WWE Network... It's Here

[sek69]

New NWA World Championship Wrestling episodes are going up, seems to be picking up where they left off and going into 1989.

[Lee]

I watched one this morning with Abdullah the Butcher vs. Gangrel, of all things. Pre-Blackhearts/Vampire Warrior David Heath of course, but still. There was a Jim Cornette promo along the lines of "Hitler blew his brains out and they just fried Ted Bundy... Paul E, you're next!" Then I saw Michael Hayes in a tag team with Junkyard Dog and my world didn't make sense any more, and then Hayes closed the show by warning Tenryu that "I love to slap a Jap".

I also watched Joyce Grable beat Velvet McIntyre with a powerbomb of all things... in 1983.

Throw in the Cruiserweight Classic this week and the Booker T interview with JBL and I feel like I already got my money's worth for the month, and that's before we've even gotten to Brooklyn.

[C.S.]

the Booker T interview with JBL

Surprised there hasn't been more mention of this here.

 

Is it because it's JBL, who internet smarks are conditioned to hate?

 

Anyway, it was brilliant. In fact, I consider Legends With JBL to be hands down the best show on the Network.

 

There was some ridiculous hate thrown Michael Hayes's way after that episode of Legends With JBL, just because Hayes is usually unlikeable and has a checkered past, but I thought he came across great and very honest with JBL. You couldn't convince some people here of that though. They were so predisposed to hate Hayes that their judgment IMO was severely clouded and compromised.

[The Chief]

 

the Booker T interview with JBL

Surprised there hasn't been more mention of this here.

 

Is it because it's JBL, who internet smarks are conditioned to hate?

 

Anyway, it was brilliant. In fact, I consider Legends With JBL to be hands down the best show on the Network.

 

There was some ridiculous hate thrown Michael Hayes's way after that episode of Legends With JBL, just because Hayes is usually unlikeable and has a checkered past, but I thought he came across great and very honest with JBL. You couldn't convince some people here of that though. They were so predisposed to hate Hayes that their judgment IMO was severely clouded and compromised.

It has nothing to do with JBL. Booker has told his story a million times on podcasts and interviews, there was nothing new here. That speaks nothing to the quality of the show or "predisposed smark hate." The show was well done enough it's just covering territory that we've already covered.

[sek69]

As annoying as JBL can be on commentary, he's proven to be pretty good on the Legends show. I thought the episode with Booker was good, but like Chief said it wasn't breaking any new ground if you've heard any other Booker interview.

 

Having said that, if you've never heard his story it's a must see, Booker's probably one of the most low key inspirational stories in wrestling.

[C.S.]

I read both Booker T books and still found the JBL interview compelling stuff. Nothing "new" maybe, but it was still great to hear it in this setting.

BTW, as hit or miss as Ride Along has been (at worst, it's been a complete bore), the episode with Jericho/Henry and AJ Styles/The Club is worth watching - mostly for Jericho and Henry. Wish the entire episode had been about them. AJ/Club weren't nearly as interesting because they were obviously kinda limited and hamstrung by what they couldn't talk about - e.g. most of their careers. Even though Jericho and Henry was obviously a bullshit setup for the show (they had never ridden together before), it was still a fun listen.

[Beast]

The AJ/Club section is fantastic if only for their reaction to the GPS voice surprising them.

[The Thread Killer]

Surprised there hasn't been more mention of this here. Is it because it's JBL, who internet smarks are conditioned to hate? Anyway, it was brilliant. In fact, I consider Legends With JBL to be hands down the best show on the Network. There was some ridiculous hate thrown Michael Hayes's way after that episode of Legends With JBL, just because Hayes is usually unlikeable and has a checkered past, but I thought he came across great and very honest with JBL. You couldn't convince some people here of that though. They were so predisposed to hate Hayes that their judgment IMO was severely clouded and compromised.

Legends is an excellent show. The interview with Booker T was very good. You can tell that JBL (or somebody who works for him) did research, and his strength is clearly drawing information out of his subjects about their early lives before wrestling, and their personal lives. He does a very good job at that. On the negative side, he tends to be pretty leading with some of his questions, almost inserting his own opinions in their answers, or making it blatantly obvious what he wants their answer to be, or what point he wants them to make. That's a tad annoying, but you can see that there has been definite improvement as the show has progressed, so there is every reason to believe that he will continue to refine his interviewing skills. I think a lot of people don't appreciate the art of being an interviewer, how to use silences or properly worded questions. Just look at the differences between the RF, Highspot and Kayfabe Commentaries shoots. I'd say JBL is already a million miles ahead of Rob Feinstein and whoever does the Highspots interviews. With experience, he could be as good as Sean Oliver, who for my money is an excellent interviewer.

 

My only other complaint with Legends - and this could be the production, not JBL - is that they tend to jump around sometimes in the timeline of the interview. But that could be because of editing or time restrictions. The Brian James interview was pretty good, but I thought the Ron Simmons interview could have used a second hour, there were a lot of questions that went unasked due to time, I think. The Eric Bischoff interview was very well done. JBL got way more out of Bischoff in terms of details and opinion than any other shoot or podcast I'd ever heard him do, with the possible exception of when he was on Stone Cold's show.

 

After I saw the Michael Hayes interview I liked Hayes a lot less than I did before I watched it. It had nothing to do with JBL. As I mentioned earlier, at times JBL can be ridiculously leading when he asks questions, and it was totally obvious that JBL was asking certain questions to help Hayes rehab his image. The problem was, JBL led him to the water, but Hayes went way overboard with his answers. I once saw RVD describe Shawn Michaels as "dripping with insincerity" and to me, that describes how Michael Hayes came across in his interview. To a degree, every guy JBL has interviewed has been working the interview, for sure. But in my opinion, Hayes was so obvious about it, and he just couldn't pull it off. Rather than say: "Back in my day, we all used the N Word. I'm not racist, but I used it. Times have changed. I got drunk, I said something I shouldn't have said, and I got demoted and suspended for it. Mark Henry forgave me, there are no hard feelings, and I'm never doing that again" we got a convoluted half explanation/half justification with a side order of apology, sort of. All that nonsense about the Confederate Flag and Richard Prior and his ex-wife's stepdaughter just came across as sadly out of touch. Anybody who doesn't agree with me is free to watch the interview and judge for themselves. I actually feel sorry for Michael Hayes. He reminds me of Jake Roberts and a lot of other old school guys. So used to trying to work everybody at all times that he might not even know who he really is. Hell, maybe he is so clueless that he actually believes some of that crap he said. Either way, it was Hayes who came across as looking totally out of touch in that interview. He seems to be respected by a lot of the people who work with him, so he obviously has something to offer to the business, I guess. But that interview just made me shake my head at how out of touch he seemed.

 

As for JBL, don't even get me started. There is a staggering amount of evidence to support him being a horrible bully and all around awful person to be around when he was an active wrestler. Rumor has it that his getting KTFO by Joey Styles coupled with his retirement helped make him a much more likeable guy backstage. A lot of people now seem to give him credit for the work he does as a color commentator putting guys over. And so they should. But don't act like people like JBL or Michael Hayes are disliked for totally unjustified reasons, due to "smarks." There is plenty of reason to not be a big fan of either of those guys.

[Johnny Sorrow]

My favorite part of the interview with Hayes was when JBL flat out called what the Confederate flag stands for is abhorrent . I think that a lot of people still label JBL as a racist based on his on screen character from over a decade ago, his accent, and that he used to appear on Fox News . It's pretty fucking clear that , while he may have faults, being a racist isn't one of them.

[flyonthewall2983]

Doesn't he still appear on Fox News?

[Johnny Sorrow]

Maybe, but so does Greg Proops. Not everyone who is on the network is a racist.

[Loss]

JBL is more of a center-right, pro-Wall Street type than he is a social conservative. He voted for Bill Clinton.

 

That said, I wish we still had the political articles he used to write on WWE.com trashing the Dixie Chicks and arguing against gay marriage.

[C.S.]

A lot of great points in this thread. Just want to quickly respond to this for now:

 

JBL is more of a center-right, pro-Wall Street type than he is a social conservative. He voted for Bill Clinton.

 

That said, I wish we still had the political articles he used to write on WWE.com trashing the Dixie Chicks and arguing against gay marriage.

 

How long ago did JBL write that? Like much of America, he's most likely changed his mind since then.

 

A tweet from April 2015:

 

John Layfield
‏@JCLayfield

Ok, some of you are too stupid to deal with-I am 100% for gay marriage. That work?

 

I'd say that's more WWE's bad for giving him a column where he was allowed to espouse his views uncensored in a way that wouldn't draw the company a dime and only potentially turn paying customers off. Probably why stuff like that is no longer done.

[Johnny Sorrow]

People also change their minds. I know that sounds wacky but it's true.

Edit: like said above.

[The Thread Killer]

The other thing is, it's a common misconception that all people who identify as conservative/right wing/Republican share the same ideology as the religious right. An equal if not greater number of right wing conservatives have libertarian leanings, believe in the separation of church and state, and strongly feel that morality cannot be legislated.

 

Anyhow, as people have pointed out...opinions can change. I know my political leanings have change significantly over the past few years. As I said earlier, there is evidence to suggest the JBL we see now is not the same guy who soaped up Brian Christopher or gave a cheap shot to The Blue Meanie.

[Loss]

A lot of great points in this thread. Just want to quickly respond to this for now:

 

JBL is more of a center-right, pro-Wall Street type than he is a social conservative. He voted for Bill Clinton.

 

That said, I wish we still had the political articles he used to write on WWE.com trashing the Dixie Chicks and arguing against gay marriage.

 

How long ago did JBL write that? Like much of America, he's most likely changed his mind since then.

 

A tweet from April 2015:

 

John Layfield

‏@JCLayfield

 

Ok, some of you are too stupid to deal with-I am 100% for gay marriage. That work?

 

I'd say that's more WWE's bad for giving him a column where he was allowed to espouse his views uncensored in a way that wouldn't draw the company a dime and only potentially turn paying customers off. Probably why stuff like that is no longer done.

 

JBL was working a gimmick during that time. The articles were him commenting on current events in character.

[flyonthewall2983]

Maybe, but so does Greg Proops. Not everyone who is on the network is a racist.

 

I follow Kennedy on Twitter. I don't know if she still has her show on their Business channel but I know she appears on the mothership occasionally.

[Johnny Sorrow]

 

 

Maybe, but so does Greg Proops. Not everyone who is on the network is a racist.

I follow Kennedy on Twitter. I don't know if she still has her show on their Business channel but I know she appears on the mothership occasionally.

The MTV fake grunge/ alternative music Kennedy? She still has a career? Good for her.

[BrianB]

Who does JBL actually successfully put over on commentary? The guy has almost stopped being the heel commentator for a good 1-2 years now. He still does it occasionally, but it's more like he's supposed to Vince's mouthpiece or trolling some fans with comments that they think Vince is telling him to say like his whole "Big Match John" schtick.

 

I do like his Legends segments on the network, but as with almost all pro-wrestling interviews, I wish the guys were less leading. More of the 5Ws, how, explain, describe, tell me about...questions would be a good move.

[Johnny Sorrow]

Well back in 2006-2007 he put over London and Kendrick like a maniac and right now he's putting over American Alpha like gangbusters.

[MikeCampbell]

It always seemed odd to me that he always yaps on and on about Miz and his "A-List" gimmick, considering he used to outright BURY him in 2006. And then, when Miz won the title in 2010, he actually specifically mentioned JBL (who wasn't even in the company at that time) as someone who held him back.

[conker8]

Actually, when JBL came back on commentary, he acknowledges he was wrong about the Miz.

[sek69]

Hardcore Heaven 95 was just added to the ECW PPV section if that floats anyone's boat.

[clintthecrippler]

Looks like they just moved over the three events (Hardcore Heaven 95, N2R 95, and Cyberslam 96) that they had added during that ECW week they did a year ago from the Vault over to the PPV section, so nothing new to the Network added yet.

 

Though keeping my fingers crossed that this means they're adding more ECW Home Video content, I'm not getting my hopes up too much.

[MikeCampbell]

I'm wanting more episodes of World Championship Wrestling from 88-89.