8 hours ago, C.S. said:

Sarah Logan/Valhalla not being renewed either, but that's less surprising, since I think most of us assumed she was let go several release cycles ago.

To go back to what @The Thread Killer said about the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing, her husband just said in an interview not too long ago that she would be back on TV soon. 

 

11 hours ago, The Thread Killer said:

Besides, the one thing that a lot of people seem to be dancing around with this whole thing is that, quite honestly...Ron Killings is not that good.  It's great that he was the most popular guy backstage and everybody loved him, but seriously? Considering how long the guy was in WWE, can you even name five matches he had in all that were classics? Because I can't.

He was seldom if ever put in the position to have classic matches though. What he did do was perform his role better than pretty much anyone else in WWE history. He wasn't a six star classic guy, but he had a connection with the audience not everyone has.

15 hours ago, sek69 said:

He wasn't a six star classic guy, but he had a connection with the audience not everyone has.

Which is why AEW should take R-Truth. He's a better worker and talker than 90% of their roster.

Mariah May finally showed up on NXT, after Ricky I can't wait or them to rename her Mariah Patriots or Mariah Bengals 

I don’t know why the new WWE protocol is to debut someone without a name and then give them their name the following week. Very odd. 

12 hours ago, sek69 said:

Mariah May finally showed up on NXT, after Ricky I can't wait or them to rename her Mariah Patriots or Mariah Bengals 

Juniper June and Daisy December are leading candidates - Meltzer

(Not really Meltzer)

The sad thing is that apparently WWE actually gives these guys input into what they want their new names to be. It’s goofy that WWE insists on changing the names of a lot of the people coming in, but it’s almost sadder that some of the names that the new talent end up getting saddled with are self-inflicted, to a degree. 

Damien Priest and Aleister Black are a couple of the rare occasions where I think the new names were actually an improvement (because “Tommy End” … really?) but a lot of times, yeesh.

1 minute ago, The Thread Killer said:

Damien Priest and Aleister Black are a couple of the rare occasions where I think the new names were actually an improvement (because “Tommy End” … really?) but a lot of times, yeesh.

I love the name Damien Priest, but come on, Punishment Martinez is fucking BADASS too.

3 hours ago, C.S. said:

I love the name Damien Priest, but come on, Punishment Martinez is fucking BADASS too.

Yeah, true enough, it wasn’t bad.

Bron Breakker has to be the most natural talent since Brock Lesnar.

I've said it elsewhere, but the amount of advertising around the arena and even on props like the MITB briefcase is getting to be way too exceessive. It's almost as if WWE has become the live-action equivalent of a merchandise-based cartoon, only much less subtle.

It's only gonna get worse. And someone mentioned AI slop. Wait until WWE's programs are filled with awful AI shit. This is absolutely coming. Before too long, Mania is gonna look like a giant IA advertisement for crypto (well, it kinda already is, Logan Paul, ya know).

Meltzer is saying TKO wants advertisements on outfits too. That will definitely give them a "real sport" feel though...

47 minutes ago, El-P said:

Meltzer is saying TKO wants advertisements on outfits too.

I saw someone mention on Twitter/X that they look forward to the inevitable moment when you tune in to WWE programming to see Michael Cole with some sort of corporate logo boldly tattooed right across the middle of his forehead.

1 hour ago, El-P said:

 

Meltzer is saying TKO wants advertisements on outfits too. That will definitely give them a "real sport" feel though...

 

It's been done, Brock had the Jimmy John's logo on his tights, and before that, Randy Savage had Slim Jim-themed tights.

27 minutes ago, JRH said:

It's been done, Brock had the Jimmy John's logo on his tights

Ironically, the Brock Lesnar thing was a holdover from his UFC days. Those were sponsors that he had from his time fighting in MMA and he kept them when he came back to WWE, which apparently Vince was not happy with because WWE did not get any of the money. That was back in the pre-Endeavor/TKO days where the fighters were allowed to set up their own sponsorships. Now it’s entirely up to TKO, and the sponsors pay the company directly, with the fighters only getting a fraction of the profit.

4 hours ago, The Thread Killer said:

I saw someone mention on Twitter/X that they look forward to the inevitable moment when you tune in to WWE programming to see Michael Cole with some sort of corporate logo boldly tattooed right across the middle of his forehead.

He probably already has one on his ass.

And yeah, sponsorship on outfits has existed in the past, including in NJPW I remember during the dark Inokism days, which also had to do with the MMA connection. But it is gonna be taken to a whole new level. Mark Shapiro doesn't give a fuck about anything but the bottom line.

Also, wanna some fun fact ? It's been a year since Hikuleo has worked his final match in NJPW. One full year. Talk about ridiculous.

Well. I guess we're finally getting the serious R-Truth, er, Ron Killings, we all wanted in the WWE.

That was a surprisingly good episode of RAW. One cannot help but notice that the episodes where Seth Rollins gets zero mic time inevitably end up being overall better TV, as opposed to the episodes where he has one of his endless blathering segments, and the entire show somehow ends up being a chore to sit through. Once again this week, very little Rollins mysteriously = good episode. And I actually really enjoyed the Main Event, much more than their match at WM.

14 minutes ago, JRH said:

Well. I guess we're finally getting the serious R-Truth, er, Ron Killings, we all wanted in the WWE.

Yeah, to think…a week ago he was on the outs, now he’s changing his gimmick and cutting off his hair on live TV.

So let me get this straight…instead of running back Cena/Punk at Money in the Bank to bring that full circle and run the warm-up rematch tag at Saudi Arabia, they swap the matches for…R-Truth scissoring his braids off to become Ron Killings again. Because they got dumb and released him. 
 

K. 

I love how evil heel John Cena who's out to destroy wrestling forever, still coordinates his gear to the colors of the local sports team in every city. 

Finn as the guy starting shit and then grinning like Trollface is possibly the most Irish thing ever seen on WWE TV 

Also Scott's son just signed a NIL deal with WWE, so we're one step closer to having Steiners 2.0 

Looks like Punk won't be beating the sellout allegations anytime soon.

1 hour ago, NintendoLogic said:

Looks like Punk won't be beating the sellout allegations anytime soon.

I saw the news. It's fucking hilarious. 

The fact they make it part of the storyline where he actually gets "cornered" by the heel so he has to do it make sit even more hilarious.

The guy is the biggest fucking clown ever.

(EDIT: damnit and he actually said in his promo that he's no pawn of billionnaires and he's doing it for the people and not TKO ? OH MY GAWWWWWWWWD I'M DYING)

7 hours ago, sek69 said:

Also Scott's son just signed a NIL deal with WWE, so we're one step closer to having Steiners 2.0 

They also signed Mark Henry's kid. I said it before, in a few years, Mania will be 100% nepokids and influencers.

Wrestling is one of the few industries where nepo kids seem to be better than average, not worse, imo. Would be funny if Bron’s cousin ends up being clumsy and boring, but goddamn would an Actually Good Steiners 2.0 vs Actually Seasoned And Competent Creed Brothers match rock.

 

lol @ Punk going to Saudi Arabia. I have zero investment in his public self-presentation, simply enjoy his work, but for those that do, this has to sting.