C.S.

I actually wrote this in another thread before seeing your post (the relevant portion is at the end): The Vince Russo episode of the Prichard show is easily the weakest one yet. It's shockingly boring. (WWE Network really was doing me a favor by not loading the show last night.) I'll save you all the time and just recap what happened: - Conrad reads something from Russo's book. - Prichard responds with, "No, that was J.R.'s idea!" And I'm not even a Vince Russo hater like so many of you - I see his many flaws - but his biggest attribute was that he had a story for everyone (which I was happy to see Prichard also credited him for) and you felt like you couldn't miss a single show. Contrast that with today where I don't even watch the weekly shows, only the PPVs, and I don't feel like I've missed a thing. Conrad also kept plugging Russo's Realm Network, which I guess is his podcast or company, and that makes any "strife" between them feel like a work between two carnies. He was harder on Brutus "the fucking Barber" Beefcake and Virgil on previous shows than he was on Russo this week. Hell, he didn't even use his annoying "Bruce, who booked this shit?" catchphrase about any of Russo's WrestleCrap angles.

The Vince Russo episode of the Prichard show is easily the weakest one yet. It's shockingly boring. (WWE Network really was doing me a favor by not loading the show last night.) I'll save you all the time and just recap what happened: - Conrad reads something from Russo's book. - Prichard responds with, "No, that was J.R.'s idea!" And I'm not even a Vince Russo hater like so many of you - I see his many flaws - but his biggest attribute was that he had a story for everyone (which I was happy to see Prichard also credited him for) and you felt like you couldn't miss a single show. Contrast that with today where I don't even watch the weekly shows, only the PPVs, and I don't feel like I've missed a thing. Conrad also kept plugging Russo's Realm Network, which I guess is his podcast or company, and that makes any "strife" between them feel like a work between two carnies. He was harder on Brutus "the fucking Barber" Beefcake and Virgil on previous shows than he was on Russo this week. Hell, he didn't even use his annoying "Bruce, who booked this shit?" catchphrase about any of Russo's WrestleCrap angles.

The Vince Russo episode of the Prichard show is easily the weakest one yet. It's shockingly boring. (WWE Network really was doing me a favor by not loading the show last night.) I'll save you all the time and just recap what happened: - Conrad reads something from Russo's book. - Prichard responds with, "No, that was J.R.'s idea!" And I'm not even a Vince Russo hater like so many of you - I see his many flaws - but his biggest attribute was that he had a story for everyone (which I was happy to see Prichard also credited him for) and you felt like you couldn't miss a single show. Contrast that with today where I don't even watch the weekly shows, only the PPVs, and I don't feel like I've missed a thing. Conrad also kept plugging Russo's Realm Network, which I guess is his podcast or company, and that makes any "strife" between them feel like a work between two carnies. He was harder on Brutus "the fucking Barber" Beefcake and Virgil on previous shows than he was on Russo this week. Hell, he didn't even use his annoying "Bruce, who booked this shit?" catchphrase about any of Russo's WrestleCrap angles.

WWE Network fucking sucks. So tired of it still feeling like a half-baked beta launch after several years. I keep getting a Media Error for the Vince Russo episode of the Prichard Podcast. The stupid ad loads. The corporate disclaimer loads. The dumb MA-14 ratings screen loads. Every time. But the actual podcast doesn't. I'm sure someone will make a joke that WWE Network is doing me a favor, lol, but it's still infuriating...bro. (Everything else on WWE Network works, along with other streaming services, BTW - so it's not my connection or anything like that. Plus, others on Twitter have reported the issue too, specific to this particular episode.)

Tapping out may have existed in wrestling before, but it definitely wasn't commonplace until Ken Shamrock popularized it. Suddenly, every submission match - at least in the WWF - ended with a tapout.

Roman Reigns to UFC to become their ace. Believe that!

Until Vince decides again that "everyone needs to cut their hair, damn it!" What a strange ruling that was. Of course, the Triple Hs of the world at the time were exempt. Even Edge had to cut his hair a little.

No one wants Bryan vs. Cass. No one wants Cass. I always hear workers and types like J.R. talking about Cass's "tremendous upside." But why? Because he's tall? This guy has literally nothing going for him. He sucks in the ring, he's awkward at best on the mic (but I can see him at least improving this aspect of his game), and he doesn't even look big or intimidating despite his height - "the Khali factor." If I were stuck at an abandoned gas station at 4 a.m. in a horror movie with Enzo and Cass, I'd be far more scared of Enzo because who knows what drugs he's on and what he'd do because he's so hopped up. Cass would just twiddle his thumbs and wait for Enzo to write something for him.

Just noticed the post that said the Simmons title win aired almost in its entirety on WCW SN. I don't remember that at all - I only remember clips - so I wonder if that's the rare episode I missed for whatever reason?

The answer to this for myself, and I suspect many others here, is no. PPV-only viewer here. I'll watch the occasional NXT TV, but even then, rarely.

Is Seth the one not selling in your mind, or are you referring to wrestlers in developmental when you say that?

Very odd since Watts is the one responsible for pushing Simmons, pushed JYD in the past, and had the "Big Cat" Ernie Ladd in a high ranking office position in the UWF (co-booker maybe?). Then again, there's that weird Torch interview where a chaw-sucking Watts went on about how he shouldn't have to serve n-words in his hypothetical restaurant if he didn't want to. When Turner exec and baseball legend Hank Aaron saw that, it was curtains for Watts. (The Torch interview supposedly sent to Aaron by Mark Madden, but I'm not sure I believe that carny.)

Damn it on the Vader-Simmons match being the one where Vader regaining the title. Who cares? At the time, that felt deflating - like they were giving up on Simmons (which they were, because he instantly crashed back down the card right after, as if the title reign never happened). I just realized that these don't drop until Thursday, which explains why I went looking for them last night and couldn't find anything.

One of the greatest promos and heel turns ever. Yeah, I said it...

Oh wow! That's on there? Holy grail material, for me at least. I've always wanted to see it. Am I expecting a classic match? No. But I've had 20 years to build it up in my mind and imagine how it went. Some really iconic stuff there - Jake the Snake debuting and ripping the crucifix off Sting, the lottery to give Simmons the title shot, and of course Simmons' shocking victory to become the first black World Heavyweight Champion. I'm not expecting the Jake or lottery footage though.

I don't buy any of this Cass newz for a second. He'll either cost Bryan the match tomorrow or next week.

Good show this week, but: 1. Lars Sullivan does nothing for me. I get why WWE would like him, but ehh. 2. Kona Reeves looks like he walked out of a 1970s dive bar wrestling show. His territorial look might be seen as a cool throwback to some, but it's all wrong for him IMO and I hope it's one of the presentation issues that gets ironed out over time, as we've seen in the past with NXT. 3. I zoned out during the main event because the Undisputed Era does nothing for me either outside of Roddy.

With all of this talk of Closed Captioning, the captioning used on the Network is actually excellent - even for live shows.

Conrad loves using "does it not?" over and over. I'm undecided whether I love it or hate it.

Plus, Angle actually has been seen with chaw in his mouth. I don't have clips or anything, but I know I've seen it. Edit: I do have clips!

What I actually said: "Cass is basically Test 2.0, but at least Test had some positives going for him." You can't deny the similar looks, lack of charisma, etc. But yes, Test was much better than Cass.

I'm not so sure it was a rib. Brother Love was based on Benny Hinn - one of those old-time televangelists. Look how red is his face is. Brother Love is just an exaggerated version of that. (Note: The YouTube thumbnail makes him look redder than he really is, but once you click the video, his face is still red - albeit a more natural Rosacea red.)

Maybe, but that isn't how the story was framed - it was always simply "Cass has heat because he's a Trump supporter."

Well, I always heard that was a Russo call because they needed someone who looked like Triple H from behind. Even if McMahon made that decision, it's not exactly a major vote of confidence.

Even husbands and wife don't talk during the week. They wait until they get to RAW to address their issues either in the ring or in backstage segments, only when the camera is on. The WWE Universe is one fucked up twilight zone when you think about it... He's on the couch or in a motel the rest of the week.