Comments that don't warrant a thread - Part 4

[Rah]

Bryan idolises Blue Panther. I don't see this not happening.

 

 

[sek69]

He's been pretty open about working Arena Mexico being a bucket list item for him. 

[Sean Reedy]

Konnan has already talked about wanting to book Bryan in AAA which would be a much smoother transaction so we need Bryan's love of lucha to do some lifting. Or maybe he can work Casas in an indy. I've lost track of the state of lucha politics due to Covid.

[KawadaSmile]

You guys figure he could wrestle under the name of El Dragón Americano? 

[SteveMPunk]

vs Hechicero please

[El-P]

Vikingo. Taurus. Please.

[Rah]

Thinking logically, I believe:

1) Bryan is too expensive for indy bookings - but this is where we're going to get him delivering what we want
2) CMLL either don't know who he is or would book his tour in random trios matches before losing a hair match against Casas (not the worst but we want more singles)
3) AAA books him and he's in garbage match trios with tons of interference and it's a waste of everyone's time.
4) Tony being the world's best internet forum dork flies in these luchadores for nobody other than a small handful of fans' enjoyment. @Phil Schneider has his number, yeah? Let's do it.

[El-P]

2 hours ago, Rah said:

3) AAA books him and he's in garbage match trios with tons of interference and it's a waste of everyone's time.

Nope. AAA never booked Omega in such matches. If they get Bryan, Konnan will know what to do with him. Now, will AAA fans know or care about Bryan, I honestly don't know, but that's neither here nor there.

[Rah]

13 minutes ago, El-P said:

Nope. AAA never booked Omega in such matches. If they get Bryan, Konnan will know what to do with him. Now, will AAA fans know or care about Bryan, I honestly don't know, but that's neither here nor there.

To be fair, I haven't seen AAA in a long while so it's both refreshing and unbelievably surprising that Konan has progressed away from that. I was fully imagining Bryan being part of this year's El Consejo/La Comision and having unending swerves with Dorian Trolldan and getting deathkissed by Pimpi.

[sek69]

Oh, AAA still does those garbage match trios, don't get it wrong. They don't run a whole card of them anymore. In fact Kenny has been half kayfabe half shoot begging for a match with Vikingo for a while and it's probably going to be the main event of the next big show they have. 

With Bryan, he could go to AAA no problem and  do a lot of fun matches with the really good young guys they have, but all the legends he really wants to work with are in CMLL. 

[DMJ]

So...Bill Simmons/The Ringer and the WWE struck a deal recently to produce some content together and I know that, on his podcast, David Shoemaker has talked a bit about CM Punk and All Out, but it definitely strikes me as "odd" that there hasn't been any actual main page articles about AEW considering what a huge event All Out was.

I put "odd" in quotes because its really not that odd that WWE would probably have, in some fashion or form, let it be known that they'd prefer The Ringer not cover the "non-competition," especially when the "non-competition" is doing things like putting on almost universally-praised, all-time great PPVs and, according to rumor, doing PPV numbers in the 200k range (which is basically what the lesser WWE shows were striving to get pre-Network). 

But as someone who likes reading long-form takes about wrestling from a more mainstream, "outside the bubble" view, it does kinda suck that The Ringer will seemingly no longer really be covering the biggest news stories in wrestling in fear that it will hurt Vince's feelings. 

 

[KawadaSmile]

What's left for Tessa? 

[El-P]

It's nothing new. Everybody knows that. She already would have been signed by this point by either company. Bullshit "news" sites with totally fake "exclusives". The greatest cursed talent of her generation really, she's an awesome pro-wrestler.

[Timbo Slice]

The Ringer has had a long standing relationship with WWE, going back to the Andre doc and other projects and access. That’s the bed they chose and they’ll have to live with it. Never said Shoemaker was smart. 

[Coffey]

22 hours ago, El-P said:

It's nothing new. Everybody knows that. She already would have been signed by this point by either company. Bullshit "news" sites with totally fake "exclusives". The greatest cursed talent of her generation really, she's an awesome pro-wrestler.

There's also a history of pro wrestlers being really terrible people. Dick Murdoch comes to mind. So what makes Tessa so untouchable? Is it really just that times have changed & no one is willing to risk it? I mean, I could sort of see AEW not wanting to take the chance, but WWE, really? They literally just had that Lars dude a few months ago. They brought back Hulk Hogan. Vince McMahon himself isn't exactly a saint. Jerry Lawler? DUI Uso? They have an award named after one of the most hateful people they ever employed with The Ultimate Warrior. Seems like if anyone shouldn't cast stones, it's them.

You telling me that bringing back Eva Marie is a better business decision than taking a shot on Tessa Blanchard? Worst case scenario they fire her if she fucked up, yeah? But I'm sure more Charlotte Flair Vs. Nia Jax matches will really get people excited.

She must have really pissed off someone with some strong pull.

[El-P]

1 hour ago, Coffey said:

She must have really pissed off someone with some strong pull.

Yeah, there's something odd about Tessa. Either there's *much more* to it than what is public knowledge (which are basically backstage hearsays, not to say it's not true), either it's an odd case of absolute fear of Twitter outrage.

I mean, her "case" is that she has been a bully in locker rooms and that she used a racist slur years ago during an argument. Ok. Bad stuff. Does that mean she *can't work anywhere anymore* in a the pro-wrestling business ? The *pro-wrestling* business ?

There's really an odd case of cognitive dissonance here, because what about AJ Styles saying homophobic stuff years ago ? What about all the wrestlers supporting Trump, who is a legit white supremacist (not to mention the McMahon family) ? What about Matt Riddle, who is still accused of rape ? What about the Usos who *drive drunk on multiple occasions* (that means legit putting other peoples lives in danger) ? What about what about what about... Yeah, whataboutism indeed, but what is SO bad about Tessa that no one will even touch her (after IMPACT did push her to the moon) ? Is there something we don't know that makes her that much more toxic or is it just an odd case of someone serving as kind of a "scapegoat" while other people who are just as bad or even way worse have no trouble getting or keeping a job somewhere ? I'm kinda scratching my head about Tessa's case... 

(like you said, I get AEW not wanting to take any risk at all, and the chants at All Out were pretty telling of the sentiment of its audience, at least part of it, but WWE, really ? Hasn't Charlotte been accused of saying racist stuff before too or am I imagining this one ?)

[Rah]

I'd imagine it's the optics of actively scouting and hiring someone they know is a racist. That was her last bit of "fame" in the press. Hogan and Warrior should never have been given what they were in the past decade but they're much bigger names in terms of their wrestling than what they've done/said. That is the sad reality. Lars was already employed when all that stuff was discovered, right? So there it's more an "aww shit, you know contracts and stuff, what we gonna do, brother?".

It's the Chyna/Google test. "If someone sees we did X and Googles then what are they going to see in the first results?" There's nothing negative on Hogan nor Warrior (Warrior pulls up a "tragic death" headline for sympathy) whereas Tessa's first page is solely about her career faux-pas. 

The fact that the Usos are still a thing and their DUIs are used as jokes in programming is despicable. I'd imagine a lot of people who would jump on the "WWE hiring a racist" bandwagon don't even bat an eye to the Usos so WWE know they can get away with murder here. WWE has no moral high ground, it's money above all. Vince probably sees her as a possible star but the risks don't equate to the possible rewards.

[Rah]

I want to say there was a post by @rovert that was all "hush hush wink wink nudge nudge" about there being a lot more to the story (difficult to work with?) but that might've been about another wrestler.

[funkdoc]

Tessa also tried to hold the Impact title hostage IIRC, that's the sort of thing that (for better or worse) matters more to promoters than racism.  Remember that Ivelisse is one of the very few people to get fired from AEW, because she wouldn't job to Thunder Rosa.

What i find funny is her dad has always gotten the same sort of treatment - was blackballed from the business and has everyone on podcasts imply he was a special kind of asshole without fully saying why.

On a different topic, seeing Jade Cargill & how excited people are for her as a prospect has given me a couple thoughts...

1. College basketball might be a highly underexplored talent pool for wrestling.  Traditionally the biz has looked to football, of course, but the NFL itself has recruited from college hoops for years now.  Think of Antonio Gates - he got into the league after having never played college football at all (virtually unheard of at the time), and had a Hall of Fame career.  The kind of size & athleticism that basketball demands is a very good fit for the direction wrestling's headed in these days, so i think there's potential here.

2. Chyna's reputation & historical stature will only grow over the years, as we're seeing more and more women break into the business after being inspired by her.  i bring this up because Jade herself has mentioned Chyna as an influence.  It's been really neat to see after so many years of her being considered a total joke among the fanbase.  Also, as a bit of an aside, another smaller part of it might be younger generations of women being less judgmental toward porn/sex work - millennials & zoomers often know at least one friend with an OnlyFans if they don't have one themselves, so One Night in Chyna is nothing.

[El-P]

Jade is greener than goose shit, as they say. But considering her experience level, she's doing mighty fine thus far in Goldy-likes squash and she has TONS of potential. I really like the pairing with that crooked attorney, he's a really good douchebag, and I LOVE her presentation, the outfits, the music, very Narcissist Lex Luger-ish in the best way possible. Hopefully she learns and develops fast !

5 minutes ago, funkdoc said:

2. Chyna's reputation & historical stature will only grow over the years, as we're seeing more and more women break into the business after being inspired by her.  i bring this up because Jade herself has mentioned Chyna as an influence.  It's been really neat to see after so many years of her being considered a total joke among the fanbase.  Also, as a bit of an aside, another smaller part of it might be younger generations of women being less judgmental toward porn/sex work - millennials & zoomers often know at least one friend with an OnlyFans if they don't have one themselves, so One Night in Chyna is nothing.

Totally agree.

[NintendoLogic]

Yeah, the bigger issue with Tessa is likely her habit of burning bridges wherever she goes. Being a terrible person doesn't make someone unemployable at a major-league level by itself, but being a head case on top of that is a kiss of death no matter how talented you are. See also, Low Ki and Austin Aries.

[KawadaSmile]

59 minutes ago, funkdoc said:

1. College basketball might be a highly underexplored talent pool for wrestling.  Traditionally the biz has looked to football, of course, but the NFL itself has recruited from college hoops for years now.  Think of Antonio Gates - he got into the league after having never played college football at all (virtually unheard of at the time), and had a Hall of Fame career.  The kind of size & athleticism that basketball demands is a very good fit for the direction wrestling's headed in these days, so i think there's potential here.

Absolutely true. Omos, one of the better parts of RAW, played basketball in college. It's his first year in-ring and he's honestly pretty damn good. Already has the presence and can work the crowd. Him locking up against Bobby Lashley was so fucking cool.

As for the second part, yeah. Basketball players, specially nowadays, seem more well-rounded than ever. LeBron himself could've been a very good player, if we look at the videos he posted a while ago with his Lakers peers playing some AmFoot. He's strong, fast, explosive, and can throw some nasty dimes.

 

[Steenalized]

I just saw something on twitter about how the new NCAA NIL rules can be a huge boon to the WWE - maybe AEW too - and ties directly to this. Find a college kid with a good look, interest in wrestling, and isn't going pro in the sport, take a chance on building a bridge while they're in school then come over after graduation.

[funkdoc]

1 hour ago, KawadaSmile said:

As for the second part, yeah. Basketball players, specially nowadays, seem more well-rounded than ever. LeBron himself could've been a very good player, if we look at the videos he posted a while ago with his Lakers peers playing some AmFoot. He's strong, fast, explosive, and can throw some nasty dimes.

 

Yep, the way people often described him in the draft was "Michael Jordan but with the body of an NFL linebacker" so that tracks.

[joeg]

2 hours ago, KawadaSmile said:

Absolutely true. Omos, one of the better parts of RAW, played basketball in college. It's his first year in-ring and he's honestly pretty damn good. Already has the presence and can work the crowd. Him locking up against Bobby Lashley was so fucking cool.

As for the second part, yeah. Basketball players, specially nowadays, seem more well-rounded than ever. LeBron himself could've been a very good player, if we look at the videos he posted a while ago with his Lakers peers playing some AmFoot. He's strong, fast, explosive, and can throw some nasty dimes.

 

You ever see his high school football highlight tape? Its all footage from his junior year and at 6'7" 230 he lines up at wide receiver, H-back, outside linebacker, and strong safety. He literally looks like a grown man playing with children.

 

As for the general theme of this, a lot of the top big guys of the past 30 years had an athletic background in basketball not football or wrestling. Big Show, Undertaker, Kane all played college basketball at small schools and Nash played at the top of D1.