WWE TV April 6th through...

[KawadaSmile]

20 hours ago, C.S. said:

Abysmal names, but to be fair, Wheeler and Harwood are apparently their legit last names.

They should've just gone the one name route if Cash and Dax were the best they could come up with... Oof!

I mean if their thing is supposed to be a throwback to the golden years of tag team wrestling, why not use "Anderson" or "Gibson"?

[Slasher]

17 minutes ago, KawadaSmile said:

I mean if their thing is supposed to be a throwback to the golden years of tag team wrestling, why not use "Anderson" or "Gibson"?

Because they aren't Anderson and Gibson? Arn Anderson is in AEW. Robert Gibson also made appearances in AEW. It'd be dumb to have a well known team like The Revival come in using names of other people in the company. Let them stand on their own.

[SirEdger]

11 hours ago, Tim Evans said:

I can't see this lasting very long with Orlando getting strict about the social distancing. Can't even go out without wearing a mask anymore. I guess Vince opened up the checkbook to pay De Santis and our mayor off.

From what I read, WWE have given "essential media" passes so their employees so they can keep filming. Looks like it's working so far.

[C.S.]

25 minutes ago, SirEdger said:

 From what I read, WWE have given "essential media" passes so their employees so they can keep filming. Looks like it's working so far.

How is wrestling classified as "essential media"?

[SirEdger]

I don't know but somehow, Vince made it happen.

[sek69]

Florida's the same state where the Governor had to be basically forced into closing down the beaches because spring breakers wouldn't stop gathering in groups, so I don't think Vince had to dig deep into his bag of tricks for this one.  Dude didn't think the virus killed anyone under 25 and as generally shown himself to be a massive dumbass (even by politician standards) every time he's opened his mouth. 

 

[Slasher]

43 minutes ago, C.S. said:

How is wrestling classified as "essential media"?

I will let Triple H answer this:

"I think [postponing or canceling] was obviously considered but we feel like it's an obligation for us. Our fans have been there for us for years and years and years and we want to be there for them in this time where everybody is just doing the best to get through this, stuck home and the world needs entertainment right now. We feel an obligation to give them that. Whether it's exactly what we would like it to be or they would like it to be, it probably won't be, but it will be a version of that. We will make it the spectacle that it needs to be and that we can to the best of our ability and we'll give the fans something to be entertained by. Sometimes people get very caught up in what we do, the arguments of what's happening and why and should've done this or that, but at the end of the day if you don't take it too seriously and you enjoy WWE for what it is, an entertainment source that hopefully we can do what the intent is is putting a smile on your face. If you can forget all that and put it aside and just sit in front of your set and just be entertained by what we do, then we've succeeded"

 

[sek69]

By the way, I noticed Smackdown didn't record for me last night since it was listed as a repeat on my channel guide. The repeat airing on FS1 is showing new so I'll get it then, but considering ratings now take DVR into account I wonder how that will affect things. 

[Loss]

Dave told a fascinating story on WOR about how Sam Muchnick used to shut down the St. Louis territory every summer to spend time with friends and family and go to baseball games. During the shutdown months, they'd air shows from other territories. Then they would receive letters from fans where they talked about who they liked and that helped guide them on who to bring in during the rest of the year.

Obviously, times are different and that exact model couldn't work now. But it does show just how small and inside the box the thinking has been about how to respond to COVID. If they have determined that they need to air live shows to eliminate the risk of the financially strained TV networks pulling them after a contract breach, so be it, but there has to be a better way to present those shows than just empty arena wrestling, even if we don't know what it is yet because we haven't seen it. AEW has been more watchable than WWE TV for the most part during this, but I guess I'm looking for someone to come up with a new idea that changes how wrestling is presented. 

[KawadaSmile]

2 hours ago, Slasher said:

Because they aren't Anderson and Gibson? Arn Anderson is in AEW. Robert Gibson also made appearances in AEW. It'd be dumb to have a well known team like The Revival come in using names of other people in the company. Let them stand on their own.

Any other names that alluded to 80s  tag teams - which is what they intended since the beginning - would be better than names alluding to early ROH, don't you think?

[Slasher]

I think Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood is as 80s as it gets. Corny (the adjective, not the manager) and gaudy, it sounds like two dudes from somewhere in the South running a child prostitution ring somewhere. It's sleazy.

[sek69]

Cash Wheeler definitely sounds like the name of a guy who knows where the best meth is, I'll say that.  I suppose if the idea is to be maximum 80s then mission accomplished.

[Johnny Sorrow]

Cash Wheeler sounds like a character in a bad Speed Racer rip off cartoon.

[C.S.]

11 hours ago, Slasher said:

I think Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood is as 80s as it gets. Corny (the adjective, not the manager) and gaudy, it sounds like two dudes from somewhere in the South running a child prostitution ring somewhere. It's sleazy.

They sound like a couple of generic late-'80s WWF Superstars jobbers. Absolutely brutal. I really hope Tony Khan puts his foot down and says "nope - we're not going with those jabroni names." But he won't.

I wouldn't mind the '80s throwback names if they were actually, ya know, good. But they're jobber names you'd expect to hear along with Duane Gill and Barry Hardy on Saturday mornings.

BTW, they were the first (and still only?) team to hold the Raw, Smackdown, and NXT Championships.

Granted, that trifecta was never promoted, but it also lends credence to what I said about them not being used terribly, just not awesomely.

[sek69]

They were used awesomely in NXT, when the tag division was a featured part of the show. I don't understand the argument that they weren't poorly used on the main roster unless we're lowering the bar to the point where not being completely buried and humiliated is being "not used terribly". 

There was the point where they were scooting around like a dog with worms when the Usos put icy hot in their gear so I'm not even sure you can make that argument.

[Slasher]

At that point when they were doing those antics, Vince decided to bury them for not re-signing. I don't think that booking is exactly reflective of how they'd be used if... y'know, they signed a new contract.

 

That said, fuck the WWE. Go fly your freak flag wherever you want, Wheeler and Harwood.

[C.S.]

47 minutes ago, sek69 said:

There was the point where they were scooting around like a dog with worms when the Usos put icy hot in their gear so I'm not even sure you can make that argument.

As terrible as those segments were, there was tons of similar segments in the Attitude Era. That's Vince humor, for better or worse, and he probably sees that stuff as a plus and a push. 

We'll see what The Revival can do elsewhere. AEW desperately needs them for their massively overrated tag team division, that's for sure. 

[Slasher]

22 minutes ago, C.S. said:

As terrible as those segments were, there was tons of similar segments in the Attitude Era. That's Vince humor, for better or worse, and he probably sees that stuff as a plus and a push. 

We'll see what The Revival can do elsewhere. AEW desperately needs them for their massively overrated tag team division, that's for sure. 

No he was intentionally burying them, but again, that is only because of the contract stuff. I think they would have received better stuff if Vince hadn't mandated they look bad as punishment.

[sek69]

Finally got to watch Smackdown, and realizing at some point Dana Brooke ended up with permanent duck face. Also I know they are working for a limited roster now, but her and Carmella 1. suddenly being a tag team and 2. expecting a title match instantly was a head scratcher. 

[C.S.]

21 minutes ago, Slasher said:

No he was intentionally burying them, but again, that is only because of the contract stuff. I think they would have received better stuff if Vince hadn't mandated they look bad as punishment.

I have never believed that, not for a single solitary second. It doesn't pass the smell test for me.

Burying them is yanking them off TV, period (which is exactly what happened this time). Putting them in "comedy" segments that resemble hundreds of other "comedy" segments WWE has run over the years, well, that's just par for the course. The Usos fared no better in those segments, and I'd argue ended up looking a whole lot worse than The Revival, as they succumbed to the common WWE trope of being faces who act like shitbag heels but everyone pretends they're virtuous anyway.

[KawadaSmile]

The matches against DIY/AOP/American Alpha and /E&C rocked hard, despite having only the most basic storylines behind them, and that was enough to appease the crowds at FSU.

It always seemed to me that both of them had no on-screen presence outside of the ring, much like American Alpha (who IIRC were supposed to win the SD Tag Titles but Rhyno and Slater got massively over), and they never would take off based on only their abilities.

What made Jason Jordan be featured more often and turn into a well-rounded, can't-miss future star wasn't the fact that he was insanely good, but a silly storyline where Angle was his father, and he got to show a lot of character and presence. They tried silly stuff with The Revival as well during the feud with The Usos, which I remember got louder reactions than pretty much anything else they've done in the main roster. Did not work as well. 

Shit sucks, sometimes. Great wrestlers, not so entertaining doing something else.

[Jmare007]

 

Legit shocked he's actually going to Florida (he's been with Brie and their daughter post Mania so he's not quarantined). It seems they really are going all in with their business as usual approach. For a guy who has admitted to have a very shitty immune system - which I guess is why Brie said on a podcast he was "immunocompromised" - and who has said no to Vince a bunch of times in the past, this is a big surprise. I hope he stays healthy.

[rovert]

Daniel Bryan is ending his full-time Wrestling career after the birth of his second child later in the year. I guess he is just knocking off time off his current contract. And that he and Brie think the trade-off will be worth it.

Far from an ideal situation. The life of a Pro Wrestler I guess.

[sek69]

it makes no sense that Bryan is putting his and potentially his family's health at risk, for what? He's famously frugal with his money so it can't be that.  He's not going to be positioned as a top guy so it wouldn't be some misplaced desire to not let the company down. Is he that invested in the angle with Drew Gulak? He doesn't seem like a guy who's going to be brainwashed by some corporate BS, plus as stated he's told the company no before. 

I wonder if he somehow feels he "owes" this to them somehow? It just doesn't add up that a guy who's universally known as one of the smartest folks in the business would make a choice like this.

[FMKK]

It depends whether he thinks Vince can slap on time at the end of the contract for time missed if he pulls out now.