R Truth is honestly a GOAT, he's been able to do this so consistently for literal decades. 

Sasha and Naomi probably wondering what the fuck did they do to have to be part of a segment with the 24/7 geeks.

hahahahahahaha this segment rocks

Clearly WWE has a massive sapphic audience that is being underserved in a big way.

A non-bullshit, straight to the point, on-screen homosexual couple, tag team or not, would be very popular. But wrestling is kinda built on homophobia, so I doubt it'll ever happen. 

1 minute ago, KawadaSmile said:

A non-bullshit, straight to the point, on-screen homosexual couple, tag team or not, would be very popular. But wrestling is kinda built on homophobia, so I doubt it'll ever happen. 

Even something like Rhea/Liv where they don't expressly say it but it's clear what's going on would be  nice to see. 

ADRENALINE, IN MY SOUL

WE GET TO DO THIS SONG AGAIN

 

WOOOOOOOOOOAH OOHHHHH

Pretty Deadly are great and their gimmick is something wrestling has missed for a while, but I shudder to think what the dinosaurs in WWE Creative will come up with for them. 

Decent episode. The best segments were the silliest ones, and the main event was a nice match despite the ending.

We'll get more WRASSLIN' segments next week. We just need a bench press contest.

Yeah tonight was fine. They delivered everything they advertised, which a minor miracle with WWE these days. 

6 hours ago, sek69 said:

Fightful just posted that Kushida has left WWE

What a complete waste of a stint, as expected. At least he's leaving before he becomes Akira Tozawa.

Such a shame that someone like Tony Bag of Donuts (sp?) is more suited to the main roster than someone like Kushida. But we knew that already.

The way things are now, even if he did get called up, he'd 100% end up with the 24/7 geeks anyway. 

I dunno, guys. Tozawa always looked like someone who was hired because he was funny. I remember watching some of his matches prior to him being signed, and even when he could go at 100mph, he always seemed to have comedic timing.

Is it frustrating to see someone being pigeonholed as a comedy wrestler? Absolutely.  However that also means his shelf life is longer, he doesn't have to take crazy bumps and still is able to get over and make money. That is a plus, and thus he will have the longevity to pursue a more serious stint elsewhere.

 

As for KUSHIDA, though... it's a shame. Dude has been trying so fucking hard to reach the HW division, and when he goes to the US, he is put against big boy WALTER. Maybe NJ will throw him a bone?

11 minutes ago, KawadaSmile said:

Maybe NJ will throw him a bone?

They need to have him as a surprise entrant in the G1, that's what they need to do. NJPW has been so dire apart from the main events (now that EVIL ain't part of those anymore), opening up to US guys and getting someone like KUSHIDA is exactly the shot in the arm they need to be the great promotion they can be. That and firing Dick Togo.

Fightful reporting WWE has interest in getting FTR back,  which makes sense since they are hot right now, but I don't see them wanting to go back to a place that doesn't give a shit about tag team wrestling unless they get an absolutely stupid money offer. Also unlike Cody it's all but assured AEW will be exercising the year option on them. 

59 minutes ago, sek69 said:

Fightful reporting WWE has interest in getting FTR back,  which makes sense since they are hot right now, but I don't see them wanting to go back to a place that doesn't give a shit about tag team wrestling unless they get an absolutely stupid money offer. Also unlike Cody it's all but assured AEW will be exercising the year option on them. 

There's a lot of AEW talent unhappy or "itchy". WWE is running stadiums more and more while the top of the card are in their 40s and beyond. While WWE's developmental is going back to the '00s a project that will fail but inevitably they will kiss enough frogs to find a Cena/Batista/Reigns somehow. A strong singles wrestler could really follow Cody's footsteps and cash in.

FTR will have to battle against Vince's hatred of Southerners, tag teams and retribution against them leaving.

I'm sure there's a lot of folks who have been toiling on Dark/After Dark who would probably be interested in seeing if the grass is greener on the other side, but FTR has been there and done that so I don't see them having any interest in going back there.  

WWE gets the same mentality I see in Yankee fans where they think every star player will end up on their team eventually, and while it certainly happens frequently it's not a lock that everyone who's looking for a fresh start will want to go there. Especially now when they are even further narrowing their already slim window of who they think can be a star. 

FTR would be absolutely stupid to go back to WWE unless the money is absurd

I honestly cannot see any scenario under which FTR return to the WWE. That interview they gave to Jim Cornette after they left WWE was very detailed regarding their grievances with Vince. The bottom line is, tag team wrestling is treated as an afterthought in WWE, and I don’t think that is ever going to change. I think creative is the most important issue with them. They claim, and I believe them, that they were offered a ton of money to stay and they turned it down. After hearing that interview, and seeing things they have said since then, I really don’t think there is a number which would be high enough to get them to go back there. Keep in mind, they only left after they told Vince and Bruce Prichard that no matter what they were offered, they were going to walk out as soon as their contracts expired.

Now that they're the belles of the ball, I just can't picture FTR walking away to go back to Stamford. They're finally doing everything they wanted to do ever since they left WWE and proving they're the best tag team in the world. Sure they could have some solid matches with Street Profits and Alpha Academy again but tag team wrestling isn't WWE's forte. So it's better for them to stick around where their work as a tag team is valued and where they have multiple occasions to pile up dream matches and make other young teams by wrestling them.

I believe at the time the report was FTR was offered deals of $800k-$1million to stay with WWE when their deals were up since it was no secret they had one foot out the door the last few months they were there. Unless Vince is willing to pony up Brock level money I don't see it happening. 

(and I know Vince has the means to offer them that kind of money but I don't see him wanting to blow up his own pay scale when he really doesn't have any use for tag team specialists)

That's why Cody's booking in the coming months will be crucial. If he continues to enjoy previously undreamed-of creative freedom while making serious coin, I suspect a lot of folks who never would have imagined going back to WWE will start having second thoughts.

Would not be the first time Vince made market-based adjustments to product based on competition. 

18 minutes ago, Timbo Slice said:

Would not be the first time Vince made market-based adjustments to product based on competition. 

Conversely, one of the lessons Vince learned was to not overpay talent because the competition will fall apart and everyone will come crawling back. That's the reason Brock kept getting Brock Money because he was able to play WWE and UFC off each other to maximize his earnings. 

I'm thinking when AEW gets paid bigger money on their next TV deal (which all signs point to that happening unless disaster strikes), then I can see WWE considering them a competitor that isn't just going to go away and then start offering bigger money deals to folks not at the tippy top.