C.S.

My prediction: Kalisto retains. Rusev clearly didn't give a fuck during the pre-show interview (he barely bothered putting on an accent) and answered that he was in it for the money. Am I reading too much into nothing? Probably. We'll see soon enough.

I liked Ziggler for a long time but they ruined him with that Rusev feud and I started to actively hate him when he was cosplaying as 80s hair bands. Same here. That's exactly when he went down in my eyes too.

I don't care about either Dolph Ziggler or Baron Corbin anymore. That's WWE 50/50 booking for you.

Who is the other writer? MPS Hayes? Ryan Ward?

WWE just made it official: http://www.wwe.com/article/cody-rhodes-released?sf26732881=1

Cody tweeted this: https://twitter.com/PrinceCGR/status/734453843589660672 So, what is being reported? All of the reports, I imagine, were generated from his tweets.

The Stardust gimmick sucked, but "bland" and "boring" aren't words I'd use to describe it.

Who are you talking about? When I saw that, I was blown away by how racist it came across. "No D-Von? No problem, here's the next black guy in line. No one will know the difference!"

I've seen that too. So my question is, why use it at all? Surely he can find other moves that look better and would be safer for kids to practice on each other.

You're a fruit booty, sucka!

She's the funniest and most relatable woman on Total Divas.

The simple and obvious answer, to me, is that Yokozuna was pushed as a serious threat and got wins when wins still meant something. Bastion Booger, on the other hand, was portrayed as a fat comedy jobber who mostly lost when losses still meant something.

Haven't read these, but they sound interesting: Shrapnel of the Soul and Redemption Kindle Edition by Pepper Martin (Author), Penny Lane (Author) Slam Wrestling write-up: http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/2016/04/20/22625791.html Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Shrapnel-Soul-Redemption-Pepper-Martin-ebook/dp/B01DOQRPJ0/ Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Shrapnel-Soul-Redemption-Pepper-Martin/dp/1682894509 Thrashing Seasons: Sporting Culture in Manitoba and the Genesis of Prairie Wrestling by C. Nathan Hatton (Author) Slam Wrestling write-up: http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/Reviews/2016/05/10/22631717.html Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Thrashing-Seasons-Sporting-Manitoba-Wrestling-ebook/dp/B01EZG8S08/ Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Thrashing-Seasons-Sporting-Manitoba-Wrestling/dp/0887558003/ Through The Shattered Glass by Jeanie Clarke (Author), Bradley Craig (Author, Cover Design) Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Through-Shattered-Glass-Jeanie-Clarke/dp/1530387019/ (no Kindle edition) - Pepper's book is reasonably priced on Kindle and sounds interesting from the Slam piece. - The Prairie book is $25 on Kindle. Good luck selling any at that price! - Jeanie Clarke is better known as Lady Blossom, AKA Stone Cold Steve Austin's ex-wife ("your tea's about to get stone cold!"). No Kindle version for her book, but I hope it eventually happens.

The Primo/Epico Puerto Rico tourism gimmick is a real head-scratcher to be sure, but I liked what I saw of them in the ring against the two local jamokes. Naming their finisher "The Shining Star" is silly as hell though. It should have been called "Welcome to Paradise" or something like that if their gimmick is going to be that they consider the ring to be Puerto Rico too and their opponents are unwelcome invaders (WTF?).

The perfect example for this thread would be the Stone Cold Stunner (Austin) vs. the Springboard Stunner (Cena). Hell, STF (Chono) vs. STF (Cena) also applies. Signature moves for Cena, but they look like shit in his hands and don't fit his character at all (IMO).

Because Bullet Club as Triple H lackeys is exactly what everyone is clamoring for.

And it's a valid point, but I do wonder if Hall would've actually won a World Title if he'd he stayed in the WWF (and I also wonder if he would've been able to better control his demons and addictions, but with Shawn also a mess at the time, who knows if they would've just negatively fed into each other - hard to say).

John Stossel tried to review him, and look what happened next... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0q44ALM7jo Seriously though, someone wrote quite a bit about him in one of the wrestling books - I want to say Dynamite Kid, but I can't be sure (and I can't remember what was said, but I believe it was positive).

I watched the two most recent episodes of Table For 3. "WWE Family" (Ricky Steamboat, Pat Patterson, and Hillbilly Jim): What a fucking random pairing. If you're tuning in to hear Steamboat (or Jim) tell stories, don't bother - they don't have much to say. But if you want to hear several funny Pat Patterson gay bar stories, this is the episode for you. All joking aside, this was one of the better Tables, actually. Still don't understand the logic of pairing these three together - what the hell? - but it worked, so I can't complain. Good Andre and Jake stories too. Edit: On second thought, if the point was to highlight three people of completely different backgrounds (and they don't get any different than these three, that's for sure) and show that they're still one big family - brothers - then mission accomplished. "The Kliq" (Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Sean Waltman): Maybe I was tired or maybe it's because these guys have spoken so many times on the same topics, but yawn. To be honest, I don't even remember most of what was said. The controlled, staid nature of these shows really came out when Nash or Hall (can't remember which) said something along the lines of "a vulgar word beginning with the letter P" instead of the actual word (which could've just been bleeped out afterward anyway). I realize these aren't really unscripted conversations or legitimate dinner outings, but it at least felt that way with Steamboat, Patterson, and Hillbilly. This just feels like three aging rockers on their best behavior and afraid of their own shadows. Ditto for the Horsemen episode with Flair in particular. I've also been going through The E&C Show. While it is never laugh-out-loud funny, it is mildly amusing - and there are awesome cameos in every episode. The best jokes are clever visual gags or little things you might might miss if you're not paying attention (for example, a list of couples in wrestling that scrolls by quickly - including people from TNA - or Edge wearing a Sexton Hardcastle shirt). In a way, this is like a twisted bedtime story, because it's the perfect show to fall asleep to. There's nothing complicated or demanding about it - it's just plain relaxing, and sometimes that's exactly what the doctor ordered.

What makes Reks less credible exactly? Because he wasn't a star? That kind of star-fucking attitude is usually absent from this board, so it's disappointing to see it now. With that said, I have no idea if Reks is full of shit - he may very well be - but if JTG also mentioned something along similar lines (I read the book but had no desire to "decrypt" all of his "coded" messages), there could be something there. One thing no one ever notes is that Miz's push also went down the same time Riley's did. If it was because of heat with Cena, I wonder if it affected Miz as well? The difference is, Miz probably kept quiet and remained a "good soldier." Just speculation, obviously. "No, Alberto, I'm not ready to meet your mum or watch a bullfight with your family. That's a level of commitment I'm bloody uncomfortable with, okay?"

Tyler Reks on the insidious evil that is John Cena:

Reigns vs. Jericho would still be fun.

Yes, there was absolutely money in Warrior. I remember several of my friends wanting to watch Nitro that week instead of Raw because they heard about Warrior's impending debut. Now, whether the ratings reflected that, I have no idea. But WCW had an asset and squandered it so Egomania could run wild, brother. Of course, if all of that "One Warrior Nation" and trapdoor shit were Warrior's ideas, he sabotaged himself well enough too. But that wouldn't have ever happened in the WWE, where someone was actually in charge.

I disagree with DMJ in that I thought this was the best of the matches they've had together in WWE/NXT. But the thing no one wants to admit, because they're best friends and have such a long history, is that they don't have great chemistry together - at least IMO from what I've seen in WWE/NXT (I haven't seen their indy matches). Their two NXT matches were pretty disappointing to me, and I think I liked this one more because of sufficiently lowered expectations.

Many years from now... Triple H: What is it, Pop? Vince: (Grips Paul's hand) You have to promise me one thing... Triple H: Anything, Pop. Vince: You have to keep Kevin Dunn employed for life. Triple H: *Gulps* Okay, Pop. Vince: Unless, of course, he commits an egregious violation... (Triple H grins.) Vince: ...but he won't. A few weeks later... WWE.com has learned that WWE has released WWE executive Kevin Dunn for placing bets on WrestleMania results with several Vegas casinos. WWE wishes him the best in his future endeavors. Click here for Pete Rose's WWE Hall of Fame induction