WWE Network... It's Here

[WingedEagle]

4 hours ago, Cornette's racket said:

The last ride documentary of the undertaker first episode will premier after money in the bank and it's clear that the wrestlemania 33 match with Roman reigns was meant to be his last match but because it wasn't that good he kept going. 

Send me Wilson via overnight shipping so I've got someone to hang out with, but I love that match.  Botches and all.  Taker at Mania still had an aura and Roman brought the goods both in terms of selling and in attacking the legend.  A legitimately great match.

[flyonthewall2983]

First episode of the Undertaker doc went up yesterday. I forgot how awesome the WM 33 set looked. I was hoping this would be more retrospective, but all the backstage stuff and shots of him joking around with the other talent and legends was cool too. 

[DMJ]

I was not expecting to like the Undertaker doc, but damn if it isn't quite good. 

Obviously, "The Last Dance" (Michael Jordan and the Bulls documentary) is in my mind so I was going to make immediate mental comparisons - fair or not - but surprisingly, so far, this holds up better than it should. Its definitely the most revealing doc ever made about Taker and I like how unguarded he is - at one point, early on, even kinda laughing off the idea of the Streak as being nothing more than an excuse for him to only wrestle 1 match a year. There were some unexpected talking heads - Jericho and JR, for example, who probably filmed their comments years ago - and I like that they didn't edit out the botches in his match against Reigns.

I'm guessing/predicting that we're going to get one more "last ride" match out of the Undertaker at next year's Mania, but who knows? Every time I think he's finally done, he tacks on another match. At first it was just the "non-canon" Saudi Arabia shows and the Cena squash (which was more of a "segment" than anything), but then the tag match in 2019 happened and now the AJ mini-movie. 

[C.S.]

 

[cactus]

I just finished watching the second episode of The Undertaker series and it's good stuff. It seems like Undertaker needs to return and redeem himself every time he shits the bed. It's unintentionally hilarious at times. I'll keep watching to see what far right t-shirts 'Taker busts out next week. 

[NintendoLogic]

51 minutes ago, cactus said:

I just finished watching the second episode of The Undertaker series and it's good stuff. It seems like Undertaker needs to return and redeem himself every time he shits the bed. It's unintentionally hilarious at times. I'll keep watching to see what far right t-shirts 'Taker busts out next week. 

 

[El-P]

What kind of far-right T-shirt is he wearing in the doc ? 

[The Thread Killer]

He had the audacity to wear a shirt that said “Blue Lives Matter” which is intended to show support for the police, obviously.

 I actually saw another tweet where a fan was taking him to task for wearing a shirt featuring the American flag and some generic patriotic slogan, which the fan designated as “alt-right.”

I really need to stop looking at Twitter. 99% of Pro Wrestling fans on Twitter make my brain cry.

[FMKK]

35 minutes ago, El-P said:

What kind of far-right T-shirt is he wearing in the doc ? 

Some dork shirt where Trump and Pence are aiming guns in the manner of Travolta and Sam Jackson in Pulp Fiction. More embarrassing than offensive really.

[NintendoLogic]

"I Stand for Our National Anthem" isn't a generic patriotic slogan. It's a direct response to NFL players who kneel during the anthem to protest racism and police brutality.

Whenever I see "Blue Lives Matter" and like slogans, I think about the time a few years ago I saw a car festooned with various political bumper stickers. One of them said "Police lives matter" and another said "If they come for your guns, give them your bullets first." So police lives matter...unless they come for your guns. I suspect that mindset is typical among the Back the Blue crowd.

[El-P]

I see, I see...

Well at least he was not wearing the old SS T-shirt. Mark Henry would probably have told us Taker always treated him well anyway.

[William Bologna]

9 minutes ago, NintendoLogic said:

"I Stand for Our National Anthem" isn't a generic patriotic slogan. It's a direct response to NFL players who kneel during the anthem to protest racism and police brutality.

Whenever I see "Blue Lives Matter" and like slogans, I think about the time a few years ago I saw a car festooned with various political bumper stickers. One of them said "Police lives matter" and another said "If they come for your guns, give them your bullets first." So police lives matter...unless they come for your guns. I suspect that mindset is typical among the Back the Blue crowd.

The Undertaker is not responsible for the content of some bumper stickers you didn't like.

[FMKK]

27 minutes ago, The Thread Killer said:

He had the audacity to wear a shirt that said “Blue Lives Matter” which is intended to show support for the police, obviously.

 

Tbf, I think the whole 'Blue Lives Matter' shit coming in the wake of Black Lives Matter, a protest about police shooting and killing innocent black people for the crime of existing and never really being punished for it is not so benign. I know this is PWO and whatever so I'll leave it there.

[NintendoLogic]

12 minutes ago, William Bologna said:

The Undertaker is not responsible for the content of some bumper stickers you didn't like.

This is quite the non sequitur, but your opinion is noted.

[William Bologna]

1 minute ago, NintendoLogic said:

This is quite the non sequitur, but your opinion is noted.

Your second paragraph had nothing to do with your first? You were just musing about some bumper stickers you didn't like in a thread about the Undertaker's political opinions? Because it sure sounds like you were connecting the Undertaker's shirt about how he likes cops with some other, non-Undertaker-related car decorations you didn't like.

[El-P]

20 minutes ago, FMKK said:

I know this is PWO and whatever so I'll leave it there.

Yeah, pretty much what I think too... Maybe Biker Taker should have come out to some good ol' Pantera song.

[NintendoLogic]

22 minutes ago, William Bologna said:

Your second paragraph had nothing to do with your first? You were just musing about some bumper stickers you didn't like in a thread about the Undertaker's political opinions? Because it sure sounds like you were connecting the Undertaker's shirt about how he likes cops with some other, non-Undertaker-related car decorations you didn't like.

I was speaking about the Blue Lives Matter slogan in general since it had been brought up. If a conversation is about X and someone brings up Y in relation to X, it's not unheard of for people to discuss aspects of Y that have nothing to do with X. It happens quite frequently on message boards. This is all pretty far removed from Pro Wrestling Only, so I'll just leave it at that.

[William Bologna]

Just now, NintendoLogic said:

I was speaking about the Blue Lives Matter slogan in general since it had been brought up. If a conversation is about X and someone brings up Y in relation to X, it's not unheard of for people to discuss aspects of Y that have nothing to do with X. It happens quite frequently on message boards. This is all pretty far removed from Pro Wrestling Only, so I'll just leave it at that.

Yeah, you're right. This was a pretty silly road for me to go down. I don't even like the Undertaker.

[The Thread Killer]

Two episodes in and this series has been outstanding so far, in my opinion.  The Undertaker has always been so private and gone to such great lengths to "protect his character" so now it's amazing to see the amount of personal access he gave this documentary crew. Sitting around joking with his wife, playing with his kids, interacting with his coworkers, and especially some of the personal interviews he gave, I did not expect.  Honestly I thought this would be more of a typical WWE Network "puff piece."  They certainly have highlighted a lot of "rah rah WWE" interviews and really played up how much Mark Calloway loves Vince McMahon. They have also stacked the program with the obligatory complimentary soundbytes from countless WWE stars and executives praising The Undertaker to the high heavens...but that was to be expected, and to be fair I think their admiration is genuine. All pro-WWE content aside, I still think so far this series has been very revealing.

There have been a couple of legitimately moving and emotional moments. I can honestly say I never expected to watch a documentary in which I saw The Undertaker waxing poetic about how much he loves his wife and how much she has helped him. I am actually quite surprised at how vulnerable he has been portrayed, how much he admitted he is insecure about how he is seen by the fans and his peers and struggling with his "legacy."  Watching him tear up while watching the WM33 Main Event with his wife, being embarrassed by his performance was not something I expected to see in this documentary.  Talking about how he feels he let Roman Reigns down, and actually apologizing to him. Seeing how disappointed he was that he and Cena only got 5 minutes at WM34, because he wanted a competitive match to try and make up for the previous year was also something I wouldn't have predicted.

Considering how good this series has been so far, I just find it equal parts amusing, baffling and ultimately sad, that one of the main talking points that a small but vocal group of fans have come away with, is complaints about what Mark Calloway has written on his t-shirts. I consider myself to be a reasonably observant person, and I can honestly say that the only shirt he has worn so far that I even noticed was that hideous canary yellow Andre The Giant shirt with the Japanese script on it.  I guess I should be finding some hidden alt-right meaning in that, and complaining about it on Twitter.

The funny thing is, were it not for the pandemic I probably wouldn't have even watched this series.  I don't even consider myself a fan of The Undertaker and I usually avoid WWE documentaries for the most part.  I got about 15 minutes into the first episode of the  "Ruthless Aggression" series before turning it off. I generally can't stand WWE, but I'm not so blinded by bias against them that I can't admit when they produce something that is actually good.

[flyonthewall2983]

For someone supporting such things I find abhorrent, he seems to me to be a very tolerant person, to have stayed quiet this long. If it's all just in the shirts he wears or subtle tweets like that then I'm good with it. By virtue of the fact he has worked with people of different ethnicities, sexualities, and other social status and almost no one has a bad thing to say about him whatever way he swings politically doesn't matter in the face of that. I'm the one person in my family who doesn't support those views myself so I know all what it means to break bread with "enemies".

It is hard not to be cynical of the "rah-rah" stuff and being aware of how much of Vince's Kool-Aid has been imbibed by him. Then again that is a major factor in having fueled his performance and competitive drive. Same with Shawn, Triple H, and plenty of others who came after them too. It's at the heart of the company's success, something that might be lost in all the flash and bang (not to mention "creative") they do in presenting shows like WrestleMania. 

[C.S.]

I'm not sure what took me so long to start The Undertaker: The Last Ride, but I went through the first two episodes last night and will be watching the third tonight.

As everyone else has already said, this is extremely well done and a compelling look at The Undertaker out of character. While he has "broken character" in the past, it was only for tiny clips on his wife's Instagram or whatever - never nearly as in-depth as this.

All of the little backstage moments are cool as hell to see.

I was surprised by the strength of the friendship between Vince McMahon and The Undertaker. It's one thing to hear about it and quite another thing to see Vince getting emotional and Taker admitting Vince is someone he'd take a bullet for.

Michelle McCool also comes across really well as Undertaker's wife and the rock in his life, not to mention still being a stunning beauty.

Some questions:

- Was the Undertaker/Vince conversation about ending the streak shown or mentioned here? I kept looking for it, but I don't remember seeing/hearing it. I read about it on one of the newz sites and assumed it was from a recap of this show, but maybe it was from a separate interview he did?

- What is the big hullabaloo about the shirts? Is there more than meets the eye to that black American flag shirt, for example? Not to sound naive - I am genuinely wondering - I know the MAGA alt-right operates in "coded" messages because they don't have the honesty and integrity to put anything out there in a straightforward manner. But...Pro Wrestling Only, so I'll leave it at that. (I love the hell out of that yellow Japanese Andre shirt though and want one ASAP!)

- Was the Undertaker/Roman match really as bad as he thought? I remember it being a bit long and plodding at times, but more or less fine overall. Not a classic by any means, but not necessarily embarrassing either. He seemed really shaken by it though, comparing himself to Fat Elvis. As much as I want to see Undertaker for many more years, part of me think it's a shame he didn't retire on that note with leaving his hat and boots in the ring, because it was so perfect.

On 5/19/2020 at 2:32 PM, The Thread Killer said:

I usually avoid WWE documentaries for the most part.  

Why? All of the ones I've watched on the Network have been excellent (Mark Henry, etc.). Some of the older DVD docs definitely smacked of WWE bubble ass-kissing and revisionist history though. Even the recent "Ruthless Aggression" doc had a bit of that (particularly the creative revisionism about changing WWF to WWE and "getting the F out" ). But the majority of the Network-era docs are actually fantastic - particularly the ones where someone dies and they have less than a week to put something together (like that Dusty doc). It shows you how good their video team is, because the quality is on par with anything from ESPN or HBO.

[Ricky Jackson]

I just remember Taker vs Reigns having multiple obvious botches and basically falling flat. It felt like watching broken down Andre, but unlike with Andre, the match wasn't able to rise above Taker's limitations. Didn't help coming at the end of a 7 hour death march Mania 

[sek69]

3 minutes ago, C.S. said:

- What is the big hullabaloo about the shirts? Is there more than meets the eye to that black American flag shirt, for example? Not to sound naive - I am genuinely wondering - I know the MAGA alt-right operates in "coded" messages because they don't have the honesty and integrity to put anything out there in a straightforward manner. But...Pro Wrestling Only, so I'll leave it at that. (I love the hell out of that yellow Japanese Andre shirt though and want one ASAP!)

As stated, the Blue Lives Matter thing started as a response to the Black Lives Matter movement that came about as the result of several instances of police shooting black people first and asking questions later and normally facing no repercussions for it. Sporting Blue Lives Matter gear generally gives the impression you're okay with black people being shot by police for little or no reason and/or you are willingly keeping yourself naive about what it means.

If you browse the Nine Line site all of Taker's gear comes from, it pretends to just be a good ol' American Pride type company that just wants to honor THA TROOPS. Actually looking at their offerings shows that they're almost entirely all extremely right wing, and a large portion seem to be devoted to pro-police and anti Colin Capernick (all the I STAND FOR THE ANTHEM ones) which leaves an impression anyone wearing said shirts feels a certain way about black folks.

I think part of the response from fans is because while it shouldn't be jarring that a 50 something from Texas has such views, seeing Taker go from keeping kayfabe at all costs to basically becoming MAGA The Wrestler was quite the flipped switch.

[C.S.]

10 minutes ago, sek69 said:

 As stated, the Blue Lives Matter thing started as a response to the Black Lives Matter movement that came about as the result of several instances of police shooting black people first and asking questions later and normally facing no repercussions for it. Sporting Blue Lives Matter gear generally gives the impression you're okay with black people being shot by police for little or no reason and/or you are willingly keeping yourself naive about what it means.

If you browse the Nine Line site all of Taker's gear comes from, it pretends to just be a good ol' American Pride type company that just wants to honor THA TROOPS. Actually looking at their offerings shows that they're almost entirely all extremely right wing, and a large portion seem to be devoted to pro-police and anti Colin Capernick (all the I STAND FOR THE ANTHEM ones) which leaves an impression anyone wearing said shirts feels a certain way about black folks.

I think part of the response from fans is because while it shouldn't be jarring that a 50 something from Texas has such views, seeing Taker go from keeping kayfabe at all costs to basically becoming MAGA The Wrestler was quite the flipped switch.

No, I know what Blue Lives Matter is - and I agree with everything you said - I'm just wondering which shirts are actually Blue Lives Matter shirts. Because unless you know what to look for, they appear to be cheap, tacky American flag shirts you'd find at a gas station or a convenience store. (Again, a complete lack of honesty and integrity from the MAGA, alt-right, Blue Lives Matter, etc. cult - everything is "coded" and nothing is straightforward.)

 

[PhilTLL]

There's only one "thin blue line" shirt and I'm too lazy to look at all of the other categories, although there are some very charming ones like "Kill 'em all" and "Socialism sucks".

But THIS... this is just disappointing. 

https://www.ninelineapparel.com/collections/mens-t-shirts/products/mens-t-shirt-dustin-rhodes-mwga