WWE Network... It's Here

[The Thread Killer]

The good thing about Cornette's podcasts is that they get broken up into individual segments on YouTube, and before he posts the clips Brian Last edits a lot of the most inflammatory nonsense, and the majority of the political rhetoric as well.  This way, a few days after the podcast has aired, you can just check out YouTube and peruse the individual topics, rather than having to listen to 3 plus hours of Cornette going insane.  I have been a Cornette fan, but I can't sit through his entire podcasts anymore.  It's just the same shit, week in and week out, over and over. I know Joey Janela sucks, and I agree that Kenny Omega looks and acts like a pretentious dork, but I don't need to hear it every damn week.  I agree though, his Bob Armstrong tribute was very good.  Obviously, Cornette knew the man very well and it was moving to hear how choked up he got discussing him.

[C.S.]

The Broken Skull Sessions with Stone Cold interviewing Kurt Angle is heavy.

Multiple concussions, handled poorly with a "the show must go on" mentality - which was par for the course back then, but still - eventually ending up with Angle becoming a hot mess of drugs, painkillers, and mental issues.

TNA allowing him four DUIs under their watch tells you all you need to know about how incompetent and uncaring Dixie Carter really was. If she wasn't malicious, she was at the very least harmfully naive. Was anyone fooled by her at any point?

Kurt's crappy WWE return where he wasn't allowed to wrestle was heartbreaking, ending with a useless retirement match against Baron Corbin. Kurt was understandably hurt that the red carpet wasn't rolled out for him the way it was for Goldberg (who was mentioned by name, but Kurt said he understood why Goldberg was made champ). But considering how Kurt left the company (there's a story I haven't heard before, which I won't spoil), I can connect the dots and understand why Vince would be skittish to go all in on him again.

I was reminded of Kurt's WM match with Shawn Michaels, which is somewhat of a forgotten unsung classic - although I'm sure everyone at PWO hates it because of Shawn. The build for that was fantastic, with great nostalgia overload.

They also mentioned Benoit several times without ever saying his name, and Guerrero, whose name they obviously did mention.

 

[ragemaster]

The scary thing for me was the talk about Eddie and him looking white in catering and having cardio problems in the ring. Lots of waring signs about his health, but the WWE did nothing and obviously no proper heath checks were being carried out. I can't believe for a second in any other sport a enlarged heart would be missed by a proper medical examination.

I'm more surprised Vince even let this episode play on the network, will all the concussion talk.

One of the best things I've seen in awhile, Austin may be the best interviewer, even if he did try to rain in Angle on some issues  

 

[Superstar Sleeze]

On 10/1/2020 at 11:40 AM, C.S. said:

I was reminded of Kurt's WM match with Shawn Michaels, which is somewhat of a forgotten unsung classic - although I'm sure everyone at PWO hates it because of Shawn. The build for that was fantastic, with great nostalgia overload.

We hate it actually because of Kurt not Shawn.  On a more serious note, I remember Shawn being great in the first half of the match, really intense & gritty, but then it devolved into terrible Anglelock bullshit that I loathe. The drama should be in applying the hold NOT in escaping the hold. Escapes should be way more rare. Imagine if everyone freaked out every time (not just the first time) the Anglelock was attempted. It would be the finish over huge. Instead we get these interminable stretches of will he or wont he tap, roll through, ugh. Honestly if there is a pro wrestling Hell, it is watching Anglelock reversals for eternity with no payoff!

This episode sounds really interesting and with Austin's podcast on hiatus since the Pandemic started. I am really jonesing for some Austin's interviews so I will check these out! Glad I checked this page. 

[C.S.]

The WWE Network special on Paul Bearer is pretty great, and the presence of Michael Hayes and Bruce Prichard actually enhance the presentation this time because they were so close to him. (Hayes and Bearer were childhood friends because they went the same wrestling shows as fans. They ultimately broke into wrestling together.)

[flyonthewall2983]

I liked it too. During the Monday Night Wars I really grew to hate him, and thought the whole Taker-Kane feud was over the top WWF silliness but looking back I can recognize how brilliant some of it was. 

[C.S.]

The Brothers of Destruction doc was a fun stroll down memory lane. It's basically Undertaker and Kane sitting down in chairs face to face at the empty darkened Performance Center and talking to each other about their careers for 45 minutes as clips play. 

There was footage of their Smoky Mountain match and cool training footage of Kane in full gimmick before his TV debut.

Isaac Yankem was mentioned (including the surprising person who came up with the gimmick years earlier) but Fake Diesel was curiously omitted.

There's a funny Undertaker story about his first meeting with Vince McMahon. Vince asked him for any weird hobbies he has, and Taker admitted to singing in the shower. Then quickly realizing what that could potentially lead to, he did everything in his power to take it back. To think, we could have seen Aiden English's "Shakespeare of Song" gimmick 30 years earlier. (Is Aiden English even still with the company?) 

[El-P]

2 hours ago, C.S. said:

The Brothers of Destruction doc was a fun stroll down memory lane. It's basically Undertaker and Kane sitting down in chairs face to face at the empty darkened Performance Center and talking to each other about their careers for 45 minutes as clips play. 

Sounds about as exciting as their matches were...

[NintendoLogic]

5 hours ago, C.S. said:

 (Is Aiden English even still with the company?) 

He was part of the crew that got future endeavored to preserve WWE's record profits during the pandemic.

[C.S.]

8 hours ago, El-P said:

Sounds about as exciting as their matches were...

It won't win any awards for its visual presentation, that's for sure, but I thought it was an entertaining enough little doc.

5 hours ago, NintendoLogic said:

He was part of the crew that got future endeavored to preserve WWE's record profits during the pandemic.

Has he surfaced anywhere else? Kind of sucks for guys like that, who are talented, but no one is exactly clamoring to see them.

[rovert]

2 hours ago, C.S. said:

Has he surfaced anywhere else? Kind of sucks for guys like that, who are talented, but no one is exactly clamoring to see them.

Maybe one or two indies (in a pandemic)

AKA even IMPACT passed. No AEW Dark tryout/gig etc.

She's married to Eddie Guerrero's daughter Shaul and hosts a Whiskey review Youtube channel!

Anyways he's a really nice guy by all accounts. Shaul has been very public in the media about her father's untimely death, her mother being mocked on TV for a living during her high school years and the Guerrero's being disposed to substance abuse and depression. Meeting Matt really was the making of her and helped her cope with a lot of understandable baggage.

[C.S.]

1 hour ago, rovert said:

Maybe one or two indies (in a pandemic)

Poor Aiden. 

As talented as he is, I can kind of see why he's gotten lost in the shuffle and none of the "major" companies are really clamoring for his services. There are too many other much higher-profile, more popular free agents on the market.

The best thing Aiden can do is completely reinvent himself on the indie circuit, generate some buzz, and parlay that into something with AEW or Impact or wherever he wants to go.

Then again, Jinder Mahal seemingly didn't do much between WWE stints and ended up back there and eventually World Champion, so maybe Aiden will show back up on Raw/Smackdown or NXT after the pandemic?

[rovert]

No Way Jose reportedly being hired back in the last x weeks a weird one in contrast - besides having the same rep as a nice low maintenance guy. The epitome of a live event opening act. Not so much of anything in an empty arena environment. 

[Matt D]

10 minutes ago, rovert said:

No Way Jose reportedly being hired back in the last x weeks a weird one in contrast - besides having the same rep as a nice low maintenance guy. The epitome of a live event opening act. Not so much of anything in an empty arena environment. 

I can see his act popping Vince.

[sek69]

10 minutes ago, rovert said:

No Way Jose reportedly being hired back in the last x weeks a weird one in contrast - besides having the same rep as a nice low maintenance guy. The epitome of a live event opening act. Not so much of anything in an empty arena environment. 

I don't begrudge anyone getting whatever work they can these days, but I admit that was a head scratcher for me too.

[EricR]

Aiden English was one of my favorite C show in ring workers in WWE the past few years, and I thought he was great in NXT. For two guys who looked and wrestled similarly, I really liked English and Ascension Viktor. I get why they aren't employed, but their style of work was one I was more interested than a lot of the C show regulars now. Viktor has had two indy matches since leaving WWE 18 months ago. 

[C.S.]

20 hours ago, EricR said:

Viktor has had two indy matches since leaving WWE 18 months ago. 

Kind of a shame since The Ascension was so pushed on NXT and then essentially sabotaged in WWE.

I wonder if that really soured his taste for the business, or if he was devalued so completely and thoroughly in WWE that no one was interested afterward.

The NWA, if it ever gets up and running again, would be a good place for the Aiden Englishes and Viktors of the world to find a new lease on life. Mike Kanellis even seemed interesting for a hot second there when he was programmed against Nick Aldis. I know Mike had the "Miracle" nick, but Aldis is the true miracle worker. 

[MoS]

How is the new Austin Taker interview? Are there any new stories/tidbits/discussion worth checking out? The first one was great but that was also because Taker had not done a proper out-of-kayfabe interview for the longest time. Now he is everywhere, doing more interviews than the fucking Rock. I dunno if this new interview will tread any new ground.

[Alucard]

3 hours ago, MoS said:

How is the new Austin Taker interview? Are there any new stories/tidbits/discussion worth checking out? The first one was great but that was also because Taker had not done a proper out-of-kayfabe interview for the longest time. Now he is everywhere, doing more interviews than the fucking Rock. I dunno if this new interview will tread any new ground.

Wouldn't say there is much new ground, maybe a few new details, but it was enjoyable. It's 2 hours long so by far the longest Broken Skull Session so far. They talk about HIAC vs Shawn and vs Foley, the WM 14 "taping up the fists for Shawn" story, WM 18 vs Flair, details his face off with Brock in the crowd at UFC, details the time he got set on fire at Elimination Chamber 2010, the Boneyard match, etc.

[flyonthewall2983]

After Survivor Series went off the air, they ran a promo for a new documentary series to air next year called Icons, with episodes on Lex Luger, Davey Boy Smith, Yokozuna and someone else.

[Alucard]

1 hour ago, flyonthewall2983 said:

After Survivor Series went off the air, they ran a promo for a new documentary series to air next year called Icons, with episodes on Lex Luger, Davey Boy Smith, Yokozuna and someone else.

RVD and Beth Phoenix were the others included. I'm most interested in any documentary type thing on Luger, one of my favorites that never got brought back for appearances or anything.

[C.S.]

20 hours ago, MoS said:

How is the new Austin Taker interview? Are there any new stories/tidbits/discussion worth checking out? The first one was great but that was also because Taker had not done a proper out-of-kayfabe interview for the longest time. Now he is everywhere, doing more interviews than the fucking Rock. I dunno if this new interview will tread any new ground.

16 hours ago, Alucard said:

Wouldn't say there is much new ground, maybe a few new details, but it was enjoyable. It's 2 hours long so by far the longest Broken Skull Session so far. They talk about HIAC vs Shawn and vs Foley, the WM 14 "taping up the fists for Shawn" story, WM 18 vs Flair, details his face off with Brock in the crowd at UFC, details the time he got set on fire at Elimination Chamber 2010, the Boneyard match, etc.

It's definitely cool getting some of those blanks filled in on stories we've heard but may not necessarily know everything about.

I think it's worth a watch.

 

[MoS]

I checked it out and I liked it a lot. Although - and I know this is tangential, but still - the Teddy Long story and Taker's reaction to him "making a profit" made me laugh at how all these conservative GOP wrestlers are against the evils of communism and socialism and all for freedom of enterprise, except when someone not as powerful as they engages in it, at which point they are all about redistribution of resources haha

[rovert]

17 hours ago, flyonthewall2983 said:

After Survivor Series went off the air, they ran a promo for a new documentary series to air next year called Icons, with episodes on Lex Luger, Davey Boy Smith, Yokozuna and someone else.

Seemed to be the Light Side Of The Ring.

[C.S.]

Watched the Broken Skull Sessions with Drew McIntyre last night...

Pretty interesting interview, especially about his life between WWE stints, his early push, de-push with 3MB, wrestling during the pandemic, gauging fan reactions, his promos against Orton, etc.

But I was pretty sleepy, and his voice honestly didn't help. Still, it was a good listen.

You could play a drinking game for every time he said "thank you" after Stone Cold complimented him.

Austin seems to be a pretty big fan of Drew's, which is cool.