El-P

Yawn and yawn. Elgin thrown straight into the world title scene against Brian Cage (who hopefully is allright) just brings my interest down big time. Why couldn't Elgin go straight back to ROH anyway ?

Not keeping track of anything, but Barbario Cavernario vs Forastero from 03/29 was easily a MOTYC, and maybe the best mexican match I've seen this year (single match at least). A must-see, really.

Anyone listened to the JBL episode ? I have zero will to do so, not willing to put myself through Brucie defending his pal through the bullying stuff, the flat main event stint that came from basically being there forever and all this stuff.

I've gone back to revisit Lucha Underground, and the Drago vs Pentagon Jr. vs Fenix match from the third episode is the first awe inspiring moment in the series. Really cool to see the Lucha Bros back before they were the big attraction they are today. Say what you want, but although LU was not a public success and probably will never get a closure, it really was a vehicule for some of the hottest young talent of today. And the production and approach will still look way ahead of its time in the years to come.

You just don't create fans out of thin air with a shitty product because you're on a big TV station. The actual WWE fans have been slowly but surely leaving in droves. Sure, the FOX deal will get a bump at first, but the same cold product won't get magically hot and keep new people around when it can't even maintain its attractiveness toward its core audience. Come on, they are independant contractors.

I knew I was forgetting one name, yes. Which is complete and utter bullshit, of course. BTW, Luke Harper being all professional and nice about asking his release, which apparently was the only reason why no one bagged on him online while Sasha got shit on (*wink wink nudge nudge*), sure worked wonders for him. He got totally fucked over. So there. Sasha is still way young, she's got her whole life and career in front of her if she wants to. Hey, maybe they'll make her hate pro-wrestling too. That, they know how to do, look at the way they make their own audience shrink...

It comes from the incident when Callihan injured Eddie Edward with a sloppy chair shot spot (although I guess some of the blame could have been put on Edwards too for moving when he wasn't supposed to or something, but that's beside the point). Corny went all batshit on Callihan, calling him unprofessional and garbage wrestler and stuff. Well, of course Corny really had probably seen no Callihan stuff before this, and really Edwards ended up being fine and it led to a really excellent feud overall. No idea if they talked and made up now that they are actually working together, but I thought it was pretty interesting and a sign of the genius of Cornette to actually use his own anger (true or fake, at this point) to get Callihan's *character* over.

I have a hard time figuring why Jeff Jarrett, Abyss, Sonjay Dutt & co would be more aligned with HHH. I mean, where would the relationship come from ? But yeah, after Arn Anderson (whose firing was nowhere as near the clear cut affair it looked to be BTW, the whole "he let Alicia performed while under the influence" has been disputed, and apparently a lot of the talent didn't agree with the firing), now Dean Malenko. Man. Imagine all those former WCW guys ending up working under Cody Rhodes, backed up by a big-time financial backer with TV on Turner broadcast. Like... what goes around comes around... Sure is a fascinating period.

Just watch iMPACT, people. It's fun.

There, corrected for you. I dunno, it seems like the Saudi stuff mostly flew under the radar of the mainstream anyway. It's unbearable. "He throws Roman into the WWE Universe !". What the fuck. They all talk like corporate drones. The storyline is about corporate drones either "fighting" the bosses or getting their due of being in the WWE Universe for ever. They are no pro-wrestling superstars. They are no super-heroes. They are drones. Who the fuck wants to see a bunch of drones fight to get recognize as the best drone ? But again, we're into the Brand Era, and that's not just a pro-wrestling thing. It's an übercapitalism thing. They want people to be their own "brand" and be brainless drones, while the insane amount of money the big companies make have no relation whatsoever with what they are *actually* producing (if they produce anything, that is). The WWE is a reflection of that.

That's a really good point. Pro-wrestling is a niche thing more than ever before.

Can't wait for the next panic button as they build to a show "somewhere" next month. It's hilarious that they have to work to try and identify why people have been losing interest after years of troll booking and incompetent writing. WHY THE FUCK DO YOU THINK ?

Classy. Independant contractors indeed...

I was about to make a post about that, and I guess I wasn't the only one thinking he came off awful during this bit. The level of slut shaming was incredible and it's disappointing Conrad did not call him on that. Worse being that at the end, he admitted that the picture did exist. So yeah, he confirmed the actual sexual harassement, basically. Doesn't matter if it "wasn't more revealing that what you'd see at the beach", it was a revealing picture of her posted in her workplace to make fun of her. Pretty clear cut. So yeah, Bischoff came off pretty awful there.

At this rate, they might as well rename them The Berzerkers and be done with it.

Is no one here watching MLW anymore ? I mean, it's on Youtube, it's only 55 mn a week and there is some fun stuff there. I do not get why they keep on giving wins to Gringo Loco, who still hasn't shown one bit of character or personality, don't even mention charisma, and doesn't look very impressive in the ring anyway. Also, the Contra stuff still looks weak and random to me. Josef Samael loading his boot his pushing toward the cosplayish stuff, really. On the other hand, Mance Warner vs Sami Callihan was a terrific brawl, really down and dirty. I enjoyed the fact Cornette channelled his actual distaste for Callihan going back to the Eddie Edward incident to put him over as a disgusting and dangerous individual. It went to the point of Callihan interacting with him, flipping the finger, while Corny was standing up basically cheering for Warner. Nice old-school interaction between Corny & Rich too, it felt organic and real. Also, I'm all for a Warner & Callihan vs Salina de la Renta feud, as this is clearly the direction they are going toward. Salina & Warner's promo backstage was quite good. Salina has improved a lot too. Can't wait for more interaction between the two dirty brawlers and her crew. Dynasty vs Hart Foundation next week should be quite fun. Teddy smoking a blunt with Pillman & DBS Jr. in MJF's car was cool and weird, as always.

Which is why he barely talked in Lucha Underground. I mean, Prince Puma with a southern accent... not very aztec-like. He was not a very good promo anyway, and that was in Lucha Underground where *everyone* looked really good in vignettes.

I guess it doesn't warrant a thread, which speaks about how there's no hype about it at all, but the Crockett Cup redux is this week-end. Could be a fun show actually on paper. Scurll vs Aldis, Mack vs Cabana, a bunch of fun teams including PCO & Brody, Kojima & Nagata, the Briscoes, the Rock'n Roll (yeah, I know, but they had actually a good match at Spring Break).

More than anything, it makes WWE look petty and insecure. And it makes Angle & Taker come off like two old guys on a leash. Considering Taker is basically only working for the Saudi money at this point, yeah, not a good look for any of these parts.

Considering the audience of the TV is 1/4 less than last year, I think it's safe to put the "Becky Lynch is Stone Cold" narrative to rest for good. She's the hottest star of a slowly freezing promotion.

Yeah, really. And considering WWE's track records with fucked up shit like is, I'll be Cassandra and say there's nearly zero chance of it ending well. Remember when the first Wyatt's vignettes and debut happened ? It looked like the coolest stuff in years. And then they never managed to make anything but crap with it, turning Bray into a black hole of suck. Which is a shame, because the guy really has something about him, as showed in this oddball piece of business. So yeah, intriguing in a WTF way, but it might as well be another Beaver Cleavage in the long run.

Funny, Brucie talked about that during the last boring episode of his podcast, that basically they would not split married couple, but people "simply dating" was not taken in consideration. Which is bullshit, of course (fuck marriage). Good for Charlotte.

Holy fuck, that's a really terrible card on paper ! Hey, I don't live in Paris anymore anyway, so I guess I'll have to pass.

Pretty much, yeah, it feels like there has been a "last ever Shield reunion" a dozen times already. Which I guess is fitting, since it's obvious the whole was better than the sum of its part. Running with The Shield as THE top act in the company, Freebirds like, instead of trying to make Roman into The Man would have worked a whole lot better in retrospect. Plus it would have been a fresh and new approach. But nah, gotta find that next Cena. Also : I would have never thought of this one. A joke that wrote itself. Amazing.

At least it's pretty clear what are their priorities too. Gotta love the build-up to a PPV that is gonna happen "somewhere" again...