa Santos). Speaks volume of their booking ability when they can get me invested in this EC3 deal when he has done exactly one angle and a bunch of vignettes, yet everything makes total sense and he goes against Moose who has been built for months now. The North vs MCMG angle promos were very good too. Strong episode this week, I can totally get behind a Chris Bey vs TJP match and Wrestler House is really cool silly stuff again. I can't get enough of the Bravo/Taya/Rosemary storyline. Kylie & Swinger are great in these too.

That's not only true but quite funny to me as I always thought Richard Beymer in Twin Peaks would have made a perfect Vince. Terrific episode. Opening was awesome. Say what you want about Dark Order, but they are such a solid team of solid-to-great workers. I really enjoy the addition of Cabana as the "useful idiot" of the groupe and Anna Jay as a potential female star in the future. Page took a wonderful bump on that finish. More slow-burn build... Best Friends vs Santana & Ortiz was very good and the angle is leading into more yet I guess different in feel, so, good stuf. MJF's vignette was excellent, glad they put some of the Dark talent out there too. Cody & Cardona vs Dark Order went too long, and jury's out on Cardona. You can't hold against him years of being nothing in WWE but still, it kinda get awkward to see this guy get a huge entrance with pyro... Don't be TNA guys. That's also something to ponder, as someone younger now should think twice about signing a 5 year contract with WWE, as AEW definitely won't turn into TNA (I don't think), so by wasting years losing your hype and being put in stupid situations (Ricochet, remember the name ?) you can hurt your chances of getting over in AEW. Nothing against Shawn Spears, but he really did not get over and has not turned himself into a compelling character. John Silver is terrific, he's been funny as hell on BTE and he really shined here. Agree. Why no segment for Hikaru Shida ? She's the fucking champ. Britt Baker has cooled down so much as a character with this Swole feud to me, as I don't give a flying fuck about Swole. Match won't be good, I don't even get why Swole is picking on an injured woman who hasn't done shit to her. This stuff is pretty bad, honestly. Rebel did a good job playing incompetent worker. But yeah, they have so much better things to do with women, get Ivelisse beating some bitch up again. The tall redhead Kylinn King is doing jobs on Dark but she is much better than Swole on every level, put her out there. Get some more personalities over. I know Shanna is stuck in Lisbon but hopefully when she comes back she gets a push. Get Raché Chanel and Abadon on the show, even if the matches aren't super solid, get those characters over. Will Riho ever come back ? And yeah, mix-up the women with the men characters more, only the Nightmare Sisters and Ford (and Leva, but she really isn't doing matches) really have ties with what is happening on the other side of the fence. The debate was great. Schiavone selling Uncle Eric back on TNT was quite cool. I can dig Easy E. showing up *from time to time* doing special stuff like this. Kinda crazy year for Bischoff when you think about it, he spent months doing nothing in WWE and play scapegoat then shows up on Dynamite only a few months later. Also, Conrad has now basically 3 "AEW" guys on his podcast roster. Orange's promo on global warming was funny as hell and the angle capping off the bit was executed perfectly (Hagger is great a those). Oh, and that look and body maneurisms Jericho did when Orange was cutting that serious promo at the end and walking toward him, just awesome work. Jericho is the greatest 50 years old pro-wrestler ever (and still the MVP of 2020). Main event was great. Darby is a star. Most compelling young guy in YEARS. They really should focus on him, Jungle Boy and the likes, these people need to get some big win SOON. Hopefully Orange gets the big one next week. But yeah, apart from the women segment, which was weak as hell, this episode was the best since Fyter Fest.

Anyone having trouble connecting to the site and getting Error 525 ?

Thanks. Silly me ! I should have guessed. OK, so the transcription is "Ce combat (...) va se disputer en deux manches ou une belle si il y a lieu". Basically, the match is in two rounds and a final round if necessary. When you play a game (like card game) and if you are 1-1 after two games, you do a final one which is called "la belle" to determine the winner. Ok, so, Couderc says that L' Ange Blanc has no name, no country, no face while the other has a name, a country, a face, his name is Paul Villars, he's from Bagnolet (blue-collar west suburbs of Paris), therefore his nickname the Dragon of Bagnolet. Well, can't think of a more matter-of-factish explanation ! So, this is L' Ange Blanc's debut too, apparently.

Do you have a link to provide ? Because the transcription is no good I'm afraid.

Why are people treating this whole Raw Underground stuff like anything other than some more "cinematic shit" ? Because it is, really. Except it's directed the same godawful way any WWE show is (seriously, I have no idea how you people manage, when you don't watch that stuff regularly, even three minutes of this "directing" is impossible to watch). But hey, WWE's got their hands on pop culture, Fight Club was big in 1999, during the Attitude Era.

Wait. Does Shane-O Mac like Volk Han ? Is shodate booking RAW in 2020 ? So many questions unanswered...

So, The Nightmare Sisters beat Penelope & Mel, you guessed who did the job. Allie vs Penelope was solid. Brandi is akin to Mongo : great personality, excellent promo, bless her heart in the ring. BTW, she's turning heel *again*, but this time I believe it will make more sense because I got the feeling a Cody heel turn is coming too at some point. I'd love to see the Cody & Brandi heel duo machine again. Ariane Andrews sure got character. And yeah, she screwed up one spot. One or two, ok... She also did the job and was KOed by Nyla afterward. Nyla sold her knee like a champ, that girl can do anything, she's got so much potential to become great eventually. Anna Jay & Tay Conti can be a fun team, Conti kicking Nyla square in the face was a highlight, that girl also got tons of potential. She really sounds brazilian when she speaks English too. Not getting any classics from that stuff, but a fun 40mn Youtube show, plus it gets the women some more in-ring time too.

So, this is indeed WCW 2000 level now.

So, that Women Battle Bowl thingy : Veda Scott announcing with Schiavone, Shaul Guerrero doing ring announcing, Madusa doing the introductory speach. And then Allie totally cheated to get to team with Brandi, which was a really fun take on the old wrestling trope of "OMG ! what luck !". So, this should be fun...