WWE TV 12/16 - 12/22 the road to Royal Rumble begins!

[NintendoLogic]

From the 8/12/19 Observer (emphasis added):

"There have been complaints from some fans which has gotten to NXT management over the actions of a very few but local other fans based on chants and actions of those fans. The complaints have been about too many racist, sexist, homophobic and xenophobic actions from fans at the Florida shows. Because they run such small buildings, one fan being obnoxious can really hurt the show. It’s essentially something I’ve seen at other shows and have written about, which is the clash between new fans who see wrestling as an art form and artists, and old fans who think wrestling is a night out to yell and scream and being able to say what ever you want based on what was okay 15 or 20 years ago, when those kind of remarks were commonplace at every show and the product encouraged them. One fan wrote to the company and said they and a friend avoid going to Daytona shows for that reason. Another noted that crowd was chanting “kick him out” at one fan who was doing a Nazi salute to back Marcel Barthel, who broke character and basically said that was not acceptable. But his not being kicked out was a common complaint. Another fan complained that on 7/18 in Lakeland a fan yelled the N word at black referee D.A. Brewer and was not kicked out. There were complaints that on 8/2 in Melbourne some guys were yelling out profanity around children and were very disrespectful in making remarks at Tegan Nox. There was also complaints about fans chanting “build a wall” during an Humberto Carrillo match in Daytona in May. Daniel Vidot, a rookie wrestler, also complained about racial slurs by fans saying there is no humor in any type of racial stereotyping or immature displays of racial gesturing and said that they should kick fans out of venues when they try to disrupt shows with those kind of remarks. A group of fans suggested an NXT Fan Code of Conduct be implemented at the shows similar to that of Major League Soccer. The flip side is the generation that grew up with the idea wrestling was a place where you could yell anything you want at the heels, or because of freedom of speech, at the faces because of the idea wrestlers strive to get heat and thus that’s a good thing"

Seriously, there's no reason for Florida to continue to exist. Just nuke it or sell it back to Spain or something.

[Johnny Sorrow]

Or they could kick out the assholes.

[sek69]

I mean, it must send mixed messages when the show's being run by an Iron Cross enthusiast.

All joking aside, not sure why stuff like that is tolerated. It shouldn't get to the point where the talent has to break character to tell a racist to STFU. They could easily do what they do at baseball games (and other sports I'm sure) where they set up a number to text to let security know someone's being a shithead. Especially at those Florida loop shows, where most of them are in venues so small it should be apparent what's going on. 

[Tim Evans]

Because the shows really don't have security. At least when the tv talent is on the road. When I went to a house show on Saturday, they only had one security guard at ringside and all he was worried about is people not taping matches with their phone. At full sail it's usually 3 or 4 security guards. They don't really care what you say but god forbid you tape anything or stand up for too long.

[Stiva]

On 12/19/2019 at 1:06 AM, KawadaSmile said:

This Irishman's title reign lasted as long as The Irishman!!!

Fuck Mauro

I thought this was exaggerated but it was actually even more awkward and forced in reality. He shoehorns "The MOVIE, The Irishman" in there in a way that sounds like he's learning to construct sentences for the first time.

[sek69]

So the new WON mentions the plan for The Revival now is to turn them into comedy characters while also mentioning they haven't signed new contracts yet, implying the two are probably related. 

That's probably the most WWE thing I've heard in a while. Take two extremely talented guys and try to humiliate them for not wanting to resign after being completely botched on the main roster. The funny thing is this will probably end up backfiring on them since their fanbase has been whittled down to primarily just the hardcores who will know the company is fucking with them. 

[War is Raw]

If anyone is interested in how women's wrestling performed in WWE's ratings:

 

Smackdown (percentage of audience)

Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville vs. Nikki Cross & Alexa Bliss/Heavy Machinery giving Sami Zayn a ham gained 1.9 percent  
Shorty G & Mustafa Ali vs. The Revival/ Bayley segment with Elias and Dana Brooke lost 9.6 percent  
Bayley vs. Brooke/Miz & Wyatt videos lost 1.4 percent  
Renee Young in Miz’s home with Miz, Maryse, and Monroe/Wyatt’s promo gained 5.0 percent  

RAW

Beginning of the Bobby Lashley/Lana marriage proposal gained 88,000

End of Lashley/Lana segment gained 3,000 
Asuka vs. Deonna Purrazzo squash/ Becky Lynch interview lost 123,000 

NXT

Ending of Cameron Grimes vs. Kushida/Beginning of Io Shirai vs. Santana Garrett lost 32,000  
Ending of Shirai vs. Garrett gained 34,000 
Baszler vs. Ripley title change gained 38,000  

[C.S.]

In case this hasn't been posted yet...

https://shop.wwe.com/mauro-ranallo-maammma-miaaa!!!-authentic-t-shirt/3848328BAA.html

[KawadaSmile]

Lots of jokes over this t-shirt, but the one that said it was really soft broke me 

[KawadaSmile]

Short hair, clean shaven Daniel Bryan is the man.

[KawadaSmile]

Oh my goodness Mandy Rose and Otis better be a couple

[gordi]

This week in apparent SmackDown subtext: 

People who like wrestling are lame and deserving of mockery (per Elias' song about The Revival).

Big sweaty guys are gross and disgusting (per Mandy Rose after she hugged Otis).

How can you dudes keep giving so much support to a company that so openly despises you (assuming that - with the exception of Stacey - you, like me, are big sweaty guys who love pro wrestling)?

 

[Tim Evans]

Because it's fun and I don't take it seriously? Also I watch all WWE shows on DVR so I can fast forward the stuff I don't like. Do the same for AEW and most wrestling shows except for NXT.

Loved the Miracle on 34th street match. I think it's the best gimmick match they do. Mostly cause it's only once a year.  Otis is so great. Heavy Machinery is another act that works better on the main roster than in NXT.

[gordi]

19 minutes ago, Tim Evans said:

Because it's fun and I don't take it seriously?

 

But somehow you take my comments seriously 

Although, I guess, to be honest, WWE's open and blatant contempt for their audience does actually kind of bother me. It's pretty much driven me away from watching their shows.

I pretty much watch all wrestling in a very similar way to what you do. I mostly read recaps check out stuff that sounds really good on dailymotion or places like that. I have been watching Dynamite and Dark straight through... but it looks like I'll be fast-forwarding through parts of those shows soon, too. 

I will be watching WK all the way through, this year. Both days. 

[KawadaSmile]

52 minutes ago, Tim Evans said:

Loved the Miracle on 34th street match. I think it's the best gimmick match they do. Mostly cause it's only once a year.  Otis is so great. Heavy Machinery is another act that works better on the main roster than in NXT.

Fuck yeah. This was the "let Otis shine" match we so long have needed.

Also pretty sure that Mandy was more upset that she got sweat in her clothes than the fact that Otis was sweaty at all. 

[Mad Dog]

12 hours ago, gordi said:

This week in apparent SmackDown subtext: 

People who like wrestling are lame and deserving of mockery (per Elias' song about The Revival).

Big sweaty guys are gross and disgusting (per Mandy Rose after she hugged Otis).

How can you dudes keep giving so much support to a company that so openly despises you (assuming that - with the exception of Stacey - you, like me, are big sweaty guys who love pro wrestling)?

 

I quit watching and unsubscribed from the Network in the past few months. I find there to be little redeeming qualities to any of the WWE TV and there is just too much out there that I can watch instead. Their contempt for the audience doesn't help. Open contempt for the audience did drive me away from comic books though.

[DMJ]

Big, sweaty guys are gross...when they are sweaty. You can be big, no shame. You can get sweaty - we all do. But take a shower. Don't walk around with a stinky ass ham for an hour either. Granted, Mandy Rose is the one that went in for the hug, so should take some blame for having her velvet (?) dress ruined (and her not expecting that to happen is probably the bigger issue because it makes her look like an idiot who has never encountered or know the basics about perspiration), but I wouldn't chalk up this angle as an example of having contempt for the audience.

If the audience is filled with big, sweaty guys who think coming to a wrestling show, or going anywhere where they'll be in close proximity to others, is a great idea after engaging in rigorous physical activity (like exercising), they deserve to be mocked. After I go to the gym, I sweat so much it looks like I just got out of a pool. I go home or use the gym's showers before I go to work or out for dinner. If I do stop somewhere, like a grocery store to pick something up, I'm mindful to give people space and I'll even apologize for my B.O if an unforeseen circumstance comes up.

Now, there are countless other examples of the WWE mocking their own fans, so the point still stands. 

As for the Beauty & the Beast thing they seem to be building towards, I don't mind it either. It usually goes one of two ways - Mandy Rose ends up liking Otis and turns babyface or Mandy Rose ends up breaking his heart. Either could work. Its a tale as old as time (pun intended). Of course, the WWE is so ham-fisted (also pun intended) that they'll probably make it really lame by inserting unnecessary sexual innuendos and having Corey Graves go overboard on commentary (to no comeuppance) that will further detract from what could be a perfectly fine little side story.