NintendoLogic

Austin and Cena were both jacked, so they could get away with wearing whatever they wanted. I hate to say it, but Owens should take some cues from Bray Wyatt. Say what you want about the guy, but at least he has ring gear that looks pretty cool and fits his gimmick.

Dusty Rhodes showed that you can look and carry yourself like a star and still be an avatar of the common man. Kevin Owens looks like a slob and lives in fear of his boss. Not really the kind of guy most people would want to live vicariously through.

The problem with Hero is that he combined a basketball jersey and speedos, which isn't a good look for anybody. And yes, pro wrestling is a cosmetic business. That doesn't mean you need to look like a bodybuilder or a fitness model, but it does mean you should follow Drew Carey's advice: if you don't have a good body, cover it the fuck up.

It is true, though, that women wrestlers can make as much or more selling pics and other merchandise to simps as they can performing. It's obviously a far cry from prostitution, but it is one of the dirty secrets of the wrestling business. It also explains why so many were up in arms over the Twitch crackdown. Also, given WWE's history of predatory business practices, up to and including laying waste to the UK scene a few years ago, any promotion dumb enough to get into bed with them deserves to be put out of business.

Isn't Sting too broken down to work a match? Or did he just say that to get away from Seth Rollins?

Kazarian actually had a cup of coffee with WWE in 2005. As I recall, he left because they wanted him to cut his hair and they refused.

Dave seems to be going largely off a 2007 NTV survey that asked the Japanese public to name the 100 most influential historical figures in history. Rikidozan came in 18th. It's like how one of his Japanese contacts in the 80s told him that Takeshi Kitano was the Johnny Carson of Japan and that's the analogy he's used ever since.

One of the all-time great wrestling minds. WWE hasn't been the same since he stopped having a hand in the creative process.

The typical WWE wrestler's take-home pay may dwarf your own even with all the work and travel expenses, but you can take solace in the fact that you don't have to fall off a ladder or get put through a table on a regular basis. Speaking of which, here's a statistic VOW brought to my attention: with the Wargames advantage ladder match on tonight's episode of NXT, 10% of all ladder matches in WWE history will have taken place this year, half of them in NXT or NXT UK. And that doesn't even count the upcoming TLC PPV. HHH is running ladder matches into the ground almost as badly as Dusty did with cage matches. With all the Shotzi Blackheart types with no regard for their physical well-being on the roster, it's only a matter of time before someone gets seriously injured.

It's been a pretty quiet year in lucha for obvious reasons, but Triplemania is next weekend and features the debut of AAA's Marvel-themed luchadores with Leyenda Americana (Captain America) and Aracno (Spider-Man) going up against Terror Purpura (Thanos) and Venenoide (Venom). This is a legitimate promotional deal with Marvel, which is huge for any pro wrestling company.

You'd think they would have retired this gimmick after Braun Strowman nearly killed Shinsuke Nakamura during the last one.

Credit where credit is due, SC pretty much nails it here.

You forgot to mention the best part: the match was a backdrop for Elias singing. He sang the entire match.

Is this supposed to be a double turn? Because it looks like Corbin was struggling valiantly to overcome the repeated illegal interference of the Mysterios.

The way she worded her apology makes it sound like Alberto threatened her and/or paid her off. In any event, I doubt the state can prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt without the victim's cooperation, so it looks like he'll get off scot-free.

That's precisely the problem. The little Jimmies he brought in didn't stick around and the fans he drove away never came back. I don't really think there were too many holes in Austin's work you could point to. But to your overall point, that's why I mentioned personality. You can look past holes in a wrestler's work if he's cool enough. There was nothing cool about Cena.

Holy shit.

Hansen won the AWA title with a Boston crab. Also, I'd argue that Cena's STF (along with the bulk of his offensive arsenal) looking like complete dogshit played a role in driving away fans over the past decade and a half. There's always some creative license involved in pro wrestling, but most of Cena's work was so blatantly fake-looking as to make it impossible to suspend disbelief. That sort of thing can be overlooked if you find a wrestler's personality sufficiently compelling, but when you consider how many fans found him actively repellent, it's no wonder they abandoned WWE in droves.

Barnett was a member of the original HOF class that got in by fiat, so he wasn't categorized by region. His bio from the issue where the class was announced is as follows: Controversial promoter who ran successful operations in many parts of the country including Indianapolis, Australia and Georgia and was a key member of the WWF and WCW front offices. A key player in the early days of Georgia Championship Wrestling and its original association with Ted Turner.

I encourage everyone to pay no mind to the previous two posts and check out Jacob Fatu vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. Not a barn-burner, just a solid hoss fight. Fatu might be the best big man in the business today.

Maradona? Wasn't that Chris Candido's gimmick in the WWF?

The fact that it was a Korean production probably had a lot to do with it.

If you need a reminder of how culturally irrelevant WWE really is, Obama likens politics in the Trump era to a "World Wrestling Federation constant cage match" at 9:50 of this video.

These Undertaker Cameo videos sure are something. Just know that there's someone out there who has nothing better to spend a grand on than having Taker address him as All Elite Scooby-Doo.

Let's be real, though. Omega is in almost entirely on the basis of work. If you think that the Okada/Omega tetralogy is the greatest series of matches in history or close to it and Omega/Page vs. Young Bucks is the greatest tag match in history or close to it, then he belongs in on that basis alone and whatever role he played in growing New Japan's business and establishing AEW is icing on the cake.