C.S.

Nope, I don't. WWE made a business decision. So did Drake. If he's drinking the company Kool-Aid and has a deep love for WWE, that's on him, but I somehow doubt he's that blind and naive. Time will tell. As for the other wrestlers, it truly sucks for them - they have my deepest sympathies - but almost all of them would do exactly as Drake has done, and you've fooling yourself if you believe otherwise.

Easy for you to sit there on your high horse and pontificate when you don't know the man's financial situation. Yes, fuck the WWE for doing this in the first place. We're in total agreement there. But excuse me if I'm not going to bag on a guy for getting his job back when the world has gone to shit and there's no guarantees in the wrestling industry anymore. This isn't six months ago when wrestling was thriving and everyone was hiring. That's gone because of this pandemic. I have no idea if he swallowed his pride, took a paycut, has misguided "gratitude" for the company, etc. All I do know is he was offered his job back in very uncertain times with the biggest wrestling company in North America and he took it. Forgive me if I'm not going to begrudge him for making the best business decision for him and his family. Begrudge the company - yes, I'm with you there - but not the wrestler.

I love ya, man, but your posts on this are the epitome of "wrestling bubble." Dude had a chance to get his job back in the middle of a pandemic, and he took it. No one should begrudge him for that. Be angry at the company who created this shitty situation, not the wrestler who did what he had to do to put food on the table. If he swallowed his pride and took a price cut (and nobody knows if that's the case), that's between him and his accountant. Lio's not wrong, but even he isn't blaming Drake directly.

I think you're being too much of a conspiracy theorist, honestly. They brought Kurt Angle back too and offered him more than just the one ref gig, so it's not like Spud is the only one they changed their mind on. Of course, if you do want to be a conspiracy theorist, you can point to the fact that Spud's picture was the one used for the WWE.com article about all the releases - until Kurt Angle's name was announced, and then it was his picture that was used. Now both are back (even if only for occasional appearances in Kurt's case).

I'd shocked if this is what happened with Drake though. At the very least, he's probably making the same money as before. The fact that Bryan didn't mention Drake's name specifically in that report - or so I'm assuming, based on @SirEdger's synopsis - tells me that Drake wasn't lowballed. Of course, I could be wrong and I would put nothing past this company, but I don't see it. We'll probably find out one way or another soon enough. Update: Kayfabe explanation: Non-kayfabe (over?)reaction: Yeah, it's shortsighted and tone deaf that WWE turned a massive round of layoffs into a "feel good" angle, but I can't blame or criticize Spud for talking his way back into employment. Good for him.

I don't see Cole leaving. Longest reigning NXT Champ. Has the backing of both Triple H and Shawn Michaels. That will at least earn him a second glance from Vince and a chance to get over on the main roster. The first two AEW Champs have been Jericho and Moxley. Cody and Brodie have been top contenders. Cole is not nearly the star any of them are, so I'm not sure what he'd expect from AEW - at least right now. In a few years, sure.

They should've pivoted to Keith Lee, who has star all over him but isn't getting any younger. Instead, Lee is wasted in this terrible cringe feud. I have no idea about Cole, but I'd be shocked if he didn't re-sign. Now isn't the time to be playing the field.

I thought the match was awesome, with the "fans" being a reasonable facsimile of the real thing and giving the match a little bit of extra "heat." The aftermath was very awesome and emotional, and I liked H coming out and handing Maverick a new contract. It was a nice callback to the Cruiserweight Classic with Cedric Alexander. Of course it sucks that so many others lost their job, but every fan always says they wish WWE would realize the mistake they made in letting go of xyz. Well, in this case, they did. Good on Drake. As for Fantasma, it doesn't really matter if his win meant anything or not, because he's just a placeholder for when the "real" champion Jordan Devlin returns and reclaims his title - probably in a ladder match with both belts hanging from the ceiling.

Considering other recent events, that might happen. My guess is WWE will capitalize on the BLM movement and give it to him for that reason, as cynical as that sounds and is.

Easily the greatest in-ring technician I've ever seen in all my years as a wrestling fan. The fact that he wasn't #1 in the PWO GWE invalidates the entire process.

Nia was called up from NXT way too soon and is still too green and sloppy. But she has a look and presence that separates her from the Dana Brookes and Ruby Riotts of the world, and likely separates her from whoever the "anonymous" WWE wrestler was (probably a said Brooke or Ruby type who thinks that should be their spot). That, along with the Rock/Samoan connection, is why Nia will get a million more chances that a Sarah Logan type ever did.

Even his own partner is distancing himself now: And now Batista: Blake wants nothing to do with his talentless loser partner either:

Here's that tweet:

This guy is already a locker room pariah. Good!

The Forgotten Sons guy is a brain-dead imbecile. Do I want to "cancel" him? No. Because I already have in my mind. By that, I mean he and his terrible stable are instant channel-changers for me. I feel bad for Westley Blake though, who deserves better than to be saddled with this DOA gimmick. Do I think this tweet will affect Ryker's career? Whether it does or not, he's inevitably going to end up on a massive future-endeavored list like the one we just went through, because he's just another nameless, faceless guy among many. Edit: I was responding from Page 1, not realizing there was a second page and the conversation had already moved on. On top of that, this somehow got posted three times. Deleted now, but sorry about that.

He's either a massive piece of shit or dumb as a stump. Probably both.

I mean, Drew was in 3MB a dozen years ago. Being tall doesn't mean shit if Vince sours on you or loses interest. Dominic having the charisma of a house plant won't help. Having a last name that's hard to pronounce and spell won't help either. I expect his last name to last as long as EC3's push. Ironically, the name is a WWE creation (sort of), which makes it even more baffling.

I watched it last night. It's basically ten minutes of weird kayfabe footage, followed by the Sting-Big Bubba match from Slamboree. Still cool though. I definitely hope we get more of these. I skipped the match itself because highlights of it were shown beforehand. From the highlights, I was surprised to see tables in WCW in 1995. The Sting-Big Bubba feud was underrated.

Within five weeks, he'll be just Dominic. Within ten weeks, he'll be jobbing to Cedric Alexander.

I have a new favorite word.

What is the context of this? Was Kenny King a stripper or prostitute?

What book is this?

Did Cornette say Kenny King was lazy, or is that your own commentary? If Cornette said it, referring to a black man lazy is not exactly the best look, whether he meant it in a racial way or not - and it's becoming harder and harder to give the wildly out of touch "it was a starvation joke" Cornette the benefit of the doubt on things like this.

In these tough times, Mauro's booming voice is as soothing as an angel's choir. Think Drake is actually winning this thing?